Fortunately for the Andalite, Rachel the girl was still able to keep the snake in check. Rachel the girl knew that rattlesnakes could choose whether or not to use their venom and murdering an Andalite was not how she wanted to end her shopping trip.
I managed to keep myself from poisoning him. He crammed himself under the shelf, the only rat to ever survive being bit by a rattlesnake.
[Rachel! Get a grip!]
[What? What did she do?]
[Were you attempting to ingest me?]
[No. Sorry.] I followed the Andalite underneath the shelf. [It was a reflex. First time morphing this thing.]
[What'd she do?] Cassie asked again.
[Did you lose control of your morph?] the Andalite asked me.
[You're fine,] I grumbled.
[You could have killed him!] Tobias shouted from his hiding spot.
[Did you bite the Andalite?] Cassie asked [Seriously, Rachel?]
[Can everyone just chill, please?]
More vibrations. Heavier vibrations.
[The SWAT team's here,] I repeated.
[Good,] Cassie said dryly. [Lets hope they don't stick around.]
I watched three sets of boots stomp by the shelf. They completely ignored the busted-up cage.
Good. That meant they probably weren't Controllers.
[I will keep track of how long we have been in morph.] the Andalite announced.
[Why does that matter?] Tobias asked him.
[You…] The Andalite stopped. [It doesn't.]
I angled my head so I could see him. [Kind of sounds like it does.]
[I am not permitted to share information with you concerning my people or our technology.]
[Say what now?]
[And, if you'll forgive me for saying so,] he continued, [your people are obviously not advanced enough to have developed morphing technology on their own.]
[Why can't you tell us?] Cassie asked him. I decided to let her talk to him. Cassie tends to be better with people than me, and the Andalite was really ticking me off.
[I am not permitted to share that information, either.]
[Of course,] I quipped.
[Didn't stop Elfangor,] Tobias told him.
Long silence.
He must not have liked that.
[I am not Prince Elfangor,] he finally said.
[Can you tell us who you are?] Cassie asked.
Another long silence.
[Maybe this would be easier,] he said, [if you told me what you already know.]
[We know your people were the ones who set the Yeerks loose on the galaxy,] I said.
[Is that why?] Cassie asked him. [Did the Andalites decide they shouldn't share their knowledge with anyone else?]
[Yes,] the Andalite said.
[That's…probably fair,] I conceded.
[We're not interested in starships right now, anyway,] Tobias assured him.
[Tell you what,] Cassie told the Andalite. [Why don't you tell us what we should know. As it concerns us. You don't have to give us ships or weapons or anything.]
[I cannot,] he said firmly.
[Listen, you -]
[Fair enough,] Cassie said, cutting me off. [You don't know us, and we attacked you in the first place.]
[Trust is earned,] Tobias seconded, [and we haven't done anything to earn it.]
[Precisely,] Cassie agreed.
[Where are you guys going with this?] I asked them privately.
I felt Cassie mentally shrug. [Maybe if we show we're willing to let him keep some secrets, he'll realize we're not like the Yeerks.]
[Maybe?]
[He's an alien, Rachel, I'm only guessing.]
The boots came back. The SWAT team swept the store again and left.
[They must be getting frustrated,] Tobias observed.
[They definitely found the...mess in the food court,], I said. [So they have to know something happened.]
[Should we wait some more?] Cassie asked. [Or morph birds and try flying out?]
[Can you morph anything with wings?] I asked the Andalite.
[I have one,] he replied. [But it is not native to your planet.]
[Oooh!] Cassie exclaimed excitedly. [Is it an animal of your homeworld?]
More silence.
[Rude,] I told him.
[As I said, I cannot -]
[How about we try a deal?] Tobias interrupted him. [An exchange of information.]
The Andalite said nothing. But I liked Tobias' idea. [We'll call it a trust exercise,] I told the Andalite. [We give you something you want. Or need. And then you can give us information that you feel is of equal value.]
Nothing.
[You can just show me your alien morph,] Cassie suggested. [I would very much like to see it.]
[And that shouldn't violate your Prime Directive or whatever,] I added. [Right?]
[I do not know of any 'Prime Directive,'] he said carefully. [But, I do not think there would be any harm in showing that specific morph to you.]
[That's progress,] Tobias commented.
[In exchange,] the Andalite continued, [I ask that you assist me in safely exiting this building and meet with me somewhere to tell me of Prince Elfangor.]
[We can do that,] I said instantly.
[And then we can go from there,] Cassie finished.
[Go where?]
[It's just an expression,] Tobias explained. [It means, we'll see how our relationship progresses from there.]
[Do humans have many such expressions?]
[We have another one we're fond of,] I answered. ['The enemy of my enemy is my friend.']
[And you hoping we can be...friends?]
[Yep!] Cassie said in a friendly tone.
[Do you fight the Yeerks?]
[We wish to,] Tobias said. [And we won't say no to any help you can give us.]
[We…] The Andalite paused for a moment. […will see how our relationship progresses.]
That was probably as far as we'd get with him today. I supposed I couldn't blame him. If I found myself in his situation, on an alien planet with invisible enemies and people hitting me up for my secrets, I imagine I'd be pretty locked down, too.
[I do have one question,] he asked after a minute. [Will you answer it truthfully?]
[Maybe,] I answered evenly.
[How did you gain the ability to morph?]
[Your prince,] Tobias answered simply.
[He told us of the Yeerks, and your people's history with them,] Cassie added. [We wanted to fight for our world. So he gave us the means to do so.]
[Prince Elfangor gave you our technology?]
[Yes.]
[He…he should not have done that,] the Andalite said. [I'm sure he had his reasons. But…]
[But he did it anyway,] Tobias said.
['The enemy of my enemy,'] the Andalite said slowly, ['is my friend.']
[Exactly,] I told him.
[I'm Cassie, by the way.]
[Tobias,] Tobias said.
Sure, Cassie, I guess it's safe to introduce ourselves. [And I'm Rachel.]
[I am Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill.]
If I had eyelids, I would have blinked in surprise. We knew that name.
The first bit, anyway. Elfangor, in his final moments, had worried for his family. He had said that his parents would never know what happened to him and his brother. The brother who had been shot down trying to protect him. Aximili.
This Andalite was probably the sole survivor of the Andalite fleet the Yeerks had demolished in orbit.
[Pleased to meet you, Ax,] I said to him.
Three more sets of boots came stomping through.
[Again?] Cassie groaned.
They stopped in front of the shattered cage on the floor.
New vibrations. Light, soft buzzing.
[Aximili, can you tell us what they're saying?] Cassie asked him. [Our hearing with these morphs is almost nonexistent.]
[Certainly. They are discussing the cage,] Ax translated. Pause. [They found the Controller downstairs. They suspect, correctly, that there is an Andalite in the building.]
Pause.
[They have decided on a course of action.]
Light flashed across the floor, to the tune of louder, more audible buzzing.
Objects the size of cars came down through the shelf and left craters on the linoleum floor.
[Jesus!]
[They are shooting the cages,] Ax explained calmly.
