I'm a spinosaurus with a System to raise a dinosaur army

Another year had passed, and the world kept moving on.

The expansion of humans into the solar system seemed unstoppable. Dozens and dozens of missions had been sent to different moons and planets, studying their composition, atmosphere, surface and so on. Thanks to teleportation technology, traveling through space was no longer a problem. Fixed colonies had now been built on several asteroids to act as mineral deposits to obtain resources that would then be sent throughout the solar system to be used for the most disparate projects.

Davis now numbered over two hundred cities. While he still needed to import many things from Eden, the factories and infrastructure built on the planet were rapidly making him self-sufficient. The population now numbered about three hundred million people and billions of animals that proliferated everywhere on the red planet. Within a few years, Davis would become the first fully autonomous planet outside of Eden, achieving an immense goal for the future of humanity and all other living species.

But despite the success achieved, humans were certainly not willing to stop with Davis. Never being satisfied was one of their scariest and at the same time most wonderful characteristics. And now, although the red planet still received a lot of attention, the interest of most of the population was shifting to the second major project currently underway: the planet Sarah.

That world’s atmosphere had changed a lot in recent years, thanks to modified plants that absorbed excess carbon dioxide and replaced it with oxygen, as well as several orbital collectors that captured huge amounts of CO2 and trapped it to later use it for other projects.

From more than 400 degrees Celsius, the temperature on Sarah’ surface had now dropped to just over 150 degrees. But now a snag was presenting itself: even if the modified plants had completely eliminated the oppressive greenhouse effect, the temperature on the planet’s surface could not have dropped any further, and this was due to its rotation.

One day on Sarah was longer than 116 days on Eden. Which meant that the side exposed to sunlight would reach unbearable temperatures even without the constant greenhouse effect. If humans were to make their home on Sarah, they had to do something. And so they had found a new, extraordinary goal: to build the first megastructure in history, a giant mirror that would block sunlight.

The project might sound ambitious, but it was actually quite simple: the mirror didn’t need to be too complex or thick, and thanks to teleportation technology, humans could simply build the pieces on Eden and then transport them to Sarah’ orbit where they would be assembled. . The plan was to place the bucket at point L1 on the planet so that it would remain constantly between it and the Sun. To prevent solar photons from turning it into a solar sail, the mirror would be made up of several pieces that would harness the pressure of sunlight to balance and stay stable. A second set of smaller mirrors orbiting Sarah would have instead illuminated the planet to prevent it from freezing.

Both human and animal populations were ecstatic to start such a megaproject. Building such a structure would have meant a huge leap in Eden’s technological power. It would have been the effective demonstration that nothing could prevent the expansion towards the stars. Therefore, everyone was eager for it to start.

Well, not quite all actually. There were those who had other things to think about.

“Do you think we should give him a hand?”

Snock nearly laughed at Rambo’s statement. The two of them were in a remote corner of Latissa, the giganotosaurus lying in the shade of the trees and the rhamphorhynchus on his shoulder. They were watching with amusement the poor Sobek who, not far away, was desperately looking for his daughter after she had decided to play hide and seek against his will. He wasn’t alone: Apache was scanning the area from the sky and Blue was running desperately after the apprehensive father trying to calm him down.

"Nah, let them continue" Snock said amused. “We already know how it’s going to end. When she gets tired she will come out. Or she will fall asleep and disable [Ambush] without meaning to”

"You are right. There’s no sense in missing out on this show” Rambo laughed, looking at Sobek who seemed intent on uprooting the entire forest to find her. “The pack leader should calm down a bit. I mean, it’s not like there’s really anything that could hurt Nefertiti."

“He is her father. You can’t expect him to reason with the brain in this cases"

“Pff! You’re right. I remember when my children were born. There were so many that I couldn’t even sleep! It was fortunate that the rhamphorhynchus’ babies grow quickly”

The two of them laughed, trying not to get noticed by Sobek. By now Nefertiti was six years old, and even if compared to her human counterpart she would have been at least twelve, she was still a young girl who enjoyed playing the most funny games and who didn’t hesitate to use all her abilities whenever she had the chance... including [Ambush], much to her father’s despair.

