CHAPTER 25
David

The debate kind of reminded me of a human one. It was to take place in a field outside of Executive City. Granted, most of the homeworld consists of fields outside of the cities, but that's not the point. The field was packed with Andalites from all parties. There was barely any room to stand. Thankfully, Al and I managed to get a good spot close to the candidates with some of Caysath's people. They remembered the help Tobias gave them in the battle for Hork-bajir and were more than happy to help us out.

The candidates themselves stood on a stage in the middle of the field. Projectors were set up here and there to broadcast their images for those who couldn't see them, which was most Andalites. Security was surprisingly light, all things considered. Not a good sign. I could feel in my bones that something was going to go down tonight.

An Andalite I didn't recognize introduced the candidates briefly. Lirem-Arrepoth-Terrouss, once Master of the Academy and head of the Electorate. His was the position that was being contested. Jaham-Estalan-Forlan, current head of the War Council. Caysath-Winwall-Esgarrouth, decorated commander and a new challenger. Alloran-Semitur-Corass. Not quite so decorated, but far more experienced and probably better motivated.

There might be some confusion here about how this actually works, so I'll try to explain it to you. Forget what other Animorphs might have said, they were probably confused. As Al explained it to me, the Andalite people as a whole are governed by the Electorate, a council of Andalites that the people as a whole elect. The head of the Electorate was the de facto leader of the Andalites, the one with most of the power. The head of the Electorate, and the other members, could serve as long as the people wanted them to. When enough Andalites wanted them replaced, they were gone. That's what we were electing.

To help it run things, the Electorate creates a number of councils. There's an Agricultural Council, a Diplomatic Council, a newly-formed Industrial Council, a few others, and of course the War Council, which has been the most powerful in the past due to the long war with the Yeerks. The War Council held a lot of power and authority, but they still answered to the Electorate. Unless, of course, Jaham ended up elected as the head of the Electorate. Then the War Council would have free reign.

I don't recall a single instance of letting the military run a country ending well, do you?

I'll admit that I tuned out the first part of the debate, since it was just a question and answer section about things I didn't care about. What grass they would propose growing where, what trees they would consider 'protected' (here's a hint, it's all of them), what industries they would promote, and a bunch of other things that really don't effect us at all.

I was almost starting to think this was going to be a waste of time when we finally got to the important part: military matters. That was what was at the heart of all this. The last war with the Yeerks had been a long, hard one for the Andalites. They wanted to make sure that this one went much, much better. So how would they go about doing that? Whoever could convince them that they had the best solution to the military situation would take this thing.

An Andalite I didn't know was asking the questions to the candidates. This time, he started with Lirem. ((Councilor Lirem, we are currently facing a military crisis. Enemy troops seem to be unlimited and most of our allies are unable to be of any direct use. What actions do you advise to rectify the situation?))

((We must remain focused on the long term,)) Lirem answered. ((Even if our allies are of no direct use to us at this particular moment, building strong alliances for the future is of incalculable value. We must maintain strong ties to our allies - particularly the humans - and endure this current threat.))

Alloran scoffed his hoof at that but said nothing. Jaham answered the question next. ((Our allies are of no use to us at the moment. Instead of concentrating on glorified, overgrown children, we must focus on our own affairs. Defense of the homeworld is the most pressing concern. If other races are enslaved or destroyed, it is a terrible loss. But we cannot extend ourselves to the point where we, too, are vulnerable. We must concentrate on a defensive overall strategy of protecting key worlds rather than throwing away resources rclaiming ones that are of no value to us.))

This time, Alloran laughed out loud but didn't say a word. Caysath answered next. ((To say that there are worlds of no value to us is a gross misstatement, Councilor Jaham. Life in all forms is valuable. We Andalites of all races should know that. We care for every blade of grass, every flower and tree. If we show this much care to those who cannot think and feel, how can we abandon those who can? There is only one just course of action. We must fight the Yeerks wherever they are, whether a world is of military value or not. We are the strongest people in all the galaxy, and it is our duty to fight to defend the weak. Just as we care for the blades of grass, so too should we defend our allies. It is the only just course of action.))

