Trip

A few minutes later, I entered David's ear, dreading his reaction when I explained the reason for my visit.

Towards the end of the revolution, he had started to accept my presence, convinced that our victory meant he could soon reunite with his parents and return to his previous life. However, things did not go as planned. First, after the revolution, we quickly discovered that David's parents were no longer on Earth. Visser-12 had concluded from my appearances in his body alongside the 'andalite bandit' that David had used the blue box to acquire the power to morph during the brief period it was in his possession. Then he had ultimately chosen to join the andalites in their fight to prevent the invasion of Earth. As a result, he decided to send David's parents and the yeerks controlling them to another planet in the empire, to prevent the andalites from freeing them and to keep a potential leverage over David.

To say that David had not reacted well to this news was an understatement. After that, he flatly refused to obey any of our requests, including the one to give up the morphing power by becoming the Nothlit of a human who looked like him. Today, I was glad he made that choice, but at the time it led to an unpleasant discussion with the Animorphs about what we should do with him. Ultimately, we decided that it was too dangerous to release him from his cage until he had given up his powers. But that meant keeping him prisoner while hiding his existence from humans (they would never have tolerated us imprisoning a human child). One might have thought it would be child's play after doing the same while hiding from the Yeerk empire. However, hiding anything while all our actions were scrutinized by hundreds of cameras and paparazzi proved to be much more difficult than expected.

So, the larva, need muscle? Humans have finally figured out who you really are, and you need me to take out those animorph bastards? David asked me hopefully.

(No, this time, our target is Visser-One)

(What?) he exclaimed as his skull filled with fear hormone at the foul smell.

You understood well. Many things have changed since the last time I took you out of your cage. Visser-One and his supporters have taken power through a coup d'état and have bloodily suppressed all rebellion movements within the empire. And now his gaze is on Earth. We are leaving for the Yeerk planet to stop him before he launches an invasion.

After his explanations, he remained silent for a few minutes before declaring:

Why are you doing this? Don't you understand that all these killings are useless? All you will achieve by being stubborn is getting yourself killed. We are just grains of dust, completely powerless to influence the course of events.

(How can you continue to believe that after everything we've done?) I asked him, stunned.

You managed to convince a bunch of fools to follow you in your delusion, but the fun is going to end soon. You know as well as I dothat we have no chance of resisting the Yeerk empire. Please give up and let's hide somewhere to enjoy life as much as we can.

(Even if I wanted to, my dependence on Kandrona prevents me.)

On this last word, I made the secret sign to Tom indicating that everything was fine, and he left to interfere as he always did when he had to help me take control of David against his will. As for me, I headed towards the airlock indicated by the che. I ignored David's cry of protest and opened it onto what looked like outer space. Then I took a step. It was really intense to walk in the middle of what seemed to be interstellar void (but each breath proved to me that it was only an illusion).

Finally, I crossed an invisible barrier and found myself inside what seemed to be a gigantic ship. The corridor was large enough for several elephants to pass through comfortably, and a soft light was diffused from lamps located on the ceiling. In fact, it was more than just soft. I was so surprised that for a few seconds, I lost control of David, who tried to escape. As impossible as it may seem, these lamps did more than just light up the room. They seemed to supply me with Kandrona constantly, even while I was in my host. This defied all the laws of physics.

I regained my senses and moved forward until I came across a vast meadow filled with grass, with a gigantic tree in the center that reached up to the ceiling made of a transparent surface from which one could observe that tiny but fascinating blue sphere that was the Earth. I quickly spotted the 5 animorphs leaning against the base of the tree. Aximili had remained aboard the Yeerk ship since his presence with us would only trigger the surveillance systems of the Yeerk Empire.

Since you're here, we can leave. Said Jack.

Immediately, I felt a very slight jolt. I looked up at the sky and noticed that the earth had been replaced by a huge white trail. The ship had started and was now sailing at an incredible speed through interstellar space without even needing to go into zero space.

For the umpteenth time, I reflected that we were lucky that the ches were programmed to be peaceful. However, for the first time, I began to question their creator, the permalites:

How come a permalite ship contains Kandrona generators? I asked out loud.

According to the AI heads of the permalite ship, they analyze the races approaching the vessel, then modify their structure to be as welcoming as possible. Cassie replied.

Why did they do that? I understand that he is peaceful, but they must have realized that the other races were not like them and that it was not a good idea to invite them onto their ship.

