I really don't know what to say except…hi. Oh yeah "Elfangor will rise again! Mawhahahahah!"
Quillian: Maybe…maybe not ;) You never know with Asculan. He HATES a warrior he has never even met but was FRIENDS with the guy who had him kicked out of the Fleet and forced into retirement. You just never know.
As for bitter…well yeah. I suppose he is.
The REAL Cheese Monkey: I always think it fun thinking about Andalite sayings. Kind of interesting…though I suppose that 'real' Andalite sayings aren't based on human ones but…hey, I'm the All-Powerful FanFic Author! Fear me!
FrozenBlossom: Cool! It's always great to get a review, thanks!
Irish Rage And Love: Yes. Yes he does hate Elfangor. Eventually I think it'll mellow into a simply 'I ignore you – you worship me' relationship. We kind of know what will happen to the two when they part from each other but as for when they are together…that's what this chapter is about! I'm afraid though they will only have about two chapters together as I feel that's all I need for the Story Plan to work out.
I also am aware that this fic hasn't got very much action in it at all and I really have no excuse except that I can't really write battle or action scenes and prefer to skip them out unless they are necessary.
Funnily enough we are very near the end even though it's only 1973. I think that if I drag the whole war out it'll end up going stale so…let's just see if my plan works out. (Hopefully)
Next chapter …
Chapter Twenty Three
Rebuke
(Fire! No! Aim you fool!) I raged.
A bulkhead erupted off to my right. Yes you heard right. Erupted.
(Ahhhhhh!) Warriors launched themselves away from the flying bits of shrapnel that had been a science station.
(Why can't you just die?) I screamed at no one in particular. If you had come to me perhaps six months ago and asked how I felt about this war I would have said that we would win….but now…we were losing. Terribly.
I scanned the bridge for Prince Kayless. There. He was trapped under some damaged equipment; unconscious, lucky if he'd ever see the Homeworld again. Let alone walk.
I glanced over at a computer readout. It showed one Blade ship and two Pool ships closing in. The Yeerks were taking no chances. We were going to die.
(Warrior Elfangor? What is the status of the fighters?) I would be surprised if he understood me. It all came out of my mind so fast and so confused with other thoughts that I barely understood.
(We are nearly all gone, Captain,) his voice reported back. (I suggest that we simply lock and load.)
(Pardon?)
His voice came back sounding embarrassed, (It's a saying the humans have. It means blast them into atoms. I think that we should…Ahhhhh! Danm it! I've just lost my right engine.)
Honestly, some of the things Elfangor thought I could never understand. Wherever he had hidden himself for three years certainly had an interesting way of saying things.
BOOOOOOOM! The shockwave ran through the ship. I was knocked clean off my hooves and fell onto the rough metal floor. Hard. I was now upset.
(We need assistance! Is there anymore ships in our vicinity?)
No answer.
(Anyone still alive on the bridge?)
No answer.
What do I do now? What? I saw the Blade ship make a tight turn, away from finishing off some helpless fighters; it came straight for the TailStrike.
There was no time to move away and even if there was it was impossible to run the ship on your own. (Any available warriors to the bridge! Now!)
Three came. Only three. One looked at me and said, (The Blade ship is hailing us.)
I stiffened. (Put them on.)
It was an Andalite face that filled the screen. An Andalite voice that spoke. But this creature was no Andalite. Though it was strange how that cocky, arrogant look plastered to his face was exactly how I remembered it to be.
(Oh! There are still some of you brave Andalites alive! That's brilliant, we'd simply love to have you aboard our ship,) Visser Three - the Abomination - sneered.
(Go step on some dung,) I snapped back. Not very clever but at that moment my mind was numb and it was the only think I could think of.
The visser laughed, (Come now. Surely the great Captain-Prince Asculan can think of something more…worthy…to say?) He lent forwards towards the screen. (I will be boarding your ship and it would be a lot better – for you – if you surrendered. Quickly.)
It is a terrible think to admit but in some small part of my mind I was thinking 'Why not? You can't win anyway. Why not give up?'
But then I saw the three young warriors watching closely. Afraid. Lost. I had pretended to be a near god and now I was expected to live up to it.
I hate irony.
(Why not? I will contact Warrior Elfangor and tell him to order the remaining fighters to come back shall I? It would save you time rounding them up.)
