Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, James Cameron's Avatar, or any of the properties thereof. I not making money off of these writings.
A/N: Ever have one of those thoughts that grab you and refuse to let you go until the story is done? This was one of those. Sidenote: My Muse's teeth are sharp.
A/N-2, 3/14/2010: Apparently I need to explain something clearly, to reduce incidents of butthurt: These are not the Na'vi of Avatar, not by a long shot. I finished this story before the movie even came out, going by a couple of scattered names on Wikipedia and the trailer. Still haven't seen the movie, really don't have any desire to either, and definitely not planning to redo this story, it stands well enough (in my opinion) on it's own. The themes, situations, and characters should be viewed through that lens, and with the full knowledge of what the term 'Alternate Universe' means. Also, if you're not familiar with the greater saga of Imperial Glory, some of the Mass Effect elements will be confusing. I tried my best to explain everything on the fly, so to speak, but I'm sure I missed something. Sorry for any inconvenience.
TL;DR version: The Na'vi aren't perfect, the Humans aren't evil. Don't like that, the exit's that-away. --
Without further ado, I present:
There is always another way: Prologue.
A crossover/re-imagining of the movie: Avatar and Mass Effect: Imperial Glory.
'These indicate normal thoughts.'
'This indicates Telepathy.'
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MarMinCorp Survey Ship 'Fervent Sunlight'.
"So what's this planet supposed to be called?" Captain Marcus Wilkinson asked.
"Pandora." Navigator Ikar Salator replied from the navigation console.
"Half an hour from orbit. Why the hell are we pattering around outside of Imperial Space when we could have taken that contract in the Traverse? We'll never make money out here." the pilot Golar'Geren Vas Ellasa asked.
"MMC LOST that contract because YOU hit on Lord Jamison's consort." Marcus said, he was STILL angry about that.
"Oh. Right. In my defense, how was I supposed to know she was taken?" Golar replied.
"Pheromones." Dr. Grace Augustine, their Mineral Specialist contributed absentmindedly, studying over the preliminary sensor readings.
Ikar turned around, leaning against the navigator's station, "I don't get it anyway. What were you going to do with her?"
Golar rolled his eyes, a habit he picked up on Mars, "I guess things are different in Batarian space. Let me try to explain: When a man and a woman love each other very much.."
Ikar snarled, "No you idiot. I mean she was a Krogan. You're a Quarian, even if she managed not to kill you during coupling she'd kill you afterward. A size 4 probe doesn't work in a size 12 connector."
Marcus lost it, barely restraining himself from rolling out of his chair as hard as he was laughing.
Even Grace was chuckling at that.
"Oh laugh it up, one of these days you all will push me over the edge and I'll fly us into a sun." He threatened.
After they were able to calm down, "Captain, check this out." Grace said.
As Marcus walked over to the sensor station, she continued, "This is the telemetry we're receiving from the probes that entered the atmosphere an hour ago. Look at these readings."
"I've never seen anything like it, what does it mean Doc?" He asked.
"Well, this appears to be an entirely new element, who knows what it could do?" She replied.
"Well it seems we might find a fortune after all. Or atleast get something named after us." Marcus stated.
"I'm reading a clearing on one of the mountains large and solid enough to land on, near one of those readings. Making for it." Golar said.
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MMC 'Fervent Sunlight', Pandora.
"There were a couple of signs of activity as we came in, looked like some scattered villages. This place is like a single huge Amazon Rain Forest." Ikar stated.
"Let's hope the natives are friendly. Doc, you said the atmosphere was close to standard?" Marcus asked.
"Decently close. It's breathable for us, but someone that's not gene-boosted won't be able to process it." She answered.
"Hopefully that'll keep any damn xeno miners off of it if it's a good claim." Golar stated.
"Like that's ever stopped them. If we get something really good we'll call for a Marine Combat Detachment." Marcus said, "Alright, let's suit up. No telling what kind of unfriendlies there are out there." He finished.
Pandora was a lush, green world. A huge rain forest covered a significant amount of the landmass. Captain Wilkinson was wary, there were bound to be a huge amount of predatory species in an environment like this.
Thankfully they were well equipped, Mars Mining Corporation was a Terran company after all. MilSurp 'Onyx' armor in the standard gray and black pattern and plasma weapons.
"Alright, let's head out. Golar, hold the fort down while we're gone." Marcus ordered.
The Quarian's voice came over the comm, "Will do Captain, have fun out there."
"Motion tracker is useless. I'm switching it off." Marcus stated.
"Movement." Ikar warned.
