- pile of brown
- Dec 31, 2004
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Starting out pretty solid, and Ax has always been a fun narrator, so looking forward to this one.
Re: the last book, I'd probably put it in the bottom half, but nowhere near rock bottom, mostly due to inconsistency. But it's got more than enough good parts that I can imagine what the better version of it is.
The big change I would make would be for Rachel be a more reluctant leader at first, and only get pushed into it when the group decides they need to have these missions done. Then, have a few of the rapid fire hits go well before she gets into the adrenaline rush of deciding to go Maximum Bear and the rest of the book after that is mostly the same. Ultimately, it's likely a problem of having very short page counts to pack a set up, a series of battle set pieces, multiple emotional arcs, a final battle, and a chapter to wrap it up in a very nice bow, all within a month.
I'm torn on the Inspector. On the one hand, we're coming off Visser, which was all Yeerk politics, all the time, so it can't help being underwhelming compatibles. Also, we don't learn much about him, aside from the fact that he hates Visser Three (which is quite a bit club in the Empire alone) and he's got a new host body that could spell trouble in the future.
But if we take Visser out of the equation, it's awful fun to get another peek at the Yeerk Empire's self destructive rivalries. Also, Visser Three is ice cold at the end, basically tricking his rival into getting himself killed.
It isn't really earned though, v3 had no way to know the rest of the animorphs would show up and kill the inspector for him, he just keeps smugly telling him to kill them until something else happens
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Mar 5, 2022 09:37
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- Adbot
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ADBOT LOVES YOU
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May 27, 2024 21:49
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- Ravenfood
- Nov 4, 2011
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It isn't really earned though, v3 had no way to know the rest of the animorphs would show up and kill the inspector for him, he just keeps smugly telling him to kill them until something else happens
Yeah but he may also just run into empty rooms yelling "I have you now, Andalite filth!" at random times hoping to smugly catch them in a trap too, so.
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Mar 5, 2022 10:29
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- ANOTHER SCORCHER
- Aug 12, 2018
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It isn't really earned though, v3 had no way to know the rest of the animorphs would show up and kill the inspector for him, he just keeps smugly telling him to kill them until something else happens
That was kind of the one thing I liked though, V3 knows that the Animorphs are hard as hell to kill from experience so goading on the inspector made sense to me.
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Mar 6, 2022 00:26
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- Epicurius
- Apr 10, 2010
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College Slice
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Chapter 3
quote:It was a small room. Badly lit. One wall was formed of reinforced glass and beyond that glass a dark office.
I should have worried about that. We all should have. But our attention was drawn to what appeared to be a badly beaten human, barely holding onto consciousness, slumped on a chair. His arms were bound behind his back with metal chains called handcuffs. His ankles were likewise affixed to the legs of the chair.
One of the human-Controllers was drawing a gun. He took aim at Cassie. Cassie’s teeth found his arm in midair. The man screamed.
BLAM! His shot went wild.
BLAM! BLAM!
The second Controller fired two shots at Rachel. One missed. The other nicked her shoulder. It was badly aimed. Most likely because Marco was shaking him like a rag doll.
Fwapp! Fwapp!
I hit each of the Controllers with the flat of my tail. Both fell unconscious.
The seemingly near-dead Mr. King sat up, suddenly whole, healthy, and unscarred, calmly snapped the handcuffs, and said, “Thanks for coming to get me.”
<Keep up the pretense,> I warned. <There may be others of the enemy around.>
“Ah, yes.” The wounds, the blood all reappeared instantly. He let out a very convincing groan and slumped.
Marco dropped the human-Controller and picked up Mr. King. <Okay! Let’s get out of here.>
Rachel swung her arms from her enormous shoulders, impatient. <That was too easy,> she complained. <Maybe …>
<Uh-oh!> Marco said.
Something was moving beyond the reinforced glass. Several somethings. Hork-Bajir! And one shape that was terribly familiar.
Visser Three!
<It’s a trap!> Prince Jake shouted.
I stared at the heavily muscled adult Andalite body. At the tail blade that could kill with one swipe. Looked with hatred at the only Andalite-Controller in the galaxy.
Visser Three had no right to that body. No right to the eyes. The brain. The strength. The speed. No right to the morphing power.
Visser Three is an evil thing. A Yeerk slug within the brain of an Andalite who had once been called Alloran-Semitur-Corrass.
Alloran’s was a hideous fate. He was still alive. His mind and memories intact. He was a slave of his own enemy. And he knew the depths of his own powerlessness.
Crrrraaassshhh!
The glass partition fell in splinters.
The visser leaped. Straight for me.
Fwapp!
I blocked the blow. Barely. He was fast, very strong. Stronger than me.
But I was not alone.
“ROOAARRRR!” The tiger’s roar shook the light fixtures! Their fluorescent glow flickered!
Jake bounded over three desks and landed, claws extended, on the visser’s back.
His claws raked deep and drew blood.
Tseeew! Tseeew!
The Hork-Bajir were firing. All that saved us was the care the Hork-Bajir had to take not to hit their master.
Prince Jake rolled off the visser and onto the floor. His fur burned and smoked where a Dracon beam had penetrated the muscled shoulder.
<To the door!> Prince Jake yelled.
Marco yanked it open.
An armed Hork-Bajir stood in the doorway. More behind him. How many? Too many.
We were blocked in two directions. The only way out was the hole we had made to get in. No time to think. The visser was on me.
Fwapp!
He struck. I felt his blade bite. Felt my left front leg go numb from the blow.
Fwapp!
I blocked, but he knocked my tail, whipping back. Too strong! I was as fast, but he had power I couldn’t match.
Fwapp!
I felt the wind of the blow on my exposed neck.
