Disclaimer: i do not own Owen or Jurassic World elements.
The harbor at Costa Rica was busy as always, men loading and off-loading crates and cargo, ferries sail in and out ever so often. Through her shades, Zeng watched as the workers wearing the InGen work shirt load and take stock on a particularly large ferry. Over at the other side was another InGen ferry, and men in suits and shades were boarding it systematically.
She was supposed to be on that ferry, but she decided, she won't. After all, it was written on her invitation she's a VIP guest. She turned and picked up her backpack and walked towards the other side of the harbor. The sun is shining high in the sky and the winds were comfortable. Weather was good today, a perfect day to fly.
The chopper in the middle of the helipad was being restocked with fuel and checked. The pilot waved her over as she took her travel documents back from the checkpoint and looked over in his direction.
"Ms Zeng?" the pilot asked.
"Good morning." she answered and handed her physical copy of the invitation. The pilot scanned it quickly and handed it back to her.
"We're ready for take off." he said as he ushered her in. She climbed into the seat easily and dumped her bag on the ground. There was a pair of headphones and she put it on quickly. From there, she could see the ferry with the men in suits is slowly making its way out of the dock. The pilot locked the door and climbed into his seat.
"Next stop, Isla Sorna." he announced while flicking a few switches and the rotors roared to life quickly. "Estimated time of arrival, 10.30am."
"No problem, wake me up when we are there." Zeng said as she strapped on her seatbelts and leaned back to take a nap. Airborne rides have started to bore her, and the gentle rocking is a perfect hammock simulation to fall asleep. But even as she closed her eyes, a thousand thoughts filled her mind and it was hard rest.
It had been close to a year, since the time Hoskins approached her to be a part of SIEGE. It was over a lovely dinner, and she had stood up abruptly and stormed off, leaving the restaurant staring at Hoskins alone at his table. She tried to weasel out of the trip, but corporate made her go. They said it would be a vacation for the workaholic in her. She wondered if they really meant it, or they were secretly hoping she won't come back.
Zeng grew up in a military environment. Her grandfather was a high-ranking officer back in WWII when the Japanese occupied Singapore, during that time he rescued a Japanese comfort woman on the run. When the war was over, he married her and Zeng's father, together with two other uncles were born. As a man of his country, he disciplined his sons and grandchildren to be loyal to their homeland, for that is where their lives started. Regardless of how their lives turned out, it is always the people, not the country that did them any wrong. As Singapore is a small country, a civil army protects her interests, so regardless of gender, everyone with in the family, served the military at one point in life.
Zeng spent her childhood, training to be physically fit, mentally strong and spiritually minded. Her family encouraged her to pursue her dreams, and she found herself studying alone abroad in a field people thought was generally meant for men. She studied hard, and returned as an engineer for her country's defense force, a job she was generally satisfied with, until the day she was called in as a field engineer for a deployment to the Middle East. Serving her country as her grandfather had intended, she lived abroad again, at the frontlines of peacekeeping. But what she saw, was far from peace.
Troubled by the sight of inhumanity of war, Zeng applied for early withdrawal and left the battlefield. Before she could return home, Garde found her, and she left for the States and began her career of innovation for the masses. There, she felt more at ease, making solar panels for lesser cost, and the integrated satellite networks for surveillance and interference.
To Zeng, engineers are like puppeteers, and the strings that they make the world dance is technology. You can either put on a good or a bad show, that depends on how or what you make of the strings. With discipline, she kept herself in check, but there are others who sought ways to terrorize the world in the name of science. Which is no wonder why she fell out with her granduncle, whom she found out after so many years, was the one behind Jurassic operations. Biosyn didn't even stand a chance when she pulled the rug from under their feet with the corporate team in Garde.
