Just wanted to thank everyone for the kind reviews and words from the last chapter. It's definitely appreciated! And the prize for Coolest (Oddest?) Review Ever goes to...piXiZe! Thank you so much for the Burger King song. You made my day. The room was dead quiet until I started snickering on my parents' couch as I read that, and then everyone gave me a funny look. So thank you for the review, and for making a scene for my family! :-)
Well, hopefully two weeks wasn't too long a wait. I really will try to see about getting chapters that are perhaps a little shorter out to publish much quicker.
Chapter 37
Amber eased herself out of bed at what passed for 4am on Pandora and made straight for the shower. She threw herself into her normal morning routine, retreating into what was familiar as she prepared herself for her day.
Normally Amber would keep her hair in its single tight braid, but this morning she was definitely striving for a certain kind of look. After her shower she towel-dried her long hair as best as she could, gave it a thorough brushing, and left it loose to hang in long, damp strands down her back. Even though the Lasik that she had received back on earth - a perk for working off-world for the RDA - was still going strong, she selected a pair of thick, black-framed reading glasses, complete with the ugly neck chain that her mother had given her under the false assumption that it was the cutest thing in the world.
A blouse went on that was cut more towards the lower end of regulation, followed by a pair of very flattering pants that would be somewhat mitigated by her lab coat. Amber sighed as she wiped condensation off of the mirror and examined herself with a critical eye. No makeup today, thank you very much. Besides, who would seriously put makeup on at 4:30 in the morning, anyway?
The feeling of being watched was apparent as soon as Amber stepped out of the suite's bathroom. Norm was sitting up on the bed, the sheet around his waist, quietly observing her. "Breakfast isn't until 0700. You're early," he murmured in that deep morning voice that always made Amber shiver.
"Well, I've got work to do," Amber replied. "And there's no rest for the wicked, as they say."
Norm's eyes roved up and down Amber's body with a gaze that somehow appeared predatory, even with his bed-head. A wry smirk tugged at his lips. "Dressed like that?" he said. "And I thought the good Colonel closed the lab."
Amber smiled grimly back and set her glasses on her face, perching them low on the bridge of her nose as she examined Norm with the same kind of look that he was giving her. "Well, I can't help it that I'm dedicated to my work," she said as she put a bit more tilt into her hips than was perhaps necessary.
Norm simply grunted and cocked an eyebrow up before he flopped back down onto the bed, groaning as he stretched his arms up over his head. Amber appeared above him, and she leaned over his head so that her damp hair curtained his face as she kissed him longingly on the lips. "See you in the cafeteria," Norm whispered against her smooth lips. "Be careful."
"Always," Amber murmured softly as she reluctantly pulled away. She scooped her data pad off of the counter and quietly slipped out of the door.
The passageways were empty, and only every third light was illuminated in deference to the early morning hour. Amber's ears strained, but all she could discern was the ever-present thrum of the air handlers. Every now and then the pipes against the wall would thump and ping softly in an industrial manner. The solitude would not last for long, Amber knew. The guards were making their rounds, and she would need to move quickly.
Though not too quickly. She did not want to appear suspicious. Or...at least, too suspicious. That was part of her logic of keeping to her schedule and getting up so early in the morning. Anyone snooping around at midnight could only be up to no good, as far as their RDA minders were concerned. But 4:30? That was still early enough to provide a decent chance of privacy, but not so early as to appear completely devious.
Or so Amber hoped.
Norm had been permitted to keep his luxurious suite, at least for now. Other than their initial, albeit brief, confinement and the shutting down of the science department's work, so far life seemed remarkably normal when one considered the RDA's dramatic retaking of the base the morning before. Those people with skills and duties related to day-to-day operations were kept busy. They were supervised, of course. But so far, not too many harsh edicts had been issued forth by their new rulers.
Amber sincerely hoped that her actions would not be seen as too great a defiance.
She and Norm had discussed in great detail where the RDA might be holding Jake Sully. It had to be a place physically big enough to house him. It needed to be secure. And, they hoped, it needed to be somewhere with Pandoran atmosphere. Avatars and Na'vi could breathe Earth air, but probably not indefinitely. Kyle's difficulty was evidence of that.
At first the two of them had feared that Jake would be kept outside, either in the cabin or in one of the storage sheds. Those would be difficult places to check in person, and Amber did not exactly want to walk up to the nearest soldier, bat her eyes, and ask where Jake was.
Then Norm had the brilliant idea of using the ambient room. It was perfect, actually - secure, the right air, easy to keep an eye on, and readily accessible by human personnel without the need of going outside and putting on exopacks. And conveniently, it would also be an easy location for her to check out.
If he was not there... Amber shook off the thought and set her jaw. Then I'll find a way to find out where he is, she thought to herself.
She did not meet a single person, friendly or otherwise, on her way to the biolab. Better yet, the lab itself was empty when she slipped inside. Her eyes darted cautiously about, but she saw nothing amiss. Though the lights were dim she easily threaded her way through the room, which was a place that she knew like the back of her hand.
Lights were on in the ambient room. Unlike the human-habitable sections of the base, the prep room lights were fully lit. Max had always been a stickler for conservation - if the room was not in use, the lights were off. Simple as that. Hell's Gate had been taken very early in the morning, Amber reminded herself. The lights would have been dim. So someone had reason to turn them on...