Unfortunately not. According to the ches, they were totally incapable of imagining that one could be violent. Their only goal in life was to play and find new play partners. When they realized that despite all their efforts, the other races did not want to play with them, they withdrew to their planet and built the ches. Not to have slaves, but to have additional companions. Cassie explained.

Couldn't we go hide on their planet instead of going to get killed by the Yeerks? With them, you wouldn't have to fear dying from Kandrona starvation anymore. Suggested David in a pleading voice.

What happened to the permalites? How come neither the yeerks nor the andalites have heard of them?

They were exterminated several thousand years ago, Rachel said sadly.

This news made me surprisingly sad. Maybe David was right and in the end, our fight was in vain? If even the Permalites, with their incredible technology, were not able to create a little corner of peace, then what chance did we have? Then I pulled myself together. A soldier who starts to doubt is a soldier who already has one foot in the grave. If there is one thing these years of fighting have taught me, it is that it is impossible to know in advance the outcome of a battle and that even the most powerful armies will eventually be defeated. Given their technological development, the Permalites probably lived millions of years of peace and prosperity before experiencing the inevitable fate of all races in the universe. If my fight allowed the Yeerk Republic of Helios to live in peace for even a tenth of that period, then my fight would have been worth it.

I sat down beside them, then Jack threw me a chocolate bar.

Well, this is what the Permalite ship considers suitable food for humans. The cupboards are filled with candy and chocolate. Fortunately, the trip won't last several days.

I unwrapped the candy to find that they were even more delicious than the ones found on Earth. Even David let out a sigh of pleasure.

So how's the Yeerk capital? Tobias asked, landing on a branch of the tree next to me.

I don't know. I've never set foot there. In fact, it's the first time I'm going to a planet entirely controlled by the Yeerk.

Really? How is that possible? Asked Cassie.

I was born in the pool of a warship of a parent condemned to reproduction, then my litter was raised by their former sergeant. Then, I ...

Wait, how is reproduction a punishment? And what happened to your parents for you to be entrusted to their sergeant? Jack interrupted me.

The Yeerks die during reproduction. You didn't know that?

Everyone looked at me awkwardly. Except Marco, who came close to my ear, his mouth still covered in chocolate, to ask me:

And how does masturbation work with the Yeerks?

I blushed to my ears and chose to walk away without trying to find out if the question was serious (while getting closer to the big pile of sweets jealously guarded by Tobias) and continued:

In short, from my childhood, I was destined to be a soldier and as soon as I reached the age, I was shuffled from ship to outpost according to the needs of the empire. I was never stationed on a planet of the empire.

Do you have any brothers and sisters? Where are they? asked Cassie.

Like all yeerks. When 3 yeerks reproduce, they give birth to a litter of 30 to 60 larvae. My litter sisters and childhood friends are almost all dead after a few months of fighting.

All seemed saddened upon hearing this:

Have you really never known anything else? Cassie asked.

Like most Yeerks of my rank. The only time I was able to leave the battles was when Jera456 pulled strings for me to join the empire's commando program. He said I had talent and that it would allow me to escape the front line. Yeah right, he just wanted to buy my silence for the time I caught him botching the invasion of Gladuis8. Anyway,It was a complete failure and I was sent back to the front as a simple soldier, until my officer managed to get rid of me by assigning me to the invasion of Earth. It’s the only good decision that idiot made in his life.

You really had a rotten life. How come you failed the commandos? You're pretty good at combat. Much more than most yeerks. Rachel asked from the branch of the tree where she had managed to climb, I don't know how.

You should not judge the value of the Yeerk soldiers based on the sample you encountered on Earth. The worst ones are assigned there. In the capital, the soldiers will be much more formidable. But my talent was not at fault. At the time, I was a little jerk filled with anger. I was mad at the whole world for what had happened to the rest of my litter. I kept fighting with the other Yeerks or talking back to my superiors. Moreover, since for once I was assigned to a calm area, my jerk superiors decided to impose Ket's first insemination.

Ket! What Ket? exclaimed Jack.

Well, Ket Halpak. My former Hork-Bajir host.

"Are you Ket's former Yeerk?" Tobias asked.

Yes, she never told you? Why do you think I took so much risk to help him escape?

Their gaze turned to the branch where Tobias had perched and started teasing Rachel while she continued her acrobatics. He was by far the animorph who spent the most time with the free Hork-Bajir. Especially since Rachel had urged him with the subtlety of an elephant charge to take on a permanent human form.

