Hey guys! I'm finally back! Ye-ha! I 'pologize for the long delay. I was fully intent on finishing this chappie at the beginning of the summer. However, I had a buncha really really crappy stuff happen this summer and I got so down in the dumps depressed, that when I tried writing any of my stories, they'd all turn out so depressing that I just got sick of writing all together.
Anywho... but so I'm back.
Answering your questions/comments:
Anni Morph: err... sorry to make you wait so long! I had to do a buncha research for this chappie, so that took a bit. And then also, like I said, I was really not in a writing mood for a bit. But I'm back now (that school's up and running again!) but hopefully you won't have to wait quite so long for the next chapter...
Jedsel: hey! Haven't heard from you for a while! I was wondering where you'd gone! (especially after you'd joined my Cassie Haters' Club). But thanks for the compliment! And thanks for reading and reviewing! I love you!
Miss Piratess: flees not blunt objects! sniffel you wouldn't really hurt me, would you? Anywho... glad that you're reading! I was so excited when I opened my inbox and there were like 12 reviews there... I was so surprised! And I really was surprised when they were from you (mainly b/c all us obsessed Animorphers seem to live at this site and I haven't seen your pen-name here before. Are you an alumni, maybe?) anywho... thanks for joining my club! Hehehe... I've actually getting members! And thanks for reading! And for all those reviews!
KP: yup! The whole Yeerks working with the One for bodies and souls... that's exactly where I'm going with that! Clever you! : ) glad you liked the tech stuff... I'm one of those enginerds, and so sometimes I have trouble writing tech stuff without making 'em sound so boring or crazy hard to understand. So I'm glad that you think that physics wasn't required to read. Uhm, about your question with the One's apperance... they never said in the book what color he is. I made him green once and blue light. ( I made him take on anyone's apparence, so that's why he can look green). But here's the one paragraph from #55 on how he looks (you're person who never finished reading right?)
"The face ... was a shifting image, a slow dissolve from what might be a robot's face, a machine with a rat-trap mouth and steel eyes, into a sweet feminine, almost elfin visage, and last, and most enduring, into the face of Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill...The face that belonged to our friend Ax split wide open across the bottom and revealed a new-formed mouth full of red-rimmed teeth."
Yeah, and that's about all that we've got for a description for the One. Anywho... good luck on your PSAT (yes I have been reading the Shrink blushes, I just felt that after that stink I made about how annoying Helen was that I would be hypocritical to review... although, after typing that, I now feel even worse for reading and not reviewing goes to review but Helen did get better, just like you promised). Oh, and PSAT's make sure to look at similar triangles and probability. I remember those were big. And I see that you're signing your reviews KP now. That cough wouldn't happen to do with a certain cough lazy writer cought that never liked typing the entire word "Korean Pearl" in her review, would it?
Al Fangor: welcome to the fan club! Now, as you are the new member recruiter I expect you to get like 10 new members in the next month, kay? J/K ! thanks for reading and reviewing!
Yrkh8tr: carefully picks up jc flag I HATE Cassie, but I endure her b/c of Jake. Sigh I want to marry Jake! (not the loser Jake in this story, but the awesomely cute Jake from before his parents were infested). But the only thing that seems to make Jake happy is Cassie. BLAH!!! Maybe I could dump Cassie in the Amazon and then she could hump all the trees she wanted, and I could have Jake? waves tr flag really high Anyways... welcome to my club and thanks for reading and reviewing!
