Chapter 2: Airboat Drift

)✹◯

Badwash's inner-city wasn't that different from the waterfront. It was only a dozen blocks wide and maybe five blocks deep. Steamship establishments began disappearing the farther they traveled into the town, presumably because no one in their right mind would haul a steamship that far up the bank. Still, the buildings in the best condition stood just behind the waterfront, while the quality of the establishments took a rapid dive the further they traveled inland.

Miyu and Fay reluctantly split up, looking over different sectors of the town for the rogue bounty-huntress. Neither had much luck, as when they met back up at the agreed upon location they returned empty-handed. Black Mamba was most likely still out in the swamps, either on her way to town or lying in wait for an ambush. Regardless, they would have to find a guide to lead them through the swamp as per the ranger's suggestion.

Back on Main Street—a street that ran parallel to the harbor, but was one block removed—the girls stepped into one of the aforementioned steamships, which had been converted into a bar and restaurant. The outside was painted white with azure blue trimming, and tables occupied the porch-like decks. Rows of windows looking out on the street lit the interior of the ship, but the bar portion was kept dim by drawn curtains and low overhead lights. It was towards this area that Miyu and Fay gravitated.

Fay's muzzle lit up with an amazed expression. She grabbed Miyu's arm and pointed at a booth along the interior wall, which was occupied by a burly bear.

"It's him!" Fay whispered in an excited voice. "Stephen Gills! The star of Bear vs Wild!"

"You're joking," Miyu said, not bothering to whisper. "What would he be doing in Badwash?"

"Surviving!"

"In a restaurant?"

"Oh I'll show you," Fay hmmphed. She walked over to the bear's table, trying to approach him in a non-intrusive manner.

"Um, excuse me?" she meekly began. "My friend and I were wondering... are you the real Stephen Gills?"

The ursid looked up from his breakfast, raising his eyebrows when he saw Fay. "G'day, girls. So you recognized me, eh? Sorry, it seems that most folks in Badwash don't watch the interplanetary telly."

Fay hopped into the air. "Ha! I knew it was you, but Miyu didn't believe me!"

Miyu rolled her eyes, but stepped over to the table anyway. She spoke through the side of her mouth at Fay while pretending to look elsewhere. "Well now you've confirmed it, let's go!"

"You fine girls wouldn't want a seater now, wouldja?" Gills asked hopefully. "It's been a while since I've met any of my fans. People just don't enjoy the great outdoors any more."

"Oh, we don't want to intrude on your—" Miyu started, but was interrupted by Fay.

"Could we?! Thanks!" She sat down on the cushioned bench across from Gills and scooted over to the wall. She grabbed Miyu's arm and pulled her into the booth as well. "I'm Fay MacDomhan, and this is Miyu Tsukikage."

The bear nodded to both of them. "Nice to meet ya Fay, Miyu. You can just call me Stephen, if it ain't no trouble."

From the look in Fay's eyes she was squealing internally, but Miyu just reached for the menu and began flipping through it. They had rushed all over Badwash without a meal, and some of the smells coming from the restaurants and houses were enough to make Gandhi end his hunger strike.

"Aw, thanks Stephen!" Fay said. "So, can I ask what you're doing here? Or is it a surprise?"

"Ha, any fan of mine would know what I was doing on Bayoon again," Stephen said slyly.

Fay clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my gosh. Not Bayoon Bushcraft: Season 2?"

"Spot on," Stephen congratulated her. "The first season received such good ratings that I was able to come back for more. But this time the wild Bayoon terrain isn't our only enemy."

"I think I'll have the couche-couche," Miyu said, trying her best to ignore their conversation.

"W-what do you mean?" Fay asked. "Did you get caught trespassing again?"

"Naw, even more deadly," Stephen said, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Pirates."

At this Miyu's ears perked back up.

"Pirates?" Fay echoed.

"You've 'eard about the Battle of Sector Z, I assume? It was all over the news just a couple fortnights ago."

Miyu jumped back into the conversation. "The largest armed conflict between the Cornerian Defense Force and the space pirates. It was a slaughter on both sides. The pirates were cooperating, unifying in large numbers. Corneria had to confront them before they became any more powerful. So the CDF gathered a fleet, and the space pirates gathered a fleet, and the two met at Sector Z. Both sides fired more weapons in that day-long exchange than over the CDF's entire history. They ended up routing the pirates, but took heavy losses themselves. The pirate coalition was ended, but the immediate effect is that criminals scattered all over the System. At least it's meant more work for us mercenaries. Why's it important? Have there been pirates sighted around Badwash?"

