Malcolm brought them over to one of the cornered off rooms, pulling back a curtained wall to show the three tables that each of the eggs were placed on. Each was in a small bedded tray while heat lamps dangled over them, a surrogate heat source to replace their deceased mother. Tanya cooed when she saw one of them shake slightly, dragging Emmy over to the table with their linked arms still together. Malcolm placed his hand on Tanya's back as he leaned down to watch as well. Emmy smirked to herself and bit back a comment to Malcolm. She looked down at the egg before another movement up at the furthest table caught her eye.

Emmy unlinked her arm and slowly made her way over to the other egg. It vibrated like the other egg and swayed from side to side. She could hear a small sound come from the egg by Malcolm and Tanya, followed by an echoed sound inside the egg she was standing at. Slowly, Emmy placed her hand on the side of the egg, feeling the dinosaur inside kick the area where her hand was. A smile rose to her face as he watched the egg shake more, a few cracks splintered from the top. Behind her, she heard Tanya cheer as the first egg hatched. But Emmy didn't look away from the egg she was standing by.

She noticed that the dinosaur was struggling to kick the shell open, letting out a small distressed sound. Emmy carefully picked at the egg, hoping to help the dinosaur, placing the broken piece of shell on the table beside it. She glanced back and saw Tanya grinning at the baby Triceratops, she looked back at her egg and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion when a different type of dinosaur poked its head out. Emmy stepped back and continued to stare. She had never seen a dinosaur like it before, it had a small tail with small sharp blades, it jumped in its egg, cracking it open more.

"Malcolm," Emmy called out.

"Yeah?" Malcolm looked up from the Triceratops and froze. "Emmy, get back."

"Why? What is it?"

"That's an Acceraptor. They are extremely dangerous."

"Well, what do we do with it?"

"I don't know."

Hands pulled Emmy backward, she looked behind her and saw a scared look on Tanya's face, obviously never being close to one of them before. Malcolm wheeled over a heavy-duty crate, putting thick gloves on, and carefully picked up the tray with the Acceraptor sitting in its egg, trying to keep his body as far away as possible. He placed the lid over it, small holes were poked in the top as he clipped down the sides and turned back to face Emmy and Tanya. He blew out a deep breath and wheeled the box out of the room. Emmy stepped forwards and turned around to look at her sister.

"Where is he taking it?" She asked.

"Somewhere it can't hurt the colonists," Tanya replied.

"What do you mean?"

Tanya offered her a gentle smile, knowing that Emmy didn't know any better. "They're called Slashers. That one was a male, judging by the yellow crest and the tail blades that were starting to grow. Males are more vicious than the female Acceraptor."

"Why would it have been with the Triceratops eggs then?"

Tanya glanced at the small Triceratops baby, it was eating some leaves she laid out for it, and then glanced to the other egg sitting on the middle table. She walked over to it and stared at the egg before turning around and picking part of the Triceratops' egg. She rubbed the bridge of her nose before sighing, quickly moving to the last table to pick up a piece if the egg that Emmy picked off. She placed them on the middle table, examining them closely. Emmy stepped closer and watched what she was doing.

"All three eggs are from different mothers," Tanya told her after a minute of silence.

"I don't understand." Emmy shook her head.

Malcolm walked in and answered instead of Tanya, "The dead mother that we found either stole the two other eggs from different nests, thinking they were hers or the other dinosaurs put their eggs with her."

"So, that's why she was killed, by the Slashers?"

"I should think so."

"Why would she take them? Wouldn't she know they weren't hers? Or wouldn't the others just find somewhere else?"

Malcolm shrugged, not having a clear answer for her. "Who knows why they do half the things that they do."

Emmy looked at the last egg. "So, if the Triceratops only had one baby, and all three are different, then what the hell is that?" Emmy pointed to it.

"We're just going to have to scan it, I guess." Tanya sighed.

"Couldn't you have done that before?"

Malcolm crossed his arms and shook his head. "We just assumed that they were all from the same mother."

"Well, you assumed wrong."

"I know. But we learn from our mistakes." He looked at the last egg.

