Dedicated to WretchedOne/thisgirlsnot grey and Gerlan/Indar/Voran/Ket Halpak/Abomination/..., in camaraderie.
Chapter 3
Rruyshah almost skidded onto the planet's surface. She'd found an inhabited area, although I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
"We have morphs that are suited for life at low temperatures, so we can go out and see if it will be safe for you," Jake tried to be helpful.
"Yeah, because you're the reigning expert on Kelbrid," Matt played the antagonist.
"You can go out there then!" Rruyshah simpered.
"Never mind…"
"Polar bear?" Marco looked at Jake.
He nodded. "If that's okay…"
((It's fine.)) I knew he was really only concerned about me.
Marco started the powerful morph. Jake followed, and finally I began the weird process. Afraid I'd crush the ship, I ducked outside to finish it, along with the others.
((There they are,)) I pointed. But as soon as my morph finished, I could no longer see them.
((Where?)) Marco turned to me.
((Out that way…I think…))
((Let's go.)) Jake started in the direction I had gestured.
The aliens we were approaching had poor eyesight, relative to us, and we saw them first, although with difficulty as they blended into the background. In a way, they looked like us: large and white-furred. But we very quickly saw that the differences were superficial.
((Is it just me,)) Marco directed his worry to both of us, ((or are those…Yeti?))
((For the sake of…ah…diplomacy, we might want to assume it's just you,)) Jake counseled. ((Hello,)) he announced to the lumbering creatures. ((We are delegates from Earth.))
That definitely got a reaction. The five of them looked around at each other in shock.
((We are approaching you slowly. Can you see us?)) Jake continued. One of them opened its mouth, but we couldn't hear anything. Jake beckoned us to come forward until we were about I'd say a football field apart. ((Are you able to communicate with us?))
The one that had opened its mouth spoke something we didn't understand. "Daunla Anati. Nagada klin duretti."
((Are you capable of speaking Galard?)) To us he added, ((We don't know if the Kelbrid can handle this, but they might be all we've got.))
"Ag, agda."
((Take that as a no,)) Marco interpreted.
((For all we know this is Galard,)) Jake replied.
((Let me try something…Has a Blade ship been here?))
One of the other aliens muttered something to the others and they took off at what looked like a run for them (i. e. about the speed I ran the mile in elementary school…always last place. Not to complain, but I only got in the single-digits for minutes once. And I think that might have been the gym teacher taking pity on me.).
((Good sign,)) Jake nodded approvingly.
((Should we tell the others to fly over here? Maybe we can catch up with them.)) Marco ventured.
((I don't know about you, but I'm not letting that Kelbrid fly me around-manually-for one nanosecond longer than I have to.))
((We can still go back and tell them to come here.))
((Okay, sure.))
Marco started to demorph. ((AHH!)) He quickly reverted the changes. ((No way they're going to be able to handle this.))
Jake turned to him. ((There's a way…))
((No. There's no way I trust them with the morphing cube.))
((We need Rruyshah to translate.))
((The first thing she tells a computer to do is self-destruct. And Matt…I'm not dissing ESPN, but there is no way it broadcasts on the Kelbrid homeworld. I'd rather give these Yeti the morphing cube and let them on our ship.))
((Marco, they're on our side. They let us on their ship.))
((How long do we have in morph?)) I worried.
((We should get back…I wonder if the Kelbrid will let us fly the spaceship? Or if Rruyshah would let Matt?))
((I don't think they get along too well,)) Marco negated.
((What if those others,)) I pointed towards where the aliens were traipsing off, ((come back and we're not there?))
((Doesn't seem likely.)) Marco turned around and started going back. We followed.
((How cold can this planet really be?)) Jake looked up at what might have been the sun, but it was so small that that was hard to believe. ((I mean, polar bears evolved on Earth. So if we're walking around, it can't be that drastically different from Earth.))
((You want to try and demorph, go ahead.))
We reached the Kelbrid ship and demorphed into its warmth. "How'd it go?" Matt immediately asked us.
"We can't talk to them, but they understood our thoughtspeak. As soon as Marco mentioned the Blade ship, they left. Very slowly, so we could catch up to them if we wanted to."
Rruyshah turned to the computer.
"Eh, that's the thing," Marco winced. "I don't really…want to fly manually again."
"Really? Would you prefer to program this piece of…metal?" she challenged.
"Yeah, actually, I would…" He took control and began trying to configure it. I helped the best I could, which wasn't much more than making sometimes-lucky guesses.
We were probably about to electrocute ourselves when Rruyshah exclaimed, "What was that?" She pointed out the window at something that had whooshed by.
"Large, black, shaped like an axe, ominous. Blade ship."
"Rruyshah, Matt, do you think you could manage outside? It's significantly colder than Earth," warned Jake.
I realized something. ((What about the fact that we survived being in the same spaceship?))
"That's actually…what do Kelbrid breathe?"
"On our home planet sulfur, but we've…evolved…to go beyond that," Rruyshah bragged.
"And, therefore, different temperatures too!" Matt exclaimed brightly.
"Are you asking me or telling me?"
"That's what I mean," hissed Marco. "They use too-human expressions."
Jake rolled his eyes. "Do you think you can go out there?"
"Yes." For the first and last time they answered in unison.
Marco morphed fastest, surprisingly since he'd never been the best morpher. Jake and I did so in kind, and the five of us disembarked.
The Blade ship was parked behind us. Those same five Yeti were standing outside it. Jake addressed them. ((Who is in that ship?))
The only one of them who had talked to us replied in their own language.
"No, I don't," Rruyshah spoke. It was a bit of a non sequitur, but I quickly figured out Jake had asked if she knew it.
Jake tried again. ((May we enter the ship?)) They had begun to figure out we didn't understand them, so they simply unlatched the door. Matt climbed in first, followed by the rest of us. ((Here's the deal, we don't touch anyone. Any technology that we can disable, go for it.))
((Preferably without using a sledgehammer,)) Marco added wryly.
We split up and searched the ship. It was spacious, almost overly so. I demorphed to fly around, but even with hawk's eyes could find no secret door or anywhere leading to where Ax or the others might be, in body if not mind.
I wound up in the control room. The computers were off, so I morphed human to turn them on try and access any data that would be useful. Marco found me hunched over. ((Aren't we supposed to be deleting this?)) He was still in morph. ((Never mind. If this is anything like a video game I can take over. And it is.)) He demorphed, as did I to watch him. After several clicks he pointed to a message on the screen. "This is as far as we're allowed to go."
We searched for the others, none of whom had met with any success either. When we'd all gathered in the room, Rruyshah translated. "This ship has been released from the Yeerk fleet. The former commander has been demoted of Visser rank. Relevant concerns should be directed to Sub-Visser Nine." What looked almost like a coat of arms was displayed after the text.
"Moral of the story," Matt said redundantly, "this ain't the right Blade ship."