NationStates Jolt Archive

John Grimanus was one of many Romans who chose to make a start in the new Roman settlment on Manium- "Nova Roma"- because of its promise of a new beginning. Having distinguished himself as the longtime Consul of Piacenza, Grimanus was convinced that, in the capacity of Governor of Nova Roma, he could lead a band of 10,000 settlers into the great unknown that was Nova Roma.

For the first several months, the colony went off without a hitch. Nova Roma was built into a bustling metropolis with many of the amenities the Old Rome had, while the colonists urbanized and utilized whatever land was left beyond the city limits. By the end of the calendar year- with Nova Roma only eight months old- the colony boasted over two million square miles in territory and had a population of just under one million, with most of those being immigrants from all over the Empire and half of the total population being in Nova Roma itself.

However, Grimanus wasn't content with what he had. He had heard stories about what might lay beyond the mountains and deep into what was once Water Coolian territory- rumours of gold, oil, minerals, coal: the kind of stuff that would make his colony richer beyond even his own dreams. So he led a Century beyond the Nova Roman limits to set off on an adventure that not even he could have imagined.

Once he reached the mountains, Grimanus chanced upon a native Maniite tribe, the Trimbarii as they called themselves. Neither had ever met each other before, but Grimanus did the best he could to come off as friendly to the Trimbarii. He first called out his name and the name of his group- "Romans"- and then bowed down to their Chief, which the Trimbarii saw as a sign of respect and caused them to lower their guard with the Romans (which also caused the Trimbarii to reveal who they were). He then pointed to himself and his Century and gestured across the mountains, hoping to tell the Chief that his intentions was to cross the mountain. The Chief looked at him and grimaced.

The Century was taken aback, but Grimanus wasn't afraid. The Chief then summoned one of his men- who was carrying a "rock notepad" of some kind- over to him and the Romans. He then flipped the pages showing Grimanus what lied ahead of the mountains. In the pictures, Grimanus saw constant pictures of a dragon-like creature that spit fire as well as a lizard-like creature that ate at the Trimbarii at will. The Chief then pointed to the mountains and then to himself, later shaking his hands as if to say "no, I wouldn't go there." Grimanus later shrugged it off, waved goodbye to the Trimbarii and carried on his way.

A couple of hours later, when the Century was setting up camp, Cornicen Paul Umari asked Grimanus about the almost-completely silent exchange with the Trimbarii. "John, what was it they were saying lied beyond those mountains?"
"I don't know. I am gathering that they say there are giant lizards across those mountains, ones that attack the Trimbarii and even eat them."
"You mean, like dinosaurs?"
"Possibly, but I think we know better than that." Grimanus then continued in blatant sarcasm at the idea, "I mean, when was the last time 'the dinosaurs' walked the Earth?"
"65 million years ago?"
"Exactly. So why should we worry about it?"
"...but sir, this isn't Earth- this is Manium. The evolutionary path could be different here."
"Hogwash. This continent is very Earth-like- why should this continent be any different?"
Umari nodded his head in agreement. "You're right; but what do we make of those drawings?"
"They're nothing but children's drawings- exaggerations of reality. They can't possibly be true." With that, the two were finished putting up their tent, which they would both use to sleep in that night before continuing the trek over the mountains tommorow. Grimanus was hoping this would be the start of a new prosperous journey for him and for Rome, but the reality would be far different and far less easier to dismiss than simply calling it "children's drawings."

Warning: the following may make some queasy

***************3 months later***************

Eventually, Grimanus' Century scaled the mountains and pushed forward, not caring about the Trimbarii's apparent warnings. The Century then found an ideal spot at the foot of the hill to found a town, which they called "Fortis" to signify their insistance it would be strong against any form of attack.

Three months passed by without incident, with the town eventually attaining around 4,000 residents. It had its own local Century- headed by Grimanus- to keep order while the Romans searched for police officers to install in the area full-time. There wasn't a lot for the town to live off of except agriculture, but for now the townsfolk believed that was sufficient.

Then, one day, the town of 4,000 vanished. Everything was devastated: buildings were torn, body parts were flying everywhere and the town laid in a pool of blood. Only one survivor remained from the carnage, and he was Gregalis Cornelius Redemius. He ran past the mountains to tell the Roman authorities what had happened to the town of Fortis.

"Cornelius, how can I help you?" asked Centurion Marcus Dimiar of the Mountain Patrol.
"Fortis is dead. Everything is gone," said a visibly shaken Redemius.
"It's dead? How could that happen?" asked Dimiar who suddenly got suspicious.
"A Tyrannosaurus Rex came and attacked the villiage. It literally ate everything and destroyed what it couldn't eat."
"A T-Rex?" Dimiar could barely contain his laughter.
"I swear by Jove that a T-Rex attacked the villiage. You can look at it for yourself."
"Yeah. Meanwhile, I am putting you under arrest for the murder of the villiage of Fortis." Dimiar then alerted his guards. "Men, take him away."
"Yes sir," said the guards.
"...but, but..." screamed Redemius in fear.
"You admitted yourself that the town is gone. I don't believe your story so the only other thing I can think of is that you killed everyone." With that, Redemius was dragged away into the base, ready to be transported back to Nova Roma for court.