As the princess of her family, it came as no surprise that she developed an attitude problem. Other than her mother, she was the only other woman in the Zeng family, and growing up in a strict household only seemed to make it worse. She is extremely hung up about being fair and efficient in all aspects of her work and life. While her team at work admired her tenacity and talent, others have remarked that she is an incredibly difficult person to work with. She would get mad easily when something is amiss, and would undoubtedly insist that she is right. Be on her good side, and she would go the extra mile to deliver her work and help. Get on her bad side, and the project is as good as scrap. Her superiors have long since wanted to promote her, but it is obvious that she lacked the leadership to handle a higher position. Unfortunately that created the illusion of a glass ceiling that prevented her from moving higher, and she had attributed it to gender inequality, which only fueled her attitude problem.
When Doc Thorne was thinking of who to hand over Project Shiva to, he had no doubt in his mind that Zeng is the only person capable of it. What others have, namely accommodation, she tragically lacked. And that is crucial when it came to a reset button of that kind of magnitude. Perhaps there's some good for being a shrew. As she has a pet peeve for things that don't go her way, she chose to work alone. Project Shiva was meant to be classified anyway, and she couldn't ask for a better arrangement. The more people involved, the greater the margin for errors. Because, humans always complicate things.
It was not to say she's blissfully unaware of what others thought of her, but each time she caved slightly, things would fall apart. Her few friends in the world know she's capable of human emotions, and at the center of it all, is a passion for righteousness and the greater good. It was a classic case of not judging a book by its cover. But as she learnt over the years, nobody read books anymore, and as technology advanced, it's up to the individual to tell the world what they would like others to know. She found that to be incredibly ridiculous, and kept her social media usage to a bare minimum. If someone truly cares, she believed, they would find a way to open the book to read, just like her few friends did.
As she closed her eyes and felt the vibration of the chopper, the images of the milestones of Project Shiva floated in and out of her mind. Doc Thorne's appearance at her workplace, meeting up with Masrani for the first time, seeing how Wu who was supposed to have died on Isla Nublar many years ago not only did not, but also the person responsible for the distortion of nature, the time when she received blueprints for the Indominus Rex, how she fell out with Masrani, the meeting with United Nations Security representative, Owen Grady's unexpected visit…
There was a time she wondered if she had been jealous of Owen, which resulted in her distaste of him since school. She was the dorky girl, he was the star of the school. It seemed like the perfect setting for a cliché college love story, except it wasn't. Owen was not the sensitive Prince Charming, and she wasn't the kind hearted Cinderella. She only had one goal, and Owen had no goals at all. Somehow he had it easy, and her capabilities were met with ridicule. It seemed like an silly thing to hold on to after so many years, a classic "oh god why" moment.
She had been tapping into Owen's phone since the day he came to see her. She listened to all the conversations he had on the island, including the time he babysat his new charges. Just like Hoskins, she knew Owen must be up to something to suddenly accept the job in SIEGE, so she leverage on the chance to keep a close look on a heavily guarded island. Over the months as she collected intel, she couldn't help but wonder if Owen had changed his mind. She listened in on him nursing the raptors when they were young, taking care of them when they are sick, teaching them to play nice with each other, and most importantly, protecting and nurturing them.
She wondered if she should reconsider Project Shiva. It would take tremendous effort on her part. She remembered Masrani and Doc Thorne's words, and she recalled her grandfather's wisdom.
How do you want the world to be, when you leave?
The chopper had started descending, as she felt her body momentarily leave the seat. She opened her eyes and found herself staring at the steep wall of a cliff.
"Ms. Zeng? We're here." the pilot announced just as she straightened herself. The chopper slowed as it near the ground, hovered a little before touching down gently.
Well, that's a question for later. Now, she's a VIP guest on a paid-for trip for a demonstration exhibition. It can wait.
Zeng stepped off the helicopter and dragged her backpacker's bag behind her. The first thing she saw upon landing made her groan and roll her eyes behind the shades.
"Ms Zeng, I'm glad you could join us." Hoskins' voice shouted over the noise and she felt herself gag. She dragged her bag along on the ground as she walked towards him reluctantly. She took his extended hand half-heartedly and continued forward. The helipad was positioned just beside the island gate, where a security checkpoint separates the dock and the rest of the island. Hoskins led her in and it felt like an airport check in.
