Chapter Text
It was dark in the early morning in the Restricted Area. It was still cold overhead and Jim Parkman, 40 years old, somewhat overweight, and definitely tired and bleary eyed, drove through the wilderness on the back-maintenance road. Despite being a computer technician, Parkman had to drive a standard issue go-kart like the Maintenance staff. Actual vehicles that protected from the elements – also known as your standard car - were for special personnel or higher ups in the company. It made Parkman somewhat jealous. Why should he with twenty years' experience working in data management and computer programming have to drive a go-kart like plumbers to the Way Station?
"Way Stations", small buildings which housed power that ran on geothermal vents and pipes, were dotted all across the Restricted Area. More sophisticated stations which had offices and staff monitoring them were located in the other half of the island where Jurassic World resided. The smaller stations were mere gray concrete buildings which sat alone in the jungle and were guarded only by electrified fence. But as they didn't have staff there 24/7 monitoring it, they needed individuals to go out personally whenever they went off line or showed problems.
No one wanted to work in these stations. Going out to check on them was boring and routine and for most a job no one wanted to do. It was just a drive out from Control deep into the wilderness and then back. Usually, one would just push a few buttons to get the power back online and flowing from the Way Station through to the other stations and throughout the island. Routine. Simple.
That's what Parkman was being set to do. Go out, way too early in the goddamn morning to go push buttons in the jungle. Alone.
A bump on the road shook Parkman out of his bleary-eyed state. He shook his head and took a firmer hold of the steering wheel. His piping hot coffee had shaken and spilled onto the technicians' dress shoes and the floor of the kart. Parkman grumbled; the piping hot coffee meant to warm up the man from the sheer cold of the jungle in the morning. It was almost freezing at this hour and this far deep into the wild.
What also made many unwilling to go to these Waystations was the rumors of what lay in the Restricted Area. Certain species of dinosaurs, some said to be from the old days, roamed the wild wilderness. Many were believed to be to roudy and not fit for captivity like the dinosaurs in the park. But the rumors also spoke of secret experiments, dangerous dinosaurs which prowled and hunted anything that went alone in the jungle. Jim didn't buy it for a second. It was too fantastic, too much like old boogey man stories he'd heard back home. He was a scientist, atheist, he didn't have time for things he couldn't see.
Eventually, Jim Parkman made it to the Waystation and parked the kart in the front of the little building. It sat in a clearing in the jungle and looked quite old and dilapidated. Vines had overgrown the small concrete building which was more accurately equal in size to a shed. Jim s sighed, knowing that the vines might cause a problem with being able to power on. He pulled out a small tablet screen which he connected by wires to a panel on the side of the building. The tablet blinked to life and displayed the information he needed to read.
The display showed a visual of all of Isla Nublar. This map however specifically showed the waystations which were marked by white dots all across the island. Many were located in the Restricted Area while fewer resided south of it in the actual park grounds. The Way Stations in the south were better, bigger facilities, that were also more powerful and connected back to Control which resulted in fewer of them despite more machines and mechanisms needing to be powered in Jurassic World. More lay in the Restricted Area to properly spread out the power to facilities up there but also to connect back to the original power source: the geothermal power plant.
The island was highly volcanic. Geothermal vents of natural power were located all over the island ready for use and were taken advantage of when InGen first arrived to the island back in the 80s. When Masrani took over and came in the 2000s, the company also made use of the vents and the abandoned power plant in the north. The Waystations acted as a means to spread that power source across the island thus allowing for the thriving park in the south of the island where there was less geothermal vents.
Jim tapped on the screen to gather the data of this particular Way Station – Station 42. Most of the information was standard and seemed to suggest that almost nothing was wrong. There was just a bad connection, more than likely due to all of the vines growing upon the small building. The jungle still reigned even with the prescience of man and would continue to try and gain foothold over them. Parkman tapped his screen and made a note to send out a second team to trim down the vines.
Then the Way Station began to power down. Jim looked up and saw the panel spark. Before he could move electricity flared through the wires and at his tablet. The man pulled it away as the spark hit the vines.
It caught fire. Parkman swore and ran back to the jeep. He had his jacket and grabbed it and began to smack at the fire but to no avail. It spread and began to cover most of the building.
The tablet made a noise. Parkman looked at it and found an alarming detail. It read WARNING in bright red letters and noted a problem more major than he anticipated. The man looked at the fire on the building, then back to the tablet, before he went back to his kart and sat down. He pressed the screen and looked through it hoping to find the reasoning for the malfunction. To his knowledge, this had never happened before.
Parkman adjusted his tablet to send a message back to the Control Room. It was of most importance that Claire Dearing got word of this now before shit really hit the fan. He focused and began to make the call when something caught his eye.
There was some coffee left in his mug. He could see it even now in the dark morning due to having added plenty of cream to it, making the brew almost white. His eyes focused on it before he looked down to the spilled remains on the car floor. The liquid was moving.
Jim looked around him. The vehicle itself was moving. As if being shaken by large vibrations. The nearby trees were also moving as if being shook by something. Something that was very, very big.
A loud honking rang out through the jungle. Birds in the canopy took off in a loud flurry and flew past the clearing. Jim felt his blood freeze. Then there was more honking, honking of massive dinosaurs. He only heard them from the office or whenever he went down into main street. Even being office bound he could recognize the sound of them when they were in trouble or in a panic. It was unmistakable.
