Return To
Dinosaur Planet
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2012
by Jody Studdard
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be sold or given to another person. If you would like to share this eBook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this eBook and you did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.
This eBook is a work of fiction. Any similarities to actual persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental.
Cover design by Jody Studdard, copyright 2012.
For my family and friends
Lil-rel
Lil-rel climbed slowly, carefully along the edge of a sheer, stone cliff. He paused briefly, to take a quick look at the jungle floor hundreds of meters below him, and he knew if he fell he would be dead in an instant. He was not concerned, however, for he had climbed this cliff hundreds of times in the past, and even though it was quite a workout, it was nothing he couldn’t handle. Lil-rel was an Onduran, a primitive, feline race from Antos, the fourth planet in the Morna system, and, like most Ondurans, he was a skilled climber. His hands and feet ended in claws that dug into the cliff’s crevices and cracks with ease.
The only difficult part of the climb, as far as Lil-rel was concerned, was not being seen until he made it to his destination, which was a large pterodactyl nest about twenty meters above him. Like most pterodactyl nests, this one was huge, at least five meters in diameter, roughly circular in shape, made of straw, leaves, tree limbs, and mud, and it was built on the top of a large tree that grew from the side of the cliff. The nest’s inhabitants, a pair of pterodactyls Lil-rel affectionately referred to as ‘Grumpy’ and ‘Mrs. Grumpy,’ rarely left the nest unattended for extended periods of time, especially during the past few months, ever since Lil-rel had discovered it and started raiding it regularly.
Lil-rel was an egg thief, and he was proud of it. Despite only being seven years old, he was one of the best egg hunters in his village, and that was a big deal since dinosaur eggs (especially pterodactyl eggs) were considered an Onduran delicacy. Over the past couple of years, Lil-rel had explored the jungle all around his village, and he had located most of the prime nests in the area, and he raided them as often as he could. He couldn’t wait to see the look on his parents’ faces when he returned later that evening with another bunch. His mother would waste no time preparing them for the evening feast, and his father would pat him on the back and praise him like always.
He hesitated for a second as he neared the nest, right at the spot on the cliff the tree grew from. From here, things got a little tricky, since he had to actually leave the cliff and climb out onto the tree to get to the nest itself. He had to be extremely careful once he was on the tree, because once he headed out onto it, he was completely exposed, and if Grumpy and Mrs. Grumpy returned while he was out there, it would be bad news for him. It had happened once before, and he had barely escaped with his life, avoiding Grumpy’s massive, razor-sharp claws by mere centimeters.
He took a quick peek across the tree, into the nest, and his heart raced. Much to his delight, Grumpy and Mrs. Grumpy were nowhere to be seen, and the nest was filled with eggs. Each was oblong in shape, a mottled, brown color, and about twelve centimeters from top to bottom. There were at least eight, maybe nine, but it was hard to tell for sure since some of them were partially covered in the mud and straw at the bottom of the nest. Ever so carefully, but not wanting to waste any time, for fear Grumpy and Mrs. Grumpy would return, Lil-rel inched himself out onto the tree, feeling it bend slightly under his weight. The sensation was a little disturbing, since he was so high in the air, but it was nothing he hadn’t felt before on earlier trips, and he wasn’t daunted even for a second. Before he knew it, he had reached the edge of the nest, and he climbed inside and started to collect his prize, placing the eggs, ever so carefully, in the leather pouch he wore at his side. He stopped momentarily, however, when he heard a loud squish, and he looked down to see his left foot right in the middle of a large pile of thick, white pterodactyl dung.
Gross, he thought. Pterodactyls are so disgusting.
He wiped his foot off, the best he could, then went back to work. His heart raced when he discovered there were even more eggs than he had first realized. Several were completely buried in the straw, and he hadn’t been able to see them until he dug into the bottom of the nest and uncovered them. There was no doubt about it. This was going to be one of his biggest hauls ever — at least twelve eggs total, maybe more. He rounded up the last of them, climbed back out of the nest, and started to make his way across the tree toward the cliff when he froze in his tracks.
