Jacob Nyles:
((Even if we repair the stealth field, there is still a clear trail through the vegetation, revealing where something crash landed)) Dr. Helaine pointed out.
"That one's easy," I said. Esplin had already thought of it.
"We need to take an explosive, and cause an avalanche. The snow will obscure the trail, and disguise the damage."
((We have no explosives)) Dr. Helaine pointed out impatiently. I touched the sensor screen, and panned to a location twenty kilometers to the east.
"There is a human settlement here. If they don't have explosives, we can at least acquire vehicles, and drive to a location that does," Esplin explained.
Dr. Helaine looked at the town thoughtfully… ((The external temperatures though… none of us can withstand them for long, and I have no morph better suited…))
"Clothing," I said bluntly, resuming control of my mouth.
((Aside from what you are wearing, we have none)) Dr. Helaine answered.
"There should be thermal survival blankets on this ship somewhere," I explained, "We can cut them and tape them into makeshift clothes. It should keep us warm enough to reach the town alive."
The Andalites were unsettled by the plan. The idea of… clothes.
"How do you travel on planets with hostile environments?" I asked, curious.
Dr. Helaine and Torfan exchanged a glance, ((Usually there is no reason to walk upon such a planet. We remain in our ships. If we must, there are environmental containment shields, which will trap a breathable atmosphere in a bubble around us…))
I shook my head, "Fine, freeze to death."
((That might not be necessary)) Dr. Helaine interrupted, ((I've been monitoring the primitive radio frequencies your species uses and… there are radio-emissions originating from this location)) she back tracked on the sensor display, and magnified a section ten kilometers north-east of us.
"Do we have an actual image for this area?" I asked. Dr. Helaine shook her head, ((Topographical resolution only))
"Can I hear the radio-broadcasts?"
Torfan shrugged, and tapped a button on the console.
"This is Park Station Whisky-seven, go ahead, over,"
"Whisky-seven, this is Trucker, how's the weather, over,"
"Trucker, the weather radar's clear, but be advised, thunder's been reported to the south, over,"
"Whisky-seven, how are your supplies, over?"
"Trucker, running a little low on non-perishables, but we can wait. No sense getting killed, over,"
"Whisky-seven, it looks clear down here… I'll risk the run, over"
I looked up from the sensor screen, "It sounds like a ranger station,"
((What are rangers? Warrior-scouts?)) Torfan asked. Apparently the word hadn't translated cleanly.
"Kind of, they keep people from overhunting, make sure they obey the laws, and do a lot of search and rescue. They aren't military though, they're civilians," I explained.
((I see…)) Torfan said, but it was clear he didn't.
"Doctor, where was Trucker's signal coming from?" I asked.
A second red dot appeared on the screen, and I estimated the distance between them was about three kilometers.
((()))
Sonili and Jet were left with Dr. Helaine, who promptly put them to work inventorying the cargo hold, while she went to work on the ship's systems.
((()))
As it turned out, an Andalite can be as stubborn as a human, when the mood takes them.
((Fool)) Esplin spat.
((Be nice)) I replied tiredly. Torfan accompanied me through the forest. We were running, down hill (mostly), but that wouldn't last long. There were only two thermal blankets. We'd cut one of them in half, and wrapped my feet up to the knee in the blanket, and tape. The second blanket had a hole in the middle now, and I was wearing it like a poncho, with more tape wrapped around it to keep it closed. My bare arms had already gone numb, and I couldn't feel my nose, or ears… but we were making good time. The Andalite's hooves gave him almost no traction in the snow, a couple of times, Torfan had sunk up to a knee in a hidden depression, almost breaking that leg. On the bright-side, my feet were quite toasty.
((There is no bright side, Jacob)) Esplin complained sourly.
((Focus on the positive)) I argued.
((Like what?)) Esplin snarled.
((We're finally home)) I said simply.
She fell silent after that, deep in thought. I didn't notice.
((How much further, human?)) Torfan asked, shivering so bad it looked like he was having a seizure.
