Chapter 38

Unfinished Business

Lucas stood on the edge of the Tate's lounge room, frozen to the spot. His father sipped a cup of some salmon-coloured substance and watched him for a minute, his eyes then flicking to the young woman beside him. Skye had followed directly after Lucas, leaving the open door to take care of itself. As she entered his peripheral vision, he turned to her accusingly. Taylor shook his head as he caught the look.

"Don't blame her for this. I sort of .. made myself at home."

Catching another slight movement near him, Lucas suddenly noticed Deborah sitting calmly in a chair on his right. He turned back to his father and finally found his voice, though it came out as little more than a whisper.

"What are you doing here?"

Taylor stretched his legs out in front of him and placed his drink on a right-hand table, folding his hands in his lap as he spoke.

"Well, the truth is, I had some unfinished business to take care of." He cast a sideways smile at Deborah. "I also had some apologies to make."

Lucas turned his gaze on Skye's mother, who confirmed Taylor's story and took up the tale.

"I came home to find Nathaniel sitting right where he is now. He apologised .. once for scaring me half to death and then for attempting to .. well, for the events of last year."

Lucas turned back numbly to Taylor, who nodded amiably.

"We were just about finished explaining the situation to Skye here when you called. You always did have terrible timing."

"How did you even get in?" Skye interrupted.

Taylor snorted.

"I ran this colony for years. Built it from the ground up. I know its ins and outs better than anyone. You don't think I could bypass a little security?"

Lucas was still trying to take in this turn of events. He stared at his father, holding him to the spot as though he was nothing more than a wraith of his imagination and would evaporate at any second.

"I .. I thought you were .. they said you were .."

".. dead?" Taylor smiled wryly and shook his head. "Takes more than exile, floods, killer carnivores, dirty assassins, and a stint in the wilderness to kill me."

Lucas shook his head slowly. A strange mixture of relief and anger was swelling up inside of him, each emotion fighting with the other and filling his head with an odd rushing sound. He had hoped shaking it would help, but it hadn't.

He stepped forward dizzily, wondering in some vague part of his mind if he was about to collapse at his father's feet. Taylor watched in amusement as a wave of watery anger passed over his son's face before returning it to the odd shade of grey that seemed to be underlying it. Lucas had attempted to take another step, but then stopped again abruptly, jumping a little as he caught sight of a large mass on the floor, lying just out of sight and making a low growling noise in its throat as Lucas approached. Lucas stared from the creature to his father in blank confusion.

"You got a .. dog?"

Taylor snorted.

"And you gotta go back to kindergarten, boy."

Lucas stared into the slitted eyes of the creature. The Kap stared back dangerously and then swished its tail, making a loud bump as it collided with the bottom of Taylor's chair. The room really was far too small for it. Lucas glanced at Deborah, still sitting placidly nearby with her hands folded in her lap. Why was she so calm?! How could she just accept all of this and let it happen?! He took another look at the monster on the floor and then exchanged a look with Skye.

"It's-"

"Yes." Taylor smiled a little. "You've met before, you and him. Remember?"

They nodded mutely.

"I know he made his debut as somewhat of a terrorist, but let's just say we've come to an understanding."

"Bonded over your mutual killer instincts, I bet." Lucas leaned on the back of the armchair, despite instructions to sit down. "You don't even know what kind of dinosaur it is, do you?"

"The kind that'll start sharpening its teeth on your collarbone if you don't stop being such a little smart-"

"Why did you say you were here?" Skye interrupted, beginning to fear for the safety of everyone in the room if the conversation continued on its current tangent.

"Not in front of him." Taylor looked at Lucas, who stared back stonily. A look of irritation crossed Skye's face.

"It's not my fault he's here, he came of his own accord. But I can't try to make him leave now." She folded her arms, suddenly feeling grateful for the familiar weight of her sonic against her hip. "He wouldn't go anyway."

Lucas remained silent, seemingly content to be discussed as though he wasn't in the room. Taylor fixed Skye to the spot with a grim smile.

"You sure about that? I hear he does just about everything else you ask him to."

Skye's chest fluttered with anger, but she shoved it back down, exchanging a look with her mother. Deborah nodded almost imperceptibly. The situation was volatile enough. If they weren't careful, it would turn into an all-out bloodbath.

"Does he do everything you ask him to?" Skye nodded to the dinosaur on her living room floor. The other dinosaur in the chair grinned briefly.

"Duly noted."

Lucas suddenly stood upright and ran a hand through his hair, throwing out a sharp laugh that was a little too loud and so unnatural-sounding that he almost managed to startle himself.

"What is even going on here? Am I dreaming right now? Are we all .. dreaming?!"

