A Day in the Life Of...

[VIDEO LOG NO. 2]
[DATE: 6.2.2160]
[AUTHOR: SGT GARNETT, A.]
[RECORD]
Shows Alex in standard multicam fatigues.
[GARNETT:] "Okay... Hi, this is day two of my vid logs. Yes, I know this isn't the day after. I'm probably not going to do this every day... probably just every three or four days... maybe once a week.

Anyway, I just went to more classes on Na'vi language. It's HARD man... And I thought that learning Spanish was hard, this one's got fricken ejectives! Do you realise how hard it is to pronounce consonants like px, tx, kx? This language isn't even human! Jeez... I got to learn how to speak almost exactly like the natives...
Well, on the bright side, at least I'm getting plenty of help from the science crew. They're pretty nice. Polite, among other things... I'm also learning more on the culture. There's heaps of stuff on this 'Eywa'... sorry, that's the mother goddess of the Na'vi. Oh, and I've been given a lesson on that neural linking that they all do, it's pretty interesting stuff actually.
The day after I got back, the other guys have been on my ass as to what happened during my heroic adventure. Same with Noh. They've been asking things like: 'What are they like', and 'how big is the Hometree' and 'Is Jake really a total asshole?'. I'm trying to answer all of their questions as honestly as I can. I don't think it will do anyone good if we charge in to the field with false preconceptions. I tell them stuff like, how the Na'vi are kind of like us, and how Jake is still a person in the normal sense, and how aside from having my head smashed in at one point, I was treated reasonably well... Sure as hell don't want my boys charging in like some 21st century testosterone overcharged jarhead barbarians..."
[END LOG]

[VIDEO LOG NO. 3]
[DATE: 10.2.2160]
[AUTHOR: SGT GARNETT, A.]
[RECORD]
[GARNETT:] "Hey, me again. I just did some courses on how to be a Sergeant. Thank god it doesn't tell me on how to shout like some fucking drill instructor... It's kind of interesting, just stuff on basic leadership and stuff.
One good thing that happened yesterday, was that my new gun just came in from the artificers. It's an AS-25 Assault Shotgun. Fully automatic, drum round clip, good reliability, capable of taking on different ammo types, barely any recoil... just the thing I need out here. Now we'll see who messes with me...
Eh... I'm getting off track, nothing else happened much for a while. I heard from one of the engineers that they succeeded in reprogramming the turrets to not fire on Na'vi as much... You still hear them going off every time one of those shiva monkeys drifts a little too close to the base.
I think I'm going to go and play some poker with the others now. Seeya."
[END LOG]

[VIDEO LOG NO. 4]
[DATE: 15.2.2160]
[AUTHOR: SGT GARNETT, A.]
[RECORD]
[GARNETT:] "Hey there mister diary, I think I need to talk to you about something that's on my mind.
I'm starting to get a little worried about how much firepower the RDA's got around here. I mean, it's not just the fact that they are the ones in charge; it's that I think that they are getting way too much firepower...
I mean, the main reason I'm starting to think this, along with some of the other guys and colonists, is that I heard that the artificer team at the manufacturing plant are making an AC-320 Gunship. Do you realise how much firepower that is? Those gunships aren't just some close support landing craft, they're fucking flying artillery platforms! One of those can annihilate a reasonably sized town all by itself. If the old Dragon gunships were meant to be some close support landing craft, that monster's a battleship... Can't believe they're making one of those...
The RDA spokespeople says it's necessary for the security of the colony... More like it's for blowing up the place. Still making people a little disconcerted.
Well, on a better note I've think I've actually made friends with one of the Mercs. Slaps his hands on his face in mock horror. I know, the shock and horror! Relaxes. Well, he's not quite a merc. He's one of the pilots. An Afrikaner called Wikus Bezuidenhout... I think that's how you pronounce it. Anyway, he's actually a real nice guy. He pilots one of those assault helicopters, the NH-75 Haast choppers. They're those ones with the canard-sash-rotor-wing system of flight. Anyway, we met while we were doing joint exercises. I was on his bird talking with the others, back from some manoeuvres at the mines, when some Texan jackass merc starts mouthing off on how we militia types are just toy boys. Dwight was about to throw that asshole right off the chopper. Hell, a fight was about to break out on the plane when Wikus came on the intercom and threatened to throw the RDA mercs off if they didn't shut up. Surprised us all.
Afterwards I bought him some drinks at the bar as thanks. He's nice for a merc. Did mainly peacekeeping tours in Namibia before signing up for the adventure as an instructor. He says that teaching us how to fly is preferable to the mercs wondering how those Na'vi girls are in bed...
[END LOG]

