This story is written for entertainment purposes only. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Keep in mind that English is not my first language and so I do not claim to have corrected every mistake yet. As the story keeps getting bigger, it is possible that inconsistencies may appear. If they do, let me know and I will correct them.

Chapter 17: The shape of the future, part II

Just moments ago, Ney'ite and John had finished telling clan leader Ranu'ut everything about the one called Joseph and what John thought they should do with his offer. Ranu'ut eyed John with suspicion, but didn't say anything right away. When he finally spoke, he wanted to know how this Joseph could possibly help them, when he was just one person and the invaders were many. Before John could say it, Ney'ite told Ranu'ut that Joseph could provide them with information. However, Ranu'ut didn't see why he should trust the word of one who had betrayed his own kind. He could just as easily betray the Uvora clan and rejoin his own kind again. John dared to stress the fact that Joseph had freed the captured Uvora clan members. He had done it not only because he wanted to oppose his master and creator, but also because he admired life, something which he himself would technically never have. John expressed his belief that Joseph thus would never hurt any living creature if he didn't have to. When John had finished, Ranu'ut simply gave him a smirk that seemed to indicate he didn't care what John believed. Nevertheless, Ranu'ut admitted that he had the desire to know more about their enemy. If they could figure out what the physical weak points of the invaders were, it would be a major help in itself. That was why he allowed John to go, on the condition that he found out about their weaknesses. He would send Selyat to escort John so that somebody, whom he truly trusted, could recite to him exactly what Joseph had said. Ney'ite was still allowed to come along if she wanted to, though.

John still remembered where he could find Joseph. It was at an old Avatar log cabin a few kilometers south from his outpost. Ney'ite knew the shortest route to his outpost, but she had never seen or heard of this log cabin before. In any case, if they wanted to make it there before nightfall, they had to go by Direhorse, or Pa'li as Ney'ite called them. Ney'ite recalled that John had ridden a Pa'li when he had brought her brother back. He confirmed that he had indeed practiced himself, but that he was far from having perfected his skills. That didn't matter to Ney'ite, however. She was content with the fact that she didn't have to teach him the basics. Once they had walked to the valley where the Uvora clan kept their Pa'li, John wanted to show her what he could already do. As he was riding around the valley, he noticed that someone was approaching. A closer look revealed that it was Selyat. She looked grumpy and warned John that she wouldn't be stopping for him if he were to fall off en route. John didn't say anything, as he didn't want to provoke her. He did notice something else about her. She was wearing a kind of weaved collar around her neck; something which he hadn't seen her wear previously. It almost seemed as if she was trying to conceal something, though he didn't dare to ask her about it.

A few minutes later, the three of them were on their way. Ney'ite was up front, followed by Selyat, and then John. He was glad that Ney'ite was the one deciding at what speed they were going. If it had been up to Selyat, she would have likely tested him to see what his limits were. John was certain it would then have become apparent that as a rider, he was nowhere near her skill level. Fortunately for John, it didn't have to come to that. When it had become dusk, they arrived at the far end of the quarry. They would now go south, where they could hopefully locate the cabin. According to Joseph, it was now only a few kilometers away, so it shouldn't take them long to get to. They passed the quarry and went into the jungle right around the spot where John had last seen Joseph.

Night seemed to come quickly as they moved deeper into the jungle. By the time they could finally see something on their right side up ahead, the trees and plants had already begun to show their bioluminescence. The dark grey cabin stood out in the blue, cyan and violet colored jungle. Once they had dismounted, John took it upon himself to check it out. He told the others that he would go inside first, as he wasn't sure what Joseph was expecting. In truth, John was still a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect either. He went up the stairs to the porch and could see that the door was closed. Meanwhile, Selyat approached the cabin from the side, attempting to look inside through the glassless window. The complete darkness inside prevented her from seeing anything however. On one of the tables on the porch, there was an electrical lantern, which John inspected first. It appeared to be still working when he flicked the on-switch, and so he decided to take it with him. Then, he knocked on the door a few times and said Joseph's name, though no-one responded. He decided to open it nonetheless. While pushing it slowly inward, it made an annoying creaking sound. John held the lantern in front of him and slowly stepped inside.

The interior of the cabin was a mess. Furniture was lying knocked over on the floor. The roof even had holes in it. John had no idea what had happened here, though it looked to him like there might have been a struggle of some kind. In the center there was one chair still standing. When John moved closer, he could see a silhouette of someone sitting in it, but couldn't see his face. Wanting to have at least some confirmation, John asked if the person there was Joseph. A monotone voice replied that he wasn't. For a moment, John didn't know what to say. If he wasn't Joseph, then he had to be one of them, the other machines. John slowly backed away, but the mysterious figure asked, again in a monotone voice, to help him. Not trusting the situation at all, John attempted to flee the cabin, but the figure leapt forward and firmly gripped his arm, trying to pull him back in. John dropped the lantern and kicked the figure in the chest as hard as he could. Right after John heard it fall down, he could hear Ney'ite outside calling him, yelling that he had to come quickly. In no time, he was back outside again and slammed the door shut. He quickly looked around and saw Ney'ite and Selyat standing together. Selyat had her bow tightened and Ney'ite had a knife ready. Just a few meters away from them, there was another figure. This one had a long cloak and hood. Just when John made his way down the stairs, the figure removed its hood, revealing him to be Joseph. He calmly addressed the two Na'vi as 'friends' and said that they needn't be afraid of him. He introduced himself as Joseph, and removed his cloak, revealing that he was dressed in a simple white blouse with black trousers. Then, he told them that he had no weapons of any kind on him.

