Categories > Books > Animorphs > The Progression
DISCLAIMER: See Ch. 1.
A/N: Now, we see something from the POV of a Kelbrid! (Has this ever been done before in Animorphs fanfiction? Does anyone know?)
/IMPORTANT!/ OK, people last chance to take up my challenge to take up my challenge which I presented back in chapter 6! If no one can figure this out, then I'm going to simply give out the answer next chapter!
CHAPTER 8
Vegren
My name is Vegren Alterr.
I am a Kelbrid. My full "title," you could call it, is Karmaad Vegren Alterr din-Kalmesh. For those of you who are not familiar with Kelbrid names and such, that means my first (personal) name is Vegren, my last (family) name is Alterr, I am of the Kalmesh nation, and I hold the rank of karmaad in the Kelbrid military.
For years, my people have had a proviso in place with the Andalites. We had few yet very good reasons for this: We wanted to do some things on our own, we really didn't have any particular need to do anything with them, and also importantly, we did not want to get involved in the war with the Yeerks.
Speaking of which, despite how far our territory is from the territory in which Earth is (Andalite territory actually separates the two), we somehow get transmissions from Earth fired deep into space which come in a matter of weeks, as opposed to months or even years. This is a peculiar anomaly which even our best scientists are unable to figure out or explain. Still, it is how we learned so much about Earth (we even have people whose primary job it is to record information from such things as the History Channel or the Discovery Channel), and it is also how we Kelbrid learned about the end of the Yeerk War, and also information on the Andalites as well.
The Kelbrid are somewhat more advanced than the Andalites; perhaps the fact that we are naturally able to fly is part of how we were able to understand the physics behind flight and build flight-capable craft much sooner than they could. We probably were traveling via Z-space a thousand or so years before the Andalites were, two thousand years at the most.
Anyway, I was here with my mentor, the great Ambassador Saventi Pakkenna. While I was also a karmaad in the Kelbrid military, which is about halfway up the chain of ranks, I was aiming to go even higher; Saventi was tutoring me in that, and it shows, because otherwise, there is no way I would be allowed to even talk directly to his bodyguards back at his shuttle parked outside.
We Kelbrid are not a naturally hostile race. True, we are plenty capable of defending ourselves from other races even as strong as the Andalites, but like most other sentient races in the galaxy, were are overall peaceful but can be hostile when provoked and urged to defend ourselves. In fact, the whole "hostile Kelbrid" thing was more of an act to ensure that the Andalites would keep their end of the proviso. Of course, it also helped when we destroyed an entire Yeerk flotilla less than an hour after they dropped out of Z-space with no casualties on our side, and then transmitted recordings of their humiliating defeat to the Andalites, just for effect.
Now, as the diplomatic session was resuming after its short recess, I took my place with High Scribe Skiba Kraennell behind our ambassador. Skiba took out a hologram projector and a disc, handing both to Saventi just as the humans sat down and the Andalites allowed themselves to slouch a little.
It was finally time to get to the point of our business here: Inform both other species on this evil entity who calls himself The One.
"Our intelligence that this being who calls himself 'The One' is unlike any other form of life we've ever encountered or even heard about," Saventi was saying. "That may also be the cause to his name: There are no others like him. He is more energy then solid matter, and even then, his solid matter made out of inorganic material. He can possess people, but only one being at a time, and even then, for only a few days. Think of the Yeerks, and you may get a better idea." Here, a wave of disgust rippled throughout the crowd.
"Wait a minute," one of the humans said. We recognized him to be Jake Berenson, leader of the Animorphs. "We saw the transmission as The One introduced himself... it started out as a human-Controller, then shifted to Aximili... we thought it could absorb multiple beings as a collective or something."
Here, Saventi gave a Kelbrid smile. "That was but a simple trick. The same way you humans have methods of creating false images, such as trick photography or certain computer programs, The One did that to make himself look more powerful and fearsome than he actually was.
"While you and your friends were recuperating, Mr. Berenson, we diagnosed Prince Aximili. He suffered possession from The One, who made him morph some random human-Controller, which The One then used during his brief conversation with you."
Aximili spoke up.
"The One might be able to control people, but unlike a Yeerk, there are differences when it has control of a being. While a Controller may be conscious yet unable to do anything while being Controlled, any being possessed by The One is unconscious during such a time."
"How is it you know so much about this... monster?" one human ambassador asked.
Saventi's face darkened a little at this. "We have had our own encounters with this being before. But through these unpleasant encounters, we have been able to learn both his strengths and his weaknesses."
"So how do we come into this?" a human military general asked.
