"All right, people, let's go! Head for the main entrance, building up front! Jogging pace, double file!" Charleston's commands rang out through the bay, sending everybody into motion. With a rolling thud of footsteps, the two lines of colonists began exiting the shuttle at a trot, moving down the ramp and out onto the airfield tarmac.

Halfway down the line, Ri waited for his turn, feeling a tad unsteady on his feet. The combination of cryo-hibernation aftereffects with the return of gravity had rendered him lightheaded and weak, and the tingling excitement he was feeling added yet another interesting element to the mixture. He swayed slightly back and forth, hearing his breath echo lightly inside the plastic shell of his Exo.

He looked up, only to realize that Jason had already started moving, leaving him at the front of the waiting queue. Wincing at that little slip of attention, he followed suit before Charleston could notice, forcing himself into a jog down the aisle. His limbs were still stiff and aching from six years at -200 degrees Celsius, and running instead of floating and sitting suddenly felt very weird indeed.

As he followed Jason's broad form down the ramp, he couldn't help glancing back in amazement at the Valkyrie. Now he was outside the bay, he could truly appreciate how truly enormous the shuttle was. The vehicle's top edge loomed a full eight meters overhead, and the vast, black-tiled delta wings overshadowed at least half of the eighty-meter wide landing pad.

Feeling his feet hit tarmac, he turned his head back towards the line ahead of him and kept on jogging. For some reason, though, running wasn't nearly as easy as it should have been.

"Blast," he muttered, frowning. Even though the warm, humid Pandoran air was perfectly still, it felt like he was running headlong into a stiff wind, pushing back at him with every step. To make things worse, his shoes couldn't seem to get a proper grip on the ground. He missed his footing and stumbled, barely managing to prevent himself falling flat-out onto the asphalt.

Regaining his balance, he sighed, shaking his head. I'd forgotten about that. Pandora's air, composed partially of heavy xenon gas, was a full ten percent denser than the Terran variety. Combine that with a twenty percent lower gravity, resulting in loss of traction, and the circumstances for running were hardly ideal.

Having recovered from that little incident, Ri turned his attention to the great colony around him. It was evening: low in the sky ahead of him, a setting Alpha Centauri highlighted everything in shades of gold and amber, and the thick air was laden with warmth. Past the perimeter fences, a vast wall of jungle, now shaded black, spread out in every direction, the occasional flying spec visible above the canopy. The giant blue orb of mighty Polyphemus, looming overhead, completed the surreal effect.

Parallel to their own route, a vast, battered-looking, yellow dump truck ponderously rolled by on the right with a deep bass roar of engines. Each of its six muddy wheels were easily twice the height of the pair of armed escorts walking beside it.

Passing them in opposite direction, a pair of hulking AMP suits walked by, mechanical joints whirring. The robotic, humanoid exoskeletons stood at a full four meters and carried massive, cannon-like guns in their metallic, jointed hands. As they passed by, Ri caught a glimpse of the human operators inside their cabins.

On the other side, several armored helicopters, bristling with guns and missiles, touched down on a long landing strip. The rattle of their twin rotors cut through the base's background noise of machinery.

Like the rest of the machinery around the base, the Scorpions seemed rather outdated, especially compared with the incredible, sleek, state-of-the-art technology the RDA boasted back on Earth. However, this old-fashioned equipment was the company's only option here. To bring the enormous amounts of machinery straight from Earth was absolutely unfeasible – the costs of launching it would have been astronomical. As a result, almost everything in use on the base had been made using Pandoran raw materials. Only electronics and other rare materials were imported. This meant that Hell's Gate was only able to use more or less basic, sturdy and old-fashioned machinery. The fact had always amused Ri somewhat.

Although old-fashioned, the equipment was certainly functional. It had to be, here in this mysterious and dangerous world. On one of the perimeter weapons towers, an automated turret opened fire with a rattling roar, a stream of tracer rounds lighting up against the darkening sky. A shadowy shape dropped out of the sky, giving an unearthly, piercing shriek. Ri flinched slightly. He disliked death, even if it was for his own safety.

