Alex noticed her reluctance and asked ‘Molly, what’s up? Don’t tell me you don’t like dogs? Well, in any case they act like our dogs back home. They’re a lot friendlier than those ‘shepherds we had back at the base.’
‘I guess it’s just the idea of it. The first Hype they saw today, well, Sara went and named it Molly. I’ve been teased about it ever since. Four of the guys even offered me cookies today!’ Molly complained as she reluctantly gave in to the intentions demanded by the younger Hype in front of her.
The Hypes stopped and turned their heads abruptly as the sound of a few more shots arose from over at the plateau entrance.
‘Well, I guess that got their attention.’ Molly commented. ‘They know it isn’t a natural sound for the here and now.’
All soon settled back into their routine. Alex’s Hype walked about near-by, chewing on green ferns or lightly digging roots. To Molly’s chagrin, her Hype was more interested in companionship. She insisted on Molly’s hand scratching her neck or head. Unconsciously, Molly began running her fingers through the soft down as she used to do with her retriever so long ago.
‘You know Alex, they don’t feel like birds. Their feathers are thick and their necks muscular. More like soft hair. Kinda like having a big dog. Oh wow, a big bird dog!’
Alex replied quietly, ‘Sara says these guys aren’t birds. Their family dies out with the extinction event that is coming. Birds evolved from the Theropod family, like those Troondons we’re shooting at over there. Those guys will continue to evolve into birds after the event wipes everything else out.’
They weren’t dogs, weren’t even mammals. Just how much would they act as dogs Molly wondered? Would they recognize the humans as individuals? Would they provide companionship and loyalty?
‘It is nice sitting with them in spite of their long annoying tails.’ She quietly thought. ‘She seems to sing a quiet little tune to herself as I pet her. Guess that means she likes it. Sorta like a cat purring. What a beautiful evening.’
You get a lot of time to think when you are standing a four-hour watch. The moon didn’t seem to be all that much larger than she remembered. Dr. Zoeller had said it would be about 25% greater in size than what we were used to. The earth also turned a little faster; about 23.5 hours in a day. ‘Can’t say I noticed the difference.’ Molly mumbled to the Hype.
Two hours before the sun rises is the darkest, coolest part of the night. By this time, the dew begins to settle onto everything around you and you begin thinking about the morning, a bed and sleep. Boot camp had taught Molly that this was the most dangerous time for sentry duty. This was the most likely time for you to fall asleep. To be unaware of your surroundings.
Tonight, the presence of the Hype was a comfort to Molly. She could feel its warmth and companionship. The abrupt movements of its head to any outside noise, or simply to nip on a leaf, helped her to stay awake.
The Hype suddenly stood up and almost hopped to the trail-edge by the cliff. Molly shifted her body to stretch her legs. The Hype came back and began to pull on Molly’s jacket. Pulling her away from the cliff.
‘What’s the matter with you?’ Molly pulled back. ‘What’s over there?’ Molly cautiously approached the cliff.
Molly saw several quiet shapes gliding up the cliff trail. They moved with stealth and at a deliberate pace as though they were stalking an animal.
‘Alex, heads up! We have company coming up the trail edge and they don’t look friendly.’ Molly whispered over the communicator. The Hype’s urgency grew, trying to pull Molly away from the cliff face as the intruders advanced up the winding trail.
‘Well, no need for us to be quiet.’ Alex returned. ‘Let them know we are here but remember don’t use lethal force unless you have to. Try a few rocks. I’ll run a check down my side while you are doing that.’
Molly shouldered her rifle and picked up a large rock. ‘Shit, that’s a surprise.’ She thought. ‘I keep forgetting the lower gravity here. Rock-chucking should be easy.’
‘Well, they like to whistle.’ She mentioned to the Hype while she moved over to the cliff edge. Molly scanned the trail and waited until a figure advanced up the trail. When it emerged she let out a sharp whistle through her teeth like her dad had taught her so many years ago. The shape froze in mid-step. Molly stood erect to make sure that she was noticed and causally dropped the rock so that it passed by the figure. The Hype saw Molly’s throw and picked up a smaller rock, flinging it down at the intruder with a surprising ease and accuracy.
