Coast of Central America, 2020.
Waves crashed gently against the shoreline, the Blue Sky was only broken by a Few Clouds, and from his vantage point on the Coast he could see it all. The Ship was a Long way off, but from here even he could recognize it. He had the pleasure of being here to greet it as it came into the nearby Port Facilities, Something he had done Twice Before.
They had gone on 2 Expeditions to Isla Sorna before, each bringing back a Number of Small Hadrosaurs, other Herbivores and Small Carnivores. They had quite the Buyer, last time they brought back 2 Rexes, 2 Very Old Ones that were a Mated Couple. That had gone without incident mostly because of the fact they hadn't brought Velociraptors with them, but this time although they had captured some Rexes he was more concerned about what else they had captured, that being the Raptors. They had gotten nearly 10 of them, and they had 2 Rexes too, one of them was younger than the others, and had a Scar on his Leg, while the other was slightly older and was Charcoal Gray. They too, seemed to be a Mated Pair.
They had quite the Security detail aboard the ships, hopefully, if anything happened, they would be trained to subdue the Raptors. He knew they had handled Dinosaurs before, including a Pack of a Half Dozen Gallimimus, but the question was now whether they could handle a Pack of Raptors.
As he watched the ship slowly move closer and Closer, he fumbled with a Pair of Binoculars and looked through them at the Ship. Through them he could make out some Details, such as the Railings and even some figures moving on the ship, although he could hardly see them as more than Dots. He checked his Watch, it was 5 Minutes Past Eleven and the Cargo ship wasn't scheduled to come as close as it was for another 20 Minutes. He looked at the Dock, he could see Workers gathering at the edge of it, and he quickly ran up to meet them there. He side glanced at the oncoming ship as he Ran, he could tell it was going way too fast, way too fast. As he reached the Dock, he looked at the ship again and he saw that the Ship had closed to around half the distance it was 2 Minutes ago. He grimaced, by now knowing something was terribly wrong.
"Oy!" He said as he ran up to the Dockworkers, "What's going on with the Ship?" He asked, his Heavy Australian Accent Showing through.
"It's going 22 Knots, that's nearly top speed for a Ship like that." One of the Dockworkers said, "We tried to contact them but they didn't respond, we can't tell what's going on."
"It's Past the Breakwater!" One of the others said, He could see the Ship clearly now, individual Cargo crates in all, It was heading right for the sand at the beach. He tracked the Cargo ship as it approached, and as it came closer he quickly rushed to the side of the Guardrails, watching as the Cargoship approached the coast.
When it hit there was a Loud, terrible Scraping sound like a Car skidding against the side of a Rail, he could see the Sand on the beach deform, there was an accompanying Metallic Bang and Rattle followed by the Ship tilting over slightly, when it stopped it had nearly pushed entirely through the sand and to the Treeline.
"Jesus." He said, grabbing his Phone as the Dockworkers ran to the beached ship. He typed in the Number to the Buyers and began informing them of the situation.
"Yeah, hi." He started saying, "There's been an Incident, we're investigating it right now but the Ship just crashed into the shore next to the dock. It just happened and we are working on securing the assets."
"What do you mean it crashed?" Said the Buyer on the other side of the phone.
"Well, as I just said, it literally happened a Minute ago and we're investigating it, I'll tell you everything when I can." He said.
"My Assets better be Secure." The Buyer said, "We Paid quite a Sum of Money for that Expedition, and it wouldn't reflect well on you if it went to Waste."
"Yes Sir." He said, hanging up the phone.
He rushed to the ship with the other dockworkers, when he got there he looked up at the Black hull, "Dodgson Shipping Services" Was plastered across the Side in Bold White Text, and as he looked one of the Workers found a Doorway on the Side with a Ladder, it was close enough to the ground for them to reach, and as he watched one of them climbed up it, grabbed the Door handle, turned it and it swung open.
"Let's take a Peek inside it and find out what happened." He said, climbing after the Dockworker before being joined by another. He grabbed a Flashlight out of his pocket and turned it on, the illumination revealing a Long, Sealed off Hallway that Ran between the Hull and the shipping Storage Area. He gulped, walking down it, Primal Fear was setting in, he hadn't dealt with a Dinosaur before, he had just been the guy to manage them, what if one of the Raptors had gotten loose and killed the crew?