Alloran laughed again. ((You speak of justice, Caysath, but what do you know? There is no justice in this galaxy, only suffering and pain. The question is who will suffer, and how greatly. You're all fools, all three of you.))

((Now see here,)) Lirem began.

((Silence, buffoon,)) Alloran interrupted. I couldn't help but be reminded of the Visser. ((You pretend to be looking to the future, but you ignore the present. What good does it do us if the whole galaxy is allied with us if no one will stand with us against the Yeerks? You refused aid time and time again in the First War and it cost many races everything.

((And you, Jaham, speak of defending our own people. And how will you do that? Will you employ your original strategy for Earth? I wonder how many here know of it.))

((This is not the time for-)) Jaham began. Alloran cut him off.

((You wanted to sacrifice Earth. Once it was enslaved and full of Yeerks, you wanted to destroy it completely and wipe out all the Yeerks on that planet. A winning strategy, perhaps, but not for this election. You would let the whole galaxy burn to cover your own backside. What race would deal with you? Only the Yeerks, I think.

((And you, Caysath. You are naïve, boy. You want to talk about justice? Duty? One of those is relevant in war - the other is just a sick joke. There is no justice in war. None at all. There is only violence, pain, and death. You cannot fight a war to protect. Not really. You can only fight it to avenge, to vindicate, to prevent. You can cut out a cancerous limb before the infection spreads. That is all war is good far.

((There is only one strategy in this war that can work. We cannot stand by to any degree. Neither can we spend our forces to defend our allies. Our armies must be focused on only one thing: killing our enemies. We must attack. If seizing a major Pythagi manufacturing world means abandoning Leera of its defenses, then so be it. None of you know how to fight the Yeerks, as you have proven time and time again. If you did, the First War would have ended decades earlier. The longer you wait, the stronger they grow. They must be cut down quickly, without hesitation or second thoughts. We are at war. Then we must make it a true war. War is about killing. That's all there is.))

I can't say that didn't interest me. But it was a terrible sign, too. See, of all the candidates, only Alloran had resorted to human-style politics. Cheap shots, personal insults, and other tricks like that. Andalites, when left on their own, didn't do those sorts of things. They just gave you the facts. If Alloran was the one acting un-Andalite-like, it could mean that something non-Andalite was helping him.

CHAPTER 26
Jeanne

James and Ronnie leaving so suddenly worried me, but there was not much to be done about it. They had to take the opportunity that was given to them, it was unlikely they would get another. ((What now?)) Melissa asked.

((Earlier, we discussed options with the two of them,)) I answered. ((They will be taken to the Emperor's Pool ship. There, they will make a connection to the Pemalite ship, through which Erek can hack into the Pool ship's computers and gain any information we might need.))

((I guess that means we should get to the ship, then,)) Melissa decided.

((Not just yet. We are low on morphing time. We should return to Erek's room, demorph, and then return to the ship.))

It took a bit longer than we would have liked, but Melissa and I found our way back to Erek's room. ((Erek, it is us. We need to enter.))

Erek slid open the door. We buzzed in and began to demorph. "Just the two of you?"

((Ronnie and James went off with the Emperor in his Dart ship,)) Melissa explained.

Erek was silent for a moment. I was finished demorphing by the time he said, "You're sure that's where they went?"

"Certain," I assured him.

"Then there's a problem. The Emperor wasn't on that Dart ship. He's in a meeting with the Ssri'Kai high command right now."

((But we saw him enter the ship,)) Melissa argued, still demorphing. ((He went in, Ronnie and James followed.))

"Did you see the ship take off?" Erek pressed.

"No," I admitted. "We returned here because we were short on time."

"This isn't good," Erek worried. "Is it possible that the ship is still here?"

