Chapter 5
The Rumblings of Distant Thunder
BOOM!
The deep vibration shook the earth to its core, accompanied by a dull roar that temporarily drowned out every other sound in the vicinity. On the Terra Novan side of the battleground, the soldiers in the field steadied themselves against the shuddering, watching and waiting impatiently as more snow tumbled from the surrounding tree branches like flour through a sieve. Finally, the rumbling quieted and the usual noises of the forest began to pick up again. Two members of the colony security team glanced at each other cautiously.
"Brady. You good?"
"That's the fourth time this morning." The senior officer replied in irritation, brushing some snow dust off his pant leg. The ground had ceased its wobbling, but he hadn't. Every time the vibrations went off, the soldiers spent the next five minutes feeling as though they were trying to walk across the top of a series of air beds. The sensation wasn't exactly a pleasant one.
"It's riling up the dinosaurs something awful. There've already been two Carno attacks since yesterday. And the tremors are causing the electromag devices to fail faster than usual." The younger man shrugged. "Maybe they're trying out a new battle tactic?"
Brady stared at his subordinate for a moment.
"If it's this bad over here, think how much of a disturbance it must be causing all the way over their side. I can't imagine it's exactly working in their favour. Not yet anyway."
"That's true."
The senior officer sighed impatiently, taking his soggy cap off and shaking it out before returning it to his head with a muted slap.
"I don't care what they're up to. If they keep this up, the whole blasted shelf's gonna start breaking off right under our feet." He kicked a patch of damp grass in front of him, sending a spray of melting dew up into the air. "And one thing's for sure - it makes it hard to hear them coming .."
He watched darkly as the drops fell, glittering in the bright sunlight.
"Darn those machines."
"Darn those machines!"
Kensinge threw her hard hat across the room, watching with vicious satisfaction as it bounced off the wooden wall with a thud. She dropped her torch into the box beside her and slammed the lid of the chest shut for good measure, freezing as a sudden low voice from the darkness momentarily startled the breath from her.
"Tell me you weren't just down in the mines again."
She blew her dusty hair from her face as her heartbeat slowly returned to normal, fixing her eyes on a screen near the wall. If she allowed him to see he'd surprised her, he might take it as a sign that she had a guilty conscience. These little things also tended to chip away at one's appearance of authority, and under the circumstances, that wouldn't do at all. She reached toward the screen and paused mid-movement, smiling to herself as a distant shout came from the direction of the cliff, her fingers curling a little, still suspended in the air.
"What would give you that idea?"
The man in the corner stood abruptly, the sudden movement the only sign of how tense and frustrated he really was under his calm demeanour.
"If they catch you-"
"They won't."
"If they do .." Her second-in-command persisted, apparently unconvinced. ".. you'll bring down the entire operation with you. We're so close to being completed-"
"And whose plan is it, hm?" Kensinge snapped, turning to him irritably. "Yours?"
She dismissed his concerns with a wave of her hand.
"Don't worry, I was careful."
"I can see that. The hard hat isn't at all suspicious."
The scientist threw a pained smile at him.
"My machines are already being upset by those infernal devices they insist on using down there. I'm not letting them damage my brain as well. It's hard enough to think with all the roaring and clanging."
Her head of security's voice grew even softer, laced with a distinct note of warning.
"Be that as it may, you don't want to seem too opposed to the powers that be. If they want a little compensation for their patience, so be it."
"So be it." Kensinge agreed, turning back to him with a twinkle in her eye. "It's just a shame they didn't realise how powerful the magnets in these mountains could be. It's a wonder the machines are working at all, given the interference."
The corner of Esteban's mouth curled up a little.
"Dangerous game."
"They picked the wrong opponent."
He studied the defiant spark in her expression for a moment and then leaned on the table, wisely deciding to change the subject.
"How's the girl?"
"Settling in." Kensinge ran a hand through her ragged hair, pausing mid-movement as she caught his eye. "Oh, don't worry. She's fine. She'll bounce back from this. Kids are resilient."
