The Department of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkley was one of the first programmes of its type in the USA, and since its inception had continued to be at the forefront of pioneering research, producing some of the top young minds over the past twenty years. Admission to the college was competitive, and the interviewing process was rigorous, but at the end of it all it was completely worth it. The researchers at Berkley are credited with uncovering the most influential findings in the world of geo-sciences, including putting an end to the arguments over the extinction of the dinosaurs sixty five million years ago – it had been proved by those at Berkley that it was the impact of a comet and increased levels of radiation that had inevitably ended dinosaurs reign as master species on earth.

Getting into Berkley had been a dream come true for Ellis Grant, who had spent the majority of her life on paleontological dig sites with her father. As a child she had donned her timberlands and khaki shorts and strode confidently alongside her father, rock pick in one hand, toothbrush clutched firmly in the other. Before the age of five Ellis, or Ellie as her father affectionately called her, was able to correctly identify almost seventeen species of dinosaurs – eleven herbivores and six carnivores – with nothing more than a femur or metatarsal to go on. Her father, Dr Alan Grant, had almost definitely played a part in her being accepted to her chosen college, given his high profile in the world of geoscience and palaeontology it would have been foolish of her not to expect her surname to carry some sort of meaning. Berkley had hoped that with his daughter there Alan Grant would finally guest at the college, give a seminar to students and professors alike but he never did. Alan had never been one for giving lectures, believing that the important work in palaeontology was done outdoors, with your own bare hands. He had little time for the likes of academics and museum curators and instead did everything in his power to distance himself from them.

Three years on, any ill feelings over her father's refusal to attend seminars had long since disappeared. Ellis Grant had successfully made a name for herself, one which stood apart from the legacy of her father, and one which she was incredibly proud of. In between her studies Ellie was still prominent in the dig scene, spending months on end in Montana with teams of volunteers, digging in a desperate attempt to gather all the research she needed to complete her dissertation; A study into the infant rearing behaviour of dinosaurs. Over the years she had uncovered numerous nest sites of herbivorous dinosaurs, duck billed hadrosaurs and dilophosaurus to name but a few, but until recently the existence of nesting sites belonging to carnivorous dinosaurs was nothing more than a myth. After uncovering the skeleton of an infant velociraptor, Ellis had soon discovered an entire pack of juveniles, with adults not far away. It was a scientific breakthrough, she had singlehandedly proven that not only were velociraptors social creatures, rearing their young in packs, but they were also extremely nurturing, keeping their young close until they were two-three years of age. Similar to the way a mother cheetah rears and protects her cubs in the planes of Africa today, a female velociraptor would have fed and defended her young on the planes of Snakewater, Montana.

When she'd published her findings in her dissertation, Ellie had become an overnight success. Her professors had been so impressed with her work and her independent research that they'd sent the twenty thousand word paper on to colleagues at other universities, who in turn had sent it on again, and so on and so forth until finally Ellis was met with an email requesting her paper be published officially in the Paleontological Journal, an honour that even her father had only had twice in his lifetime. One stipulation in the publication of her research was that Ellis Grant was to hold a seminar of her very own, where she would read portions of her paper and then answer any questions the audience may have about her findings. She'd been apprehensive at first, the idea of standing up in front of any amount of people seeming far too daunting to her, but after some persuasion from classmates and family alike she finally agreed to it.

Standing at the front of the auditorium Ellis ran a hand through her mousy brown hair as she read aloud from her prepared flashcards. She'd expected maybe a handful of people to turn up to the reading, and had been staggered when the dean had been forced to relocate her seminar not once but twice, finally settling on the largest room on campus. Even then there were not enough seats, people stood in the aisles and lingered at the back of the room, craning their necks in a desperate attempt to get a better listen at what it was Ellis Grant had to say. Her father was sat front and centre, a beaming smile spread across his weathered face causing wrinkles to form in the corners of his eyes.

"…and so, using potassium argon dating I was able to accurately date the skeleton. Proving my theory that dinosaurs, both herbivorous and carnivorous were inherently nurturing creatures." Ellis concluded her speech and finally her gaze flickered up to the crowd before her. She was met with a sea of faces, all of whom looked at her with intrigue; there wasn't a single person who wasn't listening – a true testament to her work and presentation skills, as even she knew that bones and rocks weren't exactly the most interesting things to hear about. Leaning forward towards the microphone once more she spoke again. "Err…thank you."

