Kahuchan@aol.com Konichiwa To mark the release of 'Lost World' plus to work writing skills here is a little story I cobbled together. Only 1083 words long, but I had fun writing it. Kahu@anime.muck.com 2035 Lost Apple Opening shot: Olympus slumbers at night with scattered lights making stars in the darkness. It is very late at night. Pan in to a slightly overhead shot of a rounded split-level house. This is Hitomi's place. There are several shadowy figures spotted. Scene cut: inside to living room of Hitomi's. what seems like gas settles through the ventilation system. Several minutes pass. The figures search and find their target. Sleeping with three other cat-like beings they select the one that looks a bit odd and bigger. Drastic scene shift. The thup of rotor blades is felt as pilots buried in their high-tech gear pilot a chopper out of Olympus airspace and over the ocean. Strapped underneath webbing lies the sleeping form of the female cat-humanoid. Cut back to Hitomi's house. A special ESWAT unit swarm over Hitomi's place. Deunan barely holds her impatience in as she paces outside. Briareos walks over to her and tells her to be patient. As Deunan starts to form a reply, Briareos diverts her by saying they have a lead. Next he is eating gravel as Deunan sprints for a vehicle. Cut to another locale. Tropical vegetation is apparant on an island set in a blue ocean as the sun rises in the east. Zoom in. On the white beach are signs of a vehicle now departed along with the sleeping form of our female cat-humanoid. What's this? Movement. She stirs and sits up fast. Ears flick down as she surveys the strange surroundings..instinctively she shiffs and examines her new environment. Hearing movement in the tropical brush and feeling an empty spot in her stomach, she moves into the undergrowth. A mrroowww of victory is cut short as she senses something. foilage moves as her cry of victory turns to one of wariness. She vanishes from the clearing taking her game with her and into the underbrush. Hissing and movement are heard. Then a tussel and foilage flies all around as a battle erupts unseen. Save for some fur on branches...all is quiet again. The hissing noise is heard to retreat. Tranquility returns to the island. Time shift. The sun is several hours higher in the sky as new visitors arrive at the island. Several of Olympus's special ESWAT transports land on the beach just vacated by the female cat-humanoid a few hours before. Close up shot of Deunan and Briareos disembarking from one transport's cargo ramp loaded in full combat gear. Though no Guges are present, supposed to be low-profile. Another part of the beach. An ESWAT member finds the trail. Soon the whole team is moving out save for the perimeter guards for the transports. Deunan naturally takes point with Briareos following in her wake, the other team members spread out to support them from all angles. A clearing. Signs of struggle are apparent. Weapon safeties are snapped off as the team spreads out cautiously in pairs. Evidence is soon found. Tufts of fur and lots of blood on foilage. But no major remains. Briareos signals the team to pull back and head to the transports, Deunan in the lead again. Rear cover of ESWAT team as they peer back to where they were, they hear a hissing sound and detect some movement. They signal Briareos. On his command the group pulls in tighter for better support. Violence and speed erupt in the rear as the team reorients itself. Screams and chattering sounds of Seburos are heard. Hisses are heard again, finally Briareos and Deunan see what killed Artemis Aleipa's daughter as one pauses to snag a bite off a dead ESWAT member. It is saurian, bipedal with sharp scimitar-shaped claws on its legs while its forearms are short wicked things. Though those pale in ferocity when one looks it in the eyes and sees the intelligence of a hunter. Next instant the rest of the team opens fire, ripping the saurian nightmare to pieces. Briareos orders the team to run to the beach, he will cover them. He unlimbers his Seburo and its 20mm rounds. Selecting semi-auto he proceeds to chew the foilage around them to pieces. Hiss-screams are heard as he takes out other unseen predators. Then silence descends as his audio sensors detect the retreat of the rest. Briareos runs to rendezvous with the rest of the team. Beach again. Briareos emerges onto the beach to see everyone loading aboard the transports. The chatter of a Seburo makes him whirl around to see Deunan blast one last predator with an efficient burst of automatic fire. She smiles at Briareos and reminds him to watch his back. Without further incident they board the transport. Silence once again descends upon the tropical island as the strangers leave. Olympus, next day. The office is the spacious one of Athena, the windows let her view much of Olympus if she turns away from her desk. Today is not one of those as she gets a mission debrief. Deunan Knute and Briareos are in their best ESWAT uniforms. She nods soberly upon being told that Artemis Aleipa's daughter is dead. She looks at the combat recorders and nods again at what killed her. Deunan wants to know what is going on? Why kidnap a bioroid and what are those things on the island. Athena leans back in her chair weighing how to phrase this. Light from the windows put her in partial shadow. The minutes stretch till finally Athena tells Deunan. The kidnapping was a plot of Aegis and is being taken care of. As to what are those creatures, Athena smiles faintly. They are the last remnants of an experiment financed at the turn of the previous century by an eccentric billionaire to bring back dinosaurs. Was a failure and the island quarentiened while the whole mess was buried in secrecy. Athena inquires, any other questions? Deunan merely shakes her head no. Athena dismisses then with praise of their performance and apologizes as she must for the death of Artemis Aleipa's daughter and of that ESWAT member. Outside Athena's office. Deunan turns to Briareos with a look on her face that says do you understand any of that? Briareos merely shakes his head. Deunan resumes her walk out while clutching a simple silver tag that Hitomi made for the kids, inscribed on it is a name Selene. Inside Athena's office. Nike enters from another door. Looks at Athena and asks what was that about? Athena merely smiles, her silence telling Nike more than words could of the whole incident. The End.