He realized that they had almost reached the entrance. Ahead of them stood the cluster of the base's squat, angular main buildings, their top-level windows almost giving them the look of air-control towers sunk halfway into the ground. Like the rest of the colony, the modules were all concrete and steel, forming a harsh contrast with the dark, mysterious natural world beyond the perimeter.

The group held still at the foremost module, moving in beneath a short, chain-link tunnel that led to a sturdy-looking pair of metal doors. Ri stepped in beside Jason, looking up at the mechanic.

"Running makes for an interesting feeling, doesn't it?" he murmured. Jason gave a half-amused, half-disturbed smile.

"Yeah. That was weird," he answered, shaking his head vigorously as if to clear it of something. "I'm going to have to work out a lot more to make up for the low-g," the large man continued, thoughtfully examining his considerable biceps. Ri rolled his eyes. Of course.

"Hey. At least you can lift more now," he returned, smirking. Jason snorted, but was stopped from replying by Charleston's arrival at the end of the line.

"Okay, people!" The officer made her way through the crowded tunnel towards the doors. "When the airlock opens, move inside in an orderly manner. Masks off only when I tell you to. After that, you follow me to commissary one. All right?"

Without really waiting for an answer, Charleston reached out and tapped a red touchpad to one side of the entrance, turning it green. With a faint, oiled whoosh, the doors slid smoothly apart to admit entrance to a fairly large, square airlock. The colonists slowly filed inside, moving towards the front of the room.

Ri took a quick look around. Opposite the doors they had just come through was an identical pair, leading inside the module. The walls were lined with emergency procedure posters, maps of the facility that labeled this building as CONMOD, or command module, a couple of fire extinguishers and several quick-access rebreather units standing at the ready.

With a low, slow hiss, the airlock activated, drawing the toxic Pandoran atmosphere out and replacing it with a more human-friendly variety. The air turned into a hazy blur as the gases collided in the chamber. Then, it cleared, and the hissing stopped.

"Okay! Exos off!" Ri pulled off the perspex mask, stowing it next to the filter on his belt. In front of them, the airtight doors opened, admitting them into the facility. The group filed in behind the officer, following her into the hallway.

Next to Jason once again, Ri looked around him as they moved along at a fairly swift clip. The modules' halls, like the rest of Hell's Gate, were functional and tough: simple, sturdy, arched hallways of steel and concrete, lit by pale fluorescent lighting, with pipelines and wires in plain sight along the walls and ceiling. At some points, a glass wall offered a view into an adjacent training or computer room.

Like in the airlock, emergency instructions and supplies were placed at regular intervals throughout the halls, along with well-lit directional signs and maps. The concrete support pillars all had a broad, horizontal band of blue painted on them, with a bold 1, indicating the floor level, stenciled at the top.

The entire place reminded him of the Central Sub-Atlantic Research Station (without the water, that is) or one of the other remote-area bases he'd been to. He smirked. This is as remote as they come.

Charleston led them down a short ramp that led into a long, straight hallway. Ri, remembering the maps in the Colonists' User Manual/Orientation Guide, realized that this was one of the tunnels between modules, taking them to one of the habitation modules. Emerging from the hallway into HABMOD 1, they immediately took a left turn, arriving at a pair of stairwells that went up the module.

Charleston gave the directions. "Level six. When we get there, move in, sit down and wait for Mr. Gonzales.


Jason sat back on his bench inside the darkened commissary, looking around him as everybody settled down. The large mess hall, nicknamed Hell's Kitchen by the colonists, was filled with row upon row of benches, which had been turned towards the podium at one end of the room. The benches were filled with the two hundred fresh techs, drivers, soldiers and other arrivals, all of them looking expectantly up at the man on the podium.

