Chapter One
Not much breeze today, the jungle had been warm for weeks, with summer at its heat the whole place had dried up, the leaves crispy and dry underfoot. Food had become pretty scarce with most of the edible fruits and nuts failing to flourish or being already eaten by the local wildlife. "I'm sure they're not going hungry back in terra nova, always plenty of food there" I mutter to myself, it could be pretty lonely out on your own, not that I minded often, but when the environment became more hostile than normal it made me miss the company that the colony offered. My stomach rumble again, gotta be something to eat around here, the dried up river bed usually produced something edible, and sure enough there in one of the still wet spots was a patch of reeds, the tubulars of which would tie me over a few hours. With a snack sorted I head back into the depth of the forest, the area had been quiet all day, only the usual dino activity, and no sign of the sixers, and nothing to report back. I'd been out here alone since shortly after the second pilgrimage, I was Taylor's man on the ground in the beginning of the colony, reportedly dead, but actually scanning the new land and traveling hundreds of miles to discover if this land has the resources we would need to be self-sufficient. Of course Taylor had to keep this mission secret, some members of the colony might not be too keen on us considering cutting hope plaza off, but we knew they had plans for terra nova and its resources, and so here I was nearly eight years down the line. The mission of discovery had ended shortly after the arrival of the sixth pilgrimage when I'd been retasked in spying and reporting all sixer activity but soon this mission would also be complete, my reports had aided us in understanding their movements and confirmed Taylor's fears for the work Lucas had been carrying out.
Lucas's plan to create a return portal to hope plaza would allow the resources of terra nova to be plundered, Taylor had yet decided on a way to stop him, his reluctance to kill his son frustrating to me as I had repeatedly offered to kill him, after all I was his younger brother and he had betrayed not just my father but also me when he left terra nova and joined the sixers. We hadn't met in years though I had spotted him with mira on multiple occasions he had vowed to kill my father and me, though I doubt his ability, he was the scientist, dad the soldier and I had been the spy. My final mission to infiltrate the sixer camp and capture Lucas's notes on the return portal.
My infiltration would begin at dusk and so I readied myself, using the last of my camouflage supplies and hiding what resources I had left, I armed myself ready to go. Dusk came and moved into the edge of the camp, the trees above were dark, mira operated a lights out policy from nightfall to keep the camp hidden but I soon found the tree id planned to climb and so taking the rope I climbed the tree and reached the edge of one of the tree houses, inside I could hear the sound of people sleeping and so moving past it I made my way cautiously through the treetop camp to the largest of the huts, Mira's room. I had been surprised to find no guards on patrol, but before entering the hut I pulled out my pistol, not the standard sonic pistol of terra nova, but a traditional old fashioned silenced pistol. The room is silenced so in I go slipping the sheet that covers the doorway, inside is empty no sign of Mira or Lucas, I click my glow stick and begin to scan the room, there should be a safe in here somewhere finally just before I was about to give up I locate it, a small safe at the bottom of a cot, using my lock pick I fiddle the safe open and their they are, a stack of papers exactly what I was looking for. I stop before I can put them in my rucksack, I'm not alone, and a match strikes behind me illuminating a face who then lights a candle. "Hello little brother" Lucas sits on his desk a smirk on his face, "I knew it was a matter of time until you turned up, but to steal from your own brother now that hurts me" he continued, I don't move he's holding a sonic blaster. "I am just taking these you don't mind do you lukey" I retort, his smirk changes to a grimace, "I don't have time for games Clint, now you have a choice, you join me or you die, now hand over the papers and we will go home to 2149 together" he replies, I have to admit he's got me in a fix, and so I make my decision, I walk towards him the papers outstretched, and for a moment he smiles, a familiar smile one from our boyhood, and then I plunge the papers into the flames of the candle, the papers ignite and are soon engulfed. " You really think you're smart don't you, that's not my only copy, fool" he mutters and bang he's charged and shot his blaster, I fly across the room and it fades to black the last image I see is Lucas a manic grin on his face.
