The Prince became furious when he discovered through his bugs that the rider of the toruk was not Lex. Giving other alien species Yautja technology was forbidden even for temporary use. Now the real Toruk Makto was gathering the other tribes to resist the Yautja. This put the Prince in an awkward position. He could easily kill all the Na'vi, but then that would deprive future generations of Yautja a good hunt. On the other hand he couldn't infiltrate their group either without significant casualties. What made matters worse was that it had started to rain.
As the clans arrived they filled up the main tree. Inevitably an electronic bug was discovered. The rest of the tree was scanned by the Na'vi from top to bottom until they were all discovered. Lex looked over the hundreds of bugs that had been collected.
"So, he knows what I have been up to," Lex realized.
There was no turning back. If the Prince considered her an enemy she would have to defeat him somehow and become one of the Na'vi. As the rain poured down, Lex organized larger search parties to find Yautja warriors. Without their cloak the Yautja resorted to primitive camouflage, but the Na'vi were able to smell them out using animals they could tame.
Lex then sent the Na'vi air force to go after the Yautja battleship. Either the ship would have to withdraw abandoning its warriors or would be forced to stay and fight. The Toruk Makto led the hundreds of ikran towards the Yautja ship. The Prince saw the large flock approaching in advance and considered what to do.
"They will soon be in firing range," the pilot told the Prince.
The Prince wondered why Lex would send the Na'vi out on a suicide mission. The ikran were no threat against the ship. Even if all of them were to attach themselves to the hull it would not destabilize the ship. Their arrows were also incapable of penetrating the hull. There were also no entrance points where the Na'vi could infiltrate the ship.
"Scan for radiation signatures," the Prince ordered.
The pilots scanned the flock of ikran and found several radiation signatures. "Target the radiation signatures," the Prince ordered.
The ship fired on the ikran flock but hit the wrong ikrans. The Na'vi were intentionally shielding the ikran with the bombs. "Repeat," the Prince ordered.
The ship continued firing on the ikran while also backing away at the same speed that the Ikran were approaching. As plasma bursts hit, ikran were blasted to pieces along with their rider. The Prince sat on his throne unimpressed as the Na'vi flew in vain to try to keep up with the ship. "Inform me when they're all dead," the Prince said as he moved towards his quarters.
The ship suddenly moved violently from an impact. The Prince steadied himself as the ship worked to reorient itself. "An engine has been hit," the pilot reported.
The Prince saw that there were ikran from below and from behind attacking. The first flock was merely a diversion. "Increase elevation," the Prince ordered.
The ship went up into the sky where the air was too thin for the ikran. The Na'vi activated the Yautja bombs and threw them at the engines. There were intense mini nuclear explosions that shook the ship. The ship could no longer maintain its altitude but could still fly. The Na'vi jumped onto the ship and placed the bombs on the hull using a sticky substance.
The pilots activated an electric field shocking the Na'vi warriors on the hull. The bombs exploded causing significant damage to the battleship. "We're going down," the pilot informed the Prince.
Flames roared around the ship from the bombs. The Na'vi cheered as the ship went into a valley and crashed into the ground. "Status report," the Prince ordered.
"We have lost engine control at the moment. The ship has sustained significant damage," the pilot said.
"Send out a distress call. Tell them we have had an engine malfunction," the Prince ordered.
The Prince clapped his hands and laughed in amazement. "Not bad," he said to himself.
The Na'vi celebrated their victory while also reserving time for the dozens that had been killed. With the Yautja threat neutralized the Na'vi clans gathered at the new Tree of Souls. Lex placed herself next to the tree besides a female Na'vi that had recently died. Their bodies became covered in a white energetic grass that was focused on her nervous system. The other Na'vi connected the end of their hair braid to the ground connecting themselves to Eywa. The Shaman started the ritual to make Lex become one of them.
The ground and the tree glowed as the ritual progressed. Lex felt herself falling asleep as if all the energy in her body was being drained away. She wondered if this procedure would kill her, but even if it did she had done okay she thought. She had struck a blow against the Yautja and saved this kind alien race.
She didn't see the religious ritual as contrary to her beliefs. Eywa was just how they expressed the mysterious nature of God. "Please forgive me," Lex said as she felt herself slip away. There was darkness and then a bright light as her mind became one with Eywa.
The Shaman looked over the two bodies and wondered if the ritual had worked. The female Na'vi suddenly opened her eyes. The Shaman backed away surprised that it had actually worked. The female Na'vi detached herself from the white grass and looked over her body. Lex saw through Na'vi eyes for the first time and realized how similar it was to her own human sight. She looked over her hands and then felt her face. The Na'vi stood up in stunned silence as she looked over herself.
