It had nearly been six years. Nearly six years of travelling through space. Nearly six years of being away from earth. Nearly six years of talking to no one. Nearly six years of not having to put up with all the bullshit from everyone and everything around him. But it seemed like only yesterday that he left. Waking up from cryo brought back that feeling of being on earth. But that dull, boring, miserable planet that people called home was far, far away and a new world was waiting for him. He didn't know what to think of this new planet, although from stories he had heard this world was so familiar, yet so alien. A paradise that leaves you astonished, but at the same time is a nightmare. Floating in his chamber, he thought about this new career and this new world along with the changes it would bring to his life. Was joining the Avatar program the right decision?
One of the crew members came to let him out of his chamber so he could get ready to be shuttled to Pandora. He got changed and got all his gear. Already he felt uncomfortable as there were many people surrounding him. Who were these people? Scientists? Soldiers? Who cares, to him they were all assholes who he didn't want to talk to. Paying no attention to people around him, he made his way to the Valkyrie shuttle. Upon entering the shuttle he got the feeling that he was being stared at. One person after another seemed to look at him for a few seconds and then look away. This gave him the shits. He sat down and strapped in. To his right sat a young man of similar age who looked like a marine. He was dressed in military gear and seemed nervous. Shaking his legs rapidly, the young man closed his eyes, tilted his head down and mumbled as if he was praying. After everyone was seated the shuttle detached from the ISV and roared its engines as it descended towards Pandora. The g forces could be felt and it was uncomfortable as the seats were positioned sideways.
The shuttle then entered the atmosphere and made its way towards Hell's Gate. On the way, the lush Pandoran forest could be seen stretching for kilometres in every direction. There were rivers which connected to ponds and lakes with animals drinking from them while flying beasts glided above the forest canopy in groups. In the distance, large rocks floating in the air could be seen. Only if the passengers could get a glimpse of this incredible view. This is why Valkyrie shuttle pilots are considered to be incredibly lucky. As the shuttle approached Hell's Gate it was accompanied by four Scorpion gunships. The sight of a Valkyrie shuttle landing can only be described as awesome. As its thrusters rotate into the vertical position, they let out tons of thrust and bring the enormous spacecraft steadily to the ground. Inside the shuttle, people were putting on their exopacks and backpacks, getting ready to exit the shuttle. The rear doors opened, letting in the dense Pandoran air and the sunlight that these people hadn't seen for nearly six years. It blinded them, then slowly eased off to reveal a huge military base surrounded by mountains all under a blue sky.
The passengers exited the shuttle and were ordered to make their way to the main complex where they would be given a speech. Seeing how big the place was made him realize that there would be lots of people, fucken great. The last thing he wanted was to see more people. He walked into a large room and joined many others, ready to be given a speech. Once everyone had entered the room, a man walked to the front where he could be seen and heard by everyone. The room went silent and the speech started.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Pandora. My name is Colonel Damien Hilton. I am in charge of security. Now, I'm sure all of you have heard many stories about this place. That it's a "paradise". And that it's the most beautiful place you will ever see. Well let me tell you this. Whatever it is that you heard, you may just as well forget about it. This place, ladies and gentlemen, is NO paradise. It is the most dangerous place known to man. I guarantee you, that if you do not watch yourself at all hours of the day, all days of the week, all weeks of the year, then you WILL die. What we fight against on a daily basis is what you will eventually call your worst nightmare. I am certain that by the time the next shuttle arrives, some of you will be dead. If you do not want that to happen, then I suggest you listen, and listen well, to what I am about to say. We have rules here. They apply at all times. If you want to survive on Pandora, then you must obey ALL the rules ALL the time"
By now he was getting extremely bored. While everyone was paying attention to every word being said with their eyes glued to the colonel, he was looking at the floor with his head resting on one of his hands wondering when this guy was going to shut up. What did you expect? A scientist wants to hear about science, not some army tough guy giving orders. The colonel went on to explain the rules. Our young scientist started to fall asleep, bobbing his head up and down like it was a buoy on a fishing line. Once the speech had finished everyone got up to go to their dormitories. He decided to wait until everyone had left so then he could go last. He made his way to the dorms. It was a large room with many bunk beds and closets. He found his allocated bed and started to unpack his stuff. As he was unpacking his stuff, he was tapped on the shoulder. He turned around to see a girl who greeted him with a smile.