Samhain13: you liked the whole Homeland Security bit? Cool! I put a lot of that in this chappie too, but I'm still hesitant about adding post 9/11 stuff in here, b/c it kinda screws with the time-frame of the books, I think (since all the post-war stuff never mentioned anything). But taking the war ending as May 2001 (when she published the last book), then the Visser's trial was a year later, and this time is about seven months after that. So that'd be December 2002. Crap, but I just google'd that Tom Ridge wasn't even named Secretary until Jan 2003. oh, well... KA always wrote the books in the present, and so that's close enough (1 mon) to be good enough. Maybe the time frame can just be our present time, more or less. Yeah, but I liked putting in the Homeland Security thing b/c I thought it made the story more up to date, and less five years ago. Anyways... I bet you didn't really wanna a whole paragraph with my rambling, so I'll stop typing now. : ) thanks for reading and reviewing! And are you sure I can't sway you to the Dark side and you'd join my Cassie Hater's Club?
Wraithlord42: Welcome to my Haters' Club! Be sure to poke Cassie real hard, kay? : ) thanks for reading and reviewing!
Speranza: Glad you liked the chappie. I was tempted to write the entire team, but I really didn't wanna have to see more of pathetic 'ol Jake, and I avoid Cassie when I can. (which unfortunately I couldn't avoid her in this chappie...blah!) anyways, I'm no chem/bio major, but the reason I put that about the environment, was b/c I remember reading somewhere that there was this theory that ppl in the Old Testament lived super long (like 900 years) b/c at that time, the atmosphere was full of water vapor which shielded the UV rays, and kept ppl from aging. And I know that too much sun wrinkles you out. But I don't know how much a factor the ozone and diseases and stuff are vs. genes. Anyways, sorry to make you wait so long! Hope you like this chappie! And thanks for the review!
Birdie num num: Thanks! And thanks for reading and reviewing!
Guardian: blushes you're actually the first person who's caught that about the arm/leg issue. I made a mess-up with that ( I accidently changed the location appendages at some point, making the Phalanx anatomy inconsistent, and didn't realize that until after I posted). But since no one called me on it, I never fixed it. So sorry for the confusion! But glad that you liked The One! And thanks for the review!
DID: Don't worry the Animorphs aren't going to be that much older when Rachel finally gets to interact with them. But I can't tell you what she's going to do, only that it will all end happy. (unlike KA's version sticks out tongue)
Ladychocho: okay! Okay! Now do you want to be an officer in the Cassie Haters' Club, or just a member? B/c right now I've got you down as a member. Anywho.. thanks for reading, and I'm sorry for the long wait for this chappie.
A-Cat: Thanks for that compliment about Rachel. I've given up trying to write the characters as I read them from the book, and instead I've been focusing on ppl I know that remind me of the Animorphs. Rachel is my sister. So I wasn't sure if she was more like Rachel the Animorph or DH's sister. Anywho.. thanks mucho for reading! And are you SURE you don't wanna join the Cassie Haters' Club? pleading eyes You could be like: the CHC-member-in-name-only-who's-not-really-sure-if-she-doesn't-like-Cassie-or-not-but-just-joined-the-CHC-because-she-wanted-to-eat-all-the-free-pizza-at-the-meetings. (that would be me, in all my school clubs... until they collect dues, that is).
Brutal2003: yup, a Cassie Haters' Club. You interested in joining? Cassie most certainly did sell Jake out. The brat! Anywho... thanks for reading and reviewing!
Weetzybat: thanks! I was really afraid that Rachel's chappie was going to corndog all the way, so I really appreciate your compliment! And thanks about that bit with the Ellimist, I've never read the Ellimist chronicles, but from what I've heard, you've gotta feel sorry for the guy. (I mean, anyone who is nick-named "the Big Loser" or whatever it was has to be pitied). Anyways... now that I've updated my story, when are you tackling yours?
Sparklegem: you didn't actually review the last chappie, but since you were like the best reviewer ever, just wanted to include a shout-out for you too! Sorry about the wait between chappie updates. I'm sure I'm frustrating the heck outta ya, and I'd be super surprised if you continued reading this. That being said: keep reading anyways, kay? I absolutely adore your reviews! : )
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Disclaimer: man, this is always the most annoying part of writing the story, b/c I always end up feeling poor after listing everything that doesn't belong to me!
