Tellion couldn't keep herself still as she sat in the uncomfortable seat of the native vehicle. Mark was bringing her back to the healing center, or the 'hospital' as the natives called it. Linda and Arthur had insisted that they accompany them to this place, but Mark had objected to such an action. He had told them something about things called 'procedures' and 'protical' and how there was little they could do except wait to hear from him about her condition. Tellion didn't understand what exactly it was that Mark had told them, but she was grateful that his words had caused them to not want to come to the hospital with them. She didn't know how they, or Ellaine, would be able to handle what was about to happen, and didn't want to bring that pain upon them. Not after the hope and joy she had unexpectedly given them. Tellion didn't know how these good people would be able to handle losing Susan again.
Because Tellion had just discovered a horrible and harsh truth to the situation. It had been when Mark had been driving her back to the hospital along the main commerce lane for vehicles the natives called an 'interstate'. Tellion had formulated many different scenarios, all of them designed to allow herself to leave Susan's body and just die in the way that she was supposed to as a fugitive Yeerk. But there was something lurking in the depths of Tellion's mind, a concern that she hadn't contemplated since she had first entered Susan's body that only now had forced itself to the front of her thought process. Driven by this sudden concern, Tellion had a thought go through her cortext. While Mark had been completely focused on driving the primitive vehicle, Tellion had tried an experiment.
Like she had done with the removal of her control tendrils from the sensory parts of Susan's mind, Tellion severed the ones that she had connected to the respiratory portions of Susan's brain. Her experiment had only lasted for a very short time as the lungs of the body refused to work without Tellion's command. Despite being disconnected from the brain somewhat, Tellion felt the pressure in the rest of the body from the lack of oxygen that Susan so desperately needed.
Tellion had bared it for as long as she possibly could, but the pain coursing all through Susan's body, and into her, became too much for Tellion to endure and she instantly reconnected the control tendrils to relieve the horrendous pressure that had built upon her lungs.
Although Mark was thankfully completely oblivious to the situation, Tellion was truly terrified as the realization of the situation struck her. Because it was no longer just a matter of her own life that was at stake.
Susan was incapable of breathing without Tellion's assistance.
They were connected by more than just their mutual coming together that had been orchestrated by some higher power. Their very lives were now entwined and dependent upon each other. The situation was a basic understanding for Tellion, far simpler than any that she had ever come to understand in her short life. Without Susan, Tellion would not have a body or a life in which she could escape from her imprisonment of both the empire and her own twisted physiology. And without Tellion to aid her frail and injured body, Susan would die.
It was both a truly diabolical and ironic situation for Tellion to face.
Tellion was willing to accept her own death, however much she did fear an end to her existence. But she couldn't accept Susan dying because of her own selfish actions. She had to embrace the understanding that without her aid, Susan would surely perish. Knowing that placed Tellion into a situation of complete vulnerability. She searched every last portion of her mind and thought process to find a solution to her dilemma. But there were none that she could find. Even if she where to somehow leave Susan and perish without Mark or any other natives discovering the truth of the situation, or if she somehow got away from Mark and was able to return to the Yeerk pool to get her much needed Kandrona rays, Tellion didn't know how long a native could exist without the necessary intake of oxygen, but even by her best calculations Susan's life force would expire long before Mark or any anyone else could do anything to save Susan.
Now Tellion had no choice. She couldn't just quietly accept her supposed fate without at least trying to save Susan and herself.
But how? How could Tellion save both herself and Susan?
Tellion contemplated this dreaded situation, and what choices she had that could possibly offer a rescue for both of them. Saving herself, however selfish it made Tellion feel, was her first priority. But without the ability to return to the Yeerk pool, she had to find another way. So how could she do it?
Dammit Tellion! Think! There has to be a way out of this. Both of your lives depend on you! she thought to herself.
The minute feeling of the native vehicle coming to a stop brought Tellion out of her semi-trance like state. She looked up and saw the healing center looming ominously in her vision. Mark startled her when he placed a hand on her shoulder. Tellion weakly looked over at him, and felt her insides twist at the genuine smile that he gave her. His concern for 'her' always seemed to make her inside feel so strange in ways that Tellion couldn't understand.
