translated by DawningStar
For a moment Cassandra was blinded by swirling colors. Then the shimmers cleared to show a scene scarcely less bewildering.
Humans, Andalites, Hork-Bajir, Nahara, Hawjabran, and a few Chee with holograms lowered ran about in a larger-scale replication of the Village. The adult Villagers were clearly discernable by their uniform age and cheerful serenity even in the midst of the chaos. A few people who were probably rescued hosts wandered through it all, looking rather disoriented but trying to help where they could. The Chee seemed most confused, looking up every few minutes and shaking their heads at the mass influx into their sanctuary, but didn't let it bother them.
Cassandra blinked in sudden surprise; across the small circle a face both familiar and altered smiled at her rather ruefully. Desi, gone abruptly adult in the transference. With a quick check, the Storyteller ascertained that neither she nor Tal had changed and then felt a bit silly. Of course Desi would be grown up, here. She'd finished the Games, after all, or she wouldn't have hosted Lissi.
In the general structured disorder the group's arrival had gone unnoticed. Karen glanced about and waved to catch the attention of a young human girl, probably a Chee from her age and businesslike demeanor. "Tell Erek Cassandra's here!" the redhead called.
The girl nodded in acknowledgement and didn't break stride--she was carrying a box of equipment that was probably heavier than it looked. A few yards away, a tabby-coated Naharan directing assembly of something that looked slightly like a Yeerk Pool abandoned her team and bounded over. "Welcome back, Karen!" she exclaimed.
Karen raised an ironic eyebrow. "I haven't been gone more than five minutes, Faieya."
"Oh, sure, our time." The Naharan flicked her whiskers in silent laughter. "You've been in the Village a good two days at least, don't try to deny it. C'mon, I didn't want you to think we hadn't missed you!"
With a grin, Karen flicked a hand toward the half-finished project. "Two days and you still aren't done? Maybe I should have Dalia replace you."
"Anything but that!" Faieya cried in mock horror. "Five minutes it is, then. I'll get back to work." She cast a searching glance at Cassandra. "Welcome, Storyteller," she greeted, ignored Cassandra's half-formed query, and returned to her team.
A human man approached them then, middle-aged but with an air of newfound hope about him. "So this is Cassandra?" he inquired.
"She is," Karen confirmed, adding teasingly, "Told you she'd make it."
Erek didn't deign to respond to that. "Riae's had me searching the Yeerk databases for word of you," he informed the Storyteller. "They reported you dead several hours ago, with proof. She locked herself in the room we provided her and hasn't come out since."
"I have to see her right away, then," Cassandra said, a hard lump of shame and guilt combined rising in her throat. She hadn't considered how Riae might react to the falsified surveillance tape of her host's disintegration in her place...
"Of course," the Chee nodded, and looked up at Karen. "You can find somewhere for your newcomers to stay, I'm sure. I'll take Cassandra."
The private rooms were at the far edge of the Chee's underground hideaway. Everyone along the way seemed to recognize and make room for Erek, so they reached the smaller caves fairly quickly.
Erek led her down a dimly lit corridor, and stopped before one automatic door among many. A small light to the side glowed red, indicating that the door was locked. The Chee gave a polite knock. "Riae?"
"Go away, Erek."
The voice was unfamiliar and tear-choked, but the intonation was recognizably Riae's. Erek looked encouragingly down at Cassandra. "I have someone to see you," he called through the door.
Cassandra swallowed hard. "Riae--" she started, and her voice gave out in a squeak.
There was a stunned silence. "Cassandra?" came a disbelieving whisper.
"It's me."
The door slid open to reveal a human Villager, with light brown hair tumbled about her shoulders and blue eyes that still held signs of long weeping. Through the eyes of her new host, Riae stared in shock at the Storyteller. "You're--I--How did you--"
"I'll explain everything," Cassandra promised.
Riae sniffed and tried to regain some measure of composure. "You'd better. Do you have any idea what I've been..." and she couldn't force another word out past the sudden onslaught of tears. Abruptly she embraced Cassandra and pulled her inside.
The door hissed shut behind them. Cassandra saw a small display screen on one wall, the image paused. It showed the interior of a Blade ship...
She blinked back moisture and forced a weak smile. "I'm sorry," she offered.
A hint of the old suspicion appeared in Riae's gaze. "If you're a Chee hologram I swear I'll kill Erek, last best hope of freedom or not," she threatened.
"No, it's really me. I..." Cassandra looked away, "I'm sorry...you saw that. The tape. I wasn't thinking."
"They'd never have believed it if you hadn't had some sort of proof," Riae half excused her. "I'm still waiting to hear how it happened. Kyli's here, and I have records of the trial, most of it anyway, but how did you get away from Visser Five? Was it his host?"