"Yes, in large quan'ities," Stephen spoke in a low voice. "We've seen the largest numbers turn tail and retreat to the outer rim, Venom's airspace, Fortuna, and Macbeth. But Bayoon and Aquas are the closest we've seen them come to Corneria. Real easy to capitalize on the fear factor, and another reason to return to Bayoon for season two. There have been many reports of pirates in the area through the bush telegraph, but they all disappear in the swamps. Some sneak in alongside tourists, families, and supply trucks coming for the festival. Badwash is the perfect hideout, too. You've got the Pillar almost directly over'ead—the giant cloud hanging between Bayoon and Aquas. No CDF cruiser wants to shack-up in that. Though Bayoon houses the majority of the Aquas system's population, Badwash Bayou is mighty sparse. I'd say there are 2,000 inhabitants max, with many scattered beyond the black stump."

"Hasn't Corneria dispatched a fleet to investigate? Drive them out?" Miyu asked.

Stephen shook his head. "Bayoon's local government thinks they can handle it. They've sent forest rangers to the area for confirmation. If they need backup, they'll call in the CDF."

"We're chasing a criminal of our own," Miyu explained. "A bounty-hunter with stolen goods. Fay shot her down over Badwash, so we figure she must have landed in the swamp. We were planning to grab a guide and brave the swamp alone, but if she has allies in there, we'd be outnumbered."

"Oh!" Fay exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "You think Cira was originally headed to Badwash in the first place? Maybe she stole the artifacts for one of the pirate commanders."

"It can't possibly be a coincidence that Mamba ran to where the other pirates were grouping up," Miyu agreed.

"Say, I've got some good oil!" Stephen snapped his furry digits. "Why don't you two come along with me? We can hunt through the marshes and swamps together, looking for the bushrangers and this 'Mamba' person. Whaddya say?"

Miyu zoned out while staring at a spot of hot sauce on the table. She was picturing a hellhole of a swamp through which the three of them waded on foot, drinking algae and mud-filled water and eating small rocks and live insect larvae for sustenance. If they were lucky they'd find some feces of larger animals to turn into juice. In the daylight they'd roast in the sunlight and suffocate in marsh gases, while at night they'd freeze to death in waist-deep water. Graphic images of death by poisonous snakes and alligators filled her mind. They'd be eaten alive by bugs, getting completely sapped of blood by misquotes bigger than Stephen Gills himself.

"Oh my gosh, could we?" Fay squealed, clasping her hands.

"Sure! Reviewers have complained I don't have enough sheilas on screen. This'll boost ratings bloody well."

"You mean I'll guest-star on the show?" Fay's eyes went wide and glassy.

"You're already in the show, missy." Stephen pointed out a cameraman sitting by the window opposite them. "Say hello to Si, girls."

"Hello, Si!" Fay waved emphatically. Miyu nodded slightly, suddenly self-conscious that she was being filmed. The green kakapo behind the camera waved a couple of his feathers, but otherwise kept his face glued to the view-finder.

"Simon's a great cameraman. Goes everywhere I go, eats the tuckers I eat, and catches whatever diseases I catch. And he stays quiet the whole time, the thoughtful bastard. We don't talk much..."

"So we could pay you to lead us through the swamp?" Miyu asked.

"Ha!" Stephen laughed. "We'll pay you just for being on the show."

Miyu liked the sound of that. "And what protection do you have against pirates?"

"Besides my camera crew we'll travel with local forest rangers. They're just as eager to meet those bushwackers as we are. They're well armed, and from the looks of it, you girls are too?" When Miyu and Fay nodded, he continued, "Good. I hope you can take care of yourself in a pinch. I'll handle the bushcraft part. We'll pile in my truck and head down to the west-side docks that border Mulaboo Marsh. We'll meet up with my crew and the rangers, and set out into the marshes. But first, my brekkies!" And he returned to scraping his plate free of food.

