GESB: Operation Time-Cops

[Terenia]

Zorish sighs, knowing that his time is running short. He looks at the human best he can from his position, trying to convey as much seriousness as possible.

"You misunderstand me, Derrel" Zorish says, risking an anxious glance at the door, "I am not bartering. I am asking. I am presenting you with your best hope for survival. Trust me when I say that I have no intents on remaining inside you. Tamora is my host. I will return to her at the first opportunity. Of course you can say no. There is nothing I can do to stop you. But I promise you, Derrel, you can not trust the Andalites. They are the manipulators of the galaxy. They destroy lives and feel self-righteous doing so. They are evil."


((sorry for the short posts today. I've been posting on my phone.))

[Chad32]

Derrel thought it over for a few seconds. Sukohn had released him, so maybe he wasn't completely bad. This Subvisser person might let him go too. Sine Earth was occupied by the Yeerks, siding with them might be best. He got up and walked slowly over to Zorish's bed. He kept glancing at the door, expecting someone to come in at any moment. He placed his hand near her ear so she could crawl out. His hand was sweating.

[Terenia]

((Don't you dare squish Zorish ))

"Great," Zorish says, quickly, "now be careful, alright? We'll make this quick."

<Don't leave me!> Tamora squeals suddenly, with surprising force.

<Tamora, be quiet. How in the Kandrona do you expect me to free you if we are strapped down like this? I need you to calm down, and act like me.>

<I can't!>

<You must. You have no choice. I will return to you as quickly as possible.>

"Sukohn, keep him from panicking," Zorish orders. Zorish closes Tamora's eyes and takes a deep breath. He knows that he is taking a huge risk in leaving his host, but he didn't get to the rank that he has by playing it safe. He begins to detach himself from his current host, moving quickly, but with infinite care of Tamora's neural network. A moment later a small, gray probe can be seen feeling its way from Tamora's ear canal. The probe elongates and stretches, until a full-grown slug-like Yeerk plops into Derrel's waiting hand.

[Chad32]

(I was kind of hoping someone would come in before this happened. I'm not planning on Derrel crushing Zorish. He doesn't have the balls.)

[Terenia]

((Well, no one has come in, so we may as well make this interesting. Don't worry, I won't let do anything to Derrel you don't want me to))

[Chad32]

Derrel tried to breathe regularly while placing Zorish to the ear opposite the doorway. He wanted desperately to go home, and if Earth was controlled by the Yeerks then that was the side he needed to be on. He didn't know if the Andalites were actually evil, but they did leave the planet without dropping him off.

[Terenia]

Zorish, sensing a new opening, found his way into the entrance of Derrel's ear, taking care to release toxins that would numb the pain. It was certain to feel odd and maybe even a little creepy to Derrel, but it would not hurt.

It does not take long for Zorish to wrap himself entirely around Derrel's brain. There is a moment of paralysis, where Derrel is no longer in control but Zorish has not fully seized control, but that quickly passes. Zorish gains full control over his new body with practiced ease.

<Ah...> Zorish breathes, flexing his new hands, <that's much better. Alright now, little human. Let's see what we can do about saving both of us.> He leans down to look at a now free Tamora. She is breathing heavily, her eyes staring wide. He can see her struggling against the restraints uselessly.

"Tamora, calm down," Zorish whispers, "it isn't time yet. I will save you, but you need to act the part. Or you will ruin it for all of us."

Tamora's frightened gaze locks on Zorish's and she nods almost imperceptibly, still shaking. Zorish smiles, pats her on her forehead gently, and moves over to the wall that Derrel had been resting against when Myitt and the others left.

"Your survival depends on me, as well," Zorish warns Sukohn in Galard, "don't do anything foolish."

[Chad32]

"Yes sir." Sukohn said in Galard. Maybe he could reclaim his prize of capturing the Human bandits. Maybe Zorish wouldn't turn on him. In any case, there was a sliver of hope that they may yet live.

Meanwhile Derrel was silent but doubtful. Would this work? Everyone had to play their parts just so, and even then it still might not work.

[Terenia]

<Don't you worry,> Zorish says to Derrel, <just remember. I'm one of the good guys.>

Zorish thumbs through Derrel's memories, not bothering to look particularly far back. He is most interested in the last few hours, the cause for all of his anguish. He needs to understand Derrel before he can imitate Derrel. Luckily no one else on this ship knows the human particularly well, so his job will not be that difficult. The difficult part lies in Tamora's as of yet untested acting skills.

