Yay, Christmas Break is here! And so I had time to write another chapter :)

Edriss 562 was peeved.

She was in her temporary quarters on the Pool ship, pacing impatiently. Esplin had gone to apprehend the Andalite bandits, leaving her to simply wait.

Upon being transferred from her former position as head of the Earth invasion two years a go, she had made it a priority to learn all she could about her replacement. The official records on Esplin 9466 the primary twin gave her the impression of an ambitious, impulsive egotist with very little in the way of finesse or subtlety — in short, exactly the wrong type of person to lead the Earth invasion as far as Edriss was concerned. Subtlety was paramount when attempting to subjugate a race as numerous — and unpredictable — as the humans. But even being first among all Vissers did not give her the power to change the Council's decision on this matter.

Instead, she resigned herself to keeping up with any new information on either Esplin himself or his progress on Earth. Most of these updates were not encouraging, and only served to cement her negative opinion of the Yeerk who now ranked Visser Three. Now, having met him in person for the first time, her worst fears were confirmed. How could the Council have put such a blathering idiot in charge of an entire planet?

Curse the whole lot of them, Edriss thought.

She sighed. The Council's main problem was their emphasis on results above all else. Edriss didn't mind that they prized results. She could give them results, and had done so repeatedly throughout her career. Yet they seemed woefully incapable of discerning those results obtained by skill and cunning from those which had come about primarily by chance. Or, more likely, they deliberately chose to be blind to the difference. Edriss mentally cursed them again. As far as she was concerned, Esplin's claim that he had discovered the humans was exaggerated nonsense. He had simply happened to be the Yeerk in charge of the particular region of the Taxxon world where some humans had arrived, in the custody of a group of Andalites. Far from Esplin discovering the humans, they had more accurately discovered him. He had simply taken advantage of the opportunity this event had presented him. There was no great effort in that; it was merely a case of being in the right place at the right time. It was she, Edriss, who had journeyed into deep space to find the human planet. It was she who had spent all those months searching for it, and then many more months educating herself about the human species and formulating an organized plan to take them over. Compared with her work, Esplin's active efforts toward furthering the cause of the Empire amounted to less than a Helmacron's eyeball.

Yet if Esplin's undeserved rank had been the only thing that plagued her thoughts, it would have been no great matter. He was no real threat to Edriss herself. He would have been a nuisance, nothing more. But for reasons she could never disclose to any other Yeerk, she could not afford to have such an impulsive, violent fool remain in charge of Earth.

For as long as Esplin 9466 controlled operations on Earth, the lives of the human twins Madra and Darwin would be in jeopardy.

How ironic, Edriss noted. A twin is the main threat to my twins. She was hardly in the mood for humor, though, so she let the thought pass.

"Rendat," she said to her personal assistant, Rendat 617, a Hork-Bajir-Controller. "I am concerned that the Council has made a grave mistake assigning Visser Three to his current post. I fear he presents a great risk to the success of our efforts here."

"ONe would think that the Council would have given such a responsibility to someone more ... rational," Rendat agreed.

Edriss smiled. She had always chosen her assistants on the basis of two qualities: significant intelligence and a significant lack of ambition. The former ensured that she would have competent help; the latter that she would have a loyal companion and not a rival striving for one-upmanship. Rendat was ideal on both counts. His own considerable intelligence was augmented by that of his Hork-Bajir seer host, yet he possesed a placid, docile temperament. In addition, he greatly admired Visser One. Edriss knew that most vissers would give their Blade ships to be served by underlings like Rendat, and she recognized her own good fortune in having been able to secure this particular Yeerk's loyalty.

She looked directly at her assistant. "Would you like the chance to prove your loyalty to me, Rendat?"

"I would be honored to do whatever it is you ask, Visser," Rendat replied.

"The Council seems to be unaware of the extent of Visser Three's incompetence. We must make them aware. We must find a way to discredit him. HIs failure up to this point to capture or kill the Andalite bandis has made him look quite the fool. We must ensure that he continues to look foolish. This is where you come in."

Rendat leaned forward expectantly.

"If Visser Three succeeds in bringing the Andalites aboard this ship, you must make sure they escape. Do only the bare minimum. It must appear that they escaped on their own. Above all, do not let any of Visser Three's soldiers suspect what you are up to. Can you do this?"

Rendat touched the fingers of his right hand to his frontmost horn, a Hork-Bajir affirmative gesture. "I will take care of it for you, Visser." He turned to leave.

"If you succeed, I will put in a good word for you with the Council. Oh, and Rendat?"

He paused in the doorway, looking over his shoulder at her. "Yes?"

"Do not fail me."

Rendat nervously touched his horn again and left the room.

Edriss sighed. Though she knew Rendat's loyalty to his visser was unquestionable, she also knew that it never hurt to have your subordinates fear you. A leader would garner the most respect if she ruled with a skillful balance of both threats and kindness.

If Esplin actually managed to capture the bandits, Rendat would ensure their time in custody was short. Either way, by the end of Edriss's visit, the bandits would still be at large, and perhaps the Council would begin to question Esplin's ability to effectively lead a planetary invasion in the face of such a resistance.

No matter what, Edriss vowed to herself, she would see to it that Esplin would one day be removed from his current position. She simply could not allow otherwise.

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~Salad Shooter `Ô›