It's done folks! I don't know how many of you are still following this after that ridiculous amont of time, but I did it. The story is finished. Thanks for all the support you showed it. It was fun! 3 Enjoy it, leave a review/comment if you want. Sequel? Who knows!
Chapter 13 - Sendoff
An epic battle was nearing its end. It was one of those decisive battles that would determine the future of an entire species at the detriment of another. And it represented the eternal conflict between technology against nature. Both sides fought for survival, only at different stakes. While the humans tried to save their dying planet far away, the Na'Vi fought for their immediate survival and for the preservation of all things holy to them.
At first, the humans, who had advanced war machinery on their side had gained the upper hand, but slowly and steadily the Na'vi clawed their way towards a hard-earned victory. It was not a victory without heavy losses, but when things appeared most bleak, something strange happened. It was as if Pandora itself decided to finally get rid of the invaders. And when the local fauna joined the fight, it was only a matter of time when the sheer number of the jungle's inhabitants would push the intruders back.
On a nameless clearing deep in the jungle the general fight for survival turned into something else entirely. It was the final standoff between a commander and his former subordinate, a contest of bruised egos and retaliation on both sides. And while around them human and Na'Vi fought for their dear lives, these combatants were determined to find out once and for all who of them had the upper hand.
Both men fought with the help of technological enhancement to their bodies to counter the effects of the inherently deadly Pandoran atmosphere. But while one of them puppeteered a body akin to the native population, the other one used a large combat mech. They were evenly matched – the strength and agility of the Avatar body countered by the brute force and experience of the mech's pilot. Jake Sully and Miles Quaritch fought their last deadly match.
Miles Quaritch didn't care any longer if he was winning the battle. He had known that he was fighting a lost cause when his Dragon ship crashed. After a promising start the Na'Vi had gained the upper hand and were slowly but efficiently decimating the Colonel's little army. It was unfathomable that these primitives had the resources and the determination to win against RDA's technological superiority and he had an inkling who was behind it. And thus, he was determined to hit that traitor Sully where it hurt him the most. Because then there was still a chance to win the war. The Na'Vi had lacked a proper strategy until the human defectors had instructed them. Removing them from the equation could still turn the tide even after some heavy losses. Quaritch was not used to losing because he usually planned his attacks carefully. But it was not the first time in his career he had to readapt and start again. And he wouldn't give up so easily.
With his flagship downed he had resorted to fighting with the only means left at his disposal. He had strapped in one of the AMP Suits, determined not to give up as long as he drew breath. The first test for the mech had been one of those savage women who had come at him riding one of those black panther monsters. He had quickly gotten rid of her by stabbing the thing to death and burying her beneath it. But as satisfying as that had been, he had waited for another adversary.
While Sully had been on the forefront of the counterattack Quaritch wondered where she was. Was she crawling in a hole somewhere, licking her wounds, too cowardly to face her former colleagues in battle? Impossible! Augustine was a lot of things, but she had never been a coward. So where was she?
Only when Sully had finally engaged him, the fight had become interesting. In his Avatar form the boy was a perfect fighter, nimble, quick, and dangerous. When he controlled the artificial body, he was no longer a cripple who was dragged down by useless legs. That much Quaritch had learned rather quickly.
However, the Colonel knew very well that the real enemy was not Sully's Avatar body, as impressive as it was. The real enemy was Jake's human form, hidden in the shack in front of him on the clearing. They both knew it and the boy fought tooth and nails to distract the Colonel from reaching it while at the same time protecting the savage woman who had attacked Quaritch before. At least now he knew two of Sully's weaknesses.
The mech was slowly showing first signs of wear and tear, but Quaritch ignored them since its basic functions were still operational. He knew that he was stretching the mech's abilities thin with the way he forced it to move. It still came as a surprise when Sully's Avatar succeeded in cracking the AMP Suit's canopy with a series of targeted attacks while at the same time avoiding the slightly slower mech's knife. With a damaged screen it was impossible to see and control the suit properly and when two of his shots missed the Colonel had enough.