"We're here."
"Here." Tellion whispered, nerviously looking back to the building.
Mark seemed to sense her hesitation, and he gently squeezed her shoulder. "I promise, it'll just be a few more tests honey. Then I'll take you away from this place forever. Trust me."
Tellion forced a weak smile to Mark, choosing to not say anything least he somehow detect the worry that was coursing all through her. Tellion thanked whatever good fortune that befell her that Mark didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong. He exited the vehicle and came around to her side, opening the door and helping her out. Tellion didn't do anything except let Mark lead her out of the vehicle and back into the healing center, the one place on this entire planet that she didn't want to return to.
And yet, here she was.
It felt to Tellion like a twisted form of a cruel fate, a reverberating reminder to her that she was not truly a part of this world. Yet she refused to accept that. This world…Mark…everything…these past few days had meant more to her than her entire life as part of the Empire. And she was not going to lose that. She was not going to fail Susan!
She just had to think the whole situation through thoroughly. There had to be a way.
Even as she tried to ponder a solution to her growing situation, Mark brought her into a large area with many chairs placed about in a seemingly orderly fashion. There were many natives of various ages, genders, and colors, a multitude of variety that Tellion had seldom seen in the Empire.
At Mark's direction, Tellion took a seat near the front of the room where a female native sat behind an enclosed glass room As Mark conversed with her and began writing things down on another one of their absurdly primitive particles of paper, Tellion felt her eyes wander around the room. She didn't know why she did that, only that something, some unseen and unfelt force, compelled her to. She really wished that she hadn't let her thoughts drift away from her very serious situation that held her very life on the line. But she couldn't help herself, and Tellion's eyes were drawn to a female sitting nearby in the corner of the room. She seemed very odd to Tellion. Mostly because she was wearing some kind of darkened shielding over her eyes, and she was carrying some kind of thin staff. But mostly, Tellion noticed her because she had a dog sitting right in front of her. Such a strange female native, and Tellion didn't understand why she was so focused on her.
As Tellion thought about this, the female native behind the glass rose from her chair.
"Ms. Loren. Is Ms. Loren here?"
The female with the dog stood up and grasped some kind of handle/harness that was around the dog. "Yes. I am."
"The doctor will see you now." The female tech stated.
Tellion watched Loren as she made some kind of faint gesture with her hand, and the dog began to walk ahead of her. As it did, Loren began swinging her small staff about in front of her, tapping it against the floor and anything else that it happened to strike in her path. Tellion thought that this was a strange to do, and even silly thing for one. Then the full realization finally came to Tellion of Loren's situation.
She can't see. Tellion thought. Something is wrong with her eyes.
Tellion didn't know if that was a very good, or a very bad thing for this Loren. Surely this wasn't her first time to this healing facility, so then she must have been exposed (unknowingly of course) to the Imperial Yeerk forces that had infiltrated this building. But her ailment certainly didn't make her a viable host in any possible matter. That was probably the only reason that Loren was still in possession of her own mind. And yet, Tellion thought with a hint of sadness, that also made one such as herself useless to the Yeerks. Perhaps there was a way, with all the advanced technology that was at the Empire's disposal, that Loren's eyesight could likely be restored to her. But even more sadly to Tellion's understanding, she knew the painful truth of the brutality of her own people. To do such a thing would require investing far too many resources for the sake of making one single female native a viable host body. And why would they bother when there was such an abundance of healthy specimens on this world for harvesting?
No, those with physical ailments like Loren, the undesirables, the Yeerks would just simply dispose of them once they had conquered this world. Much like they would have done to Susan if the truth of her situation had ever been revealed to them. With a full understanding of this…Tellion secretly hoped that somehow, the Andalite bandits would hold her people's forces at bay long enough for the Andalites to send another force to drive the Empire away from this world.
Silly thought it seemed to Tellion.
For if such a thing were to happen, it would likely mean her own death. But after the brief exposure she had had with living as a native, and the horrific image that she had witnessed from her dreams of what would befall this planet should the Yeerk forces prevail over the conquest of this world, Tellion had little doubt about her convictions of wanting to see this beautiful terrestrial sphere survive the twisted designs her people had in store for it.
