The Generation
Chapter 10- Kai
The Hork Bajir leader Toby Hame carried an unconscious Max to Ax's scoop like a babe. I'd never have thought that a Hork Bajir could be so gentle. They look very frightening. We gave the captured hork bajir's yeerk a choice, he could come out of there quickly and die, or he could starve to death. The yeerk chose to die quickly.
Tyson squashed it like a bug, an expression of rage on his face. "Stupid slug! How dare you do this to Max!" He growled.
"Save it," Cassie told him. "A yeerk in his natural form cannot hear."
"Let him." Hillary growled. "Let him get it out of his system."
//All clear!// Tobias shouted down.
Tobias, Jake, and I had been discussing a mission with Toby when the newly freed hork bajir "seer" had come running. It didn't take long to figure out who the two, "andilites" were. One of them was, of course, Ax. The other one could only be Max in morph, since they were the only two of us not present at the meeting.
Ax could not swim against the current to reach Max, the river was too strong. Max's grip on the boulder had slipped when Toby Hame dove into the river and pulled him out. Cassie had given Max CPR. He'd survived, but was still unconscious. Max shivered in his sleep. We'd put him in his sleeping bag. Max's skin was clammy. He was trembling and sweating in his sleep, thrashing in pain.
//This is very strange.// Ax commented. //He should have woken up.//
"Yeah no kidding!" Tyson snapped.
"Tyson don't take your frustration out on Ax, please?" Kenny begged.
//It reminds me of something... something I read about a long time ago. But Max is human! It shouldn't be happening to him!// Ax shook his head, trembling from head to tail.
"Reminds you of what Ax?" Jake asked.
//There is a condition that affects andilites, a sort of genetic abnormality that happens when they morph into a sentient creature. It is very rare. The only cases of it that are recorded happened when we were testing the morphing technology.//
"Just get to the point!" Tyson snapped.
Cassie looked at Tyson, a single quelling look.
"Sorry Cassie." Tyson murmured.
//It is called an Olarn Faron, it means genetic memory, or echo. A few andilites are born with the power to see the past, memories of some one or something related to their DNA. If Judin included her own DNA in the Frolis Morph, Max may have accidentally acquired some of her memories. The condition was probably triggered by his panic, the stress of the fire combined with the fear of being trapped.//
We all stared. "So Max is dreaming about Judin?" Hillary asked, eyes round.
"Well well well, the Irony Gods have struck again!" Marco rolled his eyes. "Have I ever mentioned how insane our daily lives have become?"
"Marco you and your irony gods can take a hike unless you can offer a constructive comment!" Rachel snapped.
Marco winced. Rei spoke up for the first time. "But Max demorphed right? He should wake up soon."
//That is what puzzles me.// Ax replied. //If he were still in andilite morph he would be acting like this, not now that he's in his base form.//
Tyson sat down next to Max, his baseball hat clenched in his fist. Tyson pulled Max into his arms, tears in his eyes. "Come on Max..." He said softly. "You can shake it!"
~Max~
I wish I knew how. I was dimly aware of what was going on. Voices wavered in and out of audibility. But I couldn't tell the difference between them and the reality.
//Retreat! Retreat!//
//Captain Judin! The yeerks are attacking!//
//Sofor get us out of here!//
//Aye aye ma'am!//
"Max wake up!"
The hork bajir swung at me, wrist blade aimed to remove my head. I ducked, reared, and kicked him down. Then FWAP! A well-aimed swipe of my tail removed his head.
"Come on Max... you can shake it!"
I was running with Alloran and Aldrea. Dak Hame was in the trees above us. This was very likely the last time we'd be running this patrol. The yeerks were too strong. We were too weak.
Too weak... just like me... if this was death, it didn't feel so bad.
In fact, I was getting stronger, more aware.
I felt something wet falling on my cheek.
"Max..." Tyson sobbed. "Makkusu-kun... ai shiteru..."
My eyes fluttered open. "Tyson?" I asked weakly.
"MAX!!" Tyson burst into tears, the only time I'd ever seen him do it. The others leaned over me. I reached up, brushing the tears from Tyson's eyes.
Kai caught Tyson's gaze. Tyson shook his head. I didn't realize the significance of this gesture.
"How did I escape?" I asked weakly.
"You don't remember?" Tyson asked tenderly. I snuggled against his chest. "We found you drowning. Toby Hame here pulled you out."
"Cassie gave you mouth to mouth you lucky dog." Marco winked. "I'll bet Jake is Jeeelll-ous!"
Rachel threw a handful of grass in his direction. Marco ducked and made a face at her. The two of them argued for awhile. I tuned it out. I just lay there, trembling in Tyson's arms. I was too tired to cry, too frightened to cry. Tyson held me tight. I needed him. I needed him so bad.
