A/N: I know in the first chapter I said this story would be partially told in the first person point of view, but after thinking it through I think I'm just going to tell the first two chapters completely in the 3rd person because I think it will be much easier to tell this part of the story from the 3rd person. Also, to all of the conservatives' who are reading this, this chapter will introduce a lesbian character and if you don't support that then I suggest you get your not with the times behinds out of here. (That is as political as I will ever get on this website so you don't have to worry about this fanfic becoming a political advertisement) If you are wondering what the main character looks like, please google "female Dani Rojas far cry 6". That is what I imagine Céleste looking like except with curly hair and slightly darker skin. Now, please enjoy.
'It's been over 12 years since that faithful day when Alicia and Eric found me, what a ride it has been' Céleste thought to herself as she sat in the lone chair inside of the gray walled interrogation room. With the exception of the one way mirror, through which she stared at her own deep blue eyes with an indifferent expression, the room was a completely square block of concrete with only one metal door for access in or out.
Despite the stone cool look on her face, Céleste was internally screaming at herself. Why had she done this? Tommy had told her about this Avatar program and had been begging their parents to let him apply for a few years now. He'd also told her how it was supposedly almost impossible just to pass the test to get into the program. 'Supposedly' she scoffed at herself. When the Sully family first took her in it hadn't taken them long to find out that, even at a young age, Céleste was a knowledge addict. When she was little and she wasn't off having fun with her friends or causing trouble with her brothers, their was a 99% chance you would find her with her nose buried in a book of some sort, usually something educational.
When she got older and she started school was when her hunger for information really kicked in. She soaked up every drop of info her teachers said like a sponge. And when she would get home the first thing she would do after finishing her homework was start surfing the web for the latest news from the scientific community.
This thirst for knowledge had transformed Céleste into "A living super computer" to quote her brother Jake. This also meant that by the time she was 16 Céleste was already starting her 3rd year of college while TRIPLE majoring. The only problem was that she knew that no matter how many degrees she got, how many topics she majored in, it wasn't going to matter because the Earth was going to die either way.
That was half of the reason she had applied to this Avatar program. She hoped that by becoming an Avatar she could study the planet and the natives of Pandora themselves and help them and their planet, whether it be by giving the natives better technology and medicine, or simply by getting the RDA to treat them better.
The other half of her reasoning for wanting into this program was that she needed a new challenge, a way to make a real difference, and nothing on this decaying rock of a planet was ever going to give her that challenge. Only problem was you had to be 18 to legally take the test and Céleste had done some less than legal acts in order to be able to take the test.
Now here she was, locked inside of a concrete interrogation room with several cameras aimed at her, and she could feel people looking at her through the one way mirror in front of her, and from the sound of the muffled conversation just outside the door, guards posted at the only way out. 'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea' she thought to herself.
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the metal door swung open and a middle aged white woman walked in. She looked to be in her mid 30's or 40's, medium tan skin, (though from the slightly orange hue it was clearly a spray tan), and wearing a gray jumpsuit and carrying a briefcase which she more of less slammed on the table in front of Céleste before opening it and laying out several files.
"Do you know who I am?" she asked bluntly, to which Céleste, not knowing what else to say, simply responded with "no ma'am, I do not." "Well, I guess it's less important who I am, what does matter is who you are, Miss..." "Céleste Siena Sully." Céleste responded to which the woman herself reacted to by starting to write down some unknown thing on a piece of paper in a profile folder which she was holding in her arm at an angle so Céleste couldn't see exactly what she was writing. "Just how did you hear about the Avatar program Ms. Sully?" the woman asked. "My brother has been talking with our parents about it for a few years now." She replied. "and your brother is?" "Jake Sully" The woman started sifting through the other files she had placed on the table, searching... Searching..
Searchi.. "Aha, Mr. Sully" she said as she pulled Tom's file from the pile on the table and started reading.
Almost immediately her face turned to confusion when she came across what must have been Tommy's profile photo since she started looking back from the Black girl in front of her and the photo of the white guy in the profile wondering how these two were related. Céleste sighed as she watched the woman's head go back from the picture to her face. 'Why do I have to do this every. Single. Time.' She thought to herself as she started to explain. "The Sully's adopted me when I was 3 years old." The teenager stated. "Keep going. This all needs to go in your profile." the 'interrogator' said as she opened an empty profile folder and started writing in it. Céleste, not knowing what else to do, proceeded to tell the story that Alicia and Eric had told her on many occasions of how they had found her.