I drew back and then made a lunatic feint. It threw him off balance.
Small victory. And temporary.
The visser ducked his upper body, clearing the firing line, and roared, <Fire!>
<Down!> I yelled.
Tseeew! Tseeew!
Beams singed the fur down both sides of my back. The wall behind me was all burning wallboard and wood, half-incinerated by the Dracon beams.
<Rachel! Get the Chee out!> Prince Jake ordered.
Tseeew! Tseeew!
<Ahh!> Jake cried. One of his legs was simply gone, a sizzling, bleeding stump.
<Marco! On me!> Rachel yelled. She charged toward the exit door, straight into the nearest Hork-Bajir blocking our path. The Hork-Bajir folded, crumpled. Marco was right behind Rachel with the Chee on his shoulder.
Tseeew! Tseeew!
A hole the size of a fist burned through Rachel. But the grizzly is not easily stopped.
<Out the way we came in!> Rachel yelled.
They pushed back through our own doorway. Into the file room.
<The hallway over here is clear,> Rachel yelled. <Come on!>
<Okay, bail out!> Jake ordered.
But before I could run, a sound. My stalk eyes swung upward in response to the noise. Ceiling panels were being pulled up as if they were trapdoors.
Hork-Bajir began to drop like hailstones.[/qyote]
Visser Three apparently does run into empty rooms yelling "I have you now, Andalite filth!" at random times.
Chapter 4
[quote]<Marco! Take care of Mr. King!> Prince Jake ordered. <Rachel! Hang back with us. Tobias! If you’re still out there, get ready to cover Marco!>
We plowed down the hallway, staggering, bleeding, scared. Not fast enough. The Hork-Bajir were rushing up behind us, slashing, cutting into muscle and sinew.
I killed one with a lucky swipe of my tail. He fell and tripped one of his brothers. The two of them sprawled, delaying the rush by a split second.
Down a dark hallway, walls all around, hemming us-in, a tunnel, and with Hork-Bajir roaring after us. If they were ahead of us as well …
Stairwell leading down. Freight elevator just ahead. Hallway took a turn just past the elevator.
Which way? Prince Jake’s decision, but Prince Jake was weakening, stumbling. How much longer could he keep going on three legs?
I wasn’t much better off. Bleeding. Staggering. Hurt.
“Sssree! Sssree!”
A frenzy of squealing from below!
Taxxons!
Enormous voracious centipedes. Drawn by the carnage. Forcing their way up the narrow stairwell. Scrambling over the fallen Hork-Bajir, tearing limbs and pieces of flesh from their still breathing bodies.
Visser Three stepped into the hallway directly ahead. How? Some back way. We were surrounded.
<The elevator,> Prince Jake gasped.
I slammed the button, willing it to come quickly.
Where was Marco? He had gone down the hallway where the visser now appeared. Had he escaped? Or was he already a prisoner?
<I knew a front-page article on The Sharing would bring the Andalite bandits from undercover,> Visser Three sneered. To his troops he said, <I don’t want them dead. Lowest power setting. Aim carefully.>
The Hork-Bajir lifted their Dracon beams.
My chest was tight with panic. I could hardly breathe.
My hearts ached for my parents. They had lost one son on this distant planet. I feared they would soon lose a second.
DING!
The doors to the freight elevator opened. The Hork-Bajir wavered, distracted.
<DOWN!> Jake roared.
<FIRE!>
Tseeewww! Tseeewww! Tseeewww!
Dracon beams burned. Inches above us.
And now …
Tseeew! Tseeew!
Shredder fire! The sound, so like a Dracon beam, was different enough for any Andalite aristh to recognize.
Tseeew! Tseeew!
Shredder fire, point-blank at the wall of tight-packed Hork-Bajir.
<More Andalites?!> Visser Three yelled, his thought-speak voice torn between outrage, fear, and simple disbelief.
Four Andalites jumped from the elevator like bucks clearing a fence. They were everywhere at once. Firing. Whipping their tail blades with deadly precision.
They were magnificent.
I fought beside a young female.
She had impeccable timing. She was dangerous.
She was beautiful.
CRASH!
The hallway wall collapsed and the battle spilled back into the interior office space of the building.
The female kept up a steady stream of fire as we forced back the Hork-Bajir line.
Windows shattered. Desks splintered. Plaster, tangles of wire, and debris poured from the ceiling.
The Yeerks were losing.
Suddenly, the shrill sound of police sirens penetrated the noise of battle.
<Hey, cops are on their way,> Tobias announced. <Get out!>
<Did Marco make it out?> Prince Jake demanded, unwilling to run till he was sure we were all safe.
<Yeah. Jumped out of a window and the Chee threw up a hologram, made it look like they were a parked car.>
<Visser,> Prince Jake snapped. <Maybe those cops are your people, but maybe not. Walk away and you live, for now.>
The visser did not deign to respond. He slammed his way past a Taxxon, leaving the creature oozing goo from a deep gash.
The battle was over.
Shell-shocked Hork-Bajir began gathering up their dead. Taxxons waddled back down the stairwell, dragging what meat they could take away with them, to disappear into some secret basement hiding place.
Then, through a cloud of plaster dust, I saw one of the Andalite warriors jump over the body of a fallen Hork-Bajir and land face-to-face with Visser Three.
Of course! These Andalites were not under Prince Jake’s orders.
The Andalite lifted his shredder. It would be a point-blank killing.
I felt a surge of hot joy in my heart.
Visser Three looked at the Andalite. <Arbat!>
The Andalite’s eyes flickered and his finger hesitated on the shredder.
Fwapp!
With the flat of his tail blade, the visser smacked the weapon from his assailant’s hand.
