A.N. We don't own anything. And yes, the chapter title is based off a certain movie sequence. We don't own that either.

Soundtrack: Becoming One of the People/Becoming One with Neytiri by James Horner

A few weeks have passed since Daniel's initiation into the rescue program. Despite making hiccups here and here, he has shown promise in most of the duties of the park. He's already gotten the hang of how to work the equipment. His knowledge in prehistory has expanded too thanks to Hazel's efforts. Not only that, but he and Aeros were growing even closer, though he still refused to allow the human to ride him.

Daniel was considered a part of Hazel's Crew, but he still needed to earn his place. To add variety to his training, the Crew decided to take turns in having him assist in their park tasks as a way for him to get a further understanding of park life. Hazel was always present, either lending a helping hand or taking notes on the side. The notes she took were detailing his progress. While he was improving in performing his duties for the day alongside the Crew members, he has yet to prove himself in his final. That still remains to be seen.

Out in the living area of the Safari Cabin, Hazel was going over the agenda of the prior weeks as well as Daniel's results. Nobody was present in the cabin as they were out still tutoring other rookies or working on their tasks still. It just so happened Hazel finished a prehistory session with Daniel shortly before her arrival.

She opened her phone and checked the time. The screen read 3:27. Park employees won't start clocking out for the day until 5:00, the last ones leaving by around 7:00. She had some time to kill before everyone got back.

Hazel took out her notebook and looked over the notes she took of Daniel's progress.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Three weeks ago...

The Rey workshop was devoid for the day. Its original owner had left to inspect some faulty equipment on the other side of the park. On rare occasions would it have more than five visitors (those visitors would be the Crew and their partners). However, at the moment, there were only three present.

Ellis had been working on a special project. It was not the Prehistoric Park show that Nigel assigned. That had been put to the side for now. With him tutoring his rookies and now teaching Daniel about park equipment, not to mention helping his brother with keeping things in order in the park, Ellis had been rather busy.

Things with Ellis and his students had been going rather well. Much like how the others were doing it, he would mostly teach within the borders of the park. However, while the rookies were not prepared to go on rescue missions, he was allowed to bring them back in time, both to educate them in survival techniques and on the overall time period. Time Travel is considered a real treat to the rookies, though they don't spend more than an hour there for security reasons.

However, Daniel was the only one not involved. He was Hazel's student and she had her own way of teaching. According to her, she didn't want him to go back in time until she knew he was ready. It must be because she's taking extra precautions. Daniel had been asking about when he would use Time Travel, only for Hazel to say "after your training is complete". He was asked to be patient, and patient he has been. However, Daniel briefly mentioned to Hazel the mess in the workshop was making him feel uncomfortable, at which the woman merely told him "you'll get used to it".

At the moment, his patience was being tested again. Hazel watched as the young man assisted the other leader in-training over at his work table. She offered to assist but Ellis insisted just Daniel was fine. That was alright. This allowed her to sit back and observe while taking notes...and drink some Brisk mango iced tea Ellis had in his fridge. When she got situated, Ellis asked her to review some data collected about stun gun usage, just so she wasn't left out.

Ellis was sitting over at one of his worktables, the pockets in his toolbelt were open and some other tools were missing from the handles. The table was littered with tools and pieces of equipment. An activated lamp craned over the device he worked on, which was situated right behind a propped magnifying glass he put up. His eyes were shielded by his personal work goggles, making him look like an inventor. Sitting right next to him was a quiet Daniel, who watched him place every miniature piece into the device. Right in front of Daniel was a laptop that was on idle.

The device looked simple enough, but the amount of work Ellis was putting into it gave Daniel the idea it was more complex than he expected. It was a small black box that was outfitted with speakers on each end. Colorful wires were spread out like tiny hairs from inside the device. At the moment, Ellis would ask Daniel to retrieve certain tools or objects since he needed to remain in place to work on the machinery. Its real purpose was kept hidden from Daniel.

"Screwdriver," Ellis asked Daniel, his free hand stretched out.

Upon command, Daniel handed him a small screwdriver, which was partially obscured by a device that looked like a piece of a computer. The handle was yellow with black stripes. He handed the tool to the engineer and he tightened a specific part with a few twists.

"Box of digital parts," he said next.

Daniel scanned the table and found the small black box that Ellis worked on earlier that day. This box had different parts and digital interfaces, almost like they were for small screens and recording equipment. It could be for anything. In this case, it was whatever his impromptu trainer was working on. Daniel got the package and handed it to Ellis. Ellis gingerly retrieved the content and worked quickly before securing the casings. He started placing the loose wires where they needed to be over the sealed compartment.

"Water," Ellis pointed at the water bottle that was close by.

The assistant retrieved that too. The container had a metal straw there. Daniel started to appear bored and irritated. Hazel wanted to snicker; he was looking a little like a business intern. When the drink was brought close to Ellis, he grasped the straw with his mouth and sipped. The bottle was placed a little closer to him so the man wouldn't have to retrieve it again, hopefully.

"Screw," he requested next.

Nearby was a small container with specific size screws. Daniel handed him the part as commanded.

