plans collide!

(From the reflections of Desdemona Deinonychus, Crimson Talon and Pack Matriarch of the Pack of the Primordial Feather)

The Runt* has not let me down!

*[Traumador]

I was hoping he'd stick his snout into our affairs not more than a few hours ago, and he just showed up!

Ever since the Runt managed to inflitrate our perimeter the other day, we moved our defence point into a more central location of this mammal environment*. That way Vicsurus [Daspletosaur], and her powerful sense of smell would be able to better detect intruders.

*[building, in this case the University of Calgary's Geology Department]

I was there when Vicsurus detected the Runt, along with several mammals, exiting the mechanical ascender**. The opportunity I'd been awaiting arrived, and it couldn't have been more perfectly timed! Layla [Oviraptor] and Razi [Saurornithoides] had both gone to attend to more "important" matters than the defense of their precious crate, leaving me and Vicsurus to deal with any situations that might arise. Though I technically outranked Vicsurus, Layla had undermined me and formally left Vicsurus in command.

**[elevator]

Any other time I would not have tolerated such an insult, but this time I was willing to bear the disgrace. Layla had handed me everything I needed to ambush her in the Pack's political arena. How could the failure of the Crate be my fault when I was not the one in command? While I was at it, I was about to exact my revenge on the Runt for the defeat I suffered on account of him!

I "entrusted" Vicsurus, as the lead hunter*** to take point and deal with the intruders. She agreed to this course of action so I could mobilize the Crimson Talons, something I very much had in mind. I reminded her not to draw any undue notice to our presence which Vicsurus fully agreed with. The Crate was as good as lost!

***[solider or warrior]

(From the notes of Kirsten Brink, Palaeontology Graduate Student at the University of Calgary)

Traumador is so dead. Assuming I don't beat him to it!

As per his "cunning" plan, we all piled into the elevator and headed directly into the basement, while all the rest of our little "assualt team" split up and snuck off through some restricted maintence corridors (thanks to Carmen the collections manager), I got the fantastic job of being the bait!

I didn't even want to take part in this suicidal scheme in the first place, and yet I get to be the decoy! Which if it sounds great on paper, is even better in real life!

Especially when I saw what I was going to get to distract. I'm off the elevator for two minutes and what should show up? A Tyrannosaurid.

Mind you I guess that makes sense. It'd have the olfactory suite best suited to notice us right away. Sadly for me it is also among the best equipped dinosaurs to finish me off without much fuss.

Oddly enough I was stressing about this role so much on the way down, now that I'm here I'm finding doing distracting things is coming quite naturally. At least with my arms! Who knew my adrenal responses would cause my arms to be as spry as a hummingbird on a Coke truck (don't ask, it's a long story!). Yet my legs seem to be made of cement, I'm so terrified.

Scratch that on the arms. As Mr. or Mrs. (a Mrs. on closer examination) Tyrannosaurid leaned in closer for a look, suddenly my arms decided that what my legs were doing was far better. I froze, which knowing predators is probably better than running at this sort of range.

I feebily put on a smile, and tried to play it cool. "Are you a new arrivial for the Vivus-fossil collection?" Was what I found myself saying.

Obviously Mrs. Tyrannosaurid didn't like that inquiry so much, as I got a full on death roar. You know, like the one the T-Rex in Jurassic Park delievers (only an octave higher). I nearly fainted.

Then it didn't do anything, but ferciously stare at me. For a good minute.

I'll be dared! Traumador's theory that these things weren't going to kill me, due to my being a human (or palaeontologist) seems to have been correct. At least for Tyrannosaurids.

I hope for Caleb's sake the same holds out for the other Coelurosaurs hiding down here.

All I know is I'm going to make my way as far away from this Tyrannosaur as I can, and sneak through another of Carmen's limited access corridors to the key point of Traumador's plan. I'm also hoping Mrs. Tyrannosaurid here doesn't go back to the Crate's storage room right away, as right now having it guarding the elevators works perfectly for us.

(From the margins of Caleb's journal)

I HATE TRAUMADOR!!!

(From the meditations of Valour Velociraptor, chief lieutenant of the Crimson Talons)

It is not everyday that an ambush plays out as you plan. Yet on this day Desdemona and I have been rewarded with our quarry offering itself to us. If I were to go with this metaphor, it is up to me to bring it down. Though in reality I must ensure quite the opposite, for if the Runt or any of his mammalian companions fall today, I hand victory to the scavenger* Layla. I will not stand for her trimphing over me on this day!

*[to be called a scavenger is among the greatest insults within the Pack]


Yet with my Crimson Talons in tow, I now have a difficult balancing act to accomplish. I must ensure our efforts seem as geniue as possible in warding off the Runt's assault, but at the same time to kill any of his lot would be failure.