So, let's see... I don't own the Animorphs, or Washington. I don't own Vera Wang or the Carlton hotel. And I don't own the Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Counsel, or the Deputy Director of NASA. Oh and Yellowstone or the West Yellowstone smokejumpers, oh! And MLK and the YMCA, and ESPN and the Crystal Ballroom and Yale and the Hague and the EPA and the FBI, and Locke's "invisible hand" theory
BUT!!! (ha, there's a but this time!) I do own Ronnie ('cause I made him up mostly with a little help from KA, so that's co-owning I think), Duke, Mr, Amon, the NASC, the Under Secretary for Planetary Threats and Alien Goodwill Relations, the Smith-Chowders Alien Security Bill, and the "person" loophole
So let's see 18 things I don't own and six that I do and one that I co-own. Hmmm... I don't think that I like those odds. Boo!
Cassie Haters' Club Note: I just wanted to write a quick explanation to all the CHC's members, before ya'll read this chappie (since I am el presidente and stuff). This chappie is from Cassie's POV, but unfortunately nothing bad happens to her in this chappie. (BLAH!) I've got something really nasty that's going to happen to her in the near future, but I needed to set up some background stuff on her first (to augment her pain later). So just didn't want anyone to think I was skimping out.
-DH
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One month since Ax's party
One year and seven months since the war's end
Seven months since Visser One's Trial at the Hague
My name is Cassie.
Cassie Banks.
I was in D.C., seated at an elegantly set table in the Crystal Ballroom of the Carlton Hotel. My boyfriend of sixmonths, Ronnie Chambers, sat next to me stabbing avidly into his filet mignon.
"Ronnie, can you pass the salt please?" I whispered.
"Sure thing, Cass," Ronnie replied, grasping the small crystal saltshaker. As Ronnie handed me the shaker, he brushed his fingers over mine and flashed me one of his patented lopsided grins.
"Thanks," I whispered. Ronnie's smile grew even larger, and I felt myself smiling back.
"Anything for you, my girl." Ronnie whispered sweetly.
I smiled even bigger and blushed slightly.
As much as I would have enjoyed a romantic dinner date with my steady, Ronnie and I were at the Carlton hotel strictly on business purposes. We were attending the reception dinner of the National Alien Security Conference.
Basically the NASC was a big meeting for all the important military and security people in the United States. The conference lasted a week, and it included presentations, speeches, and open forum debates. The conference topics were varied and covered everything from improving safety among Andalite Tourists, to security concerns faced by Hork Bajir in Yellowstone Park, to U.S. military contingency plans should Earth be attacked by aggressor aliens.
Attendees of the Conference were the cream of the crop, the most important people of the country: five star generals, members of the National Security Counsel, and officials of the Department of Homeland Security, the Deputy Director of NASA, and even some big shots from the private sector.
I was going to present a speech at tonight's reception dinner.
As I shook the salt out of the crystal saltshaker and onto my own vegetarian plate, I couldn't help but notice the tiny roses etched onto the shaker's side.
"Even the salt is fancy," I muttered to myself. "But this is a five star hotel. Only the best for the guests of the NASC, I guess."
I could think of only one word to describe the Carlton ballroom-- luxury. The ballroom was festooned with fine white linen tablecloths and cream-colored cloth napkins. Bright yellow roses in delicate porcelain vases complimented the tea rose patterns on the fine bone china. Large crystal chandeliers shimmered vibrantly, but did not overpower the subtler glow of thick white tapers sleeved in silver candelabra. The gentle chinking of polished silver flatware striking fine china accompanied the soft rolling of a violin, flute, and lap harp.
It was a beautiful room; it was such an alluring atmosphere that I could almost forget my reasons for being at the conference in the first place and simply marvel at the ballroom's splendor.
"Cass, its your turn to present." Ronnie nudged me softly, awakening me from my revelry.
"Huh?" I asked dumbly, staring into Ronnie's honey-colored brown eyes.
