Esplin 9466

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Esplin 9466
Real Name	Esplin 9466 Prime
Alias(es)	Sub-Visser Twelve Sub-Visser Seven Visser Thirty-two The Abomination Visser Three Aria Visser One
Species	Yeerk
Gender	Male
Host	Unnamed Gedd Unnamed Hork-Bajir † Fet Mashar † Unnamed Hork-Bajir Gah Fillat † Unnamed Hork-Bajir Hedrick Chapman Alloran-Semitur-Corrass (1976-2000)
Born	c.1966-1968
Relatives	Esplin 9466 Lesser (twin brother)
Title(s)	Sub-Visser (formerly) Visser
Affiliation	Yeerk Empire
First Appearance	The Invasion The Hork-Bajir Chronicles (chronologically)
Last Appearance	The Beginning
Status	In Custody
Actors/Actresses
Portrayed by	Eugene Lipinski (TV series version; season 1) Tom Barnett (TV series version; season 2)

"The mistake was following the path laid down by you, Visser One. You and your Sharing, your one-host-at-a-time, your slow, steady infiltration. We took the Gedds. We took the Hork-Bajir! Took them! We made allies of the Taxxons, but if they had resisted, we would have taken them, too! Do you think we will infiltrate the Andalites when that time comes? Will we form little social clubs and talk them into becoming our slaves? No! When we are ready we will take them, too! We are the Yeerk Empire! We are not a race of sneaks and spies. We are rulers, conquerors!"

―Esplin 9466

Esplin 9466 (pronounced Esplin Nine-Four-Double-Six) is a former Visser within the Yeerk Empire. Holding the rank of Visser Three, he was the leader of the Yeerk Empire's invasion of Earth and served as the Animorphs' primary foe. Near the end of the Andalite-Yeerk War, he was promoted to Visser One. In addition to being one of the first Hork-Bajir-Controllers, Esplin 9466 also possesses the distinction of being the first human-Controller and the first Andalite-Controller in history.

Biography

Birth

"I come from no regular Yeerk pool. I was born from the decaying bodies of my tripartite parents, along with several hundred brothers and sisters, aboard ship. And one twin, naturally, as you know from the double-number designation. I have never lived on the home world. I was born in a sterile, titanium-alloy tank, beneath the warmth of a portable Kandrona. It was all I knew. [...] And I would have lived happily enough."

―Esplin 9466

Esplin 9466 was born between 1966 and 1968 in an artificial Yeerk pool on board a captured Andalite ship shortly after the Yeerk exodus from their home world.

Studious Ambitions

"I would never be a scientist. I knew I didn't have that kind of mind. But perhaps there was something else I could learn from the Andalite computer. [...] Know your enemy. That was my calling. That was the way to gaining my own host. I would learn all the computer held about the magnificent, powerful creatures called Andalites. Someday we would face the Andalites in battle. Then I would be needed."

―Esplin 9466

At the time, the Yeerks had only a small number of Gedds to use as host bodies, and so each of the quarter million Yeerks on the convoy were given fifteen minutes "training" in a Gedd host. When Esplin's turn came up, he was so overwhelmed by the experiences of sight, hearing and greater mobility that he made it his ambition to be one of the few Yeerks to always possess a host body. He had a twin brother named Esplin 9466 Lesser. To help increase his chances of achieving his dream, he immersed himself in Andalite culture, biology, and military tactics, taking a famous Andalite saying – "Know your friends well. Know your enemies better." – as his axiom. He quickly became the pre-eminent expert on all affairs Andalite in the gestating Yeerk Empire. Through this initial research, Esplin fostered a deep desire to one day infest an Andalite, so that he might truly understand them.

Hork-Bajir Conflict

Launching the Hork-Bajir Infestation

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"Months went by, and slowly the memory of those few amazing moments in the Gedd faded. Others were called to assume hosts. I was not. But then it happened. Palp to palp, the message came to me. Esplin 9466 to the infestation pier! There was a new species to try. After failures with the Hawjabrans and only the few Ongachics, our wandering assemblage of spacecraft had found a new planet. With new creatures. Three had been seized from the surface and brought aboard. One was for me."

―Esplin 9466

Soon after arriving at the Hork-Bajir homeworld, the Yeerks capture two specimens to examine for their fitness of infestation. Esplin is called to the pier, and becomes the first Yeerk to inhabit a Hork-Bajir as a permanent host. He utters the words "Yes, these creatures will be our weapons," and seals the fate of the Hork-Bajir.

Andalite Hunting

"You see, I had already realized one very important thing: From now on, the host body one had would be an indication of power. Already there were lines of distinction between Yeerks who had Gedd hosts and Yeerks who were given the new, powerful Hork-Bajir bodies. These Hork-Bajir would be our shock troops. But there was still one host better than Hork-Bajir: Andalite. Yes, the Yeerk who could take an Andalite host would be more than a mere sub-visser. The Yeerk who could take and hold an Andalite host would be a visser, at the very least. And someday, who knows? A seat on the Council of Thirteen?"

