Chapter 17
This takes place during Part 2 Another filler chapter, mainly because this isn't really the focus of the story.
'Jesus Christ, every dinosaur on the island is probably extinct by now…'
If Owen could broadcast that thought like a radio, he knew some of the caretakers on this ship would agree. It had been another 2 days before they came within range of the island. The men were already prepping every weapon they had from the tank to sanded down spoons. Every little bit helped. Even despite his tours around the world, slow boat rides could compare to the joy of cleaning out animal pens. But as the days went, they got closer to their destination.
Only it was the wrong Island. The company had purchased the claim rights to another island in the 5 island chain that made up The Five Deaths where Nublar and Sorna were. But to avoid problems with the wildlife they decided on a more clean island. The third in the chain, Isla Pena, to be set up as basecamp until Jurassic World was cleared out and secured.
Lieutenant Coriss Schmidt was in charge of this whole operation. Fairly skilled in the way of planning out successful strategies but at times lackluster in mercy of combat. From his position on a walkway just under the bridge of the ship Owen leaned on the rail looking down at the lieutenant as he supervised the final preparations of their 'tank'. It was a Upgunned Stryker's 30m Autocannon transport truck with a dark green to almost black paint job with a cage running along the edge of truck with at least 2 dozen industrial grade flood lights and 2 spot light projectors mounted on the front slope. Owen knew it was over kill. That vehicle now was equipped with enough firepower to blow a Trex's head into a fine red mist. They said it's just in case they encountered something big and need more pow but that the unit would be mostly for transport over the island.
But Owen was more concerned when it came to threats to the group, if Blue was still there. They wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in her if she showed aggression or even showed up at all.
That's why he loaded his trusty rifle with a stock full of tranquilizers. If he could find her he could give her just one and she'll be out cold for at least 32 hours. Enough time to get her from here to the island to the boat. By then he would of figured out a way to rebuild their trust; two years apart would cause a large wedge to form in their bond. And he hoped it wouldn't end like with the Indominus.
"Crazy we're going back." a female voice came up from his right. Like him the woman was dressed in a safari like set up with even a rattlesnake hat to finish it. "After that fiasco I'm surprised there is even a island left."
Owen shrugged. He guess it was pretty accurate. "Well, Jane. Hopefully there is." Jane Gregory. A African American who was just in her 30s that was also supervisor and caretaker for the gentle giants petting zoo that was really popular with the kids. She was one of the 17 caretakers, including him, to come on this trip. Though if he remembered correctly, Jurassic World had over 146 on hand.
"Think your girl is still out there?" Owen looked up from the deck to the vast ocean that divided them and the island.
"She's strong but she's never gone this long without more or her pack. If any of them are left." His eyes were filled with the look of dread. Charlie was blown to bits, Delta got fired, and Echo was just tossed away. It pained him to think if any of his girls were alive now. But he wouldn't give up. He didn't before when the I-rex broke out, and be sure as Hell will double down for his best girl.
Just then the speaker, which with two on each side of him, blared. "Attention, all personnel are to be ready for launch in exactly 10 minutes. All handlers are to report to the hanger at this time."
Grunting at having both his ears nearly explode, Owen strolled over to the cab door. "Well, let's get this over with.
Under the main deck was a large clearing mostly meant for cargo was now load with supplies and equipment. Two rows of off road vehicles lined the floor all strapped down to avoid rolling all over the place. Cages the side of RVs sat in the back neatly stacked that were meant to take whatever animals they could get back to the mainland.
Stepping out of the stairwell Owen looked around the massive chamber a he headed towards the launch gate. Like a cargo plane or water craft a large door that spanned almost the entire width of the ship would drop open once they reached land. In front of the gate a pile of crafts laid spewed around as the handlers and higher ranked soldiers gathered around Coriss. Behind the lieutenant was a large poster board that had a old official overview map of Isla Nublar a month before the evacuation. A thick yellow mass represented the coastline with several red Xs marking landing points. All were away from the park that was marked in blue with purple lines depicting the road network that they could possibly take of they were still there.
"Alright people this is almost time for the real fun part. Because we haven't been able to get visual on the land we're gonna have to go by satellite. Imagery from the ISS has shown the main resort is still in the clear on terms of accessibility but as shown more animal activity than any other part of the island." he then used a laser pointer to show the inland lake the resort surrounded.
"Once camp is set up on Pena, we'll ferry over to the dock station and unload. From there we'll push up North towards the resort and hopefully avoid and carnivores. Only use lethals threatened. We don't need a repeat of what happened 2 years ago." At the mention of first incident in 2015 many of the handlers and a few of the returning ACUs all shuddered. They knew there was bound to be threats on the island, but lack of info made it hard for them to prepare
Owen on the other hand was actually pleased with the plan. In some form that is.
It was like war, station somewhere small and work your way clearing out more and more land. The resort was at the heart of the island, so it would be easier to search out from there to everywhere else.
Though one thought popped up,'Is that beer in the fridge still any good?'
He shook his head. He needed to stay focused and make sure this isn't a repeat of that night.
"Mr. Grady," Owen looked up from his thought to see just about everyone present looking at him. ",If there is any information you'd like to share, now would be a good time."
"... just make sure you don't disturb queen Rexy. She maybe old but has a lot of fight in her still."
Some workers nodded in knowing that the T-rex can still pack a punch. "Alright then. Gear up and get ready to land. We should be at Pena within the next two hours. Dismissed." As one the group got up from their places and shuffled around trying to navigate to their needed locations.
As Owen was about to walk away and head to his cabin, from the corner of his eye he glanced over to open of the port holes that dotted the ship. A brief shadow of something disappearing suddenly made him stop mid turn and stare at the window. Thinking if it was just one of the cranes on the top deck just swinging around he shrugged off the feeling and head out.
Pressed tightly to the haul of the ship with its claws holding inside a edge of metal, a dark gray pterodactylus with a tan trim from it's eyes curling down around its wing bases breathed heavily from the swift move. As if like a child eavesdropping had to hide from being discovered, it carefully leaned back to the window it was observing from. Bending its long, narrow beak and head so it's eyes peered back inside. Though it couldn't hear anything of the apparent conversation, its eyes scanned over the map of the island. The way the man pointed to it told the flying reptile enough.
"I must warn everyone of this." he whispered.
Leaning off the edge with his wings spread, the pterodactylus gave his wings a hard flap before he could fall into the ocean. As fast as his winds could, faster than if he was hunting as he climbed higher in the clouds. Disappearing from the human's view or weapons. Once he was out of range, he banked to his left heading straight to Nublar.
I bet you were thinking this would be Delta's part? Well I decided to write this because one reviewer mentioned that Owen was on the slowest boat over. So to clear that up and give some more plot to the other side of this story I made this instead.
Note: I am trying to balance myself again with the three stories. My new Land Before Time story is merely something I wrote for the Hell of. My GB stories are my primary focus.
