Elayne purses her lips and nods. "I understand," she tells the Hork-Bajir, but, first of all, we don't even know that we're from the timeline; your future may hold something completely different from Trey's and my reality. Second, we can't know the outcome of other scenarios, so what if they're even worse? What if the Empire completely takes over Earth and, eventually, the Andalite homeworld? I'm supportive of Yeerk rights," she says, raising her eyebrows, "but I don't particularly want a Yeerk in my head. How can a compromise be reached? It wouldn't, if the Empire had its way."
Serid follows the motion of her hand, and perhaps he would have typically noticed the familiar insignia, but his fatigue, at least, made him miss it. <<I see,>> he responds, lifting his eyes and frowning at her. <<If you would accept a word of advice from a lowly aristh,>> he murmurs. <<I would not typically be so bold as to offer it, but we have both had... strange paths to this place, it seems, so I imagine you would be more open to unorthodoxy than most of our race.>> He shifts his weight and slowly clasps his hands behind his back. <<A sanctimonious tone from an individual with a path like yours is... unflattering, if not outrightly hypocritical.>>
"Alright," Illim nods, easily conceding. He turns around with a grin, the rocks making a rough grinding sound under his feet. "You pick this time. Maybe you have a better Andalite radar than mine."