Sobek had tried to keep her at bay, but despite all his teachings and his reproaches, Nefertiti had continued to disappear in the most disparate moments. Like this one, for example: she, her father, Apache and Blue had come to see Rambo and Snock, but unfortunately she had suddenly decided to play hide and seek; and now who could find her until she wanted it?

Or at least, that was what Rambo and Snock thought before hearing a small voice behind them: "Do rhamphorhynchus’ babies really grow fast, Uncle Ra?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The two of them turned around in surprise and found themselves in front of the little spinosaurus (’little’ so to speak: she was already bigger than an adult allosaurus!) staring at them with glittering eyes. “You were here the whole time!?” Snock exclaimed.

“No, just a few minutes. But I liked what you were saying, so I listened to you” Nefertiti answered in an innocent voice.

"Let’s add ’don’t eavesdrop’ to the list of things the pack leader has to teach her" Rambo commented.

"Seriously? Do you, of all people, say such a thing?” Snock grumbled.

"Why shouldn’t I?"

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you spied on more people than all Eden Union intelligence in fifty years?”

“We were in the thick of a conflict, it doesn’t count!”

“Of course it counts”

“In that case, you too are a bad example to follow. You have committed more crimes than the whole mafia!”

“I saved lives!”

“And destroyed private property, bankrupted a lot of people, violated several international laws...”

“Did you really save lives, Uncle Sno?” Nefertiti suddenly asked smiling. The thought of her uncle heroically saving people focused in her head.

Unbeknownst to her, an emotional storm had raged in the two animals in front of her who had just realized they had screwed up. And now? How could they explain to her what war was? Nefertiti knew that her father and uncles had fought in the past, it was impossible to hide it from her, but they had never told her about the things they had actually done. At Sobek’s request, they had agreed not to talk about it until she was old enough to understand... and to accept such things.

“Well, um... yes, it is. I’ve saved a lot of lives” Snock stammered. “I, um... I infiltrated enemy bases and took out prisoners. And your uncle Ra, well...he gathered information about the enemy, and with that information...your father knew how to act”. He hoped that explanation was enough: if Nefertiti asked him for details he wouldn’t know how to get away with it.

But he had underestimated the curiosity of the six-year-old spinosaurus. “But Uncle Ra said you destroyed...things. And that you broke the law, and... a thing with a lot of people”

"Yes, but they were all enemies!" Rambo intervened. “The things your Uncle Sno destroyed and the laws he broke were all the enemy’s. They belonged to bad people!”

"Then why did you hold it against him?"

“We were just kidding! Sometimes we like to tease each other. Uncle Sno also doesn’t think I’m a snitch at all, does he?”

The giganotosaurus took the opportunity: "Absolutely not, of course not!" he exclaimed. “You don’t have to take seriously everything we say to each other. Sometimes we like to reminisce about the old days and we do it in the best way, the fun way! Your other uncles do it too, and your father too... oh, well, here he comes!”

Snock nearly jumped up in relief to see Sobek approaching. Obviously the spinosaurus had picked up on his daughter’s scent as soon as she had deactivated [Ambush]. “Nefertiti! So you were here!”

“Oh, no, Dad found me!” the young spinosaurus exclaimed in disappointment. “I lost in hide and seek...”

But Sobek was not in a good mood. “How many times do I have to tell you not to activate [Ambush] without my permission? You can’t disappear like that! You scared the shit out of me!” he exclaimed to her. “I need to know where you are in case something bad happens to you!”

"But Dad, nothing can happen to me..."

“You can’t know! Anyway, mine isn’t a request, it’s an order. Don’t use [Ambush] again unless I tell you to!”

"Okay, that’s enough now. Let’s all calm down” Apache interjected. "Pack leader, I know you’re angry, but yelling won’t solve the problem"

Sobek stopped and noticed that Nefertiti appeared to be on the verge of tears. Yes, perhaps he had exaggerated. Summoning all of his willpower, he tried to calm down and speak in the most reassuring voice possible: “Nefertiti, I know this is all a game to you, but you have to understand that it’s not the same to me. I love you and if you disappear suddenly, I worry. I know this may sound like unnecessary paranoia to you, but... that’s what parenting is like. You will understand it when you will be a mother one day. So... I know it might not be fun, but she tries to come over to me, okay? Do not use [Ambush] without warning me first”

The young spinosaurus smiled. “Okay, Dad! I’ll try to do as you say!" she exclaimed. Sobek felt his anger melt at that jovial expression. It should be illegal to be that adorable.

