Our Summer Vacation...

[donut]

<We have 25 of your minutes before we need to start planning, Sean. Will you be able to get food in that amount of time?>
 

[warren_bearclaw]

"What, out here? Unless we want to go stealing picnic baskets or something, there isn't anything out here. I.. I don't know about you, Tarry, but we can't forage so well. "

Brian was quiet. Well, there was that one plant I saw back there, but... he decided not to recommend actually foraging. It wouldn't have been too productive, anyways.

"I'm hoping you meant after we get back to my place. I just bought a ton of food, so yeah, we'd be able to eat real quick then. That is, if we are actually going back there....."

[radgeek]

Wintium still hurt all over but at lest he could walk around the pool complex now.  "Why has no one seen Jo?" he kept asking.  "Sub-Visser 2 is using her as a host now.  Has anyone seen Edward?"
"I'm not that hungry," Jo admitted.

[donut]

<Then we will not be able to eat before meeting Kildor.>

<This is your warning order.  Kildor has requested to meet with us.  We do not know how many other yeerks will be with him. Kristen and Chad will not be participating in this mission.  We are going to meet with Kildor at Brian's...apartment to determine if we can form an alliance with him against the yeerks and to learn what we can from him.  Olivia, expect to use your bird of prey morph; Josefina, expect to use your dog morph; Sean and Brian, expect to remain as humans for the mission.  The mission will be briefed here in one hour and ten of your minutes.  Do what you need to to prepare and rest if you can.>

<Sean, I will need your help to plan this.>

Tarry began to run through what needed to happen for the mission.

[radgeek]

"Yes, sir," Olivia said.  She like her bald eagle morph.

[warren_bearclaw]

Kristen had morphed back to pelican, and took off over the tree tops. <Don't have too much fun without me.> She said. She set a course back to town (( ... which.. I just realized is over an hour... she was gone *how* long shopping for a backpack?!? )). She had no idea how she was going to end up coming home with a new backpack... she hadn't exactly brought her wallet with her.

... Sean wondered if the others would be alright going without food tonight. And... for how long? "Tarry... would it be safe for me to go as a human? We don't know that they've identified me, Chad, or Kristen yet, and quite frankly, I wouldn't like to make sure they recognize my face. What would be the benefit of not being in morph during this meeting? Or Brian, for that matter. What kind of message would any of those scenarios send to Kildor, and would they be good messages for us to send?"

"I agree on the resting part..." Brian muttered. "I'm uh... I'm gonna be right over there." He pointed to a tree a short distance away and rose from his seat and walked that way.

"One priority of this meeting is that we need to figure out as much as we can about what this guy knows about us, and not let him learn anything he doesn't already know. I'm still hoping that he only knows about the the four of you." He gestures to Tarry, Brian, Jo, and Olivia. "If that's the case, we play like there's only the three of you and Tarry."

[Unknown User]

Kildor would have loved a new host, Joseph Rightly had become damaged goods, nearly useless as a host. Kildor had many small injuries that still remained after the healing process, including a broken and a small fracture in his skull. Both of the spies legs would still be broken had he not pulled rank on the medical team and used his status as a spy to have them push the healing unit to very unsafe levels. Kildor had come very close to dying, but he had to been in walking shape to attend the meetings. All in all he looked rather wonderful for having endured injuries that would have been fatal without tje advanced medical technology of The Empire.
  Kildor was, at the moment, in the yeerk pool preparing to depart for his meeting with the humans, he watched in disgust as the a group of human controllers laughed and joked. To kill them all, would be a wonderful thing he thought to himself. Things were very shaky at the moment, no one was really in charge of the pool and nearly everything had ground to a halt. That would change tommrow when the Visser arrived.
 "Sir," a human controller approached him, another nameless, faceless drone of The Empire that he despised so much, "the van you are to be travelling in has been fitted to your specifications."
 "Good," replied Kildor, "now get the hell away from me, I am in the intelligence core and will have you executed for treason if you aproach me again within the next fourty-five minutes." Kildor laughed to himself as the man hustled away.
 The spy left the break room and headed towards the motor pool, his legs were very sore and it would take him a while to walk the mile to the van. Kildor was planning to bring five members of the Texas Peace Movement with him, though he was quite sure they'd be useless in a fight.
 

[radgeek]

Sandresh gasped for breath as her host's head was taken out of the pool.  She went through Miriam memories of the last hour.  <<You put up a good fight at re-infestation.  But your idea for helping Laurence is insane.>>  Sandresh also saw the Miriam's refusal to share her husband and she ignored it.

[Horsefan1023 (Seal)]

Kristen flapped hard to gain some altitude.  Luckily, it was warm, so a thermal carried her up.  The pelican was a fairly simpleminded bird.  It wanted some fish at the moment, but the instinct was easily suppressed.  The sheer joy of flying nearly took her mind off her troubles, but she forced herself to stay on topic.  How on Earth was she going to get that backpack?  She had no money, and it didn't take over an hour to go shopping.  Well, it could for some people, but generally not her family.  She couldn't steal the backpack, either.  And she would be in her morphing outfit...I can't even get a backpack without forming an intricate plan, she sighed to herself.  She decided to stop by her house--still in morph--to see if there was any way she could get her normal clothes and her wallet.

