Then Tsu'tey looked up at him and spoke his voice full of sadness. "You took everything from me. Until you came here I was the best hunter, I was the best rider, and I was the best." Tsu'tey paused for a moment taking a shuddering breath before continuing on. "Then you came along. And I thought for sure you would be like the other sky people ignorant, and stupid about our world. I thought you'd leave like the others before you had. But you didn't. You began training and soon became the best. You took everything from me." Jake watched as a small tear fell down Tsu'tey's face and landed on the hard rocky surface of the mountain. "You took my title from me, you took my pride…… but worst……. You took Neytiri from me." The last line came out lower than a whisper. Jake sighed. "Tsu'tey I never wanted to do any of that." Tsu'tey looked up at him but Jake continued. "I never wanted to hurt you like that. I had no intention of falling in love with Neytiri or taking your place in the clan. I just……" Jake sighed again and continued. "I just wanted to fit in." across from his Tsu'tey remained silent. Jake took that moment to step forward. "Tsu'tey we don't have time for our petty rivalries. A war is coming and I need people I can trust. Can I trust you?" Tsu'tey was silent for a moment before nodding. "Yes Jakesully. You can trust me." Jake smiled. "Good."
CHAPTER 15
"are you ready for this?" it was such a simple thing to ask. Only 5 simple words. But even as Jake sat on his banshee he couldn't help but feel the weight of his response. If he said yes it would mean Tom would set off the explosives they had spent 3 days rigging. If he said no he was condemning the na'vi to extinction. Jake sighed and looked around him. in the back ground he could hear the sounds of Quaritch's fleet moving in. the sound of motors and engines created what sounded like a thousand bees buzzing around. He himself was on his banshee and was sitting almost horizontal surrounded by 100 other na'vi who were all on their banshee's. next to him Trudy hovered in her Samson, Tom sat next to her, a small trigger mechanism in his hand. Every now and then he could flick the cap off and then slam it shut. Taking a deep breath Jake spoke. "do it." He saw Tom look up at him and then nod. A moment later Tom flicked the cap of the detonator open and pushed the red button. A moment later he hurled the detonator out of the Samson and sent it plummeting towards the ground. The world seemed to slow down as Jake braced himself for what was about to happen. He could easily see them now. The human who piloted the Samson's and mobile platforms. They were just doing their job, just following orders. And for a moment Jake felt pity for them. But that pity was torn apart as there first off the bombs went off. Inside the mountain pressure blasted outwards and sent rock, plants, and debris flying in all directions. Chunks of rock spiraled into the air and hit dozens of unsuspecting Samsons.
The fleet floundered unsure of what was happening, or how to respond. But this hesitation was their downfall as more and more mountains exploded sending waves of rock flying at the fleet. The effect was the fleet hit a grinder. Hundreds of Samson's smoked and dropped out of the sky. The mobile platforms tried to ride out the shockwaves but found themselves easily thrown around by the blast. Jake watched as one of them struggled to maintain it position before a large chunk of rock hit one of it's engines cleaving it right off and sending the platform into a deep spiral only to end as it hit the jungle ground so many thousands of feet late in a heap of fire, metal, flesh and bone. And still death surrounded them. All around them the remaining Samson's were panicking, their movements becoming jerky and confused. Several of them collided in mid air while other desperate to escape the falling rock collided with the sounds of mountains of managed to avoid one rock only to be crushed by another. As the dust settled Jake spoke into his radio. "let's go. We've got work to do." Patting Iso's back Jake felt Iso detach her claws from the mountain side. Jake felt his heart rate quicken as gravity grabbed them and pulled them down. Iso's wings spread wide and suddenly they were no longer falling but soaring through the sky. All around them more banshees and na'vi joined them. The air around them soon became like a wind tunnel as hundreds of banshee's wings beat. In front of them Jake could make out the shape of Trudy's Samson and his team's mobile platform.