Later that day, Dimiar was talking to his friend, Aqualifer Gregorius Marcus, on a break. "Can you believe that guy? A Tyrannosaurus Rex ate an entire villiage. How silly is that?"
"Maybe he's right," said Marcus.
"What do you mean he's right? Dinosaurs have been extinct for over 65 million years."
"Well, you were kind of quick about it. I mean, you didn't even look at the area for one."
"We will look at it- he's innocent until proven guilty. However, with a story like that I have no other thought than, 'he killed them all'".
"Did you ever think that Manium may be different than Earth? This is a whole new world here."
"C'mon. Dinosaurs? Give me a break."

With that, their break ended and they went back to work.

The Roman Free Press

"Town devastated, soldier court-martialled for murder"

NOVA ROMA- The Roman colony of Fortis was completely destroyed and deserted last week by an unknown entity that appeared to kill everything in sight. There was only one survivor of the catastrophe: Gregalis Cornelius Redemius of the Fortis Century.

Redemius ran from the town, located on the other side of the as-of-yet unnamed mountain range located in the middle of what was once Water Coolian territory, to tell the local Nova Roman officials about what had happened. When the local Centurion- Marcus Dimiar of the Mountain Patrol- heard his story, he had him arrested for the murder of the town, claiming that Redemius "fabricated" the story to cover up his own crimes.

"It's like the classic tale of the kid who didn't do their homework saying to his teacher, 'my dog ate my homework.' Sorry, that won't fly with me," said Dimiar. "The only other reasonable explanation I can give is that he killed the villiage." However, when Dimiar was asked if he had any proof that Redemius in fact killed the villiage, he tried to dance around the question before eventually admitting that he did not.

According to Dimiar, Redemius' story is that a Tyrannosaurus Rex- an animal that has been dead on Earth for well over 65 million years- came and attacked the villiage of Fortis, eating everyone alive- except Redemius- and destroying everything it couldn't eat. So far, a patrol has been sent into the area to investigate, but it won't be finished its report until the end of the week.

Meanwhile, paleontologists are divided over the dinosaur question. Some, like Roderick Virmas of Nova Roma, says that Manium is a different area than Earth so it's possible that dinosaurs found the ability to survive. Others, such as Jason Vincent of Caesaria-Manium, says that if Manium actually had dinosaurs "we would have known about it long ago, especially considering the Water Coolians said nothing on the subject". However, until the question gets resolved, the Roman soldier shall remain in custody.

OOC: For an explanation of Roman military positions see the link in my signature titled "Face the Imperial Might!"

Warning: Following may make some queasy

IC:

************************The Patrol of Fortis************************

While Redemius was awaiting trial at Nova Roma itself, the colonial government decided to send a patrol to Fortis to examine Redemius' story. The Nova Roma 7th Legion, the closest base to Fortis and Dimiar's commanding Legion, was sent to investigate as well as a pair of Chinook helicopters to provide aerial surveillance.

The trek over the mountains- which they dubbed the Dinosaur Mountains based on Redemius' story- took them several days, after which they needed another 48 hours to get to the old location of Fortis. There lay, for the first time in the eyes of a Roman other than Redemius, the ruins of the once-grand frontier villiage.

"I think he's right," said Aqualifier Christopher Pandolphus to Contubernium mate Cornicen Lucius Ramorus. "There are bloodstains everywhere. Bitemarks. Severed limbs. Disfigured bodies with parts missing. I look at this and have a hard time believeing that a single man did this."

"I don't know," said Ramorus. "You'd think that but some criminals are crafty. We so far cannot rule out that he's hiding something."

Just then, the Chinook came in with a radio message none of the soldiers would forget. "T-Rex at 1 o'clock. It's at least fifty miles from us and moving fast."

"A T-Rex?" went Legate Aemillius Edarsus through the radio.
"Yes sir, a T-Rex, dead ahead and it's moving fast."

Suddenly, the Legion was told to get into battle positions. Edarsus was taking no chances with this story- if it was false then he's saved his men, but if it was true, then he didn't want to be caught flat-footed.

The plan was simple: as soon as the Tyrannosaurus Rex got into view the tanks would fire immediately on it, with the Legion encircling the beast. There would also be a picture of the dinosaur taken and sent to Dispatch at Nova Roma, so that Redemius could be cleared. However, the Chinooks were only partly right about the T-Rex: not one, but fifty showed up at the scene, and each of them were hungry.

"You have got to be kidding me..." muttered Edarsus in disbelief. "Legion! Fire at will!" screamed Edarsus through the radio. He then radioed the Colonial Army Office at Nova Roma, telling them that he needed backup, and lots of it.

Meanwhile, the dinosaurs were giving the Legion all it could handle. The soldiers quickly ran out of bullets as the Tyrannosauri advanced, taking bullet after bullet while feeling nothing at all. Some of the Tyrannosauri were taken down by missiles stored on the Abrams tanks and on the Chinooks, but the dinosaurs had also dealt their damage to the Legion, killing or eating some 500 men and totalling about ten tanks. It wasn't until the 1st Falcone Unit of the Nova Roma 1st Avis arrived on the scene some half an hour later (they claimed it was a communication mishap) that the situation was finally resolved in the Romans' favour. The dinosaurs were all killed, but at the expense of some 650 men, eleven tanks and fifteen rocket launchers.

