Wednesday August 5th, 1998…

The tropical jungles of an uncharted island in the Pacific.

Special Agent Coville listens to the many animal cries as he shifts the weight of his backpack. He has been hiking through the lush tropical jungle into the interior of the island for some time now. He waves his research team ahead as he surveys the surrounding jungle. He already knows the many dangers that lurk on this prehistoric island and he doesn't want to lose any of his men to them. Four more men all dressed in jungle fatigues and armed with large rifles scurry past Special Agent Coville. "This is Coville, over. E.R.B. Team Omega has reached map coordinates. Request further instructions, over."

Special Agent Coville holds his left hand to his ear microphone. He waits for further instructions from his command centre located on the other side of the tropical island. His team has fanned out and are now surveying the surrounding area. Coville's ear microphone bursts to life, "We roger that, E.R.B. Team Omega. Coordinates confirm possible structure of unknown origin, over."

"Over here!" yells one of the research team as he moves some vegetation to reveal the base of a large black spire that stands just over ten feet tall. "It's like the others on the island. What are these things?"

"Don't know, Malcolm. Don't know." Special Agent Coville looks at the tall black spire. He runs his hand over the smooth stone surface. If he didn't know better he could swear he saw small swirls of colour as his fingers touch the black stone. "This one is exactly like the others. It appears to be made from some sort of volcanic rock… possibly obsidian, and like the rest, the base is surrounded by a small ring of small multicoloured pebbles. They don't appear to be a natural phenomena."

"You mean that a bunch of dinosaurs created them?" asks Special Agent Ian Malcolm rather sarcastically. "We already know that there is no intelligent life on this Dinosaur Island."

"That is why we are here Special Agent Malcolm." snaps Coville. "It is our job to study this island and its many mysteries. Prepare for a mineral analysis of the spire. I'll contact HQ."

At that moment, Special Agent Coville's ear microphone bursts to life again. "This is Picket One. You have a Lambeosaurus heading your way! I repeat a Lambeosaurus is heading your way! Over."

Just as Coville orders his men to scramble for cover, a large duck billed dinosaur comes crashing through were they were standing. It is just over thirty feet long and stripes of red and blue run from its large crested skull, all the way down its back to the tip of its tail. The large beast ignores the men, as it snaps its tail, as it runs past them. Coville is always amazed by these creatures. Something so large and yet so agile. He raises his hand to his mic and whispers, "That duck bill was running from something. Any signs of an aggressor, Picket One?" All he hears is silence on the other end.

"Picket One! Do you read me, over?" Coville listens to the radio static. He does not like this. He decides to contact command. "HQ this is E.R.B. Team Omega. We have lost contact with our picket, over."

"Roger that E.R.B. Team Omega. We suggest you…" The voice on the other end trails off for a brief second or two. "What the!?! What's going on? What are they? Oh God! They're slaughtering everyone! Mayday! Mayday! I repeat they are slaughtering everyone!"

"Please repeat HQ. What is happening?" asks a worried Coville. The response he gets isn't the one he wanted to hear. Special Agent Coville listens to the horrible screams on the other end and then radio silence. His face is pale and he can feel his stomach turning into knots.

"What do we do?" asks an equally worried Special Agent Malcolm.

"We go back and see if we can help." says Coville as he prepares to head back. "God help us because that is all we can do." The research team start their return to their base. Everyone is quiet as they wonder what is happening to their colleagues. They know they will soon find out.

Unknown to Special Agent Coville and the rest of his team, several pairs of sinister eyes watch them from the jungle. Eyes that are both intelligent and not human. They quietly follow the retreating E.R.B. Team, leaving only a three toe track in the jungle floor as any proof that they were there in the first place...

Friday August 7th, 1998.

The tropical jungles of Columbia.