[warren_bearclaw]

*After the briefing*
Tarry:   <We should conduct rehearsals>
Brian:   Rehearsals?
Tarry:   <We are going to walk through the mission.>
Josefina:   Really?
Tarry:  <Really>
Josefina:   So saying what we're going to do isn't enough?
Tarry:   <We are going to walk through the mission to make sure everyone knows what they are doing and to uncover any flaws.>
Olivia:   I hope there are no flaws.
Olivia:   we can't afford any.
Tarry:   <We will start at that location>
Tarry:   <Everyone, morph into your morphs.>
Josefina:   I've been doing a lot of morphing today is that a good idea?
Tarry:   <There is no limit on how much you can morph.>
Olivia:   We need to check for flaws.
Olivia:   Just do it Jo.
Josefina:   *morphs dog*
Sean:   *morphs squirrel.
Brian:   *morphs vulture*
Olivia:   *morphs eagle*
Tarry:   <Now we're at Brian's apartment.  Olivia, what are you doing?>
Olivia:   <I'm in the air looking out for...>
Tarry:   <No, you're remaining hidden to prevent the yeerks from finding you.>
Tarry:   <You don't expose yourself until they start to leave.>
Olivia:   <That's way we rehearse, Jo.  Ok I stay out of sight.>
Sean:   <Pardon me, I must have gone momentarily insane there....>
Sean:   <So... anyways....>
Tarry:   <Jo, what are you doing?>
Josefina:   <I'm acting like a stray trying to not be seen.>
Tarry:   <Good, Sean, what are you doing?>
Sean:   <I'm looking for nuts, acting like a squirrel>
Olivia:   Looking?
Tarry:   <Brian?>
Brian:   <I'm hanging out near my house waiting for Kildor.>
Tarry:   <When Kildor arrives, what are you going to do?>
Brian:   <I'm ... going to have this little meeting with him.... um, >
Brian:   <I'm going to have to make sure he knows it's me.>
Tarry:   <Good.  What are you trying to find out from him?>
Brian:   <...everything? I need to listen and make sure y'all here everythin' he says.>
Olivia:   <Will I be able to hear?>
Tarry:   <No, you will need to be far enough away that he will not spot you.>
Olivia:   <I won't know what being said?>
Olivia:   <That's annoying.>
Sean:   <Sorry, Olivia, but we've each got our part. You’ll get to follow him after he leaves, right Tarry?>
Tarry:   <Brian, you are trying to find out what activities the yeerks are working on, potential targets for us, the identities of high-ranking controllers, the locations of yeerk pool entrances, if Kildor is alone in resisting the yeerks, what Kildor wants and what he wants from us, and what Kildor knows about us.>
Brian:   < Oh. Alright ... is that all?>
Tarry:   <Unless you can think of anything else we need to know.>
Josefina:   <Like how my father is...>
Brian:   < I was kinda bein' sarcastic... that's a lot of things for me to figure out. Basically, I just need to find out everything.>
Tarry:   <What is sarcastic?>
Brian:   <It's ... It's when you say something you don't really mean, because...>
Sean:   <Sometimes it's to be funny, sometimes it's to be critical>
Tarry:   <So it means lying?>>
Sean:   <Not really, it's... hard to explain...>
Sean:   <So Andalites don't ever just joke around? I.. erg. I really don't know how to explain it.>
Tarry:   <We have many jokes.  An andalite, a leeran, and an hork bajir controller meet on a planet...>
Brian:   *flutters wings*
Josefina:   <Your jokes have controllers?>
Tarry:   <Yes.  The jokes are often at their expense.>
Tarry:   <It is a tense moment.>
Sean:   *clears throat... over thought-speech O.O*
Sean:   <So then what Tarry?>
Tarry:   <The andalites tail twitches, the leeran's tentacles glisten,
the hork bajir's nose drips.>
Tarry:   *bursts out laughing*
Sean:   <I ... uh.. meant what's next in the plan?>
Tarry:   <Sean and Josefina will continue to act like there morphed animals.>
Olivia:   excludes Tarry <<That wasn't funny.>>
Brian:   <<Yeah... I didn't get it either... >>
Sean:  <<Maybe it'll make sense later... >>
Josefina:   <<Maybe if we knew the aliens in the joke...>>
Tarry:   <You also need to establish a way to contact Kildor.>
Sean:   <So I'm running in the road dodging cars, and Jo will be sniffing fire hydrants, okay.>
Brian:   <Um... maybe I could just say 'hi'?>
Olivia:   <<Dodging cars? Really?  Could you live till the end of the mission please?>>
Tarry:   <You need a way to contact Kildor in the future.>
Sean:  <<...it's what squirrels do! I was being sarcastic.>>
Sean:   <<But don't tell that to Tarry...>>
Tarry:   <Tell me what?>
Tarry:   <Sean, I believe your private thoughtspeak needs practice.>
Sean:   <I'm sorry, what was it I said?>
Tarry:   <You told someone not to tell me something.>
Brian:   <<Okay, how did he hear that? Have we got this thing all wrong?>>
Tarry:   <When Kildor leaves, we will tell Olivia and return to that location.>
Tarry:   <Olivia, what will you be doing?>
Olivia:   *is glad she can't make a smile*
Olivia:   <I will follow Kildor for as long as I can.>
Tarry:   <Good, and then what will you do?>
Olivia:   <I will return to that location>
Tarry:   <Good.  What do we do if we are attacked...Brian?>
Brian:   <Get the heck outta there?>
Tarry:   <No, leave heck, and return to that location.>
Brian:   <That's... what I meant...>
Sean:   <It's another human culture thing.>
Tarry:   <Once we are all back at that location we will disseminate what we have learned and return home.>
Tarry:   <Are there any questions?>
Sean:   <None from me...>
Tarry:   <Then demorph.  We need to get moving.>
Olivia:  *demorphs*
Josefina:  *demorphs*
Brian:   <Sounds like a plan to me...>
Brian:   *demorphs*
Sean:   *demorphs*
Brian:   *now human*holds head* Woo... long day....
Brian:   Ima gonna have a seat for a minute or two...
Sean:   *yawns* yeah, that can wear you out..
Olivia:   I hope I can sleep late tomorrow.
Sean:   that's normal, right?
Tarry:   <Morphing is tiring.  We will have to start training to build a tolerance to it.>
Sean:   Oh, okay. Well, it's good that it isn't just us.

