Note: I apologize in advance if I get the sequence of events off a little bit! I tried to be as accurate as possible. Hope you like.
I wish I could say that we had a fantastic morning before it all ended in the bunker. We danced through the Helios as the sun raised, and made out and said we loved each other…but it didn't happen. And I don't think Trudy would want to dance through flowers anyway, not exactly her style.
The day it all ended I woke up before Trudy. Not wanting to disturb her, I went to the small kitchenette and made us some tea. The smell must have woken her up, she was on my heels holding her hand out for a cup after pulling on her t-shirt. She winked at me as she sipped the warm liquid. While we had our moments of lounging in the morning, I remembered that Trudy had another run to do. Work to be done. Trudy kissed my cheek left the bunker without a word, though she took her tea with her.
When she left I smiled to myself. There was that silence again. Trudy seemed to enjoy silence, unless it involved our love making. Then she preferred quite the opposite. I mused on this thought as I moved towards the work that Grace wanted me to finish the night before. Hopefully I would finish before she returned and avoid her wrath. Or maybe she would be so giddy over Jake's initiation she wouldn't care.
Just as my eyes reached the microscope, I heard a cry. I lifted my head, not recognizing it at first. Then I heard it again.
"Norm!" Trudy cried out from outside of the bunker, "They're here!" Her voice was dwarfed then from the sounds of the machines. The sound of the Colonel, and then beginning of the end.
I ran towards the door but they came in before I could reach it.
"You can't come in here! They're plugged in. You can't-" The butt of a gun collided with my stomach and I was on the ground. I had no idea what was happening. Why they were pulling us away like this? All I knew was that I wanted to stay in the bunker where I was happy…and it was obvious that the RDA wasn't going to comply.
I heard the release of pressure. Grace screaming, Jake calling out. Trying to make sense of it all. A second later Marine's were practically dragging both Jake and Grace out of the bunker. I felt a Marine's arm tightly holding my forearm, I raised myself to my feet although my stomach was dreadfully sore.
When I was pulled out of the bunker, I remembered feeling like the sun was so bright. I squinted even from behind the glass of my exopack mask. Allowing my eyes to open slightly I saw the Colonel staring down Trudy. My heart leaped into my throat.
"I'm disappointed in you Chacon," His deep husky voice uttered, "In fact, I would say you did a piss poor job. You put up your boots and enjoyed your time off, turn yourself a blind eye to these treehuggers? You should have been sending me detailed reports on when and where fucking Jake Sully pissed. You hear me?"
Trudy stood her ground, standing at attention as I knew was required. But I knew that she was just waiting for him to finish. Then I knew what would happen next, Trudy would spit in his face or say something sarcastic. She'd kick him in the shins, or make a face at him.
"You got me, Chacon? You may have left the Marine's to fly, but you're one of us. And if I ever catch you playing nice with the scientists, I'll rip your pretty face off, comprende?"
I listened carefully wanting to see her retribution.
Instead I heard her say, "My apologies, sir. Won't happen again." And the thing that killed me about it, she was sincere.
As I was loaded into the car, I tried to catch her eyes. When I finally met hers they were cold and uncaring. Maybe it was a dream after all.
It all happened so fast when we returned to base. Pleading for the Na'vi with Selfridge who only wanted money. Begging for more time to work and less to deal with people like Quatrich. But Jake ended up burying us all, admitting that the Na'vi didn't want a thing. Only to be left alone. Hearing all this, and sitting down in the labs, I wondered for a moment if it was a mistake to come to Pandora. I could be on Earth right about now. Sharing a two bedroom apartment with my sister. Maybe teaching some classes down at the college, having lunch with my mother who was a professor herself. Finding someone who wasn't repulsed by me. Have kids. Have a normal and perfectly boring life.
But I knew I wouldn't be happy. Not when I knew what true happiness really was. Researching a people that I respected like no other, and…Trudy. Forget it, I thought to myself at the time, maybe Grace was right. She had to be. As if Trudy wanted to prove me wrong she showed up right then, her helmet in her arm.
I stood up, while Jake and Grace looked at Trudy warily. She hadn't given us up, but she didn't exactly take a bullet for us either.
Trudy spoke before we had an opportunity to comment. "Quatrich's gonna hit hometree," She said simply. Grace and Jake moved right away. No words were needed, just movement to end this. To try and stop it by any means necessary. I started to follow them, but Trudy wasn't going anywhere. Glancing over her shoulder, her eyes met mine. Once again, the warm Trudy I had known was replaced by a cold one. It was like she didn't even recognize me.
I should have known better to just leave it at that. Run away, and let my heart repair itself after the Na'vi were safe. But I was, above all things, angry. Seeing her there and knowing that a part of her gave a damn. A part of her had to, she came down here after all. At the same time though, I noticed while Trudy wasn't running towards her Samson, she was dressed to fly. Dressed to take part in all of this, and she seemed to show no hesitance. So deep down, Trudy didn't want anything to do with this…but she was ignoring that part of her. Now, she was that ice cold Marine the Colonel wanted her to be. Yeah, I was angry.
"You're flying down with them are you?" I asked feeling a slight pang to my chest as I did because my words were as cold as her eyes. "You're gonna actually do this. You're gonna kill the Na'vi." The realization that the sweet girl who just wanted to fly and be happy was going to turn killer after today wisped through my words.
"It's my orders," She said simply enough. Her words seemed detached. "It's my job, Norm."
I just snorted shaking my head in disbelief. "You were the one that said that you wanted to help people. That you were sick of being a pack mule. Well, guess what Trudy, you're no longer a pack mule, now you're an executioner," I spat then finding my feet.