When news reached Nova Roma, Redemius' feelings were mixed. On one side, he was saddened at the loss of the equivalent of six Centuries, but on the other hand it proved his story. Images went on the news that night of a Tyrannosaurus attack on the Legion, which would send shockwaves all over the Empire. Of course, the end of the broadcast was what was more chilling for those who were watching it:

"While the Romans today defeated the dinosaurs, it is still unknown how many of them are left beyond the mountain range, or, for that matter, anywhere else in the colony. Remember, this was once the colony of The Water Cooler, so one has to wonder: did the dinosaurs kill them off; and what can we do about it? We assumed this land under the pretext of economic glory, but we may be inheriting something that may be a lot more than we can handle."

Nova Roma was gripped by the news of the dinosaur attack. Their new Governor- Lucius Marcellus, the former Deputy who took over from the late Grimanus- was trying to keep everyone calm, but after images of the dinosaur attack and editorials everywhere wondering if this is what killed the Water Cooler colony, that wouldn't be easy.

He also prepared a statement to release to the Colonies of Alioth, Safehaven2 and The Lightning Star alerting them of a potential danger, though he really wondered if they would take him seriously:

************URGENT MESSAGE TO THE COLONIES OF WESTERN MANIUM************

In case you have not been aware of it, the settlement of Fortis in our colony of Nova Roma just beyond the former Water Coolian range (which we have now called "The Dinosaur Range"), was devastated a few days ago by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. We didn't believe the story at first, but after the Mountain Legion encountered a pack of fifty dinosaurs just the other day, we now believe the story to be correct.

In light of these findings, we have sent further patrols into our area- both before and after the range- and further into former Water Coolian territory, because we are worried about a threat that is now very real for our colony. We send this message out to you today to alert you of our patrols and urge you to conduct your own of your own territories. We are so far unsure of the range of these beasts on the continent of Manium, but we do know that they are out there and we need to contain them. So please, at the very least for the sake of your own colonies, we urge you to be on the lookout for these creatures and to deal with them accordingly.

Thank you.

Signed,
Lucius Marcellus,
Governor, Nova Roma
August 28, MMV

Warning: following may make some queasy

************North of the Dinosaur Range************

Meanwhile, what was left of the Mountain Range, continued their patrols of Water Cooler territory. There, they saw exactly what they were looking for- evidence of the destruction of the colony by the dinosaurs. Villiage after villiage was covered in blood amidst the wreckage of buildings, and, in some areas, partially-remaining skeletons could be seen. Roads and rails were abandonned and torn from the ground, and massive footprints of all shapes and sizes could be seen.

Up in the distance, a more disturbing scene unfolded. There remained the ruins of a villiage that looked like it had just been devastated. The smell of blood was still in the air and several buildings were still on fire. The only quirk about the situation was that it didn't look like anything was eaten- more, it was stomped on. Aerial examinations confirmed that large footprints could be seen across the wreckage, with some areas tumbled to one side or the other as if a tail had swung by.

"I tell you," said Edarsus to his Tribunus Laticlavius Sixtus Martius. "We're dealing with more than just one group of dinosaurs- we really are dealing with Jurassic Park."

OOC: Sorry for posting if you don't want me too, but bloody good, I like this so far, nice to read. :D

OOC: Sorry for posting if you don't want me too, but bloody good, I like this so far, nice to read. :D

Thank you- and I have no problem with you posting. :D

Thank you- and I have no problem with you posting. :D
YAY! And I think you picked a good topic, who doesn't love man eating/squashing dinosaurs? :D

Tag

Dont have time to join now, but maybe later.

While the Legion patrolled the frontiers, the government at Nova Roma was debating as to what should be done with the dinosaurs. Some wanted them all destroyed, while others felt they should be cordoned off in some way, either on a preserve or in a zoo. A day's worth of debating went nowhere, as the Nova Romans had no clue about how to deal with this peculiar threat.

Meanwhile, Edarsus and his Legion were piecing together- very slowly- what had happened to The Water Cooler's colony. It appeared from the look of it that the towns were merely the victims of bad luck- whatever animal wanted to come by did with little regard for the local population (...and why should it? thought Edarsus, they're ten times the size of us, so they wouldn't be scared). Sometimes the towns were just stomped on, and other times they were eaten by hungry dinosaurs.

A few scientists went along with the Legion to help solve the puzzles that couldn't be actively seen. Some of the human and dinosaur bones would be brought back to Nova Roma for better testing, but so far the prelimary results show that the attacks were fairly recent, occuring within the space of just five years (OOC: assuming the amount of time Manium has been around). It appeared that the dinosaurs were just recently expanding into the area and the humans were simply in the wrong space at the wrong time. This, however, does raise a few questions given the Trimbarii story- if the dinosaurs were a recent addition to the area, how come the Trimbarii talked of them as if they were there all the time?