"Champ, no!"
A cold, wet sensation on her hands brought Tellion out of her thoughts. She looked down at her lap to see the dog that helped Loren sniffing her hands. Even as Tellion stared at the creature's face, it seemed to look back at her with some sort of strange, almost unexplainable intelligence lurking in its brown eyes.
"I'm so sorry about this." Loren said, pulling Champ away from her. "Champ never behaves like this, I don't know what got into him."
"Is ok." Tellion told her as she patted Champ's head. "I like dog."
Loren smiled, though not directly at her face because of her lack of sight. "I'm glad you do. And thank you for being patcient with him, and me, Ms…"
"Susan." Tellion weakly said, still hating to call herself a name that wasn't hers. "I named Susan."
"Well it's very nice to meet you Susan."
Still smiling, Loren tucked her small stick under her arm and held out her hand in the friendly expression that natives did. Tellion reluctantly took her hand and shook it slightly. When she did, Loren's smile faded, and another expression came across her face. One Tellion wasn't entirely sure what it meant.
"Your hand's trembling." she said.
"How…" Tellion questioned. She didn't know how Loren could make such a guess.
"When you can't see," Loren explained. "you can hear, smell, and feel things a lot better. You can notice the little things that people who can see wouldn't recognize. But I'm sure you wouldn't understand something silly like that."
I understand a lot better than you ever could imagine. Tellion thought. It's why my kind are what they are.
Loren seemed to sense Tellion's distraught feelings through her body, even if she could barely feel them herself. She gently squeezed Tellion's hand.
"You're scared to be here, aren't you?"
"Yes." Tellion whispered, still not sure entirely herself how she was able to suddenly understand Loren's words. "Tests."
Loren's warm smile returned. "Well, for what it's worth, I think everything will be just fine. You'll get through this, Susan. No matter what you face, just think of it as a crazy adventure you have to go through. That's what I do whenever I come here. It helps me a lot, even though I can't really remember anything since the accident that took my eyesight. It kind of makes me think that I had some even crazier ones when I was younger…"
"Thank you." Tellion said, squeezing her hand back, hoping in her dwindling space of life that she could find a way to save both herself and Susan.
"Whatever it is that you find yourself up against in here, just keep on fighting, never give up." Loren told her. That was a really strange thing for her to say, Tellion thought. She released Tellion's hand and a strange shudder ran through her body. Loren lightly shook her head and stepped back. "Don't know where that came from, but I hope that helps. You take care of yourself Susan."
And with those parting words, Loren walked away from Tellion and exited the room. The moment she was gone, Mark returned to her. She watched in silence as he said some things to her, and realized that Mark had somehow not even noticed her conversation with Loren. That was odd, seeing as how they were only a short distance from him. Still, Tellion didn't let her mind wonder from the thoughts that were rushing through her. Tellion didn't understand it, but Loren's words continued to echo through her thoughts, rekindling her diminished spirit with renewed hope.
You'll get through this. Just keep fighting, never give up.
She didn't want to give up. But how could she do it? How could she save herself, and in turn save Susan? Tellion wanted to think of a way, but she just couldn't find the solution to that dilemma.
Then, suddenly, another statement jolted through Tellion's thoughts like a low yield blast of a Dracon beam. Visser Three's words, as horrific as they had always been to her, rolled across her mind, his sinister voice for once being an answer to Tellion's plight.
I'm sending you one of our smaller, more portable Kandrona ray generators. There will be 10,000 liters of Yeerk pool liquid also sent with you for this mission.
That was it! Tellion thought with excitement.
A Kandrona ray generator had been sent to this facility, along with Yeerk pool liquid with her former team! If they both were still here in this building, then there was a chance, a faint one, that she could save herself. But even if she were to somehow procure both of the essential elements of her survival, she still needed to create a viable Yeerk Pool in order to use them. Where could she create something like that without anyone noticing? There had to be a way. But what about Susan? Even if Tellion could somehow accomplish all of these extremely difficult steps to save herself, how could she also save Susan when she couldn't breathe on her own?
Come on Tellion! she screamed at herself. You thought of a way of saving yourself, there has to be a way to save Susan too. You need her as much as she needs you right now.
