Ch 1…TEN YEARS LATER
Drina Augustine stood before the house that she had lived in her entire life. She still could not believe that she was going to Pandora. She had studied for years, but never thought she would actually be going. The truth is, she couldn't stay on earth, she had never gone to school; instead, she had gone to an Avatar academy where she had learned to speak Na'vi and all about the science of the Planet.
Her Aunt called her from the car and she quickly stepped in, calling her last good byes to Valerie, Matt Shadows wife. She had known them for quite a while, and they had become like family to her, even letting her hangout with them at Disneyland and concerts. She was close to everyone in the band, but she was even closer to the guys' wives, every last one of them were always playing with her, buying her ice cream, and bringing her along on their big shopping trips. Hannah and Kelly Sanders, Matt's daughters, were her best friends. She thought back to the many times they had gotten themselves into trouble, and couldn't help but to smile. They had done everything from dying Matt's friend Zacky's hair purple, to cutting the power at one of their concerts. The later had all of them grounded for a month.
"You alright back there?" Her aunt asked, snapping her back out of her thoughts.
"Yea, I just wish Kelly and Hannah could come with me." Drina sighed, looking back out of the window, watching the grey buildings fly past, she felt as if she was in a dream, nothing felt real. She turned back to her aunt, who was typing the military base's address into the GPS that was attached to the dash board of her electric blue Portia.
"Well, you could send video messages back and forth, or e-mail each other" Her aunt replied as the GPS began listing off directions in the same monotone voice that always made Drina wish she could just throw it out of the window.
"Yea, I guess we could, but it still won't be the same." Drina complained over the GPS, which was announcing that they needed to take the next right.
"You will be fine, this is what you have been going to school for. Now, you get to meet your mom, explore a new planet, and have a second body. So stop complaining!" Her aunt said, changing lanes so she would be able to take the next right.
"But, what if I don't want to go! Did anyone ever consider that? What if I want to live a normal life, surrounded by friends and family, going to school, hanging out, and not running around on a planet with everyone out there old enough to be my parent?" Drina yelled, plugging her I-pod into her ears and blasting Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold. She had no idea why, but the song always calmed her, dulling down the pain of never being "normal".
Her aunt just sighed, 'Drina has so much potential, both on Earth and on Pandora. I really wish that I was sure that I am doing the right thing! Grace wanted this, but what if she was wrong? What if Drina is meant to be on Earth?' Minerva sighed; she could not even remember the last time she had felt like this. "Just don't think about it, get her on the ship, and go home and get a nice glass of wine." She said to herself, glancing at the now sleeping Drina.
The drive took nearly two hours, Drina, however slept most of the time, or at least looked to be sleeping. Really, she was thinking, about everything, the shuttle, the new body, her mom, it was all overwhelming. She was going to spend almost six years traveling to a planet to meet a mom that she had only heard of in stories of her aunt's childhood experiences.
They pulled up in front of a large grey building. Minerva handed the keys to the nearest valet and had one of the clerks retrieve Drina's luggage. They walked up to the front desk and were greeted by the woman standing there; she was short with shining blue eyes and blonde hair that was tied up in a professional looking bun. They asked several questions regarding when the shuttle would leave, when they would arrive, Drina's personal quarters when she arrived, and what she would be doing during the flight, since Drina was one of the select few who would be remaining awake for the entire journey to assist the scientists and doctors in keeping the other inhabitants sedated.
Once all of their questions had been answered, they were directed to the elevator and told to take a right and that they were needed in the commander's office which was the last door on the left.
The halls were all grey, not a single sign of life on the floor they were currently on, except of course the security cameras stationed at every possible position along the wall. They passed several doors, each with a plaque stating whose office it was and their position.
Finally, they came to the door with "Leslie Quaritch, Commander" engraved on a plaque. Minerva pressed the buzzer and they could hear it ring inside of the office. Within seconds, the door slid open to reveal a woman; she was well over six foot, which was intimidating, she was also albino, judging by the red eyes and pale skin. She smiled kindly and said "Yes I am albino, now are you going to stand there or come in and take a seat."
Both Minerva and Drina started at her words and hurried over to the chairs she had offered. They sat for a few minutes, willing anything to distract them from the current situation.
Finally, Leslie decided to start a conversation. She leaned over her desk and handed Minerva a glass of tea and Drina a glass of water before asking a few simple questions. She asked about allergies, phobias, and any other problem that may interfere with Drina's ability to survive on Pandora.
Leslie took notes the entire time Drina was in her office, everything from medical to appearance was written down. After they had talked for roughly two hours, Leslie began explaining how the transportation and landing would be organized.
"So, you will be boarding the ship at 0800 tomorrow. You will report here by 0600 so we can debrief you on your stay, once on the ship you will report directly to the doctors' quarters, and they will take you to your temporary rooms. Because of the low gravity, there may be some slight changes to your body, you will be quite tall, and will need to work out regularly to ensure your muscles grows properly. You will onboard for nearly six years, then transfer to the ISV Atlantis, you will be taken to Hell's Gate, where your will meet Colonel Miles Quaritch, my brother, he will escort you to the science labs after a safety briefing." Leslie said, picking up a tag that had "Drina Augustine, Pandora transfer." written on it with her signature across the bottom. She quickly explained that if Drina got lost, she could show the tag to anyone who works on the base, and she would be taken to wherever it was she was supposed to be.
Minerva and Drina were then escorted to Drina's overnight room, which was a simple room with a bed, mirror, and bathroom. They had a few minutes until they were interrupted by a short blonde woman who was in charge of bringing dinner to all residents on the floor. They ate in silence, and upon finishing her meal, Minerva said her goodbyes to Drina, and left the room, hoping to make it home before dark.
Drina watched silently as her aunt left the room, she could not help but smile to herself, six years in a private lab so she could finally continue her latest project, finding a way to give her and any chosen friends, immortality. She had tried working on it on earth, but it was just too risky, her aunt or a professor could walk in, and then they would know what she had been doing. Most people would dismiss it as a childhood obsession, she knew better, she was so close to figuring it out she could taste it. She already succeeded in some aspects, she was stronger than anyone she knew, able to run further, lift more, her sense of smell was better; she knew she was close, one more step and she could do one of two things, become a vampire or an immortal. Personally, she liked the vampire idea, but either would do.
She felt bad about leaving her aunt and friends on the dying planet, but she would make it up to them, yes, they would definitely forgive her!
"Now, let's see just what Pandora has in store for me!" Drina said to herself, before getting up to explore this new base.