A/N- Thanks once again for reviewing. For all the people who wonder why Sam can accept an alien so quickly, this chapter should satisfy you. To answer some other questions-
DH- I didn't even think of the ship being hot- I got caught up in writing. Thanks for mentioning it; maybe I'll change it someday. And the van was actually supposed to be theirs, Mark drove the van out to find his wife because he thought she'd be tired after running all the way through the woods. She's too impulsive. Jess figured that Zantar must be able to eat somehow, so she gave him some options and hoped he'd eat naturally. This story is supposed to be taking place about 14 to 15 years before Animorphs so I think morphing technology would be in it's early stages right now- it was supposed to be a new invention around the time of Animorphs. Hopefully your other questions will be answered as the story progresses- you wrote a lot!
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Jess was shocked. Sam had just looked at Zantar and taken him in stride- how could anyone act this way? It had taken Jess awhile to convince herself she wasn't dreaming- the baby alien was still there. But Sam had just said, "When do I begin?"
"I think we should go back into the living-room. I need to talk to you." Jess managed to stammer out.
Sam looked suddenly worried, as if she realized she had said something she shouldn't have. "Oh, uh, I, uh, I mean…"
"In the living-room." Jess stated firmly.
Once they were situated again, Jess said, "Your reaction to an alien was… unusual. Not many people can take in such a new concept so quickly. This concerns me. Is there something you aren't telling me?"
Sam looked down at the couch and said, "Jess, I'm not sure I can tell you. I would need to talk to my mother first- her guidance is very important to me. I hope you weren't disturbed by me. But I promise you I don't have bad intentions, and I will not reveal Zantar to the media. I can't tell you anymore without talking to my mom."
Jess stared intently at Sam, as if by staring she could see all of the girl's secrets. "Sam, I'm not sure I can trust you to baby-sit until I know what you are keeping from me."
"I'll come right back tomorrow. But please- don't judge me until you've heard my story. If it turns out I can't tell you, then you may do what you wish. But not until then. Please."
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The next day, Jess was playing with Zantar in the bedroom. It was a game in which she held up her hand and moved it from side to side, up and down, and Zantar would try to hit her palm with his tail. Zantar had started the game a few days ago, and he always seemed to want to play it. As I was saying, they were playing this game that day when Jess heard the doorbell ring.
"Shhhh," she whispered to Zantar, even though she wasn't sure if he understood her.
Jess got up, closed the bedroom door quietly, and answered the front door. Outside stood Sam and her mother, Carmen.
Sam smiled shyly at Jess, and said, "I have received permission from my mother to tell our story. But Mother would like to go into the bedroom and see the Andalite while we talk."
"Andalite?" Jess asked, confused.
"Yes, that is his races name," spoke up Carmen. "Samantha will explain. I would so like to see this Zantar, though."
"Well, um sure. Go right ahead," Jess said, at a loss for words. She showed her coworker to the bedroom, wondering all the while how this seemingly ordinary woman she used to see every day could know about aliens.
Jess and Sam went back to the living room and sat down again. "Sam, I think you have a lot of explaining to do. How can you know about aliens, or Andalites, or whatever they are called? You are human, aren't you?"
"Yes," Samantha said. "And no. The story is very complicated.
"I was born a human, raised as a human. But my parents weren't humans. My mother is from another sector of space. She was- is- a Kelbrid."
"You just lost me," Jess admitted. "What is a Kelbrid?"
"We're a different type of alien from Zantar's kind. We are most like humans, but we have some feline traits. If you promise not to tell, I can show you." With that, Sam began to change.
It was Sam's eyes that changed the most. They turned green and slitted, like a cat's eyes. Her hair became thicker, and more brown and red streaks appeared in the blond. Her ears became pointed and covered in fur. Her arms and legs were covered with blondish fuzz.
As Jess continued to stare at Sam, she changed back into the girl she had previously been. "Now do you believe me?" she asked. Jess managed to stammer out an answer that she later forgot. She just continued staring until everything grew blurry and she realized she was being rude.
'Oh, um I, uh, I'm sorry…" Jess stammered, trying to apologize for staring and looked away. "I guess I'm not used to this kind of thing yet, even though I'm raising an alien myself."
Sam smiled. "Don't worry, Jess. Things will get easier. I expect you are wondering how we ended up on earth?"
Jess nodded mutely, and Sam continued, "Alright then, here comes the real story…"
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As I said, my mother is a Kelbrid. She use to live in an entirely different sector of space from the Andalites, but she knew about them. Everyone did. The Kelbrid knew that the Andalites were becoming more and more advanced technologically. They also knew that soon the Andalites would try and explore space more thoroughly. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but the Kelbrid didn't want the Andalites to copy their more advanced technology. They wanted Andalites to think for themselves. So they made threats and pretended to be fierce, and signed a treaty with the Andalites to keep out of Kelbrid space. In return, the Kelbrid promised never to explore Andalite space. But this was a promise they didn't keep.
The Kelbrid were interested in how the Andalites were progressing. They wished to know more about their customs, life, and technology. So they sent spies into Andalite space. Not to copy technology, not to start a war, but to observe. They had a certain technology, a morphing technology, which allowed them to change their forms into that of another. The spies changed their forms to Andalite. My mother was one of them.
For the first few years, my mother did nothing but observe and send reports back to the leaders. But then she did something unheard of. She fell in love with an Andalite. She fell in love with my father, and he loved her back. Against the law, mother showed him what and who she really was. They were married, and mother stopped sending reports back to the leaders. She wanted to live as an Andalite.
But the leaders grew suspicious, and sent other spies to look for her. When they found her, they were furious. This was one of the most serious offenses under Kelbrid law. However, it was illegal to kill my mother. No Kelbrid can ever kill another. So they killed my father instead, and exiled my mother.
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A/N- Okay, how's that for a plot twister? There's Sam's story, clean cut. For all of you who are lost on the morphing technology part, I'll explain here-
The Kelbrid are obviously more advanced than the Andalites, so they invented morphing technology first. The technology is transferred to a person through an injection in their bloodstream, and is passed on to their children. The Kelbrid morphing technology has no time limit, so there are no nothlits. Also, you can morph strait from one form to another without passing through your natural body, and you can also acquire DNA while in a morph.
I couldn't figure out how to fit this into the story, though, so if anyone has any idea of how to do that I would probably consider re-writing the chapter. Whew! I'm off to take a break.