(A/N: Okay, so I haven't done much with this particular fic in a while, my bad there, but I've been kinda busy these past few months, so don't shoot the writer, please! Anyways, I think you'll like what I have in store for you here! The integration of new characters and the fill-ins of one or two holes!)

Prehistoric Park

T-Rex Returns: Day One

Prehistoric Park, South Africa

8:14 am

2 years later

Despite Nigel’s insistence that nothing in the park have any resemblance to Jurassic Park, the front gates did indeed look a lot like those in the movie. In front of the large, wooden gates designed to help keep back escaping animals, there was a much smaller, chain link fence designed to help keep out people.

The two security guards, British SAS troops specializing in against-the-odds fighting and armed with American M1A4 carbines, patrolled these gates like it was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There were six other guards, on two other shifts, all who had signed a nondisclosure agreement, thereby protecting the park’s secrets and location. One of the guards was inspecting Nigel’s security pass while the other inspected the Jeep they were sitting in for explosives and hidden recording equipment. Such measures seemed unnecessary, but it was amazing what some people would do. Sitting in the Jeep were Nigel’s camera crew, Lee and Bill, who had already been cleared.

Finally, both guards gave the ok, and both gates rolled open to admit them. With a grin, Nigel gunned the gas, speeding them forward into the new reserve. All three of them were cheering, waving their hands in the air, and celebrating like this was the ride of a lifetime. Indeed, it actually was. For two years, they’d had to travel around the world to find the right location for the park, and then they had to avoid reporters, government agents and, of course, curious onlookers, so they hadn’t seen the park itself in a few months. Then, all they had was the gate, perimeter fence, and one of the buildings in the main complex completed. Now, however, head keeper Bob, an old friend of Lee’s from the London zoo, was putting the finishing touches on the last of the enclosures.

The park, conveniently located at the base of Cathedral Peak of the Drakensberg mountains, had several natural barriers, such as the ocean, the mountains themselves, and some of the thick forests. The whole park, as if to shy away from modern concepts, was built with a safari theme around it. Thatched roofs, wooden fences, log buildings. It seemed Bob had taken Nigel’s anti-Jurassic Park attitude to heart.

Finally, the Jeep pulled into the main complex, and all three stepped out, laughing like they had just gotten off the best roller coaster they’d ever seen. Nigel spread his arms wide and proclaimed “Look at it, boys! It’s going to be a dream come true, it is!” Lee and Bill chuckled and took Nigel by the arms, leading him over to a building set off to the side, away from the others. “Just you wait…” began Lee.

“Until you see…” Bill went on.

“The surprise we made for you!” they finished simultaneously. It seemed they had this all planned out. However, Nigel loved it. Apparently, he had his own base/office set high up off the ground, separated from the main complex. Accessed by an elevated walkway or a ladder, it was packed with everything Nigel would need. Books, papers, computers, a telephone on his desk and a pin-up map of the park up on the wall. There was even a hammock so that he would be able to spend the nights out in his favorite environment: the outdoors.

As a reward, Nigel gave Lee a bear hug and Bill a noogie, saying “This couldn’t possibly be all for me, could it? Alright, now I want to get filming as soon as possible to get away from all this before I start crying.” Lee, having recovered his breath, and his voice, stood up with his camera and said “Well, why don’t we? Bill, get the sound equipment! Let’s roll!”

Five minutes later, Lee had his camera on, Bill had the microphone up where the camera couldn’t see it, and Nigel was standing in front of a map of the world 65 million years ago. Nigel was running the show, all Lee and Bill did was give input off camera.

“Aaand…go!” Lee said, hitting the record button.

Nigel turned to the map, saying “The most widely accepted theory about why dinosaurs became extinct is a meteorite smashing into the earth.” And here, he even mimed the rock colliding into the map with his hand. “This is a map of the earth 65 million years ago, and this is where the impact was, somewhere here in Mexico, you can still see the crater today. Around that time, there were masses of T. Rex-” at this, Lee and Bill looked at each other, frowning, but didn’t say anything as Nigel continued “-up somewhere in Montana, and I need to go back there to find one.”

