In cryo there is nothing, just a black void that the mind wanders aimlessly through as the physical body travels billions of miles through the nothingness of space. To some, it's a comfort to the overcrowding of the planet that they just left; to others, it brings an unnatural uneasiness before they are awoken. Jacen found this to be a nice comfort since in cryo no one is telling you what to do or how you are failing to live up to expectations; it's just him and nothing. What felt like an exaggerated blink, his eyes opened revealing the pale light that illuminated his cryo pod. Floating in the zero-gravity, he looked around not knowing if he had made it. Hearing a muffled sound from outside the pod, he turned his head to the direction the sound was coming from.
"Do not be alarmed. You have been in cryo for five years nine months and eighteen days," a muffled voice echoed through the pod.
His mouth felt void of any moisture, like he had slept with his mouth open for the past five years. Moving his tongue around his mouth to stimulate any kind of moisture to quench his unbearable thirst, he began to fumble with the straps that kept him in place as he slept.
Feeling the pod moving, he looked out the window to be met with a blinding light that quickly aggravated his head, producing a throbbing sensation in his frontal lobe. Pressing his fingers into his temples to alleviate the pain, a hissing sound broke through the seal. As the pod door opened, a person donning a white cap and light blue scrubs floating above his pod is studying his movements while Jacen adjusted to the light.
"Any issues?" the medical rep questioned, meeting his eyes with Jacen's.
Not being able to formulate any words due to that dehydrated state that he was in, the best response he could produce was a simple head shake "no". Feeling comfortable with the response, the medical person pushed away to check on others. Rising, he pushed off and moved through the cryo hold to the locker rack that was suspended above him.
Opening the locker with haste, he was relieved to see a water container suspended in the space where his clothes and other personal items were. Thanking whoever had the forethought to place the bottle in his locker, he downed it without a second thought and felt instantly rejuvenated.
Grabbing his clothes, he followed the mass of people to one of the egresses where the landing shuttles were docking with the deep-space shuttle. Passing through into the narrow corridor, he found an unoccupied changing room and slipped into his normal clothes. Jacen chuckled at the effort he had to put in as he floated in space attempting to put on his pants. After placing the cryo clothes in the bin at the changing room, he followed the group of people to the waiting shuttle.
"Boarding group B please make your way onto the shuttle and secure yourselves," a pale-skinned man at the hatchway entrance ordered.
"Boarding group B please make your way onto the shuttle and secure yourselves," the man repeated, ushering people into the shuttle.
Jacen, pushing through the hatch, was met with a narrow hold filled with people suspended in zero gravity as they fumbled around trying to secure themselves to their seats. Making his way through the throng of people, he found an unoccupied seat and grabbed for the restraints. Pulling himself in, he secured his arms under the straps before pulling down on them, which pressed him to the back of the seat. He smiled as he let his feet float out in front of him, enjoying the brief moments he had in space.
"Looks like you are enjoying yourself," a soft voice called out.
Jacen turned to his left and was met with a gaze of a woman smiling at him as she still floated in space. Quickly she put her arms through the restraints, pulling down on the straps and securing herself to the seat in one fluid motion. Feeling embarrassed, he pulled his feet to him and cleared his throat.
"Yeah, it was fun," he stated as he smiled back at her.
"My name is Jacen King," he said as he stuck out his hand.
"My name is Cara Carson," she replied, grabbing his hand and shaking it.
Cara was an athletically built woman with a soft face and short-cropped black hair. She had some color to her skin that only further accentuated the prominent features of her face. Her green-colored eyes burned with intense focus as she studied him. The grip that she produced on Jacen's hand indicating to him that she was not with the research department on this trip and probably a hired gun or something else.
"So, what is your business on Pandora?" Jason questioned, releasing her hand.
"Pleasure," she chuckled out.
Jacen, not knowing how to respond to someone who would want to venture hundreds of light years away from earth to Pandora, could only sit there and smile sheepishly at her.
"Just kidding, I'm a hired gun to help escort the equipment to the dig sites. What are you here for?"
"I was selected to be in the avatar program," Jacen beamed, kind of proud of himself.