<You never could see that one coming, could you, Arbat?> Visser Three laughed. <That’s what comes of thinking too much and tail fighting too little.>
The one he had called Arbat let out an Andalite curse.
Visser Three leaped to safety behind a phalanx of Hork-Bajir.
Prince Jake said, <I don’t know who you guys are, but first: Thanks. Second: Get out of here. The cops get in on this and we’ll have a massacre of innocent policemen.>
<Withdraw. Now!> one of the Andalites commanded.
<Everybody out!> Prince Jake ordered.
<Wait!> I cried as the Andalites galloped down what was left of the hall. <Who are you? Where can I find you?>
The female turned. <I am Estrid-Corill-Darrath. Do not worry. We will find you, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill.>
More Andalites! Is this the long awaited Andalite rescue fleet? Is this book 38 of a 53 book series?
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Mar 6, 2022 05:38
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- freebooter
- Jul 7, 2009
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Hooray! Pack it in fellas. Put your feet up. Start thinking about what you'll wear to the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony.
quote:<Visser,> Prince Jake snapped. <Maybe those cops are your people, but maybe not. Walk away and you live, for now.>
People have commented before that the Animorphs are getting a bit fast and loose with their vocabulary when addressing Yeerks - I feel like even Ax wouldn't say "cops" - but I kinda like it, it feels like natural slips they'd make over time, and at this point the Yeerks surely suspect at least some of them are human (especially since David, and knowing they have the blue box).
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Mar 6, 2022 05:51
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- freebooter
- Jul 7, 2009
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More importantly, Ax has a crush, and since Animorphs aren't really allowed to be happy, I'm taking bets on why it won't work out.
It would leave Marco as the only single Animorph which would be mean (and also really counter-intuitive, though I guess we're mostly already there)
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Mar 6, 2022 12:00
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- HIJK
- Nov 25, 2012
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in the room where you sleep
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oh god its this one
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Mar 6, 2022 15:19
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- FlocksOfMice
- Feb 3, 2009
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I have no idea what's about to happen and I know, i KNOW it has to be something really weird or stupid, or very serious and very sad, oh no.
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Mar 6, 2022 19:13
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- Epicurius
- Apr 10, 2010
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College Slice
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Chapter 5
quote:An hour later, we were in Cassie’s barn.
Cassie’s family runs the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. At any given time, the clinic houses several dozen wounded or ill creatures. Often exotics.
There are also squirrels, rabbits, pigeons, and grackles. Common creatures that come and go, drawn by the seeds and oats that lie scattered in and around the barn.
“No doubt about it,” Marco said, waving a copy of The Chronicle. “A propaganda mill for Yeerks. Part three in a five-part series on The Sharing.”
The Sharing exists to recruit human hosts, willing and unwilling. It poses as an innocuous family-oriented group.
For every Yeerk that has a host body, there are thousands of Yeerks that do not. They live in a dank pool where they feed on Kandrona rays. And wait.
They wait for host bodies.
They would not wait much longer.
<It seems obvious that the Andalite fleet has arrived,> I said. <The Yeerk invasion will soon cease to be a problem.>
“Not so fast, Ax-man,” Marco warned.
<How can we lose when even our females fight like trained warriors!> I heard the old Andalite vainglory in my voice. I thought I had outgrown the impulse to boast. But the thrill of fighting side by side with another Andalite had reawakened all the pride of my people.
For the first time since I’d found myself stranded on Earth, I felt that the future might be hopeful.
So I did not understand the look of wariness and pity transmitted from face-to-face.
Cassie. To Rachel. To Prince Jake. To Tobias. To Marco.
Marco spoke. “If I’ve learned one thing, it’s this: It may walk like an Andalite. It may talk like an Andalite. But that don’t mean it is an Andalite.”
“He’s right, Ax.” Cassie held a defanged pit viper she had found abandoned in the schoolyard.
Gently she pried it from her arm and placed it in a large tub beneath a heat lamp.
“We know it’s hard for you, and that you’re lonely a lot of the time,” Cassie continued. “But…”
“But we have to be realistic,” Marco finished. “This might be the fleet. Or it might be some fresh hell.”
Prince Jake crossed his arms. “How do we know these new Andalites aren’t Yeerks with Andalite host bodies?”
<Right,> Tobias agreed. <Maybe a sub-visser and his posse looking to leapfrog to the top by taking out Visser Three.>
<Impossible!> I protested.
“In a world where slugs can take over entire civilizations, anything is possible,” Marco reminded me.
<The female knew my name. The only way she could know that is via the message I transmitted to the home planet, or through the forces we encountered on Leera.>
“Funny you should mention Leera,” Marco said. He did not say anything more. He did not have to. There, for the first time in my life, I had learned that even an Andalite may be a traitor.
<These warriors are true Andalites,> I insisted. <I know this. When I fought beside the female, I felt a sense of connection unlike anything I have felt before.>
Another look passed from face to face. This time, it appeared to be one of amusement.
“Ax,” Cassie said. “I think you have what is commonly known as a crush.”
<A what?>
“A feeling that makes it hard for you to see the truth, if the truth is unpleasant,” she explained.
“Yeah, you know, like the way Cassie can’t see that Jake is really just a pinhead,” Marco said.
Prince Jake threw a horse comb at Marco that Marco dodged. Marco and Prince Jake are best friends. This sort of behavior appears to be typical of male friendships.
“Until we figure these guys out, let’s just hang loose,” Prince Jake said.
“Yeah. Like maybe not change our minds about who is in charge and who isn’t,” Rachel said bluntly.
I felt myself flush. In the Leera incident I had changed my allegiance from Prince Jake to the Andalite officer who betrayed us.
