What to do with Kandronas
He is telling the truth, Estrid chipped in. The others silenced, ceasing their more and more heated discussions, lowering their tails, and questioning stalks swivelled towards the scientist. There was a moment of silence, before…
Why do you think so? asked Aralgo.
Because he is using English words, Estrid explained patiently. He speaks of Rachel as one who knows her well – and as far as I can tell, he does. He knows more about the Animorphs – and us Andalites – than he should be able to. He nods, he shakes his head; both are human gestures. And there was human furniture in that house.
He could be an ally of the Yeerks, Carali speculated. A Controller. And… so could this Rachel-person.
Minalea rolled her stalks. No. That sun – the Cava'aran sun – it breaks down Kandrona, remember? Estrid just told us, and we've seen it happen ourselves; Olana's Yeerk, and the fighters who turned to avoid it.
Carali looked slightly foolish. Of course. I… forgot.
Unless this is all a carefully set conspiracy, Minalea suggested eagerly, her four eyes glittering, and now it was Carali's turn to roll his stalks.
Minalea? Larynia said pleasantly. Could you please remain serious?
Minalea took a quick step back, raised a hand, and made a sign as if to ward off evil.
There is one way to find out. That is, assuming they are not all Controllers. We could call the Animorphs, Estrid suggested. Talk to Rachel, and… what was his name? Jake – Prince Jake.
Prince Jake? Aralgo repeated sceptically.
Prince Jake, Estrid confirmed.
Larynia flicked her tail in agreement to Estrid's use of the title and said; Ka'an could give us the dialler's codes, I suppose. But I wonder if…
What?
I wonder if the systems are compatible. Up in the human's house, Ka'an claimed they are on some planet, where the Blade ship is, and they had only Kelbrid fighters. Is it possible to call Kelbrid fighters from the Phantom?
Unless we plan to call the Blade ship and ask them to forward a message, Aralgo said cheerfully.
Estrid ignored Aralgo and frowned. She had not considered any technological dilemmas yet. I'm not sure. Olana?
Despite Olana being no further away than just outside the ship, (enjoying the Cava'aran sunshine, she'd said, and for more than the obvious reason) there was no reply.
Olana! Minalea called, prancing over to the doorway and scanning out. Estrid followed.
Olana was leaning over the pieces of a gadget she had set on a force-field table, intense concentration on her face as she worked. A pair of Kelbrid stood at a distance, watching her curiously. The gadget closely resembled a Kandrona.
Olana! Minalea repeated. What are you doing?
Olana looked up, at first startled, but then – as she recognized Minalea's voice – her eyes began shining. I am making certain that we never need to worry about infestation again.
How do you plan to do that? Aralgo asked, curious but sceptical.
The Yeerks were kind enough to shove a spare Kandrona into one of the secret storage compartments near the engines, Olana explained. I am modifying it… instead of creating Kandrona particles, it will create Cava'ara particles. Is it only the simple matter of changing the energy code. Her entire face was now definitely shining.
We have secret compartments? Minalea wanted to know, something sly entering her expression. Where?
Yes, we have; I found them when I worked on the engines, the first time we landed to refill the ship's energy, Olana confirmed. But leave them alone, Minalea!
I had planned to do nothing else, Minalea assured her, expression turning deceptively innocent.
Olana's stalks gave the prankster a highly doubtful look. Now, if you would excuse me… Her attention was returned to the Kandrona particle emitter in front of her.
Olana, do you know if Kelbrid communication systems are compatible with ours?
Olana looked up again, and reached up to tug at a stalk. I don't think so, but I'm not sure. I haven't been able to study any Kelbrid systems yet.
We shall have to ask Ka'an, then, Estrid sighed. We'll call through the Kelbrid fighters.
If he lets us, Aralgo added.
Why wouldn't he?
The bitter herbs kept Jake awake, as promised. They did not, however, take away his fatigue. He'd just have to live with it.
Tom had already left, with Jeanne and Marco, to scout. It had been easier to convince the beast this time, but still he had looked very unhappy to leave Rachel. Jeanne and Marco had been sent off with Sira'aki and KEdi'ir in their fighter, although Sira'aki had grumbled about letting Jeanne take the kii-raja, and almost blankly refused to let the beast into her fighter without Rachel coming along to control it. She had discussed it with Rachel a long while before giving in.