"Holy shit, no way!" she shot back, not hiding her enthusiasm and knocking him on the shoulder.
"How did you land that gig? You must be a really smart guy and have like ten PhDs or something," Cara stated.
"Nah, nothing like that. I guess I can say that I got really lucky because I know some people," he answered, looking down at his feet.
"Who the hell do you know that would get you into this program?!" Cara was basically shouting at him, surprised by his honestly.
"Eh, I don't really want to talk about it," Jacen softly spoke while rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well, it doesn't matter because they are probably back on earth and you are here on Pandora, hundreds of lightyears away from them," Cara calmly stated, feeling the uneasiness from Jason, attempting to change the subject.
"Yeah, I guess you are right," his voice perking up a bit.
As everyone took their seats and secured themselves, the ship jarred to life as it broke away from the orbiting station. Feeling the pull, the shuttles sub light engines kicked on as the landing shuttle moved away from the station and began its descent onto Pandora.
Breaking into Pandora's atmosphere, the shuttle violently shook and dropped from the friction generated in its outer hull as it passed through each layer of the atmosphere. This caused Jacen to white knuckle his restraints as he closed his eyes, praying that it would quickly end. Cara looking over and noticed the discomfort that he was enduring during re-entry. Slipping her hand over his, she slid her fingers in between his, gripping his hand.
"Don't worry, you will be fine. It's the stuff on Pandora that will kill you, not re-entry," she calmly stated, trying to make light of the situation and ignore his sweaty hand.
Slightly chuckling at the thought through clenched teeth, he felt his stomach jump up and down with each movement the ship made. Moments later, the ship broke through into the troposphere where it leveled out, causing the violence to subside. Jacen began to easy the death grip that he had on the restraints and Cara's hand.
"See we made it," Cara said, laughing at him.
He nodded in reply as his hands fell to his legs to wipe off the moisture that his hands had produced from their descent. Just as he thought everything would smooth out, the ship jolted to life again as it entered a storm system. Jacen's hands shot back to the restraints as he slammed his eyes shut, trying to control his stomach from getting the better of him.
"Attention, this is your captain. We are entering a storm system that will make our landing a little rougher than you would probably like, however, we will survive and be landing as scheduled. Have fun, captain over and out," the overhead comms rang out.
"Damn! That was so comforting," Jacen forced out through clenched teeth as the ship forced its way through the storm.
The shuttle made its way through the storm undeterred as the forces of nature acted upon it. Wind and rain pelted the ship, making him more uneasy as it echoed through the void of the ship's hold. Looking through the slits of his eyes, he saw Cara bouncing around in her seat with a smile on her face and not a care in the world; he hated her for that.
The sounds of the rain landing on the hull grew louder as the shuttle slowed for its approach. Switching its engines over to landing, it slowed to a hover before dropping onto the landing platform designated for it with as little grace as possible. Feeling this ship drop out of the air, Jacen let out a little yelp as his stomach entered his throat.
"This is your captain speaking. Welcome to Pandora, where the local time is 0954," the intercom echoed as the shuttle's engines began to wind down.
"Alright people let's move. We have a schedule to keep. Let's move!"
Jacen, looking up, tried to silence the shaking his body was doing and spotted a tall man moving through the hold in a green military-issued flight suit. Immediately, people began to unharness and don their gear. Jacen, moving with haste and trying not to be the odd man out, unbuckled his restraints and removed his duffle bag from under him before throwing it on his back. Grabbing his mask from above his seat, he filed into the ranks that were forming in the middle of the narrow hold.
"Keep your masks on and head for the base. Do not stop. I repeat, keep your masks on, head for the base, and do not stop. If you remove your mask, you will be unconscious in one minute and dead in four. I hate doing paperwork, so nobody dies today," the crew chief ordered.
Making his way to the bay door of the shuttle, the crew chief placed his hand on the button, ordering everyone to don their mask. As the group slid their masks on, they all heard the comforting hissing sound as the mask sealed shut and oxygen began to be pumped in. Making sure everyone had their mask on, the crew chief donned his, checking the seal before hitting the button and sending the bay door ajar. Pandora's air rushed in to fill the new void as a visible wave moved the situation to most serious.