Miyu took Fay's order for breakfast and got up from the bar. She left the order with the barman. While their food was cooking she brought back a mug of beer, setting it before Stephen. "Here you go Mr. Gills. Thanks for all your help!"

Stephen smiled at first, but his face darkened when he saw the contents of the mug. He eyed the amber liquid with a suspicious look. Grabbing the handle, he lifted the mug to his muzzle and sniffed. Finally, he closed his eyes and gulped the beer down.

After wiping his mouth he said, "Sorry. I had to be sure it wasn't piss."

The lynx grinned mischievously.

"I know."

)✹◯

After the girls finished their meal (a simple but tasty dish of fried cornmeal topped with milk and syrup), they piled into Stephen's off-road jeep. The wrangler was well-worn and fit for safaris and treks through muddied roads, with modified headlights and an added winch for towing other vehicles out of ditches. Stephen and Fay sat in the two front seats while Miyu took the middle of the backseat, which allowed her to stretch her legs out. Simon the cameraman sat in the open trunk, still filming them quietly.

They drove through the streets of Badwash Harbor, and it wasn't long before they left the town behind. Outside the city limits the paved streets disappeared, dropping them onto bumpy gravel roads. Most of the buildings disappeared as well, allowing Miyu and Fay to enjoy the thick bushes and scraggly trees lining the road.

Eventually Miyu noticed a red chili pepper ornament hanging from Stephen's rear-view mirror. She had never seen one like it before, but at least it was better than the usual pink, fuzzy dice.

"Why do you have a chili pepper hanging from your mirror?" she asked. "Does it mean something?"

Stephen chuckled. "It's not a pepper, but that's a common mistake. It's just a red bit o' coral carved that way. S'posed to look like a horn. Old Aquan superstition."

Miyu caught herself framed in the mirror while examining the polished coral dangling beneath it. "What's it supposed to do? Is it just a good luck sorta thing?"

"There's more to it than that," Stephen explained. "It's used to ward off evil spirits and bring the bearer protection. I'd tell ya what it's meant to represent, but being in the company of—"

The ursid noticed both Fay and Miyu smiling at him funny. "You right?"

"It's... hard to imagine a no-nonsense survivalist like you being superstitious," Miyu said, trying to hold back laughter.

"No, of course it isn't! I see a lot of things on my adventures. I visit a variety of cultures, and some ideas are common between 'em all. The natives don't only teach physical survival skills, you know."

Even Fay was laughing a little, though she wanted to think the best of her hero.

"The residents of Badwash, for example," he continued, "are very superstitious. They don't trust outsiders, they have all sorts of knick-knacks and doodads, and even old religious festivals they still observe. Did you see the fairgrounds on your way in? They're setting up for the Munzagoringu festival. Biggest event of the year. Old pagan Aquans still practice religious rites handed down to them for thousands of years, but the rest just enjoy the amusement rides, special treats, and carnie games. They prepare a lot of yellow food for some reason, but to me it just looks like someone pissed all over it."

"Hey, that sounds like fun!" Fay said. "When does it start?"

"Any tic o' the clock. I'd love to stay, but we gotta catch some pirates right now."

"Aww..."

Stephen got a mischievous look on his face. "They also believe in some kind of swamp monster that lives out in the wilderness. Accounts of him vary, but there's definitely something out there that's starting the rumors. Maybe if we're lucky we'll run into him! And on camera, too! Right Si?"

The parrot gave Stephen a thumbs-up with his feathers.

It wasn't much longer before they crested a hill and drove down into a second dock. This one was a sizable distance removed from Badwash Harbor, and bordered a marshy delta that stretched on for miles. A simple gravel parking lot ran alongside the wooden dock, which was filled with similar off-road vehicles, boats attached to trucks, or run-down, ancient pieces of machinery that had once been vehicles at some point in time. Miyu noted there wasn't a hover-car among them. Farther up the dock a group of elderly Aquans was preparing a fishing expedition, while closer to them was a gathering of rangers dressed in khaki uniforms and wide-brimmed hats. The uniform was the same as Jeff's from earlier, though he wasn't among the crowd.

Stephen parked the jeep next to his film crew. He told the girls to wait in the car while he talked something over with his director, who was bald, wore sunglasses and a red, loud floral shirt. The director glanced over at Miyu and Fay as Stephen explained his idea to feature them. He scratched his chin a few times, then nodded and said something to the bear. They parted ways, and Stephen returned to the jeep.

