Emma Swan was a woman on a mission. As Head of Operations at Jurassic World, the planet's number one tourist attraction, she was responsible for the day to day running of the huge island resort. Jurassic World was set on an island in Costa Rica, Isla Nublar, and was the brainchild of an eccentric multi-billionaire, John Hammond. Originally, Hammond had called it Jurassic Park, but after some unfortunate incidents twenty years ago, the park had a new name and a totally revamped image.
It was huge. The entire island was set up like a cross between a zoo and a theme park, with thousands of paying visitors flocking to the island each year for the chance to gaze upon a real like de-extinct dinosaur. Because that was the term now that genetic engineering had brought the dinosaurs back to life - de-extinct. Emma hated it, but she was paid immensely well to keep her mouth shut and look after the best interests of the parks current owner and Hammond's friend, David Nolan. In his will, Hammond had bequeathed Jurassic Park to Nolan, the eighth richest man in the world, who, just like his friend, envisioned something spectacular.
Jurassic Park had boasted, before its downfall, eight species of dinosaur, revived from their extinction by geneticist, Jon Merlin. Now, over ten years later, Jurassic World could offer visitors the chance to get up and personal with fourteen herbivores and six carnivores. Merlin had worked tirelessly, giving everything he had to the project, playing God and bringing back species that people had only ever seen in books.
However, as successful as Jurassic World was, Emma was being squeezed by investors. Some of the park's latest figured had shown a drop in customer satisfaction, with the average customer never wanting to return. For the people who put so much money into the park, this was a problem, and Emma had been tasked with trying to fix it. They wanted more, something to make people rush home and share what they had seen with their friends, but for that, the park needed more money, and Emma's main focus today was to wow a few potential investors from a telecommunications company called Storybrooke Wireless.
"Welcome to Jurassic World," She beamed fakely, her voice like that of the park's tannoy system. Three pairs of awaiting eyes looked over to her as she exited the elevator and approached them, the two men and a woman waiting for her arrival on the genetics floor. Emma had decided to wow them with their research, showing them what their hard-earned dollars could actually fund, and with the imminent arrival of some new baby raptors, maybe Emma would time things just right.
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"Mr. Gold," one of the men introduced himself with an extended hand, his short, cropped hair immaculately shaped on his head. He was aging, Emma could see that, and was probably the most senior member of their investment group. His attitude screamed authority, and Emma was pretty sure he was used to getting what he wanted. "These are my associates, Regina Mills and August Booth."
"Nice to meet you," Emma smiled, taking the woman's hand first and giving it a shake. Regina was hard faced, her face pale against her blood red lipstick and her hair jet black. She wore a pantsuit, pinstriped and executive, and as their hands parted, she rubbed her fingers against her thumbs as if trying to wipe off Emma's contact. "I hope your journey here was amicable."
"It was far from pleasant," Regina sneered.
"Ignore her," August grinned, nudging Regina aside to shake Emma's hand. He was kind, Emma could tell, and the youngest of the three investors. Emma hoped that he would be the deciding factor in their decision because she was sure he would be more wowed by what she had to offer than the other two. "It was lovely."
Regina snorted a sound out of her nose and rolled her eyes. "You'd think with all the expendable income there would be a more efficient way of getting here than the boat."
"It was a huge, luxury ferry," August told her, amazed by her snobbery.
"Let's just continue with the presentation, shall we?" Gold prompted, lifting the sleeve of his expensive suit jacket and casting a glance at his watch. "My helicopter leaves in under two hours."
"Of course." Emma faked another smile, motioning for the group to follow her. "My name is Emma Swan, head of operations. I'll be showing you some of what we do here, and trust me when I say, you will be impressed."
"The park is already impressive," August told her, skipping ahead of the others and falling into step at her side. Emma gave him a smile, flattered but in no way receptive to his advances. She wasn't against a little flirting to ensure she kept her job, as heartless as that sounded, but she knew she couldn't charm Gold or Mills, so Booth would have to be the one she really impressed.
"Thank you, Mr. Booth," she cooed, resting a hand on his forearm as they walked. "But operating costs are higher than ever. Our shareholders have been patient, but let's be honest, no one is impressed with a dinosaur anymore." She gave him a flash of her teeth through a smile and fluttered her eyelids. "Twenty years ago, de-extinction was jaw-dropping, it had the wow factor, like a good magic trick."