―Esplin 9466

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To be added

Newfound Promotion

"I heard the title and swelled with pleasure. I had been newly promoted. Up from Sub-Visser Seventeen, my first command rank. It was a jump of five places! Sub-Vissers Sixteen and Fourteen had been promoted. Sub-Visser Thirteen had been killed in battle against Hork-Bajir rebels. Sub-Visser Fifteen was being executed for incompetence and cowardice. [...] But I was in command. I was the twelfth highest-ranking sub-visser. Beyond that there were nine vissers. But every day there were promotions. Every day new sub-vissers and vissers were added. We were growing! These were amazing, heady days."

―Esplin 9466

When the first Andalite forces arrive, Esplin, now known as Sub-Visser Twelve, leads the fighter attack against the Andalites. Using his knowledge of Andalite tactics and technology, his counter-measures prove to be effective, and he manages to survive the struggle against the then-superior Andalite forces, though most of his comrades are lost. By the end of the conflict, Esplin has established himself as one of the most prominent Yeerks of his generation.

Taxxon Homeworld

Meeting Elfangor and Chapman

"There has never been an Andalite-Controller. None of us has ever succeeded in capturing an Andalite alive. Your warriors use that nasty Andalite tail blade on themselves rather than be taken alive. Such a waste. Really. See, I want to be the first to have an Andalite body. With that body, with the Andalite morphing power, I wouldn't remain a sub-visser for long. I could be a full visser. [...] Let me take that Andalite body. You'll live. It's the only way you'll live."

―Esplin 9466 to Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul

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Esplin, now Sub-Visser Seven, is in charge of security on the Taxxon homeworld. He encounters Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, Arbron, and Alloran-Semitur-Corrass on the Taxxon homeworld, and their two human charges, Loren and Chapman.

Infesting Alloran

"He stood there, rage on his face. Alloran. War-Prince Alloran-Semitur-Corrass. But not really Alloran anymore. For the rest of my life I would remember that moment. The moment when I looked for the first time, upon the abomination. You see, Alloran was no longer Alloran."

―Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul

Esplin conducts a little signing negotiation with Chapman, understanding that the human race could be a useful new host species. During a skirmish with Elfangor, Esplin’s host is knocked unconscious, along with Alloran. Esplin uses the unguarded moment to acquire Alloran as a host body, becoming the first Andalite-Controller in history. He gives all his knowledge of Andalite fleet movements and modern tactics and technology to the Council of Thirteen, and they reward him for his efforts.

Using the Time Matrix

"We are falling toward a black hole in a dead ship. But we have a way out. The Time Matrix."
"In case you haven't noticed, Visser, the Time Matrix is strapped to the outside of the ship. The outside. In fact, it's probably drifting free. It was held in place with energy ropes. Those are gone."
"Gravity. There should be just enough attraction between the ship and the Time Matrix to keep it close."

―Esplin 9466 and Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul

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Esplin later arrives when it becomes known that the Skrit Na obtained the Time Matrix, now Visser Thirty-Two. He becomes entangled with Elfangor and Loren, and the result of their meddling with the Time Matrix as all three of them try to use it to go home results in a warped universe, part Earth, part Andalite homeworld, and part Yeerk Homeworld. In a final stand-off with Elfangor and Loren, Esplin travels through a rift and apparently returns to the Jahar, falling into a black hole, but he survives under unspecified circumstances.

Becoming Visser Three

Reunited with Elfangor

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Later, when the Ellimist warps Elfangor out, Esplin has already reached his trademark rank, Visser Three. Elfangor rams his Blade Ship, and the battle ends with an Andalite victory as Esplin retreats his forces. This battle makes Elfangor a Prince.

Reassigned to Earth

In 1995, the Yeerk Empire promoted Edriss 562 to Visser One after she laid the foundation for a secret invasion of Earth, based out of a city in California. However, preparations were soon made to have Esplin 9466, as Visser Three, spearhead the invasion directly. In 1996, Esplin visited this city in California, where he attended a private meeting of The Sharing, a front organization for the Yeerks that had been founded by Edriss 562. While at this meeting, Esplin was spotted in his Andalite form by a boy named Tom; as a result, Tom was detained and infested by Temrash 114. During his time on Earth, Esplin located Chapman, who lived in the same city, although Chapman had no memories of their prior interaction. Despite Chapman's rank as an assistant principal at a junior high school, Esplin treated Chapman as a valuable host body and wanted Chapman infested. Chapman agreed to become a voluntary host under the condition that his daughter Melissa was spared from infestation, a deal which Esplin agreed to. Esplin then personally assigned Chapman's body to Iniss 226, whom he made his lieutenant. Both Iniss 226 and Temrash 114 soon ended up within Esplin's inner circle.