"That is not fair," Trudy growled running after me, not caring that I refused to meet her eyes. "What am I supposed to do? What do you want me to do? Say no? You don't fucking know the Marines, Norm. You can't play peace with these guys. They'll put a bullet in your head."
"In a pack mule's head?" I asked knowing that Trudy wasn't one of the higher ups. "The Colonel wouldn't even know if you weren't out there. He has too many other things on his mind. One less Samson wouldn't make an ounce of difference, but you're going to go anyway."
I could see that Trudy's fists were clenched tightly, and I didn't hear that ever present smack of her gum. Yeah, she was just as pissed as I was. "Yes, I am. I don't have a place to run and hide Norm. I have to come back here eventually, where else will I go? I don't have family on Earth anymore…this is all I have."
"I thought you had me," I muttered to her before slamming the glass elevator door in her face. And that comment, that seemed to melt her eyes. Trudy looked away, like she always did when she was trying to hide emotion, but I knew I got to her. I could see the water in her eyes, although she would never let them fall now.
I had hoped that she would stop me, join me, but she ran towards the hanger. I knew that I should think that this would be our last exchange. That she was out of my life forever, but I saw her break. I had faith that Trudy would do the right thing in the end. I had faith in her.
"What do we do now?" I asked Grace and Jake quietly though the both of them didn't seem so interested in anything now beyond recovering from what just happened. Hometree was destroyed. Jake's relationship with Neytiri was destroyed. The three of us sat there in a cell, waiting for God knew what. It felt like the world was coming to an end.
Grace sighed running her hands through her hair. "Wait for Parker to take pity on our asses and send us back to Earth probably. Fuck," She uttered kicking the wall in frustration.
"I can't believe this is happening," Jake whispered. Jake looked like I felt. While he didn't give me the details at the time, I know now that Neytiri completely rejected him when she heard his original purpose in joining the Na'vi. I couldn't completely blame her for being upset, although it was clear on his face that he loved her. That all of the Marine crap that he started off with was gone now.
I had recently come to the realization that Jake was now more Na'vi than human. And watching him sit there in his human body, he just seemed so lost and out of place.
Grace wasn't too much better. She'd fought those Marines so hard when they pulled her away from the lab. Just like I had. But all of the fight seemed to be gone from her now. Grace Augustine had given up. That fact alone terrified me, and told me that we'd be lucky if we made it to Earth. Maybe Selfridge would lose his roller coaster conscience and leave us here to starve. Or send us out into space without oxygen. It would have to be a "mistake" of course he wouldn't want to ruin the RDA's image, but he could get away with killing us. He'd just gotten away with massacring hundreds of living creatures who were so very different from us, but so much more similar than anyone would accept.
I couldn't wallow anymore, I still had hope. And I had believed that maybe my hope could transfer over, I know. I was an idiot.
"Maybe…maybe Trudy will…maybe she'll come up with something," I brought up. There hadn't been any word from her, and it wasn't like Jake and Grace could find her Samson from the crowd to see if she was firing on them or not.
Grace seemed less than enthusiastic about that idea. "Really?" She asked staring at me as if I was an idiot. "I know that you two had…something going on which I really suggested you against, by the way, but don't be stupid, Spellman. You've seen the last of Trudy Chacon."
"I talked to her when you guys ran down," I said slowly and carefully as if I was talking to a child. Right now Grace was so hurt by all that had happened, I knew I was treading on thin ice as it was. "I think I got through to her."
"Maybe you go through her pants, Norm, but that's about it," Grace laughed harshly. I caught a glimpse of Jake wincing at that. He knew that I cared for her. "I told you, don't you get it? All she cares about is keeping that metal bird of hers in the sky. And do you know who owns her Samson? It sure as hell ain't her. She's not gonna risk losing that for anything. Wow, I thought you were really smart, Norm, I guess I was mistaken. Some people…they don't have hearts."
"No. No they don't," Jake echoed quietly though I doubted he was talking about Trudy.
I knew this wasn't a time to argue philosophy, but I couldn't believe that about anyone. Even the Colonel, somewhere had to have a heart didn't he? But one thing that I knew was that Trudy did. Even if Grace didn't believe it….she did. I pulled my legs up to my chin. "I don't believe it."
We sat in silence then. No one wanting to prophesize our doom more than we already had. A few minutes later there was a sound of doors opening. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her. It was Trudy pushing a cart of food, talking to the guardsman.
I tried not to look. We all looked away…what the hell was she doing here? Pilots didn't often deliver food. My heart was pounding hard and fast. What if this…could it? I closed my eyes and thought, 'Prove her wrong, baby. Prove her wrong.'
Just then Trudy pulled out a gun on the guard. "Trudy!" I cried out in triumph. Instantly Grace and I were on our feet. Max slipped in letting us out of our cell. I didn't know what to do when I met Trudy again, I was in such awe. At first I just simply walked up to her as she cuffed the man on the ground. Looking up at me, she grinned like nothing had happened at all. There was only warmth in her, that coldness was gone.
"What? Did you think I would leave you here? I gotta get out of here anyway. They're gonna be pretty pissed when they figure out I still have just as much ammo as I did when I left the hanger…" Trudy explained simply although she was saying so much more. I had gotten to her. She hadn't fired on the Na'vi, and now she was here to save us. I was in love with a superwoman.
A grin spread across my face. "Baby, you rock."
She laughed her whole face lighting up. "Yeah, I know. C'mon, Romeo, we gotta get out of here." She tossed me a gun and we lead Grace, Jake, and Max, heading towards the hanger. And to freedom.