The intruder let out a series of surprised chirps and began moving down the Cliffside. Four others emerged from hiding to join the retreat as the path zigged back and forth across the cliff. As they passed over the ocean’s surf a large figure beached itself and a long neck struck at one of the retreating shapes. Yellow, baleful eyes turned up into it’s skull as the teeth grabbed the retreating figure by the head and shoulder. The Troondon let out a high-pitched scream. The plesiosaur snapped its head sharply three times to break the spine of the struggling Troondon and then slid, with the body, out into the dark waters.
Clearly shaken, the other intruders didn’t stop on the beach to mourn their loss. They ran with quiet discipline back to the cliff-face presumably returning to their original departure point.
The Hype next to Molly bobbed up and down on her strong legs and warbled a loud song into the night sky.
‘So, I guess it’s ok to stay here now? Right girl? Feeling pretty mighty aren’t you.’
Across the cliff-face from Alex’s position several shots were fired.
‘Alex, status?’ Molly asked.
‘Not a problem. Had three of them crossing the sand below toward me. Looks like we caught them early but they didn’t run from my stones so I had to ratchet up my response. Seems they don’t like being sprayed with sand from shots placed at their feet. They also turned and ran. How are you doing?’
‘With the help of this Hype we stopped about half a dozen coming up the trail. Something like a plesiosaur beached and grabbed one of them. The others ran back. Wonder if it’s the same animal that I saw earlier.’
‘You know something? This Hype actually sensed them first. She tried to pull me back away from the cliff. When I started throwing rocks, she also threw some. Actually did pretty well, she’s got a good arm!’
‘Whoa! Your attitudes sure changed. OK, look here comes the first light. We’ll be heading back soon. I’m beat.’
Later Molly’s Hype followed her back to the camp and then parted. Molly looked at the Hype as it left camp.
‘It’s hard not to trust them.’ Molly thought as she returned to the post-operation briefing tent. ‘David says they are wild beasts and we need to be careful. They seem ok to me.’
Later that day the second pallet of AutoSentinels arrived. They would not have to stand manned watches at the Cretaceous Station anymore. They also installed some fencing, outboard sensors and a gate for the plateau entrance. The plateau would be secure for the future.
* * * * *
‘Colonel Daniel Drake, Mission Log entry. Day three, 06:40 hours local, on site at Cretaceous Station. The Argos crew stayed in camp for the next two days after the Troondon attack. We have seen at least twelve Troondons but only at a distance. Their distinctive yodels are heard singing through the high plains at nightfall. The plains must be part of their territory. No direct contact since our initial encounter.’
‘There are eight Hypes on base plus about seventeen chicks. Hypes mimic everything from your actions to sounds. The Hypes continue to intermix with the company, the youngsters being the most aggressive. The young ones tend to be highly demanding for food and attention. Many of the company draw a parallel, and even treat them like big dogs rather than dinosaurs. The youngsters can be very playful and inquisitive, like having a big puppy with hands.’
‘Another concern that I didn’t realize we had until today. Many of the company have taken to having the Hypes accompany them on their round
s. Apparently, it started the first night when a hype alerted Specialist Molly Pasteur to the north-wall attempted incursion by the Troondons. I don’t see any problems in this except that we don’t really know much about the animals. Doctor Sara Wenford has been working with them in her spare time.’
‘The soil is nutrient rich across the plateau. Food crops should grow well. We would like to put up a solid SilFuse Wall around the growing area since Dr. Wenford anticipates problems from the mostly vegetarian Hypes.’
‘The work on the permanent base continues without incident. We completed the SilFuser pads for landing this afternoon. Three of the residences have two floors setup. Tomorrow we’ll put in the external storage and support areas so ship offloading can begin. Argos landing on the day after is possible.’
‘There were no large animal sightings near the Station. Sentries spotted a group of twenty of the large duck-billed dinosaurs on the flood plains up the river valley. A group of forty or more Alamosauruses, per Dr. Wenford, was spotted on the high plain on the south side of the river. They looked like Brontosauruses to me. The Doctor tells me they won’t be a problem in spite of their size. They are vegetarians. End Entry.’
