"Marco." A voice yelled up the stairs, "Marco!"

I rolled over in my bed and checked the clock; it displayed 10:45 in the red digital clock. I didn't see the big deal it was Saturday after all, what was Dad's problem?

"MMMmph." I grumbled down the stairs, as I rolled over, what I really needed was sleep. It was true, we hadn't done any missions lately, at least any major ones, I hardly consider recon with Tobias a mission anyways, but I really needed to catch up on my sleep. This time for school related issues. I had a paper due in history, and a math test next Monday. Argh, a Monday, what kind of sick twisted person puts a test on Monday, a day already shunned for its infamy of being the worst day ever. Of course the answer is simple, math teachers, and I suppose they hardly count as teachers anyways. Though hallway rumors indicate that Urdahl is getting soft in his old age, he used to do quizzes like these unannounced. Not that math was a weak point of mine or anything, but I had to hand it to the guy he always…

"Marco! Your friend … No is here."

That statement quickly killed my half dream induced ramble about my love/hate relationship with Urdahl. Since No, is actually a name Ax came up with while I foolishly left him alone with my Dad. I bolted down the stairs towards where my Dad, and Ax were, Ax with what appeared to be strands of our new rug in his teeth, and my Dad giving me that look of his which seems to say "Are you sure you're not doing drugs, cause I'm sure he is" look. I gave some half cocked story about how it probably just looks like a delicacy from his home country, I didn't think it was too bad either, if you replaced country with planet since it did kind of look like plush grass we saw on board a Dome Ship. As I did this I pushed Ax upstairs to prevent my father from prying anymore questions out of Ax, like which country he was from.

After we were in the safety of my room I asked in a calm and polite way, what services he wished to solicit that I could offer.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" I said in a hushed yell.

"We were invited to a swim party, at the Kings, and I was informed I don't have proper attire."

I rolled my eyes; Tobias had obviously explained what a pool party was, and what swimsuits were for.

"Why didn't you just ask Rachel to help you?" I said, while finishing dressing.

"I did, she sent me here."

Curse that girl; she was winning our battle of wits, for once.

"Well I guess it's for the best, since if you went with Bird-boy or Xena you'd have probably ended up getting pummeled at the party. Luckily you have the styling of Marco at your service. When is the party anyways?" I had actually forgotten.

"In three of your hours."

"They're everyone's hours," I started as we headed out the door to get a swimsuit.

We would take the bus to the mall, do a little shopping, pick up a suit for Ax, and get back in plenty of time before, it would be easy, no problem.

"So tell me again why you were late?" Jake asked for the second time.

It was only 2 o'clock, I really didn't see the big deal, sure we arrived late, but you know fashionably. Actually it was 3:30, which actually was pretty good timing considering what happened at the mall. I had it all figured out too, we would arrive at the mall pick up a suit for Ax, whatever he wanted and I'd make him put it on, wear it under his clothes so we'd speed up the process of getting into the pool. I lied when I said any suit he wanted, after he came back with the Speedo that you see body builders wearing. After trying unsuccessfully to convince him that it was a bad choice, I caved and let him try it on. I mean who could resist when he said "But it says I'll be the talk of the pool, women will want me and men will want to be me." All this just goes to show that he should stop watching his soaps. When I came to check on him, to make sure he was all done so we could leave. He stepped out of the dressing room with the Speedo over his head like an undersized shirt with one too few holes in it. Oh and did I mention that is all he had on. So after we cause this scene in the mall, we had to lie low for a while. In which we then moved to another section of the mall, and I picked out a swimsuit for him to wear. Of course we had to acquire the suit in such away to not attract more attention to ourselves.

"So you thought an osprey and a harrier stealing a pair of swim shorts would attract less attention?" Tobias inquired.

"Like I said the last time, we're borrowing them for the party, besides no one say us fly away."

"I just wanted to go to the party, Par-Tee." Ax said helpfully.

I saw Cassie start to crack up, as she made some excuse to go somewhere else.

I was only in the pool for five minutes, when Erek approached me. I tried to explain this too him, but he wouldn't hear it, all he would say was I should have arrived earlier.