I was still ashamed of this. But I had sworn never to abandon my prince again. Unless it was at his command.
Shame was quickly replaced by anger.
<Do you doubt my loyalty?> I demanded.
“No, I don’t,” Prince Jake said firmly. And with a sharp look at Rachel he added, “Neither does Rachel. I just don’t want you to do anything without talking it over with us first. Okay?”
<I am a true Andalite warrior,> I said angrily. <And a true warrior never reneges on his oath to his prince.>
I left the barn and galloped until both my hearts were pounding. I was angry, but that emotion cooled quickly enough. The emotion that replaced it did not cool.
She was beautiful.
She was so beautiful.
Ax is in love.
Chapter 6
quote:KEEERRRACCKKKK!
I leaped out of range before the tree limb could fall on me. The limb I had severed with one blow of my tail.
<Good shot!> Tobias circled downward, landing in the tree.
Tobias is interesting. A nothlit, but now an almost voluntary one. He has lost his human life, but not his human friends. He belongs. But at the same time, he does not belong.
Like me.
Perhaps that is why he is my true shorm. What humans would call a “best friend.” Or “soul mate.” That and the fact that my brother was Tobias’s father.
I assumed the attack position again.
<Would you mind not doing that while I’m sitting here?> Tobias asked.
<They said they would find me, I may be called upon to fight at any moment. I must be ready. I must practice.>
Even though I am only an aristh - what humans would call a cadet - in the Andalite military, I had undergone rigorous training at the academy. Tail fighting is a sport, an art, and a deadly combat skill.
I had a feeling that I was about to be tested. I did not want to disgrace myself.
<Okay. But you know, it also wouldn’t hurt to take a look around town. See if there’s any sign of Andalite troop presence. You know, maybe a couple dozen of your folks down at the mall. Besides, I found twenty bucks this morning. Which sounds like a visit to the food court to me.>
<Cinnabon?>
<Cinnabon for you. Me, I’m a taco kind of guy. When I’m not enjoying fresh mouse.>
Cinnamon buns!
I paused. I am extremely fond of cinnamon buns. I am so fond of them, it is hard for me to restrain my joy in eating them.
I have now had much practice eating cinnamon buns. But from time to time, I still have difficulty containing my enthusiasm for the taste sensations that come from these tasty treats.
This is one of the things I must explain to my people: the incredible joys of acquiring human morphs and using the mouth to ingest intensely flavored items.
I began to morph a northern harrier. The blue-and-tan fur of my body began to grow longer and shingle. Layer upon layer of feathers appeared upon my shrinking body.
<I take it that means yes - especially since I’ve already hidden our outer clothing on the mall roof,> Tobias said.
We flew over the main part of town. Together. But not close. If Tobias and I were seen flying in tandem, it might attract attention. Yeerk attention.
Once we had landed safely on the mall roof, Tobias began morphing to human.
The sharp angles of his scowling hawk head blurred and rounded out. Flesh appeared on his face first. It swirled and rippled like dough as it arranged itself into human eyes, a human nose, and a human brow.
His bird legs grew enormously long until what began to protrude was no longer bird leg, but bone. The bone formed a femur, a patella, and a tibia. Claws became toe bones.
Flesh poured down the bones like liquid and molded thighs, calves, and feet.
I concentrated. I would have to demorph to Andalite before morphing to human.
Though we have agreed that it is immoral to acquire the DNA of sentient creatures, we also have agreed upon exceptions now and then. I acquired a bit of DNA from Jake, Marco, Cassie, and Rachel.
Thus, when I am human, I vaguely resemble all of them, but duplicate no one.
It is a moral compromise.
We have all learned to make them.
The question was how I could make such opportunities available to my fellow Andalites once they landed and defeated the Yeerks.
“Come on,” Tobias said as soon as I had morphed from Andalite to human and was properly dressed in my artificial skins. “Let’s hit the ‘Bon and the Taco Bell’.”
I followed Tobias toward the small stairwell off the roof used by workmen. Through that door and down two flights of stairs was a door that led into the mall.
We heard the commotion the moment we entered the first floor. It was coming from the food court.
“Beanzuh! Beanzuh! Zuh!” I heard a girl shout.
“Somebody get security!” a woman yelled.
“What’s going on?” someone else asked.
“Some girl went berserk in the food court,” another person answered. “Eating everything in sight and yelling like a lunatic.”
Tobias raised an eyebrow. “Which answers the question of whether the Andalites have landed.”
We ran.
So, the thing that sticks out in the chapter is just Ax's line that they've all learned to make moral compromises, because it's very much true. They've all stretched "acceptable behavior" further than they would have before the war started. But then you run into the question of how far is too far, and what lines you won't cross.
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Mar 7, 2022 03:07
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- Bobulus
- Jan 28, 2007
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Considering how War Crimes the general Andalite population has been so far, I'm mildly worried how this Andalite got access to a human woman to Acquire. Or like four or five, if she did the same DNA blending trick as Ax.
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Mar 7, 2022 17:51
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- Strategic Tea
- Sep 1, 2012
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Acquired it from a controller perhaps?
If it's dead and it's human, it's a controller
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Mar 8, 2022 01:01
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- freebooter
- Jul 7, 2009
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2.12 am... going back for more beanzuh
I was thinking it must have been a few years now since they were at the construction site in book 1 so whatever was being built must be finished. I like to think it's just another shopping mall. The precise spot where Elfangor gave them the morphing power? A Cinnabon.
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Mar 8, 2022 03:28
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- Epicurius
- Apr 10, 2010
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College Slice
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Sorry. My attempts to provide enough beanzuh (and maybe the windstorm) has knocked out my internet and I really don't want to try to post two chapters on my phone, so tomorrow.
