Let's Read Animorphs! The Whole Series! Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges

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nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Random thought unrelated to the discussion, but maybe it's just the relative temporal association of the two properties but the Chronicles books, this one in particular, have always made me relate the general cosmology of Animorphs to StarCraft in so many ways, specifically when it comes to the Yeerks and the Andalites. There was always feeling that the Yeerks were the Zerg and the Andalites were the Protoss in terms of how their civilizations were generally structured and their relation to one another.

What with the proud caste-divided warrior race presented as the apex of physical form and the dominant galactic power with crystal technology that's basically magic, and their creepy gooey body horror antagonists who all bicker and backstab each other in their quest to absolutely gently caress up their hated superior enemy. Hell, the Vissers are basically just the Cerebrates, all they're missing is an Overmind (Crayak) :ssh:

# ? Jun 4, 2021 01:01

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# ? May 23, 2024 09:35

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 24
Dak Hamee

quote:

We marched up the valley. We marched beneath the trees. In the branches overhead, more and more Hork-Bajir were following us. Hundreds now. All watching, waiting.

They were chanting as they swung from branch to branch. They were chanting �Do as he does. Do as he does.�

Aldrea had done her job well. She had created a simple instruction for my fellow Hork-Bajir.

She was very clever. The Andalites are a very clever species. Like the Yeerks. Like the Arn.

We had been created by one brilliant species, invaded and enslaved by another. And now a third was using us.

But as I marched I saw no way out. That was what made me feel as sick as someone who has eaten yellow bark. There was no other way for us. We had become tools to be used by smarter, more powerful species.

�Do as he does, do as he does.�

Suddenly, they were right there in front of us. They had cut down the Speaking Tree. It lay across our path uphill, held in place by a pair of Stoola trees.

Hork-Bajir armed with shredders stood atop the felled Nawin tree and gaped down at us. Other Hork-Bajir fled before us, rushing back to their brothers. A few fired shredders at us. One monster lost an arm. It meant nothing.

We stopped just a few dozen yards from the felled tree. We could see the enemy clearly. They could see us.

There were only twenty or thirty Hork-Bajir-Controllers that I could see. But Aldrea had warned that more would arrive quickly. And, I knew, the Yeerk pool they�d built in the bowels of the felled tree would hold hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Yeerks in their natural state.

Beyond the tree, to the left, was a spacecraft. Aldrea said it had been an Andalite spacecraft. That was her goal.

She remained silent beside me, but I could feel her agitation, her eagerness.

�Are you ready, Aldrea?� I asked.

<Yes.>

I focused my mind as the Arn had taught us to do. I sent the simple instruction to the hulking army of monsters behind us. Their brains, simpler than even the simplest Hork-Bajir, understood the one word order: Kill.

�Kill,� I said, looking at Aldrea.

She did not look back at me. Instead she focused all her eyes forward. <For my mother. For my brother. For my father, Prince Seerow. KILL!>

We surged forward, a mass of demons. We surged up the hill. Great, powerful monsters, careless of gravity, bounded and slithered and shuffled and leaped at the Yeerks.

TSEEEW! TSEEEW!

Shredders fired.

RrrrAAAWWWRRRRR! A monster screamed as it burst into flame.

TSEEEW! TSEEEW!

I felt shredder blasts hit the ground beside me. But now I was running - terrified, but running forward.

TSEEEW! TSEEEW!

�Aaahhhh!� I cried as a near miss burned a semicircle in my shoulder.

<Attack!> Aldrea screamed.

TSEEEW! TSEEEW! TSEEEW! TSEEEW!

Shredder fire everywhere. A Jubba-Jubba exploded! A Lerdethak twisted, burning, writhing.

But the monsters were under our control. They were incapable of running away.

Only a dozen yards to the felled tree.

Nine yards.

Five!

TSEEEW! TSEEEW!

Aldrea raced straight for the felled Nawin tree. The monsters were all around us. I felt I must be losing my mind.

�Aarrrrrggghhh!� A vast, yellow beast looked down to see a hole through its own stomach. A hole that smoked and sizzled.

We had reached the tree! It was a curved wall above us.

Up the stairs I ran, now screaming. Screaming in some mix of terror and hatred.

A Jubba-Jubba simply climbed up the side of the tree, passing me and leaping on the stunned defenders. The Jubba-Jubba grabbed the nearest Hork-Bajir-Controller, opened his vast mouth, and swallowed him from head to waist.

More monsters clambered up. Hork-Bajir-Controllers broke and ran. But others were rushing up from behind, trying to hold the line.

I was atop the Nawin tree. I could see the way the Yeerks had cut into it, opening it up to create a pool. It was not water - not water as I knew it, anyway. It was as dark as dirt, heavy, slow. And within it I saw flashes of slugs rippling here and there.

Yeerks. As Aldrea had told me. Those were Yeerks.

I stood atop the tree and looked around me. Aldrea racing for the parked fighter. Monsters killing and being killed. Hork-Bajir-Controllers firing shredders in panic as they were torn apart. Screaming, roaring, crying, shouting!

And up in the trees, hundreds of my fellow Hork-Bajir, all watching. Not understanding, but watching to see what I would do.

�Do as he does,� they murmured still.

�Die!�

A shout from behind me. I spun. A Hork-Bajir-Controller, rushing at me, blades flashing.

I ducked beneath the swinging arc of his wrist blade.

I rose up, pushed his head back, and kicked into his stomach with my foot. The claws opened him up. He fell from the tree, rolled down the side, and landed at the feet of a Galilash. The Galilash
�
It doesn�t matter what the Galilash did.

What matters is that my people, the people I was to lead as seer, had seen what I did.

�Do as he does!� they cried.

They began to drop from the trees. And then the final horror began.

The final horror began.

Chapter 25
Aldrea

quote:

The battle raged!

I raced along the front of the log Yeerk pool. Between raging monsters and shouting, shredder firing Hork-Bajir-Controllers.

I had never experienced anything like it before. It was not what I had expected. The shouts and cries. The moans of pain. Brilliant explosions going off everywhere. The smell of charred flesh.

I ran in panic, only barely remembering my goal. I reached the end of the log and turned right, racing uphill again toward the fighter that was parked there.

No guards! The Yeerks who should have been protecting the fighter had rushed to join the battle.

A fatal mistake!

I ran for the fighter. The Yeerks had even left the hatch open. It was incredible. So easy!

I plowed inside, skidding to a halt. The noise of battle seemed farther off now. Like it was happening somewhere else entirely. I heard less shredder fire.

Focus, Aldrea, I told myself. I was trembling. I stood before the communications panel. The Yeerks had altered some of the controls, but it was still basically a familiar Andalite panel.

<Computer, activate communications array,> I ordered. <Outgoing message. First address: Andalite home world. Priority one, two-way communication demanded. Second address: Andalite space fleet. Priority one, two-way communication demanded.>

<Ready,> the computer said.

<Open channels,> I said.

<Channels open. Begin message.>

I faced the panel. I tried to compose my expression. I knew I must look pretty wild. More to the point, I looked young. And female. The Andalite military was almost entirely male.

<This is Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan. I am communicating from the Hork-Bajir home world. I ->

Out of the corner of one stalk eye I saw the threatening shape loom up behind me. I spun and whipped my tail around. But the Hork-Bajir-Controller was quick. He blocked my tail blade.