My party stumbled across a male mammal as he exited a new passage way in this labrinth. Of all the environments Layla could choose for us to defend, she picks this strange alien one. A hunter's instincts are useless here. The mammals hold all the advantages, and it was once again demonstrated here!

Before any of my hunters pounce the mammal, I quickly assert my authority. "Not yet!" I bark, earning me looks of surprise and scorn. "We shall let him lead us to his accomplices."

This logic sounds wise, and indeed if I were really hunting this mammal it is what I would do. My hunters comply. We chase the mammal just on the edge of attacking distance. This way, in a real hunt we could subdue him at a moments notice.

As we reached the center of the labrinth another mammal, this one female, appears from another of these hidden mammal tunnels. My hunters behind me express their surprise at this repeated phenomenon. The air of confusion aids me in my next deed.

"Halt at the juncture ahead, and establish an ambush point," I order. This is met with near insubordination from Dexter [Dromaeosaurus]. I come to a full stop much to my hunters surprise, who just manage to halt themselves and avoid each other and/or myself, allowing both mammals to disappear around the corner. With our prey now potentially escaping my troop looks to me for an explanation. "Layla's orders were for me to deal with any mammalian intruders personally, as to leave doubt on our connection to the deaths."

This satisfies my hunters more then enough. Each of them knows well enough I am capable of far more subtle and surgical strikes than any other theropod alive today, the benefit of my dedicated training in China.

However they still prepared to escort me on this task. Something I can not allow. Witnesses would destroy what I am about to do. Plus I can now sow the idea of Layla's responsibility. "Layla was quite specific," I state convincingly. "Once we have them cornered only I am to pursue. You are to ensure aid does not reach them in time."

This combat order sounds amateur enough to have come from Layla. Despite being a total scavenger, Layla prides herself on being a great tactitian despite never having once been in battle. The orders she has been giving us for the past few weeks all sounded as foolish if not more so than the one I have made up. My hunters will have no problem being convinced in the debriefing they heard this order from Layla herself to avoid blame being assigned to us.

With my hunters holding a defensive position outside I cautiously venture into the void space* both mammals have entered. I find them not far from the entrance, clearly attempting to entice me to enter.

*[empty warehouse]

I cannot believe the Runt's troop is foolish enough to believe I'd somehow lost their trail let alone that they were losing me. Had this been a real hunt both of them wouldn't have made it but a few steps from their secret passageways.

For the time being it suits my purposes that they enter this enclosed space away from my hunters.

I have them trapped in their own wire nets*. I believe the extent of their plan was to lure us into this space and trap us, thus keeping us from guarding the crate.

*[fence]

Oh how in some ways I wish I weren't using them for my own purposes. It would have been fun to teach them the error in their ways. Not a single Primoridal hunter would have fallen for this trick of theirs for a second. Let alone me.

The male makes a dramatic escape attempt, to try and cover the female's more subtle and slow departure out a door. How he doesn't think I could leap this fence quicker than him I do not know.

With both mammals safely out of my reach, I can clearly see their plan. However it requires the rest of my troop to be in here with me. So I oblige, and signal my hunters to assist me. With them out of view this whole time, it won't be hard to convince them the humans had already escaped, and I'd walked into their trap.

It will be very easy to have Layla reported as the cause of this disgracful outcome.

From the mammals' point of view their plan works perfectly, as I let them escape and the rest of the Talons rush in behind me.

Only to be trapped, as a second human female pounces on the gate behind us from yet another secret passage in this labrinyth.

The other Talons look about in confusion, as from their perspective the trap is incredibly efficient. Not a single one would suspect I would have allowed this to happen. Clearly the mammals legitimately ambushed us.

To add to this illusion, I take several futile pounces at the first mammal female, who remains to taunt us. I take a moment to remember her face. No one who has ever taunted me has lived long to tell the tale.

As they run off thinking how terribly clever they are, I can not help but feel statisfied. Soon they shall help themselves to the crate and its contents. With that they will suffer wounds far deeper than those my ego has endured today!

(From the notes of Kirsten Brink, Palaeontology Graduate Student at the University of Calgary)

It worked! I can't believe it worked!

I give Caleb a high five as we double check the Raptors are indeed sealed in.

Who would have thought Traumador's half thrown together plan would work so well!

As he and Carmen head off in another of these magic corridors of hers, I hope he finds this thing of the Pack's and gets rid of it effortlessly.

I'd hate to have gone through all this for nothing!

To be continued with THE CRATE itself...

converging schemes...

(From the reflections of Desdemona Deinonychus, Crimson Talon and Pack Matriarch of the Pack of the Primordial Feather)

Enough is enough!

I am a hunter*. More to the point I am a Matriarch**, and the Alpha** of the Crimson Talons. Not some Ornithomimid or Alvarezsaurid commoner for Layla [Oviraptor] to order around!