A tall American Indian watches another village burn. Smoke drifts towards the forest in the jungle breeze. Turok pulls his multi-hued blanket closer together to protect him from the wind. He stands just over six feet tall with two eagle feathers stuck at the back of his head. The hair on the right side of his head is cut short while the left side is long and braided with grey fur. He wears a buckskin vest and trousers. The exposed skin of his arms, chest and face are all weather-worn. In his right hand is his bow and he has a sling of arrows hanging from his belt. Turok sighs at the smouldering ruins of the small native village. He has seen enough villages destroyed ever since he escaped the Lost Land and found himself hunting in the Central American jungles once more.

Turok bends to one knee and studies the ground before him. The many tire tracks lead along the jungle path that acts as a makeshift road. Turok's interest is not in the obvious… he studies the subtle signs around the tire tracks that tell him of the number of men that destroyed the village. Turok knows he will find these twelve men and then kill them all. The slaughter of innocent Indian villages must stop. He has seen his "adopted" tribe attacked before* and he plans to stop it this time. Turok turns and runs into the wall of jungle and quickly disappears.

[* see Turok: Dinosaur Hunter #1]

Manuel Guerrera is furious. He has visited six villages and no one is willing to help him. He feels he is being quite reasonable. He offered the villagers a simple choice. Something their little minds could handle. 'Leave your village or die.' Manuel spoke the words to himself. He loves the sound of them. But too many of the villagers tried to oppose him, and so he had their villages destroyed along with their upstart inhabitants. In the long run it does not matter to Manuel... his job is to clear the land for the Rivacoba Cartel. What happens to a bunch of ignorant natives is not his problem.

What does matter is that his driver had just collapse at the wheel dead! An arrow pierces the man's neck. "What the fuck is going on here?!? What's happening?!" shouts Manuel Guerrera. He is a man who needs to be in charge and he is far from being in charge at the moment.

A man sitting next to Guerrera, named Graves, pulls his gun from its shoulder holster and studies the jungle outside the land rover's window. He is looking for any signs of hostile natives. That is what he and his nine buddies are being paid for. They are mercenaries working for the Rivacoba Cartel. "Get down! Get under cover, Senior Guerrera! It's an ambush!"

"Quite likely, considerin' the number of nat'ves we've roust'd so far." comments a red hair Irishman who sits on the otherside of Guerrera. He pulls the bolt back on his assault rifle and smiles, "Don't ya think they would hav' gotten the idea by now? Th'ir arrows are nu match for our rifles!" As the Irishman starts to laugh he hears a loud thud on the top of the land rover.

Just then the radio bursts to life. "Rover One. You've got a rather pissed Indian on your top. Over?"

A grey hair man, in the front seat next to the dead driver, grabs the radio microphone. "This is Hortensius! Shoot the bastard! He has already killed Jones. Over!" His over didn't carry any of the light-heartiness that its predecessor did. In fact, Colonel Franklin Hortensius' over was down right frightening. Colonel Hortensius, or just Hortensius as he is preferred to be called, fights with Jones' dead body to gain control of the wheel. The land rover stops swerving back and forth and continues on a relatively straight course. Hortensius shouts to his men in the back seat, "Stop gawking and do something for fuck sakes!"

The occupants of the land rover hear the gunfire as their comrades attempt to shoot Turok off their vehicle. "Shite! Those bastards are more lik'ly to hit us!" shouts the Irishman as he listens to the bullets ricocheting off the land rover. He knew that this mission was going to be more trouble than it was worth but he needed the money. He always needed the money.

Graves shouts at the other land rover, "Shoot the bastard! Not us!" But the other land rover can not hear them over the vehicles engines. Graves starts to fire into the land rover roof.

Turok holds onto the land rover as it swerves and buckles under him. It reminds him of the days when he and Andar used to catch a ride on a Honker* in the Lost Land. He lies close to the top, as bullets rain from the other vehicle. His knife is between his teeth. Suddenly bullets erupt up through the land rover's roof, narrowly missing Turok. He grabs one of his arrows. Turok makes a quick prayer and double checks his hold on the canvas straps on top of the land rover. He swings his body to the other side of the land rover using it for cover against the gunfire coming from the other vehicle.

