Disclaimer

I am not the owner of the persons of this story met with in the movie and I never will be, I am not making any money whatsoever from this little story and I will never expect to do it either. If anyone feel like building further stories on persons, localities and events here created then they can feel free to do it – provided only that they try to stay in the given pre-histories, given personalities etc., and keep from turning their stories into adult stories. R&R are welcome.

Author's Note

This chapter deals to a great extent with how Jake is making ready for a new RDA push which he knows is coming.

Last Years of Human Welcome

Soon after his "body switch" Jake had a talk with Mo'at and told her that in the very likely coming conflict he would, to save both human and na'vi lives need to play a psychological game.

Mo'at replied: "How are you going to do that, my son?"

Jake answered: "By giving them shocks, firstly by showing them that we know some stratagems from Earth military history. Secondly by giving them a shock of surprise. They come here thinking that we are brutish savages or may be noble savages, we will show them that we are noble civilized people. That we can do with 'military discipline and showmanship'. I will need the help of Trudy and Jeff for that too."

Time started to pass. Max, Trudy (when she had fully recuperated from her serious injury during the Great Battle) and Norm became the triumvirate at charge at the Augustine Research Station. People at the base distributed chores among themselves in addition to their research projects, more or less connected with their academic or practical specialty. A new hometree was located and then moved into by the Omatikayas. Jake, Trudy and Jeff taught the Na'vi the use of guns, handgrenades, AA rockets, panzer rockets, close encounter fighting etc. to the warriors of his clan. Jake worked hard with reforming the coalition established for the occasion of driving the RDA off Pandora into a lasting bond. Such an entity needed a structure to last and he wanted it to last well beyond his own life time. He relied heavily on his fame as victor in the Great Battle and as the Sixth Toruk Makto to shape it.

What he created was in "Inglisi" terms a confederacy, to make the content of the term understandable to Na'vi people he called it a "network", comparing it to a fishing net: Such a network would need all its members to stick together and assist each other to not be destroyed during times of need – like if Sky People attempted another attack – while still flexible enough to allow some member clan to be active while other were recuperating from service. People of noted exceptional ability in some special field were admitted to Jake's personal staff at the head of the confederation. They were Omatikayas like Mo'at and Neytiri, Avatars like Norm and others, and from other clans. They were his permanent councillors he could discuss with at any time, much like a permanent government at Earth. Jake asked the clans to band together with at least seven and preferably not more than twelve neighbouring clans to form a tribe (nkxi) for mutual assistance, two hundred clans would make for an unwieldy confederation council, some twenty tribal representatives would be far better. Each tribe would then elected a leader ("nxi'eyktan") and create a tribal council to mediate conflicts between clans, and may be pass them up to the great council of the whole confederation to debate. The clan elders could then keep an eye on their representatives in superior bodies and call them home if they didn't behave to the clan's liking – an important check on the power of the tribal and confederation rulers.

The superiour tactics and weapon handling he taught the Omatikaya warriors was taught to warriors from other clans too, he made sure to make them train together to learn to know each other. He put much effort in keeping the confederation he assembled to fight the RDA people intact and if possible extend it, who knows what might come when the RDA was going to be back as they probably would in about six years…

What Jake had at his disposal wasn't very much in the way of modern weaponry. Sure, the confederates had some rockets, many guns and hand grenades but their mainstay had to be spears, knives and bow and arrow still. Jake kept the firearms in use for the élite warrior groups only, they were drilled relentlessly with them. Some older warriors objected to them, insisting that the bow and arrow was what had defeated the tawtute at the Great Battle, the bow had been the weapon of his grandfather and before him his grandfather again. It took much convincing to make warriors understand that they had won the Great Battle in spite of not because of lack of firearms, because Eywa had sent in her animals. It would no doubt please Her mightily if they could defeat the Sky People without divine intervention next time…

Making Na'vi accept modern organization wasn't simple either, the principles of hierarchy and deference to given orders didn't rest lightly on their shoulders. Finally, drilling in formal ranks was felt as an abomination too but the prospect of fighting without a single shot appealed to many.