"My mom and dad found me living on the streets in New Orleans when they had come to help provide aid to the people affected by the COVID outbreak that had swept through the city a few months earlier. Apparently when mom and dad found me I told them that my biological parents had died during the outbreak and I had been living and fending for myself at 3 years old for months when they found me. My earliest memory is actually of the day that they brought me home for the first time and I met my brothers Tommy and Jake." She finished with a slight chuckle as she thought back fondly of that memory. "Did you ever find out who your real parents were?" the woman in the gray suit asked. Céleste cussed inside. 'Why does this woman need to know my life story if she isn't even going to let me into the program?' she thought to herself. "Yes I did, sort of. When I was 13 I started to wonder who my biological parents were so I asked mom and dad if I could get a DNA test. I told them I would pay for it myself but they were very insistent on helping me out. After I took the test and all that I found out that my mother was Colombian and my father was African American, but we never learned their names because the only bit of their DNA on file was from two unnamed homeless people that were found dead under a bridge in the slums of New Orleans."
The woman had just finished writing all of this down when suddenly a vibrating sound came from the inside of her brief case, to which she responded by reaching her hand into the box and pulling out a handheld iPad. The gray suit woman then proceeded to look Céleste squarely in her night sky blue eyes and said "How about a change of pace, hmm. You managed to hack into the RDA's network system and manipulated it to accept a fake ID that was so good that we never would have known if it wasn't for that fact that when we ran your name it came back as you being a registered minor, all so you could take the Avatar Program test. I would ask how you managed to do that but I see no need to ask that of someone who is triple majoring in her 3rd year of college at just 16." She said as she looked down at the iPad in her hands which must have been showing Céleste's college profile. "Your majoring in mathematics, science, and ecology/biology. You're in more extracurriculars than I have time to name, your bi-lingual, your a registered black belt in several types of martial arts... This thing reads like a Christmas carol."
Céleste was starting to get impatient and it must have shown since the next thing gray suit said was "I'm just going to get to the point Céleste..." "Heaven" Céleste said suddenly, cutting her off from her words. "Excuse me?" "Everyone else just calls me 'Heaven' since my name translates to 'Heavenly' so that's what everyone calls me, plus, I prefer it that way." She explained. "Okay 'Heaven', I'm just going to say it as it is. You shouldn't be here. Someone as smart as you has to have known that you have to be 18 to take the test. And with all of your talents and intelligence, you look to have a bright future, one of the brightest I've ever seen if I might add. So why did you risk it all by illegally taking the test?" She finished. Céleste had nothing better to say so she just said the truth. "Because Tommy had told me how hard, almost impossible the test was to pass. So I knew I had to try it, plus, it doesn't matter how many degrees or extracurriculars I'm in if there isn't a planet around to put them to good use. That's why I want to go to Pandora, were I could actually do something with my life instead of slowly waste away here like the rest of the planet."
Céleste was now at her breaking point, she had had enough of this interrogation room and this woman. "Why are you asking me these questions? Your just going to throw me out without even giving me a chance just because I'm under age." "Ms. Sully, normally that is what we would do if this was the normal under age tester who was just trying to do the test for the sake of it. But this isn't normal because none of those kids got perfect scores, which shouldn't even be possible, especially since we frisk and scan every participant and remove every electronic to ensure their is no cheating. You however, did exactly that, you aced the test, no mistakes what so ever." She stated. Céleste was now looking at the woman with a glint in her eye that had a clear 'what does that mean' message in them. Gray suit sighed before continuing. "I don't like it but we've already been in contact with the head of the program on Pandora and she has approved of us making an exemption to the age limit so you can join the program."
Céleste couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Seriously?" she asked, shock and surprise filling her voice. "Please remember that just the training alone is a ten year endeavor, you have to go through mental and physical training that have driven weaker minded people to insanity. Their may be more than 200 trainees in the program when you start, but only about 10 of them will be going to Pandora after the best of each department are selected. And it's almost 6 years of cryo sleep aboard a spaceship just to get to Pandora and 6 years still on the planet till you are even given the option to come back to Earth, if you survive that long." "I'd rather die on a planet that's still got a chance then on a planet who is going to the grave faster than any of the inhabitants will admit." The blue eyed teenager responded with confidence and certainty in her every word.
"Okay then, now all we have to do is sign some papers and notify your parents." The woman said as she retrieved said papers from her briefcase. Céleste chuckled under her breath. Signing papers she could do, notifying her parents of what she had done and was about to do was going to be an adventure and a half all on it's own.
