"Hell no!" the Triton shouted in Otto's face.

Otto clenched his teeth and forced a groan through them. "We're not asking you to drive it, just lend it to us."

"They'd still trace it back to me," the Triton retorted.

Otto stopped him from closing the door. "This is a chance to stop these hooligans."

"And then what?" the Triton asked. "You'll be gone, and we still have to live here with them."

The Triton pulled the door closed, Otto releasing it to save his fingers. "You're all a bunch of cowards!" he yelled at the door.

He stormed away back towards the others. The look on their faces and way they were carrying themselves told him all he needed to know. "No luck either?"

"No," Lee said.

"There's got to be at least a hundred airboats here, but most are owned by people who are asleep," Ophelia added.

"And those who are awake are too terrified of the G.C.'s to even risk lending us a boat," Lee finished the thought.

Otto went to open his mouth. Bonnie pointed at him. "Don't say anything, Otto." He closed his mouth.

Franklin held infrared binoculars as he stared out into the darkness. "There are boats incoming!"

"Boats?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, three of them," Franklin said. "Two of them have warm-blooded passengers. The third one must be all cold-blooded because I'm not seeing any heat off it."

Otto took out his pistol. "They might be being chased."

"It doesn't look like it," Franklin said.

They waited as the boats approached. As they came towards the light from the village, they could make out shapes. The boat with nothing but cold-blooded passengers was a family of Gators. The one on the opposite side had a mix of people. The one in the center was the master chief, Bret, Tammy, and the two Skusku. Also standing and waving was Nicole.

"Hey!" she shouted.

Cheers erupted from the others, and they waved back. "Lady Nicole, you're safe!" Lee shouted, jumping up and down and waving. It was perhaps the most animated Otto had seen the Triton.

Otto just felt vindicated. Nicole was as crafty as she was aloof. Some backwater bumpkins playing soldier were not going to hold her if she put her mind to it.

The boat came to the dock and drift to turn length wise to it. Nicole reached out for Lee and Ophelia to pull her onto the dock. Nicole hugged Lee, though gently and being careful of her mantelet.

"It's great to see you all," Nicole practically sighed. She turned back to the family of Gators. "Meet Andre, Charlotte, Marie, Jean, and little Robert."

The infant on Charlotte's arms yelped at hearing his name.

"They found me and helped me get here," Nicole continued. She turned to the other boat. "I never heard your names."

"I'm Benson," the Bullfrog said. He motioned to the Triton. "My partner here is Neil. The happy couple are Tobias and Nancy."

"Hello there." Nancy waved.

"I want to thank you all for helping me," Nicole said to them. "I don't know how to repay you." She turned back to the engineers. "But, how did you know I would here?"

"Otto always had faith in you," Lee said. "Franklin has also been monitoring the G.C.'s chatter. When we hard you escaped, we came here."

"We've also discovered the closest cloud seeding site," Franklin added.

"Excellent." Spigot hopped from the boat to the dock. "Once Lady Dupré and her 'cargo' are safely out of here, we'll take it out."

"How?" Ophelia asked. "We can't even get an airboat."

"We're happy to return your friend," Benson said. "However, we're not about to go straight into the G.C.'s teeth."

Otto reached under his hat and scratched his head. "I guess it's back to the drawing board."

"Guys…" Franklin said, his voice trailing off. "There's another boat coming, but I'm not seeing any heat on it."

Several blue flashes came from the darkness. Everyone hit the deck as bullets whizzed through the air. The crews of the boats other than Sam and Susan jumped into the water to disappear below the murky surface.

"They must've tailed us!" Sam jumped onto the dock and shielded Susan under him. "They'll take this out on the whole town!"

"Not if we stop them first!" Spigot looked to Lee and Ophelia. "Go out there and deal with them!"

"Right, Master Chief." The two took off their hat, bandana, jacket, and mantelet. Lee left behind his weather sensor as they slipped into the water.


The water was murky and tasted foul from decay. Their stomachs were closed off so the water passed through their gills where the debris was funneled through without interacting with their bodies. While paper thin and appearing delicate to the eye, their gill tissue was highly resistant to tearing from particulates passing through. All they drew in was the dissolved gases. Their eyes were also protected by their nictitating membranes.

They swam for the flat bottom of the incoming boat. Blue flashes appeared over the surface.

"You pull down, and I'll push up," Ophelia instructed.

"Got it." Lee swam towards the left side of the boat.

Ophelia headed to the right side. She turned to travel with it and put her shoulder into the hull. She could feel it being pulled down from the other side. Once it was passed the tipping point, it immediately capsized and dumped its passengers into the water.

