After a good nights rest and an absolutely amazing breakfast cooked by Axia, Team 5 heads out to meet Commander Riley in the court yard. We all feel much better than the day before; even Axia woke up without a fuss, and not just because we have somewhere to go this time. We're all excited, and nervous, to find out exactly what Experiment D is, and what it has in store for us.

When we get to the court yard, we all walk outside to see that Commander Riley is also out there, alone. Last night, Elitists and other Guardians were out here training, but now it's completely empty. The quietness gives me a sense of dread, but I quickly shake it off with a shiver. It's probably just early morning anxiety.

"Good morning, all." Commander Riley says as we approach, giving us all a rigid smile, "I hope you like your new home."

"It's amazing. Best bed I've ever slept in." Quincy says, stretching his lanky arms above his head with a yawn.

The Commander laughs gently, his tense demeanor loosening before, again, returning. He then looks at me, "Lexa, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about keeping secrets from you. Chieftess Hunts told me how upset you were over it. Please know it only had to do with keeping rumors from spreading."

"Rumors?" Oliver questions, raising an eyebrow inquiringly.

"Well, as you know, I'll be stepping down as Elitist Commander as soon as Lexa, here, is able to take the position. She has 5 years of experience to gain before that though. I didn-"

"5 years? I thought I'd take the position when Alaric steps in as Chieftain?" I interrupt, cocking my head slightly in confusion. No one ever said anything about serving as second hand to the current Chieftess, unless she too is stepping down.

"Usually that's how it would be, but I am no longer fit for the position. I'll be resigning as soon as you have enough experience to take over for me." Commander Riley explains, but is yet again interrupted before continuing.

"How are you unfit as Commander?" Alaric steps forward slightly, "My mom says you're one of the best Elitist Commanders in Viadon's history."

"I've decided myself that I'm unfit for the position. Don't worry, your mom knows about this plan. She's looking forward to working with Lexa." The Commander reassures Alaric, giving him a slight nod. It's still odd, no other Commander in history has elected to step down themselves.

"So, what? I'm going to be shadowing you for the next 5 years, cramming 10 years worth of information into my head to take a position that you're too selfish to keep for 5 extra years?" I say, both my eyebrows raising at the thought. The Commander and Chieftess (Chieftain) are always switched at the same time, giving them both 10 years to prepare for their upcoming jobs.

Commander Riley's eyes narrow at my words, and for a moment I believe I've angered him, until suddenly he sighs. "Yes, that's the basis of it." He simply responds, not even attempting to soften the blow. "I look forward to working with you, Lexa. I'm sure you're going to be an amazing Commander in the coming years."

I relax a bit at his words, glad that he didn't lie or try to make it sound better than it is. I nod my head slowly, "As long as there are no more secrets, then I look forward to working with you as well, Commander."

He gives me a relieved smile before then straightening his posture as if to prepare himself for what he has to say next. "In that case, why don't I tell you about Experiment D?" He says, his eyes sparkling in amusement as all of us become immediately interested in what he has to say.

"Please do." I reply, gesturing with my hands for him to continue.

"Over the past ten years, East Station has been working on an experiment for more protection outside of the Fence. It has been failed just about every single time, except for a few which still ended up fatal to our own." Commander Riley's face is now stoic, his gaze switching between Alaric and I, "Please do not worry, Lexa. Your life will be handled with the utmost care. I would not have recommended you to do this if I didn't believe it would be successful this time."

"How do you know she'll be able to do it?" Alaric questions, but I quickly hold out a hand in order to stop him. I'm more intrigued by this new information, and am eager to know more.

The Commander chuckles at Alaric's words, shaking his head in what seems to be disbelief. "Her training and her life on the farm growing up will help her through this, plus... she'll still have her team for parts of this experiment." He explains reassuringly before his eyes fall on me once again, "Most of these experiments failed because of both fear and lack of understanding. It is very, very important for you to keep a level head through this."

Before I'm able to respond, or even attempt to comprehend what he was saying, Commander Riley continues on. "Are any of you familiar with the sub-species of Tyrannosaur called Dryptosaurus? That's what the "D" stands for." He asks, but again goes on without an answer, "This dinosaur is known for its incredible intelligence. It even rivals, if not surpasses, that of the Giganotosaurus."