"Son-"

"I mean, first you were dead, now you're not, and then you come back with this thing, and you're not dead .. or maybe, just maybe .. I'm going crazy and imagining this whole thing and you're all staring at me like I'm insane because I'm in your house .." he flung a hand at Skye ".. talking to myself!"

He cupped his hands around his mouth and nose as though subconsciously providing his own breathing apparatus. After a couple of breaths, he turned to Skye with another laugh that was bordering on hysterical.

"I mean, you have to admit, it's kind of ironic."

Taylor was frowning from his seat in the chair.

"What is?"

"You. Me. Here."

The former commander cast a strained look at Deborah and then turned back to his son.

"How .. ? How is it ironic?"

"It's not, it's not." Lucas shook his head and ran his hand through his hair again. "I mean .. it's funny. Right?"

He clasped his hands and leaned heavily on the back of the chair again, fixing his father with a mildly unhinged smile. Taylor resisted the urge to roll his eyes, putting a hand on the Kaprosuchus' head as it made to get up.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing, nothing." Lucas righted himself and paced back and forth behind the chair a couple of times, finally catching Skye's eye on his second lap. The look on her face forced him to calm down a little. He placed his hands deliberately onto the back of the chair and gripped it tightly until his knuckles turned white. After a few moments, he muttered his next question, still staring at the chair beneath him with lowered head.

"So what now? What's your big plan in all this?"

"Well .." Taylor folded his hands in his lap again, resisting the urge to add 'I am glad you asked'. "Now, I suppose, we should go fill in your illustrious leader."

Lucas looked up quickly.

"Jim?"

"No, Boylan." His father snorted, continuing hurriedly as the colour rose in his son's cheeks. "Yes, Jim."

"And tell him what, exactly?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

Lucas narrowed his eyes as Taylor stood, the Kaprosuchus standing up smoothly beside him and knocking the table again. After thanking Deborah for her hospitality, Taylor turned a severe gaze back on his son.

"Oh, stop pouting. You look like you're seven all over again. Might be cute if it wasn't so pathetic."

Skye put a hand on Lucas' arm as he tensed, but Taylor had turned toward the back door and didn't seem to notice the movement. Skye frowned.

"Where are you going now?"

"I told you. To see Jim."

"The Command Centre is that way."

"You think I don't know that?!" Taylor snapped. "I'm going to skip around the back. I don't want to draw attention to myself. I assume I'll see you over there."

When he received no response, the old man rolled his eyes once more and vanished out the back door. Skye glanced up at Lucas and then at her mother. Both appeared to be somewhat consumed with their own thoughts. She reached out to Deborah, indecision creeping up on her.

"Mom?"

Deborah blinked and glanced up at her daughter with a weary smile.

"Oh, you two go. I'm tired. Fill me in later."

Skye still hesitated. Her mother had just had quite a shock, though naturally, she never showed it. It wasn't right to leave her. And yet ..

"You sure?"

"Positive. Go."

Skye nodded and tugged at the elbow of Lucas' shirt. The young physicist still seemed to be in a daze. Deborah watched them file out silently, grateful that they hadn't pushed the subject. She wasn't sure she could have stood even if she'd wanted to.


Skye's eyes scanned the surrounding area as they made their way slowly toward the Command Centre.

"I can't help but feel like we shouldn't be letting him out of our sight."

"Hm .." Lucas kicked at a rock near his foot. He hadn't said a word since they'd left her house. Skye vaguely considered getting behind him and propelling him forward herself. Taylor could already be inside by now, but Lucas didn't seem to be in any particular hurry to come face to face with his prodigal father again. As she began contemplating the logistics of carrying him the rest of the way, he turned to her and began to speak.

"Hey, I'm sorry for before."

Skye frowned. He was too pale and drawn. Just the sight of him almost made her nauseas. Maybe shock was contagious ..

"For what?"

"The incident this morning, you know."

Skye forced her memory back to that morning. It must've been a lifetime ago. She raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You'd rather talk about this than the fact that your presumed-dead father just showed up in my living room?"

"Everyone'll be talking about him soon enough anyway."

"I suppose you're right."

Lucas' feet seemed to grow twice as heavy as he continued to shuffle along, hands in pockets. Something about his father's presence seemed always to transform him back into a sullen teenager again. Skye watched him in silence for a few moments and then sighed.

"No."

Lucas blinked uncertainly at her.

".. no .."

"Not everything that goes wrong is your fault."

"Just most things."

As a hint of life flickered back into his face, Skye laughed in exasperation.

"Will you restrain yourself for a minute? What I meant was .. you have nothing to apologise for. This one's all me. I said some things to you this morning .. I didn't mean them. I'M sorry."