"Move, move, move!" the crew chief shouted, muffled by the oxygen mask, as he motioned with his hand the direction the group needed to head towards.
The ranks of personnel began to file out of the landing shuttle and entered the down-pouring rain once the bay door settled on the platform. Jacen's boots hit the ground with a splash, following the person in front of him as they moved through the rain undeterred. Leaving the cover of the shuttle, Jacen's clothes were soaked instantly by the heavy rains. His eyes briefly departed from the back of a person's head to reveal the dark grey skies that loomed over the base, covering what looked like massive trees that lay beyond the thick reinforced walls. Before he knew it, he was in another holding room with a large, dark orange steel door at the front of it.
"Alright everyone, pack it in so that we can decom the space," the crew chief ordered as he brought up the rear and closed the door behind them.
Air shot out the vents as the fans sprang to life, removing Pandora's air and pumping fresh air into the compartment. The cold air sent chills through Jacen's body as it struck his wet clothes, making them freeze. Pulling his hands to his body to keep its warmth, he witnessed others doing the same due to the quick temperature drop. Before he knew it, the vents shut off and he began to warm up.
"Mask off! I repeat, masks off!" the crew chief bellowed out, making him heard throughout the compartment.
The group of newcomers removed their masks in unison as they fixed them to their bags, waiting for follow-on orders. The door reverberated with scraping metal as the locking mechanism moved to open the heavy door. Breathing in the sterile air of the base, a new figure appeared in the doorway and waved to the crew chief to come over. Making his way through the ranks of people, he signed something on the data pad and ordered us to follow the security person.
Donned in jungle fatigues with a service pistol on his right, he ushered the group to follow him through the cramped passageways. Forming two lines, they made their way through the base, taking in the bustling activity that was occurring around them.
"Did you hear what happened to that fire team the Colonel sent out to fix the relay?" one of the security guards posted up against a wall asked the one next to him as the group passed.
"Yeah, they found the bodies the next day after they did report back," the other replied.
"Yeah, but did you hear what killed them?" pressing the other in a terrible attempt at whispering. The other guard just shook his head in response.
"The damn Na'vi hit them hard. Killed every one of them…"
Before Jacen could hear the rest of the conversation, the group had moved into another passageway and up a flight of stairs. He continued to follow the back of a person, taking in as much of the activity around him without tripping over the person in front of him. After a few minutes, they filed into the mess hall, which was filled with metal tables and chairs. The front of the room held three windows with the shutters opened, displaying the storm still going strong outside. The security person told the group to grab their seats before the head of security was to make his way down for the safety brief.
Jacen surveyed his surroundings while taking his seat, taking in the very simplistic metal and concrete room that preferred functionality over character. The light from the windows coated the room in a light grey, adding to the dismal appearance of it. It was a stark difference to the rooms that he was used to back on Earth, but so was everything else on Pandora. Cara, sliding behind him, pulled up a chair next to him and plopped down, nudging him with her elbow.
"Can't lose me that easily," she joked with him.
"I hope not because you are the only person I know here," replying as he smiled back.
Before she could reply, three security personnel cut their way through the mess hall and posted at the front of the room. Standing at parade rest, they faced the group and waited for someone. The group turned to look back the direction they came to see a towering man entering the mess hall.
The man that entered wore jungle fatigues like the rest of the security, with his sleeves rolled up nice and precise. Sporting grey hair that was cut to the exact requirements that was known in the military, he defined what an ideal military man should look like. His strong jawline was only overshadowed by the three distinct markings that ran from the back of his head to the edges of his face, clearly indicating that he was attacked by something.
"Welcome to Pandora!" the man thundered out as he moved to the front of the room.
Each step he took was done with purpose, displaying unquestioned authority to all. The occupants of the room could feel that the words that he said had no excitement behind them but were just strictly done out of formality.
"You have survived the easiest part of your journey here," he stated with no emotion, reaching the front of the room and pivoting to face the group.
"I am Colonel Quiratch and I am head of Security here on Pandora," he smiled.