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Mar 8, 2022 03:42
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- Tree Bucket
- Apr 1, 2016
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R.I.P.idura leucophrys
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Fixed that for you
Visser One would have a crack team operating the local Cinnabon and thereby eliminated the Andalite threat before it began.
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Mar 8, 2022 04:22
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- freebooter
- Jul 7, 2009
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Visser Three has a crack team running the local Armani outlet, convinced that what Andalites in human form most appreciate about our culture is finely-tailored Italian suits
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Mar 8, 2022 06:01
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- nine-gear crow
- Aug 10, 2013
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Visser Three has a crack team running the local Armani outlet, convinced that what Andalites in human form most appreciate about our culture is finely-tailored Italian suits
Meanwhile Visser Two has a team running the mall RadioShack, has already figured out the Animorphs are a bunch of human teenagers and a stray Andalite and is just sitting on the info because they don't want to get in the middle of Vissers One and Three lighting themselves and each other on fire every week.
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Mar 8, 2022 09:17
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- freebooter
- Jul 7, 2009
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Meanwhile Visser Two has a team running the mall RadioShack, has already figured out the Animorphs are a bunch of human teenagers and a stray Andalite and is just sitting on the info because they don't want to get in the middle of Vissers One and Three lighting themselves and each other on fire every week.
"Sir.. the unauthorised phone tap you had us install... I think Jake Smith at 100 Washington Street is in the group... and his brother 's host is Visser 58..."
"Shut up! Shut up! Burn that transcript!"
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Mar 8, 2022 13:00
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- Epicurius
- Apr 10, 2010
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College Slice
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Chapter 7
quote:“Beanzuh! Jelly beanzuh! Beanzuh! Zuh! Zuh!”
We forced our way through the crowd that had gathered around the food court.
A girl around Cassie’s age sat crouched in front of bins of blue, green, yellow, red, and black jelly beans at the Candy Land store. She wore a Burger King tunic and slacks. Backward.
A harassed-looking young woman was trying to persuade her to get away from the bin.
“So sweet. So delicious!” The girl was almost weeping with joy. “The taste … overwhelming!”
“Well. This is not good,” Tobias said. “Your little friend Estrid?”
“I believe that is likely.”
Estrid ignored the Candy Land lady. She crammed more bright pellets into her mouth, rolled her eyes, seemed to be transported by pleasure.
A mall security guard moved toward her. “Okay. Let’s go.”
Tobias hurried forward and put his hand on the guard’s arm. “No wait! She’s my sister. She’s having a bad reaction to her medication.”
“The green are the best!” Estrid said.
The guard looked hard at Tobias. As if he weren’t sure whether or not Tobias was telling the truth. “She’s on drugs?”
“It’s a seizure thing. She was dropped on her head when she was a baby.”
“No, the blue! A blue that saturates the very soul with pleasure!”
“Then we should call an ambulance,” said the Candy Land lady.
“I like the red ones,” a kid in the crowd called out.
“It’s happened before,” Tobias said. “We know what to do. She calms down …”
“Yes! Red! Red-duh!”
” … Eventually. We have some other medicine at home. If we can just take her with us, everything will be fine.”
We both moved toward the shrieking girl.
“But …” the security guard said.
“We’re fine,” Tobias insisted. “Fine. Come on, sis. Let’s go home.” Tobias took one arm and I took the other.
Estrid looked at each of us, and then let out a horrible, ear-piercing scream. “Nooooo!
Beanzuh!”
“Now, sis,” Tobias soothed. “Don’t make a scene.”
“Sssssseeene. Sssseeeeenuh. Nuh. Nuh. Nuh.”
While she was momentarily diverted by the novel sounds her mouth could make, I leaned close and whispered, “It is I, Aximili. You are having a reaction to mouth-pleasures. It will be fine. Come with us and be quiet.”
On our way to the door we used to access the mall, I saw a girl inside the doorway of Express.
She was examining some artificial skins.
And she was an exact replica of the girl we were half-carrying, half-dragging. Her long hair was red and very wavy. Her eyes were deep blue. And her face was covered with cinnamon-colored freckles.
Cinnamon. Delicious.
“Hey!” a male voice shouted behind us. “What are you doing with my sister?”
Tobias turned. “Holy … come on!”
In order to look behind in human morph it is necessary to turn one’s head. A dizzying action on only two legs.
I did so and understood the cause of Tobias’s alarm.
A very large young man and four of his companions were chasing us.
“She must have morphed his sister. He thinks we’re abducting her! Great,” Tobias wheezed. “Haul buns.”
“Bunzzzzz,” I repeated, unable to resist the impulse. “Zuh. Zuh. Zuh.”
“Please, Ax,” Tobias yelled, breaking into a run. “Not now!”
Poor Tobias has to babysit two Andalites enjoying mouth-pleasures (No, I don't see any problem with the term. Why do you ask?) while risking being beaten up.
Chapter 8
quote:We escaped from the mall. It was not our most challenging escape.
Estrid morphed to kafit bird and flew away. But not before I had arranged for a meeting with her superior. We needed to know what was happening with the Andalite invasion force.
Or, at very least, we had to warn them about the dangers of morphing humans.
A few hours later I was in the air, in harrier morph.
<How much further?> Prince Jake asked.
<If the directions are accurate, less than a mile. There is a fence ahead.>
Prince Jake was on the ground. Traveling in wolf morph. It would have been unwise for me to travel long distances through the woods in my own true body. I live in some fear that human hunters might see me and shoot me as a deer. Shooting deer is a human sport. Human hunters are apparently unaware of the fact that deer are harmless herbivores.
In the distance ahead, beyond the fence, I could see thick trees around a shallow pond. The scene fit her description.