Amber crept cautiously up to the window, not daring to hope that this first, important piece of the puzzle would fall so easily into place. She placed her hands on the window sill and peered inside, where lo and behold Jake Sully was asleep, curled up on a mattress on the floor, a blue hand over his face to shield his eyes from the lights that had been rudely left on.
A small gasp slipped out, and Amber slumped with relief at finding Jake safe and well, all things considered.
Amber gently rapped her knuckles against the glass. In an instant Jake was awake and alert, his ears pinned aggressively back as he bared his teeth in anger at the window. He blinked in surprise when he saw who it was, though. "Are you okay?" Amber whispered slowly, hoping that Jake would be able to catch the question as she offered him a feeble wave in greeting.
Jake's single nod was faint, but Amber caught it and smiled back.
Then she saw Jake's eyes shift over her shoulder and widen with alarm as someone clapped a hand over Amber's mouth, muffling her terrified shriek, and yank her away from the window.
"Don't scream," a man's voice hissed in Amber's ear. "Whatever you do, don't scream."
The command either did not register with Amber or she chose to ignore it, for she began to twist and fight violently as she felt her arms being forced behind her back. A well placed backwards kick grazed the inside of the man's thigh, and in response he turned and shoved her hard against a workstation, using his greater weight and strength to keep her pinned.
A loud thump and a muffled roar came from the ambient room as Jake pounded his fist futilely against the glass.
"Goddamnit, I said be quiet! I don't want to hurt you, Dr. Ferris!"
Amber froze at this, even though her body remained as taut as a bowstring. Her heart beat frantically, the noise almost deafeningly loud in her ears.
"There," the man said, breathing heavily from behind her. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm gonna let up, but please don't run."
There was something in the man's tone that sounded amazingly sincere to Amber's ears, and a single moment of sane thought managed to thread its way through her blind panic. She craned her neck around, trying to get a glimpse of her attacker.
She sucked in a quick breath when she recognized the Sec-Ops trooper, and she watched the man slump in relief and release her fully.
"You need to get out of here," the trooper said in a low voice. "You're lucky it was me who responded first, and not one of the new guys. Don't you know there's cameras in the hallways?"
Amber blushed and shook her head. A master spy she was not, apparently. Her eyes went down to the name patch on the man's fatigues. "Lovell," it read. Her mind was still spinning frantically, and it took her a moment to realize that this man was one of the passengers on the Enterprise Star. "I - I didn't know that," she stuttered guiltily. "Why...why are you here? How are you...?"
"Just because I renewed my vows at the altar of the RDA doesn't mean I really meant it," Lovell said quickly. He shot a glance towards the avatar ambient room. Jake's hands were fisted against the glass, his expression one of helpless anger. Lovell quickly brought his right hand up and touched his fingers to his forehead before motioning down in a greeting that Jake instantly recognized.
Amber caught it too, and she gasped in surprise.
Lovell tilted his head and held a hand up to his radio's earpiece. "We've gotta move," he said. He jabbed a finger in Jake's direction and mouthed, you, get down! He followed it by pointing vigorously at the floor.
Jake nodded and disappeared from sight.
Lovell firmly gripped Amber's upper arm and began to pull her quickly along towards the door. "What were you doing here?" he demanded.
"Um, I was trying to find Jake?" she said, her voice squeaking at the end.
"Wrong answer," Lovell shot back. "That's not what I want to tell Barnes when she asks about this."
Amber stiffened and presented her data pad, which she had managed to keep ahold of. "Well, how about I was trying to download some of my research onto my data pad so that I could keep working?"
"Better," Lovell responded. He slammed to a stop beside a workstation near the middle of the room so quickly that Amber ran right into him. "Turn on that computer," he commanded.
Amber rushed to comply, then jumped as Lovell took a mug of ice-cold coffee that had been sitting forgotten on the desk and smashed it on the floor; then he knocked over the desk chair onto its back.
At that moment the door out to the hall slammed open, and two more troopers burst inside. "Steven! Did you find..." They trailed off as they observed Lovell tightly holding the woman's arm. "You got her, I see?" one of the troopers asked.
Lovell growled angrily and shook Amber once for emphasis, earning him a startled squeak. "Yeah, I got her," he replied. To Amber, he said, "What the hell did you think you were doing? You know the labs are closed!"
The whole time he was talking, Corporal Lovell was dragging her towards the door. When Amber looked at the other two troopers, it was not a stretch at all for her to act terrified. "I was just trying to...," she pointed helplessly behind her at the computer that was now asking for a login ID.
"Orders are orders," Lovell grumbled as they stepped out into the hall. "You know you need to stay in your room until after the curfew is lifted."
"Don't rough her up too bad!" one of the troopers shouted after them with a laugh. The other man whistled out a catcall.
As soon as they rounded a corner Lovell's grip on Amber's arm relaxed, though he did not let go. "We need to get Jake out of here!" Amber quietly hissed. "The Na'vi will attack Hell's Gate eventually if we don't! It'll be a blood bath!"
Lovell nodded and grit his teeth together. "They won't get in by air," he said in a grim tone. "With the turrets back online, nothing bigger than a tetrapteron will make it over the fence. Banshee riders would be cut to ribbons."
They were almost back to Amber's room. Now that she finally had some time to think about things, Amber realized that she was just plain angry. Not angry at Lovell, but at the whole damned situation. She let out a frustrated growl.
