It was a luxurious room, fit for a human idol. But instead of inhabiting a Hollywood actor as he had a literal lifetime ago-his former host's-Essam was now in a human of average appearance.

He had returned to the Empire Ship incognito, and relaxed while the others were frenzily searching for him. But there was a high price for his gallivants, and Edriss was extracting it. "…alienating your increasingly fewer allies, dapsen…"

Essam forced his host's muscles into that human expression known as a "smile" as he tried to assuage her. "It's only the aggressive group that's been hurt. They certainly deserve it."

"I didn't deserve what you put me through! I had to cover for your sorry-"

"Oh, I am sorry. Sorry I thought you were working for me. Sorry I thought you wanted us to defeat them. Sorry for being wrong."

"You don't need to sink this low to prove a point."

"I'm saving my debating skill for the actual event. Do I need to remind you of what they did to us? To our family?"

"No." Edriss's angry front slipped: her teeth clenched a little tighter together in the back.

She was, of course, correct. Neither of them needed any help to remember the trauma they'd gone through.

They had been the first Yeerks on Earth, tipped off from a Sub-Visser who was presumably languishing in anonymity somewhere. And then, the second wave of arrivals had come in: arrogant, acting like they owned the planet, and completely unable to see any strategy except all-out warfare.

When they encountered Edriss and Essam, the "aggressive group" accused them of desertion and treason. But Essam's "debating skill" had served him well. Not only had he convinced them of the value of Earth, he had been promoted to a Sub-Visser, to boot. But the damage had been done: by the time the co-discoverers were suitably arranged within new hosts, their children, Madra and Darwin, were gone.

"They haven't changed," he said quietly. "The ones that did this? Still here. I won't lose you to them, too."

"You won't lose me," Edriss replied more confidently than she felt, "because I am not a bargaining chip. I'm not something to be exchanged for the dismantling of three Blade ships and the construction of a Pool ship. I am an individual, and I can make my own decisions."

"We need to stay together," he urged. "For the children's sake."

"We need to find them first. Something I'll be working on while you're doing whatever it is you do."

"Can I count on your help?"

His uncharacteristic anger suggested a dichotomy: either he could, or they were enemies.

"I probably won't be much help," she nervously stammered, doubt in her voice. "I'm not as fast as you are, as…Well, I'm just not like you."

He continued to stare at her, eroding her with a withering gaze.

"I need some time to think." Unsuccessfully trying to maintain her composure, she exited to her private chambers.

She was closer to Essam than she imagined she could be to anyone. He was her handpicked choice to join her on the exploration of a potential Class-Five world. Yet the Sub-Visser who she was escaping was not the same engineer she had rescued from execution. He divided the world into puppet and enemy, and she would be neither.

When they had met, she was Sub-Visser 409. Over the generations of working together, she had cracked the double-digit barrier, ascending to be one of the top one-hundred Sub-Vissers. With equal credit for his work, he was among the top ten. Had she achieved their joint accomplishments alone, she certainly could be as high as he was. Perhaps a Visser, like the intriguing one she'd just met.

((So what's it like,)) Eva taunted, ((to have another Yeerk controlling your mind?))

((Shut up!))

It was difficult to maintain romance in a species when reproduction involved death. Once, she and Essam had been passionate for each other. But his emotion was negative now, emanating away from him towards anything that stood in his path. She, in contrast, wanted to love the children she didn't know. Without them, her feelings searched for an alternate outlet.

Essam had served her purposes. He was capable, competent, and had been desperate, which was all she needed. But there was nothing she could do to him now, no way she could change him or divert him from the insane path on which he was headed.

The true flaw of the Yeerks was that they could never be both functional and alone. From the meaningless Gedd presence to whatever the poor Visser had to deal with sharing his mind with an Andalite, they were always subject to their hosts' complaints. If Edriss could not have closed her mind to Eva, constructed a mental wall that her wild emotions could bounce off of without spilling over, life would have been worse. As it stood, she was not fully in control. The fact that Eva could lash out at her signified that she was losing her hold, just as her power had been usurped by Essam.

She exited her chambers and wandered through the complex hallways. The glaring lights in white tile disguised the fact that they were underground. Her labyrinthine walk ended at the pool, where she patiently got in line with Yeerks waiting to feed. Out of Essam's shadow, which had grown to eclipse her, she was treated just the same as any low-rank.

She finally was able to kneel at the edge of the pier and submerge herself into the murky pool. Incapable, but free from any distraction, she swam a slow lap. She had already fed recently-only the best for Essam's assistant-but enjoyed soaking up the luxurious Kandrona rays.

A low-rank eagerly thoughtspoke to her. They were not connected by any physical medium except for the fluid, but seemed instantaneously linked, as if a silver flash connected them with a buzz. ((Hi!))

Angrily, Edriss plunged deeper in. There was no escape from the rest of the world. All she could do was hold fast to her independence.