Once the Yeerk pool was completed, the Yautja officers quickly captured the local men for infestation. In short order, the Yeerks acquired an army militia armed with AK-47s, rocket propelled grenades, machine guns, and other explosives. Makawee and Lex watched from afar unable to do anything about it. At the same time, the Visser sent out hunting parties to search for Makawee and Lex in case they had survived.
"We found traces of chemicals known to break down organic matter," a Lieutenant informed the Visser. "We cannot tell how many bodies were destroyed this way."
"We must assume that this is a ruse. A number of them may be still alive," the Visser said. "The one named Alexawood is very knowledgeable about the planet."
Lex took off her mask and braced for breathing difficulties. The two of them could breathe for a short time without their masks. Lex made due to with the meat cut from the gazelle Makawee had killed. Her teeth easily bit into the flesh. She was thankful that she didn't have human taste buds. The gutted gazelle didn't gross her out as it usually would. That was due to her poor vision in Earth's atmosphere. She couldn't clearly see the blood and guts like she would if she were human.
"What is the plan?" Lex asked Makawee.
"We wait for Yautja ships to arrive and investigate," Makawee said calmly.
"In the meantime, hundreds of humans could be infested," Lex argued.
Makawee looked around her to emphasize. "They may do a better job of governing than the humans."
"They are slaves," Lex pointed out.
"There is always a balance between freedom and security," Makawee said.
"There was a wise man who once said: Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one," Lex said quoting Franklin.
"During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that conditions called war. Such a war, as if of every one, against every one," Makawee quoted Hobbs.
Lex simply stared at Makawee. "The Prince taught me a few wise human sayings," she said. "He was particularly fond of a human male named Thomas Hobbs," she added.
Lex figured as much from a member of royalty. "You may be called upon to kill your own kind and race. Will you hesitate?" Makawee asked.
"No." Lex answered.
The Visser remained in the Yautja battleship underground overseeing operations. "We are having difficulty with the different languages. The humans speak French and the native language Sango. Our host bodies do not know these languages and our masks cannot translate Sango," the Captain reported to the Visser.
"My host body only knows Yautja and the human language English," the Visser considered. "Have the human-controllers learn a hundred tactical commands in English and French," the Visser ordered.
"It is unfortunate we did not settle in a land that speaks English," the Captain dared.
The Visser stared at the Captain in the same manner as the Prince when he was being challenged. "We have settled here to avoid detection from the humans and to find the survivors. Soon, tens of thousands of humans will be under our command."
"What is the plan for finding the survivors?" the Captain asked skeptically.
"We shall draw them out. Send a human militia to a nearby village and kill every man, woman, and child there," the Visser ordered. "Take your time killing each individual human. I want to make certain the human Alexawoods knows of it," the Visser ordered.
Makawee and Lex noticed a fire in the distance. "It is outside the Yeerk perimeter. They are expanding their zone," Makawee noted.
"Should we investigate?" Lex asked.
Makawee nodded. "You may lead."
The two of them crossed the African grasslands while cloaked. Occasionally the grass would unnaturally sway as they crossed through. The heat of the African sun and the cloak would have been unbearable to a human but for a Yautja it was nothing. Lex's mask analyzed the human weapons from their sounds indicating AK-47 rifles. The two watched as a human militia started shooting civilians one-by-one. Lex immediately placed red triangles on multiple targets.
"You will give away our position," Makawee warned.
"We are in cloak," Lex argued.
"There may be Yautja in cloak too," Makawee pointed out.
"I can't just watch," Lex objected.
"It is too risky. The two of us cannot be captured or killed together," Makawee said. "Find me if you survive," Makawee said sympathetically and turned away.
Lex waited for Makawee to run off a fair distance and then placed red triangles back on. A militiaman placed the muzzle of the rifle towards another civilian kneeling on the ground. Lex fired through her cloak sending a deadly blue burst through the air. The beam blasted off the milita man's head. The militia men behaved differently than Lex would have expected. They did not fire into the wilderness but kept still as if begging Lex to fire again. The village became perfectly silent.
Lex could tell that they were trying to pin-point her position. She decided to quietly and slowly move from her location. Suddenly plasma bursts hit her former location blasting dirt and grass into the air. Lex ran away as the fire roared around her. The human militia fired away hoping to hit her. Jeeps with machine gunners sped away looking for any sign of Lex.
"Should we kill the humans?" the militia leader asked a Yautja-controller.
"No, infest the men and kill the others."
As Lex ran off at top speed, a sudden flash of light blinded her mask. There was a strong wind and then she was knocked off her feet. The jeeps lost control and skidded in the dirt. Lex felt sore as if she had been hit by an invisible bus. Her mask refocused and saw a large mushroom cloud in the distance. Immediately her mask recorded radiation levels. She was safe.
