"We don't have much reason to not just push on as far and as fast as we can," Zoe replied to the question of where they were going to stop. "We'll take breaks to stretch our legs and eat and may as well stop in familiar places to sleep, but we covered the area along here fairly well."

"Brisbane first?" Boo asked, not looking up from the map on her tablet.

"Makes sense," Zoe replied. "We can get more trading stuff along the way."

"Anything to look for to trade?"

"We want local produce that won't likely be available down south. This area has plenty of banana plantations, so we may as well load up on those. Should have gotten another trailer for those."

"We could rig up a sled or if we find another trailer, take that with us," Maddison suggested.

"We flew over the bulk of the plantations first time, but I can assure you, we can take as many bananas as we can carry. As for another trailer, I wouldn't worry. We can fit about three large bunches on the trailer and a few more on the roof. We'd have to get somewhere to trade within a week and hope we don't crush too many of them."

"Could use a few crates and tie them to the roof," Boo added. "Might let us carry a few more."

"That's an idea," Zoe said, agreeing with a nod. "Let's just get there first."

~

The drive was pleasant, Maddison driving as fast as the truck would let her, barely slowing for the wide corners of the highway. Anisha woke after midday, poking her head out from the bunk to enquire about food.

"There's a rest stop coming up," Boo said, checking the map.

"I stopped there for a pit stop, still has a crapper and a picnic table." Maddison took her foot off the accelerator and the truck started to slow.

"You've been driving constantly for four hours," Zoe said. "We are almost to Brisbane already. I don't think any other sane person would have maintained that speed around most of those corners."

"Eh, it was safe enough. We didn't crash, did we?"

~

The rest stop was quick, everyone just taking the time to stretch, eat a meal and pile back into the truck.

Rolling into Brisbane a couple of hours later, they were met with warm greeting as they stopped at the outpost that had been left here a few months prior.

"G'day," an average but scruffy looking man said as the group got out of the truck. "I'm Keith. Welcome to Brisbane, sorry we didn't get to meet last time."

"Sorry for the rush last time," Zoe replied, shaking his hand as she introduced everyone. "How is everything going?"

"Well enough," he replied, leading the group into the building claimed for the Community comms. "Trade with the south hasn't changed, the weather hasn't been too extreme, only one cyclone so far this year."

"Only one? Are you expecting another?" Anisha asked, eyes wide.

"Not currently," Keith replied. "With access to the network, we've had the best weather forecasts since before the war. There's a summer storm going to pass through during the night and the morning, but nothing to worry about."

"Good," Anisha replied leaning into the darkest corner she could find.

"Don't mind her, she's the most jetlagged of all of us, and she's a night person. Anyway, is there anything we can assist with while we're here?"

"Actually, yes. Do you have some of those drones with you?" Seeing Zoe nod, he continued. "We've got two things we need investigating. Firstly, there have been lights out at sea last couple of nights, but nothing visible in the morning. They look like boat lights, but no responses to comms, and they're not there when we go out."

Glancing at the local time, Zoe nodded. "We'll send out a drone tonight, hopefully spot what it is. The other thing?"

"Some mutated wildlife has been attacking our herds. We lack any extreme weaponry, which makes it nearly impossible to protect our herds against them."

"Dropbears or fighting roos?" Maddison asked.

"Croc," Keith replied. "He uses the rivers and creeks to get into the farmland and snap, grab a sheep and bugger off. Friggin' blighter is fast too."

"How big are we talking?" Tyson asked before shuddering.

"Gotta be a tenna."

"A tenna?" Boo asked, saying the question all three from the Community wanted to ask.

"Sorry, ten meters long. The longest that were in the zoo here were half that. Don't know how that one got so big, but he's gotta be dangerous. We call him Craig."

"Why would you…?" Zoe started to ask.

"Don't ask," Boo interrupted. "It's an Aussie thing. They seem to want to name things more than normal."

Zoe shook her head. "Okay, so find and kill Craig?"

"Yeah," Keith said, a little sadly. "We don't really wanna kill 'im, but we can't move 'im, we don't have that ability."

"We don't have the tranquilizers to knock out a croc," Boo stated.

Zoe clenched her fist and raised her arm, the small stunner popping out. "What about my array?"

"That might just do it," Boo agreed. "Do you have a spare trailer Keith?"

"Yeah, it's little more than a sled though."

"That might be enough," Zoe said. "My suit should be able to move the croc onto it and we can take it, uh. Somewhere. One sec." She mentally requested information on crocodile areas. "There shouldn't be crocodiles here."

"Not normally, no," Keith said. "We reckon he swam down from the north."

"How far north?" Anisha asked.

"At least a days drive," Zoe replied, putting a map into a small holo projector. "Okay, I think I have a plan. We'll get backup from Atlas. I'll get them to bring an enclosed truck, Henrietta and a few stunners. Tomorrow we'll go look for Craig and the day after we'll go stun him, get him in the truck and get him driven north. With the enclosed truck and stunners, it should be safe enough."

"Solid plan, but why Henrietta?" Maddison asked. "You don't want to put that girl in danger."