Marcus shouldered his plasma carbine, looking ahead, "What the hell is that?"
The animal was large and sleek, the size of a small Rhinoceros maybe. Shaped somewhere between a canine and a feline, with rippling muscles all across it's mottled blue-green body. A pair of huge canines topped it off.
"You think it sees us?" Doctor Augustine asked.
The 'sabertooth' snarled, and began to charge at them.
Marcus laid into the creature, firing three bursts of plasma into it as it lunged. The bursts hit it center mass, vaporizing a good chunk of it's body before it slammed into him, sending them both flying.
He landed hard, the animal's body flopping on top of him. He shoved it off, rising and checking over his armor.
"Great, I'm adorned with the guts of some alien wildlife. Remind me why I do this again?" He asked.
"For the glory?" Grace suggested.
"Doesn't ring a bell." Marcus responded.
"For the money." Ikar stated.
"That sounds about right. Let's keep moving." He ordered.
The mineral concentration they read was in a cave, thankfully it appeared to be uninhabited.
"This is definitely the place. Now it seems to be coming from.. that." Dr Augustine said, pointing at a formation of a blue crystal along the right wall.
"Hrm. Some kind of crystal. If nothing else it's pretty enough someone will buy it for jewelry." Ikar said.
Grace was going over it with her scanning unit, "This won't be used for jewelry. It's not a crystal. It's something else entirely. I've never seen anything like it."
"Interesting. You're still sure the signature isn't dangerous?" Marcus asked.
"Harmless. Honestly I'm surprised the probes picked it up, it's very weak. There must be huge concentrations of the mineral on this world to get the signals we read." She answered.
"How heavy is it?" Ikar said, pulling his own scanner out of his pack.
"Much lighter than it appears, about the same weight as aluminum." She said.
Marcus was surprised, "That's unusual. I bet you're happy about that though Ikar."
The Batarian grunted, "I don't understand why I always have to lug the heavy things."
"You always forget the Mule. Not that we could have brought it with us anyway, not with all the damn vegetation on this world." Marcus replied.
Grace clipped her scanner back onto her belt, "We need to get a good sample of this back to the ship as soon as possible."
"What's the rush?" Marcus asked.
"Let's just say: If I'm reading this right, our names are going to be in the history books right next to the Surveyors that brought the first batch of Eezo back from Mars." She replied.
That sent Marcus and Ikar scrambling for the tools.
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MMC 'Fervent Sunlight', Pandora.
The Laboratory was like the rest of the survey ship, packed to the gills with equipment and supplies.
"You've been studying this stuff for 10 hours without a break, it must be interesting." Golar said.
The Doctor nodded, "You have no idea. I was right, too. This is going to change everything."
"Don't keep us in suspense Doc, what is it?" Marcus asked.
"It's handwavium, more or less." She replied.
"Do what?" Marcus said.
"Handwavium. It's a term for an element that defies a physical law, like Eezo. It comes from old Terran science-fiction." Golar explained.
The other three gave him a strange look.
"What? I read that stuff all the time." He protested.
"Okay, so what does it do?" Marcus asked.
She brought up a file on the large vid screen, "It's an energy amplifier. An exponential energy amplifier. The more energy that it conducts the more it adds to it. To put it into perspective: Making just the reaction chamber in a plasma rifle out of this, would triple the output. Lining the barrel with it? Double it. A VLRM made out of this could theoretically operate without an external power pack, same with heavy repeaters. It also strengthens as it contacts energy, the larger the reaction, the larger the reaction it can take and so on and so forth."
"It strengthens.. so this could work as armor against energy weapons too, couldn't it?" Ikar asked.
She nodded, "In theory, it could be laced into an armor weave and would actually strengthen as it took fire. Adding it to shield generators would do the same. This stuff is going to be incredibly expensive to work with though. The molecular lattice is delicate. I don't see us synthesizing it anytime soon either."
"Golar, get to the bridge. I want us hooked into a secured comm buoy as soon as possible, I don't care if the engines are just this side of exploding by the time we get there .We'll file our report straight to the Home Office and get a mining contingent and a MCD out here ASAP." Marcus stated.
"Aye aye." Golar replied.
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Mars Mining Corporation Headquarters, Nova Roma.
"Are these reports accurate?" Baron Evans asked incredulously.
Senior Researcher Morris nodded, "It all checks out. The potential of this is astounding."
"To say the least. I need to get this to Lord Stevens at the Ministry of Technology. Send ships to Pandora immediately." He ordered.
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Duke's Palace, Gildenhuld City, Mars.