"I love magic," August grinned at her.
"But it gets stale," Gold interrupted their back and forth. "People work out how it's done and it's not that fun anymore."
"Exactly," Emma agreed, rounding the corner through a huge line of tourists. "Kids look at a Triceratops like last years video game, and no one wants to pay the big bucks to experiences last years technology."
"So, what are you doing about it?" Regina inquired, pushing past the crowd of people gathered around a window. They were all staring into a lab, the incubator in front of them housing six identical eggs, the almost pointed oval shapes beginning to shake under the warming lights.
"Our researchers are discovering new species every year," Emma informed them matter of factly, pressing her hand to a palm scanner outside of the laboratory. The light above the pad turned green and the door opened, allowing them access to where the visitors could only see through the glass. "But consumers don't want to see things from the history books. They want bigger, louder, scarier…"
"More teeth," August added excitedly, looking to his colleagues.
"Precisely," Emma smiled at him. "The good news? Advancements in genetic splicing have given us the opportunity to offer your company the chance to be the first to sponsor a new attraction." Emma turned to the screen behind her, the strand of DNA spinning in a high definition image and she swiped her finger across it, the image twirling in place. "The Indominus Rex. Our first genetically modified hybrid."
"We want to be thrilled," Gold droned, unimpressed.
"Don't we all?" A man's voice made them all turn and they focused on the scientist behind them, blue coat fitted perfectly around his defined muscles and his hair perfectly trimmed into shape. Jon Merlin was in charge of genetic research, he had been since Jurassic Park, and his passion for creation was unfounded. He gave them a smile and moved his hands behind his back, resting one hand comfortably in the other as he continued. "Indominus Rex was not bred. She was designed. Fifty feet long when fully grown, she will be bigger than a T Rex."
"Each time we unveil a new attraction, attendance spikes, with media coverage and celebrity visitors that bring the eyes of the world," Emma told them excitedly, giving Jon Merlin a knowing smile. They had them interested. "Imagine if the new attraction was a brand new, never before seen type of dinosaur? Everybody in the world, seeing it for the first time, with your company name sitting right there."
Gold looked at Regina, who gave him a greedy smirk. "When will she be ready?" He asked, looking between Emma and Merlin.
Merlin smirked, inhaling proudly. "She already is."
Henry was easily lost in the rabble when it came to being a live in resident of Jurassic World. His mother, Emma Swan, was head of operations and so, for as long as he could remember, they had lived on the island. Costa Rica was not a bad place to live, and even at eight years old, Henry had spent over half his life there. But his mother never took time off, and there were only so many things he could do when not being schooled by his private tutor.
Summer vacations were the best. Henry was free to explore the park with an all-access pass, with his mother's personal assistant Graham Humbert of course, and with each new innovation, year after the year the park had just got better. From an eight-year old's point of view. Henry loved dinosaurs more than anything and had an incredible passion for learning how things worked, scientifically and mechanically. When he wasn't taking things apart to learn how they worked, he was studying the simplified genetics workshops the park had to offer its visitors.
And then there was Killian Jones. Henry had only known him a few years, but he made sure to spend every waking minute with the man. Killian liked to fix things, his motorcycle mainly and was even in the process of building his own cabin out by the lake where he lived, but more importantly, he didn't treat Henry like a child. For whatever reason, Killian had decided to live away from the main park, secluded and in the tranquility of nature, and he was never angry when Henry simply showed up uninvited. As soon as he was old enough to ride a quad bike alone, Henry would give Graham the slip and head out to Killian's trailer.
Today, however, Henry knew Killian would be working. He had mentioned something about a raptor test and some of Killian's big bosses coming to view his research, so with a hundred apologizes, he had told Henry he would be unavailable. Which, while a little disheartening, was immediately rectified when Killian promised to come to their house and cook dinner after he was done. Henry remembered the look on his mother's face and the glare she had given Killian, but he still had no idea why his mother found his best friend such a bore to be around.