Zoe shook her head. "She won't be in danger and we'll need her to help with lifting Craig. He is going to weigh a lot."

"Then we'll be free to go after Craig is on his way," Boo added.

"Though we still have a ghost ship to look into," Anisha said.

"For now," Zoe said, "let's find a place to sleep and help with dinner."

"We have a communal hall for food and spare rooms," Keith said, waving them to follow him.

~

As they sat with a few locals eating the evening meal, Zoe, surrounded by pieces of tech, worked on a few drones and comm pieces, occasionally being prodded by Anisha to eat. A pair of crates sat near her, tech the locals had gathered, knowing it would be useful for their new alliance partners.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

~ Run diagnostics on that drone, ~ she commanded Nix. The control unit lay on the table near her, wires running from it to several pieces of tech.

~ Processing. ~

"Zoe, eat," Anisha commanded, pushing the plate of food back in front of Zoe. "You really shouldn't play with toys at the dinner table."

"I'm working here," Zoe grumbled at Anisha before stuffing a baked potato into her mouth.

"Mhmm," Anisha replied with disapproval in her tone and eyes. "I can't believe I have to babysit a grown woman."

"I am perfectly capable of looking after myself," Zoe replied after swallowing her food.

"We all finished half an hour ago," Anisha said, waving to the others nearby, most of them with a glass or mug nearby. "Maddison has been playing with the drones doing a scan of the river area and Tyson and Boo have slunk off somewhere. Keith has shown us where we can sleep and I'm here and not in bed because someone has to look after you."

"And because you can't sleep because of jetlag," Zoe replied back, sighing and taking off her visor. "Okay, I'll eat then work."

Anisha patted her on the shoulder. "Good. Don't stay up with your toys too late."

"Yes mum," Zoe replied before working on her meal.

~

"That's the Southern Cross," Tyson said, pointing out a set of five stars.

The pair lay on their backs on the roof, the warm sea breeze ruffling their clothes and hair, fingers linked together while Tyson mentally pointed.

Boo shifted her head, leaning against his shoulder. "The sky is different, but the same. It's nice."

"I'm glad I could show it to you," Tyson replied, leaning over and kissing her hair. "I'm glad I convinced Mads to stick with Zoe. I'm glad that I went with her to your home. No one has made me feel more comfortable or at ease than you have."

Boo smiled warmly. "And you've been the only one who hasn't forgotten about me when I relax."

Tyson laughed brightly. "You don't make it easy, that's for sure." He kissed her hair again. "You are heaven sent. Now we have to make sure nothing happens to us."

"Mmm," Boo replied, closing her eyes and nodding as she rolled her body against his, letting him move his arm under her head. "It's still too hot here though," she said sleepily.

~

Anisha and Maddison sat side by side, a large tablet between them and a smaller one in front of each of them. Maddison was rapidly swapping between camera views of the four drones inland while Anisha watched two side by side feeds of wide ocean expanse.

Maddison yawned again before picking up her coffee and sipping on it.

"You should sleep," Anisha said to her, nudging her shoulder.

"I'll be fine," Maddison replied through a yawn.

"I'm more used to the night time than you are," Anisha added. "I have this. All we're doing is watching cameras showing dark areas, blindly hoping for success. How about I wake you if I find anything interesting?"

Maddison eyed Anisha for a moment before nodding. "I still have bets on a glowing whale."

Anisha laughed lightly. "Sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Nodding, Maddison checked the data storage on the larger tablet before leaving Anisha to monitor the drones.

~

"You are not a ghost ship," Anisha muttered to herself as one drone locked onto the large creature, following its path. "I can't believe she was right."

The drone scanned the whale's length, measuring it as just over ten meters long. Checking against data on the larger tablet, she hummed to herself before tapping her ear piece. "Maddison," she said into it. It was only a few seconds later she got acknowledgement from the other woman. "You were right, it's a glowing whale."

Maddison arrived much quicker and more awake looking than Anisha expected, eagerly opening the footage on the larger tablet. "I knew I'd seen a glowing whale! I was right!"

"You've seen it before?"

"Yeah, a few springs ago we went into sydney harbour, mostly for a change of scenery, and one night I heard distant splashes. I saw the tail, but that's all, and Tyson didn't believe me, even after seeing my memories. Said I dreamed it."

"Not sure why it's here, it should be up north. Their migration should have already happened."

Maddison didn't reply, entranced with the footage.

Eventually, Anisha prodded Maddison's shoulder to get her attention. "Go back to bed, the footage will be there in the morning."

Nodding, Maddison left, glancing back at the whale one last time.

~

A large group of individuals from Brisbane watched a miniature holographic projection of the whale swimming in place above the projector. The skin of the whale was pale, almost white, but glowing in the moonlight that the footage was taken in. A low murmur of wonder and joy filled the room.

"She's a beaut," Keith said in awe.

"That's one mystery done," Zoe said, smiling happily at the image. "Now we go looking for a croc."

