Dedicated to Tom Stoppard, greatest of all fanfictioneers.

Chapter 7

The Kelbrid finally noticed us. "Hello," Rruyshah said. "Welcome back."

"Hey wait a minute!" Something clicked in Matt's brain, or as Marco would amend, excuse for one. "We are back! As in, on this Skrit Na thing that the Anati stole, and not the Blade ship!"

Marco's eyes opened in surprise. "You're right!" then muttered, "for once…"

I investigated a hatch, morphing human to open the door. "Check this out-we're attached to the underside of the Blade ship."

Rruyshah pulled herself up to inspect it, making every effort to trample me in the process but fortunately failing. "No more sleeping in the cargo bay!"

"Are we pulling it?" Matt joined Rruyshah where the ships met.

"I think it's gravity."

"So two ships." Marco nodded his approval. "Does this mean two elaborate Andalite naming ceremonies?"

((We seem to be running low on Andalites.))

"What was the name of the ship you so…sacrificially…annihilated?" Rruyshah's knowledge of English was sporadic, but she could come up with some big words when she felt like it.

I let Jake answer. "The Rachel."

"Rachel?" Both Kelbrid sounded shocked.

"Rachel was one of our…our team, in the war against the Yeerks. It was named in her honor."

Rruyshah needed clarification. "Yeerks? Four of your species opposed the Yeerks?"

"There were six of us. Cassie, who remains on Earth, and Aximili, an Andalite, who has been absorbed into The One."

"And…?" Matt urged.

"The others on the Rachel were not involved with the resistance."

"No, but like wasn't there another kid?"

In fact, there had been. Marco was succinct about it: "Yes. Who betrayed us."

"Tough luck."

"Who was this Rachel? Was she well-known among your species?" Rruyshah's interest had been piqued.

"Our war was…" Jake, still in the Skrit Na ship, looked down at the floor that seemed to float in the low gravity. "secret until the very end. She became famous, but only after her death."

"Famous among your…humans, you're called, correct?"

Jake nodded.

"Humans only, or Andalites as well?"

"Mostly humans," Marco was almost wistful, but quickly returned to normal. "The Andalites are still a little jealous that we beat the Yeerks without their help."

(("Little"?)) I wryly repeated.

I had met many Andalites since the war had ended. Almost as aloof with them as I had been with humans, I let none of them in on my glorious and tragic secret. Somehow, defying the normal setup of the space-time continuum, I was the son of Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul.

When we did talk, it was mostly about how the Ellimist had interfered to return my morphing power. Not a significant subject to me-before this mission, I had remained in hawk shape for most of the time. No, I didn't know how I was so lucky, as they saw it.

Most things that happened, regardless of whether Jake took blame for them or not, were random occurrences that had been forced by everything that happened before. ((Jara Hamee,)) I spontaneously remembered.

"The Hork-Bajir? Since when has he been involved?" Marco reacted.

((We could name one of the ships for him.))

"Better make it the Skrit Na one," Jake smiled regretfully. "I don't think he'd appreciate having a Blade ship named after him."

"Who would?" Marco phrased it rhetorically.

"Visser Three wouldn't have minded."

"He's dead?" Matt stopped his progress down the hallway of the unnamed ship and began walking back towards us. He didn't turn around: then again, there wasn't much of a need to. The Kelbrid looked identical from every direction.

"Imprisoned."

Rruyshah's voice came from farther down the shaft. "Who is Visser Three?"

"Yeerk that tried to take over the planet," Matt summarized.

"Which planet?"

"Earth."

"And failed?"

"Apparently."

She stomped into view. "Anyone incapable of taking over a planet inhabited by your species does not deserve anything to be named after him!"

Ouch.

Jake was looking at Marco with concern. "You serious?" Evidently I had missed some conversation in there.

"Sure," he shrugged. "From what we've seen, she was just as capable as Visser Three if not more."

"Okay, everybody, how does "Visser One" sound?"

No objections from the Kelbrid. ((Fine by me.))

"Sounds good."

"I'm getting my own room!" Matt tore off (not very fast: it was impractical for Kelbrid to sprint on eight legs) down the hallway.

"Are the accommodations here really that bad?"

But Rruyshah didn't answer either. She was already chasing Matt.

((So much for investigating those other planets.))

"We just need a break," Marco sounded fatigued.

Jake nodded. "It's cool. Why don't you settle in up there, I'll try to make the computer work."

Marco headed off.

((There'd better be plenty of space in there. If any of those three have to share a room…well, let's just say they won't.))

"It's a Blade ship." Jake touched a screen, but it didn't react. "There should be lots of accommodations. Speaking of which, why don't you go claim a little…er…"

((I had a nest on The Rachel.))

"Did we bring it over?"

((No.))

He flung out his hands, making him look like a world (galaxy?)-weary adult…oh yeah, he was still nineteen. Not a middle-schooler. The tip of his finger made contact with a button on the low ceiling, which prompted a message from the computer in a language we didn't recognize. The Jara Hamee began to vibrate. Jake ran to the hatch to close it, hoping to avoid a repeat of our last docking with a Blade ship.

((Jake, the other door!))

As we continued revving up, and the whiteness of Z-space gleamed outside the windows, he was able to close both and dive back in. The acceleration finally began, and we took off. Jake lay down on the floor. "Sorry."

((It's okay.))

"Do you know how to navigate this thing?"

((Well, Marco and the others will obviously figure out we're not here. So wait for them to radio us?))

"And trust that we know the right buttons to push to respond?"

((Do you remember which button you pushed to get us into Z-space? It might just get us back out.))

He reached up. "Here…somewhere. I won't risk it."

((We don't have any other choice.))

"We always have a choice."

((Your call.))

He reached up to the button panel. "I…I can't do it."

((Yes you can, and you know it.))

He shook his head. "I never get a choice in the matter, really though. Do I?"

((You're asking me?))

A second later we were shot into real space once again.