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Chapter 9: Let the Sky Fall
Date: 4:23 PM, September 19th, 2174
Location: Tartarus, Pandora, Alpha Centauri A System
Parker Selfridge watched the holoimage passively as the exercise was conducted near Hell's Gate. The wastes around the mine where they had once set up prefabs and make-shift garages to run the massive operation were now largely abandoned.
Despite the level at which Hell's Gate had been overrun, the local flora had not encroached as badly on the massive crater or the region around it. He had meant to ask Patel about it, but dreading a long scientific diatribe, he had elected to simply accept it.
The rough footing provided by encroaching vines, young saplings, and random boulders had made it into a useful training ground for conducting exercises. In addition, its location and size meant that very few animals ever went near the place, preferring to stay within the cover of the trees.
For the third time, he watched the majority of their air force roar in from over the mine, the Dragon and Samsons swooping low to drop off their cargo of men and machines even as the Scorpion squadron flocked into defensive positions around them.
He checked the time as the men of the Second Company piled out, AMP suits dropping from the Dragon.
"Faster than last time," he glanced back up as they fanned out into a skirmish line, "Neater too."
Kozlov let out a light snort from his place nearby, shaking his head, "They should have done this well on their first try yesterday, not their third today." he rumbled.
He could only agree helplessly. The Austrians had been part of the select force picked by Weigand to reinforce them, to fill in a gap he perceived in the rest of their units capabilities, which now worked against them.. Oh, they were good troops, solidly trained and equipped. They were veterans of a dozen border-wars and resource conflicts in the Balkans and South America. To put it simply, they were among the best in their trade.
Which was the problem.
They were Gebirgsjaeger.
Mountain infantry.
The tough Austrians would have been perfect for leading any assault on the Hallelujah mountains and the Tree of Souls, or any of the half-dozen clans they had identified that lived within the both the floating mountains as well as the more traditional range beneath them. That was most likely why Weigand had selected them all of those years ago.
But with the original First and Second companies effectively annihilated in the Battle of Tartarus, they had been forced to make do with what they had.
Even though Prochnow drilled his men incessantly, far more than any other company, the problem still lay in the fact that both he and his men were used to operating in a very different environment, with far less support.
The lone hunter mentality that had served them well in the Andes and Balkan mountains, but it would get them killed on Pandora.
He nodded with very slight approval as the rest of the exercise ran far better than the previous several attempts, the men advancing rapidly over the uneven terrain and painting simulated targets for the air corps to engage.
A small group of Kozlov's men moved with them, the distinctive long, cylindrical barrels of their sniper rifles making them stand out as they carefully selected their own 'targets', pausing to fire a simulated round before moving to other vantage points.
"How are your men handling the weapons?" he asked, mostly to start a conversation as the simulation ended and the men grouped up to wait for the gunships to land and pick them up.
The Russian shrugged his broad soldiers, "As good as can be expected. Maintaining them is severely difficult, but the firepower they provide is extreme."
Parker did some mental math, "You think it's wise sending a third of them with the attack force?"
Another shrug, "Four rail-rifles will not make a difference either way. We held them once before, we can do so again, and if it is our fate to die as our comrades did, then we may only hope that we kill as many as our friends took to hell with them."
He's gotten so...philosophically grim since the battle. He mused inwardly, while outwardly shrugging in turn, "Don't think that will happen this time."
"Perhaps not." the other man leaned down, eyes gazing at the various icons as the First took to the air and began to circle north to run through the simulation yet again.
The two listened with half an ear to the comm chatter as the Ops-Center staff reset the computer programs while the squadrons began to fall into formation once more.
Kozlov broke the silence between them with an unexpected question, "What do you think of her plans?"
The change in topic took him off guard, and it took him a moment to gather his thoughts, "Thomes'?"
"Da." the other man nodded, not taking his gaze off the icons as the two companies began the drill once more.
Parker frowned slightly. Of course he had his own opinions of what Maria and Theodas had come up with, but he had no idea why Kozlov was asking him about it.
"They're probably as good of plans as we're going to get given our capabilities. No one wants to sit on the defensive again, even though that would probably guarantee a victory for us. She'd have a revolt on her hands if she did, the men and women on base want to hit back instead of being hit." he spoke slowly at first, speeding up slightly as he saw the Russian captain nod, "That's my miners included. A lot of them were at Hell's Gate, and those years of living under siege were quite enough for them."
He glanced aside at his companion again, tilting his head, "Why?'