With the pull of a handle, he got rid of the now useless canopy, putting on his mask. When he could see again, unfortunately unprotected from direct attacks now, he decided to end this farce once and for all. It had been a good fight, granted, but all good things must come to an end.
"How does it feel to betray your own race?" he spat at Sully's Avatar. There was nothing left but contempt for his former protégé. What Sully had done was unforgivable and irredeemable. And so he had to die.
Quaritch steered the mech away from the fight, turned it around and smashed the window of the shack where he suspected Sully's real body. The glass shattered quite satisfyingly, giving payback for the shattered screen of the mech. Now it was only a matter of time until Sully suffocated, rendering his Avatar useless in the process. That at least concluded the Colonel's personal mission, although it disappointed him immensely that Augustine was nowhere to be seen. He would have loved to wipe that superior smirk from her face now that he had given her precious Na'Vi a run for the money.
There was still some fight in Sully's Avatar. It seemed that the boy had not yet realized what was about to happen. But that was even better. Quaritch could have a little more fun with him before the inevitability of Pandora's hostility to human life took him. He grabbed him and prepared his knife for the final blow.
"No!"
A voice cut through the clearing and made Quaritch pause inexplicably. That was the moment that he realized that the savage woman from earlier had managed to free herself from under the animal's cadaver and had nocked an arrow in his direction. She probably would have hit him while he was busy with Sully if not for her interruption.
He had always preferred her human body over her Avatar. While her facial features were well preserved in the Avatar he had never found the Na'Vi aesthetically pleasing. They were too lean and tall and too goddamn blue for his taste. In addition he found the skimpy clothing she was dressing her Avatar in frankly ridiculous. But something was different now. He couldn't pinpoint what it was, but found that she was moving with an authority he had never seen her wield before. And she had gotten rid of the belly top and was dressed in some sort of floral dress.
She had positioned herself between the Na'Vi woman and himself.
"No," she repeated with more emphasis. "Don't shoot!"
She wasn't too late to stop the worst, although the carnage had already started.
After her long and complicated journey through the Beyond Grace had eventually found herself permanently bound to her Avatar body. This was the real her now and a part of her was glad. Getting rid of her human form meant getting rid of years of abuse, not only from the Colonel but also from her substance-abusing self. It meant a new start, a new life and a new chance. But before she could get this chance there was a war to be stopped. And she had an inkling where she was needed the most.
The details could be sorted out later.
Neytiri frowned at her, obviously in disbelief when she intervened on the Colonel's behalf. But the young Na'Vi couldn't possibly understand that Grace's goal was not mercy. Far from it. It was the only thing fitting for a man like Quaritch who couldn't stand losing.
"I will deal with him," she explained to Neytiri. "You must take care of Jake." With her head she inclined towards the shack. "He will die without your help." Seeing that the boy's Avatar had already collapsed time was of the essence. Neytiri understood, threw her bow away and hurried towards the metal building.
That left Grace Augustine and Miles Quaritch alone on the clearing. A fitting end for a yearlong rivalry. His mech was battered and damaged and the man himself had already taken a beating. But he was far from defeated, she could see the fire in his eyes, knew that he wouldn't stop so easily.
"You!" he spat at her. "I was wondering when you'd turn up and meddle in my affairs."
"I apologize for the delay but I had to come back from the dead first. You killed me," she answered calmly.
That seemed to shut him up for a moment, his eyes widening. She took the opportunity to continue. "You shot me and I bled out, thank you very much."
"You're lying!"
She shook her head. "You were supposed to protect us! It was your job to make the operation safe before you got caught in your delusions of grandeur. And see what it cost you! Hundreds of your men dead, displaced and angry Na'Vi everywhere and RDA is still not closer to the original goal. In fact they might be further away from it than ever. You lost, Quaritch, admit it."
