Chapter 35 – Falling Stars

Several hours later, aboard the Dark Miner…

An alarm sounded on the bridge as the Sensor Control Operator called out, "We have a proximity alert in low orbit!" The bridge Watch Officer quickly walked over to see what caused the alarm. As we walked, the officer yelled, "Shut off that damned alarm." A moment later the alarm was silenced as he leaned over the shoulder of the Sensor Control Operator. The Operator stated, "We're tracking twelve unknown bogies. The objects are small but apparently under power because they're making course corrections. Atmospheric insertion is estimated in four minutes, eighteen seconds. Mark! Projected touch down will be somewhere near the old RDA Hell's Gate facility." The Watch Officer straightened up and said, "Let's prep two 'Ready-Alert' fighters, while I get the approval for a recon-mission. The Operator replied, "I'm on it, sir."

The Watch Officer went back to his station to wake up his superiors with the news. After what appeared to be a one-sided conversation the Watch Officer finally replied, "Understood sir. We'll stand down immediately." Several seconds passed as the Watch Officer stood silent as if he was having trouble comprehending his orders, when the Sensor Control Operator called out, "Sir, I'm waiting for a 'Go, No-Go' order!" The Watch Officer walked back over to the Operator and said with a nonchalant tone, "Call it off." The Operator replied, "Sir?" Again, the Watch Officer said, "Call it off. Those are Mr. Porter's direct orders and don't ask questions." The Operator just nodded slowly while he sent the recall order. The Watch Officer shook his head as walked back to his station and slowly the bridge returned to its normal operating rhythm.

Meanwhile in the forest at Hometree, the sky grew brighter as dawn approached…

Niysia and I had awakened earlier than usual so we could be there when Mi'niri departed. Jake and Moat were waiting for us at the edge of the village. Jake told us that Neytiri had stayed behind in their hammock to take care of Tarya. Apparently she hadn't slept well during the night.

It was a kind of suffering new to the Omaticaya and since my arrival I'd noticed many Na'vi with these troubles, even Niysia. Before the Sky People had come the Omaticaya had never known such extreme suffering on a mass scale. Even Jake suffered from it. Whether or not his was from 2154 or back on Earth its effects were still noticeable to the experienced eye. If a diagnosis were made, I suspect it would be 'Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome,' and of course the children would be most susceptible to its bloody effects. I made a low grunt and sigh as I tried to hold back my frustration at the wrongs done by those who had come before me.

Jake said, "Nathan, you look bothered. Everything okay?"

I nodded, "I'm fine. Sorry to hear about Tarya." Jake nodded gratefully at my concern and pressed on with the business at hand.

As the group's attention was focused on the details of the message to Mi'niri's people and the invitation for the High Plains clan, Wokan swooped into a fast landing on his Ikran. He frantically jumped to the ground and excitedly said, "Jake, Jake!" He pointed into the distant sky and continued, "Look at the falling stars! I've never seen so many at one time, all falling in the same direction."

All of us stood there a few seconds, watching the fiery streaks as they blazed a path across the sky. Unlike other falling stars we'd seen, these appeared to be burning just as bright as when they started, and they seemed to be slowing down as the fell toward the forest.

We each called out to our individual Ikrans to come to us and they came. Quickly, they swooped out of Hometree's many branches, to land in front of their individual riders. I patted Blood Stripe on the side of his long head above his eyes, connected with him, and mounted, his wings spread wide. His size was on par with Jake's Ikran. I sometimes wondered if they were brothers as well.

Once everyone was mounted, we took flight. The powerful flock of Ikran quickly gained altitude and I could see better the direction of the falling stars. Jake pointed to one of the highest big limbs of Hometree as a good vantage point to watch the falling stars come down. A few seconds later, we landed and dismounted our Ikrans. We just stood in silence as we watched the twelve falling stars streak across the sky toward the Pandoran forests below. I rationalized that a normal shooting star would have burned out by now, or already hit the ground, but these were different somehow.