Invasion of Earth

Killing Elfangor

"What have we here? A meddling Andalite? Ah, but no ordinary Andalite warrior. Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, if I am not mistaken. An honor to meet you again. You're a legend now. [...] The very last Andalite in this sector of space. Yes, I'm afraid your Dome ship has been completely destroyed. Completely. I watched it burn as it fell into the atmosphere of this little world. [...] This world will be mine. My own contribution to the Yeerk Empire, Our greatest conquest. And then I'll be Visser One."

―Esplin 9466 to Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul

On a Friday night in 1997, the Yeerk Empire had the Pool ship and Bug fighters in Earth's orbit, Esplin had his Blade ship parked in one of the craters of Earth's moon. As the Andalite fleet emerged to fight the Yeerk forces, Esplin had the Blade ship ambush them, which resulted in the destruction of the Andalite Dome ship GalaxyTree and the deaths of most of the Andalite forces. After finishing off the remnants of Andalite resistance, Esplin followed Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, who had flown his fighter down to Earth, specifically to a city in California,, moments earlier. Esplin had his Blade ship land in the abandoned construction site where Elfangor had crash-landed, which was coincidentally in the same city the Yeerks were basing their Earth invasion out of.

Exiting his Blade ship, Esplin found himself facing a fatally wounded Elfangor. He told the Prince that it was an honor to meet him again, noting that he had become a legend since they last met. Esplin relished in notifying Elfangor that the Dome ship had been destroyed and the Andalites had all been killed. When Elfangor retorted that Andalite reinforcements would arrive, Esplin responded that they would not be enough and that he would kill them too. As Elfangor asked why Esplin was targeting humans himself, Esplin crowed that the conquest of Earth was to be his contribution to the Yeerk Empire and that victory would have him promoted to Visser One.

Esplin 9466 using the Antarean Bogg morph to eat and kill Elfangor

However, when Esplin added that he hoped to torture Elfangor's family before having them infested, Elfangor struck at Esplin with his tail, grazing his shoulder. Screaming in rage and pain, Esplin ordered his forces to destroy Elfangor's fighter, which had fired a shot at a Bug fighter, while commanding two Hork-Bajir-Controllers to hold down the wounded Elfangor. Esplin then morphed into an Antarean Bogg, a gigantic creature with a huge mouth, ringed teeth and long tentacles, and devoured Elfangor. Elfangor screamed as the teeth shredded him, but the Andalite prince was quickly killed, with Esplin eating the Andalite body. Esplin then demorphed and savored his victory before witnessing as his forces attempted to pursue what they believed were human children that had been watching them. He ordered his underlings to find the children at all costs and was infuriated at their failings.

Encountering the Andalite Bandits

"I know who and what you are. So. Not all of you Andalites died when I burned your ship. I compliment you on getting this far. But it will accomplish nothing. Because now, my brave Andalite warriors, it is time. Time to die. I acquired this body on the fourth moon of the second planet of a dying star. Like it?"

―Esplin 9466 to the Andalite bandits

Esplin was now living on Earth, fully in charge of the planet's secret invasion. He reported to the Council of Thirteen that all the Andalite ships that were in Earth's orbit had been destroyed and that all Andalites on board had been killed. A few nights later, on Monday, Esplin was in the city's underground Yeerk pool complex when he was informed that wild animals had entered the cavern and attacked some of the Controllers before freeing the imprisoned hosts. Realizing that the animals were morphs, Esplin deemed them as Andalite bandits whom he believed had survived from the destruction of the GalaxyTree Dome ship. Complimenting them for what they had achieved thus far, he informed them that they would die now before morphing into a huge Unnamed Creature with Eight Heads and Eight Legs which he revealed he acquired on the fourth moon of a dying star.

Esplin attacked by an Andalite bandit

Spitting fireballs from his eight heads, Esplin incinerated many of the fleeing prisoners. As the Andalite bandits ran towards the stairs to escape, the Visser crowed and encouraged them to continue running, citing that it made it more fun for him; he then continued his fireball gauntlet, deeming it as target practice, resulting in all of them except one woman and Tom being either recaptured or killed. Esplin followed the Andalites up the stairs but struggled as his giant body hindered him. He then created a wall of fire to block off their escape, which prompted Tom to try and attack him, although Esplin was easily able to swat him off the stairs. The Andalite bandit in a tiger morph then lunged at him and bit one of his necks, causing Esplin to scream as he spat a fireball at the tiger's flank. With the stairs now too narrow for him to follow them any further, Esplin could only watch and shout as the bandits successfully escaped, screaming that he would kill them all.

