Chapter Two: First Impressions of Hell's Gate
Waking up from the several years journey from Earth to Pandora, it was similar to waking up from a coma in my books. The scientists told us the length of our sleep as we emerged from our capsules while also warning us of how weak we would be because of the rather long of a journey we had just completed. As I emerged from my capsule, I turned to see Jake right beside me smiling at the lack of gravity we were experiencing. Both of us giggle slightly at the experience, before the doctors told us to eat these special meals to help us regain our strength before we head down to the planets surface. As I looked around, I noticed that most of the men and women emerging from their own capsules were addressing each other in military terms, probably meaning their the guns for hire on this expedition. The thought reminded me of my presence here, we both weren't here compared to most people. My brother to take over Tommy's avatar to help studying, while I was there to help with the study of animal behaviour. However, we still had the journey from the shuttle to the planet which would only take a few more hours of general showering, packing and proper procedure before I got to see my avatar. As Jake and I went through the quick briefs of knowledge they delivered about the dangerous situations on Pandora's surface like the no oxygen air, we both were quite excited for the entire situation even if Jake didn't want to exactly tell me that. Before we knew it , we were being shuffled down onto the shuttle to begin or official journey on Pandora. The Crew Chief was judging us, well specifically Jake, due to the fact soldiers not scientists were the norm to this trip to Pandora. He began to walk down the aisles, yelling loudly at everyone.
"Exo-packs on! Let's go people!" He yelled, forcing all of us to quickly don our breathing gear thankfully the practice helped or else I'd be taking forever to put it on. "Remember people you lose your mask, you're down in 20 seconds and you're dead in 4 minutes. Let's nobody be dead today, it looks bad on my report!" He yelled. As if dying is a thing he needs to worry about, he stays on the shuttle probably.
"Oh your poor report," I snickered making Jake join in with me with our joint sense of humour. He never was the one to really follow the chain of command. A couple minutes later, the shuttle stopped with the tell-tale feeling of the wheels hitting the ground.
"Let's move it people! Harnesses off! Grab your packs!" The crew chief yelled. All of the soldiers sitting beside us immediately stood up and, as the ramp lowered only to reveal Pandora in all its glory, ran out in unison. I waited for Jake as we both waited for a clear exit line. The crew chief walked out behind everyone yelling still. "When that Ramos goes down, go directly into the base and do not stop! Wait for my mark!" His voice finally ended. I stayed with Jake. His wheelchair made it difficult for him getting anywhere really, especially this stupid aircraft with no space between their seats. I went to help Jake move to his chair but the stubborn bastard of course said no. Despite his legs not working, he didn't want anyone to treat him differently. Once a soldier always a soldier, even if the body changes the attitude never leaves him. I always waited for him but he still sometimes gave me that look where I should have kept walking but how could I? I am his little sister, I always followed him and Tommy. My brothers could not be anymore different to each other despite them being twins, Tommy was the scientist while Jake was the military fighter while I was the animal lover with no restraint. As the ramp touched down, the crew chief yelled out with his mask in place, waving his arms to direct the soldiers out.
"Go directly into the base! Do not stop! Go straight inside!" He yelled. Both Jake and I waited until the entirety of the craft was empty except for us and the crew chief before starting to walk out. If the sight from within the craft was amazing, then the view outside the ship was wonderous. The green rainforest and the beautiful skies were only ruined by one thing, Hell's Gate. A grey concrete compound surrounded by a chain-link fence, large metal suits, huge trucks and mining equipment with dark ships filling the airfield. It was an emotionless place, filled so far with cruel people where money was all they cared about. The people carried guns, wore camouflage where it wasn't really required...That was before I saw the large arrows imbedded deep into the tires of the mining trucks. Jake and I waited until the truck moved directly passed us forcing us to stop and watch it. It was slow but as loud as it could be. The most disappointing thing about Hell's Gate, it doesn't get any better on the inside in fact it seemed to get worse. It was cold, empty with little to no personality and filled with people with no emotion and no care. Jake and I walked through the dark colony and it seemed to be forever dark and quiet. That is until we got to the commissary or the fancy term for a dining area. A loud commanding voice broke through the silence.