"Good news, I got ya the job!" the ursid notified them.

"Yay! It's like a side-quest!" Fay said.

"No Fay," Miyu corrected her, "it's just someone else paying us to do the same job. And helping on top of that."

Fay covered her mouth with her paw. "Oh, I just realized! This will be my TV debut! Do I look alright?"

"You always look cute, Fay," Miyu assured her. "Besides, it wouldn't make sense if you looked absolutely perfect while trekking through the wilderness all day." But her words fell on deaf ears as Fay opened the overhead mirror, craning to see herself in the reflection. She positioned her bow and licked her fur into place—a habit she picked up from her feline companion. She didn't listen to Miyu's warnings about hairballs.

Their group of four left the jeep and met the forest rangers on the dock. They had a small fleet of watercraft moored to the dock, including larger speedboats, motorboats, levibikes, and airboats—shallow-bottomed craft propelled by a single, large fan on the back.

Stephen greeted the leader of the rangers, a brown-skinned walrus with a smoke gray uniform and campaign hat. He shook the walrus' webbed hand with his paw. "Officer Merkel! Good to meet ya. I've got two more in my company. They're fellow survivalists."

The large walrus stared down his curved tusks at the girls. His whiskers twitched. "It's Officer Mackerel," he firmly corrected, even though his badge clearly read 'Merkel'. "Mr. Gills, I respect your stasis as one of the greatest adventurers the Lylat has ever witnessed, so I will excerpt your assessment of these young ladies. But if either of them are hurt, their blood will be on your hands."

"We can take care of ourselves, officer," Miyu said, confidently patting the blaster strapped to her thigh.

The walrus raised his eyebrows in response. "Do you have a license for that, ma'am?"

Miyu's cocksure smirk disappeared. She glanced away and mumbled, "Yeah, it's just... in my ship..."

"Mmhmm." Officer Mackerel placed his hands on his hips and turned to address the rangers under his command. "Fellow wardens, you were originarilly called to Badwash to investigate increasing reports of pirate activity. Intelligence believes there are criminal sanctumaries in the marsh and swamp."

"Whose intelligence, exactly?" a small, goldfinch ranger asked.

Mackerel twitched his whiskered nose again. "My intelligence."

The goldfinch sank back into the ranks.

The walrus continued. "Today we have formed an expenditure to scour the wilderness for such enclaves. We will scan Mulaboo Marsh with a fine-toothed comb, but leave the swamp for another day. Report any findings to me; Alpha unit. And to Gills—Bravo unit—since he has to film his stupid TV series. Do not make an attempt to engage the enemy. I repeat; do not seek open engagement with the pirates. This is merely a renaissance mission. If you do get caught and are forced into combat, send up a flare and broadcast an SOS. Keep your eyes peeled... and absolutely no fishing!"

A pair of rangers slunk dejectedly away from the group, depositing their fishing gear in the back of their trunk.

"Well, Gills?" Mackerel asked. "Any special orders you'd like to give?"

"Why, yes." Addressing the rangers with a louder voice, he said, "Please try not to look directly at the cameras."

Inevitably every ranger's eyes spotted and focused on the two cameras, which elicited a facepalm from Miyu.

"Enough standing around here," the walrus said. "Rangers, to your ships."

At his behest, the ranks of park wardens divided into their predetermined groups and took to their assigned watercraft. Miyu and Fay followed Stephen's crew over to two identical airboats moored to the dock. They boarded the nicer-looking one with Stephen and his cameraman Si, while the director, script supervisor, foley artist, and secondary cameraman boarded the other. They would film Stephen from afar.

Miyu made the small jump from the dock onto their boat. The vessel bounced in the water a bit, but not much. The airboat was rectangular in shape, but shallow so as not to scrap against the bottom of the marsh. The prow curved upwards so the craft could easily skim over water and reeds alike. The large fan propeller took up the back of the boat, with a large cage protecting anyone who might touch the spinning blades. Two seats flanked either side of the fan's engine, with the one on the left wielding the controls. A small bench sat in the middle of the boat, while the forward half was mostly empty.