"So, what's on the cards today, squirt?" Graham chimed, scanning the room that they had set foot into a thousand times. He never tired of Henry's enthusiasm, even if it meant he had had to sit through the Jurassic World DNA video introduction three times a day for the last three years.
"Genetics workshop," Henry beamed, stretching up on his tiptoes to see over the other kids in the welcome center lobby. The room was full of activities and interactive displays and there were holographic dinosaurs roaming around and through people. Henry clutched the strap on his backpack, holding it to his shoulder.
"What's in your lucky pack?" Graham enquired with a nod towards the slightly worn rucksack. The front pocket had a broken zip and a small tear in the fabric but Henry insisted on using it with every trip.
Henry cast a small glance over his shoulder and smiled a wide, cheeky grin. "The usual."
"I see," Graham nodded slowly. "Lunch, a camera, and…" Graham squinted, trying to remember what else Henry carried everywhere.
"Raptor training equipment," Henry said absolutely.
"Right," Graham agreed. "Of course." The side of his mouth twitched up in a wry smile. "Find many raptors around the visitor center?"
"Killian said I would make a great research assistant," Henry grinned proudly. "Liam too."
"I bet they did," Graham agreed with a tensed jaw.
"They said I could go and watch them train one day," Henry squealed excitedly.
"I'm sure your mother would have something to say about that," Graham told him firmly, ruffling his hair as he brushed past him. Henry nudged his head out of the way of Graham's touch and pursed his bottom lip out annoyed.
"She likes Killian," Henry said innocently, defending his friend.
"I wouldn't be so sure, squirt." Graham snorted a laugh through his nose just as his phone buzzed in his hand. He looked down at the screen and noted the reminder flashing on the cold, glass display.
Henry frowned. "Why wouldn't she like Killian?" Henry pushed, trying to remain in Graham's eyeline when the man turned sideways and began tapping at his phone screen with a determined look. "I mean, she likes you, " Henry shrugged, slipping through a hologram of a Hadrosaurus.
"Hey!" Graham frowned, confused, his head snapping up from the display in his hands and his eyes narrowing at the boy in front of him.
Henry grinned mischievously. "You're kind of boring sometimes. Killian is more fun."
"I can be fun!" Graham said with a high pitched defensively squeak that made Henry laugh. The boy covered his mouth with his hand, trying to stifle his chuckle. "Oh, I see how it is." Graham squinted at Henry, his lips twitching into a smile. "And what, in your opinion young sir, would be more fun?"
Henry's lips spread into a wide smile, his eyes growing wide with excitement. "Gyro ride!" He screeched, bouncing up and down.
Graham knew Henry loved nothing more than the Gyro controls, reinforced glass balls that took visitors on an up close and personal tour of the park. Only, children under twelve were to be supervised at all times, and that meant Henry could not go alone. It was a long ride, something Graham rarely had time to accompany him on, but if it meant he would be cooler than Jones, why not.
"Alright," Graham declared with a nod. "Gyro ride, here we come!"
The control room was the hub of the park and Emma spent most of her time there trying to control all aspects of the attraction she was in charge of. Control. Her biggest regret was having it, or trying to have it, because when you couldn't control something, the strain was immeasurable. There had been one time in her life when Emma couldn't control the outcome of the situation, and she had regretted it every single day since, not least because of her son's well meaning attitude towards the whole thing.
Emma Swan had loved once, but like a blind fool, she had chased away the man of her dreams with control. He had wanted to reason, but she had wanted to be right, and without compromise, they had drifted apart. But not far enough it seemed, because Henry still had idealistic views of them together and would take every opportunity to make sure they were in the same room together. But it was okay because Henry wasn't allowed in the control room, so she was the boss here.
"What's our live count?" Emma asked sternly, heeled shoes falling silently on the carpeted floor, a steaming cup of still brewing tea in her hands. She positioned herself between two of her analysts, staring up at the huge live action satellite map in front of her.
"Twenty-two thousand two hundred and sixteen," Mary Margaret, the petite brunette to her right said cheerfully.
"Fantastic. Any incidents?" Emma directed her question to the second operations analyst, Ruby, the taller brunette much more carefree than her colleague. Ruby was a little untidy, her desk chaos, her clothes fashionably ripped and a red gem in the piercing in her nose.