In the distance, he heard a shrill squawk.
He knew the sound instantly. It was Grumpy, and he was returning. He was about a hundred meters away, maybe more, but with his keen vision, he had already spotted Lil-rel and was heading right for the Onduran boy. Lil-rel scrambled toward the cliff, as fast as he could, but he was only about three quarters of the way to it when Grumpy reached him. The pterodactyl was a frightening sight, to say the least. It was dark gray, with a matching pair of bat-like wings that were approximately ten meters from tip to tip. A long, slender crest grew from the back of the creature’s skull. But the things on the pterodactyl that worried Lil-rel the most weren’t its wings or its crest. His biggest concern was the beast’s razor-sharp claws and its long, pointed beak. It soared by him and tried to knock him from the branch with its claws. He ducked at the last second and dodged the beast’s blow by less than a centimeter. It turned and raced back at him, attacking once again, this time just as he made his way off of the tree and back onto the stone cliff. The pterodactyl lunged at him with its massive beak. Lil-rel dodged to the left, then to the right, each time managing to narrowly avoid the blow. He saved himself, at least momentarily, by reaching into his pouch and pulling out his pa-va, a crude, stone knife used by Ondurans for a multitude of tasks, and sliced Grumpy across the beak. The pterodactyl reared back momentarily, clearly in shock and pain, giving Lil-rel just enough time to slip free and scurry down the cliff’s face. He was descending at a much quicker rate than he preferred, and it was extremely dangerous (to say the least), but he had no choice. Approximately twenty meters below him was a narrow ridge, with a small cave opening next to it, and he knew he could use if for shelter if he could get to it in time.
Somehow, miraculously, he actually did. Grumpy’s massive claws reached out to grab him, but he darted along the ridge and into the cave just in the nick of time. Unfortunately, during the melee, Grumpy had sliced a hole in the side of his pouch, and several of his eggs fell free and started to roll back toward the cave’s entrance. Lil-rel was too slow to catch the first one, and he watched as it fell helplessly toward the jungle floor far below.
What a terrible waste, he thought.
Luckily, however, he was able to dive onto the ground and save the other eggs before they met a similar, unfortunate fate.
When he looked back up, and gazed out of the cave’s entrance across the valley below him, his jaw fell open. He had expected to see Grumpy out there, flying away, his head down in defeat at having lost his precious eggs, but he didn’t expect to see the other thing that was out there. Far in the distance, he saw the ancient ruins his people referred to as the Manani. In the middle of the Manani was the largest of several structures, a massive, stone pyramid covered with moss and vines. Surrounding the pyramid was a group of ships and other machinery, massive bulldozers and other earth-moving and excavation equipment. Operating the equipment were large numbers of alien creatures, and they were unlike any creatures Lil-rel had ever seen. Like him, they were humanoid in size and shape, with two arms and two legs, but these creatures were much stockier, and they had many porcine features, including blunt, pig-like snouts and long tusks that protruded from the sides of their mouths. They were using their ships and machinery to clear the area around the central pyramid, and others stood near its main entrance, clearly searching for a way inside. One of them wore an overcoat, and he appeared to be a scientist or an archaeologist of some type. The others seemed to be looking at him for advice and guidance.
Lil-rel didn’t know what they were doing, but he knew one thing for certain. He needed to get back to his village as soon as possible, and he needed to tell his people about this discovery. His grandfather, the leader of the tribe, would surely want to know what was happening.
A New Threat
Captain James Bowman sat in the command chair at the center of the Phoenix’s main bridge. He spoke into a small audio recorder in his left hand.
“Command log, October 24, 2428. We’ve entered the Adavri Adami system and started our initial scans of the system’s planets, several of which appear to be of interest, especially from a scientific perspective. The outer planets are gas giants, with numerous satellites, both with rings, and they’re so close together they actually rotate around one another as they rotate the system’s star. It’s a configuration we’ve rarely seen, especially involving planets of this magnitude. Our scans will continue for approximately a week, then we’ll proceed to the system’s inner planets.”
