The Balance of Life
Part One - Discovery
Chapter 3 - Part 6--- Aftermath
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"Jake, there is something else that you need to be aware of." Norm had waited until Neytiri went off to see if her mother knew the whereabouts of any caves that might make a good shelter for the people.
"Sure, but why didn't you want Neytiri to know?"
"I didn't want to frighten her with something as foreign as the 'boogeyman in the closet'."
"Yeah, I get that. Before you could explain boogeyman you would have to explain what a closet is. Which would mean explaining all the junk that gets put into one, including clothes, which is still a very strange concept to them. So what is it you want me to know about the big bad boogeyman?"
"Don't laugh; this is important, potentially lethal." The deadly serious expression on Norm's face sobered Jake's mood instantly.
"I'll make this brief because we could discuss it all day otherwise. The short story is that like Earth, the magnetic fields on Pandora protect the surface from high energy particles. Photons, neurons, gamma rays, that sort of thing. All of which are deadly to living creatures such as ourselves. The magnetic fields on Pandora are not uniform and fluctuate considerably from place to place. The breakup of the continent into three smaller sections is going to affect the magnetic fields that surround the Na'vi. How much we don't know. Zoe, she's or local geological expert, is worried that we could be in for some localized radiation storms. When and where is impossible to predict. But she's quite certain that they could be lethal. It has to do with high energy particles ionizing our cells, short circuiting our brains."
"I see what you mean about the boogeyman reference. This is the last thing the people need right now. If some of them start dying in random locations for no apparent reason they are going to think some invisible enemy is after them, or worse Eywa is punishing them. In any case this isn't going to do their fragile state of mind one damn bit of good."
"I wish there was something more I could tell you. We humans are just as much at risk as you Na'vi, or any living creature for that matter. It's going to boil down to being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Since I can't do anything about it, I'll concentrate on what I can do something about. Namely finding the people some suitable shelter."
"There is one more thing that I need to tell you about." The sorrow that crossed Norm's face warned Jake that this too was going to be bad news.
"Andy Truman is dead. During the quake and AMP suit fell over and crushed his avatar while he was linked in."
"Are you saying that his human body died when his avatar did?"
"Yes, he went into convulsions and never recovered. The trauma of the avatar's death was transmitted by the psionic link to his human brain. It was too much for his brain to handle."
"That's a real bitch. I thought the avatar designers said that couldn't happen."
"Looks like they were wrong."
"Yeah. Dead wrong! I'd say."
"Karen…you remember her?"
"Yeah, sure. Karen Ripley, red hair, green eyes, very pretty."
"That's her. Well…we have gotten very close. She's trying hard not to show it, but she's scared…seriously worried might be closer to the truth…every time one of us links with our avatars. Andy's death was hardest on her as she sees us drivers as her responsibility."
"But she's more worried about you in particular?"
"No…yes…I don't know."
"Are you two in love with each other?"
"I wish I knew. I think we could be, or at least we could end up that way. Hell, how am I supposed to know? I've never been in love before."
"And that messes you up some because now you're not sure you want to cross over, become completely Na'vi like I did."
"Yes. Before things got serious between us all I could think about was when I would become Omatikaya. I do love the Na'vi. I feel I could be a good one. But now…"
"Norm, you have a healthy fully functional human body. Your case is not the same as mine. This body gave me back my legs, and something to really live for. I'm not discounting the pull the Na'vi, and Neytiri in particular, have had on me. If my human body had not been paralyzed I might not have made the choice I did. Because of Neytiri, of the love that I have for her, most likely I would have made the transition in any case."
"You're telling me not to?"
"No, I'm telling you your case is not the same as mine. You have completely different circumstances. For one, the woman you love, or may come to love, is human. That right there is a very big difference."
"Yes, I know that."
"Something Neytiri once said to me applies here. It's not what body you spirit occupies that's important. It's your spirit itself that matters. She fell in love with my spirit, my essence which was the same whether I was in my avatar or human body."