"Toby, why are you here?" Jake asked, ignoring us for the moment.
"An andilite calling herself Ezemili crash landed in the valley. She's looking for you Ax."
//Why is she looking for me?// Ax asked.
"She claims to be your sister… and Ax, she brought Elfangor's Hirac Delest with her." Toby Hame said simply.
//SISTER??// Ax demanded.
"So she claims." Toby answered. "What shall I tell her?"
"Tell her we'll be there in the morning." Jake said wearily. "Right, everybody relax, get some rest. Tomorrow were going on a looooonnnnggg hike!"
They left. Tobias circled overhead for a time, but he eventually settled down in his meadow. Ax was gone, probably discussing details with the others.
We were able to talk, uninhibited.
I reached up and pulled Tyson down to kiss me, not a mere peck on the cheek, like we'd normally do. This was a long, passionate kiss on the lips. I opened my mouth, slipping my tongue along his lips. Tyson grinned, opening his mouth. I slipped my tongue in, exploring every inch of his mouth. "Tyson..." I murmured as he pulled away. Tyson smirked down at me, trailing kisses down my jawline.
We were under the tent that Ax had put up as a storm shelter. If you were flying you'd never be able to see inside. As Tyson worked his lips down my shoulders, his arm thrust out, attempting to pull down the fourth side of the tent to close it. Finding the catch, he released it. The fourth wall of tarp unrolled gracefully down the side. Nobody would walk in on us now.
My hands slipped down Tyson's back, resting on his butt. Tyson threw his jacket (which he'd left here) and hat into a corner and pulled off his t-shirt. I sort of wiggled out of my own t-shirt, slipping the armbands that I normally wore off of my arms.
Tyson's lips were working their way down my chest now, his hands running up my thighs. It felt so good. I'm very sure that it would have felt better, except that I heard footsteps approaching.
Tyson cursed under his breath and dove for his shirt and hat.
"Tyson! Max!" Sola, the female hork bajir called. "Jake want come! Where you go?"
I cursed, pulling my t-shirt and armbands back on. "Coming Sola!" I called. Tyson pulled the cord that rolled up the fourth side of the tent. We stumbled out.
"What you do? Max sound like Kalashi!"
"Uh... not much... what's a kalashi?" Tyson asked, curious.
"Kalashi wife! Max your kalashi?" Sola asked. I groaned. This was not the sort of thing that you explain to an alien. And while Toby and Saro seemed to be pretty intelligent, Sola had the mentality of a four year old.
"Umm... no." I said quickly. "See, men aren't allowed to be kalashi."
"Kalashi spirit kalashi. Body not matter." Sola answered. We were dangerously close to Tobias' meadow now, and I KNEW that that was where the others were.
"The leaders of our people don't know that." I replied softly. "Its not really the sort of thing that you talk about Sola."
"Sola no talk, keep quiet." Sola made a gaffaw noise that I took to be a hork bajir laugh.
//What's so funny?// Tobias asked.
"Nothing." Sola chuckled.
//I see.//
"Right, Tyson, Max, now that you're here. We're going to move the two hork bajir to the hork bajir valley tomorrow, but for now they're staying at the scoop. Tobias will go back to your house Max. You'll stay behind as a guard, since your morph is one of the most powerful. Tomorrow, early, the chee will make the switch. They'll take over from Sunday morning until school is over on Monday, by which time we have to be back from the valley."
"Great, at least there's no more trouble." I sighed.
"Rachel, since you're nearest the boulavard, can you bring some food for us?"
"Sure. And I'll bet that Rei and Tyson can hunt some meat for us when we run out." Rachel nodded in Tyson's direction.
"Why do I have to be the hunter?" Asked Tyson resentfully.
//Because Golden Eagles are capable of hunting things as large as deer.// Tobias answered. //You know how they say that all eagles eat sheep and things?//
"Yeah?"
//Guess who gave them that reputation?// Tobias told us with a thoughtspeak smirk.
"Alright, alright." Tyson capitulated.
"Don't worry." Cassie smiled. "I'll catch some fish too."
"Right." Tyson sighed.
"So how do you keep the yeerks out of the valley?" I asked Toby.
"The valley opening is very small. You will have to demorph to enter it." Toby told us. "And it is far back in the mountains. There are a few yeerk bases, but not that many. We raid what's there and capture hork bajir controllers. We starve their yeerks and leave the hosts free." Toby explained. "At the same time we capture dracon beams and other artifacts from the yeerks."
"Wow, pretty cool!" Tyson exclaimed.
I thought it was cool too. That didn't stop me from being nervous. There were yeerks in the woods, somehow, I didn't think that this would be the last we saw of yeerks in the woods....