A/N: I know it said in the movie that Jake's brother Tom trained for three years and Norm studied for 5 years but I said ten because it just fit the story better and I feel like if this movie was real life that would be closer to what the actual training would be like.
A few weeks later...
It had been a few weeks since Céleste had been allowed to join the program and she couldn't help but laugh at the so-called "hell" that she, her brother, and their fellow space popsicles in training were going through. The training included everything from low gravity training rooms and obstacle courses from hell to scientific research and all sorts of mental testing. The reason Céleste couldn't help but enjoy it was because for her these tests were a piece of cake. She had been training her body both physically and mentally since she was a child, so none of the things that the instructors threw at her was any kind of challenge. The only thing in the program that gave her a hard time was the cafeteria. 'Trillions of dollars into this program and they can't afford to stock the mess hall at home with some half decent chow. I'm praying that the food on Pandora is better.' She thought to herself as she sat in the mess hall staring at her pathetic excuse for food.
She was sitting at the table where the new kids typically sat, so naturally that included her brother Tom (who had only gotten in a week before her), Tom's new friend Norm, herself, and a few other new students. Suddenly she could feel a pair of eyes watching her and felt a presence approaching from behind. She had always had some odd way of knowing when she was being watched or someone was approaching her. She never did know how or why, similar to how she would have dreams of things that had happened in the past through the eyes of people that were not her, or why she often dreamed of things that were going to happen, be it weeks or months in the future or the very next day. Either way she had dreamt the previous night that something unpleasant and unnerving was going to happen at lunch today and she had a feeling that the presence creeping up behind her was going to be the cause of it.
Céleste continued to stare at her lunch hoping the person behind her would just keep walking. Those hopes died the second she heard the footsteps of the person stop to the back/left side of her followed by the words "Hello Sully #2." She grimaced on the inside. 'I can't ever catch a break..' she thought as she turned to meet the owner of the voice. She was met by a man with dirty blond hair, sharp features, pale green eyes, fair skin, and a permanent Cheshire cat grin that bordered on impish. He would have been cute, if his eyes didn't wander over her so hungerly.
"And you are...?" Céleste asked, to which he smiled, making a group of women a few paces away sigh, probably because they were hopelessly attracted to him. "Name's Coffman. Liam Coffman, pleasure to meet you." He said as he extended a hand. Céleste was reluctant to take it, but she didn't want to be rude. After they had shook hands she asked "..and just how do you know me?"
Coffman took it upon himself to take a seat right next to her, which resulted in the jealous group of women giving her some heavy glares. "I have my ways. Plus, Tom is in my obstacle course group. He slipped it that he had a sister in the program and I just had to meet the Sully family prodigy." He said. The flattery would have been almost bearable if it wasn't for the fact that his eyes had settled themselves squarely on her chest. Céleste moved her head to intercept his lower-than-necessary eye line. "Oh wow, really? Tommy didn't tell me he had made a new friend." The words might have been sweet but her tone could have cut through steel and the look on her face could have melted it. She might have been the youngest here, but she wasn't going to take shit from anyone, not from the people who thought she was too young, not from her instructors who didn't think she had what it took, and certainly not from some Casanova wannabe.
He chuckled, her harsh tone seemingly going right past his head. "Yeah, well. Thomas forgot to mention that his sister was so beautiful. Say, your name is...?" She could hardly restrain herself from rolling her eyes. Goddess, what was it going to take to get some peace and quiet around here? "If I just told you then that would be too easy. How 'bout you go ask my brother since he seems to be so intent on giving out that sort of information." She went to stand up when he grabbed her arm. "Come on dollface..." She turned and stared at him, venom clear in her eyes. A stone cold neutral look plastered on her face. Her voice came out gentle but uncompromised, like a mother scolding her child. "One. I'm not a doll. If you treat me as such, and you'll need so many plastic surgeries that you will look like one. Two. If you ever touch me without my permission again, and you will loose a hand. Three. You think you can get me with your pretty-boy smile but you can't. Many men who're better looking, wealthier, and definitely packing more than you have tried and failed to get in my pants. Don't humiliate yourself by trying to get me. It won't happen comemierda." The other trainees who knew what that spanish word meant either gasped or tried their best to stop themselves from chuckling. She ripped her hand away, drinking in every drop of his shocked expression with a smirk. "Good day to you too."