Speeding up Jake fly next to the mobile platform before letting go of Iso's saddle and leaping off his banshee. Jake fell maybe 10 feet before his feet hit metal. Scrambling Jake grabbed hold of the side of the platform and after a minor amount of difficulty clambered inside. As the door hissed shut behind him he found James in front of his smiling. "looks like the plan is working so far." Jake nodded. And made his way past James and into the main section of the ship. Alice sat her back against the wall her rifle clutched in her hand. As he passed her Jake found her eyes closed and could hear her speaking in a low voice. Jake passed her only stopping long enough to smile. Despite her seemingly ruthless way of fighting Jake had found Alice had a deeply spiritual side to her. Before every battle she prayed for the people she would kill and she always begged for forgiveness of their sins while never asking for hers to be forgiven." Moving into the cock pit Jake sat down next to Eric who was piloting in the ship. "how long till we're at the base?" Eric shrugged. "10 minutes. I jammed the fleet's radios so Quaritch has no idea what's happened." Jake nodded and tapped his radio. The night before the assault the Jake had given Tsu'tey a radio and had showed him how to use it. "Tsu'tey back your groups, off. We'll call you when it's safe to come near the base." "ok." A moment later Jake watched as the front most banshee's peeled away from the ships. Sighing Jake turned to Eric and nodded.
It took them little time to find the human base. As they approached it their radio's crackled to life. "gun ship, identify yourself." Jake moved away from Eric who read of a random identification number for their ship. Moving back into the main cavity of the ship Jake stopped next to Alice who was busy fastening the buckles on what little body armor she had chosen to wear. Looking up at him Alice smiled weakly before bowing her head and resuming her prayers for the lives she would take. Putting on his own armor Jake stopped only when loud sirens and alarms went off around the ship. Stopping only long enough to smile at Eric who had come out o the cockpit Jake holstered a standard sidearm before picking up his knife. Leaving the ship was tricky. They had to move in a way that prevented them from being seen, but allowed them to see around them. Sure enough as Jake had suspected the base landing pad was deserted. Gesturing to Eric Jake watched for an ambush as Eric moved straight to the control console on the far side and began working his electronic magic. A short minute later Eric smiled and nodded to Jake. Jake turned to Alice. "stay here and keep us cover. Don't kill unless you have to." Alice nodded, and moved away from him dropping down from the platform they were on and running along the room of a warehouse looking for a sniper's perch.
Turning to Eric Jake felt his stomach lurch as the platform began to lower them down into the base's hanger. The seconds ticked by. Each shadow looked like a soldier, each grown of metal sounded lick a gun's hammer being pulled into place. As the platform came to stop Jake and his team dropped moved to cover. For a long moment everyone waited for gunfire to erupt around them…… when none did they moved from their cover and to the only door leading out of the hanger. Moving through the deserted corridors, Jake felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. He felt like thousands of eyes were watching him. But they met no one in the corridors. At one point they thought they heard someone moving ahead of them but instead of a human they found a small robot moving along the floor sweeping up bits of debris. Moving past the robot Jake and his team moved into one of the many science labs that dotted the base. Taking cover behind a large file cabinet Jake surveyed the room. Large glass viles, filled with liquid lined the walls, computer buzzed with life and on the far side of the room- Jake ducked down as the sound of doors opening met his ears. 2 soldiers each clad with a machine gun and breathing masks moved through a door on the far side of the room and came to stop surveying the room. As they looked around one of the soldiers spoke. "why do we have to do this? No one is stupid enough to steal anything from here. Besides nobody but the scientists knows what this shit is good for." The other soldier shrugged. "the boss told us to watch this place so we will. Now shut up and help me looked for anyone."
Jake felt sweat drip down his forehead as the soldiers moved away from each other and began moving through the room, looking under tables and desks. As one of them neared Eric Jake watched as Eric pulled out a combat baton, and stepped out from behind the desk he had been using for cover. In a blur Eric's knee sprang forward and caught the unsuspecting soldier in the solar plexus. The soldier's body crumpled as the air was forced from his lung. Bring the butt of his baton down on the man's neck Eric easily knocked him unconscious. Grabbing the man before he could fall Eric silently lay him on the ground before moving back behind the desk. "hey mark you see anything?....mark? MARK?" Jake watched as the second soldier turned and saw his partner was down. Rushing to his friend's aid the soldier soon met the same fate of his friend and now lay face down on the floor, unconscious. After Jake and his team soon left the science bay and found themselves in another long deserted corridor. Moving down this Jake and his team, had to crawl on their knees as they passed a series of windows that looked out into the corridor they were in. as they came to a stop in front of another set of doors Jake nodded and Eric activated the doors. This time Jake's heart nearly stopped. On the other side of the door 2 guard stood, both hands on their guns ready to fight to the death if the need arose. In the time it took Jake to realize their situation James was already moving. Bringing his gun inches from one of the guard's faces; he spoke. "try to fight and I blow your friend's face off. Drop your weapons and I'll knock you out. Your choice." For a long moment no body moved. Then swiftly both guards dropped their weapons. James smiled. "good choice." 2 loud smacks echoed through the room and a moment later another 2 guards hit the floor. As Eric and Tom stashed the bodies where they wouldn't be found Jake radioed Tsu'tey and told him to move his warriors and begin securing the base's perimeter.