He shook his head, no way they managed to take down all the security Detail, especially since they had Lethals Onboard. As they walked through a Ship they came to an Intersection, and as he turned left he could see the Doors on the side of the wall and a Ladder. He walked to the ladder and looked up through the Hatch, there was blood on the ladder, and he shivered as he climbed it. When he got up he quickly ducked down and gasped, he slowly peeked his head out over the hatch, and nearly vomited at the sight of a Corpse. It had been clearly ripped apart by a Raptor, blood strewn everywhere and strings of flesh scattered around it, he could see he had a Shotgun with a Empty clip, and as he climbed up he made sure there were No Raptors out on the deck with him.
"Coast is clear." He said, motioning for the Dockworkers to join him, one had a Revolver, which they brought out of their holster. He himself had a Pistol as well, he typically carried it with him, and he brought it out of his Holster as he walked toward the Superstructure of the Ship.. He could see more bodies of the Crew and Security Detail scattered around, all in even worse shape than the first. As he walked up to the Superstructure and began to scale the stairs on its Side towards the Bridge he heard a Deep Pitched Chirping, he quickly looked out at the Beach and saw nearly a Dozen Reptilian forms disappear into the Foliage.
"The Raptors got away." He said, he could recognize their body form pretty easily as he was fully caught up with InGens creations.
"How many did you guys capture?" One of the Dockworkers asked.
"Ten." He responded, The Dockworker Shook his head.
"I counted Twelve." The Dockworker said.
"Twelve?" He said in disbelief, "That's impossible, they told me as they left the Island that they had captured Ten."
"My Eyes do not deceive me, Mr Marlay, I counted Twelve Raptors." The Dockworker said firmly.
Marlay ran through the options in his head for an explanation. He at first thought they might have bred on the Cargoship, but from what he saw they were all fully grown and they were at sea for just a Day. There were 2 other options he could think of, either the Dockworker was lying, or the Buyers Lied.
"Either way, we can't do anything about them now." He said as he resumed climbing to the Bridge, "They Clocked the Raptors in Sorna at about Fifty-Five Kilometers per Hour, it would be pointless to pursue them."
As he reached the bridge he fumbled with the Door, opening it quickly, the first few things he noticed were the Blood scattered on the Equipment, and the Open door on the Starboard side of the Bridgewing. As he stepped in he felt the splash of Fresh Blood at its Feet, he could see a Severed Arm and Leg, and he gagged as he walked to the Nearest Bridge Console, which displayed a Map of the the surrounding area, there were some alarms on the bridge going off, one was a Collision Alarm and one was a Depth Alert, he guessed those didn't matter for the crew in the end.
"What's the Status of the Other Dinosaurs?" He asked as one of the other Dockworkers rushed to the Console that had the Status of some of the Cargo Areas and Containers. He ran over to the Console too, and he tapped on a Button that said 'Cargo Status Check' and some labels came up on the Screen next to it, he read through them individually.
"TREX, LOCKED. CRT, LOCKED, CRNT, LOCKED. VELRPTR, UNLOCKED. MAISUR, LOCKED. GALIMS, UNLOCKED."
"So the Velociraptors found a Way to get loose ... .what's a GALIMS?" One of the Workers asked.
"Gallimimus." He said, "The Dinosaurs in Order are Tyrannosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Carnotarus, Velociraptor, Maiasaurus, and Gallimimus, they didn't bring back many Herbivores this time, mostly Carnivores."
"Is Gallimimus one of them meat-eaters?" The Other Dockworker asked
"Omnivore." He affirmed, "They ate mostly small animals, although they can also eat Plants, so they pose little threat to us."
One of them visibly relaxed, but as he studied the Console he heard a Very Famous Roar, one that shook them to their bones. A Flock of Birds in the Trees flew away at the Loud Sound, and a 65 Million year old Fear Instinct suddenly filled him.
"Tyrannosaurus." He said, he heard banging and scraping on the Sides of the Ship, for a moment he thought they were trying to escape through the Hull of the Ship, but quickly he could tell that they were trying to break the Ceiling door to their Storage Space He could see it Vibrate with Every Hit, and as he watched it Burst Open and he saw the Cover Tear Clean off the Hinges, flying into the Wet sand of the Beach.