"See? It was enough just to speak calmly" Blue said, who also seemed moved by the scene. “Now, instead of playing hide and seek, how about painting Uncle Ap’s face?”

"What!? No fucking way!" Apache shouted angrily.

“Language...” Sobek growled at him.

The quetzalcoatlus realized his mistake. "Oh, yes. Excuse me, pack leader"

Nefertiti liked the idea. "Yes, I want it! I like it, Aunt Blue!”

Blue felt a little uncomfortable. It was strange to be called aunt by a spinosaurus that was nearly ten times her size. “So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get him!"

“Don’t even think about it! Goodbye!" Apache exclaimed taking off, but remaining low to the ground so as to give the young spinosaurus the illusion of being able to catch him. Nefertiti and Blue gave chase, leaving Sobek, Rambo and Snock behind.

Sobek watched the three play, then he turned to the other two: "You could have helped us earlier, you know"

“But pack leader, we helped you! We found her!" Rambo protested.

"Sure. You were just sprawled out here enjoying the show and she came over by pure chance” Sobek grumbled. “Seriously, I traveled three continents and two oceans to visit you. You could at least get up!"

"Come on, pack leader, with your [Teleportation] you had no trouble at all" Snock laughed. “And then, if you wanted our help, you had to make the scene less fun to watch”

“Sometimes I wish I killed you long ago, Snock. I don’t know what held me back” Sobek said as he sat next to the giganotosaurus. “Rather, when did you come here? Last time I checked, you were still in Tegrom"

After the end of the war, Snock and Rambo had continued to work tirelessly to be able to track down and eliminate any threat. During the first years they had been fundamental, since there were still many extremist groups which, if not managed in time, would have gone on to form terrorist cells. But then, over time, the climate of tension had calmed down and the police had become sufficient to handle the few remaining problems. So finally seeing that there were no more real missions for him, Snock had decided it was time to retire. He had therefore relinquished his role as commander of covert operations and left.

Though they were now at peace with the humans, Snock still couldn’t tolerate their presence. He would never be comfortable staying on Laurentia and Saramir. So he had decided that he would spend his last years wandering aimlessly and exploring the three still virgin continents, namely Maakanar, Tegrom and Latissa. After all there were a lot of places that he wanted to see and a lot of things that he wanted to do. Also, he hoped that by keeping away from humans and focusing on natural beauty he would finally be able to erase the hatred in his heart.

Basically, he had decided to go on a sort of spiritual pilgrimage. The journey had been very pleasant: he had been able to admire extraordinary things which, despite having seen them in photos or videos, he had never observed in person. He had explored mountains, valleys, plains, forests, canyons, even volcanic grasslands. He had met many other animals and sometimes shared part of his journey with them. However, over time he began to miss something: a constant travel companion.

Rambo had stayed in office a little longer than Sobek, since the dinosaur intelligence was still useful, but it hadn’t taken long before the threats became so few as to make even his job obsolete. Eventually, he too had retired. He had had several partners and many children; after all, rhamphorhynchus did not remain mated for life and their youngs grew very quickly, effectively allowing them to experience polygamy. However, he very soon got tired of that monotonous life; having spent most of his life in the thick of action, he longed for more stimulation.

He and Snock had met by chance a few years earlier: the giganotosaurus had gone for a swim in the sea and Rambo had found himself on a nearby cliff together with a colony of rhamphorhynchus. The two had greeted each other warmly and then spent two whole days talking and reminiscing about the old times they had together. After all, since the Intelligence and Covert Operations departments worked hand in hand, Rambo was the friend Snock had spent the most time with and Snock had the most confidence with, and the same was true for Rambo. You could tell they considered each other best friends as they had been complicit in rescuing dinosaurs from the black market, sabotaging their enemies, aiding warring nations, overthrowing dictatorships, and even assassinating the emperor of the former most powerful nation in the world.

