Quaritch went inside the hold. He was aboard the flagship that was leading their fleet to dinosaur territory at the time.

Inside the hold were all of his subordinates: the colonels, officers and other high ranking individuals, who had come personally from the other ships to learn about the plan.

Quaritch spread a map in front of them, on which was drawn the square shape of the continent of Maakanar. "Marines, this is how we will act. We have already contacted all our allies in Beleriard and are ready to act. Here's what will happen in the next seventy-two hours"

Quaritch placed a tiny model of the flagship on paper, near the colony of Cartago. "Our fleet will head here. We have taken all precautions against marine animals: our hulls are very resistant and the submarines will offer us cover. Marine reptiles won't be able to stop us from reaching the bay. It will be here that we will attack"

He placed a model plane on the coast. "Our job will not be to destroy the dinosaurs, but to keep them busy until our allies do what they have to do. We will bomb the dinosaurs with short-range missiles and jets. However, we will not disembark; if we do, we will only expose ourselves. Don't forget, that's their territory, they can defeat us much easier there. We will limit ourselves to making long-range attacks and keeping the perimeter tight: the fleet will be our outpost. While we distract the dinosaurs, our allies will kick off phase two of the plan"

Quaritch placed a model shotgun on the Great Republic of Beleriard. "As soon as we are about to start the attack, McCullough will start his rebellion. Thanks to the weapons and support we have given him, he will be able to eliminate President Jersey and take control of the country; at that point he will allow our troops to disembark". He placed a submarine in the sea near the Beleriard. "Colonel Wainfleet is conducting a small fleet of submarines into the nation's waters, containing ten thousand elite troops who will disembark as soon as they are approved by the Colonel. They will take complete control of the nation and place our missile systems at the strategic points we had already decided. Through them we will bomb the enemy from two fronts. By then the third fleet will have already reached the strategic position to the north. "Quaritch placed another model, this time a small boat, in the North Sea. "Besieged on three fronts, the dinosaurs will have no choice but to retreat into the thick of the forest. It will be then that we will disembark and occupy the entire colony of Cartago. We will have to build efficient fortifications in a short time and erect other missile systems"

"Dinosaurs won't just stay behind and watch" muttered one of the colonels.

"No, of course not. In fact, this will be the most difficult moment of our operation" Quaritch replied. "It is likely that we will have to withstand wave after wave of attacks. The dinosaurs will do anything to stop us from building the missile system. For this our fortifications must be impeccable. We will need trenches, walls, lookouts. It will be very difficult, but if we manage to resist then we will have the victory in our pocket" Quaritch placed a last model, a missile, in the center of the Cartago colony. "Thanks to our missiles we will be able to bomb and set fire to large tracts of forest. Since we will have control of the ports, logistics and supply will not be a problem, and in case the dinosaurs try to sabotage them using pterosaurs and marine reptiles we can always count on the nearby Beleriard that produces a lot of food and energy. By continually burning and bombing the forest, we will kill millions of dinosaurs and force them to retreat further into the continent; at that point we will build a new line of missiles and repeat everything, until we have reduced the entire continent to a scorched earth. Not even lord Sobek will be able to escape the carnage"

"If we managed to kill lord Sobek we would have won" someone murmured. "Without him the mutation will stop"

"Maybe, but scientists aren't so sure" Quaritch replied. "This is why we have the order from the government to eliminate all dinosaurs. Any animal carrying the Mother Cell must be killed"

"And what are we going to do with pterosaurs and marine reptiles? Or with the dinosaurs settled on other continents?"

"Without lord Sobek, the dinosaurs will be confused and disorganized. We will have all the time necessary to launch an offensive on the other two continents as well. Pterosaurs will be wiped out en masse from our planes, and while many may escape us, most of them will starve as soon as we have scorched earth. As for marine reptiles, for the moment I don't have a solution, but it doesn't matter: we can worry about them when dinosaurs and pterosaurs are no longer a danger. After all, marine reptiles cannot attack us on land"

The people in the room nodded. All of them felt that Quaritch's planned strategy was flawless. Of course, it was very complicated and surely many soldiers would have died, but if they had done things right they could have achieved a total victory.

Quaritch was waiting to know if anyone had any questions or doubts, but suddenly one of the soldiers threw open the door of the hold: "General, a pterosaur has just landed on the deck"

Quaritch froze. "An attack?"

"No, sir. He says he wants to talk to you"

"To me?"

"Well, he said 'the man in charge', so with you"

Quaritch sighed deeply. "Why didn't you take him down right away?"