I looked at the hand scanner, "About three kilometers," I answered.
((Close enough)) Torfan decided, and his stalk-eyes sucked into the top of his head, and his fur disappeared, which was not an attractive look… and probably cold as hell. I decided to look away, and focused on running in place.
((Much better)) Torfan sighed, and I looked over my shoulder. A Hork-bajir stared back. His (well, actually, her, but it doesn't really matter) leather hide was ill-suited to the cold, but the brownish hue of that skin would better conceal him in the trees than his natural blue fur.
We covered the rest of the run in silence. I tucked the scanner back onto my belt when we had closed to half a kilometer. From there, we walked.
The Andalite used a small cave to remorph his Hork-bajir, even though he still had an hour left… which temporarily solved the frost-bite problem. I was not so lucky, and my hands were firmly wedged into my armpits.
I could hear the roar of a truck engine approaching.
((What is that?)) Torfan asked nervously, shredder in hand. In truth, we should have switched weapons, as a shredder was never designed to be used by the blunt, powerful claws of a Hork-bajir… but Torfan was more familiar with a shredder.
"Relax. It's just their supply truck. In fact…" I trailed off.
"We could stun the rangers, and the driver. That would give you two human morphs to pick from. The rangers wake up like nothing happened, and we've left with the truck driver. We get to a town, leave him in his truck, and he wakes up thinking he dozed off…" it could work.
((It will probably work)) Esplin said.
((It is an acceptable plan)) Torfan decided. We snuck to the edge of the trees, and saw a heavy-boned ancient blue pick-up truck, the solid steel frame type. It had snow-chains, and was laboring its way up an icy switch-back road. At the top, a ranger in a green parka was watching, radio in hand. I think the ranger was transmitting observations to the driver. The wind picked up, on the edge of the trees, and sent a knife straight through me.
"Let's sneak in the back and… wait for them…" I chattered. My comrade didn't protest.
The station itself looked like a two-story house, almost. There was a long covered porch along the front of the building, with a steeply pitched roof. The back door wasn't locked.
I lifted my Dracon beam, and opened the door.
"Cliff? I thought you were still outside—" I cut the woman off, stunning her in the back before she finished turning. I caught her before she hit the ground, and dragged her to the nearby table, setting her up like a rag doll, slumping her in the chair, resting her head on her arms. With a jolt, a realized that the first human I'd touched in almost six years had also been rendered unconscious by violent means… by my hand. I really hoped I wasn't setting a trend.
"Clear the rest of the rooms," I whispered. Torfan nodded, his clawed talons clicking on the wooden floor. I snuck to the front of the station, and twitched a curtain aside. The first ranger was still directing the truck driver. I watched until Torfan found me, ((The rest of the building is empty))
"It looks like the truck has almost reached the top… shit." I breathed.
((What's wrong?)) Torfan asked.
"If we're trying to pass this off as everyone got drunk and passed out or something, but the trucker left, we have to wait until they finish unloading the truck, or we do it for them…"
Torfan realized what I meant. (( I see))
"Get ready to make a run for the back door." I whispered.
The ranger outside walked back and stood on the porch, while the trucker ponderously reversed, and backed the truck towards the station. The driver got out, and the tailgate dropped. As soon as they reached in…
"Out!" I hissed.
We scrambled out the back door. "Get on the roof, keep an eye on them" I whispered. I ducked behind a rusting outdoor propane tank, listening.
((They are still unloading the vehicle)) Torfan reported every two minutes. Finally, he said ((The humans have finished unloading, the driver has been invited inside, for refreshment))
I wished I could talk back, but I didn't dare use my communicator outside, in case the orbiting Yeerk ships detected the signal, which is why I hadn't brought it.
((We should have arranged a signal of some kind)) Esplin said quietly.
"Torfan!" I called, as loudly as I dared, cupping my mouth with my hands.
Finally, on the third attempt, each steadily louder, a leathery face looked down at me.
I gestured for him to get down, and he simply dropped.
((What is it?))
"They're inside. Give me your shredder." I whispered.
