Chapter 37 – Escalation
Once the three shuttles had settled to the ground, their gangways dropped down to the tarmac. Several AMP suits came down the gangways onto the tarmac, taking up defensive positions under the shuttles. I said to Jake, "Check out the AMPs. There's no doubt about it. Those AMPs are military grade, 40-millimeter GAU 100 cannons mounted on the right arm, anti-personal .50 caliber MBS-9M Hydra gun mounted on the left arm, with an armored missile rack above the pilot canopy, and it can still use its hands to fire any number of other weapons made for the AMP."
I thought for a moment how readily yet unexpected it was for old knowledge to sometimes leap to the front of your mind. I said with a hint of depression in my voice, "Damn it Jake, I'm sorry about that. I won't even go into the Man-O-Wars capabilities. It's too bloody depressing. If these humans are hostile, we're in trouble…" my voice trailed off. Jake appeared deep in thought as he watched the movement in the compound. Finally he said, "In that case, we're going to have stay clear of these humans until we know whose side they're on."
Mi'niri said, "Jake, Nathan, look over there toward that building," as she pointed toward the Command building. We both scanned the compound. In the distance, we saw a Man-O-War dragging two Na'vi away from the building in a capture net. I couldn't tell if they were dead or just unconscious, but either way it didn't look good for our chances to communicate with them.
Jake said, "I can't be sure from here, but based on the colors of their paint, they look like they're from one of the Plains Clans." Mi'niri agreed and appeared agitated. I said, "Mi'niri, don't do it. We can't do anything for them right now and getting yourself killed won't set them free." With some reluctance she nodded in agreement and relaxed her tense composure despite the frustrated expression on her face.
There was a long silence. Wokan and his warriors had been listening to us intently. All three were among our bravest warriors, but even their faces showed signs of fear at what they witnessed in the compound below. "I'm not sure if we can help the Na'vi down there; but if possible, we will," Jake said as he looked over at Mi'niri.
Once the AMP suits were in position, several infantry soldiers came down the gangways and took up defensive positions as well. Some of them made their way to the various buildings around the compound. Jake said, "Looks like they're venturing into the buildings now. Unfortunately they're not going to find much." I replied, "On the other hand, if they were working with the other humans, you'd think they'd already know there's no one at Hell's Gate." Jake nodded, "That's a good theory, and we're going to have to test it sooner or later."
A few minutes later a large tracked vehicle rolled down the gangway of one of the shuttles and headed for the base perimeter wall. I said, "That looks like an Ajax command tank. If so, it's good we didn't move any closer. It's probably about to turn those inert sentry guns back on. A moment later, the sentry guns started rotating. They were active again and very dangerous, since they were designed to fire at any movement near the compound perimeter.
We continued to watch the events in the compound as they unfolded. I focused my attention on the shuttles, "Jake, look at the shuttle closest to us. That looks like a U.S. flag on the side of it and that's definitely a Chinese flag painted on the other, I can't make out the last one from here." Jake said, 'It's the UN Force for sure. The question is whether of not they'll help us?"
An entourage of humans walked off the U.S. shuttle, Jake and I both nodded at each other. He said, "That looks like a command staff if I ever saw one." I agreed with Jake and as they walked out from under the shuttle in our general direction, Jake and I both noticed a sudden change in the robot's movements to provide protection for the prominent group.
While we looked on, I thought I heard a strangely familiar buzzing sound; it was only for a second. I looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary, but as I turned my attention back to Jake, I caught a glimpse of something metallic out of the corner of my eye hovering in the trees. I realized something was watching us; watch them.
"Jake I think they know we're here. We need to move now," as my voice became more tense. Jake nodded in agreement, just as he saw something in the group of humans that surprised him. As Mi'niri and I both started to crawl along the tree limb toward the forest, Jake didn't move. I whispered with a sense of urgency in my voice, "Jake, we need to go." I motioned to Wokan to withdraw back to the forest.
Jake's demeanor quickly changed and he said in a confused and angry tone, "It can't be. It simply can't be! Neytiri put two arrows straight through his chest and I watched him die!" I said in a frantic tone, "Jake, what the hell are you talking about? We have to move now…" my voice trailed off as I realized what he was talking about.
Standing in the compound surrounded by humans, AMP suits, and Man-O-War combat droids, was none other than Colonel Miles Quaritch wearing an exopack rebreather mask giving orders to his troops. He virtually looked right at us and I saw him give several hand gestures to his troops. If I read them right, he gave the order for a nonlethal capture. Of what or who, was the question. Unfortunately, my gut had already provided me a bloody answer.
I turned to Jake, this time with a mixture of panic and frustration in my voice, "Jake, we're out of time!" It was too late. His facial expression was one of obsessed anger as he readied his bow with a poisoned arrow and stated, "I'll kill that bastard again and again if I must!" Jake made no attempt to conceal himself as he aimed his bow, a compulsive rage exuded from his demeanor. Mi'niri, not sure of the target, had pulled her bow around and began to ready an arrow as well. I looked around for Wokan, but he and his warriors had already retreated into the forest to return to the rendezvous point.
My mind began to rush. My instincts took over with a singular thought to protect Jake, my Olo'eyktan. I pulled my bow around and started to ready an arrow, aiming at the closest combat droid's head, already knowing it had no vulnerability for me to exploit this time.
Just as Jake released his arrow, I felt an incredible wave of pain roll through my back and radiate out through my whole body. It was the sort of pain caused by an intense electrical shock. All three of us had been hit with it at the same time. My nerves froze up, I dropped my bow, and yelped at Jake, "Damn it LT, I told…" my voice was cut off by the shock as all three of us fell from the large tree limb, down toward the forest floor. Just before we hit the ground, a large net caught us. The last thing I recalled before I lost consciousness was the sight of two Man-O-War combat droids closing the net around us, and thinking, "They could have bloody killed us…" The three of us were jumbled together in the net, unable to escape or even speak. A second jolt of electricity surged through our bodies and I felt my consciousness slip away into darkness.
While the Na'vi struggled for there home, the sun rose in a far away land...