A/N: Okay guys here's chapter 5. As always thank you for the reviews and enthusiasm with this story. Seeing you all happy is my goal, so I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the previous ones, and I hope to be back on here soon with another update :) One thing I'd like to note though before I sign off and post this chapter. I realize that there are a few words that have odd spaces in them on occasion. This is from Microsoft Word's hyphenation feature. I've turned it on for when I print the document on paper here at home, but it's just not compatible with this site's HTML coding for some reason :) I've tried to pick out most of the words and correct them before posting my chapters, but I may miss some, so bear with me :)

Anyway, enjoy :D

Chapter 5: Legends

For several minutes after the transmission ended, Jake stared at the blank monitor that had previously displayed the Dark Star's commanding officer who had been anything but what he'd expected. Of course, he hadn't expected much to begin with. He hadn't expected that the tawtute to even talk, nor had the ship's Captain been what he'd expected.

Again, he hadn't known what to expect, but he thought that the Dark Star's CO was some guy named Richard Matthews. Instead, he talked with a very diplomatic woman who could've been Trudy's doppelganger. Trudy, why'd you never tell me you had a sister, he thought. Of course Alejandra had never confirmed anything on her end either. It had been real hard not to mention Trudy during their conversation, as Alejandra had put it, but he'd decided that then was not the time to bring up his now deceased friend.

As much as he hated to play dirty, he also knew that Trudy could serve another purpose…a purpose that made his stomach turn. But if it meant keeping Pandora safe he'd use Trudy as leverage against Alejandra. If Alejandra knew about Trudy's decision to side with the Na'vi, then maybe he could use Trudy to plant seeds of doubt in Alejandra's garden of resolve. If he could weaken her loyalty to the RDA, even just a little, then maybe the tawtute captain could become an ally rather than enemy.

However, everything he'd considered during and in the moments since speaking with Alejandra Chacon hinged on her not betraying him. For all he knew, she had been leading him on, making him comfortable, and guiding him in an attempt at lowering his guard. Bearing that in mind, he would have to remain vigilant when speaking with her, which would be a difficult task. Like Trudy, she was very likable. More than once, he actually thought he was speaking with his friend instead of an enemy commander.

Jake was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice Max enter the office. Max walked over to Jake and tapped him on his left bicep. "So how'd it go Jake," Max asked interrupting Jake's internal conversation with himself.

Snapping back to reality, Jake looked down to the scientist. "I don't know Max. I guess it went well."

"Well as in…"

"As in maybe we're not dead in the water yet," Jake finished. He moved to stand up, but had to rub some feeling back into his legs as they had fallen asleep while he spoke to Alejandra. "Max do you know if Neytiri and the elders have arrived yet?"

Max nodded, "Yeah Norm called me about fifteen minutes ago. They've set up shop in the avatar compound. They've built a fire and are presently preparing their evening meal."

"Good. Max, tell Norm that I'm on my way there now," Jake said standing up success fully this time.

Leaving the control room, Jake decided to take the long way down to the avatar com pound located at the rear of the Hell's Gate complex. The long and silent walk allowed him to clear his mind and formulate how he would speak to his tribe regarding the humans' imminent arrival. Then there was Norm, his closest human friend. He didn't know how Norm would take finding out Trudy had a twin sister. Unless Trudy had a clone of herself made for some reason, he thought and shuddered at the thought. Even now in the mid twenty-second century, cloning people still garnered controversy with most of humanity.

He knew that the likelihood that Trudy had cloned herself versus having a twin sister was astronomically small, but at this point he wouldn't put anything past the RDA. Well for better or worse Sully, you've got a date with whoever she sends down here in a week, he heard his internal voice say to him as he reached one of the many airlocks in the building. Jake stepped over the threshold and sealed himself in, allowed the room to cycle, and stepped outside for the first time in at least an hour. Since he'd started in Dr. Augustine's avatar program several months ago, he'd spent most of his waking hours outside, in a manner of speaking, and had grown to despise being inside. It was so refreshing being out in the open air, to feel the warm sun on your skin, the cool rain and the comforting wind on a warm day. Now he felt pity for those like Alejandra or Max who weren't able to spend their days outside. At least Max could come out on occasion, he thought.

However, the dark haired and bearded scientist rarely left the Administration building most days. Jake believed that it was because Max just wasn't a fan of the great outdoors. As he walked toward the avatar compound, Jake didn't realize that he was being stalked. He didn't realize until it was too late, and he'd been tackled by a certain female Na'vi.

