OMG Thanks everyone for the reviews and everything! I was nervous because this is one of the few writing of mine available for people to see. ^^;
I made a tiny mistake when I said that Parker would report to the 'heads' of the RDA. I did my research and realized it should have been 'other heads,' from what I understand, Parker runs the RDA. Sorry about that one.
Avatar is not mine blahblahblah.
Please enjoy!
"In other words, those of us who are left are returning to Earth, the unobtainum we do have will be put to proper use."
Parker turned off and sent the transmission with a sigh. Messages could be sent to targets across space in a few hours, but the technology wasn't advanced enough for two objects over a lightyear away to communicate live. He felt pretty damn lucky for that; the other RDA heads, his peers, were going to have his ass as soon as they got the message.
"What a mess." He mumbled to himself.
He remembered when he started this job. He'd put in countless hours of extra work to rise to the top. The job would make him a hero, people would remember him, look up to him, and he'd have it all. Not like the blue monkeys and their pretty trees didn't matter to him, but Earth was his first priority, and it needed saving. But now that that ex-marine had ruined everything, and he'd have to find a new solution, the public would be undoubtedly depending on him for one.
It wasn't fair. This was supposed to help Earth. Things were supposed to change! As if the future wasn't bleak enough, now they would have to cut back and find a new alternative within a few decades.
A knock on the door caused Parker to jump.
"What do you want?" He shouted.
The door opened to reveal one of the pilots.
"Sir, we've calculated the trip's duration. We have much less cargo than we did on the trip here, so we will be able to travel faster. It will only take 4 years to return." He reported.
"Well isn't that some damn good news. When will we start off?"
"Within the hour, sir."
"Fantastic. I trust you to pilot this chunk of metal well."
"Yes, sir."
The pilot took his leave. Parker opened up a new video log and began recording.
"Hey. Things didn't go so well after all. Guess you were right about all that tree hugging eywa whatever non-sense. But I have good news, I'm coming back early."
He paused to take a breath.
"I-uh, I miss you. I wish you would've come with me, even though this whole mission was a waste. We're not gonna be able to travel back to Pandora with the resources we use, and it'll cost too much money to get them on Earth. I know how much you love hearing about the tall blue things and the plants, and it looks like that's gone. I feel like I've failed you, but if you'll forgive a man his sins, I could use your help. Earth is in an energy and economic crisis, and people are gonna be counting on the RDA for the solution. I hate those people for what they did, but there are bigger roaches to kill now. So I'm sorry for screwing this all up, but please help me. I love you."
Parker turned off the transmission and sent the message.
"45 minutes until departure." A voice announced over the intercom.
Parker sat back in his chair again too ready for this nightmare to be over. The screen began to beep, signaling an incoming conference request. He checked the info on it.
The transmission was coming from the base on Pandora.
Parker reluctantly accepted the request and the holographic screen expanded, revealing Norm Spellman and Jake Sully, both in human form.
"Hello, Parker." Jake said curtly. "Looks like you're having fun."
"Yeah, it's a real damn party up here trying to account for all the dead." He snapped.
Jake flushed a little bit in anger.
"Well at least you don't have scraps of burning metal and a dead tree that people used to call home lying around!" Jake fumed.
"Jake." Norm interjected. "We're not here for this. Look Parker, I know you're not happy to see us, and we're not happy to see you, but Earth is still where we were born, and we are still concerned for its fate. You're one of the few people given the... privilege of worldwide attention. Everyone is going to want answers and solutions."
"Tell me something I don't know. You're wasting my time."
"No, our proposal won't be a waste of time at all. In fact, it might save you time." Norm said. "How about it? Or have you been so corrupted by greed that you won't listen? We've got no problem leaving you to figure things out all by yourself."
Parker pondered a moment. Why should he listen to these traitors? They couldn't have the solution. But Norm was right, people wanted a solution. Maybe it was worth a try.
"If this is some plot to destroy us, this ship will leave in less than an hour, and then you'll never have to worry about us trying to return to Pandora."
"Oh we'll be ready for you if you dare come back, don't you worry about that you son of a-" Jake began.
"We're not concerned with destroying anything." Norm cut in again. "We're concerned with helping our former planet. Will you listen?"
"...What's your 'proposal?'" Parker asked.
I wasnt sure whether to split this part into two chapters, but I wanted to provide a nice beefy chapter, so there it is!
With this story basically I've got the main plot skeleton and I'm slapping on the finer details as I write, so reviews with suggestions, critiques, corrections, comments etc. are very helpful. Thanks for sticking with me guys! :D
Fun Fact: This is written the way Parker sees and feels it 90% of the time, so though Parker thinks humans will not be able to return to Pandora or contact it, the base on Pandora is still functional, and it could be possible to send small amounts of people back, if the terrible economic crisis is fixed and new energy is used. But in this fic, humans will not be returning to Pandora. I might explore the possibility in later works though.
Eywa ngahu.