After a few minutes of argument, Salem and Al had reached a conclusion about what to do with the Malleon that'd been placed aboard Corliss's ship. They turned and walked back towards the group, Al with a smirk, Salem with a bit of a sickened look on his face.
Al took a place beside Jasper and nudged his shoulder. "Ready to watch Salem get reamed? This oughtta be good," he said to Jasper in a stage whisper, loudly enough to be overheard by both Salem and Corliss.
Salem shot Al a quick glare and took a breath. He quickly looked around and sized up the situation. It looked as if the two Andalites were locked in a private thought-speech conversation. It occurred to Salem for a moment that the female held a proud posture that usually denoted a Warrior among males. He might have to speak to her when he got the chance. Illim and Corliss still seemed quite tense. Normally he'd let this go and simply wait for a better opportunity to speak with them, but he couldn't actually see Corliss becoming less tense until his ship was taken care of.
"Corliss," he started, hesitating only briefly before continuing, "The thing on your ship... it's intelligent. A species of microbe called Malleon. The individual microbes have no real capacity for thought, but they've got... I guess you'd call it a collective consciousness. The entire swarm can think as one mind."
He stopped, and looked from Corliss to Illim, trying to gauge their reactions before continuing, "I have a large colony living within my own ship's systems. It's beneficial to both of us. My ship supplies them with energy, and in return, they're able to manipulate and repair the ship's systems on a microscopic level. I'll never need to repair or replace another component. Right now, the small culture aboard your ship is one with the hive mind on mine. I don't think there's a limit to how far apart they can be and still hear each other."
He took another breath. Here goes. "As an offer of... trust between me and your Rebellion, I'd like to offer to leave them aboard your ship. I'd set you up to be able to communicate with them. I'll let them know that you're friends, and they... should agree to learn your ship, and keep it in good repair." He swallowed and looked back and forth. He knew that, in theory, he'd still be in charge of the Malleon if the Rebellion decided to betray him or sell him out as Temrash had done, but on the off-chance that Corliss agreed, he'd still be taking a huge risk.
"What do you think?"