Tellion searched through all of her stored memories, from this moment in the healing center, all the way back to when she had first entered Susan's body. Then…the very first thing that Tellion remembered when she had awoken in Susan's body. The tube that had been forced down her throat…the machine…
That machine…it must have helped Susan breath while she was incapacitated. Tellion's eyes widened with the realization.
Yes! That's it!
If she could also find that native machine, and attach it to Susan before she left to absorb Kandrona, then Tellion could keep her alive while she was out of her body! There was a chance, even if it was only a slim one, that Tellion could save both of them. She just had to first do these tests, then find a way to put her plan into action. Tellion didn't even know how she was going to accomplish any of these insanely difficult tasks, and also keep Mark and Susan's family oblivious to it all. She had to try though, Tellion just couldn't give up.
Tellion was so absorbed in her thoughts about rescuing them both that she was oblivious to all else. So it was a sudden shock to her when a hand filled her vision. Tellion was brought back to the reality of where she was. Her eyes stared down at the hand that was stretched out her. She worked her vision up the arm it was attatched to, and the man that was standing before Tellion. He was surprisingly small for a native male, even smaller than Susan, but only by just a bit. His skin tone was similar to the same kind as that girl Cassie Tellion had met the other day, but slightly lighter. The white coat he wore made him stand out as one of the healers of the facility.
"Susan?" he said, as if he had already spoken her name before. "I said it's good to see you today and on your feet."
Tellion looked back down at his outstretched hand, and hesitantly took it in her own. She was still not entirely sure if her hesitancy was acceptable in the present situation. There was a moment of fear in her that she had somehow done something wrong and betrayed her identity.
To her ever greatful relief, the small man just gave Tellion a very friendly smile and gently shook her hand.
"I'm so glad to finally meet you in person Susan. I'm doctor Samier, I was…am, your primary physician."
Tellion just stared almost blankly at him, still trying to process the words he had spoken in a desperate attempt to understand what he had said. Dr. Samier appeared confused for a few moments. Then Mark spoke up.
"I tried to explain this to you earlier on the phone. Susan's has had a total memory loss. She hardly understands anything that we say. You have to use simple words and sentences for her to understand."
Dr. Samier lifted one of his eyebrows. "But…she is able to understand us, after just two days from waking up?"
Mark nodded. "I know. I can't truly explain it myself. But, I guess it is just good fortune."
"Fascinating." Dr. Samier whispered to himself as he stared at her, almost as if he were trying to peer through her skull and into 'her' brain. "I've never known of a case like this. It might just have to go into the record books as a true medical mystery. I'd say you are one very lucky lady Susan."
"Lucky?" Tellion asked, making it clear that she didn't understand what he meant.
Dr. Samier just smiled again. "Well, we'll go into that later."
He pointed at her. "You, come with me. Tests. We see if you are ok."
"Tests?" Tellion said, looking almost helplessly at Mark.
He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. "Yes, Susan. Tests. We need to see if you're healthy. That you're ok."
The fear of discovery returned to Tellion. No, she couldn't be discovered. She had just figured out a way to save herself and Susan, she couldn't have that hope snatched away from her in this final moment.
"No tests." Tellion said, desperately patting the side of her head. "I ok."
Dr. Samier lifted his hands in a guesture that mirrored the 'surrender' sign that Ellaine had given her last night. "I'm sure you are Susan. But I just want know that you're not in any real danger. You're husband Mark does too. We want to know you are fine."
"But." Tellion looked at Mark with a plea in her eyes. "I fine."
Mark pulled her to him and hugged her tightly. "You are fine Susan." he whispered into her ear. "But we have to be sure. Just a few tests. No fear, no pain. I promise."
I'm not afraid of pain, Mark. Tellion thought. I'm afraid somehow you'll see me. The real me. It'll place you in…you could lose your freedom, or your life. But, I'm also scared because if you see me for what I am, what would you think? How could you…how could even I…ever care for something as hideous as the slug that I truly am?