The trees fell and out of the jungle, the form of a large armor-plated dinosaur appeared. It walked on four legs and its back was covered in rock like armor as was its massive tail. It charged straight towards Jim and the man jumped out of his kart before the massive animal smashed through it. The kart crunched down and was flattened, it's metal searing with a ring as the dinosaur broke it down like paper. Jim rolled out of the way as the animal charged forward. But he wasn't out of danger yet as then out of the jungle more of them ran out.
It was a herd. A whole herd of them. They all let out loud cries that deafened the man's ears. They were running away from something and passed by the man as he tried to roll away out of harm's way. The trees, massive palms that rose high into the sky, were tumbled easily and fell down with loud thuds onto the jungle floor. The ground itself felt like an earth quake
Something else stood out. Jim only briefly caught a glimpse of it, something running through the massive flurry of large bodies. It was a smaller leaner form and didn't look like any creature he'd seen before. Jim, focusing on this strange beast, didn't see the large club like tail of one dinosaur swing at him and knock him several yards away.
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In the early morning back at the Control Room things were barely getting going before the Park would officially open.
The Park still needed staff to be at the ready to control the Park Systems, as any accidents could happen, at all hours. The employees who had worked the whole night were now beginning to leave as their counterparts for the day were arriving. They would go back to their apartments to sleep for the next several hours, or grab drinks at Margaritaville while the day time employees would resume their work for the upcoming day.
In the Control Room, day employees were already there getting everything ready, as it was, they who had the most crucial job as the eyes of the Park. Many had cups of hot coffee in hand or energy drinks in order to keep their energy levels up as they booted up their monitors at their work stations. Some were still bleary eyed and others yawned as their minds tried desperately to clear from the morning brain fog.
"Everything looks in order. Nothing happened in the night that we have to report. Although that Pachy seems to like that tree a little too much. Hey Viv, you think it'll rain again?" Lowery asked from his station. He was a man of his thirties with dark black hair and a moustache that would make Freddie Mercury jealous. At least, that was what Lowery told himself when he groomed it every morning. He was one of the lead computer technicians and looked the part in his jeans and sneakers and a work station covered in plastic dinosaurs.
His co-worker Vivian, another seasoned system engineer, couldn't look any more different. She was a beautiful young woman, of the same age, with dark blonde curly hair and a gentle face dressed in office appropriate clothing. Vivian looked more like any ordinary woman which she attributed to being from the midwestern United States. At least, most people who met her always had the odd sixth sense of where she was from before she'd even said it. Perhaps it was her homely, quiet personality that tipped them off.
Vivian was geeky in her own unique way knowing every computer in and out and how to take it all apart and rebuild it. She had unique skills that stood out growing up in a home of sisters who loved knitting and makeup, skills that Lowery was a bit envious of. Unlike Lowery, Vivian's desk was orderly and clean. The only decorations to make her desk stand out being two photos: one of her large midwestern family of blondes, and a phot of her cat, Mittens.
"Well, it might. Weather Report says the storm is gonna continue in a few days. But we're gonna have a sunny day sooner than that. Not a cloud in the sky."
"A sweet blue sky. Maybe I'll work on my tan." Lowery adjusted his shirt, as if he was wearing a bowtie as he said this.
Vivian snorted. Lowery turned in his desk to his coworker who tried hiding her face in her hands. But it didn't work and Vivian turned to him.
"No offense, but you're not gonna tan Lowery. You're paler than Ed Sheeran."
"Ooo burn! Just like Lowery's skin." An English accented voice spoke behind the two.
Casey Lightman stepped out of the elevator holding two cups in hand. One, a hot cup of coffee from Starbucks, the other hand holding an unbelievably large Jurassic World branded cup of soda. The giant beverage was of American serving size and could barely fit in the young woman's small hand and seemed like it was straining her a bit. The two computer technicians stood up to receive their respective drinks.
"Ugh, you're a lifesaver dude." Lowery said as he stood up and took the soda from Casey's hand. Casey felt immediate relief as all strain and pain subsided.
"Thanks Casey." Vivian said as she gingerly sipped on her coffee.
"No problem Viv. We all need our pick me ups." Casey walked over to her work station where she lifted a sealed mug from it. The blue haired girl let out a satisfied sigh as she drank down a strong English tea.
Casey was a graduate of Computer Technology in the United Kingdom and an intern for Masrani Global's Communications systems. Like many she was immediately given a job out the gates of University. At first, she thought she would go on to work for Masrani Communications spending her time designing Satellites and help Cell Phone coverage. But her career path took her on a much different path with equally critical communications work: Jurassic World.
Technology was always important for this park. Back when the original park was trying to get off of the ground, John Hammond had his investors supply the funds for acquiring three RAM super computers to run operations. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, this was the peak of technology at time and incredibly sophisticated (and alarmed certain intelligence agencies at the time). To not only house the means which ran the machines which brought back dinosaur DNA, grow them, and the computers to monitor and work on building DNA, along with the systems to manage park operations such as vehicles, power, security, it was ambitious.
Too ambitious some might say. With Jurassic World, Masrani envisioned an even greater park. Technology had advanced and with the sixth largest megacorporation at his disposal, Masrani acquired even more powerful technology, better computer systems, better security, better communications. It was a complex web of even more complex webs that tied specialists of all backgrounds together in order to run the most popular theme park on the planet. Aside from one run by a certain mouse…
"Hey Lightman, you catch the game?" Lowery said as he sipped on his ungodly large soda. Casey couldn't believe that he, a 6-foot man with large hands couldn't wrap all of his fingers around it. Was this why so many Americans had diabetes?
