‹Is there anything worse than watching a computer loading screen?› Tobias asked.

‹I am limited by this primitive human technology,› I said. ‹It is slowing me down significantly. I wonder how the rest of the group is doing.›

‹What, you're worried that something will go wrong?› Tobias questioned, with a hint of what I detected as human sarcasm. ‹Sending the rest of the team, which is the Earth's only human resistance against the Yeerks, into The Sharing's base of operation, where I got tortured by the way, for clues to help us find a super-smart, morph-capable, rogue Controller who's bent on absorbing the human race? What could go wrong?›

‹You've been hanging out with Marco a lot since his relocation, haven't you?› I asked.

Tobias laughed. ‹Yes,› he said. ‹Yes, I suppose I have.›

We sat in silence, watching a multitude of numbers flash across the screen. I must have been a bit too focused, because I never heard the approach of someone behind us.

"Need a little help?" Erek the Chee asked, stepping out from behind a tree.

Tobias jumped a little, and lost a feather or two.

‹Erek!› he exclaimed. ‹Dang, man, a bird and an Andalite and you still snuck up on us?›

Erek smiled, or rather his hologram projected a smile.

"As much as I would like to brag about my ninja skills, I... didn't necessarily plan to come here," the android said. "I just suddenly...was here."

‹Oh boy,› Tobias said, looking at me. ‹I wonder who could be behind that.›

In response, a voice came from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

IT WAS ME, THE ELLIMIST.

‹Oh, wow,› Tobias said, rolling his little hawk eyes. ‹What a surprise.›

HELLO AXIMILI, HELLO TOBIAS, HELLO EREK, said the Ellimist. EREK, I NEVER THANKED YOU FOR YOUR HELP ON THE ISKOORT PLANET.

Erek looked around the woods, clearly unsure how to address the Ellimist.

"No problem," he said, uncertainly.

Tobias and I looked at each other. He was in a slightly different red-tailed hawk morph, trying out the effects of staying away from his own body to test the limits of morphing. I had to admit, I was impressed by the Animorphs' recent deep dive into the morphing power's intricacies. On our planet, the technology was so new we hadn't fully considered all consequences.

I watched Tobias subtly demorph from new hawk to old hawk, presumably to avoid questions.

A breeze kicked up debris from the forest floor, causing leaves and twigs to swirl slightly in the air. Suddenly, a small creature, one that Marco had described as "elvish", emerged from the small whirlwind. This was a common physical form that the Ellimist took during our conversations.

"Making any progress?" the Ellimist asked, seemingly cheerful. He usually was not so direct. Straight answers were not typically a common decency of the Ellimist.

‹Is that why you have come?› I asked somewhat scornfully. ‹To check on your resistance pawns?› I did not like the Ellimist's games. Andalites do not generally appreciate being used in the larger schemes of others.

"Why, Aximili, is there a rule that says I cannot coach my favorite team?" the Ellimist asked innocently, taking a few steps toward myself and Tobias. Erek was behind the Ellimist, looking a bit nervous. This was his first one-on-one experience with such a being.

I kept an eyestalk on the screen of the processing computer. The download seemed to have hit a snag. In fact, the screen appeared frozen.

‹You and Crayak say you cannot interfere, but who knows to what degree that holds,› Tobias snapped. Perhaps he was still upset about the Ellimist's "trick" from long ago, keeping Tobias in hawk form while returning his morphing powers to him.

"We have made a few, shall we say, exceptions in this case," the Ellimist explained, with a slight smile. "This situation has turned quite grave in a very, very short amount of time."

I quickly tapped a few keys on the makeshift keyboard, but to no avail. The encryption Zenguh had used appeared to have locked up the system near the very end of the process.

Erek stepped forward. "I agree," he said. "But even our intelligence is having trouble finding details. We know the Yeerks are extremely stressed out, but that's pretty much it.

Erek turned to the Ellimist.

"Why am I here?" he asked simply.

The Ellimist dropped his smile. I attempted a few quick rewires to the computer, still listening to the conversation.

"Crayak and I have modified a few rules," the Ellimist said. "He has...subtly informed the Yeerks of Zenguh's situation, and I have subtly brought a Chee here, to Aximili's scoop. Two plays that are equally fair, I think."

‹'Subtly,' ha,› Tobias said.

The Ellimist ignored this remark and addressed me, still fumbling with the flashing error displays.

"Having trouble, Aximili?" the Ellimist asked innocently.

I stopped what I was doing and focused all my attention back to the Ellimist.

‹You knew this technology would not work to decipher Zenguh's information,› I said. It was a statement, not a question.

"I merely believed that perhaps you could use the help of some more advanced technology, without the hassle," the Ellimist said, chuckling. "Erek, can you provide some assistance?"

Erek walked over to the computer, giving me a questioning look.

‹Isn't that a fun feeling?› Tobias muttered.

Erek put out his hologrammed hand, and the image disappeared, revealing the metallic paw-like form of his android extremities. A thin, metal piece came out of his hand and inserted into my computer, and in no time at all, the encrypted message had been broken through and was displayed easily on the monitor.

Tobias, Erek, and I crowded around the screen to read the visual display. I was shocked by what I was reading. This Yeerk was truly going rogue, spurning the Yeerks and maximizing every aspect of Andalite morphing technology. He had to be stopped, and now we knew where to go.

"You have all the tools you need," the Ellimist said from behind us. "Remember that sometimes you have to sacrifice an important piece to win a game of chess."