She didn't want to follow Dr. Samier out of the room, but she knew that any attempt to break away from Mark would instantly draw all suspicious eyes in the building on her. Despite everything that had happened, the building was likely still saturated with controllers. And she would also likely make Mark extremely concerned for her well-being. No, she had to play the part of Susan until an opportunity presented itself to her sneak away and first try to find the Kandrona Ray generator, which she hoped was still in the building, along with the Yeerk Pool liquid. It was likely that they both were. Even though several days had passed since the Andalite attack, there still had to be a sizable amount of native attention drawn to this facility, and Tellion was certain that there wasn't a single Yeerk operating in the building that was willing to even risk the faintest chance of exposure. Not with how infuriated Visser Three surely was at the present time. So it was a high probability that the generator and the liquid were still in the building.
Then she was still going to have to find one of those machines that would help Susan breathe while Tellion wasn't in her.
Of course, even if by some divine fortune she was able to accomplish this, there was also the simple matter of Tellion having to transport all of that out of this building. And doing it without having Mark or anyone else notice.
So many things that she needed to accomplish. And all of them entirely dependent upon the success of each other…it felt so impossible to achieve.
But Tellion didn't want to just give up, because it would mean both her and Susan's deaths, yet Tellion couldn't help but feel the hopelessness of the situation weighing down on her.
Dr. Samier led them down several hallways, stopping finally in front of a solid door. Tellion didn't like that, because no one could see what occurred from out of the room, but there was nothing that she could do about it. He led them both inside, and Tellion saw that there were several primitive machines as well as various cabinates and equally primitive parchments files lying about. One of them, she noticed, had Susan's name on it.
Dr. Samier went over to the file with Susan's name and began writing down something on it with a little cylinder object. After he had finished, he walked back to them and handed the partchment to Mark.
"Normally we would have the patient sign these consent forms, but seeing that your wife is in her…current state…you'll have to sign off for her."
"What is this?" Mark asked, his eyes scanning over the multitude of sentences that filled the parchment.
"Standard forms that doesn't hold the hospital at fault. Sorry, but with all the commotion that happened the last few days, all of the administration is busy covering themselves from any potential lawsuits." Samier answered. "We're just having to be extra careful about everything right now."
Mark looked up at him. "You have 'in event of injury or death' in here."
Tellion didn't know exactly what the tone in his voice meant, but it sounded strangely similar to the kind that he had made when Mark had first demanded that she be released from the hospital three nights ago. That made Tellion a little nervous, but also a little comforted as well.
Samier held his hands up in that 'surrender' gesture again. "I understand your concern sir, but like I said this is just the hospital covering all the basics. If you ask me, I believe they're being overly paranoid. But you understand how these things work."
"Yes." Mark said with a heavy sound of the air draining from his lungs. "I understand. My hospital has had some rough patches too."
Samier handed the small cylinder object to Mark and gave a faint smile. "You know the kind of machines that we'll be using today. They have a very low yield radiation. It's almost completely harmless. We're just going to take a few scans of Susan's brain to make sure that she doesn't have any kind of damage that we haven't seen. This whole process shouldn't take more than an hour or two."
Mark didn't appear completely convinced by his words, but he still scribbled something down on the partchment in his hands near the bottom. Samier smiled and took it back from him. He placed the folder back where he had gotten it and produced a large vest of sorts that he handed to Tellion. It took a few very silly attempts on his part to try and explain to her how to place it over her body, but Tellion finally understood his actions. When she placed the large vest over her body, Samier turned to Mark.
"I'm sorry about this sir, but I'm going to have to ask you to wait in the lobby."
Mark's body instantly became very stiff and he stared down the smaller man. "You want me to just leave my wife here all by herself?"
"Sir, I can understand your concerns. I really do. I have a family of my own, and I wouldn't want to leave my wife if what happened to Susan happened to her. But you have to understand, the hospital is completely on edge right now. We've already had several of our directors and administrators resign over that…fiasco from a few days ago. We're all having to be extremely careful in how we handle every situation. And I can't leave you in here to be exposed to any radiation, even if it's a completely miniscule amount."
"Then I'll wait out in the hallway!" Mark exclaimed. "Susan's already terrified of being here, and I'm not going to just leave her alone like this."