The other man also frowned and took a moment before he responded, "They are solid enough plans, and should be more than adequate as far as defeating and deterring the blue-skins. What worries me far more is their goddess."
It did not take him more than a moment to figure out Kozlov's train of thought, "You think that even if we kick the crap out of them that she'll keep throwing animals at us?"
"Da." a nod, "I fear that she will be persistent, and that we will indeed have to destroy her tree, and that in turn could mean that yet more blue-skins make the trek to do battle with us."
"You talk with her about this?" he cocked his head to one side, looking at but not paying attention to the holoimage.
"Da, of course."
"And she said?"
"That she already was considering what might happen and to shut up and get out of her way so she could berate Prochnow in person."
He chuckled slightly, "I take it you did this last night?"
The Russian cracked a small smile, "Inexcusable, I know. I intend to speak with her tonight, hoping that perhaps the better performance on the field will improve her mood enough to have a civilized conversation."
Still smiling lightly the two once more focused on watching the exercise, the two companies once more managing to run it nearly flawlessly, though still slightly behind the target time.
"A week." Kozlov rumbled finally as they final run of the day ended. "Until they are ready enough to not botch the assault.."
He arched an eyebrow, "Think the natives will give us that time?"
The Russian thought it over before responding, "Perhaps. They will seek to move with more caution and less haste this time, and that will buy us a few days, at least. But are they unified under one banner, or will some seek to move with more speed?"
"I guess time will tell." Parker spoke quietly, grimacing slightly, and feeling very, very glad that, if things went according to plan, even vaguely so, he wouldn't be anywhere near the fighting this time.
Date: 7:14 PM, September 19th, 2174
Location: Eastern Sea Clan territory, Pandora, Alpha Centauri A System
His banshee squawked irritatedly as he dismounted and ceased their bond, its eyes gazing darkly at the equally disdainful Ocean banshees that were resting on the shelf overhanging the water.
Patting his friend upon his nose, Jake Sully gave him a slight smile and a word of assurance that they would not be staying long before moving towards the warriors even now moving to greet him.
"I see you, Toruk'makto Jake'Sully." A scarred warrior greeted, the burn scarring along his right arm accented by the warpaint he bore.
"I see you, honored warrior. I must speak with your Olo'eyktan, it is a matter of urgency."
The warrior regarded him, "If you seek to find support for your son here, you will find none, Tourk'makto. We have had enough of doing war with the sky people."
His long-dead and mourned brother would have said something clever to divert attention from what he intended to ask. He wasn't like that, he was a marine.
"I'm not here to ask her to fight beside my son. I'm here to ask her to fight against him." he stated bluntly.
A deathly silence fell across the cavern as all activity within ear-shot ceased, and all eyes turned to stare at him.
"You would ask us to fight on the side of the aliens?" the warrior demanded.
"No." he shook his head, hoping to explain before everyone jumped to conclusions and rejected him on general principles, "I have no love for them. I want to stop him before they are even involved, before they can use their weapons to destroy yet more clans."
Another warrior, bearing a small scar upon his chest that no doubt had a match upon his back, stood up, "Even if we did desire to intervene in their conflict, what would we few be able to do?"
"You aren't the first clan I've visited. You won't be the last." he stated, trying to sound bold, and not let the deep pain of what he was doing shine through, "Yes, you are few. Yes, you have suffered. But you have fought against the sky people, against weapons that you could never have imagined in your darkest nightmares. You have watched mates, children, friends, all die to their weapons. You know pain."
He turned slowly, regarding the clan, "And because of that, you are strong. Far stronger than my son or any of the warriors who will flock to his banner. On the homeworld of the sky people, there was once a great battle, more than a hundred seasons ago. It was part of war that gripped the entire world, from end to end. A small force of brave veterans, outnumbered more than five to one, and wielding only the most basic of their weapons against the most modern machines of war, did not lose to their superior enemy. They did not flee before them. They attacked with all the canny and wisdom of patient hunters, and so utterly defeated the enemy that they never again attempted to attack that region."
Their attention was utterly upon him now, "Yes, we are few. Yes, we are weary and sick of battle. Yes, we do not want to see yet more death, least of all upon the arrows of our kin. But it is because of that fear, that tiredness, that weakness, that we are the only ones who can stop my son now. We know that we are not immortal, that Eywa cannot stretch down and block the weapons that seek to slay us.
