Recruitment.

[Ruby]

Letting her head fall back onto the headrest of her seat in the plane heading to Antartica, Ruby allowed her mind to wander back to a few hours ago.

Having got home that day from college and training, she'd let herself in and plonked her bag on the kitchen floor under the table.

Strange. Her parents were normally home by now.

She searched the kitchen. No note.

Glancing over to the rat cage, she noticed the pile of bedding in the corner was quivering.

"Macie...? What's wrong?"

The gray she-rat poked her nose out as Ruby lifted the wire door and picked her up.
As soon as she was out in the open, Macie snuggled up to Ruby, little heart beating at an impossible pace.

"Macie, I have a feeling you know what happened to mum and dad..."

The beady black eyes looked up at her, and Ruby could feel the body pulsing with squeaks. She suddenly realised that the squeaks meant nothing to her.

Placing Macie back in the cage, Ruby ran to her room and started to stuff clothes into a seperate rucksack, coming down a few moments later to grab tins of food and drink cartons.
Finishing, she grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen, writing a note to her aunt saying what she'd decided to do.
Finishing that, she turned to Macie's cage.

"Well, I'm off to find them. Wish me luck!"

As she reached the door, she stopped as the squeaking grew as loud as it could, - not so loud to her, being hard-of-hearing - making her notice and turn back.
Macie was up against the bars, body vibrating with squeaks, front paws on the higher bars.
Ruby went over.

"I don't know how long I'll be gone... But leaving you food and water won't do you much good, will it...?"

Lifting the wire door again, she picked up the little rodent.
Almost instantly the she-rat jumped into the pocket on her t-shirt.

"You're coming with me, Macie?"

Poking her nose over the tip of the pocket, the rat nodded. Ruby couldn't hide a smile.

"OK then. Just don't go bathroom in there. Let me know if you need to go."

Macie nodded before snuggling back down into the pocket.
Ruby headed over to the door, looking over her shoulder for the last time at her home before locking the door.

*******

After an hour on the streets, the clouds had gathered together and, to avoid being soaked, Macie had climbed onto Ruby's shoulder to cower under her hood.
A shout caught their attention.

"Hey, kid! What are you doing out in this weather?"

Ruby stopped to call back to the group of kids sheltered under a piece of metal overhanging an alleyway lit by a small fire.

"It's only rain!"

"Come on over! It's drier over here!"

Ruby hesitated, not sure whether to trust them. A few squeaks from Macie convinced her and the rat jumped back into the pocket as she headed over, taking down her hood as she entered the light of the fire.

She found herself introduced to Zach and Adamo, and had introduced herself when when she was asked to join their cause, the 'Animorphs'.

After being given an explanation and agreeing, going with the feeling it would help her find her parents, she found herself on the plane heading to Alaska.

*******

Ruby blinked out of her memory as Zach's voice came over the Tannoy.

"We are beginning our descent over the Antartica, please fasten your seatbelt."

Her pocket squirmed as she tightened her seatbelt, and she lifted a hand to the pocket, Macie climbing out onto her hand. Evidently she'd been woken up by the announcment and was curious about her surroundings.

Ruby kept a firm yet gentle stroking grip on the rat as the feelings of landing started.
Macie changed her mind and scrambled back into the pocket as it got more intense the closer they got to the ground.

Ruby bent down quickly to grab her bags as they landed with a slight bumpy jolt in a hanger of a much bigger, it seemed, plane.

Then she remembered Adamo had mentioned something earlier about "bug fighters" and "Bladeships"... Did he say the "Bladeship" was the bigger thing...?
And she was on the "Bug fighter", she seemed to remember.

After being given the all clear, Ruby unclipped
her seatbelt and got her bags in a comfortable position, heading to the steps leading off the Fighter, looking around.

[liz]

Why her? Why her, of all the dozen or so people on the base? Why was Liz specifically chosen to go greet the new person coming to the base. Everyone knew she didn't talk, or at least they just thought she was quiet. Liz strongly disliked it when people tried to force her to talk; which this had to have been.

Elizabeth tapped the pad on the doors to the hangar. The scanner recorded her bioprint and correctly matched it to the one stored in the database. The doors slid open and Liz walked through. Great, I'm late. Or maybe not. she thought when her eyes slid over the bug fighter that was just finishing its landing.