"Yes, I can believe that. It sounds very much like something she would say. I do envy you, just a little. I can see that she makes you happy. You have earned it."
"Thanks. I appreciate that coming from you. If Karen makes you happy then you should consider that heavily in any decision you make about becoming Omatikaya."
"It will definitely be at the top of my list. Now, tell me how you have managed to acquire a very charming, precocious, and beautiful daughter in less than a day since becoming Na'vi."
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"Head south-west, we'll mount the Geo-Packs on that section first," Zoe informed Rocky. "I brought four packs, two for each of the western sections. Gary is going to mount a pack to the roof of the Ops Center. It seemed the easiest and safest place for the Geo-Pack for the eastern section."
"You're the boss lady," Rocky answered cheerfully as he veered off to the south of his present course. When the Samson dropped altitude and picked up speed as Rocky changed course, Zoe could hear the avatars whooping it up over the roar of the turbine powered rotors. Her stomach did a small flutter and settled quickly. This she thought to herself could get to be addicting. She supposed this was about as close to flying as the avatars were likely to get.
"What kind of terrain are you looking to mount the Geo-Packs on?"
"I'm not sure. I do want to spread them out a bit. If something should happen to one I don't want to lose the other. We have more Geo-Packs back at Hell's Gate, but I'm not sure when we would be able to get back here to setup a replacement."
"We will be over land in about two minutes. Let me know when you see something that looks like what you're after."
Just before the Samson reached the shoreline of the new sub-continent the craft bucked wildly. Climbing rapidly, and then plummeting just as quickly. While Rocky fought to keep the violently pitching craft level, Zoe fought to keep the contents of her stomach inside her body and off the windshield.
As abruptly as the turbulence began, it ended and the Samson leveled off and flew smoothly.
"Everyone Ok back there," Rocky called out, glancing behind him.
"We're all still here. What the hell was that?" Buck's voice trembled slightly. Zoe was a bit surprised. She didn't think anything bothered Buck.
"One hell of a thermal, I'd say. Can't remember every flying though anything like that. Didn't even see it coming."
"My guess is that the water temperature near the shoreline was more highly elevated than the thermal scans showed. Could also be a local hot-spot. It probably won't be the last one we encounter."
"What should we be looking for?" Kyle asked as he gazed at the terrain passing by below them.
"I would like to anchor one of the Geo-Packs on top of a large rock or outcropping. The other we could mount in a tall tree. I want to keep them off the ground, out of the way of large animals."
"While you're looking for someplace that meets Zoe's needs, keep your eyes peeled for predators, aerial or otherwise." Rocky added as they continued heading southwest.
"Pretty much open plains out here," Judy called out from her position at the back of the pilot's side opening.
"Same on this side," Abby confirmed.
"Zoe, how far from the shoreline should we search?" Rocky asked, checking his coordinates with the GPS.
"It doesn't matter where we anchor the packs. Maybe we should head north. That would just put us closer to the northern sub-continent in any case."
"Good point." Since it appeared to be open plain in front of them for as far as the eye could see Rocky banked the Samson and headed north, paralleling the shoreline off to his right. He didn't mention that the horizon to the far west appeared to be growing darker. No sense alarming everyone if the storm it probably represented moved in slowly.
After a couple of minutes, trees became more numerous, the grasslands giving way to small patches of forest growth. Several small herds of grazing animals scattered as they flew overhead.
"It's too bad we can't eat those things," Abby said to Buck, pointing out a small group of Strumbeest. I could go for some real meat for a change. The synthetic crap Roger cooks up is starting to get to me."
"For a while the RDA was working on a way to process the local wildlife to make it fit for human consumption, but it didn't work out. Not sure why."
"That would have been nice, seeing as there is an abundance of wildlife just outside our back door."
"That wildlife may be inside the back door now that the perimeter wall has been breached."
"Right, forgot about that," Abby added thoughtfully.