The Phoenix’s communications officer, an attractive, young lieutenant named Ashley Martinez, glanced up from her console, a look of surprise and disbelief on her face. She adjusted her headset to verify what she was hearing. “Captain,” she said, “I’m receiving a message from one of the planets in the Morna system, on all channels, priority one.”
“The Morna system?” James asked. Morna was a name he hadn’t heard in a long time.
“Yes, sir,” Ashley responded. “It’s coming from the fourth planet, Antos. It’s an old friend.”
James’s eyes widened the minute Ashley said the name Antos. He remembered the planet well. Antos was a lush, tropical world, almost completely covered with jungle, that he and his crew had visited seven years prior.
“Put it on the view screen,” James said.
Ashley pushed a button on the console in front of her, and an image of a man appeared on the screen at the front of the bridge. James recognized the man instantly. His name was Mol-vin, and he was an Onduran. Like all Ondurans, he was feline in nature, with cat-like eyes and a body covered in hair. He had a thick, golden, flowing mane like the one you would find on a lion. Mol-vin was the chief of the Olong tribe, which was one of the largest and most powerful tribes on Antos.
“It’s been a long time, my friend,” James said.
“Too long,” Chief Mol-vin responded. “I hope life has treated you well, Captain.”
“I can’t complain,” James said. “They gave me a fancy new ship this past year, so my crew and I have been living the good life lately.”
“Spectacular,” Chief Mol-vin said. “You humans, your technology never fails to amaze me. Until we met, I had only dreamed of vehicles that could travel throughout the stars.”
James laughed. “Sometimes, I can hardly believe it myself,” he said. “But anyway, old friend, what brings this call? It’s been so long I’d thought you’d forgotten about us.”
“Nonsense,” Chief Mol-vin said. “My people and I will never forget you. And I apologize for the delay between messages, but I’ve been quite busy these past few weeks. Several tribes have decided to join the Olong, so we have been expanding our village to accommodate them. As you can imagine, it’s quite a project. But anyway, the reason I called you, old friend, is I need a favor. A new threat has arisen on Antos.”
“A new threat?” James asked, instantly growing concerned. “What do you mean?”
“They are a race like none I’ve seen before,” Chief Mol-vin said. “They arrived here a few weeks ago, and they are pillaging our temples. They call themselves the Jumanji.”
James’s eyes grew large the instant he heard the name, and he immediately grew apprehensive. He had dealt with the Jumanji on several occasions in the past, and none of those experiences had been good. The Jumanji were one of the galaxy’s most hostile and aggressive races, and they were constantly at war with someone. For years, they had been the scourge of the galaxy, and they were constantly looking for their next big conquest.
“What do they want?” James asked.
“I’m not sure,” Chief Mol-vin responded. “On numerous occasions, I’ve tried to speak with their commander, a man named Wartov, but he is not like you, Captain. He considers my people primitive and inferior, and as such he feels we are unworthy of his time.”
“What does he want with your temples?” James asked.
“I’m not sure,” Chief Mol-vin said. “The temples are thousands of years old, and they are sacred to my people, but they have no value of any type, at least as far as I know. But Wartov is obsessed with them. Despite my objections, he has already begun an excavation of the largest and most sacred pyramid, much to the shock and dismay of my people. The elders are about to declare war, but I fear alone we are no match for the Jumanji.”
James rubbed his chin with one hand. He did not like what he was hearing, not one little bit. He shot a quick glance at the rest of his bridge crew, and saw similar expressions of concern on their faces. His first officer, Commander Janine James, looked especially troubled.
“Unfortunately,” Chief Mol-vin continued, “my story gets worse. Apparently the excavation of the temples has become a bigger project than Wartov originally anticipated, so he has decided he needs more workers. He has sent his warriors to round up and enslave many Ondurans. None of my tribe has been affected yet, but other tribes that live nearer to the temples have already been conquered and put to work.”
“What can we do?” James asked.
“I need you to come here and help us,” Chief Mol-vin said. “I am already preparing my men for a confrontation, but I know there is no way we can fight the Jumanji ourselves. Spears and blowguns are no match for laser weapons.”