She quickly patted down her bright red jacket and yellow shirt, brushing off some imaginary dust and lint. She spit some hair out of her mouth and threw part of her orange scarf over her shoulder. In case she appeared rude later by not talking, Liz wanted to make a formidable first impression.

Then a figure appeared on the ramp off the bug fighter. A girl that could've been around Elizabeth's age with fiery-red hair. I'm guessing that's the new recruit. Well, guess it's time to greet her. Liz smiled and waved at the girl, half-wishing that she'd brought a sign with her that could have the girl's last name on it. She'd seen that in movies before and felt that it was appropriate, despite the fact she didn't even know the girl's first name, much less her last.

[Ruby]

Catching sight of the girl waving at her, Ruby sped up on her new path over to her, stopping as she swiftly neared, smiling.
She could feel her legs, they felt jelly-like, and her heart was pounding slightly. But not as fast as little Macie's.
Knowing that she normally wouldn't talk unless talked to first, Ruby fought to get her voice working to greet her greeter.

"Hi. I'm Ruby."

She stretched out her free hand while her eyes and brain worked to memorise the girl's face.
Taking in the facial features and blonde hair, her [working] ear was ready to memorise her voice.

"It's nice to meet you."

She didn't notice Macie's twitching nose poke over the edge of her pocket, taking in this new person, eventually deciding she was a friend and snuggling back in.

[liz]

Great, defeated with a single statement. Liz didn't let her slight frustration show as she elaborately curtsied and pulled out an imagniary skirt. When she came back up, she shook Ruby's hand quickly and said, "Elizabeth." The academy was going pretty hard on her decision to not talk. Back on the Great Lakes, everyone she would've need or wanted to talk to already knew that she didn't talk. So they left her alone. But these Animorphs kept trying to trip her up and get her to talk.

The promise of helping people later almost wasn't worth it.

Liz blinked a few times when she realized that she had zoned out for a brief moment of time. She closed her eyes and nodded several several times in short nods. It was supposed to convey Liz' message of "Nice ot meet you too". If it didn't, there was nothing she could, or would, do.

And it was then she noticed the rat. Her eyes widened in sir[rise and her smile deepened. Liz thought rats were pretty cool, even if they had ugly tails. She had had one as a pet for about a year while on the boats, training it to do simple tasks like retrieve a paintbrush or something. It would be pretty nice to have a friendly rat on the ship, even if it belonged to someone else.

Liz twirled in place, her jacket, hair, and scarf flaring out. She face the way she had walked in but then turned her head back to Ruby. She extended an arm, palm up, and contracted her fingers a few times in the universal "Come on" signal. Liz smiled again and strolled away, confident that the girl, and her rat, would follow.

[Ruby]

Ruby smiled. Silent though she might be, Elizabeth seemed like a really nice person. Her voice, though only one word so far, was memorised.
Maybe they'd have a lot in common.
She'd made a great, if not slightly strange yet, to her, cool, first impression.
Macie seemed to think so at any rate - but then who knows what animals think?

Elizabeth seemed interested in Macie. The she-rat squirmed in excitement at picking this up, and climbed onto Ruby's shoulder.

Seeing the "Come on!" sign, Ruby started following, catching up to walk side-by-side.

"So you know a bit of sign language? I grew up on a bit of that from my disability... I can't remember much now though..."

She remembered Elizabeth wouldn't say much, and remembered the fact that she herself would ramble on a bit, so decided to try and limit what she said.

"Oh, this is Macie. It seems she likes you already."

She indicated the rat, smiling more.
'I must remember not to ask questions... Probably won't do me any good...' She thought to herself.

As they walked into the corridor leading out of the hangar, Ruby looked around, taking in the details and signs, though she knew it was no use.
She had her nan's sense of directions. She'd know where to go but would automatically go the opposite way a while before realising where she was going.

"I have a feeling I'm going to like it here...You've already started it off well!"
She concluded with a grin in Elizabeth's direction.

"Um... Do you have a nickname or do others just call you Elizabeth...? Just curious."

She muttered, unaware as usual that others coud hear her.

"I wonder where I'd be staying as well..."

[berserker09]

Paul was riding his bike around the ship. He was going around seeing if anyone needed help or something. He was really bored and needed something to occupy his time. Paul needed to be careful when going down the hallways. If he hit someone while riding, there could be some serious consequences and he just didn't want to deal with that right now. He popped in the ship hangar and saw Liz talking to a new girl. Well at least he wasn't the new kid on the block anymore.