At this, I can see Axia immediately tense up from the corner of my eye. The main reason she's so horrified of that specific animal is its brain. The Giganotosaurus has been known to set traps when in pairs and ambush prey, and will even plan its attack to the best possible time. They seem to know when it is time to retreat, and even how to hide from the humans in order to not have trackers placed. They have been seen attacking rovers to keep their prey from escaping too. They've even been deemed the smartest and most hostile animal around Viadon, and have been the only dinosaur without wings to infiltrate the city in history. It was only one incident, over 100 years ago, but it was detrimental to the west side.

"What does this have to do with us and the experiment?" Oliver asks harshly, crossing his arms.

"Handler.." I mutter, before then looking towards the Commander with wide eyes. "You want me to bond with one of these animals?"

"Precic-"

"No! Are you crazy?" Alaric fires out, "She'll be killed! My mother authorized this?"

"She won'-"

"You're insane!" Axia agrees with Alaric, both of them suddenly stepping defensively in front of me. "There's no way she'll be able to do it if ten years worth of Elitists couldn't even do it!"

"A Dryptosaurus is not much bigger than a Utah Raptor. Had we been on the ground when those 5 attacked us on Testing Day, we wouldn't be here, and now you want Lexa, here, to somehow make one of these creatures listen to her?" Oliver defends me as well, also moving forward, leaving Quincy and I in the back of the conversation.

"Listen, all of you." Commander Riley says, his voice fierce, "She will not just be making the dinosaur listen to her. She'll be bonding with it. This specific Drypto has shown empathy towards its previous handlers. She only becomes angry whe-"

"She's a dinosaur!" Alaric exclaims, his face twisting in disgust, "A carnivore, with a natural response to food and water. It'll attack Alexandria as soon as she's not supplying that anymore."

"Stop!" I push myself forward and between Alaric and Axia, shoving them both to the side, "We don't have a choice, do we?" I ask, glancing at my team mates before then glaring towards the Commander.

"No. You don't." He nods in agreement, "You'll be forced into that paddock, either way. How you handle the situation is up to you, but, as I tried explaining, Takara only gets angry if she senses fear and distrust."

Alaric scoffs from beside me, and out of the corner of my eye I watch him shake his head. "This is ridiculous." He mutters.

"Tell me more," I sigh, a bit surprised that they'd force me into the paddock if I refused. I figured they would maybe throw me in prison, and take away my title for disobeying orders. Instead, I'll be thrown into a pen with a dinosaur that I've never even heard of before. Oliver will have to give me the run down on the species when we get back to the dorms.

"Ten years ago, when we started this experiment, the Dryptosaurus species was already known for it's intelligence. There were encounters with them in the wild where instead of attacking humans, they'd protect them. This usually happened if the humans were injured." Commander Riley gestures for us all to follow him, and soon we're all walking as he continues on, "They showed the ability to understand situations and eventually this experiment showed that they could also listen and bond with handlers."

"What happened to make the experiments fail? It couldn't of simply been fear if the animal is as smart as you say." I inquire, speeding up a bit to walk beside him as he leads the way through the building.

"Sometimes some participants tried to abuse the animals and they'd become aggressive. Other times the different subjects would seem to be cooperating with their handlers, and then suddenly turn on them for a meal. Sometimes it would all be going good, until we started phase 3. It always ends in death." He stops abruptly and faces me, "Stage 1 is introducing you to the animal, with a barrier, and hand feeding her."

"Hand feeding her? Doesn't that seem a bit much for a "first step?" If it's never met her before it's more likely to snatch her hand off, don't you think?" Oliver interrupts as the group stops.

"Takara was been hatched and raised here in this facility, and has a very high tolerance to humans. She is very, very happy to be hand fed by certain people. I never said stage 1 would go immediately to hand feeding. We have to introduce her to Lexa first, get her used to her new handlers scent and demeanor." The Commander turns his head to look at the rest of the team, "If there are any signs of aggression, we have warriors on standby to take the animal down. In stage 2, that'll be up to all of you."

"So she's been raised with humans? Why not use those people as her handlers?" Alaric asks, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Those people are not on Elitist Teams. Only Elitists are allowed outside." He quickly answers before then looking at me again, "Today, you will get to see her, but we won't attempt any interaction. She needs to see that you're no threat, so I'll have you feed her by throwing food into the pen. She can not hurt you through the fence, so you can get close."

I nod in understanding, biting my lip as I think about seeing this animal up close so soon. He gestures for us to follow him again, and then he begins to lead us. I'm glad to hear that for today I'll be behind a fence, but I'm a bit worried about the fact that I'll be hand feeding her at some point. I guess that means I'll eventually be in a pen with her too, and with that thought I can feel my hands start to shake. The Commander told me not to be scared or show fear, but I can't help but feel like I'm in way over my head.

