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Shredder flashes. The battle has begun.";
An instant later, a holographic
Andalite head appeared in midair before us.
Force Commander Prince
Galuit-Enilon-Esgarrouth,"; the T.o.
said. Attention!";
No one stood at attention except
me. They all had things to do. You don't actually
stand at attention if you're doing something.
In a calm thought-speak voice the
holographic head said, The action has begun
on the continent. There are heavy Yeerk forces.
Carry out plan seven four. To our Leeran
allies: May your great god Cha-Ma-Mib
smile on you this day. And to all Andalite
warriors: The People expect that every warrior shall do his
duty.";
The Ascalin decelerated, slowing as it
dropped into the thick, humid atmosphere of
Leera.
Sir, what is my battle station?"; I
asked the T.o.
He laughed the grim laugh of a warrior going
into battle. For the bold aristh who made all
this possible? You'd better stick with me.";
He and the captain exchanged a glance and a
laugh. I didn't know whether to be embarrassed
or proud. Mostly, I was just scared.
The continent loomed larger and larger. Most of it
was lush and green, primarily jungle. Green like
Earth's forests and jungles, but with wide swaths
of some brilliant yellow vegetation, too.
The northern end of the continent was less fertile,
more barren, probably colder. It was in one
valley there that the battle was underway.
Visual,"; the captain ordered.
Magnification optimum.";
The hologram that had showed space now switched
to a startlingly real picture of the valley. I
could see Yeerk forces, mostly Hork-Bajir
with a reserve of Taxxons and a scattering of
Gedds, dug in on high ground around the west rim
of the valley. They had erected massive force
fields covering their back, thus forcing our forces
and the Leerans to come at them head-on.
Our ground skimmers were racing across rock and
through scattered trees, firing and being fired upon.
A force of Leerans was on foot, scrabbling
over the rocks almost unprotected to assault the
Yeerks.
ally see why the Yeerks chose to fight
here?"; Captain Samilin said. As the
T.o. was saying, different species under
different commands cannot function well together. You
see? We waste our forces protecting the
Leerans from being mowed down. And as a result,
we are weak.";
The Ascalin will turn that around,"; the
T.o. said confidently.
Landing approach,"; a warrior called out.
Then ... Captain! Malfunction in the
ground-approach guidance system!";
The captain looked perfectly calm. The
T.o. swung his face toward the warrior who'd
spoken.
What?!"; he roared.
Sir, the controls are frozen. I've been
locked out. Attempting to override. Override
failing!";
The T.o. leaped to the console. His fingers
flew across the fields and resonators. I saw
his concentration as he made the mind-link with the
system.
Then, with absolute horror on his face, he
turned to the captain. Captain! We are on
approach to land behind Yeerk lines. We won't have
a prayer!";
The captain walked calmly over to his
T.o. And then ...
FWAPP!
The captain whipped his tail blade like
lightning. The blade hit the T.o. at the
base of his tail.
T.o. Hareli's tail fell to the deck and
twitched. Every warrior on the bridge froze,
staring at the impossible sight.
The captain drew his Shredder and fired.
 TSEEEWW! TSEEEWW!
Warriors fell to the deck, stunned
unconscious. The air crackled with heat.
Static electricity sizzled and danced in blue
flame across bodies and equipment alike.
Only the bleeding, horrified T.o. was
left conscious. A deliberate insult: He was
no longer dangerous.
Ah, my good aristh,"; the captain said,
holding the Shredder on me and taking the T.o.'s
Shredder. don't want to take the chance of
injuring you. Visser Four would be very upset if
I injured the creatures who have been causing
Visser Three such trouble on Earth. Vissers
Three and Four are such close friends. Just remain
calm. It will all be over in a moment. And you will
all be ... guests ... of the Yeerk
Empire.";
I stood there like my hooves had been nailed
to the deck. It wasn't possible! An Andalite
ship's captain a traitor?
Or was he a Controller?
No one moved. The computer guided the
Ascalin down, down to sweep slowly forward, just
a few hundred feet above the rocky ground. In
seconds we'd be down.
T.o. Harelin was bleeding profusely from his
severed tail. But I knew he would rather die than
live without a tail.
The humans! It hit me like a Dracon beam
blast. My human friends were back in the sick
bay. The captain knew their secret. In a
matter of seconds, so would the entire Yeerk
Empire. The news would flash to Visser
Three. There would be no going home for them. Ever.
And Earth, like Leera, would fall to the Yeerks.
Prince Jake! Tobias! Cassie!
Marco! Rachel!"; I cried in private [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]