*[in pack language a hunter is more akin to soldier]
**[A commander and chief within the pack]



Yet she continues to walk about our temporary territory* as though she is a Royal**. What makes her even more insufferable is that the Royal who is present allows her to do so. If I were Vicsurus [Daspletosaur] I would most certainly have shown the Oviraptor who the superior one was.

*[Base of operations]
**[Tyrannosaurid]


Alas, Vicsurus is too disiplined a hunter to go against the orders from the Grand Matriarch. Even the supreme predators of the Primoridals thought that Layla's and Razi [Saurornithoides]'s precious crate was valuable enough to devote half the Crimson Talons to its protection, meaning none of us here could make a move against the smug Oviraptor.


This has made my position all the more difficult, for I am beginning to fail in containing my contempt for Layla. Especially the way she has had the gumption to order my troops around, as though she'd passed the trails and been marked a Crimson Talon.

Reports from Vicsurus of the Runt's* sudden appearance here has caused Layla to worry about security even more than before. Today I had to use all my control not to slash her throat as she did rounds instructing us all in how to ward off enemy intruders. Of all the nerve!!! The cowardly scavenger hasn't once lifted a claw in the heat of battle, and yet treats us frontline hunters like fresh hatchlings!!!

*[Traumador]

Like I said enough was getting to be enough. Despite Layla believing she is about to ascend within the Pack's leadership, I have other plans. Her current authority is only secure if the crate is secure, which is something I very much have a say over!

However my list of true allies in my potential planned treason is thin . Layla and Razi are both political scavengers*! They've undermined the loyalties of many of my Talons, and though the Talons all still unquestioningly follow me into battle, are not all completely devoted to our Pride as they once were. If I actively ordered them into what I planned, some of them might very well turn on me, in hopes of gaining favour with the Pack's leadership and ascend with Layla.

*[an insult similar to being referred to as a weasel]

There was only one in my Pride I could trust my rage and plans with, Valour [Velociraptor]. Despite her martial arts trained calm, Valour was also beginning to wear under Layla's lecturing. The thought of pouncing the Oviraptor had even passed through Valour's crystal clear mind once or twice today.

I vented my anger to Valour when I was certain no one else was within earshot. In her typical manner Valour was unphased by my anger, but for once at the end showed her own feelings. Many in the Pack do not fully trust Valour due to her relative lack of emotion. I must admit initially I did not immediately take a fancy to her when she first earned her place amongst the Talons. As a rule we Dromaeosaurids tend to be a very passionate Pride, and Valour most certainly does not fit this mold. Yet I have come to envy her for her detachment.

When it came time for us to discuss how to sabotage Layla's precious crate, I especially envied her clear minded control. Though I had my own strategy devised, Valour had already concieved a brilliant tactic for integrating the rest of the Talons into transparently helping us. All we needed was for the Runt to make a move against us.

He had demonstrated many times now that this was something that he would most certainly do. When he did so this time, we would make sure he succeeded. Not only would Layla suffer, but the Runt himself would no doubt be devastated by the crate's contents. And this should lead to a complete victory against my enemies with one box! Of course, that's only if it all goes according to plan...

(From Traumador the Tyrannosaur's blog The Tyrannosaur Chronicles)

i'd hit a most stressful... no that's not strong enough word for it. a most terrifying. yeah that'll do... moment in my life.

the crate was now within sight. the only trouble was, i had no idea how i was going to get it away from the primoridals!

the collections manager carmen had taken me through the building's layout, and given me a few ideas of places that might be handy in distracting theropods... but there was a lot of uncertain variables, in particular how many and what types of coelurosaurs were guarding the area. this had me in particularly worried. there was every likelihood that the crimson talons were about, and i knew there was at least one daspletosaur kicking around. worse, i had no idea how i was going to get them ALL away from the crate and remain safe!?!

one thing was certain. i was going to need help... especially given my history with the crimson talons. the pack had vowed it would make me join them one way or another... so walking right into a stronghold of theirs solo just didn't strike me as a good idea!

fortunantely i had a scheduled lunch with two people who might very well be willing and able to help me! my palaeontologist friends caleb and kirsten! man i'm glad last time i met up with them i'd scheduled this lunch date...

concidentally the university's resturant stuck us in the most darkly lit corner, which give it the perfect conspiracy air to plan a heist.

caleb and kirsten were somewhat amused by my immediate launch into my pack/crate woes and how i needed their help. "only you could say hi, by asking us to risk life and limb," kirsten pointed out to me. "we really should bet on such things, 'how long it'll take traum to bring up something perilous."