Edarsus eventually came up with a plan that he radioed back to the Command Centre at Nova Roma:

What we have discovered in the old colony of The Water Cooler is that the dinosaurs seemed to have arrived simply because they were expanding into the area for whatever reason in the past five years, though we are ruling out the possibility that the dinosaurs were out to "hunt humans" specifically. We believe that the humans in their case was simply unlucky, being caught in the wrong area at the wrong time.

However, we are interested in talking to the Trimbarii leaders, because from what we understand they believe that the dinosaurs were there for a long time and our evidence contradicts that. See if you can co-ordinate a team that can talk to the Trimbarii to see what they know.

Edarsus out.

Nova Roma Forum, Second Floor

Gibeck was figgeting. The Trimbarii Leader was called in to talk to Roman authorities about the dinosaurs, and he was nervous about the questions they would ask him. Would they think I lied to them? Do they think I'm behind all these attacks? Moreover, he was worried about his people- would they be reprised for their *supposed* role in the dinosaur attacks?

Just then, two Romans walked into the room. One was Nova Roma 1st Legion Primus Pilus Claudia Maria Syndrisia and the other was Dr. Gnaeus Lucis Marposum, a Native Studies Professor at the University of Nova Roma who would be Gibeck's intepreter.

(OOC Note: assume every statement has been translated before Gibeck responds)

"Chief Gibeck, I hope you're comfortable," said Syndrisia, trying to make the chief be at ease.
"Yes I am. This chair beats anything I've ever sat on," said Gibeck. The three all let out a laugh.
"Now, I want you to understand that we are not accusing you of anything nor are we accusing your people of anything. We just want to get to the bottom of some very serious tragedies. Tell me then, what do you know about these 'dinosaurs'? From what we understand, your people seem to have quite some knowledge of them."
"Yes, that is true. Before The Water Cooler arrived, our people travelled around the area extensively. We are a nomadic people, and our travels have taken us all the way to what you call 'The Augustan Range'.

It was there that I met my first encounter with the dinosaurs. It was this big lizard that attacked my tribe, and while I was one of the people lucky enough to escape, the others were not so lucky. We lost maybe 100 people that fateful day." The Cheif paused a little to sob.

"Do you want to continue?" Syndrisia was worried for the Chief, while also worried about the existence of dinosaurs by the Augustan Range.

"Yes, yes I will. Anyway, our tribe learned from those mistakes, and fled into what later became Water Coolian territory. They tried to expand past the peninsula, but we warned them against it because of the dinosaurs. They believed us and constructed a massive wall at the edge of their colony to keep the giant beasts out.

"About seven years ago, the Water Coolians' fortunes faded. The dinosaurs had expanded to the wall, and repeatedly threatened the wall until one day it fell. Since then the dinosaurs moved fast into Water Cooler territory, destroying everything in sight. We then moved past the mountains and closer to the ocean to get away from the dinosaurs, but six years ago we noticed them just on the other side. That is why when Grimanus arrived we told him not to go across the mountains, because we were certain that the same fate that befell the Water Coolians would befall him- and we were right."

"Interesting- but that doesn't explain what happened to the rest of The Water Coolian colony."
"We've heard a lot of stories. The plague, flooding, the weather- but what we do know is that a lot of Water Coolians left the colony outright after the dinosaurs breached the colonial wall. Our guess is that they all left voluntarily, for a fear that the dinosaurs would find some way to cross the mountains."

"Thank you Chief Gribeck. We will keep in touch." Syndrisia and the Chief engaged in a hearty handshake before the Chief left the room.

"So what do you make of the Chief's story?" asked Marposum.
"Well, it's very believable, so we know this is not the doing of other humans. It does leave us worried about Northernland and, worse, Romanus Eropidus- could the dinosaurs have already established themselves there? He did say that the dinosaurs reached The Augustan Range."
"I don't know about that. To them, any mountain range- no matter how big- could be 'The Augustan Range'. I'm not doubting their story- I believe them- I'm just not sure they went that far. Maybe there's a hilly area far east of the former Water Coolian area that they reached where there's dinosaurs, but I'm not sure if they actually mean 'The Augustan Range'. Besides, if they went that far don't you think we'd know about it? How long has our colony been around there, anyway?
"I guess you're right, but the Chief's words still trouble me. I mean, if the dinosaurs were able to get past the Water Cooler's wall, what can stop them this time? We need to get to that wall and study it."

************The Water Coolian Wall************

After the meeting with the Trimbarii leader, the Romans sent a specialized Cohort (the soldiers being brought in case of an attack) led by Syndrisia and Marposum to inspect The Water Cooler's colonial wall, as reported by Gibeck. The Romans would be a while before they would be able to assume control of the entire colony, but that would not stop an inspection.

The flight itself would take about 15 hours aboard the Cohort's CH-47 Chinook helicopter. Most of the soldiers and scientists were asleep on the flight, owing to the fact that this was not a wartime flight, but as soon as they landed, they would be astounded by what they saw.

"Well, well, would you look at that?" said Syndrisia as she stepped out of the helicopter. "It's like the Great Wall of China, only bigger and stronger."