She left the mess with a pleased smile on her face. She was wondering where she should go next when- "Heaven! Heaven lovely, come here!" A familiar voice from down the hall called to her, the sound of her nickname making her turn with a grin. "Rylie!" The young black girl in question stopped in front of her, her usual cheery vibe and good natured smile was stuck on her face. 'I wonder if she ever frowns.' Céleste thought with a chuckle. Rylie Carr was only 17, Céleste beating her as the youngest in the group by only a couple months. The young woman had caramel colored skin, just a few shades darker than Céleste's, she was 5'8, and had stunningly brown eyes. However, Céleste noticed her friend was panting slightly and had to catch her breath. "Where you headin' in such a hurry?" "Did you forget? The demo for the new microspectrometer they just installed is starting soon." Céleste's dark blue eyes widened in shock. "Oh shit I forgot! Let's go!"
A/N: remember how earlier in the story it said that Céleste was bi-lingual? Her second language is Spanish and for all those who don't know what comemierda means it has no direct English translation but it's a degenerating term used to describe someone unpleasant or mean, like calling/saying someone is a 'sun of a bitch' or 'a bastard' in English. Since Céleste's mother was Spanish and all it means that she grew up speaking spanish a little bit so she will ,at times, use spanish in a sentence.
5 years later...
Céleste was at her desk in her dorm room reading some of her "homework" she had been assigned by the leaders of the program. While she hadn't had anything she considered to be homework since completing her sixth year of college two years prior. (So technically she was Dr. Céleste Siana Sully now, though she didn't like the title because it "made her sound uptight and boring") They (the scientists) were tasked with learning about the natives of Pandora, the Na'vi. It was like looking into a history book, how primitive they were. Even though she had been studying them for years already, he fascination with them, their culture, their goddess, their planet, hadn't faded in even the slightest bit. And even though they weren't required to do so, she had taken to learning the language.
She was reading over one particular phrase and it's meaning "Oel ngati kame" which translates to "I see you". Apparently this phrase had great meaning and importance among the Na'vi. Céleste leaned back in against her chair and looked up at the ceiling as she contemplated it's meaning further. After a few seconds her thoughts shifted to her wondering what it was like on Pandora, what it was like to live as a Na'vi? She couldn't help but think of the reoccurring dream she had been having ever since the weeks prior to her taking the test over 5 years ago. She dreamt of standing on the branch of a great tree, overlooking a jungle in the night. The forest canopy that laid at least a quarter mile below her, with trees that were many times larger than any she had ever seen in a picture or video (those were her only options since the last true jungles had all put disappeared decades before she was born) stretched out as far as the eye could see in every direction. What she could see of the forest floor and some of the trees that made up the canopy glowed in the night in a brilliant display of every color, shape, and pattern imaginable.
Her thoughts then snapped back to the present as a sharp, burning pain erupted from her lower back. It wasn't spread out like a muscle ache or cramp, instead it was all concentrated to one spot, not more than an inch wide, right on top of her spine. 'Goddess, what is going on' she thought as the pain subsided. When her eyes came back into focus they set themselves on the picture of Alicia and Eric, who had just died the previous year during a car crash.
Céleste tried to not think about the fact that her adoptive parents were gone. Instead she would always look at that picture and think about all of the good times. Her thoughts suddenly went to a memory that had taken place just over 5 years ago, when she had to notify her parents that she had taken the Avatar Program test illegally and without their permission. That phone call when a little bit like.. Well.. "YOU DID WHAT?" Eric Sully screamed over the phone with such a loud voice that she had to hold the phone away from her head to avoid hurting her ears. (it was times like these that Céleste rejoiced in the volume buttons) "Dad, let me explain-!" "No, you went ahead and took this stupid test, we didn't even want Tom doing it in the first place and then of course you... you illegally took it and of course you aced it and now they're going to freeze you like a popsicle and shoot you out into space-!.. You're coming home. This instant. Your not doing this." Her jaw dropped. She knew her dad would be against her joining the program but this was ridiculous. She couldn't believe this. "No way, I'm not leaving until these papers are signed." "Céleste Siana Sully, if you don't come home right now-!" He cut off, there was a slight murmuring in the background. Suddenly her mom's voice came over the phone. "Céleste? Heaven honey are you there?" "Yeah, I'm here ma." Céleste could hear a half chuckle, half cry coming from the phone. A slight smile formed on her face. The sound of her mom's laughter and her voice in general never failed to ease her mood. "Your father is just a little shaken up about the thought of his only daughter getting shipped off to another planet for 6 years. He's worried, and frankly, so am I. I mean, you're only 16. Plus, we were both looking forward to seeing you through your senior year." Her mom said over the phone. Guilt slithered into her mind.