"And Shannon?"
"Still no more attacks?"
Esteban shook his head.
"He seems to have given up."
"Or found a way through." Kensinge muttered.
"Hm." Her second-in-command looked thoughtful. "A few of the men have reported catching glimpses of him in their Command Centre. Supposedly, he hasn't left the colony."
Kensinge paused and studied him.
"What do you think?"
"I think he'd do whatever it took to get his little girl back."
Kensinge stared hard at him for a moment, trying to determine whether she'd imagined the flicker of rebuke in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared, if indeed it was ever there at all. She shrugged and turned back to her computer.
"Well, either way works in our favour. Either he's deserted the colony to find her and left them leaderless, or he's too distracted to make smart decisions. I still stand by my original point."
Esteban looked away and once again redirected the subject of conversation.
"Have you figured out how to counteract the signal blockers yet?"
"Oh, they're easy. Their design is actually fairly simple. It would be no trouble to counteract-blast!" as her computer screen unexpectedly fizzled out to black. Going by the dying drone outside, the entire camp sounded as though it had gone down with it. "Rats. Must've got in again."
She turned away from her computer, arms folded, picking up the previous train of conversation as though she'd already forgotten all about the disturbance.
"It's finding them that's the trouble, though I could build a tracker, I suppose. And if we built a large enough blocker ourselves, we wouldn't necessarily need to find them all in order for it to work .." she muttered to herself absentmindedly ".. they are useful, though .."
Esteban frowned, watching her as she lit a candle, the tiny flame throwing shadows around the walls of the cold, dark shack.
"If you know how to counteract them, why aren't we using it?"
She smiled up at him.
"Maybe I just like medieval warfare."
A crackling from the radio at his belt stopped her lead soldier from attempting any further comment save a slight raise of his eyebrow. He lifted the handheld to his mouth and began to make his reply, stopping in surprise as he was cut off by one of his lieutenants.
"Sir, I need to speak to .. crjdjshdidjk .. Sir? Sir?"
Esteban glanced at the woman across from him, who had drawn her eyes away from the captivating flame and was now frowning back curiously. He pressed the button on the radio again.
"Lieutenant, didn't catch that. Repeat."
"Sir, I need to sPeAk tO Dr. KenSinGe. Immediately! Over."
The blonde physicist grinned briefly and reached out to accept the radio as her commander handed it over.
"Yes, Lieutenant, I'm here. What is it?"
The smile quickly fell from her face at his next words.
"They've attacked .. cavern entrance. At least six captured and eight wounded, two critical. They came .. nowhere .. permission to use the grenades?"
Kensinge bit her lip and glanced at her second-in-command, shaking her head and turning away to face the wall. After a momentary pause, she spoke out clearly, her voice cold and emotionless.
"Alright, do it, but no unnecessary deaths. I understand that sacrifices must be made for the greater good, but be strategic. No massacres. We don't want to build a new world on a foundation of senseless violence. I want you to remember that."
"Yes, ma'am."
As the transmission cut out, Kensinge's eyes flicked up to exchange a glance with the cracks in the wooden panels, as though they somehow understood her internal struggle.
"Why won't they just give up?"
Esteban cleared his throat from the other side of the room as a series of muffled footfalls ventured closer, creeping up behind her as she waited. Kensinge steadied herself. Those weren't Esteban's steps. Her suspicions were confirmed as a weasely voice came from over her left shoulder. Her lip curled. The man always seemed to carry an unsettling snake-like essence.
"You and I have very different interpretations of what we're doing here."
Kensinge turned back very slowly and stared at him with great displeasure. She hated him, and he knew it. As if dealing with the government representative wasn't bad enough, they had to send a representative from the scientific association as well. At least Simon had some humanity, some personality. This man was about as interesting as a cardboard salamander. But like it or not, they were stuck with each other.
"You stay in your corner and I'll stay in mine."