It went like this for the next hour or so before Daniel was asked to work on another task, this time on the laptop. Other than helping Ellis with handing him tools, Daniel was asked to listen to recordings of birds and reptiles. Hazel knew he had no idea what was going on, but went with it anyway without question. He was also asked to choose the one that had the most background noise, which confused the man even more. He tried to ask why the specific instructions, but he only received vague answers, both from Ellis and Hazel.

It was on another request that Daniel became hesitant…and Hazel tried to hide her snickers.

"Chip."

"Chip?"

Ellis looked over at him and lifted his goggles to let his eyes rest. The imprint of the accessory was showing on his face. He looked as if he were some deformed raccoon. The sweat ran down the sides of his face.

"Potato chip. See the Lays bag at the end of the table? I need food again," he then put his goggles back on and returned to working on the device.

Daniel rolled his eyes and let out a sigh that was mixed with a groan. He looked over the table and found the open bag of original Lays chips. He got up from his seat and got the bag, his grip a little harder that it caused some chips to be crushed. He got one chip, one that was about the size of the microchip from earlier, and gave it to the engineer. The Filipino paid no mind to the chip size as his focus was on his project. His closed mouth went up and down and around as he happily ate it.

"So what's the point of this device?" the trainee inquired, setting himself back on his seat.

"We need it for later."

"And that is?"

Ellis pointed a finger up for a moment. "It's for a very important task. For now, we just need to get this recorder ready. You picked the sound recording?"

The rookie removed the plugged earphones and increased the volume a little bit. The sound he played imitated a specific bird species, but it was chicks squeaking. In the background were sounds of small rocks clattering. Whatever the bird species was, they could only guess. Apparently, Ellis found random sounds and calibrated them with the same background noise.

"I don't see what this is for," Daniel commented.

Ellis chuckled. "Patience, young Padawan. All will be revealed soon."

Hazel covered her mouth. Her giggles had become harder to contain. Ellis was at it again with the references.

"Really? Star Wars?" the rookie deadpanned.

"Hey, I can use references. Plus, it makes sense."

This went on for the rest of the day. The two of them succeeded in creating four miniature speakers. As for Hazel, she only found a few stun guns where the battery capacity was lower than the level at peak performance. Ellis would need to have a look at those later. When Daniel finally left that workshop, he commented on how happy he was to finally be done with the task. When he was far enough away, Hazel took out the notebook from inside the purple bag she brought. As planned, she jotted down her observations and Daniel's progress.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

One week later...

A streak of lightning shot through the field. The blast was jagged, but it went where it needed to go. In this case, it was a bullseye target that was marked over a fortified structure, which was propped up by a wooden stand. The mark was blackened and was just a few scant inches from the middle of the target.

The source was several yards away. Daniel had a stun gun armed and aimed at the target, the muzzle smoking a little from near-constant use throughout the period.

While there was only one mark on the target that was close to the bullseye, the other marks were further out. A few of them were around the outer region of the target. The rest were on the ground and on the neighboring trees and rocks. The blackened patches served as proof of the training session. The good news was they had that space reserved for their training and informed the park to not get near the area until they were done.

Daniel's training for this time was Chris Sinclair. He had just finished taking his team of rookies to a field trip, a one hour session in the Late Jurassic. Specifically, it was the islands that would one day form Great Britain. The man had some experience with seafaring as his family lived in Seattle. Actually, his grandfather was a fisherman in his youth and passed some of that knowledge to his children and grandchildren. Chris just took this opportunity to pass on his ancestor's teachings. As required for the rescue program in regards to rookies, since none of them were on their finals yet, no rescue was done.

Despite his screw ups in the beginning, Daniel was doing rather well with a stun gun. Chris' advice was helping him with his aim. The rookie informed them he had experience with holding a gun as he went to practice ranges in the past, but the stun gun was new territory for him. He didn't expect the weapon to have a kick to it, hence why he kept losing balance with each shot.

The reason for this training session? It was so Daniel had a means of defense if the situation called for it. In this case, that's very much needed if he were to Time Travel.

Daniel wiped the sweat from his brow. It was very warm outside and it was the middle of the day.

"That's better," Chris commented and went up to Daniel's side. "But you're overestimating the aim. You need to line the target to that piece at the top of the gun."

"I know that," he replied. "Like I said, I'm not quite used to how they operate."

"Okay, but you also need to fix your footing a bit. Put your backfoot a little further back by a couple inches. You've done karate right? It's the same concept. You'll find your balance that way. And make sure to have a good grip on the gun."

Daniel nodded. A moment to focus himself and he took aim. The gun fired with a bang and a zap mixed into one. The jagged streak shot through the air…and hit the target in the middle.

The head keeper in-training placed a hand on the rookie's shoulder. He gave him a satisfied grin. "There we go. Now let's see what happens if the target is moving."

Hazel had been standing a few feet away, giving them some good elbow room while they operated. Just like before, she was jotting notes about the session. Daniel has improved in his weapon proficiency.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next week...