"What game? Football?"
"No, no, soccer. Costa Rica vs. Argentina, I missed it! Spent another all nightery fixing a bug."
"That's what I meant. Argentina won, no surprise there." Casey took her seat at her work station a few steps below Lowery. She booted up her monitor and logged in quickly in order to begin the day.
Most likely uneventful. Maybe a light or two would go out which would require notifying the maintenance crews. Perhaps a gate might not be working right for one of the dinosaurs. But nothing quite so major to warrant any note about.
Casey was proven wrong the moment her display booted up. Her green eyes blinked as she carefully looked it over. Then she tapped her fingers on the screen, hitting "access map" and given a display of the island. Here she could see the entirety of the Park wide facilities and, more importantly, the park barriers. The whole north of the island read RESTRICTED, which was blocked off area not meant for tourists. A paddock or two was held near by and there were some species of dinosaur that roamed wild not meant for the tourists.
Part of the fencing was flashing yellow. Casey tapped this and was given a more detailed display. Text rolled down the screen which would be too fast for most to read. But Casey was an experienced data programmer and was able to spot the most important details. She continued tapping her screen, now rapidly as she looked further into the situation.
"Lowery, can you see if we've got any power outages on the island?" Casey called back behind her. Lowery sat up straight at his desk.
"Y-yeah. Is something wrong?"
"God, I hope not."
Casey now had much text and images on her panel. Her eyes looked up and down and she read through it. She had a hunch but part of her didn't want that hunch to be right. Maybe the system was misreading things, maybe there was a simple bug that was an easily resolved problem.
"Oh… oh shiiiiit." Lowery swore.
"What? What is it?" Casey turned around in her chair.
"Part of the Restricted Area barrier's power is down. One of the Way Point's lost all power."
Lowery tapped his fingers and brought up his display on the large wall monitor for everyone in the Control Room to see. Casey looked up and saw the red dot which marked the bad Way Point. She swore knowing full well this was no simple problem. This was a big problem.
The sound of a cup hitting the floor echoed in the Control Room. Lowery, Vivian, Casey turned around watching – to their horror – Claire Dearing step forward. The contents of an expensive latte had spilled on the ground and pooled around the Park managers heals. That was the least of their concerns.
"Ms. Dearing, we just spotted this issue…" Casey began. But Claire silenced the woman as she raised one hand.
"Send out a Park Wide alert. Get me footage of the barrier. Make sure no assets have crossed it into the valley."
"R-right." Casey turned back to her monitor to begin so. Vivian tapped an ear piece as she spoke.
"This is Control. ACU stand by for possible Asset Containment, Sector 13. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill."
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Paddock 12 was one of the very few enclosures which resided way outwards from the main park and enclosures. It was one of several specific paddocks which was designed as such and resided near the northern edge of Isla Nublar. The actual Paddock had a main building which was designed to somewhat resemble an arena. This layout had a regular rectangular two-story building to the side of it, walls around a small grounds area where the animals rested, metal walkways that stretched in a cross like fashion high above the grounds, and lastly it was connected to a larger enclosure. A sophisticated barred gate separated the Paddock building from the wider grounds which was designed not unlike enclosures one might find in a zoo. Connected to the arena was the worker building which only stood two stories tall. It was from there that animal trainer Hamish McDougal sat in the office observing the residents of Paddock 12 from a monitor.
The old Scotsman was a plump man with thin grey hair and a thick grey moustache to match it. To many, upon first glance in his tan khaki uniform Hamish looked very much the part of a classic zoo keeper. For forty years he worked training wildlife all around the world for various zoos, parks, and circus. Usually it was predators, but Hamish had his fair share of work with large herbivores most thought not to be dangerous. Elephants and hippos for instance worried Hamish much more than carnivores, and the top of his worries were chimps. Their knack for problem solving as well as the fact they possessed human like hands made them a particular nuisance to work with.
His experience and knowledge gained from his years is what got him his new cozy job in Jurassic World. In ways it wasn't too different from jobs he'd had before. He'd worked with big cats. Trained many for Hollywood movies and television programs. The only difference was that these lions were three times the size.
Dinosaur sized lions. Hamish couldn't quite believe it even after so much time had passed. He'd watched the prehistoric beasts grow from small cubs created in a lab into enormous predators. Each one larger than at least a medium sized car or equal to an American grizzly bear.
Had Hamish not spent the years at close work, having the big cats get familiar with the man, he would not dare get anywhere near these lions. Even a normal modern lion (which could get quite large depending on their genes) was dangerous and to be respected. Hamish had several scars from misplaced bites, scratches, and a mighty show of old wounds from a mauling. He knew better than anyone not to underestimate them.
The lions continued their chase. The three of them were running through the enclosure. Much of it was simply flat grass while pockets of the area were covered in somewhat dense trees, the same species native to Isla Nublar. A water feature lay at the very center of the grounds where the animals could drink or simply cool off. At times even fish were added in order to provide enrichment.
Winter tripped on her heels during the chase and splashed into the water feature. Her snow-white fur was then covered in water and mud from the ground. But as all animals do, she did not care or mind the dirt. She continued following her pride in pursuit of their quarry.
Ricardo walked across the metal walkways that stretched across Paddock 12's inner grounds as he looked out into the farther enclosure. It was still somewhat early morning and quite cool, especially from the height that which he stood and so he had his morning coffee in hand. In his other hand he held a remote-control device and expertly guided a drone that was currently flying through the Paddock grounds. The quarry of his lions.