The government lackey smiled sardonically. He had to hand it to this woman, she knew the extent of her own value, even if her ideals were a little .. extreme. She was a dreamer, wanting so desperately to "preserve" this untamed world, "saving" it from the people who "ruined" the old one .. people who only wanted to "bulldoze and destroy" anyone who got in the way of their "dastardly scheme" to "pillage the new earth" and use the profits to "manipulate the economy" of the old one .. sheesh. He thought to himself, rolling his eyes as the other two stared at him. What a load of crock. (Kensinge, who had probably never uttered the words "dastardly scheme" in her entire life, would have been on the floor in hysterics had she had the privilege of being able to see into his mind at that particular moment. Then again, perhaps it was a mercy she couldn't.)
Truth be told, he was a little wary of the power she was fully aware she wielded over him. They needed her in far more ways than she needed them; though their manpower came in handy quite often and the extra muscle was working to her advantage, she could have gotten by very well without their presence clouding her path. She made the most of the help and that was it. The government, however, couldn't do without her. She couldn't be replaced, couldn't be exterminated - without her knowledge and advice, their future plans were dead in the water. And so they kept her around, and to a certain extent, they gave her free reign, each side mostly trying to work in complete isolation and not interfere with the comings and goings of the other party. Until this moment, that is. Regrettably.
"Well, right now, to my own undeniable chagrin, our corners have become one."
"What do you mean?"
The beady black eyes pierced humorlessly into hers.
"You're to present your report in front of the guild leader in person. He wants to know what progress you've made on .. it."
".. it." Kensinge repeated blandly. "Could you be more specific?"
The small man glanced sharply around before leaning in at an alarming angle.
"The walls have ears .."
"Very well." His fellow scientist didn't appear to be moved by the sentiment. "Let me collect a few things and we can go."
He spread his hands accomodatingly, returning to his usual degree of vertical incline.
"Take all the time you need. The Guildmaster isn't going anywhere."
Kensinge paused, casting a warning look back at him.
"I thought the walls had ears."
A sly little smile flickered across the pointed face.
"They won't for long .."
The two scientists were buffeted by the wind as they stepped into the open air, setting off across the camp in the direction of the dock. Halfway there, the noise and tremors rumbled to life again. Kensinge stopped in her tracks for a moment, staring back toward the mine with a barely restrained growl of her own.
Her eyes flicked right to rest on the set of barracks nearby. Somehow, the grey color of the things made the camp seem even colder. Maybe they would fall down, Kensinge thought hopefully to herself. There were already tiny growing cracks in the ugly stone walls due to the vibrations of the mining beneath them. Perhaps one day, the horrid big boxes would just crumble to bits where they stood. They were largely empty anyway, she reasoned, as if attempting to convince herself of her own opinion. The men they had been constructed for were either out in the field, dead, captured, or were part of the large population that spent their lives down in the mines, living, sleeping, and working below the surface of the quaking earth. The barracks were currently waiting to be refilled by the future, but until then, they served little purpose but to stand there and make the camp look bleak, like rotten, cavity-riddled teeth in a perfectly good mouth.
The glare of disgust fell abruptly from her face as she found her arm yanked unexpectedly by the impatient rat-faced representative. Well, at least being dragged back to the future on such short notice meant she would get a chance to check up on her charge, Kensinge comforted herself, allowing the thought to distract her from her rage at being dragged this way and that by the skinny hand. It had been some time since she had been able to visit Zoe. She had been anxious to see what state the girl was in.
The blue portal on the water lit up as she stumbled into the boat, wrenching her arm from the skeletal grip and clutching the side railing with all her might so as not to fling the same hand back and clap him with it. She turned her attention away to search the beach, as had become her habit of late. After a moment or two, she met the waiting pair of solemn eyes belonging to her head of security, expecting to find him smiling at her discomfort. He was not. Somehow the realization made the whole predicament seem decidedly less amusing.