JaLa'an had tossed his pack into his own fighter and was now clinging to the fighter's side with his great claws as he worked on something under the piece of the fighter's hull he had removed, preparing the craft for the journey home. He was working quickly, as he also had to give Jake, Melissa and Santorelli a ride to the Blade ship.
It was about at that time that Rachel appeared in the entrance of the Hawk, the smallest of the three fighters. She had one hand on the doorframe, to know where the craft's floor ended so she wouldn't step out into thin air and fall.
"Jake?
Jake looked up. "Yes?"
"Ka'an called," Rachel said, with a strange smile. "Cava'ara's got visitors."
Trouble? Tobias guessed, taking a break in his preening.
"No, not that kind of visitors. Andalites."
Both Jakes' eyebrows shot upwards in surprise, as Tobias said; I thought they didn't like Andalites.
"They don't."
"Then how come –" Jake began.
"It's Estrid."
"Estrid?" Jake questioned, frowning for just a moment, before… "Oh, right. Estrid." The frown reappeared. "What is she doing there?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself? She asked Ka'an to call so she could talk to us. That is, talk to you. You're the Prince."
Jake shook his head with a sad grimace. "I'll never hear the end of that Prince-business, will I?"
"Probably not," Rachel told him. "Are you going to talk to her or not?"
Jake was already on his way towards the Hawk. Tobias had landed nearby and was morphing human; he knew that the Kelbrid fighters were not capable of handling thought-speech, and he would need his human voice. Melissa – who so far knew nothing of Estrid – and Santorelli – who was curious, most likely having heard of the scientist in one of the countless stories that circulated about the Animorphs – followed the two Animorphs into Rachel's small fighter.
On the holographic screen Rachel had set up over the fighter's helm was Ka'an's scarred face. Beside him stood a human girl, who had five Andalite youngsters curiously glancing forwards from behind her. All their stalks kept circling with a sort of lazy vigilance.
"That's Estrid's human morph," Tobias confirmed with a short nod.
"And the Andalites?" Jake asked.
Tobias did not reply – Estrid did. She bowed her head towards Jake and said; "Hello, Prince Jake. The Andalites are arisths from the Fleet –"
"Aren't three of those females?" Melissa muttered.
Estrid nodded.
"Female arisths?"
Estrid nodded again. Her eyes flickered empty – the emptiness of someone listening to thought-speech – and she then grimaced. "Larynia would like me to forward a comment to that," she said. "But since I would prefer to stay on your good side, I think I shall leave it unsaid."
One of the females glared viciously at Estrid, but the scientist merely continued, unaffected; "These are arisths Larynia, Carali, Minalea, Aralgo, and Olana. I see… two new faces among you, as well. Who..?"
"Santorelli, and Melissa," Jake said. "New recruits. Estrid, not that I'm not glad to see you again – and I'm sure Ax would be, too… a friendly familiar face never hurts. But what are you doing on Cava'ara, and how did you get there?"
"Long story," was all the explanation Estrid offered. "Rachel told Ka'an that you had a deadline… something about a ship..?"
Jake nodded. "Yes – our ship. The Yeerks stole her and we're planning to get her back."
"It's not a Kelbrid ship, is it?"
"No – she's a Yeerk cruiser-class ship. We kind of stole her to begin with. Of course, that was after she'd been stolen by you Andalites, which naturally was after the Yeerks stole the idea of her from your Fleet."
Estrid looked a tad lost, blinking once, but shook it off and said; "Good. Then we'll be able to contact you from the Phantom."
"Phantom?" Tobias echoed inquiringly.
"Our ship," Estrid clarified. "Actually, to be exact; Captain Kandion's ship. We just –"
"Who's Captain Kandion?" Rachel wondered.
"Part of the long story," replied the scientist. "That is why we need to talk to you later. Do you know the dialler's code to your ship?"
"Dialler's code…" Jake repeated, frowning. "That's the complicated set of numbers and letters, right? The ship's ID, of sorts? The one that was three pages if you printed it?"
