Animorphs Fan Fiction ❯ The Daughter ❯ Controller ( Chapter 9 )

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I’m so sorry it’s been so long.
We pulled away from each other, and Daren glared at the door. “You know,” he said, “I don’t think I like them very much.” I laughed as pulled myself to my feet. The pounding on the door got louder, and I figured we had about five minutes before they managed to pound their way through. I dug into the crate that I’d gotten my dracon beam from, and tossed another one to Daren. He caught it, and then stared at it like it was some kind of rare bug or something. “Okay,” he said, lifting an eyebrow, “you’ve already shown that you know how to work these things, but I’ve never held one in my life.” I sighed in mock-impatience.
“Hold it like this,” I instructed, showing him. “Now, aim, and press this little button.”
“Oh. Pretty simple,” Daren said. I gave him a curious look.
“Your father works in Intelligence, and you don’t know how to shoot a dracon beam?” I asked, slightly unbelieving.
“Hey, it’s not my fault. Dad never brings stuff home. Your Uncle’s work is his home, so he’d have to teach you. Otherwise, knowing you, you’d try and figure it out by yourself.”
“Actually, I did. Try and figure it out by myself, I mean. When I was ten, I snuck into the arms lockers. I got caught, but the upside was that Uncle got the security officer to teach me how to use all the stuff that was in there.” The pounding stopped. A few seconds later, the door began to glow red and dematerialize.
“I guess they got tired of waiting,” Daren said, and I laughed. We waited. The door was gone within thirty seconds. Smoke hung thick in the air as the two Hork-Bajir stepped through. They looked around, and one of them spotted us. But before either of them could do anything, we both fired. Full stun blasts hit both Hork-Bajir in the chest, and both of them collapsed. “You know,” Daren said, putting down the dracon beam and kneeling beside one of them, “that was almost too easy.”
“Don’t say that,” I told him, crouching on the other side of the Hork-Bajir. “If you say it’s too easy, the fates will decide to throw a rock in our path.” We acquired the two Hork-Bajir, took their uniforms and locked them in one of the rooms down the hall. Then we morphed. It was weird, and I kept forgetting that I had a tail. We put on the uniforms, and walked off down the hall. After about three minutes, we hit busier halls and corridors. As we walked along, we got more and more confident, more sure that our plan was going to work. We got to the end of the hall we were in, and stopped dead. The next hall was packed wall to wall, and everyone was going the same way. Which just happened to the exact opposite of the direction we wanted to go.
<They’re all going to the Yeerk Pool,> Daren said, in a grim voice.
<Can we get to the landing field from there?> I asked, watching the mass of people.
<Yeah, there’s the entrance I used,> he replied.
<Okay then, go with the flow,> I said, striding out into the rush. Daren followed. The current of people pushed us along, going steadily. Then, with a sudden rush, we entered the Yeerk Pool. My Uncle once described the Yeerk Pool that had been on Earth. This place had the same cries for help, the same caged hosts, the same stench. And the same aura of despair. There were at least a hundred Hork-Bajir. Naturally, Taxxons were everywhere. There were even one or two human-Controllers. As we looked, we heard a sound behind us. We turned to see Visser Three striding towards the Pool, with everyone scrambling to get out of his way. Following at a respectful distance was a detail of Hork-Bajir guards. The Visser went to the pier. When he stopped, the guard surrounded him. He knelt at the edge and lowered his head. The moment the Yeerk was out of his head, Alloran-Semitur-Corass, his host and disgraced Andalite war prince, reared high. Two guards grabbed his arms and hauled downwards.
<No!> he yelled in thoughtspeach and tried to throw them off, as one advanced with an injection of sedative. Maybe, if he’d had the upper body strength of a human or stronger he might have been able to shift them, just enough to have done some good. But as it was, the Hork-Bajir pulled him down and sedated him. As he was dragged off, the rest of the world continued to go about their lives as if nothing had happened. But I stood there, lost in thought. Another crazy plan was forming, slowly, in my mind. Capturing Alloran had been one of the greatest tactical victories the Yeerks had achieved. It had provided them with invaluable knowledge of how to fight the Andalite people, as well as the capabilities of Andalite technology. The same would be true of his escape.
<Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?> Daren asked. I kept looking straight ahead.
<I you think I’m thinking that we should try to free Alloran, then yes, I’m thinking what you think I’m thinking,> I replied.
<Oh good. Because that’s what I was thinking,> he said casually. I was surprised, but I hid it.
<C’mon,> I said, starting towards one of the doors that led out of the Pool. <Let’s go figure out an actual plan.>
<We. Are. Crazy,> Daren said, following me. <Not,> he added, <that there’s anything wrong with that.>