The Yeerks word around the clock to create a simulated version of their pool on the Hork Bajir world. They would exit through the ear canal and dip into the pool so as to receive life nourishing radiation from their home world. The Black Yautja had used this radiation as a way to gain the Yeerks cooperation but now they were all dead.
The Yeerks used Black Yautja ships to blast away large sections of the forest to make way for their pool. The toxicity of the pool immediately began to kill everything around it. The Hork Bajir upon being freed monetarily would be imprisoned and guarded until the Yeerks had acquired enough radiation for reassertion.
On the bridge of the scout ship, the Prince briefed his hunters. "Our enemy is a Black Yautja clan and those infested by Yeerks. You will all wear ear protection under your masks to make it difficult for the enemy to take control of you. It is your honor and duty to destroy yourself rather than become controlled," the Prince said.
"How will we detect who is and who is not infested?" a hunter asked.
"The Yeerks give off a faint but recognizable heat signature. By analyzing the skulls of the Hork Bajir you will be able to notice which ones are infested. It is not a perfect science, but I am willing to allow for a certain number of non-infested Hork Bajir to die to save the planet," the Prince answered.
"The Hork Bajir are not formidable prey unless infested by the Yeerk. They have blades, but they used them only to pry off bark from trees. They do not use them as weapons. They have low intelligence and lack any aggressive notions," the Prince added.
"We are now in the system," the Captain informed the Prince.
The Prince then looked over the forested planet. A lone Black Yautja ship was in orbit oblivious to the scout ship. "Fire on that ship. Let's keep them stranded," the Prince ordered.
The scout ship came out of cloak and fired on the Black Yautja ship. There was an intense explosion and then what was left fell into the planet's atmosphere where it burned up. "Find me their base," the Prince ordered referring to the Black Yautja.
The scout ship came closer to the planet and scanned for the Black Yautja base. There was a tense moment of silence as the ship orbited the planet. "We have found the signature," the Captain said.
The Prince saw a hologram of the Black Yautja ship and a large artificial lake nearby. "That must be the Yeerk pool but why would the Black Yautja allow for one so large?" the Prince wondered.
"Shall we fire?" the Captain asked.
"Yes," the Prince answered.
The scout ship exited out of cloak and was about to fire when it was suddenly hit. The ship staggered as it was hit, smoke and exhaust flooded the compartment, alarms went off, and life support systems were failing. Another hit knocked out the anti-gravity controls.
Lex was in her room when the ship had been hit. She was violently thrown out of bed and then felt herself floating. Onboard artificial gravity had always been a given. Now, she watched in amusement as her braided hair went everywhere.
The Prince was less amused as he floated over to the controls. "Get us a safe distance from the planet," he ordered harshly.
The Captain struggled with the damaged controls but managed to move the ship farther away from the planet. There were additional beams headed towards them but most of them were missing as they moved farther away. Other Yautja on the bridge also struggled to get to the walls and steady themselves.
Lex entered the bridge on her feet and walked calmly towards the floating Prince. "Here are your boots," she said helpfully.
The Prince took them and placed them on his feet as he somersaulted in space. He then landed on the bridge and steadied himself. The magnets on his boots kept him on the floor. "My son?" he asked.
"He's fine. I decided not to bring him to the bridge to spare you the indignity," she said amused.
The Prince turned away from Lex. "I want anti-gravity controls fixed immediately," he said and then walked off the bridge in a huff.
Lex followed the Prince as the other Yautja went to work to fix the damaged bridge while floating. The Prince went to his room where he found it a mess with all his belongings floating around the room. A number of bladed weapons and skull trophies floated near them.
"You don't have many belongings," the Prince noted.
"Thanks for reminding me," Lex confirmed.
"We shall retire in your quarters," the Prince said without asking.
The Prince and Lex went down the hall and entered Lex's quarters, which was significantly smaller than the Prince's. The Prince inspected the room and then rested on her bed with his feet still on the floor. Lex walked over to the Prince as he began to rest.
"Are you not supposed to lead them?" Lex asked.
"The engineers can fix it. I have already given my orders," the Prince said dismissively while closing his eyes.
"Maybe they need help?" Lex said.
"It is not a matter of whether it can be done but when it will be done. I can wait," the Prince said.
"Unless we lose life support and die," Lex scoffed.
"We will use the escape pods before that happens," the Prince replied.
"Have you inspected them to see if they're functional?" Lex nagged.
The Prince sighed and ignored Lex. She turned away from him and made sure her door was locked. She then turned back to the Prince making sure to make a thud every time she made a step with her magnetic boots. The Prince ignored her.
