Dedicated to CheeGirl101/ShadowAngelofDeath...thinking about "Anti-Taxxon"ness reminded me of all the great posts she makes in the "Clubs" section at Sinister's forum (where my Author's Notes still are).
Chapter 4
Jake took over the computer. "There still might be something here useful…"
Intuition led a now-demorphed Marco to a link. "Click that."
Jake seemed mildly resentful at being bossed around, but clicked it.
"What does it do?" Rruyshah tapped her limbs on the floor, one after another. Immediately, we heard the same sorts of noises the aliens outside had made, only stilted.
"Is that Galard?" Again, computerized sounds, including "Galard".
((I wonder if that's a translator…)) No reply to this. It didn't pick up thoughtspeak.
Marco nodded. "It wouldn't translate words like Galard without an equivalent in another language." Our proof came when his "echo", too, contained "Galard".
"Jackpot," Jake grinned. "Should I try to bring in the Yeti?"
Rruyshah was baffled. "Yeti?"
"Marco can explain." He headed out. We heard him in his polar bear morph a few minutes later. ((How do the Yeerks find their way around these things? Oh…here's the door.)) He led only one in. ((Guys?)) he told us. ((We may have a problem here. Our spaceship's gone.))
The alien spoke, and the computer repeated the message. In Galard. So we got it thirdhand, from Rruyshah. "It said…the last people from the sky tried to enslave them. So they will not let us go."
We hadn't figured out that the computer would translate that, too, so the alien was probably confused by that. ((It's the computer,)) Jake apologized. ((However, we have a crucial mission. We can not be detained on this planet. We only want to leave you.))
Through Rruyshah, we received their reply. "Their folk cannot grant us our requests, as we are unable to earn to be perfect."
"What? You mean learn to be perfect?" Matt thought he could correct her.
"Earn…what is the word for top excellence?"
The alien was probably going insane by now with all this translation bouncing around. Jake got us back on track. ((How is perfection earned among your folk?))
After the alien spoke, the computer took a long time before its Galard message to Rruyshah. "No Galard translation."
((Can you show us?))
"The…um…some word that doesn't translate, is not close," Rruyshah relayed.
((We can go far distances.))
It walked out of the Blade ship-this guy went for showing over telling-to where its comrades waited. They conversed in their own language, and then started lumbering towards a gray streak of ice. Jake and Marco morphed birds, and the three of us were there in literally less than two minutes. I(('ve gotta remember that "not close" isn't saying much at their speed, ))Marco remarked.
We scanned the area. It was an irregular circle, with two lines drawn on the circumference equally spaced. Each one was about five feet long, but that was not much next to the gargantuan size of the circle itself. If we were talking creatures-we-thought-were-just-legends-on-Earth, this could have been Nessie's swimming pool. If it wasn't frozen over…
Outside the circle were ten long and very sharp sticks made of ice, as well as a silver disk.
Marco pointed out something we'd overlooked. ((Where are the Kelbrid?))
Jake turned and saw the Blade ship rocketing towards us. ((Three guesses?))
It (probably crash-) landed and they stumbled out. "Never, ever, again…" Matt muttered.
((What about that whole landing-on-this-planet-thing? Were you awake for that?)) Marco refreshed Matt's memory.
"Oh yeah…that. Whatever. What's taking them so long?"
((Their speed,)) Jake said tersely.
((We-well, you-had better demorph,)) I directed my anxious thoughtspeak to Jake and Marco. They did so, in the warmth of the ship. After morphing polar bear, they came back and waited with us until the aliens finally showed up.
((What do you do here?)) Jake indicated the circle.
They had to enter the ship and go to the computer room in order for us to understand their answer, which made the Kelbrid actually look intelligent. "They…" Rruyshah struggled to translate, "compete."
((We will compete with you, if you would return our spaceship.))
((Speaking of which, where is the thing?)) Marco asked us privately. ((They couldn't have gotten far.))
There was a flurry of activity as the aliens talked amongst themselves, the computer dutifully repeated it, and Rruyshah was bombarded with messages. When they'd shut up and were staring at us, waiting for a reply, she indignantly commanded, "So what was all that?" A license for them to repeat their discussion again…Finally, she was able to force it all out. "Three of them will not compete with us, one will, the other only if we don't have any "great-mouth-and-fast-many-legs"."
((Fast-many-legs? Do you mean Taxxons?)) Jake filled in.
They did.
((Why do you not want to compete with us?))
((Yeah, surely us aliens are pushovers,)) Marco added before Jake shot him a look.
As it turned out, they-"not these five here, but Anati in general…they're not very clear on that fact," Rruyshah noted-had only played one team of people-from-the-sky before. And lost. So we were actually imposing.
((The Yeerks,)) Jake explained patiently, ((probably wanted to enslave you. We mean you no harm. We only want to access our spaceship and search for our own enemies.))
A different one than the one we'd been hearing most of the time spoke. After hearing the computer's translation, Rruyshah admitted, "This one might be okay. As long as we don't have Taxxons it'll give us a fair shot."
"Do you get the feeling these guys are into honor like the Andalites?" I couldn't tell whether Matt was being serious or not.
((Probably,)) agreed Marco.
"Let me handle this one. Rruyshah, ask them how much honor they could earn by beating the pants off us."
"But we are not wearing pants?" She phrased it as a question.
"Just by beating us."
She did. They considered this for a while before the leader gave their verdict. "The Yeerks made more high theirselves by competing."
((We do not want to be…uh…)) Jake tried to find a more formal word. ((exalted. Only to leave in peace.))
Anti-Taxxon spoke up again. "You would not make us follow the tradition of losing?"
((If you would give us our spaceship, we would request nothing more.))
Long debate. Rruyshah raised her six of her feet-more aptly claws-and covered six of her knees with them. At last, they agreed. "We will not follow the tradition. We will play with you."