Veleek
Encyclopedia
The Veleek is a fictional alien creature from the Animorphs
series of books. The creature resembles a cloud of dust but can form blades and teeth to attack its prey with. It isn't strictly one creature but millions of tiny beings acting as one. These beings feed on energy, which they absorb by draining it from their victims.
It was discovered by the Yeerks on one of Saturn
's moons who after attacking it (unsuccessfully) with wave after wave of Hork-Bajir
decided that it would be a useful weapon against the "Andalite bandits".
The Veleek could not be taken as a host so it was controlled by mutating it. The mutated form was attracted to morphing energy and would seek out and attack those it sensed morphing, even though it could not absorb this energy. It could only absorb energy from the Blade Ship's engines, and even then only what the Yeerks granted it, thus forcing it to serve them. The veleek's one weakness was water, which prevented the individual creatures from acting as one and apparently dissolved them. However, it also had problems with weight, being unable to carry Rachel
while she was an elephant
.
When dispatched against the Animorphs, the Veleek managed to capture Ax, but the remaining Animorphs swiftly realised that the Veleek had a key weakness; since it was drawn to morphing energy, all they had to do was keep morphing to keep it occupied, as it wouldn't continue to pursue a morphed target if another person was morphing nearby. Although Marco
was captured while in gorilla morph, he and Ax nevertheless managed to escape by forcing the Blade ship into Earth's atmosphere and jumping out, subsequently morphing into birds as they fell. Having learned of the Veleek's weakness to water- while escaping Ax had begun to morph while hiding on Visser Three as a flea
, thus causing the Veleek to attack Visser Three and prompting him to call for water to escape. The Animorphs defeated it by luring it out over the sea, Tobias
carrying Cassie
above the Veleek while in a cockroach
morph, and Cassie subsequently morphing a humpback whale
when the Veleek tried to capture her, thus causing it to fall into the ocean below.
According to Visser Three
, the word "Veleek" means "pet" in the Yeerk language. He tells Ax that he named it this himself.
Animorphs
Animorphs is an English language science fiction series of young adult books written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. Five humans, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, and one alien, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill , obtain the ability to morph into any animal they touch. They name...
series of books. The creature resembles a cloud of dust but can form blades and teeth to attack its prey with. It isn't strictly one creature but millions of tiny beings acting as one. These beings feed on energy, which they absorb by draining it from their victims.
It was discovered by the Yeerks on one of Saturn
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
's moons who after attacking it (unsuccessfully) with wave after wave of Hork-Bajir
Hork-Bajir
The Hork-Bajir are a race of aliens in the Animorphs novels.The Hork-Bajir are fictional aliens that are usually about seven feet tall. They are a dark shade of green and have three-toed theropod feet. Their necks are long and they have a mouth that resembles a falcon's beak with teeth. Their legs...
decided that it would be a useful weapon against the "Andalite bandits".
The Veleek could not be taken as a host so it was controlled by mutating it. The mutated form was attracted to morphing energy and would seek out and attack those it sensed morphing, even though it could not absorb this energy. It could only absorb energy from the Blade Ship's engines, and even then only what the Yeerks granted it, thus forcing it to serve them. The veleek's one weakness was water, which prevented the individual creatures from acting as one and apparently dissolved them. However, it also had problems with weight, being unable to carry Rachel
Rachel (Animorphs)
Rachel is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs. Her full name is never explicitly mentioned in the books, but her relation to her cousin Jake Berenson through their fathers makes it most likely to be Rachel Berenson, if it was never changed or hyphenated.-Biography:Before the...
while she was an elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
.
When dispatched against the Animorphs, the Veleek managed to capture Ax, but the remaining Animorphs swiftly realised that the Veleek had a key weakness; since it was drawn to morphing energy, all they had to do was keep morphing to keep it occupied, as it wouldn't continue to pursue a morphed target if another person was morphing nearby. Although Marco
Marco (Animorphs)
Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...
was captured while in gorilla morph, he and Ax nevertheless managed to escape by forcing the Blade ship into Earth's atmosphere and jumping out, subsequently morphing into birds as they fell. Having learned of the Veleek's weakness to water- while escaping Ax had begun to morph while hiding on Visser Three as a flea
Flea
Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
, thus causing the Veleek to attack Visser Three and prompting him to call for water to escape. The Animorphs defeated it by luring it out over the sea, Tobias
Tobias (Animorphs)
Tobias is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs written by K.A. Applegate. His surname is never mentioned, but had the Ellimist not altered time in order to take his father, Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, back to his old life, his full name would have been Tobias Fangor, the...
carrying Cassie
Cassie (Animorphs)
Cassie is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Her last name is never mentioned, although she referred to it as being "nice" in The Secret.-Biography:...
above the Veleek while in a cockroach
Cockroach
Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...
morph, and Cassie subsequently morphing a humpback whale
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
when the Veleek tried to capture her, thus causing it to fall into the ocean below.
According to Visser Three
Visser Three
Visser Three, born as Esplin 9466 Primary and later known as Visser One, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K.A. Applegate. He is the leader of the Yeerk forces on Earth, having inherited the planet from Edriss 562, who was Visser One at...
, the word "Veleek" means "pet" in the Yeerk language. He tells Ax that he named it this himself.