((RONNIE! JAMES!)) Melissa shouted. There was no response. ((Yeah, I think they left.))

"The Emperor would have had to get off shortly after he got on. But why would he get on the ship in the first place if he had a meeting scheduled with the Ssri'Kai?" I wondered.

"You don't think it could have been a trap, do you?" Erek asked.

"How?" Melissa responded. "There were four flies following him for a couple hours. How could he set a trap for that? How could he even know?"

"No one knows what Nak senses are like," I admitted. "If he could see us, he might have sent Ronnie and James into some sort of trap. He would know that flies do not belong on this planet. He would know he was being followed."

"We need to warn Ronnie and James," Melissa decided. "How can we do that?"

"If they're on the Dart ship, I can use the Pemalite ship to access some of the monitoring systems - security cameras and such. If they're near some sort of communications device, we might be able to warn them. I might be able to do this if they're on the Pool ship, but that would be much harder and probably too late," Erek suggested.

Melissa and I morphed to Hork-bajir again and followed Erek out of the building. No one questioned him - they assumed he was on official business. He must have had some way to know where the ship was because he never had to stop to ask us. We took a lift out of the canyon and then Erek really started moving. It looked like he was walking casually, but we had to run to keep up with him and were not doing a very good job of that.

Erek was already inside of the ship by the time we reached it. He had his hands pressed against the tree in the center that commanded the ship. "Got them. They're in one of the Dart ship's transport ships," Erek informed us. "Bringing them online now."

A small hologram of James appeared next to the tree. He jumped visibly when it appeared. "Erek. You scared the hell out of me, you know that?"

"James, you are headed into a trap," I said before Erek could respond. "The Emperor is not aboard that ship. We have reason to believe you were detected and deliberately led into that ship. Most likely, they will kill you when you reach the Pool ship. Or just destroy your ship remotely."

"That's a cheery thought," James muttered. "Any suggestions?"

"You might try-"

((Please, let him figure it out for himself,)) a voice interrupted. I turned around to see the Emperor standing inside the doorway of the ship, flanked by five Hork-bajir and two Ssri'Kai.

"Your Highness," Erek began. "I was just-"

((Spending some quality time with my enemies. Yes, I can see that. Nak eyes are very good. There was always something I did not trust about you, Emrush One-Six-Nine. I think it was how you always urged nonviolent solutions, passive plots and schemes. You never once suggest any course of action that might result in someone getting…hurt. A Yeerk like that always reminded me of those peace movement idiots. And here I find you, in an unknown ship, warning my enemies of the trap they fell into. What to do with you?))

Melissa and I were still in Hork-bajir morph. Perhaps there was some way out of this. Some way that could help. I was trying to think of something, but ran out of time when the Emperor concluded, ((I would love to know who it is that you were contacting, but I think that letting you live would be far too dangerous. I am afraid I will just have to have you killed instead.))

CHAPTER 27
James

This was bad. You're probably getting tired of me saying that. I'm getting tires of saying it too. When things get better, I'll stop, I promise. I wanted to stay and see how things played out for Jeanne, Melissa, and Erek, but Ronnie and I didn't have the time to sit around and watch. We had to get off of this ship.

"Well, you heard the Emperor. We need to think up a way off of this ship. Any ideas?"

Ronnie tapped the 'dashboard' of the transport ship. "Looks to me like we've already got a way out."

I shook my head. "They'd just blow us out of the sky. And where would we take the ship? The only place to go is the Pool ship, and the only way to get into there is in this ship."

"So we hijack this one and fly right in."

"Something tells me they'll be ready for that. They'll have some way to know if this is the genuine vessel or stolen."

"You could try making a suggestion instead of shooting all of mine down."

"Okay, okay…" I thought. "We need to stay on this ship in order to get into the Pool ship…but we have to make them think we're not on the ship…"

"If they see the transport ship leave, they'll probably think we're in it and blow it up. They think we're dead, and we hide in here and get into the Pool ship," Ronnie suggested.