"They certainly built this place up, that's for sure," said Marposum, as both he and Syndrisia walked around to scout the wall. "It appears to be a titanium wall reinforced with lots of lead."

"The question is, though, how did the dinosaurs break through? This wall looks pretty secure."

After the troops spent the night at the wall, they broke camp the following morning to do a survey of the wall from the air. They would probably need to camp a few more days given the size of the wall, but they were prepared.

Eight hours of flying eventually found the Cohort their quarry. What looked like a large breach in the wall excited interest, causing the Cohort to land in the area, set up camp and inspect the damage. Syndrisia was the first to leave the aircraft, followed by Gaius Cornelius Darbroni, a paleontologist from the University of Caesaria-Manium.

"So, what do you think Professor?" asked Syndrisia to Darbroni.
"Well, it looks like something reached over the wall and knocked it over," said Darbroni, referring to the breach which appeared to originate from the top. "I believe it may be a Brachiosaurus."
"I'm not so sure," said Marcus Crassus Symander, another paleontologist. "I don't believe the Brachiosaurus' head is that strong, nor is the neck that long to come over top of the wall."
"Well, this may not be any Brachiosaurus," said paleontologist Decima Aemillia Cornita. "This could be a special Brachiosaurus that had an exceptionally long neck."
"Yeah, but is the head and the neck strong enough to breach the wall?" said Darbroni. "That's the main question."

Just then, Marposom, who scaled the lowest portion of the breach, alerted the scientists to the other side of the wall. "Look at this," he said, in amazement.

Right before their eyes lay hundreds- if not thousands- of footprints just before the wall. Most had vegetation growing from them indicating it was not a recent breach, but the growth suggested that the footprints appeared there almost all at the same time. The Cohort then decided to collectively leave the camp and set up a different camp on the other side of the wall.

The analysis of the footprints could not be any clearer- this was a co-ordinated stampede full of hungry Brachiosaurs who weren't going to let the Water Coolians get in the way. The trees all looked dead in the area, prompting speculation that the Brachiosaurs had eaten everything beyond the wall and were pining for something more, and The Water Coolian Wall wasn't going to stop the dinosaurs from their quest.

The team then packed up and boarded the Chinook again. They flew back in the direction of the stampede, and sure enough, there were footprints past the breach as well, forming a triangle as if the dinosaurs moved single-file from the wall and branched out from there. Several hours into the flight, Syndrisia noticed a live Brachiosaurus quietly eating away at a tree. Such a peaceful creature, she thought. Who would have thought that a creature as pacific as that would cause so much damage? She smiled. She knew she would have plenty to talk about once she arrived back at Nova Roma- now, it was time for her to sleep.

Weeks passed and even more information came about the dinosaurs. Huge bands of dinosaurs could be spotted north of the mountains, heavily concentrated in the north-central and northern part of the old Water Cooler colony. They didn't seem like they migrated much from the wall, but there were still pockets of dinosaurs that could be found right up to the Dinousaur Mountains. Fortunately, none could be spotted south of the Dinosaur Mountains, but that was small solace given what they did to The Water Cooler's colony.

Meanwhile, proposals went back and forth over what to do with protecting Nova Roma from the dinosaurs. Everything from an even larger wall to various SAM sites were proposed, but barely anything was agreed upon. The Nova Roma Senators all grumbled at the potential bill for the protection, but collectively they knew they had no other choice.

At the end of the day, Quaestor Publius Sertonus Marius made the suggestion that stuck out the most in the minds of the Senators. "I suggest we make the area north of the mountains a national reserve," said Marius. "The Water Coolians and us have already proven that human settlement north of the Dinosaur Mountains is next to impossible, so maybe we should stop trying. We can have patrols in the area to monitor the dinosaur population to see if it gets out of hand, but I think it's time we stopped trying to 'defeat' the dinosaurs and learn to live with them." The Senate applauded Marius for his remarks. "Besides," Marius joked, "they'd make very good fodder for our venationes." The Senate burst out in laughter.

Eventually, the Senate decided that, yes, they would create large expanses of territory north of the Dinosaur Mountains as "national reserves", but it would create them with a large "mini mountain range" enclosing the reserves, to better patrol and contain the dinosaurs. The first phase of the plan is to calculate how many dinosaurs there are and how much food/land they'll need and then to see where the best spots would be for the dinosaurs. Only then will they proceed with the reserves. They still had yet decided on whether or not civilians would be allowed to enter, but they figured that would be a minor point with the reserves years away at best.

Syndrisia reflected on the situation with Marposum. "This started out with so much tragedy- now, I'm happy it's ending with hope," said Syndrisia.
"Yeah. Dinosaurs are really beautiful creatures. I'm happy the Senate decided not to shoot them all," said Marposum.
Syndrisia laughed at Marposum's remark before continuing. "Do you think we'll be safe here in Nova Roma; and what do we do with the dinosaurs beyond The Water Cooler wall?"
"Well, I hope we're safe here, but we can never be sure. As far as the rest of Manium goes- who knows. All I care about is that nothing else wrong happens."
"That may not be entirely up to us."
Marposum sighed. "Yeah, but at least we'll do our part. That's the least we can do."

