Muurl sat back in the pilot's chair. "Ok fine, lets see where this takes us. If need be we can always bug out."

The computer stuttered on, "No... no magnetic re... readings to calibrate too... bearing is... being... calc... calculated toto known lan... landmarks." The pause was near torture as Fionna climbed to her feet. At last the reply came, "He...heading is currently to...ward l...low foothills."

In the camp the astonished Marines looked on in awe at the swirling mass of winged creatures and the four great beasts carrying away the shuttle.....then they were gone as fast as they had come.....and there had been no chance for firing a shot....Not that firing would have done any good against the sheer numbers of creatures...

--------------------------------------

In the swamp, Karnage nodded to J'Yan and said...

"It already hurts like a son of a bitch....a little more ain't going to kill me." Karnage said as he gritted his teeth as the ride through the swamp began....

In the swamp
J'Yan watched Crux take off like a shot, then looked down at Karnage and growled. "You are not going to be able to walk in." The called over to the Marine. "Help me carry him."

Once the Marine was at Karnage's side, and helping lift the weight of Karnage's body off the ground J'Yan grunts. "This is going to hurt, a lot."
______________
Shuttle
Muurl sighed. "Ok. thats good." Then almost disengaged the proximity alert, but instead asked the computer. "What is our current direction?"

In the Swamp
Crux's ears heard the sounds once more, cursing he took off into the swamp towards the village. "There's no time to waist!"

________________________
Shuttle
Outside the fog itself was illuminated by the charges causing the shuttle to vanish in the swirl of haze and wings. It was an amazing display of raw power! The four beasts protected by the thousands of smaller ones swarming... the fog swallowed them in a hurry leaving nothing to target.

Inside the shuttle the computer replied with a bit of an electronic stutter, "Ma... main sys... systems online. Proximity ale... alert. Biomass near ... thru... thrusters."

Muurl sprinted for the cockpit of the shuttle, and in an acrobatic jump flew into the pilot's seat which had recently been vacated by someone flung to the floor. "Computer, bring main power online."

At the camp, the Marines were hunkered in their positions peering at the rain and fog.....

Suddenly there was a great flapping of many wings which brought all the Marines to full alert....then the sounds of wings were inside the camp....


The crusty Staff Seargent in charge turned and said to the Mortar section.....

"4 rounds Illum, variable spread, lets see what is going on here."

The 4 rounds of illumination were quickly fired in the dark and turbulent sky as they began to pop and light up the surrounding area and the sky....

As darkness became artificial daylight all around the camp Marines almost in unison whispered to themselves as they drew their weapons closer and looked at the spectacle in the sky....

"What the hell..."

Crux blew out a breath for a moment before the immensity of what J'Yan said struck him! Swearing in every dialect he knew the Ferengi realized he was as close to unarmed as one could get. And the others were not well equipped for wrangling arial beasts... at least not THAT many. His wearied brain spun in circles so much so his feet carried his body in one. They couldn't run with Karny, and they were no match in their current health to take on such a creature! They needed a plan... they needed to be closer... they had to do something! Anything!

_________________________________
Shuttle

Fionna looked out the window and sighed. The rain increased and a low fog rolled in the area decreasing visibility to less than a mile. Idly her fingers played with the small wicker-like doll. What did it mean? What type of an offering was it... how incredibly odd. All it was was a little figure made of vine-like things woven together, a little bit of herbs at the center. She sighed, there was nothing they could do. A while back when the rain surged they had shut the hatch in a vain attempt to keep conditions better, but it had done no good.

Turning away from the window, she went to her make-shift station to look at the latest samples... moments later the entire shuttle rocked like an earthquake had struck!

"Another one?!" Baker growled as they were thrown to the floor...

Fionna held on to the seat brackets on the floor and felt the odd motions... "For an.... earthquake... it's got an ... odd... pattern..."

Baker looked out the front window as the whole shuttle lurched forward, his mouth and eyes wide with horror! "Holy....!!!"

Unable to see it, and hearing the terrified screams of all else conscious, Fionna fought out a question, "What?! What's going on?"

"It's not earth that's moving..." Baker choked out... but it was Stanson who finished it...

"...it's heaven! We're airborn!"

Outside, in a whirl of fog and thousands of small scaled flying beasts, four immense creatures that Crux had lovingly coined the name 'Big Bertha' on had gripped the shuttle in their claws and born it to the skies as swiftly as an eagle snatching a fish from the pond.

Inside the cabin, Asimov reached his hand to the floor to pick up the doll from where Fionna had dropped it, a somberly he spook to it, "So it begins..."

J'Yan, would normally have been offended by the outburst, but he is too tired, and weary to care about it. So instead of arguing back he thinks for a long moment then growls. "There is either a free meal waiting on them, or there is about to be one." Another short pause catches them, and J'Yan's eyes go wide. "The villagers, or the Camp. There is about to be a lot of death." 

Frustrated by not only the confusion of the current events, but a complete lack of recall of the recent past, Crux bared his teeth at J'yan and hissed up at him crouching like a wild cat about to strike, "Do I look like a psychic to you?! How the hell should I know?! Obviously they don't give a damn about us, some bigger prize is drawing them on! If they were running from something, Big Bertha wouldn't have flown circles and the little ones wouldn't be following! Use your military strategy and help me piece this together, Ridgeface! What could possibly be going on?"

Out of breath from his tyraid, Crux was forced to stand there, his chest heaving as he fought to catch up. He closed his eyes--once more his lobes caught the sound, but the fleeting auditory glimpse of the thread of the tapestry snapped out his hand as soon as he reached to grasped it. The rain washed out his hopes of solving this life-threatening brain teaser. He growled, angered by the mere thought of being defeated on this hellhole.