He delivered a backhanded blow that connected solidly with my face. My legs buckled. I fell to my knees.

�I don�t think I can allow you to call for help, Aldrea, daughter of Seerow.�

My head was spinning. But even as I slumped over onto the deck, I thought, Why isn�t he using his blades on me? He could easily destroy me.

The Hork-Bajir-Controller pressed one of his claw feet down on my upper body, pinning me down, helpless, unable to reach him with my tail.

�Computer. Terminate communication.�

<Communication terminated.>

The Hork-Bajir-Controller looked down at me. �You�ve caused a lot of trouble, Andalite. Your friends are busily butchering my people out there.�

<Go ahead. You want to kill me. Go ahead!> I cried with a lot more courage than I really felt. I was sick with fear. And just plain sick from the spinning in my head.

�Kill you? No, no, no. Not me,� he said. �I don�t want to kill you. I want to make you my host. I will be the first Andalite-Controller ever. I will have complete access to your every secret, to all the scientific and technical knowledge you possess. See, I�ve studied you Andalites. I admire you.�

He didn�t want to kill me? Then there might be time. Just maybe enough time. I had to stall him.

Distract -

WHUMPF! The kick came without warning.

<Argghhh!> I groaned. I nearly passed out.

�Terribly sorry, but I need you to stay put. I�m going to power up this fighter and use its shredders to cut down your little army of DNA mistakes.�

The kick had knocked the wind out of me. I think I actually did pass out, but only briefly. I couldn�t move, but I could still think. And what I thought of was a single, simple picture.

The picture of a Jubba-Jubba monster.

The Yeerk was busy powering up the shredders. And then busy using the fighter�s maneuvering thrusters to turn it toward the battle, bringing the shredders to bear.

One blast from the powerful shredders at this point-blank range would end the battle. He was actually laughing to himself as he brought the weapons around.

Then he noticed.

�Aaahhh!� He jumped back, eyes wide in disbelief.

I was halfway morphed. Halfway morphed into a Jubba-Jubba monster.

 I said.

�What are you doing?�

I reached for him and closed my huge, three-fingered hand around his neck.

<What am I doing? Destroying you, Yeerk. This is for my brother. For my mother. And for my father.> I tightened my grip. The power in my hand was incredible! I could easily have ripped him apart. I felt the dull monster mind, barely more than a flicker of simplest intelligence, not even sentient. I felt its blunt violence. Its powerful DNA-encoded urge to destroy.

But I had practiced the morph. I knew how to dominate the monster�s instincts. I knew how to keep my own Andalite mind in complete control. And that proved to be a mistake.

The monster would have snuffed out the life of the Yeerk without a second thought. But I was an Andalite. We are not beasts. The Hork-Bajir-Controller�s tongue lolled out. He flailed helplessly. His eyes rolled up into his head. He stopped thrashing.

I released my pressure. And I still felt the life in his neck.

I carried him to the hatch and threw him outside. I closed the hatch and secured it. And then I demorphed.

<Computer, resume previous communication.>

<Begin message.>

<This is Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan. I am communicating from the Hork-Bajir world. Designation Sector Five, RG-Two-One-Five-Seven-Eight-Four. Prince Seerow, his wife, and son have been killed. I am his daughter.>

A face had appeared on the screen before me. A young warrior, oozing arrogance.

<The announcement of Prince Seerow�s death is hardly a priority-one message,> he sneered. <Priority one is reserved for messages of the utmost ->

I was not feeling patient. I�d been punched, kicked, and stomped. <Then maybe this will be important enough for you: The Yeerks are here. Here in force, in orbit, and on the ground.>

The young warrior nearly fell over. <What?>

So the Andalites know now. The time of the Hork-Bajir liberation is at hand!

# ? Jun 4, 2021 03:42

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

And then the final horror began.

That's such a great line. This is what I alluded to earlier, and god - they just do such a great job of selling that war is awful, and no one wins.

# ? Jun 4, 2021 03:58

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

nine-gear crow posted:

Random thought unrelated to the discussion, but maybe it's just the relative temporal association of the two properties but the Chronicles books, this one in particular, have always made me relate the general cosmology of Animorphs to StarCraft in so many ways, specifically when it comes to the Yeerks and the Andalites. There was always feeling that the Yeerks were the Zerg and the Andalites were the Protoss in terms of how their civilizations were generally structured and their relation to one another.

What with the proud caste-divided warrior race presented as the apex of physical form and the dominant galactic power with crystal technology that's basically magic, and their creepy gooey body horror antagonists who all bicker and backstab each other in their quest to absolutely gently caress up their hated superior enemy. Hell, the Vissers are basically just the Cerebrates, all they're missing is an Overmind (Crayak)

Yeah, I don't think it's much of a coincidence that the game was developed over the first few years of this series. You look at Metzen's sketches from 95-97, or even the early alpha and beta screenshots, and they're pretty different from the final product. Starcraft always wore its influences on its sleeve; Zerg are Alien-Xenomorph Borg Yeerks, animal monsters who will take your body and warp it and use it to improve themselves; Protoss are Predator Stargate-Egyptian (and ID4 alien?) Andalites, arrogant, technologically centuries ahead of the humans, and not afraid to engage in a little light genocide (of other species, of course) to win the war.

# ? Jun 4, 2021 04:35

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Posting early today for various reasons, and only one chapter, because, as you see, there's going to be a break in the narrative.

Chapter 26
Dak Hamee

quote:

The monsters were cut down, one by one, falling over each other, piles of twisted, hideous flesh. But the Hork-Bajir dropped from the trees and did as I had shown them: They attacked the Hork-Bajir-Controllers. The first battle in all the history of our people. The first time any Hork-Bajir had killed another.

I saw the parked fighter begin to turn. Then it stopped.

I saw a fighter come swooping down from the sky. It hovered above the trees, but did not open fire. The reason was simple: It did not know whom to shoot. Or how. Both sides were intermingled in terrifying hand-to-hand combat.

Then the parked fighter began to turn again. The swooping shredder mounts came to bear on us. I waited, wondering who was holding the trigger of those powerful weapons.

Then, a faint thought-speak voice, weak from being so far away. <Dak! Get off the log! Get all your people off the log!>

�Everyone down! Follow me!� I yelled. I leaped to the ground and dozens of my people followed. We ran a short distance down the hill. The Yeerks atop the log cheered. They thought we were retreating.

The fighter fired.

TSEEEEEEW! TSEEEEEW!

The shredder beams sliced into and through the Nawin tree. The beams hit the liquid of the Yeerk pool inside. A huge explosion of steam followed.

�Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh!� Hork-Bajir-Controllers screamed. They fell. Some ran away. Others struggled to get to their feet but were jumped by four, five, six of my fellow Hork-Bajir.

Suddenly, the log broke in two. It broke open, gushing the contents of the Yeerk pool out onto the ground. The heavy gray water rolled down toward us like the runoff from a rainstorm.

It washed over my feet. Over my toes. But it left behind a pile of slithering, squirming slugs. The Yeerks of the pool were now helpless upon the ground.

I did not give the order. My friend Jagil did. Gentle, fearful Jagil. He had learned a great deal in twenty minutes of combat.

�Kill them!� he cried. �Kill them! Do as Dak Hamee has done. Kill them!�

The remaining Controllers ran. Ran for their lives. Ran screaming through the trees. I don�t know how many survived. Maybe none.

And my people set about stomping and cutting up the Yeerks who lay on the ground. It was like some nightmare dance.

