Soldiers of Fortune
"Back to the Jungle"
Leon was a little nervous on their way in to the forrest. Though all the aircraft were being outfitted with guns it didn't put him at ease.
He looked over to the other gunner who was scanning the horizon on that side, keeping watch mostly on the tree tops. What came below didn't scare Leon as much as what came from above.
Grace told him to quit being so jittery as he was making them all nervous. Especially Alice as this was her first time out in the field. Easy for them to be calm, thought Leon. Those aren't their real bodies.
He felt some relief as the Sam touched down on the ground. But didn't relish the fact of leaving the Sam but it was something that had to be done. The faster the scientist got their samples the faster they could get out of here.
"You," said Grace pointing to the other gunner. "Stay put. You. Follow me."
Leon obeyed and followed the two avatars through the tree line. Every now and then they would stop so Leon could read the tracks and see what was around them.
Before they left Leon was shown some of Grace's findings. She wanted to track an elusive creature that they had never been successful to study.
He bent over a round hoof print in the dirt. This was probably the thing that Grace was trying to track. He silently signaled to Grace and Alice to move in that direction. He watched as Grace and Alice perked up their cat like ears at every sound in the forrest. They had to be careful not to run into anything unexpected. There was a small mound on next to the tree.
Alice with disgust on her face scooped up a sample into a vial for later.
"Is it warm?" asked Leon quietly. Alice nodded her head and cringed her face. Leon maneuvered around the dung pile and made sure that his filter didn't get the full blast of the odor or else he'd be smelling it for the rest of the trip.
Leon poked his head around a the tree and waved his arm at the two scientists to get their attention. They quietly tip-toed around the tree and hid just behind him. Grace interested in the creature before them pressed her body closer up against the tree forgetting just about everything else, including Leon. And it was a good thing to as he was blushing furiously behind his mask.
Grace fought to get a better position and ended up pushing Leon to the side and into Alice who almost let you a yelp if she hadn't covered her mouth. Leon carefully removed his foot from her tail and mouth a sorry to her. But she too was curious about the creature just as much as Grace was and hid behind her.
Leon was forced to watch their backs as the scientists were carefully recording just about every movement that it made. It suddenly had its neck extended all the way and fanned out its two thin skin membranes like ears of an elephant. It then took too the safety of the trees and was gone.
Grace and Alice looked at each other with huge smiles on their faces. "Did you see all of that?" asked Grace to her assistant.
"That was amazing," replied Alice who was ecstatic about her first new species sighting on her first trip on the field.
"Oh, this is gonna be such good information for my book," said Grace. "Okay soldier boy we got what we came here for. Let's go."
"Yes ma'am," said Leon retracing their steps back to the waiting Samson. He would stop every so often and look up in the trees but couldn't see anything moving in them.
"You're gonna get a crick in your neck if you keep staring up like that," said Grace in a motherly voice.
"There's something in the trees," said Leon finally. "Watching us."
"Of course there is," said Grace which made Alice and Leon trade puzzled expressions. "The Na'vi have been watching us ever since we've landed."
"And you didn't think to tell me this?" asked Leon.
"Should I have?" asked Grace who stopped and glared down at the smaller of the two.
"What if they attacked us when our backs were turned?" asked Leon. "Its my job to protect you. This kind of information is on a need to know basis."
"And just what are you going to do about it little man?" asked Grace. "You are less than half the size of everything that's out there. You think just because you have a gun its going to tip the scales in your favor? You saw how helpful that was to you first hand."
Leon felt smaller than he already felt compared to the towering Avatars.
"I appreciate your concern for us, I really do," said Grace. "But we are alive aren't we? We made it to the Samson. You did your job, don't lecture me about doing mine."
It was a quiet trip back to base. Leon watched the horizon which gave time to himself and an excuse to not have to face Grace.
A/N: Thanks for the advice extrekkie. And Sky66 yeah... I'm not 100% sold on the exact time myself. The story will most likely end right up to the movie so it may be less than what I predicted.