"Yeah, I know... But by the time I'm finished with the training I'll be 26, and they said I'd still be able to finish college since most of the people here are also finishing. And it won't be very hard since I'm triple majoring and.." "And being your own little Wonder Woman. I know.. Are you sure you want to do this? What about that job in New San Diego? They've been blowing up your phone for months haven't they?" A research facility on the island of California. (It had broken off from the rest of the continent during a massive earthquake during her 5th grade year that destroyed almost all of the cities in the state and broke it off from the mainland. Which made it the perfect place to have a research facility so they could conduct experiments without risk of it harming the public.) The research facility had been calling her for months, trying to get her to come and help "save the human race". 'What a bunch of bull shit' She thought to herself. She knew it was only making headway because of the government figureheads trying to convince the true masters of influence that the planet was in dire need of help. Céleste couldn't have cared less about that job, or this planet in all honesty.
She shook her head, "No mom, I wanna go. I have to go. I want to make a difference somewhere, and any help I could've done here won't matter. The planet is dying and no one cares. I can help on Pandora. I know I can, someway, somehow. I at least have to try..." Silence ensued that was absolutely defining. She looked back into the interrogation room that the woman in the gray suit was sitting in, pen in hand. "Alright Céleste.. If this is what you want then we support you. Just do your best my little angel." Alicia's voice held a hint of sadness, but was overpowered by pride, which made Céleste happier than she thought possible. "Thanks mom. I will. And tell dad I'll bring home his favorite donuts on the way back." Her mother chuckled. Céleste could hear her father's exited "Yes" in the background after her message had been relayed. "We will be expecting you and Tommy home soon. Be safe dear, and keep your brother out of trouble. I love you." "We'll be home soon ma. I love you too. Though you and I both know that I can not make any promises about keeping Tom out of trouble." A slight chuckle could be heard before the call was ended.
The memory brought a warm smile to Céleste's face before she was once again interrupted by a sharp pain in her lower back. 'Why is this happening?' She once again thought to herself. She got her answer not a moment later when her phone started ringing and she saw Thomas's name on the screen. 'Odd, he never calls me on the phone.' she thought to herself. "Hello?" "Heaven! You gotta get to the hospital." "What-why? What's happening?" "It's Jake." Her heart stopped with that simple sentence. She hung up and immediately started running around the room, grabbing anything she might need. It all made sense now. The pain she was feeling in her back wasn't hers, it was Jake's. She ran past people in the hallway "Make a hole people! Outta my way! Move it!" She shoved when she had to, a few times almost trucking people like a football player. She made it to her car, threw her stuff in and started the engine before gunning it down the highway towards the hospital.
When she finally made it to the VA hospital and gave her name and was shown to her brothers room, she walked in and almost ran right back out when she saw the state her brother was in. He was wrapped in more bandages and hooked up to more breathing tubes and IV's then she cared to count. Thomas looked up from his seat in the corner when she walked in and proceeded to walk over to her and wrapped his arms around her as she leaned against him, both of them silently crying.
"What-what happened to him?" she whispered, her voice barely able to stay level. "He and his squad were ambushed as they were on patrol through town.. A little girl was caught in the middle.. He went to pull her out of the line of fire when a grenade went off behind him and a piece of shrapnel got caught in his back. His remaining squad mates pulled him and the girl to safety.. But.. He won't be able to walk again.. Not without the corrective surgery.."
Céleste was torn. She was relived that her brother would live to see another day, and that he wouldn't be throwing his life away in that stupid war since he no longer had the use of his legs. She was devastated however, because she knew that when he woke up and got the news, he would never be the same. She could only grip the back of Tommy's shirt and cry. She knew that the insurance payout from when their parents had died wouldn't be enough for the corrective surgery. 'Goddess knows this country doesn't give two fucks about vets in the first place.. where in the hell would we get the money for the surgery?' She and Thomas' paychecks from the RDA were good, but they weren't even going to get their first paycheck until after they arrived on Pandora, a whole 11 years from now.