"Careful now," Stephen warned. "Hold onta something, or you'll tumble arse over tit into the marsh. For one thing, looks like you didn't bring ya bathers. For another, there be mighty deadly creatures in this marsh. All kinds of wonderful snakes, gators, and snapping turtles. I've eaten most of them in desperate times, and the local 'Yoons also have a penchant for 'em. They're prolly eager to get back at us and eatcha."

Simon positioned himself behind the right seat, getting a good angle with his camera. Fay sat on the bench, holding a pair of binoculars to search for signs of pirates.

Stephen offered the control seat to Miyu. "Wanna take her for a spin?"

Miyu eagerly sat in the left seat, getting a feel for the controls. Honestly there weren't that many gadgets there, except for a pedal beneath her foot, an ignition switch, and a rudder stick.

"I, um, assume there are no brakes?" Miyu asked.

"Heh heh, you got that right. You have to give 'er enough gas to keep her skimming over the surface. Otherwise she won't budge a fly's arse hair."

Stephen placed the key in the ignition switch and turned it, which activated the massive propeller. At first the noise wasn't loud enough to drown out the passengers.

The bear sat down in the seat beside hers, then pointed down at the floor by Miyu's feet. "That pedal's the accelerator." Next he gestured at the large, metal stick and shouted, "Press forward to go left, back to go right, and hold it in the middle to go straight. Give it a burl."

Rather than gently ease pressure onto the accelerator, Miyu jammed her foot all the way down. The hum from the fan became deafening, and the spinning blades pushed the ship forward and away from the dock. In no time they were off and skimming across the marsh, followed from a distance by the second camera unit.

In the open water closer to the dock, Miyu let the airboat fly to its fullest capabilities. There was something different about piloting an open-air craft than flying in her fighter. There was no canopy to block the wind from gusting through her fur, and there was no g-diffuser to trick her body into feeling balanced. Though she could never reach speeds even approaching that of the Sveno, something about the experience was so much more exhilarating, more real, more—well, down to earth.

Mulaboo Marsh was a flat, open plain that stretched on for miles. To the south sandy banks interrupted the water to create estuaries which emptied into the lake. In the north was a long wall of trees that went on as long as the eye could follow. The treeline was the sign of the swamp, which represented the extent of their scouting mission for the day. The marsh itself was anywhere from a couple meters deep to only a few inches, and in some places muddy ridges and rock formations rose out of the water. Rushes grew in clumps from the water, while fields of reeds sometimes rose higher than the boat itself.

At the start of their outing the marsh was mostly open, the water only covered in water lilies or carpets of duckweed. The tracts of reeds became more frequent the farther they traveled from the dock. Eventually a wall of the plants forced them down a small waterway in the undergrowth. It twisted and turned through the reeds, and Miyu struggled to follow the path. At the first turn, she eased off the accelerator like she would on a car, but the boat swiftly slowed down and refused to turn, running up against the reeds.

Stephen leaned over and shouted in Miyu's ear to be heard over the fan. "You have to keep giving it gas around turns! Without any air, the rudder has no effect!"

Miyu nodded, easing onto the accelerator once again. The craft left the reeds and slid back onto the waterway. Following the ursid's instructions, Miyu had a better time controlling the craft. But now she had to work with the airboat's simple but backwards steering method. The lynx had to translate forward and backward into left and right, coinciding each motion so as not to scrape against the soft, outside walls of the turns. That coupled with the airboat's lack of brakes made things extremely difficult. Gradual turns were easy, but sharper turns forced Miyu to drift through them. Often times the back end of the boat scraped up against the reeds, but Miyu picked up the feel and control of vehicles quicker than most, and in no time at all she was taking the turns like an expert.

"Holey dooley, Miyu!" Stephen shouted. "You handle this better than I do! I admit I'm used to traveling on foot most of the time."

Fay lifted her legs up onto the bench, lying lengthwise across it with her arms folded behind her head. She looked up at Miyu and they shared a smile. The lynx loved how the wind whipped Fay's ears, bow, and hair into a frenzy. For some reason she pictured Fay sticking her head out of a window with her tongue flapping in the breeze.

The spaniel mouthed to Miyu, "Whoa, déjà vu!"

Eventually they emerged from the other side of the tall field of reeds, and met more open water. Stephen gestured for her to ease off of the accelerator, and Miyu complied. The boat slowed and stopped skimming over the surface, now only coasting along. The fan was much quieter at this point, and the occupants could easily talk to each other without raising there voices.