((Why?))
"Because they're probably together. I want to stun both at the same time, and if they see me, it won't be as bad as seeing a Hork-bajir," I explained. Reluctantly, Torfan handed me his weapon, and I gestured to the door. I think his reluctance had more to do with his estimation of our capabilities with a shredder, than the fear I was going to use it on him... or maybe he was remembering the last time we met, with me holding a shredder… and him twitching on the floor…
Torfan took the knob and eased the door open about a foot. I slipped inside, and the door closed quietly behind me. I could hear voices from the kitchen area. Someone was laughing. I crouched by the doorway, and peeked inside. Trucker was brewing himself a cup of coffee, and "Cliff" was hunting for something in the cabinet. I smiled, and fired, lunging forward. Both humans slumped, and I dropped my weapons, grabbing their coats before they could hit the ground.
I eased them down… and got to work.
((()))
"I am simply nervous, that you are piloting this vehicle. VEE-HIC-KULL," Cliff said with his mouth. I squinted at Cliff, "Shut up, Torfan. I can't fly, but I can drive."
((Even if you haven't done it for six years)) Esplin commented unhelpfully.
We hit a slick spot, and I scrambled to keep us on the road.
((And never in snow)) Esplin said tightly, her fingernails clenched in the back of my head.
"Capability and proficiency are not the same!" Cliff complained, nervous.
Trucker was squished between Torfan and me… but this was a big, wide truck, and Trucker was whip-thin. I wasn't used to a stick-shift though. One good thing about terrible roads is you don't really ever get out of first gear… which was good, because I didn't know how, anyway.
((Have you thought of how to explain Trucker's black-out?)) I asked Esplin.
((Not yet)) she answered.
We'd set up Cliff, and the other ranger at the table. Some whisky was sprinkled on hair and clothing, as well as a tiny bit in the mouth. Then the bottle had been dumped down the sink, with a little bit left in a pair of shot glasses. When they woke up, they'd have a killer migraine… and feel almost exactly like they'd just shared a bottle of whisky. I didn't know how they would explain the clothes missing from their closets…
However I hadn't grabbed a bottle to frame Trucker with.
We survived another corner, contrary to the sounds Torfan was making, and I could see chimney smoke rising in the distance, the town, no doubt.
((Why not crash?)) Esplin suddenly suggested.
((I'm trying not to right now)) I grumbled.
((No, for Trucker. He will have a headache, perhaps give him a bruise on his forehead. Pretend he slid off the road and crashed…)) Esplin explained.
((Better do it where he can see the town… and it would explain why he doesn't remember driving back…)) I mused.
"Hey Torfan, I'm going to crash," I said.
"See!? You should not be piloting—" Torfan started until I cut him off,
"I'll let you out first, you sissy," I slowed to a crawl.
"What is your plan?" Torfan asked suspiciously. I smirked at him, "You'll see. Just leave Trucker in here."
Reluctantly, the alien got out, shivering into his borrowed parka. I buckled Trucker into the passenger seat, and slipped my own seat belt on, now that I had room.
((That tree looks good. Also, the ground is steep there, and the road turns sharply))
Esplin suggested. I looked at the location, and agreed with her assessment. It would do nicely. I slowly accelerated, until the engine began to whine because I was still in first gear. I closed my eyes, and my stomach fluttered as the truck left the ground… then we hit the tree, and my seatbelt knocked the breath out of me. The truck was still running.
((()))
We left Trucker strapped into his truck, in the driver's side, and properly arrayed him, then left the scene of the "accident"
The truck was still idling when we walked into town.
Sonili-Esth-Fastil:
((We've already inventoried that stack though)) I complained. Mother glared at me, ((You claimed they were parts))
((They are!))
((What kind of parts?)) Mother whispered angrily.
((I'm not an engineer. I don't know)) I said, my stalk-eyes stiffening.