Estrid had refused to guide me to the Andalite ship. She was not authorized to reveal its location. Commendable caution. But she had agreed to arrange a meeting with her commander in this spot.
Estrid was waiting at the edge of the thicket.
How odd that the sight of one of my own people should seem so strange. It was almost disturbing, somehow. It made me feel lonely, which made no sense. Why should the sight of this single, lovely female make me feel lonely?
I flew a few hundred yards ahead of Jake and landed on the ground in front of her. I demorphed quickly. If this was all somehow a Yeerk ambush, then my presence would trigger the attack. Better me than my prince.
I stood, awkward. Waiting, No Dracon beams. No Hork-Bajir. No Taxxons. No ambush.
<Welcome, Aximili,> Estrid said. <My commander is eager to meet you.>
<Where is he?>
<Near. He fears a trap.>
Before I could respond, I saw her main eyes widen. One stalk eye whipped around. Jake had approached and begun to demorph.
Estrid glared angrily. <I told you to come alone,> she said,
<And I told him not to,> Prince Jake said in thought-speak just as he completed his demorph.
<But he is human!> Estrid exclaimed. <And with the power to morph! How can this be? Wait, were those humans in the battle where we met? Morph-capable humans?>
“I’ll discuss that with your commander,” Jake said calmly.
<This human is Jake. He is my prince,> I explained.
Estrid looked as if she might laugh. To an Andalite the notion of an alien as a prince was humorous.
But she restrained herself.
<I am honored to meet you, Jake.>
“Likewise.”
Then Estrid put a hand on my arm and thought-spoke privately to me. My hearts fluttered at the touch.
<May I ask you a favor? My experimentation with human morph was unauthorized. Will you refrain from mentioning it to my commander?>
For a moment, I was too stunned to answer. Such a breach of discipline! Perhaps females were allowed more latitude and thus felt free to take more liberties.
I did not know. But I could see no harm in protecting her from what might be a harsh punishment.
<I will say nothing>, I promised.
We moved carefully through the dense trees until we reached the banks of the pond. Three Andalite warriors stood tense and watchful.
I said nothing. Arisths do not speak until spoken to.
Most arisths.
<This is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill,> Estrid said. <These Andalite warriors are Commander Gonrod-Isfall-Sonilli, Intelligence Advisor Arbat-Elivat-Estoni, and Aloth-Attamil-Gahar.>
I saw Commander Gonrod’s face tense at her forwardness. But he did not reprimand her. Arbat’s eyes smiled slyly.
<And this alien?> Commander Gonrod demanded.
<This is Jake. My prince.>
Gonrod snorted. <Your prince? You insult the highest ranking Andalite within light-years by announcing your allegiance to a human child?>
Prince Jake did not react to the insult. But he did react to Gonrod’s careless words. “Your rank is commander and you’re the highest ranking Andalite commander within light-years?” He looked at me, questioning.
I was almost too disappointed to respond. I did not abandon hope. But my optimism was sharply reduced. I could only confirm what Prince Jake suspected. <Commander is a rank most often held by an Andalite in command of a single ship. A single small ship.>
“I see.”
<There goes our plan to bluff the enemy into thinking they are outnumbered.> Aloth let out a crack of laughter. Highly insubordinate.
<Silence!> Gonrod looked only at me. He refused to acknowledge Prince Jake. <Aristh Aximili, inform this human that we are not prepared to discuss strategic matters with him.>
<Commander Gonrod, Prince Jake is the leader of the human resistance on Earth.>
<Really? And how many warriors does he lead?> Commander Gonrod asked me.
“Not enough,” Prince Jake said bluntly.
<No. Not enough. But morph-capable. I was briefed before we began this mission.> Gonrod reluctantly addressed Prince Jake. <I know you were involved in the war on Leera. I also know that an entire ship full of Andalite warriors died and that you and your humans survived. Now, I asked, human, how many warriors do you command?>
<Those warriors on Leera died because of -> I began, but Prince Jake silenced me with a raised hand.
“We were on Leera. Let’s leave it at that. I don’t want to bring up anything embarrassing. No point. But you’ll understand if I say that I’m not prepared to discuss my forces with you. Not yet.”
<You, a human, do not trust an Andalite commander?!> Gonrod cried.
Aloth spoke. Mockingly. <Perhaps the human is not aware that Andalites are known throughout the galaxy for their integrity.>
<Silence!> Gonrod roared again.
<Perhaps we should proceed by outlining our common goals,> I suggested diplomatically.
“Perhaps we should begin by finding out exactly what we can count on in terms of Andalite support,” Jake countered, staring fixedly at Gonrod.
<Support?> Gonrod snorted again. <You consider us support? Are all humans as ignorant and arrogant as you, man-child?> Gonrod began to pace. <You are an untrained human child, playing at war. We are highly trained warriors. You and your band, whoever they may be, will cease to fight. That is an order.>
“I don’t take orders,” Prince Jake snapped. “I give them. And now, this meeting is over.” He turned and began to walk away.
<Aristh Aximili!> Gonrod shouted. <Stay where you are.>
<Commander Gonrod. I respectfully remind you that an Andalite’s allegiance is to his prince.>
<You are disobeying a direct order.>
I followed Prince Jake.
<Aloth! Arbat!> Gonrod shouted. <Shredders on lowest setting. Fire on Aristh Aximili.>
So, while excited bird watchers try to figure out what a kafit bird is, Aloth gets snarky, and Jake and Gonrod work out chain of command, Ax risks getting shot in the back.
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Mar 9, 2022 02:12
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- Tree Bucket
- Apr 1, 2016
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R.I.P.idura leucophrys
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I'm starting to think Elfangor was very much an outlier...