"Yes."
"Well, I can't say I know it by heart," the Animorph leader admitted wryly.
"Why not agree on a frequency to search on and we'll take it from there?" Melissa suggested.
"Very well. How about 3-imah-923-46-talan?" Estrid said.
But Melissa shook her head. "The Yeerks use the 3-imah series all too often."
"And how would you know that? After what I've been told –"
"I just spent the last three years serving on the Blade ship. I think I know which frequency series the Yeerks use."
Estrid's eyes narrowed briefly – not to mention the startled wariness on the Andalites behind her – but the expression was just as quickly gone. "Very well. 6-dalaf series, same number?"
"You mean 6-dalaf-923-46-talan?"
"Yes."
"Fine," Melissa agreed. "Memorize it, all of you," she told those standing around her. "But exchange dalaf for difu, for that's the Yeerk name for it."
"So… 6-difu-923-46-talan?" Tobias said.
"Correct."
Jake looked up at Estrid again. "We'll call you once we get our ship back."
"Hail," Santorelli murmured.
"What?"
"The term is hail. We'll hail you once we get our ship back."
Jake shrugged. "Whatever. Goodbye, Estrid."
"Just… one more thing," Estrid hurried to say. She had been listening to thought-speech again. "Just so you know. If you come across an Andalite ship called the SwiftHoof… it's Yeerk-Controlled. The crewmembers are all Controllers. We found out the hard way."
"Did you lose anyone?" Rachel asked.
"Olana… was infested," Estrid said, hesitantly, with a glance back at one of the female arisths. "But…"
"The Yeerk starved when you headed towards Cava'ara," Rachel supplied.
"Precisely. Just… don't trust the SwiftHoof, if you encounter it. Especially not since the One was there, too –"
"So that's where he's gone," Melissa exclaimed. Jake and Santorelli gave her a set of strange looks.
"You've met the One?" Rachel wondered softly. A hand moved almost unconsciously towards Tobias's, grasping his fingers.
"Yes."
"Did you see Ax?" Jake demanded.
"Aximili? Yes." Estrid blinked, staring at space again – this time not because she was listening to thought-speech. She shook herself, and quickly added; "But… more of that later. You still have a deadline."
Jake nodded. "And it is best to get started. Bye."
"Good luck," Estrid said, and disappeared from the screen. The arisths followed her.
Ka'an remained. For a moment he simply watched the Andalites leave, and then… "Kilm zi'entis lu'ey pinu'u y'Aximili kos y'kilm U'uhn," he said lowly to Rachel.
"I suppose she would have had to say something about it, yes," Rachel replied nonchalantly in the same language.
"You friend is among the Taken, is he not?"
"True," admitted the blind Animorph. "But not for much longer."
Ka'an watched her with his intense, black-and-white stare. For a moment nothing moved except the slits on his cheeks, that opened and closed with his every breath. "I do not like this," he murmured finally. "The One is dangerous."
Rachel bared her teeth in a classical, insane Rachel-grin. "The One is not alone of being dangerous."
"The foe you discard as harmless is the foe that sinks his blades into your back. Therefore, do not turn your back to him, Rachel."
"I won't," Rachel assured him, before cutting the communication.
"What was that about?" Tobias asked.
"Ka'an wanted to wish us good luck," Rachel said cheerfully. "And tell us to be careful. Although he has his own ways of saying it."
Jake sighed. "Good advice, but won't help us much. Santorelli, Melissa? Don't you think JaLa'an is done by now?"
The two trooped out silently, taking the hint.
"Anything you want to say, Jake?" Rachel wondered.
Jake nodded. "First of all, I think I should remind you that you are a decoy. You are not the main unit, so try not to get into any more trouble than necessary." He crossed his arms over his chest and his voice grew just a bit sharper; "You heard that, Rachel? Keep your instincts under control. Don't get creative."
"Would I do that?" Rachel asked him with an innocent expression.
"Only at the slightest opportunity," Jake predicted amiably. "Tobias? Keep an eye on her for me, will you?"