* * * * *
Dan spotted Dave Pope walking over at the cliff edge and motioned to him. ‘Dave I want to pass an idea by you. We’ll be bringing the Argos in the day after tomorrow. We are going to unload the essentials and then give everyone a chance to stretch their legs and celebrate. We’ll need to feed these people and Nolen is tired of using the food we have in storage. Do you think we could eat any of these dinosaurs?’
Dave looked at him a little funny. ‘Well Sara does say they will evolve into birds so I imagine they are going to taste something like chicken. Should be ok to eat.’
He paused a second or two with his foot scratching the ground. ‘You do realize that if you’re thinking of eating the Hypes then you are going to have a revolt on your hands. Even though we’ve only been here a few days there’s too many close attachments. I really wouldn’t suggest it.’
Dan looked a little shocked. ‘Cheez No! He exclaimed. That didn’t even occur to me. No, I was thinking more along the lines that you break out one of the Jenson Boats and take a little hunting expedition up the river. Pick up some shellfish and lobster or any other type of seafood you can find along the way. Run it by Sara but I think we want to get one or two of those hadrosaurs. Two should be enough for everyone to have some barbeque.’
David wasted no time in starting the expedition. ‘Now we’re finally getting down to some solid hands-on work. Even a chance to do a bit of hunting. Tom, get Jon and Alex and pick up a Jenson Boat from the Hunter. We’ll use the sand crane to lower it to the beach. I also want six of the stasis storage bags. We’re going hunting! Make sure we have both pistol and shoulder weapons capable of handling anything up to Brontosaurus size. I’ll meet you over by the sand crane.’
Tom replied immediately, ‘OK Dave. See you in half an hour. By the way, there’s no such thing as a Brontosaurus!’
‘You know what I mean, Tom. Load up for big game.’
Sara was excited. ‘No, I don’t have any objections to you shooting for food. I’m looking forward to a close examination of one of the hadrosaurids anyways. I image they’ll be good eating but it might have a strange taste because of their diet of ferns, pine and other tuff fibrous plants. They’ll be pretty large you know. About 10 feet high for an adult and up to thirty-three feet in length. We may want to see if we can get a younger one to make sure the meat is tender. We’ll also have to butcher it on the spot unless you’ve got a way to transport an animal weighing a couple of tons.’
‘I’ll start getting everything together Mom.’ Brittany said.
‘Wait a minute young lady. No, you are not going on this one. It’s too early.’ Sara replied as they walked off to their tent.
Tom and Alex were linking two boxes up to the crane. A second weather-tight box containing the weapons and ammunition cubes waited by the side. Brittany and Sara walked down the path with two Hypes behind them.
‘Hi guys! Hey, where’s the boat?’ Brittany shouted to them.
‘This is the boat.’ Tom grunted as he set the last clip. ‘It’s a Jenson Boat. We get down to the bottom and then activate it using this control pad. The boat is made of mock Nickel-Titanium synthetic with two memory states. That means it has two low-energy states for its shape. This cube is the storage-state and when we activate it, the cube will transform into a jet-boat hull. The smaller cube on top is the engine and some controls. It’ll only take about eight minutes to assemble once we begin.’
‘It’s made by Jenson Boat Corporation as you would guess by the name. The concept of materials with a memory goes back to the mid-twentieth century. They just didn’t know how to add in the micro-structure changes for complex shapes like these. That took some nanotechnology breakthroughs.’
They lowered the materials down to the sand beach. Alex led the way down the winding path, looking nervously out to sea as the path crossed back over the waves. ‘This is where the troondon was snatched. I know we only see the plesiosaurs feeding close by shore at night but that thing was fast. I’m not taking any chances.’
Down on the beach Alex did a final alignment of the smaller box as it set on top of the larger one and pushed the button. A warning tone came from the assembly and the boat began to unfold. When it was near completion, the smaller box unfolded and began to interlink with the hull.