Meetings with Iniss 226

"Is there progress on locating the Andalite bandits?"
"No, Visser. Nothing yet."
"I want them found. I want them found NOW! This cannot go on, Iniss Two-Two-Six, it cannot go on. The Council of Thirteen will hear of it. They will wonder why I reported to them that all Andalite ships near this planet had been destroyed and all the Andalites killed. They will be suspicious. They will be angry. And when the Council of Thirteen is angry with me, I am angry with you. [...] Don't forget, Iniss Two-Two-Six, I gave you this Chapman body. I placed you in his head because I trusted you. I fed you his brain and made you my lieutenant. But I can suck you back out again if you fail me."

―Esplin 9466 and Iniss 226

A little over a week later, Esplin 9466 "called" Iniss 226 using a holographic emitter, at 8:00 PM local time. Esplin inquired as to whether Iniss had made progress in locating the Andalite bandits; when Iniss responded that he hadn't, Esplin replied that he had informed the Council of Thirteen that all Andalites had been killed, and that they would be angry with him if they found out there were Andalites on Earth, which in turn would make him angry at Iniss. Esplin then noticed something behind Iniss, which Iniss explained was an Earth creature known as a cat, which belonged to Chapman's daughter Melissa. Esplin demanded that Iniss kill the cat, as it could be an Andalite in morph, although Iniss stated that killing the cat might expose his cover. Upon deliberating, Esplin told Iniss not to violate his cover or draw attention to himself, and added that the cat would live until Melissa was infested, which he wanted to occur quickly.

Iniss quickly began explaining that he had an agreement with Chapman to spare Melissa, although Esplin retorted that agreements are just a tool to gain voluntary hosts and that he would not have bothered with Melissa if Iniss had succeeded in capturing the Andalite bandits. Esplin then demanded that Melissa be brought to him, and to ensure that Iniss did not fail him, Esplin morphed into a Vanarx, also known a Yeerkbane, a creature that could suck a Yeerk straight out of a host's ear. Esplin placed his holographic suckers on Chapman's head, reminding him that he was the one who made him a lieutenant and placed him within Chapman and that if he failed him, he would suck Iniss out of Chapman's head. Esplin then displayed a holographic video of him using the Vanarx to suck Iniss 174 out of their host's brain, which he then consumed. Esplin then demorphed and reminded Iniss not to fail him before ending the transmission.

The next night, at 8:00 PM local time once more, Esplin placed another holographic video call to Iniss 226 to inquire about the Andalite bandits. He then noticed the cat once more in the room and declared that it was definitely an Andalite bandit in morph and ordered Iniss to capture it. As the cat fiercely fought back, Esplin admired the creature while also giving Iniss pointers on how to restrain it. After Iniss successfully managed to pin the cat, Esplin ordered Iniss to bring both the "Andalite cat" and Melissa to the abandoned construction site, and threatened to use the Vanarx morph on Iniss if he did not obey. Esplin then ended the call and boarded his Blade ship. Flanked by two Bug fighters, the Visser made his way to the construction site.

Reunion with Chapman

"Visser Three. You... We had a deal. You know I never wanted to join you. [...] I agreed to surrender my freedom. To become a Controller. To accept this filthy thing in my head. To accept your control. I agreed... but only if you would spare my daughter."
"The situation has changed. The Chapman person is an important part of our work. We cannot have him endangered by some uncontrollable human."
"The girl — Melissa — is no threat. But... The girl is no threat. But I am."
"You? A threat?"

―Hedrick Chapman and Esplin 9466

Landing on the site, Esplin made his way to Iniss 226 and picked up the cat carrier to see the Andalite bandit trapped inside. He remarked that the cat was similar to the tiger that had attacked him at the Yeerk pool, to which Iniss answered that they were both part of the same family. Esplin then asked Iniss where Melissa was, adding that he had promised her as a host to Iniss 455 and that he was going to take her to the Pool ship for infestation before bringing her back to Earth tomorrow. When Iniss began to stammer, Esplin grabbed Iniss around the neck and brought his tail blade near his head, asking if Iniss was defying him. Iniss explained that Chapman was rebelling, which Esplin responded by revealing that Alloran was also rebellious but that he was able to keep him under control, snidely asking Iniss if he thought Chapman was stronger than Alloran. Iniss merely responded that Chapman held a respectable position in human society and that if Chapman caused the body to twitch in public, he would be seen as mentally ill and thus wouldn't be useful to serve Esplin.

