Chapter 1: The arrival

Date: 12th May 2879

Overhead, the great eye of a world watched over the landscape, akin to a parent watching its child.

As the gas giant Polyphemus orbited overhead, it moved in a way that the light from the two main stars in the system were able to fully shine down on the jungle canopy of Pandora. As the rays of Alpha Centuari A and B bathed the jungle, one feature of the landscape cast a shadow still over the green canopy.

The massive trunk of a tree, topped with countless branches and leaves, was an awe inspiring sight to any being, local or visiting. The tree itself rose just over a kilometre high. Amongst the leaves of the tree's branches, the rustling of large animals could be heard, accompanied by piercing screeches and roars. The Banshees, or Ikran, were nestled into the branches, only venturing out when hunting, or when called by their chosen rider.

On one of the larger branches, a blue figure, towering 3 metres tall, was feeding a scarlet and yellow Ikran. By the shape of its body, from a distance one could judge it was female, as the curves gave it away. The woman grinned as the Ikran snapped up the chunk of meat she had carried up from the base of the tree, and spoke softly to the creature in her native tongue:

"Yerik meat always was your favourite, wasn't it?" The reptilian creature, with its long snout, filled with sharp teeth, and with four piercing eyes, gently hissed in agreement. It then gave a gentle head nudge, which if she were not used to it, the woman would have fallen over. It then proceeded to spread its four wings, and take off with eagerness to resettle in the treetop.

Having done her daily visit to her beloved Ikran, Firi'sry proceeded to start the trek down the spiralling rows of internal branches that formed a stairwell up the massive tree. As she descended, voices of men, women and children alike became louder. Eventually, she reached the level where multiple woven hammocks bridged the gap between the tree's inside wall, and the inner structure. To Firi'sry, one hammock was her destination, the one which she and her mate shared. Normally, she rose an hour before her mate, in order to watch the jungle below from the top of the massive tree and to feed her Ikran.

This morning though, the hammock was empty.

In mild surprise and confusion, Firi'sry looked around for her mate, only to be shocked by him landing just a metre in front of her, after which booming laughter could be heard from him.

"I see you are shocked that I woke this early!" He cheerfully noted to Firi'sry when her initial shock dampened: "H'nuptec, you sneak, you know that I never liked you sneaking up on me, and as I am now, it should apply more so!" As Firi'sry playfully scolded H'nuptec, she batted him upside the head, to which he responded by wrapping his arms around her waist and saying: "Just because you are with child, does not exempt you from the games we play on each other!" He bent down and kissed Frir'sry's stomach, which was beginning to protrude, to which she giggled loudly.

To the couple's annoyance, a shout from the Chieftain from 3 levels down interrupted their bonding: "All hunters ready to hunt for today!" H'nuptec, looking visibly annoyed, turned to Firi'sry: "Sorry, I must go now, as hunting leader I am needed or not as much success will follow with the hunt, and the Omaticaya people will go hungry. I will return when the sun begins to set." Firi'sry replied: "I am not sad that you have to go, I just wish I could still go, but I am sure this child will be worth the trouble, she is causing me discomfort at every opportunity."

Laughing, H'nuptec grabbed his bow, arrow satchel and knife, saying: "That means the child will be strong, and how do you know it will be a girl?" Offhandedly, Firi'sry said: "A mother knows these things, and Eywa has hinted at this too in my dreams." H'nuptec again laughed as he leapt down to join the hunting party: "Fine, I guess both you and Eywa know best in these matters."

As she watched her mate ride off on his Direhorse, or Pa'li, with the hunters behind him, Firi'sry drew circles on her stomach's growing lump, and thought absent mindedly: Soon I shall have a family of my own, and this child shall be a part of it.

Little did she know that a few million kilometres away, in the vacuum of space, an event would occur that would affect her soon to become family, as the child Firi'sry now carried would not actually be the oldest that she would raise.

