The Balance of Life

Part One - Discovery

Chapter 2 - Part 2--- Marooned

Author's Note:

Instead of posting one whole chapter each week I am going to post two half chapters twice each week. This should give you readers quicker access to the story as it unfolds. Plus it may increase readership.

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For the second time Jake awoke with two females sleeping next to him. His Na'vi eyes quickly acclimated to the pre-dawn light. Even without it he wouldn't have had any trouble seeing Neytiri or Ralu. A glowing woodsprite was floating just above Ralu's head, its inner tentacles bobbing up and down across her forehead. Totally fascinated, Jake watched as the woodsprite moved slowly over the child's face. When the woodsprite rose and moved towards Neytiri, Jake noticed that Neytiri's eyes were open, following the woodsprite just as he was. When the sprite touched down on her nose, Jake thought Neytiri would go cross-eyed, so intent was her focus. Within seconds the woodsprite began to ascend, its outer tentacles undulating rhythmically. Both Jake and Neytiri watched until the sprite was out of sight.

For several seconds they just looked at each other, neither speaking.

"Should we place any particular significance in that?" Jake finally asked.

"It is impossible to know why Atokirina do what they do," Neytiri replied quietly, not wanting to wake the child. "They appear to be very curious creatures. Sometimes their appearance gives a warning, other times there appears to be no specific reason other than their curiosity. Many have put forth ideas about the creatures, but none appear to be correct."

"When I woke, the sprite was dancing just above Ralu's head. I'm not sure how long it was with us or if it hovered near me as it did briefly with you."

"We will mention this to mother when we see her about Ralu," Neytiri added, adjusting her body on the sleeping mat to better accommodate Ralu. "She may see something, or she may not."

"How long before others start to rise for the day?"

"Not much longer," Neytiri answered after gazing at the sky visible through openings in the treetops. "We should eat first. Then we can take something for mother. Morning isn't her favorite time of the day. I'm usually careful what I ask for before midday."

"What about Ralu's aunt and uncle? When do we speak with them?"

"That is for mother to do, if she feels this is best for Ralu." Neytiri was watching Jake closely. She saw the concern quickly come and go on his face. It mirrored her own anxiety. Neytiri was more than a little surprised at how quickly she was becoming attached to this child and the idea of having children in general.

"Are you ok?" Jake asked, being just as tuned to Neytiri's emotions as she was to his.

"Yes, just a little surprised to realize how much I would like to make Ralu ours."

"It's all part of the healing process, isn't it? Not all wounds are visible. Some, like the loss of family or loved ones, will take much time to heal. Those of us who can must help those who cannot help themselves."

"Yes, that is the way of Eywa."

"Funny…well not laugh funny, but one of the duties of a Marine was to protect those that could not protect themselves. Another case of 'once a Marine, always a Marine'."

"You were proud…to be a Marine," Neytiri stated as she suddenly realized the core of Jakes character was his fierce, unwavering loyalty to what he believed in. Which at its center was, the strong protect the weak.

"Yes I was, very much so."

"And now you will be proud to be Na'vi, Omaticaya."

"Yes, I will. But even more, I hope you and the Omaticaya will be of me." Jake was a little taken back by thus sudden need for Neytiri and the people to be proud of him. It was like a thirst he needed to satisfy in order to be whole. Several flashbacks from his journey through Eywa filled him, intensifying the feeling.

"Jake, I already am. This, in your heart you already know." Neytiri replied softly as she leaned forward to gently place her forehead against his.

"Then I will do everything that I can to always be deserving of your pride." The fact that Jake could sense Neytiri's pride in him helped to ease the thirst.

Ralu began to stir as Jake and Neytiri separated. After stretching several different ways, her eyes slowly opened. At first Ralu looked a bit dazed as if she didn't know where she was. That look quickly passed, replaced by a sheepish grin, as she looked cautiously back and forth between Jake and Neytiri.