Lee swam to Ophelia and they breached to see over the overturned boat.

The large group of Herps breached and turned to them. They grimaced at them and held up their gauss rifles. Lights on their barrels and the whine from them was a signal of their magnets ramping up to hurl bullets in their direction.

Ophelia and Lee dover under the water. They readied their own weapons, setting to stun and unlocking the safeties. Their whine was higher pitched and not as imposing as that as the rifles. They turned back and pulled the trigger.

The soundwaves were more impressive in the water as they followed the beam towards their target. Ophelia struck one of the bullfrogs square in the chest. Lee was not as on target as he got a Gator in the shoulder. The two crumpled and went limp, knocked unconscious by the assault of soundwaves on their bodies. Unconscious, their bodies floated belly first towards the surface.

The other Herps scattered, firing off some random rounds that forced Ophelia and Lee back. They took cover amongst the roots of the cypress trees as a spread of bullets chased them. The streams of bubbles drew lines around them illustrating their bullet's path, some of them coming dangerously close before they had put wood between them.


Nicole watched blue flashes below the surface, knowing it was gunfire. However, aside from the pair of Herps who came floating from the surface from being stunned, there was no telling how it was going for the two.

She turned to Spigot. "They need help."

Spigot snapped his fingers. "Greene, Frost, help them."

Bret and Tammy took off their outer garments. Their guns whined as they unlocked the safety. The two jumped into the water, disappearing into the murk.

Franklin pointed. "There's another one!"

A second airboat carrying militiamen barreled towards them.

"Seriously, what do they want with you?" Sam asked.

"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you," Nicole answered.

"Get to the King Barbardo!" Spigot ran for the airship at the end of the dock.

Otto fired off two shots. One struck one of the Bullfrogs standing at the bow. He collapsed into the laps of the others behind him. The other struck a Gator who fell into the water.

They ran for the airship, bullets whizzing past them as the Herps fired into the dimness and while in the motion in their general direction, just filling the air rather than trying to strike a specific target. They ducked to reduce their profile, heading up the wing and inside.

Otto slammed the door shut behind him. His fingers danced on the control pad to enter a code he likely recited in his sleep.

"They won't get through this door," Otto huffed, gulping for air from the dash and excitement.

"Still prepare to repel boarders," Spigot ordered.


Lee ducked as several bullets whizzed past at the slightest glimpse of movement. Now that the Herps could hunker down from cover, they could aim their shots and had deadly accuracy should he leave cover. Though, even that might not have been safe. Those that struck the roots they had taken cover behind gouged into the wood and sent up clouds of splinters, giving a primer of the damage they would inflict on flesh.

Lee and Ophelia's retaliations were not as damaging, dispersing across the roots as they only carried the power to overwhelm the nervous system of the target rather than cause destruction.

Two volleys of beams came from the side. Of the half dozen, three hit their targets and rendered them unconscious. They floated up as the others dispersed to other points of cover that protected them from the new angle of attack. Bret and Tammy swam in their general direction, but took cover as bullets headed towards them.


Bret took a couple shots in the direction of few Herps with a line of site at them. They ducked and his shots did nothing to the wood. He ducked as a bullet sent splinters exploding from the root he was using for cover. «Why are we trying to stun them when they're trying to kill us?» he signed.

«You're right.» Tammy set her pistol to its kill setting.

«Wait, I'm not actually suggesting we kill them,» Bret signed clumsily as he tried to get what he wanted to say out as fast as his hands could.

«I'm not either.» Tammy motioned towards the Herps. «See the root arching over them?»

Bret took a glance at the root above where the Herps were hunkered down. He then ducked as another barrage of bullets came their way and took chunks from the cover. «I see it.»

«We'll drop it on them. I'll take out the right side, you take out the left,» Tammy explained. «On my signal.»

Bret pushed back the setting knob of pistol until it clicked. He ready himself to pop up. «Wait, our left or theirs?»

Tammy slammed her tail against the wood behind her with a loud thumb.

They popped up and Bret figured his and Tammy's left. Their beams struck the ends of the root. The wood burst into splinters upon impact. Filled with water, the root sank on top of the Herps, pinning them.

«Back to stun.» Tammy set her pistol back and Bret did the same. The stun setting had a mechanism for it to easily come into place.

The two Gators pushed the root out of the way. Tammy took the opportunity to strike one. Bret stunned the other. The remaining Bullfrog swam for it, but Tammy sniped them. The three floated to the surface.