"Almost there," I agreed. "But how to hide? They'll be ready for the usual bugs and stuff, they haven't fallen for that in years." I pressed my fingers to my temples. "What if we morphed crew members?"

"It'd be great, until they found the real crew members tied up down here or whatever we do with them," Ronnie noted.

"So what if we didn't tie them up? What if we send them out in this transport ship. The Yeerks blow it up and bury our evidence for us. Then we just hide out and hop onto the Pool ship when we get there."

Ronnie nodded. "Sounds like a plan. How do you want to do it?"

"What's your battle morph?" I asked.

"Tobias hooked me up with a polar bear."

I smiled. "Nice. Okay then. You hide in here, in morph. I'll wait outside for the guards. They'll see me and come over here. Then you come out and knock them out. We'll morph them, shove them in the ship, send it out, and wait."

"Sounds like a plan. I didn't know you had it in you."

As I stood outside of the transport ship, completely exposed and waiting for Hork-bajir to come around the corner looking for me, I started to think that my plan probably wasn't a very good one after all. Ronnie had never actually used his battle morph before and might not be able to handle the instincts right away. And since he'd need to be able to snap into action as soon as the Hork-bajir found me, that could be a serious problem.

I leaned against the side of the ship, next to the door, trying to appear casual. It took about three minutes for the Hork-bajir to make their way down there. There were two of them; a bit of luck for once. I tried to think of something witty to say. Since I couldn't think of anything, I just waved at them and smiled. "Hi."

The Hork-bajir said something in his language and raised is Dracon beam. "Um… I was sort of hoping you'd come a little closer," I commented. The Hork-bajir just smiled one of those disturbing smiles they have and took aim.

A section of the wall next to me, the part that made the door of the ship, stretched open. Ronnie barreled out. The Hork-bajir turned their weapons on him but it was a bit late for them. Ronnie slammed into the first one with all his weight. Hork-bajir are sturdy, but nothing stands up to a polar bear's charge. The Controller literally flew into the wall and dropped. He didn't move.

Ronnie and the second Hork-bajir circled each other. They were too close for the Hork-bajir to use the Dracon beam, so it was a battle of blades. I casually strolled over to the downed Hork-bajir and pried the Dracon beam out of his hands. I turned to shoot, but by the time I was turned around, the other Hork-bajir was on the ground, missing an arm. Ronnie was barely bleeding. I guess that practice he was getting was actually paying off.

I squatted down and acquired the Hork-bajir. Ronnie demorphed and did the same. Together, we hauled the two of them into the ship. It wasn't wasy, but Ronnie and I are both pretty big guys. Once we had them in the ship, we had a new problem. "James…do you have any idea how to launch this thing?" Ronnie asked.

"Um…sort of," I lied. I'd seen other people fly ships before. I knew the general area where things would be. After some trial and error, I got the thing turned on and set it to launch. Ronnie and I stood outside of the ship in Hork-bajir morph, watching it exit the Dart ship. We watched through the window in the bay as, only a minute later, red Dracon beams lanced from the Dart ship and disintegrated the transport shuttle.

Ronnie and I made our way to the bridge. The captain nodded to us. "They tried to escape in the shuttle."

"We know. They barely got out before we could catch them. We will not fail again."

The captain shrugged. "It is of no importance. They are dead, that is what matters. The Emperor will be pleased."

((Not for long,)) Ronnie muttered to me.

CHAPTER 28
Al

Alloran's Scoop was within the city. In most cultures, that would be a good thing. It would place him near the important people and places. But among Andalites, this just meant that he had little room to graze and was forced to stay in a cramped environment. I am sure that he did not really mind - he spent decades on various ships and in much worse conditions, but it was still considered an unappealing living situation among my people.

