CHAPTER ELEVEN

Eventually, the Rachel came into view. Oddly enough, it had been built for the Yeerks. It was a cruiser ship, larger than your standard fighter and twice as scary looking. It kinda reminded me of a boomerang. With Dracon cannons.

"Isn't she a beaut?" Marco joked.

((The Rachel? An odd name for such a deadly ship...)) Malbin whispered.

"She's named after one of our... fallen teammates. She was my cousin," Dad replied.

His cousin? Why wasn't I ever told about this? Then again, Dad never really liked to talk about the war.. Whenever he was home, he tried to act like it was the furthest thing from his mind.

"I gotta give it to the little man, Jake. He was gonna escape all on his own. He didn't even need the Jungle Book warriors."

"That was a dangerous move, son," Dad said, looking me in the eyes. "You could've been killed."

"I was prepared for the worst, just like you said..."

He seemed to accept that answer. For now, at least. Our small shuttle-craft docked onto the Rachel.

I should've felt safe being in such a large ship. But it was like stepping into a nightmare. Everything around me reminded me of the Yeerks.. The ship had their style, their design...

For the most part, anyway. My dad's crew had made some changes. Like the Playstation sitting by the main com-link. I doubt the Yeerks needed that for domination...

The pilot's chair turned, revealing a blonde man. He was about my dad's age.

Tobias.

"About time. I was getting worried about you guys."

"And what would you have done about it, Tobias? Some suicide mission? We should all know how well those work out for us," Marco said.

Tobias smirked. "I don't know. That 'Ram the Blade Ship!' order worked out pretty good."

Marco snorted. "Ha. Yeah, right. You guys are lucky. Without an excellent, charming, modest pilot like me, we would've been toast for sure."

"Okay, okay. You guys can stop hammering me over the head about that one," Dad said. "So we lost our main engine and had to crash land. At least we lived to fight another day."

"Tom, don't ever listen to your dad about being prepared and careful. He's neither." Marco laughed and punched Dad on the shoulder.

It was great to see the three of them like this. Like they were kids. I figured they didn't get a lot of chances to reflect. This was just the calm before the storm. We would probably have Yeerks on our butts in no time.

Tobias fired up the thrusters and took us into Z-Space, just to be safe. Plus, we were headed back to the Andalite world. We couldn't risk being followed there.

((Are you three the only crew aboard this vessel?)) Malbin asked, turning to Dad.

"Yes. We did have more at one time, but.. I decided it was best to limit the team to just us.. Just us three."

"The original Animorphs!" Marco cheered.

Dad sighed. "Marco? Can you please quit calling us that? We're not in junior high anymore."

"Oh, come on, Jake. Let a man live his fantasy. We've always had the cool team name, thanks to yours truly. Now, we've got the suits and the ship to go with it. We're kicking Yeerk butt more than ever. We should be happy, man."

But my dad wasn't happy. He never really was. He always seemed down, depressed. I used to wonder if it was my fault, if I was somehow to blame. But I knew better now. It was this war. He kept fighting it. He had to. But he didn't really want to.

And now, I knew about his cousin. Rachel. I'm sure that had taken a toll on him, too...

((If you do not mind me asking, what will become of the Garibah?)) Malbin asked.

"I called for a rescue fleet. It arrived on the scene once we were clear," Dad answered.

((And what is your current mission?))

"Our intelligence tells us that Visser Two has organized a Yeerk battalion," Tobias said, working the controls. "They're planning to raid one of the planets in Quadrant Twelve."

((Quadrant Twelve? But the Andalite world..))

"Don't sweat it, Calvin. The Andalite world is safe. We've made sure of that. There's three Dome Ships in orbit right now, plus a whole fleet. We warned your peeps way in advance," Marco said with a grin.

((My name is Malbin, not Calvin.))

"Hey, if that's what you prefer..."

An hour later, we exited Z-Space. Tobias had gotten pretty good at guessing the best points of departure. He used to talk to me all the time about ships, when I was little. Helped me build a few model ones, too.

The Andalite world was not too far. I could see the gold and red skies below us. I missed home.. I was suddenly filled with eagerness, with excitement..

Home! Mom! Aliana! Even grumpy old Peltour!

Peltour.. I would have to tell him about his son, if he didn't know already...

I saw the Dome Ships circling in the distance. Everything looked fine.

Then, I noticed red flashes in space.

"Hey, is that Dracon fire?" I yelped.

Tobias cursed, then instantly apologized to my dad.

"The Yeerks are trying to go up against that much firepower?" Marco asked, enraged. "What are they thinking? Who would be dumb enough to try this?"

Suddenly, Tobias turned. "Jake. Incoming message. Should I accept?"

Dad nodded.

The main com-link flickered on. The person on the other end was a woman, a Controller. I don't know how I knew, but I did...

She had blonde hair and blue eyes. A cruel smile formed across her lips.

"Visser One thought me a fool. But I knew better. You Animorphs are still running around, trying to play hero."

"Oh my God," Tobias gasped.

"You pathetic fools have played games with us long enough. I don't care how many Bug fighters we lose. I don't even care if this very Blade Ship goes crashing to the ground. All I want is you. All of you. Dead."

"Visser Two, I presume?"

"Precisely, Prince Jake Berenson. Your cousin tried to resist me, but it was futile. Fighting a Yeerk is impossible, as you should know."

Rachel? But I thought...

"Rachel, we cremated your body." Tobias left the controls and walked to the screen. "You died."

"Did I? Oh, yes. That's right. I did. " She laughed. "But that body you cremated was not mine. It's funny. Wipe a polar bear's paw across any girl's face enough times, and she'll look the same... Bloody, battered, left behind by her fellow 'friends.' You sent me to die, Jake. You know you did."

Rachel's eyes gleamed with fiery evil. But that's the thing. They weren't really Rachel's eyes anymore. They belonged to the Yeerk. They belonged to the slimy, parasitic slug lying in her head. She was using Dad's guilt to weaken him. Anyone could see it. But Dad was too torn up inside, too tired to care.

"My comrades were going to toss the body out at first. But then, they made a decision. Perhaps the best decision the Yeerks have ever made. They kept my body, preserved it, planned to revive it...so that they could, one day, take it. And to fool you? To satisfy your naive, simple minds? They murdered one of their fellow Controllers, threw her out into space.. A sad sacrifice, really. But a necessary one. Necessary to extract revenge." She stepped closer.

"This is your fault, Jake. I am a Controller because of you."

My Dad cried. Only a few tears, but he cried...

"Quit talking like that."

"Like what, Jake?"

"Quit talking as if you are Rachel. You are nothing but a Yeerk. A disgusting Yeerk. To you, I will never give in. I will never give up. But to you, Rachel, the real you, locked somewhere inside there... I am truly sorry."

He gave Tobias a look. A look that said Speak.

Tobias looked into the screen. Tears were also in his eyes. "Rachel.. I never got a chance to say it back... I love you."

Rachel's face twitched for a moment, but the expression was soon replaced by the vile, wicked smile of the Yeerk.

"Ready yourselves, Animorphs. The war is just beginning."