Destruction and an Outcast
When morning came, I didn't know how, but I knew something was wrong.
I ignored the pain in my body and the protests of Grace to eat something and got linked in to my Avatar.
I woke up to Tsu'Tey shaking me and to my horror, I found that there were bulldozers crashing down and plowing their way through the trees.
"No!" I shouted, in horror. This was all my fault.
"Dawn, we have to get out of here!" shouted Tsu'Tey, as he tried to pull me away.
"I'm not leaving yet! They can't do this!" I shouted. I quickly played my flute and then several Hammerheads came and began crashing down on the bulldozers, preventing them from harming the trees.
Just as quickly, I played the tune to send them away. Tsu'Tey let out a yell and then we grabbed each other's hands and launched ourselves at the bulldozers' cameras. We broke them and then we ran for Hometree. We had to warn the People before things became too late.
When we arrived, Eytukan had already gotten the news of the Sky Peoples' work. He was furious and preparing for a battle.
"Tsu'Tey will lead the battle," he declared.
All the Na'vi cheered in agreement, except for Tsu'Tey and myself.
"Stop, please!" Grace yelled. Where had she come from? But I didn't ask. "This will only make it worse."
"You do not speak here!" Kintri snapped. "We will strike them at the heart!"
"Kintri, don't do this!" I yelled.
Speaking was a mistake, as Kintri shoved me down and punched Tsu'Tey in the face. Tsu'Tey let out an angry hiss and stood protectively in front of me.
"You mated with this man?" he snarled.
"Oh, crap," said Grace. She looked shocked and I couldn't blame her. I'd taken the son of the Clan leader as a mate and never said a word!
Mo'at looked furious and asked sternly, "Is this true?"
Tsu'Tey did not waver and his voice was firm as he said, "We are mated before Eywa. It is done."
Kintri looked furious as well.
"Brother, please," I begged, feeling desperate. "Do not attack the Sky People. Many Omaticaya will die if you do."
Kintri then launched himself at me, but Tsu'Tey flung him away from me and then he held a knife to his throat. "If you ever try to harm my mate again, I will kill you!" he snarled.
"Tsu'Tey, Kintri, enough, stop!" I yelled. "Kintri, I am not your enemy! The enemy is out there and they are very powerful! I can talk to them!"
"No more talk!" said Kintri, but he didn't try to attack me again. "You are a demon in a false body!"
"I am Omaticaya and mate of Tsu'Tey, the future leader of this Clan! I am one of you and I have the right to speak!" I said, furiously. "I have something to say to all of you. These words are like stones in my heart."
Before I could continue, Grace passed out. Or rather, her link was disrupted. Ah, crap. Quaritch! The last thing I heard was Tsu'Tey calling out my name and I felt his arms around me before I returned to my human body.
I woke up to the sight Quaritch and several soldiers.
"Are you out of your freaking mind?" I shouted.
"You crossed the line," he said, coolly.
He punched me and knocked me out before I was bound and taken back to the base. He had me watch the video tape of me and Tsu'Tey attacking the bulldozers and calling on the Hammerheads until he paused it when my face met the camera.
"You let me down, girl," said Quaritch. "So what, you find yourself some local tail and you just completely forget which team you're playing for?"
"I did what I thought was right," I snarled. "You tried destroy a sacred place and you tried to kill Tsu'Tey. The only team I'm playing for is the one that doesn't seek to kill for selfish desires like you!"
"So you went Native. Should've figured. But what I want to know is how in the heck did those beasts knew to come and attack us like that? And why did they come after you played your flute?" said Selfridge. "What, did you just do some sort of savages ritual and suddenly you're the Queen of the Jungle?"
"It's funny. You keep calling those people savages, when in fact, the only savages that I can see are right in front of me," I snapped. "Why can't you just leave them alone? Let them live their lives in peace? Are you so blinded by your desire for cash that you're willing to kill innocent people and children for a piece of crap?"
Selfridge and Quaritch looked furious with me and it seemed like I was about to be hit, but then Grace stepped in and stood in front of me.
"Don't you dare lay one finger on her, either of you! Parker, there's still time to salvage the situation," said Grace. "We can still—"
"Shut your pie hole!" Quaritch interrupted.
"Or what, Ranger Rick? You're going to shoot me?" Grace demanded.
"I could do that," said Quaritch.
"You need to muzzle your dog," she snapped.
"Yeah, we need to take this down a few notches," said Selfridge.
"You want your people to stay alive, you need to start listening to her," I said.
"Those trees are sacred to the Omaticaya in ways you can't even imagine," said Grace.
"You know what? You throw a stick in the air around here it falls on some sacred fern," said Selfridge.
"I'm not talking about pagan voodoo here – I'm talking about something real and measurable in the biology of the forest," said Grace.
"Which is what exactly?" asked Selfridge, sounding frustrated.
"What we think we know, is that there is some kind of electrochemical communication between the roots of the trees. Like the synapse between neurons. And each tree had ten-to-the-fourth connections around it. And there are ten-to-the-twelfth trees on Pandora," said Grace.
"Which is a lot, I'm guessing," said Selfridge, sounding bored.
"It has more connections than the human brain," said Grace. "Get it? It's a network. It's a global network and the Na'vi can access it. They can upload and download data, memories, at sites like the one you just tried to destroy."
Selfridge actually started laughing. "What the heck have you people been smoking out there? They're just stupid trees!"
"You need to wake up, Parker!" said Grace.
"No, you need to wake up," he retorted.
"The wealth of this world isn't in the ground, you idiot!" I yelled. "It's all around us. The Na'vi know that and they are fighting to defend it!"
"If you want to share this world with them, you need to understand them," said Grace.
"I say we understand them just fine, thank to Dawn here," said Quaritch. "Come look at this, Doc."
To my horror, one of my old video logs came up on the computer screen. "The Na'vi has been living here for centuries," Computer Me said. "I've been thinking of ways to get them to leave, but I don't think it can be done. What could we possibly give them that they could ever want? Everything that they sent me out here to do is a waste of time. I can see why Na'vi hate the Sky People. I don't like what they're doing. Some nights, I don't even feel like I belong with the Sky People anymore. I feel like my place is with the Na'vi." The image switched off and Grace squeezed my shoulder.
"So, since a deal can't be made, I guess things get real simple," said Quaritch. "Dawn, thanks. I'm getting all emotional. I might just give you a big wet kiss, but then I might catch your little death sentence."
My heart froze and my breath caught in my throat. My death sentence? He knew? How could he possibly know?
"What're you talking about?" Grace demanded. "What death sentence?"
"I see you didn't tell your science friends the truth about your 'joint pain medication,'" said Quaritch. "Well, let me tell you, Doc, that your girl here, has been keeping a big secret from all of us. After she turned traitor, we did a little hacking and found out that the so-called 'joint-pain' medicine is pain medicine for those diagnosed with terminal leukemia. She's dying. And she's never going to get her legs back because she'll be long dead by then."
Grace and Norm stared at me in shock and horror.
"You're-you're dying?" said Grace. "It's not true, is it?"
"Sorry, Grace, but it is," I said, as I glared at Quaritch. "Yeah, I am dying. But you know what, I don't care. At least I'll die for something worth dying for, which is standing up against filthy scum like you and doing what's right! All you're doing is murder, lying, illegal hacking and extortion!"
"At least I'm not the one who turned traitor and lied to everyone," Quaritch snapped, his eyes blazing with anger. "Take them to the Lab until further notice."