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Mar 9, 2022 02:53
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- OctaviusBeaver
- Apr 30, 2009
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Say what now?
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I'm Commander Gonrod-Isfall-Sonilli and this is my favorite Cinnabon on the Citadel.
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Mar 9, 2022 03:15
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- freebooter
- Jul 7, 2009
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I do hope they were smart enough to have the rest of the Animorphs nearby.
Also it's interesting that Ax remains loyal to Jake without hesitation. I wonder if that would still be true if it really was the entire fleet showing up instead of just some kind of small recon mission.
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Mar 9, 2022 04:39
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- Bobulus
- Jan 28, 2007
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So, uh, did the Andalite washouts hijack a ship to go play Red Squad on the war front? Is Ax going to have to be the Nog to Jake's... Jake?
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Mar 9, 2022 06:29
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- Tunzie
- Aug 9, 2008
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Also it's interesting that Ax remains loyal to Jake without hesitation. I wonder if that would still be true if it really was the entire fleet showing up instead of just some kind of small recon mission.
I feel like this explicit situation was dealt with in earlier Ax books - Jake is his prince until he says otherwise. I think it may have even been the Leera book they name-checked.
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Mar 9, 2022 10:40
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- ANOTHER SCORCHER
- Aug 12, 2018
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Yeah, Ax has already dealt with the issue of who to listen to between Jake and Andalite military command. But when the first cute Andalite woman he's seen in years is around...
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Mar 9, 2022 19:28
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- Strom Cuzewon
- Jul 1, 2010
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Aside from some light chauvinism, Ax is acquitting himself pretty well so far when it comes to his split loyalties, but I fear that Ax is in for another rough lesson that the Andalite military isn't what it says on the recruiting posters.
"even our women are badass" is such a great way to frame unthinking sexism. Because to Ax it totally feels like he's giving a compliment.
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Mar 9, 2022 19:36
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- freebooter
- Jul 7, 2009
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I feel like this explicit situation was dealt with in earlier Ax books - Jake is his prince until he says otherwise. I think it may have even been the Leera book they name-checked.
Yeah but there's a difference between saying so (which he did on Leera after the betrayal) and actually doing so when push comes to shove again.
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Mar 9, 2022 23:42
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- Epicurius
- Apr 10, 2010
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College Slice
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Chapter 9
quote:<Unfortunately, Commander Gonrod, I am being prevented from using my weapon,> Arbat answered. <I believe Aloth is similarly situated.>
Aloth had apparently not noticed. Now he looked down in horror. A pit viper wound itself around his right foreleg. Cassie, of course. And a cobra reared up just between Arbat’s legs. Marco.
Estrid took a step forward and reached for her own shredder.
Fwapp!
I brought my tail blade to a quivering halt millimeters from her throat. Her eyes blazed in anger.
“Andalites are very fast,” Prince Jake said. “Those snakes are faster. One move from your boys and they will die.”
Gonrod said nothing. He seemed at a loss. It was shocking to see in an Andalite commander.
But Arbat was so calm as to seem almost bored. <So, you’ve set a trap for us. Very clever. Now what?>
Prince Jake seemed uncertain whether to continue addressing Gonrod or Arbat. “Now we stop playing games. You’re not the Andalite fleet. And I’m not going to snap a salute and say ‘yes, sir!’ We deal as equals. Which, to be honest, is generous of us under the circumstances.”
Arbat half-closed his eyes in a smile. <What do you say, Commander Gonrod? As the Intelligence expert I’d have to say we’re not in a position to bargain.>
But Gonrod had recovered. <I command, here. Am I clear on that?>
“No, sir. This is Earth. This is a human planet. We are not the Hork-Bajir. We know how you ‘rescued them.’ As long as you’re on Earth, you’ll get along with us. Am I clear on that?”
Fool. An embarrassment. Gonrod was behaving very badly. What was the point in this? I looked at Estrid. She refused to acknowledge me. But I could see the evidence on her face that she, too, was humiliated by this ludicrous display.
For his part, Aloth was a seemingly straightforward warrior. He was awaiting orders, his expression professionally blank. Whatever he thought of his commander, he concealed it.
Arbat was a different matter. Arbat’s contempt for Gonrod was scarcely camouflaged.
“Now,” Prince Jake said, “who are you? Why are you here?”
Gonrod nodded to Arbat and Aloth. They dropped their weapons.
Cassie and Marco withdrew. Not far, but a little, at least. Of course I knew that Rachel and Tobias were still to be accounted for.
I lowered my tail blade and Estrid lowered her shredder.
Arbat stepped forward and spoke. He was an older Andalite. Much of his blue fur was tanned.
<After the unexpected victory on Leera, major elements of the fleet were ordered to Earth. But it was diverted to the Rakkam Garoo conflict in the Nine-Sifter system.>
<What, are you people on call for every war in the galaxy?> Marco muttered.
“So Earth waits. Again,” Prince Jake said. “You’re not the fleet, so who are you?”
<Unit O. A sabotage and assassination team,> Arbat explained. <Commander Gonrod is one of the ablest pilots in the fleet. Aloth is a warrior.>
<An assassination team? Who is the assassin?>
<I am,> Aloth said.
I tried not to stare at him. I had never met an assassin. I had not known any existed in the Andalite military. The notion of such a thing did not make me comfortable.
<And I am an Apex Level Intelligence Advisor. Veteran of over twenty conflicts,> Arbat finished. <Gonrod is in overall command of the mission. I will direct the specific actions of terminating the target.>
I automatically straightened my shoulders. Apex Level Intelligence is the highest level of advisory to the War Council. Not soldiers, precisely. They are military adjuncts. Strategists. They plotted. They planned.