"Tal was certainly helpful. But--well, I didn't exactly escape. Sarim--Visser Five--he's switched sides. He's with us."
There was another long pause. "Aren't you going to say you told me so?" Riae inquired at last.
Cassandra laughed. "I'd actually forgotten about that. Do you want me to?"
"Not especially," Riae grimaced. She twisted toward the screen set into the wall and reactivated it. "I had wondered about this. Spent an hour trying to convince myself it might be faked. Sarim always used to be good at editing surveillance tapes, as I recall, but he really outdid himself this time."
In the screen, the image of Cassandra was thrown against her bonds by a sudden violent jolt, loosening them enough for her to fight free; a human-Controller guard entered, and Cassandra watched herself trigger her own fiery dissolution. She reached out and stopped the playback before it repeated. "You said you had seen records of the trial?"
"Just the classified notes. Apparently their video/audio recorders malfunctioned. But yeah. You played me well. Interesting speech at the end there."
"I rather thought so." Cassandra grinned.
"You looked almost like you were having fun."
"I almost was having fun, then. You have no idea how many times I've dreamed of saying something like that to the Council of Thirteen."
A predatory sort of smile spread itself across Riae's face. "How'd you like to have another shot at it?"
"What?"
The Yeerk shrugged. "From what I gather, that's what Karen's planning. Direct confrontation. Nonviolent, she says, though how long that'll last with the numbers of guards there I wouldn't bet on. Guess who our elected spokesperson is?"
"Karen?" Cassandra suggested hopelessly.
"Nope. Who around here do you know who's respected by the hosts, notorious among Yeerks, and has a talent for speeches?" The smile was fast turning insufferable.
Cassandra let out a long sigh. "You come with me. I'm not doing that alone again."
"I never intend to let you," Riae assured, her expression fading into determination. "Thinking I'd lost you, it made me realize how much I would miss you if this had been real. If you agree, I'm submitting our names for symbiosis once this is over and we have time."
The Storyteller gave Riae another brief hug. "Of course I'd agree." She hesitated. "Though...you may change your mind when you hear who else I brought back."
Sounding faintly nervous, Riae asked, "Who?"
"Lissi. The lesser. Sarim's been protecting her." Cassandra winced at Riae's look of distress. "She just wants to talk. Karen made her promise not to attack you or anything."
"I'm so encouraged," muttered Riae in a tone that didn't carry as much sarcasm as the words would suggest. With a visible effort, she pulled her mind away from the shame of old memories. "I haven't introduced you to Naomi yet, have I? She's a Villager, as you've probably guessed; she agreed to host me temporarily."
Cassandra nodded a greeting. "Are you going to come back now, then?" she asked Riae.
"I'd intended to, but...maybe it'd be better to wait until after I have a chance to speak with Lissi. Since you've already talked with her, it might be...distracting."
"Maybe so," Cassandra agreed reluctantly. She was beginning to see why some of the Villagers wanted partners so badly, something that she'd mentioned in stories but never quite understood; once you got used to having a friendly presence to warn you away from foolish actions and share control with, it grew increasingly lonely to be without that presence. It was an entirely different experience from the barely-tolerant relationship of a normal Yeerk and host, or even the condescendingly amicable sort she'd had with Tariss.
There was a light rap on the door. "Riae? Cassandra?" came an unfamiliar voice. "It's Fhren. Karen says we're having a meeting."
"All right," Riae responded, "we're coming."
The newly re-partnered Yeerk shot a faintly uncomfortable glance at Cassandra as they walked. "Kyli told me what you did," he said finally. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier."
Cassandra shrugged. "It was perfectly understandable. I'd probably have said much the same things."
"I rather doubt that," Fhren murmured, but he smiled in relief.
The meeting rooms were in much the same section as Riae's quarters. They seemed, in fact, to be a refurnished private room. A Chee, hologram down, waited just outside the door. At seeing them, he opened it.
Inside waited Tal hosting Sarim, Karen, and several Villagers Cassandra was less familiar with--several humans, two Nahara, one Hawjabran, and an Andalite--along with several of the rescued hosts; Cassandra recognized Faizah and Midori, both much cleaner and better-fed. Also present were representatives of various planets--not Villagers, as they were both too old and too wary. There was no sign of Lissi. No one had yet taken a place at the large, circular table.
Fhren led them to a black-haired Villager who had to be hosting Kyli, from the way he took her hand. Cassandra smiled at her. "I was glad to hear you'd made it back safely."