"I don't think they're going to beat the record Amigo." Hamish said over the walkie-talkie. Amigo – Spanish for friend – was Hamish's nickname for the young zoologist. Hamish never called anyone by their proper names and for Ricardo and his Mexican heritage, amigo was the nickname he'd bestowed.
"I disagree Hamish, I have faith in them. Luke's recovered and Cora and Winter are fast."
The lions continued to race after the drone. It hung high in the air but low enough that it could be caught if they weren't careful. Hanging from the belly of the drone was a tied up stuffed teddy bear. While the lions did have somewhat of an affection for stuffed toys, Ricardo knew they were really interested because it had been soaked in rabbits' blood. Dead rabbits were their favorite meal.
Perhaps thousands of years ago, the genetic ancestor of these three animals was hunting hares on the prehistoric North American tundra. Ricardo could only imagine what that was like. And to think now, the genes of that same animal that Masrani had found in the ice, were now alive and well almost a whole continent away, thousands of years later, chasing after a robot. Ricardo almost didn't believe that this was the reality he was actually living in.
Luke leaped into the air but failed to grasp at the drone. Cora followed next with a powerful leap into the air. Ricardo waited for Winter to follow suit after her sister. But to his surprise, the white lioness leaped sooner – she jumped up atop of Cora's back and jumped even higher up into the air to try and reach the drone. Her paws reached out-
Winter barely nicked it with her claws. The white lioness fell back down onto the ground. Ricardo watched in awe as his pride tumbled about before they kept up the chase.
"Hamish did you see that?" The young man said in his walkie talkie.
"Aye, I saw it. Little Snow White came up with a plan of action."
"Amazing. I told you they were smarter than expected!"
Winter stayed at the head of the three zipping by like a flash of white. She was the fastest which made sense as she was the youngest, the spriest, not to mention her surrogate mother being quite the agile cat.
Cora was behind her keeping up at a steady pace. Not quite as quick but still fast enough to match the white lioness in this chase. Cora was bulkier than most lionesses yet that did not impede her speed.
Luke was behind them only slightly but still keeping up with his Pride mates. He was the bulkiest of the three and overshadowed his lionesses. This was normal for male lions naturally, but as a descendant of the super lions of old, he was one of the largest predators on the planet.
The young man yawned as he drank his coffee. He was still in the grip of lethargy. The man hadn't gotten much sleep. His preferred morning beverage, still fresh, still piping hot, would be salvation to stay alert. After all he needed to be sharp and have his senses at the ready when working with large carnivores.
The drone zipped by in the air flying through the gates into the grounds of the arena away from the regular grounds. The lions followed close behind it and now by Ricardo controlling the drone were going into a lap around the arena.
Winter made a powerful leap into the air after the drone. But Ricardo, even with just his one hand, raised the drone just high enough out of the massive animal's range. The white lioness landed back down and let out a roaring growl. But she then continued to run after the drone with Luke and Cora behind her.
"Y'know even with that injury, Luke's gotten a bit faster."
"I can smell the Colombian from the bottom of the stairwell. That your third cup amigo?" Hamish said as he stepped up from the side stairwell.
"No, my second." Ricardo wiped his mouth as he said that.
"Ya drink too much lad. All that bean juice is just gonna keep ya up longer and mess with your health."
"And how much Scotch have you had already?"
"Not enough amigo. Not enough!" Hamish said with a great belly laugh.
"Luke might be faster than he was before. He's definitely recovered." Ricardo said, his focus still on his lions.
"I don't think his speed has changed. He's just keeping up with the girls. Which is still pretty fast." Hamish remarked, his attention to the arena grounds now.
Ricardo glanced down at his wrist watch to check the time. It was only twelve past 9AM. Which meant it was only about twelve minutes since the pride had begun the test. Ricardo looked down upon the grounds spotting Luke now leading the head of the charge.
Had he gotten faster?
The Great lion then took a powerful leap from the ground and was now high into the air. The struts across the arena were 20 feet off of the ground floor but Luke had leapt up high enough after the drone that he was actually close enough to the two men. The large predator's attention however was targeted onto the drone which was almost near his great massive paws. Perhaps he would actually catch it.
But the drone rose up higher into the air just out of the lion's reach. The male seemed thrown off as he was midair and fell back down to the ground. He landed down with a thud loud enough that Ricardo and Hamish heard it from above. Winter and Cora were thrown off a bit and stopped running as they looked at Luke.
Luke looked up again at the drone. His blue eyes focused on it carefully, warily so. He did not blink, did not lick his lips, growl, or show any other emotion other than a calmness. To the layman, it might look like the lion didn't show any emotions at all. But that wasn't true, animals could be quite emotive – dogs especially but they had evolved to mimic human expression as their companion animals. Wild animals could say a lot with just eye movement, glances, and even snarl as shown with certain predators.
What're you thinking big guy?
With Luke, Ricardo could tell the animal was thinking. When he was thinking Luke would grow quite calm because he was focusing. Right now, Luke was figuring out just how to tackle the problem before him.
Then Luke turned towards the walls. Ricardo swore as he watched Luke run and take another powerful leap. But this time the lion landed against the wall of the arena. The two men ran as they believed Luke would try to climb up to the top of the walls. He was close to the struts edge and could theoretically get up there to get at the drone.
"Amigo you got the tasers?" Hamish yelled as he ran on his thick tree trunk like legs.
"No but we can shout-" Ricardo stopped then.
