-.-New Star-.-
2170
A new star - and suddenly, it was like no time had passed at all. Fifteen years gone, and the RDA returned. Now that they had had a taste of Pandora, they wouldn't let it go. The Na'vi would faithfully defend their home - now they all had more to fight for.
How much trouble can a handful of scientists and a couple of kids on an alien planet get into? The answer: a lot.
Phoenix cracked open the cupboard looking for her favourite coffee mug. "Who keeps putting this on the top shelf?! I know you're just doing it to mess with me!" She had a good idea of who kept doing this: her daughter.
A tan hand with painted blue stripes reached up and snatched the mug down, setting it on the counter for her.
"Why thank you, this is why I love having you around."
"Why you love me." Spider grinned. He was sixteen and already six feet tall which meant he towered over her - it wasn't fair. Not at all.
"Gotta have my energy - we're taking out a train today."
Under Jake's leadership, an air team on the backs of Ikrans and a ground team on the backs of Pa'li charged an RDA train. The ground team took care of the train itself, while the air team took down the scorpions guarding the train and line of tracks that sliced through the forest.
While she had been trained to use a bow and arrows for years now, Nix still didn't feel so comfortable with it, and still gravitated towards a rifle. She carried both though, just in case.
She thrust her weapon up into the air as the train was blasted off the tracks. "Hell yeah!"
The air team landed to assist the ground team with retrieving supplies from the crashed train. They only had a couple of minutes before RDA backup would be on them.
"Shit," Jake suddenly cursed.
"What?" Nix turned and followed his gaze to where Lo'ak and Neteyam were, helping collect weapons. "Oh, shit."
"Do you mind?" he sighed.
"Not at all." She stalked towards the two boys. "What are you two doing down here?"
"It's my fault, Auntie Nix-" Neteyam began.
"Gunships inbound!" came Jake's alert.
"Get down!" She jumped in front of the boys, but they were all knocked down by a blast.
"Auntie Nix? Can you hear me?"
Disoriented, she had a faint image of Lo'ak leaning over her, trying to get her attention.
Jake appeared at the corner of her vision. "Nix, you okay?"
She just groaned.
The war party hastily returned to their camp, high up in the mountains.
Jake was livid, and on the boys as soon as they landed. "You almost got yourselves and your Aunt killed!"
"Well your aunt is actually bleeding, so I'm going to go take care of that," Nix piped up.
"Take care of your boys, Jakesully, I will care for Txep." The low voice drew their attention to Tu'Same's awaiting figure.
"Thank you, Tu'Same."
"Don't be too hard on them," Nix told Jake.
"No promises."
Tu led her away to the medical tents.
"Auntie Nix!"
"Mum!"
Gracie and Spider came dashing over, followed closely by Kiri.
"Hey kid, why so blue?" she said, noting the new paint job Spider had applied to himself.
"You're hurt!" cried Gracie.
"Just a little scratched up is all, nothing Tu here can't fix."
"Come on, Monkey Boy, let's leave them to it," Kiri said, pulling Spider by the arm and wiggling her eyebrows. "You too, Gracie."
Nix got settled in the tent while Tu mixed some ointments from the bowls around him. She leaned back against him while he worked.
Tu'Same was of the Tawkami Clan, known for being gentle giants (well, giants to a human) who specialized in medicine and botany. He traveled back and forth between the Omaticaya stronghold and his own Clan, and did so more often now for the sake of him and Nix.
She wouldn't really say she had a type. We had all seen how well things had gone with tough, serious military men. But this sweet, gentle soul had found his way into her heart rather quickly, warming her heart where she had thought not to let any more love in again out of fear of being betrayed and heartbroken once more.
She wasn't just heartbroken because she'd 'loved' Quaritch and all that, but heartbroken by how much destruction he had caused to something she loved so much, Pandora and her people.
"Ah, I see I am not needed here." Mo'at stood at the opening to the tent.
"Please, Tsahik, do not let me interrupt." He stood. "Will you have a look at her wounds?"