James turned to his bridge crew, all of which had served with him the first time he had assisted Chief Mol-vin and the Ondurans.
“Does anyone on this bridge have an objection to me altering our current mission and heading to Antos to assist the Ondurans? If so, voice your concerns now.”
The answer was exactly as he had anticipated. Complete silence.
James turned to his chief navigations officer, a man named Lieutenant Curt Williams. Williams was an athletic man with dark skin, brown eyes, and a shaved head. “Mr. Williams,” James said. “Set a course for the Morna system, maximum velocity.”
“Yes, sir,” Curt responded.
James turned back to the view screen.
“Chief Mol-vin,” he said. “We’ll see you soon.”
The Jumanji
The Morna system was located in a remote, unoccupied section of the galaxy, so it took almost two full days for the Phoenix to reach it. Antos, the fourth planet in the system, and the home of the Ondurans, was exactly as Captain James Bowman remembered — a sapphire, emerald, and white sphere floating majestically amidst a backdrop of stars. The planet was almost entirely covered with water, with a lone continent that filled the majority of its equatorial region.
“Bring up a visual of the surface,” James told Ashley as the Phoenix moved into orbit. “Near the temples.”
As always, Ashley did as instructed. An image appeared on the view screen, and it wasn’t a pretty one. The area around the ruins, especially the area near the massive, central pyramid, had largely been excavated. The dense foliage that had once concealed the pyramid was gone, ripped away by the massive bulldozers and other earth moving equipment that sat nearby. Now, the entire place was little more than a large, muddy pit, filled with Jumanji soldiers that stood at various points, serving as overseers as Onduran men and women labored around them. James winced as an Onduran man tripped and fell to one knee. Instead of helping him up, the nearest overseer pulled a flail from his belt and whipped him on the back.
James turned to his first officer, Commander Janine James. Janine was an attractive woman in her mid to late thirties, with long, blonde hair and deep, blue eyes.
“I want you to prepare a ground team,” James said. “Take Commander O’Reilly and the marines with you. Set up a defensive perimeter at Chief Mol-vin’s village and await further instructions.”
“You’re not coming with us?” Janine asked.
“Not yet,” James responded. “I want to contact the Jumanji leader and see what I can do from up here.”
Janine nodded, then headed for the exit at the rear of the bridge. James would have liked to have accompanied her, to oversee the arrangements on the surface himself, but he wasn’t worried. Janine had been his first officer for over ten years, and she had never let him down. She was a highly skilled officer who was more than capable of fending for herself. If the Onduran village needed to be defended, she would defend it.
In the meantime, James had other things he needed to attend to. The first was to find out what was really going on here. He turned to his chief science officer, Lieutenant S’ondra Ala Ola. Unlike the rest of the Phoenix’s crew, ninety-nine percent of which was human, S’ondra was Rigellian. She was from Rigel, a planet in the Handover star cluster. Like most Rigellian females, she was humanoid in appearance, but her skin was deep blue, with narrow, vertical, ebony stripes. A small horn grew from each side of her skull. Had she been a Rigellian male, the cranial horns would have been larger and would have encircled the sides of her head like the horns on a ram.
“Any idea why Wartov and the Jumanji are interested in the temples?” he asked. “My understanding is the Jumanji are a warrior race. I didn’t know they were much into archaeological excavations.”
“They’re not,” S’ondra responded. “At least as far as we know.”
“Then what do they want with the temples?” James asked. “And why are they focusing their efforts primarily on the main pyramid? What do you know about it?”
“Very little,” S’ondra said. “Most of the information in our databanks comes from the Ondurans, and even they know little about it. They say the ruins have always been there, as long as the Ondurans can recall. Their legends tell of an ancient, alien race called the Manani who came to Antos thousands of years ago and built the temples, but that is all they know. They do not know why the Manani came to Antos in the first place, why they built the temples, or what eventually happened to them. And as far as we know, only one human has ever been inside.”
James smiled. He knew who that human was.
Him. On their last trip to Antos, he had entered one of the pyramids, one of the smaller ones, in an attempt to seek refuge from the diabolical madman, Daniel Wellington, who had been trying to kill him at the time.