Luke jumped up the wall and got even higher up. Then he turned his body and leaped away from the wall into the open air higher than he was before. The massive animal now was at the level of the struts and nearly at the eye level of the two men. But Luke's focus was on his quarry – the drone.
He had leaped closer towards the drone which still sat suspended in the air. Ricardo reached down for the control but his animal had been too quick. Luke swung one of his powerful arms and smacked the drone out of the air with a massive paw. The machine could do little but fall as it sparked from the damage.
It crashed onto the ground with a loud smack and blew up with a spark. But this would not impede the pride of cats. Luke landed back down to the ground and ran for his prize. Cora and Winter did the same and soon the three massive lions began to tear apart the equipment as they sought their blood-soaked teddy bear.
Ricardo and Hamish stood there staring down at Luke in dumbfounded disbelief.
"Did that just happen?"
"Yeah. It did."
"… I'm taking that drink now." Hamish pulled a flask from his trouser pockets. Ricardo didn't stop the Scotsman as he looked at his watch.
"Well now that the lap is officially over, I can definitely say they've beaten their last record. Their early by six minutes."
"Six minutes and a broken drone. R&D's not gonna like that."
"R&D won't give a damn. It's the ones who sign our paychecks that are gonna shit a brick." Ricardo said as he turned away towards the stairwell. Hamish followed close behind, casting a side glance down at Luke. The big lion now partaking in the spoils as he chewed on part of the drone.
The two men walked down stairway back to ground level of the front area. This was the front of not just the arena walls but also the main "office" that was the Paddock Building where the employees worked. Really it was merely just an adjoining building that had the room for the lions' food kitchen as well as "office space" which really was two floors of one room floors. the bottom ground floor housing equipment as well as the Tech Station where computers and monitors that had the Security feed were. A crude office space was also on this floor as well as the side area which was the "kitchen" where they prepared the lions food and medicine.
The top floor was where equipment was kept and a sort of breakroom that had two small desks and an old couch from one of the resorts. The human side of the paddock wasn't designed to be quite as accommodating as it was for the actual animals. But as only Ricardo and Hamish worked at this Paddock at a time it was good enough.
Hamish opened the door and the two men stepped inside. The Scotsman headed straight for the tech station and looked at the video feed to watch the lions. They were still focused on their spoils and now were running around the yard with the drone parts in their mouths.
"They look like wee babehs. Playing around, making toys out of things that are too expensive." Hamish remarked with a deep laugh.
Ricardo rolled his eyes as he walked over to put his mug away. Although he was tempted to drink more coffee, he knew he had to have his limits. He stepped away and walked to the kitchen and began to get ready to prepare treats for his animals. This included cutting up parts of meat – of various animals that were safe for zoological animal consumption – and placing medicine in them. There was an extra pill for Luke's arm that he needed to take for any pain he still might have.
The routine medicine was designed by the lab. Pills created by Dr. Henry Wu and other researchers who specialized in medicine in order to help maintain the health of the cloned species. This wasn't something too different from what was already done in actual zoos and wildlife parks. But at Jurassic World, these pills were uniquely designed to help counter balance health issues and more that was experienced by cloned animals. If any dinosaurs had a deficiency in their genes, developed diseases not foreseen, or had growth rates that would lead to developmental issues – these pills would help curb them. Usually with the aim that eventually the animals would be fine without them. Be able to exist without total genetics tampering.
"After they get their play time, we'll get their health checks. Is ACU really coming over?" Ricardo said as he cut up the red flesh of what looked like deer. It felt like deer to him anyway. Cora would like that a lot.
Hamish nodded, eyes still watching the screens. "Gonna be here by noon, Hamada said as much."
"We don't need them here. We're just fine me and you looking them over."
"We were fine when we had an actual full staff here, lad. But then Masrani moved them to the ugly rapt bastards."
The "ugly rapt bastards" was Hamish's colorful nickname for the most dangerous predators on Isla Nublar, the velociraptors. Or rather a sub-species of raptor that was quite large that had been cloned by InGen since the days of Jurassic Park. But they were vicious, deadly creatures, which was why they weren't part of any attractions for park guests in Jurassic World, even upon opening. That was until a few years back when Masrani had hired American Navy dolphin trainer, Owen Grady, to lead the Raptor Behavioral Study, launched around the same time of the Super Lion Behavior Study.
Ricardo recalled back then, the major Behavior Study Team being made up of animal trainers, animal wranglers, ex-hunters, and others. Most of that staff was working directly under Ricardo assisting in overseeing the growth and handling of the lions. That had been the first time that Ricardo was the boss of anyone and despite his youth, their team followed his lead diligently.
Owen was fine with training the raptors on his own with his special assistant, Barry. But when the velociraptor's that were cloned for the new study had grown bigger, most of the staff who worked with Ricardo was shifted to that group. In a way it was like the two studies were in competition with each other for resources and employees. This, in spite of the fact that the two separate studies were in service of the same backers and serving to answer the same questions.
"It's been three years since that happened, Hamish. We're all friends anyhow, I don't care if they all went to that team."
"Amigo ya don't see the bigger picture." Hamish turned around in his seat. "Masrani signs our paychecks. Our bread and butter is the project. If the rapt-bastards project gets all the attention or makes any breakthroughs before we do, then that's it for us. That's it for them." The Scotsman pointed one of his sausage fingers at the screens.
Ricardo looked up, watching his lions running through the enclosure. Winter was chasing Luke who rolled around on the ground. Cora keeping close but not as bouncy or rambunctious as the white lioness.