~

Maddison slowed the truck, turning the wheel slightly before accelerating hard. The truck bumped over a rock, hung in the air for a moment and landed back on all four wheels as it continued through the sparse underbrush.

"Warn us when you go to do that!" Anisha snapped at Maddison.

Shrugging, Maddison drove the truck next to the small river and stopped, turning off the engine. "Keith reckons Craig is in this area," she stated, retrieving a tablet, launching a drone. "We should look around, but not approach Craig. Or the water. And look out for dropbears."

"What's a dropbear?" Anisha asked, curious.

"A vicious creature," Tyson replied. "Hangs around in trees, doesn't move until prey is underneath it, then drops down, latching on and biting at necks or eyes. Your best bet is to hope the shadows of the tree are dark enough that you can jump away before damage is done."

Anisha shivered for a moment before trying to make herself smaller in her seat. "I'll stay here," she stated as the others started exiting the vehicle.

"Get some more sleep," Zoe suggested as Boo pulled an awning out from the side of the truck. "We'll set up our monitoring station here while we scout. Maddison and I will go out, Tyson and Boo will monitor the drones.

"Stay safe," Anisha replied as she crawled into the bunk.

Zoe went about strapping her suit on while the others set up the monitoring station. An extra gazebo was set up, its sides open to allow the breeze through while a table and a few chairs were produced for the tech. A laptop, the large tablet and a few other smaller tablets came out, cables running to and fro, linking most of the tech, one thicker cable linking into the car's battery storage. Another solar panel blanket was thrown over the gazebo to offset the power use.

Launching her suit drone, Zoe sent a silent command, making a small flock of drones rise up from their storage and spread out. "Let's go for a run Mads," she said.

Grinning, the pair ran, leaping from rock to rock, across the stream and back. For what Zoe lacked in finesse that Maddison had through her talent, she made up through the suit, it correcting her landing and catching her when she slipped, letting her jump further and run faster than Maddison could.

After about ten minutes of running, jumping, climbing and scrambling, the pair slowed down and came to a stop across a small lake from where they could see a mob of kangaroos. Zoe silently passed Maddison a water bottle as she scanned the lake for any signs of Craig.

"Thanks," Maddison replied, handing the bottle back. "That was fun."

"We certainly spooked a few animals on the way though," Zoe replied as she scanned with her visor while checking on the drone following behind them.

"They'll be fine," Maddison said, waving a hand dismissively. "At least they aren't being eaten right now."

As they looked around, Zoe spotted a wide swath of blackened trees near the kangaroos. "Hey Mads, what happened do you think these are?" Zoe asked as she approached them. "I've never seen black trees before."

"They're burnt Zoe," Maddison replied, touching the closest tree. "Look here," she said, gently moving a bright green growth into view. "It happens every year or two, a fire will go through, it will consume the leaf litter and burn a lot of plants. These trees have likely seen a few fires, but they still grow back each year."

"Bloody hell," Zoe replied, taking a similar inflection to Maddison. "That's intense."

"Is there anything about it in your database?"

"Probably, I'll check." A quick search brought up numerous reports of fires in Australia over the years, growing in severity up to the day the war started. "That's. I. Gods."

"We sometimes had to avoid the edges of the city and move towards the coast and water. Asquith was burnt once, before Yasmin had her Talent."

"That's horrific," Zoe said, awed at the footage she found.

"But it is part of this countries life cycle. It needs to burn to regrow. Without the fires it gets choked and suffocates."

"I suppose it's similar in my home, the snow is needed for the cycle."

"Yeah, we just do what we need to to make sure we're out of harm's way."

The pair stood there for a minute, looking over the trees. Zoe smiled faintly at the sight of a small bird constructing its nest high up in a tree nearby, happy that life kept going after such an event.

"Come on, Craig won't be in the trees," Maddison said, tapping Zoe's shoulder.

Turning from the trees, Zoe refocused on her task.

~

It wasn't until after midday, after the pair had returned to the truck and they'd all eaten that one of the drones finally spotted the crocodile. It was as Keith estimated, just over ten meters long. It was also the opposite direction the pair had gone for their run, but still close enough that it was easy enough to get to.

~ Set up a drone patrol to watch the target, allow for ten percent variation on power. Minimum of two drones on target at all times. No closer than two meters to target. ~

~ Affirmative. Initiating target surveillance programming. ~

"Let's go have a look, but not get too close." Zoe finished disconnecting the various cables, helping to pack everything away again.

As they started the drive to get closer, Zoe stayed outside the car, running ahead, following the map that had been created from their scans.

Glancing back as she slid down a small slope, she watched the truck crest the hill and roll down, a very calm Maddison steering slightly left, then back right, following a rain made divot.

The truck rolled to a stop next to Zoe, who pointed along the widening river. "Another minute and we should be close enough. We'll have to wait till tomorrow anyway."

"Why don't we just set up here then?" Maddison asked. "It's wide and flat enough."

Zoe shrugged and nodded towards the largest part of the area. "I'll set a perimeter drone net to let us know if anything comes close, but nothing should bother us anyway."

"Other than these flies," Boo grumbled as she swat the air.