Author's Note: This is a shorter one; an essay of Alcolrec's thoughts. Edited 8/20/04

Disclaimer: I'm just standing on the shoulders of giants. By "giants," I mean KA Applegate, and by "standing on the shoulders of" I mean "borrowing the original ideas of."

I did not rest for many days after I first arrived at the ship. After tending to Feiranel, I was a little shaken, and work was a welcome distraction from my current situation.

Andalites crave open space, and so that made my decision to bury the wrecked ship a difficult one. But I knew that the area was likely to become a target for Yeerk searches, so careful and thorough concealment was necessary. A hologram, the ideal option, was out of the question. The ship was down to one power generator, and keeping the computer systems operating, especially that of the bio-stasis chamber, was sapping most of the available energy. So hiding the ship underground seemed the most rational solution.

The process of burying the ship was easier to execute than it sounds. Yes, the scout ship was very big. It had two levels, and three rooms aside from the bridge and engines. However, as I had mentioned before, our atmospheric controls were still viable. This included the thrusters for vertical takeoff and landing, which are located at the base of the ship. Typically, these do not damage the ground beneath them when they operate, but then again, typically they are not encased in the ground because of a violent crash landing. It's a little like the explosive toys made for Andalite children. If they are laid on the ground and the fuse is ignited they will make a loud sound as they detonate harmlessly. But if they are held in the hand, in a fist, they can be very destructive and you will lose one or two fingers.

It was very dangerous, because the fuel tanks were damaged and leaky. It could have been the ship that ignited, along with the thrusters. I was very cautious, and very lucky. I burned the thrusters in short bursts, gradually incinerating the ground beneath the ship until it lay nestled in a big ashy crater. It was much more difficult for me to bury the bulk of the ship in dirt and organic matter, but within a few Earth days the ground directly above my ship appeared undisturbed. Visibly, you could not detect its presence. The only possible method of discovery would be the ramp concealed in the shrubbery, which led down a short tunnel to one of the side entrances. In case there were any scans being done from space, for rare metals or complex machinery, I had built a simple cloaking device that would deflect such beams without drawing attention to the area or monopolizing too much of the limited power available.

That the crash landing itself had been so gentle was amazing. I don't believe in a higher power, but the location at which the ship had landed was also fairly miraculous. The ship had made impact in the woods, but bordering on a wonderful field. As I spent the first few days laboring with the ship, I truly came to appreciate its existence. The openness and beauty of this meadow more than made up for my cramped subterranean quarters. There was plenty of space to run and eat, and hardly any trees to block the sun's healing rays. On the far side of the meadow was a cool mountain stream. I can't imagine an environment on this planet more conducive to the lifestyle of an Andalite.

As I lived alone in these foreign woodlands, I tried to complete some work on my improved Escafil device, but my mind was distracted by anxious thoughts about my fate, and that of my people. I wasn't sure how soon the Andalite fleet would arrive. We had planned to attack the Yeerks after the completion of our scouting missions, in around seven Earth weeks. I often wondered if the frantic message I had sent out was received, and if the warning it contained would be heeded. If someone had read it, would they speed up the invasion, or delay it, knowing that the Yeerks knew our codes? Would they divert more of the Andalite military force to Earth, or would they decide to ignore this battlefield because of the threat the Yeerks posed?

What worried me more was the possibility that the fleet had not received my message. It was entirely within the realm of possibility. A million things could have gone wrong in the transmission, particularly when you take into account that we were under heavy enemy fire at the time. Had the Z-space transponder already been damaged?

I was worried because if that was the case, my people would fly right into a Yeerk trap. They would be crushed. It would be a decisive victory, and it would turn the tide of war in favor of the Yeerks.

I wondered if any of the other scout ships had survived. I had seen on the viewscreens, in the initial attack, how easily the Yeerks had dispatched the rest of my unit. We were unprepared. The Yeerks had heard every word of our communications, and then they had taken us by surprise. I wondered how many of our secrets they knew. I wondered how they had cracked our codes. I wondered when their cloaking and weapons technologies had gotten so advanced. And deep inside my hearts, I wondered if it was possible that one of my people had betrayed us. It made my blood run cold.

The Andalite commanders would be wary if none of the scout units met them at the rendezvous point. But I did not believe that they would let that mishap interrupt their attack on Earth. The military really looked down on their own scouts. They would never guess the terrible cause of our demise. The Yeerks wanted the Andalite fleet to arrive. So that they could destroy us.

These were the brooding thoughts that occupied my initial time on Earth. Five human weeks came and went. They were five long weeks, because I was alone, and because I was waiting. I couldn't patch together my ship's communications system, so I knew that I'd have to steal satellite data from the humans to see if my people had come. Humans still used radio waves, like many primitive civilizations, but I was able to modify my ships computers to receive information in that archaic form. It was actually quite simple.

So I would have known if my people came. It would be a little more difficult to make them aware of my presence, but I would have a variety of options available for contact if they defeated the Yeerks. And if it was the fleet that was defeated, then it would be a good thing that I remained hidden.

With thoughts like these swirling through my head as I lived alone in the woods, I believed I would soon become insane. The Andalite mind is very advanced, but with nothing to do but stay and wait, and with uncertainty and doubt filling my hearts, I worried for my mental health. I had always been termed "pensive" by my peers, but my isolation had made it ridiculous.

So at the conclusion of five weeks of waiting, I decided that I would perform the mission my Prince had ordered me to do, independent of the arrival of the fleet. If they were victorious, this knowledge would come in handy. Hadn't Visser Three claimed that this nearby city was his stronghold? I needed to discover the extent of the invasion, and gather as much information as possible about the strategy and techniques being used on Earth. Each Yeerk invasion is different.

I began by performing aerial surveillance of the area surrounding my new home. At one end of the field I was able to catch a large black bird feeding on the carcass of a dead herbivore. This was the first Earth morph I acquired. I have to say honestly that many Earth creatures are beautiful— absolute marvels of evolution. But many are not. Humans would fall into this latter category, as would this scavenger bird. It had a massive wingspan that was easily five human feet. It was black, and appeared very graceful and elegant while flying. However, its head was completely featherless, and was draped in loose shiny folds of skin.

I didn't like looking at the bird, but I loved becoming one. It is a very powerful flier, even though it has only two wings. As an eater of carrion, it has evolved to be able to fly fairly low over long distances. At the same time, it is capable of soaring at great heights for long distances using minimal energy. It has very advanced eyesight, and a surprisingly adept sense of smell.

After experimenting with the bird's abilities, I decided that this would be the morph I would use to begin my initial observations of the humans. During my flyovers of the woodlands, I frequently saw troops of Hork-Bajir, but they had never come near my hidden ship. I also encountered several humans traveling through the woods, which I assumed to be a form of human leisure activity, and they too usually avoided the area immediately around my ship. The very remoteness of the site in which it had crashed served to help cloak it's presence.

The next step in my scouting operation would be exploring the outskirts of this vast coastal city. Even from the air I could see how complex human society was, and how difficult it would be to infiltrate. I would need to acquire a human morph to walk through their streets as one of them.

So in the end I was finally doing the job I came to Earth to do.

The bird Alcolrec refers to is a black vulture. In case that wasn't immediately clear.

I haven't thought of a permanent title for this. "Misfortune" is only a step up from the "Underground Epic." I liked the word "epic" because my complete idea for the story is somewhat long, but it also sounds a little to self-important. So, if anyone can think of a nice general one-word name, I'm in the market for ideas. How bad is it to be changing the title like this? Well, I promise I'll settle on something. Eventually.

Brutal2003: Thanks so much for your interest. I'll keep 'em coming.