"Cassandra, I didn't really get a chance to thank you," Kyli said gravely. "I was about ten times more relieved when you arrived. Facing Tariss and admitting I'd left you was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. She said that I probably couldn't have stopped you, but still."
"Where is Tariss?" Cassandra inquired.
Kyli rolled her eyes. "Off with the rest of our assault group. The Villagers say they can't get into the Village unless they want to go there. Which is a little difficult to manage since most of them don't believe in it. She knows you're back. She'll want to talk with you once this is over."
Cassandra had a feeling Tariss wasn't the only person who would be wanting to talk with her. She was getting looks from several others just in the room. Midori, for one, was threading her way through the crowd at a quick rate.
"I'm really glad you're okay," the young ground-dweller greeted as soon as she was close enough. "I felt like it was my fault, at least partly. I mean, I came up with that idea and all..."
Riae shrugged. "It worked out, that's what's important. I think Karen's ready to start."
The founder of the Village had seated herself at the table and was waiting expectantly. Slowly, conversation died down and a more or less orderly circle formed. Cassandra and Riae found seats among the Villagers.
"Thank you all for coming," Karen began. "This meeting is to let you know what to expect over the next few days, after you return to your respective planets, and also to make any changes you feel necessary to our plans. So let me start by explaining those.
"The heart and mind of the Yeerk empire is the Council of Thirteen. Through the Village, we can make a strike directly into the Council chamber. We feel it's probably best to try a less violent method first; there are several Storytellers among us, who agree that Cassandra is the best of them, so she will be our speaker to the Council. If they don't agree to our requirements--freeing all involuntary hosts and turning planets over to their rightful populations, among other things--well, that's why she'll have backup."
A wave of smiles circled the table, for different reasons. The resistance fighters thought Karen was making a meaningless concession to a peaceful solution they didn't believe in; the Villagers knew quite well that none of the Council members would be hurt, and were faintly proud of their leader for managing the touchy situation so delicately.
Cassandra didn't smile. She was too busy trying to come up with an approach that might have some faint chance of convincing the Yeerk Council. Even if Karen did have a backup plan, she didn't want to be totally discredited.
Other Storytellers? Probably Faizah and Riae. The ground-dweller gang leader wouldn't really be a good choice as a spokesperson for peace, and Riae was a bit inexperienced still in this sort of thing. Karen herself, while hardly lacking for eloquence, had been out of touch for decades or centuries subjectively. Which left her as the only choice. Wonderful.
Karen continued, "When the news reaches your worlds, likely there will be a bit of a panic. Be ready for that--it's your chance to retake your homes. But send captured Yeerks and any voluntary hosts who want to come to Earth. They're more likely to surrender if they have a least a hope of survival."
Again there was no dissent. Karen went on to give more specific advice to several of the leaders, mostly on dealing with the probable trouble they'd get from high-ranked Yeerks stationed on their worlds. "If we're lucky," she finished at last, "we'll manage this so quickly they won't know what's happened till we have control everywhere. If we're not, we'll lose friends. It may happen anyway. But you knew what you were getting into when you joined up--and this is our best chance yet."
No one cheered; it wasn't a moment for unrestrained emotion. That might come later, if they succeeded. But there were solemn nods as the leaders of the Resistance rose from their seats, and most came to shake Karen's hand in a silent vow. They would do their best.
Come on, Riae, why can't you tell me? I can't hide anything from you!>
You know I wouldn't peek. And this is private, Cassandra. Lissi and I...we go a long way back, and...and you know what I did.>
The Storyteller caught a glimpse of the conversation and drew back. It wasn't hard to see how the encounter had gone, just from Riae's mental state. It would be unkind to pry, even if her curiosity felt liable to kill. Lissi obviously hadn't forgiven the death of her twin. But you think you can work together now?>
A mental sigh. For the same side, if not exactly together. Don't worry about that now. She's headed for the Village for a while, and we have other things to take care of.>
You're right. Lissi needs the Village...she'll be okay there.> Cassandra didn't really want to think about 'other things'. She only had a few hours and preferred to spend them catching up with Riae rather than wracking her mind over a speech that was probably doomed to failure. Look how well her first one had gone over.
Rather nicely, I thought.> The Yeerk grinned. Got pretty much the reaction you were aiming for, didn't it?>
Cassandra chuckled. Suppose so. Don't think they'll want to listen to me again, though.> The Council would be more or less obliged to, however. She wondered how they'd react to her--she and Riae were supposedly dead, after all.
Incredulous. Furious that we'd have the temerity to be alive. Suspicious of who let us--you, rather--escape. Accompanied by an indistinct babble and a lot of yelling.>
This is why I missed you, Riae.>
What, the only reason?>
Well, one of them. Come on--I'm not writing this speech without you.>