Lex looked down at the resting Prince both disgusted and amused. She reached down and quickly took off his boots before he could notice. The Prince stared floating above the bed without his boots. Lex took off her boots as well and floated towards him.
The Prince opened his eyes and realized what had happened. Annoyed he went towards the wall but Lex stopped him. "Why?" he demanded.
"I want to have some fun. I have never tried this before," she said.
"I do not think this the time or place for it," the Prince rebuked.
"We're on a damaged ship, no gravity, life support failing. This is the best time for it," she told him.
"Very well," the Prince agreed and became relaxed.
"I want some enthusiasm," Lex said disappointed.
The Prince extended his mandibles at her and then in a quick motion tore apart her clothes to reveal her breasts. He wrapped his arms tightly around her so that they somersaulted around the room together in zero gravity. Lex held on to his hips with her legs.
"Don't let go," the Prince ordered her.
Lex clutched his rough skin in response causing him to roar in both pleasure and pain.
The Prince walked casually to the bridge once the artificial gravity was fixed. "It would appear the enemy has a surface weapon," the Captain reported.
"You think so," the Prince replied sarcastically.
"Your orders," the Captain asked.
"Take us back towards the planet but not within a line of sight of that surface weapon," the Prince ordered.
"The ship is still in a state of disrepair. Should we request assistance?" the Captain asked.
"No, this mission is classified. We are not here," the Prince replied. The Prince then turned to the other hunters on the bridge. "Ready yourselves for a hunt."
The scouting ship struggled to make its way to the planet and stayed out of range of the surface weapon. The ship then fired missiles that orbited the planet before descending. The surface weapon fired on the missiles destroying them in space. The Prince watched as large nuclear explosions lit up the upper atmosphere. The Prince then stared at a topography map of the planet.
"Have my wife come to the bridge," the Prince motioned to a subordinate.
Lex arrived late and took her time to see him. "You must be tired," the Prince said to her.
"Wide awake," she replied.
There was a tense moment of silence on the bridge. "Perhaps you can be useful. Do you see fault lines on this map?" the Prince asked.
Lex studied the alien world and saw patterns on the mountain ranges of the planet. The map became more detailed as Lex zoomed in using her hands to guide the hologram program. "I believe this is where the fault line is," Lex said using her knowledge of topography.
"Good, fire on it," the Prince ordered.
"That will cause volcanic eruptions all along the fault," Lex told him.
"I know. That was why I asked you to point them out," the Prince replied.
Lex watched as an intense beam of light sliced through the planet's crust. Earthquakes immediately occurred and lava exploded out of the ground. The forests were lit on fire from the lava streams sending smoke everywhere.
"The enemy relies on vision similar to humans whereas we can use infrared. Additionally, our masks will protect us from the smoke. This gives us the advantage," the Prince explained.
"Not very sporting," Lex replied.
"We will save this race…and then we will hunt it," the Prince said.
Visser One saw rising smoke and felt tremors under his feet. "Find out what has happened," he ordered sending scouts in the direction of the smoke.
Andrea and Dak also felt the impact of the beam attack. Hork Bajir fled as the volcanic eruptions displaced them. "This is no coincidence," Andrea said. "We must find the Yeerk base."
"There is a way to avoid the smoke," Dak said leading her down the valley.
The Prince and the hunters prepared themselves for battle. When all of his blades, plasma cannons, and armor were placed on him, a subordinate placed protective gear around his ears and then placed the mask over his face.
"My son will be placed in the secondary team," the Prince ordered.
"What about me?" Lex asked.
The Prince stared at her with his mask. "You shall remain here," he said. "Make sure she is comfortable," the Prince ordered the Captain.
"You don't need me on the surface?" Lex asked curiously.
"You have done your part already," the Prince replied.
Lex shook her head in amusement as the Prince motioned for his hunters to walk towards the docking bay.
Several smaller craft shot down towards the surface and impacted with mini explosions. The doors opened allowing the hunters to exit. The Prince looked around at the tall trees and then cloaked himself.
The Yautja hunters soon came upon a Hork Bajir scout. Seeing the unusual heat signature in their skulls, the Yautja fired on them killing them easily. The Yeerks immediately attempted to crawl away from their dead hosts.
"Should we kill them?" a hunter asked the Prince.
"No, let them starve to death," the Prince said.
A scout observed a flash of light from an unknown source kill his partner. The blast went through his chest and out his back. The scout then fell off the tree and splattered on the ground. Realizing what had happened the scout fled the scene back to base.
"Yautja are here," the scout reported to Visser One.
"So, they survived. We must infest as many of the Hork Bajir as we can to put up a front," Visser One ordered.
"Many have fled due to the eruptions," the scout reported.
"Find them and bring them back," Visser One ordered.