Animorphs: The Finding

My name is Malia. I am human, but I am also alien. Let me start at the beginning so that you can better understand. On a distant, watery world is a race of aliens known as the Malianith. They are somewhat like the merfolk of human lore, but they look more like a dolphin or shark combined with a human. This race is divided into two clans. The Nagi were extremely peaceful beings who had extremely advanced technology, especially in the area of genetics. The Haniro were the exact opposite. They were as violent as they could be without wiping themselves out and hated technology with a passion.

The two groups mutually ignored each other until about eighteen Earth years ago. The Andalites had warned the Nagi of the Yeerks. They knew that their technology and knowledge would eventually draw the parasites to them, so they called a council of the Nagi and Haniro leaders. There was a bunch of debate and boring stuff like that. In the end, it became obvious that the Nagi would not fight, period, and that the Haniro would not use the technology offered to them, end of discussion.

They finally came to a middle ground, though. The Nagi would create a warrior to fight for them. A Haniro war-master named Ba'giroth offered use of his DNA as he had some rather unique traits. He was slimmer and shorter than the rest and instead of a single dorsal fin on his back, there were several spike-like, poisonous protrusions running down his spine. All of this had contributed to his great skills in battle.

The Nagi agreed and quickly retrieved the sample. Now they had to find something to combine it with. Dag-bithar, the head scientist of Project Protector, recalled an alien species they had visited once a few centuries before. He remembered reading notes on how versatile and adaptive the species was. He pitched the idea to the rest of the team and they all agreed. The DNA sample they had was still good, too, which only made it even better. That's how the second 'parent' became a human.

Ba'giroth remained at the secret base for the entire process. He watched with amazement as the fetus developed. He may have been a Haniro, but he had a fascination with the things that technology coud teach him, if not for technology itself. Then, the day came for Genetic Experiment 2275 PP to be 'born.' Everyone present waited with abated breath as they took the tube to the surface. They weren't sure if the child would need air when it was born, like humans, or if the gills would start functioning right away.

It was successful. I spent the first couple of days near the surface as I gained control of my bodily functions, then was taken back to the secret base. The next fourteen years were filled with training and lessons. I learned how to fight, how to program a computer, how to by-pass security systems. They never gave me a name, the scientists who created me. Ba'giroth, however, decided to name me Malia, which is the Haniro word for 'loving warrior.' I never understood how a warrior could be loving. Of course, at the time, I didn't realize that Ba'giroth had been a warrior before coming to the base. He never talked about life before the experiment.

Anyway, it was my fourteenth birthday when they finally decided to test me. I don't know what they had planned because the test never happened. It was almost the end of my sleep cycle when Ba'giroth barged into my chambers and dragged me out, half-asleep. I heard the explosions, however, and that woke me up. The base was under attack.

The moment that the Malianith had been fearing had finally arrived. The Yeerks somehow managed to catch the entire planet by surprise. It was quick, they tell me. I wouldn't know. I was knocked unconcious in the first five minutes. I had been trained in warfare since birth, but the sight of Ba'giroth with a spear through his stomach was enough to freeze me in place. It's one thing to hear about battle injuries and quite another to see them.

That moment was all that it took. I was struck from behind. When I woke up, I was in a tank with chains around my wrists. Ba'giroth was in a tank across the room, also chained. His stomach had been bandaged and he had a strange collar on. He was still unconcious.

I was trying to get out of my chains when he came in, the abomination. At the time, he was Visser Five. The only Yeerk to ever take an Andalite body; the only Yeerk with the ability to morph. I could feel a shiver run down my spine when he entered the chamber. He seemed to radiate evil and hatred.

(Ah, so you must be the Warrior.) He smiled as he spoke, that strange Andalite smile, but it was cold. He didn't even bother to keep his words private. Arrogant. (As you can see, I have your mentor here, captive. The collar around his neck is really quite special. With a single word, I can inject him with a very deadly poison.)

(How do I know that you haven't infested him?) I answered. For that matter, why hadn't they infested me? Why wasn't there a slimy slug in my head?

Visser Five no longer looked happy. He scowled, though it was strange to see, and shook his head. (We tried, oh did we try. But for some odd reason, every time a Yeerk entered the brain cavity, it died. After some research, Nagi scientists informed us that the Malianith brain chemistry is rather—unfriendly to we Yeerks.)

I stared at him. I can't have heard him right. Nagi scientists giving him information? No, that couldn't be right. The Nagi were fanatical when it came to keeping their information from other races. I had to have misheard him.

(Ah, I see that you are surprised. Yes, little girl, your Nagi scientists have willingly joined us to spare their lives. Some of them actually helped plan the attack for the minimum loss of life. Though I must say that the Haniro are far less willing. We will find a way to control them. The Malianith are too valuable to simply exterminate.)

I said nothing more. I stopped trying to get out of the chains. I just let myself fall to the bottom of the tank. This couldn't be happening. Because of some cowardly, treacherous Nagi, the entire Malianith people had been taken prisoner. I started crying, which is strange for me. You see, the Malianith can't cry, they don't have the tear ducts to do it. It was just another reminder of how different I was from everyone around me.

Because I was in water, though, the Visser couldn't tell that I cried for my people. Yes, I still think of them as my people. After all, it was only a few Nagi that had betrayed an entire planet.

(Now, Warrior, I have a proposition for you,) Visser Five continued, sounding smug. (I have a proposition for you.)