"Because... just as the late Yeerk Empire wanted Earth for its resources and its inhabitants as slaves, The One and his legions also have their sights set on this bountiful planet. Our intelligence confirms this. The One is one of those greedy beings who wants to take control of whatever he can, and destroy whatever he cannot." Here turning to the Andalites, Saventi also added, "The One also seems to attack and conquer your world and your people as well, although for what reasons, we do not know."
Both the humans and the Andalites, despite their various differences, all seemed to convey the same general expression at this news. They weren't to happy about having to be involved in another war, and yet they were determined to do what they had to.
an Andalite War-Prince named Galuit asked.
Saventi sighed as he accepted a datapad from Skiba and looked over the numbers. "In the few years since the end of the Yeerk War, they managed to bring in more than a thousand Yeerks, not just from Earth but also other planets affected by the Yeerk Empire, and they now have around ten thousand Yeerks. This may not sound like much, but bigger numbers are not always a guarantee of success, as has often been proved time and again. Also, practically the entire Skrit Na race has joined - they eagerly accepted The One's offer to join and be rewarded with all the different specimens from conquered species to add to their zoos, museums, libraries and such. As for the Norshk, well... I suppose I should explain about them first."
Pressing a couple of buttons, Saventi projected the image of a reptilian creature: A Norshk. From head to tail, it was about as long as the Earth creature known as a Komodo dragon, if not longer. It had a bit of an ovoid main body, with a back covered with a pattern that looked like the shell of an Earth turtle. In fact, like a turtle, its back was hard, yet unlike a turtle, it had no shell yet could shift its back muscles to some extent in order to make some parts of its back more resistant to punishment. Also like a turtle, it had a similar sort of head and face. The Norshk had three pairs of appendages: First, there were its arms, which ended in slightly webbed claws that looked somewhat like human hands (five fingers, including one opposable thumb on each hand); then there were its strong, sturdy back legs, which were much more webbed; and finally came a middle pair of appendages, which were technically legs, but the unique thing about these legs were that their "feet" looked more like a cross between Norshk hands and feet, and so they were designed primarily for walking but could also be used to manipulate objects like hands. Finally, there was its tail: At least a few feet long, the tail ended in a sort of club, the same way an Andalite tail ended in a scythe-like blade. A Norshk could use its heavy tail to balance back on two legs, as well as a sort of weapon.
After briefly explaining about the Norshks' unique physiology, Saventi continued with explaining about the Norshk role in this whole conflict. "The Norshk race is - or at least was - somewhat more advanced than the human race is at the moment. About the same time as the Yeerk invasion was on Earth was defeated, a war broke out among the Norshk between their two major nations - one a democracy, the other a dictatorship. With the Yeerk Empire finished, the Norshk dictatorship managed to get hold of a lot of leftover weapons, giving them a small advantage over their enemies. Recently, our intelligence informed us that the dictatorship is planning on making a deal with The One. If they serve and help The One, then The One will give them enough weapons to conquer their democratic enemies. If this happens, then the survivors will most likely be enslaved and turned over to the Yeerks for infestation. Furthermore, the Norshk home world has deposits of certain valuable metals, minerals and other materials which would aid The One greatly, making things even more difficult for us. Their home world is almost as bountiful in resources as Earth itself."
One Andalite officer whose name I didn't know now spoke up.
Saventi gave a small smile. "Precisely. To let The One have evil new allies, innocent slaves to be made into Controllers and a good portion of that planet's resources could be considered almost intolerable. However, we do not request human or Andalite forces for helping turn the tide on the Norshk home world; we have plenty of troops and resources to accomplish that ourselves."
Saventi removed his smile and got to a point, as he saw the new expressions on the humans' and Andalites' faces. "We are sure we know what all of you are thinking, about having to fight in yet another war after such a seemingly short time from the end of the Yeerk War. I would like to establish right now that we Kelbrid are not demanding your aid in this conflict. We will not force you to fight if you do not wish to do so. However, with all the forces which The One is amassing and his intentions for both Earth and the Andalite home world, you may not have much of a choice except to fight with us. Millenia ago, our own people fought this evil entity which ravaged our world, until we were able to retaliate with a sufficient counterattack which made him flee in the end. We know how he works and what he does, which we know from accounts of Kelbrid who fought in that war - some who survived, but plenty who did not. Trust us when we say this: You do not want him to ravage either of your home worlds as he did with others and nearly did with our own."
There was a stiff pause as our alien hosts considered these words.
Saventi gave a small sigh, starting to show fatigue. It had been a rough day for him, between last-minute planning for these talks as well as actually running these talks. "If it is acceptable, may we adjourn for today? I think we all need some time to think things over."
Saventi's request was granted, and members from all three species present retired to their temporary staying places.
I accompanied Saventi and Skiba back to our shuttle. We were a few steps away from entering it when we heard a thought-speech voice that didn't "sound" like that of an Andalite.