She rarely talks about her former Yeerk, or even her years of servitude, but I would never have made the connection with you. Reasoned Tobias's voice, tinged with restrained anger towards me.

I can well imagine what that ungrateful person says about me. Even back when she belonged to me, she didn't hesitate to insult me. I defended myself angrily.

Seeing their reaction, I told myself it was better to calm down and return to my story.

In short, having to live in a pregnant Hork-Bajir is really uncomfortable. But once she gave birth, I had a brief period of respite. She was willing to do anything for me to let her see and take care of her son. And it wasn't easy to do this without anyone noticing that I was letting her have control. Or at least no one who would report me. But it was worth it. For the first time, we started to have the beginnings of a good understanding. But when her son was infested and then killed in battle, she became unbearable. And when she was re-inseminated two days later, ... I don't want to talk about it.

You can't blame him.

Sorry! But what could I do about it? How was it my fault? On the contrary, I hadn't stopped warning her and telling her not to get attached. No matter how much I explained to her, she didn't want to listen to reason and continued to hold me responsible for doing nothing. And after all her drama, she had the nerve to ask me to take her to see her son's body before it was sent for recycling.

BOOM! Rachel had ended up falling and she asked me while rubbing her back:

You accepted at least.

Of course not. He was dead. What could it have possibly changed for her to see him? I wasn't going to risk getting caught just for that. Especially after everything she dared to do to me.

Oh yes, I imagine, it must have been horrible to be under his influence. Marco commented, giving me a dark look before starting to make fun of Rachel again for her fall.

Are you being sarcastic or are you serious? I asked him after a moment.

Guess?

What would you have done in my place?

He was about to reply when all six of us thought of the same thing. He was at that very moment faced with a similar choice and, like me, he had embarked on the path of pragmatism. And contrary to what one might think, it was not the easiest choice. By what right would he blame me for sacrificing Ket's feelings to preserve my safety, when he himself was about to sacrifice his mother? Some would say that unlike me, his sacrifice would benefit everyone. But that didn't change the fact that he was ashamed of being cold enough to do it.

Embarrassed, we looked away.

Let's talk about a lighter subject. Why are you avoiding the French? I've never seen you run away so fast, not even when we had Visser-12 on our tail. And you two, stop your nonsense! Jack ordered in the direction of Rachel, who had jumped on Marco to put him in an arm lock.

The taxxons need 100 kilos of meat per day. To give you an idea, that's the annual consumption of an American. Previously, their rations were provided by the empire from planets dedicated solely to raising their food. Now, they have to be fed from Earth's resources, but they don't accept just any meat. American industrial meats disgust them. Apart from humans, the only terrestrial food that suits them are pasture-raised cattle. However, the only countries that produce them massively are France and Argentina. As a result, the republic buys all their meat regardless of the price, and the French can no longer afford to buy any, which creates strong discontent. If you add to that the fact that I killed their former president and they are convinced that I also killed their Prime Minister, my relations with the French are not at their best. I explained to them.

You killed their president!!!! They all exclaimed.

Don't talk to me about it, Jera456 keeps blaming me for it. Me, I'm a soldier, not a diplomat. When someone pisses me off, I kill them, I don't negotiate.

Awkward silence

Their president was controlled by the Yeerk who kidnapped your parents. I had to kill him during the revolution.

An even greater discomfort settled between us and we remained silent for the rest of the journey. They too had killed many humans during their resistance operations, but it was a subject they still did not dare to broach. I respected that. I had gone through that stage myself. Killing is never trivial, even when it involves an enemy.

Finally, everyone except David who chose this moment to taunt me:

(I have the impression that they discovered you were just a little hypocrite.)

Not understanding what he meant, I replied wearily:

(If it's still about your parents, I've already explained to you a thousand times that I can't do anything)

I'm not talking about that, but since you're bringing it up again, do you often make promises that you know perfectly well you can't keep? That's how you managed to convince that fool Tom to cooperate with you.

You don't know what you're talking about. And I will soon keep my promise to free Tom.

(Yes, of course, you're just waiting for there to be peace in the galaxy. It won't be long to wait. Tell me what you'll do when that fool realizes you never intended to set them free? He might become much more, ... what term did you use again, oh yes: uncomfortable. For you, we're just objects, like clothes with a consciousness. At best, pets. You know how I know? Because if I were in your place, I would do the same.)