"Oh God." he said, looking at the now destroyed piece of Metal and Plastic that had been broken on Impact with the Sand, he turned his Attention to the now Open Door, and to his Horror he could see the Head of the Male Tyrannosaur poking up at him.
It was a Greenish-Brown Color, and its Eyes were Amber-Yellow, even from here he could feel the Animosity from the Monster, He Saw it Suddenly raise itself up and walk onto the Deck of the Ship, it had a Long Scar on its Right Leg, and it was obviously somewhat Younger than the Original 7 Rexs InGen Bred, He guessed it was born in the Mid-Late 90s. Luckily he had studied Rex Biology Extensively, and even from a Distance he could read the Age of the Rex.
Then Came the Other Rex, this one was the Female, a Dark, Charcoal Gray color that with some Black Stripes made for a very different looking animal than the others he had seen. It too had piercing Amber Eyes, and from there he could see they were staring at him.
"Those things…" A Dockworker said.
"Don't Move." Marlay said, "InGens Rex's have more Motion based Eyesight, they will ignore us if we stay absolutely still."
They all listened to him, and for close to a Full Minute they just stayed still, the Rex's lost interest in them and began to Sniff around, before eventually they Both Jumped Down on the Port Side, landing with a Thud on the Sand and Walking Off into the Distance.
"Phew." He said, suddenly there was a Loud Crash and he looked back at the Console, the Carnotaurus container was unlocked.
"Oh god." He said, he could hear the Thumping of Theropod footsteps in the distance and the slight vibrations in the hull of the ship, he motioned for them to follow him Silently. They Exited the Bridge and quietly made their way down the Stairwell as there was another Loud Crash, he saw the Side of the Hull burst open, and out popped a Red-Gray Carnotaurus, which roared then exited the ship, jumping onto the beach. Another Carnotarus followed, this one was a More-Gray-ish Blue Color, which stood out as quite Vibrant, he watched as it too bounded away into the woods.
"They told me there was just one Carnotaurus." He said, He watched as more Dinosaurs ran through as they broke out of their containers, he was guessing the Tranq and Amnesia had worn off and the Raptors, of course, got out. As he watched a Pair of Ceratosaurs also ran out, followed by about a Half Dozen Gallimimus, then by 2 Maiasaurs. He watched as the Dinosaurs escaped into the trees, and sighed.
"Y'know my whole payday was depending on those things getting transported safely here…." He said, Marlay holstered his pistol before speaking further "I mean, this can't possibly be my fault right? The Ship was obviously below safety standards if a Couple of Carnotaurs could break through…" He didn't get much of a Chance to finish before his phone began to Ring.
"Oh God"
International Genetics Office, San Diego California.
She continued studying the Embryo of the Suchominumus, so far it was turning out exactly as the Models had Predicted, the Suchominmus they cooked up Previously turned out to have a Minor Defect in the DNA, which made it comparable in Size to a Majungasaurus. Ever since that they had been working through the Entire DNA Strand, using computer models trying to find out exactly where they went wrong.
Eventually, thanks to the power of Modern Computing Technology, they ended up locating the error, and corrected it. Now they were seeing tiny differences, not at the Standard Visual Level obviously, but at the Microscopic scale they could tell something was going better.
She heard a Small Creak as the door to the office swung open, she craned her head around to see her boss, who was the Head of InGen.
"Hello Sir." She said, Smiling.
"No Need for that ." He said, waving his hand, "I need to talk to you for a moment."
"Oh, you do?" Alyssa said, they both sat down in a Pair of Chairs facing each other.
"You know InGen has a Long History as a Genetic Company." He said, "We have been around since the early 1980s, and are the most well regarded Bio-Engineering Firm on the planet."
"Yes." She said, "I am quite up to date with the history of this company."
"Well." He Started, "I know you aren't the first of your family to work for InGen, right?"
"I know one of my Aunts did." She said, "I know she worked at Site C, on Isla Muerta, from what my Mother said she died when I was a Baby, Killed by a Tyrannosaur."
He grimaced, which she found strange, at least before he responded. "Well, that's not entirely true actually." He said, "When InGen evacuated Site C, they were forced to completely abandon the Island."
"I was told she was left behind." She said, "That they couldn't get to her in time and that a T-Rex got her in the facility."