"A few cases of heatstroke and six kids in the lost a found," Ruby shrugged. "Nothing big."
"How did the meeting with the investors go?" Mary Margaret asked casually. She and Emma had been friends since the park opened, both of them working there since day one. They had both watched the park evolve into what it was now, growing exponentially into one of the world's most visited attractions. "Did you make a deal?"
"Of course," Emma winked at her, rolling her shoulders. "They want to make money, that's all that matters."
"And will they?" Ruby asked from her left, steadying her hands over her touchscreen display.
"Storybrooke Wireless presents the Indominus Rex," Emma mocked, the future marketing almost writing itself. It was cheesy, and the park had people to come up with things like this, but Emma had no doubt Storybrooke Wireless would enjoy their name in lights and the association with such a huge new dinosaur.
"Wow, that's…" Ruby began, puffing out her cheeks.
"Terrible, I know," Emma finished for her. "We might as well let them name the dinosaurs." Ruby was just about to give another sarcastic comment when Emma pointed at the screen ahead of them, noticing a big red section was flashing. "Why are the west plains closed?"
Mary Margaret sighed. "Another Pachy taking a hike outside of his zone."
"The invisible fences failed again?" Emma huffed. "Security said they are a no-fail. This is the third time this month."
"Not the fences, the tracking implants," Mary Margaret confirmed for her. "When the Pachys butt heads, they short out their implants and then they can roam between zones freely. We are lucky they have never roamed into a carnivore zone."
"True," Emma nodded, taking a sip of her bitter, green tea. "How long until it can be relocated back to it's plain?"
"Emma," Ruby said, her tone a little disbelieving. "He just got tranquilized. He is probably scared to death right now. How about we all show a little sympathy for the poor little guy?" Emma gave her a look. They had, on more than one occasion, butted heads themselves over the notion of even keeping these kinds of animals in a theme park. Ruby was free-spirited and despite her job, believed that she could make a difference to the animals from the inside far easier than if she was simply campaigning on their behalf from anywhere else. "I mean, you do understand these are actual animals, right?"
"Of course I do." Emma rolled her eyes. Ruby insisted on talking to her like she didn't see the dinosaurs as anything but profit and figures sometimes. It annoyed her no end, especially when Emma herself believed she was doing the best by the animals in her care. Despite what Ruby thought she knew, there was protocol to running a park, especially one of this magnitude, and Emma had been hand picked for the job by park owner, David Nolan. She did not want to disappoint by letting her emotions get in the way of her job.
"Jurassic 1 is inbound," Mary Margaret announced, breaking the tension between the women. Her radio message came directly from the pilot of the helicopter transporting the VIP guest. "Were we expecting Mr. Nolan today?"
"Prince Charming," Ruby snorted, avoiding Mary Margaret's glare as she resumed her systematic checking of all park gate security measures.
"Hey!" Mary Margaret said defensively, blushing. It was a known fact that she had a very large crush on the park owner, to everyone but him apparently, who had still to show her any sort of indication he felt the same way.
"He's come to view the asset," Emma explained, finishing the tea and tossing her cup in the trash can beside Ruby's desk. "Tell the pilot I'll meet them on the roof. We can head to paddock 11 from there."
The sounds of the control room faded away as Emma watched the elevator doors close and encase her in the silence of the soundproof box. She reached over and pressed the 'R' button, the advanced electronic keypad prompting her for her fingerprint verification. The roof was restricted, accessible to only a few, and when the brushed chrome elevator doors opened to reveal the helipad occupied by the blue and white chopper, Emma let out a nervous sigh.
Her heels clicked on the tarmac, unheard through the drone of the blades as they cut through the air at a minimal speed above her. She ducked, unnecessarily, and was helped into the back of the plush, luxury helicopter by a flight crew member. She sat in her seat, opposite the park owner, who gave her a welcome smile and a nod of his head.
"Emma," David said, his skin almost too smooth to be that of a man. Emma returned his smile, more nervous than intended. She was not a fan of flying, much preferring to drive between locations on the island, but Mr. Nolan was a keen fan of all things in the aviation field. If he could, he would fly everywhere.