Lee took cover as the Herps unleashed their latest volley. There was nothing overhanging the Herps that had them pinned. He looked to the surface and remembered what Spigot had told them about pycnoclines.

"We need to destroy their cover." Ophelia ducked behind the tree's trunk.

"Or bypass it," Lee said.

"These things shoot in a straight line, Lee," Ophelia said. "It's not like you can bank shot them."

Lee aimed at the midpoint on the surface between them and the Herps. He fired the soundwaves headed to the surface. They reflected off the surface down at the Herps. Lee looked up and the Gator floated towards the surface completely limp. The Bullfrog fled his cover, making him an easy target for Ophelia.

"How did that work?" Ophelia asked. "And how did you know it was going to work."

"The master chief said the beam was affected by pycnoclines, and the water's surface is very effective at reflecting sound waves," Lee answered. "And I didn't know it would work, but it was worth a shot."

"Good shot," Ophelia said.


Anton threw his gauss rifle onto their capsized boat and pulled himself halfway on it. This was not going how he was told. Mammals were supposed to be weak and easily bullied. A handful of engineers should not be able to tear through a squad three times their number.

The first two shot were still alive and coming to as they rolled over, but were still completely disoriented. Whatever they were being hit with was not deadly—at least, not how it was being used on them as a couple blasted through the roots of a cypress tree—but it made them completely incapable of fighting. He wanted nothing more with them.

"What are you doing up here, Private?!" a voice barked from behind him.

The sergeant pointed down. "Get back down there and take it to those irksome endotherms!"

"They've beaten us," Anton said. "They'll stun us like the others."

The sergeant took up his gauss rifle and trained it on Anton. "This is insubordination, Private. You will rejoin the fight!"

"Don't hurt my cousin!" a young voice said.

Jean jumped from the water and bit the sergeant's arm. The sergeant roared in pain as Jean clamped down. He shook him, but he was firmly attached.

The sergeant picked up Jean by the tail and held him belly upwards. His eyes glassed over and released his grip as his body went limp. He was still young enough being on his back put him in tonic immobility.

"Stupid, mammal-loving traitor." The sergeant lifted his rifle to bring down butt-first on Jean's throat.

Out of impulse—or with almost no thought, at least—Anton grabbed the rifle and balled his free hand into a fist. He slammed it with all his might into the sergeant's face. He was spun around from the blow and floated there dazed.

He jostled Jean to break him out of his tonic immobility. "You all right, little buddy?"

"Yeah," Jean said. "Are you not with the militia anymore?"

The sergeant growled. "Leave the militia?" He inflated his throat and croaked angrily. "The only way you're leaving the Green Cypress Militia is to your grave!"

Anton picked him up, lifting him clear out of the water. The sergeant flailed in his grasp, but had a fraction of his strength. "Put me down, that's an order!"

"Yes, sir." Anton hurled the sergeant as far as he could. He screamed as he flew several meters before hitting the water with a splash.


Nicole set Milro and Sophie down on the table. While they were under siege, they were at least among friends and had a chance to catch their breath.

She ducked down and shielded the back of her head to the sound of broken glass. She looked back to glass scattered across the carpet from the window nearest the door. A grappling claw flew in and pulled back to hook itself to the sill.

Nicole peered out the window to Herps climbing the rope towards them. A Bullfrog was first. She slammed her heel between his eyes once he was close enough. She did it a couple more times before he lost his grip fell back. He took two of the Gators behind him with him into the dark water below.

The one on top was now a Gator. He snapped his tooth-laden jaws to demonstrate what would happen if she that with him.

Nicole ran to the princesses. "I can't let them take you again." She looked around for somewhere to hide them. There was a vase.

She picked them up and placed them among the stems. "Stay out of sight."

"Be careful, Nicole," Sophie said as they slid down inside.

The door burst open and Otto came in. He turned to the Gator come into the window and shot him with his sonic pistol. The Gator fell back out of view, but more were on the way.

Sam ran in. "Wait. I got this."

Sam ran to the window and looked down. He held up that red and green ball. "Hey, fellas, you know what this is?"

"He's got a smell ball!" one of the Herps screamed.

"And I'm not afraid to use it!" Sam popped it in his mouth and swallowed.

"You know what's coming." Sam turned back so his backside faced out the window. Nicole could swear he was getting bigger like a balloon inflating. His tail stretched out straight and what could only be described as the sound a large expulsion of flatulence escaped from him. Even being off to the side, her eyes watered and her nostrils burned from the stench that blasted from them.

The Herps screamed and fell into the water. They swam away. "It's not fair," one of them whined. "They're fighting dirty."

