Chapter 20

As it turned out, it wasn't his imagination.

Jim called an emergency council meeting. Today's training was postponed as both Reilly and Michael wanted an update on what was happening since the Sixers had returned to the colony, and it was quite an update.

The council members had quite a surprise when they saw Mira joining them at the table. She looked a lot better than she did back at the Sixer camp. Dressed in clean clothes, she sat ignoring everyone with her arms folded.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Durwin demanded, highlighting what was on everyone's minds.

"Mira is with us now," Jim explained, taking a seat next to her.

"Are you just inviting back everyone who betrayed us?" spat Nick, disbelief in his voice.

"She's been extremely cooperative," Jim replied. "I think she'll be a great asset to us during this uncertain time, and probably well into the future too...That's why I've decided to make her my deputy."

The whole room scoffed.

"You can't be serious!" Malcolm cried. He was sitting on the opposite end of the table, well away from Mira.

"She's the leader of the Sixers," Reilly reminded Jim bitterly, glaring coldly at Mira.

Michael stared at Mira. She was being uncharacteristically quiet. It was only days ago that he was sitting in the same place, facing the same criticism. Did she really want to be back here? Did she seriously want to help them?

These were some of the questions the council asked, barely giving Jim enough time to answer.

Jim explained her reasons for being there: the fall out with the Phoenix Group, and the real reason for all her misdeeds - the fact EdenCorp had her daughter.

Durwin didn't seem to care. "Why don't you just invite the whole lot of them back here?" he suggested unhelpfully. "Seeing as we're suddenly so big on forgiveness!"

"Weren't you people listening?" snapped Mira, finding her voice. "Hooper is coming here and he's going to bring that THING with him. I'm no longer interested in fighting with you. I just want my daughter back, and you have a way for me to do that."

"Right," said Jim. "And how's that going, Malcolm? Have Lucas' notes been helpful?"

Malcolm's jaw stiffened. "Yes but…" He sighed. "I may know how to build it, now it's just building it that's the issue. I've enlisted Maddy's help as well as a few others so perhaps days at best."

"Okay. Keep me updated. In the meantime, the most important thing is that we prepare to fight. We may have two armies heading our way any day now. Hopefully the terminus will be ready before then so we can at least have the element of surprise."

"Training is going well, sir," Reilly informed him. "And we're getting more volunteers by the day. I'll be taking them out again as soon as this meeting is over."

"That's great, Reilly. Thank you."

Jim took them through a few other bits and pieces, such as the food situation and the repairs for the colony. As they reached the end of the discussion, Michael was surprised to find that there was no mention of Mark. He thought Jim would have included the revelation of Mark's past in their update, but apparently not.

Maybe Maddy didn't tell him, or he thought the council had enough on their plate without worrying what happened several years ago.

Either way, it seemed Jim was softening on his suspicions by the day. Inviting Michael back on the Security team was one thing, but offering Mira a place as his deputy? She had got off lightly - better than lightly - compared to him. There was a part of Michael, deep down, that found this hurtful, but what was the sense in fighting it now? He was accepted back, so was Mira. They both had roles to play now in helping Terra Nova win this next fight.

Michael was the last to leave. He was about to take off when Mira grabbed his arm.

"Mira," Jim warned from across the room, noticing the woman's aggressive gesture.

"You've been back there," Mira said, staring intensely into Michael's eyes. She stood, coming face to face with him. "Did you see Sienna?"

Michael nodded gently.

She took a sharp inhale of breath, as if she couldn't believe it. "H...How is she?"

"When I saw her six months ago, she was good. Happy. They were taking good care of her." He paused. No matter what she had done, Mira deserved to know about her daughter. She had missed so much. "She looks like you. She liked to draw pictures of you. She had a pretty singing voice, I remember that. She bugged pretty much everyone, but in an endearing sort of way. She misses you a lot."

She couldn't help it. A single tear rolled down her sharp cheekbone. "She remembers me?"

"Yeah. She's still waiting for you."