Lucas smiled a little, but said nothing. After a few seconds, Skye cleared her throat.

"And this is where it's customary to forgive me."

"Oh." Lucas glanced sideways at her, his mouth twisting in amusement. "I forgive you."

"Thank you."

She put her own hands in her pockets and looked up at the fence nearby, looming so high into the air that it almost seemed to be blocking out the sunlight. Skye blew her hair out of her face in irritation.

"I can't stand being locked up in here sometimes. I know it keeps us safe, but it's like a giant cage. I can't stand the thought of living in here forever, growing old in here. Sometimes I just .. need to get out."

Lucas followed her gaze up to the top rung and found himself wondering how well it would burn if set alight.

"I know. But the next time you want to 'get some air', come to me first."

"Why, so you can rat me out again?"

"No, so I can go with you."

Skye made a sceptical noise in her throat and shook her head.

"You'd get yourself into a lot of trouble if anyone found out."

Lucas turned back to the Command Centre, his mouth forming a grim line. It was approaching far quicker than he would've liked.

"Yeah, well, I'd rather risk banishment than stand by and watch you get yourself killed."

"You wouldn't be banished; you'd be confined to your house for all eternity."

Lucas gave her a meaningful look.

"I'd be banished."

Skye stared at him as understanding dawned.

".. you'd run away."

Lucas shrugged.

"Well, if I was stuck in my house, I couldn't go with you next time, could I? .. besides .." His eyes drifted back up to the fence. ".. I may be going slightly crazy myself."

Skye snorted.

"Too late." She avoided his half-hearted kick and turned back to him severely. "You're putting me in an awkward position, you know. If you get in trouble because of me .."

Lucas' mouth twitched a little.

"Now you see my dilemma."

Skye stopped walking abruptly.

".. oh."

Lucas paused at the bottom of the steps and looked up, listening. The faint chatter of voices could be heard from inside the Command Centre, but no one seemed to be mortally wounded .. yet. He turned back to Skye and leaned on the railing as she reached him, pausing to listen just as he had. Her eyes flicked back down to his a moment later.

"Think he's in there?"

As Lucas opened his mouth to reply, a sharp protest from Jim floated down to them from above, followed by a short but very familiar laugh. Lucas scowled.

"I'd say that's a yes."

Skye nodded slowly and then pushed past him, making her way hesitantly up the steps.

"Alright, come on. Let's go see what your crazy dad wants."

"I seem to recall you thinking of him that way once."

Skye looked down at him and shook her head grimly.

"Not anymore."

Lucas folded his arms, squinting up against the sun behind her.

"Oh, I see. Now that he's finally fallen off his perch, he's MY crazy father."

She grinned a little and shrugged, turning to run lightly up the remainder of the steps.

"If the straightjacket fits."


Jim collapsed into his chair and leaned back, closing his eyes for a minute. What he wouldn't give for a holiday. Or a weekend. Or just a day off. He opened his eyes and stared at the bamboo rafters, stretching his arms and resting his hands behind his head. Sadly, it was impossible. Being the commander had its perks .. but they were few and far between, and he'd trade them all in an instant to be off duty for a while. Even when he was supposed to be unavailable, he had people knocking on his door all hours of the day and night. If only he could take his family camping and get away ..

His eyes flew open, images of giant predators suddenly flashing through his mind unpleasantly. He shook his head and sat up with a groan. Well, back to work.

As he reached for his tablet, he suddenly frowned, catching sight of an unwelcome patch of pale paper on his desk. Not again. Not another one. His tablet forgotten, he picked up the note and skimmed over it, his expression growing more grim with every line. Just as expected, same handwriting, same ultimatum. Fantastic.

"Jim,

This is your third and final chance to work with us. Leave the files at the pre-arranged place just outside of the colony. We'll be watching for you. Please make the right decision. The future of all your people depends on you.

Final warning. If we don't hear back from you this time, you'll force us to take matters into our own hands. You're leaving us no choice now.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kensinge"

Jim swallowed the lump of foreboding in his chest and shook his head impatiently. Useless scare tactics. Nothing to be done but to admire the neat presentation and politely ignore it. Time to find a new home in the trash. As he crumpled it up and threw it in the small box he kept near his desk for such an occasion, a series of crisp footsteps entered the room. Their owner accompanied them in, pausing to look around and take a deep breath of the familiar space. It still smelled just the same.

"It is good to be home."

Jim, who hadn't bothered to acknowledge the intruder yet, jumped a little, his head snapping up in surprise.

"Taylor?!"

The former commander finished his mental assessment and turned to smile warmly at his successor.

