Thoughts of the human friends he had left behind would not leave him, even as Aximili found himself standing among the other Andalite warriors staffing the battle-bridge.
(What do you make of the tactical situation, Aristh Aximili?) the Tactical Officer asked, breaking Aximili free of the thoughts that felt as though they were chasing him down.
(I'm not an expert on-)
(I didn't presume you were,) the T.O. snapped, his previous friendliness evaporating as though it had never been present. (I asked for an evaluation.)
(Yes, sir,) Aximili said, still feeling rather off-balance from the Tactical Officer's earlier friendliness, and how quickly it had vanished. (The Yeerks are strong in orbit above the planet. I would say the odds favor them, but they don't want the battle to take place up there. Even if they do defeat us, their forces might be too strained to invade and hold the continent below from a Leeran counterattack.)
(I see,) the Tactical Officer said, and Aximili did not know quite what to make of his tone; or rather, his pronounced lack of tone. (If the Yeerks fear the Leerans on the surface, why take the chance of engaging us and the Leerans together?) Aximili nearly flinched at the sharpness of the Tactical Officer's tone, cringing under the stalk-eye pinning him under its gaze. (Because, Aristh Aximili, the Yeerks understand that different species do not fight well together. We have one way of doing things, the Leerans a very different way. The Yeerks are all united under one command; we and the Leerans are not. There's a lesson here, Aristh: we Andalites are strongest when we fight alone.)
(Yes, sir,) Aximili said, knowing what was expected of him, and yet unable to simply allow the Tactical Officer's careless words to go unchallenged. (And yet, it was my human friends and I who destroyed the Yeerks' attempt to create a species of ocean-going shock troops for use here on Leera. If the Yeerks had succeeded in that plan, the situation here today would be impossible.)
(Dracon flashes! We have Dracon flashes at the north end of the continent. Now Shredder flashes; the battle has begun,) reported one of the warriors at a sensor station, drawing the Tactical Officer's glaring main eyes away from where Aximili was standing.
Seconds later, a large holographic Andalite head appeared in the center of the battle-bridge.
(Force Commander Galuit-Enilon-Esgarrouth,) the Tactical Officer announced. (Attention!)
Aximili, as the only one without any actual duties, was naturally the only one who stood at attention.
(The action has begun on the continent,) Prince Galuit's holographic presence reported. (There are numerous Yeerk forces; carry out plan seven four. To our Leeran allies: May your great god Cha-Ma-Mib smile on you this day. And to all Andalite warriors: The People expect that every warrior shall do his duty.)
(Sir, what is my battle station?) Aximili asked, as the Ascalin descended sharply into the humid atmosphere of the planet Leera.
(For the bold aristh who made all this possible?) the Tactical Officer said, with the grim sort of laugh of a seasoned warrior going into battle again. (You'd better stick with me.)
A shiver of what felt far more like fear than anticipation crawled up Aximili's spine, even as the view that had once showed their forces battling the Yeerks' in orbit shifted to display the ground battle taking place in a large valley on the large, main continent. The Yeerk forces had large theater shields covering the rear of their forces, and so the combined Andalite and Leeran forces had to engage them head-on.
(You see why the Yeerks chose to fight here?) Captain Samilin asked, turning a stalk eye toward Aximili where he was standing. (As the T.O. was saying: different species under different commands do not function well together. You see? We waste our forces trying to protect the Leerans from being mowed down, and as a result, we are weak.)
(The Ascalin will turn that around,) the Tactical Officer said, sounding confident.
(Landing approach,) one of the other warriors reported, and then exclaimed in horror. (Captain! There is a malfunction in the ground-approach guidance system!)
(What?!) the Tactical Officer demanded, though Aximili found himself unsettled by the calm expression on Captain Samilin's face.
(Sir, the controls are frozen!) the warrior reported. (I've been locked out! Attempting to override! Override failing!)
Aximili felt his tail almost instinctively tensing, as he watched the Tactical Officer hurry over to take over the controls from the warrior who had been previously using them. (Captain! We are on approach to land behind Yeerk lines! We won't have a chance!)