"My Jhake," was all he heard as he hit the soft ground of the gardens outside the com pound. An instant later, he found himself being attacked, in a manner of speaking, by his mate as she kissed and clung to him like it had been more than a year since they had last seen one another.

"Neytiri," he said sitting up and looking into her golden eyes, "I see you, my love," replied to her greeting. She was exactly the person he needed to see right now.

"I see you my Jhake," Neytiri repeated the Na'vi phrase that could mean many things, but right now it clearly meant I love you. Jake loved how she always said 'My Jhake' when she referred to him. It was just one a million things he loved about Neytiri, and reassured him that all the choices he'd made recently were the right ones.

He could tell that Neytiri wanted nothing more than to take him away right now and do things he wouldn't feel comfortable sharing with anyone else, but they would have to wait…for now at least. Maybe later, he hoped.

Their little moment over, she pulled him to his feet and the pair walked toward the fire burning in front of the avatar compound's bunkhouse.

When they reached fire, they saw Mo'at and Norm conversing in fluid Na'vi while the other Na'vi elders and hunters that had followed Neytiri here partook of their evening meal, which was a combination of some of the vegetables and fruits grown at the garden and roasted viperwolf, or nantang as it was called by the Na'vi, meat. One of the hunters offered Jake bowl of food, which he gladly took. I don't remember eating today, he thought as his stomach rum bled. Neytiri also took a serving of food joined Jake as he walked over to where Norm and Mo'at were seated.

Norm nodded to Jake as he and Neytiri sat down. Mo'at smiled at the two before ad dressing Jake. "JhakeSulley," she said his name in her highly accented English. "My son, why do you call us to this tawtute place this night?" Since Jake and Neytiri had mated, she had grown to accept Jake as the son she had never had.

Swallowing a vegetable that looked and tasted conspicuously like a carrot, Jake drank from a Na'vi sized bottle of water Norm handed him. He cleared his throat and replied. "Mother," he called her before continuing, "I have summoned you and the elders here because I was told by Norm this afternoon that more tawtute are coming to the world." With the words tawtute and coming, the entire crowd stopped eating and looked to Jake.

"Are you sure of this," Mo'at asked, worry creeping into her face. "How do they come so soon JhakeSulley?"

Jake knew that Mo'at recognized that it was too soon for more the arrival of more humans. Normally, this was an event that only occurred biannually. "I believe that this ship is coming here early because the former tawtute leaders knew that a war was coming, and they wanted stronger warriors and weapons to defeat the People."

Mo'at sat her bowl down and looked to Norm. "NormSpellman is what my son says true," she asked the scientist.

Norm nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid that Jake is accurate. This ship has weapons far more powerful than any your people have ever seen the Sky People use before."

"These weapons," Jake continued where Norm left off, "are so powerful that even I could not defend against them," he stated referring to his victory at the Tree of Souls as the Omaticaya Toruk Makto. "They have things called nuclear warheads that can destroy entire areas the length of a many days walk in all directions, but they also have many warriors aboard that are equally as strong as the ones we fought before." He had thought of mentioning the kinetic warheads, but he doubted that his people would understand the difference between nukes and kinetic devices. Better stick with what they will understand, he added to himself.

Jake noticed that it had become silent since he'd mentioned the infamous n-word that had petrified humans with fear for over two hundred years since the first one was tested in the western United States near the conclusion of the Second World War. Mo'at's eyes widened at the thought of an area as far as the eye could see being destroyed. However, she didn't know that the destruction wasn't the worst part of a nuclear detonation. The worst part was the radioactive aftermath that followed. "If they use these nuclear warheads, Mother, the places they destroy would be rendered dead for many generations. No one could return for fear of dying from the poison these weapons leave behind," Jake said trying to describe radiation as best he could to someone who had no understanding of modern chemistry and physics.

"Why would the tawtute use these nookclear warheads when they would destroy them selves along with us," Mo'at asked as a follow up to Jake's description of deadly weapons.

Norm shook his head and answered instead, "Because they wouldn't destroy themselves Mo'at. They could deploy the nukes from orbit in their Sky Ship." Like Jake, Norm didn't think that the Na'vi really understood the difference between the sky and space. For them space was just a higher place in the sky than they could reach.

At Norm's declaration one of the warriors stood and grabbed his bow, "We must prepare for war JhakeSulley," he said in Na'vi, which drew excited cheers from the other hunters in the group.