"That won't happen. We've come too far already. The other team hasn't made progress like we have anyhow."
The last of the treats were done being prepared and were place into the buckets now. Ricardo's hands were dark red of the blood of the meat and icy cold. He couldn't even feel his fingertips now. The man walked over and began washing his hands in hot water in the sink.
A knock at the door grabbed the two's attention. Ricardo raised his head from the sink and walked over up to the door.
"Must be them." Ricardo said as he walked over to answer the door. As he opened it he was met not by the stern Commander Hamada by the gentle and tall Naomi Okoye.
"Mr. Torres, we need your help."
"Dr. Okoye? What do you mean?"
"It's urgent. We need everybody. There's an emergency in the West Plains, and we need every animal wrangler we can get."
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A large lumbering Trike raised itself from where it slept and opened its small wrinkly eyes. It let out a deep bellow rising from its massive stomach and up through its chest. This echoed across the valley and was heard by other dinosaurs that called this place home.
Other dinosaurs would begin to make their way as the sun rose higher into the sky. The cool foggy air of the marine layer began to fade off and the once somewhat chilly valley began to get hotter. More trikes emerged from the trees and the brush, some alone, others in mating pairs, others with young offspring accompanying them on their way. But despite their massive size they moved with a bit of speed as they walked over towards their destination: the watering hole.
The massive lake was connected to a river which ran through the valley and down from the nearby mountains. The trikes were always first to drink as they had their resting ground closest to the water. Many, including the first trike to awaken, surrounded the lake and lowered their massive heads to the water. They opened their mouths – the front having beaks not much unlike the beaks of birds – and began taking plentiful gulps.
Isabella and Ruby watched the herd from across the water. Ruby focusing her camera on them as they continued to drink. Through her lens she was able to zoom in and see the animals in great detail. Their skin was a pebbled texture reminding Ruby of rhinos and reptiles and they were bright red in color. She could even see their bright red reflections in the blue water where they were drinking from. Ruby quickly took many photos in rapid succession.
Her sister was busy note taking on a formal chart on a tablet. Jurassic World was highly digitized now to most departments using tablets to write up work that traditionally was done with physical paper. All the data was sent, collected, and copied onto networks for each department and further tied to a central physical server on the island. What work that decades earlier would have required several super computers now needed one sleeker hub. It certainly pleased Isabella who needn't worry about actual papers being damaged, typos, or faulty formats.
"You do this every morning?" Ruby asked, now taking a video instead of the herd. The younger girl smiled through the lens as she focused on a baby Trike which leaped into the water at the edge and began playing in it.
"Every day, squirt. I take the Trikes, others check up on the other herds and dinosaurs. At least the ones that we let open roam like this." Isabella pressed a special tablet pen on her screen which clicked a green button. The screen then flashed from the paper she filled out to a large OK image. She was done now.
"Do they not mind that we're here? I mean, are they used to people driving by on jeeps like in Africa?" Ruby referred to safaris and national parks. She'd grown up watching them with her sister on tv and online. She was always fascinated at how large predators and herbivores would simply go about their days while photographers and researchers got super close to them in jeeps.
"Well, yes and no. This herd is fine with us. They know me, they see me practically every day. And the other vets too. Gyrospheres going by are pretty common and safe. But they don't like when you get too close for comfort."
"I bet they'll get upset and charge at you. I mean, if you're so big, got three horns on your head, you can scare off anyone if you charge at them. Or that's what I'd do if I was a Triceratops."
"I seem to remember that used to be your dream when you were tiny. Member that one Halloween you dressed in a Trike costume and you said, 'I'm gonna be a dinosaur when I grow up!'".
"Isabella!" Ruby shouted embarrassed. Isabella couldn't help but laugh at the memory.
It felt not that long ago. Yet it had been at least ten years prior. Isabella was still in high school, Ruby was just six years old.
The ground rumbled once again to the sound of many footsteps. The sisters turned around and saw emerging from over a hill rise another herd of dinosaurs. With their signature flat plates which stretched across their backs, the Stegosaurs walked into the morning light. They were massive creatures just as majestic as the Triceratops. Ruby looked into her camera to zoom in at them. In getting a closer look at the head of the herd, Ruby found she recognized this particular dinosaur.
"Hey Izzy, is that Dolores?"
"Mm hm." Isabella nodded. "That's her alright. That's good 'ol Dolores."
Dolores was the largest of the herd, a great massive animal with green skin from head to the tip of her tail. But there was a bit of pattern in that with Ruby noticing the sides of her body were black striped looking almost painted on. What stood out to Ruby was how massive her back plates were being almost leaf like in shape peeking out along her spine.
The stegosaur let out a loud cry. Ruby turned her camera back on and took a quick snapshot before she started to record. The other stegosaurs also let out their cries and it echoed downwards from the hill. More of them emerged and suddenly the Stegosaurs were a large line of walking giants. Down the hill the Trikes spotted the spiked backed giants and regarded them with responding calls of their own.
It went back and forth. The Stegosaurs led by Dolores calling out, the Triceratops' replying back. Ruby was grinning ear to ear as she recorded it all. She couldn't believe what she was right in the middle of.
Isabella climbed back down to sit properly in her seat and started the jeep. The noise of the vehicle for a moment grabbed both herds' attention. But Isabella slowly backed away out of the middle of the field between the watering hole and the slope of the hill. She neared the tree line which was a safe distance away. Now Ruby needn't move back and forth as she had a complete view of both herds well within frame.