Working with Chris, Ellis, and Hazel herself were things Daniel progressed well in. Their tasks were complex, but some practice and he got the hang of it. Well, with the exception of Ellis. He wasn't much of an engineer but he still needed to know how certain Park equipment worked. Daniel was even treated to observing the inner workings of a Time Pole as a small reward at one point. The wiring was similar to a computer, but they looked more like parts from a super computer than a regular one. They even glowed streaks of blue too. The power source came from a battery cell that glowed blue and white. While Daniel inquired about the specific materials of the battery, his only response was an unknown mineral that was powerful enough to activate a Time Pole. And it just so happened that the mineral that helped generate that power contributed to the creation of temporal energy. It was interesting for the young man, but even today, they were still trying to understand more about it. Nigel had devoted some of his time to studying them. Thankfully, the battery and the energy did not produce any effects that would be harmful to anyone.

However, unlike the other tasks he was trained on, this one that Daniel was on was something that tested his patience. He was working with Daisy on treating injured Residents that were in the infirmary. The injuries these Residents had were either very recent (small squabbles or accidents), or they were from their venture in Temporary Park. Hazel did not dwell on the memories of their time in Temporary Park. That was a sensitive subject and always brought about sorrow every time it was brought up. However, for now, they worked on moving forward.

And it just so happened Daniel was helping a Resident that was very irked regarding his status.

"Stupid carnos," complained a specific injured Resident. "I shouldn't have made that move! I should have charged, not hesitated."

Daniel let out an exasperated sigh. He had been working with this patient for the last two hours. He was tasked with cleaning the wounds, particularly a leg that was slowly recovering.

"What happened back then couldn't be helped," he replied tiredly. The Pachyrhinosaurus named Scowler winced when the warm cloth touched one of the gashes that had reopened when he strained himself recently.

"But I should have done it! Now I've got this stupid stump of a leg," the ceratopsian tried to lift his leg, but without the cast and the supports, he was having a difficult time doing so.

"Hey at least you're alive. And your leg can be fixed."

Scowler huffed and looked away. "Well from the looks of it, it won't be."

"Don't be a pessimist. You'll be better in no time."

He glanced at him, rather annoyed. "And that will be?"

Daniel gently placed the warm cloth back into the bucket of water. He looked at him silently first before replying. Hazel could tell he was trying to control himself with the upset patient. "In time. Now don't move your leg until we're done."

The warrior grumbled, saying something that was near inaudible to most ears. "I was such a wuss...some fighter I am."

"No you're not. You did your best."

The upset Scowler snorted. "How can you say that? You weren't even there!"

Daniel wiped the sweat from his brow due to the heat, or to hide his growing frustration. The next thing he said intrigued Hazel. "True, but like you, I faced hard times. Life will bring you down and you'll find yourself wanting to give up. I've had that too. But I found the strength to carry on. I've moved forward. You can too."

Hazel jotted that down while making sure to move a little to allow an employee bringing a cart full of supplies to another patient nearby. Daniel was doing well with being patient, which was the point of this exercise/task. He would need to be patient in certain situations, even in rescues.

Daisy had finally returned with a fresh supply of gauze and supplies for the leg support, cast included. When they finished with Scowler, the rookie was then assigned to help the vet with babysitting a few younglings for a bit. Thankfully, they did not give him as hard a time as Scowler.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Three days later...

Daniel may have been working with the other members of the Crew, but Hazel was still his trainer. Besides going through exercises that tested his stamina (including sparring sessions and reviewing martial arts techniques), Hazel wanted to take it a step further on the review.

Instead of a sparring session, she asked him if he was proficient with a personal weapon. Being an expert on a weapon is considered a bonus when going on missions and she wanted to confirm that before he completed his final…whenever that is. Interestingly enough, he was proficient in a weapon. A collapsible bo staff he always kept on his person.

The staff was a long piece of metal. It was silver and a little weighted, but that was probably because Hazel was used to handling her dagger, which was a little lighter. The staff could be extended with the press of a hidden button on the shaft. It could then collapse into its portable form by pressing that button again. Rather ingenious and nifty, as Hazel thought. He could easily hide it in his pocket or up his sleeve (if he had the right tool).

They were in the dojo again. Like before, it was evening and everyone was out for the day, meaning they were the only ones there. Hazel asked him to demonstrate his forms in the middle of the room as well as on the target dummies. The slaps and clacks of the staff were deafening when he struck the targets; his blows were quite strong.

Hazel had never used a staff before, however she has seen other martial artists use them. And she did see certain media as well as read books where there were characters that used staves as their weapon. If used correctly, a staff can do some damage to an opponent, even knock them out. Although, with certain prehistoric creatures, Daniel would have to resort to other means of defense.

Hazel may be more of a sword person (since she's trained with sword techniques), but seeing a staff used in action was considered a treat in her book.

"Impressive," she commented as he finished yet another technique, his breathing fast and heavy after that bit of workout. "It's been a while since I've seen bo staff forms. You really know your stuff."

He shrugged and twirled the weapon from his left hand, to his back, and then to his right before holding it vertical. "Eh, I do my best."