Iniss then revealed that Chapman wanted to speak to Esplin directly. Esplin hesitated before allowing Iniss to relinquish control so that Chapman could speak to him. Chapman reminded Esplin that they had a deal to spare Melissa, and Esplin responded that the situation had changed; he added that the Chapman identity was an important part of their invasion and that they could not allow Melissa to potentially ruin that. Chapman then replied that while Melissa was not a threat, he was. Esplin then laughed and shoved Chapman in the chest, knocking him down to the ground. Chapman then told Esplin to ask Iniss 226 how hard he would fight for Melissa before Iniss reassumed control. Esplin then agreed to keep Melissa uninfested and allowed Iniss to leave. He then ordered a Hork-Bajir-Controller to pick up the cat carrier as he made his way back to the Blade ship. Esplin then noticed a rumbling sound as one of the construction equipment machines started to move towards them. He then ordered the Taxxons to get the Blade ship into the air, and when one of the Taxxons replied that it would take two minutes, Esplin angrily used his tail blade to maim the Taxxon. He then commanded two of the Taxxons to focus on getting the Blade ship airborne and told the remaining Taxxons to eat the wounded Taxxon alive before ordering the Hork-Bajir-Controllers to shoot at the earthmover.

Esplin morphed as the Unnamed Three-Legged Rock Beast

Esplin was then attacked by the Andalite bandit with a tiger morph, who managed to claw Alloran's body. Esplin tried to use his tail blade to slice the tiger, although the Andalite bandit was able to avoid it. Esplin then noticed that the other Andalite bandit, the one whom they had captured, had escaped from the carrier and was running through the construction site. With the tiger now running as well, fighting off the Hork-Bajir-Controllers that were chasing the smaller cat, Esplin morphed into a huge, three-legged rock beast. Noticing the "cat Andalite" jumped into a hole under a building, Esplin followed them and used his morph's monstrous strength to rip up the building. He then dug his giant fingers in the cement and concrete to create slabs, which he threw around the construction site, carelessly killing some of his own subordinates. Esplin chased the "cat" and was about to crush it when another Andalite bandit in a bird morph grabbed the cat and flew away with it. With the tiger bandit having escaped as well, an enraged Esplin screamed in thought-speak and began rampaging across the construction site, crushing Taxxons under his feet while using his limbs to toss Hork-Bajir hosts into the air.

Truck Ship Destruction

"Andalite. Fool. Do you think I don't know what you are? A true bird would fly away. Give yourself up, Andalite. I will give you a quick and painless death. As soon as you tell me where the others are. Have it your way, Andalite. I am patient. I can wait here for as long as it takes. And then you will die. Quickly by Dracon beam. Or, perhaps, if we can snare you, more slowly here in my Blade ship. Much more slowly."

―Esplin 9466 to an Andalite bandit

A Truck ship was deployed to a lake in the mountains to drain water that the Pool ship needed, which involved Controllers chasing away or killing witnesses in the forests surrounding the mountains and lake. However, after a Hork-Bajir-Controller was attacked by a bird, which resulted in a human witness escaping, Esplin personally dealt with the Controller in a gruesome fashion that struck fear in the other Controllers. The next day, which was a Saturday, the Truck ship was scheduled to return to the lake and acquire more water. In order to ensure that things went smoothly, Esplin boarded his Blade ship and followed the Truck ship, along with four Bug fighters, to the lake.

Exiting from the Blade ship, Esplin soon noticed a Hork-Bajir-Controller shoot at the Truck ship with his Dracon beam, burning a small hole into it. Esplin then interrogated and tortured the Hork-Bajir-Controller, who revealed that he had been trying to shoot at a bird. Esplin then killed the Hork-Bajir and its Yeerk before ordering the Bug fighters and helicopters to locate the bird in the sky, believing that the bird who had been spotted twice was an Andalite bandit in morph. When the Yeerks spotted a red-tailed hawk. The hawk then quickly landed on the Truck ship, preventing any of the other Controllers from shooting at him, as they had just witnessed what the Visser did to Yeerks who shot at the Truck ship. Bringing up the Blade ship above the Truck ship, Esplin thought-spoke with the bird, stating that a real bird would not have landed on the ship and would've flown away. He then offered to give the Andalite bandit a quick and painless death if he sold out the other bandits, and added that he was patient and could wait all day. Esplin then ordered some of the Taxxons on the Truck ship to arm themselves with Dracon beams and surround the Andalite bandit. However, the bandit grabbed one of the Taxxon's Dracon beam and used it to destroy the controls of the Truck ship, causing it to careen and slam into a helicopter and a Bug fighter, although the other aircraft, including Esplin's Blade ship, maneuvered themselves out of the way. The Truck ship then crash-landed onto the ground as the Andalite bandits escaped. The Controllers were then forced to destroy the Truck ship to hide the evidence.

Andalite Visions

"I am coming for you, brave Andalite warriors. I am coming for you. I am coming for you. You will be mine. Shall I make you Controllers? Or shall I simply eat you? The time for me to decide draws near. You weaken. Your time runs short."