Now, at last, the hovering fighter had found a target. It fired at the parked fighter. The blast annihilated the parked ship�s shredders. The hatch opened and Aldrea came running out just as the hovering ship fired again and blew the grounded ship apart.

More fighters were coming down. They were landing and disgorging fresh Hork-Bajir Controllers and Gedd-Controllers.

Aldrea came running, breathless. <Time to get out of here!> she cried. <We�ve accomplished what we wanted.>

I watched her as she realized what was happening to the Yeerk slugs. What my people were doing to them. Her face changed color. Her breathing stopped. She would not look at me.

�Yes, quite an accomplishment,� I said.

<We have to get out of here,> she said in a flat tone.

�To the trees!� I roared to my people. �To the trees!�

They pulled back reluctantly from the slaughter. But they obeyed.

Obeyed. Me. Hork-Bajir who had never known the word �obedience� now obeyed me. Because I was the seer? Because I was wiser than they? No. Because I had destroyed their past and now they had no choice but to follow me into a future they could not imagine.

The monsters in our valley were destroyed that day. Only a very few survived. But that was all right, because we didn�t need monsters anymore. We had become them.

I leave you with the poem "After Blenheim", by English romantic poet Robert Southey.

quote:

It was a summer evening,
Old Kaspar's work was done,
And he before his cottage door
Was sitting in the sun,
And by him sported on the green
His little grandchild Wilhelmine.

She saw her brother Peterkin
Roll something large and round,
Which he beside the rivulet
In playing there had found;
He came to ask what he had found,
That was so large, and smooth, and round.

Old Kaspar took it from the boy,
Who stood expectant by;
And then the old man shook his head,
And, with a natural sigh,
"'Tis some poor fellow's skull," said he,
"Who fell in the great victory.

"I find them in the garden,
For there's many here about;
And often when I go to plough,
The ploughshare turns them out!
For many thousand men," said he,
"Were slain in that great victory."

"Now tell us what 'twas all about,"
Young Peterkin, he cries;
And little Wilhelmine looks up
With wonder-waiting eyes;
"Now tell us all about the war,
And what they fought each other for."

"It was the English," Kaspar cried,
"Who put the French to rout;
But what they fought each other for,
I could not well make out;
But everybody said," quoth he,
"That 'twas a famous victory.

"My father lived at Blenheim then,
Yon little stream hard by;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground,
And he was forced to fly;
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.

"With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,
And many a childing mother then,
And new-born baby died;
But things like that, you know, must be
At every famous victory.

"They say it was a shocking sight
After the field was won;
For many thousand bodies here
Lay rotting in the sun;
But things like that, you know, must be
After a famous victory.

"Great praise the Duke of Marlbro' won,
And our good Prince Eugene."
"Why, 'twas a very wicked thing!"
Said little Wilhelmine.
"Nay... nay... my little girl," quoth he,
"It was a famous victory.

"And everybody praised the Duke
Who this great fight did win."
"But what good came of it at last?"
Quoth little Peterkin.
"Why that I cannot tell," said he,
"But 'twas a famous victory."

# ? Jun 4, 2021 21:35

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Dak being rather hard on himself. He didn't destroy their past. The Yeerks did.

I know that war is an awful experience to have regardless of the cause, but I've never believed that all wars are always futile. Certainly most of them - the Blenheim poem, IIRC, is about the War of Spanish Succession, and it's pretty hosed that hundreds of generations of European peasants spent their lives getting conscripted into battles about which rich rear end in a top hat noble deserved which throne. But the Civil War, World War II, arguably the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia - good came of those wars, even if the motives of the "good guys" weren't entirely selfless, and good will come of victory over the Yeerks, if they do win, even if the Andalites aren't being entirely selfless about it either.

Since we know KA is a LOTR fan I'll add that Dak's anguish about how his people will have to become either slaves or killers reminded me of this:

quote:

�I wish it need not have happened in my time,� said Frodo.
�So do I,� said Gandalf, �and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.�

# ? Jun 5, 2021 05:09

Acebuckeye13: Nov 2, 2010; Ultra Carp

Speaking of the Civil War, I'm reminded of a particular quote by William Tecumseh Sherman:

quote:

I confess, without shame, that I am sick and tired of fighting — its glory is all moonshine; even success the most brilliant is over dead and mangled bodies, with the anguish and lamentations of distant families, appealing to me for sons, husbands, and fathers […] it is only those who have never heard a shot, never heard the shriek and groans of the wounded and lacerated […] that cry aloud for more blood, more vengeance, more desolation.

# ? Jun 5, 2021 06:52

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

Interesting that you choose to cite Saint Billy...

# ? Jun 5, 2021 07:16

Strategic Tea: Sep 1, 2012

Let's read Animorphs: Do as Dak Hamee has done

# ? Jun 5, 2021 08:14

SirSamVimes: Jul 21, 2008; ~* Challenge *~

I forgot how hosed up this book is. :stare:

# ? Jun 5, 2021 12:04

Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Acebuckeye13 posted:

Speaking of the Civil War, I'm reminded of a particular quote by William Tecumseh Sherman:

"As soon as men decide that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil that they set out to destroy."
� Christopher Dawson

# ? Jun 5, 2021 12:23

Bibliotechno Music: Dec 30, 2008

SirSamVimes posted:

I forgot how hosed up this book is.

I had forgotten the details of this book, but I don�t think my subconscious ever forgot it. Probably why The Things They Carried hosed me up less than it should have when I read it a couple years later (still way too young by far).

# ? Jun 5, 2021 13:24

Crespolini: Mar 9, 2014

Epicurius posted:

Aldrea came running, breathless. <Time to get out of here!> she cried. <We�ve accomplished what we wanted.>

I watched her as she realized what was happening to the Yeerk slugs. What my people were doing to them. Her face changed color. Her breathing stopped. She would not look at me.

�Yes, quite an accomplishment,� I said.

This, but unironically.

# ? Jun 5, 2021 15:19

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

freebooter posted:

Dak being rather hard on himself. He didn't destroy their past. The Yeerks did.

Dak knows that whether they beat the Yeerks or not, the old Hork-Bajir culture will be destroyed. If they lose, they become slaves. If they win, they become killers.

# ? Jun 6, 2021 04:17

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 27
Aldrea

quote:

Seven months passed, and the fleet did not come. Not the two months I had expected. Perhaps Zero-space had shifted, leaving the Hork-Bajir home world farther away than it had been. That happens frequently. Or maybe the princes simply didn�t believe me. Or maybe, maybe, maybe. I went through every �maybe� I could think of. And still the fleet did not come.

Seven months passed, during which Dak Hamee and I learned the techniques of guerrilla warfare: 1) Strike with the element of surprise at the enemy�s weak point. 2) Withdraw before the counterattack can begin. 3) Use the population for support, regardless of reprisals.

We trained a hard core of Hork-Bajir. We called it the Hork-Bajir army. We captured Yeerk shredders. We attacked Yeerk ground bases. We hid in the trees or among the resentful, fearful Arn. We were brave and resourceful. But we were losing.

The Yeerks moved into other valleys. We spread the resistance, but we were never fast enough.

The Yeerks were spreading through the Hork-Bajir like a virus. They had thousands, tens of thousands of Hork-Bajir hosts.