"Shannon! As I live and breathe. Good to see you!"

Jim continued to stare at him in amazement from behind the desk.

"But you .. what .. where have you been?! We looked for you for days - I even looked for you myself, but we never found a trace!"

Taylor snorted.

"Of course you didn't, what, you think I wanted to go back to that hellish prison?!"

Jim shook his head in bewilderment, freezing a little as a large reptilian head peered around the corner at him.

"You BUILT that hellish p-prison-Taylor, look out!"

"Well, I didn't expect to be living in there permanently." Taylor retorted, eyeing Jim curiously as the latter leaped up from the desk and drew his pistol. "Oh, don't worry about him, he won't bite."

He clicked his tongue at his shadow and moved further into the room until he was only a few metres away from his uneasy friend. Within seconds, the dinosaur was back at his side, moving almost silently, like a large fanged wraith. Taylor nodded calmly at the sonic that was still centred on his 'dog'.

"Anyway, put that away, Shannon. We have business to attend to."

Jim glanced up at him in exasperation.

"Are you insane? You can't bring that thing in here."

"I can and I will." The former commander replied matter-of-factly. "And if you think that miserable little weapon's going to move him an inch, you've got another thing coming. You may as well just put it down."

When Jim continued to hesitate, Taylor lost patience and barked sharply, a very low growl coming simultaneously from the throat of the creature beside him.

"Put it down! Now!"

"What am I, a hostage now?!"

"Just do it!"

Jim put his pistol on the desk and shook his head, eyeing the unpleasant duo. A few seconds later, a harsh laugh gurgled from the old commander.

"Aw, don't look so depressed, Jim. We just want to talk. Believe it or not, when we're done, you'll be glad we're here."

Jim perched on the glass desk behind him and folded his hands in his lap, feigning ease, though every member of the party was acutely aware of the presence of the sonic close by him. Jim levelled a stony gaze at his visitor.

"So talk."

Before he could begin speaking, however, two more visitors entered the room. The men turned as Lucas and Skye walked in. Jim tensed and laid a hand on his gun once again, preparing himself for the explosion. Taylor caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and nodded to the newcomers, turning back to Jim blithely.

"Oh, don't worry about that. We've sorted it all out."

Jim's eyes flicked back toward the doorway. Lucas said nothing in reply, but he certainly seemed calm enough. This hadn't come as a surprise to him then. Despite the apparent understanding they had somehow come to, the tension in the room had grown so thick one could almost grab a handful of it. Who knew what might be bubbling away under the surface. This was shaping up to nothing good. It was this particular state of affairs that Jim's unfortunate second-in-command had the good fortune to walk into. Reilly came to an abrupt halt just over the threshold, her mouth dropping open uncharacteristically as she stared at her former superior.

"Commander Taylor?! But .. But you were-"

Taylor burst out irritatedly, his temper flaring.

"For pity's sake, does EVERYONE think I'm dead?!"

Reilly exchanged a helpless glance with Jim, who shrugged.

"Well, there was the little incident with the tags .."

Taylor turned on him sharply.

"What tags? What about them? Spit it out."

"Your army tags. One of the Sixers found them, around the neck of an unidentifiable body. It was only natural to assume-"

"That I was dead?!"

"Well, they were your tags .."

"Oh. Yes .." A series of disjointed images flashed through Taylor's head abruptly, images of him going off the deep end one day and casting his tags away into the river in a fit of rage. They were, after all, a symbol of his former identity, his belonging. As such, they were both painful and irrelevant.

"Well, we don't need to go into it now. It was obviously all some sort of misunderstanding. I'm alive and as such, this topic of conversation is pointless." Taylor cleared his throat. "I'm here because I have important information."

Jim's eyebrows flinched.

"You turn up, three days before my daughter's wedding-"

"Maddy's getting married?!" Taylor's face had lit up with that statement, his 'important information' evidently not important enough to overshadow a romantic development. "Aw, that's great. Who's the lucky fella?"

Jim stared at him blankly for a moment, as Reilly, Lucas, and Skye exchanged a similar expression.

"Reynolds."

"Ah, good kid. I'm happy for them. Who's conducting the ceremony?"

"Boylan."

"Boylan?!" Taylor spluttered. "Sure, the man has his uses, but he's no public speaker, Jim. Let me do it."

Jim choked.

"No! Absolutely not."

"Absolutely not what?" Malcolm had taken four steps into the room before he looked up from his tablet, but the sharp yelp that escaped from his mouth when he did had been worth the wait. The head researcher stared as though he'd seen a ghost. Taylor stared back impatiently.

"Yes, yes, I'm alive. Now pull your jaw off the floorboards and get over here."