[VIDEO LOG NO. 5]
[DATE: 21.2.2160]
[AUTHOR: SGT GARNETT, A.]
[RECORD]
[GARNETT:] "Hey, Just finished my NCO course today. Bit of a milestone really... some of the other sergeants bought me a drink or two. Aside from that nothing else really... Oh yeah, I should mention that we finally got the mines working again. The Unobtainium's rolling again... jeez, now I'm starting to wish that they figured out a better name for the stuff than friggen' unobtainium... One of the miners went to Noh and some of the other colonists, and they started to organise a poll or something to figure out a new shorthand name for the stuff. Some of the candidates include 'conductium', 'magnium' and 'hallelujahum'... still thinking on what to call it. End date's in three days. Noh's actually started to take refresher courses in AMP driving. Something tells me the whole colony is in for some awesome sauce now...
One thing that has been giving me a little concern is that some of the colonists, just like three or five, not like a whole group, have been voicing some rather... bellicose thoughts... Some of them, especially that foreman at the mines, Rueben Netanyahu, have been going on about how it is the manifest destiny of Humanity to colonize all of the stars and planets. That all of the habitable worlds in the galaxy are theirs by divine right, and that any indigenous races like the Na'vi need to be civilised, pacified and if needs be, expunged in the face of the great progress of the Human Race.
To be frank, I really hope that it's just a bunch of inflammatory rhetoric. If we get into any trouble with the Na'vi, I really do NOT want these heads up their assholes wading in. That would make my job ten million times harder. Thankfully most people think that these guys are a bunch of Harvard tightwads. One of the miners once told me that he's reasonably sure that Rueben's never set foot outside of his air conditioned mine office, aside from walking to the transport back to base. Means that they have little in the way of respect. Should make my job easier.

VIDEO LOG NO. 6]
[DATE: 28.2.2160]
[AUTHOR: SGT GARNETT, A.]
[RECORD]
[GARNETT:] We finally settled on a new name for Unobtainium: Magnium. It's short, it sounds like what it says, and it's catchy. We like it.
To be frank, I might as well state what I actually do each day. There's not a lot to talk about right now. I get up at six, go for a morning run, come back, shower, then at seven-ish, I go for breakfast at Hell's Kitchen. Breakfast is a mix of human cereal, toast, pancakes, and fruit of both Human and Pandoran variety. I have some nice conversations with everyone, and then my schedule starts at eight. Depending on what day it is, I could be going to classes with other guys on the Pandoran wilderness and Na'vi society, I could be attending the training sessions with the other dudes, making up war games and doing training exercises, or I could be doing patrols.
If that's the case, then the day becomes an epic battle versus the RDA in terms of supremacy. We practise with special training munitions. Special paint-tranquilizer bullets, shells, grenades and what not that can simulate the normal behaviour of the real deal. If you get hit by one, or splattered by the stuff, you lose feeling in your legs and freeze up. Great stuff. We always try to compete with the RDA. Right now our win-loss ratio is about, 1-4. We're hoping to raise it.
If my day is classes, then I go to the science compound. There, we learn various subjects on Pandora, including the planet, the natives and the native language. It's pretty interesting stuff. I get tutored along with a bunch of other guys by the science team. The hardest part is learning Na'vi. We often have to help each other out with it. Thankfully the white coats say we're starting to speak it very fluently.
And finally if my day is patrol, I go out with my team to patrol the compound walls, which is as boring as shit. We basically just walk around, and shoot anything that comes at us. Really, the auto-turrets do most of the job for us; all we have to do is keep an eye out for anything unusual. Sometimes my squad just patrols around the base. That's not so bad, we can talk to people at their jobs, get to know them... you know? Sometimes, if we're really lucky, we get to supervise the science team collect samples and do field work out in the wild. THATS cool.
My shift usual ends at five, where I have a little bit of free time before dinner at six. Dinners a mix of imported food rations, or more interestingly, any Pandoran game that some mercs or scientists managed to shoot or catch. One time a couple of militia guys, along with a colonist in a mech got jumped by a thanator. It was a miracle that no one was killed, but they brought the body back and the great beast was sliced and carved for the colonists and the rest of the militia. The meat was so damn good. Very lean and healthy, aside from the scorch marks.
After that, I can kick back and relax with my buddies in the rec room. Some of the guys have started up some awesome fragfests on the machines, and there's plenty of books and shit to keep us entertained.
By the way, I should mention that we're split up into three different shifts, each getting an allotted time frame. I'm lucky as we got a relatively normal day shift. Time on Pandora is different than on Earth, you know what I mean?
Anyway, I'm tired Mr. Diary..."
[NOH:]Offscreen "Mr. Diary?"
[GARNETT:] Defensively "Shut up! I've heard you call that gun of yours Jessie!"
[NOH:] "How 'bout you confide your deepest secrets to Mrs Datapad then huh?"
[END LOG]

[VIDEO LOG NO. 7]
[DATE: 8.3.2160]
[AUTHOR: SGT GARNETT, A.]
[RECORD]
[GARNETT:] "Hey, construction of Citadel base is coming along nicely. In case you didn't know, it's a small airfield and outpost that the RDA mercs are making for themselves. I'm not sure what Jake is going to do once he finds out about it though. Still, haven't seen a Na'vi for ages, aside from the odd ex-human avatar scientist who comes in to chat with the science team for a few days before leaving again. Sometimes I get the feeling that they prefer being Na'vi to being human. After what the RDA mercs tried to do before, I can sort of see why they are ashamed of humanity. I have talked to one of them; Norm Spellman. He seems like a nice guy, but he tends to keep to the science team. Don't think he trusts anyone with a gun. Can't say I blame him.
Anyway, the Magellan comes back at the end of the month. It's come with basically some stuff we ordered as well as fresh meat and recruits. Let's see how-
Door is heard opening
[NOH:] "Hey Alex! Me and the other guys are having a fragfest on Halo 23! Wanna play?"
[GARNETT:] "Count me in man!" Back to camera "See you around."
[END LOG:]