And we began to notice other things. The shredders we captured were being altered. The Yeerks called this new weapon a �Dracon beam.� It did not kill as cleanly as a shredder. It caused more pain.

And even more ominous, huge excavations were occurring. The Yeerks were mining. Iron, uranium, nickel, bauxite. Diamonds and rubies. They were building stronger bases. And from the far side of the planet, we heard stories of vast constructions.

I had very little doubt what the Yeerks were building, and eventually we had proof: They were building more spacecraft. Craft that would be manned by Hork-Bajir-Controllers and armed with the new Dracon beam weapon.

The Yeerks had learned very fast. They had Andalite, Skrit Na, Ongachic, and Hawjabran technology to dissect. And now they were no longer held back by a lack of hosts.

It was a dark day. Mother Sky was weeping, sending down tears to soothe Father Deep�s anger.

It was raining.

Our little army came back from a harassing attack. We retreated to the dwellings of the Arn, carrying a badly wounded warrior.

Quatzhinnikon greeted us in the vast cavern where we had first met him. It was still daylight and his people were awake and about.

�Why have you come back here again?�

<We have a wounded warrior here,> I said. The Arn had lost none of their skill in biology. We�d suffered very few wounds they couldn�t treat successfully.

�I have told you. You are not welcome here. You will bring your war to us.�

�It will come anyway, Quatzhinnikon,� Dak said. �The Yeerks are more powerful every day. How long do you think it will be until they tire of enslaving Hork-Bajir and begin making hosts of the Arn?�

The small, purple creature smiled smugly. �A very long time now, seer of the Hork-Bajir. We have been busy. We have not rested.� He turned a cold, dismissive look on me. �And we have not put our faith in your never-appearing Andalite fleet, either. We no longer fear the Yeerks.�

My first thought was that the Arn had invented some powerful weapon. But no, the Arn were not builders of weapons. They were creators of life, however twisted.

<Explain. But first, tend to this injured Hork-Bajir.>

�We have altered our own DNA,� Quatzhinnikon said complacently. �We have altered our own physiology. We have weakened a blood vessel in our own brains to the point where any increase in cranial pressure will cause the vessel to rupture. Should a Yeerk attempt to enter any Arn brain, the vessel will rupture and the Arn will die. A dead host is of no use to the Yeerks. Therefore they will leave us in peace. All Arn in all the valleys of this world will be altered this way within days.�

For a moment, I stared. Then I laughed. <Fool. Do you think the Yeerks will let you live here on a world they intend to possess?>

Quatzhinnikon shrugged. �They will have no use for us.�

�Exactly,� Dak said. �And what they do not need, they destroy.�

Quatzhinnikon�s complacent face twitched. �Leave this place. You will find no help here.�

�I will kill him,� Jagil said, glaring at Quatzhinnikon.

�No,� Dak said. �The Yeerks will kill him.�

�I will kill Yeerks,� Jagil said. �I am a great Yeerk-killer!�

�Yes, you are, my friend,� Dak said sadly.

�He is a great Yeerk-killer!� Delf Hajool echoed staunchly.

Dak smiled at Delf Hajool, who stood beside Jagil. Delf and Jagil had become a couple. The Hork-Bajir pair off earlier in life than we Andalites.

It was almost too painful to think of the future Jagil and Delf faced.

I looked at Dak and felt a wave of self-pity. No future for Jagil and Delf. No future for Dak and me. In some ways we had become even closer, fighting side by side. But the easy fun, the trust, of our earlier times was gone. I often recalled the time when I had morphed a chadoo and climbed to the top of the Tribe Tree. I held on to that memory.

We climbed wearily back up out of the Arn wall-city. We rested in the zone once inhabited by monsters and now empty. The wounded Hork-Bajir died. That night we found a tree away from any Yeerk concentrations. We dug a hole at the roots and buried him, in the Hork-Bajir tradition.

I looked around at our small army: forty-two Hork-Bajir and me. Thirty-one of us armed with older-model shredders or newer Dracon beams. None of us without scars.

We were winning small battles. We were losing the war. Soon there would not be enough of us left to carry on.

The rain had stopped and the night sky had cleared by the time we emerged from the Arn wallcity.

�Mother Sky�s flowers are strange tonight,� a Hork-Bajir named Had Kalpak said.

I followed the direction of his gaze, turning one stalk eye skyward. Then, in a flash, all my eyes were lifted up.

Mother Sky�s flowers were strange, all right. Up against the black of space I saw the swift moving lights. And then, the bright beams of light and the tiny, silent, far-off explosion.

<Space battle!> I cried. <There�s a space battle going on in orbit!>

Dak grabbed me, almost too roughly. �The Andalites?�

I laughed. I laughed and laughed and danced around. <Well, it sure isn�t the Skrit Na up there frying Yeerks!> I cried. <They�ve come! They�ve come! Everything is going to be all right. The fleet is here!>

In case you haven't guessed, everything was not all right.

And this is the change in society Dak is afraid of. Jagil now boasts of his Yeerk-killer prowress. I mean, they even have a word for killer now.

Chapter 28
Dak Hamee

quote:

Andalite fighters landed in the clearing where Aldrea�s family had lived. They were battle scarred. But when the hatches opened, the Andalites who stepped out seemed confident.

<You must be Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan,> one of them said. <Come with me. I�m Sofor. I�ll take you to the prince.>

<I�m glad to see you,> Aldrea said. <This is Dak Hamee, the seer of the Hork-Bajir people.>

<Scary-looking brute,> Sofor said, looking me up and down. <Let�s go, youngster. The prince is not known for his patience, and we had a hot welcome to this hellhole.>

�Fortunately, we are patient,� I said, stepping forward. �We�ve waited seven months for you to get here.�

<It speaks,> the Andalite warrior said. <Mouth-sounds, of course.> He turned to Aldrea again.

<Say good-bye to your pet, young one, I have my orders.>

<Dak is coming with me,> Aldrea said.

�No,� I interrupted. �I am not going with you. These are my people. This is my planet. And for seven months, it has been a Hork-Bajir war. You,� I said, pointing at the arrogant Andalite, �you will tell your prince that we welcome him. We will be glad to meet him � when he comes here.�

I turned and walked away. I didn�t know if Aldrea would follow me. But after a few seconds I heard her hooves on the grass beside me.

<Was that wise, Dak? They�ve come to help.>

�No. They�ve come to kill Yeerks. Not to help.�

<It�s the same thing!>

I stopped walking. �Listen to me, Aldrea. We are going to end up being pawns in this war between Yeerks and Andalites.�

<That�s not going to happen. My people aren�t like that,> she said.

�We�ll see,� I said.

Two hours later, a runner came swinging through the trees to tell me that a larger Andalite ship was landing in the clearing.

<Happy now?> Aldrea asked me.

I smiled. �It�s a start.�

We returned to the clearing. We were taken aboard a rather beautiful Andalite warship unlike the others I�d seen. A name was on the hull in flowing Andalite script. It read Jahar.

On board a large, powerful Andalite stood waiting. He glared at us with a look that could have been a shredder beam.

<Alloran!> Aldrea gasped.