It had been a few months since Jake had gotten out of the hospital and Céleste and Thomas wanted to do something for him, to let him know that his siblings were there for him. She had suggested his favorite cake with some drinks on the side. Tom had a better idea, though he didn't share it with her. She decided to let him go along with it since she always felt like they knew each other better than she did, even though they always disagreed and argued that she knew them both better than their parents did, she was the only one who could truly tell them apart 100% of the time. However as they approached Jake's apartment door, Céleste got anxious as unease pooled in her gut. Thomas knocked before fishing for something in his pocket. They heard wheels slowly approach the door, and as Tom pulled the items in question from his pocket the door swung open to reveal a very distraught and depressed looking Jake.
She would have smiled at him had she not seen the Hot Rod flame stickers in Thomas's hand. Before they even had a chance to say anything Jake slammed the door on their faces. Céleste not so lightly smacked Tom on the back of the head, followed by the words "Next time, just let me bring the goddamn cake."
5 years later...
It's the year 2148. It's been 10 years of training and studying, and Céleste and Tommy will be shipping out in a week. But Céleste was yet again, finishing a late night of studying, researching, and reminiscing about the events of the last decade and imagining the next six after they get out of cryo sleep. She was sitting in the dorm that she and Rylie shared. It was decent size and had originally looked like any normal college kid's dorm. Two rooms, each with a desk, nightstand, bed, and closet. And while the room had originally been dull and gray like the rest of the building, Céleste and Rylie had made it a point to give the place some life. The walls were decorated with art projects ranging from paintings (mostly Rylie's work) to intricate clay sculptures (mostly Céleste's work), along with posters and colorful rugs.
At the moment her friend was nowhere to be found. Off drinking with Tommy and some of the other scientists to celebrate their upcoming voyage to space if she remembered right. Suddenly a deep pain formed in her chest. So intense that she completely dropped the papers in her hand as she placed her hands over the spot that ached, right over her heart. "Maybe I shouldn't have eaten from the mess hall today" she said to herself aloud as she tried to massage the pain away. She suddenly had a urge to check up on her brothers. 'Maybe I can finally convince Jake to come over for one last family dinner.' she thought to herself.
As she was reaching for her phone the door of her dorm suddenly opened as a very drunk Rylie walked in, giggling like an idiot and barely able to stay on her feet. She was escorted by a fine looking, long legged, Latino woman to make matters even better. Rylie spotted Céleste sitting at her desk. "Heyyyy Heavenly!" she said, stumbling through her slurs and hiccups with relative ease. If their was one thing Céleste's roommate was good at, it was holding her liquor.
"Hey Carr. Havin' a good night?" She asked her intoxicated friend in a semi baby voice. (This wasn't her first time dealing with a drunk Rylie so she knew exactly how to talk to her when in such a state) "Well hells yeah, we're leaving in a wee-HIC-a week. Can't leave without living it up a little bit..." She trailed off, the woman on her arm whispering something into her ear with a devilish look on her face that was quickly mirrored on Rylie's. She knew that look. She had seen it many times when Rylie would bring her past girlfriends or one-night stands back to their room. "I hear you. I'll take a stroll through the building while you and your friend 'talk'. Say, did Tommy boy come back with you?" She asked as she got up from her desk and headed towards the door. "Nah, he said he was go-HIC-gonna go for a stroll. Said he'd send a text when he was on-HIC-on his way back." Rylie concluded as she opened the door to her own room as the two women got very handsy with each other.
Céleste quickly gathered her phone and headphones before leaving the room and closing the door. She sighed and slightly laughed as she thought back on all of the times during those first few weeks that Rylie had tried flirting with her before she was forced to tell her that she wasn't into women. In fact, she wasn't even into guys. At least, she had never been attracted to one to the point that she wanted to pursue a relationship. And she was just fine with that. She felt like she had her priorities worked out and she was in the right place.
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted again as the pain in her chest returned. Her being felt.. Empty. Cold. Alone. She wrapped her arms around herself, shuddering as she started to climb the stairs towards the roof of the building.
It wasn't until she actually reached the roof that she felt some warmth. It was summertime, and she could imagine the moon and start dotting that navy blue sky, even if it was hidden behind the miles of smog that coated the Earth's atmosphere. She could imagine those millions, billions, trillions of stars helping to light the sky, with the moon outsizing them all in it's silent glory. 'I wonder..' She thought to herself '..what the planet would look like if we humans had taken care of it the way we should have. Or if we had never existed at all..?' she thought as she laid back in one of the lawn chairs the trainees kept on the roof as she put her headphones on and became lost in her music.
