Chapter 1

Infiltration vs Air Filtration

5 weeks earlier ..

Jim Shannon slammed his hand into the tree trunk beside him.

"Why?!" Heeding the immediate chorus of shushing that greeted him, he continued at a much lower volume. "Why is it so hard to sneak into a tiny camp, outsmart four guards, and pass through one portal terminus?! I mean, they're not even trying to keep the thing hidden!"

"Maybe because that camp is guarded day and night, those guards seem to have eyes in the back of their heads, and the portal is suspended out in the middle of the ocean .. for starters." The older man across from him responded mildly, reclining back against a large dinosaur. Jim glared at him - a fact which seemed to have little to no effect on Taylor, so he shook his head and looked away.

The portal terminus in question resided just off the coast of Base Zero - the enemy camp that, thus far, had easily rebuffed all of their advances. The terminus had been recently tethered out on the water by a large steel ring, and as such, was easier to access than in previous attempts, but still they had had no luck. Partially because there were no boats actually kept at the docks for any extended period of time, and of course, no one wanted to brave the depths in order to reach the terminus by swimming. Both sides were in accord over that fact. There were unseen creatures lurking down below the dark blue surface. Every now and then, someone would catch a glimpse of a large body out in the water .. an opportunity which usually resulted in the observer wishing the animal could return to its previously unseen status at its earliest possible convenience. And then there was the matter of actually turning the portal on .. that was no small feat either.

Since leaving the colony 16 days ago, they had tried to break into the base several times, but every single person in the vicinity - friend or foe - knew the factors that needed to be in place before they could achieve their goal, and each attempt to breach the stronghold had been met with flippant amusement. The intruders had been captured once and held for a while, but had managed to break free .. only to try again a few days later. They hadn't been the only ones to attempt the manoeuvre either - they'd glimpsed several soldiers from their own company trying a similar tactic. In fact, their recent escape from captivity had been due in part to the chaos that had erupted during one such attempt. But no one actually succeeded. Despite the fact that they were out in the open for all to see, the guards were irritatingly confident. Miraculously, despite the frequent skirmishes, not a single soul from either side had been badly injured or killed thus far - not even by the Kaprosuchus, whom Taylor had kept tightly in hand for his own safety - not an easy feat, but the animal barely seemed to tolerate the mundane proceedings as it was, and no guard had yet been stupid enough to single him out as a target. Instead, they seemed to be using the enemy infiltrations as a sort of training exercise, and treating them about as seriously. If Jim didn't know any better, he might've thought they looked forward to the novelty of the 'drills'. He would have been correct. Stories of 'the ant farm rebellion' were in high demand at dinner hour. As for the woman leader, there had been no sign of her whatsoever - Kensinge seemed to have flown away on the wind.

Along with his youngest daughter.

Jim stared around at his companions as the sun began to droop low in the sky. They made a strange little family, to be fair - a wild-looking, dark-skinned woman, a disheveled man in his early 60s wearing a black special-ops uniform, a particularly dirty and exhausted brown-haired man in ordinary wear, and the accompanying Kaprosuchus. There was a part of him that could understand the fact that the enemy soldiers treated them like a sort of sideshow. Yet the fact still stung.

Of course, their odd appearance wasn't helped any by the fact that they were currently suspended 20 feet above the forest floor in the arms of a tree. Several broken branches had been laid across the tree limbs in order to provide some stability on which to rest, but the situation was far from ideal. The enemy soldiers hadn't discovered their shelter yet - truth be told, there wasn't as many soldiers in the camp as there should have been, and those that were there rarely ventured outside the perimeters. There had been reports weeks ago of a huge influx of enemy combatants and weapons and all manner of war-making materials. Compared to that report, this camp might as well have been a graveyard. Where had they all gone? Did they have a second base hidden somewhere in the jungle? But if so, wouldn't the Sixer lookouts know where? They'd been monitoring the situation pretty closely. Then again, Jim considered, for all he knew, Terra Nova might know exactly what was going on and the three in the tree were the only ones out of the loop. He stared back out towards the faint glow across the plain.

Naturally, a huge army wasn't required in order to fight off the scattered infiltrators that threatened the camp nearby - the Base Zero soldiers repelled them as though they were little more than small children with plastic forks, but what of the gathering Terra Novan army? This camp had threatened war. The Commander knew for a fact that his own soldiers were fully preparing for it when he had left them, so where was the follow-through? Was the future just throwing up a smokescreen? Were they even planning to attack at all?

Jim's eyes flicked along the treeline as the surrounding light dimmed. The forest was growing quiet. Soon, the sounds and lights from the camp would start drifting across the plain toward them. It was surprising how clearly sound carried in the darkness. So consumed with his own thoughts, Jim didn't notice the hand hovering beside him, almost the same colour as the shadowy dusk. After a minute of waiting, Mira swung her fist sideways and boxed his ribs, causing him to stifle a bark of alarm as he turned to glare at her. She shoved a hairy fruit into his hand and shimmied backward on the branch to resume her former position. With a glance at the ex-commander, Jim retrieved a knife from his inner pocket and began carefully peeling the shell off the fruit. Taylor smiled to himself and continued slicing up his own meal in silence. No one said a word. No one had to. If things didn't change soon, they would continue repeating the same scenario over and over again, with no different results .. and Zoe would continue to get further and further away.

