Chapter 14: The Chase Begins

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Back aboard my ship, I leaned against the console, my mind racing. The dinosaurs had been quicker to react than I expected. They were intelligent, after all, and I should have anticipated they'd have contingency plans in place. But I wasn't about to give up.

I tapped the monitor, zooming in on the dinosaurs' city. The energy pulses I'd used to lure them out had worked, but not for long. They had already scrambled back to their central base, setting up advanced countermeasures. I could see the outlines of massive energy shields surrounding the city, flickering with a faint, golden light. I clenched my fist, feeling the frustration bubble beneath the surface.

"Smart bastards," I muttered.

The neural extractor sat beside me, still humming, ready to be used. I couldn't abandon the mission. The knowledge they held was too important, and I had come too far to back down now. But brute force wasn't going to work, not this time. If I was going to take their memories, I needed a new approach.

I activated the ship's cloaking system again, pulling away from the planet to re-evaluate my plan. I wasn't just going to run in blind. This needed precision, strategy. I had to pick them apart, one by one.

....

Meanwhile, at the Citadel, the Council of Ricks was on high alert. They had been scanning for anomalies nonstop, ever since Rick T-76A5's vitals had dropped off the map. It was bad enough that a Jerry had outsmarted one of their own, but now they were starting to see cracks in their own system, something they weren't used to.

"We've got another spike," a Rick said, his eyes glued to the monitor. "It's faint, but it's there. Could be Jerry."

The room went silent as the other Ricks gathered around the screen. Evil Morty watched from the shadows, his eyes narrowing with interest.

"It's him," Evil Morty finally said, his voice cutting through the tension. "He's getting bold. But that's how we'll catch him. He's making moves, and that means we're getting closer."

The other Ricks exchanged uneasy glances. They knew Evil Morty had his own agenda, but they also knew he wasn't wrong. The more Jerry pushed, the more likely they were to track him down.

....

In my ship, I tapped into the holographic display, scanning for any possible weak points in the dinosaurs' defenses. Their technology was advanced, maybe even more so than I'd given them credit for, but that just made the prize even more valuable.

I had to lure them out again, but this time, I needed to do it on my terms. The neural extractor was designed for precision, but the challenge here was getting close enough to use it without triggering their defenses. If I could isolate one of the dinosaurs, drag them away from the group, I'd have a chance.

I tapped a few more keys, pulling up the atmospheric data. The energy pulses had been effective at scrambling their sensors earlier, but now they'd reinforced their shields. I needed something stronger, something they wouldn't anticipate.

As I scanned the data, an idea began to take shape in my mind. They wouldn't expect me to hit them where they felt the safest, inside their own city. If I could slip past their shields, get inside, I could cause chaos from within. They'd be too distracted to notice me pulling one of them out.

....

At the Citadel, Rick C-137 leaned against a wall, his arms crossed as he watched the Council Ricks scramble to make sense of the latest data.

"So, what's the deal?" Rick said, raising an eyebrow. "You guys finally found Jerry or what?"

One of the senior Ricks glared at him. "We've detected fluctuations, but we're not sure where they're coming from. He's cloaked himself too well."

Rick snorted, taking a swig from his flask. "Figures. Huhhhp, you guys act like Jerry's a joke, but now you're all scrambling around like chickens without heads."

Morty stood beside him, looking nervous as ever. "Uh, Rick, what if they actually catch Jerry? I mean, this could be bad, right?"

Rick shrugged. "Yeah, huhhhp, sure, Morty. But let's be real, Jerry's not that smart. This'll blow over."

Evil Morty stood in the corner, listening quietly, his smirk barely visible. He could sense the rising tension in the room. The Citadel was growing more desperate, and it wouldn't be long before they made a move. But he wasn't worried about Jerry getting caught.

In fact, he was counting on it.

....

I descended back toward the planet, my ship cloaked, hovering just above the golden shield surrounding the dinosaurs' city. I could feel the tension building in my chest, the excitement of the hunt. This was it, the moment I would take their knowledge, drain them of everything they had.

The neural extractor hummed softly at my side as I prepared to breach the shield. My modifications had strengthened its range and power, but I still needed to get close. One wrong move, and they'd spot me.

But I wasn't going to give them the chance.

I fired up a secondary cloaking field, slipping through the energy shield undetected. The city below was a marvel of technology, towering structures glowing with a faint, iridescent light. The dinosaurs moved below, unaware of the predator now stalking them from above.

I hovered for a moment, scanning the area for a target. I needed one isolated from the group, one who wouldn't be missed, at least not immediately. My eyes locked on a smaller building near the edge of the city, a single dinosaur standing outside, monitoring the energy field.

Perfect.

I lowered the ship, still cloaked, positioning myself just above the building. The neural extractor buzzed, ready to be deployed. Slowly, carefully, I activated the device, sending out a small, controlled pulse. The dinosaur stiffened, its movements slowing as the extractor latched onto its neural patterns.

I grinned. "Got you."

The extractor hummed as it began its work, pulling the dinosaur's memories, its thoughts, everything it knew about its species, its technology, its plans.

This was it. The knowledge was mine.

....

At the Citadel, the scanners lit up again.

"We've got another spike," one of the Ricks said, his voice tense. "This time, it's more stable. We might have him."

Evil Morty stepped forward, his eyes gleaming. "Then what are you waiting for? Send a team."

....

The neural extractor buzzed louder, pulling more data from the dinosaur as I stood above, watching with satisfaction. But then, the air shifted. A faint crackle of energy.

I looked down at the ship's controls, my heart skipping a beat. The Citadel's scanners had detected me. I could see the faint signature of a portal opening in the distance.

"Damn it," I muttered, quickly disengaging the extractor. The dinosaur collapsed to the ground, unconscious but alive.

I had to move. Now.

I pulled back, the ship's engines flaring as I activated the cloaking field again. The Citadel was close, but they weren't fast enough. Not yet.

As the ship shot back into orbit, I glanced at the neural extractor, still buzzing with the fresh knowledge I had stolen.

The dinosaurs' intelligence was now mine.

But the Citadel was getting closer.

This was far from over.