The Stegosaurs went on the move again, this time however going faster in a gallop. Ruby raised her head as she watched them move quickly in a run, their feet starting a cloud of dust in their wake. They made it to the water with some even jumping in. The Triceratops' let out their cries at the Stegosaurus' but the spiked back herbivores didn't pay them any mind. The green giants continued to drink on.
"They never fight, but there is a bit of a territorial scuffle at times." Isabella spoke up again. Ruby didn't speak. The young teenager was too focused, too excited at watching these live giants simply exist.
Even to watch them simply drink water, let out bellowing cries at each other, this was amazing to Ruby. These were former lords of the earth who ruled far longer than human beings had even existed. Now in this life that Ruby was born into she lived in a time when humans and dinosaurs existed at the same time.
Isabella knew this was good for her sister. She had worried when their parents told her that Ruby was facing difficulties in school. Ruby was a smart kid, very knowledgeable in fields and subjects that far exceeded what she and her peers were being taught. But Ruby was shy and had few – if any – friends. Even when they were young Isabella knew Ruby had trouble with that and especially getting along with other people. It seemed Ruby was the type who'd be picked on no matter what the setting or age.
Then high school came. Ruby's grades had slipped. She'd stopped going to classes and would go spend all her time in parks or computer labs in libraries. Ruby stopped spending time with the few friends she did have. The world was shut out from Ruby and Ruby didn't mind that at all. Granted she wasn't a delinquent in the traditional sense but that didn't stop the Hernandez' worries.
So, Isabella had called their parents. She worked overtime in prior weeks, called in a few favors with HR and even managed to get to Claire's assistant to ask for the weeklong pass. After all of that, Isabella was able to bring Ruby here to the park.
As Isabella watched her sister, she could tell Ruby was feeling a lot better. She looked happy, actually happy. Perhaps one day, if Ruby worked hard enough, she could join her big sister and actually work at the Park.
"Rubes, did you pick a major for college yet?" Isabella didn't want to ask this question. It was the worst question in the world to ask any young person. Even now, with a secure job, having already graduated from University, still to this day the question made Isabella panic.
But she wanted to truly know. Ruby frowned but kept her eyes through her camera, still watching the herds. The commotion had mostly died off and now the Stegosaurs were drinking water calmly. The Stegosaur baby and the Trike baby however had found each other while the adults were focused on the water. The two juveniles began to play at the water's edge now. Ruby wanted to smile at that.
"You know I didn't. Even if I did, it's not like I'm gonna get the job for it. Plus, I don't feel like getting bagged with debt."
Oof. That actually hurts. Isabella thought. Even Masrani, with all his money and resources, still had trouble helping his employees pay off his employees' student loans in full. Curse the American education system!
"Well, whatever you pick, I think something in the sciences might be up your alley. I went for Veterinary Medicine so I could come here and work with the dinosaurs. But there's so much more you can do here besides that."
"Now? I don't think-"
"I don't want to go back. I don't want to go back to high school where nothing you do matters. I don't – no one there cares about anything. If I'm there longer I might become one of them and not care and have no drive to do anything. I can't wait any longer Isabella." Ruby's voice was growing louder as she spoke. Isabella could see the desperation in her sister's eyes
"Ruby, I know things right now seem tough. I know it can get overwhelming, but that's just how most people are at that age. Kids don't like to learn or want to better understand the world like you do. But if you just wait a little longer until-"
"I don't want to wait!" Ruby shouted. Isabella was startled by this. Ruby however seemed to have a bit of trouble breathing. Not only that but Ruby's face began to redden and her eyes welled.
Isabella remembered when she got the call from her mom a while back. She'd said Ruby left school after a particular cruel incident of being teased by her classmates. They didn't know the details of what was said by the bullies or what caused it, but Ruby had gone missing from school. It took hours until their father finally found her at a bus station.
Ruby was a bright kid. A kind, gentle soul. She didn't have a cruel bone in her body. But the world was harsher at times. It pained Isabella to know her sister was hurt like this.
"Ruby… you're 16. You'll be able to go to college in a few years. Then you have the chance to take Masrani's internship like I did. The park wants the best and brightest who've gotten their experience. You just have to be patient."
Isabella hoped Ruby would understand, at least a little bit better. Of course, she knew Ruby already knew this, her sister wasn't a dumb kid. But she was in pain, clearly in a pain that she couldn't express outright. Ruby frowned and she turned back to the camera. Isabella could clearly see tears fall from her sister's eyes. She didn't wipe them away.
Ruby then lifted her gaze from her camera, her eyes now looking out into the distance in surprised. Isabella wasn't sure what suddenly changed the girl's mood until she herself looked forward.
The herds began to let out their calls towards the back hill. The Stegosaurs turned around, their backs to the Triceratops' as something else was getting their attention. Then, Isabella saw rising from the hilltop a whole other species of dinosaur, but this one a shorter species with a heavily armored back with spikes and a long club like tail.
"Ankylosaurus? You didn't tell me they were in the valley too." Ruby said as she zoomed in with her camera. She now was getting photos of this classic dinosaur.
"They're not supposed to be…"
The Ankylosaur let out a cry. The Stegosaurs replied back. But now these spiked back dinosaurs gathered together forming a long cluster. Dolores was at the front of them letting out their call, but this was more fierce, full of warning and aggression. She raised her front feet and then slammed them down onto the ground. The rest of the herd followed their leader's example.
