Neb Neb slid into the pilot's seat, punched the ignition, and Boss Nass's bongo engine roared to life. "Hop in," said Neb Neb as he quickly secured his safety harness.
Fassa and Spleed leaped up to the bongo and scrambled into the cockpit. Fassa had intended to take the navigator's position, but Spleed beat her to it and Fassa fell back into the roomy rear seat. A moment after Fassa activated the bongo's cockpit bubble, the sub pen was struck by a second energy torpedo, and more lake water came pounding down, hammering the hull of Boss Nass' bongo.
Neb Neb rotated the bongo so its nose pointed at the exit portal, then threw the sub forward, launching it through the gossamer sphincter and into Lake Paonga. Even though Spleed and Neb Neb knew the bongo would be fast, they were surprised when they felt their bodies press back into their seats. "Whosa tryen to paste uss-ens?" Neb Neb asked as he steered away from the lab bubble and the underwater city.
"Squidfella Quiglee got hisself a militia-bongo," Fassa replied.
"What-a weenee," Spleed commented as she scanned the sub's sensor screen, happy to have a working one for a change. A red dot was moving fast toward their position, and Spleed said, "Boomer-blip comen in speedest onda starboard."
Neb Neb steered the bongo into a steep climb, and Fassa looked out through the cockpit canopy, watching as an energy torpedo sailed under and away from them. As Neb Neb looped the sub back toward their attacker, he heard the torpedo explode on the lake floor. Outside the cockpit, the militia-bongo came into view.
Neb Neb headed straight for it.
In the Grand Gungan Army, Fassa was known for her unflappable calm under pressure. However, in all her experience, she'd never been in a bongo with Spleed Nukkels and Neb Neb Goodrow. Clutching the armrests of the rear seat, Fassa gasped, "What yousa doen?"
Neb Neb's voice was calm as he answered, "Squidfella's borer da daylights outta mesa."
The militia-bongo began angling to face the incoming sub, but its speed was no match for Boss Nass's bongo. Neb Neb rolled and sped for the militia-bongo's stern.
"Hang onto yousa thumbs," Spleed advised as she tightened her safety harness.
As per Boss Nass's instructions, the bongo's forward diving plane and skeletal structure had been heavily reinforced. Boss Nass had wanted the bongo to be extra durable as well as fast, and Spleed and Neb Neb had been happy to oblige. With a bone-jarring impact, Neb Neb slammed into the rotating dome at the base of the militia-bongo's fins.The reinforced diving plane sheared through the dome, effectively separating the militia-bongo's fins from its body. Fassa glanced back through her cockpit canopy and saw the fins whip back through the water and smash into the militia-bongo.
Fassa was speechless.
"Un dat," Neb Neb said, "isa howta rilly take out da competition." He decelerated and circled back to inspect the damage. The militia-bongo and its severed fins were floating dead in the water. Squidfella was visible inside his cockpit, unconscious and slumped over the controls.
Happy to be alive, Spleed and Neb Neb turned to face each other and said simultaneously, "Mayda bubbles always bees behind yous." Then they hawked and spat.
In the back seat, Fassa said, "Yuck."
Wiping off his face, Neb Neb said, "Mabee da good-lucky ritual a no smart idea when wesa sitten so close."
* * *
Boss Nass was mortified when Lob Dizz informed him that her laboratory bubble was destroyed and his bongo was missing. But when Major Fassa returned and informed him of the details, the Boss was relieved that no one had been seriously injured. He was also delighted that his bongo had performed so admirably in the apprehension of Squidfella Quiglee.
For stealing the militia-bongo, endangering Major Fassa, and firing on Otoh Gunga, Squidfella was banned from bongo racing and sent to a remote correctional clinic. Despite all that he'd done, Neb Neb Goodrow and Spleed Nukkels bore him no grudge and hoped that proper counseling would eventually lead to his rehabilitation.
Although there was some protest from a few members of the Gungan Rep Council, Spleed and Neb Neb had their bongo licenses reinstated. Boss Nass referred to them as vital players in a sport that was drawing intergalactic attention, and he looked forward to seeing more tourists come to Otoh Gunga.
When Captain Tarpals learned of Boss Nass's plans to further promote tourism, he proposed that clearly posted warning signs -- written in Basic -- might keep the outlanders from getting into trouble. Boss Nass didn't much like the idea of warning signs all over Otoh Gunga and told Tarpals he'd think about it.
In their very next race, Spleed and Neb Neb survived yet another explosive collision. Their fans were hardly surprised, but delighted just the same.