"Here's my word of advice to you, Amber," Corporal Lovell said in a low voice as they paused outside of the suite's door. "While we have the technological advantage now, Hell's Gate is still very understaffed. If someone, a small group, let's say, could manage to get past the defenses... I think they might have a chance of busting Jake out. If they're quick about it."
Amber shot him a wide-eyed, exasperated look. "How would anyone manage that?" she blurted.
Lovell could only shrug helplessly as he opened the door for Amber and motioned her inside. "Don't get caught outside again, Dr. Ferris," he said by way of a non-answer. "It might not be me that finds you."
Serina Rowley mingled silently with the early morning breakfast crowd. The servers behind the buffet line were quiet as well. The men and women were scared - Serina could see that plainly in their eyes when they glanced up at her after she murmured a quiet "Thank you" when she left with her tray. It was not business as usual at Hell's Gate, no matter what kind of front people tried to put on to the contrary.
She was up early for two reasons. One, it was just plain habit. Serina was never one to sleep in - her stint with the Royal Air Force had firmly engrained that particular propensity of hers. And second... Secondly, getting to the cafeteria early meant that she had a better chance of finding a table by herself. The copilot eyed an obnoxiously loud group of RDA Sec-Ops troopers with disdain as she made her way towards a table in the far corner.
Maybe if I'm lucky, I can just eat fast and split, she thought to herself.
Two men making their way through the serving line caught her attention, and Serina groaned and slumped lower into her seat, hoping that they would miss her.
Serina's efforts at invisibility failed, and with a broad smile of greeting and a jaunty wave, Sean Jeffries adjusted course and headed straight for her table, trailed by Tom Finlay. Serina mouthed a silent curse to herself - Finlay she could deal with, but Jeffries was simply a walking ego with a life-support system.
"Hey there!" Jeffries said as he set his tray down opposite of Serina. Finlay merely nodded in silent greeting as he sat down beside his fellow Valkyrie pilot. "Long time no see!" Jeffries said. "I'd thought it'd be another decade or two before we ran into each other again. This is a pleasant surprise!"
"I got held up," Serina muttered as she speared another bite of fresh fruit with her fork.
"Yeah, that's a horrible thing...," Jeffries said. "I heard what happened to the Enterprise Star. That's a damn shame. I'm glad you made it out okay, Serina."
Somehow Serina did not think that Jeffries was sounding as sincere as he wanted to. Finlay's quiet response was a little different. "I'm sorry, Serina," he murmured with quiet sincerity. "I wouldn't wish that kind of situation on anyone."
Serina nodded in wordless acknowledgement as she chewed her food. Somehow Finlay offering his sympathies meant infinitely more to her than if Jeffries were speaking.
Jeffries motioned towards Serina and spoke through his bite of food, though he at least covered his mouth with his hand. "No uniform, I see," he said, commenting on Serina's casual civilian clothing. "Off duty? You aren't getting bored here, I hope! Gee, I hope our stay here isn't too much of a drag."
Serina glared at Jeffries. "Sorry, I've been marooned here for a year. Forgive me for not dressing up for work every day. There hasn't been a lot to do," she growled. "My appetite's left. Excuse me," Serina said as she made to stand up, even though there was still food on her tray.
"Whoa, hold on there, hot shot," Jeffries said. "But you have been busy, right?" Jeffries forced a laugh, and suddenly Serina began to feel nervous. "I mean, how else could the refueling drones have gotten so screwed up? Come on, let us all in on the secret. How'd that happen?" Jeffries had stopped eating and was now leaning forward intently, all traces of humor long gone.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Serina said tightly as she glanced away.
Jeffries snorted. "Well, explain it, then! Old Man Oros didn't do it. I heard he had a stroke and can't fly anymore. You and Jonas aren't rated for solos, so it had to be...let's see...oh! Fischer did it!" He slapped his hands down onto the table, making his tray jump. "What the hell got into him? Never mind that, Fischer was always a screwball - that's probably why he's living as freaking smurf, now. What the hell got into you? Why'd you go along with him?"
"Sean...," Finlay said slowly, and Serina's respect for the man went up several notches. "I don't think this is the time or place for this conversation."
"Sean, you wouldn't understand," Serina said with a sigh, now fully certain that it would have been much smarter for her to take a seat with the scientists.
Jeffries rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair as he folded his arms across his chest. "What's to understand? Serina, you helped sabotage our means of getting home! Don't deny it, everyone knows that you and Jonas went along with Fischer. And I can't imagine that the RDA would look kindly upon such actions." A mean smirk flickered across Jeffries' face. "Wait, did you two finally get it on?"
Serina snarled and leaned forward over the table until she was face-to-face with Jeffries. "You think you know everything, Sean? Did they tell you that RDA Sec-Ops murdered my captain and navigation officer? That the Company shot Kyle in the gut, and then tried to bring down his entire Valkyrie, with over 60 souls on board?" Serina balled up her hands into tight fists as she repressed the urge to slap Jeffries across the face. "You don't have a freaking clue, do you Sean? Come on, you still couldn't find your way out of a paper bag with a map and a flashlight!"
"At least I have enough brains not to bite the hand that feeds me," Jeffries shot back.
Serina laughed at that and shook her head as she shot to her feet. She stood up so fast that her chair rocked back, teetering precariously on its two back legs for a moment before slamming back down. "Oh, sod off, Sean! You're still dumber than a box of rocks. Maybe you'll brighten up when you figure out that you're expendable."
And with that Serina grabbed her tray and stormed out.