―Esplin 9466 to the Andalite bandits

Esplin eventually returned to the Pool ship, where he received visions of an Andalite, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, asking for help. As Aximili was using a mirrorwave call to specifically send his visions to other nearby Andalites, Esplin was able to receive this visions as he had an Andalite host body. While on the Pool ship, he received another vision. Upon regaining his composure, he was bothered by a Hork-Bajir-Controller, prompting Esplin to kill the Hork-Bajir and its Yeerk by shoving them out of the airlock to die in space.

Esplin was soon notified that a piece of Andalite ship wreckage had washed up on the beach of the city they were basing the invasion out of. By the end of the week, they had successfully located the Andalite Dome ship GalaxyTree on the sea floor in the Pacific Ocean, which had not been destroyed like Esplin believed. On Sunday, Esplin was on his Blade ship, which was uncloaked and hovering above the ocean, when they dropped depth charges to destroy the Dome ship; however, sonar pings revealed that several aquatic creatures had just fled from the Dome ship. Esplin realized that the creatures were the Andalite bandits and thus morphed into a mardrut, an aquatic creature that he had acquired from one of the moons of the Andalite homeworld. He was then dropped out of the Blade ship and into the ocean. He then chased the Andalite bandits for over half an hour, gloating that they could not outrun them and that he would eat them. Just as he caught up to them, he was attacked by a group of wild whales, who injured him enough that he was forced to retreat.

Capturing the Andalite Bandits

"You would like to provoke me, Visser One. But the fact is that I destroyed the Andalite force. I shot down their Dome ship. I killed Prince Elfangor myself and heard his dying screams. And now I have eliminated this last, pathetic rabble of Andalites. [...] Six Andalites. Six Andalite bodies that could be used by my most loyal lieutenants."
"And then there would be others like you, you filth! Other Andalite-Controllers. More unnatural abominations like your vile self!"
"Why are you the only one who speaks? You're right of course: Why would I allow anyone to acquire Andalite morphing powers? But you are a child. Why do the others remain silent? And why do you all still hide in your morphs? Curious. Very curious."

―Esplin 9466 and Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill

Esplin 9466 was alerted to a distress signal coming from a quarry in California, not too far away from the city where the Yeerk Empire was basing their invasion out of; however, the signal was coming from an outdated frequency, specifically a frequency that the Andalite military had used to send them false instructions before. Realizing it was a trick by the Andalite bandits, Esplin flew down to the quarry in his Blade ship, which he kept cloaked, along with one uncloaked Bug fighter; the Hork-Bajir-Controller onboard the Bug fighter was tasked to land the ship and then step out, in an attempt to lure the Andalite bandits out of hiding. As the bandits attacked the Hork-Bajir-Controller, the Blade ship deposited a hundred Hork-Bajir-Controllers armed with Dracon beams around the edge of the quarry. With the Andalite bandits surroundes, Esplin made his presence known, and ridiculed them for using the old frequency, rhetorically asking whether the Andalites thought they wouldn't have changed frequencies. The Visser's attention was then diverted to one of the Andalites, and Esplin expressed shock that it was a child and that the Andalites were using child soldiers.

Esplin then remarked on the various battle morphs that the other bandits were using, and singled out the Siberian tiger, which he admired and approved of, referring to it as a wonderful animal, and spoke of wanting to acquire some of Earth's animals. Despite initially wanting them to demorph, Esplin instead told them to remain in their animal forms as he wanted to bring them to the Pool ship to present them as they were to Visser One. The Andalite bandits were then forced at Dracon point into the Blade ship, and Esplin had the Blade ship return to space. When they reached the Pool ship and docked within it, Esplin had the Andalite bandits brought in front of Visser One, where he told her that he had successfully captured them. When one of the Andalite bandits suddenly fell down, Esplin referred to him as the "humanoid one" and told Edriss that he seemed to be afraid of her. Edriss informed Esplin that it was called a gorilla and that he should have learned about Earth if he was going to be in charge of it. Esplin then scoffed at the notion of taking a human host body like she did and stated that he preferred his Andalite host body; Edriss retorted that her taking of a human host allowed to learn about Earth and humans and called Esplin criminally incompetent and responsible for having put their invasion of Earth in jeopardy.