As the starship hurtled through space at almost unbelievable speeds, it made no sound at all. A carefully manufactured vessel, capable of traversing the stars of the known galaxy at a reasonable pace, where travel times of 10 light years an hour were commonplace. In this case, the journey section that travelled above light speed had only taken 25 minutes. The departure point, Sol system, Earth: the capital and home world of humans. The destination: Alpha Centuari system, Keletari, the capital of the Na'vi people, as their homeworld was Pandora. Aboard the vessel was routine goods traded for profit on each world's market, and the accompanying handful of passengers, as this vessel was part of a ferrying organization for different worlds across the galaxy.

One family of humans was seated near the rear of the small passenger section, a young adult male, by the name of Anthony, his wife Valerie, his 14 year old daughter Diane, and a 4 month old boy called Alexander. As the flight intercom buzzed to life, announcing that the ship would begin entering Keletari's atmosphere in 1 hour. As the vessel began to slow down, its plasma thrusters radiating with heat, another ship came into view on both sensor screens and sight. A beaten, battle scarred vessel roughly 300 metres long, easily more than double the size of the ferry vessel, at only 130 metres. Suddenly, to the alarm of the family, a cry was heard from ahead in the cockpit.

"Something's jamming our communications, and a foreign signal is taking control, our engines are shutting down!" Diane suddenly screamed aloud as a blast of concentrated plasma incinerated the left engine, and rocked the ship. "They're shooting us!"

Within minutes, the smaller vessel was pulled alongside the larger vessel, and a docking tube was extending to meet the smaller vessel. Upon seeing the markings that decorated the larger ship's hull, the pilots deduced that the commanders of the other ship were pirates. Judging the damage taken, and the notoriety of this group of pirates for killing all aboard the vessels they plundered, the pilots ordered the ship[ be abandoned.

Before the docking tube linked to the ferry's hull, Valerie placed Alexander in the care of a robotic caretaker that accompanied the family, and told it to get in the escape pod with Alexander, while she went to make sure everyone else got into it safely.

Unfortunately, fate dealt a blow against the family, as the pirates sent out a final EMP burst, similar to the one used to stop the ship, that crippled the ships engines, and subsequently launched all escape pods. As Valerie turned to call her husband and daughter, the sound of a pod door shutting caused her to turn in horror, just in time to see the escape pod, the vessel's only escape pod, launch from its slot.

As the pod hurtled from the doomed ship and its attacker, the mother couldn't help but utter a heart wrenching cry of pain, as a plasma bolt from a boarding pirate's rifle impacted just left of her upper spine, and as she watched her only son be shot out into space, to be alone, regardless of the fact that all pods automatically set course for the nearest habitable world.

The escape pod flew at a brisk pace, aiming for the nearest hospitable world. As the pod had launched only an hour from Keletari, it headed in that general direction., but not towards Keletari. The pod's onboard navi-computer had calculated a quicker trip was possible if it headed for Pandora.

Many centuries before, it would have been suicide for a human to set foot on Pandora, as the atmosphere was toxic to their bodies. However, after a collaboration of the local Na'vi providing samples, and scientific branches from Earth, including a scientific branch of the Resources Development Administration, or RDA, in 2184, a medicinal virus was tested and proven, that rapidly adapted a human to be able to survive very well in toxic conditions, such as those seen on Pandora. As an added benefit, the changed were passed down genetically, and for those who needed an extra dose, the change only took a few hours.

Within half an hour, the pirate vessel had jumped to supra-light speed, and in the orbit of Pandora the pod began to slow its descent, as it hurtled through Pandora's relatively thicker atmosphere, glowing red hot as the friction superheated the hull. Onboard, Alexander cried in terror, wanting comfort, not knowing that the caretaker robot that accompanying him had been shut down and programming largely corrupted in the last EMP burst. Behind the plasma trail, the remnants of a large explosion, caused by uncontrolled antimatter annihilating with matter, decorated the night sky, as a result of the final fate of Alexander's family, the pilots and the ferry vessel.