A chilling breeze swept through the tree branches, accompanied by a sudden low horn blast. All four members of the party threw their heads up toward the noise as a bright blue light began flickering in the distance across the plain. Jim turned to Mira with wild eyes as the horn blared out again.

"A boat."

"More than one, by the sounds of it."

The camp had been even more of a ghost town that day, with barely a movement to or from it, not even the usual food and water companies. From their position on the hill, the spies had sensed the expectation, but as night began to fall and nothing had happened, they had been forced to retreat to safety. Evidently this arrival had been what everyone was waiting for. What was coming through that portal?

"Come on."

Mira had descended from the tree before Jim had managed to shake off his knife and place it back in its pocket. Taylor was close behind, followed by the dinosaur, which bounded down after him using its dagger-like claws as grips. Jim was the last to drop, his footfalls masked by yet another horn cry.

As they reached the top of the ridge and peered over curiously, it took a moment to even register what they were seeing. It looked like a different camp compared to that morning. Masses of black uniform were milling about everywhere, at least six military boats were pulled in at the rickety dock, and another was coming through now, a sleeker, shinier one - white this time, as opposed to the dull, mottled colours of the others. Taylor peered through the binoculars for a moment before passing them to Jim. The Commander's heart froze inside him before subsequently skipping a few beats. There was a blonde woman in front beside the wheelman. Kensinge. He lowered the binoculars as he watched lines of soldiers file into the newly constructed barracks. The three solid buildings had been built weeks ago as a part of the original preparations, but had remained empty until now, except for the odd glimpse of movement inside. Built from bricks made of some description of grey composite, the ugly barracks seemed almost indestructible, and judging by the sudden influx of soldiers and baggage, it would appear the new residents had arrived to stay this time.

Jim watched as the white boat slowed and Kensinge smoothly stepped off onto the dock, taking a quick look around her as though she barely recognised the place either. Or maybe she was happy to be home. Jim felt a brush against his shoulder as the Kaprosuchus stretched out beside him, but he ignored it and turned to Mira.

"We have to move. Now. We may not get another chance."

Mira cast another glance down at the activity.

"I agree. But we'll be recognised before we make it through the gate."

"Once those boats return and the chaos dies down, we're as good as dead in the water ourselves." Jim eyed Taylor silently for a moment, provoking a gruff "What?" from the former commander. "Swap clothes with me."

Taylor snorted.

"Are you out of your-"

"You said it yourself, you stick out like a sore thumb."

"I never-"

"I'll wear your clothes, go down there, and blend in with the other soldiers."

Mira raised an eyebrow.

"Better stay out of the woman's line of sight."

"Alright, say you do manage to get in, and somehow find your way onto a boat." Taylor slouched down against the side of the hill. "How do we get in?"

"We'll figure that out soon."

"You'll figure that out now." Taylor countered stubbornly. "Or you're not getting any help from us. I know you, Shannon .." as a scowl wove its way across Jim's features ".. you'd just as soon leave us behind if it meant finding your girl."

The corners of his mouth twitched as Jim shook his head and looked back down towards the camp.

"But like it or not, you need us." Taylor met Mira's gaze for a moment. "So you're gonna have to find a way to get us all through that portal. I'm not sitting back and watching you get yourself killed. I could never look Elisabeth in the eye again."

Jim didn't seem as though he'd heard a word. Taylor patted the Kap's head absently, his eyes flicking to Mira's once again as another smile played on his lips.

"And that would be a right shame, cause that woman has two of the prettiest eyes this side of the future."

This brought Jim's head around. His eyebrows lowered a little and he stared at the former commander almost rebukingly for a moment before dropping down below the ridge.

"Yes, she does." He muttered, passing the binoculars back to Taylor and leaning his arms on his knees thoughtfully. "There is one thing we could try, but it's not likely to work, and I'm going to need all of your help."

Jim met the Kaprosuchus' eyes as the beast raised its head to glance up at him.

"Including yours."

"A spur-of-the-moment operation with near-impossible odds." Taylor rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Sounds like a party to me. Let's do it."

Jim wandered through the mass of bustling bodies as he ventured further into the camp, scooping a dusty and discarded cap off the ground and placing it on his head. The "plan", if it could be called one, was shaky at best, and he had no way of knowing if his partners in crime had even managed to breach the camp borders yet. Armed soldiers surged all around him, bumping each other and chatting. None of them seemed to be interested in what anyone else was doing at that particular point in time. Jim took a calming breath and ducked his head as he was shoved aside by a larger man. Good. The more distracted they were by their own affairs, the less likely-

A sharp scream from the other side of the camp rang out, putting an end to Jim's worries and making everyone pause. The chatter ceased instantly. All heads turned toward the noise, Jim's included. There were a few beats of absolute quiet. Anxious tension rippled its way through the collected bodies. Then the next scream cut across the silent camp like a train whistle.

"What is it?!" A newcomer's voice lifted above the crowd, sounding a little unsteady. Jim turned to look for the owner of the voice and almost jumped out of his own skin as an arrow smashed into the wooden wall of the dilapidated shack behind him, sending splinters flying. She'd almost hit him! He hadn't even seen her.