As they moved deeper into the base Jake felt himself become more and more nervous. It was too easy he kept telling himself. There should have been more guards, more fighting and yet by the time they reached Spellman's office they had only run into a few teams of guards. Moving to cover Eric Jake watched as Eric began hacking Spellman's computer. As he waited Jake's radio crackled and Alice's voice filtered through. "Tsu'tey's warriors have secured the base perimeter, and are now awaiting further orders." Jake smiled. "have them stay where they are. We're too close to risk something going wrong." "IT'S A LITTLE LATE FOR THAT JAKE!" Instantly Jake spun around Quaritch's voice ringing in his ears. But instead of Quaritch Jake found a screen behind him had turned on. Quaritch's face leered down at him. "you thought you could just hack MY base and take it over. You disappoint me Jake. And now you get to see what happens to those who disappoint me." Jake watched the screen went black. Behind him he heard Eric swear. "he's locked me out. I can't too anything now." Using his radio Jake tried to contact. When she finally picked up Eric could hear the distinctive sound of fighting. "Alice it's a trap. Lethal force is authorized. Protect Tsu'tey and his warriors."
ALICE'S POV
Battle surrounded Alice. Every few seconds a round would leave her rifle's barrel and hit a human soldier who had pouring out of the base. Below her Alice could easily make out Tsu'tey fighting 3 soldiers at once. He was good, that much was easy to see. He easily dropped to his knees and punched one soldier in the knees, before grabbing another one's leg and hurling him into another soldier. Shifting her attention away from the na'vi warrior Alice busied herself with doing what she did best, taking lives.
JAKE'S POV
Sweat dripped down Jake's skin as he reloaded his gun. He had sheathed his knife several rooms ago and now he and his team were fighting tooth and nail against what had to be the entire base security force. Bullets flew all around him as he dipped out from cover and managed to squeeze off 2 rounds before, ducking behind cover to avoid a hail of gunfire hell bent on ripping him from the world of the living. Behind him Jake heard Tom swear and spray the room with lead. Turning over his shoulder Jake shouted to Eric who was crouched behind a steel beam. "Eric I'm getting really tired of this shit." Eric rolled his eyes and reloaded his weapon. "what the fuck do you want me to do about it?!" pausing long enough to shoot a soldier in the knee Jake shouted back. "if we get you to another console can you lock the base down?" Eric opted not to shout back but instead nodded." Thanking god for small mercies Jake turned his attention back to clearing out the remaining soldiers in the room.
ALICE'S POV
Alice dropped down from the roof of the warehouse she had been perched on. Grinning slight as several warrior readied themselves for a fight Alice moved between them and approached Tsu'tey. "Jake says to hold this position. We're not to move deeper. Quaritch has sprung some kind of trap. And Jake doesn't want to risk more soldier's being caught in it. Tsu'tey's skin bristled. "if Jake is in trouble then we must help him." Alice shook her head. "no. we're to stay-" Alice's sentence was cut short as one of the nearby walls exploded sending shockwaves across the ground. A large powered suit burst from the smoke and began battling the na'vi. Alice groaned dropped to one knee, brought her rifle to bear and took aim. Twin rounds spat from her barrel and hit their marks; glancing of the glass plated viewing port. The suit back stepped but didn't stop attacking. Instead it lowered its rifle and Alice easily recognized the stance of a computer trying to find a missile lock. Slinging her rifle behind her Alice hurtled away from Alice trying to put as much distance between the missiles that were now launching and herself. She couldn't out run them she knew that but she just needed to give herself enough wiggle room to work. Leaping off the ground Alice pushed off from a wall and turned in mid air. Pulling 2 pistols from their holsters Alice fired 8 rounds and 8 of the 9 missiles exploded in mid air. Before her feet eve hit the ground she was moving. Charging straight for the power suit which had gone back to firing it's rifle at the na'vi. Ignoring her instincts Alice charge at the suit easily avoiding na'vi who moving in chaos trying to avoid death.
Leaping off the ground again Alice latched onto the front glass viewing port of the power suit. Closing her eyes Alice prayed for the man's death to come quickly and that he wouldn't suffer. Pushing off the suit with only seconds to spare Alice watched even as she flipped through the air. The man's eyes widened as he figured out her plan. The missile that had been locked onto her flew in the direction she had led it. Alice watched as it tried to adjust but found it didn't have the room it needed. It seemed to happen almost in slow motion as the missile flew through the air just under her and impacted the front of the power suit. The shock wave caught her like a doll and easily flung her few hundred feet but she easily adjusted her body and came down on her feet skidding for a few feet before coming to stop. In front of her the burning husk of the power suit collapse to the ground, fire licking it's insides.