Nightfall from the home of the Omaticaya was a sight to behold. As the twin suns fell, the jungle lit up with bluish bioluminescent light fro the plants, and the banded clouds of Polyphemus dominated the night. The atmosphere in Kelutral was pleasant, as today's hunt had seen good success, with 4 Yerik and even a Sturmbeast, along with piles of fruits from the forest. As hunters recollected tales of the day's hunt, and children listened intently, Firi'sry and H'nuptec were busy stargazing.

"We would have 2 Sturmbeast had I seen that calf come from under it." H'nuptec said, whilst nursing a bruise he had obtained on his upper arm, along with a few scrapes and a shallow cut on his leg. "Do not feel bad, nobody succeeds all the time. Besides, some of the other hunters found it funny that a calf tripped up your Pa'li, and you landed in a river."

"Thank you my love, you have lightened my spirit, but I think the other hunters will joke about it for a while yet. In fact, if you listen, they are talking about it right now."

As he gestured to the crowd around the fire pit, the words 'H'nuptec', 'calf' and 'tripped' reached their ears, before they saw the crowd emit another round of laughter.

Seeing H'nuptec's dejected and embarrassed face, made visible by his flaring bioluminescent markings, Firi'sry changed subject: "Ignore what happens over there, come, let's look at the heavens, that should take your mind off their stories." H'nuptec, seeing that it was the best way to not dwell on his shortcomings, joined Firi'sry.

After a half an hour of gazing, one sight came into view that always intrigued Firi'sry, the sight of the nearby moon Keletari. As it rose in the sky, the dark side was in view, which allowed the imprints of the more technologically embracing side of the Na'vi to be seen on that world. Thin lines of lighted transport routes could be very faintly seen, at least with the keener eyesight of the Na'vi, and the clusters of lights that dotted the surface, marking the cities, the equivalent of hometrees on theat world, as on many others. H'nuptec, following to where Firi'sry was now intently watching, saw the display of artificial lights of the space faring branch of the Na'vi. He himself was not as impressed or curious as Firi'sry was with this alternate lifestyle, but curious nonetheless.

Like Firi'sry, though not as much, he wondered what it would be like to live as one among those who were surrounded by things not made by nature, those to viewed traversing worlds as a now relatively easy task. In the past, such civilizations had previously not respected nature, but ever since the RDA incident on Pandora, with this very tribe, all space faring races had pulled their act together if need be, and now respected and preserved nature, even if they did not live in close quarters to it themselves.

"I have not seen that star before!" Firi'sry suddenly cried, which jerked H'nuptec out of his curious thoughts. As he turned his sight to this 'new star', Firi'sry watched intently as the star glowed white. Mysteriously, the star had not been there a minute ago, yet there it was. Outside of the couple's notice, other Na'vi in hometree were watching this new celestial body with awe. Firi'sry looked around at the watchful faces, only to see them begin to disappointed, which caused her to again look at the star, only to see it becoming dimmer. Within 5 minutes, the light had completely faded, and the sky where it had been was as empty as had always been.

The evening meal was subject to the same conversation between groups of Na'vi. The talks ranged from speculations of a sign from Eywa, to some saying it could have been a trick of the light from the neighbouring celestial bodies. Up in the canopy, Firi'sry was busy mounting her Ikran, preparing to take off for a night flight, one she had been yearning for since she found out she was expecting 5 months ago. After persuading her mate to let her go, just to have some fun, as her growing child would prevent any flights after this, to which he submitted to her will, she had dashed up to the Ikran nesting area. As she lowered her goggles, made from transparent plant material, she mentally ordered her mount to take off, which she did so willingly, for she too, yearned to fly with her rider after so long. With graceful dive and beat of the double set of wings, the pair took off on their usual leisure flight path.

A few miles away, the escape pod of the unfortunate ferry vessel was in its final stage of landing, having deployed its parachutes and mini fusion rockets. After calculating the safest landing zone, the rockets ignited, slowing the descent, and gravity compensators prepared to charge to protect the living passenger from the G-forces he would experience when landing. As the pod broke the cloud cover, it slowed to below the speed of sound, and by the following boom, alerted its landing to all within miles.

