Rescue
- They make it to the field, but to their surprise, they're not alone. Matt wasn't hearing things when he thought he heard propellers earlier. A small airship—not the Aurora—is coming in for a landing.
- Behind them the cloud cat is crouching in the safety of the trees, and in front of them is the pirate's airship landing in the field that was supposed to be their safe-zone. Uh-oh…
- Before they can make it back to the trees, they are spotted by the pirates—there's no turning back now.
- Matt realizes that if they run from them, the pirates will be hip to the fact that Matt and Kate know they're pirates. So they approach them and pretend to be survivors of a shipwreck. (Not too far off the truth, really…)
- Maybe they'll have a chance if they can convince the pirates they are castaways. Matt ditches the only evidence they have on them that they're from the Aurora—his belt with the insignia on the buckle.
- Matt acts like he thinks that the pirates are from the Sky Guard come to rescue them, and Captain Szpirglas goes along with it and claims to be Captain Anglesea.
- Although everyone's playing along nicely, Matt can't shake the feeling that Szpirglas is on to him.
- Mr. Crumlin (pirate first mate) escorts the two of them to their village. (Whoa, wait, there's a village?)
- Here's Matt's plan: bide their time lying to the pirates until early morning when they can make their escape while the pirates are snoozing. Then they will run, warn the Aurora of the pirates' presence, and skedaddle out of there before the bad guys know what's up.
- So… awesome. Of all the places to crash land, they've landed on the pirate's home base. They really do have a village with a huge lodge, a bunch of bamboo houses and huts, and even pens for livestock.
- The more shocking discovery for Matt is that these pirates have families—we're talking wives, children, and pets that run out to greet their mates as they return to the village.
- While it all seems cozy to think about a secret hide-away, this makes Matt and Kate's position all the more precarious—if it's really to stay a secret, there's not much of a chance that the pirates will let them go.
- Crumlin eases his hulking weight down into a chair in the main lodge and gestures that Matt and Kate should do the same.
- That's when Matt notices the skull and wings of a cloud cat mounted on the wall.
- Crumlin proudly brags that he bagged that one himself—they're great sport to hunt, and very difficult to kill. They've only brought down a handful over the years. Matt can understand now why they seem so scared of spyglasses.
- Turns out the creature Matt and Kate have been following used to pester the village for food, and even went after Crumlin once. They've tried to kill it many times, but it always seems to evade their shots.
- Szpirglas joins them on the veranda and is playing the role of gracious host to a tee.
- Szpirglas wants to hear their story so Matt is forced to weave quite the tale about their small ship going down in the typhoon. He is careful to say that he doesn't think they had time to send off a distress call (the pirates would want to know if anyone was going to come looking for them). He's also sure to play up how horrible he is with directions—what a lost little buffoon.
- The pirate offers them fresh mango juice with a smirk, and they gratefully accept it. (Hmmm… that smirk seems worrisome.)
- Szpirglas is obviously playing along in order to get them to relax and tell him everything he needs to know. Dude is no dunce.
- Dinner is being prepared, and they're all pretty hungry. Szpirglas makes a joke about how he's glad it's pork, because he can't stand to eat fish—which is kind of unfortunate when you live on an island.
- Matt's first hesitation comes when Szpirglas asks him where they washed ashore. He tries to direct him away from the Aurora's location and hopes that's enough.
- As he continues to lie, a woman walks up carrying a young boy in her arms. Szpirglas introduces him as Theodore, his son.
- The boy wants to hear all about the amazing things his father has seen on his latest journey, and Szpirglas obliges him by telling him about the night rainbow he saw—it's like a normal rainbow, only it's cast by the moon. (That sounds pretty amazing, right?)
- It becomes obvious that this is a sacred tradition between the two of them. Szpirglas is a natural storyteller, and he weaves wonderful tales about creatures and adventures for his little boy.
- Before he sends him off to bed, Szpirglas gives Theo a present: the gold astrolabe from a display case in the Aurora. That's the last straw for Matt.
- They sit down with the rest of the pirates for their dinner of over-cooked pork and singed rice with lots and lots of mango juice to wash it down. The more he drinks, in fact, the more relaxed Matt feels.
- Uh-oh… He's getting drunk. The pirates must have spiked his mango juice with some flavorless alcohol.
- Szpirglas continues his questions, and asks how many other passengers their fictitious ship had carried. Matt makes his first mistake by revealing that it was a chartered private flight. Oops—this indicates that Kate and her (dead) mother must be loaded.
- Then Szpirglas notices Kate's very expensive watch. Things are definitely starting to go downhill—if he thinks they're rich then he might want to hold them for ransom.
- Szpirglas insists they must have loved ones they might want to contact. Kate says that her father, the chief superintendent of police in the Hawaiis, will be wanting to hear from her. (Matt's not quite sure where she's going with this lie. Is she hoping the idea of police will be enough of a deterrent?)
- The pirate captain tells them to write out messages—with full names and addresses, of course—for them to telegraph to their people waiting at home. He says they'll radio in the morning from the ship, look for any other survivors, and then arrange for their safe passage home. Yeah right, we can believe that.
- In the guise of hospitality, Captain Szpirglas insists that Kate take his private cabin, and Matt will bunk with him and Mr. Crumlin. Great.
- While writing her note Kate keeps elaborating on her ruse by saying how her rich and influential father will want to make a donation to the Sky Guard as thanks for their rescue. Hey, Kate—shut up about all your money, already.
- The two of them briefly have time to formulate a plan: Sneak out when everyone's finally asleep, and meet across the landing field where they first came out of the woods. Good plan.