~tbc~
Chapter 10- Kai
The Hork Bajir leader Toby Hame carried an unconscious Max to Ax's scoop like a babe. I'd never have thought that a Hork Bajir could be so gentle. They look very frightening. We gave the captured hork bajir's yeerk a choice, he could come out of there quickly and die, or he could starve to death. The yeerk chose to die quickly.
Tyson squashed it like a bug, an expression of rage on his face. "Stupid slug! How dare you do this to Max!" He growled.
"Save it," Cassie told him. "A yeerk in his natural form cannot hear."
"Let him." Hillary growled. "Let him get it out of his system."
//All clear!// Tobias shouted down.
Tobias, Jake, and I had been discussing a mission with Toby when the newly freed hork bajir "seer" had come running. It didn't take long to figure out who the two, "andilites" were. One of them was, of course, Ax. The other one could only be Max in morph, since they were the only two of us not present at the meeting.
Ax could not swim against the current to reach Max, the river was too strong. Max's grip on the boulder had slipped when Toby Hame dove into the river and pulled him out. Cassie had given Max CPR. He'd survived, but was still unconscious. Max shivered in his sleep. We'd put him in his sleeping bag. Max's skin was clammy. He was trembling and sweating in his sleep, thrashing in pain.
//This is very strange.// Ax commented. //He should have woken up.//
"Yeah no kidding!" Tyson snapped.
"Tyson don't take your frustration out on Ax, please?" Kenny begged.
//It reminds me of something... something I read about a long time ago. But Max is human! It shouldn't be happening to him!// Ax shook his head, trembling from head to tail.
"Reminds you of what Ax?" Jake asked.
//There is a condition that affects andilites, a sort of genetic abnormality that happens when they morph into a sentient creature. It is very rare. The only cases of it that are recorded happened when we were testing the morphing technology.//
"Just get to the point!" Tyson snapped.
Cassie looked at Tyson, a single quelling look.
"Sorry Cassie." Tyson murmured.
//It is called an Olarn Faron, it means genetic memory, or echo. A few andilites are born with the power to see the past, memories of some one or something related to their DNA. If Judin included her own DNA in the Frolis Morph, Max may have accidentally acquired some of her memories. The condition was probably triggered by his panic, the stress of the fire combined with the fear of being trapped.//
We all stared. "So Max is dreaming about Judin?" Hillary asked, eyes round.
"Well well well, the Irony Gods have struck again!" Marco rolled his eyes. "Have I ever mentioned how insane our daily lives have become?"
"Marco you and your irony gods can take a hike unless you can offer a constructive comment!" Rachel snapped.
Marco winced. Rei spoke up for the first time. "But Max demorphed right? He should wake up soon."
//That is what puzzles me.// Ax replied. //If he were still in andilite morph he would be acting like this, not now that he's in his base form.//
Tyson sat down next to Max, his baseball hat clenched in his fist. Tyson pulled Max into his arms, tears in his eyes. "Come on Max..." He said softly. "You can shake it!"
~Max~
I wish I knew how. I was dimly aware of what was going on. Voices wavered in and out of audibility. But I couldn't tell the difference between them and the reality.
//Retreat! Retreat!//
//Captain Judin! The yeerks are attacking!//
//Sofor get us out of here!//
//Aye aye ma'am!//
"Max wake up!"
The hork bajir swung at me, wrist blade aimed to remove my head. I ducked, reared, and kicked him down. Then FWAP! A well-aimed swipe of my tail removed his head.
"Come on Max... you can shake it!"
I was running with Alloran and Aldrea. Dak Hame was in the trees above us. This was very likely the last time we'd be running this patrol. The yeerks were too strong. We were too weak.
Too weak... just like me... if this was death, it didn't feel so bad.
In fact, I was getting stronger, more aware.
I felt something wet falling on my cheek.
"Max..." Tyson sobbed. "Makkusu-kun... ai shiteru..."
My eyes fluttered open. "Tyson?" I asked weakly.
"MAX!!" Tyson burst into tears, the only time I'd ever seen him do it. The others leaned over me. I reached up, brushing the tears from Tyson's eyes.
Kai caught Tyson's gaze. Tyson shook his head. I didn't realize the significance of this gesture.
"How did I escape?" I asked weakly.
"You don't remember?" Tyson asked tenderly. I snuggled against his chest. "We found you drowning. Toby Hame here pulled you out."
"Cassie gave you mouth to mouth you lucky dog." Marco winked. "I'll bet Jake is Jeeelll-ous!"
Rachel threw a handful of grass in his direction. Marco ducked and made a face at her. The two of them argued for awhile. I tuned it out. I just lay there, trembling in Tyson's arms. I was too tired to cry, too frightened to cry. Tyson held me tight. I needed him. I needed him so bad.