"Sir," Samier said in an almost pleading voice. "I need you to stop thinking like a husband for just a moment, and think like the doctor that you are. We can't leave you in here with her, or even have you nearby, it could affect the results of the tests we're going to perform, and we need to get as close to 100% accuracy to ensure that there's no serious underlying issues with her brain."
Mark made a face that gave Tellion the impression that he didn't truly believe all of that, but he eventually lowered his head and released a faint breath. He finally looked up from the floor and at her.
"Susan, I have to leave you for a while."
Tellion understood enough of his words to know that he was going to leave her alone. The fear of being by herself, having to fend for herself, sent a spike of fear through Tellion.
"No." she said to him in a weak voice, grasping his hands. "No leave me."
The way he looked at her with such sadness made Tellion want to just vanish from existance. Dr. Samier seemed to be able to read the tension between them.
"I'll give you two a moment." he said, exiting the room.
Mark watched him leave before looking back to Tellion. "Everything is going to be fine, Susan." he said, placing his hand on her cheek and sending several powerful tremors through her body.
She stared up into his eyes, wanting so desperately to know the words that she needed to speak to Mark to let him understand that she didn't want him to leave her side, that she needed him to be there with her. But she just didn't know them. All she could do was look at his face with the emotions that were raging all through her.
"Please don't look at me like that." Mark said as he squeezed her hand. "I don't want to do this anymore than you do. But…you'll be fine. Dr. Samier is a good man, he'll take good care of you. And it will only be for a little bit, then I'll take you away from here, and you'll never be back again."
So many words. So much that she didn't really understand. And yet, Tellion understood that he didn't want to leave her. He WANTED to be with her, but the situation wouldn't allow him. That didn't really make her feel any better.
Mark seemed to sense her lack of belief in his words. And yet, he gave her that smile that made her insides feel so very warm and comforting. His eyes suddenly shined with a power that Tellion had never seen before.
"You'll be just fine honey." Mark assured her. "Don't give up. Just keep fighting."
Don't give up. Just keep fighting. The exact same words that Loren had spoken to her. What was going on? Why would they both say those exact same words to her in this situation? She didn't have any more time to dwell on the magnitude and greater meaning of those words as Mark gently kissed her forehead.
That one act made Tellion shudder and forget everything else that was going through her thoughts. Oh how she so desperately wanted him to do that to her lips again. Tellion just knew that if he were to do that once more, it would instantly make her feel so much better. If this was to truly be her last day of existence, then she wished that she could repeat that feeling, the greatest, and most enjoyable, feeling that Tellion had ever experienced in her life. But he didn't.
Instead, he gave her that warm and comforting smile that instantly made Tellion's worries diminish. Then, much to Tellion's sadness, he left the room.
Dr. Samier returned, stopping at the doorway and looking out.
"Don't worry sir, we'll make this very short and have her back to you in no time."
Tellion didn't know who he was talking to. Mark, she assumed.
Samier finally turned to face. "Scared?"
Tellion didn't know that word. She just shrugged her shoulders, mimicking the native expression of not understanding. Dr. Samier stared at her for a moment, rubbing his smooth face as he thought of what to say next.
"Fear?" he asked.
Fear. Yes. Tellion understood that word. Better than most other words she had learned. It was an expression she had lived most of her life with. It was almost as much a part of her as was her desire to know a better existence. She rapidly nodded her head.
Dr. Samier clearly read her expressions. He smiled warmly at her. "No fear Susan. No pain. Mark will be back soon."
Though not understanding all of his words, there was enough there to put Tellion slightly at ease. Tellion gave him a weak smile of her assurance to his desire to not hurt her. That seemed to please Dr. Samier. He kept his smile as he spoke to someone else outside the room.
"Hold my next appointment, this might take a while." he said in a very clearly gentle voice.
After he had said those words, Dr. Samier turned his back to Tellion and closed the door to the room. Then…
…everything changed.
Nothing physically happened that Tellion could see or truly understand, but she instantly felt a change in the very air of the cramped room. A tension coursed all through her body as she stared at Dr. Samier's back as he remained motionless in the only entrance, or exit, to the room. She saw that his entire body posture changed, it became instantly rigid and on guard. He didn't say anything to her as he lifted one of his hands up to a small metallic portion of the door that he was blocking. The loud, sharp click of a lock being placed caused Tellion to jump slightly where Tellion was sitting. The skin all across her body felt a sensation of fear flow through it, in a series of hundreds of miniature bumbs that made her tiny frame feel one complete edge.