As the blue fog enveloped them and the grating pulse of the machines faded into a softer hum, Kensinge relaxed a little, breathing a deep sigh of relief as she leaned back on the side of the boat, the pounding in her ears slowly melting away. Pollution, corruption, and evil corporations aside, the future still had its perks.
"What, are you planning to shoot yourself in the arm so you can stay home?"
Lucas threw a sideways look at the new arrival as Curran flopped down onto a bale of grass, balancing two small Komodos on his knees like a seasoned parent .. or Father Christmas, whichever is least disturbing to your own sensibilities. The convenient grass bales, covered with any material available, were a common seating arrangement in the marketplace. Lucas leaned back on one of his own as he finished adjusting the new archery guard on his left wrist.
"No, this is just in case someone else decides to do it for me."
"A distinct possibility."
"We had extra leather scraps going to waste anyway." He looked up suddenly, as though he had just remembered an important detail. "Oh, and naturally, I thought it would make me look cooler."
Curran snorted.
"Figures." He studied the new attachment for a moment, his eyes flicking down to the pile of discarded material beside Lucas. ".. but it does look pretty cool. Toss me one."
Lucas scoffed, but sent a strip of the tough hide flying in his direction. Curran shielded his charges with one hand and caught the projectile with the other.
".. thanks."
Silas, seated on Lucas' left, had been so absorbed in his own work that up until now, it had rendered him uncharacteristically quiet. His took that moment, however, to break his own concentration and jump into the conversation.
"You should really be wearing something like this, you know." He eyed Lucas in a motherly fashion, rattling the hard black object on his knees - the ragged shell of his security vest. "And a helmet. There are spares now .. why take the risk?"
"Thank you." Lucas retorted gently. "But if I'm going to die, I'd rather not look like an idiot in the process."
He could have, of course, worn some of the second-hand armor from the soldiers that could no longer fight, but the fussy physicist detested the equipment, claiming it "clunked about too much", making it nearly impossible to move about undetected, not to mention being a terrible hindrance should one need to crawl through narrow spaces. The solid plastic was noisy on hard surfaces and heavy when a person needed to move quickly. It was more of a nuisance than it was worth. Essentially, he was an armor snob.
The others were less dramatic versions of himself - Curran wore a hard vest when he was training, but he found the dinosaurs preferred the smell of organic materials. Skye, being a messenger and needing to be light on her feet, avoided being weighed down by anything if she could help it, but was instructed to wear a hard vest and helmet anyway whenever she went into the field. Silas was the complete opposite. He wore every piece of protective equipment he could get his hands on, and usually came out of a battle all the better for it, though he had given away their position several times as well, lending credence to at least part of Lucas' bias.
The future soldiers were naturally better-protected than the Terra Novans, though worse-armed. A shot in the right place could still kill, sure, but it was difficult to hit an area that didn't just ricochet off. From Reilly's point of view, the protective gear helped even the odds. Why take the risk?
"Suit yourself." Silas replied, turning back to his mending cheerfully. "But if there comes a day when I have to drag your impaled corpse back through the woods, you'll be glad this idiot was wearing a vest."
"If that ever happened, I'd die from humiliation before I let you drag me anywhere."
"And then, I'd crouch down and scuttle closer, clunking armor and all .." Silas scooched to the edge of his seat, leaning down towards his unfortunate victim. ".. and get in your ear and whisper .. 'I told you so ..'"
He hissed the words in a hideous fashion by way of demonstration, causing Lucas to shudder in horror.
".. and that would be the last thing you ever heard before you died."
"And that .." Lucas responded solemnly. ".. would be a fate much worse than death."
Silas held out his vest, looking hopeful.
"Gonna wear it now?"
"Not on your life."
As Silas' shoulders dropped heavily with the weight of his failed efforts, Lucas continued.
"Besides, I've managed to survive this far without it. Armor just makes you think you're untouchable. You lose your survival instinct. That's more dangerous than anything else."
"Whatever, man."