"you're certain its the pack of the primordial feather?" caleb asked pointedly. he had a bit of a history with the pack too. they'd kick him out of the tyrrell just like me. i assured him there was no question, to which he responded "what's the plan then?"

the tough question. one to which i had an answer, but not the best...

kirsten immediately upon my conclusion agreed it wasn't a great answer. "that is seriously your plan?" i nodded, prompting her to reply. "you seriously expect the two of us to take on a whole swarm of raptors and who knows what else?!!"

i couldn't see any other way. it was better the two of them than me... and not for the selfish reasons that sounds like!

silence took over our lunch for a bit. caleb sat thinking on it all before finally asking. "why don't we ask the lab rats for help too? their presence might help ensure we stay safe."

"no," i answered firmly. despite thinking not being my strongest suit, i had considered the possibility of bringing in other vivus-dinosaurs to help (such as norman). "you'd be bringing something with you that is definitely a meal. to the coelurosaurs that would signal a hunt definitely being on. they'd kill the lot of you without blinking. just the two of you, palaeontologists and all, might throw them off enough."

"i'm afraid it is either you guys going in on your own, or i need a different plan," i admitted guiltily. "i know it is a lot to ask."


"no it isn't traum," kirsten stated calmly. i raised my head in hope which she noticed, and just as i thought she was in, kirsten shouted. "because you're going to need a new plan!"

i was crushed. not that i blame her really. i was asking everything from these guys, and i hadn't always been the best friend to them (more in my actions mind you than my intentions... having a small brain causes one to make some bad descisions, but for all the right reasons... sort of like what i was asking of them...).

suddenly caleb countered kirsten. "we're in."

"what?!?" kirsten spat at caleb.

"true its not the best plan ever," caleb explained. "but given what we know it is the only logical course of action. any attempt to probe the pack's position for more information would be even more dangerous."

"you don't seriously expect me too..." kirsten started, but was interupted by caleb.


"to stand up against a force that is actively attacking our field?" caleb challenged in reference to the science of palaeontology. "the primordials have shown they have no qualms with interferring with our research, science, and field work. now they are using our institutions as fronts for their activites."


"where does it stop. simple smuggling? if they get away with this, what is to stop them from stealing things from our collection while they are at it next time? who's to say they won't start using this cover to start poaching our vivus-fossil collections? to top it all off, their presence here went completely unnoticed, if not for traumador's hard work. this might be our one and only chance to stand up to them."


kirsten thought on that a moment. "what choice do we have but to stand up to them?" caleb asked again, somewhat rhetorically.


"alright," kirsten reluctantly signed on to my little operation. she then threatened me. "if i die trying this little stunt of yours though. i'll, i'll..." she thought for a second, clearly fighting off her anger and fear at the situation. then she came to a decision. "i'll kill you!" she said in a surprisingly playful manner. she wasn't mad or frightened anymore (or at least angry at me in any case). she'd come to the same conclusion as caleb.


if we didn't stand up to the pack, then it would keep acting like they could push any of us around. something i hoped this afternoon might fix...


otherwise kirsten was going to kill me... and i couldn't have that! it would mean she was dead too!


"there's just one little part to the plan i'd like to alter," caleb suddenly cut off that thought. both me and kirsten looked at him puzzled. he'd just convinced us all my course of action was the only option. why was he suddenly suggesting a change. "we're going to grab carmen. you're going to need her help once we do our part." he said, clearly with a scheme in mind...

to be continued with lots of plans in action...

pinpointing concerns...

i found a lead on the pack of the primordial feather's whereabouts here in calgary... from the most unexpected source!

now i needed to see if it would lead me to this crate of theirs (which i had on good authority was something they should not be allowed to keep)!

there was only one person who could help me sort out whether this information was of use, as information was kind of his thing...

that was of course mike the librarian!

i called him to cut down on the time usage rather then go over to his place. he seemed to like the fact i didn't come over uninvited.

i informed him of the coelurosaur sightings in the (most remote section of the) university geology department. "hmmm," mike stated as he loaded up all the information he could find on the department.

man i couldn't believe what mike could find as a librarian. i always used to think librarians just put books on shelves, but in reality they're information sleuths who can find out anything if it is written down ANYWHERE... "there doesn't look like much here. just supply and specimen storage and shipping requisites..."

suddenly mike paused as though to read something. though his response came a lot quicker than it would have from me. mike is a powerhouse reader compared to me it would seem!

"those sneaky little bird like reptiles!" he gleefully stated, much like the hunter who has caught his prey. "there was a recent inbound shipment of a 'crate 14' to the university not too long ago. why didn't it raise any red flags though?"

crate 14 eh... okay, so we now knew not only where the pack was hiding, but where the crate was and what it was called. the only question was what was i going to do about it now?

mike had continued his probing while i was lost in this deep concerned thinking. "of course," he concluded. not that i had been part of the problem. "the crate didn't show up as it was sent through a 'legitimate' agency. tracing it back a few levels, i have to say the pack is well set up. they maintain a whole network of dumby companies to hide their activities. how could they keep them all running i wonder?"

i had my suspicions. the pack of the primordial feather had quite a few movie actors in its ranks. my cousin larry being the biggest among them. with all those big hollywood salaries there was no end to the number of things the pack could probably afford.

