Chapter 1 -Sklish

2 0 0
                                    

My name is Sklish.
That's what my "friends" call me, atleast. It's a nickname of sort, my full name is Sklish 7221.
I guess its understandable why they never bothered with the number bit, it's strange calling a friend by a number if you're not used to it. See, my friends, if you can even call them that, they're human, and andalite, and various other species. Their peoples don't really organize themselves with numbers. Infact, i found their naming systems weird when I first met them. I guess it really depends on where you come from.
I'm a yeerk, If you couldn't tell. There are few, if any other intelligent species out there who organize themselves with numbers, so it probably wasn't hard to figure out. You already know what a yeerk is by now, so, I won't delve too much into what I am. Just know that, compared to whatever you are, we are vastly different. You, most likely have eyes, probably a mouth, and sense of smell, You have legs, and arms, a tail, or wings, it doesn't really matter what youve got. I however, have next to none of those things. See, unlike an andalite, or human, yeerks aren't very complex. Biologically speaking. By comparison, we are about the length of an earth animal know as a rat, but, we resemble a Slug. A very, large, slug. Without the senses of sight or smell, or anything other than hearing really.
Now, you may be thinking, 'wow, so, you're just a little slug? No eyes or limbs, nothing? Wow, that must suck.'
Be rest assured dear reader, that is quite the contrary. One thing I've found myself constantly having to deal with, is people, whether they be human, andalite, horkbajir, (you get it) always seem to think my being a yeerk is some kind of hindrance. A burden even. Now, you may be wondering, why exactly is this prevalent? Why go on this whole little rant here, for no apparent reason?
Easy, I'm just putting into perspective what the past 5 months have been like whilst me and a few of my companions have been aboard the andalite Dome ship, the Jareson.

See, I've come to notice that many people do not realize what their own physical, mental, or emotional experiences are not universal to everyone. For example, the other day, I was conversating with one of the andalite scientists on board, and he wouldn't shut up about about how it must be terrible to live a life without vision and tail. So, I gave him a hypothetical.

"Okay, say, you're born as a normal andalite. You can walk around, and go about daily life just fine, but, you have zero cultural influences and you are given basic knowledge about the world. But, you have no tail. You are taught, that you are what a typical andalite is like. Now, imagine, there is another andalite, in the same circumstances as you, however, they do have a tail. They taught the same things you are, and you both are practically identical. Except, this andalite is born with a tail. And, they completely blind. In addition, they are never taught that vision was a concept to begin with, just as you were taught that not having a tail was normal.
One day, you are both introduced to one another, and you say, 'it must be terrible not being able to see' to which andalite number 2 responds 'what's see?'
At the same time, andalite 2 says, 'it must be hard not having a tail.' And you respond, 'what's a tail?' "

After giving my little hypothetical, the scientist promptly excused himself, as he, in his own words, "Have other things to attend to."
That, was the funniest thing that's happened to me so far on this trip.

Anyways, continuing on,
I was currently sat in my personal quarters, aka, a small, 10x10 foot blank metal room I sat in almost every hour of every day. Wether it be lounging in my portable pool, reading through digital files, or just watching the blank void of Z-zpace pass by, I always found it unsettling in the most comfortable of ways. Having free time is novelty in my books, during the war on earth, we seldom had a few weeks of rest time before the next life threatening mission. Nowadays, I would've given a days worth of Kandrona for an excuse just to walk around anywhere outside of my quarters.
Ofcourse, I had free reign practically anywhere on the ship, but, I learned rather quickly that other passengers tend to have very obvious staring problems. Especially considering my main mode of transportation is my human morph. I would morph andalite, but, let's just say I was very rudely informed that it was a very.. taboo morph if you will considering me being a yeerk.
Sure, I may have sent someone to the hospital bay that day, but, I took their word of advice and closeted the morph. I may have been on the andalites side during the war, but they aren't exactly treating me with such kindness as I had them.
Oh, yes, if that also wasn't apparent, I have the ability to morph. A little trait I gained during the war that's been helpful on more than one occasion.

Pushing myself up and away from the window looking out into the blank white of Z-space, I stretched legs, and glanced over to my desk. The holographic monitor screen sat idle and open, displaying some article about andalite flora. Huffing to myself, I turned my gaze to the doors of my room, debating on what my next course of action would be, when the suddenly shot open without warning.
Stood there in at the foot of my quarters, was the poorly illuminated silhouette of an andalite. Tall, but rather stout, the figure stepped his way into my room, where I finally recognized the form infront of me. War prince Kalem-Shimint-Mantral, a dear aquintence of mine.
He stepped widely into my room, with no regard as to the space his tail was taking up, mind, you, greeting me with a nod.
"So, first you give me a heart attack, then you make yourself right at home then? Very professional, Prince."
I sneered, pretending to be suddenly infatuated with whatever was on my computer monitor.
<Funny, I see your spirits are still as high as your bitterness, ...>
He said, pausing to considering somthing at the end of his statement, seemingly decideding against said thing.
Andalite expressions may be subtle, but not subtle enough to escape my notice.
"Hm, I wouldn't call it bitterness, persay.. perhaps, resentment is a better word wouldn't you say?" I chuckled, fake typing at my keypad.
<Well, that does have a better ring to it doesn't it? None the less, I'm not here for banter, Sklish.> He said, sounding as cold as normal.
I turned to face him now, taking note of where his tail was, arched loosely over his flank.
"How come I had a feeling you were gonna something like say that? The great prince Kalem always was too serious for jokes ey? Heh, what do you want me for this time?"
I asked, looking him up and down. Nothing had changed about him in the last year or two, save for the noticeablely shorter fur running along his neck and backs.
Kalem, in some sense, was a blocky looking man, stood at about 6 foot (human measurements of simplicity sake) generously, his frame looking far too thin to be considered healthy. Covering the dark Grey fur of right arm and the base of his tail sat dark colored multi-laced metal braces which allowed for enhanced movement and motor capabilities. The fur on his deer-like ears and most covering the top of his head was dyed a vibrant, burning pink, highly contrasting against the grey of the rest of his body. His eyes, sharp almond shaped eyes were each overlapped by two twin dark blue scars tracing down from his eye stalks to the start of his chest.
<Oh, it's not me who wants you this time, nor, anytime previously, Orion told me to come and fetch and bring you to the dome. Apparently, he wants us all to have, what he called, a "Hang out day.">
Kalem responded, taking a moment to glance at my pool in the far corner of the room,
"Well, that's Orion for you I guess haha, not one to let friends grow too distant."
I said, staring sternly at my pool in turn,
< Indeed, well, unless you have something you're doing, I'll be making my way back to the dome. You're free to join me.>
He said,
Wide stepping toward me, then turning clumsily and making his way for the door.
"Ill race you there if you're up for it." I joked, following out of my quarters and into the very brightly lit hallways of the ship.
<Haha, we both know how that would turn out, don't we?>
"Obviously I'd win. I have two less legs to worry about, or a clunky tail."
<Yes well, if I were a scientist, I'd love to test this argument. And my tail is not clunky.>

We continued our back and forth as we made our way for the dome.

The legacy of 721 Where stories live. Discover now