Samuel Gonzales was a short, casual-looking Hispanic, with a carefully trimmed goatee and moustache and dressed in a bright Hawaiian shirt and shorts. The colony administrator grinned as he walked up, surveying the crowd in front him. It was a cool, clever smile, with a hard, calculating edge to it.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." He paused, surveying his audience, then theatrically spread his arms. "Welcome to Pandora!" he exclaimed grandly. "Welcome to the new frontier. And welcome to the greatest operation of our age." Gonzales' voice was like the rest of him: quick, smooth and forceful. The man had a certain power to him, a certain charisma. Unexpectedly, Jason found himself getting caught up in the speech.

"The enterprise here has been growing beyond all expectations. Two years ago, we began hitting a huge lode of Unobtanium here at ESM One. We are still nowhere near peak yield. We are standing on the mother of all treasure troves. This entire moon, right here," – he stomped lightly to emphasize the point – "is one huge diamond in the rough. And we get to polish it."

After a short moment, he continued. "A lot has been happening since you all went into stasis, folks." The administrator began giving them a summary of the goings-on in Hell's Gate, aided by the large screen behind him. He proudly showed them the figures and facts of the colony's expansion and enormous profits, interesting discoveries, and the ambitious plans for the coming few years. Jason had to admit, this was all pretty impressive.

Ending the summary, Gonzales paused, his expression darkening. "Like I said, though, this is the new frontier. We are living on the edge of the wilds here. And I can assure you, these wilds can and will kill. We deal on a daily basis with toxins, radiation and vicious wildlife here. Out there, it's one huge hell of oversized monsters." He tapped a key on the computer next to him. On the screen, several examples of Pandoran wildlife and other dangers appeared, slowly revolving to show each menacing detail. Jason recognized some of them from training. Others were totally unfamiliar.

"There are poisonous plants, lethal insects and oversized carnivores out there. The aboriginal humanoids, the Na'vi, don't exactly see eye to eye with us yet." As the little pun was answered by several chuckles, several of the great, blue beings appeared onscreen. "Relations with them are peaceful, but still unstable, and as with everything else here, caution is absolutely necessary. This world, all of it, may seem primitive, but it is unpredictable, tough and deadly. Keep that in mind every minute that you're here."

"In order to ensure everybody's safety, we have strict rules and regulations here, enforced by our Chief of Security, Colonel Mason, who will be discussing them with you in a moment. Everybody is expected to follow them to the letter. I don't think anybody has a problem with that, right?" Silence. Gonzales nodded.

"Good. And that brings us to you. You were all brought here because you are the best of the best. So, tell me," he said, slowly pacing back and forth, intently watching his audience. "Are you going to let some alien critter get the best of you?" There was a general murmur of "No". Gonzales grinned. "Or are we going to show this planet who's boss?" The colonists' reply was far more enthusiastic this time.

"Excellent!" the administrator went on, clearly pleased with his audience. "This colony here is the key to a new age. So who's ready to get out there and make some history?" There were quite a few cheers now, all around the commissary. "Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you all the best of luck on your mission. Thank you." Gonzales waved, then stepped down off the podium, accompanied by a fair amount of applause.

Jason grinned as well, caught up in the enthusiasm of the pep talk. He turned, looking for Ri's reaction. The scientist was sitting quite still, his face a nearly emotionless mask. His eyes were slightly narrowed, and the corners of his mouth turned downwards, giving him a faintly ominous look. Whatever Ri was feeling, it was not excited enthusiasm.

Before Jason could ask anything, a deep, businesslike voice called out through the room. "Settle down, everyone!" A tall, muscular African American in a camouflage uniform stepped up, the lighting gleaming off his clean-shaven head. This was probably Colonel Mason. The man had a cold, hard, commanding presence, silencing the entire room in a few seconds.

"All right. I'm going to keep this simple. I'm Colonel Thomas Mason, Chief of Security Operations here. My word, and that of your other superiors, is law. Like Mr. Gonzales said, that's for everybody's survival." Mason was every inch a stone-cold, businesslike officer. Jason had no intention of disobeying.

Mason wasted no time. "Now, let's go over the facility rules here, just to make sure everybody's got them straight. Rule number one: Exos within reach at all times. Whenever you go outside or hear the alarm, get that thing on your face. You all know what the air will do to you." Yup. CO2 and H2S. Death within minutes, not to mention pretty smelly.