<What do you mean by summoning me down here? When I give an order I expect it to be obeyed!> he roared. <And it�s War-Prince Alloran to you, female child!>

<My name is Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan. Daughter of Prince Seerow. This is Dak Hamee, seer of the Hork-Bajir people.>

 Alloran said. <And I regret your family�s death. You are no doubt to be commended for having hidden out for seven months. We will reward whoever took care of you. Was it you, Hork-Bajir? Anything you want. You have our official thanks for hiding this female.> To Sofor and his other officers he added, <Get us out of here. Standard orbit. Sensor sweep as soon as we clear the atmosphere. There may still be one or two Yeerk ships left flying.>

Aldrea turned a stalk eye toward me. I met her gaze and smiled.

She had once promised to take me flying. Of course, it was a promise she�d intended as a bribe.

And yet here it was, coming true at last.

But I had no time to enjoy the moment. That made me sad. There�d been little enough to enjoy over these last seven months. Now, however, I had more important matters to deal with. I had to remain totally unimpressed. I had to be the seer of my people.

�War-Prince Alloran,� I said, in a friendly but not deferential tone. �You have a lot to learn. If you�d like, we can give you a briefing on the situation here.�

<A briefing? Ahh-hah-hah-hah! You�ll tell me!>

He and the other Andalites all laughed. I had to struggle to control my temper. Lately, I�d been having more and more trouble with anger.

�There are seventeen Yeerk ground bases spread through fourteen valleys,� I said. �There are three known mining camps where the Yeerks are busy extracting iron, bauxite, nickel, tin, copper, and uranium, as well as various gemstones I�m told are useful for focusing shredders. The largest construction area is two valleys west of here. It is well-camouflaged, having been dug back into the slope of the valley. We suspect that they have built fourteen fighter craft, based on a new design but similar in capabilities to your own Andalite fighters. These fighters are armed with two Dracon beam weapons, a blending of Andalite shredder technology with some Ongachic particle-wave technology.�

War-Prince Alloran stared. All the Andalites stared.

�Shall I continue?�

Alloran nodded his head slowly.

�The Yeerks are also constructing a new type of ship, quite large, very heavily armed. It seems almost to have been inspired by Hork-Bajir physiology. We � Aldrea and I � have taken to calling it a Blade ship.�

<You�ve actually seen all this?> Sofor demanded.

<Yes,> Aldrea answered.

<How?>

�We have attacked several of these bases,� I said. �Others we have infiltrated.�

<Attacked Yeerk bases? What, the two of you?> Alloran said.

<No, War-Prince Alloran,> Aldrea said proudly. <We attacked with the Hork-Bajir army. That�s what we�ve been doing for the last seven months. Not hiding out.>

�It has been a small army,� I said. �We have had a total of eight hundred and twelve Hork-Bajir with us, at one time or another.�
<And now?>

�Forty-two are with us now in this valley. Perhaps two hundred more are scattered in small groups in the other valleys. We have lost � many. Very many. I doubt we would have survived another month.�

<You�ve taken seventy-percent casualties?> one of the other Andalites asked, awestruck.

�Yes.� I closed my eyes. Had it been that many? Yes. Seven out of ten of the Hork-Bajir who�d rallied to me had died.

I gazed through a transparent panel and saw my own planet for the first time. Was that my own valley? Or had we passed over some other valley already? Did it matter? Weren�t all Hork-Bajir one people?

<But now you�re here,> Aldrea said enthusiastically. <Now we�ll wipe the Yeerks off this planet!>

Alloran sighed. <We would, if we were still facing the handful of ships the Yeerks had before. But if what you tell us is true � How many Hork-Bajir have been made into Yeerk hosts?>

<We don�t know. We estimate they have perhaps forty thousand. Forty thousand Hork-Bajir hosts, maybe twelve of their new Bug fighters up and flying � that�s what we call them. And the Blade ship, which we think is just coming online. Plus the Andalite and Skrit Na ships they already had.>

There was a long silence. A very long silence.

<But � but you�ll destroy them,> Aldrea said hopefully.

<We have eight fighters, two transports, one re-supply ship, one repair ship. A total of less than a thousand warriors. We destroyed two Yeerk fighters on our way in.>

<But that�s not enough!> Aldrea cried.

<Days after we heard your message from here we received intelligence reports that the Yeerk fleet was in Sector Two. The main fleet is there. We assumed that since � that because you �> He didn�t finish.

<I�m just a female. And the daughter of Prince Seerow. So you assumed I was a fool,> Aldrea said flatly.

<It will take a year for the main fleet to get here, unless Z-space reconfigures,> one of the officers said.

<This is going to be a tough little war,> Alloran said grimly. <A very tough little war.>

<And it�s starting right now!> Sofor cried. <We have multiple contacts, closing fast!>

So, the Andalites are here and their charming selves, and not really equipped to fight a war of this magnitude.

# ? Jun 6, 2021 04:29

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

I know the Andalites are generally a stand-in for Global Policeman USA, but the ones here come off as rather... British, somehow. Scary-looking brute!

quote:

<Was that wise, Dak? They�ve come to help.>

�No. They�ve come to kill Yeerks. Not to help.�

<It�s the same thing!>

I stopped walking. �Listen to me, Aldrea. We are going to end up being pawns in this war between Yeerks and Andalites.�

A concern also expressed by the Animorphs. I like it how Dak stands his ground and makes the prince come to him - a diplomatic power move mirrored near the end of the series when Jake kicks them off the Pool Ship when they want to talk privately.

# ? Jun 6, 2021 05:18

Acebuckeye13: Nov 2, 2010; Ultra Carp

freebooter posted:

I know the Andalites are generally a stand-in for Global Policeman USA, but the ones here come off as rather... British, somehow. Scary-looking brute!
A concern also expressed by the Animorphs. I like it how Dak stands his ground and makes the prince come to him - a diplomatic power move mirrored near the end of the series when Jake kicks them off the Pool Ship when they want to talk privately.

I said it before but the Andalites definitely have some major Napoleonic-era Royal Navy vibes. Except of course that they are far, far less competent.

# ? Jun 6, 2021 07:13

OctaviusBeaver: Apr 30, 2009; Say what now?

Spending resources putting a national park on top of all of your battleships while losing an existential war against brain stealing parasites is an interesting choice.

# ? Jun 6, 2021 15:36

Bobulus: Jan 28, 2007

OctaviusBeaver posted:

Spending resources putting a national park on top of all of your battleships while losing an existential war against brain stealing parasites is an interesting choice.

It reminds me of the Enterprise D, which could detach the saucer section (where all the families and science sections were) and fight with just the lower half of the ship, where the torpedoes and warp drives were.

(They didn't use this very often, possibly because it required switching sets and didn't look very cool)

But, yeah, the Federation wasn't at war at the time it was designed, so...

# ? Jun 6, 2021 16:17

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

OctaviusBeaver posted:

Spending resources putting a national park on top of all of your battleships while losing an existential war against brain stealing parasites is an interesting choice.

Honestly, it had probably been in development for a while before the war started, and it's probably psychologically important for the Andalites, who have a fear of confined spaces. If anything, if you're ramping up the military, the Dome Ship is probably more important, because it both increases the number of Andalites who are fit for space travel and also reduces the need for shore leave.

I'm also not convinced that at this point the Andalites consider this an existential war. A bunch of rebel Yeerks stole a few Andalite spaceships and are roaming free in the galaxy. It's a concern, of course, and the Andalites are trying to hunt down, but unless the Yeerks happen to find a planet with a large population of a species whose body can easily be used for combat and who are too technologically primitive to detect Andalite ships in orbit, well.....oh.

