We saw the Avatar movie and just thought of a cool story for it! Hope you guys enjoy!
The New Arrival and the Uniltìranyu Clan
Journey entry One:
This is Zack Marino. My father Alexander Marino has taken me with him to visit the world of Pandora. About twenty years ago word had come back to Earth that the mining operation had been stopped and the survivors were sent home. Soon afterwards, many civilians and soldiers bought a shuttle and left for Pandora. Among them were the scientists in charge of what we called the Avatar Project. No one knew what they were doing or why, but no one heard from them again. Nearly a thousand people, including children, had basically dropped off the plane of existence.
Six years afterwards the survivors arrived. Many were injured, mostly the soldiers, and they had this look that in their eyes of something horrible occurring on Pandora. A debate was held on whether or not to send an army to strike back at the Na'vi. A decision had been made. War was on the horizon.
Now after eight years of preparation and six years of travel, they had arrived on Pandora. It was clear the Na'vi knew they were here, but none approached them. A strong military presence had been stationed on the former base of the mining operation. After a quick survey of the base, it was discovered that anything related to the Avatar Project had been destroyed. Records, equipment, and facilities were in ruin.
I'm going to be heading out later today to see if we can't find the Na'vi leader and negotiate with him before full war breaks out. I'm not sure why, but something tells me we won't be in for what we expect. Well, here it goes.
Zack put the journal down and got up to stretch. He was the negotiator/military strategist in training under his father. He was more of a guard for him for now. He had black hair cut close to his head and tan skin. His eyes were a unique hazel because the only other colors they turned were green and gold.
He walked out of his room and met up with his dad in the hangar. He made sure his pressurize oxygen mask was on before heading out. He went to the hover copter waiting to take their team out. His father looked up and waved at him.
"Hey Zack! Sleep well?" he said.
Before he could answer, he was tackled from behind. He looked to see the twins, Ashley and Samuel, on top of him. "Hey Zak, what took you so long?" Ashley asked.
"I was putting my thoughts of this mission down on paper." Zak replied, smiling. "Now get off me!"
These two, along with the other four members of his team, were to guard his father during the attempted negotiations with the Na'vi. He smiled at them and gave each a playful punch. They were yelled at to hurry up. They ran to the copter and boarded it.
A moment later they were flying out past the base towards the outlying regions. The sight was amazing. The entire planet was alive. It was quite amazing and breathtaking. Zack looked at Ashley, who was also in awe of the planet's natural. He couldn't help but look at her in wonder before returning his gaze to the planet.
They landed near a large area where a large fallen tree was. The place was…sad. It looked as if the area had been devastated long ago, but there were signs of returning life. They disembarked and walked towards the fallen tree. Zack saw his father put a hand on the tree and show a look of sadness.
"What's up dad?"
"This tree used to be the home of the Omatikaya, the clan that is rumored to be the one that rallied the other clans to fight the marines twenty years ago. Their home was destroyed by the humans just because they lived on top of the resource the company wanted." his father answered. "They didn't evacuate until the marines started shooting at them."
Zack looked about, quietly wondering why someone would do this just for some rare stones. Then he thought he heard something. Two of the team members saw movement off in the forest and fired some rounds off into it.
"Don't shoot! Are you insane?" Zack yelled. Before he got an answer, a scream rang out through the air.
"You pissed them off now." Alexander said. "Put your weapons down or they'll attack."
Zack, Ashley, Samuel, and two of the team members did so, but the ones who had fired did not. "Sir, we're here to protect you. We can only do that by keeping up a…"
He never finished as an arrow pierced his chest and went straight through. He fell down dead. The other marine brought his rifle up to fire, but was hit with an arrow as well. Silence met them as he too fell.
They stood there with their weapons on the grass and their hands in the air. After an uncomfortable silence, a lone Na'vi came out with her bow drawn. She made a call and several others came out and surrounded them. She waited for a male Na'vi to walk forward before the both of them approached their group.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the female asked. She never lowered her bow.
"Hello proud Na'vi. My name is Alexander Marino. We are here to broker peace between our two races." Alexander said.
"You bring guns and kill one of our own. Is that your view of peace?" the male interrogated.
"My apologies. I did not know I had two foolish men who would challenge the Na'vi. Please we just want to talk with your leader, Jake Sully."
The Na'vi stiffened at this. The female looked more peaceful at that. Then she lowered her bow. "We will take you to him then."
"Satiri, are you sure? These humans are not the same as the ones who came many years ago. They might not want to…" the male said.
She held up her hand to silence him. "As the representative of the Uniltìranyu Clan, I lay claim to these humans. Olo'eyktan Jake Sullyhas ordered any human who seeks him out to be brought to him. Do you dare to refuse him?"