"Mr. Nolan," Emma shouted over the whirr of the blades, the chopping sound drowning her out. "So nice to see you."
"Likewise," David grinned. His gaze fell to his knee, his legs crossed over one another and picked at a piece of lint that had caused an imperfection of his ludicrously expensive blue suit. "So, how is my park doing?" He lifted his head again, widening his eyes a little, his grin faded into a professional but warming smile.
"Great, actually," Emma stammered, fiddling with the seatbelt straps behind her. "We are 2.5% up on last year…"
"Lower than projected," David noted out loud. "Are the guests not having fun?"
Emma pulled the straps into place, finally, and secured the clip. "Well, our guest satisfaction is steady, in the low end of the nineties."
"And are the animals enjoying life?" David asked her, lacing his fingers together and resting them on his lap.
Emma paused, swallowing hard and working out to answer. David was like a family friend at this point in their professional life, but he was still her boss. She frowned, pulling the straps over her shoulders much tighter than she needed to. "I'm not sure we can measure an animal's emotional response to…"
"Sure you can," David smirked at her, catching her gaze with the topaz blue of his eyes. He leaned forward, and mesmerized, Emma simply stared at him. "You can see their happiness or their sadness in their eyes," he told her like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yes, of course," Emma chuckled nervously. Handsome or not, David Nolan was a little too idealistic for her liking. And maybe a tad eccentric.
"Come on," David told her, tapping his pilot on the shoulder and making a motion with his hands. He whirled a pointed finger near the side of his head, the signal to take off, and somehow managed to keep his pristine hair perfect when he slid on a radio headset. Emma mirrored his actions, seating her own padded ear cups over her ears and gave him a weak smile as the helicopter blades began to spin faster. "Let's go see my new dinosaur," he said excitedly, his words distorted by the radio channel he was now talking over.
The air around Costa Rica was perfect for flying, a little humid sometimes, but otherwise still with very little turbulence. The helicopter was smooth flying, the pilot clearly skilled, but it didn't stop Emma being as nervous as she possibly could be. She clutched at the side of her seat, fingernails turning white and David noticed with a smirk.
"Are you nervous, Emma?" He asked her over the mic channel.
"I'm not a fan of flying," Emma gulped, the green of the islands coppice blurring past her eyes and making feel a little queasy.
"Relax," David said, drawing out the vowel sounds. "The key to enjoying life is to accept that you will never be in control."
Emma nodded. It was all she could do, reluctantly letting go of the plush leatherette seating to reach for her binder on the seat next to her. David smirked, not convinced by his employee and friend's paled expression.
"That, or take a few days off. Take Henry to the beach. Have some fun. You do know how to have fun, right, Emma?" He teased and she let out an audible squeak when the helicopter listed to one side.
"Uh, right, so, marketing thought we could offset some of the costs…" Emma began, trying to ease her nerves with a little work. She started to flick through a few pages, her fingers shaking against the white paper when a disgruntled grunt came over the radio.
"Ugh, enough about costs," David dismissed, wrinkling his nose. "John Hammond entrusted me with his vision. 'Spare no expense' he used to say. Don't tell me you have forgotten why we built this place, Emma? Jurassic World exists to remind us of how very small we really are."
The man spoke with so much passion and enthusiasm, for a second Emma forgot about the spreadsheet in her hand and was drawn in by his smile. He was right. Humanity was so new, still learning to find its way in a chain of existence that dinosaurs had already overcome. The park was a marvel, there was no doubt about it, giving people the chance to experience animals that were alive over seventy-five million years ago. Emma doubted she would have ever have thought this even possible when she was Henry's age, but here they were, landing a helicopter next to a secure compound on an island in Costa Rica that housed twenty revived species of dinosaurs.
And one new one.
The blades were slowing as Emma stepped from the chopper, taking David's offered hand to steady herself as her heels hit the gravel hardcore. David gave her a reassuring smile, letting her hand slip from his before slipping on his sunglasses, the sun blazing against his face.
"Why are you still building?" He said, looking up at the wall, the concrete being extended much higher than he had read in the projected plans.
"Asset containment insisted we build the walls higher. It's...bigger than expected." Emma gave him an impressed look, quickly making her way past him and heading up the metal staircase to the building.