You had to admire the Chee for pulling off this stunt, since there are actually only a couple Chee that portray humans our ages, which meant most of the people here were actually humans. Erek cloaked us in his hologram, when he approached each of us, playing the part of a good host, and then another Chee would take our place.

"I bet you guys don't even like the water." I commented as I watched myself swimming in the pool.

Erek ignored my comment as we walked into the King house, passing Mr. King, as we approached the elevator to the Chee's underground sanctuary. Erek dropped is hologram as he approached the elevator, which would mean that Mr. King was hiding us with his hologram, while pretending to be a concerned parent, checking on the teens playing in his new pool.

"This will be so cool." Rachel said breaking the silence, "I know you guys have already seen this place, but Tobias and I haven't."

"Its, great," I sarcastically, "if I were a dog, this is what I'd imagine heaven to be."

We reached the bottom of the shaft and stepped out into the wondrous Chee sanctuary. With all its strange flora and fauna, as well as the familiar sights of squirrels dogs, and Chee running around. Erek motioned us to follow him into a room that I hadn't noticed the first time I had been down here.

The room he lead us into wasn't a very big room, it was basically a normal conference room it had a table for us all to sit around as we all listened to the lecture Erek was about to present us with. I had noticed that Tobias and Ax had already demorphed as we entered the conference room. A perch rose up from the table near Rachel, which Tobias used as a roost. Once we had all settled in, Erek began.

"A couple of days ago, we received a secure transmission, it is intended for you." As Erek finished, the room was enveloped in an image.

"This is so much cooler than the IMAX," I said

On the screen appeared a small bird like creature that we encountered before, a native to the Hork-Bajir home world, an Arn named Quafijinivon.

"Greetings, friends," He began, "I am sad to say, I have some bad news. By the time this reaches you, I will have been dead for one of your Earth weeks, my biological clock has expired. The original plan to restart the Hork-Bajir revolution on our planet isn't as successful as I thought. We have won some battles, but have suffered some terrible draw backs. I had several labs operating to out put the maximum amount of resistance fighters that I could."

"I can't believe this guy," Cassie snapped, "they're living beings, and he's treating them like robots." Cassie glanced over at Erek feeling embarrassed, "I'm sorry she said, you know what I mean, he's just pumping them off an assembly line, and sending them too their deaths, he doesn't care about them at all."

"No offence taken, Cassie, I know what you meant."

Quafijinivon, continued "The Children of the Arn, were not performing as well as I hoped. I began modifying their DNA, redesigning them to be warriors, not tree shepard's."

"Did he just say, he made the Hork-Bajir more war-like? Is that even possible?" Someone said, it could have been me.

"I adapted their features to serve as better tools of combat, not for harvesting bark. I didn't drastically alter their anatomy; I still wanted them to infiltrate the Yeerks bases. We were starting to win minor victories, ambushing weapon supplies convoys, starting to attack priority structures. We were making head way in our quest to free ourselves from slavery. This is when we suffered our first major set back. The Yeerks found one of my labs. As soon as we realize it, I detonated the lab. They were able to extract quite a bit of information from the lab, though I don't think they will be able to figure it out for quite sometime, since I interrupted their procedure. The information is useless unless they have all of the program, at best the only know the DNA sequence of the Hork-Bajir, which they already knew. The only problem that remains is we have two running labs left. They will find them soon, and when that happens the galaxy may be lost.

It was my fault really, in order to make the Hork-Bajir more effective, I spent most of my time isolating the defective gene known to us Arn as the Seer gene. Once I isolated it, I incorporated it into all the Hork-Bajir DNA, they would know be more coordinated in their attacks, and could survive with out my guidance. I knew I would be leaving them soon, and wanted them to be successful in their mission. I foolishly sent these groups loose with knowledge of their origins. This is how the first base was discovered. Luckily, I fixed this problem, no one form the other two labs knows their locations. However, I can't risk the Yeerks stumbling upon the other labs. I will detonate the second lab upon my death, leaving only one left. I can't reach it in time to destroy it. It is the lab that I had brought you to, my friends, which still remains active. I fear that this rebellion is also lost. I will soon mount my final attack on the Yeerks, and the lab will be destroyed. But with a lab still available the Yeerks will have the same mastery of genetics as the Arn do. You will not be alone friends. There are still pocket groups of the 'Seer Tribe' as the Yeerks have dubbed them, operating. Destroying this lab will give them a fighting chance at survival. I know what the Hork-Bajir mean to you, and I know you'll grant me this one last favor, for their sake. Thank you my friends. Quafijinivon out."