"Here... we tried, but we didn't succeed" the soldier answered. "We don't know how this is possible, but when we spotted him he was already too close to hit him with missiles. We tried to shoot him from the deck of the ship, but he was wearing some sort of armor that protected him. We took heavy weapons, but before we could fire he landed on the bridge and said he was coming in peace and wanted to talk to you"

"What are those monsters planning?" Quaritch thought, then he patted the man on the shoulder. "You did well to warn me, soldier. I'll go immediately"

"General, it could be dangerous!" one of the colonels exclaimed.

But Quaritch was not frightened. He knew the risks and was ready to take them. "No, he came to talk. I want to hear what he has to say before attacking"

Quaritch stepped out onto the deck of the ship. He found a huge pterosaur as tall as a giraffe waiting for him, towering over him like a giant. The soldiers had surrounded him and pointed their weapons at him, but the animal did not seem to care. The pterosaur was covered in a strange armor which, despite being made of wood, bone and other materials of the forest, also seemed to be very resistant. He had a silver moon tattooed on his forehead and a look that intimidated even the hearts of the bravest.

As soon as he saw it coming, the giant bird stepped forward. Many soldiers told him to stop, but he ignored them. Someone seemed ready to shoot, but Quaritch raised his arms to signal them not to rush into action.

When he was less than ten feet away, the pterosaur stopped. Then he opened his beak: "Are you the commander of this expedition?"

"It's me. General Miles Quaritch, in command of this fleet" Quaritch replied without hesitation. "May I know who I'm talking to?"

"I am Apache, commander of the air troops in the service of the pack leader Sobek" the pterosaur replied. "I came to negotiate"

Quaritch took a deep breath. It was natural to send an ambassador to the other side before a battle, but he didn't expect the dinosaurs would have done that. "I'm listening to you" he said.

"The pack leader does not wish to start a new war" Apache said. "So he asks you to immediately withdraw. Your governments must stop all war expeditions against our pack and cancel all punitive measures taken against our ally, the Great Republic of Beleriard. If you do so, the pack leader is willing to welcome a new embassy in our territory, or even more than one, to discuss the problems that led to this situation and seek a peaceful solution that can satisfy everyone"

From Apache's point of view, those requests were not at all burdensome: in fact, humans would have lost nothing. All the pterosaur had asked of them was to go back to where they came from: no payment, no killing, no loss. If he had been in their place he would not have hesitated to accept and seek a peaceful solution: after all, what living being would not have preferred an agreement to a fight in which he could lose his life?

But Apache ignored the pride of human beings. While those requests were not onerous from the quetzalcoatlus' point of view, from Quaritch's they were outrageous. Going back after getting to that point meant losing face. Quaritch would not only be demoted, but his name would also be covered in shame. "If your pack leader really wants peace, then he must be the one to take the first step" he said. "You must immediately leave the territory of Cartago and retire to the forest, and allow us to disembark and take back that land. After that, MAYBE we will start negotiations"

He hoped that Apache would take offense after that request, but the pterosaur remained impassive: "Can you guarantee me that you will start negotiations if we leave?"

Quaritch was caught off guard. "Uh… no, I can't guarantee it. Such a decision is not mine"

"Then we cannot withdraw. If you do not promise us that you will try the path of peace, then we have no reason to give up our territory" Apache replied.

Quaritch wrinkled his nose. "I understand. However these are our terms. If your pack leader wants peace, he must abandon Cartago. Otherwise we are in conflict"

"So be it, therefore" Apache's tone grew colder. "The pack leader told me to give you this message in case you refused to withdraw: if any of you try to set foot on our territory, then it will be total war and we will eliminate you all". Having said that, the pterosaur turned and headed to the edge of the ship. "I hope you make the right choice and abandon your madness"

At those words many of the soldiers were furious and raised their weapons again, but once again Quaritch stopped them. "Out of respect for your role as ambassador, I'll let you go unharmed" he said, then his gaze hardened. "But remember to tell your pack leader this: if he doesn't give up, our bullets and missiles will obscure the sun!"

The soldiers shouted words of encouragement for the general. It was clear that that last sentence had met with some success. Quaritch expected to see Apache rage, but instead the pterosaur ignored him and spread his wings. "Will they obscure the sun, you say?" he murmured, and then he turned to look at him one last time with defiant eyes: "Much better: we'll fight in the shade!"

And having said that he leapt from the edge of the ship and took off. In a short time it was nothing more than a small patch in the sky.

"Do you want us to shoot him down, general?" one of the soldiers asked.

Quaritch thought about it for a moment, but then he shook his head. "No one touch ambassadors. Let him go back to his boss. Let the dinosaurs be aware of what awaits them if they continue to challenge us!"