Zeng dropped her bag onto the conveyor belt that was feeding into the scanning machine. She watched as her backpack disappear behind the plastic curtains and she stepped through the scanner. The alarm did not go off. Hoskins was already on the other side waiting for her. As she stood at the other side of the belt, waiting to collect her bag, the men working the computer looked up at her, and stopped the belt. Hoskins came over quickly and crossed over to look at the screen.
"Miss, you aren't allowed to carry arms." the officer in front of the screen said. Zeng made a face and opened her passport to a page where there was an official seal and license to selected firearm and weapons stuck onto the page. She flashed it at them as though it was a police badge and cast a look at Hoskins.
"I'm allowed to carry them into any country. And don't think for a moment that I believe this island is safe." she said to Hoskins.
"Yes, but under the regulations of Costa Rica and United Nations, this island prohibits any outside firearms or weapons to be brought in or out." the officer pointed to a plaque on the wall behind him. Zeng scanned it quickly and mused. The UN actually knew about this place, that's interesting…
Zeng said nothing, she merely pocketed her passport and walked back through the full body scanner. She reached into the plastic curtains to grab her bag out the other way. She shouldered the bag that was slightly too big for her and headed towards the door she had just came through.
"Wait, just wait." Hoskins quickly came over, and she stopped. "I believe we can make an exception."
"But sir," the officer behind the screen started and was silenced by Hoskins who held up his hand.
"Ms Zeng is member to several government and military organizations, personal firearms are common and sometimes essential." Hoskins said. "Besides, old habits die hard. It just doesn't feel quite right without them nearby, does it?"
"I'm glad you understand, Hoskins." Zeng turned to face the director, who was flashing her one of his charming smile.
"Please." He gestured towards the entrance on the other side, where she could hear animal cries and boisterous activities. Behind them, the ferry had just pulled up and the men in suits have disembarked. Zeng recognized a few of them, and she was sure they are also invited for the exhibition as well. Hoskins hurried forward to welcome them.
She headed over to the entrance, not wanting to mix around with them too soon, when she caught sight of someone familiar on the other side of the security checkpoint, where they check on the people who worked here on the island whenever they return to the island. The person recognized her too, for he stopped for a split second and picked up his belongings and met her at the entrance.
"Oh, it's you." she said coldly.
"It's a fairly hot day today, why are you still so cold?" Owen jibed. Zeng rolled her eyes as she continued forward. She left the building and stepped out into the sun. The atmosphere changed immediately. There was so much going on. Officers were leading small groups of people around as though on a tour, dinosaurs in small groups stood by as the visitors touched and interacted with them. Further into the island she could see the training sectors where visitors in small groups were standing by, each with an officer gesturing and explaining their operations. There were no kids, teenagers or sight-seeing tourists. The visiting groups, comprising of men and women were all dressed in formal wear. This, is a business expo.
Owen came up and stood beside her, watching the activities. He wasn't sure what to say after their last tense meeting. He could hear Hoskins' voice getting closer, and he turned to her, extended his arm jokingly.
"Hug for an old classmate?"
She stared at him in ridicule, but Owen's face suddenly turned serious and tense. He seemed to beckon her to hurry and hug him. She frowned and inched slowly forward, but there was no time. Hoskins was getting closer as he led the suits to the door. Owen stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. Zeng knocked her chin against his hard shoulder and she reached up instinctively trying to rub the spot.
"Aww," Hoskins' voice came as he stopped in front of them. "It's always great to see old friends."
Owen patted her back in a friendly, brotherly manner before releasing her to turn to the crowd. The young director then began to introduce him to the suits. Zeng stood at her spot and watched nonchalantly, but her mind started to race. Because in that brief moment of reunion, she thought she heard him whisper something in her ear.
I need your help.