Lex picked up a rifle on the ground and fired into the legs of the militia men. She then took the jeep and drove off towards Makawee's signal. The journey brought her to a high hill the jeep could not travel to. She got out of the jeep and made the short climb to where Makawee was perched. Lex stared at Makawee disheveled appearance. Her mask told her that Makawee's vitals were excited.
"What happened?" Lex asked.
"I detonated my bomb," she said as if it were obvious.
"Why? Did you get hit?" Lex asked stunned.
"No, I looked for a location where the population was zero and then detonated the weapon. The human governments will detect the radiation and investigate," she said.
"I thought you wanted to wait," Lex said.
"With the Yeerks in control of the Prince, we cannot rely on the Yautja Empire to save us," Makawee said.
"We only have one bomb left," Lex said touching her wrist band.
Makawee showed her wrist holding three additional bombs. "We have four," she corrected.
Shortly after the explosion, French F1 fighter jets raced towards the site. As they did, they captured photographs of the besieged village and then the blast site. "Human aircraft is investigating the explosion," the Captain informed the Visser.
"Let it pass. If we destroy it, more aircraft will be deployed," the Visser said frustrated. "Continue infesting the humans. Within a few days, we should have several hundred humans under our control."
"Surprising the human would contaminate her own planet with radiation," the Captain noted.
"No, this was the work of the first wife. Alexawoods was merely a decoy," the Visser said.
President Bush wore jeans, a white collared shirt, and cowboy hat as he worked on his ranch. Some of his advisers were present giving him briefings throughout the day. The President's phone went off. "The French say they found what?" he asked amazed. The presidential aides watched intently as Bush frowned at the news.
"Looks like vacation is going to be cut short," Bush said dryly.
"What is the plan?" Lex asked Makawee.
"We need to destroy the kandrona radiation generator. The Yeerks will die in three days without it," Makawee said.
"That's right. It sounds too easy," Lex said.
"It is. The Yeerks may kill their hosts before they themselves die. My main priority is take back the Prince and my son," Makawee said.
"I understand," Lex agreed.
"There is a human settlement nearby. We will attack the Yeerk's camp and then move towards the human settlement," Makawee said.
"You're using the village as bait?" Lex questioned.
"The human aircraft will defend the village," Makawee reasoned.
"That's a big assumption," Lex pointed out.
"I will lead the human-controllers away. You will disable to the kandrona generator inside the ship and rescue the Prince and my son," Makawee said.
"Why don't you want to rescue them?" Lex wondered.
"I am not objective when it comes to family. I can trust you to kill both of them if necessary," Makawee said.
Lex couldn't argue with the cold logic of her answer. Both missions would be extremely dangerous. "Let's do it."
The two went out near the Yeerk human camp and began firing into the base. Machine gun fire and plasma bursts caused explosions and fires throughout the base. Makawee decloaked and took off with the jeep. The human-controllers immediately pursued her with their own jeeps and on foot. Makawee wasn't able to get far as the thick vegetation made it impossible to go forward. Jumping out of the jeep, Makawee ran on foot.
In cloak, Lex cautiously approached the Yautja battleship. There was a hologram covering the hole, but Lex's mask could tell the difference. She ventured towards the hole and climbed inside. Using her wrist blades, she worked down the cave wall towards the bottom. Her mask gave her a clear picture of what had been happening. Humans and Yautja alike were placed in cages used by the Yautja to keep live specimens. At the bottom was a pool that looked like liquid metal.
What she witnessed was a tale of human misery as they cried and stared off into space. Lex hesitated as she saw humans dragged from their cages, their ears forced into the pool, and then infested. Once infested, the human-controllers acted as if nothing had happened. These same humans had been forced to betray and kill their relatives and friends. Lex wondered what the Prince was feeling.
Makawee ran through the forest using her wrist blades to slice the vegetation away. The human militia pursued firing wildly into the forest. Occasionally, Makawee heard the zip of bullets going past her. As she went through the forest, she attached various devices onto the trees and ground. A mine exploded killing several human-controllers. A few others were killed when two devices attached to trees emitted a laser field that sliced their bodies to pieces. Others fell into traps and were impaled on spikes. A large log smashed into another militia fighter killing him instantly. Still, none of these traps Makawee and Lex had developed could stop the large army.
French F-1 fighters surveyed the area again and saw the large army approaching the town. The two fighters circled the area awaiting orders. The Yautja battleship detected the human fighters. "Take us into the air," the Captain ordered.
"The Visser ordered that we stay underground," the pilot insisted.
"If we do nothing, many of our brothers will be killed," the Captain said. "Now, rise."
The Yautja battleship exited the cave and went up into the air to intercept the fighters. Lex watched in amazement as the large ship ascended above the hologram floor.