Chapter 18
The General took me all the way back to the base with considerable urgency. The sun had finally set as we passed through the gate, the great golden pyramid temporarily extinguished, and the whole base was lit dimly by some kind of neon lighting that lined the circumference of each individual structure within.
He gathered three of his guards to join us, giving one of them the duty to keep watch over me, even though he saw me as no real danger. I was not his focus, clearly, but he was definitely antsy.
We remained on the base's near side, traveling to an atypically dull cuboidal building with colossal metal doors and a copious amount of security measures. Eye scans were performed, codes typed in, and I swear there was a toxin test. The General wiped some from his fingers onto a small panel, and it bleeped to allow us entry into the third door. That's how it seemed at the time.
I was in; that was what mattered. The General kept the guilty image in hand as he guided our mute group down a series of ramps and into a kind of prison, the walls lined with cells just large enough to hold two or three Humans at maximum.
Fortunately for my friends, they each had a cell to themselves - if you could call that fortunate.
They gave away a defeated atmosphere. Santorelli was standing beside the laser grid that held him, but the others were slumped as far from the corridor as possible. I got the horrible feeling that things hadn't been great down there in my absence.
They perked up only slightly when we came into view. I looked at them all as the General was going over some unknown details with his guards.
((Guys, it's me!)) I announced to them privately. ((Don't do anything to give me away. The General thinks I'm just a Mak.))
They hardly reacted at all. Perfect. Any synchronized movement between them could have raised suspicions.
((We have a plan to get you out of here,)) I explained. ((You just have to play along. We have to convince the Kelbrids that we are allies against a common enemy - the common enemy being Andalites.))
They showed no signs for a few seconds. Then past the steam of my visor, I noticed the tiniest of nods from Jake. He was in.
I elaborated. ((We'll tell him that we've brought Andalite technology on our ship and that we're willing to give it to him.))
Another little nod from Jake. I was going to go on, but the General had finished with whatever details he'd discussed with his guards.
"Jumint veck hugarh!" he grunted, speaking to me directly. I swiveled to face him. "Jumint gwoor decurth harkhij!"
I had no idea what he was talking about or even which race's language he was using. When he displayed the picture I had drawn again, however, and pointed all fingers at the poorly designed Human; I got the hint.
I grinned, hoping he could see it past my visor. "Human!" I called, pointing to the sketched Human and then to the four hosted cells around us.
"Ooman…" he repeated wistfully. "Jumint veck Ooman atta Kelbrid yurrtin?"
Again, I had no idea. I reverted to one of the predetermined Makroovian statements Menderash had taught me. Roughly translated, I said Humans are allies; they fight the Andalites.
The Kelbrid gave me a funny look that I couldn't decipher. For a moment, I thought I might have given myself away, but he averted his sights to my friends in their cells. He approached Santorelli.
He spoke something that we couldn't understand, forging for a response. Santorelli shrugged his shoulders.
The General contemplated, realizing the language issue. Seemingly stuck, he spoke something to a guard, who ran off back up the ramps.
"Hufrakil!"
The General span, eyes broadened when Jake uttered the word. He had arisen from his slump and placed himself at the edge of his cell. I was more than happy to find he'd picked up the Kelbrid word for Andalite.
Immediately attentive, the General approached Jake's cell, and they met head-on, eyeballing each other with mutual curiosity.
"Hufrakil," Jake repeated. He scrunched up his face and twisted his neck to spit violently to the ground. Then, he clenched a fist and ran it slowly over his neck, one side to the other.
The message was clear, but the Kelbrid was unflinching. He was calculating the situation, searching for sincerity in Jake's posture and resolve.
But the inquest didn't last long. The guard that had left returned, skipping down the ramp with the urgency that the General had demanded. He handed to the General an item, small and black.
On closer inspection, I could make it out to be the comms device connecting us to Menderash.
The General fiddled around with the device and then spoke directly into it. There was a crackle and then silence.
"I'm receiving dialogue," spoke Menderash's distorted voice.
It worked! It was exactly what we'd hoped for.
The General snorted into it and spoke something in the Mak language. I could make out the words Oomans and Hufrakil, but that was it.
Amid Mak sentences, Menderash squeezed in some questions to Jake. "Prince Jake, are you all okay?"
Since I was the only one capable, I responded on his behalf. ((Everybody looks okay, Mendy. A little shaken… but I can't see any injuries.))
"I am telling the Kelbrid that we are bringing in Andalite technology for their use… Now I have told him that we arrived in a Mak vessel."
We had agreed on transparency. Only the half-truth would be enough to convince the General, and we needed to give them the correct details on the ship. He was going to find it. Or, rather, we were going to bring it right to him.
((Jake,)) I cut in. ((You need repeat this phrase to the Kelbrid: Avor deenirt Hufrakil, kranf eerun varrak non. Translated, it means "our ship has brought for you new Andalite technologies.))
Jake was unmoving, but I knew he'd received the words clearly. He just had to wait for the perfect opportunity.
The conversation between Menderash and the General came to an end. "The Kelbrid is skeptical to a degree but seems interested enough to follow for a while."
The General dropped the comms device from shoulder height, turning back to the four cells. "Oomans!" he barked.
Jake was still by the edge of his cell. He reached a careful arm between a gap in the laser grid and used it to snatch the General's concentration.
And he uttered the statement, "avor deenirt Hufrakil, kranf eerun varrak non!"
The General exhaled gruffly, staring for one last time between each of the Human-occupied cells. With a flick of a slimy finger, his three guards stepped forward, weapons raised and ready.
"Vunip! Derri sariyup."
The laser grids vanished, leaving behind tiny clouds of smoke. My friends were free.