He backed down immediately. "No, my lady. The Omatikaya are ready to serve the Uniltìranyu whenever they are called upon for you are our sister clan. The clan led by the Great One who saved us all and was heard by Eywa."
With the other Na'vi bowing their heads at her, she motioned for two of them to gather the guns and turned to call out once more. Several Na'vi rode out on direhorses and were bringing out a few other creatures. Hammerheads and a thanator lumbered out. One Na'vi went to each hammerhead and mounted it. Satiri climbed onto the back of the thanator and motioned for the humans to get on the back of the hammerheads. Splitting into groups of two, they went and climbed onto the backs of the hammerheads.
When they were settled the group took off to the east and continued to move for about two hours before arriving at a waterfall. They actually strode into the water and rode into the waterfall and past it. They went down a tunnel for a ways before coming out into a wide valley with three large trees in the center. They were smaller than the one they saw at the previous sight with the felled tree, but they were still colossal.
Zack marveled at the sight. There were huts of all sizes scattered around the trees and he saw Na'vi in the trees themselves. There were herds of direhorses and hammerheads lumbering around. He saw a few Na'vi riding thanators, but very few. Then he looked to the sky to see ikran flying around. One ikran came flying down on them and landed next to them.
"Satiri! What is this?" the rider called out, waving his hand. Zack noticed that he had only four fingers (including his thumb). He looked at the Na'vi in his group and saw that all but two had only four fingers. One of the hammerhead riders and Satiri were the only ones that had five fingers. Wonder what's up with that? Reports said the Na'vi are only supposed to have four fingers.
"These humans wish to speak to my father. Can you get him for us please?" Satiri said.
Zack took a moment to look at the woman. "Wait a sec your father? You're the chief's daughter?!"
She gave him a smile and nodded. The ikran rider took off and headed for the largest of the three trees. A moment later they were awaiting the chief a few yards away from the trees. Two Na'vi warriors walked towards them and stopped.
"I am Jake Sully. This is my mate Neytiri. Who are you and what do you want?"
"Honorable Jake Sully, I am Alexander Marino. I come here to broker some type of peace between our honorable races and…"
"Stop. The formalities here don't suit me. I've never been one for ceremony." Jake said, laughing. Then his voice returned to a serious tone. "The other clans tell me you have brought an army here once again. How can I believe your claim for peace when there are thousands of troops waiting to annihilate us?"
"Please at least allow us to try and come to some type of agreement." Alexander pressed on. Zack watched with his breath held in. He saw Neytiri and Satiri whispering quietly. Shock appeared on Neytiri's face and she whispered something to Jake. He nodded and stood back.
Something was floating in the air. Zack focused on the strange white seeds flying in the air. There were a few hundred of them. They came and settled on Alexander, Zack and all the other humans. A few that landed on each human left and landed on Satiri. Then they left.
"What was that?" Samuel asked.
"Heh. Ha Ha HA HA HAHAHAHA!" Jake laughed. "This is very interesting. What do you think Neytiri?"
"I believe they will be needed by Eywa. But for what I'm unsure. Their fates lie entwined with Satiri's. Just as your fate was entwined with mine." was Neytiri's answer.
Smiling, Jake turned his attention to the sky. Night was coming fast. "You won't be able to return to your friends tonight. You're allowed to stay with us for now. Do you have a way to contact them?"
"Yes, I have a long range communicator that we can set up." Alexander said.
Once everything was settled, they were led to a hut near the base of the middle tree. The hut was big enough to fit all six of them, since it normally accommodated a Na'vi family. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the village. They found it strange. The village was huge and covered not only the ground around the trees, but the inside of the trees as well. There were just primitive rooms and huts. Then they discovered something unique.
There were hi tech biological rooms. It was highly advanced equipment and technologies, but it was all biological. Nothing was quite made out of metal. When they inquired about this, everyone smiled and would say that it was the gift of Eywa that had allowed their clan to advance without destroying the environment. Anything that would require destroying the environment, even just a little bit, was outlawed.
Zack, Ashley, and Samuel would explore the entire village while his father and the two remaining marines stayed near their hut. They found Satiri near a training area for archery. They sat on the fence watching her practice for awhile.
"Enjoying the view?" she asked all of the sudden.
Shocked that she knew they were there before she had even looked at them, it took them a moment to answer. "Yes, it's quite interesting." Ashley answered.
Satiri stopped and came to sit by them. Since she was much taller than them it was the only way to actually look at each other without feeling bigger or smaller than the others. Her golden eyes shown with the innocence of youth.
"So, did you explore the village?" Satiri asked.
"Kind of. We noticed that there's a bunch of high level tech here not made of metal. What's the story behind that?" Zack inquired.