Malcolm blabbered incoherently for a moment or two, then screeched loudly again as he caught sight of the Kaprosuchus in the shadowy corner, making a noise akin to a broken smoke alarm.

"For crying out loud, Malcolm!" Taylor exclaimed in exasperation. "We're kind of in the middle of something. Now if you're going to remain here, sit down and shut up. Unless you have something to say." At this, Malcolm opened his mouth again, but Taylor quickly added, "In which case, you can leave."

Malcolm's mouth snapped shut. Instead, casting a glance at Jim, he took a seat in the window, as far from the other side of the room as he could get. Taylor looked around heatedly.

"Anyone else we should be expecting?!" When he got no answer, he turned impatiently back to Jim. "How do you get any work done around here?! Do they even know the meaning of 'not to be disturbed unless urgent'?!"

"You have no idea."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that I do, but let's not split hairs over trivial matters." Taylor turned to address the room as Jim rolled his eyes. "I'm here because I've been keeping an eye on things from afar and conducting my own methods of surveillance. I've always had this colony's best interests at heart, even when I was gone and apparently forgotten," he chastised darkly. "However, that fact is about to be of some benefit to all of us. I know there's a new base out near the coast and I know they're gathering their forces."

He paused, staring around the room. He was met with a sea of blank faces.

"I mean, they're really gathering their forces. I also happen to know you sent a party out there recently. You'd barely know the place now."

Jim frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Taylor turned to him, evidently pleased that one person at least was taking him seriously.

"They're getting ready to attack. Weapons, medical supplies, tactical equipment, vehicles. The technology is so advanced, we don't stand a chance. They're going to invade, and they're going to do it sooner rather than later. And that's the good news."

The solemn expressions staring back at him grew paler. The former commander felt a twinge of satisfaction. His words had hit their mark.

"Nevertheless, we can't just give up. We have to prepare."

"For what?" Skye asked the question dully, though deep down she already knew the answer. Jim hesitated, casting a glance at Malcolm.

".. war."

Annihilation, more like, though nobody said it. Nobody had to. Taylor folded his arms and stared around at them with lowered brows.

"I have to say, things are pretty calm here considering the circumstances. I would've thought you'd be preparing already."

Jim's voice remained even, though he tried to block out the prickle of humiliation the former commander's words had bestowed upon him.

"I wasn't sure if they were throwing out empty threats or if they actually planned on going through with it. They didn't seem particularly motivated at the time." He ignored Taylor's sceptical snort and continued calmly. "But I erred on the side of caution anyway. The guards on duty have been doubled, security has been improved. No one can go in or out without me knowing about it. And we have eyes on any potential suspects. What else can we do?"

"Well, since you asked .." Taylor took up the rudder again and turned back to the group at large, the same note of command edging back into his voice. "We need to remove any advantage they've got. Believe it or not, we each have our own areas of strength and ability - we need to make the most of them. We also need ceaseless reconnaissance - destroy their element of surprise. We all know when it comes to technological weapons, we don't have a shot in the ring - we don't even know what they might have at their disposal, but technology doesn't always work the way it's supposed to out here .." The old commander's blue eyes sparkled. "In the end, this'll be a war of raw strength."

Jim pushed away from the desk and came to stand beside him quietly.

"It'll be brutal."

Taylor's face grew dark as he glanced at Jim's, but the battle-thirsty glint in his eye never wavered.

"Yes."

"Oh, good heavens." Malcolm sat up so abruptly that he almost somersaulted backwards out the window and onto the veranda. "They won't hold back this time. They'll send everyone. They'll obliterate us."

Taylor laughed heartily at the pale scientist's expression. If he'd been any closer, Malcolm would probably have received a resounding clap on the back. As the potential scene played itself out in his head, he found himself once again thankful to be on the other side of the room. Taylor's eyes had left the scientist in the window and were now staring into space hungrily.

"They'll certainly try."

The room fell silent once again as the reality sunk in. They had barely survived the last attack, and this one was shaping up to be immeasurably worse. Jim's heart thundered in his ears as his mind whirled through all the possibilities. He wasn't equipped to handle this. None of them were. Except maybe ..

He stared at the decorated soldier beside him, the one who had seen more battles than the rest of them put together. The one who had survived so many stints in the jungle and brushes with death that he almost seemed indestructible at this point. The one who appeared to be teetering on the fine edge between sanity and disaster .. but in this case, who knew. Maybe they needed a little crazy.

"What would you do?"

Taylor smiled a little and replied without hesitation, as though he'd been waiting for exactly such a question.

"We use the dinosaurs."

Then again, a little crazy goes a long way ..