"where is the crate being kept?" i asked. hoping mike would not only point me in the right direction, but also hoping he might give me some hints on how to get it away from the pack.

"i'm not sure," he answered.

my info guru had tracked down a top secret mailing, but couldn't tell me to where?!? "i can tell you where it was delivered traumador," mike retorted annoyed, when i questioned his info tracking skills. "but it has only arrived. so it hasn't been logged into the university's collection catalogue. which means it is where ever the collection manager has decided to store it until it is officially added to the collection."

"so the plan is what?" i asked hopefully.

"i don't know!" mike defiantly responded. "i helped you find these guys, just like i said i would. now it is up to you."

i just stood silently on the phone thinking helplessly of what i was going to do next. finally mike offered. "maybe if you track down the geology collections manager they can show you the crate."

i was just about to ask who they were, when mike beat me to the punch (somewhat annoyed i was going to ask). "i'll track them down for you. however you are not to contact me about this whole crate situation again if i do!" he warned. i agreed.

so i'm off to track down this carmen, the university collections manager. hopefully she(?) will be a nice person, and help me out (instead of mike)...

all i know is that this tracking mission has been going relatively well so far... so i'm just waiting for it to go demonstrably wrong!

Meanwhile in the University of Calgary Geology Department...

(From the reflections of Desdemona Deinonychus, Crimson Talon and Pack Matriarch of the Pack of the Primordial Feather)

I yearn for the hunt. One where the quarry would be a certain Oviraptor!

As if it weren't bad enough I have been reduced to a simple watch dog, I have had to put up with Layla being in command. The pack can afford to hire proper mammalian sentries, rather than treat our top warriors as dogs. My hunters are needed on the front line, not guarding a human school.

I had thought Razi [the Saurornithoide]s' arrival signaled that our mission here was important. Unlike Layla, Razi has proved not only how dangerous her planning and cunning are in battle, but she has actually fought in combat. Normally Razi's interest in a plan would indicate it to be of importance to the pack.

Now that I have seen the contents of this great "strategy", to say I am not impressed would be an injustice to the disgust I currently feel!

The only way we Primordial Feathers are going to defeat our enemies is through battle. Not this complicated "stratagem" that Razi and Layla have been obsessed with the past few weeks. The contents of the crate possibly represent a great weapon to the pack, but it is not yet ready for deployment. In fact it could be no where further from!

The "refinement" required to ready it, unlike what Razi tries to assure me, is not going to be quick or easy. After all the intense energy and effort needed to ready it, there is no guarantee that when unleashed, the pack won't be among those it damages.

Adding insult to injury, the contents themselves are a little self indulgent on the part of Razi and her pride. To give into a personal flight of fancy would be a trait I'd expect of the Oviraptor, not Razi. I fear Layla is beginning to rub off on the Troodontid matriarch. They think I'm a idiot, and that I haven't noticed them plotting and scheming together, but I have. I am ready for when they make their grab for power within the pack too.

In the meantime I have the current crate situation to worry about. For whatever reason the Royals have placed a great deal of faith and interest in this mission. Meaning that if they succeed in returning with the crate, both Razi and Layla will receive great favour within the pack's leadership. All the while my efforts and sacrifice will no doubt be downplayed. After all I was merely the guard.

Of course I dare not risk sharing these thoughts with most of my Crimson Talons. Despite their loyalties to me in battle, sadly some of them have ambitions that have set them to ally with those such as Layla or Razi. Especially with Layla, the treacherous scavenger! Meaning I can not currently trust my own hunters.

All but one, my chief lieutenant Valour [Velociraptor]. There is not another Theropod alive today who is such a pure hunter. Valour lives for the hunt, and could not care less for politics. I see eye to eye with her on almost all matters. (Except perhaps on how to emote. Valour's upbringing in China, has brought her up very in control of her feelings in battle. Too much so if you ask me. How can one enjoy the rush of the kill if they are constantly meditating on it? I digress.)

I explained my concerns to her, and quickly she came to my point of view. Something had to be done about the crate. Especially given with how the situation was unfolding at moment. If it succeeded according to the current plan, it would be more of a defeat for our pride. We needed to shift the situation so that it was we Dromaeosaurs who would benefit from the crate. Not the conspiring Razi and Layla.

"Do you have a plan?" Valour asked me cautiously.

With regret I was forced to reply. "Not as of yet. No opportunity has yet presented itself," Valour eyed me with anticipation, suspecting what I was going to say next. "Of course, all great predators must be patient, so they may wait for an opportunity to walk into their 'waiting' ambush."

We discussed a number of possible scenarios and how we might act upon them. Quickly we both agreed we needed an outside distraction to properly act. Yet, at least for the moment, none had presented itself. We could only wait, and hope one would materialize.

