Mhalir wears a Thoughtsensing talisman when he's in Amanda's body, but she doesn't wear it the rest of the time and isn't right now and so Leareth is definitely going to read her mind and see what interpretation of the situation she's coming up with right now. 

She advised Mhalir, a couple months ago, to run, because the Andalites weren't going to give him a fair trial. There are lots of Yeerks. They're very interchangeable. It'd be so hard to find him. He made a noncommital noise and dropped it. But this - being murdered with only your friends around, a Yeerk Fetched out of a room whose shielding had been sabotaged - sure, maybe there's a ridiculously competent lone murderer out there. It seems likelier that instead, Mhalir is running away to Argentina. She wishes him the best.

Leareth decides, quietly, to say nothing further and not argue with her. Mostly he just desperately wants this to be over. It's a lot easier to keep his composure in Andalite form, his body language is barely showing any distress and the human hosts wouldn't be able to read it well anyway, but he desperately wants to be somewhere with only people he trusts, where he can stop trying to shove the grief out of the way. 

:I am very sorry: he says to Amanda. :We should have prevented this. Do you have any other questions?: 

"Uh, am I eligible for unemployment?"

Wow, Leareth has no idea whatsoever. :I think that is probably up to whoever in your chain of command is interfacing with the human government. Maybe? You could also get a different Yeerk, but it would be very understandable if you have - had enough: 

Leareth is going to handle or deflect any more questions as efficiently as possible and then flee back to the doorway he used to Gate in. 

She doesn't have more questions since she figures they are lying anyway.

Sigh. 

The Gate takes Leareth longer than usual; it's hard to concentrate. His tail lashes unhappily. He doesn't really understand why he feels even worse after doing this; he thought he was coping all right, this morning. 

...Finally it's up and they're through, and he stops, losing the impetus to move before he can decide where to next. 

<I failed him> he says to Cayaldwin, almost plaintively. <I promised I would keep him safe and - he trusted me - and I failed.>

Cayaldwin looks back at him sympathetically. <You still- thought there were valuable things in the universe - I'm so sorry.>

Leareth is way too exhausted and shaken to parse that remark. He searches for Matirin. 

Matirin is talking with Nerefir. He breaks off when he sees that they're back. <How'd it go.>

<It could have gone worse. They are very scared, obviously. I - probably said something stupid to Cayaldwin, I was...not thinking very well...I am sorry.> He does his best to relate the exchange, though he has only a very approximate memory of what he said. Andalites could normally replay any conversation perfectly from their brain chips but his morph doesn't have one. 

<So he...promised to kill Alloran?> He is very still, for a bit. <I should have gone with you. In morph as a flea, or something, if I was worried about sending the wrong message.>

<I should have asked you to. I - am more off-balance than I realized, I think. I am sorry> 

Anxious talk-swishing. <When he kills Alloran they'll arrest him and then he won't be able to help you with the backup, so maybe he can be persuaded to delay until he's helped you with the backup, at least ->

<Oh. Right. Yes, I hope so. I will need to go retrieve it, I can ask him to accompany me on a ship and then at least he will be away from Alloran...> Shiver. <I suspect Mhalir would tell him not to kill Alloran. I am not sure if that would matter at all to him.> 

<Normally I think it would but not if he has committed to!>

<Gah.> Leareth sidles up to lean against him. <...Anyway, how are the Andalites responding to it?> 

<Looking into who helped him. I don't think anyone helped with the infiltration of the base and concealing his magic practice from us wasn't illegal but - we should make sure. And then I was going to ask if you could figure out a way to take morph from someone but I guess that doesn't really matter, if Cayaldwin is going to kill him.>

Leareth wants to apologize again but there's not much point, it won't change the situation or convey any new information. <I think removing morph from someone ought not be difficult at all, actually - in fact, the nothlit-reversal procedure would result in that, since I usually detach the morph tether at the end in order to give them functional morph again.> His breath catches again. <...I almost wish we had let them execute him. Then Alloran would not have done this, and...if it had been at a time of our choosing, it is more likely the morph-based backup would have worked...> There's no point ruminating on that now though. <Anyway. I - ought make plans, to retrieve the backup, but - I think I am not in a very good emotional state right now to do that.> 

<I have been wishing that too. I was - pushing, more than it's generally ideal to push a court for a desired result, and it - makes sense, that Alloran had no confidence in that, and felt that he had to act himself. And it would have caused some damage to our relations with the Yeerks but - less, I think, if it'd been done properly.> Sigh. <Nerefir will communicate to them the outcome of the investigation. The backup can wait a week, it's not time sensitive as long as I can persuade Cayaldwin not to kill anyone yet.>

<All right. I should...rest, probably. I would talk to Melody, except I worry this situation is already massively a conflict of interest for her and I should not press it any further.> And he's too keyed up right now for anything to feel very restful anyway. <...Tail-fight?> he adds, hopefully. <Only if you have time.> 

<Sure. Let me make sure Cayaldwin's not allowed to go to the homeworld, first.>

<...Oh, I can put a manual block on the Gate, so he cannot activate it himself even if he obtains someone else's codes.> It'll be more annoying because Cayaldwin can just morph a random Gifted human instead of his usual composite morph and try again, but if he's very clever about it, Leareth thinks he can manage a trip-ward that checks his mind-signature and blocks him. <You will still need to make sure no one else is going to activate it for him. Or let him slip through morphed as a flea. I suppose we do have Thoughtsensers guarding it all the time, so if they also know not to allow him and cannot be bribed...> 

<You should not encourage my brothers to murder people, they usually stop short of actually intending to but if you shove them it's where they'll land.> And he conveys this to base security.

<I think I did not correctly model how he would interpret what I said. Mhalir would have. I will not make the same mistake again.> 

And Leareth puts a manual-override block on the magical part of the Gate apparatus, so this mind cannot activate it no matter what, even if the computer thinks he's allowed. He works efficiently and ruthlessly and it takes him twenty minutes. 

<Matirin?>