JAKE'S POV
Jake thanked god as the doors in front of them slid open and showed no one was in the room. They had been fighting for so long. Moving to cover Eric Jake slouched against a desk for a moment. Next to him Jake watched as Eric began trying to rehack the system Quaritch had locked them out of. For several long minutes Eric worked at the system. Jake nervously shifted his weight from one leg to another. Across from him Tom, rubbed his left leg which he had jammed into a desk a few rooms ago. James reloaded his weapon, and stared determinately at the door, waiting for anyone to come through it. Eric rubbed his eyes as he worked. After several long minutes he stood up. "ok. I've got some access into the system. I've programmed the base security systems. No doors will open unless we tell them to. Not only that but I'm venting CO2 and other gasses into the hallways and way stations to knock out anyone in our path. Quaritch issued his order from somewhere near the armory, so to get full access that is where we need to go." Jake rolled his eyes and watched as Tom reloaded his shot gun. "well then lets not keep him waiting."
Leaving the room Jake and his team traveled the now dream like corridors. CO2 fog covered the ground making it look as though they were moving through clouds. Every now and then they would pass a group of soldiers, who lay unconscious, barely visible under the thick blanket of fog. As they neared the armory however they ran into resistance. Several soldier had pulled their breathers on and had positioned themselves for an ambush. But Jake and his team made sort work of them. Jake kicked over a small locker so as to give Eric a little barrier between him and any gunfire while he worked. Eric's finger were blurs as they ran across the console doing god knows what to it. After several moment he looked up. "GOD DAMN THAT QUARITCH!!!!" James rolled his eyes. "what now?" Eric growled and slammed his fist into the floor. "there's another hacker in the system. He or she is throwing up firewalls as fast as I can tear them down. until it's taken care off, I can't do shit from here." Tom rolled his eyes, and pumped a round into his shotgun's chamber. "can you find out where this SOB is?" Eric nodded and after a moment of work looked up. "3 floors down, server room B. why?" Tom grinned and walked away from the group disappearing down a side hallway.
ALICE'S POV
The na'vi were avoiding her. That much she could easily see. She knelt on the ground treating a small gash on her ankle. Every now and then she would look up from her work and the small group of na'vi around her would flinch back as though she had brandished a weapon at them. It was only as she was disinfecting the injury that one of them spoke. "why were you left behind?" Alice looked up as she wrapped a bandage around her injury. The na'vi that had spoken was taller than most by about 4 inches. He had a slim but muscular build to him and gave off an air of confidence. Alice shook her head. "you wouldn't understand." The na'vi growled. "try me." Alice grinned and stood up testing her leg. When her injury gave her no pain she spoke. "I was left here because I'm a good shot. I can take care of my self. In fact I prefer it that way. Eric, Tom, James, and Jake were all trained to work in a team. They rely on each other for safety as much as support. I was trained to fight, kill, and if need be dye alone." Alice watched the na'vi's reaction. After a moment of silence the na'vi said only one thing before walking away from her. "only a fool works alone."
JAKE'S POV
Jake nervously shifted from leg to leg. Since they had taken cover in the armory room no one had tried to attack them. Every now and then Tom would check in via the radio but for the most part all was silent in the room. Across from him Jake watched as James, nervously twirled a combat knife through his fingers before burying the blade in the wooden desk. After a moment he would pry the knife back up and repeat the whole process over again. Next to Jake Eric still knelt behind his makeshift locker barrier. His fingers still danced over the control but it was more out of an effort to keep himself busy. Jake had been about to call Tom to find out what he was doing when his radio went off. It was Tom. "hey there." Jake heard a surprised "wha-?" come over the radio before 3 loud shot gun blasted jolted him from his nervous stance. There was silence for a moment before Eric spoke into his radio. "did you kill him Tom?" "no I just knocked him out. I shot his equipment though. Do whatever it is the fuck you do Eric. I'll be back shortly." Jake nodded and watched as Eric began working. After a few seconds of work Eric stood up and grinned for the first time since the assault had begun. Ok, I've got complete control. Let's see." Bending over a different console Eric spoke.