Amber felt a not irrational flash of fear when she was called up to the control room later that day. Perhaps "summoned" would be a better word. Perhaps the Colonel did not care for her to be pushing the boundaries so soon?
The control room had been mostly cleaned up since the attack, though the broken windows had yet to be replaced. Amber eyed the breach tarps warily, which flapped lazily in the slowly dying breeze from the storm - she would much rather have had something solid between her and the outside.
Dr. Dryers was working at the holographic plot table in the middle of the room, and he looked up and smiled in greeting as Amber finished climbing the stairs. Thankfully, the other RDA people in the room chose to ignore her. "Dr. Ferris! Thank you for coming," Dryers said with false warmth. Any pretense of the kindness in the man's eyes was long gone, now.
"I think Hoshiro should have cut off your head," Amber said in a hard voice that surprised even her. "It would have saved us a lot of trouble." She turned her eyes to the 3D image on the plot table and frowned. "What is that?" she asked.
Dr. Dryers adjusted some controls, causing the image to rise up off the table so that the underlying geologic structure was revealed, and now Amber could see the tell-tale glimmer of a sizable Unobtanium deposit. "I'm surprised you don't recognize this, Dr. Ferris," Dryers said. "It's the Omaticaya's old Hometree, after all."
Amber's eyes narrowed as she suppressed a growl. If she was in her avatar, her ears would have been pinned angrily back against her head. "Why are you fixating on that spot, Dryers?" she asked through gritted teeth. "Do you think the Na'vi will let you desecrate hallowed ground? I find it difficult to believe that even you could have managed to learn nothing in your time here."
Dryers leaned over the table, bracing himself with his good hand as he peered at Amber through the glowing hologram. "We're just planning ahead, ma'am," Dryers said easily. "Don't worry, there will be plenty of time to negotiate mining rights later. We do have a business to run, after all."
"And there's where you've already lost it," Amber said as she shook her head in perverse wonder.
"Dr. Ferris," a new voice cut in, making nearly everyone in the room tense.
Dryers was perhaps the only person who seemed unfazed by Colonel Barnes' sudden appearance. "Samantha," he greeted, earning him a cold scowl. "We are still okayed for the survey flight, correct?"
Colonel Barnes stared down the bridge of her nose at the plot table with an unreadable expression. "One Samson, Dryers. As soon as the weather clears," she acknowledged. "That's all I can spare you."
Dr. Dryers smirked. "You mean, that's all that you can spare the company. Right?" he said.
Barnes ignored him. To Amber, she said, "Dr. Ferris. Follow me."
As Amber followed Barnes into a side office, she got the impression that words like "please" and "thank you" were mere courtesies that the Colonel might or might not choose to impart upon someone. A nameplate on the doorway still read "M. Quaritch."
"Close the door behind you," Barnes commanded as she took a seat behind the surprisingly bare desk. She did not offer the hard folding chair to Amber. For a moment the two women stared at one another, each silently sizing the other up. "Let me make something clear to you," Barnes began. "I do not care for you one bit, Dr. Ferris."
Amber's own blue eyes flashed coldly. "How fortunate, then, that we can agree on this first point," Amber shot back.
Colonel Barnes merely grunted noncommittally. "Your avatar is still at the Omaticaya's Hometree, correct?" she asked.
The way that a wall suddenly went up between them was answer enough for Colonel Barnes. "Yes, it is," Amber replied as she folded her arms over her chest.
"Good," Barnes replied. "Because you will be relaying a message for me."
Amber felt herself bristle, even as she suppressed her excitement. While she did need to get a message out to the Omaticaya, she silently dreaded whatever the Colonel had to say. "What makes you think I'll be your willing messenger girl?" she demanded in a suspicious voice.
Barnes simply flashed a quick, humorless smile. "I need you to relay a proposal to the Omaticaya, and Kyle Fischer, for me. A trade: Jake Sully's life for the codes to the orbital harvesters."
A horrified gasp slipped past Amber's lips before she could help herself. "You can't be serious! Colonel, you can't just kill him!"
Barnes tapped an idle data pad that was sitting on the desk. "Dr. Ferris, you can actually think of this as a favor. My instructions are to simply execute Sully outright for his crimes, right now. I'm making an offer that has benefits for both parties here. He walks out of here a free man, and the RDA is free to continue its operations unimpeded."
Amber was simply floored. "And if the Na'vi decline? If they decide to attack? What then?" Amber already knew what Jake would say to such a proposition. Not just "No," but "Hell no."
Colonel Barnes' lips turned up into a brief smile. "Well, when life gives you lemons...," she said. "Don't take too long to think about it. I'm bending the rules enough as it is. I won't wait forever for an answer."
"I can't run the link units by myself," Amber gritted out.
Barnes nodded once. "You may have whatever you need. And I am sure that Dr. Patel will be happy to assist you," the Colonel replied icily. "That is all. Dismissed."
"Colonel, are you sure this is the best idea?" Major Link asked in a low voice. "You've never been one to disobey orders before."
Colonel Barnes and Major Link stood in an out-of-the-way corner of the link room, quietly observing the bustle as the scientist prepared to hook Amber up to her avatar. "Think of it as merely bending the rules, not breaking them," she sighed.
Link cocked an eyebrow up at this.
"If the Na'vi take the offer, then we can reopen the trade route back home that much sooner," Barnes explained. "And truth be told, if it came down to negotiations with the Na'vi, I'd rather be talking to someone like Sully rather than a born smurf. At least I have a chance of understanding him."