A flash of red caught his eye, as Tun strode forwards from the rear of the cave, crossing her arms and watching him as he continued, "I know.. that you have no wish to fight against our own kin. That such a thing has not happened since the earliest times of great sorrow. I.." he fought to keep his voice even and eyes clear, "I have no wish to fight my son... or my very mate.. but I cannot let them continue. Cannot let a war begin that will wreathe our world in fire. Some members of my own clan stand by me. The Green River clan told me that they would only join if you did. If you do not, I will understand, but my warriors and I will fight, even though we know that we will go to our doom."
He lowered his head slightly, "Tun.. the choice is yours to make. I am not here as Toruk'makto. I doubt she would come even if I called, or that Eywa would allow our bond. I'm here as a man who has lost all but my daughters.. and I refuse to lose them as I have lost everything else that I love and hold dear. I don't know who I am inside. If I am one of the People or still a Sky Person. All that matters now is that Grace and Sylwanin live to grow old, grow to love, and live lives in peace, not what the pain and battle that we have had to live through."
Sitting slowly, he kept his head bowed, "Tun.. choice is yours."
Silence fell, and he could feel the gazes of the clan shifting away from him, turning to their leader in both body and spirit.
It felt like an eternity before she answered.
"Toruk'makto calls. And we will answer."
There was no wild cheering as had happened all those years past when he had come, no sense of excitement.
Instead, a weary sort of acceptance seemed to fall over the clan, men and women nodding slowly, bracing themselves for actions they had no desire to do, but that which they knew must be done.
An arm braced around his shoulders as Tun heaved him up to his feet, "Come, let us talk in privacy."
He followed her numbly, not even feeling any sort of accomplishment for having secured two clans to his own coalition.
The two moved deeper into the cavern, eventually coming to the private alcoves and moving into the tsahik's.
Gratefully accepting a small bowl of spirits, he drank the fiery liquid and felt it burn his throat and spread warmth into his body.
"Thank you." he spoke softly.
She grimaced, "For the spirits, you are welcome. For the rest.. thank me once we have one, and are able to leave our despair behind, if we ever are."
He smiled sadly and raised his cup in a salute, "If we ever are." Taking another sip, he glanced around the small 'room'.
It reminded him greatly of Mo'at's own alcove, though it was obvious that Tun actually slept and lived within the chamber, rather than using it only for her spiritual duties. Nicks and knacks littered the walls and floor, hanging from strings or resting upon the ground. All probably had some significance to her, though he was not sure what exactly. A hammock had been squeezed in, made from what looked like hide from a Thanator, and it was what she rested upon.
"Your mate... Neytiri. She truly will fight beside her son?" Tun asked eventually, as both finished their saucers.
Jake glanced at the ground once more, "Her injury won't let her fight, and for that I am glad, but she will support him and encourage what few members of our clan had not decided to join him."
The painted leader paused before she asked yet another painful question, "If it comes down to it, would you fire the arrow that ends his life?" There was no need to explain who he was.
Memories of a young, smiling face, laughing and running, covered in mud, riding a Pa'li for the first time, a dozen more, rose to the surface of his mind.
"I.. do no think that I could." he replied eventually, "I think.. I think Pey'ral knew that, and that is why she chose to do what she did. Could.." he couldn't ask the question.
She closed her own eyes and bowed her head, "I cannot promise that I will meet him on the field of battle, or that it will not pain me to kill the son of a friend. But.. if I do meet him.. I will spare you the pain of what must be done."
He opened his mouth to thank her, closed it without speaking, and instead merely nodded.
Date: 9:45 AM, September 20th, 2174
Location: Omaticaya Kelutral, Pandora, Alpha Centauri A System
Neytiri watched as her son spoke with his new mate and the other warriors of his young cabal. He was deep in planning, and had been ever since he had awoken, seeking to emulate his father in how Jake had originally planned their raids upon the tawtute.
It warmed her heart, but also filled it with sadness.
Her son, despite all of his bluster and words, truly loved his father, and wished to make him proud. Yet his father wanted nothing to do with his plans, and had even gone off, leaving the clan, without a word to explain his departure.
Even to me. He tail twitched behind her, attempting to swirl slowly in response to her rising depression.
As she watched, several of the older warriors moved past Tsu'tey, and ignored his ritual greeting as they headed out to begin the day's hunt.
It is as though there are two clans, with bad blood between them, forced to live beside one another. She watched with sadness as Tsu'tey watched them pass before shaking his head and resuming his debate.
It would hurt less if her mate stood beside her, ready to stand and fight for Eywa as he once did.
Now... now he doubted the Great Mother, doubted himself, his son, doubted her.