"I love the smell of musk in the morning." Sam took in a deep breath. "Smells like victory."

Nicole got a better whiff and smacked her hand over her nose. She would not love it any time of day. It smelled like the combination of rotten meat and burning tires. She could never think of when she was ever so thankful she only inherited her mother's ears and not her nose. "That's absolutely awful."

"I'm out." Otto dashed from the room.

"It's a good batch," Sam said.


Ophelia breached and saw the militiamen swimming away from the King Barbardo. She looked to the airboat next to the dock they were headed for and got an idea. She darted to it and leapt from the water to land on it. The Herps swimming towards it shook their fists in the air as she sat at its controls.

"I need to borrow this." She slammed her foot down on the throttle and it sped away. By pushing and pulling the lever, she used the fins behind the propeller to turn away and towards the others.

"Hey!" one of them shouted after her. "That's my boat! I'm stilling making payments on it!"

She sped to where Lee, Tammy, and Bret breached. "Need a lift?" She stopped and drifted to present the side to them.

Bret climbed on. "Nice ride, Ophelia."

Lee threw a crawfish trap on to the boat. "Found this. It fell off their first boat."

"It's always either food and weather with you," Ophelia grumbled as he and Tammy climbed on.

Lee and Tammy took their seats, and Ophelia sped back for the docks. "I gotta get me one of these." Tammy patted the back of the chair next to her.

Ophelia brought them next to the docks. Lee hopped off and grabbed his jacket and threw Bret his. Tammy handed Ophelia her mantelet and bandana before pulling hers on.

The others ran out of the King Barbardo and down the dock. "Everyone okay?" Nicole asked.

"Fine, all things considered," Ophelia said.

Alex pointed. "Why are they swimming away from us?"

Ophelia turned back to the Herps swimming out into the swamp.

"They saw how badly we pasted their pals and don't want any part of it," Tammy bragged.

Sam took out a smell ball. "Or they don't want another round with one of these."

Two pairs of lights appeared in front of the Herps. They stopped as the airboats came up to either side of them and stopped to pull them on board.

"Or they were regrouping with reinforcements," Ophelia said, a chill going through her spine at the thought of facing at least thirty Herps bearing down on them.

"Maybe we should take off," Franklin suggested.

Ophelia stood up as two Gators and Bullfrog climbed out of the water at the end of the dock. They unshouldered their rifles.

"Don't even think about it." Otto shot the Bullfrog, sending him sprawling on the wing. Lee and Tammy stunned the Gators.

"We need time to get the engines going," Otto said. The boats were coming fast. "But I don't know if we got it."

Nicole stepped onto the airboat. "Then we'll create a distraction."

"But, Lady Dupré," Otto started to say.

"They're after me," Nicole stated. She stood up and waved. "Hey, looking for me?!"

"It's that half-breed the commander wants!" one of the Herps shouted.

"And that filthy mutant stole my boat!" the former driver roared.

Emily shoved Franklin on the boat before he could get away. "We need as many of us on board to get them to chase."

Ophelia sped away from the docks. Behind them, both airboats chased after them. She made a wide turn around the King Barbardo and headed into the swamp and darkness amongst the cypress trees.


Otto watched the airboat disappear into the night. "I swear, the girl will be the death of her mother and me."

"Let's not waste it." Spigot walked onto the wing, pushing the still dazed Bullfrog off into the water.


Ophelia weaved between the trees as she paid attention to what was ahead and illuminated by their headlights. Everything became as bright as daylight in an instant with everything casting stark and sweeping shadows. She looked up as a white flare drifted overhead.

She looked back to the two airboats right behind them. One of the Gators stood up and trained his rifle on them. He fired, but the bullet sailed wide as he was unsteady. He fired again and again. Ophelia ducked, but his bullets seemed low.

She looked back at the engine assembly and realized it was not them he was shooting at. "He's targeting our fuel cell!"

She shoved the throttle down as far as it could go, but her feet were hurting from pressing so hard for so long. "Even if they're wearing combat boots, how are they keeping the foot on the gas like that?"

She looked at her aching foot and the pedal. There was a rod ending in a hook in front of it. It clicked in her mind. "They can lock their throttle," she grumbled under her breath.

"Isn't that illegal?" Lee asked.

"Remind me to report it to the local constables," Tammy said.

More bullets sped past them and low. Ophelia kept their course serpentine and tried to keep putting trees between them. Another flare replaced the other that was fading to maintain the light above them.

"Frank, hold my hand and brace yourself." Emily peeked out from behind her seat. She trained her pistol back and fired.