[radgeek]

Jo sat next to Brian.  "Are you ok?  I mean, you're going home but you can't..." she trailed off.  "Don't do what I did, ok?"

[warren_bearclaw]

Brian turned to look at Jo. He hadn't even had time to think about that yet...

Oh gosh, Mom.... Ben... What have I done?

He swallowed, hard. "I, uh... I ... yeah. Okay...." Was all he managed to say. Something caught in his throat. How could he have endangered his family like this? Would they even know that he was alive, and trying to stop them? There was nothing he could do to save them... nothing.... At least he wouldn't have to see his family. His mother and brother would be inside for the night - or rather, the Yeerks that were most probably in their heads would be. He couldn't help but hear their silent screams as they sat imprisoned in the dark corners of their minds. His mother... how would she cope? This would break her... She'd watched as his father was slowly taken from her, and now her children. And as if to add injury to insult, she wouldn't even be given the chance to cry....

[radgeek]

Jo bit her lip she shouldn't have said anything to him.  "Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."  She didn't like the idea that someone else understood the emotions that clogged her mind because that meant that he was going through the same thing.  "You had my back now I have yours."
Olivia knew heard Jo and Brian were whispering to each other.  She would keep an eye on them but she knew that they might be having similar thoughts and feelings that they need to get through.
"I have to get back to the farm," Sandresh said to the controllers that worked at the bottom of the tunnel that she would travel to get back to her host's home.
"There was a fire at the entrance we can't let anybody up there now."

[Unknown User]

Kildor sat in the back of the Van as it left the secret tunnel that connected the yeerk pool to the parking garage, he and the members of the YPM he had brought with him sat in silence. The ride wouldn't be to long, in fact, it would give him just enough time to think. Should he continue his work with the YPM? Didn't he hate them as much as he hated The Empire and the humans? That was the problem with hating everything equally, it wasn't conducive to good planning. Kildor knew he could betray the morphers easily enough, they didn't have anything like control over their knew abilities, they had no idea what they were doing. Not only that, but Brian would actually be getting in the van with kildor and his associates, easy enough to deal with at that point. "I do doubt that the Andalite will let him speak with me alone." Kildor thought to himself.
  It was all beside the point anyway, he needed the morphers help to get the Visser, and eventually, to kill the Emporer of The Empire. The ride would soon be over, and then the time for making decisions would come.
-----------------------
It had taken Edward about fifteen minutes to extricate himself from the tree, during which time he had used every curse he knew and left deep scratches on his arms and legs. After that had come the highly enjoyable hike through the woods which had lasted for an hour or so before he had stumbled onto a road that was actually being used by drivers. In his younger days, Edward had hitch hiked alot, he stuck out his thumb. 

[donut]

Tarry stood in the back of the car.  His mind racing.  He could never be calm before a mission.  During a mission, he was cool, collected, and focused.  Before one, he was scattered and nervous, always running through everything again and again.  He took a breath.  He noticed that Jo was talking to Brian.  Good, Tarry thought.  They were going to have to come together to survive what the what was coming.