Ronnie is a rather attractive man. Twenty-five and six years my senior, Ronnie is tall with a muscular build and a perpetual tan. He has curling straw-colored hair that he keeps short, a strong square jaw, and a large lopsided grin. Then there are his eyes...two great big honey-colored orbs that when resting on me are as calming as Ronnie's good-nature.
Ronnie is what you'd call a "man's man." He watches every sport possible: from baseball to bowling. Besides his obsession with ESPN, Ronnie's other interests include coaching basketball at the YMCA, mentoring in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, biking and kayaking, and hiking woodland trails with his black lab, Duke. But despite his outward appearances, Ronnie is a far cry from the stereotypical "dumb jock." Instead of majoring in kinesiology, Ronnie got his masters in political science at Yale. He is now the California governor's liaison to the Hork Bajir, and my counter-parts of sorts to the Hork Bajir Habitat.
But Ronnie is not Jake, and he could never be Jake.
I waited. I waited for a long time for Jake to come back to me -- for Jake to tell me that he still wanted me; that he still wanted to marry me. But he didn't.
See, Jake is the leader, the kind of person who makes decisions. And the decision for us to get back together is his to make, not mine. On that fateful night before everything changed -- before we won the war, before we lost Rachel -- on that night, Jake proposed to me. But I knew that the victory would change him, would change the way he felt about us, and so I did the fair thing: I told Jake to wait until after we'd won the war.
I gave him a choice.
I suppose he made it.
And Ronnie is a good guy. He's the kind of person I would have ended up with if I hadn't been in the war. Ronnie likes animals; he's good with children; he loves the outdoors. He shares nearly all the same interests as I do, and he feels the same way as I do on important issues such as animal cruelty, the death penalty, and pollution regulations. Had I not been in the war, I believe my crush on Jake would have amounted to nothing more than a simple school-girl crush and not the full-fledged relationship we had shared. Had I not been in the war, my crush on Jake would certainly have fizzled out by the end of middle school. Had I not been in the war, eventually someone like Ronnie would have come into the picture. So I don't feel too bad letting go of Jake because Jake has forgotten me, and well -- Ronnie just seems to suit me better. And he's the guy I would have ended up with if I hadn't been in the war, anyway.
"Cass, you're up," Ronnie repeated. "Its your turn to present, my girl." Ronnie motioned towards the far end of the maple planked ballroom dance floor, where a small makeshift stage was erected from three risers. A polished oaken podium stood atop the stage, centered between two loudspeakers. Behind the podium stood two people: the conference coordinator, Mr. Henry Amon, and a woman speaker, Marco's mother.
"Thank you Under Secretary Sanchez for presenting your views on Earth's vulnerability to aggressor alien attacks," Mr. Amon was speaking into the podium microphone. "A large round of applause for our speaker, Mrs. Eva Sanchez, the Under Secretary for Planetary Threats and Alien Goodwill Relations for the Homeland Security Cabinet."
A bright round of applause erupted from the attendees at the National Alien Security Conference. Eva smiled graciously as a large wave of applause ushered her from the stage. As she reached her seat, I noticed a young man at her dinner table cheering loudly-- I didn't realized that Marco was here.
"Encore! Encore!" I heard Marco whoop.
Eva laughed as she reached her chair, and she ruffled her son's hair in an affectionate gesture.
"Mom!" Marco protested, quickly smoothing his overly-gelled hair. But although Marco tried to look embarrassed with Eva's motherly doting, I could tell that he really enjoyed it-- he'd gone many years with those maternal gestures.
After Eva and Marco had seated themselves, the conference coordinator smiled. "And now for a change of pace Tonight's final keynote speaker will discuss the security concerns faced by resident aliens of Earth, with a focus on the residents of the Hork Bajir colony of Yellowstone. Our final speaker is the Special Assistant to the President for Resident Aliens. However, she is most recognized for her services rendered to our planet as an Animorph. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you Cassandra Banks."