"When my father started our clan just after I was born, we had a few dreamwalkers with us. One dreamwalker had salvaged a few materials from a project they were performing and wanted to use them, but he couldn't find a way until the Transformation occurred. Then with our clan bolstered by the new numbers, our scientists and spiritual masters worked together with Eywa to create a new type of technology. So now we are still connected to the forest, but we have become slightly technological. With our new gifts, we were able to form bounds not only with the direhorses and ikran, but with the hammerheads and thanators as well."
"What is the Transformation?" Samuel asked.
"Do you know of the group of humans that left your world twenty years ago?"
"Yes. Whatever happened to them?" Ashley asked.
"The Transformation. When they arrived on Pandora fourteen years ago, they had grown an Avatar body for everyone including children. They had heard they might be able to become true Na'vi like Jake. They wanted to because their world was no longer where they wanted to live and raise their children. So Jake, the savior of all Na'vi, gathered all the clans together and performed the ceremony he had gone through to leave his human body and enter his Na'vi body. The ceremony lasted for nearly an entire month, for there were many humans. I was only three at the time, but I remember it well.'
"The glowing of the Tree of Souls. The thousands of Na'vi gathered there and the new Na'vi gathered there. By the end of the ritual, all the humans were now Na'vi. But they knew not what it meant to be of The People. So several Na'vi from each village volunteered to teach them. Soon there was enough Na'vi for there to be one teacher for each new Na'vi. After a year, all had been trained. But the Na'vi who had taught them had forged friendships and lovers with the new Na'vi.'
"They decided to leave and set up a new clan for themselves. A little more than two thousand Na'vi left the Tree of Souls to create a home for the new clan. We found this place after my fifth birthday. We created the village you see here, combining our old ways with a few of the new human ones. Now we were and still are the Uniltìranyu Clan. The Dreamwalker Clan. The Leadership Clan."
Satiri had a proud look upon her face. Zack admired that fact. Then he noticed something in what she said. "Wait, you were three when the humans became Na'vi? That means you're what seventeen?"
She blushed and seemed embarrassed. "Actually, I'm only sixteen. My birthdays' not for another few months."
Zack and the twins stared at her with wide eyed shock. This Na'vi was two years younger than them, was already a warrior of the greatest clan the Na'vi had, and was the Chief's daughter, Princess of the Uniltìranyu.
"What did I do something wrong?" Satiri asked.
Quick to change the subject, Ashley asked, "So just how big is your clan?"
"There are about three and half thousand Na'vi that reside in our clan. Approximately two thirds of the clan are proud warriors. That's nearly ten times the amount of warriors any clan has." she answered.
Zack was making mental notes of this. This teenage girl was practically telling them their clan's strength. Why is she doing this?
"Let me guess. You're curious as to why I'm willingly saying all of this?" Satiri inquired.
Zack was once again impressed. Samuel nodded for all of them. Satiri smiled. "Telling you are numbers means nothing. Our true strength is something only a Na'vi of our clan knows. Eywa granted us a new strength when the Transformation and the new age occurred."
"New Age?" Zack asked.
"That is something I can't speak of. Not to an outsider."
So she does keep secrets. Zack thought. "So, is there a way for us to become a part of your clan?" Ashley asked.
Satiri finally showed some surprise. Zack and Samuel also looked at her with a shocked expression. She looked around her at the confused faces.
"What?" Ashley asked.
"You do know only a Na'vi can be a clan member right?" Zack inquired.
"Oh yeah…" Ashley replied.
"There's still a way for you to do so."
The group looked to see another Na'vi female walking over and sitting down. She smiled at them and greeted Satiri. "My name is Trudy. I used to be a marine apart of the task force here on Pandora."
"That's right. She was the only human to fight alongside the ikran riders in the sky battle. She flew a gunship on our side and was shot down. She was thought to be dead, but she managed to eject and survive. When the Transformation occurred, she was able to get a Na'vi body and become one of us." Satiri informed them. "But she never did say how they got one so fast for her."
Trudy smiled and said, "That's because I loved keeping a secret from you guys and watching you wonder about it. They used a new technique granted by Eywa and managed to 'grow' me a body in only a month. They could do the same for you if you're interested."
Zack watched as Ashley kept saying that she would like to do so and wanted to know when she could meet the guys in charge of the whole thing. Everything was set up and it was time for them to return to their hut. Zack, Samuel, and Ashley said goodnight to Trudy and Satiri and left.
When they arrived at their hut, Alexander was waiting for them. He let them know that he had been given as much time as needed to get a treaty in place with the Na'vi. When he heard of what they were planning on doing tomorrow, he smiled and said it would be something exciting.
"Dad, do you think you can get some type of peace going with the Na'vi?" Zack asked.
"Yes, I do."
"Do you think the generals will keep the peace?" Zack and Samuel asked.
Alexander looked up at the ceiling of the hut. "I don't know. Some of them are eager for it, while others will obey it if ordered. But I think some will resent this peace if it is achieved. They may try to cause problems while we try to negotiate."