"Did you sleep well?" Neytiri asked as she brushed Ralu's unbraided hair away from her face.

"Yes I did," Ralu replied, her voice almost too soft to hear.

"Ladies, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry," Jake chimed in. "Let's go and see what we can get to eat."

When Ralu turned her attention towards Jake, her grin turned into a smile that lit her entire face. The instant Jake returned her smile Ralu rolled into him, hugging him fiercely as she had done the night before. This time Jake returned the hug, completely undone by Ralu's spontaneous display of emotion. Watching Ralu and Jake, the strange sensation that had come to Neytiri before returned once again. It left a sense of longing, but was not unpleasant.

"Others should be up and about," Neytiri said after Jake released Ralu. "As today is going to be very busy, we should get something to eat as quickly as possible."

Sitting up, Jake and Neytiri put on their body adornments as Ralu stood and rubbed the muscles in her arms and legs. After attaching their knives Neytiri led the way back to the gathering area they had eaten in the night before. Ralu's hand was firmly holding Jake's before they were half way there.

About twenty clan members were already in the gathering area eating various fruits, nuts and dried meat sticks. The cooking fire was being tended in preparation for any meat that would be taken later in the day. Motioning for Jake and Ralu to follow, Neytiri helped the three of them select food for their morning meal.

Looking around Jake thought that Mo'at wasn't the only person who disliked mornings. Several of his brothers and sisters looked as though that were working their way through a hangover of major proportions. Of course this might all be from the events they had all lived through for the past week. Post-traumatic-shock, as a vet he was well aware of what PTS could do to a person. If anyone was entitled to a little PTS it was the Omaticaya. He would try to apply what little training he had in dealing with PTS to those who appeared to need it.

Jake and Neytiri had both noticed a few glances directed towards Ralu. Nothing hostile, mostly just curiosity for the most part. Neytiri led them to where Tey'bar and Ell'a'u were sitting. "I see you," Neytiri addressed the two young warriors as she sat down, Jake and Ralu sitting beside her facing them.

"I see you." The young warriors replied in turn, repeating the greeting to Jake. Jake returned the greeting easily. There was another special bond here, as all three of them had taken their Ikran's together under Tsu'tey's tutelage. Since over half of the clan's warriors had died fighting Quaritch he and all the other surviving warrior/hunters were going to be very busy gathering meat while trying to locate a new home. Jake knew that Neytiri was going to be more than a little frustrated at not being able to fly with them on the hunt or the search. They were going to have to get her a new Ikran as quickly as possible. He knew she would be torn between the desire to honor her fallen Ikran's memory and the desire to get a new mount as soon as possible.

"Jakesully, most of the hunters want you to lead us," Tey'bar began after Jake and Neytiri had finished eating. "This includes Ell'a'u and myself. We do not fully understand why you do not feel worthy to lead the Omaticaya. No one could be more worthy than Toruk Macto. We understand that this is now a decision for the Council of Elders. Until someone else is chosen you will be Olo'eyctan to us. For now, no one else could lead us as well as you. Even though the battle is over and the Sky People have been sent back to where they came from, we still need you. Maybe more than ever before. What you said about being Omaticaya for a short time is true. Ell'a'u and I have been Omaticaya for whole life, and what we are certain about is that we need you to lead us. For at least as long as it takes to find a new home and begin the healing process. If you feel payment must be made by you personally for what happened to Hometree then this is what most of the Omaticaya would feel justified in accepting."

Jake sat listening to Tey'bar's monologue without interrupting him. He knew that Tey'bar and Ell'a'u were loyal to him, he just hadn't realized how much.

"You sure know how to make it hard to refuse," Jake replied after Tey'bar finished. Like Jake, Neytiri had remained silent during Tey'bar's appeal. Jake could all but feel the hidden smile on Neytiri's lips. Knowing when it made sense to accept the inevitable, at least for the immediate future, Jake resigned himself to giving orders once again.

