He awoke to a cloudy image of a Hork-Bajir standing over him—and an incredible pain shooting through his back.

‹Where am I?›

"The Pool ship's medical bay," said the Hork-Bajir, and Esplin recognized Hekliss's voice. "Good to see you awake. You're the one we were worried about. Say what you want about Hork-Bajir, but we generally have hardier constitutions than you Andalites. Of course, all the Taxxons are dead—and we lost almost everyone in the shipboard pool."

Then it all came rushing back to him.

‹I'm alive,› he said in amazement. ‹Elfangor rammed my ship and I'm alive!› He laughed wildly.

"Yes, congratulations, you've survived yet another mishap with a spacecraft," Hekliss said testily. "They don't know if they'll be able to repair your host though—"

‹Of course we can. I can do it myself. All I have to do is morph and it will be as good as new,› he realized. ‹And then we will hunt Elfangor down and we will find out what happened to the Time Matrix and—How soon will my ship be repaired, by the way?›

"Esplin, the entire bridge got snapped off in the collision. That's not going to be fixed overnight."

That cooled his excitement a little. But not much. Aldrea, his original nemesis, no longer existed—but now Elfangor had stepped in to fill the void. Elfangor, who knew perfectly well who and what Esplin was—who had, in fact, just managed to wipe out half his crew! Certainly this Andalite would not be destroyed so easily.

And when Esplin did manage to defeat him at last ... maybe then he would finally get his hands on the Time Matrix.

Since there wasn't much else for him to do while the Blade ship underwent repairs, Esplin went ahead and sent the message regarding his twin brother to Visser Two.

And very promptly got a response.

‹Request denied? Request denied? What by all the bloody tails of Crangar is he doing that's so important he cannot spare a single Controller?›

"I don't think it's that he can't spare anyone," Hekliss pointed out. "I think it's more personal. Remember, you served under him when you were just a sub-visser. He's only seen the one promotion in all that time, and now you've almost caught up to him. You're no longer his protégé. You're his rival."

‹You mean he's pulling rank on me while he still can.›

"Exactly."

‹Curse that dapsen,› Esplin fumed, pacing angrily. Then he turned to Hekliss. ‹Well he's right. I am his rival. And I guarantee you I'll outrank him soon enough. Then I'll order him to send me more troops.›

Once the Blade ship was restored to operating condition, they immediately returned to the Andalite world, where the first thing Esplin did was head for the military academy in kafit bird morph.

‹Computer: Access personnel records. State the current status of Aristh Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul.›

‹Aristh not found. Search all records for Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul?›

‹Yes, yes, get on with it.›

‹Found one match: Warrior Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. Current location: Dome ship StarSword. Awaiting next assignment.›

So Elfangor had been promoted. That wasn't surprising. ‹Current location of the StarSword?›

‹Sector 4, system 102745.›

That was all he needed to know. He began to flap his six wings to gain altitude when suddenly another question struck him: Now that Elfangor was back in contact with the Andalite military … were they aware that there was now an Andalite-Controller in existence?

‹Computer: State the current status of War-Prince Alloran-Semitur-Corrass.›

‹Record not available.›

Esplin would have laughed if he could. Oh yes, they knew—and of course their stubborn Andalite pride wouldn't allow them to make it a matter of public record. But word would travel quickly enough. Soon there would be hardly an Andalite on the planet who didn't know of Alloran's fate.

‹One last thing,› he said. ‹What is the current status of fighter AF20-07752-1?›

‹Confirmed destroyed.›

He'd suspected as much, but now he was sure. As long as he stayed away from the spaceports, he should be able to keep returning to this planet in the Jahar unmolested. The Andalites certainly wouldn't be keeping an especial lookout for a ship they believed to have fallen victim to a black hole.

So far, everything seemed to be going according to plan.

‹Shoot him, shoot him!› Esplin screeched as the Blade ship swerved through a sea of battling fighters.

"What do you mean, shoot him? We'll hit the Desbadeen ship!"

‹I. Do. Not. Care! Shoot! Shoot! Never mind, he got away. Again. I swear, all of you are utterly useless.› He glared at Hekliss. ‹Especially you. You do this every time! What's so special about a Desbadeen tanker that was worth letting Elfangor's fighter escape?›

Hekliss glared back. "The Desbadeen are officially neutral—but if we damage their ship, they might not be so neutral anymore!"

‹Fine! Bring the ship around then. Let's see if we can still overtake him!›

‹I really need you to stop doing that,› Esplin said privately to Hekliss after the battle.

"What?" she shot back. "Stop reminding you that not everyone you encounter is an enemy?"

‹Well, stop questioning my judgment, yes! Especially in front of other Yeerks. You're undermining discipline.›

"Really now."

‹Yes. And you really should be referring to me by my rank in public.›

Hekliss sighed. "Since when did you become so concerned about keeping up appearances?"