"You are Na'vi now," the Shaman said pleased.
"It worked," Lex said amazed. Lex then turned to her old body. It was still alive even without Lex's mind being in it. She saw her body for the first time from a third party perspective. Compared to her new Na'vi body it looked hideous.
It was time to end her Yautja existence forever. Before the Shaman could stop her she pulled off the body's mask off. The Yautja struggled to breathe and was starting to die. "What have you done?" the Shaman asked her.
Lex didn't understand the Shaman; her translator chip was in her Yautja body, but she figured what the Shaman was thinking. "It ends here," she said in English.
The Yautja twitched and convulsed as it tried desperately to breathe. Suddenly Lex felt her chest feel constricted. She was breathing fine but she found herself wanting more air. She suddenly collapsed on the ground. There was a white light and then she found herself in her dying Yautja body. Lex felt intense pain from her lungs from the carbon dioxide exposure. She didn't know what had happened, but she did know she needed to breathe. She took her mask and put it back on. After some panting through her mask she was back to normal.
"What happened? Why wasn't it permanent?" Lex demanded of the Shaman.
"I do not know. Perhaps…," the Shaman said to herself.
The Shaman took some white strands from the tree and brought them to Lex's abdomen. The white strands spread out over Lex's abdomen more so than any part of her body. "You are with child," the Shaman revealed.
Over the next day Lex realized that as long as she hooked her body to the Tree of Souls she could transfer her mind into her Na'vi body, but never permanently. She had to keep her Yautja body fed and cared for while she was in her Na'vi body. The Na'vi were sympathetic to her allowing her to do all the things a Na'vi warrior would do. She hunted with them, learned their death ritual after a kill, rode an ikran in the skies, and navigated through the forest. The Yautja threat was still there but if her body was killed she would just go back to her Yautja body again, or at least she thought so. She became known as the female without fear of death.
Aside from this Lex felt depressed over the revelation of the pregnancy. She had been told that the Prince could render himself infertile if he wanted, but instead he had made her pregnant. She was supposed to be a warrior but the Prince had lied to her. He wanted her to have children just like the other breeders. She was furious with him and furious with herself that she had trusted him.
"If I abort the fetus we can make it permanent," Lex said to the Shaman.
"That is not our way. It is innocent life," the Shaman rebuked.
"It won't be when it becomes full grown. It will be a murderer just like the others," Lex argued.
"Not all are destined for evil. You chose to fight against your own people," she said.
"I'm not asking you to kill it. Just give me a poison that isn't strong enough to kill me," Lex said.
"I will not give it to you," the Shaman refused.
"Fine, then I'll find one myself. This moon is full of nerve toxins," Lex said frustrated.
"If you kill the child I will not perform the ritual," the Shaman said resolved.
Lex and the Shaman stared each other down. "What difference does it make? If I give birth to this monster it won't be able to breathe and it will die."
"You must go back to your people," the Shaman advised.
"After what I have done? They will skin me alive," Lex said.
"Not if you are with child," the Shaman assumed.
"This is my life, my choice!" Lex yelled at her.
"And as Shaman I have made my decision," she said angrily.
Lex stormed off feeling trapped and betrayed. She decided to go after the Toruk Makto, the one person that could potentially get rid of the Shaman for her.
A new Yautja battleship exited hyperspace and descended towards the moon. The ship then launched several transport ships to the surface of the moon near the Prince's location. The ship resembled a cylinder with three claws on the end. It slammed into the ground near to the Prince's ship. Yautja warriors exited their shuttles, and walked over to the ship. The Prince waited for them as they approached.
"My Prince," the leader of the group bowed his head.
"The ship is in need of repairs. You will fix it so that I can bring it in to Yautja Prime for further repairs. Self-destruction is not an option," the Prince ordered.
"Please show us the damaged parts," the leader requested.
The Prince showed the engineers around the ship indicating a broken part on the computer. There were multiple hull breaches, and the engines were malfunctioning. The Yautja leader realized that only bomb detonators could have done this kind of damage, but remained quiet.
"The damage is extensive my Prince. Please take one of our shuttles and go aboard our ship," the leader offered.
"I was going to do that, but I appreciate the offer," the Prince said leaving the engineers to their work. The Prince entered the shuttle and shot up towards the Yautja battleship. Upon docking, the Prince came to the bridge.
The Captain was not royalty but a respected nobleman and warrior. The Prince and this noble knew each other well, and could be considered friends. "I offer you my ship," the nobleman said.
"That won't be necessary just yet," the Prince said.
The Nobleman bowed his head realizing that the Prince intended to take his ship whenever he wanted. "I would be honored if we had dinner together," the nobleman said.
"I will join you."