Commander Riley leads us down one more hallway and we come up on the restricted doors that we found yesterday. Instead of the guards stopping us, however, they immediately open the doors and we're greeted by another hallway, except this one looks more like a hospital. At the end I can see a giant metal door with the word "Takara" written in huge red letters.

"Her paddock is open roofed, giving her fresh air and sunlight. The ground is actually the earth, and she has her own nest in there." Commander Riley says as we continue to walk, following him until we get to the door. "There is a large metal fence between us and her, we'll be okay." He adds, giving us a reassuring smile.

"Lets go in, already." Alaric groans out, and I turn to see him sigh deeply. I guess the thought of seeing a new dinosaur gets him impatient, even if he was against it before.

Commander Riley nods in compliance and begins to unlock the padlocks before then pushing open the big metal door. He walks in, and we all follow. As we enter, I see a large metal barrier between us and an open room. Diamond shaped openings just bigger than my hands give me a clear view of the grass on the other side, but the metal itself is still 10 inches thick. Not even a Carnotaur could break through a fence like this.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Quincy asks quietly from behind me, and I glance back to see that he's physically trembling.

"I'll be okay. I'm sure." I answer, forcing a smile to reassure him.

"Once I push this button," Commander Riley says loudly to gain our attention, his hand hovering over a red button, "Takara will be able to enter the paddock. She had a vet visit this morning for a standard check up. That door across the way leads into a veterinary room specifically made for her, that's where she'll come from."

I turn my gaze towards the opposite end of the paddock, and see a large steel barrier that is surrounded by a hallway. Beside it, is another padlocked door like the one we entered through, and that leads to inside the paddock from safe area where we stand.

"Lexa, go to the padlocked door beside the hallway. There are buckets of fresh Toro-meat over there. Beside the door there's a latch to open a small area of the fence. You can throw the meat through there." Commander Riley tells me, "Her head is too big to fit through it, and her arms are too short to reach you. You'll be safe." He adds as I hesitate.

"We're right here if you need us," Axia gives me a nervous smile, and tops it off with a thumbs up as I pass her by.

"Don't get close to the fence, I don't care what he says." Alaric commands, glaring towards our superior as he speaks. I nod in compliance before quickly walking down the narrow path and around the paddock to the door.

Just as Commander Riley said, two buckets of fresh red steak sit just beside the door. I grab them and move them closer, trying to pay no mind to the fact that my hands are shaking more than they need to be. Soon, I find the latches on the fence and a 1 and a half foot long bit of fence falls flat down. It's, thankfully, not as tall as it is wide, or I really would be in danger. I set the buckets on either end of the open slot.

"Are you ready?" Commander Riley shouts from across the room.

I hesitate for a moment, taking a couple of deep breaths and shaking my hands nervously in an attempt to prepare myself and calm down. I look through the diamond shapes in the fence to find my teammates, and notice that they all seem just as nervous as I do. Except for Oliver, who's back is slumped against the outside wall like he isn't interested in what's happening. That's right... Knowing him, he's probably just glad it's not him over here.

"Lexa?" The Commander calls, "I'm pushing the button!" Before I have a chance to react, a loud buzzer rings through the room. Instinctively, my body jumps, but I stand my ground as the metal barrier on the opposite side of the door begins to raise.

Footsteps come from the hallway connected to the rising door; the sound of heavy footfall on metal make the hairs on my arms stand straight up. As the noise grows closer, my heart beats faster. I hear gasps from the other side of the room, and realize that my friends are across from the door so they can see it coming from the hallway.

"Don't be scared! Remember what I told you!" Commander Riley yells to me, and I nod slightly to myself.

"Okay, Lexa.. You're safe. There's a whole steel fence between me and it. I'm good." I whisper softly to myself, taking a half step back from the fence as an extra safety precaution. My eyes close as I take a deep breath, and they snap back open as the foot steps suddenly stop.

The dinosaur, now completely exposed, is much bigger than I imagined. From my point of view, I can tell that she's taller than me by at least 2 feet, if not more than that by a few inches. Black fur outlines the pattern over her body, with the rest of her fur being dark brown and beige. Despite the fact that Commander Riley says that she's related to the Tyrannosaurs, her arms are much longer, with long razor sharp talons attached to the end of 3 scaled fingers. The only similarities I see with a Rex is the shape of her face, at least looking at her from this angle.