[* Honker is what Turok and Andar used to call Dinosaurs in the orginal Gold Key series]

Graves screams as Turok rams the arrow into his eye socket. His screams are cut short as the poison on the arrow tip quickly takes hold and Graves convulses and dies. Manuel Guerrera is frantic by now. He is screaming for Hortensius to protect him. Hortensius is too busy shouting commands to his men over the radio to listen to Guerrera's ranting and raving. A quick nerve pinch and Guerrera is silent. Another tall American Indian in the back seat between Guerrera and Graves, sighs relief. "He was starting to give me a headache."

Turok watches the other land rover move closer to this one. He has climbed back to the top and is using the various equipment as cover. He readies an arrow and fires it into the other land rover. It is true to his target. It pierces the driver and he looses control of the vehicle. It crashes into this land rover sending Turok into the surrounding Jungle. The resulting crash of the land rovers leave only twisted metal and carnage.

The tall American Indian stumbles out of the wreckage. His wounds are only superficial, but his black suit is beyond repair. He sees the other twisted bodies in the wreckage and he knows they weren't so lucky. Manuel Guerrera crawls out of the wreckage dragging his limp legs behind him. "You have outlived your usefulness," says the tall American Indian as he looks at the broken body of Manuel Guerrera. "You were to lead me to Turok…" the Indian looks at the wreckage. "And instead you lead him to us. Good bye, senior." He raises his pistol and fires a shot into the head of Manuel Guerrera. Before he can turn around, he feels the cold harsh steel of a knife against his throat.

Turok holds the knife's edge against the tall Indian's throat. "As you slaughter others like dogs, I shall do the same to you. Make peace with your gods."

The tall American Indian struggles to speak, ever aware of the stinging knife blade resting at his neck. "Mo... Mon... Mon-ark!" The last syllable comes out like it had just pierced its way through the air.

That name echoes in Turok's ears. It is a name he had hoped he had finally put behind him. A name that belongs to his worst enemy, an intelligent cybernetically enhanced saurian, who lusted for the destruction of human life. Turok lowers his knife from the sweating man's neck, but he holds it ready just in case. "What do you know of Mon-ark?"

The man in the black tattered suit rubs his throat as he picks his next words very carefully. "You're Turok. I've been hearing so much about you from my uncle. We really need to talk. I've been looking for you!"

"And I have found you. That still doesn't answer my question." Turok raises his knife against the man's back. His face is emotionless... like stone. "What do you know of Mon-ark!?!"

The man in black tries to raise his hands but he then reconsiders the idea. "Could we at least have a conversation face to face?" Turok doesn't answer so he continues to talk, "We need you to help us hunt dinosaurs! We think there might be more like Mon-ark and we need your help."

Turok listens to his words and makes a decision. "Any chance of Mon-ark surviving must be stopped... for the sake of all human life." Turok tells the Indian to turn around. He stares long and deep into his eyes. He then speaks... "You and your friends have slaughtered my brothers. They call for vengeance for your crimes! I shall honour their request… but for now, I shall wait. You have need of my skills and I shall hunt. And once the hunt is over, then I will kill you! Do not be mistaken about it."

The Indian dressed in black gulps down the large lump in his throat. "Okay then, buds, for now." he returns Turok's stare, he knows that someday there will be a reckoning and only one shall walk away. At the moment, he isn't all to sure of who that would be. "Wait till my uncle meets you! You'll love it!"

Saturday August 8th, 1998

The Drumheller Badlands along the Red Deer River in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Professor Andrea Brahman brushes her blond hair from her eyes as she studies the fossil before her. 'Hmmm... full torso remains. Impressive. At first glance it looks like the remains of a Ceratopsian of some kind. Possibly a Chasmosaurus.' She thinks to herself as she lightly dusts the sand off the remains. Suddenly a shadow falls over her work and she looks up to see the cause of it.

She sees two men standing in front of the sun. At first all she can make out is their black suits and dark glasses. "Dr. Andrea Brahman?" asks one of the men.