"Toby, why are you here?" Jake asked, ignoring us for the moment.
"An andilite calling herself Ezemili crash landed in the valley. She's looking for you Ax."
//Why is she looking for me?// Ax asked.
"She claims to be your sister… and Ax, she brought Elfangor's Hirac Delest with her." Toby Hame said simply.
//SISTER??// Ax demanded.
"So she claims." Toby answered. "What shall I tell her?"
"Tell her we'll be there in the morning." Jake said wearily. "Right, everybody relax, get some rest. Tomorrow were going on a looooonnnnggg hike!"
They left. Tobias circled overhead for a time, but he eventually settled down in his meadow. Ax was gone, probably discussing details with the others.
We were able to talk, uninhibited.
I reached up and pulled Tyson down to kiss me, not a mere peck on the cheek, like we'd normally do. This was a long, passionate kiss on the lips. I opened my mouth, slipping my tongue along his lips. Tyson grinned, opening his mouth. I slipped my tongue in, exploring every inch of his mouth. "Tyson..." I murmured as he pulled away. Tyson smirked down at me, trailing kisses down my jawline.
We were under the tent that Ax had put up as a storm shelter. If you were flying you'd never be able to see inside. As Tyson worked his lips down my shoulders, his arm thrust out, attempting to pull down the fourth side of the tent to close it. Finding the catch, he released it. The fourth wall of tarp unrolled gracefully down the side. Nobody would walk in on us now.
My hands slipped down Tyson's back, resting on his butt. Tyson threw his jacket (which he'd left here) and hat into a corner and pulled off his t-shirt. I sort of wiggled out of my own t-shirt, slipping the armbands that I normally wore off of my arms.
Tyson's lips were working their way down my chest now, his hands running up my thighs. It felt so good. I'm very sure that it would have felt better, except that I heard footsteps approaching.
Tyson cursed under his breath and dove for his shirt and hat.
"Tyson! Max!" Sola, the female hork bajir called. "Jake want come! Where you go?"
I cursed, pulling my t-shirt and armbands back on. "Coming Sola!" I called. Tyson pulled the cord that rolled up the fourth side of the tent. We stumbled out.
"What you do? Max sound like Kalashi!"
"Uh... not much... what's a kalashi?" Tyson asked, curious.
"Kalashi wife! Max your kalashi?" Sola asked. I groaned. This was not the sort of thing that you explain to an alien. And while Toby and Saro seemed to be pretty intelligent, Sola had the mentality of a four year old.
"Umm... no." I said quickly. "See, men aren't allowed to be kalashi."
"Kalashi spirit kalashi. Body not matter." Sola answered. We were dangerously close to Tobias' meadow now, and I KNEW that that was where the others were.
"The leaders of our people don't know that." I replied softly. "Its not really the sort of thing that you talk about Sola."
"Sola no talk, keep quiet." Sola made a gaffaw noise that I took to be a hork bajir laugh.
//What's so funny?// Tobias asked.
"Nothing." Sola chuckled.
//I see.//
"Right, Tyson, Max, now that you're here. We're going to move the two hork bajir to the hork bajir valley tomorrow, but for now they're staying at the scoop. Tobias will go back to your house Max. You'll stay behind as a guard, since your morph is one of the most powerful. Tomorrow, early, the chee will make the switch. They'll take over from Sunday morning until school is over on Monday, by which time we have to be back from the valley."
"Great, at least there's no more trouble." I sighed.
"Rachel, since you're nearest the boulavard, can you bring some food for us?"
"Sure. And I'll bet that Rei and Tyson can hunt some meat for us when we run out." Rachel nodded in Tyson's direction.
"Why do I have to be the hunter?" Asked Tyson resentfully.
//Because Golden Eagles are capable of hunting things as large as deer.// Tobias answered. //You know how they say that all eagles eat sheep and things?//
"Yeah?"
//Guess who gave them that reputation?// Tobias told us with a thoughtspeak smirk.
"Alright, alright." Tyson capitulated.
"Don't worry." Cassie smiled. "I'll catch some fish too."
"Right." Tyson sighed.
"So how do you keep the yeerks out of the valley?" I asked Toby.
"The valley opening is very small. You will have to demorph to enter it." Toby told us. "And it is far back in the mountains. There are a few yeerk bases, but not that many. We raid what's there and capture hork bajir controllers. We starve their yeerks and leave the hosts free." Toby explained. "At the same time we capture dracon beams and other artifacts from the yeerks."
"Wow, pretty cool!" Tyson exclaimed.
I thought it was cool too. That didn't stop me from being nervous. There were yeerks in the woods, somehow, I didn't think that this would be the last we saw of yeerks in the woods....
~tbc~