As the Senate passed the bill authorizing the creation of "national reserves", the Roman Army got further into the business of claiming the land. They were given special orders to scout the area first before deciding which lands could be used for settlement and which lands were best left to the dinosaurs.

The Legion that pressed onwards- called "The Dinosaur Legion"- was strange for an expedition force, but this was no ordinary expedition. Faced with the prospect of potentially dangerous Brachiosaurs and Tyrannosaurs, the Romans didn't want to take any chances. The Legion was built like an invasion force with all the trappings of one (such as tanks and rocket launchers), because, technically this was one.

So far, the Romans had determined some 220,000 sq.mi. of land available for settlement and began the building projects designed to keep the dinosaurs at bay. The Romans decided to build larger and thicker walls than the Water Coolians had made, with the intent of replicating the Dinosaur Range. Some $3 trillion would be poured into the project over the next ten years, but some security experts believe this wouldn't be enough, especially considering Nova Roma had enough trouble maintaining the existing colony as it is.

Still, rumours of vast resources kept the soldiers upbeat. The terrain was pretty swampy but there was still enough land for which good amounts of farmland could be made. They were just worried about the dinosaurs and what they could do with the colony. The fear of what happened to The Water Cooler kept many of the Senators awake at night.

Syndrisia was one of those people. Out with the Dinosaur Legion, Syndrisia reflected while in her sleeping quarters. Maybe keeping the beasts alive wasn't a good idea, she thought. I mean, they killed The Water Cooler, so what's to say that they won't kill us too? Then she thought of that grazing Brachiosaurus she saw just the other day. Yeah, but they're so peaceful...if we can tame them, imagine what it could do for our colony and for science. Elephants and giraffes are also larger than us and we contained them, so why not the dinosaurs? With that, she smiled and went to bed.

Lucius Marcellus had a mixed day. It was election day in Nova Roma, the result of which saw him being formally elected Consul of the colony. He won easily, which, under normal circumstances would make him estatic, but with the growing concern about the dinosaurs- an issue that won him election- he knew this was no time to celebrate.

Right after the electoral results were posted Marcellus went straight to work. He called up the Legate of the Dinosaur Legion and asked for a complete report on the progress the Legion was making, and for whatever information the Legate could provide him at the time.

"So far, all we have to report is that our operations are going well," said Legate Edarsus. "The dinosaurs have so far behaved and stayed confined within their walls, and whoever did not was successfully shot down. No soldiers have yet been lost, but we're not going to declare victory just yet."

"Very well. Keep up the good work," said Marcellus. Just then he had received reports of another dinosaur attack, this time north of the Colonial Wall in what was once the Colony of Alioth.

"Good grief...first The Water Cooler and now Alioth," sighed Marcellus. "Good thing the Brutians are helping out, but this dinosaur situation is getting crazier by the minute."

OOC: It's a nice RP, but according to a documentary, recent evidence suggests that the T-Rex was more of a scavenger rather than a carnivore.

OOC: I've heard the scavenger theory and I don't believe it. The dinosaur was built like a carnivore and thus it probably was one.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrannosaurus_Rex#Predator.2C_Scavenger_or_Both.3F

Mind you, this would be a good idea for which to continue...

(following may make some queasy)

IC:

While the Army was out conquering the former colony of The Water Cooler, Ricardus Aemillius Robema, a paleontologist at Caesaria-Manium went on his own to research the Tyrannosaurus Rex. He didn't have that extensive a knowledge about T-Rex- Deinonychus was his speciality- but he knew about the debate over whether or not it was a predator or a scavenger and he thought that since there was a live one he'd go study it.

When he reached the Fortis Preservation- based on the site of the decimated town and where there were a lot of Tyrannosaurs- via helicopter, he was struck with amazement at what he saw. He watched as a pack of Tyrannosaurs were busy eating away at an unlucky Triceratops, which, according to his observations, the Tyrannosaurs had just begun to eat. He then grabbed a camcorder in an attempt to get a closer look at the beasts.

Those beasts must be hungry[i], he thought to himself as he looked at how enthusiastically the Tyrannosaurs were eating. As he was watching, he noticed a few peculiar habits of the Tyrannosaurs:

-The dinosaurs seemed to share a communal bond, as none of the dinosaurs could be seen pushing the other feeding dinosaurs. He even thought he saw a T-Rex pass a bone to another, but given his height, he could not say for sure
-The feeding seemed to be in an organized fashion, with the dinosaurs spaced evenly apart
-They all had their tails raised high, as if to say that this kill was "theirs"

He then saw something else that caught his eye: the Triceratops was still alive. He watched as the Triceratops' head moved gingerly, probably screaming in pain as the Tyrannosaurs disembowelled it. The Triceratops did not have much longer to live, dying within seconds after Robema saw its head move. However, Robema had seen enough- he had proof that the Tyrannosaurs [i]were predators, although he did not have definitive proof that they were so exclusively.

"This is exciting," he said to himself. "Crosus (OOC: the pilot), fly me a little more to the left. I'm going to need a bit more research before I head home."

