When Tanya and Emmy got back home, Michael was already inside the kitchen. He had placed three matts on the table and was stirring something in a pot. Tanya placed her work jacket on one of the hooks while Emmy sat down at the table. Michael turned his head to face them, offering them a warm smile before he turned back. On the way back home, Emmy kept asking Tanya questions about the newly hatched eggs and what would happen to the Acceraptor if Commander Taylor found out. Emmy knew from the look on Tanya's face and the silence that followed, that it wasn't a good answer. The Acceraptor would probably be killed before its body was disposed of. The safety of the colony depended on it. But Emmy still thought that it was unfair that it was going to be killed just because of what it was. Tanya had sat down next to Emmy while Michael served the food on the plates.
"Now, I know that it looks a bit odd, but it does taste good," he told her with a light laugh.
He had a dish towel thrown over his shoulder, a messy apron with stains, and oven-mitts over his hands. He placed the pot on a matt in the middle of the table with smaller pots around it, filled with different coloured foods. The plates had brown rice—or the equivalent of rice—on it, with an orange-red coloured sauce over the top. Michael placed three cups on the table, and Emmy immediately reached for the jug of orange juice, pouring it into her cup. Tanya smiled at her before pouring her own glass of orange juice. Michael had already started to eat, the oven-mitts were now on the counter by the sink. Emmy scooped some of the rice and sauce onto her fork before taking a bite. She wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it was a smoky flavour with small chunks of chicken mixed in.
"Is it good?" Michael asked as he watched her reaction.
Emmy nodded her head. "I don't know what it is, but I like it."
Michael grinned. "Good, I'm glad you like it."
"Oh, I almost forgot, congratulations on the job, Em." Tanya nudged her arm with her elbow.
"What job?" Michael asked.
"Commander Taylor offered me a job down in maintenance." Emmy nodded. "As far as I know there is only one other person working down there."
"Jaived." Tanya nodded.
"Yeah, he said you had to stitch him up a few times."
Tanya smiled at the memory. "Yeah, he was still learning English when we came through the time fracture. He mainly kept to himself, there were only a few times when he would venture out of the building to come see me, but he got better at English the more he dropped by."
"Why didn't you tell me you got a job?" Michael asked again.
"You distracted me with dinosaur eggs." Emmy rolled her eyes playfully.
"Oh, right." He smiled shyly.
"One of them was an Acceraptor," Tanya informed Michael.
"What? Are you both okay?"
"We're fine." She smiled gently. "Emmy wanted to keep him."
Michael's eyes widened as he looked over to her, he looked as if he had just witnessed her grow an extra head and three extra arms. "What? Why? Are you crazy?"
"No." Emmy shook her head. "But the baby is innocent."
"An Acceraptor by nature is never innocent." Michael placed his fork down.
Emmy continued to eat. "She wanted to build him a paddock."
"Unbelievable." He shook his head.
"To be fair, it didn't sound like a bad idea," Tanya spoke quietly and slowly. Emmy's head snapped towards her.
"Really?"
"Yeah, really?" Michael stressed.
Tanya shrugged. "I've seen what she can do. We both have. I'm sure she would have been able to keep him for a little while before he was able to be released."
"You're talking about a carnivorous dinosaur that kills for both food and sport. Acceraptors are not stupid and it would have found a way to get out." Michael stared at her. "I'm not risking either of your lives on one of those creatures." He shook his head. "And neither should you."
Emmy placed her own fork down. "It's not like I could anyway. Malcolm is going to observe it before a team releases it."
"They should just kill it."
"Michael!" Tanya exclaimed.
"What?"
"We don't kill babies."
"Yeah, human babies. Who cares about a baby Acceraptor?"
"I do," Emmy interjected. "We aren't killing it."
"As long as it's released far away from the colony, fine."
"The other babies were an Ankylosaurus and a Triceratops," Tanya commented, trying to lighten the mood around them a bit more.
"Are they healthy?"
Tanya nodded. "They all are. Malcolm is looking after them for now before I go back to help."