To Jake's relief, Tobias nodded agreement without a hint of argument. He moved closer to Rachel, coming up behind her and wrapping both arms around her. She contently leaned her head back against him.
"And lastly," Jake went on, glancing away from the two, "as soon as two and a half hours have passed from us leaving this camp, you meet up with us at the Rachel. Any questions?"
"No, Jake, no questions; we've understood and ignored every word you've said," Rachel told him, and reached forwards to pat his arm comfortingly. Tobias was probably sending her images, now that Tom wasn't there to do so. "Stop worrying so much. Now I think JaLa'an is waiting for you too, so you better get going."
Jake exited the fighter, but called an extra "be careful!" over his shoulder before disappearing out of sight.
"Finally," Tobias said. "I thought he'd never leave."
Rachel smiled as she turned towards him. "Impatient, are we?" she murmured. She raised a hand towards his face, perhaps only to locate it, and let her fingers play with the familiar features.
Most faces Rachel could read by the tips of her fingers, as well as through Tom's eyes. She had not had much practice – especially not with human faces – but she did know what to look for; she could feel if someone's jaw was clenched in determination, note if a forehead was laid in thoughtful or worried lines, and knew at once from a wrinkled nose that a sneer of contempt adorned the person's face.
But Tobias was different. His face did not alter with mood; only his eyes expressed his emotions, if even that, but Rachel couldn't see or feel them. Inhabiting the body of a hawk so long had deprived Tobias of the usual, easily detected expressions. His face was as blank to her hands as it was to other people's eyes; and as she let her fingers wander over his face the only thing that betrayed his state of mind was the way he attempted to kiss her fingertips.
Then again, that spoke clearly enough, Rachel thought with a small smile.
She moved her forefinger and thumb down over his eyelids and felt them close obediently.
"Now you don't see more than I do," she said, and, placing one arm around his neck and the other hand to his cheek, reached up to kiss him. She felt one of his arms clasping around her, drawing her closer, and a hand move up to the base of her neck, into her hair. She allowed herself the luxury of sinking into his embrace, forgetting everything except the taste of his lips and mouth on hers and the comforting feel of his arms around her.
"Rachel?" Tobias murmured after he had pulled back again, leaving his forehead leaned against hers and speaking right at her face; "can I open my eyes now?"
"But you already have – haven't you?" Rachel replied, a note of playful annoyance in her voice. She punched at his arm, just hard enough to make him wince.
"Guilty," he admitted, and before Rachel could say anything further he kissed her again, vehemently, not letting her move a finger's width in any direction until her half-hearted attempts to push him off had ceased and she was kissing him back, her arms flung about his neck and holding on so tightly she might as well have been trying to strangle him.
She finally slackened her arms and let her head fall back with a long sigh, taking a moment to catch her breath. When she raised her head again she felt lips pressing against her temple.
"I'm sorry," Tobias whispered thickly. "I just have to look at you… you're so incredibly beautiful that I can't keep my eyes closed."
Rachel blushed against his shoulder, smiling a smile of someone too flattered to come up with something to say, and both hating and loving that feeling. She felt Tobias's hands traverse her back, gently massaging it. But through the crude fabric of her shirt, she could also feel a cold metal edge cutting sharply into her lower back. She had somehow ended up with her back right against the control board of her fighter.
And that reminded her of something.
"Tobias?" she said with a mental sigh.
"Yes?"
"I could stand here forever. I really could, but… much as I hate to say it…"
"…but we've got work to do, right?" Tobias muttered with a grimace.
Rachel nodded. She stretched up to press her lips against his one last time, and only reluctantly did he remove his arms from around her and let her turn to the helm of the fighter. From how quickly she found the controls she needed, no-one would ever have guessed that she was blind. Tobias took a place beside her, watching her work but not understanding anything she was doing.
"Are all the packs in here?" Rachel asked.
Tobias made a quick count; and found that, yes, they were all accounted for. Since JaLa'an and Sira'aki were heading directly home, and Jake and the others had not wanted to drag the packs around, all of them had been stashed into the tiny Hawk. The remaining space was limited; it was just as well that Tom, with his formidable size, was not with them. Just as well for another reason; the beast would have been anxious about anyone kissing his human, and Tobias did not like the thought of having to worry about the beast's teeth at such a time – or ever.