---

Tamora takes deep, slow breaths, staring upwards at the ceiling and willing herself not to cry. Freedom is not new to her, but Zorish has never abandoned her in the middle of a deadly mission before. She has always trusted him to make the decision that will keep them alive. Now she is alone, the tell-tale voice in her head gone, and their survival depends on her. It is almost too much to bear, but the thought of what might happen if she fails keeps her from breaking down entirely.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

((Will post after Tara and Patty have a chance to...they might post pre-time IDK...I would dismiss Claxter and return to piloting if they'd posted but I'll wait.))

[Alic]

((I was waiting for Taras reply. ))

[Myitt]

((Okay, okay, jeez guys, give a birthday girl a break ))

Myitt nods at Alic and opens the med bay doors, stepping in.  After a few seconds to take in the situation she lowers her Dracon.

"I guess it really is a party in here," she says blandly.  "Good evening Sukohn.  Zorish.  It seems the two of you have had quite a bit of fun, but now we're all right back where we started.  Now my friend Alic and I are going to be your babysitters.  I know we're all going to get along just fine, aren't we?  Zorish and I are already old pals."

She looks across the room at Derrel.  "Hey there, I'm Myitt.  Sorry you've been dragged into this whole mess.  It's a real ****, isn't it?  What's your name, kid?"

[Alic]

((Sorry work. Reply from phone. While on the clock lol))

Alic followed behind Myitt and closed the doors behind her. An annoyed look was set on her face. She really didn't want to play "babysitter" but knew it was best to let Ossanlin and Claxter talk. She hoped their conversation would end with sending Claxter back to his old dome.
Darrel had been in hysterics since he was freed and Alic wasn't enthusiastic about dealing with a human who had no idea about what was going on. Part of her felt sympathy for him, he had every right to be afraid. But she considered him as extra baggage and he would probably just end up getting in the way.
<<This sucks.>> Alic spoke privately to Myitt.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin nods.  <If you should ever feel for any reason that I have made an incorrect decision and you can correct it, then you should act with your own judgement.  I don't wish to rob you of your free will Claxter, you're not a slave, but I do want you to understand and appreciate the fact that I have been fighting this war for a few more years than yourself and I might possibly know a little something about what I'm doing.  You need to think before you act, and I need you to follow orders, especially during a mission.>  

Ossanlin relaxes his tail a bit and assumes a more casual position, his tone of thought becoming a bit warmer.  <I think you are capable of meeting, and exceeding, your current rank...you have potential and I want you to reach it.  I want to see you succeed, but you are the one who is ultimately responsible for that.  You are dismissed.>

Ossanlin strides over to where his battle-harness is laying and dons it again, situating the swords around his midsection, the weight of the harness welcome across his humanoid torso.  He scans the bridge and sees where his Shredder clattered across the deck during the pulse-missile impact.  He picks it up and replaces it in his harness.  Ossanlin unseals the bridge door and trots out to Alic.  <<Would you still happen to have my other Shredder Aliciania?>>   He smiles at her human form...her feminine andalite form was so much prettier...in fact he probably wouldn't find her human form attractive at all if he wasn't attracted to the person inside the human shell.

((Happy birthday Tara!  Mid-twenties are scary aren't they?  I saw some high-school girls in the Des Moines mall the other day when my friend and I went to see Prince of Persia, and I thought they were middle-school girls.  I said as much to Kyle and his response was "That's because we're old."  And I realized that half of my twenties are gone.  >_>  Kids that were born in 1992 and started kindergarten in 1997 graduating...  Anyway we all know RL comes before RAF.  Hope you had a good b-day!  Still looking forward to seeing you towards the end of June.  If you give me three weeks' notice I can ask for some days off work, which I will have to do unless you happen to come on Friday and Saturday.  :p ))

[Chad32]

<Yes sir.> Claxter said, and left the bridge. He didn't want to go to the medbay, since the Yeerks and Alic were there. He remembered Myitt saying that she and Alic would 'deal' with him later, so going there would be uncomfortable. He decided to go to one of the sleeping quarters and wait until they returned to the bar. Rescuing Terenia's sister had been quite easy, save for a few hiccups. Now they could separate Efaen from terenia without Tamora being killed.

"I was just about to take a nap, actually." Sukohn said to Myitt, while trying to get comfortable. "Wake me when we get back to the bar."