He was slipping back into the being she had first met in the forest so long ago, a warrior that did not know his own heart, lost and flailing in confusion.
And this time, he was not letting her hold onto him, guide him along the proper path.
He is forgetting to See.. forgetting to hear the pain of the trees and the cries of Eywa as the animals are slain for no reason by the aliens. Forgetting the pain that they have caused and will continue to cause. I know that he gave his oath to them that he would not fight them, but he should still be here, supporting his son against them.
It was frustrating. He could do so much good here, with her. With him, those warriors who still had no desire to fight would fall in behind their son, would lend their wisdom and expertise.
Instead, it fell to her shoulders to convince those she could to raise their bows in Eywa's name.
She liked to think that she had done all that she could. As the future tsahik and daughter of her still remembered and lamented father, she had convinced many to fight for Eywa, reminding them who they were.
Others.. what the others had said worried her greatly.
"The Olo'eyktan has given us duties that we cannot depart from, honored Neytiri." one had said, and others had spoken in a similar manner, refusing to elaborate further.
That they spoke with the evasion so characteristic of the tawtute had worsened many of the clans attitude regarding that group, but as they continued to hunt and bring in enough food to feed the clan even as Tsu'tey and the others prepared for war, there was little impetuous to demand more clear explanations.
Ean'atane had even suggested that perhaps Jake had told them to keep the clan fed and defend the kelutral while the rest of the warriors went to battle. After all, that is what he had done years prior.
It was a neat enough explanation, but it did not explain why he had gone off on his own, or why her mother had become a complete recluse, speaking shortly to any who talked with her and spending the majority of her time meditating or communing with the forest.
She sighed and relaxed, shaking such thoughts from her mind.
Once the aliens have been driven back to the stars, to their dying world, once more, we will be able to be a family again, able to laugh, smile, cry, and comfort in peace.
Date: 11:48 PM, September 20th, 2174
Location: Tartarus, Pandora, Alpha Centauri A System
She could feel the light beating down upon her, even with her eyes shut, and the harsh metallic scent of tawtute machines filled the air, as did a quiet, repeating sound she had not heard before.
Her body ached, especially her stomach. It was the deep-set ache of a wound slow to recover, rather than the stabbing pain of something fresh.
Grimacing, she opened her eyes slowly to blindingly white light.
Gasping softly, she shuts them swiftly.
Instantly she heard a tawtute nearby exclaim something, and she heard several pairs of feet thundering about before two small hands rested on her lower arm and Norm'spellman's voice reached her ears.
"Pey'ral, can you hear me?"
Her throat was very dry, but she managed to croak out "Yes."
"Do you remember what happened?"
The fight with Tsu'tey. The blinding pain of his blade slamming into her body before everything had turned to black.
"Tsu'tey."
"It tore you about pretty bad," the toktor spoke softly, "We had to bring you to Tartarus to heal you, but you're going to be hurt for a very long time."
That she would be injured for quite some time did not surprise her, that the tawtute had healed her did.
"Why?"
Norm'spellman didn't try to misunderstand her as she would have expected many tawtute would have, "To be honest, I do not know. Jake spoke with our leader as soon as you were injured, and whatever was said convinced her to send us to save you."
She frowned lightly, and very slowly opened her eyes again, letting them adjust as best they could to the harshly unnatural light.
The room was a very odd shade of white, filled with various machines, all of which were emitting lights or noise.
Norm'spellman was standing at her side, watching her carefully, and another tawtute toktor lingered nearby, glancing over what looked like a tablet of some form.
Grimacing as the ache in her stomach deepened, she glanced over her own body, and felt her throat protest as she gasped quietly.
Wires from the machines and strange tubes were connected to her body.
The toktor noticed her gasp and her gaze, and he spoke quickly, "It's ok Pey'ral! I'ts ok!"
She tried to move her hands and arms to tear the devices out, only to grimace as her arms remained in place, her eyes finally noticing the cloth-looking bindings wrapped around her that prevented her from moving her arms.
"Get them out!" she hissed as best she could, her throat once more reminding her that it had no desire to continue to make noise.
"They're keeping you alive! Calm down and listen, please!" he almost begged.
A few more vain struggles later she allowed her tired body to relax, and turned her head to glare at the totktor, letting her expression do the demanding for her.
"They're keeping you alive." he repeated, "They're giving you medicine, right into your blood, so that it works as quickly as possible."
She glared at him, and then at the tubes for a moment, noticing only now the ache that accompanied them.
