Author's Note: Sorry, didn't have a lot of time to get the second chapter up. Regular updates just aren't my thing. If this is too boring, then sorry, but it'll get good in the next few chapters. I'll probably revise it later.


Chapter Two
I had about one second to make a decision.

The outer layer of the Rachel's Dracon beams on the edge of the boomerang-shaped wings had nearly been ripped away as we shot through the shield of the Blade ship and into the outer hull, sending shock waves throughout our ship and into us. I barely managed to stay on my feet as the others fell forward to the floor around me. Only Menderash managed to cling to the controls and remain upright.

My companions, my team, were screaming around me, crying and praying that we would survive, or sitting where they had fallen blankly, as if barely grasping the gravity of the situation, the meaning of my order, of what was about to happen to them. A computer exploded in my face, the cause of the searing heat that was scarring my body and had almost knocked me unconscious. Thankfully I was not feeling the explosion of the entire ship—so we weren't dead. Yet.

One second. That was all.

"All shield power to left wing. Veer right, now!" I screamed. The One stared at me almost triumphantly, those eyes, Ax's eyes, glinting with some strange understanding that sent shivers up my spine. But I didn't have time to think about it now. I had to save my team.

Thankfully, Menderash seemed to register what I was aiming at. He threw the ship into a ninety-degree turn to the right, shifted all the extra power that wasn't going into the engines into the left wing shield, and we shot alongside the Blade ship, the remains of the sharp ends of the left wing ripping a long, jagged gash into its body. As well as nearly ripping the left wing of our own ship completely off. We'd probably regret that later. Everyone who hadn't grabbed something was thrown against the wall in a heap as easily as toothpicks, me included.

"Oh man, we are so gonna die!" Marco wailed somewhere to my left.

If I could, I would have agreed with him. But considering Santorelli's elbow was shoved into my mouth all that came out was a muffled yell.

We cleared the enemy ship with Rachel's left wing barely connected to the rest of her, and shot off into the space, lopsided and losing power quickly. Menderash scrambled to the controls, his eyes scanning the screens from where the One had disappeared.

"Report!" I managed to gasp as we struggled off of each other and onto our feet to rush to the screen and peer out. My body was racked with pain from the burns, and I could barely move, but by sheer will and the high of the moment, I managed to join the others as we took a look at our surroundings. We were in a planetary system with five planets and one very large sun. The closest planet, a middle-sized bluish-yellow green globe circled by two moons, loomed before us. It was close; I was just worried it wouldn't be close enough.

"Shields at forty percent," Menderash said, trying to keep his voice calm, but I could hear the frantic pitch of panic creeping into his tone. "Power at eighty-two percent. Left wing at thirty-four percent functional. We've lost all control except for very basic, low power maneuvers of our left engines—"

"Can we land on that planet?" I interrupted hurriedly, jabbing a finger at it as it took up our view. I didn't know what we were going to do when we got there or if we could even survive, but at the moment it seemed the only open option.

"Yes, but—"

"Then do it!"

Grimly, Menderash programmed the coordinates and we shot off. I could tell he was annoyed at being interrupted and rushed like this, but now was definitely not the time for courtesy. Just like the old days. Reckless and ruthless decisions, huh? Well, that's what they were going to get.

"Where's the Blade ship?" I asked, scanning the screens. After all of Menderash's training, my brain couldn't seem to make any sense of any of it. That had always been Ax's job. But Ax wasn't here.

"The Blade ship is turning, trying to come after us. It will overtake us in two minutes."

"How long until we land?"

"At our current speed…two and a half minutes. That is, if our power supply and our shields don't fail before then," he said bluntly.

"What happens if they do?" I asked warily, already knowing the answer.

"We burn up entering the atmosphere."

Marco groaned and slapped his head. "Like I said, we are so gonna die."

"We need something to slow them down…" I started to say.

A flash of red light lit up the space around us, disappearing into the blackness.

"They're firing at us!" Santorelli shouted frantically. I had almost forgotten this was his and Jeanne's first battle. Hopefully it wouldn't end up being the last.

"Yeah, like we couldn't see that!" Marco yelled, being the typical Marco.

"What do we do, Captain?" Menderash asked tightly.

The words poured out of my mouth before I had time to think. Jake the fearless leader, the leader of the Animorphs, the famed Yeerk-killer, had taken over. Just like the good old days, I thought. No time to think, only to react.

"Open all waste disposal units," I said, sounding a lot more calm than I felt. Everyone looked at me blankly. "With any luck, that should give us enough time to land as well as give them something to aim at."

"I think I saw this in a movie once," Marco said with a nervous laugh after a second of silence as Menderash carried out my order. "Yeah, I think it was Star Wars or something."