Lee shot Nigel gathering his things together before Nigel said “Cut!” And Lee said “Perfect! A little bit of footage before this, and we’ll turn it into the world’s best documentary!” But Bill still had a question. “Uh, Nigel? Why did you mention T. Rex?” And Nigel, bless him, said the one thing Bill was hoping he wouldn’t say: “We’re going to rescue one, of course.”

And Bill fainted backwards, hitting the deck with a loud thud.

As soon as the soundman was brought around, the whole crew stepped down to the Jeep, then headed over to the supply shed. After informing the rest of the team, composing of paleontologists, zoologists, paleobatonists, geologists and a whole bunch of other ologists, the entire compound seemed to go up in activity. The retrieval operation itself wouldn’t take place for at least two hours, but an advance team was preparing to go ahead now in order to scout out a camp and bring back the right coordinates. A

s Nigel, Bill and Lee stocked up on clothes, tents, film and batteries, they were approached by a haggard looking Bob, who pulled off his hat and wiped his brow, which was actually soaking in sweat, before saying “Ah, Nigel, there you are. Have a safe trip?”

“Fine, Bob. We’ve already seen the complex, so we’re pretty well situated here.”

Bob shook his head and replied “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, but I didn’t know you’d already arrived. We’ve got some visitors. They got past the guards, so we know they’re supposed to be here. Either that, or they just blazed their way through. Either way, they’re looking for you, and I can’t send them away. They told me their reasons, and it looks like they’ve got orders.”

Nigel frowned. “Orders? From who?”

As it turned out, their ‘visitors’ were actually ten US Army Rangers, all of which stood at attention in front of a Grizzly APC, all of which were armed, and all of which were sweating in their desert camaflouge. Nigel shook his head, stepping forward and saying “What in blazes is this? Which of you’s in charge here?”

A middle aged African American man stepped forward, saluted, and said “Here, sir. Major Eric Stanton, reporting for duty.”

Nigel stood incredulous, before saying “At ease Stagger.”

“Stanton, sir.” But the major put his hand down, standing at ease.

Nigel continued. “Major, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask what you’re doing here, and I don’t think you can come up with an excuse that I’ll find acceptable.”

“Actually, Nigel,” Bob cut in. “The major here has told me of the situation. Apparently, soon as the Americans found out about this, they decided they’d rather not have a REAL Jurassic Park incident on their hands. So, their big wigs passed word along to our big wigs that they would send down some of their fully trained soldiers. At first, the Yanks wanted to send an entire company of Marines down here, complete with heavy machine guns and attack helicopters, but eventually they agreed on ten Rangers, a single vehicle, one heavy machine gun and uh…what are those again?” Bob was referring to the weapons Stanton and his men had with him, and the major unshouldered the rifle so they could see.

Actually, it wasn’t a rifle, in fact it was only the size of a submachine gun, but it looked a lot more lethal at first. The barrel was nothing more than a black tube with green lights here and there. A grip stretched under the length of the barrel, like a shotgun pump. The rest of the gun seemed to have been borrowed from one of the M4s the guards at the gates had, save for the fact that there was no magazine, and the only action was a small bolt that could slide backwards. Stanton presented it to Bob, who looked it over for himself as the major explained.

“This, sirs, is an EMPR prototype or Electromagnetic Plasma Rifle. It uses electromagnetism to pull a bullet-sized piece of plasma out of the power core, located in the stock here, and then launch it down the barrel. The plasma amount is just enough to contain thirty-five hundred volts of electricity, and the core itself can contain enough plasma for five shots.”

Bob turned the weapon in his hands, frowning and commenting “That’s hardly any at all. Not even close to lethal for humans. How is this supposed to take down a dinosaur?”

“It’s not, sir. It’s not a lethal weapon at all, nor is it a tranquilizer. The EMPR was mainly designed for crowd control, as it would only give people a painful shock. Thus, it is only meant to discourage dangerous creatures. The plasma itself dissipates on contact, so there is no evidence.”

Stanton paused for a second before grinning and adding “Except for a wicked burn.”

Everyone chuckled, even the soldiers still standing at attention. Apparently, the major was human after all.

Bob handed the weapon back and said “Well, it sounds fair enough to me. Nigel, what do you think?”

Nigel looked over at the other soldiers, still standing there sweating. It might be a good idea to have more security, and this new gun seemed just the thing Prehistoric Park could use in every situation. Finally, he nodded and said “Alright. Let’s do it.”