The three of us looked up to see a hawk flying overhead.
A/N: Now, we see something from the POV of a Kelbrid! (Has this ever been done before in Animorphs fanfiction? Does anyone know?)
/IMPORTANT!/ OK, people last chance to take up my challenge to take up my challenge which I presented back in chapter 6! If no one can figure this out, then I'm going to simply give out the answer next chapter!
CHAPTER 8
Vegren
My name is Vegren Alterr.
I am a Kelbrid. My full "title," you could call it, is Karmaad Vegren Alterr din-Kalmesh. For those of you who are not familiar with Kelbrid names and such, that means my first (personal) name is Vegren, my last (family) name is Alterr, I am of the Kalmesh nation, and I hold the rank of karmaad in the Kelbrid military.
For years, my people have had a proviso in place with the Andalites. We had few yet very good reasons for this: We wanted to do some things on our own, we really didn't have any particular need to do anything with them, and also importantly, we did not want to get involved in the war with the Yeerks.
Speaking of which, despite how far our territory is from the territory in which Earth is (Andalite territory actually separates the two), we somehow get transmissions from Earth fired deep into space which come in a matter of weeks, as opposed to months or even years. This is a peculiar anomaly which even our best scientists are unable to figure out or explain. Still, it is how we learned so much about Earth (we even have people whose primary job it is to record information from such things as the History Channel or the Discovery Channel), and it is also how we Kelbrid learned about the end of the Yeerk War, and also information on the Andalites as well.
The Kelbrid are somewhat more advanced than the Andalites; perhaps the fact that we are naturally able to fly is part of how we were able to understand the physics behind flight and build flight-capable craft much sooner than they could. We probably were traveling via Z-space a thousand or so years before the Andalites were, two thousand years at the most.
Anyway, I was here with my mentor, the great Ambassador Saventi Pakkenna. While I was also a karmaad in the Kelbrid military, which is about halfway up the chain of ranks, I was aiming to go even higher; Saventi was tutoring me in that, and it shows, because otherwise, there is no way I would be allowed to even talk directly to his bodyguards back at his shuttle parked outside.
We Kelbrid are not a naturally hostile race. True, we are plenty capable of defending ourselves from other races even as strong as the Andalites, but like most other sentient races in the galaxy, were are overall peaceful but can be hostile when provoked and urged to defend ourselves. In fact, the whole "hostile Kelbrid" thing was more of an act to ensure that the Andalites would keep their end of the proviso. Of course, it also helped when we destroyed an entire Yeerk flotilla less than an hour after they dropped out of Z-space with no casualties on our side, and then transmitted recordings of their humiliating defeat to the Andalites, just for effect.
Now, as the diplomatic session was resuming after its short recess, I took my place with High Scribe Skiba Kraennell behind our ambassador. Skiba took out a hologram projector and a disc, handing both to Saventi just as the humans sat down and the Andalites allowed themselves to slouch a little.
It was finally time to get to the point of our business here: Inform both other species on this evil entity who calls himself The One.
"Our intelligence that this being who calls himself 'The One' is unlike any other form of life we've ever encountered or even heard about," Saventi was saying. "That may also be the cause to his name: There are no others like him. He is more energy then solid matter, and even then, his solid matter made out of inorganic material. He can possess people, but only one being at a time, and even then, for only a few days. Think of the Yeerks, and you may get a better idea." Here, a wave of disgust rippled throughout the crowd.
"Wait a minute," one of the humans said. We recognized him to be Jake Berenson, leader of the Animorphs. "We saw the transmission as The One introduced himself... it started out as a human-Controller, then shifted to Aximili... we thought it could absorb multiple beings as a collective or something."
Here, Saventi gave a Kelbrid smile. "That was but a simple trick. The same way you humans have methods of creating false images, such as trick photography or certain computer programs, The One did that to make himself look more powerful and fearsome than he actually was.
"While you and your friends were recuperating, Mr. Berenson, we diagnosed Prince Aximili. He suffered possession from The One, who made him morph some random human-Controller, which The One then used during his brief conversation with you."
Aximili spoke up.
"The One might be able to control people, but unlike a Yeerk, there are differences when it has control of a being. While a Controller may be conscious yet unable to do anything while being Controlled, any being possessed by The One is unconscious during such a time."
"How is it you know so much about this... monster?" one human ambassador asked.
Saventi's face darkened a little at this. "We have had our own encounters with this being before. But through these unpleasant encounters, we have been able to learn both his strengths and his weaknesses."
"So how do we come into this?" a human military general asked.
"Because... just as the late Yeerk Empire wanted Earth for its resources and its inhabitants as slaves, The One and his legions also have their sights set on this bountiful planet. Our intelligence confirms this. The One is one of those greedy beings who wants to take control of whatever he can, and destroy whatever he cannot." Here turning to the Andalites, Saventi also added, "The One also seems to attack and conquer your world and your people as well, although for what reasons, we do not know."