There was a boisterous round of applause as I rose from my blue velveteen padded chair. I watched in amazement as the conference attendees also rose to their feet. One hundred and forty seven of the most influential people in the country, and they were giving me a standing ovation.
I gulped. Instantly, another hand enclosed mine and squeezed it. "You'll do fine," Ronnie said reassuringly, his large brown eyes flashed soothingly. "Just tell 'em the truth, my girl." He smiled his lop-sided, endearing grin. "You're going to be great," he said withabsolute conviction.
I smiled in gratitude. "Thanks Ronnie," I whispered.
He nodded and with another quick squeeze, he dropped my hand. The resounding applause grew louder as I left my table, and headed across the glittering ballroom and towards the small makeshift stage. The hem of my red satin gown rustled softy across the maple wood dance floor. Rachel would be proud of me: the gown was a Vera Wang, specially made just for this night.
"Thank you Mr. Amon," I said to the conference coordinator as I mounted the small stage.
"No, thank you Ms. Banks," Mr. Amon replied quickly, grasping my hand in an enthusiastic handshake.
I blushed slightly. The standing ovation, the enthusiastic handshake -- I'm getting more used to these kinds of reactions now, but I still find them a little overwhelming.
After we had completed the handshake, Mr. Amon left the stage and found his seat. Once he was settled, I turned to face the conference attendees. Amid the flickering candlelight and the twinkling champagne glasses, two hundred and ninety four eyes returned my gaze. The eyes of one hundred and forty seven very important people.
I took a big breath and slowly exhaled.
Most people would not expect it of me, but even after all that's happened and all that I've done, I'm still squeamish being the center of attention. I've always been skittish of standing in the spotlight, and of having to make decisions that affect other people. I'm not good at telling other people what to do.
I'm not like Jake or Marco.
My eyes quickly roamed the crowd, seeking out that one smile that would instantly offer me comfort. For a brief second, my eyes found Ronnie's gaze. He flashed me a bright, reassuring smile, along with a thumbs up.
I smiled gratefully. Then taking one last gulp of air, I began: "Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your applause. As you all know, I am the representative of the Hork Bajir valley. I oversee the Hork Bajir dwellings there, and together with the staff of Yellowstone Park and in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security, I protect the Hork Bajir citizens who reside there."
I paused, and then turned the page on the yellow legal pad, where I'd outlined my speech. "And the Hork Bajir require protection. The recent attacks on Yellowstone Park reflect this requirement."
There had been dozens of attacks on the Yellowstone colony, not to mention the visiting Andalite tourists. For the most part, mankind had embraced the existence of aliens with open arms. But that was for the most part. There was another portion of mankind that adamantly opposed any and all associations with aliens. Alien hate groups had sprung up all over the globe.
Some anti-alien groups protested the aliens as anti-religious. The Andalites and Hork Bajir were emissaries of Satan sent to test the pure of heart, claimed many fanatical religious sects, and Earth had to be cleansed of their contaminating filth. These religious zealots were Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. However, the appearance of aliens affected not just the major religions, but questioned the core beliefs of nearly every religion.
Other anti-alien groups attacked the changing economic situation. Composed of blue and white collar workers, unions, and CEOs, these groups protested that interplanetary trade with the Andalites would create a giant "invisible hand" in which Earth would suffer greatly. Human technology was far inferior to Andalite, these business groups reasoned, and as new Andalite products flooded the Earth markets, people would buy the more advanced Andalite goods instead of the more backward Earth merchandise. Buying only from the Andalites would remove wealth from Earth, and suddenly Earth industry would collapse because Earth businesses no longer made money. Then, living tremulously in meek subservience to the alien tourists, Earth would survive only as an Andalite hot spot for human cuisine until the Andalite eating craze passed, and Earth was sucked as dry as a rotten prune.