"I'm coming for her," she whispered. "I'm coming no matter what. Shannon," she turned to him, raising her voice. "As soon as that portal's ready I'm going through it."

"Get in line," argued Michael. "As soon as it's up and running, I'm getting my son back."

She let go of him, staring up at him with confusion. "You have a son?"

"Yeah. And they have him too. So let's just agree that as soon as we get our kids back, we'll kick Nichol's ass. Okay?"

Mira smirked. "Works for me."

"One thing at a time," Jim said, exasperated. "When we get the terminus working again, we'll discuss what the next move should be."

"Fine," Michael and Mira both said in unison. They looked at each other uncomfortably.

"Mira, come look at this," Jim requested as he pulled something up on his plex. "Maybe you can help me with something."

Michael took that as his cue to leave. It looked as though Mira's deputy duties had started immediately. The absolute hypocrisy of Jim hiring Mira as his deputy, yet demonising anyone who had dealt with her, wasn't lost on Michael. A year ago this would have infuriated him. His father wouldn't have allowed for this. But Jim was able to see things with a different eye. Mira had skills and knowledge that would no doubt be useful to them in these desperate times. And it was clear she had no allegiance to EdenCorp. All she wanted was Sienna back. That's all Michael wanted too - to get his family back. So perhaps the enemy of their enemy was actually their friend. Well, perhaps friend was a bit strong of a word.

As he left, he noticed the Brachiosaur browsing outside the fence again, the fifty foot tall giants peered over the colony as a couple of young girls watched joyfully. Michael smiled and continued on towards the gates.

He joined Reilly for their training session, noticing Skye had joined them again this time. She looked even more the part today, with her uniform neatly assembled and her hair tied back in a tight bun. He had never seen her look so orderly. Her appearance was usually quite wild and unruly, just like her. He was surprised to see her so determined after yesterday.

He and Reilly took them through a strict training regime, ensuring the volunteers got the most help. Skye was the youngest female there, and one of the best volunteers. She had strength and gumption. She showed no fear or vulnerability, that is, except when it came to the weapons.

Michael took his time with her today, letting the other soldiers and recruits leave as their training for the day came to an end. He let her get reaccustomed to the weight of the gun in her hands, letting her breathe and line the target up with her point of vision. He didn't pressure her to fire.

Soon it was just the two of them.

"Skye," he said after a while. "There's no pressure for you to do this. You know that when you do this for real, it won't be a piece of wood at the end of this gun. It'll be a real person."

She didn't break her gaze with the target, her breaths hard, eyes wide - just staring at that damn dot in front of her. "I...I know."

"You can use the sonic setting all you want but there will come a point when you might need to use a bullet."

"I know that."

She closed her eyes, perhaps trying to focus her thoughts. Maybe she was trying to get Lucas out of her mind.

"Are you sure you want to do that? Do you think you can kill one of them? Maybe several of them, if you have to?"

"Yes," she whispered. "If I have to." She opened her eyes, her expression changed. Then she pulled the trigger.

She hit just outside the target, but it was enough for Michael to celebrate.

"You did it, Squirt!" He patted her on the back and cheered for her.

She showed him a rather surprised grin.

"I knew you could do it! We'll make a soldier out of you yet!"

Skye breathed a sigh of relief, as if she could hardly believe it.

Later, Michael walked her back to the colony. As they followed the worn path back, Skye kept glancing over at him.

"Thanks for today," she said. "It means a lot, you being patient with me."

"Of course," he replied. "People learn at different rates and I know what you've been through. I remember I had a little trouble with my aim at the start. Wash had to help me a lot." He smiled at the memory of his lessons with Alicia, back in the beginning. He remembered with each lesson, he seemed to fall more in love with her until there was no coming back from it.

They came to a halt by the tall fence of the colony, waiting for the gates to open, the midday sun beating down on them.

"You're gonna be a great dad to that baby," she said suddenly, smiling up at him.

He looked at her, surprised. "Who…" He paused. "Reynolds has a big mouth," he muttered, glaring back at the colony as the gates slowly opened.