David and I were there to investigate Alloran. We were trying not to jump to conclusions, but that was difficult. Alloran was being very un-Andalite in his conduct. Perhaps his home would yield some information. I was very nervous, I will admit. Yes, I had done more dangerous things and infiltrated much more secure places, but it was difficult not to be a bit intimidated at the thought of what Alloran might do if he caught us searching his Scoop.

His Scoop was unguarded, which was only natural. Andalite politicians did not need to worry much about security. There was no need to fear assassination or other foul play, not here on the Homeworld. And even in his growing age, Alloran was still extremely deadly, not only in his natural form, but also because of the many horrible morphs that he had acquired during his time as a Controller. David and I flew past the Scoop three times in our bird morphs, making certain that Alloran was not home.

((All clear,)) David reported as we flew inside and demorphed. There was not much in the Scoop, which was to be expected. Aside from the things the average Andalite has in his Scoop, there was a small, off-white cube on a shelf in an alcove - Alloran's computer. I went to that first. David went outside to keep a lookout for Alloran. While I did not think he would resort to violence, we certainly did not want him to find us here.

The security on Alloran's computer was top-notch. I am a bit ashamed to admit it, but I had a bit of difficulty cracking it. This was security crafted by the finest Andalite experts - technicians whose skill rivaled mine and whose experience far surpassed it. I would not have been able to do it, had it not been for a few tricks I picked up during my time on Earth. Still, the process took far longer than it ever took me before. I wasted nearly half an hour to break through into Alloran's files.

Some of them were of great interest. There was information about Prince Tobias and some of the Animorphs, notes on things that we said or did. Alloran was certainly suspicious about the situation on Earth, but nothing in his files suggested that he had figured out what exactly was going on. He half-suspected a fight with the Yeerks but ruled it out early on - he assumed that if something like that were happening, we would request help. Currently, he suspected something involving covert security work with Tri-I. I would have to be sure to tell Prince Tobias that so he could reinforce the conclusion.

There were notes on the current war as well, including some very detailed maps. Those were also something Prince Tobias would like to have - they held information about the Andalite formations that Prince Tobias currently did not have. It was difficult to remind myself that I was not there to gather military intelligence. I tore myself away from the military information and searched some more.

There was a large file on Captain-Prince Asculan-Semitur-Langor. He had always been a very prominent figure among the Andalite military. He was the one who commanded the massive fleet that drove the Yeerks form the Anati world, and he was the one who led the Andalite fleet to Earth at the end of the First War. Though it was not a widely publicized fact, anyone who even halfway cared to investigate it knew that Alloran was his father.

I sifted through everything I could find on Alloran's computer, but there was nothing to indicate that he had been compromised. Certainly there was no affiliation with the Yeerks, though we had never really suspected him of something like that. Alloran would never work with Yeerks, for any reason. We were more inclined to believe there was some manipulation from another party, most likely Vladimir Putin. But there was no evidence of that in Alloran's computer. Nothing to explain his behavior.

I turned off the computer and closed my eyes, resting them for a minute. ((Are you satisfied, Aristh?))

I flinched and halfway raised my tail before I recognized the voice. Then my blood turned cold. I swiveled one stalk eye, though I did not nee sight to know that Alloran had caught me. But why hadn't David warned me? Surely Alloran could not have sneaked past him. Unless something happened to David…

As though he read my mind, Alloran shook his head. ((David is fine. Just sleeping. If I were you, I would pick a more reliable lookout next time. I'll ask you again: are you satisfied?))

He was not angry. In fact, he was not even surprised. ((You seem to have been expecting this.))

((I think I've gotten to know the Animorphs pretty well over these long years. I would have to be blind, deaf, and stupid not to think that your arrival here was just a coincidence. I know that your Prince is up to something and he's sent you to do whatever it is he needs done.))

((You do not seem upset about it,)) I commented.

((As I said, I've gotten to know the Animorphs well. I know that whatever it is you think you're doing, you have all our best interests at heart. I do not appreciate the invasion of my privacy, but I am certain you had your orders. Have you learned what it is you came to learn?))

