"That's funny." Connor spoke.
Connor Temple sat at his workstation in the new ARC. And oh, how he loved it in there. In the old ARC he had about as much chance of getting his own office as he did getting a pay rise. It was a basic office; a laboratory table, complete with test tubes, half written note pads, the occasional sandwich wrapped in tin-foil, and a series of Microscope's, Laptops and Books littered about the place.
On the wall opposite him hung a large black plasma television; one that he'd been expressively told time and time again was not for watching Star Trek on CBS. And he had stuck to that rule for an impressive amount of time. He went two full days without putting his feet up. Today however, was different. The screen remained off, and the remote lay untouched. Instead, Connor's attention was focused solely on a stain-less steal microscope in front of him, and the object that lay beneath it.
"Incredible." Connor told himself, and boosted the zoom lenses.
While not taking his attention off the microscope, he pulled his hand away and dug around in his lab coat pocket. He pulled out a sliver Iphone. He punched in a code, and pressed dial.
A moment of silence hung in the air, before someone picked up the other line. Connor didn't give them chance to answer.
"Matt, it's Connor. I think we've got an opportunity." Connor remarked, finally pulling his head away from the microscope.
Two Months Later...
"Connor we don't have all day, I have lunch at one." Lester sighed.
"It's worth it, I promise." Connor said, beaming.
He stood in the central hub of the ARC, just before the Anomaly Detector, his work mates, colleagues and fiancée in a line before him. All, seemingly, in smart casual dress.
Lester had worn one of his best cashmere suits (though Connor preferred to believe this was for him and not for his lunch with the Prime Minister today). Jess had continued her unusual yet stylish fashion sense by wearing a light brown tank top, and matching ankle-length skirt. Her hair was tied back in a tight bun. Abby, Connor's fiancée, wore a light brown dress with cute ribbons attached to the neck and cleavage, something which in his opinion, didn't really match her tom-boyish attitude.
Cpt Becker was the only who had not dressed up, wearing his usual ARC Security uniform. Connor, like his team members, had also gotten all dressed up. Wearing a black blazer and white shirt, followed by a green tie and black trousers, he just prayed the group didn't notice that he had worn this in high-school. Matt however, wore the most bizarre outfit. A pure white blazer, checker board pants, and a cane to match. It was a mystery how he'd even made it out of the house this morning.
"Matt," Abby giggled. "What are you wearing?"
"When I come from it was the style." The time-traveller said.
"You look like Anna Wintour." Becker stated.
Jess said an amused noise. "I didn't think somebody like you would know who she was, Becker."
Becker frowned. "And why not?"
"Well," Jess began. "You dress the same. Everyday. Without fail. Ever."
"That's because, I think you'll find that the ARC has strict uniform rules when it concerns the Security team." Becker said plainly.
"You wear it to Morrison's." Matt retored.
"I do not."
"I've seen you."
"It was late and I was out of milk."
"And in the park."
That seemed the snap Becker's stone security guard persona. He turned and faced Matt and snapped, "There is a genuine reason for that!"
"And I'm sure whatever it is can wait till later!" Lester interrupted. The group quieted down, except for Jess and Abby, who were quietly giggling over the thought of Becker going for a nice evening stroll in the park wearing his Armour-plated uniform.
The giggling soon stopped when Connor spoke up. "Okay, may I have your attention please?" Connor asked the group.
"Okay. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today-"
"Connor this better not be another attempt at a surprise wedding." Abby interrupted him.
"It's not. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to witness a new giant leap for mankind. I propose to you, I've invented a device that we use to could potentially to save lives, all around the world!" Connor beamed.
The group exchanged sceptical glances but kept quiet.
Connor turned his back on the group and pulled out a box from beneath Jess's chair in front of the Detector Console. Slowly, he revealed the shoe-box to the group.
"Shoes have already been invented." Becker muttered.
"Will you all stop interpretin!? You're spoiling the moment!" Connor snapped at them.
Slowly and very dramatically, Connor opened the box, and revealed the object that lay inside. Using both hands, he slowly (but still very dramatically!) pulled it out, and displayed it to the group.