You are young, too young. Humans your age have not yet developed the areas of the brain dedicated to empathy. In fact, if you were a Yeerk, your state of brain development would be considered too weak to be allowed to obtain a host. As you grow, you will change. Or you will become a psychopath, I added realistically.

It's, it puts me to sleep with your beautiful words. In the meantime, tell me, why did you rebel for Tom and his #*$ & !! animorphs and not for this Ket?

The situation was different.

(In what?)

(Uh, well, it's ….)

It seemed obvious to me but impossible to find a conclusive argument. I remained silent. Which he interpreted as confirmation:

You see, you are totally hypocritical. You have no more empathy than I do. It's just that the animorphs had power, whereas Ket did not. You may have managed to make all those fools dripping with good intentions believe that you were acting in the name of morality, but we both know that the only reason is that you saw in them an opportunity to acquire supreme power over your peers. I have a deal to propose to you. Promise me that the day you betray them, I will be present to see them die. In return, I will try to be less 'uncomfortable.'

(Being locked up alone in your cage for so long really didn't do you any good). I felt guilty.

No, seriously. Who could have predicted? You're not going to try to make me believe again that you have regrets. I can imagine that that fool Cassie really regrets it, but you?

I stopped responding to his jabs and fueling this sterile discussion and instead, I thought about Ket.

The difference was obvious. The Hork-Bajirs had nothing to do with humans. Providing us with their bodies was the least the Hork-Bajir could do in exchange for our protection. And it wasn't that seer Hork-Bajir that would convince me otherwise. Still. If I didn't know it was impossible, I would have sworn that Ket had given birth to a seer just to annoy me.

In any case, even if she was already managing to stand up to Aximili (intellectually speaking), she was still young and did not want to accept that she was an extremely rare genetic anomaly. One day, she would understand that her race must remain the slave of the Yeerks. That the Hork-Bajirs are incapable of taking care of themselves.

But I thought again about the suffering endured by my host. Maybe if we succeeded in this mission, we could allow the Hork-Bajir to be free of their Yeerk for several hours a day. And above all, replace the Hork-Bajir breeding program with their liberation after 20 or 30 years of service on lands purchased by the republic. Even without the intervention of the Yeerks, they would reproduce sufficiently.

It would undoubtedly be extremely generous and bordering on unreasonable. So why couldn't I stop thinking about what Tom would think of it?

I was saved from my dark thoughts by a beep indicating that we were approaching our destination. We rushed to the large bay window (which was actually an extremely realistic hologram of a window looking outside). I had never been there, but I immediately recognized the planet from having seen it multiple times in propaganda brochures. Before my eyes stretched a brown globe from which gigantic megastructures emerged like the spikes of a hedgehog, composed of towers in variegated colors whose tops almost brushed the surface of the nearest of the two moons. These towers were connected by a multitude of corridors and platforms that seemed to have grown anarchically against them, like parasites threatening to make them collapse. No doubt, this was the capital planet of the Yeerks.

oOoOoOo

Author's note: Well yes, Thévenin remains a Yeerk. He has been indoctrinated since childhood with the idea that the Hork-Bajir are barely intelligent and natural slaves. Then he himself had to treat a Hork-Bajir like dirt for decades. Making him treat humans as equals is already borderline, if we want to respect the universe of the books, so I can't make him a woke with pink hair either (not that I'm not tempted). For me, Altran and his friends are an exception in the books.

Otherwise, those who don't know Animorphs might accuse me of being a bit sadistic with Marco, that this plot comes out of nowhere, or that his reaction isn't realistic. It so happens that in volume 30, Marco has the opportunity to kill Visser-3 and Visser-One. In the name of the group's and humanity's well-being, he chooses to sacrifice his mother. In the following volume, Jake has to choose between killing his brother or endangering the group. He makes the opposite choice (even though he is the leader and is supposed to set an example). In both cases, the plot saves them from having to follow through with their choice, but I think what the author wanted was not to make his characters suffer, but to create the conditions for the conversation between Jake and Marco that concludes this diptych opposing Marco's pragmatic approach and Jake's more humane one (and which I won't spoil for you).

In any case, no, this plot and Marco's reaction do not come out of nowhere. It is present (in another form) in the original work. Including it was mandatory if I wanted to respect the source material to a minimum. But I admit that I only remembered this little detail at the end of the writing and had to include it somewhat hastily.