Emmy nodded and walked around to look at the Triceratops baby. It was slightly bigger than the one in the jar that she saw earlier. It was weird for her to see something that she had only just saw the skeletal version of. She pulled out a stool and sat on it, resting her head on her arm as she watched the last remaining egg. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't going to be another Slasher or Triceratops. But something completely different. Malcolm mumbled something about getting the scanner before he walked out of the room.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Tanya spoke quietly as she tended to the baby Triceratops.

Emmy looked back at her. "Couldn't you just raise the Acceraptor for a while until it's old enough to leave? Like you're doing for the Triceratops?"

Tanya shook her head sadly. "That's not how things work around here."

"Why?"

     "Triceratops are herbivores, meaning that they're no real threat to any of the colonists, but Acceraptors are carnivores, meaning that they are a threat, even at a young age. It's in their nature to attack and eat any meat that they can find, and this entire colony is a blood bath waiting to happen if we let it stay."

"Can't you raise it to be good? Like people do for dogs?"

Tanya looked down at the Triceratops. "Acceraptors aren't dogs, Em. You know that."

"What if I build a paddock for it? You know, just until it's old enough to go out on its own? I could rig up a food system and—"

"That wouldn't be wise," Malcolm stated as he walked back in with a white machine in his hand.

"Why?"

"Acceraptors are vicious, even on their own at a young age. But they can also call for help, even from miles away. They fun forty-five miles per hour and hunt in packs. You'd be setting yourself up for death if you try."

"But then what's going to happen to Slash?"

"You've nicknamed it already?" Malcolm whined. "Why would you do that?"

"Why not, Malc?"

Malcolm groaned, placing the scanning machine on the table by the egg, letting a hologram rose from the white box as he moved a white cylinder stick, with a pinkish-purple light on it, over the egg. "Don't call me Malc." He shook his head. "We should know what this little guy is soon enough."

"You didn't answer my question."

"What?"

Emmy rolled her eyes. "What's going to happen to Slash?"

"A team will set out tomorrow when I'm done making observations, and let him go. He can't stay here."

Emmy turned back to Tanya. "This isn't the lunch I was expecting."

"Sorry about that." Tanya half smiled.

"Oh, thank god!" Malcolm exclaimed, clutching his chest as the small red diagram showed a small dinosaur.

Emmy leaned closer to it. "It's an Ankylosaurus."

"Yeah." Malcolm nodded. "Have a nickname for it yet?"

"Kylo." She grinned. "No wait, Kyle. Kylo killed Han Solo. Wait, is it a boy?"

"It's a girl. I'm guessing you liked the Star Wars movies then?"

"Before I was arrested, yeah."

"It's sad that that franchise ended," Malcolm commented before turning the scan off. "She seems to be doing well, she's not as old as the others so she'll need to stay here for a while."

Tanya looked up with a smile. "That's good news."

"I wonder why she was left alone." Malcolm stared at the egg.

Emmy touched the egg softly. "Maybe because they usually have large green eggs with darker green speckles on the shell, while this one is small and has a weird grey colour." Emmy shrugged.

Tanya moved around the table and looked at Emmy, Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "How—?" Tanya started.

"Still had books in Golad, Tan."

"Right. Well, maybe we should leave and let Malcolm take care of the Triceratops and the Ankylosaurus while we have lunch."

"Cleo," Emmy corrected.

"Pardon?"

"The Ankylosaurus is called Cleo, and the Triceratops is called Tyson."

"Of course it is." Tanya shook her head with a smile, placing her hand on Malcolm's upper arm before she walked out.

Emmy stood up. "Take care of them."

"I will." Malcolm nodded.

"All of them." She stressed, meaning the Acceraptor as well.

Malcolm hesitantly nodded his head as he watched Emmy leave the room, closing the curtain behind her. He stared at the egg and the baby Triceratops, that was slowly walking around the tray eating the small pieces of leaves that Tanya left for it before he sat down on the chair Emmy was once sitting on, closing his eyes. He suppressed a groan as he laid his head down on the table. Commander Taylor was not going to be pleased to hear that an Acceraptor was in his colony if he found out.