The Esplin Chronicles: Planet Ondar Page 7 (Chapter 4)

 His hooves struck the ground with resolute certainty, his tail blade swinging lazily behind him. The alien air stung, sharp and metallic, yet he inhaled it without hesitation. His stalk eyes surveyed the horizon. This world throbbed with life. That much was clear. Life and perhaps something more. >Establish a perimeter,< he commanded.

The initial days on Ondar were marked by ruthless slaughter.

The Yeerks set up their base near the plateau caves. Taxxons were unleashed upon the forests to strip them of their foliage, their gnashing mandibles turning vibrant bark into mush. The Gedds transformed the recently deforestated areas into yeerk pools.

The Hork-Bajir captured local creatures for study, dragging them alive into containment where alien cries echoed until they were silenced.

The Ondarilites, the indigenous species were soon discovered.

They were tall, six-limbed entities, with bodies made of flexible chitin that glowed softly with the same luminescence as their forests. Their heads were triangular, their eyes large and multifaceted, and their voices produced a clicking melody that resonated across distances. They fiercely resisted capture, wielding crystalline staves that erupted with bursts of energy when struck against the ground or air. However, their resistance was short-lived in the face of Hork-Bajir blades and dracon beams.

Holding cells were filled. The Visser personally inspected the prisoners.

The Ondarilites huddled together, their glowing skin pulsing faintly like stars breathing. Their clicking voices rose in unison as he drew near, rhythmic and sharp, resembling a song of defiance.

The Visser remained silent. He merely observed them.

Soon afterward, the experiments commenced.

The initial attempt to infest an Ondarilite ended violently. The Yeerk slithered into its ear canal, but the creature’s luminous chitin pulsed, glowed and then exploded in a burst of energy, incinerating both host and parasite into ash.

The second attempt lasted longer. The Ondarilite screamed for hours before it finally perished. 

The third trial resulted in the Yeerk dissolving from within, as if the body itself consumed the intruder.

By the tenth experiment, the yeerk pool’s cavern reeked of burnt flesh and charred stone. The scientists grew increasingly uneasy. 

Yet Visser Thirty-Two remained unmoved. He observed each failure with a stoic expression, his stalk eyes twitching slightly,  fixed on the disintegration of bodies.

At last, he entered the chamber himself.

>Leave!< he commanded the scientist’s.

The everyone complied immediately, some visibly relieved.

Visser approached the final Ondarilite, still trapped within its containment unit. It clicked weakly, its luminous eyes fixed on him with a blend of fear and fury.

His hand pressed against the containment unit’s window. The Ondarilite recoiled. 

>Your own bodies resist us.<

 The Visser smiled with his stalk eyes faintly. <Intriguing.<

The foundational expanse of the plateau surged with fervent activity. Bug Fighters traversed repeatedly in a consistent cycle, transporting prisoners, biological specimens, and depleted crystal resources in their wake. Tendrils of smoke ascended into Ondar’s violet atmosphere, rendering the clouds a deep, bruised black. The once resplendent forests, previously vibrant arteries of luminescence, now resembled fractured glass amidst the flames.

However, beneath the superficial layer, the planet’s inhabitants steadfastly refused to capitulate.

The Ondarilites had acquired significant wisdom. They strategically eschewed direct engagement with Hork-Bajir blades and Taxxon mandibles. Instead, they executed their strikes from the shadows, employing their crystal weaponry to collapse subterranean caverns, contaminate nutrient reservoirs, and incapacitate patrols with blinding bursts of radiant light. Entire contingents of Controllers vanished into the forests without a trace.

Visser Thirty-Two exhibited zero tolerance for such insubordination.

Every infraction was met with severe retribution. A human-Controller who returned without his squad was executed forthwith. A Taxxon that exhibited cowardice in combat was fed, while still alive, to its insatiable brethren. Even the Hork-Bajir were not exempt from his rage those who faltered in the heat of battle found their throats severed by his lethal tail blade before the remaining forces.

Fear solidified into the very essence of the base and a fear, coupled with his unwavering presence.

Yet, despite the brutal efficacy of his regime, rumors began to circulate.

The soldiers engaged in discussions regarding the devastation. They speculated about the enigmatic entity that had manifested for him. They murmured of shadows that exhibited autonomous movement, of a presence that observed them from the cave walls. Taxxons hissed with increasing frequency, their bodies quivering in agitation. Even the most battle-hardened Controllers manifested restlessness, their physiques twitching with a nervous energy that their hosts were unable to elucidate.

The resistance reached its zenith one tempestuous night.

Lightning seared the sky, violet flames cleaving the firmament. Hork-Bajir patrols were ambushed amidst the forests below, their screams carried aloft by the wind. Taxxons writhed as crystal lances impaled them from above, anchoring their tubular forms to the earth. Bug Fighters emitted piercing cries overhead, their dracon beams incinerating paths through the darkness. The Ondarilites had gathered in unprecedented numbers. From every luminescent grove, they surged forth, their radiant bodies glistening like stars summoned to battle. Their collective voices ascended in harmony, a clicking chant resonating through the tempest like a heartbeat.

Within the confines of the base, alarms blared.

“Perimeter breach!” A Hork-Bajir Controller bellowed.

Visser Thirty-Two ascended the command deck, his eyes dark and piercing. The tempest illuminated him in fractured shards of light, hooves sparkling, tail blade quivering with controlled rage.

>Let them come,<  he declared.

The conflict erupted across the plateau.

Hork-Bajir carved through swarms of luminous Ondarilites, their blades etching arcs of crimson and crystal dust. Taxxons surged forth, their mandibles clamping down on radiant flesh, feasting even as they succumbed to the resistance’s blinding onslaught. Bug Fighters swooped low, unleashing torrents of dracon fire that cleaved earth and flesh alike.

Yet the Ondarilites stood their ground. They surged over the barriers, their forms radiating with pulsating energy. Their crystalline weapons struck with such brilliance that they seared through Hork-Bajir armor and incinerated Taxxons into charred remnants.

At the heart of the chaos loomed Visser Thirty-Two.

He began to morph. The Visser’s blue fur was replaced with a green fleshy exterior. His stalk eyes, head and legs all began to meld into his torso. A blue maw slowly emerged from his newly formed center mass just as he sprouted vine-like tendrils. He became The Lerdethak. 

The Visser felt the sudden urge to lose control and let the Lerdethak’s animalistic mind take over, but, he regained focus and turned his attention to battle at hand.

Visser Thirty-Two began using his tendrils to swipe away countless Ondarilite rebels .

Clearing a path for the various Hork-Bajir, Taxxon and Gedd controllers to advance. With Ondarilites' forces dwindling and the Visser’s two-hour time limit drawing nigh, he began to demorph. Upon returning to his Andalite form, the superficial damage he had taken was completely healed.