"How many hunters have Ikran's who are able to fly?" Jake asked, knowing that some of the survivors had lost their banshee's just as Neytiri had.

"Thirty, although not all are fully healed," Ell'a'u replied.

"Has anyone ever come across another tree that they thought might make a good home?" Jake asked Neytiri, hoping a couple of possibilities might have already been spotted.

"None that I know of. As the Omaticaya have lived in Hometree for many, many generations, no one would be thinking about the possibility of finding a new home."

Ralu was completely absorbed in the conversation going on around her. Normally children were sent away to work or play when serious discussions were taking place. Keeping her mouth shut and her ears open, trying to be as small as possible was to her mind the best way to be able to stay in the middle of what was going on. From firsthand, devastating personal experience she knew the terrible loss the people had suffered. In her heart she was certain that Neytiri and Jakesully would make the people whole again. In her dreams she saw herself fully grown; leading the people in prayer song over some event she could not quite see clearly. When Jake had started talking to the boys last night she knew instinctively that her future was going to be tied to his. Since shyness had never been one of Ralu's traits, she decided to seize the opportunity and get close to Jake. Ralu was more than satisfied with the results so far. She felt no guilt for going after what she wanted. Her mother had told her many times that a woman must always be ready to take advantage of events that came her way. Since men were stronger, women needed to be smarter. This was a lesson that had penetrated deep into Ralu's mind.

"Yes, I can understand that," Jake answered. "Realistically, how far from here should we search? Exactly what are we searching for?"

"Before Hometree was destroyed there were almost one thousand men, women and children living there. We have lost almost half of our people. While we do not need a tree as large as Hometree just now, we need to plan for the future. The Omaticaya have always lived in the forest. I don't think now is the time to change that. From my own personal travels I think we should concentrate our search in the direction of the rising sun. Water must be close by any new home, of course."

"You do realize that direction would move us closer to the Sky People's compound."

"Yes, I know. But if the Sky People come back does it really make a difference where we live?"

"In the long run, probably not. As long as our new home isn't sitting on what they want, they would probably leave us alone."

"Tey'bar, take as many hunters as you need to find food for the next few days," Jake ordered, shifting his focus back to the two young hunter-warriors. "Ell'a'u, organize the rest into search groups. At least four hunters per group. I don't want anyone going off alone."

"I will take eight hunters. Four on the ground and four in the air," Tey'bar replied, looking for confirmation from Jake.

"Good hunting," Jake replied, not questioning Tey'bar's choice. He wanted the young hunter to feel and accept the faith that Jake was placing in him.

"I think we should send out four groups," Ell'a'u began once Tey'bar had left to organize his hunting party. "We should be able to cover all of the area within four days ride by Direhorse. If we do not find something suitable, we go further tomorrow."

"That sounds like a good plan. Even though I know you will, be alert."

"Is there any water close by where we could bow-fish?" Jake asked Neytiri after Ell'a'u had gone.

"About an hour's walk from here there is a small lake that holds many fish suitable for eating. We should take some of the young hunters in training. It would be good for them to have something to do."

"Yes it would. I know it's going to be hard for a while, but the sooner everyone starts spending their days doing normal activities the better"

"Isn't that right?" Jake asked Ralu, playfully tugging her hair.

"I guess so…"

"Do you have any questions about what was discussed," Jake asked Ralu as she bounced to her feet. "That's assuming you were paying attention, not sleeping with your eyes open."

"No. No questions about talking," Ralu answered seriously. "But I do have a question about something else."

"And what would that be?" Jake asked, brushing her hair from the side of her face.

"When will you let me fly with you?" Ralu asked, flicking a quick glance at Neytiri before locking her eyes with Jake's.

"That is a very good question," Jake answered somberly. It was amazing how penetrating Ralu's eyes could be. He felt as if she were seeing all the way through him and back. "The very poor answer is, I don't know."

