Chapter 5

Menderash dialed the number he had memorized into the phone that we had pulled from beside the big leather sofa. "I'm sure this is the number he gave me," he muttered as he lifted it to his ear.

We had gathered around. Menderash was in the center of the three-seater sofa with Jeanne and me on either side. Marco and Santorelli stood before us, and Tobias had returned to his perch atop the television screen that loomed above. It was an important call, and we were so desperate to get through.

"Has it got loudspeaker?" I asked.

The concept baffled Menderash, but Marco reached forward, took the phone, and pressed the correct button.

It started ringing. Marco was quick to set the phone down on the footrest placed in front of the sofa.

"Wait," Santorelli started as the ringing continued. "How does an Andalite speak into a phone?"

Marco answered in his preferred manner. "With a transmodulating vibratosensory physioconductor, of course."

Menderash looked up and shook his head, unaware of Marco's tone even after so much time stuck on a spaceship with him. "Actually, it's a neurosensory modulatory communication amplification unit, or simply NMCAU. We started using them in Earth year 2002 so that we could converse with Human speakers over your primitive long-distance communication units."

"Oh yeah. That's it," Marco said, rolling his eyes.

It rang for a while, at least ten times, but Menderash assured us that the communication unit required configuration on the receiving end. His theory was proven correct when the ringing stopped abruptly.

The muffled, spookily electronic voice of Caysath-Winwall-Esgarrouth arrived. "Who is this?"

Menderash gazed at the phone and raised his volume so that he wouldn't be misheard. "Prince Caysath-Winwall-Esgarrouth, this is Mederash-Postill-Fastill, First Officer of the Andal ship Intrepid."

"Menderash?!" Caysath blurted, though it sounded heavily distorted and compressed through the translation unit. "Are you on Earth?!"

"Yes, Prince Caysath. We have just returned after fourteen Earth months of being in space. We… we have a lot to speak of."

Caysath went straight to the point. "Any news on Prince Aximili?"

"Yes, my Prince," Menderash responded. "Though the news comes with no certainty and only assumed probability."

Caysath was silent for a moment. "He is not with you?"

Menderash shook his head, even though Caysath could not see. "My Prince, we came across something completely unfamiliar. It was some form of technology or creature or… something else. It called itself The One. It appears to have taken Aximili in some way, of which we can't be sure. We saw his face."

"The One? I've never heard of it. A Kelbrid creation?"

"It's unclear, my Prince," Menderash gravely said. "But it seems to have been aboard the Blade Ship that ambushed Intrepid."

"What else can you tell me about it?" Caysath pressed with an eagerness in his distorted tone.

"It appeared to hack into our ship's computer system to transmit its message. I have no other explanation."

"Inter-vessel electronic manipulation?!" Caysath blurted. We all looked at each other, puzzled. Except for Menderash, of course.

"Yes, my Prince."

Caysath hummed ponderously through the phone. "Such technology is beyond even our scientists. Certainly far past the abilities of some rogue Yeerks. It must be something to do with the Kelbrids…"

I butted into their conversation. "What makes you think it's the Kelbrids? You said that the Kelbrids have been unseen for so long that your people don't even remember what they look like."

Caysath fell silent again. Then, he said, "Who was that? Menderash?"

"It was Jake Berenson," he replied. "He is here with me, as is the rest of the crew."

"Ah, of course," Caysath mumbled. "My sincere apologies for not recognizing your voice, Jake. I struggle to hear clearly with these telephone devices."

"No problem," I excused.

"Anyway, to answer your question… we don't know. It is our best guess."

The others looked stunned, even Menderash this time. Marco mouthed the words to me, "Is he serious?!"

Caysath wouldn't have noticed, so he continued. "So what happened after this being appeared?"

Menderash and I exchanged glances. He allowed me to explain. "We don't know. We seemed to blank out, all at the same moment. Eight months later, we wake up back on Earth."

"Eight Earth months?" Caysath considered. "And you have no idea what happened during that time?"

"Nope."

Then came his most prolonged pause. I swear he left the phone to go searching for something, or to speak to somebody. Maybe he was making more guesses. He returned and said, "this is most unusual. One thing is for certain: no Andalite deployment spotted you during the fourteen months unless it went unreported. As far as we knew, you had gone missing, with the sole exception of me, of course."

