Hog Haven :chap2

“I don’t believe it!!” Wash looked out at the expanse between Serenity, the Firefly transport and the unnamed world he knew as Beltway 8.

“ Well Wash it certainly doesn’t look like you described it.” Mal’s gaze aligned with his pilot’s.

“Maybe I’m in the wrong place!” Wash looked over his navigation readouts on the console. “ Nope, we’re in the right place and this has to be Beltway 8. “ he sounded befuddled.

The polar ice capes he knew to be massive on B8 had shriveled to mere white knuckles both north and south. The rest of the place seemed to be shades of greenish brown and swampy looking.

“ I don’t understand?”

“ Well, find a landing spot. Someplace without villages or towns or the like. Don’t need any wagging tongues letting authorities know new company has arrived.”

“ That shouldn’t be hard. Place looks unoccupied as the dickens from up here. “The pilot answered.

#############################################################

It took him some time but finally Wash found a place suitable to set Serenity down. Most of the land around was muck. A heavy craft like Serenity could easily get bogged down. Wash landed the craft and Mal lowered the cargo ramp, then the crew of the transport stepped out on mushy soil. The breathable air of the moon was a bit steamy. Not how Wash remembered it.

“Wash….. how long ago did you say you were here?” Mal asked.

“ Ten, nine years maybe………could be less. I really don’t recall exactly.” The pilot stated.

“Well the world has changed, but I donno how in the heck it could do it so rapidly.” Mal said. He then turned and looked at the rest of his crew.

“Ok, we’ll probably need to find a place where there’s drinkable water and maybe some folk where we can find out where to re-supply. We’ll take the shuttles. Don’t want anyone to be able to describe Serenity. Wash, you did say the people here were friendly?”

“ Friendly enough! I didn’t have any trouble if that’s what you mean. Don‘t look be anybody’s here still though.” He said.

“Well, just the same we’ll look. Ok, Jayne and Kaylee take shuttle 2 and head off in that direction.” Mal pointed west.

“ I’d like to go too captain!” Book chimed in.

“ Ok, that’s fine. Zoe, Inara and I will take her shuttle and head east. The ground is so mushy here I don’t want to take the chance on Serenity moving around. Wash, you Simon and River are with the ship till we get back. Anybody finding a small town or village check with the locals and find out where we can get what we need. No sense wasting a trip by just sitting when we can get what we need for Serenity now. K, lets move.”

########################################################################

Inara, Mal and Zoe took the companion shuttle. They flew for hours but as far as the eye could see there was nothing but marshland and swamp. They saw some birds and other wildlife but no person or human habitation came to their sight. They flew for 5 hours and soon it became apparent that it would be just as easy to fly all the way around the smallish world instead of just turning back. They continued through the darkness of night then on again into the new sunrise. Mal looked over at Zoe.

“ Have you and my pilot been fighting?” He asked. Her brow wrinkled at his question.” You haven’t hit him in the head with anything?” He continued, “…….. made him loose his memory?”

Zoe just gave him that Zoe look.

“ There doesn’t seem to be anything here.” Inara spoke.

Finally they were thirty minutes out from where they had landed so Mal made the call to head back to Serenity. He also radioed Wash and asked if Kaylee, Jayne and Book had reported anything.

“ Nope Mal, nothing to report. Hadn’t heard from shuttle 2 yet. Maybe they found something.” Wash informed the captain.

“ Lets just get back. Maybe by the time we arrive the others will have made it back too.” Mal said to the companion who was piloting her own vessel.

Inara’s shuttle docked with Serenity and it wasn’t until then that She, Mal and Zoey learned the others hadn’t made it back yet.

“ You’re kidding! They should have been back by now!”

“ I agree Mal, truth is they’re not.” Wash told him.

It soon would be getting dark so the captain decided to postpone any search for shuttle 2 till the morning. There had been no communications with the craft at all. This, and knowing it wasn’t like Kaylee, Jayne and Book made Malcolm Reynolds feel very uneasy.

############################################################################

The next morning just as the sun cracked the B8 sky Mal and Wash lifted off in Inara’s shuttle on their way to search for shuttle 2. Zoe, Inara, River and Simon all remained with Serenity.

The small craft made a complete circumnavigation around the little moon without finding anything. They moved fifty miles north and still found nothing of shuttle number 2 nor of any human civilization. What they did see were lots of animals roaming around the surface flora. Mainly twen (hogs). Those wild pigs were everywhere.

Next the crew of Inara’s shuttle tried a southerly direction. They flew for hours, Mal was about to pull his hair out when a shiny glint caught the corner of his eye.

“ Wash……..there!” The captain pointed.

There was something in the brush, barely visible but there just the same. Wash landed the craft within 15 meters and the crew exited the boat to explore what had caught their attention. When they were close enough Mal discovered that the glint was from the sun shining off the wing of a shuttle craft, SHUTTLE 2!!

The craft was covered with moss and other plant shrubbery to camouflage it from being seen from the air, but why? There was no sign of Kaylee, Book or Jayne and no message left telling anyone where they’d gone or why. The door to the craft was still open and Mal, with pistol drawn looked at Wash who gave only a shrug of his shoulders. Serenity’s pilot had pulled the weapon he carried to arm himself also. They quietly took steps toward the open door and as they neared they heard the sound of movement on the inside. Mal stopped. He cocked the hammer back on his weapon. They must go inside to find out who was in there. Another step and the captain’s foot slid deep into the muggy marsh of the moon‘s surface.

“Gee Fong!” Mal exclaimed as he went to pull his boot from the bog. Just then there was rapid movement within the shuttle and out ran something that surprised Mal and caused him to fire his weapon before he knew what the hell was happening.

There lie the body of the limp soul……..it was a pig!! A hog actually and the beast lay lifeless with Mal’s bullet threw it’s skull.

“ Great shot Mal! Now at least I know what we’ll be having for supper!” Wash smiled at him. Mal just gave him a look.

Inside the two found nothing of value as to show what had happened to the crew of shuttle 2 or where they’d gone. It was a gorram mystery! Back outside Wash noticed there was some kind of monument on the other side of the shuttle 2. It seemed to be a statue carved into stone depicting a twen (Hog). Odd thing is there were wings coming from it’s shoulders.

“ Well somebody lives here…..” Wash said,” ……and they have the express mind capability of worshiping bacon!”

The statue was covered in moss and swamp vines and looked to be about eight feet tall. There were leafs of a vine near it’s snout and they seemed to be getting blown by some sort of wind, like there was some kind of air flow coming from the nostrils.

Mal reached up with his hand.

“It’s an air vent!” He turned back to look at Wash, “ It’s blowing cool air!”

“ I’m a leaf on the wind….watch how I so…….”

Just then there came a god awful sound that seemed to flow from everywhere and yet nowhere. The two Serenity crew members turned but there was nothing facing them. Just them a spear came flying from the surrounding mash and caught the sleeve of Mal’s pistol arm. His weapon went flying and the weight of the weapon carried him to the ground. Wash turned to face the threat…….. then all of a sudden things went dark for him as a stone the size of “ice planet” landed squarely against the back of his head.

Whatever had happened……… Mal and Wash were in no condition to fight it off.

End Part 2