"Well, your best is exceeding many expectations. Just out of curiosity and I'm not sure if you've been through it, but have you had to use that staff to defend yourself?"

Daniel thought for a moment. "Hm...once. I was being mugged outside a convenience store while I was in college. The muggers tried to steal my laptop and my money, I knocked him out. Thankfully, I escaped with a few bruises. The cops got him if you were wondering."

Hazel blinked. "Wait, you didn't try to run?"

"I did but then I got cornered."

She let out a quiet sigh. At least he didn't retaliate forthwith. "Alright then. You know of any forms that can stun the opponent?"

The man shot her a smile and continued to show her more forms. The fighting ballet continued on till the late hours of the night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Present day…

After Hazel reviewed the notes she took of Daniel's progress, she made her way towards the Employee Center, but not before eating a ham and grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. She needed something in her stomach for the next two hours otherwise she would go nuts out of hunger.

With Daniel showing promise in his training as well as learning many duties of the park, the Crew felt it was time to give him a challenge. It was not his final, but they felt he needed to prove his worth to the team. This would also help in determining whether he was ready to complete the program. Plus, he was due for a meeting regarding his progress in the park. It would normally be done by Nigel or one of the senior staff members, but since this was about the Rescue Program, the responsibility lay with Hazel and her Crew.

Without telling him the real reason to meet him, they requested he be at the Employee Center by 7:30 pm in a specified meeting room. Coincidentally enough, it was another one of those study rooms, but it was a little larger than the one Hazel and Daniel would use for their study sessions. It was large enough to hold two tables. Unlike the previous room, where the walls were bare save for the padding that helped with nullifying noise, this room had that padding and a propped TV screen. A plug outlet was situated below it where one could plug in their devices for charging as well as project what was on their device into the screen for all to see.

For this meeting, there wasn't any need for it, but just in case they did, it was there.

It didn't take very long for Daniel to arrive. He was 10 minutes early. Soon after, the rest of the Crew (minus Hanna) followed.

The first thing they did after the greeting and checking up on each other was to discuss Daniel's progress. The "job check-in" they planned. His progress was in a very good standing, with a few hiccups in between but nothing that can't be fixed. The discussion went for a few minutes and went without an issue. Daniel did ask a few questions on what he was going to do next, with Hazel telling him to "be patient. We are getting there."

Another question he asked was what the Crew had planned for rescues, just out of curiosity. At the moment, they did not have anything in mind as they were busy with working with their rookies. However, they did have a list of potential rescues, but chose not to reveal it to Daniel and requested he wait until the end of his training when things are finalized.

He then asked about how things were going with the other rookies they were training, specifically if any of them were nearing the date of their final exam, if they were at that point. This time, it was Chris who responded. The head keeper in-training told him there were a select few individuals (he did not name who out of privacy) that had their final exam scheduled. Chris then mentioned two things; the first being this was not a race on who would finish first and the second he reminded him about the rules of the tests. Each individual's test would be different and information about it cannot be spread to others. The notion that such tests may need to be used in the future was something to think about, however they believed by then, everyone, save for the rookies, would know not to tell them of prior tests.

That was when Hazel chose to step in before anything else about the program and the tests could be revealed.

"So getting to the main point of why we're all here," her eyes fell on the rookie, "Daniel, you've been helping out with certain tasks that may seem a little out of the ordinary for a rookie. Well, that's because they're for a reason."

He eyed her curiously. "Oh? What do you mean?"

"We've been training you for a special task. You've progressed far in your training and all of us wanted to test you out."

Daniel's eyes went wide for a moment and he leaned back a bit. "Wait, so what I've been doing were really tests?"

"Small ones, yes," she replied. "But now you're going to do an even bigger test."

"My final?" he guessed with earnest.

"Not quite," Chris intervened. "Think of it as the qualifying round before the real thing. It's for us to gauge if you really are ready for something like it."

Daniel stared at them, looking dumbfounded and a little suspicious. "And you decided to keep this from me?"

Hazel shot him an apologetic look. "We're sorry. If we told you we were testing you, then you would have wanted to figure out what the task was, and we didn't want it to happen."

"Not to mention you'll think of other things that won't be good at the time," Ellis said before taking a sip of water from his water bottle.

The man sighed and leaned against the chair cushion. He appeared resigned and then nodded in understanding.

While Prehistoric Park was a sanctuary hidden from the world, it was still a business. In this world, businesses would do things that would test employee assets to see if they were worth keeping or see if they were qualified for certain positions. Basically, it's their way of weeding out the needed assets for tasks or the job in general from the weak.

Except for the aftermath of Temporary Park, cases of employees being let go were very rare. However, the heads of staff still performed certain tests on employees to see their worth. It was the same here.

"What's this task?" he asked them.

"Well, let's explain what you've been doing first," Hazel started. "Remember those black speakers you helped Ellis with? They're actually being added to dummy eggs another group made so they can help mimic actual eggs. Next, you trained with Daisy on caring for Residents and treating their injuries as well as listening to them. That's needed not just for your upcoming task, but for rescues too. And then, you trained with me and Chris on forms of defense. While they seem separate, they are actually connected. They were preparing you for the special task."