Link's normally handsome features hardened into an unreadable mask as he shot a frigid glare towards the ambient room. "I still think we should just end it now," he growled. "We can always...deal...with the Na'vi later."
A simple shrug was the extent of Barnes' response. "Nothing says we still can't," she said simply before turning to leave.
Amber had never felt so weak before. Or hungry. Or thirsty. It took all of her strength and concentration for Amber to pull her avatar out of its nivi without slipping and falling. She cast a look in Norm's direction and sighed - his avatar was probably just as worse off as hers was. Amber hoped that he would get a chance to link up soon so that he could take care of his other half. It had been several days since she had linked up and she was definitely feeling the consequences, now.
Enough moping, Amber thought to herself. There was work to do.
Nearly all of the Omaticaya were down below, attending to clan business. It was past midday, after all. Amber's ears told her that the rain had stopped, but her sensitive nose could still plainly smell the moisture in the air.
Amber was wondering where she could find Neytiri or Kyle, or Mal'ek or Moat for that matter. The problem was solved when she stepped out of one of the spirals near the healer alcoves and almost ran right into Kyle, whose arms were burdened with several baskets.
"Amber!" Kyle blurted, his shock plainly evident upon his features. He carefully eased his basket-loads of herbal medical supplies to the ground before placing his hand gently on Amber's upper arm, as if to make sure he was not imagining her presence. "How are you linked up? What happened...?"
Kyle's gentle touch turned into a firm grip as Amber swayed unsteadily on her feet. "...Really thirsty...," Amber slurred as she closed her eyes against the sudden dizzy spell.
"Right, I bet," Kyle agreed as he gently led Amber into the healer alcoves. Tanhi was restocking supplies on a shelf, and she turned and gasped in surprise when Amber and Kyle appeared. "Hold on, I'll get you a bowl," Kyle said before he dashed back outside.
"What can we do to make you more comfortable?" Tanhi asked as she knelt down beside Amber, who had taken a seat against the wall, and tenderly placed the back of her hand against the scientist's forehead. Kyle reappeared in record time with a container of cool, refreshing water.
Amber shook her head as she drained the bowl in one go. "Nothing," she said with a gasp as she finished. "I need to find Neytiri and Moat. And you, Kyle. We have to talk, and I don't think I have much time."
Tanhi insisted that Amber not exert herself, and she swiftly left to find Neytiri, Moat, and Mal'ek.
"What's going on, Amber?" Kyle asked in a soft but firm voice after his mate had left.
Amber shot a fleeting look towards the alcove entrance before she answered. "Colonel Barnes says that Jake is going to be executed unless we give her the codes to the harvesters," Amber said in a low voice.
Kyle swore softly and glanced away as his ears folded back with anger. How the hell were they going to handle this now?
Kyle and Amber both looked towards the door as Neytiri, Moat, and Mal'ek entered. Tanhi followed last of all, and she carefully adjusted the thin curtain that hung over the doorway to offer them as much privacy as possible.
Amber could only lock eyes with Neytiri for a limited amount of time before she had to look away. How do you tell a woman something like this? Her mate's life in exchange for the means of protecting her People? "This isn't easy for me to say, Neytiri," Amber began. "I'm so, so sorry for what has happened. For everything."
Neytiri squatted down beside Amber and placed a delicate finger against her chin, gently encouraging the other woman to meet her gaze. "None of this is your fault, Amberferris," Neytiri said in a quiet, reassuring voice. Even still, her golden eyes burned with an intensity that Amber had never seen before.
"I'll say it, then," Kyle growled. All eyes settled on him, and Amber simply nodded. "They're going to kill Jake unless we give them back the harvesters that were disabled."
Mal'ek could not contain a low, infuriated hiss, and Moat stiffened noticeably.
Neytiri's eyes flashed dangerously as her tail lashed about behind her. "This thing that the Sky People demand...it is because of what you did with their flying machines?" Neytiri asked.
Kyle nodded grimly.
Moat and Neytiri exchanged a look before Neytiri spoke again, silently communicating. "The Sky People...," Neytiri said slowly, her voice dripping with malice. "The kameluke Sky People wish to bargain with us? They bargain with the life of my mate? The father of my child. The sixth Toruk Makto." Neytiri blinked rapidly and slowly shook her head. In truth, she could barely get her mind around such a despicable concept. Such manipulation was not natural for the Na'vi, not in the slightest.
"Neytiri...," Kyle began. He swallowed nervously, though he did not look away when Neytiri pinned him with a hard stare. "Neytiri, just say the word. I'll tell them the password if it'll get Jake back." He felt Tanhi's reassuring touch on his shoulder. The situation could change with startling quickness, and Kyle knew it could easily be him weighing Norm's life on this terrible scale.
Neytiri hummed thoughtfully to herself. She could feel both Moat and Mal'ek watching her. There was no judgement, no pressure to sway her either way. Only anticipation. "Irayo, Kyle...," Neytiri said slowly. Her eyes narrowed with concentration. "However, I do not believe that will be enough for the Tawtute to return my Jake to me." Neytiri looked at Amber and asked, "Do you think the Tawtute war leader means what she says? Does she speak truth?"
Amber had been watching and listening to the conversation with wide eyes, and she squirmed under Neytiri's question. "I - I don't know, Neytiri. I honestly don't know." Amber shook her head and sighed wearily. "Colonel Barnes let me link up, she wanted me to relay this message to you all. She...she said that the RDA wanted to kill Jake anyway, but she was offering this as a favor."
