"It's just a Blade ship, what's the big deal?" Rachel stated. "I mean all of the Vissers have one … Ax?"

((Not all the Vissers are allotted a private battleship, only the higher ranking ones. It is believed no Visser under the rank of…))

((It is his ship.)) Tobias said cutting off Ax. ((Can't you guys feel it, his evil presence?))

I rolled my eyes and was about to make a crack about someone watching Star Wars too much on the trip, when I realized that he might be right. The Hork-Bajir planet was secured there was no reason to have a high ranking Visser here; it was a glorified babysitting job. No Visser I have ever met would agree to this. But it didn't mean the Blade ship belonged to our friend Visser Three.

"Look maybe it is some random Visser trying to up his prestige by quashing the little Hork-Bajir rebellion planet side." I started. "Or maybe Yeerks have a Visser patrolling the systems they control. It is not our guy." I made sure to look at Tobias as I finished my sentence.

We hid behind the Blade ship long enough to engage our cloaking device and descend to the planet side. I was so busy convincing myself that Tobias was wrong, that I didn't notice there were 2 Blade ships in Hork-Bajir space. One of which was much closer to the planet, indicating that it had been here for a while, whereas the one we encountered was at the fringe of space, as if it had just arrived.

We couldn't put the ship down on top of the lab, that would have been too easy, and clearly not worthy of an Animorph adventure. The lab was buried deep with in a cliff face; the only way to reach the cliff face was on foot. The other down side was open area. This planet covered in forests with trees thousands of feet high, yeah you heard me right thousands. The Sequoias of Earth are like baby trees here. And were you don't have dense forest you have unforgiving cliffs, and canyons, like the planet is coming apart at the seems. And it isn't as if we could land at the bottom of the canyons. Not unless we wanted to be vaporized by the planets core. And the third problem, did I mention the third problem? Well this by far is the best part, the only areas that are prime for landing; well those parts are prime Yeerk real-estate. We're talking Yeerk pools, Star ports, buildings amusement parks; ok I made the last one up. But there was no place you could safely land a ship, someone was bound to run into it, literally.

We ended landing the ship on an ample tree branch, which was hopefully far enough away from the cleared Yeerk base to limit its exposure to Hork-Bajir Controllers.

"Everyone remember where we parked." Jake lectured as we climbed out of the ship.

"We should scale down the tree in Hork-Bajir morphs," Cassie explained. "Using our raptor morphs would be faster, but we can't chance someone spotting an Earth bird here."

I didn't like it, but I didn't argue. I hate heights, well not so much heights as the fear of falling to my death. And instead of being say, a bird who can soar down safely, I was going to climb down. And if I made one mistake on the climb down it would be all over.

"Yeah sure, no problem." I gulped. "And thus ended Marco, the brave, the valiant, the irresistible… not felled by a mighty warrior on the battlefield, but by a tree."

"Quit your whining." snapped Rachel.

I ignored her words and focused on the Hork-Bajir DNA inside of me. I felt my neck lengthen as I gained the snake-like neck of the Hork-Bajir. I felt the taut coils of muscles appear in my legs and arms. I grew taller and taller, bigger than Shaq. I felt my teeth melt together and harden into a falcon-like beak. My eyes grew slightly dimmer, but my hearing sharpened. Sproot! Sproot, sprout! Blades started exploding from my head like overgrown pimples. I turned to see my tail start to grow out behind me, a thick muscular tail meant for balance. It was as if someone had pinched my tail bone and was stretching it out as if it were made of silly putty. Sproot, Sproot! The last of the blades appeared on my wrists, elbows, knees and tail. My feet unfurled into huge T-rex like feet.

I felt the Hork-Bajir instincts start to take over, my fears of falling melted away as I finished my changes. I was at home in the trees; I didn't fear falling, the thought never crossed my mind.

"Yee-haw!" I shouted as I plunged from our branch down a couple stories grasping my hand out clasping on to a smaller branch, only to swing around and launch myself further down the tree.

"Apparently now heights don't bother him." Tobias commented.

It didn't take too long until we had made it to the base of the tree. We headed out towards the gaping wound in the planet that was the canyon. It was a hit and run mission, we weren't suppose to be here very long, get in, blow up the lab and leave. But as I said before, nothing ever seems to go according to plan.

I had just finished remorphing, when a group of Hork-Bajir made its way to our position. The group had probably 2 dozen or more Hork-Bajir. I noticed that the one in the lead had a Dracon beam holstered at his side, kind of like a bizarre sheriff from a western movie; the others carried strange looking equipment or brandishing weapons.

((Play it cool,)) Jake warned us in thought-speak. This was a cool thing about morphing; even if you morphed an animal that could talk through other means, say like a human, as long as you were in a morph you could still use thought speak. ((They probably just think we are a patrol group or something. Act confident, look directly at the approaching Hork-Bajir, if it looks like we're suppose to be here, they might let us pass.))

Yeah, look confident. No big deal, it's just 20 odd Hork-Bajir with Dracon beams surrounding us, why wouldn't I be confident. What did Jake think we'd be scared? I mean where did he get these crazy ideas?

((Shut up Marco!)) Tobias hissed.

Apparently I was not just thinking that in my head. By this time the pod, the group? The gaggle? Yeah gaggle, by this time gaggle of Hork-Bajir had closed in and was an arms length away. I heard the lead Hork-Bajir roar something in a deep and guttural language.

((Galard)) Ax explained. ((He is wondering where are weapons are.))

((Tell him we are on recon mission, if we were to be spotted by the rogue Hork-Bajir, we wanted them to think we were one of them,)) lied Jake.

Ax translated what Jake had said to the rest of the group, this went on for a while, Ax would explain what was being said via thought speak, and then would relay what Jake had said in Galard.

((He wants us to head back to the base, our reconnaissance mission can wait until a later date.))

((We can take them!)) I rolled my eyes, Rachel, of course. Apparently rolling your eyes is a universal for signaling that you think an idea is stupid. Because after I did my eye roll, the big lead Hork-Bajir closed the distance between us and yelled something at me, then he waved us off.

((What's his problem?)) I asked.

((He wanted you to know that it is perilous to your health to incur the wrath of a Visser by questioning his orders.))

((He didn't seem like a Visser.)) Cassie said.

((Oh, I thought you noticed,)) Ax began. ((He was a member of a Visser's Elite guard, which is why he doesn't need to return to base, he has other orders to follow. Didn't you see the black arm band?))

I thought about what Ax said, I did remember something about arm bands, we saw them when we first learned my mother was still alive, when we first meet Visser One.

((Um, Ax?)) Tobias ventured, ((Lets pretend we don't know what the black arm band signals.))

((Well as you know Gold is for Visser One, and Red is for Visser Three. The color ranking for Visser's goes as follows: Gold, blue, red, purple, black …))

((You're saying Visser Five is here?)) Cassie asked.

((It would seem so,)) Ax confirmed.