The news of Robema's discoveries shook the Roman world. Having seen first-hand a Tyrannosaurus Rex, he was confident enough that he could clarify the "scavenger vs. predator" debate. "In the course of my studies," he wrote, "I have found that the T-Rex was neither- it would scavenge, but it would also hunt. This animal was not averse to any food it could find, regardless of whether or not it breathed.

"However, what I have seen in my studies is a tender side no one might think of when thinking of Tyrannosaurus Rex. They seemed to be very communal and had a high sense of comraderie. They even seemed to have a notion of sharing even with Tyrannosaurs who were not a part of their community. They would fight each other, though, if they felt that a T-Rex was being hostile to the group, and would fight to the death in some cases. However, the communal aspect of the Tyrannosaurs is something that I have just discovered, and I encourage more research in this area."

Not all paleontologists agreed with Robema's conclusions. Some were skeptical of his findings describing the T-Rex as a "social animal", even though Robema asked them to "think outside the box". More paleontologists were expected to convene in Nova Roma in the coming months.

OOC: I told you I'd join sooner or later.

IC:
“Did you hear about what RomeW is saying?”

“No, what were they saying?”

“They were talking about…dinosaurs!”

The two men broke into laughter as they continued to float in the water. The two soldiers were taking a swim in the Licinii lake, break having come to them over an hour ago.

“You know, I thought much higher of their intelligence, didn’t you?”

The second man waited for a response, but found none. He turned around to look where the first one was, but found nothing but the dark silent water. His puzzled eyes began to dart form side to side, until they were unfortunately rewarded for their vigilance. The man’s arm drifted up from beneath the waves, blood pouring out. The second man slowly moved backwards, about to turn and swim as fast as he could.

The water was slashed open as the monster’s nose pierced the water. The front of its body came a small amount above the water and then sunk back in as its huge jagged mouth closed around the limb.

“That was no shark.”

The second man slowly felt his own urine circulate around himself. He began peddling backwards slowly, afraid of his movement disturbing the creature. Then he looked up from the location of his old friend, two dark large shapes were moving at him from almost opposite directions. Panic overtook him and he turned to swim, to find a shadow rising from the depths. Before he could react he felt pain coarse through his body, much like his blood traveled his veins. He shut his eyes in pain as fast as he could, but he was dragged under before his eyes even closed. His gurgled screams mixed with the roll of the waves, and he was gone.

“Mary, MARY, I TOLD YOU I WASN’T CRAZY! I GOT IT ON TAPE! I KNEW THERE WAS MONSTERS IN THEM WATERS!”

The old man hobbled from his balcony, wooden leg clanking on the floor. A camcorder was gripped tightly in his hand. “I HAVE PROOF!”

The Century marched through the jungle, ready to explore the largely uncharted land.

“Remind me again why we’re doing this.”

“I told you, that loon got proof that RomeW’s dinosaurs are real. Some manner of prehistoric monster is in Licinii Lake, and took out at least two people. According to RomeW’s info there were and might still be some manner of dinosaurs in the southern area of Bhalkan.”

“Well I don’t thin-”

Lucius Romulus, the inferior soldier, had just pushed aside some jungle to expose an amazing view. Stretched in front of them was a scene right out of Jurassic Park. The jungle was atop a large cliff, far below rolling hills and plains circled around a small lake where Brontosauruses were drinking and eating leaves off the high trees nearby. Dark dusty mountains closed off the entire area, probably containing valuable minerals.

Daerius Rommel looked at Lucius and smiled, “Don’t think what?”

“Wow, there are dinosaurs here.”

Suddenly the ground began to shake a bit. What was obviously the only entrance into the area, a small channel of jungle, began to shake and vibrate. Three T-Rexs came bundling out of the area and launched themselves upon the nearest Brontosaurus. The long neck shot up and then came swinging down like a wrecking ball, smashing into the gut of a T-Rex and sending him flying aside.

“Dear god, aren’t they like…pacifists. I thought they couldn’t take on like, anything.”

“Shh...Watch.”

The second T-rex jumped up and slid his teeth into the Brontosaurus’ neck. He fell down with a great thud and yell. As this happened most of the Brontosauruses began to funnel out the small jungle passage, however four, including the downed one, stayed back swinging their heads side to side. The T-Rexs formed up in a semi circle facing the Brontosauruses, while they bent accordingly to face the T-Rexs. With the call of a Pterodactyl flying by overhead the T-Rexs charged. The first met the swinging head of a Brontosaurus with his own, locking into a feat of strength. The second T-Rex was able to duck the head and lunge at the neck, biting and clawing; taking him down like the very first Brontosaurus. The third tried to fake left and circle right around the Brontosaurus but the swinging head hit like a ram, sending him aside. The third Brontosaurus then turned towards the middle and brought his head down on the T-Rex which had just downed his second Brontosaurus. Just then five more T-Rexs flew in and jumped onto the remaining Brontosaurus, each one fighting off four Brontosauruses. The rest was just blood and ripping skin.

“Wow…they almost put up a fight; but that same T-Rex got hit twice and is still up.”

One of the lead men of the century stepped forward to get a better look and was snatched away by a raptor speeding by. The lead men opened fire with their assault rifles, bullets slicing through foliage.