She didn't know how long she had been there before she pulled out her sketchbook and just started drawing. She didn't know where the images she drew were from, just some odd memory in the very back of her mind. After a while the images took the form of a Hispanic woman and a Black man hand in hand as they leaned their heads against one another. However, the image didn't last long as the paper of her sketchbook became wet and the drawing started to fade as tears began to fall like rain onto the page.
Céleste didn't know where these tears were coming from, nor did she care as she just let herself go, not questioning anything. She stopped drawing and kept crying, wailing over the noise of the never slumbering city around her. She felt the sobs wrack her body, tears seemingly creating a never ending flow of the liquid down her cheeks.
It wasn't 'til an hour or so later that she gave her emotions a break. She packed her things and headed back to her dorm. When she got through the main door she could see that Rylie and her new 'friend' had finished getting 'acquainted' as she saw their sleeping figures on Rylie's bed with their arms wrapped around one another. She checked her phone quickly, seeing that Thomas had not texted yet when suddenly she got a call from- "Jake.." she said aloud, surprise in her voice. She quickly slipped back out of the door and into the hallway before she hesitantly answered. "Jake..?" She said, There was silence for a moment, and he said, "You might wanna get dressed.. Tommy's.. He.." Jake's voice trailed off, and she couldn't bring herself to believe him. Not her brother. No.
"No.. No he can't.. Jake.. Jacob please tell me…" "Yeah.. He.. He is.. He's down at the morgue.. I'm already here.." She couldn't take it anymore and hung up. She didn't move a muscle. Not an inch. It was like her world stood still while the world around her kept going at an alarming pace, light speed even. Her breath turned shallow, quick, she couldn't keep up, she couldn't think, she couldn't help but want to scream. She fell to her knees and her whimpers fell into dazed mumbles. The mumbles turned into groans, and the groans turned into sobs. Yet again her tears poured out, she didn't think her eyes held so much liquid sadness, but tonight was an exception. She cried and screamed till her throat was raw, till she knew the city around her could hear her grief. Till her eyes could pour no more, till her cup was finally bone dry.
She stumbled to her car, barely. But before she could start it, she spotted the picture in her rearview mirror. It was from her and her brother's graduation ceremony from high school, their parents in the background crying happy tears while her siblings had picked her up and placed her on their shoulders, their smiles bright with prospects of the future. While she graduated early (she was 14 at the time and was already taking college courses,hence being in her third year of college 2 years later) her and her brother Tom were the valedictorians of their class. That day was one for the books.
She couldn't bear to think about it anymore, forcefully turning the key in the ignition and driving down the lit up streets and wiping away what was left of her tears. She made it to the morgue, and stepping into the building, she could feel the death and lingering energies of long dead people hanging in the air. It gave her a horrible feeling. She was led to the room that held Tommy's-.. "Heaven.." Jake called out to her, his hunched figure exuding everything he couldn't bring himself to really feel. He looked so tired, and so exhausted. She gazed in his face and saw him, but she also always saw Tom. There were two men in suits and trench coats, a man with black hair, the other honey blonde, and she wondered what they wanted from her dwindling family.
She looked over at the cardboard box he was in, a plastic covering shielding his face from view. The furnace operator pulled the covering off, revealing her older brother's body.. Pale. Cold. Empty. She felt this happening before she even realized it. Just like what happened with Jake. It was enough to make her breakdown again. "What happened..?" She whispered. "He was.. He was mugged.. A few blocks from the bar he was at.." Jake whispered back, his voice tense, and she could tell he was so full of pain. She knew the feeling, and was on the verge of tears. The man behind them cleared his throat, "Ahem," Céleste turned around, wondering what these two monkey suits wanted from the grieving pair. "Céleste.." Jake said, feeling his sister's irritation spike, her patience failing.
"What was it you wanted to speak about?" Jake said politely, not bothering to turn around. "Well, like we said in the car, we represent the RDA." Céleste realized what was happening here, and felt another wave of dread flow over her. "Your brother and sister represent a significant investment. And we'd like to talk to you about taking over your brother's contract." 'Translation: His death was costly, and you happen to be identical twins.' The operator pulled the plastic down, closed the box, and pushed the button to roll her brother into the oven. All she could think was how angry she was that they were asking him like this, so short notice, it's a week before they ship out- "Since your genome is identical to his, you could step into his shoes-" Céleste and the blonde man's partner looked at him pointedly, "so to speak." He finished sheepishly in an attempt to salvage the sentence. She watched Jake, just staring at the box containing their brother's corpse, as the man pushed another button that shut the door, and another that sent the body ablaze.
