The Galactic War: Rogue Element ~The Beginning

[Chad32]

"Great! Excellent." Xevec said with a genuine smile, and patted her on the shoulder. It was a habit he picked up long ago from Humans that physical contact help them connect. Although he wasn't sure that would really work for Efaen. "We all need to stick together, even though some of us may not feel exactly the same way. I know that there was this big event that soured people's opinion of you, but personally I try not to judge irrational people too hard when they do irrational things. And you were far from the most rational person after several years under Visser Three."

"Anyway. water under the bridge. That is, we'll move past that to seek new opportunities together." He started talking lower, in a conspiratorial voice. "I know this Ossanlin guy is supposed to be friends with Myitt, but I seriously don't trust these people. It would be nice if we could find as much information as we can, and do whatever we must to keep from being at their fickle mercy. Now I know you're more like us than them, but they seem to want to open up to you. I figure if they're going to open up, you may as well take advantage of that."

"To get straight to the point, the Andalites would probably be more comfortable around you than anyone else, and would talk more freely with you nearby, and it would be awesome if we had  eyes and ears in the bridge of this ship. Planting a device in there isn't practical, but if there was someone loyal to us in there then that would be the best thing possible. The guy at the helm, Clester or something, is interested in you. You pretend to be interested in him, find a way to spend time with him on the bridge, and we are one step closer to having more control over the situation we're in."

"Do you think you could fake interest enough, and do a little spying for us? You're in a unique position to do something none of the other rebels can, and if you want to help us then you need to use that to your advantage."


<<This isn't going to work.>> Derrel said.

<<It's worth a shot.>>

<<What if we get busted?>>

<<As long as she doesn't blurt out why she's really there, we have an alibi.>>

[Shenmue654]

Keshin and Joanne descend through the catwalk system, checking every so often to see that the two Hork-Bajir are more or less following their lead. Having a group is somewhat new to them, given their antisocial tendencies, but Joanne seems reasonably certain these two are dangerous enough. Joanne drops off the final ladder and gets a look around the cargo hold. The place is less than inviting, but few rooms filled with ugly Imperial steel boxes really are. She doesn't see any attackers yet, but then again she really has no way to see them given the circumstances. <These Light guys are tricky.>

<No kidding. There's virtually no way to spot the---wait a minute.>

Keshin turns toward her two team-mates and states, a bit quietly from a human perspective, "....Hork-Bajir have excellent hearing, don't they? We might not be able to see some of the enemies ahead of us, but is it possible that you can hear them? Check the hallway for anything weird before we get ourselves shot."

[Terenia]

Efaen stays perfectly still, watching him as he speaks. She flinches only when he touches her, taking a half step back, her muscles stiffening at the physical contact.

"You...want me to spy on the Andalites for you, so that you can determine whether planting explosives throughout the ship would be worth your time and energy?" she asks. "You understand that they trust me about as little as the rebels here, right? Claxter may be the only Andalite who is willing to give me the time of day." That's not true, she realizes immediately. Eleric had been more than willing to show her how to pilot. In all, the Andalites had not been nearly as hostile as she had expected. They certainly had not treated her as a vecol in the way those on Corvus had. The fact was that they made her uncomfortable. They were a reminder of a past she did not remember.

"Besides, I--I'm a liability," she finishes lamely. "I shouldn't be here at all."

[Chad32]

Xevec was a little surprised his brief touch had the opposite effect he was hoping for. Maybe this girl was more Andalite than he thought. He put his hands behind his back to try to show he didn't mean anything negative about that.

"No, the explosives thing was a different idea. Getting on the bridge is strictly abut intelligence. Information that may give us a clearer idea of what is going on, so we can plan accordingly. I'm sorry if the crew has been treating you poorly. I haven't noticed." He wondered if the poor treatment had been out of sight of the rebels, for some reason, or some rude private thought speech. I was just hoping, you know, that seeing an Andalite may give them the impression that you're like them, even if on the inside you're not like them."