"I will do my best to protect you, however, I will not succeed with all of you." These words sent a deathly stillness through the group as they looked at one another, probably calculating their odds.
"Today you will learn the rules-Pandora rules. If you follow these six simple rules, you will stand a chance to survive your tour out here," plainly stating as he moved in front of the group.
"Rule number one..." As Quiratch started, Jacen's concentration was broken as Cara started nudging him in the side trying to gain his attention.
"Hey, get a load of this guy," she whispered, nodding in the direction of the Colonel.
"I think we should listen. I didn't travel all this way just to get killed day one," he whispered back.
"You're good, he is just out here to scare everyone straight. I have heard this speech a dozen times by now," she replied.
"He's going to say don't do this, do that, blah, blah, and it all basically boils down to just don't be stupid and you won't get yourself killed out here." Drawing her hands behind her head, she fell back into her chair in a relaxed position.
Returning his concentration back to the Colonel, a cold sweat began to run down his neck as he realized that he had finished the rules. Panic began to develop in the deepest part of him and spread like wildfire as he did not know what he needed to do. Hopefully the people that he would be working with knew the rules and they wouldn't get him killed.
"Damn you, Cara," he muttered to himself.
"These three will escort you to your respective departments. Good luck," the Colonel stated, motioning to the three people behind him.
With that, the Colonel departed the room as the security personnel broke the group up into their departments. At that point, Cara and Jacen were separated as they followed their guides to wherever they had to take them. Cara's eyes met Jacen's and she motioned with her mouth in an exaggerated gesture that he would be fine.
Jacen fell in behind the mismatched group of researchers and scientists, still dwelling on the information that he missed. They made their way up and down flights of stairs, proceeding deeper into the complex, not paying any attention to where they were going.
Before long, the bleak greys turned to pure white as the walls reflected the sterile environment the scientist and researchers maintained. Reaching the research department, they were overwhelmed with the amount of equipment and experiments that were being run, as well as the amount of personnel moving about like some sterile beehive.
Up ahead, Jacen could see a tall woman in the center of a room surrounded by monitors and people, clearly displaying that she was not in a pleasant mood. She had short red hair and wore a white lab coat that most likely denoted, at least in his mind, that she was a scientist. Taking a drag from her cigarette, she continued her fury to all that passed by, motioning erratically with her arms.
"Dr. Augustine, here is the new group that was assigned to your department," the security person spoke, breaking her concentration.
Making her way over with a cigarette hanging out of the corner of her mouth, she took the data pad from the guard and dismissed him with a wave. She began to scroll through the data as she looked them up and down, scrutinizing the eight-remaining people from the shuttle. After each person, she would utter something good or nothing at all as she filed down the line until she reached Jason.
"Huh," she breathed, reading Jacen's bio on the data pad.
Not knowing what to say, Jacen cleared his throat and smiled back at her, attempting to elicit another response. Jacen studied the eyes of Dr. Augustine for what felt like hours, as they searched the data pad for something that clearly was not there.
"Useless," was all that she said when she finally spoke with a dismissive wave.
"What!?" Jacen retorted, baffled by the response.
"Useless and clearly they need to add hard of hearing. I need qualified people here, not some lucky lottery winner that found a golden ticket," she fired back, staring down at him in disgust.
He tried to remain calm, knowing that this would be his first impression here on Pandora and more importantly, to the person who would most likely be his boss. Searching his mind, he tried to develop a response that was both diplomatic and gave himself some credit.
"I trained three years to come here. It wasn't like I just hopped on a shuttle and magically appeared here," he shot back not hold back his emotions.
"Damn it," he thought after the words left his mouth, knowing the ensuing storm that was about to break on him.
"What are you qualified to do, huh? Do you know anything about botany? Are you a specialized scientist like everyone else here? Or are you a qualified researcher that has put over a decade's worth of their life to just step foot on this planet? Or do you just know how to point a gun and shoot?" she replied sharply, like a hot knife through butter, tossing the data pad on the desk.
Jacen stood there, balled his hands into a fist, and stared back at this woman tearing him down. The other researchers in the area started to take notice of the interaction, as they casually looked their direction to see what was going to happen next.