He shook his head, "Not at all, you see, her Name was Doctor Sierra Jane, and she was both a Geneticist and a Veterinarian. One of InGens top projects, at the time, was diversifying the options of Dinosaurs available. In Order to successfully create the Time of the Mesozoic , you need more than a T-Rex, or a Brachiosaurus, or a Triceratops, you need all the Animals behind the scene too."
"And what does this have to do with Aunt Jane?" She asked.
"Aunt Jane was very much fond of Theropod Dinosaurs, her Favourite Animal was the T-Rex, she saw them for what they were, not killing machines, not violent monsters, just animals wanting to survive." He said, "Jane was visibly devastated when Site-B happened and she wasn't able to work with the Tyrannosaurs."
"That sounds more like a Blessing to me." She said.
"Not to her." Her Boss said, "When she was moved to Site C, however, she got a Chance to work with Juvenile and Baby Albertosaurus, some of her co-workers said it was the happiest they ever saw her, and then just a few days before the incident at Site-C a very special creature was born Alyssa."
"You see." He Started, "Before Jane came to Site-C they sequenced the first ever Tarbosaurus Genomes, Tarbosaurus is a Lesser known Theropod Tyrannosaurid Dinosaur, one that which is far less prolific in modern media, we did initially create some specimens, but after a few we held off on more, and as a result we ended up getting records amounts of Tarbosaur DNA from a Dig Site in Korea, a lot of amber….and as a result we were able to fill in the Genome far less as it was more complete to begin with, and 2 Days before Site-C fell, a Baby Tarbosaur, a much more complete one, was born."
He showed her a Picture of the Animal, an Old-Grainy photograph from the 90s, in which she could see her Aunt holding the Newly-Born Tarbosaur, which had green scales with spots on them.
"When they ended up evacuating the Island, your Aunt thought that the Tarbosaur couldn't survive on her own, and as a Result she ended up bringing it with her aboard the ship." He said.
"Why would she do that?" She asked
"I don't know." He said, "I had to ask around a lot to know this much, but what I do know is that one of the Staff onboard thought this was a bad idea, and threw the Newborn Dinosaur overboard, and she ended up…Jumping After it."
"She…Willingly jumped off a Boat to Rescue a Baby Carnivorous dinosaur." She asked.
"Yes." He said, "In the Middle of a Tropical Storm no less, but that's not the point."
"Then what is the point?" She asked.
"Simple." He started, "When we extracted all the Tarbosaurus Amber, the DNA and Amber was taken to Site-C immediately, all of it, and not only that, but the Cryolophosaurus and Daspletosaurus were taken there too, and sequenced at the labs." He continued, he brought out a List of Species sequenced on the Island, and it was quite large. "When a Genome is sequenced, it automatically saves and is stored on a Special Hard Drive designed specifically to withstand the elements for years, so those Genomes and DNA are still at Site-C."
"Now." He said, bringing out another Paper, "We have contacted all former Members of Site-C at this point, most of them refused or couldn't be found at all, but your Aunt was close to one individual in Particular."
He handed her a Photo of a Man with his Address, Somewhere in Nevada.
"This is Doctor Edward Raegis, he is the only one of the geneticists left that might be able to help us, he sequenced the Daspletosaurus Genome himself and knew where everything was stored in the final days." He said, "We have tried contacting him ourselves, but he never returns our calls or texts, and never writes back, your Aunt Knew him well, he might listen to one of her relatives, we need you to accompany him to Isla Muerta and find the lost DNA and Hard-Drives, you will all be payed for this of Course."
"I barely remember my Aunt." She said, "I was 2 years old when the whole thing happened, it would be an overstatement to say I knew her."
"We need him." Her Boss said, "InGen needs those Genomes, they could save our company, and your job in the process."
"I guess I don't have a choice now." She said, "I'll get him tomorrow, mind if I just finish up this Suchomimus genome first?"
"Sure." He said, he exited the room, and for Now she just focused back on examining the Embryo. She put the Photo and Address on the shiny, spotless table, and when she clocked out of work she made sure to take it with her.
Tomorrow, she would Find Doctor Raegis, and she could finally Answer questions her Mother never got to find out.
What had happened to Doctor Jane, why had she been so steadfast in protecting the Baby Tarbosaurus, and why had she jumped off a damn ship in the middle of a Hurricane for it?