"Now's the time where we have to be stealthy," the bear explained. "If we travel any faster than this, our fan will make too much noise, and the pirates'll hear us. Let's take it slow. Fay, you and I will keep an eye out for 'em. Si? Grab a different angle."

Si made an 'okay' sign with his feathers. He dislodged himself from behind Stephen's seat and lay down in the prow of the vessel—now that it wasn't moving dangerously fast. He managed to find a nice low-angle shot of the three other passengers.

The sky was strangely growing dark as if the sun were setting, which was curious because they had only eaten 'brekkie' a few hours ago.

"Not that I want it now," Fay began, "but did you bring a lunch? I think we need one if we're going to be out here all day."

"Oh dammit, I forgot," Stephen cursed. "You girls and Si have sandwiches. You'll eat those during the 'clipse. I'll have to steal some gator eggs or something."

"I'm sorry, when? What does "the 'clipse" mean?" Miyu asked.

"Oh, right, you lot have never been here before," Stephen said. "It's the eclipse; when Bayoon passes between Aquas and the Lylat. It was never a problem while filming the first season of Bayoon Bushcraft. We did that on the far side of the planet, which has a normal day/night cycle. But Badwash is located on the near side. Bayoon rotates in-sync with its orbit around Aquas, meaning Badwash always faces the planet. Whenever you look at the sky, you always see the same side staring back at you. Try it; have a squizz up there."

Both Miyu and Fay tilted their heads back, staring up at the sky. As always, the sea-green surface of Aquas stared back down at them, taking up a third of the sky. Galaxies of white clouds swirled over the ocean surface, and they could just barely see a few archipelagos of green islands. But as the sun set behind Bayoon it cast a large shadow onto Aquas. North from their position rose a mountain, and above that mountain floated the Pillar, the massive column of clouds that stretched through the sky to Aquas' surface. That was where they had fought and lost Cira.

"Bayoon orbits Aquas in a twenty hour period. Badwash has two daylight phases and two night phases in that same span. It's not because we're rotating—it's because the sun disappears behind both the moon and Aquas itself. What 'Yoons consider midnight is when the sun is on the complete opposite side of Aquas from us. Then it rises from behind Aquas at about three o'clock. Then you get the first portion of daylight, from three to seven in the morning, when it begins to set behind Bayoon this time. By ten it's midday, but the sun is behind Bayoon. The 'Yoons on the far side have all the luck, but here the locals eat lunch or have a siesta since it gets dark all of the sudden. It's not pitch-black—the light from Lylat bounces off Aquas' surface and makes a sorta twilight here. Then the sun rises again from behind Bayoon at thirteen o'clock, and abruptly sets behind Aquas at seventeen o'clock. That's when it gets pitch-black. You sheilas follow?"

Fay shook her head while Miyu said, "Kind of?"

Stephen scratched his chin. "Alright, look at it this way. Pretend your face is Bayoon. Hold your right fist in front of you. That's Aquas. Now, hold your left fist behind your right fist. That's the sun. Your face and your right fist don't move, because Bayoon and Aquas are both in synchronous rotation. At midnight, the sun is on the opposite side of Aquas. Now bring your left fist around until you can see it, and that's morning. It sets behind your head, which is the 'clipse. Then it rises on the other side, and that's the afternoon."

Miyu and Fay continued staring at their paws and orbiting their hands around their heads.

"Congratulations. You both look like wankers."

Miyu stopped to glare at the ursid while Fay exclaimed, "Hey, I think got it!"

Stephen patted her on the shoulder. "Don't hurt yourself kid."

At that moment the short-wave radio crackled, and one of the rangers said, "This is Hotel unit. We've sighted a pirate enclave on the west side of Creeper's Rock. They're holed up in a stolen houseboat. Over."

The radio crackled again as Miyu, Fay, and Stephen listened intently. "This is Alpha unit," the walrus' voice came through, "we read you. All vessels close to the area converse near Creeper's Rock. Use stealth. Cut engines a kilometer away. Do you copy that, Bravo unit?"