“Wow, no one saw that coming. Let’s fall back and reorganize a bit.”

OOC: Hasty ending, gotta get off laptop.

OOC: Better late than never. By the way, I should be referred to as simply "Rome"- the "W" is there because of NS.

IC:

News of the monster attack at Licnii Lake was swift in reaching the Roman press. Rome had already known of dinosaurs at Nova Roma and suspected that more dinosaurs lay across the borders, but they didn't know how many or how deadly they'd be. Certainly the dead Borman wouldn't be first casualty that Bhalkan would be suffering.

Still, despite the predictability of it, this was big news. Professor Robema decided to contact the Bhalkan authorities and see if he could go to Bhalkan to study the phenomenon in Borman territory. Their discovery would add to the research he had already conducted, and also reveal the real extent of the dinosaur problem.

(OOC: Have an essay to edit right now. No time for something big)

Official Imperial Communiqué:
To: Professor Robema
From: Chancellor Licinius

We have heard of your request to come to investigate the disturbance at lake Licinii, you are of course allowed to come. Bring what team and equipment you need, upon your arrival we shall give you a copy of the video which exposed the monster.

End Transmission


Lucius Romulus
Daerius Rommel

The century had erected a temporary encampment in the jungle a small while back on the cliff edge. Daerius radioed in to headquarters what they had seen and the name of the soldier who had been lost. The next day, after a night of resting, Daerius ordered Lucius to assemble a 10 men squadron and move down the cliff and through the jungle pass.

Lucius and his team scaled down the cliff face, using a complex support system of ropes maintained by the men on top. Upon reaching the bottom they re grouped, un-shouldered their DAC-91s, and moved off towards the small jungle pass.

OOC: bitching cousin wants to get on

OOC: You base your nation along Roman lines, no?

IC:

Robema was excited. He had new opportunites for research which he wouldn't waste any time pursuing, and having already produced what was amounting to be a definitive tract on Tyrannosaurs, this was exciting territory indeed.

He gathered up all his equipment and boarded a plane bound for Bhalkan. He'd be meeting the the Bhalkan officials in the morning- for now, he'd just enjoy his flight.

As he sat in the plane, he began to wonder about the contents of the video. It'll probably be gruesome, but it will offer some new insights, he thought to himself. He smiled- the value of the research will be incalculable.

Daerius watched as Lucius and his team sunk into the jungle.

“Hopefully their discoveries will make us richer than we could ever believe.”

---------------------------------------------

“This is going no where, lemme see where we are.”

Lucius took out his hand held GPS device and flipped it open. The screen was dead, “Damn, must be out of batteries.” Lucius took out a compass and was surprised to see the needle spin around in circles. “That means the mountains around us are full of that, uh, Marius what is it?”

Lucius looked around the other eight faces and realized Marius wasn’t here.

“What the hell happened to Marius?”

At the dull snap of a twig the men knew what had happened. Silently but quickly whoever didn’t have their hands on their weapons grasped their DACs. The platoon had no time to react, whatever was out there was upon them. Screams and the sounds of gunfire rose as all the members of the platoon opened fire into the moving leaves.

--------------------------------------------

Daerius looked up, horrified. He heard screams, gunfire, and inhuman roars. As he approached the edge of the cliff all the men around him came up and aimed their weapons at the jungle. Their vigil was rewarded as a man stumbled out of the jungle, blood covering half his body, foliage the other half.

“HELP ME! DEAR GOD!”

Two pterodactyls came out of the air and grabbed onto him as they took off again.

“Hold your fire, you might hit him, and he wont survive a fall like that. Snipers, take the left one out, injure the right.”

Several snipers took aim, killing one pterodactyl and injuring the second one in the wing. Unfortunately, the bird decided to drop the man from well over 80 feet and take off to nurse his wounds.

“Radio base, tell them we’re gonna need more men.”

OOC: Borman is like Roman/German ancestry, hence Roman and German names. Also I organize military like Roman military, however a legion is much more than 1,000 men

The very next day Robema had a look at the video the Bormans had provided him. The providers had assigned him the task of verifying the animal that had attacked the swimmers in the lake and while it was a gruesome tale of how the soldiers were swallowed whole by what appeared to be a Kronosaurus (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/dinos/Kronosaurus.shtml). He couldn't tell definitively if the animal on the tape was indeed a Kronosaur or if it was simply an alligator, but his suspicions on the creature's size pointed in the Kronosaur's direction.

"Sir, do you have a copy of the video I can take home for closer examination?" asked Robema. "My preliminary findings are that this is indeed a Kronosaurus, a carnivorous alligator-like marine reptile. The Kronosaurus is ten times the size of an alligator and has the head of one but the body of a plesiosaur, or, in other terms, the body of the Loch Ness Monster. I can't say for certain that this is a Kronosaur so we need to do some analysis, but an initial viewing does indeed confirm this is too large to be an alligator."

OOC: Ah, I see. Well, now I have 40,000-strong Legions- modern armies can't have just 1,000 soldiers as the main military unit. Still quite small by modern standards, where Army units can be in the 100,000s if not more.