"What about you, Doc? Wasn't it your precious work that enabled us to attack? Wasn't it your goal to pacify the natives before they turned violent? You failed as much as I did."
"Yes. The human Grace Augustine made many mistakes, but the People forgave her and called her a friend. I will not make the same mistake twice. And I will no longer play a part in genocide."
"Be quiet!" He steered the mech towards her now that Jake's limp Avatar had lost its importance to him. He lifted its arms as if to strike her, but Grace didn't move.
"Go ahead. Kill me a second time, if you dare. But know that I am unarmed. Have you really sunk so low that you now intentionally strike down defenseless people?"
Of course he had done so before. The attack on the school and Hometree was not without civilian casualties and her own death was proof enough that he had already crossed that line. But the Na'Vi were far from defenseless and in all cases he had not been confronted with the immediate results of his actions. In fact he had seemed quite surprised to hear that he had been directly responsible for her death. Her hunch had served her right and he did indeed stop mid-movement.
"I haven't lost!" he declared stubbornly, but Grace knew better. She suspected that he knew it himself and was just too proud to admit it.
"You had it all figured out, hadn't you?" She began circling the mech warily. "Detailed attack plans, knowledge of your enemies weaknesses and still here you are – alone in hostile territory in a piece of technology that is slowly failing you."
"I'm not afraid to die!"
"I know. That's the irony isn't it? When everything else went south you could play the hero one last time, take a last stand against those 'hated savages'. You would die a hero's death and leave the consequences to others to figure out. This is your doing. You urged Parker to go forward with that insane plan and you silenced us when we voiced our concerns. But death is too easy for you. I will not give you that out. You are no hero." For a man like Quaritch the humiliation of defeat was infinitely worse than death in combat.
"Are you finished with your sermon, Doctor?"
"Are you finished with your rampage, Colonel?"
They stood and stared at each other, a battle of wills and one that Grace was determined not to lose. She had already lost so many battles against him, along with her life. She would not give in this time.
"Stand down!" she told him, feeling strange to give the man orders who had bullied her around for so long.
"And if I don't? Will you kill me then?"
"So that you can flee from all you've done? No."
"Then Doctor, by all means, try me!"
He crossed his arms and the mech did the same. But he didn't attack her which was a good sign.
Grace went through her options. And came up with only one. She approached the mech without entering its arm's reach. And then she jumped. The different gravity on Pandora and her Avatar's abilities made something possible that she could never have achieved as a human. She lacked Jack's dexterity and yes, grace, but she had some experience in commandeering an Avatar. It had to suffice for what she was about to do.
Without the canopy, Quaritch was easily reachable and when she latched on the cab she could easily grab him. She pulled him out of the driver seat and together they fell into the grass. As an Avatar she could easily subdue him, despite his impressive strength for a human. It gave her, the scientist, a much-needed advantage over a man who had been in the military all his life and was professionally combat-trained. The fall knocked the air out of his lungs and for a moment she saw a glimpse of panic in his face before it vanished. He had exceptional self-control.
"Do you need help?" she heard Neytiri shout. Obviously she had sorted out Jack and had returned to the field of battle.
"No, this is something I need to finish," she told the young Na'Vi. Then she turned to the Colonel who surprisingly hadn't used the distraction to get away from her.
"I never knew that you had it in you," he remarked. "Impressive, Doctor."
"Leave," she growled at him. "Leave and never return."
Grace knelt at a small patch of flowers. This was the place where they had laid her human body to eternal rest. It had been the creepiest sensation to see herself dead through another pair of eyes. But it had also shown her that her old life was irrevocably over. They had chased the hostile aliens from Pandora, sent them home to their dying world. The forest would heal and so would the People. And Grace would be a part of this, being on the right side of history for once. There was nothing left that tied her to Earth and even less that tied her to Miles Quaritch. All of that had died with her.
She was free.