"Do you mind stepping out of the light?" she responds as she continues to study the fossil. It is after the two men move out of the sunlight that she answers their question. "And yes… I'm Dr. Brahman. And you are?"

"Opportunity." answers the man in black, rather cryptically. "We wish to offer you a chance to study more like this." The second man opens a small satchel and hands Dr. Brahman a saurian skull. "We represent a special research foundation who are very selective about who we ask to join. You are a recognized authority on dinosaurs, Dr. Brahman. You have undertaken fieldwork throughout western North America, the Arctic and China. You are someone whose skills we have need of."

Dr. Andrea Brahman studies the skull in her hands as she listens to the two men in dark black suits. Her mind is fascinated by the quality of this skull. She runs her hands along the snout of the skull and checks the eye sockets. "This is a Dromaeosaurus skull… or a related species." She pauses as she looks closer at the skull… "This can't be right! This isn't a fossil or a museum replica. This is real bone!"

"Yes, Dr. Brahman. That is why we wish to enlist your aid. We can promise you won't be disappointed by the adventure." The second man in black takes the skull back and returns it to its satchel.

"Jesus! What are you guys? C.I.A.?" asks Andrea.

The first man in black starts laughing. "You don't know how many times we get asked that! I think it is the suits." He smiles at the last line. "No Dr. Brahman we aren't C.I.A. We are just recruiters for an adventure of a lifetime. What do you say?"

Dr. Andrea Brahman looks over the two men. There is something about them she doesn't trust but what she does know is that the skull that they have is probably just weeks old! Everything she knows tells her that this is impossible and yet they have it. She knows she would be a fool to let this opportunity pass. But she also knows she'll have to keep her wits about her. "Okay. I'm in. When do we leave?"

"Right now would be best. Appropriate accommodations have been already made. We had counted on you accepting our proposal. You will not be disappointed Dr. Brahman."

As Dr. Andrea Brahman walks with the two men, she wondered if she just made the biggest mistake in her life. She knows she'll find out soon enough.

Sunday August 9th, 1998

An undisclosed location… a top secret governmental military base, Area 23. The headquarters of the E.R.B. (Environmental Research Bioengineering) Division of the U.S. Government. Its directive is to investigate unusual environmental conditions. This is a top level ultra secret project. And at that moment… a briefing just as secret is taking place inside…

A greying military general walks into the bare briefing room. A few meagre tables and chairs take up the centre of the room while a slide projector sits at the back and a wide screen is at the other end. General Leggett looks at the faces of the individuals seated around the table. His eyes study each in turn...

Dr. Theodore Orzechowski sits to his left. General Leggett knows his type by looking at him. He is soft and weak with an equally weak chin and character. He is one of the world's leading Botanists, specializing in paleobotany. General Leggett dismisses his personal distrust and continues with his inspection of the troops.

Next is Dr. Julius Capra. He is a tall thin man with grey hair and glasses. He is a complete contrast to Dr. Orzechowski's normally blustering character. Dr. Capra sits silently in his chair and waits patiently for the briefing to start. General Leggett knows that Dr. Capra comes from NASA with the highest regards. Dr. Julius Capra is the world's leading xenobiologist and has done work with some of the most secret Mars rock samples.

Next is Dr. Richard McEwan. He is a respected Geologist and noted spelunker. His trips deep into the earth has brought back many strange finds and awards. He is an athletic man in his early fifties but still in great shape. He scribbles on a small pad of paper as he waits for the briefing to start.

Dr. Andrea Brahman stares back at General Leggett when his eyes meets hers. He wonders if any of them would hold up to the rigours of the upcoming mission but he had a good idea that she will do very well. He always consider himself a good judge of character.

"Good. You all have decided to accept our offer to come here. As you already know, each of you have been selected for your skills. Whether it is paleobotany, xenobiology, geology or paleontology." General Leggett acknowledges each scientist with a brief nod as he mentions their respective fields. "You have been chosen for a very unique mission…"

"I was told this wasn't a C.I.A. project. You lied to me then... how do I know I can trust you now?" asks Dr. Andrea Brahman as she interrupts the General. She always had a distrust for the military and their top secret mentality doesn't help. The fact that she was brought to god knows where blind folded and she is surrounded by armed troops doesn't help her trust the situation even more.