You can imagine how that reunion had ended: Rambo finally decided to join Snock and the giganotosaurus was obviously happy to have a travel companion, especially if it was the little rhamphorhynchus. Thus their journey together had begun: first they had explored all of Maakanar and then they had headed to Tegrom. Biologically speaking, they had formed a kind of symbiotic relationship: Snock would give Rambo a ride allowing him to travel long distances without fatigue and in return Rambo would clean his teeth and skin and provide him with moral support.

During those years they had had many adventures together. They had seen everything and done everything, and it had been very cool. They had sometimes quarreled, but they had always reconciled. It could be said that they had become inseparable.

Sobek was happy for them. Snock was visibly more relaxed and content since Rambo was with him, as if he was slowly leaving his demons behind. Sobek hoped he was finding peace of mind, as well as a very good friend. And Rambo... well, he was still the same. The same stupid chicken head, which, however, knew how to lift his friends’ morale in unthinkable ways.

"We arrived here on Latissa just two weeks ago" Snock explained. “We heard that in the north there is a glacier that forms strange stalactites that reflect the sunlight forming the rainbow. We wanted to go and see it since it will soon be winter”

"Besides, there’s not much to do on Tegrom anymore" Rambo said. “For heaven’s sake, there are a lot of places we haven’t seen yet... but after a while a continent is all the same. We needed to change. Here everything is different, even the temperature”

Sobek let out a snort, then he pulled an apple out of his [Inventory] that he had brought along for the purpose. "Here" he said tossing it to Rambo. “I know they don’t grow around here”

“Yay!” the rhamphorhynchus screamed dipping his beak into it.

"And nothing for me?" Snock protested.

“Sorry, I don’t walk around with four hundred kilos of meat” Sobek replied. “And then I know that you replenish your feed wherever you go”

"You could have brought me at least a little something!"

"No"

Snock snorted. “You really are the worst!”

"I’ll give you a present, Snock" Rambo exclaimed suddenly. He soared and flew to a nearby tree, and with his beak plucked off one of the fruits. When he returned, the two dinosaurs could see that it was a nut. “You can take this!”

“What do I do with it!? I’m a carnivore, idiot!" the giganotosaurus growled, but took the nut anyway, even if he didn’t put it in his mouth but only held it with one of his front paws.

Sobek looked at Rambo. The flight he had just made had been very fatigued and he could hear his heavy breathing. Not even some time ago he wouldn’t have made so much effort. But Sobek knew that the life of the rhamphorhynchus was not very long and that Rambo could already be considered over one hundred years old when compared to a human counterpart of him. Almost certainly, his life would be over very soon. “Where is this glacier located?” he asked.

“Uh? About ten kilometers further north, why?”

“How about we all go see it together?”

Snock and Rambo looked at each other, then the latter smiled: "Yes, why not! Let’s go!"

Sobek called Nefertiti, Blue, and Apache, and they all walked north together. It wasn’t a long way, so they didn’t rely on [Teleport]. They reached the glacier that Snock and Rambo had been talking about around sunset and then slept near it.

The next morning, as the sun rose, a beautiful rainbow appeared near the glacier, which had turned into a real kaleidoscope of colors. Nefertiti was enthusiastic and the others too felt a sort of magnificence in observing that spectacle. They remained there all day and then separated again, each in his own way.

After that day, Rambo and Snock saw many other wonders together. They continued their journey incessantly, laughing and joking and doing and observing all kinds of things. Then, one day, Rambo curled up on Snock’s back and fell asleep.

He never woke up again.

Snock only realized this after a long time, when he had walked so far that he had entered a wood and reached a small clearing. When he found out, he mourned his friend’s death bitterly, but at least he was glad that he had gone so peacefully.

The giganotosaurus dug a hole and together with Sobek and all of Rambo’s family, friends or even just admirers buried the rhamphorhynchus there. Then he planted the walnut that his friend had given him some time ago, and from which he had never separated, on his grave. Over the next few weeks and months, a tender shoot would emerge from the ground and grow into a small tree. That tree would become a place of pilgrimage for all those who remembered Rambo for the extraordinary contribution he had made during the war. No matter how centuries or millennia passed, Rambo would never have been alone: the tree would have continued to grow through him and countless of his future descendants and admirers would have always come to visit his grave.