Stanton smiled and said “Thank you sir. Allow me to introduce the other members of my team, and we can get around to assignments.”

First up was Lieutenant Pepper Hopkins, a young man who had a tight grip. He greeted the four of them with a smile and handshakes instead of a salute, and called no one sir, but by their actual names. Next was Corporal Frank Greys, a fellow in his mid thirties at least, with a droopy moustache and a Southern accent. Apparently, a regular cowboy. After him were Privates Rick Hughes, Samuel Nass, Arnold Price, Tim Ralphs and William Baring, who all looked no older than eighteen. The last two soldiers were both Sergeants. Calvin Lawrence was a big, bearded medic with a buttery soft manner. He was always cracking jokes, and one of the first ones he ever made was “Hey, I’m finally meeting Nigel Marvin. Animal man, dinosaur man, all around great guy. How you doing, you filthy pig?” Okay, so not all of them were funny. Fortunately, Nigel could tell he was just joking, and held no offense from the comment.

The last man was the shortest of all of them, coming up to only Nigel’s shoulder. He pushed his glasses up his nose and shook all their hands, mumbling a hello.

“C’mon, Mike, get into the mood. Your funeral hasn’t happened yet.” joked Lawrence. The quieter man cleared his throat and said, softly “Uh, Sergeant Mike Keis, sirs. Combat engineer.”

“An engineer? You? You don’t look older than sixteen, buddy. How’d you get to be a Sergeant?” Bob asked slash proclaimed.

Stanton smiled and replied “Actually, Keis here graduated college at seventeen and enrolled in an extended enlistment. He's only nineteen, but he’s a verified genius, and he's pulled several different ideas that no one else would come up with.”

After the introductions were made, Stanton and Nigel discussed the assignments of the soldiers. Stanton wasn’t too sure about Bob’s “rickety fence work” as the major put it (to which Bob took great offence) and wanted to have Keis check it all out. Otherwise, Nigel and Bob agreed that since there were no creatures here to watch, all the other soldiers would indeed be traveling through the portal. That said, Hopkins, a former stunt driver, took the wheel of the Grizzly as all the other soldiers, save for Stanton and Keis, poured in through the hatches on top, then revved off towards the Time Portal site to go ahead with the advance team, which was prepping to go in about twenty minutes. Keis asked Bob for a ride around to each of the fences, which Bob reluctantly agreed to. That done, only Nigel, Lee, Bill and Major Stanton remained to discuss security protocols, but you’re probably wondering when this fic will get to the portal and stop concentrating on the soldiers. Don’t worry, they’ll only be minor characters.

Two hours later, the party was finally ready to start. Lee, Bill, Nigel and Stanton all loaded up in the Jeep as they revved down the chute towards the Time Portal, ready to catch themselves a T. Rex. Once through, Nigel stopped the Jeep, briefly, to collect the wormhole generators for the return trip. They were ticking away on a time clock, as the meteorite was only days away. As such, they had a ‘Equipment and Personnel First’ policy, which stated to get all the gear and people out first if time ran short, T. Rex in hand or not. Nigel, though, intended to stay as long as it took to get a T. Rex, even if it involved running from the blast.

Lee and Bill taped their trip over the blank black hills towards their camp in the distance, thoroughly unimpressed with their first sight of prehistoric Montana. The only feature between them and the forest was the watering hole their camp was set up next to. However, as they drew closer, they found game trails in the soil heading to and from the water. Obviously, the animals liked this area, and Stanton agreed.

“We’re dealing with very dangerous predators,” he said as they pulled into camp. “Although it’s a good idea to be by the river, it’s also a good idea to stay out in the open, so we can see them coming.”

The soldiers were all stationed in the camp, watching the trees while the last of the equipment was set up. The last tent was just being staked down as Lee filmed Nigel and Stanton stepping out of the jeep, getting ready to go. “I just hope I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew here, we’ve got so little time.” A pan of the camp, then back to Nigel as he and Stanton started for the tree line, with Nigel saying “There’s some wonderful forest over there, perfect habitat, and I think that’s where we’ll begin our search for T. Rex.”

