<Yes.> He sounds very slightly amused. 

Leareth doesn't ask what he's amused about, even though he's a little curious. Just fights him, and diligently tries to win. 

Matirin can still usually beat him but it's usually not always, these days.

Getting better at this is very satisfying - possibly more satisfying than is really justified, though it is valuable, he's about to potentially need to fight in an Andalite body. And...it's valuable in itself, to have some moments in this endless grind when he can just be uncomplicatedly happy. 

Holding his tail-blade to Matirin's throat for a second longer than he needs to, on the rare instance he does win, is even more satisfying, in a way that's not quite as uncomplicated and that he doesn't entirely understand. 

Mhalir's diagnosis was that Leareth loved him. He doesn't even know what that means to humans - or to Yeerks - though. If it means anything it would seem to mean that they should end the war.

He works on doing that.

Leareth studies how to raise a hybrid Gate with the power directly channeled from a generator, without passing through him at all, while he's still doing all of the search and routing and other spell-structure. It's a weird and different way of doing things, but he has some experience with not-entirely-dissimilar work, from the nothlit project, and he figures it out in less than a week. Then they need to pick a destination, close enough to be under a day's journey in hyperspace but far enough that they definitely won't be seen, and he would benefit from some sort of celestial body to help anchor on.

Computer-aided Gate routing and verification isn't complicated, though, and it only takes Leareth a couple of days before he has a route. It also starts from near Saturn, and it gets him there with slightly less complicated routing than the Andalite homeworld one, which is good. He'll have some time on the Pool ship to rest, of course, it's about six hours' travel in hyperspace, plus the approach to the planet itself.

He'd like to bring some Andalites with Gift-morphing and training with mage-combat and the simplest compulsions on the ship; they can morph humans on Mhalir's staff if anyone local wants to enter the ship for some reason, but Mhalir can't think why they would. He'll go down in a shuttle with Leareth-as-Alloran and his lieutenant. 

Leareth thinks that they're ready to move. He asks Matirin for the final authorization, though, to alert the Andalite homeworld of their departure and travel time, and then Gate a Pool ship quite a number of light-years. He'll be out of touch for a while. 

Matirin can get him some Andalites with Gift-morphing and the couple months of training which is all any of them have. He gives Leareth authorization. <Be careful.>

<I will be. I will get word back as soon as I can.> 

And they leave, Leareth with compulsioned-Mhalir in his head, fresh out of the Yeerk pool so he has days of leeway.  

The flight to Saturn goes smoothly. The message-Gate barely takes any thought, he's done it enough times, and then it's time for the giant Gate. It's a high power requirement, far higher than the demorphing, but it's one a starship can easily meet, and Leareth builds a huge Gate, wide enough for the Pool ship's largest cross-section to pass easily. 

They go through. They're by a small anonymous red dwarf system, nothing interesting nearby.

Leareth gives the order to jump to hyperspace and start making the trip the rest of the way to the Yeerks' secret command base. 

The ship jumps, and speeds off. The Andalites pace.

Vanyel was very firmly ordered by his King not to go on any missions off-planet, there are Andalites who can morph him if they need a Vanyel, Randi wants his Vanyel intact. 

Vanyel is so incredibly stressed about Leareth being maybe-in-danger, which is stupid because Leareth can absolutely handle himself in almost any situation. (It's just the one time, with the orbital strike... Vanyel reminds himself that it would be very surprising if anyone ordered an orbital strike on Visser Three and the rest of the Yeerk Council.) 

He morphs a bird and flies around. It doesn't really help. He demorphs and paces on the ground. 

<Are you doing all right?>

Sigh. :Worried about Leareth, is all. I know it's dumb, he's - smart, and careful, just...:

<He is still doing something very dangerous.> Tail-lash. <I do not really see how it could fail but I am worried anyway.>

Nod. Vanyel kicks at a tuft of grass. :Guess I feel better I'm not the only one out here fretting: A curious glance sideways at Matirin. :He seems very - comfortable with you, lately. It's nice. I appreciate that.:

<He has really taken to being an Andalite. I think he was always meant to be one.>

Vanyel chuckles. :He does seem to like it a lot. Makes sense. Eyes in all directions and a natural weapon, it suits him well: 

<Also the right number of legs! I know you get this from your Companion but he doesn't have one because of his war with the gods.>

:Well, and less than two hundred people out of half a million in Valdemar have Companions, it's hardly a common system: Vanyel seems very amused by the comment. :Though, yes, it is very convenient, being able to call on Yfandes' extra legs: 

<I have gotten better at wobbling along as a human but I would not say I like it.>

:Mmm: 

Vanyel isn't sure what else to say, so he keeps walking, hands in the pocket of his jeans (he tends to wear mostly Earth clothes lately, Heraldic Whites stand out a lot), absently kicking another bit of grass. 

<Let me know if you need anything.>

:Yes, of course: 

Vanyel shrugs and morphs into a hawk and takes off. (He doesn't really see the appeal of staying in Andalite morph when you can be a bird and fly. Or morph dolphins and swim. They're not on a coastline so he's only done that once, but it was glorious.) 

A very long way away, a Yeerk Pool ship makes the jump from hyperspace.

Leareth is in morph as Alloran, for the initial comms. He’ll demorph after, morph again right before they disembark.

Mhalir can’t feel the compulsions on his mind. At Leareth's skill level, compulsions don't feel like anything unless you're fighting them, and he isn't. 

He is in control, though, since he's the one who's familiar with the protocols here. He moves Alloran's body neatly, precisely. 

(He wonders what Amanda is thinking right now. She doesn't know all the details of this mission, but he did enough of the planning and groundwork while in her body, especially the faked reports on his 'victory' back on Earth, she has to be able to guess. He wonders if she's scared for him. All he could do was promise to be very careful.) 

Per protocol, they've jumped in outside the guarded perimeter around the planet. He orders the broadcast of the initial saved message with the ship's identification, then waits to be hailed. 

It takes about the lightspeed latency and not longer. They were not expecting him. They'd like additional confirmation codes and to know his business here.