Paul made his way over to them and started to circle them. "Hello there. What's your name and what brings you to this wonderful place that we call home?" Paul stopped circling and parked his bike. "My name is Paul by the way and I am the back up tour guide of the day." Paul looked the girl over. She had a rat and some luggage with her and he decided to be a gentleman by taking her bags. "Wow, cool looking rat. Its been awhile since I have seen a real animal."

[Ruby]

Ruby let the gentleman with the bike take her bag, smiling.

"Nice to meet you, Paul, I'm Ruby. This is Macie."

She looked at Macie. The rat was watching Paul intently. Obviously taking the comment as a compliment, Macie lept to Paul's shoulder, landing smoothly and clinging onto the material.

Ruby couldn't surpress a giggle at the she-rat's sudden taking to the young man. Macie NEVER went to anyone outside the family. This was a first.

"Well, you've got a fan, so I guess I'll have to agree with her..."

Ruby grinned briefly, having memorised the guy's appearance and voice.

[berserker09]

"Nice to meet both of you. I am very honored to have Macie as a fan." Paul looked over at Liz and smiled politely. "Admins sent me down to take over for Liz. They said that I need to get used to helping the new recruits out."

Paul gently picked up Macie and handed her back to Ruby. "I will continue the tour and finding you a room to stay in." Paul started to walk his bike towards the door to the rooms. "Come along Ruby and see you later Liz." He noticed Liz's nod of thank you and continued on.

[Ruby]

Taking back Macie, Ruby encouraged the rat back into her t-shirt pocket while looking around.

"This is a big place... I hope it's easy to navigate around, I have a rubbish sense of direction..."

She glanced back at Paul, smiling.

"Shall I help with your bike, as you're helping me with my bags? And I'm not too sure, as happens sometimes, what goes on in secret places like this... You mentioned it was "Home"...?"

[berserker09]

"When I said home, I meant your place of residence for the next couple of months." Paul carried her bag on his back and continued down the hallway.

Paul looked up at the ceiling and remembered the electrical lines that were on the ceiling. "If I remember right, you can follow the power lines back to most areas. I usually just remember where all the important areas are. Anyway, most of the ship is not even powered up, so only relevant areas are lit up."

Paul continued to push the bike down the hallway. He stopped at his room and stowed it there. "Let's look to see which rooms are available for you to occupy and then we will go and find the two of you something to eat."

[Ruby]

Ruby replied to his first answer before glancing up at the ceiling herself.

"Ah, right. Thanks."

She looked up, making a mental note of the wires.

"Ooh, I can follow wires. That'll help me a lot. And food sounds great, thanks, again. Also... Wouldn't I get into trouble for having Macie...? Are pets allowed?"

She waited for Paul to start walking again, allowing Macie to climb onto her shoulder.

[berserker09]

Paul thought about her question about Macie and didn't really know if there was a rule about it or not. "I don't see why there would be a problem with you having a pet. It might bring some life to the place."

Paul opened one of the rooms that he thought was empty and saw that there were no signs of life. "Here's a place for you to put your things. I will wait out here while you get settled."

[Ruby]

Ruby walked with Macie into the room, taking her bags from Paul.
She put the bags on the bed and looked around, mentally deciding where to put everything when she came back after eating.

"I'll get settled in later. Let's go get the rest of the tour and the food sorted out first."

She smiled as she went back out to Paul, Macie snuggled back into her pocket.

"I'm sure Macie'll be glad she'll be the ' extra life to the place'!"

[berserker09]

Paul looked down at the young girl as she insisted on getting something to eat. He shrugged and walked towards the dining hall.

"This way to hall of edible substances."

Paul began to trace his fingers along the sides of the ship. He always wondered how the Animorphs had come to establish themselves in the Blade ship.

"Its funny that the Animorphs training center is an old Yeerk ship. Don't you agree?"

[Ruby]

Ruby couldn't supress a smille at Paul's description of the food room as she followed him, but ran the words "Animorphs" and "Yeerk" over in her mind.

"Lead the way, dear gentleman! I'm not yet familiar with the words that are used by you people. I know that Animorphs are those chosen to be able to turn into animals, but I'm still not too sure about the... "Yeerks".. Aren't they slug-gy type things that take over people's bodies...?"

She glanced down at her pocket as her rat shuddered at every mention of "Yeerk", but didn't reappear.