As the Na'vi slept or prepared to sleep, a loud boom pierced the calm, quiet night air. Clumsily, Na'vi people rose from their hammocks, to see a site never seen in their history. As if a third sun was now falling from the sky, illuminating the night. As they watched in awe and shock, the fireball smashed into the jungle about two miles from hometree, sending up a cloud of dirt and dust. The resounding shockwave from the landing reached the tree half a second later, which sounded off as a short, low rumble.

As Firi'sry circled overhead, she kept mentally asking if she had been tricked by her eyes. She had just seen a fireball emerge from the sky, puncturing the cloud cover like a knife punctures flesh, and then smash into the jungle half a mile away. Obviously her Ikran had let loose a shriek of terror, and took a few seconds to be calmed. As she looked upon the devastation below, her curiosity determined her next course of action. She dove towards the crash site, for she wanted to see what caused such destruction.

The trees and plants had been flattened in the blast, nothing was left intact. The escape pod had hit the ground hard, sending dirt and debris high up into the air. The air was choked with dust, disturbed by the impact. A gaping hole in the forest canopy marked the pod's direction of landing, and a smashed trench marked where the pod had dug into the ground. Resting against a large tree, which had been lucky to be impacted after the it had slowed considerably, was the beaten, steaming and dirt covered escape pod. Despite all the abuse it had suffered on landing, it had fulfilled its duty. The passenger had survived.

Quietly crying as he began to realize the ride was over, and that no one would comfort him, Alexander lay in his seat, restraining straps and gravity compensators having saved his life. The robot lay uselessly on the ground, having been unable to brace itself due to being offline, and now would never be online again. As the infant lay in sadness, a shadow flew over the window of the pod, and its caster landed nearby.

As Firi'sry landed, the object that caused this devastation became known: a strange metal pod. Along it, the metal bore burns and scratches from the landing. The side was marked with insignia in languages, some that Firi'sry recognized, others that she knew of but did not know to read. In Na'vi, English and 4 other types of language, what appeared to be warnings and instructions marked the body of this pod.

At the words 'safety' and 'escape', Firi'sry came to realize this object was made to keep an object safe inside. Upon examination, she saw a handle where she could open the pod, and also a window to see what was inside. Being cautious, she leaned towards the window, and made the mistake of placing a hand on the metal.

The reaction was not immediate, as the metal was hot enough to repel, but not hot enough to burn, as the pod was still cooling from its fiery descent. Firi'sry again looked through the window, being careful not to touch the sides of the pod.

What she saw puzzled her more than anything else in her life. A young baby lay inside the pod, looking like it was in discomfort, as it looked to be crying, though no sound could be heard. Throwing caution to the wind, Firi'sry grasped the handle of the pod, surprised to find it not as hot as the metal, as it was made of a ceramic material. The pod opened with a hiss of air rushing in, and the door swung open wide.

The moment the door opened, the child ceased crying, and stared up in curiosity at its visitor. Firi'sry looked upon the youngling. It was much smaller than any Na'vi baby, and its skin was a yellowish-pink, and had tufts of dark brown hair on its head, again unusual for a Na'vi.

'A human?' Thought Firi'sry, as she finally realized what this baby actually was. Despite her not having travelled off world in her life, she had heard of humans. They mainly stayed in family groups, and were relatively weak compared to the Na'vi. However, with the help of the humans and other alien species, the Na'vi had effectively been uplifted to the technological level of other races. Like some tribes on the human home world and other home worlds, the Na'vi had reserved their homeland, or in their case, moon, as a nature reserve. Only a few colonies existed on Pandora, to preserve the unique biology on the planet, and not allow it to be harmed as usually happened when a species advanced.

Looking upon the feeble being with pity, Firi'sry gently scooped it up into her arms, resting it in her arms at chest level. Remembering how feeble any alien species is without its own kind in an environment as hostile as the Pandoran jungle, she realized that the child would probably die from starvation or become a meal if left alone. She decided to take the child back to kelutral, and ask what is to be done from the clan leaders.

As Firi'sry approached her Ikran, it hissed in a partially aggressive, but mainly curious manner. Upon making Tsuheylu, Firi'sry told it that it needed her help, and to fly to hometree gently. With a series of wingbeats, the expecting huntress, Ikran and human child were on their way to hometree.