Neytiri snarled in rage as she jumped up and began to pace. "This is a favor?" she spat before she muttered something foul under her breath in Na'vi.
Mal'ek spoke his thoughts aloud. "We can barter, and trust our enemy's honor. We can decline, and do nothing. Or we can rescue Jakesully, and take away that which they hold against us."
Neytiri growled low in her throat as her hands fisted at her sides. "I know that my...my skxawng of a mate would not wish us to give up anything on his behalf," Neytiri fumed. She could feel the growing heat of her own anger as the emotion continued to build in a seemingly self-perpetuating cycle - Neytiri forced herself to take deep breaths and to remain calm. If not for her own sake, then for Tommy's.
Kyle groaned and pinched at the bridge of his nose. "I want to get Jake back... But it'd be a hell of a challenge to get into Hell's Gate. And get back out," he muttered.
Amber spoke up again. "The base's defense turrets are back online," she said quickly. "Nothing could make it over the fence without being shot to bits. Definitely not anyone flying on ikran. The base may not be fully staffed, but its defenses shouldn't be taken lightly."
Mal'ek frowned. "How do the Tawtute kunsìp pass by safely?" he asked.
"The choppers and shuttles have transponders, IFF beacons and all that to prevent them from being shot at," Kyle explained. He could practically feel everyone giving him a pointed look, and he held up his hands in objection. "Whoa, hold on, I know what you're all thinking. Sure, my Samson could make it in, but we'd have no element of surprise. An unannounced, unexpected aircraft would raise all kinds of alarms."
"We would have no element of surprise," Mal'ek begrudgingly agreed.
Suddenly Amber gasped. It was probably a useless suggestion, but from the way everyone was now staring at her, Amber suspected that she would be forced to say something. "What if... What if you were to switch places with a flight out of Hell's Gate?"
Kyle and Mal'ek exchanged perplexed looks as Kyle said, "I guess that would take care of issue of an unexpected arrival...but I'm still not sure that I'm following -" Kyle froze mid sentence, and his eyes grew large. Like the time on the trail with Tanhi, when the idea to sabotage the orbital harvesters had struck him out of the blue, a way to get Jake safely out suddenly coalesced in his mind with startling clarity. But it was insane! There was no way this could work... "Do you know where Jake is being held?" he asked slowly.
"The avatar prep room," Amber quickly supplied. "Why -"
Perfect. Unbelievably perfect. "Do you know, know for certain, if there are going to be any flights out of Hell's Gate anytime soon?" Kyle interrupted.
Amber's ears flicked back at this as a nervous expression crossed her features. She looked at the three born Na'vi and said, "You aren't going to like this, but... I overheard Dr. Dryers in the control room. He wants to send a survey crew out to the Omaticaya's old Hometree to measure the Unobtanium in the ground. As soon as it's clear enough to fly."
Neytiri looked fit to explode upon hearing this. "They would do this?" she shrieked. "They would foul what has been home to our People for generations! They would scorn the graves of those that they murdered! My sempul -" Neytiri choked herself off as Moat wrapped her arms around her.
"Shhh, child," Moat gently soothed, even as the thought of the enemy tramping her own mate's grave made her furious on the inside. "Be calm, and of sound mind," she said. To Kyle, she said, "You have a plan, Kylefischer. What is it?" Her words were a statement, not a question.
Kyle was gazing into his mate's eyes as he spoke - he knew full well how Tanhi would react to what he was about to suggest. "A small group of warriors will take out the survey crew at Old Hometree," Kyle said in a monotone voice. "After that, we fly straight to Hell's Gate in the Samson under the guise of being the survey crew returning home. We land on the basketball courts. We break Jake out. With surprise on our side...if Jake is there...we will be in and out in less than two minutes."
A stunned silence settled over the group. Kyle's heart nearly broke as he glimpsed the anguish on Tanhi's face.
"Amber, can you -" Kyle began to ask, but he stopped when he looked down and noticed Amber's head lolling against her chest as though asleep. "Amber!"
Tanhi and Kyle both swiftly knelt beside the scientist's avatar. "She has returned to her other body," Tanhi murmured. No doubt against her will.
Kyle flinched when he felt a hand settle unexpectedly on his shoulder. Mal'ek had crouched silently down on his haunches beside his son-in-law. "This...scheme of yours," Mal'ek said. He enunciated slowly, as if weighing each word as he spoke it. "Tell it to me. Every detail."
When Kyle looked up at Moat and Neytiri he found both women studying him intently. Tanhi reached out and grasped his left hand, gave it a reassuring squeeze. Kyle closed his eyes briefly to organize his thoughts; then he began to speak.
Tanhi had made herself scarce while Kyle and Mal'ek had talked. Kyle suspected he knew why. Now that he and Mal'ek were done...discussing, it was high time that he had a heart-to-heart with his mate.
Kyle found Tanhi back in the healer alcoves late that afternoon. She had finished bringing up all of the baskets that Kyle had originally been helping her with, unloaded them, and stocked them on the shelves. Now she was organizing the room, and probably not for the first time, Kyle thought. The alcove was positively spotless. Tanhi had excised any trace of dirt or disorder, several times over, in fact.