The beam struck the driver of the airboat with the Gator firing at them. The Bullfrog went limp and fell from his chair into the water. The others watched him go over. They then faced forward to seize in fear before jump from the boat.

Ophelia faced forward at the thick wall of cypress in front of them. She turned. The unmanned boat sped right into a tree and exploded on impact into a giant fireball. The other boat turned and continued the chase.

Ophelia looked back. "That's one down."

"But I don't think even these scaleheads are dumb enough to fall for it again," Tammy said.

Another flare went up, keeping everything bright. Ophelia noticed narrow bank covered in bushes ahead. If not for the brush, they could cut across it. She would instead have to take a hairpin turn around it. However, there was a fallen tree mostly submerged and angled up towards the bank. She pushed the throttle as much as she could manage.

"Uh, Ophelia," Franklin whimpered, "aren't we going a bit fast for the turn up ahead?"

"Who said anything about taking the turn?" Ophelia asked. "I'm taking the shortcut."

"Shortcut? What shortcut?" Franklin thought out loud. "I don't see any shortcut, there's just a—"

He stopped when he must have noticed the fallen tree ahead. "No." Ophelia sped right for it, putting it right under their centerline. "No!" The boat came onto the trunk and lifted up. "No, nono, nonononono!"

They launched into the air. Franklin's voice became nothing but a hoarse scream as they flew over the bank and brush. Gravity took hold just in time for them to be clear of the bushes and brought them back down on the water.

Ophelia turned back to see what the Herps would do with this. Either was bad for them. They chose to try to copy her jump, but their overburdened airboat came down bow-first into the mud. It buried its bow into the mud and dumped its passengers in the water.

Ophelia faced forward, giddy from the sight. "Yeah! Let's do that again!"

"Frank," Emily choked from Franklin wrapping himself around her. "Get off! I can't breathe!"


Otto heard the engines whirring to fly as he set the controls. His eyes darted to the many camera angles of their surroundings.

"Any course you have in mind, Otto?" Alex asked.

"Anywhere but here," Otto said. He would not be comfortable until he was airborne.

The camera with the view down the wing showed what he had been dreading. More than a dozen Herps ran up the wing.

"Where are they coming from," Alex groaned, "a gumball machine?"

"Now I see why they seem to number in the thousands," Otto mused to himself.

He then remembered. "I forgot to set the lock on the main door."

"What?" Alex squeaked.

"Been kind of busy," Otto retorted. "And there's the broken window in the stern lounge for them to get through besides."

He ran through their options.

"Do we fight?" Alex asked.

Otto was ready for fight, but paused to think. There were too many to fight, especially in close quarters. The Sky Knights might battle to the last, but Ministry aviators were taught a pilot is more valuable than their craft no matter which craft it was. The King Barbardo might be the Windmill Kingdom's flagship, but it was just a ship. There were also other ways to deal with this.

"We escape." Otto hit the intercom. "Miss Hofer, Master Chief; we're being boarded. Get out of there."

Alex pulled up the computer's security screen to lock the system. "The computer hard drive is locked, though it's just our travel itineraries."

"I don't want to take any chances," Otto said.

"What about the navigation controls?" Alex asked.

"We'll leave them open," Otto said. "It'll keep them from tearing the system apart and give the impression we were caught by surprise. Besides, I have an idea."

"Tracking signal?" Alex asked.

"Tracking signal," Otto answered.

Otto reached down under the helm and pulled off what looked like an ordinary air vent for the computer. He reached in and pushed a button to activate the single frequency tracking single. He checked his phone to make sure it was receiving.

"What if they find it?" Alex asked.

"The frequency is so far out of the normal radio range, they wouldn't know what to look for," Otto answered, being fully aware of the anti-hijacking procedures.

He activated the secret door and slipped inside with Alex to escape the bridge. It led to a ladder and a hatch in the upper deck. He looked over the side and saw Spigot jump from a window into the water. Bonnie flew towards the docks.

Otto leapt from the deck. He flapped his ears to direct himself towards the dock. He tucked and rolled as he reached the dock to come to a rest. Alex flew to join him.

They glanced back at the door. Otto half expected the main door to burst open for the Herps to pursue, but it remained closed. The King Barbardo lifted from the dock into the night sky.

Bonnie fumed as she reached them. "We just lost the flagship and barely escaped with our lives. How can you be so calm?"

"Because he's tracking it," Alex said.

Spigot climbed up a set of stairs to the dock. "Good thinking. We'll know exactly where they go with it."

"Maybe they'll take it to their base," Alex suggested.

Spigot shook his head. "Even if they don't know they're being tracked, they won't take such a conspicuous ship to their headquarters."