The crowd was growing distinctly uneasy. An angry growl echoed from between a few nearby buildings. Another arrow came from a different direction. Man or beast, the unseen assailants were stirring the crowd into an excited frenzy. Jim ducked for cover, along with several other soldiers. Most had their weapons drawn by now. Some were beginning to move hesitantly outward to investigate, though every person seemed to have their own opinion of which direction the attacks were coming from.

Jim peered over the barrel beside him to see a blonde woman a few metres away, talking to a large dark-haired man. She was a little agitated, but despite the mounting chaos, her wits seemed to be intact. As a series of soldiers finished unloading the crates from the ships, she called out to them, beginning to direct them elsewhere. Her instructions were interrupted, however, by the sight of the Kaprosuchus tearing through the centre of the base with what appeared to be a wooden table leg between its teeth. He bounded this way and that like a wild hare, avoiding shots and swings as though he was running through a field of flowers instead of a hostile enemy port. Kensinge ducked hurriedly as an arrow swept through the air near her head, the result of which was that she was ushered away to a safer location by her second-in-command, all the while muttering something about "wretched colonists". Jim waited another few moments, glanced around, and made his way toward the growing mountain of odd-shaped crates near the dock.

If the crowd had been working in his favour initially, it was also proving to be quite the nuisance as well. Finally, after being pushed and shoved several times, and almost knocked to his knees once, Jim reached the patch of sand that appeared to be the designated unloading area. He paused thankfully, leaning on a tower of moulded plastic, only to be confronted unexpectedly by a head, as a severe-looking soldier seemed to materialise from the other side of the pile at that exact second.

"Who are you?"

He scowled suspiciously at Jim, the latter of which made a show of catching his breath for a moment before laughing and shaking his head, gesturing to the movement and noise swirling about them.

"Not what a man expects to be waiting for him when he steps off a boat, eh? Welcome to the new world! Don't get flattened!"

The other man seemed less than impressed.

"I asked you a question, soldier."

All appearance of friendliness fell from Jim's face as he instantly assumed a more cutting manner. The transformation was somewhat alarming.

"Very well then." He clamped his jaw and stared unpleasantly at the man. "Captain wants you out there doing something useful rather than protecting this garbage."

The other man narrowed his eyes at the intruder.

"Which captain?"

Jim tilted his head and looked his companion in the eye sarcastically.

"What do I look like, a psychic? They don't tell me their names, I'm just a shiphand." He slumped on the crate in exasperation. "The tall, pointy one. Dark hair."

"Carlyle?"

"How'm I supposed to know?!" Jim near exploded, turning to the chaos unfolding behind him and throwing his hand out at a passing man. "That guy! Thinks he knows it all. Unlike me, apparently."

"Right." Half-way through the accompanying eye roll, a missile flew past the man and he jumped back, hurriedly turning to Jim and placing his handheld radio on top of the crate. "Why aren't you out there then?"

"Do I look like a soldier?"

The man raised a doubtful eyebrow, so Jim quickly added,

"Bum leg. I come and go with the ships."

".. right." The other soldier huffed in annoyance and slid the radio over to Jim, pulling his rifle forward over his shoulder. He checked it and flicked off the safety, his eyes alight with an eager spark as he prepared to join the fray. "Don't know why we have to guard this rubbish anyway. Have fun putting your feet up."

With that, he ran off. Jim watched him go, smiling faintly in the shadow of his cap brim. A moment later, Taylor appeared, darting out from under one of the elevated shacks, covered in an array of cobwebs. Jim stared at him as he took shelter behind the pile.

"How did you get in?!" With only a knowing smile in reply from the ex-commander, Jim cast a quick look around and yanked open the side of one of the larger containers. "Get in."

Mira seemed to have drawn off the larger portion of the soldier population, most of whom were thrilled to stretch their legs and ran whooping down the beach. Jim stared about the dock as the bright artificial light of the ships met the soft flickering orange of the camp torches, while the faint blue of the portal terminus across the waves reached out simultaneously toward the speckled blue of the Base Zero electronics. The assortment of mottled colours seemed all to meet in the dock area, turning it into a weird melting pot of lights and shadows. It was out of these flickering shadows that a large reptilian head now emerged, slinking around the corner of Taylor's crate. The Kaprosuchus had evidently managed to lose its tail. Jim's heart stopped cold for a moment as he met the creatures slitted green eyes. He stared at the crate beside him and then turned back to the dinosaur.

"You won't fit in there, will you? My bad."

"He'll fit." Taylor's muffled voice came from inside the crate, interrupting the icy glare Jim was receiving from the fanged beast outside of it. The current commander glanced around and pulled the side open again with a roll of his eyes as two arms stretched out, pulling the dinosaur back with them into the darkness.

"Come here, you overgrown handbag."

Jim bent and peered into the crate in confusion as the Kaprosuchus disappeared. The sight that met his eyes when they had adjusted to the black interior was one of considerable comedic value had he had the time to appreciate it. As it was, Taylor glared at him, looking as though he was about to drown in scales, the Kap's face pressed into the top corner of the box as the animal huffed in annoyance.

