Operation Novus

Prologue

You could tell by the way that everyone in the room was glancing around the room nervously that the room held a dangerous tension. The one where if anyone said anything wrong, the tension would spill and a fight would break out. The kind of tension where the most confident of speakers didn't say a word, and you only spoke if you absolutely had too. And Dr. Daemon Rae had too. As the head of the INVITUS program, he was in-charge of everything. Today, he was charged with speaking in front of the worlds most powerful people. Daemon didn't even flinch as he took to the stand and all eyes turned to him. His black hair and sharp features reminded most that he was Lucius Rae's son, and his icy blue gaze let others know that he was Tahlia Rae's only child. Lucius was the founder of the program, and Tahlia Rae was the founder of a different program that called REQUIEM that had merged with INVICTUS.

Daemon let the audience quiet before he spoke, his gaze remaining sharp and clear. ''I would like to thank all of you for attending this meeting.'' He began, the room so quiet you could hear a pin drop. ''I would like to announce that as of 1:04 am this morning, Operation NOVUS began. The raptor eggs have successfully hatched and imprinted on there trainers.'' He said, and a moment later the room erupted into cheers. He let himself smile and nod at the people who came up to him for a handshake. ''Settle down now, I know, it's exiting.'' Daemon said, strumming his hands on the marble pedestal from where he stood. ''Here are the fine details.'' He said, making sure everyone was silent before he began to speak. ''Team A is made up of four raptors. The firstborn, Dauntless, carries the Saltwater Crocodile gene.'' He nodded as the imagine of a computer generated raptor appeared. The raptor was a dark, muddy green and had a long snout and usually large teeth. ''The second raptor is Reaver with the Komodo dragon gene.'' The computer changed screens to reveal a raptor with light green scales and weird saliva dripping from it's mouth. "As you can see, Reaver's saliva is poisonous similarly to the Komodo dragons.'' The crowd murmured at the idea- but soon silenced as Daemon continued. ''Next up we have Juke, who was given the Gila monster gene. Juke possesses abnormally strong scales and a poisonous bite.'' The screen showed a lithe raptor with orange stripes and a black base. The raptor had less saliva dripping from his mouth- but had weirdly colored eyes, they were almost black, unlike the normal green or hazel they found in normal raptors. ''And finally, we have Spitfire. The King Cobra.'' The crowd hushed- Spitfire was the one they had all been waiting for- the one with the ability to spray venom and move faster than any normal creature should. The screen flicked to a jet black raptor with weird spines on its neck. The spines worked almost as a cape, but could flex outwards. They went from the back of his head down to the base of his neck. ''Spitfire will be assigned leader of Team A, but we believe that he and Dauntless could possibly quarrel with the leadership aspect of things.'' Daemon said, ''Any questions?'' the crowd went up like a wildfire.

''Hmm- you.'' Daemon said, nodding to a man in the front.

''Why Spitfire for leader?'' the man asked.

''Spitfire was randomly selected. We don't know who will truly end up to lead, but we have a feeling that it will be Spitfire due to his genes and abilities.''

The crowd erupted again as the man sat down. He let them run wild for a few moments, his gaze settling on a woman near the edge. He pointed to her and she stood. ''Hi, I'm Angela Ulfhen, I represent Rangercor.'' She paused, ''When will you make more raptors, and will they be for purchase?'' Daemon knew this question would appear, and he rolled his eyes. '

'Ma'am, if you had a million dollar weapon that was both unpredictable and uncontrollable, would you sell it to some off-brand company?''

''Well, uhm-''

''You wouldn't.'' He said, interrupting her. ''Why? Becuase when a group of boys are given a gun the first thing they do is shoot it.''

He watched the woman give an irritated huff before sitting, and the crowd went wild again. He chose a different woman- one near the back, away from view. She sat quietly with her hand in the air. ''Yes?'' Daemon said. ''Someone clearly taught you manners, my dear.'' He said, earning a chuckle from the crowd.

''I wish I could say the same for you, my good sir.'' She quipped back. Daemon forced a smile.

''Do you have a question or another witty remark?''

''I have both, but I'm sure you'd prefer the question. How do you hope to control these raptors? As you have said before, they are, how did you put it? 'unpredictable' and 'uncontrollable.''

Daemon stilled and the room did too. He hadn't prepared himself for this question, because in truth, he didn't know. Nobody did. These raptors could be the salvation or the end of the world. Reaver had already killed a man by nipping him on accident and Reaver was a hatchling. Dauntless had hospitalized another, and nobody would go near Spitfire without a hazmat suit on.

''Do you even know?'' the woman pressed.

''Yes.'' Daemon said, his gaze remaining unreadable. ''Both Team A and Team B imprinted on a trainer. Team A imprinted on Ophelia Stride, and Team B on Gideon Evander. Now I do believe we need to get to Team B now.''

The rest of the meeting went by in a blur. Team B was made up of bird DNA, Crisis, had vulture DNA and had black feathers on his head and elbows. Riot had golden eagle DNA and had golden feathers and a dark brown base. Elska had snowy owl genes and was all white with white feathers and blue eyes. Finally, Rhea was the one with falcon DNA and had a grey and silver base and green eyes. She had features dotting her head kind of like a crown, and feathers on the tip of her tail and elbows. All of them had more beak shaped mouthes and possessed unique eyesight and tracking abilities. Many people questioned the use of bird raptors, and Daemon told them that birds had evolved from dinosaurs- especially birds of prey, and that they would possess the same use as Team A. One man asked what the use of the raptors were, and Daemon simply said for studying purposes. But that was a fib.

As the meeting came to a close, Daemon said his goodbyes and left. He loosened his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. He excused himself to his rooms and found the lady who had questioned him about controlling the raptors waiting. ''Valeria, what the fuck was that?'' He said, clenching his fists. ''As my wife you should support me, not give the room a reason to hate me!'' Valeria gave a soft smile, before she walked closer to him. ''My love, I will keep you safe at all costs, and sometimes that requires me to ask difficult questions. You don't even know if Gideon and Ophelia can tame the raptors, much less if security can keep them at bay.'' Daemon knew she was right. He loved Valeria for her sharp wit and intelligence, even if it sometimes told him things he didn't want to know. He sighed and let her wrap his arms around him, burrowing his face into her shoulder. He didn't know how to control the raptors, and later on he'd wish that he had figured it out before it was too late. He pulled away from Valeria and stepped out onto the balcony, the night breeze blowing through his black hair as he pulled out his cellphone. He typed in a number before placing it to his ear. The phone rang twice before a male voice answered.

''Get me Ophelia and Gideon. Change of plans. They begin training tomorrow.''