Having let his thoughts drift, he found that he needed to recount the packs, and hurriedly did so. "They're all here."
Rachel gave a short nod and the doors to the fighter closed. Tobias almost fell as the craft suddenly shot steeply upwards.
"Some warning would be nice…" he muttered, catching his balance at the last moment, and almost losing it again as the fighter levelled.
"Sorry," was Rachel's sparse apology – she looked preoccupied, her attention on her piloting. But she did add; "Better grab hold of something. I'm going to skim the tree line, and I'm going to do it at top speed, which means a lot of fast manoeuvring."
Tobias took hold of a handle-like object near the door. He sat down against the wall (just be extra safe), without letting go of the handle, and hoped that Rachel knew what she was doing.
The thought made him smile and tighten his grip on the handle. A blind person was flying a windowless fighter, at top speeds, amongst trees. A reckless blind person. If it had been anyone other than Rachel, Tobias would never even have set foot in the fighter.
"Everyone's here?" Jake questioned as he looked around. He took note of Melissa and Santorelli, who were morphing to their battle morphs while Jeanne played with Tom's sharp back-spikes and Marco sat glaring at the beast with his small, gorilla-like eyes. Yes; of course everyone was there. Even in the dark it was easy to tell. And besides, how would anyone have managed to get lost so soon?
And, his mind added, if they somehow had managed it; why had he brought them along to begin with? In that case it'd almost have been just as well that they were gone.
Sira'aki and JaLa'an had already left, without a word of goodbye – well, not an understandable one, at least. Their black fighters had disappeared quickly into the black night sky.
"What's the scene around the ship, Marco?" Jake asked.
Marco shrugged his broad gorilla shoulders. Pretty still. Half a dozen patrolling Hork-Bajir, a few Taxxons with dracons, three morphable humans, and the technicians have called it a night and left. Our ride outta here is just waiting for us, Fearless Leader.
But Jake knew his friend all too well to believe that that was all. "Any Kelbrid?"
Marco's gorilla face twisted into a grimace. That's where we've got a slight problem. You see, they've got two or three up in every damn tree within two hundred meters from the ship.
"Ouch," commented Jake with a worried frown. "Did they see you?"
Jake, now you've insulted me. See me? What do you think I am, an amateur?
"Sorry."
You better be.
Don't worry about the Kelbrid – they'll be off soon, Melissa said. Her large cape buffalo was standing, with a typical buffalo's bored, laid-back expression, next to Santorelli's rhino.
Why so? Santorelli asked.
To begin with, you've got a kii-raja with you. Secondly, there's a feast tonight. An initiation ceremony of sorts… I've forgotten the word for it. Perhaps it was simply called 'initiation'..?
"What is it?" Jeanne wondered.
The Priests of the One rounds up nearby youngsters and turn them into Touched. That's their children who'll be initiated – they wouldn't miss it for the universe, whether they approve of it or not.
"So the Touched will be less of a problem later. Got any idea when?"
Melissa nodded. I saw the red and gold from the fire on the way here. That's the call for everyone to come. As soon as they see it shining against the sky they'll leave, whether they're on guard duty or not. I suggest we move quickly – before the Yeerks send over extra Hork-Bajir.
"So as soon as we see that fire we get to the ship and take care of the guards – and let's hope Rachel comes up with a good distraction to keep those extra Hork-Bajir by the Blade ship. We're in two groups; myself, Marco, and Santorelli in the first group, and Jeanne, Tom, and Melissa in the second." He began morphing tiger; he was the last one not in battle morph (except for Jeanne, but she had Tom). Tom glared viciously at him as he morphed, teeth bared in warning, and Jake moved a cautious step back.
Paranoid, that creature was. He only hoped it wasn't with right.
When he had finished morphing he gave Jeanne a good stare out of the corner of his eye's corner and added privately; I'm trusting you and Tom to be able to handle Melissa if she causes any trouble. You've just scouted, you know the area, and you know what to do. You'll be okay?