"Are you-"

"Don't worry about us, Shannon, hurry up and shut the darn crate!"

Without a word, Jim obliged. As the crate door clicked shut for a second time, the radio on his belt buzzed obnoxiously.

"Hey, you."

Jim looked up to meet the eyes of a man standing on the bow of the nearby ship. The soldier gestured to the raised radio near his face as Jim pointed to himself questioningly.

"Yeah, you. What were you doing in there?"

Jim unlatched the radio from his belt and raised it slowly.

"I was checking the weapons were secure."

"Why are there still weapons in there? They should've all been unloaded." The man continued to stare unblinkingly. "I'll send a man down to-"

"No point." Jim interrupted, his calm voice belying the thrill of horror he had just experienced at the suggestion. "These were sent back. The old lady reckons they're faulty."

"What?" The other man scoffed, leaning against the railing as though he was having a friendly chat with one of his neighbours. "They're not faulty. They're brand new. They were all checked back home."

Jim shrugged.

"I don't know, man. I'm not the expert. All I know's she doesn't want them. Not good enough for your highness, I guess."

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time .." The guard huffed grumpily into the handheld. "Roger. I'll be down in a minute. Don't go anywhere. You're gonna help me carry it back onboard. And then the rest as well."

"Aw, what?!" Jim complained, as the man on the other side chuckled through the static.

"Sucks to be the messenger, don't it?"

Jim smiled to himself, but leaned on the crate to wait. Shortly thereafter, the man was standing opposite him on the other side of the container, but it only took one attempt at lifting it before he changed his mind.

"Woowee, these weapons are heavy-duty. Shame the doc didn't want 'em, they could've done some real damage." He waved to a couple of soldiers that were running past as Jim muttered his agreement with the statement. "Hey, you two, get over here and help us, will you?"

The two soldiers that had been hailed made their way over and took up opposite sides, shifting their rifles to rest on their backs. Jim shuffled over to make room for them, keeping his face down and shielded by his hat while mentally willing the two inside the crate to be on their best behaviour. The helpers, however, seemed more interested in getting the job done so they could run off after the others, and so the cargo was lugged up the ramp and stowed roughly in the hold without incident. Not even bothering to see if any more help was required, the two extra hands disappeared. When the remainder of the empty crates had been packed away in the hold, the captain turned to Jim and shook his hand heartily, his manner much improved from earlier in the night.

"Nice working with you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have my pre-launch checklist to .. check. Hehe. I trust you can see yourself out."

Jim smiled and nodded briefly. Evidently the other man was in the habit of amusing himself when there was no one else to laugh at.

"Yes sir. Safe travels."

The other man snickered as he returned to the cabin.

"'Safe travels.'"

Jim paused above deck just long enough to cast a glance over at the cliff on the other side of the cove. Sure enough, Mira was still there, her figure outlined against the starry sky as she shot another arrow at a passing shadow. She would be nearly out by now, Jim realised, slipping back down into the cargo hold and closing the hatch door softly. Hopefully she could hold them off long enough to get back in time.

He felt his way across the small, dark room, now crowded with boxes and containers of all shapes and sizes. Without running into less than three, he reached his intended target and swung the door open. Taylor and the Kap tumbled out in a graceless mass of limbs. The former sat up on his haunches and looked around, his keen eyes already more or less adjusted to the darkness.

"Bout time, it was getting pretty stuffy in there." Taylor's gaze moved around the cramped room slowly before settling on Jim. "Mira?"

"Not here yet."

They dropped down in silence to wait, hidden amongst a small fort of large crates. The time crawled agonisingly in the darkness. Finally, the ship engine chugged to life, sending the tin floor beneath them rattling. There was still no sign of Mira. Jim stood unsteadily and peered out through a small crack in the sheet metal. The glimpse revealed the white tips of the choppy waves passing by beside them. They were moving. Jim collapsed back down as the ship began to jolt up and down sickeningly. Something bumped the left side of the boat. After a minute or two, a mist of glimmering blue enveloped the hold. They had passed through the portal. As the glow faded, the air immediately grew colder and thicker. Jim looked over at Taylor in distress, tucking his hands into his sleeves to warm them.

"She didn't make it."

Taylor stroked the large head on his lap and nodded thoughtfully as the animal shivered.

"Mira can look after herself."

Jim leaned against a container, only to sit back up again sharply as a gentle knock sounded on the hatch door. The three in the hold crept back into the darkness as the door creaked open .. and then shut softly again. Muffled footsteps approached the hidden stowaways. A shadowy figure paused a few feet away. Then she grinned, her white teeth showing up strangely in the darkness.

"You going to hide all night?"

Her voice sounded strange and quivery, but the two men recognised it with relief and emerged from their hiding places immediately.

"Mira!" Jim was the first to reach her, putting a welcoming hand on her arm before hurriedly removing it. "You're freezing! And sopping-"

His eyes widened as the ghostly drenched figure turned to him.

"You swam?!"

"They were gaining on me. I had to take the route they'd be least likely to follow." Mira stowed her soggy quiver and unstrung bow in a corner and sat down beside them. "So I jumped."

Jim cast a glance at Taylor and shook his head.

"You're crazy .. but I am glad you're here."