Something flew over the deck and fell to the dock; a rock covered in paper. Otto picked it up and pulled the paper off. "Your vehicle has been impounded by the Green Cypress Militia," Otto read. "If you want it returned, you will bring your princesses to the BoomBang manufacturing facilities in Firmland."

"Well, we don't even need to track them," Alex said. "They just told us themselves."

The King Barbardo turned and headed to the northeast, in the general direction of Firmland. Even though it was a tactical move, it gnawed at Otto to watch the flagship leave. Once the others return, we'll get you back, he thought.


Ophelia guided them back to North Crook. They kept an eye out for more pursuers and the ones they had evaded if they got their remaining airboat running again.

Not running for their lives, the swamp was a peaceful place. Free from the hustle and bustle of the big cities, they were surrounded by nature more than Ophelia had ever been. The smell would take some getting use to, but being able to just sit back and take in the peace would be relaxing. If only the remoteness did not attract antigovernment forces who wanted her dead for her career choice.

"It's amazing all the different places your kingdom has," Nicole said.

"You should've seen the fun we had on the prairie," Emily replied.

"There's also the Triton colonies in the kelp forests," Ophelia added.

"And Summit Town and Crater Lake on Mount Flattop," Lee said.

"Or my old home town of Las Cabeceras," Franklin chimed in. "It might not have the novel climate, but we're a little subculture all to ourselves."

They approached the village. The first thing that caught Ophelia's attention for the decided absence of the King Barbardo.

"They left us?" Lee asked.

Spigot and the three remaining Windmill Kingdom engineers ran towards the end of the dock. "There they are," Ophelia said.

"But where's our ship?" Lee asked.

Ophelia brought them to the dock where Otto helped Nicole up as the others disembarked. "Can you go five minutes without getting yourself in trouble, Lady Dupré?" Otto asked.

"I make no guarantees," Nicole said. "Where's our airship?"

"Those wretched Herps took it," Bonnie grumbled. "They want the princesses if we're to get it back."

"Uh oh," Nicole muttered under her breath.

"What do you mean 'uh oh?'" Spigot asked.

Nicole rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, the last time I saw the princesses, I hid them in a vase, in the lounge, at the stern, of the King Barbardo."

"They're where?!" Spigot snarled.


There was a feeling to be moving through the air. Even a lighter-than-air craft, despite floating more than flying like a fixed-wing would bounce as it traveled through the atmosphere and its eddies and currents. It was even different from the bobbing on water from before. They were airborne.

Though, things seemed different. The ride was rougher than Milro remembered. She was not sure if her smaller size made the bumpiness more evident, or if the weather was different, but it did not feel like Otto was at the helm.

"What's going on?" Sophie asked.

"I'll check it out." Milro climbed up the stems of the flowers to peer over the lip of the vase. The lounge was abandoned, the glass was still scattered across the floor from the window being broken. The door opened, and the figure entering sent a chill ripping through her.

A Bullfrog dressed in tactical gear surveyed the lounge from the door. She ducked down into the vase and hoped he did not see her.

"What is it?" Sophie asked.

"There's a Bullfrog out there," Milro whispered. "He's wearing the same gear as Gerontia's people."

"Oh no," Sophie exclaimed in a hushed voice.

They hid—clutching the stems—and waited. Milro listened for footsteps suggesting he was coming deeper into the lounge. Maybe, even he did, he would not think to look in something like a vase.

It seemed like an eternity passed. There were no footsteps. The door closed.

They relaxed and Milro climbed to see out again. They were alone in the lounge, but they were trapped with the Green Cypress Militia again.


Many of the militiamen escaped into the night. However, the few that failed to escape were quickly rounded up and detained by the authorities.

"Not so tough now, are ya?" Bret mocked one of the Gators as he was pushed away.

The Gator snapped at him in response. He jumped behind Tammy.

"I'm your chief, you idiots!" One of the Bullfrogs struggled as he was cuffed. "I'll have all your badges when this is done!"

"Tell it to the judge, boss," one of the constables said as he pushed him forward.

"Still can't believe law enforcement and fire crews would join an antigovernment militia," Otto said. "Do they have no respect for their oath?"

"It's a long and sad tradition of our people," Spigot said, watching as the Bullfrog was placed with the others. "There are those who join those organizations out of a thirst for violence rather than a sense of duty. We try to weed those types out, but—especially in a place like Sinker Swamp—you can't stop them all from even moving up through the ranks."

"I think that's mine," Andre said to Lee, motioning to the crawfish trap.

