I heard the chaotic thought-speak voices of crying, dying Andalites in my head.

<Main engines down, we have lost maneuvering power!>

<We’re at dead stop!>

<Break off! Break off! He’s on me!>

I looked down at my display. The StarSword lay helpless, unable to move. Yeerk Bug fighters swarmed around her, firing Dracon beams at maximum power.

The defenses were failing. As I watched, one of the Dome ship’s engines was blown completely away from the ship. An explosion without sound in the vacuum of space.

The Yeerk pool ship sat like a fat spider gloating over its kill. The StarSword was finished. The Yeerks could finish her off at leisure.

But still the warriors aboard the Dome ship fought on. I heard their thought-speak cries to the few remaining Andalite fighters.

<Seerian, watch out! Bug fighter on your tail!>

<Separate the Dome! Give them two targets to deal with!>

And then, <To all fighters. This is the captain. We are beginning self-destruct sequence. Clear the area. If anyone is still alive out there, get clear of the StarSword. We will implode the engines and blow a hole in space. Maybe we can take some of those Bug fighters down with us. Self-destruct in three minutes,> he said heavily, and then added, <We have done our duty.>

Now there was a new ship on my viewscreen. All black. Shaped like some ancient battle-ax.

The Blade ship of a visser.

It swooped in close to the doomed, powerless StarSword. And with its Dracon beams it began to slice away the remaining two engines. The StarSword would not be allowed to self-destruct.

<Fighters! Any fighters, try to draw that Blade ship off!>

The captain’s call went unanswered. There were no fighters left.

So this was the battle the Ellimist wanted me to join. This was where I was supposed to be. I called up ship-to-ship communications. <Hang on, StarSword. I’ll take care of that Blade ship.>

<Who the … who is that?>

<Elfangor. I mean, Aristh Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul.>

<What by all the bloody tails of Crangar are you doing here?>

<It’s a long story, Captain. I hope I’ll have the chance to tell it to you.> I switched channels to broadcast in the open. On a frequency the Yeerks would monitor.

I aimed the fighter straight at the Blade ship. I punched up a nice, medium burn. And then I called up the Blade ship. <Andalite fighter calling the Yeerk visser.>

A Hork-Bajir face appeared on the monitor. “Who are you to call upon the visser? If you are pleading for mercy, I can laugh at you as well as he!”

<Pleading for mercy? Not likely. Tell the visser that an old friend is here to see him. Tell him that Elfangor has come to finish what we began in a vortex, a long time ago.>

In a flash the screen image changed. And there was the Andalite face that had once belonged to War-prince Alloran.

<You!> he cried.

<I have to congratulate you on escaping from that black hole. And I hear you’ve been promoted, Yeerk. Visser Three. Very impressive. But I have to tell you, Yeerk, I am aimed straight for your ship. And in exactly ten seconds I will punch up Maximum Burn. At this distance it will take me less than two seconds to impact your ship.>

<You’re bluffing!>

<Ten … Nine …>

<You’d be killed as well as me.>

<Yes. I would. Seven … Six …>

<All Dracon beams on that fighter!> Visser Three shouted to his crew.

The Blade ship turned to bring its Dracon beams forward where they could be aimed at me.

<You don’t have enough time, Visser,> I said. <And once I punch a Maximum Burn it’ll be too late. Four … Three …>

His main eyes blazed hatred at me.

<Two … One …>

<Get us out of here, top speed!> Visser Three screamed at his helmsman.

The Blade ship’s engines glowed bright and the ship broke away from the StarSword.

<You think you’ve won, Andalite?> Visser Three sneered. <You’re still just one fighter. And your Dome ship is crippled. I’ll swing around, move off, and finish you in my own good time.>

<I wouldn’t swing around just yet, Visser. See, you’ve cost me too much. And I am going to put an end to you right now. Computer? Maximum Burn!>

FWOOOOOSH!

My engines lit up and I was blown back across the fighter’s cramped bridge.

BOOOOOOM!

My fighter hit the neck of the Blade ship, slicing the diamond-shaped bridge away from the rest of the ship.

But I didn’t see that. The impact knocked me out and tore both the fighters’ engines and its shredder completely off.

I should have died.

But I didn’t.

Minutes after I crippled the Blade ship, the Andalite Dome ship TailStrike came out of Zero-space less than a light year away. The Yeerks decided it was time to leave. Their Pool ship put a containment field around the parts of the broken Blade ship and made for Zero-space.

When I woke up, back aboard the StarSword, I was already a hero. The lost aristh who had returned mysteriously, years after disappearing, and had flown his fighter in a bold suicide mission.

I had saved the StarSword. I was made a full warrior. The captain himself told me that I would be a prince within a couple of years.

I had plenty of time, while recovering from my injuries, to figure out what to tell the captain. I considered all sorts of lies. But in the end, I told him everything. I wanted someone to know, now that Loren no longer did.

I told the captain everything … except for the location of the Time Matrix.

When I was done he looked at me for a long time in silence. At last he said, <You realize, Elfangor, that this story will never become public. You are a great hero, and our people need heroes. The details of your story would just confuse the issue.>

<But, Captain, I committed mutiny against War-prince Alloran. I failed to save Arbron. And … and in the end, I ran away.>

He looked at me very seriously. <Young warrior, do you think I don’t know what happened to Alloran? Do you think I don’t know about the Quantum virus he unleashed in the battle for the Hork-Bajir world? Alloran was my friend. When we were young arisths together he was a gentle, decent youngster. And funny! He loved to joke and play tricks.>

<Alloran?> I blurted without thinking.

<Yes. Alloran. But war does terrible things to people. Some it raises to greatness. Others it destroys. You did not mutiny against Alloran. You defended the beliefs he used to hold dear. You stood up for the people.>

It was strange. I felt like crying. But I no longer had human eyes. So I cried the way an Andalite does. Inside. In my hearts.

<As for running away to this Earth place … no one can be brave every minute of every day. No one can be brave all the time. And now you have a second chance. We need warriors like you, Elfangor. Warriors who will not forget why they are fighting. Will you stand by the people in this awful time? Will you fight? Will you be their hero?>

I guess his words should have made me feel good. I had wanted once to be a hero. But now I saw what it meant. I could imagine the price I would have to pay. The things I might have to do. I could feel the weight of it settling down on me like a thousand pound stone.

<Yes, Captain,> I said. <I will fight.>