Emmy remained silent as she continued to eat her lunch. Tanya and Michael continued to talk about the other babies and the colour of the Ankylosaurus egg. Would it really have been that bad if the Acceraptor was placed in a paddock? Emmy thought to herself as she picked up the glass of orange juice. But then again, it did come down to what Commander Taylor thought was best for his people. If he believed that the colony was going to be put in danger for having a baby Acceraptor then it would have had to be terminated for removed from within the walls. Terra Nova needed to be kept safe and free of any potential danger or harm in order for it to work and be a place where human life could continue. Tanya nudged Emmy's arm once more after a few minutes.
"Yeah?" Emmy turned her head to look at her.
Tanya slid over a clear, rectangular, glass piece with one of the smaller ends in another metal block. "It's like a phone, but you know, with the technology we had and the technology we can actually use around here, I'm sure you can find a way to upgrade it. It's just so we can stay in touch, being in different areas of the colony." She shrugged.
"Thanks," Emmy mumbled as she picked it up and began to look it over. The glass screen turned on and faint pale objects and letters showed up.
"I know it's quite hard to see, but you'll figure something out."
Emmy nodded. "Yeah, no, this is great. Thank you."
Tanya smiled before she continued to eat her own lunch. Michael cleared his throat. "We already put our numbers in there, so you don't have to worry about that."
When Emmy had finished her lunch, she placed her plate and cup into the sink. She waved goodbye to Tanya and Michael before leaving, heading back to the maintenance building. There were still some children running around, playing games, as she walked down the path. As Emmy walked in, she saw Jaived walk up the stairs, carry a medium sized box into the left-hand room of the building. Emmy furrowed her eyebrows and followed him. The room was just as messy as the ones down the stairs. There were rows of desks and few with old computers. Most of them had scrap pieces of metal and old wires. Emmy picked up one of the chunks of metal, turning it over to see half of an emblem scratched off. She placed it back down and looked up to the middle of the room. There was a skeleton of a Jeep, the wheels were taken off and half of the parts were placed on tables around it.
"Oh, Emmy. Hello," Jaived called out from one of the corners of the room.
Emmy looked over to him and smiled. "Hey."
"When did you get back?"
"About a minute ago." Jaived nodded his head before he looked down at the box. "What's that?"
"A part that I needed to finish the Jeep."
"You're rebuilding the Jeep?"
Jaived nodded. "Yes."
"Do you need help?"
He looked up at her. "I could use some help."
Emmy smiled. "Great."
Jaived opened the box and lifted a strange cylinder part. Emmy quickly moved the box away as he placed it back down on the table. "This was sent back during your pilgrimage," he told her.
"I've never seen one of these before."
He hummed. "There weren't a lot in production, but they managed to send a few boxes worth back here. You know, along with other items."
"Like an escapee prisoner," she mumbled.
"Pardon?" Jaived stood up straighter. "What escapee prisoner?"
Emmy pointed to herself, still looking at the cylinder. "I don't see any seams, are you sure this is the piece you need?"
"You're a prisoner?"
She looked up to him and corrected him, "Was.
"Oh." He nodded. "What did you do?"
"I was framed. I didn't do anything."
"Framed for what?"
Emmy looked back down at the table. She realised that she hadn't even told Tanya or Michael the whole truth about her arrest, they assumed they knew all of it. There was doubt in Emmy's mind that neither Tanya or Michael would have believed her side of the story at the time, there was so much evidence tying her to the crimes that she gave up all hope. But when she realised that the authorities had not revealed any information to Tanya or Michael, a slither of hope remained. But that didn't mean she would tell them what really happened. Tanya had left before any more evidence was found, and Michael wasn't around Golad for very long during his visits to hear what the guards had to say about it all. That was something Emmy was released about, even if it meant that she wouldn't have been able to see her sister or Michael again. Emmy was framed for crimes that she didn't commit, someone knew to frame her and that it would be easy to do so. It angered her. Her voice lost its emotion and came out dark.
"Illegally sending information to a group of nomad criminals who wanted to blow up the time fracture..." She looked up from the table and towards Jaived. "And murder."