"You know," Curran interjected, gently stroking the sleeping head of one of his Komodo children. ".. you could take a note out of Carter's book and sew the scraps together. Make yourself a leather vest. At least it's some protection. Of course, you'd need to learn how to sew first."
"I can sew." Lucas responded with dignity. ".. some."
"Mhm."
"Any room for a fellow worker?"
Skye dropped down cross-legged onto a bale near Curran, carefully placing a sack of sticks beside her. As the other three watched curiously, she began to pull a few other odds and ends out of it. Feathers, string, a small clay pot, and finally, a jar of rough arrowheads. From the opposite side, Lucas eyed the collection.
"Doing a little light crafting in your free time?"
"It's a market pack." Skye explained, throwing a laughing look at him as she set to work on her first arrow. "They're putting together care packages for the guys at the front. Ammunition is getting pretty low out there."
Silas grinned.
"Nothing says 'I love you' like a sheaf of projectiles."
"Here, give me some, I'll help you."
Skye moved the sack to her other side so it was within Curran's reach.
"They've got a mountain of packs there ready for anyone that wants to help out. I was gonna take it home to Mom, but she's working today." Skye frowned as she fumbled with the string, smiling gratefully at Curran as he put a hand out to hold the shaft steady. ".. so naturally, I thought I'd come hang out with my best friends instead."
Silas blinked at her, an eyebrow raised skeptically.
".. the three of us are your best friends?"
Skye stared at him blankly, then turned her gaze to Lucas.
".. is that sad?"
Lucas finished securing his right wrist guard and flexed his hand to test it, grinning up at her briefly.
"If I say yes, will you stop talking to me?"
Any immediate reply was interrupted by a shrill screech, causing them all to turn their eyes to the roof of the Command Centre, where a large pterosaur sat poised above the lookout. Max (short for Anaximander, naturally) had taken to perching himself right on the very top of the Crow's Nest so he could watch all the colony happenings. Currently, the subject of his interest - a small figure that had recently exited one of the buildings below - was being loudly heralded, the pterosaur staring down intently at it. In response to the cry, Malcolm paused his hurried steps to glance up, saluting the large creature that hung over the edge several storeys above him.
"Keep up the good work, soldier." He called upward. Watching him with large, glass-like eyes, Max responded with another call, clinging to the roof and craning his long neck, leaning down even further until he was nearly hanging upside down. Malcolm snorted, cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling back.
"Not dinner time yet, old man. Just wait a bit longer."
The pterosaur, being a wild animal, mostly caught his own food during the day, but the head researcher had been known to sneak him a small snack at dinner once or twice .. or every night.
Curran grinned as they watched the scientist hurry away and vanish into one of the buildings on the opposite side of the markets.
"I mean, if you want to talk about sad, Malcolm's best friend is a pterodactyl. Probably doesn't get any sadder than that."
"Sure it does." Silas immediately chimed in, much to Curran's annoyance. "I used to know someone whose best friend was a potted plant. And it wasn't even real, it was plastic!"
"Sheesh, get a load of this guy. Any opportunity to tell his entire life story."
"For the last time, Silas, not everything is about you .."
Silas rolled his eyes at his snickering companions.
"Very funny, guys, whatever. Wasn't me anyway. Was a different lady." He retorted, then hurriedly followed up with, "I mean a lady .. a .. just .. a lady."
He reddened as more snickers followed.
"Who was she then, your mom?"
"Why do you have those things anyway?!" Silas turned, directing his irritation at the two tiny dinosaurs on Curran's lap. "How long are you gonna stroke them for?"
"As long as it takes. I'm imprinting."
Silas' eyes widened in mock fascination.
"And pray, what do you intend to accomplish by your "imprinting"?"
"Ancestral Komodo bites are venomous. If I can get them to trust me enough to let me milk them when they get a bit older, we can use the poison on the battlefield." Curran explained patiently, handing another newly-completed arrow to Skye. "Now don't change the subject."
"How do you know they're even venomous?"
"I know." Curran replied dryly. "Trust me."