General Leggett holds his breath for a minute and then speaks in a calm voice, "We are not the C.I.A. We are E.R.B. (Environmental Research Bioengineering) our function is to study and to understand all and any strange phenomena that occurs in our world…"

This time Dr. Orzechowski interrupts, "You are not going to have us attempting any remote viewing or any other such nonsense I hope. I was in the middle of some important research when your Men in Black arrived, offering me this opportunity. I hope you are not wasting my time." The venom in his voice is obvious to all.

General Leggett is starting to grow tired of these civilians. His face has turned a light shade of red. "If I can continue without any more interruptions, I'll explain everything." His tone matched that, as if he was talking to a bunch of children. Dr. Orzechowski was about to reply but Dr. Capra places an arm on his shoulder to keep him quiet. "Good. As I was saying, you have been selected for a very secret and important mission." General Leggett clicks on the slide projector and draws everyone's attention to the first slide...

A picture of a half moon shape island appears. It is covered in lowlands near the beaches and the centre is covered with thick lush jungle. General Leggett speaks again... "This is an uncharted South Pacific Island codenamed, Challenger Island. But our agents in the field have been calling it Dinosaur Island. It is here where you'll be traveling to."

With a soft click, General Leggett moves to the next slide. It is a slide of a small herd of Triceratops as they graze on the tall grasses. The light of the overhead sun glistens of their large backs. Their skin have an almost rainbow like hue to it in the direct sun.

It is Dr. Orzechowski who speaks first. "Is this is some kind of stupid joke? At least you could have gotten someone to make the dinosaurs believable! Why are you wasting our time with this nonsense."

Dr. Andrea Brahman quickly answers Dr. Orzechowski's doubts. "Actually we have no evidence of what any dinosauria skin colouration may look like. Such evidence can not be found in the fossil record. And these slides do seem real." She pauses for a second. "Slides can be faked though."

General Leggett clicks to another slide. It is of a large installation located on the island. He continues with his briefing. "This is E.R.B. Station Challenger. We set up this station about a year ago. In that time we have been studying the surrounding flora and fauna with great success. Everything was going as planned, until a few days ago. We lost all communications with the station. Considering the nature of the island, we decided to bring in some experts to aid us in our investigation. That brings you into the picture."

As if on cue, the far door opens and a tall Indian dressed in the standard black suit walks into the room. Behind him, is another Indian but dressed in traditional garb. The General acknowledges their entrance and he turns to the seated scientists. "May I introduce Special Agent Joshua Fireseed. He will be the mission commander and with him is, another special advisor who has had much experience in dealing with dinosaurs than anyone on this planet. Gentlemen, I give you... Turok, Dinosaur Hunter."

Dr. McEwan speaks, "How do we know this isn't some con? I have seen many strange things in my travels but I have never seen any dinosaurs."

Turok looks at Dr. McEwan. His stare almost penetrates right through the scientist. "I have seen many dinosaurs of many kinds, but it is the intelligent ones that are the most dangerous."

"Intelligent dinosaurs!" laughs Dr. Orzechowski. "Don't be preposterous! Who is this lunatic that you have dug up from some old Cowboys and Indians film?" His laugh annoys everyone, everyone but Turok it seems.

Turok just walks to the far wall and runs his hand along it. "Why don't you show them the truth. It is the only way you can teach some fools."

Dr. Orzechowski goes to protest but General Leggett stops him. General Leggett is impressed with Turok. "I agree. It is time to show them the truth…" He clicks a button on his hand control and the wall in front of Turok opens to reveal a small dinosaur about the size of a large dog. It has a large snout and an equally large tail. It shakes its head back and forth as it snaps at its confined environment of the cage. Its sharp toe talons click on the floor as it growls and hisses at everyone.