She took in a breath and said it. "We need you to sneak into a nest and switch the eggs."

Daniel gawked. "Say what?"

She replied to him in detail and in a professional manner. "I know it seems odd, but let me explain. The Therizinosaur Tribe is nesting and they have laid a new clutch. In order to ensure the health of the babies, our vets need to check on the eggs' health and spot abnormalities. Normally, the Residents will allow us near their nests as we have established we mean them no harm and are willing to help. They would allow us to take their new eggs and analyze them before giving them back without an issue. Granted there have been a few eggs that did not make it or were in surplus so we had to care for them."

"But certain Residents won't let us do that," Chris added. "For example, crocodiles and alligators are very protective of their young. They won't let anything near them, especially as eggs. It's a protective instinct they have. We've had to do this technique every time there's a clutch."

"The same goes for Bruno and his Tribe, as we have recently discovered," she went again. "While relations with them are good, they are dominated by that protective instinct. They don't wish to hurt us, but their primal instincts tend to overpower their morals. Hence why we need to go this route."

Ellis took another sip of his water and then spoke. "It is underhanded, but it's necessary. As soon as we do the switch and the vets do their job, the eggs will be switched back and they won't notice a thing."

While it did seem upsetting for scientists, even zoo keepers, to take eggs from nests, it's for a specific reason. For reptiles, they would do that to check on the populations, whether it was for a gender ratio or health or for another reason entirely. Sometimes, they would hand raise a few hatchlings so they would have a better chance in the wild. The hand raising could also come about if the eggs were abandoned in the first place. If that weren't the case, they would perform their diagnostics.

Of course, the acts of getting the eggs and switching them with the dummy ones (and vice versa) were easier said than done. There were certain creatures that would guard their young ferociously, either as eggs or hatchlings. The crocodilians and the Therizinosaurs were no exception. In the past, the Park has helped in maintaining the health of its young Residents. And with the Communicators, they were able to take that a step further, hence why they were able to get so close to the nests. For the eggs that were abandoned, the Park would take them in and hand raise the young before they could join with their respective groups (though the question on whether the parents would recognize them or not was an entirely different story).

It was a risky business, but one that was entirely necessary for the growth of a species.

"That's all?" Daniel raised a brow. "We're just switching eggs?"

"Yes," Hazel nodded. "Your job will be to switch the four real eggs with the four dummy ones. You won't need to worry about switching them back afterwards as there will be another group of rookies that will handle that."

He let out a quick breath and chuckled in an almost sarcastic manner. "You four are either brave or crazy to go about this. I mean, if they are as protective as you say they are, this is risky."

"I know, but we need to do this to ensure the health of future generations. We trained for this task and this is it. It's your opportunity to show us if you're cut out for the team."

Before Daniel could inquire about that, Chris came in with his explanation.

"She means, this qualifying test isn't just to see if you're ready for the final, but to see if you're valuable to us as a Crew member."

The young man's features turned into quick anger. "You're expecting me to do this by myself!? This is nuts!"

"No, you won't be alone," Hazel calmly added. "Ellis, Chris, and Daisy will be there to help you. As a budding member of the team, they will help you in getting the job done."

He gestured a hand at her, his face softening a little. "And you? What will you be doing?"

"I'll be observing nearby and have a radio on hand. If the situation does go south, I'll send out an SOS to the staff."

Daniel sighed. He stared at them all for about a minute. One could guess what he was thinking by the accused expression he had.

Hazel figured this would happen. So she gave him a way out. "Look, if you don't want to do it, we understand. We just thought it would be a good way to train you. No one has died in this park and we'll be sure as heck that no real harm comes to you."

"And people do these jobs knowing they'll get hurt? They're risking their lives for…something like this?" he asked them all in a skeptical manner.

"They do it because it's their job," Chris defended the decisions of those he referred to. "They're trained for it. It's part of what the job entails. Besides, what's life without a little excitement?"

"Do you do this every day?" he deadpanned.

Ellis chuckled. "Pretty much, yeah. You get used to it."

"What's the worst that happened from this?"

The keeper thought for a moment about that. "Um…broken bones here and there along with a few scrapes and bruises. But nobody's gotten slashed to bits…yet."

Daniel made a sarcastic laugh. He raised a hand up before letting it slap on the table. He let out an exasperated breath and responded. "Outstanding."

In the end, the meeting went as planned. The plan will commence tomorrow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was 1:14 pm by the time they arrived at the enclosure. They had to time things right with the Therizinosaurs as they had a certain rotation to them. According to reports from the staff as well as from the security cameras, three of the Tribe members would leave the nesting area to refresh themselves while one remains to guard the nests. It was preferred they deal with one Therizinosaurus rather than all four of them at once.

For Daniel, he much preferred that plan too. He had not met them officially but he did see them in passing (Hazel showed them during one of the tours). They were the strangest creatures he had ever seen; they looked like a mix between a turkey, a T. rex, and an ornithomimid except they were larger, fatter, and sported 3 huge claws that looked like scythes. While the males were colorful and the females were duller in appearance, it was their personality that was off-putting. Except for the females, the males were rather quick to violence and had a temper to boot.