Slowly, perhaps even deliberately, Dr. Samier twisted his head slightly to look back at her. It was just enough for him to glare at her with narrowed eyes that radiated with a gaze that could only be expressed as truly sinister. Tellion instantly knew that something was horrifically wrong with this situation.
"You thought you were so clever, didn't you." Dr. Samier spoke to her native Gedd/Yeerk language.
The instant he spoke those words, absolute fear spiked all through Tellion's 'body' and the breath escaped her terrified lungs. She moved away from him, her back pressing into the wall of the room from which there was no possibility of escape. 'Dr. Samier' seemed to take a mild pleasure of her apparent terror of him. He deliberately turned to face her at a slow pace.
"You must have never been in a native host before." he said, walking towards the cabinets on the walls. "Otherwise you would have known not to make the expressions that came across your face. So it's safe to confirm my suspicions. You were with Temrash's team, weren't you?"
Tellion didn't answer, not that it mattered. Her silence did nothing to dissuade the controller standing before her. He opened a nearby cabinet, and pressed a latch near the opening. A false wall at the back of cabinet lifted, revealing some kind of locker hidden within. The controller that wasn't the true Dr. Samier reached inside.
"Of course you know that I'm not really Dr. Samier." he said. "But he has proven to be a very useful host, both in his position in this facility to help us secure new hosts and his naturally gentle looks that throw off any real suspicion. That man you came in with didn't even have the slightest suspicion of my real intentions. Then again, neither did you. And you're a Yeerk too. Kind of insulting of you really, if you think about it."
"You know, right after the Andalites attacked, it was complete madness in here." Dr. Samier said. "Not only did we lose the entire team that was meant to infest the governor, but we also suffered the loss of nearly a quarter of our personnel in this facility. We had to purge all of the traces of evidence of our existence in this location. We've been set back for months, we even had to call in a hunter team to dispose of nearly a dozen former hosts that tried to escape when their Yeerks perished. And that's only the beginning. Visser Three…well, let's just say he was not very pleased with the failure of the operation and the loss of one of his best lieutenants. He's…disciplined the three commanders over me that were running the operations in this facility. I guess it's good for me, seeing as how now I'm in charge of things here. But we're not talking about me right now. This is more about you. It took me nearly two days to figure everything out. Despite the confusion that happened right after those damn blue furred bastards attacked us, one of our techs reported that single Yeerk had been taken out of the pool just before the attack. "
When he turned back to her, Tellion saw that 'Samier' held something in his hand, a metallic cylinder of some kind.
"Our tech didn't know the name of that Yeerk, but she did report to me that she had placed the transport container in one of the closed off rooms for that Yeerk's protection, but couldn't remember exactly which one it was in that confusing time. For even the life of me, we couldn't find the container that had held that Yeerk, no matter how hard we searched. I had to go through countless records in my spare time, which was very limited with my new promotion. But I did find something very interesting."
He moved slightly closer to Tellion, almost as if he were finding great enjoyment in her obvious fear of him.
"A woman who had been in a completely catatonic state suddenly, and quite unexplainably, awoke that same night, and almost immediately left the hospital. Quite the coincidence if I do say so. Almost too perfect in the timing. Don't you agree?"
Tellion didn't answer him. And he didn't seem to care.
"I suppose it's only proper that I formally introduce myself to you. I am Callisum 1643, newly appointed commander of this facility. And you are?"
Tellion said nothing. Silence was her only true defense in this moment. Callisum didn't agree with her lack of willing to communicate with him.
"Silence is not going to save you here. Because if my guess is correct, then you've got less than a day before you succumb to Kandrona starvation. Despite your ability to evade our forces, you can't escape your biology. So I knew that at some point you would be back here. Looking for a way to save yourself from the eventual death of from being cut off from Kandrona ray nourishment." Callisum gloated. "But I got tired of waiting, so I, how shall we say, 'accelerated' the process. Now here is the situation that you find yourself in, whoever the hell you are."
