[Trade] Rebellion: The Seedling Depot

Three cryos stalked through dense jungle.  A tapejara scout had reported finding a seedling depot in this area, and Mocker, Tumbler, and Shepherd were on a mission to destroy it.

While seeds were hard to detect and difficult to destroy, they took time to sprout and spread the influence that Atlantis wanted.  Seedlings, while fragile, had already skipped past that first step and were ready to be replanted and rapidly grow.  Buried in Atlantis’s jungle were various locations where seedlings were being grown and transported out from, and stopping them had become high priority.  Aerial surveillance was proving crucial to finding these seedling depots, but no flyer was strong enough to tackle the guards employed at the depots.  And that’s where the cryos came in.

Finding the depot from the ground, however, was easier said than done.  While the trio of dinosaurs had been given landmarks to follow, they didn’t have the same wide view that the tapejara scout had, and some of their wayfinding looked more like guesswork than anything.  Tumbler was in the lead, his contrasting black and white feathers making him easy to follow.  He’d spotted their first landmark: a stream.  If it was freshwater instead of saltwater, they were on the right track.  Mocker and Shepherd gathered around him, each taking sips of water.  Fresh.  Now they just had to follow it upstream.  They turned and plunged back into the thick undergrowth.

As the trio walked, their eyes scanned the trees above them.  Now that the primates had been revealed as spies for the queen, any monkey in the branches could warn their target of their approach.  But the jungle was quiet, quieter than the rainforests on the islands above.  It seemed the poisonous and unwelcoming flora may have thinned out whatever fauna might have otherwise colonized the dome.  They kept walking, their own footsteps and the splashing of the water the loudest sounds.

After some time, Tumbler, Mocker, and Shepherd came upon a large, thorn-covered tree, its roots twining into the stream like a living landslide.  This was their second landmark, and the trickiest: they had to turn away from the stream, but if they did not pick the right angle, they would walk straight past the depot.  Tumbler did not hesitate, though, turning confidently and leaving the brook behind.  The jungle closed in on the trio again, darker and denser than before.

More time passed, and eventually Mocker and Shepherd started giving each other uneasy glances.  It was hard to rule out the possibility they were walking in circles.  Abruptly, though, Tumbler came to a stop, his black-tipped tail flicking up to signal a halt.  The other two watched as he sniffed something in front of him, then backed up.  “There’s a path,” he murmured.

Mocker brightened, his tan eyes widening.  “Do you think it leads to the depot?” he asked, his voice equally quiet.

“It could,” Tumbler replied with a slow nod.  “It’s going the same direction we want to.  It could lead to something else interesting, too.”

“Let’s follow it,” Shepherd jumped in.

This got a head shake from Tumbler.  “It’s too big a risk we’ll be spotted if we walk right on the path.  We’ll travel next to it, instead,” he said.  The other two nodded at his suggestion, and they set off parallel to the trail, close enough to watch it but far enough away that the undergrowth hid them from anyone traveling along it.

The jungle grew darker still, the canopy above dense and layered.  It was remarkable how much life Atlantis could sustain, even in its dilapidated state.  Ahead, though, more light filtered down from above, as if there might be a clearing in the trees.  This was what they were looking for.  Tumbler signalled a stop again, then nodded to Shepherd.  With his darker and duller colors, he would be the stealthiest dinosaur for scouting out the depot.  Shepherd nodded back and crouched, stalking forward toward the clearing.

Light shone brightly on an area that had been cleared of vegetation.  Rows and rows of pots, constructed by humans from a variety of materials, filled the open space.  Plants grew within, in a variety of sizes.  Some had not sprouted yet, while others looked ready to be carried to the surface and transplanted.  And pacing the perimeter of the clearing was one of the queen’s knights: a euoplocephalus, dark brown with black stripes and shining coppery armor.  Orange light glowed from the armor at the shoulder and hip, an ominous sign of advanced construction.  Shepherd slid slowly backwards, ready to make his report to the others.

Tumbler and Mocker listened intently to the descriptions Shepherd gave.  After a moment of though, Tumbler turned to the tan and white cryo next to him.  “Mocker, you’re our best fighter.  Do you think you can handle the guard while we take out the seedlings?”

Mocker grinned, showing many teeth.  “I think I can keep her busy, yeah,” he replied.

Tumblr gave a curt nod.  “Excellent.  We won’t have much time before reinforcements arrive, so move fast, boys.  Ready?” he said.  Nods from Mocker and Shepherd.  “Let’s go.”

The three dinosaurs rose to their feet and bolted toward the clearing, storming out of the underbrush.  The guard whirled to face them, her yellow eyes widening at the sight of the intruders.  She trumpeted loudly, sounding the alarm, and charged.  Mocker dove forward to meet her, slashing for her face as she nimbly ducked under his claws.  The other two broke off, heading for the plants.  The guard clearly wanted to turn and protect her charges, but Mocker’s attack was relentless, turning any distraction into an opening.

Tumbler and Shepherd, for their part, immediately set to work smashing pots and ripping up seedlings.  Some pots were made of plastic, but these they simply knocked over, practically dancing as they twisted and ground Atlantis’s planned future into the dirt.

The destruction was joyous, but short-lived.  An answering trumpet came from down the path they had just followed and soon after a pair of iguanodons burst from the trees.  While the trio could confidently take on a euoplocephalus, iguanodons were far above their weight class.  The cryos were forced to turn and flee, leaving the guard and their section of ruined plants behind.  Soon they were safely back in the undergrowth, the mission complete.