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.

This chapter is the first of three parts. The other two parts will hopefully also be released this month.

Chapter 22: Shadow, part I

Ney'ite and John agreed that they both wouldn't mention to Ranu'ut, or the rest of the clan, that Ney'ite would come along on the mission to Shadow. However, they did decide to mention it to Wukan since he, as Ney'ite's brother, deserved to know the truth. Ney'ite made it absolutely clear that it was her idea to come along and that John had initially tried to stop her from coming. She also explained her motivation for the choice. Wukan was not enthusiastic about her choice at all, but he seemed to at least respect it. He supposed that he could come along as well, but John pointed out to him that his skills as a warrior were far more useful at their village, since there was always the threat of the invaders attacking at random. Also, John already needed to make an extra pressure suit for Ney'ite. Making a third one would take even more time and with every day that passed, the chance of MT-NET using newly built weaponry to attack would increase. Wukan finally agreed, but John could tell that he wasn't at ease with this new development. John himself didn't like it that much either. He secretly hoped that Joseph would not allow Ney'ite to come for her own good.

The next day, when the sun had already gone under, John and Ney'ite arrived at Joseph's cabin. It still looked exactly the same as last time: grey and dull, in contrast with the colorful bioluminescent jungle. John dismounted his Pa'li and approached the cabin. When he was closer, he could see that someone was sitting in a chair on the porch. But it didn't appear to be Joseph. The roughly human figure had an ugly fake-looking face, a large grey beard, seemed to be slightly overweight, wore ragged old brown clothes, and appeared to be carving something out of wood with a knife. Suddenly, the figure noticed him and stopped carving. It kept staring at John while he went up the stairs to the porch. John found it kind of eerie, but he remembered what Joseph had said last time. This was simply one of the machines of MT-NET, which Joseph had captured. John told the figure who he was, and that he had come to see Joseph. The figure replied that Joseph was inside and resumed carving. John knocked on the door and opened it. The interior of the cabin was a bit more cleaned up compared to last time, though there still were holes in the roof. A small lantern was standing on the ground and dimly lit up the room. John could see Joseph sitting in a chair. Joseph greeted him immediately and suggested that they go outside.

Once they had done so, Joseph offered him a seat on a nearby dead tree trunk as usual. He also invited Ney'ite to join them, which she eventually did after some hesitation. When Joseph started speaking, Ney'ite interrupted him almost immediately and proudly announced that she was coming along on the mission as well. John was still hoping that Joseph's reaction would be negative, but now, he couldn't believe his ears. Joseph approved of it. He was of the opinion that the more hands they had, the higher the probability of succeeding was. John now decided to say something and told Joseph that, while he had completed the first pressure suit, he had to construct an additional one now, which would take more precious time. Joseph agreed with this, but countered by pointing out to John that he already had a design and that he now knew what kind of materials he needed. Also, Joseph offered to personally help him construct it. John, who was curious about the last statement, asked him if he had that much time to spare.

Joseph now revealed that during the last two weeks, he had made considerable progress concerning the preparations for the mission. First of all, he had found a way to make John's Avatar function beyond Pandora with a lag time of a few milliseconds at the most. When John asked how this was possible, Joseph replied that he would use a modified and improved version of the faster-than-light encoding humans had used for interstellar communication, and use several satellites orbiting Polyphemus to relay the connection. He had the needed software, but he still had to set up a few things at John's outpost, however. John was impressed. Joseph continued by telling them that he had made an accurate timetable of the shuttle's departure and arrival times. The next window would be two days from now. Aside from that, there was a weak spot in the perimeter fence surrounding the base where the shuttle would depart from. A Na'vi axe or club could probably rip through it. The only problem which remained were the patrolling guards. Nevertheless, Joseph had formulated a strategy to deal with them. The machine that was sitting on the porch of the cabin, who Joseph referred to as Benjamin, would create a diversion that would allow them to get past the guards unnoticed and board the shuttle. If he could make it back in time, Benjamin would also be joining them on the mission. John demanded to know if this Benjamin could be trusted, since he had attacked him last time he was here. Joseph revealed that he had succeeded in resolving the software conflicts and that Benjamin had become loyal to him, but he wasn't quite on the same level as him in terms of intelligence.

John supposed it was better that Benjamin would create a diversion instead of one of them and accepted Joseph's plan. Joseph now revealed that MT-NET was undertaking several ground expeditions at the moment. Also it was preparing its army for a mobilization. This meant that it wouldn't be focusing its attention on the shuttle, which was why the day after tomorrow would be the most suitable day for the mission. John agreed with him and he also realized that Ney'ite was going to come along, whether he liked it or not. Together, they decided that John and Ney'ite would return to the village for tonight and that Joseph would be at John's outpost in the morning to commence working on the second pressure suit.

Early in the next morning, John didn't resume his normal schedule. He did not link up to his Avatar and waited until he could see Joseph approaching. Wukan had returned to the village of the Uvora clan as John had recommended, so John was once again alone. But it didn't take long for Joseph to show up. When he did, John let him inside and showed him the completed suit.