It did not take a rocket scientist to tell that Tanhi was hiding within her work. Perhaps humans and Na'vi are more similar than we give them credit for, Kyle thought wryly as he observed his mate from the alcove entrance. Kyle softly cleared his throat and began to say, "Tanhi, please -"
"I want you to go," Tanhi interrupted. Her back was still to Kyle as she turned clay jars a few degrees this way or that. The shelf had been neatened five minutes ago, but Tanhi either did not care or she did not notice.
Kyle felt stung, and his ears drooped. He closed his eyes and sighed as he began to turn away. "Okay, Tanhi. I'll...I'll just be below, I guess...," he said in what he hoped was a level sounding voice. A tug on his tail drew him up short, and Kyle looked back in surprise.
Tanhi practically threw herself into Kyle's arms.
"Geez, watch your ankle!" Kyle grunted instinctively as he wrapped his arms around his mate and stumbled back a step. A grumbled comment from Tanhi was lost on Kyle, seeing as how Tanhi was speaking into the crook of his neck. "What?" he said.
Tanhi leaned back, and Kyle could see that her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "I did not mean that I wanted you to leave now, you skxawng!" she said with a strange combination of a laugh and a sob. "I mean... I meant that..." Tanhi let out a frustrated growl and blurted, "I think that it is a good thing for you to rescue the Olo'eyktan." Once she got that out she reburied her face against her mate's neck.
Kyle could only hum in wordless agreement as he tenderly stroked Tanhi's back. What else could he say to that? Kyle desperately wanted to say, "Everything will be alright," but that was not something that he could guarantee - Kyle tried not to make a habit of making promises that he could not keep. Both of them knew that.
"Jake is my friend," Kyle said at last. "So is Neytiri. I... I can't stand by and do nothing while they're like this. I know he'd do the same for us."
Tanhi laughed darkly and nodded. "I know, Yawne," she said. "You are right to do this. For Jakesully, for Neytiri. For your cousin. I only... I do not want to lose you," she finished in a plaintive voice.
Kyle touched his forehead to Tanhi's in a gesture that had come to mean just as much to him as a kiss. "I do not want to lose you, either," he said in Na'vi.
Tanhi smiled, despite the heaviness in her spirit. She always loved it when Kyle spoke the language of the People. A longing for him welled up from deep within her. While it was certainly not strange to want to be with her mate, the suddenness of the urge did take her a bit by surprise. She let go of the edge of Kyle's weapons harness and gently grasped his braid. "May we...?" she asked as she flashed a quick, shy smile.
Kyle smirked. "Of course," he said with a small chuckle as he carefully gripped Tanhi's own queue and gently positioned her braid over her shoulder. "You have been very...," Kyle paused, searching for the right word in Na'vi. "Insistent. You have been very insistent about making tsaheylu lately," he observed.
Tanhi's eyes twinkled at him. Perhaps she had been... "It feels right," she said simply. "And I have not heard you complain much, Yawne."
The smirk on Kyle's face grew into a smile. "You've got me there," he admitted.
Kyle blinked in surprise when the neural tendrils of their queues wound together. He did not feel the familiar, pleasantly heady jolt that always seemed to accompany tsaheylu with Tanhi. This time it was like two gears meshing together in smooth, perfect harmony. It was as if his body and mind had suddenly doubled, and rather than feel odd it felt perfectly right. "Whoa," he gasped.
Tanhi's pupils blew wide as they bonded, and she nodded in mute agreement as she sensed Kyle's thoughts. After a moment her eyes fluttered closed and she relaxed in Kyle's arms as she allowed his calm, steady emotions to soothe her.
They stood together in silence for a while, each more than content to rest quite literally within the mind of the other.
Quite by accident, Tanhi stumbled across something within Kyle's mind. She watched as the tanhi along his face and neck brightened for a moment with embarrassment, and he carefully shielded the idea from her. Defenses and walls did not fly up within his mind as they had so unfortunately in the past - this was simply Kyle's first uncomfortable reaction to her to gentle probing. It's nothing, he silently excused.
Tanhi's eyes twinkled warmly as she regarded her mate. It is never 'nothing' with you, she wryly responded. You may tell me, Yawne. Then she mentally took a step back and simply waited as she sent him soothing feelings through their bond.
Kyle nodded and smiled wanly as he opened up the thought to her.
He was not surprised when Tanhi frowned and he felt a mental hitch of discomfort come from his mate. You want your hair cut, Tanhi stated, her tone darkening.
Obviously. She could practically read his mind now, after all. I knew you wouldn't like the idea, Kyle's mental voice said. And that...it would be uncomfortable for you. We can just drop it.
Tanhi sighed aloud as she looked deep into Kyle's eyes. She could tell that he was not lying when he told her that he would let the idea go for her. But she could also sense in him why the thought and desire had formed in the first place, and why it was important to him. Kyle was one of the People, after all. In body and in spirit.
A corner of Kyle's mouth turned up into a quick, faint grin as Tanhi ran her fingers through the hair around his ears. How he loved her attention, no matter what form it took. And yes, after seeing how torn up his mate was at the moment, he really was ready to let the whole thing go for her. Tanhi frowned as she stared hard at him, as she tried to picture in her mind what Kyle would look like with a warrior's mohawk.
"We don't have to," Kyle whispered out loud. "I know that'd be hard on you."
"Why do you think it would be hard on me?" Tanhi murmured absently.
One of Kyle's eyebrows climbed at this. "Oel ngati kameie, Tanhi. Because it is the last thing that you did for Keoni," Kyle gently replied.