Mother bristled at the defiance in my voice, but after a moment, she relented, ((Keep working))
We had been at this for hours. Half of the containers were stacked neatly, in clusters by their contents. Most of the containers (so far) held what one would expect; foodstuffs, replacement parts, computer components, medical supplies, tools, etc. We had found a small case of six hand Dracon beams though, complete with spare power cells. Some of the cargo was damaged though, shock proof containers notwithstanding.
Jett was quiet, lifting anything I asked her to, but she didn't offer to help me inventory. I didn't realize she couldn't read. I should have, but it just never occurred to me. We were almost finished, with only the heaviest containers left when my mother returned.
((Sonili. May I speak with you?)) she asked.
((Just a moment, I only have two containers left)) I said, distracted. She waited quietly until I finished, and I handed the datapad to her. She took it and glanced cursorily at it.
((I know I have not given you as much attention as I should have…)) she started awkwardly, and I groaned.
((I haven't always been there for you, because of my work, but… I wanted to be there, but the People needed me...)) my mother continued.
((I understand, mother, the needs of the People outweigh the needs of your daughter, or yourself)) I replied bitterly. My uncle had at least tried to make time from his security duties for me. Mother became so engrossed in her work that occasionally she forgot to come home, for days at a time. I hated her work. It stole my mother from me.
I remembered four months ago (it seems like eternity now) when I took the initial placement tests for the Academy. It was mandatory, but still… I had scored higher than my uncle (hardly a surprise), but also three percent higher than my mother. I had hoped, maybe, that I'd proved myself worthy of her attention… but no. She had glanced at the results, congratulated me, and proceeded directly to the lab; she'd just had a "breakthrough."
My uncle took off the entire day for me. He took me to the Vespinel gardens, and it was beautiful… but everything felt cold, and I could see my pain reflected in his eyes too. I had lost a mother to that damned laboratory, but my uncle had lost the woman he loved… even if she had never returned that love. After the death of my father, uncle had offered to take his brother's place, and assume parenthood of me in an official capacity, but mother could not be bothered with such foolishness.
I think what I wanted most, was a childhood, with my mother. Taff had been everything my mother was not; simple-minded, loving, and physically imposing. Taff had… perhaps not adopted me, but simply accepted me as part of her family. Jett, and Jacob were also family to her… perhaps even Esplin, if Taff had been able to differentiate that Jacob and Esplin were separate entities.
With a jolt, I realized my mother had been speaking to me;
((— and I realize it must be difficult, but you can't blame yourself for the Hork-bajir's death. At most, they only live for sixty years regardless. If you must blame someone, blame the Yeerks—))
((No)) I said quietly, staring at my mother with all four eyes, a sign of challenge, or embarrassment, depending on the context. I stepped up, and looked into my mother's eyes. She still stood twenty-six centimeters higher than me, and perfectly proportioned, unlike me… but in that moment, I felt… powerful, beautiful, strong. I realized I had something my mother did not.
((Taff was not some pet to me. She was able to fulfill a need you never have. She put me first. She believed I was worthy of her attention, and time. You realize nothing that you cannot measure or study with your instruments)) I turned my back, and walked away.
((I have sacrificed everything for you!)) My mother snarled, ((You threw away your future for some alien, and a yeerk with a guilty conscience! You traded their lives for the life of a prince!))
I stopped, and looked at my mother. I saw Jacob in my mind once more, beaten, broken. Esplin may have deserved such treatment from past crimes I knew nothing of, but her host body, Jacob, could not have earned such a punishment… and Evaan had been willing to murder what he believed to be a mere aristh, to protect his secret. Some of my guilt turned to loathing.
((A prince is a hero of the People)) I agreed, ((But tell me… when a prince no longer serves only the People, is he still a prince?))
((You dare?!)) my mother struck at me with the flat of her blade. She had never struck me before; I was caught off-guard.
Jett however, had fought Andalites for as long as she could remember. A yeerk had controlled her movements, true, but Jett had still been present. Her body had not been free so long as to forget that which had kept it alive.
"Kap ghafrash Hruthin kawatnoj!" Jett snarled, her forearm blade still raised, sporting a nick from deflecting the harder blade of my mother.