Jake established a rank system above the clans, he named himself a Network Weaver, as a military rank equal to a general at Earth, and named Tsailoni the Tipani his network weaver assistant. Tsailoni was an experienced warrior with a unblemished reputation, he had fought gallantly during the Great Battle. He was however of a rather traditionalist outlook but Jake managed to convince him with many lessons from Earth history and by playing games in the sand, using stones and sticks to represent warriors on foot, on fa'li or ay'ikran, versus gunships, infantry and AMPs, and at a fortified base like Hell's Gate. Jake took on a broad golden armband with embroideries as his military insignia and gave a narrow golden one without embroideries to his assistant. He declared that when he one day was to resign the council was to elect his successor and he told them then to consider his aide for many years first of all.

Warriors from a tribe together made up a "nxi kumpongu", a "tribal war party", equal to a regiment, with a nxi kumpongu eyktan and a nxi kumpongu srung eyktan at its head – a colonel and a major – with insignia a broad white armband with embroideries and a narrow one without.

The warrior band of one clan, in the mean about 50 warriors, was under a tsamshiu eyktan and a srung tsamshiu eyktan – comparable to a captain and a lieutenant – with insignia a brown armband with embroideries and a narrow one without. All the scouts, hunters and other capable with weapons were grouped in gangs of fifty or so lead by aysaronyu eyktan – comparable with a sergeant with a broad black armband with embroideries they took on in wartime, they were a reserve force under the captain too if they were needed in wartime. And about one in ten warriors, hunters etc. were named siltsan tsamshiu, siltsan taronyu etc, i.e. "good warrior", "good hunter" etc. Jake made a point of making the siltsan tsamshiu realize that he once, long ago at Earth, had been a siltsan tsamshiu himself. With good training and long studies under experienced superiors they could rise to high rank too one day…

Furthermore, Jake established a nucleus of a navy, with Derek Lester Gill the marine biologist avatar driver as admiral ("pirogue eyktan") with a broad blue armband with embroideries and a vice admiral ("srung pirogue eyktan") with a narrow armband without, for the time being that job was left vacant. The canoes from a clan were given to a commander and a commodore ("canoe eyktan, srung canoe eyktan"), with a broad green armband with embroideries and a narrow one without as insignia respectively, their canoes flew sails in their armband colour and with a golden streamer from the mast tops if they were in command, as opposed to the white sails of ordinary canoes. And every canoe crew was directed by a skipper with a black armband.

Finally, Jake arranged a career way up through ranks. Siltsan tsamshiu, taronyu etc. would often be remarked during their training time in their teens and given their thin black armband even before they had their ikran. These warriors who came out "tops of their classes" were offered to go to the "war school" of the tribe, those who accepted went to the school Jack, Jeff and others established for the tribe the Omatikayas went into, soon most tribes had their own. At the "war school" they were given broad, black armbands with embroideries, looking like taronyu eyktan etc. that is and educated in tactics, strategy etc.

After two years at school they "graduated" and could go to tsamshiu eyktan with a vacant srung tsamshiu eyktan for employment. Thus Jake wove the clans together in tribes. After two years a srung tsamshiu eyktan was to be regarded as finish qualified at his level and could either remain with his tsamshiu eyktan and wait for opportunity to take over after him, or leave to be appointed tsamshiu eyktan by another clan. Tribe leaders were asked to appoint srung kumpongu eyktan from tsamshiu eyktan with interest of promotion, it would of course entail leaving his clan so not all tsamshiu eyktans wanted it. Likewise, after two years of learning to know the tribe and its land he could either wait to take over after his boss or apply another tribal council for appointment to kumpongu eyktan. Jake made it clear that his own, personal assistant were to be appointed from kumpongu eyktans, after two years of learning how to manage a top job he could take over after Jake should need arise. Jake meant to knit the whole arrangement together by the force of ambitions of upward mobile warriors.