"Don't be too glad." Mira put a cold hand on the Kaprosuchus' back, jumping as the animal shied away from the touch. She turned to Jim as he took another look out of his spyhole. "We still have a long way to go. What's your plan for getting off this thing?"

Jim frowned, leaning on the wall and folding his arms.

"Lifeboat?"

"Didn't see one earlier." Taylor commented. "Besides, this tub is so small, it could practically be a lifeboat itself. I doubt it has one."

"We could make a jump for it."

Jim turned back to Mira with a snort.

"What is it with you and swimming today?"

"Oh, don't worry." Mira's sarcasm was somewhat overshadowed by her violent shiver. "There's no flesh-eating beasts on this end."

"Not visible ones anyway." Jim shuddered, casting another useless glance out into the brown fog. "I've seen the water in the future. Looks like mud, smells like someone threw up in it, and houses any variety of parasitic bacteria. No thank you. I think I'll take my chances elsewhere."

"Could come out in an indoor pool." Mira pointed out. "You can't be sure of anything."

"Well, I don't want to be walking through town with a dripping savage, especially if you throw yourself into the filthy water beforehand. You'll draw attention to us like a shot. And speaking of which .."

He eyed her bow meaningfully. Mira put a hand on it.

"What?"

"You can't wander around in public with that thing either. You'll get arrested."

"I've been arrested before." Mira set her jaw stubbornly. When Jim only stared at her, unmoved, she blew a puff of air out in annoyance and watched it fade away. "I can't just wander the streets unarmed. And what makes you think we're even heading for civilisation? This fracture could lead anywhere."

"Call it a hunch." This didn't seem to impress either one of his companions, so Jim felt obliged to elaborate. "Look at all the weapons that came through, all the soldiers. You can't just whip them out of thin air. There has to be a pretty substantial source, correct?"

"I suppose so."

"Well, I guess we'll know soon enough." Taylor interrupted, shooting a look in Jim's direction. "Now can I have my clothes back please? I hate to say it, but I look pretty stupid in button-ups."

"Yeah, but you look pretty stupid in anything." Jim grinned.

Taylor scoffed, pulling his shirt off and crumpling it into a ball before throwing it at the offending party.

"Thanks very much, Jim." He replaced his own clothes and took a deep breath. "That's more like it. I was getting tired of smelling like flowers and perfume."

Jim snorted.

"Well, at least it was better than your usual jungle musk."

"Alright, alright," Mira rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes in exhaustion. "You boys bicker all night if you want to. I'm getting some sleep."

"No, you're not." Jim grinned as a horn blared loudly from somewhere nearby. "Sounds like we're here already."

Mira groaned and pulled herself to her feet, going to the outer wall and pressing her face against it. Jim raised an eyebrow at Taylor, who chuckled to himself.

"Is the wall telling you anything we should be aware of?"

"Too dark to make out much." Mira muttered, half to herself. "But I think I can see lights through the fog, though goodness knows where they're coming from."

"Where?"

The other two had perked up by this stage and were coming to investigate for themselves. As Mira was firmly displaced, she folded her arms and stepped aside, moving back to Jim's former slit, only to find the view was exactly the same.

"I told you, I couldn't see anything."

"She's right." Jim turned away in disappointment. "It's all a mix of nothing out there."

"Hold on a minute." Taylor held up a hand to shush them, stepping back and gesturing to the wall with a much quieter voice. "Something tells me we're here .."

Jim peered through again, this time greeted by the sight of dull grey steel sliding past alarmingly close to the side of the boat. He ducked back hurriedly as people in white coats began to materialise amongst the fog, turning to the former commander and resting a hand on the wall as the boat lurched to a stop.

"I think you might be right."

An assortment of clanging and thumping began as a couple of horns blared one after the other. Evidently the rest of the ships weren't far behind. The three hidden together in a corner of the hold held a hissed conference.

"Whether it's an island or a mainland port, the problem remains the same - how are we gonna get off this thing without being spotted?"

"We could get in the crates?"

"You don't think they'll noticed that the crates are extra heavy this evening?"

"We could hide and then sneak out the door in between unloading."

"You've had better ideas, Shannon."

Jim opened his mouth to offer another suggestion, but clamped it shut again as a voice rang out from just above the hatch.

"Shall we unload her?"

"Not here." The reply was slightly muffled, but audible. "The boss just said we're to take her back to the mainland. Unload her there, and pick up another shipment."

The four in the hold exchanged a dubious look. Another shipment? How many shipments were going to be stored up against Terra Nova before the war even began? As the ship motor chugged to life again, Taylor slumped back into a more comfortable position.

"Well, I guess your dumb luck is still with us, Jim."

"It's never failed me yet."

"No." Taylor agreed wryly. "Still the question remains, how do we get off this hunk of metal without being caught?"

Mira and the Kaprosuchus eyed each other as Jim fell silent.

"Send the animal."

Taylor spluttered.

"Are you mad? Into the open air on a future dock?"

Mira shrugged.

"It worked as a distraction last time. It could work again this time."

"And then what?!" Taylor countered indignantly "They'd hunt him until he was dead, which would only make things harder for us."

"He's going to do that anyway." Jim pointed out, an unexpected edge entering his voice. "Maybe you should let him fend for himself out there. He's good at hiding."

