Which he does, a few hours later.

"So this is the second time we've fucked up disastrously by assuming Yeerks are all biologically identical, wow."

<Yes. We should have run checks for living Yeerks on every planet, and no one involved with the operation even at several degrees of remove should have been infestable, and we should have had a mechanism to be immediately warned if someone deviated from their expected transit.>

"Yep."

"...Well, Cam can't find any live Yeerks we haven't accounted for now."

<There are probably other errors but I think I need some sleep.>

"Oh what a good idea." Sigh. "Thanks for coming by, T'Mir."

"Of course."

<That was very nearly a catastrophe but it worked out because people we had every reason to consider enemies decided to rescue us for their own reasons. Let us not allow that to become a habit.>

Nod. "...I'm probably still going to project seamless competence to the Andalite government but. You know."

<By all means continue doing that, it is a delight to witness.> Tail-hug.

Night.

After some consideration Vanda Nossëo decides to send a Tyelcormo to ask Midnight what happened. Midnight is delighted to see him and takes an extended lunch to show him all around Shadow and is cheerful and forthcoming about everything except what happened. "That's classified," he says. "I'd offer to pay Vanda Nossëo back for the necklaces but they were giving them out-"

"Bullshit," Tyelcormo says. "Classified?"

"Well, the peal did kindly tell me they were conducting a war adjacent to me and sending possibly-Yeerk-infested teleporters through my world and forewarn me that Yeerks even existed, so I feel obliged to tell them - oh, wait -"

"...fair enough."

<You know> he says, reading the report, <I wonder if we should suggest to Ristrell she go meet him. I have the strangest sense he'll like her.>

"Would he? Why?"

<Because I think his reason for not telling us is wanting to emphasize that he does not answer to us, that he's a ruler in his own right of his own empire, and she would not - come across as someone who challenged that ->

"Yeah, fair enough. I'll get her a less haphazard briefing - I would rather he not be able to tell her anything I haven't already, not anything significant - and then ask if she'd mind conveying thanks on behalf the world or something."

<Thank you.>

"No problem."

And so it is that Ristrell comes to be equipped with an eidetic memory necklace and make the two hops to Shadow.

The King would be delighted to see her.

In she goes, then.

If the Elves are listening they will notice Josefa's unshielded thoughts. They are... certainly thoughts. (Ristrell's thoughts are entirely quiet except when she speaks to Josefa and echoes in Josefa's mind.)

The Elves are listening but do not give visual indications of this. "Hello," he says. "I hear your world is no longer at war, and that on this occasion the relevant parties managed not to just drive their enemy off into another dimension. Do commend them for me."

"Oh, what I heard was that they did drive some of them into another dimension and that I'm here to convey thanks on behalf of the entire world of 'Cube' for your interference with the flight."

"...well, yes, but commend them anyway, perhaps it will inspire them to grow worthy of the praise."

Ristrell smiles thinly. "I'll let them know. I'm Sovereign Ristrell of Tide. The friendly Yeerks, if you weren't given a sociopolitical summary."

"Only from the unfriendly Yeerks, and they did not mention you. I am Nelyafinwë, King of Endorë."