"Come on, don't go shy now." Lucas leaned sideways, trying to meet Silas' skittish gaze. "We're still waiting."
"Fess up, Si. Who was she, this mysterious lady?"
"No one in particular." He went back to his mending purposefully, ducking his head to avoid any further interrogation, but his pursuers weren't about to give up so easily.
"Silas .."
"Just my .."
"Your what?"
".. my .. Nanny." Silas mumbled, causing a shriek of laughter to ripple around the group to the point of alarming Curran's small charges exceedingly.
"Shush." The dinosaur trainer admonished between his own chuckles. "You'll wake the babies."
Silas ignored him, turning to Skye instead, his cheeks still a little flushed from his recent ordeal.
"So if we're the Three Musketeers, I suppose that makes you D'Artagnan."
She lowered her eyelids at him, snorting a moment later as his head lurched forward abruptly. Silas rubbed the back of his scalp, his eyes darting around in outrage.
"Hey, what-"
He looked up to see his sister grinning down at him.
"Oh, great, what do you want?"
"Nice to see you too."
He sighed, pulling his hand away from his neck and studying it thoughtfully, as though he expected it to be fully covered in blood.
"Victoria, Victoria .. violence is never the answer."
"And yet, it seems to be the only language you understand."
Silas cast an aggrieved glance around at the other - greatly interested - members of the group.
"Anyone would think I was the younger sibling."
"Not my fault if you insist on acting like a baby." Vicky leaned her elbows on his shoulders, causing Silas to squirm in discomfort.
"Get off. You weigh a ton. I can't move."
"Sorry. Wouldn't want to interrupt your sewing circle."
"You should join us." Silas counseled imperiously, unexpectedly changing his approach. "You'll never snag a man unless you begin taking up more feminine pursuits, Victoria."
"I dunno, I don't think she'd have any trouble at all."
Vicky paused in surprise, her hand suspended in mid-air, inches away from colliding once more with the back of her brother's neck. She turned an odd shade of deep red as she met Curran's eyes.
"I .. thank you."
"Ew."
Silas did receive the belated smack then. After Vicky hurriedly excused herself and darted away, Skye threw a laughing look at Curran.
"Bit of a charmer, aren't we?"
Across the divide, Irving was glaring daggers at him.
"If you want her, you'll have to fight me for her."
Curran stared back, stroking one of the small creatures in his lap like an evil mastermind as he met Silas' fury placidly.
"Your sister's heart is its own reward. You don't have to give me another."
The entire group fell silent for a moment, and then a shout of appreciation broke out, followed by another chorus of laughter - a chorus that Silas was finally persuaded to join in on himself. Their small group gradually expanded throughout the course of the afternoon as other colonists began to gather - Sixers and market people alike, all huddled in happy circles, chatting and laughing, working and eating together as the cool breeze made the white shadecloths billow and snap overhead. There was something comforting about the whole affair, that despite the mounting turmoil beyond the colony, they were safe inside the gates and at home in each other's company. The "sewing circle" continued until darkness began to fall, at which point everyone headed off to their own homes, regretting the fact that it had all come to an end, and wishing that the pleasant afternoon could have gone on forever.
Less than 10 miles away (give or take a few years), Zoe stared into the dark, her arms clasped tightly around her knees. She hated enclosed spaces. They made her feel like she couldn't breathe. Apart from a strangely flavorless meal every few hours, she was left completely alone with only her thoughts for company. The little yellow lamp had gone out once, and Zoe had sat in the blackness, crying silently, her eyes closed against the dark in an attempt to convince herself that the light was still shining outside, that she would be surrounded by the friendly glow if she only allowed herself to look. It was a game she had played often during the frequent outages in her "other life" - the strange, confusing time of muddy memories she had existed in before she had come to Terra Nova. Eventually, the power had returned and when she had gathered up the courage to open her eyes again, there the little light sat across the room, buzzing away comfortingly. But Zoe had lived in constant fear of more outages ever since. Terra Nova was never truly dark - even on stormy days, the heavens provided too much brightness to be smothered completely. By comparison, this place sometimes seemed like a suffocating pit, so deep down in the earth that the blackness was tangible.