At first glance, it was a rock.
At second glance, it was still a rock.
It was a rock.
Only when getting into closer detail on it, would the rock reveal itself for what it truly was. Small stitching and crosshatching had been carved into its surface, and five different shaped holes punctured the left side. Now, on the inside, it would be shown that these holes where a series of complicated and mind-bending labyrinths all enter twinning with one another, to form a passage that'd make the painting of Relativity look like a child's drawing. But on the outside, it appeared, simply as nothing more, than a rock.
"It's a rock." Abby stated.
"It's not a rock." Connor frowned.
"It is a rock, Connor." Becker said.
"It's not a rock!" Connor snapped. "You guys ever seen Jurassic Park III?"
"Oh my god." Lester hung his head.
"I present to you the The-Dromaeosauridae-Contact-and-Communication-Diyrinx or TDCACD for short. Or just RCD."
"RCD?" Lester asked.
"Raptor Communicating Device." Connor smiled. "It's a-"
"Hardly a device though, is it Connor?" Lester asked again.
"It is! Just, listen!" Connor snapped again. "Right, the TDCACD-or-RCD, we can have it mass produced so that everyone in the ARC will have one. It's simple, easy to carry, and easy to use. It's like a whistle, listen..."
Connor placed his lips against one of the five holes imbedded into the side of the RCD and covered three of the remaining holes extra holes with his fingers. Gently, he blew a small breeze into it. What happened next shocked the group.
A low, deep throated growl echoed across the room. This finally made the group fall completely silent.
"Me and Matt have learned that each hole can represents different meaning. For example if I covered up two holes and then blew into it very high pitched, that could mean something completely different to blowing in a very low pitch. And then both of those could be entirely different to what would happen if you covered up three holes! And then the difference between the pitches with that could also be something completely different! My proposal is with a grant that with some time off from the field team to study this, I'll be able to crack these codes, and open the door to a whole new language!" Connor expressed. "One day, it could actually be possible for us to talk to the dinosaurs."
A moment of silence hung over the group, before Lester spoke up.
"And...why would we want to do that?"
That shut Connor up. He was fazed, but didn't manage to lose his smile. After a moment, he spoke up again.
"Well, Abby and Lester, you two know more than anyone how dangerous the Raptor's can be! But with the RCD it could one day just be as simple as asking them very nicely to go back through the Anomaly!"
"Makes sense to me. We've tried using some of the planets most expensive weaponry on them, and that doesn't work, so we'll just try asking them nicely? I don't know about you lot, but I can't possibly see how this could go wrong." Lester sneered.
"No, it does work! I swear!" Connor began. "Becker."
All eye's were suddenly on Becker.
He sighed, and turned to his right, towards Lester's office. Maybe the lighting had been different a few minutes ago, maybe they were all too caught up in annoying Matt about his dress sense, or maybe they were all just too anxious to hear what Connor had to say to notice, but all they knew was that they hadn't noticed it. All the windows showing in to Lester's office had been blocked off.
Becker took a step forward, and grasped a mechanical lever that too, hadn't been noticeable earlier. He made a depressing sigh, and pulled it. The curtain dropped.
Standing tall on the desk of Lester's office was a creature. A row of razor-sharp teeth poked out of the creature's blue and white jaws, human-like arms dangled from its chest and a long blue and white tail swung lazily between the creatures legs; it was the very familiar sight of a Raptor. From where it was perched on the tables edge its' yellow eyes watched them silently through the glass.
"CONNOR WHAT THE HELL IS THAT DOING IN MY OFFICE!?" Lester snapped, pointing an excusing finger towards his office.
"Relax, relax." Connor reassured the group, as Becker re-joined them.
"If you'll remember during the last anomaly alert in the Forest of Dean, while you guys were busy with the Herr-"
"-CONNOR YOU ARE FIRED-"
"-with the Herrerasaurus, me and Becker went through the Anomaly and caught Felix here." Connor said gesturing at the raptor.