‹Since I had to be in charge of so many other Yeerks besides you,› Esplin insisted. ‹I can certainly handle you giving me grief occasionally. What I don't want to deal with are dozens of low-ranks who think they can do the same. Iniss is already bordering on insufferable.›

"Iniss was insufferable in the first place."

‹Can you at least try to make my life a little easier for once?› he said exasperatedly.

"Need I remind you that I'm one of the reasons you still have a life?"

‹You've proved yourself useful in the past,› he allowed grudgingly.

Hekliss looked smug.

‹That doesn't mean you don't cause me problems. And this is definitely a problem.›

"Fine then, Visser. I'll try to remember to call you that. But please, for the love of all the Kandrona shines on try not to drag us into unnecessary wars. One is definitely enough."

As the years went by, Elfangor continued to be an elusive quarry. An Andalite Dome ship was a formidable opponent, and Elfangor himself had become quite the skilled fighter pilot.

Of course, after the disappointment he'd gone through with Aldrea, Esplin was in no hurry to actually kill Elfangor. No, he wanted to capture him, to hold him prisoner aboard ship, possibly even use him as an alternate host body … which meant he couldn't simply wreak wanton destruction in battle. He had to be more careful.

Occasionally Elfangor would be sent back to the Andalite home world on leave. There, he theoretically should have been an easy target—except that Esplin couldn't figure out how to apprehend him without alerting the Andalite population to a Yeerk presence on their world. Which was too valuable of a secret to give away just yet.

What he could do, however, was spy on Elfangor directly, hoping the young warrior would give away some clue about the location of the Time Matrix.

But Elfangor seemed primarily interested in domestic activities while he was home: visiting his parents, running through the fields of his family's grazing land—and, interestingly enough, visiting Alloran's family on occasion. Evidently, Elfangor still felt some responsibility for Alloran's capture, for he frequently offered to assist Alloran's wife with various mundane duties.

Still, Esplin found returning to the Andalite world to be well worth his while. Besides keeping an eye on Elfangor, he was able to resume his earlier spying activities, keeping the Empire further updated on the enemy's military movements as well as their advances in technology.

And he eventually realized there was something else he could do …

"So what are we doing here?" Hekliss asked.

All she knew was that Esplin had inexplicably demanded they take the Jahar to the Andalite planet's largest moon. Instead of actually landing on the moon, however, the ship was currently hovering several dozen feet in midair. This was due to the fact that there was nowhere to land, for a vast wind-tossed ocean stretched as far as the eye could see.

Esplin opened the hatch. ‹We are here because I need better morphs.›

"Better morphs? Why?"

‹Because Elfangor and I are about equally matched in tail-fighting ability, and he's just as morph-capable as I am. I need to ensure I can easily defeat him the next time we meet face to face.›

Hekliss stared out at the dark, roiling waves. "But why would you come here for morphs? There's nothing here."

‹That's where you are wrong. You cannot see it from here, but these oceans are teeming with life. Including a powerful beast the Andalites call a Mardrut. Iniss, come here.›

"You're going to go into the water?" Hekliss said incredulously.

‹I'm not. Not yet anyway.› He tossed Iniss a roll of cable—the very same cable that he and Elfangor had used to retrieve the Time Matrix, in fact. The wiring in the Jahar had long since been replaced. ‹Tie this around yourself and jump out.›

"What?" Iniss yelped. "I'm not going out there!"

‹Yes, you are. We need something to draw the Mardrut to us.›

"You're using me as bait?"

‹I don't exactly have a fresh supply of aquatic prey animals,› Esplin snapped.

"But—but—" Iniss stammered. "Why does it have to be me?"

‹Because I said so!› exploded the visser in exasperation. ‹Now do it. Or I'll morph the Lerdethak and throw you out myself.›

Muttering darkly, Iniss looped the cable around his Hork-Bajir body and knotted it securely. He shot a hesitant look toward the hatch—and the ominous-looking waves beyond it.

‹Don't be such a coward, you're covered in blades. If the Mardrut did try to eat you you'd just cut up its mouth.›

"Look at it this way," added Hekliss. "You get to join the glorious ranks of those who have taken a fall from a ship ... and if you remember, others have had it much worse than you. You're not falling fifteen thousand feet."

Iniss did not look comforted at all.

‹When you hear it coming—and it will be very obvious—just yank on the cable and Hekliss will reel you in. Now get out.›

Iniss stepped tentatively up to the edge of the hatch. He hesitated, glancing fearfully below ... and Esplin finally lost all patience. He whapped Iniss on the shoulder with the flat of his blade and sent him tumbling out into space.

Hekliss cast a dubious look toward Esplin. "So what are we going to do when this sea monster of yours comes after him?"