Zoe stared out a nearby peephole as a set of footsteps sounded nearby. She often amused herself by watching the guards outside, complaining vehemently as they moved heavy and awkwardly-shaped objects around at some invisible person's whims. This time, however, she brightened up immediately as her keen eyes spotted a familiar face among the passers-by. The crate door jingled a moment later as Kensinge let herself in.
"Here." She reached into her jacket and tossed Zoe a small cylindrical object. "Got you something."
Zoe fumbled it clumsily, but picked it up again and studied it.
"What is it?"
"You really have been in the Cretaceous too long, huh?" Kensinge chuckled. "It's a protein bar."
Zoe examined the silicone-encased object suspiciously.
"How do you eat it?"
"You peel it." Kensinge explained. "Give it here."
She tore the gel covering off the bar and handed it back to Zoe. The girl stared at the shiny brown coating underneath.
"What do you do with the skin?"
"You mean the wrapper?" Kensinge played with the synthetic texture in her fingers. "It's biodegradable. You just throw it out and it disintegrates."
"It smells good .." Zoe sniffed the chocolate cautiously.
"You can eat it, you know, Doctor. If you're finished examining it."
Zoe took a tentative bite, her face going through several waves of opposing emotions before settling on a blank expression as she chewed slowly. Kensinge watched her, mesmerized by the process. Zoe rubbed her tongue along the sickly sweet mass inside her mouth, wondering for a split second if she was being poisoned. She turned back to Kensinge finally, trying to talk around the dense matter.
"How was your meeting?"
Her dinner companion paused with her own chocolate bar hovering in front of her mouth.
"How did you know I had a meeting?"
"You only visit when you have to come to the future for something." Zoe reasoned, pulling her glued teeth apart with an effort. "I assumed you were probably meeting someone."
Kensinge raised her eyebrows slightly.
"You would be right. My boss, actually, the leader of the whole operation."
"There's no one above him?"
"Nope, not as far as I know."
"And you met with him in person?" Zoe questioned, her eyes widening, looking impressed despite herself. ".. wow."
"Yeah." Kensinge chuckled a little. "Wow. I've only met him once or twice before. He must've felt it was important to get an accurate report this time. I thought he was going to lay into me again, but .."
".. but what?"
"I dunno. This time, he seemed .. strange." Kensinge mused. "Preoccupied, almost like he felt the need to look over his shoulder all the time. Maybe he's past it."
"What, you're going to overthrow him?" Zoe joked, as the scientist grinned.
"No, not even I'm crazy enough for that. You don't overthrow the boss unless you're willing to become the boss."
"You wouldn't want to control everyone and everything?"
"Believe it or not, not everybody wants to rule the world." Kensinge muttered, tearing strips off her silicone wrapper thoughtfully. "Too much of a hassle trying to organize things. It takes a special kind of person to convince that many people to follow you into battle."
"And the old man has that?"
"Well .. used to .." Kensinge's frown returned. ".. hm, I dunno, maybe I'm the one that's paranoid .."
"Now that, I could believe."
"Don't push it, kiddo."
Zoe grinned and leaned back on the crate wall again, licking the sticky residue from her teeth as the blonde woman pulled out a tablet and began to type. Zoe watched her work for a few minutes before interrupting.
"What are you doing?"
"My job."
"You're plotting how to destroy the colony."
Kensinge looked up.
"No. Not destroy it." She went back to her tablet for a moment, then seemed to grow bored and set it aside, turning back to Zoe with interest. "You came to Terra Nova in a backpack, right? What was it like?"
"What, are you writing my biography?"
Kensinge grinned.
"Come on. You were stuffed in a bag and bumped around. Must've been uncomfortable. Do you remember it?"
