trans_9 | Sharing Notes

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Sharing Notes

As stated in the channel, Kang left the door to the storeroom open, sitting down in a chair he'd dragged over from the tavern. His tail lashed a bit every now and then as he waited for Rhiow; he hated this whole yeerk mess, for more reasons than the headaches it was causing finding a solution, and wanted it taken care of as soon as possible.

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It had been a long day - and longer days still were promised. Rhiow was tired and wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep somewhere, but Kang's message on the omnicomm reminded her that she didn't work alone anymore.

She didn't have the luxury of the time it would take to walk, so Rhiow appeared with a bang! in front of the tavern. As per Kang's instructions, she trotted around to the building on the side.

Once through the door, she turned to it and spoke quietly, "Shut, if you would, and it would also be nice if you could fuse for the time being. Here's some energy- the drain on her resources tugged a little harder after the short-jump.

Rhiow surveyed the room, looking for something she could jump up on, and finally leapt atop some kegs stacked near Kang's chair. "Let's make this quick, shall we? I'm in dire need of a nap."

Kang slumped a bit in his seat and muttered, "I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep tonight, honestly."

He sighed. "You first, or me?"

Rhiow flopped over onto her side and began to groom. "You go first. I need to get my thoughts organized."

It would take quite a long time to get the Yeerk's false bodies to a state where they were useable, and that meant keeping Karen a secret for a long time.

"Well, that friendship is intact. So far. She's still not happy with me," Kang began, wings held lower than usual. "She was a controller herself for several years, and she's very protective of Tom."

He bit back a curse. "And speaking of Tom, I spoke with him earlier without Iniss present. I'm wishing I hadn't now, because I didn't think about how hard it would be for him to put the yeerk back in his head after three weeks of freedom. He... he feels like he doesn't matter, and that everyone else thinks he's insane or wants Iniss to stay because he's honoring the agreement."

"Tom needs us to speed up our timetable," Rhiow said. She'd sensed something of the same kind when she spoke to him earlier - he had been mostly silent, unusual for him. "This status quo is unacceptable and we need to move faster on the bodies for Iniss, Schmuz and-"

Rhiow cut herself off, her tail lashing. Most of the time she was sure she could trust Kang, but he had children of his own. You never knew how a father was going to react to abuses to children. "Did you know there was another Yeerk on board?"

Kang nodded in agreement, and when Rhiow asked her question, he sat up straight, surprised, and let out a string of curses, "Just what we need. What is their designation? Who are they in?"

Kang's sudden movement surprised her - she was already on edge - and her claws shot out into the wood of the cask she sat on. She knew he was going to react this way.

"She's called Aftran," Rhiow said. "Iniss tells me she was the start of a peace movement among his species - a refusal to take unwilling hosts. When you think about them in their natural state, it's surprising. And admirable."

What was less admirable was Aftran's current choice of host, but Rhiow wasn't sure there was a way around it besides to move as quickly as possible developing bodies. "Currently, her host is a girl named Karen. A human girl." Rhiow hesiated. "A young child, actually."

"...a peace movement. That's good news," Kang relaxed slightly, but not all the way. He didn't like the idea of a child being a controller at all. "I take it you've gotten a chance to talk to her already. Who else knows about her? And how young is the girl?"

No, Rhiow was sure he wouldn't like the fact that Karen was so young. "Very. Not much more than a kit in human terms. Six suns-round? Maybe? I suggested Aftran relinquish control to let Karen play with kids her age, and was agreeable to it. It looks promising."

Except for the fact that... well, Karen was still a child.

"That's far too young," Kang frowned. "Do you know if Aftran would be willing to stay in another, older host until she has her own body? It may be problematic finding someone willing, but I'd prefer Karen to be free as soon as possible."

"Who would we find?" Rhiow asked. "That was my first thought as well, but who on the ship would volunteer to host Aftran - that we could trust not to kill her?"

Rhiow narrowed her eyes, tucking her paws in under her chest. She disliked this more and more. "What is Iniss afraid of?" she asked suddenly. "He acts like he's being hunted. Who are his enemies?"

A small part of Kang wanted to offer himself, but it was a horrible idea for him to do it, even if Aftran was trustworthy, and he knew it. He was a Councilor.

He was also reluctant to tell Rhiow the names of the Animorphs, or Eva, unless it was necessary. "People from his world. War tends to foster hate."

Rhiow stretched out her claws and began to methodically tear into the wood of the cask, sharpening them. There was hauishh starting, she could feel it - and she'd never been a very adept player. Too aggressive, Yafh said.

She would have to learn.

"We're not here to hate each other. We're here to trust each other."

Battle built trust, but so did working on a problem as a team. That's why Rhiow had run for Council. Working with the crew was like working with wizards. You had so many specialists, and most of them were convinced they knew the problem better, but if you could put them together there was nothing they couldn't solve.

"You try telling them to even try to trust most of this ship. They're paranoid as all hell, and I don't think anything will ever change that," Kang said dryly. The wood was thick enough to survive cat claws, so he wasn't worried about losing anything.

"Iniss and Aftran have more to fear than any of them, I'm sure," Rhiow said. She kept her tail curled firmly against her side, and began cleaning her newly-sharp claws. "I wouldn't have told you about her if I didn't think you would know how to handle it. You don't trust me, suddenly? When did that happen?"

Kang's wings rustled. "It's not that I don't trust you, Rhiow. I'm reluctant to violate their trust in me, the small amount that it is. And, speaking of that, there is something else I wanted to discuss with you." He might as well, given their location.

"This doesn't leave this room. A few of them work for me. I have a small spy network, for use during missions or when suspicious things happen on Stacy, and I am extending an invitation to you to join it." He quirked an eyebrow ridge at her. "Your skills would be invaluable."

"If I'll be working with them then I need to know who they are," Rhiow said. "Are you sure they'd want to work with me?"

A spy network. Something like that didn't exist in her culture - you shared tongues with someone or you didn't. You knew someone's business, or you didn't. And if you really wanted to find out someone's business, it was fairly easy.

"They'll be suspicious of you at first, like they are with everyone, but I know you're trustworthy. I wouldn't have told you about this if I didn't think so," Kang snorted softly. "As for who we have currently... Marco, Rachel, and Aximili."

"The people who most want to see Iniss dead," Rhiow said flatly. "You expect me to turn my back on them, like they aren't going for the throat? I defend their most hated enemy. I don't have to know their history to read, Kang, they've been very vocal."

She had often wondered what kind of force it would take to combat something like a Yeerk. She imagined they would have to be something like a Person. Covert. It made sense.

"Ask them first," she said. "Tell me what they say. I'm not going to say no, because if you need me I'll be glad to help you when you need it. But I feel like you need me to be answerable to you. In case."

Kang sat in silence for a few seconds, the tip of his tail moving a bit against the floor. "I really don't blame you, Rhiow. I'll talk with them about it and let you know what they say as soon as possible. Everything that they say." He wanted her to be on the same page, and know exactly their feelings on her.

"I don't want to deny you the help," Rhiow said. "You're a friend, Hh'ann, one of my best here. I just want to make sure we won't be working at cross-purposes when it's more important we work together."

Smiling slightly, Kang looked down at the ground, "The feeling is very mutual, on both counts."

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