"When?" she croaked out angrily.
He glanced at the other toktor and spoke rapidly in his own tongue, the other man replied and he translated, "We will have to speak with the senior healers, but he thinks it should only be a day or two before we can switch you over to other medicines, ones that you swallow."
She continued to glare.
Hands held apart, he spoke placating, "I know it isn't now, but you have to be patient or you'll do more damage to yourself, and then they'll have to heal you again, and then they'll be in for even longer."
Giving the tubes another glare, she rested her head back on the strangely comforting object behind her and closed her eyes, trying to forget the sight of machine parts stretching into her.
Trying to change the subject, Norm continued to speak, "You've slept for two days now, since the duel. I know that you did knock Tsu'tey out but that he wasn't overly injured, but we haven't had any communication with the Omaticaya since then. John hasn't answered on the radio, and our Olo'eytkan doesn't want to send any of our warriors to see what is happening."
The other tawtute interjected something, and she listened with half an ear as he replied, footsepts moved around her before something cool was pressed to her lips.
"Drink, you need the water." Norm said softly.
She sipped carefully as he raised whatever cool container the water was held in to her lips. The water was strange, far more tasteless than she was used to, and very very cold.
It felt delicious running down her sore throat, even as the toktor resumed talking, "Nobody here knows what Jake is up to or what's going on. They're all preparing for war, the warriors are training constantly. I don't know what the plan is, they haven't told us much, or let us sit in on the meetings. The rumor is that they're waiting to choose between launching a land attack and avoiding killing non-warriors as much as they can, or.."
She nodded and he took the water away as she finished, "Or?" she asked, already guessing the answer.
"Or.. or just hitting you from as far away as their weapons can reach, destroying everything they can that way, and then... moving in and finishing what's left." he explained, sounding extremely uncomfortable.
Her spirit deflated slightly, though it was already sunk deep into misery, "How long?"
There was a long silence, "Maybe.. maybe six or seven days. Maybe not that long."
"How long until I can walk on my own?"
"Very carefully, maybe six or seven days, but you won't be hunting anything for the rest of the season."
"So I will not be able to take part in the mess that I helped create."
"You didn't help create anything," his tone was suddenly absolute, causing her to open her eyes and blink blearily at him in surprise, "You've done everything you can to prevent it, even putting your life on the line. Yes you failed, but at least you were able to try."
"I failed, and in doing so-"
He reached out and rapped his small hand on her forehead, looking annoyed now, "Yes, you failed to beat sense into the moron. At least you tried. What of his own mother, who roots him on? Or Jake? Who couldn't make up his mind until you got a spear slammed into your stomach? Or me and Max? Stuck here, unable to even try, only able to watch and grimace with each day's bad news."
She blinked once more at him. The huntress had never heard the mild-mannered, always formal toktor actually sound or looked annoyed before, and now, here he was, a being no larger than a child, berating and lecturing her as though she was a mere infant.
What was worse, he was succeeding in making her feel like an infant throwing a tantrum as he went in to further, frustrated detail about what it was like to be forced to remain here, even as events unfolded within the kelutral that he could do nothing to stop or change.
Smiling slightly as Norm'spellman finally wound down, she let herself drift amidst the comfort of the strange bedding, feeling sleep wash over her even she half-heartedly struggled against it.
Norm, not noticing that the person to whom he was delivering his diatribe was now fast asleep, continued on in his vain for nearly another pair of minutes before the nurse behind him snapped his fingers next to his head.
"Spellman! Spellman! She fell asleep dude." the nurse, sounding faintly annoyed as he moved past the slightly stunned doctor and began to check the various monitors.
Feeling rather foolish, and feeling his ears burn, Norm muttered "Oh." before beating a quick retreat towards the Apartment block, hoping that sleep might make him a bit less wound up for the next time she awoke.
Next up is Chapter 10: Rising Storms
So, this chapter would have been out several hours ago, but then the Philadelphia-Montreal game came on, and then the state of the union came on after that, so.. yeah, anyways, at least it isn't days late like I have a bad habit of.
This chapter started off a bit slow when I was writing it, but I really got into certain parts as you can no doubt guess, rather like how it came out, hope you all do as well.
As this chapter was the, effective, prelude to this act, in the next chapter we will see the planning begin full bore on both sides as all three factions gear up for war.
Wow, loving the reviews, please keep them up!
Also, I do try to respond to questions as best I can, but I can also be rather forgteful, so if I don't respond before the next chapter is up send me a PM cuz I probly forgot entirely.