Takara's eyes are trained on my teammates, at least until the door behind her slams shut. The alarm stops as well, and when she turns to inspect the closed door, her gazes catches mine. I take another step back, startled by her sudden interest in me. "Hi." I mutter nervously, chuckling softly as I realize that the dinosaur doesn't seem to be aggressive. Maybe Commander Riley was right and she really is used to humans.

Takara takes a few steps towards me, her nostrils twitching gently as she sniffs she air. "You smell this?" I pick a piece of meat from one of the buckets and quickly throw it through the opening in the fence. The Dryptosaur catches it with her mouth and ravenously swallows it hole, before quickly coming even closer to the fence. This startles me a bit, but instead of moving back, I toss another piece, which she quickly gobbles down as well.

"Hm, you really aren't so scary after all." I say calmly, continuing to throw the larger pieces of meat through the opening until only a few more remain. "Let me get a good look at you." I mutter, stepping closer to the fence to inspect her. Takara responds with a snort, giving me the impression that she's not too happy about her interrupted meal, but she still doesn't show any sign of aggression. I have never seen a carnivore act this way towards a human, not unless we've darted them.

My head tilts slightly, and my lips turn up into a grin as a quiet trill escapes Takara's throat. "She likes you already," Commander Riley's voice chimes from beside me. "I'm glad to see that you're not afraid."

"She's calm now, but I'm not sure how she'd be if I entered the paddock. Were you really going to just throw me in there if I refused?" As my attention is pulled away from Takara, I quickly throw another piece of meat to keep her satisfied. The food might also be why the animal is so accepting of my attention, I don't want to chance making her mad already.

The Commander laughs deeply, "No, dear. Of course not," His laughter stops and he frowns slightly, "It was a scare tactic."

I sigh deeply and shake my head, "I can't believe that I didn't pick up on that. It's fine, honestly I doubt I would have agreed otherwise."

"I am glad you're doing this. If this works, and it will, you'll have an actual dinosaur riding beyond the Fence with you."

"You say this is for protection but you've had every single version of this experiment fail before.. Why continue trying?" I frown slightly, remembering that soon I'll be feeding her by hand. I just hope I don't end up like the others.

"We tried and succeeded this experiment once with Ankylosaurs." Commander Riley sighs deeply, "We ended up stopping in the end because too many of the animals died in the field, but having that extra protection did help our Elitists when they needed it most.. even if the animal died."

"Why risk it with this species?"

"I said their intelligence rivals the Giga, and I meant that. Wild Dryptos have protected humans outside of the Fence for no other reason than they sensed an injured creature. They've even warned humans of nearby threats. Compassion, Lexa. Empathy. That's what sets these guys in a totally different category than any other species. The Giganotosaurus is a rampaging monster. Takara, and others like her, could potentially save you from one." He pauses for a moment, glancing across the room to my team before whispering lowly, "If this works, we might be able to set up external bases outside of our city."

"Wait, what?" I turn completely towards him, my head tilting in confusion, "Isn't that against the entire Viadon code? Preserving the wild life is the reason Damian Hunts and the other founding families built such a big city."

"The city is overpopulated, Lexa. Soon, we'll have to start rationing. The Council even thought of banning pregnancy for a few years, but they decided against it because our citizens deserve better than that. The farmers can't keep up with the demand. Lots has changed since you left home 3 years ago." He looks towards Takara and then towards me again, "The Chieftess is planning to do a culling in 6 months if we can't find a way to safely build exterior bases to move some of our population."

"A culling? What do you mean?" I, of course, know what the word "culling" means, but it most definitely catches me off guard. When I visited my mom and dad after graduation they mentioned nothing of their products being in high demand, much less anything about signs of over-population.

"They'll take the non-essential citizens, like the elderly and the sick, and they'll quietly kill them all off slowly. It'll be disguised as a sickness, but I can promise you that the Chieftess will be behind it, along with the rest of the council. You can't tell anyone about this, including Alaric."

"Why are you telling me?"

"You said no secrets. I'm only following your wishes," Commander Riley's eyes narrow, "The Chieftess will tell Alaric and the rest of your team when they are ready. For now, this stays between us. If she knew I told you, she'd have my head, and you'd be forced to step up as Elitist Commander now. I doubt you want that."