"Everyone morph to something small!" I ordered as I heard the chambers open and eject whatever garbage we had into space. "Something that can survive impact when we land. Me and Menderash will try and land us."

>'Menderash and I' you mean,> Tobias grumbled shakily as he followed the others in morphing. It was the first time he had spoken since I had given the order to ram the Blade ship. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered he always liked English class. I spared a glance at him; most of his feathers had been burned away, but his raw skin underneath was already healing as he shrunk.

That made me pause for a moment to glance at the others. Everyone else possessed similar burns. Jeanne hadn't said anything at all because she couldn't. Her entire face was blackened with scarred flesh and she was crying as she forced herself to morph. Marco's entire left side was thoroughly burned, and Santorelli looked like he had half a mask on. Menderash's arms were singed considerably. I didn't dare think about how I looked; I felt worse enough.

"Hey, are you going to be okay?" I asked the former Andalite worriedly as I leaned against the computer, fighting against the pain that threatened to render me senseless. He was the only one who couldn't morph out of his wounds. Not for the first time I wondered if he was regretting his choice of becoming a voluntary nothlit.

"Yes," he said tensely.

"What's the position of the Blade ship?"

He checked the screens. "We just might have enough time to reach the atmosphere. If our engines hold out, we should manage to get ahead of them. We're smaller, so hopefully we'll be able to go faster. Less mass, less friction to deal with."

"Great."

It wasn't long before I felt the ship give a lurch as we entered the alien planet's atmosphere. I checked to make sure everyone was in some kind of insect morph before finding a place to strap myself in, putting my complete trust in Andalite piloting.

"You should morph, too, Jake," Menderash said calmly from the controls.

I smiled weakly at him, fighting against the pain that threatened to overwhelm me. If I morphed, the pain would be gone… "On Earth, we find it honorable for the captain to go down with the ship."

He nodded. "Yes. That is very honorable indeed. It sounds like something an Andalite would do."

The ship gave another defined lurch.

"We are entering the atmosphere."

>Hey, Jake, mind telling us what's going on?> Marco called from wherever he was.

I nodded to Menderash. "You tell them. Just keep talking in thought speak to everyone unless you have something to tell me privately."

>We are entering the planet's atmosphere,> he said simply.

>Ah. So…are we dead yet?>

> You are so immature,> Jeanne mumbled.

>Ouch.>

>Well, she's right.> Tobias said.

>Yeah, I know. No need to rub it in.>

The ship started to vibrate and lurch under me, causing the pain to shoot through me like fire. I was almost ready to scream or give into the urge to morph, anything to escape the pain. But I had to see this out, it was my duty, my job. Besides, I'd been through worse.

"How's she holding up?" I asked as I was thrown from side to side. I couldn't see anything out of the screen save for a very blurry picture of some foreign jungle coming closer very fast.

>Shields are twenty-three percent functional. Power is at fifty-two percent. Left wing is completely out of my control—unsure if it's still attached to the ship. In precisely forty-two seconds she will break up if we do not clear the upper atmosphere—>

>That's pretty bad, right?> Jeanne asked.

>Yeah, I'd certainly say so,> Tobias mumbled.

"Where's the Blade ship?"

>The Blade ship is several ship lengths behind us. Their current speed is approximately—>

>Just tell us, are they going to catch us or not?> Marco shouted irritably.

Menderash seemed a bit relieved as he glanced over the screens. >At our current speed, no. We should have about twenty seconds to find a suitable hidden landing before they can come after us.>

>Great. Twenty seconds, huh? Yeah, we are so, totally gonna die.>

>Shut up,> Tobias snapped. > This is not what we need right now!>

>Sorry.>

The bumpy ride lasted a few seconds longer. I was gripping the edges of my seat so hard that I couldn't feel my arms anymore; not that I could before after all the burns. At last we tore out of the rough entry and shot towards a vast jungle below. All I could see was a mass of dark purple and yellow leaves fill the screen. Any moment we were going to hit…

"All power to the engines!" I yelled. "Land us somewhere safe!"

For a moment Menderash struggled briskly with the controls. Then he stopped and turned to me. Somehow, I knew what he was about to say. Somehow, I just knew this was going to happen.

>We've lost all power. I have no control over the ship,> he said, hatefully calm.

>Okay, now I agree with Marco. We are so gonna die!>

The Rachel hurtled through the air towards the rapidly approaching ground. There was no time this time to make a decision. No one second to change our fate. The last thing I remembered was the sound of tearing metal as we crashed through the dense trees and into the alien forest. The last thing I remembered was Rachel's face, risen from somewhere in my mind, laughing at the sheer exhilaration of the ride. For a moment, I almost laughed with her. She was right there, so real, so perfect…

Then I gave myself over to the pain and fell deep into my mind.