"No. Where I go, he goes." Taylor eyed the reptile stubbornly. "The future's no place for a dinosaur."

"Then maybe you should've left him back on the other side!" Jim snapped. "He's a dead giveaway. He's too big to hide, too strange-looking to conceal, and too unpredictable to rely on. He's going to get us killed."

".. alright." Taylor amended, after thinking for a moment. "I'll allow him to cause a distraction. He can look after himself. But he's coming with us. I don't care if we have to put a leash around his neck and start calling him Ricky."

Jim shook his head.

"He might look like a dog to you, but I doubt the rest of the population will see it that way."

"Let them think what they want. They always do."

"And when he inevitably gets us caught?"

Taylor smiled irritatingly.

"You can say I told you so."

Jim rolled his eyes and looked away.

About 20 minutes later, they lurched to a stop once more. Hiding just under the steep staircase, the three humans waited in suspense while their co-conspirator wandered the room carelessly. The Kaprosuchus didn't even seem to notice the nervous tension that swirled about it, instead satisfying itself with examining every smell and substance the hold had amassed over its years of use. The moment the hatch swung open, however, his manner changed instantly. At a signal from Taylor, he shot up the stairs and burst out onto the deck with a guttural snarl. A series of alarmed shrieks from above followed his exit.

The deck was almost deserted when the stowaway trio surfaced. Those who were still around were more concerned with looking for monster eyes in the shadows than stopping to pay attention to those who were obviously human and therefore, allies by nature. The attention turned away further as a scream was heard from another boat nearby. Evidently the Kap had jumped ship. Jim, Taylor, and Mira moved quickly from cover to cover in the darkness, looking just as much as if they were trying to avoid the beast as anything else. They drew a few odd looks from the night workers on the docks as they scrambled clumsily down the slippery ramp, but when they finally managed to stand upright and walk casually away, the onlookers lost interest and returned to their work, grinning and chuckling amongst themselves.

They walked down a few dark streets, barely daring to glance at one another, before coming to a stop behind a dilapidated building, gasping for breath despite the ease of their pace.

"We're here. We actually made it. After weeks of trying and failing." Jim leaned against the wall and held his ribs, attempting to calm his ragged breathing. "We're close now, I can feel it. Zoe's close. We might even have her with us by morning."

Mira and Taylor exchanged a look, but made no response. Instead, Mira shrugged.

"Where to from here then?"

"Hey!" Taylor interjected, as something nudged his leg out of the mist, causing him to stumble sideways a little. He knelt, coming face to face with a damp Kaprosuchus head. He rubbed the creature enthusiastically and beamed up at the other two.

"He tracked us!"

Jim glanced around, listening hard for a moment. Finally, he was satisfied. He looked back down at Taylor, who was frowning and examining the dinosaur's mouth closely.

"Looks like he managed to lose them."

"Hold on .." Taylor finished his examination with a sigh of relief and stood, giving the creature another hearty pat. "It's not his blood. Thank goodness."

Mira cast a doubtful look at Jim, but he was too preoccupied to notice, staring around at the nearby buildings with a slightly confused expression. The sound was still present. The persistent buzz he had first assumed to be the portal terminus, and then the boat engine itself, was still humming in his ears. It was difficult to hear himself think above the drone. The sound was familiar, and yet strange. He'd grown up with it without ever seeming to hear it. A light dawned in his mind as it cleared. This electronic humming .. This was the underlying heartbeat of the future - the life support system of the machines. It seemed it would take a little while to get used to it once again, though all going well, they'd be on their way home before they had the chance. How they were actually going to get home was a factor that Jim hadn't entirely decided upon yet.

"Someone has to have seen something." Taylor was saying reasonably to Mira when Jim returned from his daydream. "We've just gotta find the right person."

"And what, you think they're going to just give us the information?" Jim jumped back into the conversation. "They're probably all government employees to begin with."

Taylor shrugged, hugging his arms to himself and rubbing them.

"Even government rats have their price."

"We don't have anything to trade with."

"What are you, boy scouts all of a sudden?" Mira interrupted impatiently. "There are other ways of getting information."

She thrust her bow and quiver into Jim's hands, her teeth clamped against their incessant chattering.

"If I'm not back in ten minutes, go on without me."

"Mira-" Jim and Taylor hissed after her as the dark shadow faded into the mist. "Don't kill anyone."

"And if you have to do so, don't get caught."

"Try my best." The disembodied voice returned, sounding as though it had come from four directions at once. The two men cast a dubious look at each other.

"What now?"

"We make ourselves useful, I guess." Jim stifled a sudden attack of coughing as a thorn bush suddenly seemed to take root in his vocal chords. He finally lowered his arm, his sleeve damp where his warm breath and the humidity had collided. "I caught a glimpse of a locker hall near the alley a couple of streets back. If we don't want our protesting lungs to give us away, we could stand to relieve them of a few rebreathers."

Taylor nodded his agreement.

"Lead the way."

The light spilling out from the small windows lit up the foggy alleyway intermittently like a variation of a child's nightlight. The line of rebreathers could be seen from the street outside, and the door, when tried, was found to be unlocked.