"Rule number two: I don't want to see anyone drunk, drugged or otherwise intoxicated, at whatever time. Anybody caught in that state, or in a physical fight, goes straight to the detention center. No exceptions." Jason nodded, realizing once again that he was going to have to watch it. He was a good enough fellow, but he had a short fuse. More than once, he had gotten into trouble for attacking somebody who had angered him.

Mason went on, laying down the rest of the Pandoran law. The rules were all simple and strict. No unauthorized or unescorted forays OTW, or outside the wire. Stay inside the modules unless your job requires otherwise. No taking anything from outside into the base without clearance, and so on and so forth. Breaking one of the rules meant stiff penalties. The colonel also ran through the base's various drills and situation protocols.

After Mason adjourned the briefing, Officer Charleston walked back up to the front of the commissary. "Okay, everybody, last things for today!" Jason paused to listen as he got up from his seat, shouldering his bag. "You will now go and meet your respective superiors. SecOps, move down to level two and report to Lieutenant Colonel Quaritch. Science, head for SCIMOD. Executive staff, Mr. Gonzales is expecting you in CONMOD, level five. The rest of you, stay here. After the meeting, head for your assigned quarters."

Hell's Kitchen was suddenly filled with activity and chatter as the colonists got up, moving towards the stairs and elevators.

"This way, Jason." Ri appeared next to him, beckoning for him to follow. Jason frowned, remembering the scientist's expression a moment ago.

"Hey, uh, Ri?" he asked as they headed down the stairwell, once again at Ri's usual hurried speed.

"Yes?"

"During the speech back there. Was there something wrong, or…?" He let the question hang there. Ri lightly nodded, taking a moment to form an answer.

"I dislike Gonzales' kind," the scientist finally answered as they descended the last few steps, entering the hallway again. Jason blinked at the oddness of the answer.

"And, by 'Gonzales' kind', you mean…?"

"People who destroy living worlds for personal gain. People who put their wallets before their morals." Ri looked straight ahead as he spoke, his voice with an unexpected, harsh edge to it. "This little operation hardly has the preservation of this environment as its primary concern."

Jason felt a sudden uneasiness at the words. Ri was criticizing the company, speaking as if he practically hated it. And Jason had the nagging suspicion he was right about the situation, too. Much as he hated to admit it, he was working for a company that might well destroy the things that made him join in the first place.

The two of them were, thankfully enough, distracted by a familiar voice behind them. "Hey, Dr. Draakenberg! Mr. DeMarcco!" They turned to see Anna Chang, smiling enthusiastically as she caught up to them. Instead of her lab coat, the AVTR tech was now wearing a vest and jeans.

"Evening, Doctor Chang." Ri replied, smiling back. "Hope you've had a nice trip," he added, a hint of irony in his tone. Chang's smile turned wry.

"Yeah, that wasn't exactly first class, was it? Thanks anyways, though," the doctor answered. "By the way, that's Anna to you two. We're going to be working a lot with each other, and I don't think I could stand six years of titles."

"Okay. I like that idea," Jason said, now grinning as well. He didn't like formalities, either.

"That's settled, then." Chang, or rather, Anna, looked pleased.


With a soft hiss, the glass doors slid open, admitting the three of them to the cool, dark interior of the BioLab. The SCIMOD laboratory was a fairly large complex, divided into sections by glass cubicle walls and the long rows of tables and large, polished equipment. As he walked by, Ri spotted microscopes, sample refrigerators, multi-scanners and a host of other high-end electronics. Standing at their posts, white-coated scientists conducted their research in quiet concentration, intently observing the computer screens.

"Ah, now this is more like it!" Ri remarked, looking around the room. Dark, quiet, and full of state-of-the-art equipment. This was going to be good. He could hardly wait to get to work. Beside him, Anna laughed, looking just as happy as he was with the room.

"Oh, yeah! Science!" she said, giving him a high five. In front of them, Jason turned, giving the two of them a look.

"What?" Ri defensively asked, holding out his hands. "We're scientists. It's what we do!" The mechanic rolled his eyes, turning away.