"It'd be a fresh start on a new world." She tried to take a quiet breath, 'Steady yourself, pull it together.' But her heart could only take much more. "And the pay is good." The dark haired one chimed in, "Very good." Céleste had had enough. "But how do you expect to cram 10 years of training in my brother's brain huh?" Her voice was calm, but the air about her was tense, she was this close to losing her shit. "We've talked with the head trainer on Pandora and they've got a three week crash course ready for him upon landing." She supposed that would have to be efficient.. But she looked at Jake and could tell he was already considering it. Her sapphire colored eyes revealed a small fraction of her sadness, her grief.
Finally, after a few minutes of silence as Jake contemplated the offer, Céleste yielded to her internal battle. "Jake.. If you really wanna do this, I will personally give you my own version of the crash course. Since I've completed it, and I know how your brain works, I can help you up till the day of the launch." Surprised at her offer, Jake looked up at her, the men looked at each other, and the furnace person also looked shocked. "Look, I'm not happy about them asking. But you're a grown man, and whatever you choose I will respect it and support it… But I also wouldn't mind having you there if you can bother to be around me." She gave him a piece of a smile, still upset and hurt at the loss, but wanting to make sure he knew she wanted him there, as her big bro.
He sat there, thinking. The furnace turned off, the ashes were put in an urn, and the man placed it on a table. Jake was thoughtful. She hoped it didn't hurt him. The fact that he'd have to bounce between being able to walk and not was going to be stressful on him mentally, as if the fact that he was crippled wasn't enough for him to take on. 'He'd love it though..' She thought to herself. She watched him, as he looked up and nodded. Determination in his eyes. "I'll do it."
It was Launch day. Céleste and Rylie frantically ran around their dorm, trying to find anything that had personal meaning to them so they could bring on the trip to Pandora. Suddenly Jake rolled into the entrance of the dorm. They had been training hard for the past week, so much so to the point where they both had barely slept, though they both preferred it that way. It helped to keep their minds off of Tommy. "Need any help in here?" Jake asked. Céleste and Rylie both shook their heads. "Thanks, but we just finished packing the last of our stuff. You ready?" Jake nodded as he rolled his wheelchair out of the way so the two women could exit the room into the hallway before he followed them towards the shuttle.
When they came to the checkpoint to have their ID's confirmed Jake was instructed to head off towards a different part of the shuttle that must have been meant to carry the mercenaries up to the ICV that was waiting for them in the Earth's orbit. As Céleste entered the part of the shuttle that was meant for the Scientists and Avatar drivers she was asked on several occasions what she was most looking forward to. "I'm really hyped to meet the Natives." She answered. "I would rethink that if I were you. I heard that a group of Na'vi teens attacked and destroyed a couple of bulldozers because of the deforestation they were causing. Apparently they ran to the school looking for help from Dr. Augustine but the RDA's mercenaries shot up the school with them in it. Killed all of the teens responsible. They said one of them was the princess of the local tribe." A fellow avatar driver stated as the ramp door of the shuttle closed and the aircraft took off. 'What the hell are they doing over there?' Céleste thought.
Before they knew it, the shuttle had attached to the ISV waiting in orbit and all of the passengers began floating towards the hatches in the zero gravity. Right after Céleste exited the hatch into the cryo chamber area of the ship she heard the sound of metal banging on metal coming from the hole. A minute later Jake also exited the hatch with his wheelchair folded up in one hand and his pack of personal items in the other. "You ready for this?" she asked her big brother. "Are you?" he asked in return before they both put their personal items into their lockers and headed to their assigned cryo chambers which happened to be right next to each other. As they prepared to close the chambers they locked eyes with one another, each giving the other a encouraging nod before their chambers were closed. Céleste started counting backwards from ten like she had been told... 10... 'I hope I can't dream for the next 6 years..' 9... 'I wonder if Thomas has found Mom and Dad yet..'
8.. 'She was steadily getting.. sleepier..' 7.. 'I wonder if I'll get a hangover when I wake up..' 6.. She lost feeling in her legs.. 5.. It crept up her body.. 4.. Her face felt heavy.. 3.. And it all went black.
So this was a longer than normal chapter simply because I wanted to get the story going. Also, some of this chapter was literally copied and pasted from another story on AO3 but I ask permission to do so. I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter finished and uploaded but I hope to have plenty of feedback from you guys between now and then. Thank you.