The room is quiet as they all watch the actual living dinosaur! Turok walks towards the General and speaks, "That creature doesn't deserve to live in that cage. It should be in the wilds where it belongs."

"What do you care about it?" asks General Leggett. "I thought you hunted these things."

"I may hunt them," adds Turok. "But I take no pleasure in their deaths. I just do what I must do."

"My god! That is a Dromaeosaurus! A real, living Dromaesaurus!" exclaims an excited Dr. Andrea Brahman who isn't listening to the General and Turok's exchange of philosophies. She never believed that she would come face to face with one in a million years... past or present. "When do we go?"

"How did you know that that thing was there?" asks a perplexed Dr. McEwan.

"When you have spent as much time with these beasts you come to recognize their distinctive smells." answers Turok. "I could smell it even in this room." But Turok isn't interested in the scientist's question. He turns to the General. "I will help you in your hunt. But understand that I will kill any dinosaur that even remotely resembles anything like Mon-ark."

The General nods in agreement. "I'm only interested in learning the condition of my people on the research station. Help us and we will help you." General Leggett turns to the scientists, "The offer is the same to you. Aid us in this and you will gain exclusive research rights on the island. Imagine your academic careers. Special Agent Fireseed. Prepare them for the mission. We have a jet waiting to take you to our affiliated aircraft carrier near the island."

"Yes, sir!" salutes Special Agent Joshua Fireseed as he escorts the team from the debriefing room.

Monday morning, August 10th, 1998

A black helicopter hovers over the uncharted Pacific island. Almost all aboard are tired from their hasty trip from the United States to half way around the world, to the waiting carrier and finally to the island itself. All except Turok and Special Agent Fireseed. They sit near the open side door and stare at the smouldering ruins of the research station below them. There is no sign of any human life on the island.

Special Agent Fireseed talks into his headset. "I copy that HQ." He turns to the team assembled inside the helicopter. The team conists of himself, Turok, the four scientists, and six E.R.B. agents. They all wear jungle fatigues with various equipment, ranging from military weaponry to scientific gear. All that is, except Turok. Aside from his traditional weapons of his knife and bow, he is armed with a large assault rifle. Fireseed speaks, "There is still no communication below. We are going to start our approach run..." his voice trails off as he listens to his incoming communication from the helicopter pilot. "Hold on people! We have boggies coming our way!"

From the ruins of the station, suddenly a living cloud of colour flies into the air towards the helicopter. Dr. Andrea notices them first. "My god! They are Pterosauria! I never thought that they would be so beautiful. Look at their colours, they almost resemble parrots or toucans."

"I hate to rain on your parade professor." adds Fireseed. "But those things are heading right for us. If they connect with the rotor blades, we could be in serious trouble." Fireseed shouts some commands to the pilot. "Take evasive manoeuvres!"

"I suggest we get closer to the ground before they reach us." comments Turok as he steadies himself in the flight harness. They are surrounded by the large colourful bodies of the Pterosaurs in no time. Their honks and screaches fill everyone's ears.

The helicopter shakes violently against the Pterosaurs' attack. Dr. Andrea Brahman screams as she tumbles forwards towards the open door. She tries to grab her harness but it slips out of her hand. All she can see is the open sky before her getting closer and closer. Suddenly she feels a strong grip on her arm and she sees Turok pull her close to him and he straps her into the harness next to him.

Dr. Orzechowski screams as a Pterosaur flies through the open helicopter door and its long powerful beak pierces itself through his chest. The area surrounding the helicopter is in pure chaos. It plummets towards the ground as the many Pterosaurs collide with it. Pterosaur blood and pieces of flesh splatter the whole helicopter as they fly into the swirling rotor blades.

"Hold on! This is going to be a rough one!" screams Special Agent Joshua Fireseed as the helicopter plummets towards the ground. It shakes and buckles as it crashes through the primordial trees of the ancient jungle. Dr. Andrea Brahman can only scream. She holds onto Turok as they all wait for the crippled Helicopter to hit the ground. The screams of pain and of fear echo throughout the helicopter as it crashes to its fate...