((No,)) I answered simply. ((You do not run your campaign like an Andalite, War-Prince. You do not conduct like one of our people. You are acting like…))

((Like a human? A Yeerk? Where do you think I learned politics, Aristh? I learned it from the Visser in my head. If I applied all he taught me, Lirem and the others would be dead. If you are worried about my integrity, I can tell you now that it is indeed compromised. But that happened a long time ago.))

It made sense, certainly. Spending so many years as the Visser's host would certainly change how Alloran dealt with politics.

((It is contagious, as all corruption is,)) Alloran sighed. He gestured towards the computer. ((Have you seen the latest news feeds? I am not the only one who plays dirty. A lot of old information has just come to light.))

((What kind of information?)) I asked.

((Nothing too shocking - at least, not to us. Just the usual skeletons in my closet. Details about my conduct in the Battle for Hork-Bajir. Some information about my life afterward. Someone has also disclosed the truth about Arbat, unfortunately.)) Arbat was Alloran's brother. He had lost his mind and, in a crazed attempt to end the war, had tried to release a virus on Earth that would have killed not only the Yeerks on the planet but the humans as well. Naturally, the Animorphs had stopped him, but the Andalite people knew nothing of it.

((Naturally, Lirem is the only one who could have known about some of that, especially the truth about Arbat,)) Alloran sighed. ((Of course, he denies having anything to do with this 'sudden leak', but you and I both know the truth, don't we?))

I nodded. Alloran's conduct could be explained. His political advice had come long ago, from one of the Yeerk Empire's most ruthless Vissers. But now Lirem was conducting himself in the same manner. If Alloran had gotten his lessons from the Yeerks, where had Lirem learned this?

CHAPTER 29
Melissa

Jeanne and I stared at the Emperor. We were in Hork-bajir morph, which was a plus. Maybe he thought we were normal Yeerks - traitors, but still Controllers. I didn't think he got a good look at James. He might not know that the Animorphs were here. It didn't matter much anyway, whether he knew who we were or not didn't change our situation. There were six Hork-bajir and the Emperor against the three of us. Two, since Erek couldn't fight at all.

((Melissa, do not engage them,)) Jeanne warned me.

((We might be able to take them. Or at least fight our way out,)) I argued.

((That isn't it. You saw what happened when Ronnie attempted to train in this ship. It prevents that. According to what Marco told me about it, it will eject those who fight inside of it.))

((Nothing to say?)) the Emperor commented. ((Perhaps you'll change your minds in the torture chambers. The talent runs in my family, you know, and I am sure you've heard tales of my brother's methods.))

((If they eject us, we can run away,)) I argued.

((But if we flee, they can take the ship.))

((Not if we gut their Emperor. They'll have bigger things to worry about. Erek can fly the ship to safety.)) Wanting to fight wasn't about being brave or reckless or anything like that. Not for me, at least. It was just that I couldn't just stand there. I had to do something. In the First War, I just stood around, waiting. Not again. Never again. So now I had to act, even though I knew that I should be terrified.

Jeanne was silent. Before she resumed speaking, the Emperor continued. ((You are a silent group of traitors. But you will talk soon enough.)) To his soldiers, he added, ((Seize them. I want to know who they were communicating with.))

The Hork-bajir advanced, three towards me, three on Jeanne. Rachel told me once that she had fought off three Hork-bajir in a Hork-bajir morph; her second time in that morph, actually. She could do it with only a little experience; maybe I could, too.

((Melissa…)) Jeanne warned.

((They'll slice us up before the ship ejects them,)) I argued, walking towards the Hork-bajir. ((Let's not give them the chance.))

((But if we just wait…))

I didn't bother to wait. I slashed at the first Hork-bajir before he could attack me. My wristblade cut deep, slashing across his chest. He fell back. Another one swung a kick at me. I blocked it with one forearm and struck back with the other. He dodged and before I could strike again, the other Hork-bajir was on me.