Later that day, John, in his Avatar, and Ney'ite had ridden a Pa'li back to the outpost, while Joseph had already started configuring the new link hardware. John had explained to Ney'ite what they were going to do now and why. It was time to try on the suits to test their functionality and get used to wearing them. Joseph, a truly efficient machine, had completed a second suit within 10 hours, using John's design and the first suit as an example. The suits themselves were essentially once piece jumpsuits. Ney'ite was a bit smaller than John in his Avatar body, so the suit would at least not be too small for her. The suits were made of scavenged materials and didn't look like much from the outside, but John assured her that they would work. He first tried his suit on as a demonstration. He first stepped into it, pulled it up over his trousers and made sure his tail went into the right compartment. Subsequently, he made sure that his queue went into the designated protected compartment and sealed up the front of the suit. Then, he took an air tank and used two straps to fasten it to his back like a backpack. He had several more of these tanks, and had filled them all with Pandoran air using a high pressure air compressor. John estimated that one tank would last approximately eight hours with a normal breathing pattern. He had two tanks for each of them. A single trip to Shadow would take about six hours, so that meant that about four hours would remain to complete the mission.

Now, he connected several hoses to the back of his helmet and checked the pressure valves. An indicator on his wrist could tell him how many air was still left inside the tank. Finally, he took his helmet and fitted it on his head, making sure it was sealed properly. Ney'ite could now only see his face through the small transparent visor. The rest of his body was completely covered.

John removed his helmet again, and explained to her that the bodysuit was only for protection against the harsh environment of Shadow, and not strictly necessary for keeping breathable air inside. That was the task of the helmet. So as long as the tank remained intact, the hoses connected and the helmet properly sealed, it didn't matter if the rest of the suit was ripped or damaged in some way. Still though, it would be better if they could avoid that from happening altogether. That was why John recommended that she removed her necklaces and armbands before trying on the suit, as any sharp parts might puncture it. Ney'ite understood his point and did what John asked.

Everything John had just explained and shown was alien to her. It was difficult to fully understand it, but Ney'ite knew that all of it was somehow necessary to do what needed to be done. At the suggestion of John, she now tried her suit on as well. John assisted her with the hoses and the helmet. When the helmet was finally sealed, she could suddenly hear almost nothing, except her own breathing. Also, it felt strange having something completely covering her body. Now, she was essentially missing two senses. Aside from that, she also felt restricted in her movements. The air tank on her back was pretty heavy and she was unable to feel where she put her feet. She thought she would slip or lose her balance when she made her first steps wearing the suit. After having walked around a bit, however, she realized it wasn't so bad after all. She could still move her arms and legs with quite some freedom. When John put his helmet back on, Ney'ite could suddenly hear his voice loud and clear, which startled her a bit. He explained that they both had automatic two-way communicators inside their helmets, which would allow them to speak to each other.

After allowing Ney'ite some more time to get used to the suit, John suggested that they practiced using their weapons while they were suited up. Ney'ite could still handle her bow pretty well. John managed to swing around a human fire axe with relative ease. However, they both agreed that swinging a heavy Na'vi axe or club, which was necessary to do the most damage to the invaders, would not be so easy with the heavy air tanks on their backs. There was something which would work to their advantage, though. The gravity on Shadow was lower than the gravity of Pandora, which meant that the air tanks and the weapons would weigh less while they were there.

Next, John suggested that they check to see if the helmets and hoses were really air tight. They removed their helmets so that they could use their queues, and rode their Pa'li to the nearest stream. It took a while before they had found a spot where the water was deep enough. Evening was already approaching. Nevertheless, when they found what they were looking for, they suited up again. John was the first to test it out. Ney'ite was quick to follow him. Their air tanks prevented them from being able to go under the water completely, but they were nonetheless able to check each other for bubbles coming from their helmets. They could see pretty clear under the water, due to the bioluminescent floor of the stream. Ney'ite had no noticeable bubbles coming from her. John had small bubbles coming from one of the connectors of the hoses. Beyond that, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Once they were out of the water, John wanted to get back as soon as possible. It was already getting late and less than a day remained until they would go. Ney'ite thought differently, though. She wanted to take it easy and recommended that John did the same, because this would be the last time they would get the chance before they would go. She made it clear that she had had enough of missing two of her senses for one day and started taking the suit off. John knew she had a point and didn't attempt to argue with her. He took off his helmet, but was then momentarily distracted. His eyes fell upon her gorgeous blue and striped back. There was also a pattern of bioluminescent dots visible on her skin. The surrounding glowing jungle amplified her beauty even more. Ney'ite now dove into the stream and surfaced a few seconds later. She yelled at him that the water was great and that he should get in as well. John did not hesitate to follow her example. He removed the pressure suit and dove in. The two of them swam together towards a tiny island in the middle of the stream. Ney'ite went ashore and lied down on her back, while John remained in the water, but nonetheless close by. Now, Ney'ite could see several stars and a section of the planet Polyphemus through the canopy of branches and leaves above them. She asked John, using the terminology he had explained in his stories, if that place that they were going to was really behind the big blue planet. John told her it most likely was. Next, she asked him if he had ever been there before. He replied that he hadn't and that it would be as new to him as it would be to her…