"Of course."
Mo'at took his place sitting behind her. "Our Txep is in good hands."
"Between all of you, she sure is," Nix agreed. "You go see to the other wounded, Tu, we wouldn't want people to think you had a favourite."
He chuckled, flashing her that dashing smile of his before slipping out of the tent to go and find the other wounded.
"It is nearly time for him to choose a mate," Mo'at stated.
Very subtle, Mo'at, very subtle indeed... "Well he has a lot of women to choose from."
"His eye is on only one woman. And she has eyes for him too, I think."
"Yeah, she does - OW!" She hissed as Mo'at applied an ointment of her own, which stung a lot worse than the ones Tu had used.
She knew Na'vi mating rituals were on a whole other level to love, and it was a wonderful thought, but honestly kind of intimidating as well. Not to mention Na'vi mates mated for life. FOR LIFE! There was a lot to consider. Or she could just do what Jake and Neytiri had done and jump right in head first without looking back.
Besides, she didn't just have herself to think of anymore.
"But that also makes her nervous."
"Your heart bears scars, scars that may never fully go away. But they can heal," Mo'at advised.
"Yeah, I know. Well, if Eywa wills it, then it shall happen, and with who she wills."
"Have faith, and the Great Mother will guide you and your beloved to each other."
Have faith... No matter what happened, she would still have her love story with Pandora, that much was for certain.
Despite being just across from the medical tents on the other side of the cave, being the true gentleman he was, Tu walked with Nix, Gracie, Spider, Lo'ak and Kiri to the shack.
"Thank you for all of your help today," she told him.
"Of course. I will be seeing you, dear Txep, when I return."
"Until then, then."
He pressed his forehead to hers tenderly for a beat before heading off to rejoin his brothers and sisters to return to their Clan. Smiling, she watched him go.
"I'm not ready for any brothers or sisters."
She spun around to face Gracie, perplexed. "What?"
"Your boyfriend-"
Now she understood, and swatted at her playfully. "He's not my boyfriend."
"Oh come on!"
"Okay, maybe just a little..." She smiled and followed the youngsters inside.
There they found the Avatars settling down for the night so that their drivers could come safely out of link. Nix joined them.
"Hey Spider!" Norm whipped the teen with his towel as Spider passed by.
"Your ass is mine!"
"I'm right here!"
"Hey, Avatars only, go around," Jocelyn ordered the kids.
"Blah blah blah!" Kiri mocked her, making the others laugh.
Nix settled down on her own cot, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, she was coming out of link.
"Hell of a day," Norm told Max, who awaited their return.
When she caught up with the kids again they were over by Grace's Avatar discussing her love life.
"See, I'm thinking their two Avatars went out into the woods, all alone..." Lo'ak was saying, the implications of his words very clear.
"Gross!" cried Kiri.
"You know that's not exactly how it works right?" Nix piped up. "Here, allow me to enlighten you: Na'vi mating rituals 101-"
"No thanks!" All four spoke at once.
She laughed. "That's what I thought."
"Guys, I mean, sometimes it's not so great to know who your father was," Spider said. This statement silenced the others. "Whatever..."
"No, Spider-"
"Spider-" Kiri wrapped her arms around him. "You are not him."
"Yeah, whatever. I don't even remember him."
While Spider knew his dad was Quaritch, Gracie did not. She knew of the Colonel, but both she and Spider just thought Nix had worked with him, nothing more.
"You know, I'm kind of okay not knowing," Gracie said. "That way I can make up who I think he was."
She, Lo'ak and Kiri turned away to give Spider some space. He leaned against the Avatar incubator.
Nix came over. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled.
"Hey, you are nothing like him, okay," she assured him. "Take it from someone who knows."
I stole Mo'at's line about Eywa leading Nix to her beloved (I think we all know who that is... SPOILER ;) We'll see though - we'll see how many sins James has him commit in the next three movies...) from my other story too! I guess I'm on a role with plagiarizing myself here!
Tu'Same is pronounced Tu-sam-ey
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)