Saving Sienna
Saber-tooth cat form, bipedal walking, Nethania stepped through the portal and almost lost her balance as she stepped out onto the broken catwalk of Hope Plaza.
"Whoa Nelly," Nethania yelped. She reached around for something to grab onto, but found nothing; all she could do was regain her balance. Just when she was about to fall, she made a powerful leap for the rest of the catwalk, landing on all fours.
"Whew, made it," Nethania said with a sigh of relief. She looked around at the broken down room. She looked ahead and began to contemplate whether or not she should nano-morph back into human.
"I'll wait till I get to the other side of the catwalk. After all it is a cat-walk. Huh, listen to me, I sound like my Grandpa Taylor, always cracking corny jokes," Nethania said as she walked down the catwalk; getting to the other side, she nano-morphed back into her human form.
She walked quietly as she could through the damaged building. The air she noticed was thick and heavy and it was difficult to breathe.
"Should have brought a re-breather," Nethania said, talking to the open air.
She didn't know Hope Plaza, having come to Pangaea through a different portal. She began looking for exit signs. She began to smell the pungent smell of a rotting corpse.
"Ugh," Nethania groaned, covering her nose. The mix of the smell with the smog made it not a pleasant smell, very different from the way a rotting corpse would smell in Pangaea's fresh oxygen. She followed the scent to the source. She bent down and looked at the man; crushed back, with bite marks all over the body. Nethania recognized the bite marks to be from Xenias Xenotarsosaurus.
Unlike the older Xavier Xenotarsosaurus, Xenias resembled a juvenile Carnotaurus. Nethania had still been under orders to remain hidden from Terra Nova, but she sent Xenias to help her father. Nethania would have sent a Carnotaurus, but all of her Nanosaurian Carnotaurus weren't reliable like Xenias. By the look of things, Xenias had done his job.
Nethania continued onward toward the exit signs, stopping only to look at another corpse. Nethania turned a corner to find a gun in her face.
"Who are you? And where did you come from?" the man holding the gun asked.
"You first," Nethania said.
"Ladies first," the man said.
Nethania thought for a moment, studying the man. The man had dark hair that was two inches long; he had evidence of a dino-attack and scars from bug bites that he had constantly been scratching at.
"Did Lucas send you here?" the man asked.
'Lucas,' Nethania thought to herself.
"I've been waiting to see if he could fix the portal on Terra Nova's end. Seeing you here, he must have. Has he given us the green light?" the man said.
"First of all, I need to know who I am talking to before I say anything," Nethania said, relying on her military training now.
"The name is Weaver," the man said.
'Xenias didn't kill you,' Nethania thought to herself, her eyes narrowed on the man.
"Take me to your leaders. I have news for you," Nethania said. In all honesty, she wasn't prepared for this.
"Nothing," Ute growled when he stomped into the command center, cracking some of the bamboo flooring. He was irate with Nethania. Sure he was subordinate to the captain, unless Nethania was ordered by the doctors to rest and recover, only then could he be insubordinate.
The others in the command center were Nathaniel, Alicia, Boylan, Mira, Carter, Jim and Hookclaw.
"I told her she was no good to the Nanosaurs half dead," Mira said.
"Why did you even go to her with your problem?" Boylan asked. He too was upset about what had happened. Nethania was his former CO when he was an Underdog, and like all of the old Underdogs, he cared about her a lot.
"I didn't know the captain was convalescing. If I had known I wouldn't have bothered her," Mira said sternly.
"That doesn't help the problem you two," Nathaniel growled at them.
"I need to tell Admiral Roland," Ute said and he walked out of the command center, Hookclaw on his tail.
"What if Nethania makes it back to 2150?" Jim asked, he sounded worried but in a fear of the Phoenix Group attack worry.
"Nethania isn't Lucas, Shannon; she's not a threat to colony or our lively hood," Boylan said.
"Then what's everyone so worried about," Jim said.
"Nethania can be worse than me in the stubborn department," Nathaniel said.
"I've personally seen her work herself into a coma," Boylan said, Nathaniel and Alicia both nodded in agreement.
"Nethania is still recovering from her brush with death by poison. If she pushes herself too hard and or runs into trouble, it could mean her death," Nathaniel said, sounding like the worried father he was.
Nethania noticed the land looked far drearier than when she remembered it. It had been nearly 13 years since she was last here in the future. True, many of the structures of Nanosauria had been built from material stolen from the future, but by order of Roland, she had not been allowed to join the raids. The trip to the dome where weaver's employers were located, Nethania began to think of how she was going to get out of this pickle. First she had to think of a name to call herself.