The final major type of anti-alien group formed for the sole reason that some people were xenophobic. Members of these hate groups feared and mistrusted aliens, and no assurances would make these xenophobes believe that Earth was not undergoing a massive alien invasion.
For whatever reasons, these alien hate groups were formed. Literally hundreds of thousands of them existed around the globe. Some groups protested peacefully. Others did not.
The attacks on the Hork Bajir Earth residents and the Andalite tourists began shortly after the establishment of the Yellowstone Habitat. Acts of vandalism, bombings, even sniper-shootings --the attacks came at random, and they came from every which way. Sometimes we caught the perpetrators. Other times we did not.
"I am sure that you all are familiar with the most recent attack on Yellowstone." I continued, letting the anger seep into my voice. "Not only were 33,000 acres of the Hork Bajir primary Habitat completely destroyed, but twelve Hork Bajir perished in the fire as well. In addition, many Hork Bajir, firemen, and members of the park patrol were injured."
I remembered the day I had received the phone call. The day of Ax's going-away party a little over a month ago. I had learned of the fire after Ax had opened his presents.
"This was not just a random blaze or an irresponsible prank, this fire was a well organized assault. Multiple canisters of highly flammable, highly explosive chemicals were planted around the park to perpetuate the destruction."
My eyes flashed furiously as I recalled the events.
The fire had started somewhere in the northeast corner of the park, just a few miles from the northeastern boundary of the Hork Bajir Habitat, I later learned. Exactly how the fire began was still unknown. But as the flames licked the northeastern boundary of the Habitat, sudden explosions issued from the blaze, spewing forth great rolling balls of flame, and increasing the fire's magnitude four-fold. It was later discovered that tanks of homemade napalm had been strategically hidden in the northern sector of the Hork Bajir Habitat As the fire caught on the napalm canisters, the sudden explosions propelled the fire from a containable blaze to an uncontrollable inferno. The inferno ravaged the northeastern portion of the Horka Bajir Habitat, and multiple units of the park patrol, the local fire departments, and the West Yellowstone smokejumpers had rushed to douse the flames. It was fortunate that the summer winds never picked up, and finally after twenty eight very long days, the situation was controlled. But the fire had brutally savaged the Habitat, completing claiming the northeast and north central areas, the Habitat's most populous regions, and leaving nothing but grey ash in its wake.
"The Yellowstone Park Patrol has been working closely with the FBI to locate the individuals responsible for the fire."
We still did not know who started the fire.
"Rest assured that these criminals will be brought to justice."
I paused dramatically, and let the full force of my conviction weigh upon the crowd. I waited until I was sure that they had absorbed it, before continuing.
"But it is not enough to bring these criminals to justice," I said quietly. "We must also do everything in our power to ensure that this situation never repeats itself. We must do all that we can to ensure that alien ambassadors, dignitaries, and Earth residents areprovided with greater security. That is why, ladies and gentlemen, I am publicly endorsing the Smith-Chowders Alien Security Bill, and I urge you to do likewise.
The Smith-Chowders Bill will allocate much-needed funding to the outfitting of a larger park patrol in the Hork Bajir Habitat of Yellowstone Park. In addition, the Smith-Chowders Bill will create a Standing Committee within the Homeland Security Cabinet, whose specific goals are to monitor, locate, and disarm any possible threats to our alien guests. Most importantly, the Smith-Chowders Bill will award alien residents and guests with the status "alien person." This new status will allow alien residents and guests to prosecute criminal actions against them to the fullest extent of U.S. law. In effect, it will remove the so-called "person" loophole."