“When you were in the pyramid,” S’ondra asked, “did you see anything of interest?”
James shook his head. “Not really,” he said. “But, to be honest, I had other things on my mind at the time. I was more interested in saving my life. But I do remember a couple of things. There were these beautiful alien hieroglyphs etched on the walls. And there was a booby trap that nearly killed me on a staircase. And there was a sarcophagus, with a partially decomposed body inside.”
“Was the body Onduran?” S’ondra asked.
James shook his head. “Definitely not,” he said. “It was largely decomposed, so I couldn’t tell what it was, but it wasn’t Onduran. It was much too big.”
“That would be consistent with the Onduran stories,” S’ondra said. “It was probably the remains of one of the Manani, the aliens who originally built the temples.”
“I still don’t see why the Jumanji would be interested in them,” James said.
S’ondra was about to respond, but she never got the chance. The Phoenix’s chief navigations officer, Lieutenant Curt Williams, swiveled in his seat at the front of the bridge.
“Sir,” he said. “A ship has just moved into scanner range. It is in orbit, on the far side of the planet.”
“Jumanji?” James asked.
“Yes,” Curt responded. “Valtov-class.”
James cringed. Like most races, the Jumanji had several different types of ships, of varying sizes and shapes, but the most common was the Valtov-class destroyer, a massive ship armed with every type of weapon known to man.
“On screen,” James said.
The image on the view screen changed. Where once there had been pyramids and ancient ruins, now there was a massive, gray ship.
Ashley spoke from her communication station at the rear of the bridge.
“We’re being hailed,” she said.
James nodded. The image on the screen changed again. This time, it was replaced with a man sitting in the command seat on the Jumanji ship’s bridge. Like most Jumanji, he was big and stocky, with deep, auburn skin and braided hair. Unlike most Jumanji, however, he wore a patch over his left eye.
“Allow me to introduce myself,” he said. “I am Wartov, of the Jumanji destroyer Killintov. State your business in this system.”
“I was about to ask you the same,” James responded. “I’ve seen images from the surface. You will free the Ondurans and leave the planet immediately.”
“You have no claim to this planet,” Wartov said, instantly growing defensive. “This planet is not part of your beloved Alliance, human.”
He said the word ‘human’ as though it were dirty.
“True,” James said. “But the inhabitants of this planet, the Ondurans, requested our assistance years ago, and as such they were made a protectorate. As a protectorate, if you threaten or harm them in any way, you will deal with us. I will use force if necessary.”
“Delightful,” Wartov said. “And a bit surprising. I’ve heard you humans are weak and unworthy. It’s been said you prefer diplomacy and reason.”
“Usually we do,” James said. “But not today. As such, you’re going to release your Onduran captives immediately. Then you’re going to round up your men and your equipment, and you’re going to leave this system and never return. I’ll give you ten hours to do so. Is that understood?”
Wartov smiled. “And what happens if I don’t?”
James’s answer was short, succinct, and straight to the point. “Then I’ll blow your ship to a million pieces,” he said.
“Delightful,” Wartov said. “And here I thought today was going to be another uneventful, boring day. Please take note, Captain,” he said, “the Jumanji love a good fight.”
“And so do we,” James said. “Our planet has a long history of war and bloodshed. And we especially love fighting when our homes and friends are threatened. The Ondurans are our friends, so I warn you — we will fight to the death if needed.”
Wartov smiled, but he did not say anything more. His image vanished, and the transmission ceased.
“Do you think it’s a good idea to provoke him?” S’ondra asked.
“I’ve dealt with the Jumanji before,” James said. “That’s the only way to deal with them. They’re bullies, so the only things they understand are threats and violence. If you show any sign of weakness, any sign of hesitation or indecisiveness, you’ll get nowhere with them.”
S’ondra nodded.
“Janine should have rounded up her ground team by now,” James said. “I want you to go with her. See what more you can find out about these Manani ruins. Maybe if we can learn some more about them, we can figure out what the Jumanji are up to.”