Both the humans and the Andalites, despite their various differences, all seemed to convey the same general expression at this news. They weren't to happy about having to be involved in another war, and yet they were determined to do what they had to.
an Andalite War-Prince named Galuit asked.
Saventi sighed as he accepted a datapad from Skiba and looked over the numbers. "In the few years since the end of the Yeerk War, they managed to bring in more than a thousand Yeerks, not just from Earth but also other planets affected by the Yeerk Empire, and they now have around ten thousand Yeerks. This may not sound like much, but bigger numbers are not always a guarantee of success, as has often been proved time and again. Also, practically the entire Skrit Na race has joined - they eagerly accepted The One's offer to join and be rewarded with all the different specimens from conquered species to add to their zoos, museums, libraries and such. As for the Norshk, well... I suppose I should explain about them first."
Pressing a couple of buttons, Saventi projected the image of a reptilian creature: A Norshk. From head to tail, it was about as long as the Earth creature known as a Komodo dragon, if not longer. It had a bit of an ovoid main body, with a back covered with a pattern that looked like the shell of an Earth turtle. In fact, like a turtle, its back was hard, yet unlike a turtle, it had no shell yet could shift its back muscles to some extent in order to make some parts of its back more resistant to punishment. Also like a turtle, it had a similar sort of head and face. The Norshk had three pairs of appendages: First, there were its arms, which ended in slightly webbed claws that looked somewhat like human hands (five fingers, including one opposable thumb on each hand); then there were its strong, sturdy back legs, which were much more webbed; and finally came a middle pair of appendages, which were technically legs, but the unique thing about these legs were that their "feet" looked more like a cross between Norshk hands and feet, and so they were designed primarily for walking but could also be used to manipulate objects like hands. Finally, there was its tail: At least a few feet long, the tail ended in a sort of club, the same way an Andalite tail ended in a scythe-like blade. A Norshk could use its heavy tail to balance back on two legs, as well as a sort of weapon.
After briefly explaining about the Norshks' unique physiology, Saventi continued with explaining about the Norshk role in this whole conflict. "The Norshk race is - or at least was - somewhat more advanced than the human race is at the moment. About the same time as the Yeerk invasion was on Earth was defeated, a war broke out among the Norshk between their two major nations - one a democracy, the other a dictatorship. With the Yeerk Empire finished, the Norshk dictatorship managed to get hold of a lot of leftover weapons, giving them a small advantage over their enemies. Recently, our intelligence informed us that the dictatorship is planning on making a deal with The One. If they serve and help The One, then The One will give them enough weapons to conquer their democratic enemies. If this happens, then the survivors will most likely be enslaved and turned over to the Yeerks for infestation. Furthermore, the Norshk home world has deposits of certain valuable metals, minerals and other materials which would aid The One greatly, making things even more difficult for us. Their home world is almost as bountiful in resources as Earth itself."
One Andalite officer whose name I didn't know now spoke up.
Saventi gave a small smile. "Precisely. To let The One have evil new allies, innocent slaves to be made into Controllers and a good portion of that planet's resources could be considered almost intolerable. However, we do not request human or Andalite forces for helping turn the tide on the Norshk home world; we have plenty of troops and resources to accomplish that ourselves."
Saventi removed his smile and got to a point, as he saw the new expressions on the humans' and Andalites' faces. "We are sure we know what all of you are thinking, about having to fight in yet another war after such a seemingly short time from the end of the Yeerk War. I would like to establish right now that we Kelbrid are not demanding your aid in this conflict. We will not force you to fight if you do not wish to do so. However, with all the forces which The One is amassing and his intentions for both Earth and the Andalite home world, you may not have much of a choice except to fight with us. Millenia ago, our own people fought this evil entity which ravaged our world, until we were able to retaliate with a sufficient counterattack which made him flee in the end. We know how he works and what he does, which we know from accounts of Kelbrid who fought in that war - some who survived, but plenty who did not. Trust us when we say this: You do not want him to ravage either of your home worlds as he did with others and nearly did with our own."
There was a stiff pause as our alien hosts considered these words.
Saventi gave a small sigh, starting to show fatigue. It had been a rough day for him, between last-minute planning for these talks as well as actually running these talks. "If it is acceptable, may we adjourn for today? I think we all need some time to think things over."
Saventi's request was granted, and members from all three species present retired to their temporary staying places.
I accompanied Saventi and Skiba back to our shuttle. We were a few steps away from entering it when we heard a thought-speech voice that didn't "sound" like that of an Andalite.
The three of us looked up to see a hawk flying overhead.
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