‘OK, grab the weapons case. We’ll need to take out shoulder weapons for all of us.’ Alex announced.
Tom turned and focused on Brittany. ‘What are you doing here? I thought your mother said you weren’t coming along this time.’
Brittany bristled and stared into his eyes. ‘I’m sixteen years old and quite able to take care of myself. Besides, I know a lot about these dinosaurs and I can help Mom with her record keeping.’
Sara just looked a little shy. ‘She’s very persuasive and can take care of herself. We’ve been in some pretty rough digs in the past so I’ve got confidence in her.’
‘Well, ok.’ Alex replied. ‘I don’t have any orders to the contrary and I don’t have any personal objections. Let’s mount up.’
As they climbed into the boat, Alex turned to Jon. ‘After you Jon, why don’t you sit in front of me. It’s a better seat and I can keep an eye on you.’ Tom could feel the friction between the two of them. He’d have to have a talk with Alex later and find out what was going on.
They pushed off the sand beach into the low surf using the onboard water-jets. The water below them was clear and they could see animals crawling on the bottom even down to the fifty foot depth. The sea below them glowed like a translucent emerald that flickered as they passed from sandy to coral-covered bottom. They could see the many nest-sites of the birds and pterosaurs on the cliffs above. Small animals like miniature plesiosaurs frolicked in the bow waves along with some smaller fish.
The jet boat quickly crossed over the seaward side of the headlands heading for the trench. The trench is a deep channel caused by the affluence of the river as it flowed to meet the ocean. Just before the edge of the channel, the depth abruptly rose from forty to only three feet to reveal a magnificent coral reef that extended out as far as they could see into the ocean. The coral was alive with color and motion and looked very much like those at home but somehow brighter and more vibrant. The marine invertebrates of the Cretaceous included nautiluses, barnacles, lobsters, crabs, sea urchins, ammonites, and foraminifers. All seemed to be here in abundance.
The depth then suddenly dropped and a current began pushing the boat out to sea. The jets changed and carried them into the river’s wide mouth. Gradually the red, amber and green limestone cliff-walls of the high plains rose on either side and closed in. The river meandered through a wide valley bordered by steep cliffs on each side of the waterway. These plains and mountains had been old when the Cretaceous period began a hundred million years before. The
inland sea they had just traversed was relatively new, only about 30 million years old. The seas had risen for some unknown reason to cover the once arid planes of the continent that would be central North America.
The bottom of the valley on either side of them was flat and wide. A fertile area filled from the sediment carried from the mountains in the distance by the flooding and wandering of the river between the very cliffs it created. A gentle slope rose from the river’s edge to the walls of the cliffs on either side. Reeds and swamp soon broke into coarse grassland and small marshes.
Crocodiles fill the banks of the river’s edge. Most of them ignoring the rapid transit of the jet-boat as it passed by in the center of the broad stream. Brushland on both sides break way to a light forest of familiar trees mixed with palm-like trunks that sprout sparse green strands of fern-like leaves. Sara mentioned that these strange trees were cycadeoideas. These trees were ancient plant life that had existed for over a hundred million years but would not survive the coming event. The sparse and coarse grass clusters around them is the newcomer who would eventually fill the coming epoch.
‘Look at how clear the water still is. I thought it would be cloudy in the river.’ Brittany suddenly shouted, ‘Oh my GOD! I thought that was a big log on the bottom. LOOK at the size of that crocodile! The head is as wide as our boat.’
Dave looked down just as Brittany screamed. ‘Wow, I’ve never seen one that big. It looks like its asleep. Keep your eyes peeled ahead of us. We’re probably going too fast for it or at least I hope so. Gives me the shivers just thinking of one of them coming up ahead of us with its mouth wide open.’
Bugs of all shapes and sizes filled the air. Brittany hoped that the repellants they had would keep them from landing on her. Water beetles, some of them over two inches in size ran from the passage of the boat. Dragonflies of all sizes filled the air with some brave ones easily able to keep up with the speed of the jet boat. Most of the dragonflies are small with wingspans of only seven or eight inches.
Nodal Convergence (Cretaceous Station Book 1) Page 11