"Hey, what're you two talking about?!" Axia's voice grows close as she rounds the corner behind the Commander. I force a smile onto my face, trying hard not to let shock show on my face. I don't even know what to think.

Commander Riley turns on his heels with a smile, greeting my teammate with a wave, "I was just telling Lexa here that Takara stands at approximately 7 feet and 6 inches tall." He exclaims happily, "They're already getting along perfectly. Tomorrow we'll be doing this again, and Lexa is going to try and feed her by hand."

"Wow, that's one tall animal companion. Even taller than Q!" Axia laughs gently before waving the others over from the other side of the paddock.

"She makes the weirdest noises," I let out an awkward, breathy chuckle before turning back to the opening in the fence. I quickly throw the last few pieces of meat into the enclosure before closing the small door and locking it. "It's like a little chirp. I guess it means she's happy." I shrug, then turn my attention to the others as they finally approach.

"I can't believe you fed a dinosaur!" Quincy bounces on the ball of his feet in excitement, though he still stays the furthest away from the fence.

"I've done that all my life, Q." I laugh lightly before looking back at Takara through the fence. She still stands quietly by the barrier, looking back and forth between each person as if she's actually examining and getting to know them. "Just not with dinosaurs quite like this one." I add, furrowing my eyebrows as I watch her.

"She doesn't seem to mind us, either. It's so odd." Oliver comments, walking over to stand by me. As he gets close, however, a throaty growl erupts from beyond the fence. I look over to see Takara's teeth baring viscously, but it seems to be more of a warning than a threat.

"Hey, maybe not so close." I warn, darting my hand out to stop him from moving any further. While Takara doesn't seem to mind that I'm close, it seems Oliver spoke a bit too soon about her not minding the four other newcomers she's never met before. "After I know her temperament a bit more, we'll introduce you guys one at a time. 5 people in one day is just too much."

"Lexa's right. In the mean time, are there any questions you'd like answered?" The Commander asks, glancing to each person in the group.

"Is she usually this calm?" Oliver inquires, raising his arms in mock defeat as he backs away from the barrier. Takara still stands her ground, but makes her soft trilling sound as he retreats.

"She is, actually. Usually up until the point that she sees her handlers are scared of her." The Commander nods solemnly before looking towards the dinosaur. "She's killed 3 handlers. The first one was an accident. We were in stage 3, training in combat with other predatory dinosaurs, and Takara was a second too late to protect her handler. The Carno got him. The second and third, also in stage 3, Takara got angry when the handlers turned their own weapons on her. Her first handler never did that, so we think she may see it as a sort of betrayal."

"So basically, she remembers the treatment her first handler gave her and won't take shit from anyone else?" Alaric asks, his arms crossed over his chest. I can tell that he's still against this plan, but he doesn't know what I know now. I wish I could tell him.

"Her first handler raised her, right?" I ask, looking towards Takara with a frown.

"Yes." Commander Riley responds.

"So she grew up with love and trust. The two second handlers just wouldn't give it to her in the way she needed. I doubt she meant to kill them, it was probably a defense instinct. Someone points a gun at you, you're either going to fight or run. She's an animal, what'd they think would happen?" I touch the fence between Takara and me gently, "Can I have the first handlers files?"

"Yes, you can. I'll have Elitist Red bring them to your room after lunch. Handler Keys left an entire journal on Takara's life growing up too. You can have that as well." Commander Riley says, "It's getting close to lunch time. You can come here anytime you want, but no doors can be opened into the paddock without me being present, at least for now."

"I guess that means we should go?" I ask, reluctantly peeling my eyes off Takara to look towards Commander Riley, who simply nods in response. I frown and then look back at the dinosaur, "I'll be back tomorrow. Promise." I say softly, earning another purr from the furred beast.

After another few moments, Commander Riley begins to lead us out of the room. As I go to exit, I turn back to see that Takara was still watching us from the same spot. "She's so weird." I mutter. I had expected her to at least stalk us around the room, even if she wasn't doing it threateningly.

Between meeting Takara and the information that Commander Riley randomly threw at me, I am incredibly tired. Just yesterday I was begging my teammates not to keep secrets from me, and yet here I am, responsible for a secret that not even our future Chieftain knows. Instead of heading to the cafeteria with the others for a pre-made lunch, I head back to our dorm in order to do some research on Takara's species. Once I get the files and journals, I'll be able to understand more about what kind of treatment she prefers. So far, I already seem to be doing something right, even if that something was just feeding her through a fence. I just hope the rest of the experiment goes well.