"In his defence, he didn't mean to. He was pretty hungover this morning." She followed him as they entered the colony. "I just don't know why you didn't tell me."

He sighed. "It was never really a secret, it was just...when I came back, there was a lot going on. It was already a big shock for everyone to learn that Wash was still alive. I didn't want to complicate things any more by telling everyone we had a kid together too. I haven't even seen him in person."

She stopped and put her hand on his arm. "You will. And he's gonna love you."

She always knew how to make him smile. "Thanks. By the way, how's Tasha?"

"She's getting by. I think what happened the other night was actually kind of helpful, you know, to let it all out."

Michael nodded, he got that. It certainly helped his mental health by unloading on Elisabeth Shannon the previous night. Just to cry and admit what had happened and how he felt about it. Crazy how that works, he thought.

"Alright," she said. "I told Mr Shannon I'd also volunteer with getting some repairs done to the colony. I'll see you la-"

She had taken a few steps back when Michael noticed her gaze drawn to something behind him. It was Mira on the Command Centre balcony, flicking through something on a plex.

Skye halted. Her lips parted in confusion.

"What is she doing up there? Is she working with Mr Shannon?" she demanded heatedly.

Michael nodded.

"After everything she's done? After what she did to my mom? How could he? How could he do that?"

"I guess he's just expanding our options with what's coming," Michael suggested.

"You agree with this?" she questioned resentfully.

"No. I mean, it hurt me too," he reasoned. "She made my life hell for years too, remember? But the same way she was pulling our strings, someone was pulling hers. In a weird way...she was being manipulated just like us."

"I can't…" Skye began dismissively, shaking her head. "She better stay away from me and my mom," she snapped, then she stormed away angrily.

"Skye!" Michael called after her, but quickly gave up. She was already gone, and besides, she had a right to be angry. She wouldn't forgive Mira for holding her mother captive all those years, withholding her treatment whenever Skye was late with intel. She had put the poor girl in an impossible situation, forcing her to spy on her own people. Michael knew that pain. He was tired of his friends and family being used as pawns by Nichol and her rich associates. The sooner they put an end to her the better. Then maybe the real healing could begin. Maybe they could actually start to forgive each other.

He returned home for a quick shower and a change of clothes before visiting Boylan in the Infirmary. He'd heard that he was doing much better and that he would be able to go home today, so Michael thought he would be there to see him back to his house.

When he entered the Infirmary, it was a bit chaotic. Part of the unit was clearly being used by Malcolm and the science team who had set up in the corner. He could see the base of the terminus being set up which gave him a little bit of positivity as he noticed Malcolm and Maddy chatting busily and looking at Lucas' old notes.

He also saw Carter who was sitting up in bed, looking a lot healthier. Carter clocked him staring but Michael quickly looked away.

On his way to Tom, he saw the young girls he had seen watching the Brachiosaur earlier that day. They were each lying on a cot, bruised and bloody. Jim and Mira were standing over them, asking them questions. Michael's heart started racing. He caught Doctor Shannon, who was rushing past him, to ask what had happened.

"Two Brachiosaur outside the fence went haywire," she explained, looking flustered. "One minute they were fine, the next they started ramming into the fence. One of them swung its head over the fence, sending the girls flying. They're okay, thank god. Just a little banged up."

Michael was confused. "But they're harmless. They don't normally hurt humans."

"I think that's what Jim and Mira are trying to find out. See if there's any connection with how the other dinosaurs have been behaving recently."

"I see…"

Michael watched as Jim asked questions and the poor girls recalled what happened. They couldn't have been more than thirteen. They must have been terrified. Mira was moodily quiet. He knew what she must have been thinking. From her paranoid speech earlier, she seemed just about ready to blame everything on the Cruentusaur. Michael wasn't so sure, but he had seen some bizarre things lately and he couldn't deny that the monster seemed to have some control over the other creatures here.

"I suppose you're looking for Boylan?" Elisabeth asked him. "I'll take you to him."

Boylan looked like his old self again. He was wide awake, the colour having returned back to his cheeks. He smiled widely when he saw Michael.