"Right now you have something more important to decide," Neytiri said, biting back the smile because of the frown on Ralu's face over Jake's non-answer. "Do you want to live with Jake and me? Should we be the beginning of a new family? Since this is very serious you may need some time to think about it," Neytiri added.

Jake and Neytiri sat quietly while Ralu absorbed what she had been asked. Several emotions came and went across her young face. Looking directly at Neytiri, who had asked the question, Ralu responded.

"I have thought about this, if fact I even dreamed about this last night. I want us to be family. I will miss my mother and father always. Now that they are with Eywa I want to be your child. I want you to be my new mother, my new father," Ralu concluded solemnly, looking at both Jake and Neytiri in turn.

"If this is what you want, we will speak with mother," Neytiri said, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"Pretty wise for a four year old," Jake added when Ralu turned her smiling face to look at him.

"I am six," Ralu responded haughtily.

"My mistake," Jake replied, trying to sound apologetic. "I'm real new at being a father, so you'll just have to bear with me."

"Ralu, Jake has not spent much time with the children of the tribe. We must teach him how to recognize one age from another," Neytiri added quickly. Neytiri's tone was firm but not harsh. Jake recognized it immediately and almost said something in Ralu's defense. Neytiri was reminding Ralu, in a very mild way that she needed to show respect for her elders.

Catching Neytiri's meaning immediately, as it was very much like her birth mother's, Ralu softened her tone. "It is easy mistake to make as there is not much difference between four, five or six. Mostly just size. I am smaller than most of the other six year olds."

"In time I will learn the ages of most of the people. You can help me do that, ok?" Jake asked, smiling at his prospective new daughter.

"Yes, I will."

"All right. Let's get something for mother to eat and go find her," Neytiri said as she rose smoothly to her feet.

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When Norm and Karen walked into the lab the first thing they saw was Susan, looking freshly showered, her hair shining in a long straight fall. But what immediately caught their attention was the look on her face. The expression she was wearing suggested that she had just stepped into something very disgusting. Max and Ron were frowning over the portable virtual computer screen they were both looking at.

"What's going on?" Norm asked when he was close enough to make out what was being displayed on the PVC.

"You're not going to believe this," Susan answered, gesturing impatiently at the PVC.

"Not going to believe what?" Karen asked, trying to read the translucent screen.

"Max, what is this all about?" Norm couldn't read the screen from where he stood.

"The RDA has sent us a human male clone. It came in on the Venture Star," Max answered as he turned to face Norm and Karen. "We didn't even know about it. Selfridge had the amino tank and all associated records placed in the Sec-Op secure storage area."

"Is it some kind of super-soldier?" Karen asked.

"No. Basically it's completely normal except for the fact that it is supposed to be able to breath Pandora's air and digest most of the native food substances," Max answered.

"Why in the name of God would they do that?" Susan asked, raking her hand through her hair.

"Our best guess is that the RDA sees the avatar program as a failure, but still wants an indigenous workforce," Ron answered. "If they couldn't convince the Na'vi to work the mining operation, cloning a group of human workers was the next best option. Sending human workers across light-years and back home again is getting to be too expensive."

"In other words, slave labor," Karen added, understanding why Susan had looked so repulsed. "These clones would live and work here until they died or were killed when they could no longer produce."

"I thought there were laws against that sort of thing," Norm stated.

"This isn't Earth. Besides, what inspector is going to travel all the way to Pandora just to make sure the RDA is obeying the law?" Ron asked sarcastically. "Even if one was stupid enough to make the trip, he or she would probably have a fatal accident if they were going to report something the company didn't want reported."

"So what do we do now?" Norm asked.

"That's a question, isn't it?" Karen replied, taking the PVC from Max so she could see what information was available about the clone.

"We either bring it out of its amino pod, or we let it terminate," Max answered, looking in turn at each of the others.