((I learned something from the alien, and the "Yeerk with a guilty conscience". Sometimes, family is more than bloodline or lineage. Sometimes… your real family is those who care about you)) I said softly, placing a tiny, delicate hand on Jett's arm.
My mother stared at me, speechless, as a once mortal enemy shielded me from her.
In a quieter voice, I said ((You have your inventory. I think it would be best if you studied it privately))
My mother jerkily turned, and walked away, her movements tight and trembling. I could almost taste her rage and confusion. My mother was a genius, one of the brightest minds of the People. There was no scientific topic she could not eventually unravel… but unlike her, I understood people. This is what I possessed, which my mother could never dream of having.
Esplin 1894:
((Why are we even bothering with this?)) I asked, annoyed. Jacob shrugged, ((I'd rather not steal everything))
We were carrying firewood for some elderly human female, in exchange for a free meal.
((Why didn't you eat at the station?)) I complained.
((Because they might not have another resupply for a while, and they might need the food. I also wasn't hungry then)) Jacob explained.
((Torfan is waiting to leave)) I reminded him.
((Relax. He doesn't know how to drive)) Jacob replied.
I sat and stewed while Jacob slowly walked beside the withered human. He made small talk while we walked… inane chatter about any variety of topics, the only objective, apparently, was to exchange words. By the time we reached the woman's house, on the edge of town, I was ready to explode. We were running out of time to conceal the crash, and Jacob was taking time to eat.
"Have you been here long?" Berta asked.
"No, I just arrived this morning," Jacob replied.
"Oh? I heard the roads east of here were blocked."
"To vehicles. You can still walk on them."
Berta glanced at us, surprised, "You really must be starved. The nearest town is what… forty miles?"
"My truck's somewhere along there…" Jacob joked.
Berta chuckled, and finally, we were given food. The second the smells hit us, Jacob's mouth began to water. Nutrient pellets and synthesized nutritional goop would prevent starvation, but they were no substitute for food.
Jacob hated clam chowder.
But he ate every spoonful, no longer remembering why he hated something that tasted so amazing, and for the first time in months, our stomach did not gurgle in complaint at us. There was bulk to the food, a heavy sense of weight, and wholesomeness. I stood right beside him, reveling in the taste and scents. Berta offered us seconds.
We accepted.
Helaine-Mtalenon-Ashul:
((The explosive is crude, but in sufficient quantity, it should suffice)) Torfan told me, over the tight band burst communication we were using. I glanced at the scanner telemetry he sent me. Judging from the distortions in the reading, he was shielding the scanner from casual observation with his body.
The scanner detected a sudden seismic imbalance, and a loud klaxon sounded.
((Can you send me a visual feed?)) I asked. Torfan fumbled with the settings on the communicator, and a shaky image of a crude looking quarry of some kind appeared.
I saw humans, miners no doubt, and they advanced into the tunnel, wearing crude filtration masks.
((Estimate?)) I asked.
((Three or four containers?)) he guessed.
((Then take five)) I decided.
That was easily said, but harder to do. The building that Torfan had scanned was quite durable, its walls were thick, and made of multiple layers of iron alloys, cast ceramics, and varying types of plastic polymers. The locking mechanism on the door was crude, but I could not remotely compromise it. Direct manipulation of an internal mechanism was required, in addition to an electronic locking device with a keypad, and a slot for a magnetic security strip. Torfan could not simply cut through the ten centimeter thick walls either, for two reasons;
First, Torfan had detected crude strands of electrified copper filaments, linked to some kind of device, which he believed (and I agreed) would sound an alarm if the current was disrupted in the filaments. It was an ingenious, and inexpensive system, despite its primitive set-up.
Second, he would have to tune his shredder output to an extremely fine beam. This would cause the interior temperature of the building to rise rapidly, and if any explosives were directly touching the wall, the heat would be conducted directly to them, and most of the compounds detected were highly unstable at elevated temperatures, to the point of spontaneous detonation…
There might have been a simple trick we could use to subvert the safeguards… but the human was conspicuously absent, despite Torfan's thought-speak summons.