Then we would turn this pathetic sitting around into a true hunt!

To be continued...

i wasn't the first to visit the zoo this week!

the zoo was just about to close as i walked past the african display once more. my spirits were still somewhere in the upper atmosphere after catching up with norman a. centrosaur.

little did i realize i was about to be thrown the weirdest, luckiest, and yet oddly sinister curve ball imaginable.

as i passed the ostrich enclosure, i casually called out to the now relaxing ostriches (most of the zoo's visitors had already left for the day) "hello there!"

i of course didn't call this out in english, but rather bird speak. birds' fundamental language is just a heavily accented variation on coelurosaurian, the basal language or all bird ancestors. so i can make a half descent crack at talking to birds.

much to my surprise my simple hello invoked a very excited response from the ostriches!

"another ancient!" they excitedly chattered to each other.

this wasn't the first time an ostrich had called me an ancient (actually it is worth mentioning this isn't the first time i've talked to an ostrich full stop!)

though i was puzzled by their saying 'another'? that would imply they'd seen another dinosaur besides me around here... they could only have meant norman.

"i am an ancient," i agreed, pronouncing everything slowly as neither side of the conversation was speaking exactly the same language. "who was the other?"

ostriches liked hearing i was an ancient, but they were shocked when i asked who the other was. they all gossiped between each other, but as they were speaking fast and all at once i didn't catch much of it.

i ventured "the one with the horn on his nose," they looked even more confused. i repeated that sentence acting out a horn on my nose.

finally the head ostrich (man that sounds funny hehehehe) stated. "not the prey item," which was just plain weird. one, ostrichs eat small things like bugs and lizards, norman who weighed as much as this whole flock put together and thus a little out of their menu range. two, it sounded more like something a full grown theropod would have said (though maybe a different word then item... but i might have mistranslated that).

the ostrich answered my question. "a copy, greater sized, of you."

a bigger me... another tyrannosaurus rex!?! my suspicions immediately went to larry, but this was slightly silly. there were several more vivus t-rexs in the world (most of whom i'd met mind you).

after trying to get a name out of the ostrich several times, it just kept replying with colours... which baffled me, till it clicked in my brain. he was giving me a description of his previous visitor. based on this it sounded like a daspletosaurus to me...

which meant there'd been a member of the primoridal feather here at the zoo recently!

indeed prompting more of the story out of the ostrich there had indeed been a visitor from the pack not 3 days ago! due to the language barrier i wasn't able to get more out of the ostrich than the lot of them had been visited by "an ancient who wished to earn favouring of us".

why would a tyrannosaurid care if a bunch of ostriches liked it or not. in my experience big vivus tyrannosaurids were just as likely to eat anything different from them, than befriend it.

"she come to inform us kindly, that the prophecy much closer then ever dreamed possible."

"what prophecy?" i demanded... my last ostrich had said something about legends among the modern birds to due with dinosaurs. only she didn't know much more then that. these ones sounded like they knew a lot more!

the ostrich eyed me suspiciously. "the promise of the ancients to return and take back world that was once ours."

what did that mean? trying to get more details out of this group of ostriches didn't go so well. "you not know legend of the prophecy of return?!? i not sure i like you." with that they walked off, and won't answer anymore of my questions.

not that i had a lot of time to pester the bird brains. a couple of minutes later a zoo security guard politely insisted i make my way out of the zoo as it had officially closed 5 min ago.

as i headed out i had a chill down my spine. the pack of the primordial feather was indeed in town, just as ruffled feather had suspected. more to the point if they were popping by the zoo to boast to ostriches about enacting legends of world domination then whatever they had in this "crate" of theirs must have been as dangerous as ruffled feather was fearing. (though what i want to know is that how a legend about dinosaurs returning got started in the first place? how could any of the prehistoric ones have known about us vivus ones popping up millions of years in the future???).

this all brought me back to the task of tracking down the pack here in calgary. i'd put it off as cowtown is a HUGE city, and i hadn't seen any reason to try and futilely search it for the pack which might or might not be here. however now i knew for sure the pack was in town, and more to the point i now had a couple reasons to believe this crate was mega bad news. not only the legend of today but the fact the pack had tried to kill me in drumheller when they thought i was getting too close.

it was on... even if i didn't want it too be... i was going to have to track down the pack and somehow take this crate and its contents away from them!!!

to be continued... getting some backup

cowtown... everyone's coming here...

well with my trip back to drumheller over it was time to start making my way back "home" to new zealand... meaning i had to pass through the closest big city, calgary, if only really just to get to a real airport (drumheller has a tiny one lane road for an airport).

though i have to say this whole human concept of home is weird to me. home is where you currently live, yet at the same time it is where you once lived... so in my case i'm leaving home to go home?