"Bring it to life or kill it, those are the only two choices," Ron added. "If we don't get it out of the pod soon, it will expire on its own."

"I don't think we have a choice," Susan began. "We didn't create this thing. We certainly didn't ask for the RDA to dump this in our laps. But we can't just let it die, that would be immoral."

"Exactly," Ron added.

"I don't see as we have any real choice," Norm began. "If it doesn't survive the process, then we will have done everything humanly possible. If it does…well, we will cross that bridge when we come to it."

"It says here that the clone was shipped with a complete set of subliminal training and indoctrination materials," Karen said, looking up from the PVC screen. "If fact, it should have already received half of them on the trip out."

"Where is the clone now?" Norm asked.

"It's still in Sec-Ops secure storage," Max answered.

"Well let's get the thing over here and see if it's still viable," Ron added. "By the way, what are we going to call this thing anyway?"

"The documentation refers to it as Alpha-1", Karen answered.

"Let's wake Alpha up and see what he has to say." Susan suggested.

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Jake watched as Neytiri showed Ateyo and Neynat how to stalk and catch fish with a special barbed arrow used for just that purpose. Tagola was working on his second catch of the day, having been trained in the previous season by his father. From his perch on top of a large boulder Jake kept a wary eye out for anything that might be stalking the young hunters Neytiri was currently training. Ralu and several other young children were playing at the water's edge a short distance away. They had been instructed not to go into the water above their knees. Jake kept an eye on them as well. Two hunters on their direhorse's patrolled the perimeter of the small lake while a lone hunter soared overhead on his Ikran.

The journey to the lake had been uneventful. If any predators had been in the area, the sound of direhorses galloping through the forest would have sent them in other directions. Neytiri had spent most of the trip explaining the art of bow fishing to their new trainees. This left Jake to keep a watchful eye on five young children. The kids were easy to tend to as mostly they just looked at him and giggled a lot. If any of his charges got a little too adventurous all he had to do was cough and scowl in their direction.

Ralu seemed to be the center of attention as the other children were always whispering something to her. Occasionally she would glance over her shoulder at him, a knowing smile on her lips. At the start of the journey Neytiri had walked side by side with him as the hunters in training took the lead.

"Since I don't know your mother all that well, I didn't get a sense of what she thought about making Ralu ours."

"Sometimes mother is very hard to read, especially if she doesn't want to be read."

"She didn't seem upset or happy when we told her about Ralu. I did expect some kind of reaction."

"If she was against the idea she would have said so immediately. Since she said she would speak to Ralu's aunt and uncle on our behalf, she will. If they do not wish to keep the child, Ralu will be ours. On the other hand, if they want her as part of their family, I don't think mother will go against them."

"For Ralu's sake, as well as ours, I hope they will let her stay with us. She seems to be quite definite about what she wants."

"Yes, she is that," Neytiri answered.

"Will your mother speak with them today?"

"I would think so. If Ralu is not to be ours she will have to g back to sleeping with her aunt and uncle. We will know before this day is past."

"Now I need to go and speak with our new trainees. Keep an eye on the children. They can disappear before your very eyes. A game they like to play on adults," Neytiri added as she hurried to catch up with the young hunters.

Jake was jogged back to present as he heard several of the children let out a high pitched squeal. Instantly he spotted what had spooked them. A small school of dinicthoids was swimming towards the shore where the children had been playing at the water's edge. Jake was just about to yell at the kids to get back when the dinicthoids instantly reversed direction and disappeared from sight. Something had spooked them, Jake was sure of that. It was like a school of fish darting off when they sensed a predator.

Jake let out a shrill whistle, a trick he found he could do with his Na'vi lips as well as his human ones. When Neytiri looked over at him he pointed out into the water where the dinicthoids had been and made motions with his hands to outline their shape. Neytiri nodded her head in understanding. Returning her attention to Ateyo and Neynat she continued to coach them while keeping a sharp eye on the lake.