# ? Jun 6, 2021 16:44

feetnotes: Jan 29, 2008

# ? Jun 6, 2021 17:12

Ravenfood: Nov 4, 2011

Epicurius posted:

I'm also not convinced that at this point the Andalites consider this an existential war. A bunch of rebel Yeerks stole a few Andalite spaceships and are roaming free in the galaxy. It's a concern, of course, and the Andalites are trying to hunt down, but unless the Yeerks happen to find a planet with a large population of a species whose body can easily be used for combat and who are too technologically primitive to detect Andalite ships in orbit, well.....oh.

I don't think they consider it an existential threat because the idea that something could threaten the Andalites just doesn't cross their minds. Because they are arrogant dicks.

Also the Arn genetically modifying themselves to have aneurysms is kind of darkly hilarious.

# ? Jun 6, 2021 17:36

OctaviusBeaver: Apr 30, 2009; Say what now?

Epicurius posted:

Honestly, it had probably been in development for a while before the war started, and it's probably psychologically important for the Andalites, who have a fear of confined spaces. If anything, if you're ramping up the military, the Dome Ship is probably more important, because it both increases the number of Andalites who are fit for space travel and also reduces the need for shore leave.

I'm also not convinced that at this point the Andalites consider this an existential war. A bunch of rebel Yeerks stole a few Andalite spaceships and are roaming free in the galaxy. It's a concern, of course, and the Andalites are trying to hunt down, but unless the Yeerks happen to find a planet with a large population of a species whose body can easily be used for combat and who are too technologically primitive to detect Andalite ships in orbit, well.....oh.

Yeah that's a good point. I think in this one they don't see it as that big of a deal. By the Andalite Chronicles Elfangor mentions that they're thinking about increasing the birth rate but he doesn't think it's that dire yet, so the higher ups are at least moderately worried but the population at large isn't yet. By the time of the Animorphs books I think they must realize it's getting pretty dangerous, the Leeran planet was a desperate battle and they've lost a dome ship which is probably the equivalent of the US losing an aircraft carrier.

# ? Jun 6, 2021 18:59

ANOTHER SCORCHER: Aug 12, 2018

Yeerk intelligence/ingenuity must be really impressive, for them to have so quickly transformed portions of complete wilderness into industrial capacity able to build spaceships. Perhaps the Ongachic were very skilled engineers (which might explain why we never see any in combat) and the stolen technology had replicator-type capabilities.

It is also a shame we never got a Taxxon Chronicles, their absence in this book and what little we know from Andalite Chronicles makes me really curious about the circumstances of their alliance with the Yeerks.

# ? Jun 6, 2021 19:04

Ravenfood: Nov 4, 2011

I thought the idea was that being Yeerk'd gave them some relief from the overwhelming hunger.

# ? Jun 6, 2021 19:34

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

KA had said she was planning on making a Taxxon Chronicles, but I think she had said she didn't really like the Taxxons had trouble coming up with ideas for the book and in making them sympathetic. It's hard to write from the point of view of something that's starving all the time. Keep watching this space, though, because Taxxons do play a major role in one of the future books, and it's the closest thing we probably get.

# ? Jun 6, 2021 21:38

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Epicurius posted:

KA had said she was planning on making a Taxxon Chronicles, but I think she had said she didn't really like the Taxxons had trouble coming up with ideas for the book and in making them sympathetic. It's hard to write from the point of view of something that's starving all the time. Keep watching this space, though, because Taxxons do play a major role in one of the future books, and it's the closest thing we probably get.

A book that is just 130 pages of the word FOOD over and over again would be a very bold choice though.

# ? Jun 6, 2021 23:31

Pwnstar: Dec 9, 2007; Who wants some waffles?

I love that the Arn could surely make their ear canals too small for Yeerks to fit inside or put spikes in them or something but their top solution is adding a self destruct button.

# ? Jun 7, 2021 00:46

QuickbreathFinisher: Sep 28, 2008; by reading this post you have agreed to form a gay socialist micronation.
`

Pwnstar posted:

I love that the Arn could surely make their ear canals too small for Yeerks to fit inside or put spikes in them or something but their top solution is adding a self destruct button.

fascist problems call for neolib solutions... what could go wrong

# ? Jun 7, 2021 01:24

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

OctaviusBeaver posted:

Yeah that's a good point. I think in this one they don't see it as that big of a deal. By the Andalite Chronicles Elfangor mentions that they're thinking about increasing the birth rate but he doesn't think it's that dire yet, so the higher ups are at least moderately worried but the population at large isn't yet. By the time of the Animorphs books I think they must realize it's getting pretty dangerous, the Leeran planet was a desperate battle and they've lost a dome ship which is probably the equivalent of the US losing an aircraft carrier.

I'd also assume there's a lot of other fronts by the '90s that we don't know about, since losing a Dome ship and their great hero Elfangor on the same day - plus the Earth invasion being under the command of a visser who is both their third-highest-ranking officer and also, by his existence, such a blow to Andalite morale that they call him the Abomination - hasn't yet merited a response from them.

nine-gear crow posted:

A book that is just 130 pages of the word FOOD over and over again would be a very bold choice though.

# ? Jun 7, 2021 01:33

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 29
Esplin 9466

quote:

�We have multiple contacts, Sub-Visser Twelve.�

I heard the title and swelled with pleasure. I had been newly promoted. Up from Sub-Visser Seventeen, my first command rank. It was a jump of five places! Sub-Vissers Sixteen and Fourteen had been promoted. Sub-Visser Thirteen had been killed in battle against Hork-Bajir rebels. Sub-Visser Fifteen was being executed for incompetence and cowardice.

�Relay the sensor data to the Blade ship, Alahar-Seven-Eight-Six-Five,� I ordered. It was just the two of us aboard the tiny Bug fighter. But I was in command. I was the twelfth highest ranking subvisser.

Beyond that there were nine vissers. But every day there were promotions. Every day new sub-vissers and vissers were added. We were growing! These were amazing, heady days.

The only problems had come from the self-styled Hork-Bajir army led by that vile Andalite girl and Dak Hamee.

I had underestimated them both. Especially Dak Hamee. We took more and more Hork-Bajir who had been close to him, and when we opened their memories we learned about the Hork-Bajir �seer.�

He had turned his people from peaceful, stupid herbivores into fearless and dangerous guerrilla fighters. I had not been able to catch the Andalite or the seer. I had not kept my promise to Akdor. But that no longer mattered. The great Akdor had been killed by a Hork-Bajir firing one of our own Dracon beams.

And then, our second very unpleasant surprise. A small fleet of Andalite ships had popped out of Zero-space, shockingly close to the Hork-Bajir world.

They had annihilated two of our ships in orbit. That�s what had happened to Sub-Visser Fifteen. He�d been in charge of orbital defense. Sub-Visser Fifteen would die for his incompetence after a few more days of suffering.

Slowly we�d come to realize that this was not the full Andalite fleet. This was a task force. Just fighters and transports. Faster than our ships, but not as heavily armed. And we had ground bases.

�The Blade ship says they see the Andalites. Visser Four�s orders are for all fighters to attack!�

�Of course those are his orders,� I grumbled. �Let the Andalites chew up the fighters and then he can come in with his Blade ship, finish the battle, and claim all the glory.� There was nothing I could do about it.