In fact, it was Hazel that mentioned she would compare the males' mannerisms to the Incredible Hulk. She had no idea if that was a thing for their species as these were the only ones they encountered. Terrific, now Daniel had to deal with creatures that were just about as dangerous as that Marvel character.

When they arrived at the enclosure, it was rather quiet. There were desert and tropical trees everywhere, with a few rocks here and there. Before entering the enclosure, they went over the plan.

Daniel needed to approach whoever was on guard, in this case, it was Bruno since he was spotted just now via the security cameras. Bruno was the leader of the Tribe, meaning he was going to be very dangerous, even when alone. The rookie needed to reassure the leader they meant no harm, try to establish peace as the rules stated in the program. While that is happening, everyone else will be approaching their positions to prepare for the switch.

Chris and Ellis will be waiting nearby so they will jump in when Bruno goes on the offensive. Considering his mannerisms and the state the Tribe is in, that is very likely. Daisy will move towards the nesting area while the boys distract the guard. She brought the duffle bags that contained the dummy eggs. The bags weighed about as much as a bag of rice. Seeing her straining from the weight, Chris had to step in to help. Finally, there was Hazel. As she mentioned in the meeting the night before, she will hide nearby and observe the situation. Should the situation get worse, she will raise the red flag and alert any nearby staff they need an extraction.

The whole group carried a radio with them. That way, they could alert each other of their current position and the status of the task. Daniel kept it in one of his pockets. He just hoped this group was smart enough not to use them in the wrong situations.

Regardless of whether they get the eggs or not, this is a learning experience for Daniel. It was very akin to a rescue and would serve as good practice. At least the park is there to assist, but in a real rescue, they may not be so fortunate.

Daniel braced himself for what was to come. Ellis retrieved the remote in his pocket and activated the fence. The fence that contained the entrance, which has been upgraded to using metal bars and manual electrical charges via the remote, slid open. They all stepped into the territory of the giant-clawed dinosaurs.

It took a few minutes for them to finally locate the nests. Going through the enclosure, Daniel felt like he was in some jungle environment, but there were patches of sand mixed with the forest debris on the floor. The nesting area was actually in an area where the trees weren't too crowded. The nests themselves were small craters that were dug by the parents and were lined with leaves and small twigs.

The nests themselves were several yards away. One of them contained about ten eggs. According to Chris' intel, those ones were already worked on. It was the second nest they needed to focus on. That one had four eggs in it. And the one guarding both nests was patrolling back and forth in front of them.

Daisy broke away from the group to discreetly approach that nest. She quietly strained from the weight of the duffle bags as she shuffled through the forest. Chris and Ellis waited behind some ground palms. Now it was Daniel's turn.

He gripped the gun strap, the weapon slung over his back. He slowly approached the creature and cut into its return path.

Bruno let out an alarmed screech and splayed his claws out.

"Whoa easy! I'm not here to hurt you," he told him.

The leading Therizinosaur said nothing and shook his head. He made swiping motions as warning shots. Daniel had to take a few steps to avoid the attacks. The wind met his body like brief gusts.

"Easy easy! I'm a worker here!"

He still said nothing. Slowly, he approached him, ready to chase him away.

Daniel had to think of something. Something that would calm the creature down. They were friends with the park. Maybe if he mentioned someone...

He put his arms out and yelled. "I'm friends with Hazel and her group!"

Suddenly, the screeching stopped. The creature made inquiring rasps and took a few steps back. His claws closed and he held them close to his body.

"You friend of Hazel human?" he questioned in a deep, rumbling voice. Hazel wasn't kidding, he was like the Hulk.

"Yes, she's my friend," Daniel answered. Although the real answer was rather complicated considering his situation, he had to say something to get Bruno to calm down. He and Hazel were "friendly" to each other, not exactly friends.

"Bruno sorry," the herbivorous theropod relaxed. "Why keeper here? This no easy time. Tribe has eggs."

"Yes, I'm aware," the human said. "That's why I'm here. I'd like to take a look at them."

The leading dinosaur made a threatening hiss. Daniel staggered in response. He then maneuvered himself so Bruno would follow up, until the dinosaur's back was to the nests. The real reason was because he saw Daisy's pink attire through the brush. He was doing it to give her more leeway to get to the nests.

"Bruno sorry," he went again, this time more adamant. "Keeper must leave. Not safe. Tribe has tradition to protect young as eggs. Danger may come if we do nothing."

"But you're in no danger. You're in the park. We just want to help."

Bruno nodded, his clawed fingers moved in alternating spindly motions. "Tribe knows. But we must protect. Now Bruno say one last time. Leave. I no want to hurt you."

Daniel sighed. His hand fell on the gun strapped over his shoulder. Armed and ready, he was prepared for attack. "Sorry big guy. But I'm not leaving without taking a look at those eggs."