Tanhi's eyes widened with alarm as she gasped, and Kyle's arms tightened around her waist. "How did you know the name of my...?" she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence aloud even as her mind screamed almost against her will, the name of my first love? Tanhi felt her face flush with guilt, and suddenly she could not look at Kyle anymore. "How long have you known his name?" she whimpered. Her tail drooped dejectedly behind her, and she shivered as she felt Kyle's tail gently twine with her own beside them.
Her face was turned away from him, so Kyle gently pressed his lips to her cheek. "Tsaro never mentioned his brother's name," he said with a small, humorless chuckle. Kyle held up their joined queues and said, "You never mentioned him either, but it only took me a few days after we first mated to figure it out. Sometimes...you dream of him for a little bit when you first fall asleep."
Tanhi felt absolutely mortified upon learning of this revelation. It felt like... Like she had been stripped utterly naked, had been left completely bare to the world. "Yawne! Oh, Eywa, I am so sorry," she said with a sob as her expression crumpled.
"Whoa, there... Hey!" Kyle said in a soft but insistent voice. "Look at me, Tanhi. See me. Do you really think I'd hold this against you?" He snorted as he felt a flash of perverse humor, and he closed his eyes and shook his head for a second before he lovingly rubbed his hand against Tanhi's jaw. "After everything you've glimpsed in me?" Kyle snorted again and said, "Perhaps I should thank him, for taking care of you and treating you so well."
Tanhi finally looked back into her mate's eyes. His gaze was strong and steady, and Tanhi knew intimately that he was not lying to her. "Alright, Yawne," Tanhi said at last as she continued to sift Kyle's braids back and forth between her fingers. It would be a very long time before she would get to do something like this again, and she wanted to treasure the moment. "I will do this thing for you."
It took Tanhi a little bit of time to find the necessary things. She gathered a razor-sharp knife, made out of some kind of obsidian-like rock, rather than an animal claw or tooth. And she needed a small jar of shaving oils for the blade.
Tanhi and Kyle walked over to one of the small fires that the Omaticaya maintained within Kelutral. The location was as private as they could manage within the confines of Hometree; the fire was maintained simply as a supply of coals, especially during wet, dreary weather like what they had been experiencing recently - it was really too small to be used for warmth or cooking. Now it would provide light for Tanhi's task.
Kyle knelt down on the ground as Tanhi began to undo the braids in his hair. She worked silently, with the crackling of the fire being the loudest thing that they heard. Now that they were actually carrying out Kyle's idea, he had to admit that he was more than a little nervous.
"Do you know why the tsamsiyu wear their hair this way?" Tanhi asked after all of Kyle's braids were loose. She gently dragged the pad of her thumb across the stone blade, checking its sharpness for the umpteenth time.
Kyle blinked slowly. "Um... For practicality?" Kyle offered.
Behind her mate's shoulder, Tanhi smiled knowing that he would not see it. How like him to pick the, well, the practical option. "In part," Tanhi acknowledged. "There is another reason, Yawne. It serves as a lesson, even if it is an imperfect one." Tanhi waited for a moment before continuing. "Like shaving one's hair, killing another person is difficult to undo."
Kyle swallowed as he processed Tanhi's statement. After a while, he nodded in acknowledgement.
"Are you ready?" Tanhi murmured. She was not referring only to her mate's impending change in style, and they both knew it. When Kyle nodded for the second time, Tanhi began to work.
Back on Earth, Kyle had never been one to talk to the barber during haircuts. For him, getting his hair buzzed had been a strangely relaxing experience, a briefly calm island in the middle of his chaotic life. Kyle knew what he would be facing tomorrow, if not the next day, so for now he tried to sit still and simply rest. Who was to know when he would get the chance to do so again?
At some point after the half-way mark, someone cleared their throat to announce themselves, making both Tanhi and Kyle look up. Tsaro stood a short distance away, observing them with an unreadable expression.
"Oel ngati kameie," Kyle said softly.
Tsaro blinked as though coming out of a daze. He touched his fingers to his forehead and motioned downwards. "Oel ngati kameie...tsmukan," he replied. Tsaro squatted down on his haunches so that he was eye level with Kyle, quietly watching as Tanhi finished cutting the last few locks of hair from the left side of Kyle's head.
"Is your role clear to you?" Kyle asked after a spell.
Tsaro reached into a small leather pouch that was hanging from his waist. Kyle heard metal clink against metal as Tsaro fished out one of the large .50 caliber shells that fed his sniper rifle's appetite. "Yes. It is," Tsaro replied as he held the bullet up before him. He grasped the shell between his thumb and forefinger, and Tsaro stared at it intently as if it were the most fascinating thing that he had ever seen.
"Be still," Tanhi silently admonished, even though her mate had not moved at all. She positioned the stone blade against Kyle's head and began to carefully shave his skin smooth.
"And Sìlpey is willing to help?" Kyle inquired.
Tsaro nodded silently. No one else spoke as Tanhi finished up shaving Kyle's stubble and set about rebraiding his hair; everyone was content to simply enjoy the silent company of friends and family.
"Hasey," Tanhi said after a while, and she kissed the freshly shaved side of her mate's head before standing.
Tsaro stood as well, and he motioned a silent gesture of farewell, which Kyle and Tanhi both returned. Just before he drew out of earshot Tsaro paused and turned to face them again. His eyes glimmered in the dancing light from the fire. "It suits you," he said simply. Then he turned his back and walked away.