Chapter 7
"You say that this is no more than a legend?" Sub-Visser Thirteen asked.
Erek nodded.
The Sub-Visser made a contemplative noise, and walked away from us, not saying anything, sat down on the control throne on the centre of the bridge.
Spinning the throne around so that she was again facing us, she finally said something. "It so happens that the previous Sub-Visser Thirteen vanished in the same way you have all described."
"Seriously?" I asked, surprised, and then wanted to smack myself for sounding like such an idiot.
"In the exact same way?" Jake inquired. "Flash of light, no warning?"
Sub-Visser Thirteen smiled, and cocked an eyebrow, looking about as sceptical as anyone I've ever seen. "Seems too coincidental, doesn't it?"
"Not coincidental," I said, "so much as incredibly annoying. We stood no chance against Visser Three with all of us together. We're gonna get slaughtered now that we're two down."
"Erek," Jake said, "Tell us more about the Caretaker. What was he doing, stealing all these people from spaceships?"
Shutting down his holographic disguise, Erek sat down on the rough, metal floor of the Pool ship, and put his head in his hands; a very human thing to do, given that he was, basically, a robot doggy.
"She, actually," Erek corrected. "The one image of the Caretaker that existed showed a tall blue-skinned woman with flame-red hair and bright yellow eyes."
(A girl, huh?) Tobias asked rhetorically. (Makes sense I guess,) he said, giving me an unreadable look with his raptor eyes. Maybe it was meant to be a joke. I wasn't quite sure.
Sub-Visser Thirteen, who was still reclining almost lazily in the throne, seemed less than satisfied with his explanation. "This does not fit the pattern of the Caretaker's previous abductions," she said abruptly.
"No, it doesn't," I agreed. "Erek said that the Caretaker took captains and important people. Not that I want to insult Ax or anything, but he wasn't particularly important."
(Not in the grand scheme of things,) Tobias was quick to add.
"I guess not," Jake said sombrely. "Same for Marco, I suppose. I mean, sure, we're all fighting a really important fight for our planet, but how does that make us special enough to kidnap?"
Erek's ears twitched. "Was the last Sub-Visser Thirteen doing anything important?" he asked our resident Yeerk.
Sub-Visser Thirteen looked contemplative for a second, but before she could answer, the console on the wall behind her began to make sounds that said "Hey, pay attention to me!"
Before she could make it there, Erek shot faster than Superman, up from the floor to the wall. He stood there for a few seconds, tapping keys and twitching his doggy ears. I walked over to him and stood by his side, looking at the screen. I couldn't read a word of it, being in Yeerk as it was, but Erek's Labrador-features look pretty worried.
"Visser Three is approaching," Erek said coolly. "And he's not alone."
"What do you mean, Erek?" I asked. "Who's with him? I thought all his reinforcements were on this ship."
"And the others outside," Jake added, referring to the armada of Yeerk pool ships hanging in the space around us.
Erek shook his head nervously. "Visser Three's Blade ship just dropped out of Z-Space, heavily damaged, and fighting another ship."
I wanted to scream. Another ship?
"Put it on the viewer," the Sub-Visser commanded, whirling her throne about so that she faced directly forward at the enormous viewscreen. Moments later, we saw Visser Three's Blade ship in the distance, lurching through space as it was hit by red energy beams.
(Who does that thing belong to?) Tobias asked.
The ship trailing Visser Three, and shooting at him quite nicely, was about half the size of the Blade ship, and looked strangely like a mix between a cruise ship and a scythe. The front end was a large, very box-like compartment, whilst the end was long, thin, and curved into two points that nearly, but did not quite meet at the end.
"Never seen it before," Erek said, anticipating the question that someone was bound to ask him.
The Sub-Visser frantically tapped commands into the computer station, turned from it, and looked upward. "Computer?"
There was a brief pause. "Affirmative," said the bored Yeerk computer.
"Who is the commander of this vessel?" she asked.
"Visser Five," was the cool reply.
Sub-Visser Thirteen threw her hands up to the air and turned back to the computer station, continuing to hammer the keys like a crazed pianist.
"Incoming transmission, emergency frequency," said the computer.
Erek stood up, and I watched as his holographic disguise rippled back over his ivory robot body. I was surprised to see that in place of his human disguise, Erek took on the form of Visser Five; a hulking green creature, shrouded in black and red robes.
"Put it on the viewer," he said in a perfect imitation of Visser Five's voice.
At once the stars and the fighting ships vanished, and Visser Three's freakish hybrid body appeared on the screen. He was in bad shape, and I grinned inwardly. The Visser was bleeding from a large gash across his face, and his patchwork skin was burned in more places than I could count.
"Visser Five!" Visser Three screeched. "Destroy this insolent pest that dares to attack me!"
I rolled my eyes. Thankfully, Jake and I stood out of sight, and I doubted Sub-Visser Thirteen could be seen either.
Erek bowed his holographic head to the screen. "As you command, Visser."
Visser Three vanished from the screen as his ship was hit again, and I guessed his communications system was destroyed. Sub-Visser Thirteen transmitted orders to disable the attacking ship to the other pool ships and Yeerk battlecruisers, and moments later, received confirmation.
"All Yeerk vessels," Erek said in the grand, self-important tone of a Visser. "In the name of the Holy Kandrona, open fire!"