"BECKER!? From Connor I could understand, but you!? Have you gone completely and utterly mad!?" Lester grabbed a stapler off the Anomaly console and threw it towards Becker. It missed by a mile off, and clattered to the floor at the opposite side of the room.
"Sir I was under strict to do so! Your orders, sir." Becker replied coldly.
The Raptor released a chirped and jumped of Lester's desk. Its killing claws hit the steal ground with a sound only comparable to nails on a chalk board.
"Guys keep your voice down." Connor warned them.
Lester turned to Connor, seemingly ready to blow. "Did you HACK into my email!?"
"Lester why don't you just go take a minute to calm down?" Matt suggested "It's in there, and it's not getting out. And if it does this is literally the most well-armed building in the UK."
Lester merely glared at him, and the Connor, before falling silent.
"Now," Matt began. "Connor, you mentioned you called it Felix?"
"Yeah."
"Well...Why?" Abby asked.
"He er.. just looked like a Felix." Connor shrugged.
"Weren't you just about to tell us how it works?" Jess asked.
"Oh yeah." Connor smiled, returning to his cheerful grin.
Connor raised the RCD back up to his mouth and blew a short burst of air into it. A small dog-like bark erupted out of the device, grabbing the attention of the raptor. The raptor turned its head towards Connor and growled.
"I'll explain," Connor told them. "There are five holes in it. And each of these can represent a different meaning. And with each different tone, volume and frequency it's said at, each of those can be different meaning. In total it's capable of making forty-five different sounds. From what I've been working with, I think I have been able to get a basic concept of what each sound represents."
"The first hole is identical to the roar the Raptor's give before attacking, and so can be presumed to be a warning call. The second is similar, but it seems to be the one Raptors give each other before they attack, so I guess that's like "Lets attack that." The third is a bit more complicated, and we're not entirely sure, but it may be a signal that the Raptor making it needs some food and/or water, fast. A cry for help, really. Four is the easiest, it's the sound made by Raptor's when they are greet each other, so the Raptor equivalent of Hello. And, we aren't really that sure about the Fifth. And then it's a full mystery as to what saying these commands at a different intensity would do, and that's why it's exciting!" Connor beamed.
"You know you could have explained all of that with 'It's a rock that lets you talk to Raptor's', right?" Abby asked.
Connor shrugged. "I guess."
"Connor, I know you've been through a lot in the past couple of years, and finding this new discovery is probably very unique for you, but when you find the time I'd rather not spent the rest of my working-life WITH A RAPTOR IN MY BLOODY OFFICE!" Lester yelled.
Connor sighed "It's finished now anyway, Becker, could you take him to the Menagerie?"
Before Becker had the chance to answer, Lester cut him off. "So let me get it straight. You went through an Anomaly -which that ALONE is enough to get you fired- and caught one of the most deadly killer machines to ever walk the planet and then brought it back into the present day –KEEPING IN MIND that it had no intention of coming anywhere near the Anomaly or causing any of us any harm. And NOW you intend to keep it here?" Lester snapped.
Connor was silent. "Well, everything will sound bad if you say it like that."
Abby let out a tired sigh. "No, come on guys, Connor's right. This invention could really save lives. That Cretaceous Anomaly is always reopening, really we should take all the help we should get."
"Yeah, I agree with Abby." Jess stated.
"Me too. It's a good idea." Matt pitched in.
"That's not all. I made one for everybody." Connor said.
Before Abby had chance to speak up again, the familiar siren of the Detector sounded, and the hub was bathed in blood red light. Jess pushed past Connor and claimed her seat in front of the Detector, crushing the shoe box. She began punching in commands on the keyboard as the team gathered round her.
"Looks like you're going to get a chance to try it out sooner than you think. It's just reopened." Jess said, not taking her attention away from the screen.
"Same spot?" Matt asked.
"No, half a mile away, must be a fault line."
"You see? With any look a Raptor will come through." Connor smiled.
"No, not with any luck! That would be a very, VERY bad thing! Becker! Get the Raptor out of my office and back through the Anomaly before it closes! The rest of you, get out!" Lester shouted pointing at the door.