"Wait," Jake called back in response and gesturing for the hunters to sit back down. "Let me finish before jump to conclusions." This calmed them some as they reseated themselves, but the atmosphere remained tense. "I've talked with the tawtute leader," Jake said gesturing toward the Administration building behind them, which was brightly lit and still buzzing with activity. "She seems not to desire war any more than we do. Though I don't trust her, she has given me her word that she will not use these terrible weapons against us."

Neytiri, who had been silent so far, turned to her mate. "You believe this tawtute leader my Jhake," she asked her mate incredulously. She watched Jake nod to her in acknowledgement. "Why you believe what Sky Demon say," she retorted in her broken English.

"I believe her because of who she is related to," Jake confessed and watched the color drain from Norm's face as he said it.

Norm slumped. "Trudy," was all he said.

"Yes Norm, I believe the Dark Star's captain is Trudy's identical twin sister."

"Are you sure," Norm asked in return.

Jake shook his head, "She didn't confirm it, nor did I ask, but she's definitely a Chacon Norm." Jake turned to Mo'at. "You trusted me. You trusted the pilot Trudy. I think that we may be able to trust the new tawtute leader. She's too much like her sister, I can already tell," Jake continued and turned to his mate. "Neytiri, she has a strong heart like some other tawtute fool you saved not too long ago."

This caused his mate to smile and blush. She reached and took his hand cupped her face in it. "I trust my Jhake to do the right thing because of his strong heart. If he says to trust this tawtute, I will," she said closing her eyes as he pulled her closer to him.

Mo'at pursed her lips in thought. "How long till they come?"

Jake sighed. "From what Norm and Max have told me, we have seven days to prepare for the Dark Star's arrival." With his assessment of their time, he watched Mo'at stand and turn to ward the bunkhouse.

"JhakeSulley, I must speak with you alone about this Dark Star," she said and walked into the empty building.

Jake gave Norm and Neytiri one more look before he left and joined Mo'at inside building. Outside, the group slowly returned to eating. Norm and Neytiri moved toward one another and began to talk as she finished her meal.

Inside, he found Mo'at sitting on the floor of the dark room painting symbols onto the floor with a dark pigment. He couldn't tell what color it was due to the lack of available light. "Sit JhakeSulley," she commanded.

Jake sat in front of her and looked at the objects she was painting, which resembled cave paintings that human archeologists had discovered on Earth in recent centuries.

"You do not know of ancient Na'vi legends my son," she said matter-of-factually.

Jake nodded in agreement. "Neytiri has taught me only a few legends of the People."

"I doubt Neytiri would know of the legend of the Txon Tanhì, or Night Star as your people would call it. Not even the elders know of this tale, which is why I tell you and you alone JhakeSulley," Mo'at said finishing her painting on the room's floor.

"In the time before time, JhakeSulley, one of the first People spoke of a warrior," Mo'at began pointing to a figure standing on what appeared to be the ground, "who would summon the Txon Tanhì, the Night Star during a time of great need." Mo'at traced her finger from the figure to a star in the sky that had been painted dark in what represented the sky in her painting. "Once summoned, the Txon Tanhì would become the brightest star in the sky and usher in a New Dawn for our people from the Gray Jewel in the Sky," she finished pointing to another object that was clearly Pandora's closet moon, relative to the gas giant Polyphemus.

"You think the Dark Star is the Txon Tanhì," Jake asked.

Mo'at nodded.

Jake looked puzzled at Mo'at. "How can that be? The Dark Star is ship, not a star. How will a tawtute ship usher in a New Dawn from the moon," he asked the spiritual leader of the Omaticaya.

"I know not, JhakeSulley. All I know is that this is a time of great need, and you are our strongest warrior. Perhaps, you and this Sky Ship are the warrior and the Txon Tanhì of legend, but I wanted you to know this," she said tapping his forehead. Then she gestured to the group outside, "Speak only to your mate and NormSpellman about this and no one else," she com manded.

With that, she stood from her position and turned to go back outside, then turned back to Jake, "You have a destiny my son. I cannot say what it is for certain, but you will either lead us to salvation or death. Whatever our fate, you will lead us to the right end JhakeSulley."

Jake sat there stunned as she left the bunkhouse. He found himself staring at Mo'at's painting of the Txon Tanhì for a long time after she left. It wasn't until Neytiri joined him in the room that he found he could look away from the painting.

"What is it my Jhake," she asked in a concerned voice.

"I don't know," was his only reply.