�Andalites,� Alahar muttered unhappily. �Is it true that they control their ships with their thoughts?�

I sighed. �The Andalites are very advanced, very powerful, very determined. But they are not unbeatable. Prepare to go to full space normal speed. On my signal � NOW!�

We lit up our engines and hurtled along the arc of our orbit. Andalite ships ahead. My brother Yeerks all around us. The two fleets closed with shocking swiftness.

I took the weapons station. I fit my Hork-Bajir hands around the stick. �Be ready. The Andalites will close to within five thousand meters. Then they will break formation and attempt to dive beneath us so they can shoot upward into our bellies.�

The Andalites came straight for us. Fifty thousand meters � forty thousand � thirty thousand � twenty thousand �

Some of the other Bug fighters were already firing, the fools. But at this range the Andalite defensive shields were too strong. The Andalite ships flared, shrugging off the energy.

Ten thousand meters � five thousand �

SHWWWOOOOOM!

The formation broke, just as I�d known it would. We were ready. I hit the altitude controls, dropped our nose, and fired!

TSEEEEEW! TSEEEEEW!

Twin beams of brilliant red light lanced toward the Andalite ship.

BOOOOM!

A hit! The Andalite fighter exploded into sizzling debris. I caught a split-second glance of an Andalite body hurtling by.

�Yes! Now do you see? They are not unbeatable!� All the hours of studying the enemy was paying off.

�Two of our Bug fighters destroyed,� Alahar reported.

That cooled my excitement somewhat. Two-to-one in favor of the Andalites. But the one kill had been mine! �Bring the ship around, but take us out of this orbit. Take us down a few miles. Let�s see if we can draw the Andalites within range of our ground bases.�

�We have an Andalite fighter on our tail!�

Down we went, down and down, till I could look down into one valley and see the trees. The Andalite stayed with us.

�Evasive maneuvers!� I said.

TSEEEEW! TSEEEEW!

The shredders missed us by inches. We jigged left. We jigged right. But the Andalite pilot would not let go.

TSEEEEW! TSEEEEEW!

�Ahhh! Ahhh! We�ve been hit! We�ve been hit!�

�Give me a damage report, you coward!�

�Um � um � left Dracon beam is out. Right side is still working.�

�Take us down � down to treetop level and head north along the valley.�

We dropped into the valley. Trees flashed by on both sides. The blue mist below swirled in our wake. The Andalite was on us � on us � setting up a shot �

A single, massively powerful Dracon beam lanced from the ground and hit the pursuing Andalite.

In the viewscreen I saw the right side of his ship explode. The Andalite pilot was still alive, still fighting to get some control when his wrecked fighter hit a thousand-foot-tall tree.

�Take us back up!� I ordered.

Needless to say, Alahar was no longer so frightened or reluctant. We zoomed recklessly through the trees and back up toward space.

�I�m not showing any Andalite ships now,� Alahar said.

�They�ve run!�

�Yes,� he agreed. �I�m showing four disabled or destroyed Andalite ships. Seven of ours. Still almost two-to-one for them.�

I nodded. �So it is. But unless they bring reinforcements very quickly, it will be enough.�

First, RIP Akdor, leader of the Yeerk rebellion. He'll be in our thoughts.

So, even though the Yeerks are taking two to one losses here, which is obviously bad for them, it's still showing them that the Andalites can be beaten in a standup fight. The Yeerks still have this fear of Andalites as naturally superior, and every time they win, it gives them confidence that they CAN win.

Chapter 30
Dak Hamee

quote:

We were not saved by the Andalites. Instead the war simply intensified. The Andalite main fleet was on its way. But it would not arrive for a year.

From time to time new Andalite forces would show up. They were individual ships that had been on patrol and heard the call for help. A fighter here, a transport there, a few dozen more Andalite warriors to throw into the battles.

The Yeerks were forced out of my own valley. But they were strengthening everywhere else. The Andalite ships took to hiding in Zero-space, popping out of normal space until they were needed.

They no longer had the power to remain in orbit and survive.

On the ground, Alloran led a valiant effort. But it was merely a holding action.

There were victories. But at the end of each passing week, there were fewer Andalites and more of my people enslaved.

After six months, the two thousand Andalite warriors had been reduced to four hundred. My forty-two Hork-Bajir warriors were now just twelve.

We estimated that there were now a hundred thousand Hork-Bajir-Controllers.

We hid among the Arn, for the most part. The Arn didn�t like it, but they were helpless. Of course, the secret of the Arn was now well-known to the Yeerks. As Quatzhinnikon had predicted, the Yeerks discovered they could not successfully infest the Arn.

So the Yeerks used the Arn in other valleys as slave labor to mine their raw materials and to build Yeerk ships. When an Arn was injured or worn out, the Yeerks used them for target practice.

But the Arn in my valley were untouched. The Yeerks had made two attempts to invade the Deep of my valley. We had slaughtered them.

The Yeerks knew where we hid. And we knew that sooner or later they would come for us.

I stood on a balcony outside the Arn dwelling I now used as my home. I looked up, but I could not see Mother Sky. All I could see was the blue mist barrier, glowing like no sky could. I looked down and saw the seething, molten core of my planet, hundreds of miles down. The far wall of the valley was only a thousand feet away at this point, and I could see Arn busily going about their daily routines. Here and there an Andalite would trot by, simply hopping over the Arn in its way.

There was one place where there always seemed to be two or three Andalites. At first glance they were just a couple of warriors talking, relaxing. But they, or others, had been in that same place for days.

<What are you thinking?> Aldrea asked me.

�What are those Andalites guarding?� I asked.

She came and stood beside me. She pressed her small, weak hand against my arm, as she often did. <What makes you think they�re guarding anything?>

�Every hour of every day for the last two weeks there are at least two Andalites over there in that same location,� I said.

<They don�t look like they�re guarding anything.>

�And yet they are there. Every day. Every night. Do you know what it means, Aldrea?�

<No. I don�t.>

�I�m going for a walk.�

<I�ll come with you.>

I went back inside, then down a set of steps to the walkway level. Along the walkway, waiting patiently for the slow-moving Arn. I came to a bridge. The bridges were narrow, infrequent, usually crowded, and fairly terrifying to Andalites, who were not at all used to heights.

They were never more than three feet wide. Even a Hork-Bajir raised in the trees found them intimidating.

Aldrea kept pace with me, steadfastly looking straight ahead and never down. We reached the far side and turned left to get back to the place the Andalites were guarding.

�Hello, friends,� I said to the two overly casual warriors there. �We would like to go in there.�

<Why would you want to go in there?> one of them asked. <Nothing in there for a Hork-Bajir to strain his brain over.>

The warrior looked past me, saw Aldrea, and nodded respectfully.

<Why are you guarding this place?> Aldrea asked.

The two warriors grew less casual. Their tails rose a few inches. Their hands drifted down toward their holstered shredders.

<Guarding? Who�s guarding?>

�Will you allow us to enter?� I asked.

<Listen to me, genius, this isn�t a place for you. Why don�t you go find some tree branches to chew on?>

Genius. It was one of several sneering terms the Andalite warriors had for Hork-Bajir. I ignored it.

<Listen, you -> Aldrea began to yell.

I cut her off. �Simple question, friends. Will you allow us to enter? It only requires a yes or no answer. Yes or no?�

<Move along,> the warrior said coldly.

I turned and walked away. Aldrea came up beside me.