Wokan said, "Look, they are coming down somewhere near the old Sky People's colony."

Jake said, "I've never seen anything like it before."

Niysia, Moat, Wokan, and Mi'niri all nodded in agreement. I, however, just watched. All emotion drained from my face as I realized what I was looking at.

I blinked my eyes a few times to be sure of what I saw and said with a low, dreadful tone, "Jake, I think I've seen something like this before," my voice quivering as I spoke the words. Everyone turned to look at me and Jake, with a concerned expression on his face, placed his right hand on my shoulder and said, "What is it Nathan? And why does it scare you?"

I just stood there like a statue, struck with fear in my face. I stared at what appeared to be twelve streaks in the sky. I mumbled in a low voice, "Twelve of them, that would be about right…" my voice trailed off. Jake said in a firm voice this time, "Nathan, you're not making sense. Twelve what? What are they?" I shook the hesitation off and answered, "Jake, I think it's a combat orbital insertion, a military tactic used to secure a hostile landing zone from orbit."

Jake turned to watch the streaks again for a second. They finally started to fade as they reached the ground. He turned back to me, "Those are war machines of some kind…" as a hint of fear crept into his voice.

I interjected, "They're called Man-O-Wars and they are most certainly a kind of bloody war machine."

The others, with exception to Niysia, didn't know how to react. They saw our facial expressions grow fearful as Jake and I both realized what had just happened in the sky above us. Jake said, "It's not over, is it?" With a faint and fearful tone I replied, "No, it's not."

Niysia turned to me and asked, "Nathan, you called that metal creature at Hell's Gate a Man-O-War. All those streaks are the same?" I looked at Niysia; fear was creeping into her face as well, as I said, "Yes. That's what they are, the only question is are they friendly or not."

Jake looked at me with a confused expression, "If they're not with the other humans, who are they?"

I replied, "I never brought it up before, because I assumed since they didn't show up when the supply ship arrived that they had joined the other humans, or returned home."

Jake asked, "Who are we talking about, Nathan?"

I replied, "Oh sorry. I'm referring to the UN Expeditionary Force. Their orders were to reinforce Hell's Gate and provide security for the UN Science Mission. I can't explain why they've just arrived or why they felt it necessary to land in such a hostile manner."

Wokan said, "They must be allied with the other Sky People. Why would they expect us to attack them?"

Jake replied, "I don't know, but I'm not ready to make any assumptions either."

Wokan nodded.

I added, "Perhaps they don't know who to trust, so they're being cautious. Maybe they're not on anyone's side yet."

Moat said, "Jake, the only way to learn their intentions is for one of us to ask them."

Jake replied, "You're right, someone has to go talk to them." He stood there a moment and contemplated our next move. After a few seconds of thought he continued, "Wokan, go get two more warriors and meet Nathan and I at the Ikran's nest."

Mi'niri interjected, "Jake, I'd like to go as well. I need to see them so I can explain the threat to my people."

Jake reluctantly agreed. "All right, you can fly with me."

Niysia turned to me, and started to speak, but I put my finger across her lips, "Please don't ask. We have no idea what we're going to find. I need you stay here for now. Jake will need me at my best on this one and if we don't come back, Neytiri will need you to lead the rescue party." I placed both my hands on her cheeks and I rubbed my right thumb across her lips, as I stared deep into her eyes. We then pressed our foreheads together and kissed tenderly.

Niysia pulled her head back, looked at me from head to toe, then glared back into my eyes. She slowly smiled, "Alright. I'll stay here, but don't get killed because I still have plans for you." We both smiled and laughed. Our foreheads met again for one final kiss. I said, "I'll do my best to come back in one piece." Jake asked Moat to explain what had occurred to Neytiri and let her know we should be back before nightfall.

I followed Jake up the tree toward the Ikrans' nest. We stopped along the way to grab our knives and bows. Neither of us were sure how this encounter would turn out, or what it meant for the Omaticayas' future.