I couldn't fight both of them. I wasn't good enough. I could maybe hold them off, if I gave it every ounce of strength and concentration I had. I could block their blows and evade their blades, but I couldn't fight back. I couldn't win. If I kept on like this, I'd be killed, and so would Jeanne. Jeanne..where was she? Standing calmly, I was sure.

One of the Hork-bajir attacking me fell. Jeanne stepped into his place and attacked the remaining one on me. While he was distracted, I finished him off. Only then did I take a moment to look at Jeanne. She was bleeding badly. One of her blades was barely attached to her body, and she had a large gash on her face and neck. The three Hork-bajir who had gone after here were right behind her. All had blood on their blades and none on their bodies.

That was when I realized what had happened. Jeanne had rushed through her attackers to help me. She had risked her life to save mine. She was certain that if we just waited, the ship would solve our problems for us. But instead of waiting, she dove through her enemies to help me. In that moment, I didn't feel so alone anymore.

The Emperor had ignored us and moved towards Erek. ((Emrush One-Six-Nine. What do you think you are doing?))

"Oh, me? Just erasing this ship's memory core so you can't get any information at all from it."

((You test my patience.))

"You pass better than your brother, I'll give you that."

Before the Emperor could respond, a new voice broke in. The voice of the ship's computer. The instnat it started speaking, I found that I couldn't move. "Oh…it seems someone has gone and started a fight. That's a shame, we hate to ruin a fun day with violence. I'm afraid you'll have to leave the ship for a bit. Maybe you can come back some other time for a game and a snack."

A sudden force pushed me out of the ship. Jeanne and the Hork-bajir came with us. We tumbled to the ground in a tangle of blades and blood. Slowly, we all climbed to our feet, none of us sure what to do now. ((We need to get back into the ship,)) I said.

((Erek will be fine,)) Jeanne assured me. ((The Chee are nearly indestructible.))

I was going to say more, but my speech was stolen from me. In one swift motion, the Pemalite ship lifted off the ground. An instant later, it was in orbit, out of sight. Whether Erek took off or the Emperor did I have no idea. If it was Erek, we'd probably be fine. If the Emperor had the ship…

((This is going to be a problem,)) Jeanne sighed.

CHAPTER 30
Ronnie

Yeerks are idiots. Sure, there are some smart ones, but by and large, they're stupid. They didn't ask us any more questions to make sure we weren't morphs. They just accepted it and moved on. James and I took turns demorphing in what passed for the bathroom and no one got suspicious. The journey wasn't all that long, or all that difficult. In a matter of hours, we were at the Pool ship.

A Yeerk Pool ship is like a big spider. A huge, spherical body with all the main stuff in it. Three long, jointed 'legs' with engines and stuff. Weapons, hangars, windows, and other stuff studded the whole thing. They're a lot more impressive the first time you see them. But I was stationed on one near the end of the First War. I was actually there when the Animorphs took the ship over. You've seen one Pool ship, you've seen them all.

Our Dart ship docked in a private hangar, no doubt reserves specially for the Emperor. "You are all on leave for the remainder of the day. You are to report back here in exactly twelve hours." It wasn't exactly twelve hours - it was the rough Yeerk equivalent. But I figured I'd save you the trouble and translate. No one wants to be stuck dealing with alien time, after all.

((Okay…)) James began. ((We need to get to some sort of computer station and get whatever information we can about this attack. Where it's going, when it's going to happen, who's going to do it. All that good stuff.))

((There are a few options. Do you know how to hack a computer?))

((Me? I can barely microwave popcorn.))

((Same. Okay then. We'll need to use a terminal that's already logged in with high-level access. Something on the bridge would do it. Or in the Pool security room. No other locations would have people who have that kind of access. But they're the two most heavily guarded rooms in this whole ship.))