"Of course I remember it." Zoe replied. "I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was in there for days. Then I heard voices, and suddenly I was moving, and there was shouting and I heard Mommy and wanted to come out, but I remembered I was told to stay put, so I didn't move."
Kensinge watched the small face gravely as Zoe's lip quivered. The girl continued in a small voice.
"I was too scared to move anyway. I saw a light through the fabric of the bag and then more screaming. When I was taken out, the breathing didn't get any easier, but it was so bright and colourful. I thought I was dreaming."
"Terra Nova." Kensinge whispered, sounding awestruck.
Zoe nodded, smiling a little.
"Mhm."
"Do you remember much of the future .. before, I mean?"
"Pieces." Zoe shrugged. "I remember a couple of my foster families. I remember some buildings, how dark it was, how hard it was to breathe. I remember being hidden and everyone was worried about me. I remember Maddy and Mom crying when they came to visit. Josh didn't cry." She grinned. "He was too brave for that."
"Yes, teenage boys are so manly." Kensinge snorted, clearly enjoying the story. Her Plex lay abandoned near her feet. She clasped her knees and listened to Zoe intently. "And what did you think, when you first came to the colony? What happened then?"
Zoe narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Are you going to use this for inside information?"
"Come on, kid." Kensinge ran a hand through her blonde mop. "I'm just curious. I always wanted to come to Terra Nova when I wasn't much older than you are. I never got the chance. I want to know what it was like!"
Zoe eyed her for a minute and then nodded slowly.
"Alright." She leaned sideways, adjusting her position a couple of times to try and find a comfortable spot for her elbow. "It was .. amazing .."
The girl's eyes shone at the memory.
".. like something out of a story, like I'd just stepped into a fantasy land and anything was about to happen .." She paused for a moment as Kensinge frowned. ".. what?"
"That mattress uncomfortable?"
Zoe blinked.
"It's .. a little sharp in places." She responded carefully. The scientist nodded.
"I wondered. I'll get you another one."
Zoe stared at her for a few seconds.
".. thanks."
"Go on." At Kensinge's eager prompting, Zoe continued her tale, answering questions patiently when the scientist interrupted her. There was something strangely childlike about the woman, Zoe thought to herself, as Kensinge sat in silence, digesting a particular piece of information. How a person such as that became the leader of a deadly invasion force was anyone's guess. Regardless, she was easy to talk to, and Zoe greatly enjoyed the company. They spoke for what seemed like hours, both seeming equally disappointed when a knock sounded at the door, instructing Kensinge to take her leave.
"Wait!" Zoe leaped off the bed as the physicist stood. "Take me with you!"
"I wish I could, kiddo." Kensinge ruffled her hair, smiling sympathetically. "But you know I can't do that."
"I cant bear this cage anymore." Zoe's eyes filled with tears, and her captor's heart wrenched at the fear she saw behind them. "Please. Take me out. Let me walk for a while. Outside. Please."
"You know I can't." Kensinge repeated, staring down soberly at the small hands gripping her vest. The knuckles were white and trembling. Zoe was terrified. How could she leave her?
"I have to go .." She wondered at the unsteady note to her own voice as she put her hands on the girl's shoulders. "But I'll come back soon, alright? Don't be afraid, Zoe, please. I'll take you out next time. I'll show you more of the tunnels."
Zoe released her hold on the woman slowly and dropped her hands, but said nothing. Her perfect silence sent a thrill of apprehension through the scientist's chest.
"If you want to talk to me, ask the guys outside. I'll tell them to pass on anything you want to say. You can send me a message anytime. I'll always reply. I promise."
"Okay. Sure. Thanks." Zoe responded lifelessly. Kensinge's heart felt so heavy she had to force herself to move out the door. She looked back at the girl briefly as she signaled to her men, trying to suppress the uncomfortable stab of her conscience.
"Bye, kid."
Zoe looked up forlornly as the cage shut, watching the shadows outside slowly fade away from her view.
".. bye."