Just then, a man and a woman, both wearing lab coats, approached them from the back of the lab. The one on the right, a round-faced, bespectacled Asian Indian with a short beard, held out his hand, grinning a welcome.

"Good evening! You must be our new pilots!" Jason nodded.

"Yup. This is Ri Draakenberg, and I'm Jason DeMarcco," he said, gesturing at the two of them

"And I'm Anna Chang, AVTR lab support," Anna finished for him.

"Welcome to Pandora, then! Nice to meet you!" the man said with a quiet enthusiasm, shaking each of their hands. "I'm Max Patel, lab support, and this is Grace Augustine, the head of the AVTR Program," he continued, gesturing at his companion, a strict-faced woman with a short mane of auburn curls. He didn't really have to. Ri had recognized her already.

Dr. Augustine had become more or less a scientific legend. The most senior operative in the Program, she was considered more or less the authority on anything that lived on Pandora's surface.

"Oel ngati kameie, ma toktor," he said, touching three fingers to his brow and then turning his hand palm-up. I See you, doctor. Beside him, Jason mimicked the Na'vi gesture. Dr. Augustine's mouth twitched into a half-smile.

"Huh. Looks like you two did your homework," she remarked, a hand on her hip. A hint of approval showed through her expression. "Good job."

Dr. Patel held up his finger for attention. "I'm sure you two will want to see your avatars," he said, looking at Jason and Ri. "This way," the scientist instructed, turning towards the back end of the lab and gesturing.


"Holy-," Jason managed to bring out as they rounded a long desk, lined with computers and equipment.

"Woah," Ri agreed, coming in beside him,

In front of them, standing on a smooth, open space of lab floor, were the avatar tanks, their soft blue glow highlighting their surroundings. And inside each tank were their full-grown avatars, gently twitching and shifting.

"They came in on the shuttle before you guys, so we only just got them out of their crates," Patel said, walking up to the left-hand tank and scanning the display screens. "And yeah, I know what you mean. This stuff is downright amazing," he continued, admiration showing in his voice. He lightly tapped the curved edge of the tank. "Here's yours, Jason."

"Awesome," murmured Jason, walking up to the tank. The sound of Ri's conversation with Dr. Patel faded into the distance as he stared at the great creature, fascinated.

The avatar floated face-up in the illuminated liquid, arms curled lightly in front of its chest in a sort of fetal position. During the years of space travel, it had grown into full adulthood, with a powerful, lean form and long, almost graceful limbs. Even though it was thin by human standards, its smooth, powerful-looking muscles made it anything but skinny. Jason ran his eyes up and down the hybrid's length, amazed at how gigantic it had become. From head to toes, he had to guess eleven feet, at least.

The hybrid's blue color was accentuated by the horizontal, slightly darker stripes that lined the length of its body. Other than the long hair on its head and the small tuft on the end of the sweeping tail, both drifting like seaweed in the liquid, its skin was completely smooth.

And then the face. Alien and elegant, with a flat, catlike nose; pointed, high-set ears and huge, wide-set eyes, peacefully closed. And yet, it was definitely his face there.

He pressed his hand against the cool glass of the tank, looking at his alien self. Even as he watched, the avatar's limbs twitched, shifting it again inside the womb. It was almost as if it could wake up at any minute, that those giant eyes would snap open and look right at him. It was eerie, exciting and amazing, all at once.

"That's biotech for you," Ri remarked, walking up next to him. He took a good look at the avatar. "Blast, and I thought you were big as a human!" he softly exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. Jason grinned.

"I know. Any bigger and he'd have busted the tank," he replied. "Guess it's all in the genes, huh?"

"Uh-huh." Ri looked back up, turning to leave. "Hey, we'd better go back and see Dr. Augustine. They're going to decant them now."

"All right. When do we link up, by the way?"

"0800 sharp, tomorrow."

"Oh, shweet!"


Author's Note: There! I'm sorry for the long wait, but I had to "recharge" a bit. This chapter's size should make up for that, though. Up next: Waking up as an avatar!