�Their insults mean nothing,� I lied. �The fact that they are hiding something means something.�

<Let�s ask Alloran.>

�No. He gave the orders to guard that place. I guess we�ll have to forget about it.�

Aldrea jumped ahead and blocked me. <Don�t lie to me, Dak. You�re going to try and find out what�s in there. You just don�t trust me to help you.>

I was determined to remain calm. But I wasn�t able. Instead I shouted. �We have fought side by side with your people and you Andalites still treat us like inferiors! Like errand-runners or servants or like idiot clowns to amuse you!�

<They didn�t know who you are,> Aldrea said. <They figured you were just some regular Hork- Bajir.>

�Ah, yes. They assumed I was just one of the stupid Hork-Bajir. The simpleminded Hork-Bajir. The expendable, irrelevant, foolish Hork-Bajir.�

<That�s not what I meant.>

�Of course it�s what you meant,� I said bitterly. �You Andalites have more respect for the vicious Yeerks or the cowardly Arn than you have for the Hork-Bajir who fight and die at your sides. All that matters to your people is intelligence. Well, I�ve learned enough about Yeerk and Andalite and Arn intelligence to make me sick.�

All this while, Arn were walking around us and even through my legs, ignoring us.

<You�re upset. I understand that.>

I laughed. �You almighty Andalites. There is no limit to your arrogance, is there? Well, let me tell you something: We may be simple people. But we don�t use biology to invent monsters. And we don�t enslave other species. And we don�t unleash a plague of parasites on the galaxy, endangering every other free species, and then go swaggering around like the lords of the universe. No, we�re too simple for all that. We�re too stupid to lie and manipulate. We�re too stupid to be ruthless. We�re too stupid to know how to build powerful weapons designed to annihilate our enemies. Until you came, Andalite, we were too stupid to know how to kill.�

<That�s quite a speech,> Aldrea said softly. <You�ve been wanting to say all that for a long time, haven�t you?>

The anger had burned itself out. I felt hollow. Not better, not relieved. Just empty and tired. �We were peaceful people, tending our trees, ignorant of our creators. Unaware of everyone else in the galaxy. Now look at us. Now look what has become of us. The despised children of the Arn. Slaves of the Yeerks. Tools of the Andalites.�

Aldrea stood close to me and pressed her upper body against my chest. I put my arm carefully around her shoulders. We stood there on the walkway for a long time, blind to all who passed.

 Aldrea said. <Tonight, when the Arn are asleep.>

�You can�t go against your own people,� I said.

She looked at me then, with all her eyes. <Dak, I hope it never comes to a choice between my people and � and you. But if it does, I�ll stand with you.>

I smiled. I appreciated what she�d said. But I didn�t believe it.

So, this entire war started because the Andalites underestimated the Yeerks. Seerow didn't think the Yeerks could be devious, and the Andalites guarding the ships on the Yeerk homeworld didn't think a bunch of Yeerks in Gedds could be a threat. Now they're doing it again to the Hork-Bajir.

# ? Jun 7, 2021 04:27

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

quote:

I heard the title and swelled with pleasure. I had been newly promoted. Up from Sub-Visser Seventeen, my first command rank. It was a jump of five places! Sub-Vissers Sixteen and Fourteen had been promoted. Sub-Visser Thirteen had been killed in battle against Hork-Bajir rebels. Sub-Visser Fifteen was being executed for incompetence and cowardice.

This is a maddeningly confusing system of military ranks

# ? Jun 7, 2021 04:40

gourdcaptain: Nov 16, 2012

Maybe it's not a good idea for the Yeerks to have all their commanders in a literally linear numbered hierarchy so that the Mirror Chekov saying of "If you die, we all go up in rank." is true.

Dak Hamee's increasing "I'm goddamn tired of all of you jackasses" vibes throughout the book are remarkable.

# ? Jun 7, 2021 04:42

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

A jump of five* places!

*two

# ? Jun 7, 2021 05:07

Tree Bucket: Apr 1, 2016; R.I.P.idura leucophrys

Acebuckeye13 posted:

I said it before but the Andalites definitely have some major Napoleonic-era Royal Navy vibes. Except of course that they are far, far less competent.

I am Orbry-Matturin-Ofserprise, a captain in the Andalite war fleet

# ? Jun 7, 2021 05:37

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Epicurius posted:

First, RIP Akdor, leader of the Yeerk rebellion. He'll be in our thoughts.

I've always appreciated that off-hand line about "Oh yeah, he just died." It's a nice little moment of verisimilitude about how rebellions, revolutions, and wars tend to go sometimes. In any other story, the guy who started the whole rebellion would have been the main villain of it, but here? He's just some chump who takes a stray bullet fired from one of his own weapons that fell into the hands of the people fighting back against him. And then he's forgotten by everyone involved in his whole movement.

Seerow is remembered and revered by the Yeerks, Akdor is erased from history.

nine-gear crow fucked around with this message at 06:38 on Jun 7, 2021

# ? Jun 7, 2021 06:34

Acebuckeye13: Nov 2, 2010; Ultra Carp

freebooter posted:

This is a maddeningly confusing system of military ranks

It's actually not entirely unprecedented. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Royal Navy's system of promotion from Captain to Admiral was based entirely on seniority, with a literal list of where each officer was in line. This meant that capable officers could languish for years, if not decades while waiting for a spot to open up, particularly as less-capable officers kept hanging around so they could secure Admiral's pay. Eventually the Royal Navy created a new Admiral rank where they could shove less-competent officers so they could get around to promoting those with actual merit, and eventually scrapped the system entirely.

# ? Jun 7, 2021 18:15

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

Is that Rear Admiral? Because yeah, wow, that's a direct parallel to sub-Visser.

# ? Jun 7, 2021 21:01

disaster pastor: May 1, 2007

Comrade Blyatlov posted:

Is that Rear Admiral? Because yeah, wow, that's a direct parallel to sub-Visser.

Rear admiral has existed a lot longer. I think Ace is referring to "rear admiral without squadron," or "yellow admiral," which was essentially, "you're in the way, so, fine, we'll cut you a deal: we'll make you an admiral so you get an admiral's pension, on the condition that you immediately resign and start collecting it."

# ? Jun 7, 2021 21:20

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# ? May 23, 2024 09:35

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Acebuckeye13 posted:

It's actually not entirely unprecedented. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Royal Navy's system of promotion from Captain to Admiral was based entirely on seniority, with a literal list of where each officer was in line. This meant that capable officers could languish for years, if not decades while waiting for a spot to open up, particularly as less-capable officers kept hanging around so they could secure Admiral's pay. Eventually the Royal Navy created a new Admiral rank where they could shove less-competent officers so they could get around to promoting those with actual merit, and eventually scrapped the system entirely.

But those men had names and the ranks were used in conjunction with them. The Yeerks have names but don't appear to use them once they're ranked; nobody ever refers to him as anything other than Visser Three. And in a time of war like this where people are getting killed and executed and promoted all over the joint, it would get real confusing real fast as to who was who when you say "orders from sub-visser 12" or whatever.

Also I was thinking about how Akdor was killed and how we haven't heard anything about the Council of Thirteen other than Seerow at the start saying they couldn't have known; maybe they did know but they don't seem to be present aboard the exiled fleet, which I think supports the theory that the Yeerk homeworld has been liberated sometime after the Hork Bajir war but before the time of the Animorphs. Since (minor spoilers) we learn in Visser Chronicles at least that the Council is a very active part of the interstellar empire by the modern day.

# ? Jun 8, 2021 00:40

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