Jim and Taylor let themselves in.

The masks hung on hooks on the wall opposite the door like so many umbrellas. A row of lockers were laid out below them, presumably utilised by the dock workers at the end of the road. The small hallway led into a much larger building. A window in the heavy door revealed a large kitchen and further out, what appeared to be a series of tables. Evidently this was the back entrance. After selecting a few of the better specimens from the racks, as well as an additional gift for the lady of the party, the two thieves slipped back out the rear door and blended back in amongst the fog in the street.

Mira was already waiting for them when they arrived, leaning against a large bin and calmly polishing the bone knife in her hand. Jim stopped in front of her and held out the mask, glancing at the knife briefly. Was it the moving fog and shadows playing tricks or was it mottled in the rusty colours of a struggle? Mira replaced the knife in her sheath, thereby removing it from public view, and accepted the offered rebreather, pausing to hold it below her chin.

"The girl came through here. She was seen being escorted away by a few armed guards-"

"They've seen Zoe?!" Jim interrupted, receiving a cold glare from Mira in return, which he conveniently ignored. "Where did they take her?"

"He says they were headed toward the Memorial."

"The Mem- The Memorial?" Jim stared at her, dumbfounded. "You mean to tell me we're back in Chicago?!"

"Of course we are, idiot." Taylor scoffed. "Where else would we be?"

Jim glared at him as Mira nodded slowly, warming her hands with her breath.

"That's right. We've landed right where we left. Hope Plaza isn't even that far away, if you can believe it."

"I'm having a hard time believing it, and yet .." Jim mused. "It seems appropriate somehow."

"Mm." Mira responded vaguely. She was silent for a moment, then continued, drowning out Taylor's exasperated "Why? Why would you have a hard time believing it?"

"Well, we're on our own now. That was all he knew."

"You're sure?"

"His will to live was stronger than his loyalty."

Jim stifled the urge to ask whether his will to live was still intact. Maybe he didn't want to know after all. Truthfully, maybe there was a part of him that didn't care.

"To the Memorial it is then."

"The quickest way is through the park, but .." Mira hesitated, an odd look passing over her face. ".. a lot of people tend to gather there."

"We'll be the least suspicious surrounded by a crowd of other people. But before we go .. you're going to need this."

Jim pulled a thick coat off his shoulder and thrust it into her hands. Mira stared at it, her eyes then flicking sceptically back up to him.

"What's this for?"

"I told you, you can't go around looking like a wild woman in the middle of the city. Put it on." He commanded. "You should be wearing something warmer anyway. You're still wet. And take the feathers out of your hair."

Mira glared at him, but when Jim made a move to start removing them himself, she relented, still eyeing him coldly. She shoved the discarded accessories into a pocket of her new coat, along with a few odd pieces of rough jewellery she had acquired, then fell back to glaring at him, disgust dripping from her tongue with every syllable.

"Do I look more civilised now?"

"You'll do alright." Jim watched her solemnly, trying to avoid the threat of death she was broadcasting in his direction. "Just promise me one thing."

"What?" Mira half spat at him.

Jim folded his arms and studied her with a critical eye.

"When we get home, transform back into yourself again. This 'civilised' version just isn't cutting it for me."

"Never satisfied, are you?" Mira muttered, but Jim caught the faintest trace of a smile in her expression and nodded, smiling in return. Mira sighed and pulled the coat around her tightly. Despite the unpleasant complications it had brought with it, the warmth wasn't unwelcome. She nodded back at Jim as she pulled her rebreather up to cover her face.

"Alright then, Commander. Lead on."

After only 3 years in Terra Nova, Jim had forgotten how the future felt. Despite the abundance of homeless people living on the streets, there was such a desolate loneliness about it. Everyone was gathered here, and yet everyone was alone.

He stared around at the buildings as they made their way in the direction of the Memorial. Even in the dark and misty early morning, the landmarks were growing more familiar with every passing street. The structures in this part of the city were badly damaged and half deserted, abandoned and left to the street gatherers. The process repeated itself with every passing year as the sea level rose. There was an unspoken rule, an unspecified line that somehow everyone knew about - no one in their right mind bought property within a few hundred metres of the water. What was in use out here was rented by those who didn't have the money to live out of harm's way. The landlords didn't care, the tenants trashed the buildings, and eventually, entire sections of city blocks were just left to rot.

A billboard flapped in the breeze as they walked by. The things were scattered all over the place - old decrepit bulletin boards with the pages half torn off and writing so faded that the original advertisement could have been anyone's guess. The occasional corner still housed an old-fashioned street sign, most bent or knocked down entirely, but some still stood alongside the newer modern holographic ones, never having been bothered enough about to be removed. These holographic signs seemed to spread like wildfire the closer to the Memorial they got, until one could barely walk the space of one street without hearing the same news broadcast.

The newer metal buildings were taking over now, stretching out around them, harsh and cold. The dark streets were filled with mounting numbers of people who never even met their eyes. No one cared that they were there. No one even noticed. The chill in the air sank into a person's deepest being, mixing with something like horror when it got there. Taylor shivered involuntarily.

"I never thought I'd have to see this place again. Can't say as I've missed it."