Lee held it up. "I saved it from their boat. I figured it had an owner."

He handed it to Andre. "You got me back a day's work." He looked at the crawfish crawling around inside.

"Now do you see what you've stepped in?" Charlotte snapped.

"Maybe Anton would be better off getting arrested," Andre said as he turned to his wife and nephew. He had vouched for him and saving his son and he had not fired on the engineers. Yet, it seems like he escaped the frying pan for the fire.

The young Gator hunched and held his snout low under his aunt's verbal assault. "Yes, Aunt Charlotte. I'm quittin' the militia. I don't want to hurt my own family."

Spigot had a thought. He walked to them. "Actually, we need you to stay on for one more mission."

"What do you mean—" He stood up straight at attention and saluted. "I mean, what are your orders, sir?"

"You can start by relieving some of your fellow militiamen of their uniforms and gear," Spigot ordered. "You uncle and Mister Benson will need them."

"What are you planning?" Andre asked.

"Do you remember the story of the Trojan Horse?" Spigot asked.


There was a significant difference between Spigot's plan and fabled Greek strategy. While the Greeks built their horse, they needed to steal their clandestine vehicle.

Spigot surveyed the improvised airfield as they approached. "You're sure everyone is gone?" he asked Anton.

"Everyone came when we heard the half-Do—I mean, Lady Dupré was found," Anton answered.

Andre looked at his ill-fitting uniform. The Gator that they liberated it from was noticeably heavier in build than he was, so the uniform sagged in the middle while the sleeves failed to reach his wrists. "You sure they won't find it odd we're strangers?"

"These guys are from the Firmland chapter," Anton said. "They only one they know is the sergeant."

"And won't they be suspicious he's not here?" Benson asked, his uniform also not fitting him well.

"You just need to lure them out," Spigot said. "We'll take care of the rest. How many bring a shipment?"

"It's always three," Anton answered, "the pilot and two others to unload the crates."

Ophelia drove the airboat onto land and brought it to a stop. Anton hopped from the boat and threw a switch on a pole nearby. Strings of lights came on revealing the small compound.

The buildings were large tents with crates stacked here and there. A number of small balloons sat in a line. Stubby wings jutted from the sides of their hulls with hardpoints for the flares.

Franklin checked his watch. "They'll be here any minute."

Spigot took in the spatial relations of everything. There was a large open area in the middle, big enough for a cargo balloon to land and unload. "When they load or unload, do they come off towards or away from the tents?"

"Towards," Anton answered. "The sergeant would come out to greet them."

Spigot pointed a nearby line of trees. "We'll hide there."

"Perhaps you should mingle somewhere where they can't get a good look at you, Uncle Andre," Anton suggested.

"You don't have to tell us." Andre and Benson headed to one of the smaller tents. It would give the sense of a presence.

Spigot led the engineers to the trees. They took cover and watched the skies.

"I'm surprised you gave up the King Barbardo," Nicole said to Otto. "I would think you would rather go down in a blaze of glory."

"It wouldn't help the cause," Otto replied. "They would still have it, and I would've been either captured or dead."

"I think we're rubbing off on him," Alex suggested.

This got him a glower from Otto. "Though, it would've been nice if I had known the princesses were onboard."

"Where is it?" Tammy asked.

Otto checked his phone. "It's still on course for Firmland."

"Quiet," Spigot insisted in a hushed voice. He motioned up.

A generic commercial balloon descended towards the camp. It was one of literally hundreds used by corporations across the Wonder Planet to transport cargo and personnel. Spigot had to hand it to the Green Cypress Militia. They knew how to hide in plain sight.

"Now what?" Emily asked.

"Once it's landed, head to the airship," Spigot said. "We'll go around and take them from behind. Be quiet and keep a look out for the crew."

The airship settled on the grass. They did not bother to moor the ship, only going to be down long enough to drop off their supplies.

The engineers crept towards the airship, keeping their eyes peeled. Any shadow could be one of the crew coming around to check the ship or being suspicious.

"Hey there," Anton said from the other side. "Got our shipment?"

His voice was wavering, insecure. Spigot picked up his pace towards the ship while keeping his footsteps quiet in the grass. The sinking feeling of things going sideways settled in.

"Where's your base commander?" an unfamiliar voice asked. Spigot was afraid of this. The pilot was cutting right to the chase.

They reached the airship and crept along its hull; sonic pistols ready.

"Oh, well, he's off on an emergency operation with most of the squad," Anton answered. "They left me to accept the shipment. You can just unload and be on our way."

"Commander's orders are, only sergeants and higher can accept shipments," the other voice said. "We'll take off and come back when he's available."

