Title: Project: More Teeth
Author: Divine Dark Angel
Summary: If the I-rex had been prevented from killing her sibling, if someone had stepped in and stopped IGen and the people of Jurassic World from isolating them and had gotten them properly socialized, if they had been trained to know what they are…how would life be different for the I-rex sisters and the rest of the park?
Rating: M for mentions of death and a mature relationship.
Pairing: Owen/Claire, Oc/Katashi Hamada
Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to and are copywrite of Universal. The recognizable plot items and other such things are also copyrighted to Universal. I am simply playing in the rich world they have created for us.
It took the cleaning and ACU crews two hours to get the paddock ready for Emma and the girls. She spent the time getting to know her charges, how they moved, what their cues were for when they were getting hungry or sleepy, what sorts of vocalizations worked to get their attention the best, how to discipline them and make it stick. The two learned quickly, that was for sure. It took Emma less than thirty minutes to train Nefret that unless the signal was given she had to wait to eat and wasn't to snatch food from her 'mother'. Nefretari was already more patient than her sister, waiting as long as possible for an infant predator to wait for food. Emma sat with her back braced against the wall, hand feeding the little monsters as they sat in front of her. Their little heads were angled to catch the small chunks of bison supplied by the hatchery team, tails curled around their forefeet as they crouched.
'They're like the bobcats the guys back home raised, about the same size too.' Emma mused to herself tossing Nefret another chunk of meat. 'Except those bobcat kittens weren't going to reach an adult size of over five meters tall and fifteen meters long. I have at least five years of them being a manageable size though, at least if the projections are correct.'
Nefretari, her belly dragging on the ground, inched over on all fours to climb into Emma's lap. Curling into a small ball, she tucked her venerable head under her tail and fell fast asleep. Her older sister fought sleep hard as she waddled around the floor of the hatchery, wandering close enough to the glass to see out into the hallway. The osteoderms that would eventually become spines, at least according to the projections, puffed a bit as the small reptile paced back and forth hissing at the employees walking back. Emma was amused for a moment before realizing that the little lizard should not learn that people are prey and whistled sharply for her. Nefret turned her head before stubbornly ignoring the command and continuing to pace the wall. Emma narrowed her eyes and barked her name, glaring at the small creature until she turned and came slinking up to her. Emma didn't let up until Nefret thrummed at her and climbed into her lap to put her foreclaws on her shoulders to peer into her face. Emma's body relaxed and she accepted the small creature's apology, stroking the little creatures head and eye ridges with her finger. Nefret's thrumming intensified, reminding Emma of the way baby crocodiles called their mothers and kept in contact with each other.
"You are going to be the challenge, aren't you Little White?" Emma's amused musing quickly turned less so as she imagined the accelerated growth rate the I-rex was supposedly imbued with. "I have to get obedience drilled into both of you now, before you grow too big to discipline. Lord knows how Tut became an unruly beast when he hit his early puberty and discovered he was bigger than me!"
Nefret didn't make any movement to respond to the vocal stimulation, settling down close to her sister for a nap. The same curled up position left Emma with a lap full of baby dinosaur and an inability to move without disturbing them. With nothing else to do, she put her mind to training tasks that could be done with the infants, things that would teach them social graces and the hierarchy of being in a pack. A few of the aquatic seek and find tasks she had Nenet preform could be adapted to land animals, as well as the target training that enabled veterinary care to be done on her. The adult size of the I-rex would become a problem if the girls decided to not cooperate, which is why Emma had already decided on a reward based system of discipline for them. She would never win in an adult I-rex fight, so she would have to rely on the girls' affection and ingrained obedience to ensure their compliance.
The door hissing open caused her to look up, fingers pausing in their idle stroking of Nefretari. Said dino grumbled and scooted her little feet against Emma's leg to get herself burrowed deeper into her lap. Emma chuckled softly and looked up to see who her visitor could be.
A stone faced ACU commander stood next to what Emma could only describe as the most laid-back looking man she'd come across on the island. The ACU commander she vaguely recognized from previous security meetings that the trainers had been ordered to attend. His sharply angled features and muscular build reminded her of a hawk or some other bird of prey. He was tall, though not as tall as his surfer-boy companion, and wore his height well. His very presence screamed ALPHA and she was sure that mannerism served him well with his squad. His companion was nothing to sneeze at, also well-muscled and standing with ramrod straight posture. They both stared at her as if she was some new creature the lab had produced, and she stared right back at them with calm assurance.
Nefretari lifted her head at the new scents in what was quickly becoming the 'den' and made an inquiring warble. Tilting her head up to peer into Emma's face, she saw that although her mother was wary she was not afraid or angry. Nefretari wiggled her way out from under her sister and waddled over to investigate the new comers. Both men stood still as the infant I-rex approached, neither flinching or moving away from her.
Surfer-guy bent down on one knee to get a better view of the striped white predator, and Nefretari paused a few feet from them to re-evaluate the situation. She looked back at her mother and sister for reassurance, and at Emma's soft note of encouragement, proceeded with her investigation. The ACU commander remained upright, hand never far from the 'jolt-stick' he carried to use with the more rambunctious hatchlings. Emma narrowed her eyes at him and subtly shook her head.