"the bases automated soldier tag locator has Quaritch somewhere in the power suit hanger. Probably waiting to ambush us, if we go through there. Looks like most of the soldier's as still in the decon chambers, with most of the scientists. I've just locked them in so they won't be a problem. The ones that aren't locked in are either unconscious or dead. But there are a few teams that are just moving through the base. Easily avoided." Jake shrugged. "is there anyway to see what Quaritch is up to?" after a moment Eric shook his head. "no. he's shot out the lights in the bay. All we'd see is black." Jake shrugged, and tapped his radio. "Alice, Tsu'tey start working your way into the base. We're almost done here. My team and I are going to capture Quaritch and then we'll be done." "capture? You're not going to kill him?" "if it comes down to it we will. But I'd rather send him back to earth disgraced than in a body bag." As Tom reentered the room Jake spoke to him. "Tom you stay here with Eric and meet the others when they arrive. James come with me. We're going to go get Quaritch." Leaving the armory James and Jake moved through the base and met no resistance. As they rode a small lift down to the power suit bay Eric's voice filtered through their radio's.
"I've cut the power to the main hallway leading to the bay. You'll have to pry the doors open manually but you'll have a better chance of surprising Quaritch than if the lights were still on. I will remind you that the power suits run on their own power so he could use them against you. Try to avoid them. I won't be much help if he uses them." James nodded. "anything you can use to help us?" after a moment. "about the most I can do is trigger the fuel containers on the far side of the bay to overload and explode. It would kill Quaritch and anyone else in the room, so lets leave that as a last resort. Looks like I could activate the automated fire suppression systems, spray him with the foam and maybe confuse him for a moment of 2. but I don't know how much help that would be." As the lift stopped Jake spoke. "ok, thanks Eric. Just listen for our signals. And try to maintain radio silence if possible." "ok."
Jake and James moved through the pitch black corridor. The na'vi eyes had no trouble seeing in the dark. When they came to the door they stopped. After exchanging brief glances, they both took grips on either side of the door and began to pry it open. As Eric had said the bay was just as dark as the corridor they had just come from. But it had something more. Even though they could see in the dark each little moan of metal made them flinch and grip their weapons tighter. The bay felt….haunted. that was the only word for it. The feeling of being watched bore down on them and made their skin crawl. Each power suit loomed over them like a giant from legends. Every small shadow a potential hiding place. They had just passed a grouping of empty ammunition crates when they met the first sign that Quaritch was in the bay. From their spot behind the legs of a suit, Jake cold just make out the faint red glow of a heat vision goggle set. Signaling to James Jake pointed. James nodded, and withdrew a small explosive from his pocket. Arming it James stepped out from behind the suits leg and hurled it. He wasn't trying to hit Quaritch just blind him for a moment.
The room shook as the explosive went off. Charging out from behind their cover James and Jake covered the distance of the bay in a few seconds. Leaping upwards they landed an either side of Quaritch and made to grab him. their hands met cold metal as they latched onto what should have been Quaritch's shoulders. A training dummy fell at their feet. James swore and dropped to one knee sweeping the bay with his rifle raised. Dropping off the suit James slowly moved around the bay looking for Quaritch, with Jake covering him from above. Jake watched as James cleared the bay and jumped to the top of one of the suits. Jake watched as James turned to give him the all clear sign. He could see the confusion in James's face. but that confusion was quickly replaced with horror as a loud blast ripped through the eerily silent air of the bay. A hole the side of a basket ball materialized in James's chest. Jake felt horror grip every fiber in his body as he watched James's body slip from it's spot on the power suit and fall to the floor of the bay dead.
AN:) OK FOLKS CHAPTER 15 IS FINALLY DONE. SORRY IT TOOK SOOOOOOO LONG TO DO. I GOT SIDE TRACKED WITH LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PERSUTE OF HAPPINESS. .
OK SO HERE'S THE DEAL WITH THE REST OF THIS STORY. THIS NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE LAST. BUT THERE IS A CATCH. I WON'T POST IT UNTIL I GET AT LEAST 2 REVIEWS FOR THIS CHAPTER.
I THINK THAT'S FAIR. I WRITE THESE OUT SO YOU HAVER TO TELL ME IF YOU LIKE THEM OR NOT. THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE FULL REVIEWS THEY CAN BE QUIKE LITTLE NOTES. BUT THE POINT IS I WON'T UPDATE UNTIL I GET 2 OF THEM.
THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE STUCK WITH ME THIS FAR. I THINK THIS MAY BE MY GREATEST FANFICTION SO FAR.
THANK YOU ALL AND MAY EWYA WATCH OVER US ALL.
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.