"Hey!" she said, but he stayed silent.
"You don't remember me? Haha, well it has been more than 6 years hasn't it"
He still stayed silent. He showed no emotions on his face which made the girl feel uncomfortable.
"It's me. Yuki... Yuki Kubota? We went to university together?"
He continued to be silent while trying to remember who this girl was. It took him a while but he remembered, he was in her group for a few assignments. Letting out a breath which was his poor effort at a laugh, he nodded his head slightly to signify he had remembered.
"Yeah, you remember! Wow, what a coincidence. I never thought we would meet here, on Pandora"
Still, he continued with the silence. The awkwardness was building up and it made Yuki uncomfortable.
"Well….. I'll go now. I need to finish unpacking my stuff. I guess I'll talk to you later"
Without waving his hand, or even putting it up, to show a bye he continued to unpack his stuff. What an asshole.
Before he realized it, the sun had risen past its highest point and into the afternoon. He had finished unpacking his stuff and had a walk around of the complex. He could have gone and talked to people but being the antisocial prick that he was, he chose not to. Instead, he decided to make his way down to the lab. Navigating his way through the many corridors, he finally reached the lab. It was pretty big. There were many desks with computers and littered with papers. A few of them had pictures of loved ones and places back on earth. Some chairs had lab coats hung on them. Scientists were everywhere. They could be seen talking to each other, working with data on the computers, examining specimens through microscopes and all the other usual science stuff. Our young scientist felt very lost. But this was the place that he would be spending most, if not all, of his time. Suddenly, a voice from behind him called to him.
"Hello. Can I help you with something?" said a gentle female voice. He turned around to face the woman. She was very beautiful for a middle aged woman. She had the face which made people assume straight away that she was a very kind person. With her hair untied, wearing a lab coat over her very casual clothes and a pair of blue converses, she stood in front of him waiting for a reply. Not knowing what to say, he looked around the room and then finally to the floor followed by a scratch to his forehead.
"Hey, I recognize you." said the woman.
"You're one of the new Avatar drivers aren't you? Yeah, I think I saw your photo in one of the profiles I was going through earlier today. No?" Still no reply from him.
"A bit shy eh? Hehe, it's ok. But I'm sure I saw your photo somewhere in that list. Let's have a look shall we?" She walked to her desk and picked up the list of new Avatar drivers. She flicked through the pages of profiles and came to a stop.
"Takumi Ling? Yes? Is it ok if I call you Tak? The shorter the name, the easier I remember it, hahaha."
So that's what his name was! Takumi Ling. Tak nodded his head gently and kept his head down.
"Well it's nice to meet you Tak. My name is Dr. Gillian Eileen, but you can just call me Gillian. I'm one of the head scientists around here. Well, Dr. Augustine is THE head scientist but I just help her out so I'm sort of her assistant. And you will be part of my research group. I would like you to meet the rest of the team but they seem busy at the moment so how about I introduce you to them at dinner?"
Again, Tak nodded his head in agreement.
"Good… So, would you like to go see your Avatar?"
Suddenly, Tak's eyes widened. His pupils enlarged and his heart rate rose.
"yes" he said in a calm voice
Dr. Eileen looked a bit surprised as he had finally said something. "Ok, let's go check it out." She replied.
They walked over to the amnio tanks which lit up this particular section of the lab with a blue glow. As Tak walked by, he couldn't help but to stare in amazement at the Avatars. They were so big, so blue, so alien, yet so human like. The two stopped at the last tank.
"This is yours" said Dr. Eileen. Tak could not believe what he was seeing. His very own Avatar. It was him, but it wasn't. His Avatar was slightly curled up into a ball, just like how a foetus is when inside its mother's womb. Its head was tucked in, its shoulders slightly in towards its chest, its arms and legs folded and its tail freely floating in the fluid. Dr. Eileen started to say something but Tak was paying no attention to her at all as he stared at his Avatar.
"….. I think I'll leave you two now." She said, and walked back to the busy part of the lab. Tak got a chair and sat down in front of his other half. His big, blue alien half. For the rest of the night he sat there, staring at his Avatar. When it was time to return to the dorms, he felt sad even though he would get to see his Avatar and even drive in the coming days. He made his way to the dorms for a shower and went to sleep. Lying in his bed, he thought about the things he would be doing in his Avatar in the days to come.