And there it was, my reason for speaking in this conference in the first place: to publicly endorse the Alien Security Bill. The Smith-Chowders Bill was the first legislation of its kind. It was the first piece of legislation to offer basic rights and protections to extra-terrestrials. As of now, alien dignitaries, visitors, and Earth residents were considered as foreign visitors. As foreign visitors, aliens were given the same rights as foreigners visiting from other countries. At least that was how it was supposed to work. However, since almost all laws in the United States only addressed issues of crimes against other "persons," many of the crimes committed against "aliens" by anti-alien extremist groups were dismissed from the courts on the grounds that they not legally defined as crimes. The Smith-Chowders Alien Security Bill would attack this apparent loophole, by altering the status of aliens, such as the Andalite tourists or the Hork Bajir residents of Yellowstone, from "foreign visitors" to alien "persons." In the eyes of the United States law, these "alien persons" could then prosecute crimes committed against them. Altering the status of extra-terrestrials was an important step to protecting my Andalite and Hork Bajir friends.
And my public endorsement of the Smith-Chowders Bill was very important. I was one of the first "celebrities" to add my support to the bill, and that was huge because few important people publicly backed the bill. The Smith-Chowders bill was not widely supported because, although beneficial to the alien community, the bill was also extremely controversial. It was widely feared that passing the Smith-Chowders Bill would be the first step in a chain reaction that would result in aliens becoming citizens of the United States. Many people feared that naming aliens "people" in the eyes of the law was the first step to awarding aliens the status of "citizens." And while the majority of the country had embraced aliens with open arms, the idea of Andalite or Hork Bajir citizens of the United States --citizens who served in the military or on juries or even voted and ran for office -- was too outrageous of an idea for most Americans to stomach.
So while the Smith-Chowders Bill was necessary to the protection of my alien friends, the bill was going to have a hard time getting passed. My hope was that the more notable figures who endorsed it, the more support the bill would receive from the public, and the more chance the bill would have getting passed in the House and Senate.
"In closing, I'd like to leave you with a quote from the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
'In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. '
And I ask all of you, ladies and gentlemen, not to be silent, but to add your public support to the Smith-Chowders Bill. Together, we can show our new alien friends, along with the rest of the world, that the United States truly offers liberty and justice for all. Thank you." As I finished my speech, I breathed a small sigh of relief. Phew. I backed away from the podium and the loud uproar of applause. I saw Marco rise from his chair, clapping enthusiastically. He shot me a cocky grin as if to say "yup, the same Cassie we all know and love: spouting her ideals as usual." I flashed Marco and smile, and then headed off the stage. I'd enjoy talking with Marco later in the evening.
As I made my way off the stage, I caught the twinkle in Ronnie's eye. Ronnie smiled at me, and I smiled back. "Good job," he mouthed to me as I made my way off the stage.
"Thanks," I mouthed back.
As I approached my table, Ron stood up to offer me a small victory embrace.
"Cass, my girl, that was wonderful," Ronnie smiled his lop-sided grin. Then, being the perfect gentleman that he is, Ronnie pulled out my padded blue velveteen chair and motioned me to be seated in it. When I complied, Ronnie pushed the chair towards the table and then seated himself.
"Ladies and gentlemen this concludes tonight's speakers," the Mr. Amon got back onto the mic to address the conference attendees. "Another large round of applause for all our speakers, and thank you for all attending. We will open up the dance floor soon, and for those who aren't dieting the sweets table is now serving. Please enjoy the rest of your evening."
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yeah, so not a lot of action in this chapter. Well, none actually. But sorry... this chapter was needed to start to explain why "Cassie's work with the Hork Bajir" was so important that she ditched her responsibilities to Ax and the other Animorphs. (stupid Cassie).
But the next chapter will have Marco in it to make up for this one.
Speaking of Ronnie... what do ya'll think of him? I tried to give him an actual character (since all he was in 55 was a name) so tell me what you think of him, por favor.
Oh!!! And before I forget, I wanna thank Jedsel super much for helping me out on this chapter. I suck at grammar... and Jedsel is awesome at it!!! Also, thanks for pointing out my stupidity marks with Yellowstone and wood floors and filagree!!!
Alrightly, but anyways... thanks to everybody who's reading this (still),
and please review!!!
DH