"Boyo," he said jokingly. "How are you?"

"Really good actually," Michael chuckled, enjoying seeing him so upbeat. "You're looking well."

"I feel much better. Ready to get back to my bar."

"You're going back to work?" Michael asked, disappointed. "Are you sure that's wise? You got sick for a reason. You need to take it easy."

Boylan laughed. "Don't be daft. I've got a job to do. I'd be bored sitting at home."

"Tom, I'm serious."

"So am I. The doc says I'm fine, so let's go."

Michael sighed. After Tom got changed and ready, he walked the older man home. As they walked, Michael brought him up to speed with everything that was happening.

"Bloody hell, Mira as the sheriff's deputy?" he scorned. "The colony won't take that well. I bet he's losing the crowd fast."

"Hopefully not," Michael said. "We're going to need everyone on the same page if we're going to beat EdenCorp."

"True. I wonder how your old man would be handling this," Boylan said thoughtfully. "He was usually pretty good at gathering everyone together."

Michael nodded, frowning slightly.

Tom looked over at him. "Oh. Sorry, lad. I'm sure wherever he is, he's okay. He's a stubborn bastard. He's probably found your Lieutenant Washington and they're holed up somewhere safe."

"You think so?" Michael asked hopefully. He wanted more than anything for that to be true.

"Yeah," Boylan said. "I really do. No one's tougher than those two."

Once they got to Boylan's house, Michael made him promise not to do anything too strenuous, and that he would pop by when he could to make sure he was doing the proper exercise. Tom dismissed him playfully.

"Alright, alright," he said, dropping himself down onto his couch. "Go on. I'm sure you've got better things to do."

Michael went to close the door, hesitating. "I'm really glad you're better, Tom. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Tom looked up from the couch. "I don't know what I'd do without you, kid." He smiled warmly. Then he rolled his eyes. "Now leave me alone so I can start ignoring your advice!"

Michael shook his head playfully, then closed the door behind him. Now Boylan was home, he had one less thing to worry about. Now for the hundred other things he had to deal with.

When he got home, he could hear an ominous beeping coming from his bedroom. It was coming from the device under his bed. Panicked, he bent down to scoop it up immediately. On the small screen, he saw a message:

URGENT. CALL BACK - LUCAS.

It must be important if Lucas was trying to get hold of him. He pressed a few buttons and soon Lucas' holographic image was projecting in front of him.

"Michael, finally! I have to be quick."

"What's wrong?"

"I picked up some portal activity in Chicago. I told Nichol and we're firing up our terminus here as we speak. She's preparing her army."

"What? But we're not ready. The colony's not on board with the deal, Jim's still in charge. Why hasn't she checked in with me?"

A brief pause as Lucas snorted, his grainy eyes trained on Michael. "Let's be real, Michael. You were never going to get rid of Shannon. You were never going to take over the colony. It was always going to come down to this. This army isn't like the last, they weren't going to survive the trip from the Badlands, but now we can open this portal, things have changed."

"They'll come through much closer to the colony," Michael realised. "When are they coming?"

"From what I gather, you have a matter of days."

Michael's heart started pounding in his chest. Not much time at all. But at least he knew, which begged the question…

"Why are you telling me this? You didn't have to...you could have just launched a surprise attack. You could have destroyed us…"

Lucas' eyes drifted downwards. He shrugged. "I don't know, brother. I just thought it was something you'd like to know."

Michael stared at his brother's transparent image. He was helping them. Actually helping. He didn't understand. Why would he change sides? Why would he want to help the colony instead of hurting it?

"I have to go," Lucas said. "Bye, Michael."

He was gone.

Michael was speechless for a moment. Then he burst out of his house to find Jim. He ran through the colony, straight for the Command Centre, but no one was in there. He made a beeline for the Infirmary, where he last saw Jim, but he wasn't there either. Elisabeth had just got off her shift and told him that he had gone back to the house. Seeing his panic, she followed him all the way to her front door, where Jim and Mira were talking.

They stared at Michael, perplexed, as he ran up to them.

"I need to tell you something," he panted.