"That's what I thought-useless," she breathed out, forcing herself past him.
"The company that sent me here pays for this whole thing!" Jacen shouted at the top of his lungs, silencing the room.
This halted Dr. Augustine in her tracks, forcing her to turn back to where Jacen was standing. Turning around, Jacen met her glaring eyes with his as a standoff began inside the lab.
"The person that sent me here is on the board, the same board that pays for all this," stating as he motioned to the room.
"And they can quickly take it away when I tell them what you are doing here, or even better remove you," threatening her clearly, making no attempt to be diplomatic.
"That's your little power play?" she scoffed at him.
"You're going to have to do better than that," laughing at him.
With that, she turned and stormed out of the room, clearly heading somewhere to give someone a piece of her mind. The stillness of the room left as the researchers returned to their work and the new group gawked at him in confusion and worry. This was the last thing that he wanted.
"I apologize for the Doctor's little display. I am Max. You can basically think of me as the number two person here," a gentler man spoke from behind one of the monitors.
Max was an average built man in height and stature. He had black curly hair and donned the same white lab coat as Dr. Augustine. He also wore silver-rimmed glasses, giving off the classic smart guy appearance.
"Here are your assigned teams and the current projects they are working on," he finished up as he grabbed the data pads and passed them out to everyone except for Jacen.
"For you, I need you to come back at O nine hundred hours tomorrow and try not to piss her off again," he spoke with sternness while handing him a data pad.
Before he could respond, Max put up his hands, gave him the look of "I know", and moved on to assist others to find their perspective teams. This left Jacen to stand there all alone as the weight of what had just transpired crashed upon him. No longer was he some unknown person; now he's the person that people openly avoid.
By the time the whole incident was over and Jacen had departed the lab it was lunchtime, so he made his way to the mess hall. After many wrong turns, he managed to locate the mess hall and grab some food. Turning, he quickly found an empty space at a table near the corner of the mess hall. Sitting down quietly, trying not to draw attention to himself, he picked at the generic food that was served here, which once again reminded him of where he was.
"How was your first impression?" Cara spoke as she dropped her tray in front of him, breaking him from his stewing.
"Well, it can't get any worse than what has already happened," he muttered out, thinking about the incident.
"Yeah, I heard about it," she matter-of-factly stated, drawing a shocked look from Jacen.
He felt the blood drain from his body at the remark. His mind fixated on how quickly word spread around here and how miserable his life would be going forward. He started to think about what Cara thought of him now and how he probably won't be seeing much of her anymore.
"I'm just playing. God don't have a heart attack," she chuckled out, making funny faces at him.
"Well, how was yours?" he questioned, trying to divert the conversation away from him.
"Same old, same old. Take this equipment here, stay with said equipment, don't let equipment get destroyed, and don't die in the process," tapping each finger as she listed them off.
"Tomorrow they fit us for our gear and run us through some exercise to make sure we don't die instantly out there. How kind of them," she said, staring off into the distance.
"Seems like you are enjoying yourself out here," he pointed out.
"It's okay. Tomorrow will be fun because we at least get to put rounds down range, but the real excitement will be outside these walls," she replied, not noticing that she was leaning over the table.
"Cool. I hope my department doesn't disown me and send me somewhere else," he commented, looking down at his food.
"What the hell happened? Did you light someone on fire or do some experiment wrong?" she asked sarcastically.
"Nah, I pissed off my boss because apparently I don't live up to her expectations and let everyone in the whole damn department know," he replied, letting some of his emotions slip out.
"Well, I don't know what happened, but my old man used to say that 'if you treat people like shit, don't be surprised when you get what's com'in to yah'," she stated, pointing a fork at him.
"Well, I'm done, so I'm going to head back to my room and settle in. I bet I have a ton of homework to do," he moaned out, rising from the table.
"Eww, I'm glad I don't have your job," she said while giving a disgusted look.
"Yup, see you tomorrow, same place?" he questioned, feeling his emotions hanging on her response.
"Yup!" her response short as she returned to her food.