Ney'ite let her guard down after a few moments, but Selyat refused to do so. Joseph didn't pay any attention to her, however. He now began speaking to John, telling him he had made the right choice. John demanded to know immediately what kind of twisted thing he kept in that cabin. Joseph told him that he had captured one of MT-NET's Type 600s. He had disabled its remote uplink and had been busy trying to adjust its programming. Though he had succeeded in making it less aggressive, he had been unable to resolve some of its internal software conflicts, which had resulted in unpredictable behavior. Ney'ite and Selyat looked at each other, as to them it almost seemed that Joseph had suddenly started speaking in a different language. But John understood what he meant. He liked the fact that Joseph was always open about such things and that he never refused to give a straight answer.

Now that he had explained what needed to be explained, Joseph expressed that they had to speak about his plan. He offered them all seats on a nearby dead tree trunk, but only John accepted. Once they had sat down, Joseph began telling him that John's skills as an astronaut would be vital in the plan he had devised. Joseph knew that MT-NET had taken an interest in the moon Shadow, in order to construct nuclear weapons. If it were to achieve that goal, then no-one would be certain of their lives anymore. That was why stopping this operation was their absolute number one priority. John now understood the seriousness of the situation. Joseph's plan was for the two of them to infiltrate MT-NET's complex, get on board the shuttle unnoticed, take care of the machines on Shadow, pilot the shuttle back to Pandora and sending it on a crash course and jump out in time. To John, this sounded like something near impossible to achieve, and asked Joseph how he wanted to do all those things. Joseph admitted he still had to come up with a way to infiltrate the complex and that he also had to figure out the schedule of the shuttle. Nevertheless, he was of the opinion that with the two of them, they should stand a reasonable chance against the machines as firearms didn't function optimally in the atmosphere of Shadow. Also, Joseph didn't see a reason why MT-NET would have brought precious weapons and ammunition to a deserted and lifeless moon.

When they had taken care of the machines, they had to cut off MT-NET's remote connections and reprogram the flight computer manually, something which Joseph himself could easily do. Once they had returned to Pandora, all they had to do was jump out over water and let the flight computer crash the shuttle into an ocean. John nodded as Joseph finished the sentence. Then, he pointed out that he was forgetting something. While Joseph was a machine who didn't need to breathe, he wasn't like him. He had no pressure-suit and a simple exopack wasn't going to do much in an environment like that. John recalled that Shadow had an atmosphere consisting primarily of nitrogen, carbon dioxide and small amounts of noble gases and chlorine. The main problem was that there was no oxygen there. Joseph countered by saying that according to John's file, he had built his own space suit for his daily activities on Titan, so surely he could do it again. However, John noted that he had only succeeded with that, because there he had had the proper resources and tools. On Pandora, he had no such things. Joseph didn't agree with him, explaining that the kind of pressure suit that was required could be very simple. Temperature on Shadow was comparable to Pandora and while the air pressure was a bit lower, it was high enough to dissipate excess body heat. So all he needed was an airtight bodysuit, a helmet and an air tank; things that could definitely be scavenged or made from old RDA equipment.

John supposed that a rudimentary pressure suit would suffice for a one time excursion. The only question that remained in his head was whether he should go in his Avatar body or his own human body. When he asked Joseph's opinion about it, he recommended John use his Avatar body, as it was far stronger. However, the range of the psionic link would then pose a problem. Joseph told him that he would find a way to increase the range or relay the connection.

Now that the plan had been discussed, Joseph summarized. He would find a way into MT-NET's complex, find out about the schedule of the shuttle and search for a way to make John's Avatar function beyond Pandora. John would prepare himself for the mission and build a pressure suit for his Avatar. Joseph surmised that it might take them several weeks or even a month to complete the preparations. Hopefully, that wasn't enough time for MT-NET to enrich the mined Uranium and use it to build nuclear weapons. He suggested that they hold a meeting to discuss their progress two weeks from now at this exact spot. John agreed.

Just when Joseph was about to end their meeting, John remembered he had one last thing to ask him. In order to give the Na'vi a better chance at defeating MT-NET's machines here on Pandora, John wanted to know what the physical weak points of the machines were. Joseph was brief yet direct with his answers. Should they encounter a Type 300, a two-legged runner, they should attack its knee joints. If they faced the large humanoid, single-armed Type 400, they should attack the lower spine, where its legs connected to its torso. And if they encountered a small humanoid with rubber skin, such as the Type 600 and Type 700, they should focus on delivering damage to its neck or upper spine. John saw Selyat make an affirmative nod. He hoped she had now heard what she had wanted to hear, and announced to Joseph that that was all for now. Joseph extended his hand, a gesture which John instantly recognized. The man and the machine now shook hands, sealing the formed alliance…