i guess its just my nomadic predatory instincts conflicting with this concept. back in the cretaceous a tyrannosaur probably didn't really stick around any one place unless there was food hanging around it. meaning our food was really our home... oh well

regardless, i was in for yet another surprise from this trip. not that they're that surprising anymore. i think if something goes according to the plan while i'm here in canada i'll be floored...


i headed to the calgary airport to catch my flight back to new zealand. i don't have clear pictures of the airport, as i've been told you can get in trouble for taking lots of pics around airports. i did sneak in a couple snap shots of these pterosaurs that were hanging around the ceiling of the port though. sadly you don't to fly on the pterosaurs, as i'd hoped.

rather they're just some cool statues to decorate the place. the idea is it shows the evolution of flight, as nestled among the huge quetzalcoatlus and pteranodons was a giant dragonfly ancestor protodonata, and of course my relative archaeopteryx... i didn't notice a bat in there, but for the display to be complete it should have been in there. this was more a work of art than museum display in fairness i guess...

anyways when i went to go get my ticket to new zealand, i was told that someone had rescheduled when i was flying out...

of course i didn't buy my plane tickets in the first place, someone else had (though i still don't know who?)... yet why would they buy me a trip back drumheller, only to trick me into spending some time in calgary?

i found out quick. the ticket clerk had a note to give me, sent by the "party" that had changed my flight.

i would never have guessed in an epoch who or why though...

it was my mysterious informant from the pack of the primordial feather, a coelurosaur who called them self ruffled feather. i hadn't heard from ruffled feather since they had tried to warn me about dr. spectre's attack.
`

ruffled feather was a disgruntled member in the pack who sought to hurt the group. somehow i was useful in this effort, though i wasn't clear on how? i guess my being one of only a handful of coelurosaurs who'd turned down membership in the primordial feather and had survived to tell the tale was handy... somehow?

beyond this i knew nothing about this ruffled feather, not even enough to know if i should call them a he or a she (i'm going with he for now). his note wasn't exactly much help on answering any of my questions either...

Dear Traumador,
`

I'm sorry for the disruption my actions have no doubt caused. I assure you I wouldn't have made them if it were not important.
`

You can not leave Calgary yet. Despite evading you in Drumheller, through that Spectre diversion, the pack it would seem did not lose you.
`

They have retreated to somewhere in Calgary, and they have brought the 14th crate with them! Where exactly I do not know, and I wish I could be of more help.
`



It is crucial that you make sure the contents of that container do not make it back to the pack! Thankfully anyone who can survive a run in with Dr. Spectre, such as yourself, should have no problem against the Crimson Talons. No matter the backup they will be receiving, and I have heard they are getting some!
`



Ruffled Feather
`



ps- How did you beat Spectre in the end exactly?

there was a missing connection somewhere between me and ruffled feather...


he seemed to think i knew what he was talking about, and more to the point what the pack was up to. the problem is i really didn't!
`


causing the miscommunication, i'd had thought it was the pack who was responsible for all the fossil poaching around drumheller. it in fact turned out to be two hardened palaeo-criminals (megan and jo)... i hadn't really thought about why the pack was there any further, as a few things had distracted me... however due to our conversations being interrupted, ruffled feather was never able to realize i was under the wrong impression about what was going on...
`


whatever it was the pack was up to, they had thought it awful important. they'd tried to kill me thinking i was trying to stop them.
`

the pack must have cleared out of the tyrrell during the "Spectre diversion". i know that professor paradigm had done a sweep of the museum looking for them, once he'd rescued me from spectre, but didn't find a trace.
`

so what were they doing in drumheller? ruffled feather had mentioned a "14th crate". i began wondering what it might be or mean...

as i left the airport and headed back into calgary, or cowtown as many call it in alberta, i realized the scope of what ruffled feather had just asked me. i had to find the pack and whatever they were up to somewhere in here!
`

sure, no biggie. i only had a place 50 times bigger then drumheller to search!!!
`

as i looked out over cowtown, i had one reassuring thought. despite the unfun task i'd for some reason agreed to take up, i did have a lot of friends based here in town. with a bit more time here i could catch up with the lot of them, and who knows maybe get one or two of them to help me out...

Elsewhere in Calgary...

(From the reflections of Desdemona Deinonychus, Crimson Talon and Pack Matriarch of the Pack of the Primordial Feather)

I miss the front lines!

At least on the field of battle you can tell where you are. In the midst of the hunt you know what you are to do.

I no longer know any of this with my current mission, helping with this stupid intrigue and espionage debacle Layla, matriarch of the Oviraptorids, has pulled me into.

The mission was simple enough at the beginning. Lead a troop of my Crimson Talons in guarding this "crate 14" from hostiles. At the onset of the mission the enemies were few and easy to counter. Just the runt [Traumador] and a few human members of palaeo-central. With this limited intelligence provided, may I note by our head of intelligence, there was no way I could have predicted a direct confrontation with Lance one of the most dangerous saurians on the planet!