Ashley crossed over to sit by the only other girl in their group, Sarah, and leaned against the wall of the hut. "Why can't we just let the Na'vi be? We don't need to be here. They pretty much kicked our ass last time. I'm fairly certain they could do it again."
That's Ashley. Crude and to the point, no matter how she says it or acts. "Ashley, the leaders on Earth want both the unobtanium and revenge for the defeat. They won't call this off unless the treaty is in their favor or Jake Sully is killed."
An uncomfortable silence fell inside the hut. The last guard, Michael, spoke for the first time Zack could recall. "We can't do that. Anything the Earth leaders find in their favor will be bad for the Na'vi. Since this is the largest and lead clan, filled with Na'vi both technologically advanced, knowledgeable of our ways, and knowledgeable of the Na'vi way, they will not do anything that will hurt the Na'vi."
Everyone stared at Michael. Then they began to settle down to sleep. They arranged themselves in a circle with their sleeping bags. Soon everyone was asleep except Ashley and Zack. Zack turned his head over to his left side to look at her.
"Ashley, what do you plan on doing while we're here at this clan?"
"I want to learn about the Na'vi. Back home, even though most of the people sent packing by the Na'vi hated them, there were still those who shared spectacular stories about them. I heard of such wonders and adventures they would have. To be honest, I used to dream of being a Na'vi. Then I got picked to be trained as the negotiator's guard just like you and everyone else here. From the time we were ten, we all were trained mentally and physically for this task. But to be honest, I still dream of being a Na'vi."
"If things go bad, even after you're given a Na'vi body, what will you do?"
For a moment, she didn't say anything. Then she turned her head to look him in the eyes. "I will do what is right. Just as Jake Sully and the first Avatars did."
In other words, I'll join the Na'vi and fight for them. Zack had gotten to know the woman rather well during their training. He could tell what she meant no matter how she said it. He also knew that everyone else here, his father included, would probably do the same.
"What about you Zack? What will you do?"
Zack thought about it. What would I do? Stay loyal to the Earth military even if my friends left? Or join them and turn my back on everything I know? "I don't know Ashley." Zack looked back up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. "I don't know." But I will never fight you.
"Ok. Goodnight Zack."
"Goodnight Ashley."
They fell asleep shortly after.
A few yards away and above them, Jake looked down on them from his meeting hut in the central tree. He turned to look at the Na'vi in the hut with him. There was Trudy, Neytiri, Satiri, Max (the second in charge of the former Avatar project), Norm, another scientific Na'vi named Mikaro, and his four lieutenants of his warriors. They had been listening to the comm device hidden in their visitor's hut.
"You heard them. They are willing for peace. One even wants to become a true Na'vi. Even more impressive is that not all of the soldiers sent here want to fight. But there are those who will try to provoke us. Send word to the clans. Tell them not to attack the humans. If there is another fight to be had, we won't be the ones to start it."
"Chief Jake, what are we going to do with these humans among us?" one of the lieutenants asked.
"We will allow them to live among us. The negotiator and the two guards who stayed with him will more than likely be spending much time with me, trying to learn of a way to broker peace with us. His son and the two guards who're twins seem to want to learn more about us specifically. Teach them what you can, but be mindful of what you say. I had been sent to do the same thing and help plan an attack on the Omatikaya. Until we are sure of all their intentions, speak nothing of our advancements in defense and combat."
"Father?" Satiri asked. "The three humans who I spoke with seem to be very pure like mother said you are. I believe that if we can get the female to become one of us, her brother and the negotiator's son will turn as well."
"What makes you think that the son will turn?"
"I can tell by the way he looks at the female that he loves her."
Jake smiled. His daughter was as cunning as he was, but she did her actions out of thoughtfulness and love. She never harmed anyone unless they tried to harm her or her friends. He looked to Neytiri and saw her smile as well.
"Eywa has said that these humans will play a major part in our lives and that based upon your interaction with them could lead us to peace or war. Satiri, may Eywa guide and protect you in this task."
Satiri bowed her head. The rest of the group left to go and get some rest. Jake and Neytiri left for their hammocks up in the branches of the tree. Soon they fell asleep.
Back at the hut below, Zack had woken up and was pondering about Ashley's question. He reached into his bag beside him and grabbed his journal. He began to write in the soft glow of the plants outside the hut's window.
Journal Entry Two:
I can't believe we're actually here at the leadership clan of all the Na'vi clans! This is something that is going to be wonderful to experience. But I can't help but wonder. The last human to go through something like this was Jake and he had an Avatar body. On top of that, he wound up leaving the human race and siding with the Na'vi. Will the same thing happen to us? I'm afraid of what my answer will end up being. I don't know if I could betray my allies here, but I can't imagine being on the opposite side of Ashley. This is going to be rough for the next few months.
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