Angered, Esplin raised his tail blade, but Edriss' Hork-Bajir guards quickly moved their hands to their weapons. Esplin then lowered his tail and called out Edriss for trying to provoke him, but reminded her that he crushed the Andalite forces around Earth, including having destroyed their Dome ship and personally having killed Prince Elfangor, and that he has now delivered six new Andalites. Edriss told Esplin that he had made mistakes and that the Council of Thirteen did not like Vissers who made mistakes, and warned him that he should be wary of his ambition if he wished to seek her title of "Visser One." She then walked away, leaving Esplin with the Andalite bandits. He then contemplated giving them to six of his lieutenants as host bodies, which prompted the Andalite child to yell at him and referring to him as an abomination. Esplin admitted that he did not actually want to give them as host bodies to anyone since he wanted to be the only Controller with morphing powers, he then wondered out loud why the child was the only one speaking to him and why the other bandits had not yet demorphed. He thought about it for a brief moment before he shrugged and dropped the line of thought, and instead considered what to do with the Andalite bandits. Having decided to imprison the bandits for the time being, he told his Hork-Bajir-Controller guards to confine the bandits somewhere on the Pool ship and to triple the guards around them, but that they were to kill the Andalite bandits if they caused any trouble. Shortly after, Esplin's Hork-Bajir-Controllers were knocked out or killed by Edriss' Hork-Bajir-Controllers in order to liberate the Andalite bandits; who then used an escape pod to flee from the Pool ship and return to Earth.

Acquiring a Human Morph

To be added

Master of the Veleek

To be added

Leaving Alloran

To be added

Dapsen Deforestation

To be added

Enticing a Celebrity

To be added

Hork-Bajir Liberation

To be added

Zone 91 Investigation

To be added

Reunion with Visser One

To be added

Further Actions

To be added

Battle at David's House

To be added

Summit

Impersonating Tony

To be added

Marriott Trap

To be added

Undercover as a Human Woman

Life as Aria

To be added

Kidnapping of Bek

To be added

Meeting Tobias

To be added

Helmacron Hurdles

To be added

Troubles with Andalite Bandits

"Earth is not ours because of the incompetence and treason of Visser Three. I left Earth in a position to be taken!"
"You left Earth before the Andalites landed a force of trained guerillas and saboteurs armed with morphing technology!"

―Edriss 562 and Esplin 9466

To be added

Encountering David

To be added

Planning and Failing

"You've never understood anything but brute force and crude manipulation, Visser Three. Your plans are grandiose and absurd. You wasted how much time and how many resources inventing a clever potion to destroy human free will? A failure! As anyone who knows humans could have told you. You try and seize control of the head of state of the most powerful nations and end up alarming them, making half of them suspect our presence on Earth! You spend a fortune in pursuit of an Anti-Morphing Ray that doesn't work! Why? Because you cannot even manage to wipe out a handful of Andalite refugees!"

―Edriss 562

To be added

Trial of the Vissers

To be added

Underwater Expeditions

Hork-Bajir Experimentations

To be added

Fighting the Nartec

To be added

Further Machinations

To be added

Becoming Visser One

Operation 9466

"The newly appointed Visser One, recently Visser Three, current leader of the Yeerk mission on planet Earth... has approved Operation 9466. Visser Two has undertaken a journey to Earth to assist in the execution of this long-anticipated military action."

―Yeerk Transmission

To be added

Learning of the Animorphs

To be added

Open Warfare

This section requires expansion

When he discovers the truth of the Animorphs' identities and escalates the conflict, it forces the Animorphs to retreat to the Hork-Bajir colony with most of their families.

Defeat

"You're the one called Jake, aren't you? The brother of my security chief's host body."
"That's me."
"As you see, my Blade ship is approaching. [...] The Blade ship will attack, and I am helpless, unable to control this ship. Only a traitor could have beaten me. I was not beaten by you, human, or by your pet Andalite there. I was undone by my trusting nature. Only another Yeerk could have beaten me, and then only by the lowest treason. I was not beaten by you. Never by you."

―Esplin 9466 and Jake

This section requires expansion

When the Andalites arrive, the Animorphs are able to force a stand-down, resulting in the now-promoted Visser One retreating from Alloran. Esplin was then kept as a prisoner on Earth pending trial.

Post-War

Trial and Imprisonment

"We have this just coming in. The five judge panel in The Hague has returned convictions on twenty-two of twenty-five counts of war crimes against the Yeerk, Visser One. Visser One, of course, led the Yeerk invasion of Earth and was in command of all Yeerk and allied forces at war's end. The decision means that Visser One will almost certainly never be released from the specially constructed prison facility that has been built in Kansas. The trial was televised live around the world for three weeks during which time seventy three witnesses took the stand to substantiate the charges and allegations."

―CNN Breaking News

This section requires expansion

Despite attempting to get Jake charged with war crimes, he is left incarcerated in his natural state on Earth for crimes against humanity.

Personality

"I understand you perfectly, Esplin-Nine-Four-Double-Six. You have the necessary brutality without the necessary subtlety. You are crude and emotional. You've made no progress with Earth. None. For all your grandiose schemes you are no further toward your goal than when you took over."

―Edriss 562

Esplin is a no-nonsense Yeerk, personifying the cold and heartless enemy the Animorphs are up against. He keeps subordinates in line with fear over incentive, and isn’t above the random execution, just to keep the rest in line.