Callisum stepped closer to Tellion, the sinister look in his eyes burning deeply into her very spirit.
"I'm going to explain all of this to Visser Three. I've seriously even considering making up a bunch of nonsense. About how you betrayed all of us, and leaked the plans for infesting the Governor to the Andalites so that you could dispose of Temrash and eventually replace him as Visser Three's top subordinate. It won't be too hard for him to believe that, seeing as how you were the only Yeerk to survive the attack. Oh yes, you will have the full wraith of his boundless rage unleashed upon you. It won't take long before he forces you to beg him for the mercy of death, but he won't grant it to you. The longest I have ever heard of anyone subjected to his fury lasted for almost three of this planet's daily cycles. Who knows, Visser Three may try to break his record with you, considering how mad he is right now."
Callisum moved even closer to Tellion, his harsh face glaring at her. "Or, I can end your life with a simple blast of a Dracon beam. Of course it will hurt beyond comprehension, but it will only last for a few moments. And all you have to do is one simple thing."
He took one step towards her, which only added to Tellion's fear.
"You're going to tell me the names of everyone that you interacted with since you left this place. Of course, that man, 'Mark' as he's called, will be immediately scheduled for infestation. But it would be a lot easier for our forces if you were to just tell me the names of everyone that you meet with in the last two days. If we're quick, the hunter teams won't dispose of them, they'll just be targeted for infestation. Think about it, they don't have to die because of your selfish actions."
Death…or infestation. That was the fate for Arthur, Linda, and Ellaine? No. They hadn't done anything wrong. And now their very lives were in jeopardy because of her. Tellion felt a deeply entrenched worry suddenly ignite within her at the thought of Susan's family becoming slaves within their own bodies simply because of the actions that she had taken. And Mark as well. This concern was unlike anything she had ever known, it superseded even her own desire for existence. Even as Callisum continued to close in on her, Tellion felt a desire to protect Mark and Susan's family unleash within the core of her very being.
Tellion didn't answer him. Instead, all of the muscles in her body tightened at the prospect of a perceived threat that was before her. She was still too new to this body, and had yet to understand all of the delicate intricacies of how it functioned. But she clearly was not showing submission to Callisum. Her apparent defiance of his continued demands only seemed to heighten Callisum's growing anger. With a grunt of absolute frustration, he flicked the small cylinder in his hand. It extended out into metal rod, with a sparking tip that crackled with a sinister dark red energy at the end. Tellion instantly recognized the device in his hands and her eyes widened with terror.
"Judging by the reaction upon your face, then you know what's in my hand." Callisum said.
He lifted the crackling end up to his now sinister face, the corners of his lips curving up into an absolutely diabolical smile. The showing of his teeth only seemed to enhance the evil that was present upon his face.
"The fuge baton." Callisum said with a low laugh. Callisum used his free hand to gently tap a finger against the side of his head. "One tap of the end against your head…and it will fully stimulate to you the horrific pain of the final stages the fuge. The agony of suffering from Kandrona starvation will rampage all through your frail body, and your instincts will take complete control over you. You'll have no choice but to leave your host in the state of absolute agony that you'll endure. It took quite a long time, and a lot of expendable Yeerks, to perfect the effects of this weapon."
Tellion had heard of this device, but she had never imagined that the Empire, even as diabolical as she had come to see it as, would have created such a horrific instrument of torture for their own kind. And yet, here was the very device before her eyes to show the cruelty her own people were capable of. Even against their own kind.
Callisum's patience with her was apparently exhausted. His lips tightened and he pointed the crackling end of the fuge baton at Tellion.
"I'm growing really sick of this little game of silence that you're playing with me." he growled. "Either you tell me right now what I want to know, or I'm going to pull you from that body and take you to directly to Visser Three, you're choice."
Tellion remained both silent and motionless. Her eyes never wavered from that crackling reddish end of the fuge baton. If that sparking dark energy hit the side of her head, she was going to be pulled from Susan's body. And…Susan would die. Not that Callisum would care.
Callisum wasn't satisfied with her apparent lack of choice.
"Tell me now!" he snarled, lunging towards Tellion, the sparkling end of the fuge baton crackling just in front of her terrified eyes.