The crowd erupted into a deafening round of applause and Ellis took a shaky step backwards from her podium. She watched in a stunned silence as people who had travelled from all over the country congratulated her on what could be described as her life's work, though she'd never seen it as work really – more as a way of life. Her Professor stepped on stage, shook her hand and then took his place at the podium, opening the floor to questions. Ellie remained silent, her dark eyes flickering from one face to the next, she was becoming more and more aware of how underdressed she was for the occasion, wearing jeans and one of her dads old plaid shirts, but she didn't have time to dwell on that because there was a sudden influx of questions that only she had the answer to.

She answered questions for over an hour, until her throat felt raw from over exertion and her hand rough from shaking those of strangers all of whom had wanted nothing more than to meet Ellis Grant, the top mind in her field. Setting herself down on the edge of the stage Ellie thanked her professor and bid him goodbye before leaning back on her elbows, her legs dangling over the edge of the stage, and looking out at the – now empty – room she had just spoken in.

"Ellie." The voice of her father pulled Ellie from her thoughts and she looked up at him with a smile.

"Hey Dad." She greeted, taking the water bottle he offered her gratefully, taking a few large gulps, she hadn't realised just how parched she was.

It took a few minutes for Alan Grant to settle himself down beside his daughter, he wasn't as young as he once was and it seemed as though the years of kneeling for excavations were finally catching up with him. "I'm really proud of you kiddo, what you did up there, it was really amazing."

A soft blush flourished upon Ellie's cheeks and she nodded bashfully, choosing to take another sip of her water rather than reply – the Grants were notorious for not ever expressing their feelings, it made them uncomfortable.

For a long while the pair simply sat in silence, taking comfort in one another's company, which was something they rarely got to share these days what with Ellie's school schedule and Alan's work. Their blissful silence was only interrupted when a figure to the left of the stage cleared his throat, making his presence known. The Grant's glanced towards the source of the noise, the same look of confusion flashing in their eyes as the man stepped from the shadows, revealing his identity. For Ellis the look of confusion was genuine, she had no idea who this man was or why he was here, for Alan Grant the confusion was a different kind, he knew exactly who the male was and was only confused as to why he'd come along after specifically being told to stay away.

Simon Masrani wore a grey fitted suit and his shoes which appeared to be made from some sort of alligator skin clicked against the wooden floor of the auditorium as he walked toward Ellie and her father. Dr Grant stood up, a frown set on his features but he did not speak, Alan Grant was not necessarily a confrontational man, he believed that everyone deserved the chance to explain themselves.

"That was quite a speech you gave Miss Grant." Masrani spoke, his tone sounded genuine enough and the expression on his face only served to solidify his statement. Ellis pushed herself down from the edge of the stage, standing next to her father and nodded slowly.

"Thank you, Mr…" Her sentence trailed off quietly.

"Masrani." He offered a quick reply and she smiled curtly. "CEO of the Masrani Global Corporation, you might of heard of us. We've got a park off the coast of Costa Rica that's right up your alley."

"Jurassic World." Ellis finished his sentence and this time Masrani nodded. Ellie felt every muscle in her father's body tense and she spared him a sideways glance, just to make sure he wasn't about to keel over. She wasn't stupid, she knew what her father had been through, she knew all about Jurassic Park, the San Diego disaster and Eric Kirby going missing on Isla Sorna – her dad didn't like to talk about it much, and so most of what she knew came from the internet, that or Ian Malcolm's books.

"Why are you here Masrani?" Dr Grant seethed, wrapping one arm protectively around his only daughters' slender shoulders. "I've told you, no force on earth will get me on that island of yours."

Masrani held his hands up and nodded once more. "If you please Dr Grant, I'm not here for you. I come with an offer for Ellis."

Alan's grip on his daughter tightened and Ellie's eyes widened in shock. "Me?"

"Yes you Miss Grant, in your field you're the top mind. Jurassic World would benefit greatly from having someone like you on board."

"That's not going to happen." Her father snapped and when Ellie wriggled from his grasp Alan looked at her incredulously.

"What would you need me for?" Ellie asked, folding her arms across her chest as she did so. "You've already got your dinosaurs…"

"There's not another person on earth that understands the behaviour of those animals like you do Ellis, I have men who have worked at my park for ten years who know less about a velociraptor having seen one than you do having only seen bones and dust."

Ellie could practically feel her heart beating out of her chest, never in a million years had she thought this kind of opportunity would come her way. Sure she loved digging up bones and learning all she could from them, but to see a real dinosaur in the flesh, that was something dreams were made of.

"I'll do it."

Alan Grant released an exasperated sigh and ran a hand slowly through what little hair he had left. Simon Masrani grinned and Ellie pinched herself, making sure that all of this was actually happening.