"It's probably best if it stays that way," I suggested bluntly.

"Yes, of course," he replied. "You presume correctly that keeping a low profile would be wise."

Santorelli asked, "what have been the reports since we left?"

The new voice entering the conversation didn't throw Caysath off. "The connection between the disappearance of two of the self-proclaimed Animorphs and two of Jake's students, and the loss of Prince Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, was quickly made, as was the assault of two Andalite guards and the stealing of two vessels. Unfortunately, Jake, First Officer Menderash, both our people and the Humans have arrived at the truth."

I nodded to myself and pursed my lips. "If we get caught?"

Caysath hummed a bit to think. "You are much loved among the Humans, Jake… But unfortunately, that would not save you from the consequences of your actions. Put simply; you would no longer be in a position to rescue Prince Aximili."

He knew that was what we wanted and that that would hit home.

Menderash had a vital question. "Prince Caysath. Is it known that I am a nothlit?"

"No, First Officer. I have kept that information to myself. Do not worry about inquiries. I have all that taken care of."

"Thank you, Prince Caysath."

"And you all understand why I do this?" Caysath asked the whole group.

We looked at each other, throwing together our silent opinions.

"You do it for Ax," I answered. "Just as we do."

"Correct," he responded. "For my people, I betray them to keep your presence secret. It's a difficult situation for all of us, but I trust your dedication and hope this will work to everybody's benefit."

"So what next?" Marco urged to break his silence. "We're back on Earth with no ship, and we'll get arrested by the Andalite cops as soon as we reveal ourselves."

"As I mentioned, it's a difficult situation!" Caysath grumbled, his frustration to think of a solution audible even with the computerized sound. "But as you know, I cannot travel into Kelbrid space, and you are our only allies willing to take on such a mission. I will do my best to think up a plan, as I'm sure you will, and in time maybe we'll come up with something."

"You couldn't give us a ship?" Santorelli asked.

"Give you a ship?" Caysath scoffed. "A missing ship won't go unnoticed, and I will not risk my position to perform such a feat again. Nor will I suggest that you do. We have already far overstepped our bounds."

"So we're stuck…" Marco groaned.

"For the moment," Caysath huffed, almost defensively. "But… there is something you might do in the meantime."

We perked up and returned our wandering eyes to the phone.

"What is it?" Menderash asked.

"This The One being… It is certainly not something anybody has heard of before. At least, not in Andalite circles."

"It was with the Yeerks…" Jeanne stated, fast approaching the answer he was pushing for.

"Precisely!" Caysath agreed. "That means there's a possibility that the Yeerks knew of this… thing before the end of the war."

Marco shrugged. "Or they could have found it after entering Kelbrid space."

"Perhaps," Caysath said. "But this isn't the first time the Yeerks have entered Kelbrid space. They were not bound to the treaty that keeps Andalites and Kelbrids separate."

Marco was starting to look more convinced. "Wait, you're saying that the Yeerks were in Kelbrid space before the war ended?"

"That is precisely what I'm saying. They didn't seem to breach far, from what we gathered, but we knew they were there. Did you ever hear of a race called the Mak?"

"Vaguely," I replied.

"They fell to the Yeerks. Their home planet lies within Kelbrid Space. We knew of the Yeerk invasion because the Mak supply ships would often cross into our territory."

"So if the Yeerks have been in Kelbrid Space for years," Marco sussed. "They could have some answers on what that One thing is."

Santorelli looked puzzled. "Aren't all the Yeerks nothlits? Or most of them?"

I shook my head. "Some were. The others were taken back to the Yeerk homeworld without any hosts. And besides, I don't think any low-level Yeerk soldier would be granted that kind of info."

Suddenly, a grin appeared on Marco. "Don't we know a high-level Yeerk? One that isn't a nothlit and that hasn't returned to the home planet?"

Caysath was curious. "Which Yeerk are you referring to?"

"The one that, last I heard, was serving multiple life sentences in a Kansas max-security prison. An old friend of ours."

"Ah," Caysath said. "That one."