Lee cut the camera as they all headed for the forest, about to take their first steps into prehistoric forest. The manner of everyone changed almost instantly. Stanton went from strolling along casually, weapon hanging by its strap from his shoulder, to cautious and at the ready, weapon up, finger on the trigger. Bill kept the microphone tucked in as close to his body as possible to keep it from brushing against anything. Lee held his camera tensely like Stanton held his weapon, filming as they went up the path. Nigel seemed the least affected, having traveled back in time before, and the only change in him was his constant looking back and forth.

They went deeper into the forest, no one talking, everyone looking around everywhere. They could hear the calls of other dinosaurs, and that made them slightly nervous. Of course, a little bit of fear and paranoia could save you from ending up inside a giant carnivore.

Suddenly, Nigel cried out and rushed forward, saying “Lee! Over here! Look at this!” Everyone followed him to a faint, but fresh, trail in the dirt, and Lee focused the camera on the ground Nigel was indicating as Nigel, for the sake of whatever audiences would be viewing the tape, said “This must be a track way…and look.” He knelt next to a plant that had obviously been chewed on, feeling the leaves and such to show them. “You can see here, these leaves have been nibbled, these twigs have been snapped off it, there’s been a vegetarian browsing here, and HA!” He went a little further and pointed to something in the ground that Lee zoomed in on. “First evidence of dinosaurs, hard to see, but you can see this footprint here, three toes, the classic therapod dinosaur, the same family T. Rex is in, they stand on two legs, they’re bipedal, looks like there’s a whole group of them here, not as big as T. Rex of course, and vegetarian as you can tell by the leaves that they’ve eaten. And they’ve gone this way. This is a big track way, there must be quite a few of them. And they’ve gone down this way…”

Lee, still recording, followed Nigel and Stanton down a path until they came to a small clearing. Further ahead, several bushes sat, obscuring the rest of the clearing, and you could definitely see some of the branches moving.

“One of ‘em was rustling,” Nigel said, pointing into the bushes as Stanton held the EMPR to his shoulder and scanned the clearing. The branches continued to move as Nigel and Lee moved off to the side, behind a large tree to try and get a better view. Stanton, in his desert camaflouge, stood out like a sore thumb, and Bill wasn’t faring any better with the microphone sticking out there. Nigel indicated the bushes as he viewed the shrubs through his binoculars, saying quietly “This is what normally happens when you’re looking for reptiles, you hear ‘em before you can see ‘em, hear them scurrying away through the bushes.”

Some of the branches seemed to rustle a bit more than the others off to the side, and Lee, Nigel and Stanton all focused on that spot, trying to get a glimpse of their as of yet unknown quarry. “These could be our first dinosaurs…” Nigel whispered breathlessly.

Suddenly, a squawk off to their right made Nigel drop his binoculars and Stanton spin and drop on one knee. Lee was so startled that he almost dropped the camera, but succeeded in making it look like he had spun too fast. A large, blue reptilian form was standing in the bushes where there had once only been green, peering at them with large, yellow eyes.

Nigel pointed, still talking quietly, but more excitedly “See there? Ornithomimus, I’ve seen the fossils in museums. Ornithomimus means ‘bird-mimic’ and you can see why, exactly…like an ostrich.” His voice dropped even quieter as he crept forward, saying “Let’s see how close we can get.”

He didn’t get very far before the blue bird-mimic opened its beak and howled at them, sending Nigel scurrying back to the tree, and Lee with him. Bill had already retreated back aways, so he only moved over closer to them. Stanton, thankfully, held his fire as he saw that the creature wasn’t going to attack. Nigel, however, was laughing as he said “Wow! Went right through me! That was a warning…and look.” He pointed, and Lee swung the camera back to the bushes as more heads came up out of the bushes to see what the commotion was about as Nigel continued. “All the others…now, he must’ve been the sentry, and the others are looking around-heads popping up all over the place!” A few more of the creatures screeched before going back to feeding some more on the bushes. “And they’re vegetarians, but they won’t turn their noses-they won’t turn their beaks up at the odd insect…a bit of meat. And completely the opposite of what you’d imagine a dinosaur to be, like those beaks at the front, ridges inside, just like modern ducks and geese, and they use those to crush their food.”

And suddenly, a smile broke out over Nigel’s face as he exclaimed “This is terrific, our first dinosaurs!”