((So basically, what we need is someone to log into a terminal with the right access?))

((Yeah.))

((So maybe we can lure one to a better location. Some sort of tech emergency that would get them to send someone with the access, but not any guards or anything.))

((Yeah…something like that. Maybe we could do something to the Emperor's ship.))

((Like what?))

((Like…if something happened to the docking clamps. The Dart ship wouldn't be able to leave, and the Emperor wouldn't be happy about that. I don't know how we'd cause something like that, though…))

((Too bad Al isn't here… Oh, hey, here's an idea. Instead of breaking the clamps, let's not and say we did.))

((That works.)) The Emperor's hangar was deserted now. None of the crew wanted to hang around, they all had other things to do. Probably feed. And this was a private hangar, so we had it all to ourselves. Perfect. I walked over to the terminal and keyed in the basic Yeerk access code, hoping it hadn't been changed. We were in luck. I couldn't access anything important, but I could send messages. I sent a message to tech support saying that I had accidentally locked the docking clamps and needed higher access to override my lock. They would be here in a few minutes.

James stood by the terminal while I lurked in the shadows. He'd handle this, but I was backup just in case. The tech support guy, a Human-Controller, showed up with one Kelbrid. That was fine. He said something to James about an impending execution when the Emperor found out what happened. James didn't make much reply. As soon as the tech support guy logged in James, smashed his head against the terminal. I jumped out of the shadows and landed on top of the Kelbrid.

The Kelbrid rolled over, it's weight pressing down on me. I didn't let go, though. Instead, I dug my wrist blades into its flanks. Acid blood sprayed over me, burning me, but I would hold on until my wrist blades were nothing but smoking nubs. It didn't come to that, though. James sank a blade into the Kelbrid's throat before it cried out. It had been snarling, but not calling for more assistance. Kelbrid only did that as a last resort.

James and I dragged the tech support guy and the Kelbrid into a dark corner of the hanger where they probably wouldn't be found until the tech support guy woke up. Then we went back to the terminal. ((Where to start?)) he asked.

((Where,)) I decided.

James flipped through some files until he came to the basic attack plan. The fine details were protected by even higher-level access, but we didn't exactly need those. According to what we could find, the attack would come at a planet called Grunn-Nesh. The data on the planet listed the Ssri'Kai presence as 'minimal' and that the most common race was called the Grunn - there wasn't much information about them.

The 'when' was a little iffy and depended on the arrival of the army's commander. He was expected very soon, maybe even tomorrow by Earth standards. James managed to find the name of the commander. ((Huh…sorry, Ronnie, looks like you won't get a crack at Guraff after all. He's sitting this one out.))

((That's surprising. I was sure he'd be here for something this important. I guess the Visser isn't letting him off his leash. Who's the commander?))

((I don't know. Someone called Naronn One-zero-zero. Pretty high rank there. Just above Sub-Visser status by the old Empire standards.))

((I've heard of Naronn,)) I said. ((It's pretty hard not to. He was the Empires best pilot.)) Before James could ask, I added, ((Even better than Guraff. Naronn was rumored to be the best pilot in the whole galaxy. And if he wasn't it was pretty hard to tell. He was never shot down - not even once, in over a hundred missions.))

((What's he like as a commander?)) James asked.

((I've always heard good things. He's no genius strategist or anything, but he can get things done. He's competent, at the very least. Which might be more than we can say for the commanders on Grunn-Nesh. We'll have to look out for him.))

((What's his host like?))

((Taxxon. He refuses to take any other host.))

((Yeah?))

((Yeah. He says the Taxxon is all he needs to do what he does best. Let the Yeerks who need them have other hosts. Taxxon is fine by him. The fact that he volunteers for Taxxon duty makes me worry. He's got to be made of hard stuff.))

((Maybe. But all the Yeerks are pretty squishy once we get them out of their skulls.))

((Yeah. Let's just hope we can get him out of his.))