Despite my troop being too small to proper engage Lance, we none the less confronted him to the best of our abilities. Despite taking heavy causalities, we were able to inflict considerable damage to Lance, and through these wounds we Crimson Talons turned this losing situation into a strategic draw. Through this action we kept the crate from harm. Yet when Layla ordered a full retreat, it somehow became my fault we were falling back.

I grow tired of her "command" of the operation.

If not for Layla's political connections throughout the rest of the Pack, I would have ordered my hunters to teach her a lesson in what our pride does to treacherous scavengers such as herself!

Layla is truly an arrogant fool. As she considers herself smart, Layla is under the impression she is somehow dangerous. She seriously believes that in the Packs' daily struggles, it is her schemes that will win the day. I only wish I could put her on the field of battle once, as the coward has never once joined our brave hunters on the front line! Then she would see just how "dangerous" ideas and plans like hers really are in war. The Gondwanaians will not be defeated by thinking. No, they only succumb to the tooth and claw! Which is where we foot soldiers and hunters come in. We are the true power of the Primordial Feather!

Yet Layla has the nerve to walk among us trying to show dominance. If she only knew the danger her presumption was placing her in. All of my troop, especially me, were fighting our instinctive urge to subdue her. To have earned our utter contempt as she has is a dangerous thing. For we normally reserve this for our enemies.

My lieutenant Valor [the Velociraptor] in particular was not handling Layla's demeanor well. The greatest warrior in the pack strode beside the Oviraptor in a ready to pounce stance. Had Layla uttered a single condescending word to Valor, the Oviraptor would have only had a few seconds to regret it. The rest of my hunters were containing their disdain better solely because they followed my lead better. Despite her incredible battle prowess, Valor lacked a soldier's discipline.

Fortunately an altercation was avoided, as Layla said nothing. Either she had picked up on hostile air about her as a hunter would have, or as I personally think she had simply been lucky. Either way she would live. For today at least!

Today we received reinforcements from the Pack. I couldn't have be more pleased with who was sent. A fellow matriarch of the Pack, Razi [the Saurornithoides] of the Troodontid pride.

Razi's assignment indicated just how important this crate had become to the Pack's strategy. It now had three of the Pack's main general's in the field to martial it. This was quite a tactical risk. I can only think a handful of battles with this many Matriarchs involved. The scorn for failure would be great. I couldn't help but think it would be Layla's responsibility to accept it if something were to go wrong...

Not that failure was an option. Razi's arrival heralded a shift in the command dynamic. When Layla had requested my help I saw it as my duty to protect the Pack's interests from interference. Especially since the challenge was coming from the whelp if a Royal the Runt! However, Layla misinterpreted my participation as me bowing to her authority. I most certainly would not be tolerating this any longer!

Despite being renowned for cunning like Layla's, Razi was a most able predator. One who had personally lead troops of hunters into countless battles. I'd personally had the honour of hunting along side her, and as a result could respect orders from her. Unlike the coward Layla, who had never once tasted the blood of the enemy!

Razi did not arrive alone, however. Being a strategic and tactical prodigy among the Pack, Razi was far too valuable an asset to leave unescorted. She arrived accompanied by one of the Royal prides's most feared warriors, Vicsurus Daspletosaur. Vicsurus is one of the renowned Daspletosaurus"triplets", who serve as the Royal's personal elite guard and assassins. Her being Razi's bodyguard indicated this crate affair was of great importance to even the Grand Matriarch.

Razi and Layla formally greeted each other with signs of complete respect and admiration. As befitted their Matriarchal status. I disciplined myself, as I grew resentful of being excluded. I was equal in rank to either of them, and unlike Layla had actual spilled my own blood in this mission. Yet as it was Layla who had "saved" Razi's crate, it was she who was acknowledged.

I on the other hand was relegated to greeting the new hunter to join the mission. We warriors are not ones for pointless show and formality. Though I resented not being acknowledged by my fellow Matriarchs, I in truth much preferred the simple exchange with Vicsurus.

Though I despise the Royals as a Pride, I have a grudging respect for Vicsurus and her two sisters. Not only had her sister Rancor personally saved my life in battle from a Gondwanaian Carcharodontosaurid, but the ferocity of the three Daspletosaurus matched that of any raptor in my Pride. Something few other Royals could not boast.

For her part Vicsurus was far more accepting of us Dromaeosaurids than most in the Royal Pride. She'd been in too many battles where it was us who had turned the tide in the Primordials' favour, rather than the Royals.

Leading Razi to her prized crate, it was here we Crimson Talon's were finally recognized for our heroism. Razi personally thanked me for my part in protecting her prize. With it she could now get back on task refining its contents into, what she assured us would be, the Pack's greatest weapon.

Perhaps I was too hasty before in wishing to return to the frontline. At least until this weapon is completed!

To be Continued...