The Therizinosaurus snorted and spread his claws again. He resumed his threatening position from before. "Then Bruno sorry. Tribe must protect eggs."

What came next was what Daniel compared to an action portion of one of the Jurassic movies. Using his stun gun, he fired multiple shots at the dinosaur in an effort to get some distance. However, he underestimated Bruno's fighting skills. While he did appear pot-bellied, he was faster than expected. The colorful creature craned his neck and jumped out of the way of the incoming shots. When Bruno went on the attack, Daniel jumped back and rolled to avoid them. As this happened, Daniel heard his radio erupt to life. Hazel was issuing some sort of orders to the team. Unfortunately, for Daniel, it fell on deaf ears as he was too occupied with trying to avoid Bruno's attacks.

When he saw an opening after making a dodge, the agent aimed at the creature and fired. The shot hit his leg, causing the feathered denizen to screech horribly. Daniel had to cover his ears because of the deafening sound. Much like the personality of the titular Marvel character, Bruno was not at all pleased, Now angered, he made multiple attempts to slice Daniel to pieces, all while the human dodged every move and used every part of the landscape to his advantage. This included hiding behind rocks and trees, although the trees would receive large gashes or split in half, thus resulting in them toppling over.

It worked at first, however a depressed portion of earth caused him to stagger back a bit when he moved backwards. This made him lose focus and open for attack. Bruno swiped a claw and Daniel used the gun to try and block it. The claw sliced through and he felt an electrical shock go through his body. He dropped the broken gun parts in the process.

He groaned as he found himself unable to properly move. The electrical sensation was like getting hit by a charged taser. He's had experience with handling one and got hit by them a few times before during a demonstration, but having to go through something like that again was very uncomfortable. His stunned state gave Bruno an opening; he backhanded the human, sending him flying towards a tree.

Daniel landed with a grunt and once again onto his rump. Blinking, he saw his vision was a little blurry. The agent shook his head and smacked himself, trying to get himself back in the game. However, when he did, the angry dinosaur was a few scant yards from him.

He stood up and ran. Without the stun gun, he had to resort to another tactic. Remembering his training with the ROTC and the SAGES, he analyzed his environment and thought of an impromptu plan.

Daniel bolted to the right, just in time to avoid a downward claw strike from Bruno. The claws dragged the soil when he retracted. Using the trees as obstacles, he swerved around them to try to give him more space. He also did the same with the rocks. Although, with Bruno's anger, he made short work of them. Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out his metal rod and pressed the hidden button. The rod stretched into its staff form. He used it to get over ditches and to help him up should he stumble.

"Daniel! We lost you! What's your position?" Hazel yelled into the radio.

He grabbed for the radio in his pocket and then hid behind a tree. He held the side button and spoke into it. "I'm being chased by the big guy. Judging by the direction I went, I'd say I'm close to where the nests are. As for the exact position, just follow the screams and the broken trees."

"This is Chris. We're headed to you right now," Chris said.

"Daniel, it's Ellis! I think we see you!"

He looked around at first and saw nothing. Then, when he checked again, he saw them coming up towards him from the front. He ran up to them immediately, with the two checking him for any injuries.

"You alright?" the keeper said.

"Yeah, but he's right behind me!"

"Don't worry dude," Ellis patted him on the shoulder, "we got this! Just get to Daisy!"

With that, the two of them charged forward just as Bruno sliced the tree that Daniel hid behind. He took one quick look at the two experienced employees and saw them engage in battle with the furious dinosaur. Chris shot some bolts from his gun at Bruno, momentarily stunning him. When he did, Ellis came in with his weapon, which just happened to be a metal bat. He swung it at Bruno's leg, which made him stumble and fall. The dinosaur squirmed as the two of them kept at it.

Satisfied they had things under control, Daniel made his way back towards the nests. Daisy was already in the process of switching one of the real eggs with the dummy one she had on another hand. Seeing that she was struggling with handling two at once, he assisted her with the switching. He also stored his staff away as he did not need it.

With this egg switched, he gingerly placed it in one compartment in the opened duffle bag, which was padded on all sides and contained a makeshift border that separated it from the other egg. When that was done, he and Daisy worked together to switch the other two. Within a few minutes, the switching was completed.

Daniel retrieved his radio and reported the success. "This is Daniel. The eggs are secure."

When he let go of the button, the radio flashed to life again. On the other line was Hazel Veran.

"Copy that. Fall back everybody!"

"On it! We're heading out!" went Chris.

A series of screeches echoed in the forest. Daisy gasped and hastily zipped her duffle closed.

"That was Dankana! The rest of the Tribe is coming!"

"What?" inquired the agent. "How do you know?"

She stared at him curiously. "Because I just heard Dankana tell the rest of the Tribe to come here? You didn't hear that?"

Daniel furrowed his brows. How could she have heard that when he didn't even…

He placed his hands on his ears. His eyes went wide when he found one of them to be bare. He lost his Communicator. Daniel wanted to smack himself; he must have lost it during the fight with Bruno. He also realized why he only heard screeching and roars from him during the battle. It was because he had lost the means to properly communicate with him.

"Shit…" he cursed.