I smiled as I saw the visser's main eyes widen, (Elfangor? He's alive? He should have died! Why. Can't. He. Just. DIE?)
He feared Elfangor. Good. I most certainly had no problem whatsoever using a Yeerk's fears against him. (Yes, he is alive. Alive and returning with another Domeship. Can you beat that Yeerk?)
(You're lying!) he screeched.
I made sure to show no emotion on my face. (I may or may not be lying, Yeerk. But see, I want to kill you myself. Personally. So why would I allow Elfangor that honour? No. Leave now and someday we will meet again and I will finish you.)
He glared at me through stolen eyes. I could see him opening Alloran's memories. Was I telling the truth? Would I really kill my own friend? He didn't know and neither did I.
The visser tried to speak but nothing came out. Only in a choked gurgle, he abruptly turned of the communications. For several hour-like minutes I stared at the forward display. At long last the Blade ship turned and disappeared into Z-space. Very shortly the Pool ships followed.
The three warriors breathed a sigh of relief, actually, so did I.
(That was some good acting, Captain,) Elfangor's voice said through the fighter-to-ship communications. (I nearly believed that I was bringing back another Domeship.)
Somehow I was not in a good mood and Elfangor was a perfect thing to lash out on, (Well, you are the great hero Elfangor. You should have been able to win this battle without the TailStike's help.)
Was I perhaps unfair? Yes. Did it make me feel any batter? Most certainly, yes.
---
Prince Kayless did survive. I was pleased. The doctors told me that his right side would not function as well as it used to but he was no vecol.
And obviously Elfangor had barely received a scratch.
My crew, if you could call it such, was bare. We had just enough to keep the TailStrike functioning while we limped home. If it came down to another battle the only thing I could do with the ship was set the self destruct.
Needless to say I had become rather attached to my ship and did not want to see it destroyed.
My quarters had survived the Yeerk's attacks. I was there now, I knew I should be on the bridge helping with the repairs but I was tired and I knew if I tried to do anything it would fail.
(Some days it is better not to even rise,) I said to myself. I was lost. Unfocussed. The world seemed so dim. I knew the reason.
I was worried.
Worried about my sanity.
The battle replayed again and again in my mind. I could very easily have lost. I had failed. I didn't know what to do.
In the end I had relied in manipulating a slug that was wrapped around my friend's brain to be scared of a warrior I wanted dead to win.
It had been a lucky fluke. I had been taught that one can not rely on luck to win, only ability.
Deeedly-deedly.
The door chimed.
I felt a burning rage fill up within me. Why, why, why, couldn't anybody understand the meaning of alone? Why did they always have to come? Were they really that incompetent?
Naturally I was muttering all this to myself as I marched towards the doors.
(What!) I was staring into the main eyes of Elfangor. He looked taken back but not afraid.
(I thought that I would show you the damage reports, sir,) he muttered.
(Couldn't you have gotten one of the arisths that follow you around everywhere to bring it to me?) I snapped.
(Permission to speak freely, sir?) he asked.
(What?)
He took a deep breath in as if steeling himself to jump into a Yeerk Pool. (Why did you have me transferred to this ship if all you do is complain and insult me at every chance you get? Whatever I do or say is rebuked.)
(I have something to tell you Elfangor,) I said softly. (You might never have heard me say this so listen carefully…WE ARE IN A WAR! IF YOU WANTED TO BE LOVED AND FAWNED OVER YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED WHEREVER YOU WERE HIDING!)
Elfangor actually jumped backwards out of sheer fright.
(Maybe you haven't realised it yet, Elfangor, but all those warriors aren't just dieing because they think it's fun. They are dieing because someone – something - is killing them. Now guess what's that's called?) I laced my tone with fake sweetness.
(I – uh.)
(A war! Now people die in war, casualties happen. Not everyone you meet is going to like you. You are going to make mistakes. But you must just move on and do what you must and stop complaining…) I stopped. The realisation hit me so hard I nearly started laughing. I had just given a lecture to myself.
I had just told Elfangor to stop doing the very things I was doing only minutes before.
Not everyone is going to like you…not everything you do is going to be right…you must just carry on…
I. Hate. Irony.
Hee-hee. Asculan just taught himself a lesson. Maybe he'll stop being such an ass. Maybe. Please REVIEW!