"We really need these flares," Anton said. "We're completely out."

"I know you're new at this, Private," the other voice said. "However, orders are orders."

Spigot darted out from behind the hull. "Cloud Generation Service, hands where I can see 'em!"

The Gator on the gangplank turned to Spigot, but turned immediately to Anton and took out a gauss pistol. "You filthy traitor!"

Otto darted out from the other side and shot the Gator. He crumbled and fell off it onto the ground. That was one down and hopefully the pilot. There were just the two other crew members to deal with.

Spigot jumped on the gangplank and raced up it. Lee and Otto got on it ahead of him. A Bullfrog and Gator popped their heads out of a staircase into the hold. "What's going on, Sergeant?" the Bullfrog asked.

Lee and Otto trained their pistols on them. "Hands on your heads!" Otto demanded.

The two Herps complied and walked out of the hold. Lee and Otto took pistols and knives off them. Otto motioned with his pistol for them to walk towards the gangplank with him and Lee keeping their pistols on them.

Spigot went down into the hold. The hollow belly of the craft held several crates with the BoomBang logo on them. Tammy and Alex came down with him.

"Find what we're looking for?" Tammy asked.

"You tell me." Spigot pointed to a crate.

Tammy picked up a crate and carried it to the deck. She pulled off the top. Inside, flares maybe four centimeters across and fifteen centimeters long were arranged in cubbies ten by ten. Spigot pulled out one to examine.

"It looks like a smoke discharger," Tammy said.

"That's what they are," the Gator who was still conscious said. "We train for airshows here."

"Yeah," the Bullfrog concurred. "You just assaulted us for a perfectly legal business activity."

"A perfectly business activity at the dead of night that requires a certain rank in an antigovernment militia?" Spigot asked.

"We already know this was a shipment of silver iodide flares," Franklin said.

"We don't even know what you're talking about," the bullfrog said.

"They do look like normal smoke dischargers," Tammy said.

Alex took out his multitool knife and extended one of the larger blades. "They might look like it from the outside." Spigot gave him the flare and he cut open the cardboard. He peeled it away to show the inner contents. He pointed the blade at a thin layer of yellow. "That is silver iodide."

"That little?" Tammy asked. "What with all the other stuff?"

"Most of it appears to be magnesium," Spigot said. "It burns steadily for a long period of time to maximize the spread of the silver iodide. The rest are other fillers and stabilizers."

Spigot took the flare from Alex and held it for the two Herps to see. "Care to explain yourselves now?"

They just glowered at him, knowing he had them.


Spigot held another flare from the crate. Such an innocuous device to be at the root of so much pain and suffering. Though, each crate held two hundred of them, ten rounds for one of their balloons. They got a crate for each balloon, enough for ten days.

Emily looked at the screen of her phone. "I think we got enough pictures to open a museum."

"And with these flares, I don't think even the Mother Tree can ignore it." Spigot held up the flare. Lee had filled his pockets with them.

"Then can we head out?" Otto asked.

Spigot looked over the edge at Andre, Anton, and Benson with the crew tied up and gagged. "You have them?"

"We got 'em," Andre answered. "The constables will be out here to clean things up."

"Where's the King Barbardo now?" Alex asked.

"It looks like it's stopped near Firmland," Otto answered. "They must be at the factory."

The militia had played into Spigot's hands. At least, he hoped. Everything he wanted as in one place. It was now up to them to bring this whole caper coming down around Geronita's closed ears.

Spigot turned back to his engineers. "Then let's get this horse to the gates of Troy."


Geronita watched as the Windmill Kingdom airship settled to the ground in front of her. It was a fine ship with its galleon-like design. It would be a nice upgrade for her personal craft.

A Bullfrog lieutenant exited and walked down the wing. "What do you think, Commander? We managed to capture the engineers' ship."

"I would prefer their princesses, Lieutenant," Geronita stated, "but I'll take it for the moment."

He stepped onto the ground. "I got you covered, Commander. We gave them an ultimatum, this ship for the princesses."

"Those traffic cones would never agree to it," Geronita said. Though, that got her thinking. "However, it's almost certain they will attempt to take it back. And, if they know we're seeding the clouds, they're after this plant too."

The lieutenant saluted. "What are you orders, Commander?"

"Secure this airship," Geronita ordered. "I'll give instructions regarding our impending guests."

"By your command, Commander." The lieutenant turned back and walked up the wing. "Hunker down, boys. We're to hold this ship."

Geronita looked out into the night and smirked. "Step into my parlor, Cloud Generation Service."