"He's outnumbered. That's not fair at all." Ruby said.
Yeah, but that doesn't mean he won't put up a fight. Isabella didn't work with the Ankylosaurs often. But that was due to the risk potential as they were quite strong and able to take on nearly any other animal. Which was why they were restricted from close up public viewing.
Then there were more cries. The sisters looked and saw to their amazement more Ankylosaurs climbing over the hill and reaching their companion. They let out their call now together in a strong coalition. The Stegosaurs continued likewise.
"No, no this is bad. This isn't supposed to be happening." Isabella said as she turned the jeep back on.
"Why? They don't seem to be aggressive?" Ruby replied. She continued to observed the herds despite the jeep moving around.
Isabella drove now towards the road all the while raising her walkie talkie. "You don't understand, Ruby. Certain species of dinosaurs can be a harm to other species. Unfortunately, the Ankylosaurs don't get along with Trikes or Stegos. More importantly, they shouldn't be in the valley at all."
"What? Why?"
Isabella ignored her sister for the moment. Ruby looked back behind spotting the herds of dinosaurs. They had continued to let out their calls. Through her camera she had a closer view.
She saw the herds charge at each other.
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Ricardo sat at the passenger side of the rough terrain vehicle while Naomi Okoye drove across the plains. He felt somewhat overwhelmed at the rough movement of the vehicle bouncing up and down as Naomi sped. The sound of the air breezing past them nearly deafened him. He had one fist at his side curled into a ball, the other was gripping onto the overhead grip.
"Control says that the wall is down. One of the Way Stations lost power the other night. Back when the storm hit."
"But a whole section of the wall? Control should've been alerted about it two days ago."
The vehicle bounced as it rolled over a hill. Ricardo stared downwards and wanted more than anything to curl into a ball. Naomi noticed his discomfort and slowed down as they went down the hill.
"There's something wrong in their tech. You can depend on it all you'd like but machines get turned off, break. Regardless now we have a situation. We've got to round up the herd."
They stopped when they neared the area. Ricardo looked up from his seat and could spot the herd of Ankylosaurus' not far off from them. The young man in spite of himself strapped out of his seat and leaped out of the vehicle, thankful for solid ground, but more interested in the large armored dinosaurs. Naomi followed suit and pulled out a walkie talkie which she spoke into.
"Commander Hamada. We're here on the plains. We can see the Ankylosaurs. Looks like the Trikes and the Stegos left. There doesn't seem to be any injured animals."
"Affirmative. We're just about to get there. ACU is ready to secure the assets." The commander of ACU spoke over the walkie. Naomi put it away as she then approached Ricardo. She was much taller than he and for a moment she was tempted to lean her elbow on the young man. They knew each other well, even casually so, but Naomi opted to be professional in this instance. They were on a job after all.
"I see these animals all the time when I take the Pride on walks. Never got too close though. They're always in sectors away from us."
"Are your animals doing okay now? The male was pretty injured."
"Yes. Luke recovered. We actually performed a test of their speed this morning. They beat it." Ricardo smiled as he said this. Naomi could sense the pride he felt in his animals. He trained them. Raised them. They were like his children.
"Oh? That is interesting. There isn't much progress with the raptors. They've stayed at the same speed. And Mr. Grady, his animals love him, but they're a definite handful."
"Velociraptors and Super Lions are very different beasts. Literally. Plus, it's not a competition."
"Who said it was a competition?"
Ricardo turned away from the herd to look back at Naomi. She was smirking back at him. He sighed as he walked back to the vehicle to gather his equipment.
ACU arrived not long afterwards. Their many vehicles – military grade rovers and jeeps made for warfare – assembled in a long wide fortified line. The members all wore black military uniforms and armor. At the head of them was Commander Hamada, a stone faced man with a dark black moustache. He hopped out of his vehicle and approached Naomi and Ricardo in a strict military gait.
Ricardo didn't really know him well personally. They'd never had a conversation outside of when they'd crossed paths for work and that was only a handful of times. But Naomi knew and worked with Hamada a lot. Ricardo trusted Naomi so he could trust Hamada.
"That's a lot of assets out there. They have armor plating on their backs and clubs on their tails, right?" Hamada asked.
"Correct. We're going to have to send all the vehicles in a swarm. Mr. Torres and I will hopefully separate them with the devices R&D made." Naomi gestured to her vehicle. "Then we'll round them up and guide them back to the wall. You're man is already repairing the Way Station?"
"I've sent several men to guard two techheads from Control. They say a man went missing in the jungle."
"Someone's missing?" Ricardo asked. Naomi put her hand on his shoulder.
"They've got it handled. But if we finish this up early, we can help look for the missing man. Now, Mr. Hamada." Naomi gestured. The ACU Commander nodded as he turned back to instruct the rest of the Unit.
Ricardo followed Naomi back to the vehicle. But this time he climbed to the back of it where a large speaker like device sat on the back of it. He was able to stand and move the device like one might move a mounted gun. Not willing to take any chances the man put on a pair of large protective headphones which would help dampen loud noise to his ear.
Naomi was in the drivers seat and started the vehicle again. She looked to the rest of the ACU who all began to rev their engines. She shook her head at their eagerness for action. Most of them like her were soldiers and the want of battle, the want of excitement, was dangerous if unchecked. But Hamada was a man not to be taken lightly who kept the death seekers in check.
They all heard Hamada over the radio. It was just one word: go.
Hamada took off down the hill. Naomi sped off after. All in the line drove down to descend upon the herd.