"You are not in Kansas anymore... You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen." The man spoke, pacing the front of the cafeteria his appearance commanding respect, fear or both. The man was quite handsome with sharp features and dark eyes, but his appearance was more rugged and harsh with the healed scars covering his face from scalp to his jaw. As he walked, thick and heavy boots beat down on the metal floors, his large pistol rattled on his belt with every step he took. His eyes scanned the entire room, slightly pausing on my brother and I before he continued his speech.
"Respect that fact every second of very day." The room got very quiet when the man pointed out to the window. "Out beyond that fence every living thing that crawls, flies or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes for jujubees. We have an indigenous population of humanoids here called the Na'vi. They're fond of arrows dipped in a neurotoxin which can stop your heart in one minute." Well... Shit. That is not exactly the sunny version of Pandora that I wanted hoped to see. "As head of security, it's not my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed," he slightly paused which increased my anxiety just slightly, "not with all of you." 'That's not exactly a positive message... I like my life...alive and in one piece', I thought with a slight smile on my face. The dark tone in his voice was kind of worrying but Pandora shouldn't be that dangerous... Should it? The soon boring topic of safety produces, and health rules drowned out my thoughts. I turned to look at Jake and he seemed out of it, more than usual at least. He sat watching the man give his debriefing, eyes focused into their training once again. I don't think I realised how hard this would be for him, seeing what he did before his injury happened. We stayed there both in and out of focus from the debrief and me from my future hopes of Pandora. Soon but not as quick as I'd like, the safety talk was finished, and we were heading to find the lab.
Finding the lab would have been a bit easier if the halls weren't as smalls and people filling the remainder of the hall coming from both directions. It made it harder for Jake and I knew he would never ask people to move quicker or slower, he would just speed up for others because he felt somewhat guilty even if he never made anyone go slower.
"Hey Jake, did that guy's speech give you bad memories?" I joked with him, hoping to make him smile a bit.
"A bit, but there's nothing like an old-school safety brief to put your mind at ease." He spoke with a slight smirk on his face.
"I do hope you're joking brother, that was not putting my mind at ease. That was actually just plain old boring... Were they always like that?" I asked, struggling to carry my duffle bag through the halls. He was about to comment back with a smile on his face before we were interrupted.
"Hey, hey you're Jake, right? Tom's brother?" A tall skinny man with a large duffel runs up to Jake...and ruining the good first impression that you only get once with his last question. With my brother's expression, he better say something smart quick. "You look just like him." well, that ship sailed quickly.
"Of course, they look alike, they're twins." I remarked but thankfully my comment was unheard by the two of them.
"Sorry, I'm Norm Spellman. I went through avatar training with him." He said offering his hand to Jake, at the mention of his name I smiled in realisation.
"Oh my god, you're the Norm Tom mentioned! He said you had a good sense of humour." I said offering my hand in a shake. He looked rather cautious at my offering. "You're kidding me, you know who I am right?" I asked in disbelief. He just stood there all confused.
"No... should I?" He asked... making my mouth dropped.
"Seriously...Tommy didn't at all mention his favourite sibling and all so beautiful little sister?" I joked making his face pale.
"oh, I am so sorry, you're Jewel?" He asked with a smile on his face slowly growing. "You're the one who brought home the cat and didn't realise it was pregnant?" He asked with a sly smile on his face. The story made me gasp, how dare Tommy tell him!
"Tommy told you?! What else did that bastard tell you?!" I yelled in anger, making the two men surrounding me laugh loudly which made my scowl even bigger. "It's not funny Jake, he could know all of our secrets..." I whispered to him, slightly over dramatized but hey, girls got to make her fun somehow. The two men continued to chuckle in their chest as I frowned.
"I don't think Norm will overpower you with the many stories Tommy revealed about you, will you Norm?" Jake asked well teased me and it seemed like Norm got the hidden message.
"Pff of course not Jewel, just remember the secrets in my head... For now... And well let's just say if we find any animals in here, I know where to come first." he chuckled making me gasp in faux-shock. The two men chuckle all the way to the bio-lab, making me scowl and cross my arms but I could see the two growing closer on the way to the lab. If only I knew that the second, I entered the lab my life would change forever.