He turned to his chief security officer, Lieutenant Steve Matthews, who stood at his security station on the far side of the bridge. Steve was a lean, muscular man in his mid thirties, with a thick goatee on his chin. “Go to yellow alert, Mr. Matthews,” James said, “and prepare for battle. In ten hours, if that Jumanji ship hasn’t left orbit, open fire with everything you’ve got.”
The Onduran Village
Commander Janine James stepped from the shuttlecraft Perseus, on the surface of the planet Antos, and immediately realized one thing. She had forgotten how hot and humid the planet was. A thin layer of perspiration formed instantly on her forehead, and a small bead of sweat trickled down her side, just inside her uniform.
All around her was jungle. Thick, dense jungle, with some of the most colorful foliage she had ever seen. Much of it was similar to the plants and trees you would find on Earth, but there were obvious exceptions. A distant fern was the most brilliant shade of purple she had ever seen. Another plant, to the fern’s left, was at least twenty meters tall and shaped like a giant squid.
To her right was the Phoenix’s chief science officer, the Rigellian woman, Lieutenant S’ondra Ala Ola, and to her left was Commander Terry O’Reilly, who was the leader of the squad of marines that was currently assigned to the Phoenix. Behind Terry were his men, all clad in the same camouflaged fatigues Terry wore. Janine was always a little more comfortable when she went on missions with the marines at her side. Terry and his men were some of the most loyal and skilled men she had ever met.
And they carried big guns. Each was armed with a laser rifle, some had grenade launchers, one had a bazooka, and another had a flamethrower. Most people would think twice before messing with them.
They were greeted by Chief Mol-vin and an entourage of his people. They were exactly as Janine remembered — a mixed lot, quite primitive, feline in nature, and varying greatly from individual to individual. Many of them reminded Janine of various feline species from Earth. Chief Mol-vin was large and had a thick mane like a lion (which she found quite appropriate, since he was the leader), one of his guards was smaller and jet-black, like a panther, and an advisor was yellow, with the distinctive black and gold spots of a jaguar.
“Thank you for coming so quickly,” Chief Mol-vin said. “As always, my people are grateful. Please follow me, and I will lead you to our village.”
Janine and her crew followed him along a small path that led to a large opening in the trees, and the village appeared in front of them. It was a massive place, even bigger than Janine remembered, made of large, wooden huts and other structures, built into, around, and on the nearby trees. It was amazingly complex, with multiple layers of huts going up each tree, with rope and wooden walkways suspended between each tree. There were even crude, wooden elevators that were used, presumably, to hoist people and items from the jungle floor into the structures high above.
The biggest change to the village, however, since Janine had last been there, was to its ground level, the level built directly on the jungle floor. The entire area was surrounded by a large, wooden wall, with an enormous gate at its front that could be raised or lowered to allow access. Around the exterior of the wall the Ondurans had dug a massive moat that was filled with water.
“You added some defenses since my last visit,” Janine said.
“In today’s world,” Chief Mol-vin replied, “you can never be too cautious.”
The Onduran guards at the front gate lowered the drawbridge and welcomed them inside. Immediately upon entering, Janine stopped in her tracks as she looked around and saw something she never expected to see.
Dinosaurs.
Inside the Onduran village.
Somehow, the Ondurans had learned to domesticate the massive beasts, and they used them for a multitude of tasks. Janine watched with interest as a farmer walked by with a massive stegosaur at his side. The stegosaur pulled a cart that was filled with some of the most exotic fruits and vegetables Janine had ever seen. In the distance, two Onduran men guided a triceratops forward as it used its massive horns to roll some logs into a pile.
“You domesticated the dinosaurs?” she asked.
“Some of them,” Chief Mol-vin responded. “Just the herbivores, of course. The meat eaters are still quite problematic, so we keep away from them as much as possible.”
Terry stepped forward, next to Janine, and pointed at a group of Onduran males not too far away. The men looked like they were performing some sort of training exercise, and they were doing it while riding atop some of the most interesting dinosaurs Janine had ever seen.
“What are they doing?” Terry asked.