One of the avatar drivers not a scientist was Geoffrey Enright, nicknamed "Jeff", formerly the physical coach of the avatar team. He used to be a buddy of Jake during the time at Hell's Gate – he was a former Royal Marine, they had lots of experiences to chat about… He might be a hard but never brutal teacher on the training grounds but soon as he was off it he became a jolly friend of everyone, he had an ability all his own to pop up from nowhere whenever and wherever an opportunity for merrymaking showed up – some thought him a little too fond of the strong spirit the na'vi brewed... He was born in London East End and was tolerant to lots of exotic culture, in a way few other RDA soldiers were, in a way Jake had needed lots of time to learn to be.

Vytautas and Ewa now got into contact with Na'vi people, it was a tenuous contact but that was still more than no contact at all. They were however, personal believers as they were, disappointed by the Paganism they saw among the na'vi and that avatar drivers were obviously drifting into. So they had a long chat with Norm about this problem. Norm was out of a catholic family himself too, however of far less strict upbringing. He warned them strictly against ever considering trying themselves as missionaries, Jake was never going to accept it and Neytiri was likely to react violently. And they were of course lay people without theological education, so better not try... End of the story was that they left with the last ISV returning to Earth before the base finally was set to crumble, with Jake's personally written best attestation for work done to the utmost satisfaction of their employer, the Na'vi Confederation.

Along with them also went Harold Nuñez, the only of the original rebel avatar drivers who simply couldn't manage to convince himself that the primitive life at Pandora really was preferable to the more comfortable but unnatural and riot prone Earth with its foul air and water and that degraded nature. His life interest, he was machine engineer by study, didn't help: Imagine a machine engineer in a land where machinery was banned… So when the crucial date came and the Augustine Research Station was to be abandoned, there were no more need for systems maintenance any more – the people there simply had no need for his services any more either. He happened not to have established any romantic connection with any woman either, there was in the end simply nothing connecting him to Pandora any more and he took the natural consequence of it. He returned to Earth when the last ISV called too – or so he and the Iniskius two thought…

New ISVs annually arrived, supplies were purchased from them and paid for with unobtanium mineral, a few avatar drivers were allowed to settle while the rest were sent off, they were interrogated by Norm and Max to check whether they would fit in with life at the station as it was now run, the majority of the arriving drivers were sent back along with techies and soldiers. A similar speech as had been given the original avatar rebels was also given them, but with stricter demands since those who had taken part in the war against RDA with distinction deserved special privilegia. They were mostly taken into the Augustine Research Station at more subordinate level, like research assistants and as helping hands in the base daily running.

Most of the new avatar drivers and personnel behaved properly, at least after some "convincement". Only two were kindly asked to return to Earth. That was William and Celia Gehrken, a paleontologist and archaeologist couple. They did some rather inappropriate digs and since their studies simply needed digging they gave up and returned to Earth when the next ordinary ISV called. There were a total of 28 humans at Pandora at the significant date, two of them had never until then had any avatar of their own, Max and Trudy.

List of Na'vi Terms

Eyktan – leader in general.

Nkxi (invented term) – bundle. Jake uses this as an intermediate administrative and political unit between the Network (or confederacy) and the clans.

Olo'eyktan – clan leader. Political and social head of a clan.

Siltsan – good. Jake uses this as a qualifier denoting an élite warrior, hunter, healer etc. Siltsan tsamshiu – a military rank Jake creates, somewhat equal to corporal at Earth.

Tsamshiu eyktan – leader of warriors. Jake turns it into a military rank somewhat equal to a captain at Earth.

Srung – help, assistance. Jake uses this as a qualifier denoting next-in-command, assistant, adjutant, and slated to take over the main job. Srung tsamshiu eyktan thus equals a lieutenant at Earth, srung kumpongu eyktan in the same way denotes major. Tsu'tey would have been a srung olo'eytkan when Jake joined the Omatikaya, and Neytiri srung tsahik.

Kumpongu – war party, Jake sets it as a war party of more than one clan's warriors.

Kumpongu eyktan – leader of a war party. Jake creates this as a military rank more or less equal to a colonel at Earth.

Tsahaylu – the brain-to-brain connection through nerve fibers in the queue.