Stephen pressed the talk button. "Gotcha, Mackerel. Bravo and Charlie units will be there any tic o' the clock." Then he gestured for Miyu to give up the driver's seat. "Up, missy. I know the way to Creeper's Rock. You just watch out for pirate patrols with Fay."

Miyu reluctantly traded seats with the bear before he started up the engine and they were off towards Creeper's Rock.

)◯(

Following Officer Mackerel's orders they cut the airboat's engines and coasted the rest of the way to the encampment. They met up with Alpha unit and several other boats, which moored behind the natural cover of a wall of dried nettles. Simon hopped off the ship with the camera, lying belly first on the peat moss covered bank. Miyu joined Fay at the front of the boat, and the spaniel handed her the binoculars.

Peering through the lenses, Miyu the large, floating craft just on the edge of the swamp—between the forest and the marsh. It was two stories high, with the house portion on the second floor. It opened out onto a screened-in porch, then lead down to the bottom deck via ladder. Several speedboats and levibikes were docked to the lower floor, but they couldn't see any pirates outside. A warm glow came from the window, flickering in the dim twilight of the eclipse. A lantern hung from underneath the porch, already attracting confused moths. In the lantern light, Miyu could see drying on the lower deck...

The lynx let the binoculars sink from her face. Her heart pounded in her stomach as even the memory of the sight quickly repulsed her.

"Come on, let me look!" Fay said. She grabbed the binoculars, but Miyu jerked them away before she could use them.

"No, Fay! Don't look! You don't want to!"

"Why not?"

Miyu was feeling sick. "I'm not letting you see!"

Stephen gritted his teeth as he noticed as well. "Those bloody sons of bitches. Stealing the houseboat was one thing, but they had no business..."

Miyu had to do something physical to get her mind off the horrific sight. She stamped over to the bear, gesturing wildly. "Well? Aren't we going after them?" She whipped out her blaster, removing the safety with unnecessary force. "We can't let them get away with that!"

"Whoa there," Stephen said, laying a paw on Miyu's heaving shoulders. "This was just a scouting mission. We've found the pirates, we have proof, so now we call in the cavalry. There's nothing more we can do."

"But we have a capable force right here!" Miyu argued. "We can take them in a fight!"

"No, we can't," Stephen said firmly. "We have a camera crew and a squad of parkies that haven't shot anything more than a wild horse that broke its leg in the bog! You and Fay may be mercenaries, but you're still just a couple o' ankle-biters! We've done our job, it's time we bailed."

Stephen fished around in their pack before handing Miyu a cool water bottle. "Here, this'll calm your stomach. Have a sip."

Realizing arguing was futile, Miyu accepted the bottle and eagerly drank from it. She could feel the cool liquid passing down her throat and settling in her stomach. But the images she had just seen came back to haunt her; they were frog skins—four of them—stretched out over drying racks on the lower deck. She focused on Fay to keep calm, who was still trying to catch a glimpse of the houseboat through the bushes.

The radio crackled, startling all of them. "This is Delta unit. We ran into a patrol south of your location!" The broadcast was nearly drowned out by their ship's engines. A gunshot rang out, which Miyu didn't need the radio to hear. "We're trying to run, but they're in pursuit!"

"Dammit!" Officer Mackerel cursed in the boat beside theirs, "the pirates are sending in reinbursements!"

Miyu looked through the binoculars again, noticing a rag-tag group of Lylatians climbing down the ladder and jumping into their craft.

"They'll see us!" Stephen exclaimed.

"All units, this is Officer Mackerel," the walrus said into his radio. "Pull back to Badwash Harbor. Do not engage!"

Once Si climbed aboard the airboat Stephen turned on the engine and wheeled the ship around. They blasted off into the marshes, but could hear the motors, cries, and gunshots of the pirates close on their heels. It was dark now, but bright search lights illuminated their backs, casting their frightened shadows onto the reeds ahead.

A/N: I had a hard time figuring out the guide's character until Nail Strafer suggested I make him Australian. I knew I wanted a Bear Grylls parody, but the dialogue is more fun when he's talking like Steve Irwin, or TF2's Sniper.

Unfortunately I go back to school Tuesday, so there's no telling when the next update will be. I have a lighter course-load than last semester, but all of the classes are harder this time around. I'd also like to post chapter 4 as close as possible to chapter 3, so it may be even longer before I post either of them.