And they knew everything.
Did Arbat know the truth about Elfangor? About me? Likely. Our eyes met, but I could read nothing in their ironic, self-possessed gaze.
Gonrod was a fool. Arbat was not.
“What about Estrid?” Prince Jake asked.
Gonrod looked slightly embarrassed. <Female arisths are a new addition to the military. She was assigned to this mission by accident.>
Estrid’s four eyes stared at blank space. Blinked rapidly. A sign of embarrassment. I felt sorry for her.
“In other words, she’s a rookie?” Jake said.
Estrid lifted her head. <I have trained hard,> she replied in a steely tone. <Make no mistake. I intend to carry my weight.>
Fwapp!
I reeled as the force of her small, female tail blade caught the side of my neck, knocking me off balance.
While I struggled to keep my footing, a second blow caught me behind the back legs, causing my knees to buckle. My rear end fell to the ground and pinned my tail beneath me.
Fwapp!
A third blow sent my front end sprawling. I tried to break my fall with my hands. But Andalite arms are not as strong as human arms. I fell, my chin scraping the grass.
So Estrid has moves, and there's a hint this is something more than just an Andalite ship that went off course....an assassination squad.
Also, Ax is freaked out by the concept of assassination. Good for him.
Chapter 10
quote:Estrid placed her front left hoof on my throat. <Any questions?>
<Very impressive,> I conceded.
It was a classic and beautifully executed hald-wurra. Old Andalite for “victory in three swipes.”
She removed her hoof and reached down to assist me. I took her hand. Sprang to my feet. Pulled her arm behind her back and lifted my tail blade just in time to block her defensive swipe.
There was a loud clatter as our blades clashed. I released her arm and disengaged my tail. Sprang backward.
<I am betting on Aximili.> Aloth eagerly stepped forward to get a better view.
<You are a fool,> Arbat told him. <She will have him in two moves. But I accept the wager.>
WHOOSH!
I pulled my head back. Her tail blade, turned to present the dull edge, missed my throat by centimeters.
“Ax?” Prince Jake’s voice was full of genuine alarm.
<Please do not interfere,> I said abruptly. I swung my tail hard. Not as hard as I could.
She drew back her head, just as I expected, allowing my tail to double back with even more momentum and speed. As it neared her head, I turned it so that the flat side caught her.
The blow caught her off guard. She tumbled to the ground. Rolled and sprang up nimbly again.
She was not going to be easily defeated. <You have a good swing,> she said. <But mine is better.>
Fwapp! Fwapp!
She was right. I had never seen a tail move so fast. In the blink of an eye, she caught me with the exact same move. This time I fell and rolled. Sprang up. Not as nimbly.
<Ooh, that had to hurt,> Marco commented.
<You did that very gracefully,> Estrid observed.
I was glad my fatigue had not shown. <Thank you. You will not see me do it again.>
She laughed. <You hope.>
CLANG!
She blocked my tail blade with hers. The impact of the blades rang out through the trees.
I began to fear I might actually lose. It would be unbearably humiliating in front of Andalite officers.
<Go, Ax-man!> Tobias yelled from wherever he was hiding.
We sprang apart, both of us breathing hard. She lowered her head and raced straight at me. I leaped out of the way and she sideswiped me. I was knocked at an angle.
It took me a moment to recover. And to remember something I had been taught on the first day of my training.
Estrid bucked forward, preparing to pivot on her front legs and deliver another tail blow. I pivoted, too, turning out of the way.
She missed me. Overshot. The weight and momentum of her tail sent her tumbling forward. She rolled over her head and neck and landed on her back with a cry of pain.
Arbat ran forward. <Estrid!>
She lay still for a moment. Then she began to laugh. <You beat me with the simplest move in the lexicon.>
<Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective,> I replied.
If she had been a male, I would have begun to boast. But it seemed less than gracious to boast about beating a female. Even one who was very, very good.
Aloth chuckled happily. He had won his bet.
Prince Jake watched me with a frown. He shook his head slightly and rolled his eyes upward. It is a human expression with several interpretations. In this case I believe my prince thought I was behaving foolishly.
I would have helped Estrid, but Arbat was already pulling her to her feet.
<I apologize,> she said to him. <You have lost your bet.>
<You fought well,> he said proudly. He looked at me with new respect in his eyes. <But you fought better. You have not forgotten your academy training. And you show the sign of a great deal of experience.>
<There have been battles,> I said.
Arbat gave me a speculative look. <I believe we have common goals, Aximili. I believe you and I have much in common. Visser Three killed your brother. What Visser Three did to my brother was worse than death.>
“What did he do?” Prince Jake asked.
Arbat’s face betrayed no emotion. <My brother is Alloran. Host body to Visser Three.>
I was not equally controlled. I jerked involuntarily.
Prince Jake’s eye narrowed. “So you’re here to …”
<To assassinate him,> Arbat answered. <Yes. Our mission is to kill Visser Three.>
So Arbat has a personal motive in all this, which is maybe why he's leading the team.
Also, the traditional Andalite sexism is coming through here...Ax would have gloated had he beat a male Andalite, but beating a female one, it didn't seem very sporting.
The book was written in 2000, but it wasn't that long before that there was a debate about combat roles for women in the US military. Women could first serve as members of the US military in 1948, but at that time, they couldn't serve in combat positions, and in 1994, the Department of Defense officially forbade women from serving in combat units. It wasn't until 2015 that women could fully serve in the US military in both combat and non-combat roles.
This sort of goes back to my theory of a while ago...that the Andalites are intended as sort of a mirror of the US, and a lot of Andalite attitudes and ways of looking at the universe are reflections of the US and the way that Americans see their role in the world.
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