"Honestly none of us should be here. I don't know why the grass eaters attacked us on the base. As for you, I'd say you're less of a liability since your mind was wiped and the other rebels decided to keep you around instead of...not." He didn't want to say they were going to, and should, permanently dispose of her. That they shouldn't have brought her to the base in the first place. Still, he wasn't around a year ago and had no say in that.

"I just like to try to take what opportunities I can, and I saw an opportunity for you to help if you thought the idea had merit. I wouldn't try to force you into a wasted effort. Now Claxter, as you said his name was, is a fairly high ranking member of this ship. A Prince who has maybe the most important role on the bridge. If he is nice to you, then getting close to him would be a good start. If you really think that isn't enough, then we'll just have to forget it. If you think it's possible to convince him to make the others be more cordial with you, then you can go from there to having more pull around the ship. Start small, and work your way up, as it were. Of course I'd be happy to help with that however I can. Yeerks are pretty good at making people believe they're friends when they actually aren't."

[Terenia]

Efaen blinks. "You may not want to advertise that last bit," she says dryly. "Whether it's true or not."

Sighing, she nods. "I can't promise anything, Xevec, but you're right. The rebels deserve at least an equal say here, and as much knowledge as the Andalites. I...I can try to speak to Claxter." She hesitates. "You should know, though, that I do not anticipate my presence here being...particularl y lengthy."

[Chad32]

Efaen's words made Derrel chuckle inside. <<So very, very true.>>

"Yes, well, the topic of trust is a long and troubled one in my experience. Hopefully none of use will be staying long. I'm just worried what will happen now that just about all the surviving rebels are gathered, and our leaders will start talking about going separate ways from Ossanlin and his crew."

"I thank you for anything you're able to accomplish, Efaen."

[Terenia]

Efaen nods, then frowns. "What, exactly, do you want me to find out?" she asks. "If you anticipate the rebels leaving soon, does it matter whether you are kept abreast of the Andalites' plans or not?" The idea of the other rebels leaving the Dome Ship gives Efaen mixed feelings. On the one hand, it would make her separation from them -- from everyone -- far easier. On the other, she fears for their safety. There is no denying the peace of mind provided by an Andalite Dome Ship.

[Chad32]

"Find out if they're actually planning to let us leave. I don't trust that Ossanlin went to all this trouble to get us out, just to let us go our separate ways. They're up to something, but I don't know what. This idea that he left the Electorate just to rescue a few rebels is fishy. I mean suspicious. Hell I wouldn't be shocked if we're heading straight back to Corvus, now that the rest of the surviving rebels are rounded up."

[Terenia]

Efaen's eyebrows raise a little, but she nods. "Very well," she murmurs. "I cannot guarantee that any of the Andalites will be responsive, even Claxter. But...I will try. For the time that I remain here, at least." She glances down the hall. "I do not, however, think I should be barging onto the bridge. I'm not welcome there. Ossanlin would kick me out immediately. I'll have to wait until one of them makes their presence known in the Dome."

[Chad32]

"Ok. No problem. They probably wouldn't want any unnecessary people in there at this moment anyway, with the cargo raid going on. I've noticed you don't really use your Andalite form much. Looking like an Andalite would help with the objective, obviously, so we may need to work on your comfortability with that form. It might be good to work on that in the dome while we wait for someone to come by. What do you say?"

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin glances at Aetheas with a stalk-eye as he speaks.  He looks closer at the data-feed Aetheas had sent to his console.  It takes two playbacks, but he does notices some strange distortions like movement on the feed.  <<Well-spotted, Aetheas.>>  Ossanlin speaks through the team's feed again.  <Watch yourselves, we've spotted movement in that cargo-bay, make sure it's clear...>


Firin nods at Keshin.  "In general, it is somewhat better than human hearing.  I can..."  He cuts off as Ossanlin's speech comes through.  He hisses to himself and looks past some sort of large metallic machine, trying to listen for any noise.  Without warning, a beam of red seems to lance out of nowhere and Firin flinches as it disintegrates inches in front of his forehead, the air around his face splashing translucent blue energy.  He's unable to move for a moment, frozen by the surprise and then the realization of what had just happened...if he hadn't picked up that personal shielding device, he'd be dead now, and Rythil along with him.  His eyesight picks up ripples in the air...and finally his brain kicks back in.  He dives behind some plastiform crates, rolling to a stop behind cover.  "Personal camouflage...the Light have really outdone themselves."