'If you shock her she's never going to trust you again. A firm no should suffice for now, Mr…" Emma's tone was low and steady, giving nothing away to her young charge.
"Hamada. Commander Hamada, asset containment. Ms. McGovern, I cannot stress enough how dangerous this little endeavor is. These assets are bred to be vicious killing machines; I believe the ads call them a 'T-rex with more teeth'. I am not entirely sure you should be interacting with them without proper security escort." The commander's stern gaze fell on the asset still in her lap, narrowing when he saw it begin to wake.
Emma was too busy eyeing Nefretari's interactions with Surfer-guy to pay Commander Hamada much attention, but his tone made her glance at him. "Commander, while I appreciate your concern, right now these 'assets' are the size of your average housecat. Their infant teeth are barley bigger than my thumbnail and I outweigh them by a good hundred pounds. I am in more danger walking to and from Nenet's tank from human predators than I am from these two infants. Now, if you're so concerned then by all means assign me a security detail but they will do things my way or they will be fed to the mosasaur. Do I make myself clear?"
Surfer-guy chuckled, calmly letting Nefretari examine him, "Quite a threat ma'am, but I'm sure Katashi is just worried a pretty little thing like you could get eaten by the big scary baby dinos. It's his job to look after all of us 'crazy asset lovers', isn't it Katashi?"
"Indeed Mr. Grady, although you and your band of 'crazy asset lovers' refuses to obey even one of my security mandates with that pack of monsters you interact with." The commander's disgruntlement showed plainly in the non-expression he wore, though he kept his tone neutral to avoid upsetting the assets.
"Grady? Owen Grady? The man who thinks he can militarize velociraptors? Nefretari come here, now!" The last sentence came out as a sharp command, and her tone made the little predator swivel her body around and scamper back into her lap. Nefretari chirruped worriedly, putting her small head in Emma's face and staring at her. Emma hummed reassuringly, rewarding the instant obedience with a quick scratch under the little wedge shaped head. Reassured, the little monster crawled back into her lap to settle next to her sister.
Surprisingly, Nefret had not moved from her mother's lap. Instead her bright amber eyes had observed silently as these two males invaded her mother's territory. Since her mother had not reacted adversely to their presence she assumed that they must be her mother's mates, and possibly one of them was her father. A querying chirp at one of them was answered by a barring of teeth from the crouching male, and a narrowing of eyes from the standing one. Nefret snarled back at the crouching one, silently showing her teeth. She may be little, but she is fierce and willing to defend her mother and pack-sister to the death.
Emma tried to hold back her giggling as Nefret engaged in a dominance battle with Mr. Grady. Unable to encourage this behavior, she used her forefinger to touch Nenet's snout and shook her head. Grumbling, the little beast slunk back into her lap, turning her back on the two men to burrow her head into Emma's belly. Emma chuckled and stroked the little monster down her soft scaled back, reminded strongly of her friend's python.
"Oh that is just adorable, until she rips your belly open." Mr. Grady commented, brushing off his pants as he stood. "I am not trying to militarize the raptors Ms. McGovern, contrary to what you may have heard around the water cooler. I'm testing their intelligence, attempting to train them and see if they can bond past the initial first year imprinting. Not so different from your Nenet."
"I am not allowing the military to access my reports on Nenet, nor am I training her to seek out and destroy submarines. Her intelligence is limited, the girls are already more intelligent than she is and they're barely three hours old. Not that that needs to be put in any reports you may be writing on them." Emma placed the two on the floor and stood, ignoring the girls plaintive whistles to be carried. Moving toward the men, she turned her head to ensure that the little monsters were following her and was pleased to find them right on her heels. "Are the new quarters ready? I would like to get them settled before they really pass out."
"Indeed Ms. McGovern. I'll get the transport cage ready for the assets." Commander Hamada lifted his radio to do that when Emma placed a strong hand on his wrist. Their eyes met and for a moment Emma could see that there was a bit more to the commander than she originally thought, but then it was gone again just as quickly.
"There will be no need for a cage Commander, the girl's instincts will ensure that they stay close to me. The park closed half an hour ago, so there is no one other than staff out in the ally. If you feel the need you may carry one and Mr. Grady the other, but I would advise that we make them learn to walk since they will eventually be too large to carry." Emma smiled up at the stiff rule enforcer, rubbing his wrist with her thumb. It was unconscious on her part, tactile stimulation being the best way to connect with her chosen animal group. She would not have paid any attention to it had Mr. Grady not huffed with laughter and coughed something about 'training him' under his breath. A scarlet blush crept up her neck and she quickly jerked her hand back to run through her unruly hair. "Um…sorry Commander. I've been up a while and…"
"Never mind Ms. McGovern. Let us go then. If the assets run off it will be you that must chase them down and file, the reports. I will simply watch, possibly with a nice drink in hand." The Commander's stoic expression shifted for just a moment, a micro smile visible in the corners of his lips.
Emma's blush deepened and she whistled for the girls to come to heel. Mr. Grady and the Commander led the way out of the hatchery, Emma and her little white shadows trailing them like a miniature parade.
