At the portal site, Jack, Matt and Collete were currently looking over the new arrivals. Four gorgonopsids, the largest being the size of a Bengal tiger, paced around the holding pens. Matt was incredibly animated; these things were his specialty after all. "The gorgonosids were the apex predators of the Permian; vicious, deadly and powerful. They're therapsids, close to the ancestry of mammals, but I was never expecting them to look this mammal-like; they're mammals in all but name!"
"The captain wants to know the possible threat levels that they pose and what security measures should be undertaken to prevent them from escaping", Collete retorted, "He doesn't want to know minor details of their diet and classification. Stay back on the job, Thompson." Matt snapped back out of his euphoric state, into reality, "Well, I'd imagine there'd be no difference between it and the security measurements required for a Bengal tiger. You won't need anything big and fancy, just traditional stand-off barriers and electric fences", he said before glaring at the security worker who nodded in response, "Actually, I have some research I'd like to send to Khatin about the Dimetrodon study this morning. I'll be back in a few minutes", he said before he left.
Jack and Collete were left alone. They'd heard Cynthia, Kyle and Nikolai having an argument about something in Drew's office; they didn't know what it had been about. After the argument, she'd stormed out in a huff. Kyle and Nikolai had left shortly after. Jack didn't know what to make of her. Cynthia was a curious sort; Kyle and Nikolai hadn't liked her headstrong demeanour. Jack didn't get it; she was a piece of work, Jack admitted, but she seemed like a interesting person.
Jack looked over at her. She intrigued him. When everyone else was talking or joking about off-shift, she never participated. Some took that as a sign that she felt she was above everyone else. But Jack wasn't convinced; maybe she just liked being on her own. Some people just didn't like socialising much. A few people didn't like her, thinking her aloofness and icy demeanour a sign of haughtiness. Honestly, he didn't get why; he'd spend the past few hours with her and he'd thought her decent enough, highly professional and just a bit aloof. A thought briefly passed his mind; Collete was… rather attractive.
Why had he thought that? It didn't make sense; to briefly think that about someone he'd probably only interacted with twice in six months. He'd been partnered with her a couple of hours; it didn't make sense. It was a strange thought, but he dismissed it for now; focus on the job and the time to reflect on that later. Collete lifted her walkie-talkie. She turned to Jack, "Cynthia called. She wants our help with something". Jack raised an eyebrow, perplexed, "Aren't we supposed to be helping here at the portal site?". Collete shrugged, "She's the boss while Drew's away; she wouldn't call us away if it weren't important".
Meanwhile, Drew and Alice had decided to stay at the lake, split up and search the area for more creatures. Alice decided to follow the young female gorgonopsid that had stayed by the lake. She was currently walking around an area with many holes in the ground. Alice briefly saw several small brownish-grey creatures rooting on the ground. She could get only get a good look at the nearest; it looked like a cross between a prairie dog, a lizard and a turtle. Its most notable features were two small tusks on the front of its face.
Alice recognised them from the notes; they were Diictodon, another kind of therapsid. They were incredibly common in this time period and, according to Drew, largely lived as burrowers. When the gorgonopsid approached the creature, it let out a piercing cry of alarm, causing all the others to scurry back into their burrows. Alice was intrigued; this indicated that they were social, like ground squirrels and prarie dogs today. The gorgonopsid approached one and tried to stick her snout in, but the burrow was too narrow for the gorgonopsid's enormous head. Soon a little noise was heard and another Diictodon stuck its head out. The gorgonopsid walked over it, only for it to dive back into its burrow. As soon as that one had done so, another one popped its head out and the gorgonopsid went over to it. As soon as it had approached, the little reptile dived back in and another popped back out. Alice laughed as the scene played out. It looked, for all in the world, like a game of whack-a-mole.
Drew, meanwhile, was investigating the watering hole itself. With the Gorgonops gone, it was much safer. Using a stick, he tapped the water several times trying to get the labyrithodont to come out do he could identify it. After many tries, a reddish-brown head emerged from the water. It wasn't attacking, but merely watching this strange new creature by the lakebed. From its head, Drew estimated it was about the same size as the Hynerpeton back at the park. The brief observation was enough to give Drew a chance to identify its species. He got out his journal and flipped through the pages, "OK let's see, who are you?". He flipped through the pages for several minutes, before finding the right species around about the Rs, "Aha! Rhinesuchus!" Drew closed the journal and went into the water; the lake had dried up so much that it had barely come up to his ankles. He looked at the near-passive amphibian and stated, more to himself than anyone else, "Alright madam, it's time to take you out of this little puddle and into a proper watering hole." He picked up the amphibian. It was easier than he expected, he reflected; despite its size, it was too weak from the lack of food to put up any spirited resistance. Opening the portal in the puddle, he let her go and she weakly swam through the portal, into the freshwater holding pen. Drew informed Nikolai over the communicator that an amphibian was coming through; whilst it wasn't really dangerous, it never hurt to be prepared.
Soon the ground began to shake. The Gorgonops looked up as the footsteps became closer. Drew and Alice meet back up to see what was causing all the commotion. Drew grabbed his binoculars and looked to see an amazing sight. A large herd of yellowish-brown, armoured reptiles were coming to the waterhole. He recognised them immediately; they were Scutosaurus. The group they belonged to, the pareiasaurs were the principal herbivores of this time period. They were thought to be relatives of the turtles; the skulls had several turtle-like features. However, the classification was controversial. Drew and Alice shared a glance; even though they were herbivorous, the numbers they were in could drain the lake dry and denude the plants. This could cause irreparable damage to the little community by the lakeside.
To be continued