Serid glances down the open hallway carefully, not leaving cover and waiting for word from Keshin.  Suddenly he hears Ossanlin's announcement followed by a few shots ringing out from below.  He glances at Ferxal.  <<Change of plans.>>  He pulls one of the impact detonators out and arms it, throwing it down the empty hallway.  All four of his eyes widen as the entire hallway shimmers with ripples in the air as human controllers seem to manifest from nothing, running back down the hallway and diving away from the detonator.  Serid fires a few shots down the hallway after the controllers before ducking back as the detonator explodes, sending powerful shockwaves reverberating down the hallway.  <What in Sky was that?!>

[Chad32]

<I don't believe it.> Ferxal said as he realized how many controllers really were in that hallway, shielded by technology he had never heard of. <Where did those slugs steal that technology from?> Much of the tech Yeerks had were stolen, and it was a commonly held Andalite belief that they never actually invented anything. Ferxal certainly wasn't about to admit the Empire may have created something the Electorate would be jealous of. His stalk eyes scanned the room behind him with suspicion. Who knew if they weren't surrounded already?

<<With the enemy having such camoflauge, we'd have to seal the doors behind us to make sure we weren't atacked from behind, but that would also block our own escape. I'm beginning to think the risk isn't worth the reward here.>> Not that Ferxal would ever withdraw unless ordered.

The Hork-Bajir took cover, wishing he had a dracon. He doubted he would be able to pretend to still be infested, and he had no way to get close to them if they didn't come to him. "What can I do?" He asked Firin.

[Terenia]

Efaen's shoulders stiffen, and she pulls away slightly at the suggestion. "I prefer this form," she says, a little stiltedly. "Surely I can accomplish such tasks in human guise. Claxter knows what this morph looks like." She frowns a little, choosing not to mention the fact that none of the Andalites seemed particularly fond of her human form -- then again, with the possible exceptions of Claxter and Eleric, none of them were too fond of her.

[Chad32]

"No no no. If we're going to let some Human looking person do it, I may as well ask Keslin or Myitt. We want the Andalites to think you're one of them, and they're going to be more comfortable and open to someone who looks Andalite. This is cold, hard truth. Even if Claxter has accepted the fact that you prefer your Human form, it doesn't change the fact that you'd blend in much better looking like them. If you'll give this a chance, I'm sure you'll see quicker results."

Honestly Xevec wasn't sure why she didn't stay in her form. He had heard that morphing and remorphing took a fair amount of energy, and her natural form was quicker and more dangerous. He figured she must not like it due to what happened after her memory was wiped.

[Shenmue654]

"Dammit!" Joanne swears as the red Dracon nearly hits Firin. She immediately ducks behind a crate herself, getting her Dracon into gear and ready to fire. "Hey Hork-Bajir dude, are you okay?!" He looked lokay, Joanne noted. The Dracon looked like it hit something, and he had ducked behind cover. But she wasn't sure. You could never be perfectly sure of anything in a firefight.

Joanne ducks to the side of the crate and fires in the direction the Dracon came from before quickly ducking back behind cover. The lack of visibility is extremely problematic, and there's no way to see their assailants. Before she can think of what to do, however, she can hear a sound or vibration from farther off. She's not sure what it was, but it's obviously not as important as staying alive.

Before she can think, she hears the rapid pounding of feet of a number of Human-Controllers down the hall from Serid's side. Joanne whips around and fires at the chest of one of the incoming group's members, counting on the other two to follow her lead. She then quickly darts back behind cover and into a slightly different position, anticipating return fire.