The Balance of Life
Part One - Discovery
Chapter 4 - Part 5--- NewHome
Author's Note:
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"Hell's Gate, this is Sampson One. We will be arriving in ten minutes."
"Roger that, Sampson. I'll open the hanger bay door once you are on the tarmac," Garry answered. "Welcome back. Is everyone okay?"
"We're all doing fine, Gary." Rocky glanced at Zoe who looked more than a little relieved that her first foray outside the compound was about over.
"You're only about thirty minutes a head of the storm front. Looks like we are going to be in for a hell of a blow," Gary announced.
"Yeah, I know. I've been watching it on the radar."
"The atmosphere inside the complex has been fully restored. After you get the Samson shut down you and Zoe come on up to the Ops Center."
"Will do. Hell's Gate in sight. Landing in five."
Gary watched the Samson arriving from the west. It was getting bounced around pretty good in the winds that were already kicking up. He was more relieved to see it that he had admitted to himself while they were gone. He hoped that Zoe had enjoyed her first trip into the wilds of Pandora for the most part. If she hadn't, he hoped she wouldn't blame him too much. From his conversations with Rocky he knew that there had been some pretty intense moments. Hopefully nothing that would leave her emotionally traumatized for the next few days.
When the Samson touched down on the tarmac Gary opened the hanger bay door remotely through his command console. Once the Samson was safely inside he instructed the door to close behind them. Letting his gaze sweep across the tarmac, to the processing plant beyond, he let his thoughts drift to the world outside the perimeter, to their future. To their very uncertain future.
After Quaritch had been killed and his security forces defeated, it had seemed like a great idea to stay on Pandora. There was nothing for him back on Earth. No family, no career, no nothing. His existence had been little more than that of a mole living underground, almost never seeing the sky. Everything had been dark, drab and dull. Here on Pandora he had bright sky, raging storms, lush green forests, a veritable feast for his starving eyes. Now, just a short time after the other humans had been sent back to Earth, he was beginning to get an inkling of what his future was going to be like. Without purpose and someone to share is hopes, his dreams and fears with he knew that he would eventually lose his zest for life. Zoe was the one person that came to his mind. Even if their relationship never became more that friendship he was sure that she would be the balancing force in his life here on Pandora.
Turning from the windows, Gary went back to his console to monitor the approaching storm front via satellite as he waited for Zoe and Rocky to arrive.
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The avatars had jumped down onto the hangar bay floor before the turbines had completely shut down.
"We're going to get Norm's avatar over to the prep room before the storm hits," Buck shouted at Rocky when he opened the cockpit door.
"Better make it quick. The storm's practically on top of us already."
"We'll be back before you even know we're gone."
Rocky watched the four avatars, two carrying Norm's stretcher, two with Hydra door guns, set off at a quick trot towards the door leading to the outside.
"I'll take care of post-fight ops for the Samson," Rocky told Zoe as she came around to where he was standing. "You go on up to the Ops Center. Tell Gary I'll be there as soon as I'm finished here."
"Okay, I'll tell him. Thanks for the…interesting afternoon. Can't say as I've ever had one quite like it or so memorable."
"All part of the service. By the way, you did good today. You can fly with me anytime Zoe."
"Thanks, Rocky."
*-*-*-*-*
"Max, we are just coming through the gate to the training area," Kyle announced through the comm link of the main console in the prep room. "We'll be at the air lock in two minutes."
"We're ready and waiting. The avatar gurney is in the air lock."
When the red warning light indicated that the outer door of the air lock had cycled open Susan and Ron moved over to the inside door, ready to bring Norm's avatar inside once the outer door was cycled closed. Two minutes later when the air lock status light showed green Ron cycled the inner door, opening it fully so that he and Susan could drive the motorized gurney inside the prep room.
"Max, we're going to garb some food and get back to the hanger deck," Kyle informed him as Susan and Ron drove the gurney out of the air lock and positioned at the first station. "The storm is almost on top of us so we won't be long. Gary, are you reading me as well?"
"Reading you load and clear," Gary replied. "You've got about ten minutes at best before it really lets loose."
"We'll eat what we grab once we're back inside the hanger deck. We'd skip the food entirely but it may be some time before we can feed our avatars again."
"So stop talking and start gathering," Gary demanded.
"Already on it, son."
"How are my avatar's vitals?" Norm asked when he came into the prep room.
"Much better that I expected," Susan answered. "If it wasn't for the Na'vi dressing over a very nasty looking wound I would think that everything was normal, from his vitals that is"
"Ralu, Jake and Neytiri's adopted daughter, packed the wound with some local herbal concoction that stopped the bleeding and eased the pain considerably."
"I don't think we'll disturb the dressing on the wound, just monitor your avatar's vitals and see where that leads us."
"Okay, I'm going back in to help Karen. Call me if there is any change."
"Will do." Susan was already hooking up his avatar to the bio monitors before he left the room.
*-*-*-*-*
"So Zoe, how did everything go?" Gary asked when she walked into the Ops Center.
"As I told Rocky, I've never had an experience quite like it. It's a definite first for me."
"No regrets, no wishing you had stayed here instead?"
"No. I wouldn't have missed it for anything."
"All the Geo-Packs are operating normally. We are already getting good telemetry. The storm—and it's going to be a record setter in every single category—is already on top of the packs you installed on the other sub continents."
"Is it less intense in the Hallelujah Mountains like we thought?"
"Yes, although they are getting a lot of electrical activity and rain, they aren't getting the hurricane force winds. The storm appears to be the most severe between the two western sub continents."
"Oh, by the way. Rocky said he'd be here as soon as he finished with the Samson."
"Gary, we are back inside the hanger deck," Buck announced through the comm link. "It's a real bitch out there. I swear the rain drops are the size of golf balls. If we get any hail we are in for some serious damage."
"I'm going to close the rest of the storm shutters," Gary answered into the comm link. It's nearly pitch black out there already."
"As soon as we eat we'll cocoon our avatars. We should be out of the pods in fifteen minutes."
"Tell everyone in the lab to meet us in the mess hall," Gary began. "We'll fill each other in on everything that's happened. I'll alert Roger to start putting something together for the evening meal. Although he probably already has."
"Will do. See you then."
"Zoe, gather as much data on the storm as you can and load it onto a PVC," Gary began. "We're in for a long night and possibly several days."
"I just can't begin to imagine what it must be like for the Na'vi that are outside in something like this. And I don't just mean Jake and his people. All of the other clans are going to have to live through this storm as well."
"I'd tell you not to worry. That they have lived through this kind of thing before, but they haven't. At least not as long as the RDA has been keeping weather statistics."
"I'm afraid that's about all we can do is worry."
"Yeah, you got that right," Gary answered solemnly.
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Author's Note:
Another somewhat shorter post. I am back so I will try to get more time to write longer posts as I have done in the past.
The one problem for you the reader is that a lot of short post over several days cover story time that may only last hours. This dilation of perspective time vs. real time makes events seem longer than they are. It is one of the disadvantages of posting a work in progress. As it will take me a year to write the story I have in mind and I want to share it with you as the story unfolds, this time miss-match is just something we have to live with. Hope I didn't confuse too many people with this statement.
As always, I love to hear back from you, so keep those reviews coming.
Enjoy.