Jacen felt his spirits lift since at least one person on this base did not hate his guts. With that, he smiled at her, got up from the table, and grabbed his half-eaten tray. Moving through the crowded mess hall, he expected to hear people whispering about him but to his relief, no one paid him any mind, let alone looked at him.
Departing the mess hall, he made his way to the scullery and dropped his tray off. Pulling out his data pad, he scrolled to find his tac number for the room he would be staying in and made his way there. After getting lost and asking multiple people for directions, he finally found it and let out a sigh of relief.
His room housed a stack of bed racks two high, embedded into the metal. They were tall enough to allow a person to fully sit up in them and that was all. They also housed a personal monitor for whatever the user needed it for. On the other side was a small common space ordained with a small table and a couple of chairs. Forward of him was a door cut into the concrete wall and through it revealed a bathroom which housed a single shower head, a toilet, and a sink/mirror combo.
Jacen grabbed his bag, tossed it into the standup locker next to his rack, and flopped onto the bottom bed. Letting out an exaggerated breath, he thought about the terrible start to his experience here and how people would treat him differently because of it. As his mind began to wander, he started thinking about home.
*Flashback*
Opening a heavy wooden door, Jacen enters a luxurious meeting room. He was taken aback by the spaciousness of the room. The walls were polished black with priceless paintings ordorning them. The center of the room featured a massive, dark wooden table, adding to the overall elegance of the room. Around the table sat executive-style leather chairs most likely made with the softest leather possible. Looking to the windows which lined the left side of the room, stood his sister, Jade.
"Hey!" he called out to her.
"Hey," she replied, never taking her eyes from the window.
She stood there stoically dressed in one of her business suits as usual, which was perfectly tailored to accentuate her feminine features. Her dark brown hair was done up in a way Jacen couldn't describe and not a single hair was out of place. She wore a slight smile on her face coupled with soft features that made guys melt in her hands.
"Congrats on getting selected to be on the board of directors for the RDA! You must be so happy!" He tried to sound excited for her, but his heart still sank because of the disappointment he had of being compared to her.
"Thank you! I'm so excited to get started. Did you know I will be the youngest board member ever at the RDA?" pointing out the fact as she beamed with excitement.
Her older brother always meant the world to her and she strived to surpass him at everything that he did. It wasn't because she was petty or hated him; it was because she felt more challenged than she did with her peers when measuring up their achievements. He was constantly ahead of her, not only in age, but in everything else, and she did everything she could to catch up and surpass him. Turning to her brother, she waited for the response of the person she always wanted to be.
The sinking feeling in his heart began to surface again as he thought about how his parents would be so proud of his younger sister's accomplishments and informed people constantly about them. He knew that his parents loved him, but he knew that their interest in him wavered as Jade grabbed success with relative ease. He felt that they no longer expected him to do anything great and focused their efforts on someone with more promise and potential.
"Yeah, that's not surprising since you have been at the top ever since you were born," he replied, trying not to let his sister know what he was feeling.
"I can't wait to see Pandora! Now that I am a board member, I know that I can go," she said, returning her gaze to outside the window.
Jade, no longer focusing on her brother, looked out at the vastness of the city. She saw opportunity where none could see and seized it with determination and focus. Her dream was to make it to Pandora someday and this was the most sure-fire way she knew.
"Yeah, I would love to see it, too," Jacen sighed, following his sister's gaze out the window.
He stood there not really focusing on anything, but just staring into the vastness of the city that the building stood amongst. Deep down, he wondered if his life would amount to anything or would he be instantly forgotten when he passed. The coldness of those thoughts left him feeling more alone and depressed than ever, bringing a tear to the corner of his eye.
Returning back to the present, he quickly squashed the thoughts that were stirring in the back of his mind because he knew that it would drum up unpleasant memories. Reaching, he pulled the monitor in his rack close to him and logged in. Upon seeing the laundry list of items populate for him to complete, he tore into it with fervor. No longer was he going to be dictated by others' ideas of him; he was going to make a name for himself here.
Authors Note:
Thank you for reading! I wanted to explore what happened before the movie and how Grace got involved with the Omaticaya Clan. Hopefully this interests you and gives you a break from the retell of the movie. Please like and review, si arayo!