Chief Mol-vin smiled. “That’s the newest addition to our army. Our version of a cavalry. We call the dinosaurs suprasaurs.”
At that point, Janine looked more carefully at the dinosaurs the Ondurans were riding. She had never seen anything like them before. They were about three meters tall, stood upright on their hind legs like a hadrosaur, had the round, domed head of a pachycephalosaur, and the razor-sharp, spiked thumb of an iguanodon. The Onduran men rode on their backs and used crude saddles, reins, and stirrups to control them.
Janine turned to S’ondra.
“What’s up with those dinosaurs?” she asked.
“Those aren’t normal dinosaurs,” S’ondra responded. “Those must have been some of Wellington’s creations.”
It was at that point Janine remembered. On their first visit to Antos, they had met an egotistical madman named Daniel Wellington. He had built a compound on the planet and had his scientists clone dinosaurs from DNA samples, dinosaurs that he had released into the wilderness. Originally, he had started with normal dinosaurs, but when he grew tired of hunting them, he started getting more creative. He had his scientists genetically splice DNA samples from different species together, effectively creating his version of ‘super’ dinosaurs. The most creative and powerful one Janine had ever seen was the one Wellington called the magnisaur. It was a large, four-legged beast roughly the size of a rhinoceros. It had the head, horns, and shield of a triceratops, the armored, plated back of an ankylosaur, and the long, spiked tail of a stegosaur. The thing had been so powerful it had been able to defeat an allosaur with relative ease.
As they walked over to take a closer look at the Onduran cavalry and their amazing suprasaurs, one of the men jumped from his mount and ran over to greet them. He was a tall, lean Onduran, and his fur was bright orange with fantastic black and white stripes that glistened in the sunlight. Janine recognized him instantly.
“Fa-rel,” she said, as a large smile crossed her face.
Fa-rel shook her hand enthusiastically. “Commander James,” he said. “It’s an honor to see you again.”
“The honor is mine,” Janine said. “Looks like you’ve got a new project you’re working on.”
Fa-rel nodded. “Chief Mol-vin put me in charge of forming the new cavalry. But trust me, it hasn’t been easy. These beasts aren’t easy to train. But it’s finally starting to come together. And the way things are looking, we may need it soon.”
“That’s what I hear,” Janine said.
“But enough of this gloom and doom,” Fa-rel said. “I know someone who is going to die when she sees you.”
He led them deeper into the village, to a large hut that was built at the base of what appeared to be the Antosian version of a cedar tree. Inside the hut was a slender Onduran woman with unmistakable white fur and bright, pink eyes. It was Fa-rel’s wife, and Chief Mol-vin’s daughter, A-donna. She was preparing a meal of some sort, and had her back turned to them when they first entered the hut.
“I brought friends,” Fa-rel announced.
A-donna screamed and raced over to Janine the minute she saw her. The two had always been friends, and they had worked together, side-by-side, to defeat Daniel Wellington and his Drazi henchmen.
“How have you been?” A-donna asked.
“Good,” Janine responded. “Like always, Captain Bowman keeps me busy. We got a new ship last year, so we’ve been spending a lot of time breaking it in, travelling from system to system. How about you? How have you been?”
“I’ve been great,” A-donna said, and her eyes got even brighter than normal. “Actually, I’ve been more than great.” She turned to Fa-rel. “Did you tell her?”
He shook his head. But there was a big smile on his face, so it was clear he knew exactly what she was talking about. And clearly it was something big.
A-donna motioned to the far side of the hut, and a young Onduran boy, approximately seven years old, rushed over to greet them. The boy was approximately a meter and a half tall, and, like Fa-rel, he resembled a tiger, with deep black stripes. But unlike Fa-rel, who was orange, the boy was white, and he had bright, pink eyes, just like A-donna.
Janine realized who he was even before A-donna formally introduced him.
“This is Lil-rel,” A-donna said. “Our son.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lil-rel,” Janine said.
“Are you Commander James?” Lil-rel asked. “My dad says you’re one of the finest warriors in the human army. He says you led the human ground forces during the Great Drazi War.”