"Gentlemen, this could change everything." Duke Stevens stated.
"I wouldn't go that far. But this has so much potential. Think of it, impenetrable shields, unstoppable energy weapons. SLAM missiles small enough to be fired in a Flak rifle. Hell, laser cannons on an interceptor that can take down a frigate." Commandant Lucien replied.
"The problem is that MMC doesn't have the equipment on hand to make a dent in the mining, nor do they have the liquid assets to purchase the equipment. We can't send our own either, if word of this gets out every single independent mercenary and minor race is going to be scrambling over themselves to get at it. Our best bet is to try to do this quietly." Stevens said.
Inquisitor Dalton spoke, "Exo-Geni has the assets."
Lucien looked at him slackjawed, "How much have you had to drink?"
"Not enough. You want to flush out the Exo-Geni mole on Arcturus, we need their equipment and to keep this secretive. Exo-Geni are a bunch of self-serving, blustering xenos and lowborns, but you know as well as I do that they will not take the chance of someone beating them to the punch on this. They can be herded." Dalton explained.
"I noticed you didn't say controlled. Not that I disagree with your reasoning." Stevens said.
"I know I'm going to regret this, but you're right." Lucien stated.
"Of course I'm right." Dalton said.
"As it stands, 6 people other than us know about this. The crew of the survey ship that found this mineral, Baron Evans and his Senior Researcher. We need to move quickly." Stevens stated.
"I've handpicked Marines for this, and formed them into the 633rd Marine Detachment." Lucien informed them.
"Who?" Dalton asked.
"Commodore Raslov of the 128th is commanding, along with two of his platoons. The IMG's 'Larue' and 'Valen' from the Third Fleet. Commander Everett and First Lieutenant Rev'Lar Vas Ellasa from the 2nd Platoon, 4th Marine Force Recon Detachment, Seventh Fleet, and the 177th 'Airmobile' Assault Transport Company." Lucien replied.
"Commander Everett and Lieutenant Rev'Lar Vas Ellasa. That fits nicely into my plans." Inquisitor Dalton stated.
"This is one of those things I quietly try to ignore isn't it? Anyway, I will contact Exo-Geni and secure their cooperation. Make sure we have a backup plan." Stevens said.
"Always." Dalton replied.
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Osprey 633-05, Continent 2, Pandora.
"Entering atmosphere. First time down Commander?" The Pilot asked.
Commander Everett nodded, "Yes. I hear it's pretty down there."
"You have no idea Sir. This world is as lush and beautiful as the Equatorial Territories on High Terra. Trees hundreds of feet high, with mountains and caves buried under the vegetation. Rivers and lakes full of exotic fish and aquatic reptiles. I wouldn't mind settling down here, that's for sure." The Pilot responded.
"I'll be damned happy to see something green again. Our last 8 months were stuck on Verdogo." Rev'Lar commented.
"Aw hell, this is as big a contrast to that blasted desert planet as you can get." The Pilot replied.
Everett looked out the cockpit windows as they descended. Pandora did indeed look wonderful to his desert addled eyes. Huge swaths of rain forest covered both of the largest continents. He spotted something unusual, "What the hell is that?"
"That's an island." The Pilot said.
It was an island. Just large enough for a couple of Ospreys to land on, covered with vegetation and a few trees. It was also several hundred feet off the ground.
"It's some kind of phenomenon unique to this world. I don't know the exact science behind it, but they're all over. They considered putting the outpost on one of the larger ones, but why take the risk?" The Pilot explained.
"That's incredible." Everett said.
The Pilot smirked, "You get used to it. We're starting our final approach, you might want to strap in."
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Outpost 'Mississippi' Sector 3, Continent 2, Pandora.
Commodore Raslov looked over the new arrivals assembled in front of the Command Center.
He knew most of the soldiers, two of his platoons from the 128th making up the bulk of this new detachment. Others were new to him. Commander Everett and First Lieutenant Rev'Lar Vas Ellasa were transferred in from Force Recon. He doubted they would have accepted this assignment if the orders hadn't come from the very top. He didn't know the IMG crews or the Airmobile company either, but he was looking forward to getting acquainted.
'Might as well get on with it.' He thought to himself.
"Marines, listen up. As most of your know, I'm Commodore Loran Raslov, your commander. Some of you I know, some of you I'm meeting for the first time. I'm strict, but not unreasonable. If you don't do your jobs to my standards, you will know it. You all have been briefed about this operation. This is critical to the future of Terra, I expect every one of you to give your very best."
He paused for a moment, then, "Welcome to Pandora."
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End of Prologue.