‹We're going to shoot it, of course. But carefully. I don't want it dead. That would ruin the whole point.›

"Can this creature even travel on land at all?"

‹No.›

"Then why are we going to all this trouble for you to acquire it?"

‹Better to have water-going morphs and not need them than to need them and not have them,› Esplin pointed out. ‹I want to be prepared for anything. And this is the most powerful creature in this system.›

Hekliss decided to let the matter drop. He had a point, she supposed, and anyway it was too late to turn back now.

They didn't have very long to wait, for there soon came a frantic tug on the cable—and then a deep booming sound:

WHUMP, WHUMP, WHUMP.

‹There's our Mardrut!› Esplin yelled as he swung the Jahar's shredders around, aiming them toward the dark hump that now crested above the waves, advancing steadily toward them with each WHUMP.

"Great dapsen! That ghafrash thing is huge!" Hekliss yelped, momentarily forgetting to pull on the cable. "It's even bigger than a Lerdethak—"

‹Will you be quiet? I am trying to focus!›

As the Mardrut approached, Esplin locked on to the foremost of the three water-filled sacs which propelled the monster inexorably forward.

TSSSSSEEEEEEWWWWWWW!

Buh-looooossssssssshhhhhhhhhh!

The Mardrut exploded backward, spraying water everywhere.

‹Got it!› Esplin yelled triumphantly.

"I see that! Congratulations! Now will you come give me a hand?"

Esplin went to help her, and within seconds they were hauling an extremely waterlogged Iniss aboard the ship. As the latter coughed and sputtered, Esplin hurriedly untied him, then dragged the cable off to one side, where he began to fashion a sort of harness for his own Andalite body. After that, it was a simple matter of lowering him down far enough to acquire the Mardrut, then pulling him back up.

Ultimately, no one was worse for the wear, not even Iniss, though he swore up and down under his breath that he would never do such a thing again. But he was quite wrong. For in the midst of chasing Elfangor around the galaxy, the Blade ship began to stop off at various planets just so that Esplin could add to his ever-growing collection of morphs. And of course, he would have none of Iniss's protests.

Eventually, though, Esplin discovered a far less hazardous way to acquire morphs. The Skrit Na, those roving traders of the galaxy, had a penchant for collecting animals from various worlds to display in zoos on their home world, and they would allow guests to handle them for a small fee …

Though the gray, four-legged Na loped along the curving corridor with ease, Esplin had to duck to avoid banging his stalk eyes, while behind him Hekliss actually had to crouch. The Skrit Na freighter, though larger than the typical raider ships of their kind, still felt quite cramped with its low ceilings and narrow passageways. And so Esplin had chosen to bring no one besides his sister, for it would only have made things more crowded.

At long last, they reached a relatively large, dome-shaped room where various cages and tanks were arranged rather haphazardly. Esplin and Hekliss gratefully stretched to their full height.

"Here are our live specimens, Yeerk friend," the Na announced, rearing up on two legs and waving his arm about the room. "As you can see, we have quite a variety at this time."

Then Hekliss saw something that made her leap back in alarm. "Oh dapsen, they've got a Vanarx!"

‹They've got a what?›

"A Vanarx," Hekliss said impatiently. "A Yeerkbane. Our only natural predator. Haven't you seen the simulations? They can latch on to a host's ear and suck the Yeerk right out! At least they can do it to Gedds—and I'm not interested in finding out whether it will work on any other hosts."

Esplin considered for a moment … then a devious look came into his eyes. ‹I want to see it.›

The Na obligingly turned to open the Vanarx's cage.

"What—no—Esplin, have you gone mad? Leave that infernal thing in its cage!"

‹I'm going to acquire it,› he told her. ‹It will put it into a trance.›

"Acquire it? Why would you ever want a Vanarx morph?!"

‹The same reason I took an Andalite host.› He reached in and placed his hand on the Vanarx's vaguely translucent purple skin. ‹An enemy becomes far less threatening once you can become that enemy.›

"Well, I sincerely hope you don't plan on ever using this morph … !"

‹Of course not. I just want to have it.› He looked thoughtful for a moment. ‹Although … it would be quite an effective threat, don't you think? "Do what I say—or I'll morph the Vanarx and eat you!"› He broke off into maniacal laughter.

"Esplin, you're really starting to scare me."

‹That's the idea. With some Yeerks, fear is the only way to keep them in line.› He suddenly looked sober. ‹I don't need any of my subordinates getting up the nerve to try and assassinate me again.›

Hekliss squinted at him. "You're still worried about that?"

‹It already happened once,› he insisted. ‹I'll do everything in my power to ensure it never happens again.›

"But you're invincible, remember?" she quipped. "Nothing can kill you. Not even a black hole."

Esplin barked out a laugh.

"Besides, that was a long time ago. You have a reputation now—with that Andalite host, you're intimidating enough as it is."

‹We can only hope.›