"I don't like being here in the middle of the street. The sun'll start coming up in an hour or two." Jim ducked his head as an older man passed close by. "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

"There's the corner of the park." Taylor nodded to a patch of dirt about fifty metres ahead of them. "We're almost to the monument. We can find a place to bed down when we get there."

They crossed the street and entered the "park", a large patch of dirt and sand that provided the central entertainment area for the surrounding suburbs. Mira stared around at the familiar environment as they drew deeper into the lot. The dirty fountains, the rubbish-laden bridges, the randomly-scattered art sculptures that were supposed to give the impression that the park still had some hints of class left. Then there was the Legacy Playground. Mira's eyes fell upon the site as they passed it. One of the last outdoor playgrounds in the city, the equipment had been cast in bronze, yet another sentimental memorial to the old days. Playgrounds for children still existed, naturally, but they were almost universally indoors, where the air was filtered and sky rises could be built on top of them to house the ever-growing population. The bronze coating of this one, though beautiful in its own way, was highly impractical - too cold to use in the winter and too hot to touch in the summer, but then the lengthy plaque on the front specified that climbing the structure was forbidden anyway. Not that anyone listened. There were even a few people currently lounging about on it now. Mira turned away. The last thing they needed was to antagonise a group of troublemakers who thought they were staring. She continued to analyse the park as they neared the crowd in front of the Memorial. The structure was new, but the surrounding outdoor amphitheater had been here for decades. Apart from a few blackened scars, the miserable place looked just the same.

Mira pulled the coat tighter around herself, wishing fervently to leave the park and go somewhere else, anywhere else. An eternity ago, she had lived here, gotten pregnant here, tried desperately to keep her frail baby daughter alive here. Her lip curled as a shudder went through her. Accursed place.

Jim stopped near the middle of the crowd that stood at the foot of the Memorial, his gaze following theirs upward to where a young man stood above the rest. The man was preaching fervently, addressing the group of eager faces below him as though he knew each one individually. Despite the slightly dazed look in his eye, one could hardly deny he was charismatic. Jim scanned the surrounding area as the man talked. With so many bodies in the way, they were hardly likely to find any further leads, but maybe .. just maybe ..

"These people tell you they're working on a solution." The young man proclaimed desperately. "They're trying to reconnect with the other world, open the fracture back up so we can live again. I'm here to tell you that they are doing no such thing."

Jim cast a sideways glance at Taylor, who rolled his eyes dramatically as the boy continued with a bitter laugh.

"The government has given up. They can't get back to the past, they can't reopen the fracture. They're keeping this to themselves for fear of inciting mass panic and losing control, but my friends, the truth will always find a way out."

The crowd stirred a little, murmuring softly to one another and looking back up at the man in distress. He crouched on the corner of the monument and looked earnestly into the eyes of the people.

"But do not despair. There is hope. We have found a time fracture that opens naturally. There is still hope for humanity! Every full moon, a fracture near the ocean opens and we can get through. We-"

The crowd gasped in unison as a couple of armed guards surfaced behind the monument and took hold of the surprised speaker. His voice elevated to a hysterical scream as the men dragged him away without a word.

"Please, believe! If you still want hope, if you still want a future, you'll find a way to contact me. I can still save us! We can save each other!"

As he vanished on the other side of the structure, the crowd began to dissipate, muttering softly among themselves. Jim glanced up toward the horizon. Though the sky was still dark, he could see further now than he could a few minutes ago. The sun was starting to come up. He turned to the other two, only to find another young man had stopped beside Taylor and was gaping at the dinosaur beside him. Jim exchanged a look with Mira, but Taylor, by comparison, didn't seem at all bothered by the attention. He put a hand on the Kap's head and grinned at the boy.

"Looks pretty lifelike, huh?"

The stranger took a hesitant step closer, but stopped abruptly as the Kaprosuchus swung its head sideways to stare back at him.

"What-you mean, that thing is a-"

"Animatronic." Taylor folded his arms and chuckled. "Hard to believe, I know. Amazing what they can do these days, isn't it?"

The man nodded, his mouth still hanging open.

"Must've cost you a fortune."

Taylor laughed again.

"Let's just say when you get to my age, you can afford to have somewhat .. eccentric tastes."

The other man grinned as a friend appeared beside him, elbowing his companion and gesturing in Taylor's direction.

"Hey, look at that dinosaur thing!"

"Woah!"

"We'll be drawing too much attention here in a minute." Jim muttered under his breath. "Let's find somewhere to lay low and take a look around. We can't do much until the crowd leaves anyway."

"You got it."

As they deserted the Memorial, Jim turned to the former commander.

"That was risky."

"If I've learned one thing over the years, it's that people'll believe just about anything if you make it sound like something that happens all the time." He gestured to where the man had been standing on the monument a few moments ago. "Case in point."

Jim threw him a disapproving look.

"Yeah, but didn't anyone ever teach you not to talk to strangers?"

"Didn't anyone ever teach you to respect your elders?"

"Didn't anyone ever tell you two to shut up?" Mira snapped. Jim raised an eyebrow at her.

"I guess they must have .. once."

"Then just once, you might want to try listening."

Jim threw an impish grin at Taylor, who mirrored the expression cheerfully.

"Roger that."