Project Orpheus: A Tale of Blood and Feathers

Chapter 35: The End

Michael was not in the least surprised to see Noh on the plane as soon as he got there, along with Bittie and a sleeping Charles. She was currently typing away on a laptop. Michael had thought he was going to be the first, but he should have known Noh probably kept her Secret Bunker close to the plane landing strip, in case she needed to make a hasty exit.

The two girls were next, Orenda and Anise, coming in together. They both seemed fairly happy to finally be out of this whole mess. Kevin followed them in, followed last by Derek, who tossed his weapon away just before boarding from the platform.

"So...what now?" He asked, shutting the door behind him with the characteristic loud and digital thud it made.

Bittie got up from her seat and headed to the back, opening it up. From here, Michael could see the edge of one of the many body bogs that had been put in storage. Orenda had insisted they bring the bodies back to their families as soon as possible.

"Well, now, we go back to Juneau." Noh said, "and from there, you guys go home. I know we're earlier than anticipated, so if you need help with travel arrangements I can certainly get you sorted. I suppose now that Chester is dead, it's my responsibility."

"That's fair enough." Michael said. "I should be alright. I can shift my flight time pretty easily, and if that doesn't work out I have enough money to afford a stay at a hotel or something."

"Same." Derek said.

Anise looked down. "I...may need some help. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to cover the cost of a hotel, and given the difficulty of flights to Mongolia I probably won't be able to reschedule."

"I have distant relations in the area." Orenda said, "I'm pretty sure I can shack up with them until we figure all this out."

"Yeah, about that," Michael said. "So what are we going to do with an island full of dinosaurs, exactly?"

"An excellent question. Now that Chester isn't here to want to run it as his theme park, we mind as well just scrap the whole thing. I never really wanted to do it. I'd hate to see the animals die, though."

"They don't have to." Orenda said. "I'd be more than willing to take care of them and treat this place as an actual nature reserve - or at least a zoo. I can manage that until they all die of natural causes."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Michael said. "From a legal standpoint, it's a much better idea than killing them all, anyway, or leaving them to overrun the island."

"They could cause plenty of havoc," Noh admitted, "but they can't leave the island at least."

"Do you...do you still think you could make a friend for Kitta?" Anise asked.

Noh looked at her and raised an eyebrow, before smiling. "I guess there's no reason why another dinosaur or two couldn't be introduced to the park, sure."

Bittie headed to the cockpit.

"Do you think we'll be able to build a natural habitat for them there?" Orenda asked.

Noh shook her head. "No, sadly. That would be way too risky, at least at this point. Unauthorized breeding, uncontrolled behaviors. Invasive species potential, the inability to monitor them within the geofence if we can't actually capture them breeding. Those are just two of the problems I can think of off the top of my head. It's a nice thought, but a sustainable ecosystem needs to be built up on it's own."

"Right." Orenda said. "You're right...I was just a bit hopeful."

"On the plus side you'll get to go back to your other reserve once time runs out here."

The roar of the engine burst up, and the strange buzzing of the electromagnetic locks kicked in as the planet began to lift itself into the air.

"Yeah, I will. I do miss Jastae. I miss all the animals there. And now that Chester's dead he can't threaten to fire me from Kaerego, so I can spend more time there...although I did start to love these animals too."

"Speaking of, what the hell is going to happen with all of this? How are we going to tell, say, Myrtle's students what's happened." Derek asked.

"An excellent question." Noh said. "You all signed waivers, and between that and the contract I signed with Chester, I'm protected from any lawsuits. He, however, not so much. Or, rather, his company."

Michael nodded. "It is entirely possible this could be a pretty bad lawsuit for them. The big inciting factor was the damage to the generator, and not having that back up panel - which they were repeatedly told to install. That's a big breach of duty of care. I may lawyer the case myself."

"Awesome. I may take you up on that offer."

"It may be best to have it as a class action? Although that may limit what we can get..."

"Not that Wagner has any limit to its wealth to be limited." Orenda sneered.

"Fair point. We'll squeeze 'em for all they're worth." Michael teased.

"Shame he won't be able to cover the promise he made me..." Anise said.

"Don't you worry about that." Noh said.

She gently patted Charles on the side, the young man not flinching an inch in response to the touch as he slept quietly in the chair next to her. He looked so serene and peaceful, but he also looked like he was almost dead.

"You can take him with you. And I'll fund the dig, I can afford to."

"And what good will he do to protect the camp from raiders?"

"He'll do you a lot of good in that regard." Noh said. "Trust me."

An awkward silence hung in the air - no one there wanted to ask Noh what exactly she meant by that, but they'd have to later.

"Why didn't you just install it yourself?" Orenda asked. "The computer, I mean. It wouldn't have been that hard."

"Because I actually had someone try to, but he told them to stop." Noh said. "You know, I was always curious as to why he did that, but I think I figured it out."

She steepled her fingers together and leaned back in her chair as the jet suddenly took off at high speeds, applying a good amount of force for a moment while it accelerated.

"A combination of things, really. The first was sheer greed. The kind of ludicrous safety needs a place like this has are always very expensive, especially when they're otherwise unpredictable. He didn't like to spend money, just make it. The second was fear. He was afraid of what he might look like if he didn't have control over this. A back up for a back up system? That's ludicrous! That shows weakness, and cowardice. Or so he thought," she smirked, finally leading forward as the g-forces subsided, "but the truth is that there's nothing cowardly in accepting that you have no control over nature. Especially when that acceptance is the only way you'll ever be able to account for it."

"So what? You control things by not controlling them?" Derek asked.

"I mean if that's how you want to see it. It's more about anticipating what could go wrong. If you don't think of that you can never come up with contingencies."

"You're all about those contingencies." Michael said. "Tell me, have you ever been outsmarted?"

Noh smirked. "Not yet. But I'm counting on it."