Jeanne gave a discreet nod and kept playing with Tom's back spikes as if she didn't have a care in the world. The kii-raja was looking very unhappy; but he was true to his duties and (from the way everyone had positioned themselves at a certain distance) was effectively guarding Jeanne, just as Rachel had told him to do.
Right, this is what we do, Jake continued. My group on one side of the ship – the far side. The other group on the other side – the near side, that would be. All guards go down. Use stealth as long as possible. Understood?
Nods all around. Seeing a rhino and a cape buffalo standing next to each other, nodding, looked very funny, and was probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But it was also unimportant, so Jake let it pass.
Good… then we're going as soon as that fire lights up the sky.
Which would be now, Marco commented, pointing up at the reddened horizon.
"Now what have we here..?" Rachel whispered suddenly. Her expression was curious.
"What is it?" Tobias wondered, aware of the fighter slowing to a stop and hovering in the air. He stood up.
"Lu'iny'yth, – an initiation," Rachel sneered, voice suddenly turned sharp. Her eyes flashed and she made an angry face. "It has to be. Nothing else would make them risk such a blaze."
"A fire?" Tobias muttered, frowning as he moved up beside her and touched her arm to let her know he was there. Her face flickered towards him, but then – cross with herself, for she knew the gesture was useless – it turned away again. Tobias continued; "Isn't that a bad idea in a place that's completely forest?"
"Oh, yes. That's why Kelbrid don't light more fires than necessary; it isn't good for the trees, and Kelbrid love trees. But for initiations – initiations of Touched, that is – they light huge fires as signals."
"Should we cause our little distraction here instead?" Tobias asked, hearing the obvious disapproval in Rachel's voice.
"No. There are Priests, and the One himself might show up at an initiation, and I don't think just the two of us can handle him, not to mention the masses of Kelbrid. Well, at least I know Jake will be very angry with us if we think we will be able to handle all that – especially if we actually try." She sighed heavily, shaking her head sadly. "If only I'd have been morphable. Or at least had Tom with me."
"You don't need that beast while I'm here," Tobias told her, half-joking, reaching out to touch her cheek.
Rachel wrapped one arm around his waist, moving closer to him; close enough to lay her head on his shoulder, her forehead resting against the side of his neck. Close enough for him to feel her chest heaving in a concerned, heavy sigh he did not hear. "Perhaps not," she agreed in a soft voice. "But he needs me."
Tobias stroked her hair, let her go, watched her as she steered the Hawk away from the initiation, and…
…and wished he'd had the courage to reply with a "But so do I".
He remained silent only because he knew that Jeanne had been right; Tom did not want any rivals for his beloved human's attention. And Tobias also knew that Rachel's reaction to lending out the kii-raja would be nothing compared to her reaction if someone suggested – or even hinted – that she should get rid of it.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Author's Note;
Well, here's the second half of the chapter, plus a few changes in the first half, and…
Reply to Larry; yes, they might all morph kii-rajas, and rip everyone on Dina'amm apart, but that would a) ruin a good story, and b) be practically useless, for i) there are too many real kii-rajas hanging about, and ii) you'll find out when I write more about kii-rajas later. Moreover, kii-rajas don't seem to take kindly to being acquired (or to morphables at all). Remember what happened to Melissa when she tried. There will, however, be one from the group who manages to acquire, morph and impersonate Tom… (Rachel will not be amused *snicker*). Guess who?
And about the two endings; well, possible, of course, but… making one ending for this is giving me enough trouble, and now I'm supposed to write two?! I suppose I could write another ending after the first one is finished, and post it as a separate story of sorts. If I have a burst of inspiration. Or I'll mix in the Time Matrix and just fool around a bit. That's always fun. *see Time Matrix Chronicles. That was simple fooling around. Very fun.* You're right about happy endings being annoying. Happy endings are annoying – and sometimes hard/boring to write. I'll think about the sad – meaning cliffhanger included – ending. (If you readers all promise not to hunt me down and strangle me for pulling a KAA.)
But for now, focus is on the middle part on the story.
Whew. Long note. Got carried away. In more important news, next chapter will take time. I know that. For I'm almost out of notes to type up, and have to write the remainder chapter. Blah. And that is going to – as said – take time.