Weaver shoved her forward towards his two living employers who glanced at her.
"Who's this?" asked one.
"She came through the Hope Plaza portal," Weaver said.
"Who are you?" asked the other.
"My name is Kathryne Washbrick," Nethania said. Nethania's last name was a contingent of Washington and Philbrick, her mothers' maiden names.
The second man walked towards her, getting in her face.
"Never heard of you," the man said.
"Of course not, I am a new recruit. A guinea pig, so to speak," Nethania said, looking from one man to the other.
"Who sent you through?" the first man asked.
"I was recruited by Mira," Nethania said.
"Did Lucas fix the portal?" asked the first man.
"I'm not really sure," Nethania said.
The man closest to her turned and walked away from her.
"Mira wants her daughter," Nethania said.
Both men looked at her.
"Sienna is fine," replied the first.
"I was instructed by Mira to be taken to her as soon as I got through," Nethania said.
Weaver shook his head, but the others weren't so worried.
Nethania was led to a brick room where a coughing girl was lying on a cot.
"Sienna, you have a visitor," replied a guard.
Nethania stepped in and the steel door was closed behind her. Sienna sat up and looked at her.
Nethania walked towards her and knelt down.
"My name is Nethania Taylor. I'm here to rescue you," Nethania said in a low whisper that only Sienna could here.
Sienna only nodded at this, she began wheezing and coughing again. Nethania stood up and looked at the steel door. This wasn't going to be as easy. Nethania also noticed a camera in the corner.
'Well, I could do this with all brawn or all brain,' Nethania thought.
"Hey," Nethania yelled banging on the door and then stepped to the side. The guard opened it and walked in and she grabbed him. Nethania used one of her latest skills, nano-morphing a single fingernail into a sharp claw. She slit the man's throat with it.
"Come on," Nethania said. Sienna followed at a weak pace, trying to keep up.
'So far, all brawn,' Nethania thought.
"Captain Taylor's done what?" Roland said.
"She's gone through the portal to rescue Sienna, Mira's daughter," Ute said.
"After I put her on bed rest after that poisoning scare," Dr. Won said.
"Nethania you fool," Roland groaned, but he wasn't surprised.
He thought for a moment.
"Have Commander Taylor, Lieutenant Washington, Jim Shannon, Boylan, Mira, and Carter come to Nanosauria. I want you there too Lieutenant Ute. There we will meet with Ayani, Philbrick, Maxwell and Lucas to discuss what to do next.
Sienna followed in tow behind Nethania. They raced through the dome. By now the employers were aware that Nethania's was trying to make a run for it. Phoenix Group soldiers came out of nowhere, trying to stop them. Nethania noticed though, that they were using lethal force.
'I'm better off alive for them, than dead…that is if they've figured out who I really am,' Nethania thought.
Nethania fought their way towards the door; using her brute strength to subdue soldiers and her quick agility to dodge sonics. Nethania just had the door in sight when a strong electrical current surged into her body and a stabbing pain hit her side.
She let out a snarling howl of pain as she crumpled to the ground. Sienna knelt beside her.
"Go, get out of here," Nethania growled in pain.
Sienna looked at her.
Nethania looked up into her eyes and saw both fear and worry.
"Look for David M. Rogers. He lives here in Chicago. Look him up in the white pages and go to him. He'll know how to help you," Nethania whispered.
Sienna shook her head no.
"Go, now," Nethania urged. Sienna looked up as a swarm of soldiers came running towards her. She turned and ran out the door.
"Nice shot Weaver," replied one of the employers. Weaver was standing on a catwalk above them and had shot her with a new gun they were using, one that not only delivered a bullet to the victim, but also a taiser pulse.
The hauled her to her feet and dragged her back to the brick room. They threw her in the room none to gently. The two employers that she had met earlier and Weaver walked in.
"Captain Nethania Taylor, welcome back to the world of the living. I am Samuel Douglas," said the first employer.
"Kathryne Washbrick, clever name. Your dad used to call you his little kitten. Wash came from Lieutenant Washington and brick came from Philbrick," Weaver said.
Nethania gritted her teeth and stood up.
"As for me," the second employer stepped up, to her, grasping her hair and pulling her head back.
"I am Armand," he growled in her face, then backed away but not without a flick of his wrist.
"How did you figure it out?" Nethania asked.
"Facial recognition; you've aged quite a bit, but same nose, same eyes, same hair-do," Weaver said.
Nethania narrowed her eyes at him.
"Lucas will be so happy. You know he wanted to kill you himself," Weaver said. With that last comment, the three men walked out, closing the door with a loud clang.