Cautious murmurs and conversations echoed on the bottom level of Kelutral, as prayers were given to Eywa to guide the people in this strange occurrence, others sought the wisdom of the Tsahik and Ole'tykan. An Ikran's wingbeats and low screech punctured the talking, as a female huntress climbed off her flying mount, and disconnected from it. As she walked towards the center of hometree, people could make out a very small bundle in her arms. Before she could reach the clan leaders though, her mate burst forth from the crowd, and briefly enquired her of certain matters, before backing off, and allowing her to stand before the Tsa'hik and Ole'tykan. As she unwrapped the bundle, the two clan leaders' expressions changed from passive attentiveness to alert curiosity, as they approached the huntress.

Firi'sry advanced through the parting crowd, noting their stares at the bundle that held the human child. The child had fallen asleep on the flight back, and had stayed quiet. During the flight, she had found that it was a boy, and that he had a name on the clothing he was travelling in, though it was difficult to pronounce.

Suddenly, H'nuptec burst through the crowd, and ran up to her anxiously:

"Are you unhurt, did the fireball hurt you?" She replied: "I am completely fine, but I have a matter concerning what I found where the fireball landed which I must talk to the Tsa'hik and Ole'tykan about."

Seeing the seriousness in her eyes, H'nuptec backed into the crowd, staying near the front to get a view of the talk. Firi'sry positioned herself in front of the dual leadership of the Omaticaya, and respectfully bowed and saluted, careful not to disturb the child.

The Ole'tykan spoke first: "What is it you wish to discuss with us?" Firi'sry spoke with courage: "I have been to where the fireball landed, and have seen what caused it." Worried murmurs passed through the clan, to be quickly silenced by the Ole'tykan's hand. The Tsa'hik spoke next:

"What caused it?" Firi'sry spoke of what she saw. The metal pod, the human, Na'vi and alien languages on the side, but withheld the news of the child briefly. Again the Ole'tykan spoke:

"This metal object came from the sky. It must have been part of the vessals the humans and other people, including our own, use to traverse worlds." "There was also a human inside the object, a small human boy, not even half a year old, so I took pity on him and rescued him from the wreck." Firi'sry stated, whilst unwrapping the bundle, and presenting the child to the clan leaders. They recoiled in surprise, taken aback by the appearance of a species that normally doesn't appear on this area of the world.

"This is a human child, he does not belong here, he belongs with his own kind, out there." Said the Tsa'hik, gesturing to the sky. The Ole'tycan spoke next, deciding on a course of action: "The child should be with his own kind. However, in the past, other humans have proven themselves capable of living among us, even in their weaker bodies." A murmur of agreement rippled through the clan, as they recalled stories of humans joining them and other clans in the past, such as Jake Sully over 700 years before. The Ole'tykan pressed on: "We shall send messengers to the nearest colony, and we shall find out how this child came to land on this world, separated from his kind. When we know what happened, the final decision of his fate shall be made. Until then, Firi'sry, as the one who rescued him, shall care for him for now." The clan agreed to this arrangement, and Firi'sry was pleased that she could become a mother of sorts until the child's fate was decided.

A week passed, and 2 human colonists came to the Omaticaya hometree, to see the child. They said the boy was called Alexander, but all called him Alex for ease's sake. They also explained that the child was the only survivor of a pirate attack near Pandora, and that his family were all dead. The option of returning the child was now impossible. An unusual observation sealed the child's fate. The boy had bonded closely with Firi'sry, and was sad whenever he was parted from her. H'nuptec was more resilient, due to his human status, but showed a shared love nonetheless.

In light of this, it was decided that the boy would be raised amongst the Omaticaya, at least until he was old enough to make his way in the worlds beyond Pandora.

Six months later, Firi'sry's child was born, a girl, to be named Sru'sky. She would be Alex's younger sister.

This is the story of a boy called Alex, trying to make his way through the galaxy, unaware of the magnitude of the events he will be a part and cause of.