Chapter One - Welcome To Pandora

"Wake me... When you need me."

Humanity left Pandora. That much was made certain after they nearly destroyed the Na'Vi home world. Many things have changed since that day. Bonds have been forged between the remaining humans and they have agreed not to endanger the Na'Vi. But this new, peaceful world is not without it's flaws. And one, a new threat arising, can only be stopped by Taruk Makto. There is only one problem. No one has ridden the great beast since the Fall of the Sky People. Their only hope now rests on the shoulders of a Spartan and his reborn AI. No pressure. Right?

It all began as a normal day on Pandora. Lella was staring up at the large planet to which Pandora was a moon. It was then that she saw the large form falling from the sky. At first glance it appeared to be a piece of falling debris. But a secondary glance confirmed it was the broken remains of a ship. With eyes wider than what should have been possible she stood, taking a hesitant step forth. She felt the impact as it hit the ground, the vibrations impacting more than the sight of it. She turned and ran as fast as she could towards the home tree with her Ikran flying alongside her.

One Hour Earlier

"Wake up!" Cortana began the unfreezing process while yelling at the form to awaken. "John! Wake up!" The lid burst open and the Master Chief leaped out, grabbing his MA5K Assault Rifle and an M90 CAWS shotgun. "Pull me." He nodded and grabbed Cortana's microchip. Once she was connected into his helmet, he headed towards the aft section of the remains of the Forward Unto Dawn.

He stopped at a window and looked towards the planet. "Where are we?" He stared in wonder at the plants and water. It was a magnificent sight, to see an unknown world teeming with life. One that John had always enjoyed seeing. So long as there were no threats, that is.

"It's a region of space that hasn't been explored since the twenty-second century. This planet...no. It's not a planet. This moon is known as Pandora. There's no record of any known life but it looks as if it could sustain it."

"It looks like we'll have no choice but to go down there." He watched the moon grow closer. As he progressed Cortana rattled off a few facts about it's location.

"It's about four point thirty-seven light years from Earth. And the atmosphere is made from nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, xenon, ammonia, methane and hydrogen sulfide."

"So in other words I won't be able to survive without my helmet."

"Not exactly so. It appears that in the four hundred years since humanities last visit the atmosphere has shifted to where it's breathable to humans. Stop here." He stopped in front of another cryo-pod and saw an Elite in spec-ops armor.

"Why is he in cryo?"

"He woke up shortly after you did. Luckily he had put on this armor before the portal collapsed." Cheif opened the cryo-chamber and the Elite slowly woke up.

"Where are we?" He instantly recognized the voice of the Arbiter.

"About to make a hard landing."

"Prepare for impact!" Cortana hollered through the external speakers. The gravity returned to the ship and the two braced as best they could. Mere moments later they felt a jarring crash that caused them to slam into the walls. The force behind the blows quickly threw them both into a void of black.

The last thing they heard were wingbeats...

Lella and the small group of warriors leaped onto their Ikrans and headed for where the ship had crashed. Many of them were worried that the humans had returned and were going to finish what they had started all those centuries ago. Lella, on the other hand, was fueled by curiosity.

The lithe woman leapt onto her Ikran's back, her fingers grabbing the tsaheylu as connecting it with the creature's own. Five fingers wrapped around an antennae, turning the beast where she wanted it to. Due to her ancestry she looked more human than the others. She was the great-great-great granddaughter of the legendary Toruk Makto, Jake Sully.

They reached the wreckage and landed. After a few quick orders from the woman they began to dig through the large mass of metal. They came across some unusual weapons and a suit of armor that was the same height as Lella. Which was unusual, given that she stood roughly seven and a half foot. Finding nothing of real importance, they began to turn back. As Lella was walking away she saw a slight twitch of movement, her curiousity dragging her towards it. It moved again and she leaped into action.

"Over here!" She began to throw the metal aside and soon came across a large green object. It was humanoid in build and stood a little taller than the armor they had found earlier. Laying beside it was a blue figure that appeared even taller still. Lella turned again to the green one and located two small buttons on each side of it's neck.

She heard a small hiss of air and removed the helmet, only to look into the scarred face of a human. She dropped the helmet and watched as he began to wake up. His eyes snapped open, the green irises catching the light as he sat up.

"Where am I?" He spoke groggily, his hand against his forehead.

"I do believe we have landed on Pandora." Lella jumped as the helmet talked and gave a low hiss. "And there is indeed life here." Lella heard footsteps and turned to see three other Na'Vi behind her.

"Help me with them." The human stared at her, grabbing his helmet from the ground.

"You speak English?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth he shook his head and swayed dizzily before falling back. Lella picked him up and stood, nearly falling again. One of the older Na'Vi lifted him up and placed him on the back of his Ikran. Lella grabbed the other one and upon closer inspection noticed that he wasn't to much taller than her.

She climbed onto her Ikran and placed the creature ahead of her. She attached the tsaheylu on her braid and the bird-like creature lifted up into the air.

"You dare bring Sky People into our home?!" Lella winced.

"Forgive me, as he was injured." She looked up at the chieftain. "Please, let them rest here. And then I will send them on their way if I must." The chieftain glared at her for a moment before sighing.

"Fine. But they are your responsibility." She nodded.

"Understood."

"Do not disappoint me Lella." She smiled a bit.

"I will not." He nodded and flicked his wrist to dismiss her. With that she turned to retire for the evening.

A.N.: Kitteh here and I apologize once more for the wait. I hope this satisfies you for now. I'm working on this as well as a couple small projects and my Wattpad story so it's taking longer than I'd like. I do intend to see this story through to the end, no matter what. So please, read, enjoy and don't be afraid to comment! Ideas are welcomed and help fuel the story. ^.^ So thanks again for sticking with me. You're all amazing! ~ Kitteh 01