((Sir, I discretely scanned the town while we passed through, and detected materials, that if properly mixed and prepared, could be explosive...)) Torfan suggested.
((How long would it take?)) I asked, entertaining the possibility.
((It would depend upon how much of the substances we could procure, not to mention there is also the issue of portability. We still have to transport the finished explosive to the top of a rather large mountain))
((Call the human again)) I interrupted, glaring at the human building in the video. Torfan contacted the human via thought-speak, and informed him of his location, and that time was of the essence… again. The human proved more willing to cooperate if the request came from Torfan. The human was still unmanageable as a warrior. He lacked discipline. His heart ruled his head.
((()))
Torfan found a secluded stand of vegetation to strip out of his human clothing, and remorph human form. Then he waited, impatiently, for the human to arrive. I continued to analyze the human building for a weakness, shifting my hooves on the metal deck. It was starting to cool inside the ship, without power to the life support…
The human arrived nearly an hour later, on foot.
((Look thirty degrees to your right. I am on the hill)) Torfan informed him sharply, and he ambled towards the aristh, looking smug, for some reason known only to him.
((I have located a cache of human explosives, in that secured building)) Torfan pointed to the fabricated building in question.
((There is a mechanical locking mechanism, a magnetic strip, and an electronic key-pad on the door. There is an alarm tied into the walls, and some of the explosives are heat sensitive)) Torfan informed him.
The human frowned, staring at the building, "I asked around. Apparently the mine operates in shifts, around the clock, so we can't just go in at night and blow out the locks," Jacob told us as he scratched at the stubble on his jaw absently.
"Esplin and I have three ideas, but we don't have the time or preparation necessary for them. Also, they might endanger the miners," he said.
((What are they?)) I asked over the comlink. If nothing else we might be able to alter, or build upon one.
Jacob shrugged, "We could start a fire, heading towards the mine. They would have to evacuate the explosives in trucks. We dress up like miners, and help them load the explosives, and take one of the trucks. But wildfires are hard to start in winter, and besides, the fire might cut the miners off, or spread."
((What else?))
"We could pose as safety inspectors, or something, investigating possible negligence, maybe from anonymous tips we received… but I don't know how an inspector is supposed to act. They'd probably know we were fakes after five minutes," the human continued unhappily.
((What is the third idea?)) I asked.
"They have to open the magazine to get explosives for further blasting. We wait till they open it up for us, and rob them," he said.
((Why are you hesitant to implement that plan?)) I asked curious.
"We would need human guns, masks… the explosives will be heavy, there are only two of us, and there will be a lot of miners involved… they'll follow our truck…" he shook his head, "Unless we kill everyone, we'll be caught." He had an angry gleam in his eye, "and I'm not killing anyone."
I considered his plans, ((Is there any way to simply bypass the locks?)) I asked. He shook his head, "I can't pick locks, and you said there's a key card and code pad too."
He hesitated for a moment, looking off into space. I felt a shiver of revulsion. The human was conversing with the parasite. After a moment, he looked back at me, "Actually… Esplin has an idea…"
((()))
The human was perched on the roof of one of the mining buildings, with a clear line of sight on the keypad. In his hands he held a crude optical magnification device, stolen from an unlocked vehicle, he called them binoculars. Torfan was also nearby. His scanner was recording electrical activity in the various circuits of the locks, in case the human was unable to observe the code, which was being relayed to my computer terminal. I might even be able to deduce the encrypted magnetic information, and duplicate it. I should be able to recreate the electrical signals in the locks, after seeing what the correct pathways were… but the Yeerk was unsure of this, hence the human and his binoculars.
A human with a white plastic helmet walked to the explosive's depository, with two miners. His clothing was ill-suited for the mine, unlike the durable jumpsuits the miners wore. Torfan watched the scanner intently, and smiled like a human when the electronic locks were bypassed, clearly showing the correct sequence.
The rest, just as the human had claimed, was child's play.