Esplin's twin brother was initially his comrade in arms, but eventually the pair became antagonistic towards each other, with Esplin declaring his brother a traitor. The other Esplin became a cannibal, killing other Yeerks in order to sustain his own need for Kandrona rays, and suspected that Visser Three only kept him alive in hopes of obtaining this technique. The home of Esplin's twin's host body on Earth later burned down under mysterious circumstances; it is unknown whether this was perpetrated by the Animorphs or by Visser Three himself.

Esplin is a war hero to his people in a similar way Elfangor is to his, and the two share a bitter hatred towards each other almost from the moment they meet. Though Esplin isn’t as selfless and valiant as Elfangor, he appears to be far more cunning, as demonstrated in most of the battles of wits he has with Elfangor, he emerges the victor.

He does enter a rivalry with then Visser One, and their rivalry was something of a legend, even among Andalite circles. He has a close friendship with Visser Four, the head of the Leeran invasion; though, with Esplin’s personality, it is most likely a political alliance more than friendship.

Most Yeerks possess some kind of relationship with their hosts, often not a positive one, and Alloran long ago gave up his fight with Esplin so until book 54 he remained an entire slave, not even thinking to be free once more. In book 54, however, once defeated by the Animorphs and Tom the traitor, Esplin voluntarily relinquished his hold on Alloran, favoring the Animorphs' punishment to what the Council would sentence him to, and Alloran was overjoyed to be free again, once and for all.

Morphs

"Visser Three didn't look all that scary. Not compared to the Hork-Bajir, the Taxxons, or even our own Earth-animals. But Visser Three had an Andalite body. He had an Andalite's power to morph. And he had been all over the universe acquiring the genetic patterns of monsters like nothing ever seen on Earth."

―Jake

Morph	Book Acquired/Used
Djabala, Kafit bird	Prior to The Andalite Chronicles
Taxxon	The Andalite Chronicles
Hork-Bajir
Antarean Bogg	The Invasion
Unnamed Creature with Eight Heads and Eight Legs
Vanarx	The Visitor
Unnamed Three-Legged Rock Beast
Mardrut	The Message
Human	The Capture
Amazonian Snake (unusable; acquired by alternate Esplin 9466)	The Forgotten
Lerdethak (morphed by alternate Esplin 9466)
Lebtin Javelin fish	The Reaction
Unnamed Giant Yellow Sea Serpent creature	The Escape
Unnamed Winged porcupine-like creature	The Underground
Human (Hewlett Aldershot III; possibly)	The Decision
Dule Fansa, Human (Tony)	The Discovery
Unnamed Lizard Creature	The Threat
Human (Aria)	The Pretender
Kaftid
Unnamed creature with a Medusa-like head, with a scythe-shaped blade on each of the "snakes"	The Suspicion
Anteater
Unnamed creature with an appearance resembling an eyeball, with long yellow tentacles for eyelashes	The Sickness
Unnamed Chameleon Land Crab creature	The Reunion
Luminar	The Mutation
Unnamed putrid creature	The Weakness
Unnamed tar creature	The Hidden
Bievilerd	The Revelation
Unnamed acidic crature	The Return
Unnamed creature, which resembled a mound of living, carnivorous, Jell-O
Unnamed creature, with an appearance like a giant squid covered in hard black scales, with twenty spike covered tentacles	The Ultimate
Giant Octopus	The Sacrifice

Books Narrated by Esplin 9466

• The Hork-Bajir Chronicles

Appearances

This section requires expansion

In chronological order:

• The Hork-Bajir Chronicles
• The Andalite Chronicles
• The Invasion
• The Visitor
• The Encounter
• The Message
• The Predator
• The Capture
• The Andalite's Gift
• The Alien
• The Secret
• The Reaction
• The Change
• The Unknown
• The Escape
• The Underground
• The Decision
• The Discovery
• The Threat
• The Solution
• The Pretender
• The Suspicion
• The Extreme
• The Exposed
• The Experiment
• The Sickness
• Elfangor's Secret (mentioned)
• The Reunion
• The Separation
• The Illusion
• The Mutation
• The Weakness
• The Arrival
• The Hidden
• The Other
• The Test (mentioned)
• The Underground
• The Revelation
• The Deception (mentioned)
• The Resistance
• The Return
• The Ultimate
• The Absolute
• The Sacrifice
• The Answer (mentioned)
• The Beginning

Trivia

• Esplin 9466 has the title Visser Three from books #1-45 in the series. After the original Visser One is killed in #45, he becomes Visser One for the rest of the series.

Gallery

"Someone took a picture of me? Not cool. Do you see what I'm wearing? I'm Spandex-boy. Totally not cool." The image gallery for Esplin 9466 may be viewed here

References

Vissers in the Yeerk Empire
Visser One	Visser One | Visser One
Visser Two	Visser Two
Visser Three	Visser Three
Visser Four	Visser Four
Visser Thirty-two	Visser Thirty-two