And with that, the transmission ended. Erek let all the information soak into our heads. I couldn't believe it, the Yeerks having the ability to create deadlier Hork-Bajir, and mass produce them. The Arn wasn't lying, if they possessed this power, then our little Earth based resistance would hardly be noticed, and we would be crushed out of existence, and the Andalite's would be toast. Tobias was the first to break the long silence.

"The Yeerks will be unstoppable after this, they would be able to create the creatures of the Deep, and control them."

Tobias spent a lot of time with the Free Hork-Bajir colony on Earth, and he has told us some pretty fantastic tales about them, such as the Creatures of the Deep. They were ferocious creatures that make the Hork-Bajir wet the bed, I didn't even think that was possible. Tobias had jump right to a point I had missed, it wouldn't just be Hork-Bajir they would be cranking out, it would be, anything their foul minds could imagine.

"They could finally stop enslaving other races." Cassie of course, if there was a beam of hope in this dire situation she would be the first one to find it.

"Remember the Iskroot?"

"Who could forget that planet full of salesman?" Rachel said

"Maybe this is their chance to give themselves their symbiotic life partner."

"Your right, I mean who would give up galactic conquest, when they could create their symbiotic life partner?" I replied

As much as I hated to admit it Cassie, was right, there was a group of Yeerks, who wanted a better way, part of the resistance group that we had recently found out about. Yeerks like Aftran 942, who had enslaved Cassie, and had become a nothlit. She would have dreamed about such a way to finally free themselves from the role of ruthless dictators.

"You know if we could give the Yeerk Peace Movement members that technology we would, but you know that the Visser's will use it for evil." Jake said

Cassie nodded in agreement, but I could still tell she was mad that we finally had a peaceful resolution to this conflict, and yet it would be our undoing, as well as the rest of the galaxy's.

Ax who had remained quite for the whole time finally spoke up I know that you all want to help out the Hork-Bajir, but we have no way to get to their planet. We would have to steal a ship, and the Yeerks know all the tricks we have tried before. I don't think we can successfully capture a ship.

Ax had said what everyone was thinking, we almost captured a ship once, and no one remembers it better than Ax and I. It was Ax's one chance to go home, and it was also the moment I found out my mother was alive. Jake claims we once successfully stole a new Bug-fighter proto type, but personally I think the stress of leading is finally getting to him.

"Actually," Erek interrupted, "you won't need to."

At that moment twelve, I mean fourteen sets of eyes focused on the android.

"The reason we had the pool party was so you could leave in this space ship." As he spoke, the wall behind him disappeared, revealing what I almost took to be a Bug Fighter. It was a little bigger than the standard Bug Fighter, It looked like a transport ship, but it was defiantly of Yeerk design. We were told it was a Jalux ship, which apparently meant the grouping of young Yeerks that moved together once they were spawned. Obviously a personal transport ship, it probably travels as apart of a convoy, due to its apparent lack of weapons. It looked like a silverfish, a type of pill bug.

"How did you get this … actually I don't think I want to know." Jake said

"Well, we had better figure out what to do, we should get some supplies before we head out, I remember from the last time it was a rather long and boring trip." He continued

"You have to leave today," Erek said, "the Chee are uncomfortable with storing this space ship, and you already have a good cover for leaving."

"Erek, would you mind covering for us while were gone?" Cassie, again, always trying to strengthen our friendships with politeness.

"I am just disappointed, I wish you would have told me earlier, and then I wouldn't have spent all that time studying."