"This is good," David grinned to himself, fingers twitching on his belt as he tried to contain his excitement. He followed Emma quickly, taking the stairs two steps at a time and feeling a bead of sweat roll down his neck as she waited for her palm print to activate the security door.
"We hit a few obstacles early on," Emma announced with a sigh, pushing the door open and walking into the huge glass fronted observation room. There was a single security guard on duty, Charlie, the rotund man pulling his feet from the desk as they entered. Emma gave him a nod and he made himself scarce, decided to take his lunch break as silently instructed. "It began to anticipate where the food was coming from and one of the handlers nearly lost an arm. If this thing is scaring the staff, imagine how the public will react."
Emma stepped up to a small, touchscreen control unit in front of the glass, tracking the location of the dinosaur with the heads-up display unit. A red light began to flash on the display, a small bell notification beeping intermittently.
David stepped towards the glass and pulled his glasses from his face, peering past his own reflection, out into the thick, tropical shrubs. "Smart girl," he mused, fiddling with the designer shades in his hands.
"For a dinosaur," Emma quipped.
"And that?" David turned and pointed to a huge crack in the bulletproof glass, something he had noticed as soon as they had walked in.
Emma looked at him, her stony face unable to hide the terror she had felt the day Indominus had tried to break through to the control room. She had frozen in fear, simply staring into the eyes of the beast which meant to kill her, only a layer of glass between them. "It tried to break the glass," she said in a shaky voice, a chill running down her spine.
David stared at the spiderwebbed shatter in the glass, the cracks on the outside but not the inside. He took a breath, his lips twitching into a small smile. "She has spirit."
The deep, rumbling growl of a huge predator breathing vibrated through his body and David turned to the glass once more. His jaw fell open, slightly dry lips pulling even tighter as his breathing increased and his wide eyes fixated on the animal in front of him. She was partially hidden behind some trees, the snapping of wooden branches echoing out as she moved, and David craned his neck to see better. Indominus stopped her movements, two huge thundering rumbles as she moved her feet, booming through the trees.
"Think it will scare the kids?" Emma asked hopefully, studying her bosses profile as he stared down the dinosaur.
"I think.." he paused, watching the reptilian eyelid of the Indominus slide over her bright, yellow colored eye. "I think she'll give the parents nightmares."
"Is that good?" Emma asked dumbly.
"It's incredible," David breathed, in awe. He felt like he was being devoured by her stare, the dinosaur in front of him sending a cold snap deep into his bones. She was indeed huge, not even fully grown, and yet, still able to freeze him to the spot in fear. "Can she see us?"
"She can sense our thermal radiation," Emma said, staring out at the cat-like eyes staring through the tree line.
"Like a snake?" David prompted and Emma nodded. "Didn't the budget cover two of them?"
"It did, and there was a sibling, in case one didn't survive infancy," Emma said, unable to pull her gaze from the creature as it moved again, a heavy footstep shuddering the glass in front of them.
"Where's the sibling?" David asked quickly, excited there might be two money-making marvels in the paddock. "I can't see the second one."
"She ate it," Emma said flatly.
David swallowed hard, the unease he felt from the dinosaur increasing tenfold. He shot another glance to the cracked window, jumping in his skin when he heard another tree branch break from its trunk and watched Indominus move back into the thick forest. "Are we sure the paddock is safe?"
"We have the best structural engineers in the world working to make sure of it," Emma said with a confident smile.
"Yeah, so did John Hammond," David said idly, inspecting the edge of the glass window. He looked down to his hands, the expensive sunglasses covered in fingerprints as he held them and began pacing along the window. The crack made him nervous, a permanent weakness to the only thing that held the dinosaur on away from whoever was in the room. "There is a British Navy man here," he began and Emma paused the tapping on the panel in front of her. "He is part of a research program one of my companies is running on the island. Killian Jones."
Emma let out the breath she had been holding and turned to look at the broad shoulders of her boss. "I know of him."
"He works with raptors, who often try to escape. They are smart, but he has to be smarter. Maybe we can get his opinion? Bring him in, let him inspect the paddock." David turned, moving back towards her. "Maybe he can see something we can't."