Pheonix Feathers – Chapter 15
Jordan awoke. He swung his stalk eyes around, ignoring the pounding pain in his head. Human beam-guns were still behind Andalite shredders. Yeerk dracon beams had been worse, of course, as they were specifically developed to cause pain, but if he had been waking from a shredder stun, he wouldn't feel nearly this bad. He scrambled up onto his hooves, keeping his tail carefully neutral. If there was going to be a fight, he wanted to be ready. But if, as he thought, he had merely been very rudely stunned by the police, he didn't want to seem threatening.
Suddenly, he realized he was moving. These Andalite sensors of time and direction were quite useful, really. Of course, a true Andalite would have noticed sooner… he scowled, angry with himself. He seemed to be on a very small, very empty space craft. It was only about large enough for him to stand up, with about two feet of empty space on either side of him. They had they had left him no sustenance of any kind, so it had to be a short flight, he assumed. He didn't notice any hidden weapons, or cameras, or---
Wait. Time. He could sense time. And…
Damn it! He yelled in thoughtspeak, to no one, instantly beginning to beg his body to demorph, please, demorph, but no changes came. It had been too long. He fell to the floor, delicate Andalite knees bruising darker blue as he hit the metal floor of the shuttle hard. His whole life... gone. His job, his friends, gone. Tobias…
It didn't matter. He still had to save Tobias. And maybe… Well, Tobias had gotten his power to morph back, hadn't he? Maybe there was a way, somehow… But for now, he still had to save Tobias.
Where was he going, anyway? Up, away from the planet, certainly, but where did they send unregistered Andalites? They deported them. But even in top of the line Andalite ships it took weeks to get to the Andalite home world from Earth, and this was just an earth shuttle, tiny enough to be sure that there couldn't be very powerful engines on it. Besides, there was no way that there was enough food in this tiny ship to last him weeks. And Andalites were… Jordan was built for wide open spaces; it was why Andalite ships had the dome even though it was cumbersome to bring into space, Andalites needed to run. Here, he was enclosed in far too tiny a space, there was no room, there was no air, there was no way out…
OPEN! He yelled angrily, in open thoughtspeak. To his surprise, there came an answer.
We are sorry, but we do not understand your request. But, there are many tasks we can perform for you! Please do not hesitate to ask.
Jordan smiled, a human whisper in the back of his head reminding him how strange it was to be smiling without a mouth. Where are we heading?
This is a ZShuttle version 2700. We are on direct course to the Andalite Home World. We hope you enjoy your trip!
What? Jordan demanded, There's no way we can be going there! I have no food, no water!
We are well equipped to provide you with whatever you may need. Are you hungry? We have 40 different kinds of grass available for Andalites such as yourself, including--
Jordan blocked the computer's cheerful voice out of his head, closing all four of his eyes in an effort to forget his natural Andalite claustrophobia. He had to think. There was no way the ship would allow him to change its course, no matter how polite it was acting, he was for all purposes a criminal it was transporting, and he was sure it wouldn't let him over ride any instruction it had been given by the humans down below. So… he supposed he would just have to wait until he arrived on the home planet.
He was almost embarrassed by the excitement he felt in his hearts at the thought. The home world… he hadn't been there in many, many years… well, actually he'd never been there as Jordan, but he could feel the memories… he wanted desperately to go home. If there had been a way to go save Jordan now instead of going, he would have, he told himself, but there wasn't, so what did it matter if he was excited to go?
He realized that the computer had fallen silent. Erm… which ever you recommend, I suppose. Whatever Andalites usually order. And some water, please. He told it. Instantly, a small piece of the wall shimmered and vanished, a bundle of blue-green grass falling out onto the floor, followed by a sealed plastic bag of water. A dish followed, clanging loudly on the floor of the shuttle.
Thanks, He absentmindedly told the computer, quickly opening the water bag and pouring it into the dish. He stuck a hoof into it, nearly moaning with relief at the feeling of the cool, clear water running up his leg. He hadn't even realized that he was so thirsty, but of course it was going to take some getting used to feeling his thirst in his legs. When he was done drinking, he lifted his hoof out, shaking it gently to remove the water clinging to it, and pressed it down onto the grass, crushing it. As the nutrients flowed into his body, he raised his stalk eyes, again scanning the room. Computer, can you make a window? I'd like to see outside.
Certainly! The computer told him, cheerfully. The walls went clear, allowing him to see outside. He was stunned. There were so many stars, and…
He turned around, completely unprepared for the sight he was about to see. It was huge, taking up nearly all of one wall of the shuttle. It was just far away enough so that he could see the whole thing, and it was daunting. A vastly huge ship, with scorpion-like tail arched high above it…
Computer, what is that ship? He asked
That is a prototype Andalite Dome ship. It is called the Starblade. It is currently adrift in earth's orbit, for an unknown purpose.
Jordan bent his legs beneath him, lying down in the Andalite fashion. There was something important about that ship, he could feel it, but he had no idea what… He tried to think about it, but the food had made his drowsy, and his head still hurt… he fell asleep.