He felt the ground tremble and heard multiple screeches in the air. The sound of the cries were coming closer to their position. They were coming.

"Daisy, does this place have another exit?"

"Yes, it does," she pointed behind her.

"Good. I'll lead them away. You meet with the others and go back the way you came. I'll take the other exit."

"But-!" she tried to protest but was then cut off.

"Go! You're wasting time!"

Daisy nodded and took the two duffle bags, once again straining from the weight. While she took the direction towards the first exit, Daniel went in the direction the sounds came from. Through leaps and turns, he followed the oncoming stampede.

He stopped after going through a cluster of trees. A screech brought his attention to his right. He gasped when his eyes were on the forms of three angry Therizinosaurs. Two of them sported grey feathers while the third looked much like Bruno except the green feathers had a slight bluish tinge to it.

Daniel didn't find the Tribe. The Tribe had found him.

He booked it towards the other exit, with the angry Tribe following after him. One angry Therizinosaurus was horrifying. Three of them were overkill. They screeched and swung their claws at him.

Like before, he used the environment to his advantage. Their large, pot-bellied forms were hindered when he went past tree clusters and ditches. The obstacles gave him a couple of seconds to get ahead. Either by skill or luck, he was able to lose the Tribe.

That was, until he heard a bellow and a crash right behind him. Taking a quick glance behind, he saw an ornery Bruno coming right at him, his claws at the ready. The few trees he saw in the back were already broken as Bruno had charged through them.

Daniel ran at top speed. He felt his legs aching, yet he pushed through. The countless hours of training with both Hazel and Chris were paying off.

Up ahead, he saw the familiar form of a gate. It was slightly ajar, showing just a large enough gap for him to go through. Waiting on the other end, urging him to hurry up, was the rest of the team. Hazel was at the front.

Daniel powered through the sprint. His escape was within his reach. With a yell, he charged forward and burst through the boundary. The gate behind him shut tightly thanks to Ellis' remote. When it did, Bruno's claws pierced the gaps between the bars, a loud clang reverberated in the air. Following that was a rising hum.

The Therizinosaur let out a pained screech and retracted back, the electrical charge of the gate preventing him from proceeding onward. He stared at them all for a brief moment before finally retreating. He was angry now, but he did not see any eggs in their possession. They knew he would eventually calm down.

"You okay, Daniel?" Chris asked the exhausted rookie.

The man nodded. He was helped up by him and Ellis by both hands.

"The eggs?" he eyed Daisy.

"Safe and sound," she replied.

"Nice job everyone," Hazel told them all. She then gestured towards the main hub of the park. "Let's get them to Suzanne for their check-up."

No one argued against that. Exhausted and worn out from the ordeal, they made their way towards the infirmary, specifically to the incubation room where they can go through diagnostics.

However, had any of them paid any mind to their surroundings, they would have noticed a certain red pterosaur perched on one of the trees within the Therizinosaurus enclosure. He watched them as they retreated, his face as emotionless as a clear slate. When the humans were far out of reach, he took wing and disappeared towards another part of the valley.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With their task now completed, the Crew gave the eggs to Suzanne and a few vets that volunteered to aid her. The group took the eggs to the incubation room where eggs were kept under a watchful eye by humans to be hand raised or analyzed for any abnormalities. For eggs to be properly analyzed, the vets did a technique called candling. Candling allows vets to detect bloody whites, blood spots, or meat spots as well as observe any germ development. It was a way for them to check the overall health of an incubated egg.

This process required utmost care and concentration. Because of that, the Crew saw no need to stick around. Most of them left for the night, eager to get a good night's rest. The only ones that remained were Hazel, who waited for an update from the vets on the eggs, and a contemplative Daniel.

Daniel thought about his harrowing escape from the Tribe. Of all the escapades he had been on, this one was on a whole new level. He had been in chases where thugs and criminals were out to get him for infiltrating their operations. He had been in car and motorcycle chases before too. But a dinosaur chase? He was having a hard time believing these people go through something like this every day.

This place, Prehistoric Park, was unlike anywhere he had ever encountered. It was a place where humans and creatures of the past could coexist together in secret, away from the dangers of the world. It was a whole other world here.

Despite the exhaustion and the disbelief of his experience, Daniel felt rather accomplished about the task. It was not every day he could escape getting sliced to bits by a giant turkey with a pot belly. It was...exhilarating.

His attention was broken when he saw Hazel go up to him. Standing straight up, he saw her stop just a mere foot from him.

"The eggs are perfectly healthy," she then noticed his shirt, which had a bit of dirt on it. She brushed the grime off and met his eyes. Those brown almond-shaped eyes of hers were quite striking yet they held an air of experience.

"You also escaped with barely a scratch," the woman also commented as she let her hand rest to her side.

Daniel said nothing. After today, he was too tired to react. As such, he took that as a way of her congratulating him on a job well done.

That was not the only thing she said though. What she said next hit him like a wall.

"You are ready for the true test."

Post A.N. We did some research into gator egg retrievals and we decided to do a little tweaking on it for the sake of the story.