"Zoe, would that tree work?" Kyle asked, pointing to a large tree that stood about fifty meters tall.
"I'll circle around it. Let you get a good look at it. See if it works for you Zoe."
Rocky dropped the Samson down so that it was level with the treetop as he slowly circled it from a couple hundred meters away. Climbing, he hovered just off to the side so Zoe could get a good look at the treetop.
"This should do just fine. It looks like there is a good spot to mount the Geo-Pack in that large triple fork near the top of the tree."
"Set her down and I'll get one of the Geo-Packs from the cargo hold", Kyle suggested. "We should be able to get it mounted in less than thirty minutes."
"Keep a sharp eye out for land predators. After you get the pack I'll hove close by just in case something takes an interest in us."
Rocky set the Samson down in the tall grass about thirty meters from the base of the tree. Switching positions, Abby and Judy manned the door guns as Kyle and Buck jumped out. While Kyle retrieved the Geo-Pack, Buck got last minute mounting instructions from Zoe. When the guys made the way to the base of the tree, Rocky lifted off to hover where they could watch as Buck and Kyle scaled the tree, relaying the Geo-Pack between them as they climbed.
"This looks like a good place," Kyle said when he reached the fork near the top of the tree that Zoe had spotted. "I'll sink the anchor bolts while you rig the lines."
"Works for me." In silence Kyle and Buck prepared to mount and secure the Geo-Pack. The anchor mounts alone would keep the pack in place. The lines were a backup precaution should something happen to the anchors. By the time Buck had finished tying off three safety lines Kyle had the anchors imbedded into the tree limbs and the Geo-Pack mounted.
"Zoe, I've powered up the pack. Run your diagnostics." Kyle said through his throat communicator.
When Zoe radioed back that the unit was in working order Buck had the safety lines securely fastened.
"That should do it. One down and three to go."
"We're coming down. Be ready for pickup in one minute," Kyle radioed.
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Neytiri found Jake and Norm sitting just where she had left them. See sensed something was wrong just as soon as she looked at their faces.
"Is there something you didn't tell me?"
"Andy Truman, one of the other avatar drivers was killed," Jake replied, not wanting Norm to mention anything about the radiation storms.
"I'm sorry."
"I only meet him a couple of times. Norm knew him a little better. Still it's hard to lose a person, especially for Norm and the other humans who remained on Pandora. Their group being so small to begin with."
"May his spirit live on with Eywa," Neytiri said directly to Norm, placing her hand against his chest.
"Thank you. I too hope his spirit finds its way to Eywa."
"Mother has gone to talk with some the elders to see if any of them have any recollection or knowledge of caves that might be suitable for a temporary home. Even if such caves exist mother is not sure if most of the people would consent to live there. We have lived in trees for so long no one can remember differently."
"Hopefully it would just be temporary, until the weather patterns adjust to the changes."
"Since neither of you were born Na'vi, nor lived the whole of your lives a certain way, had daily routines that rarely varied, it is difficult for you to see this from the people's point of view. Everything in our lives revolves around a home tree. Moving the people into caves will be like taking fish from water."
"If this is going to be so traumatic, why are you agreeing to look for the caves?" Jake asked.
"Because it will save lives, if what you have been telling me is going to happen."
"Neytiri, were not absolutely positive that the severe storms will actually happen," Norm began, a heaviness in his voice. "But if they do it will be impossible to find shelter during the storm. It's just a precaution. If you think this will do more harm than good we can try to think of some other way."
"I have thought of nothing else since you told me and Jake what you and the other humans think is coming. We need to be very careful how we put this to the people. I don't want them focusing of another suffering caused by the Sky People. We need the people to remain focused on providing immediate shelter from strong storms that come our way from time to time."
"All right then, let's go and see what your mother has learned."
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Once Kyle and Buck were back aboard the Samson, Rocky continued to follow their original heading. The darkness on the western horizon had grown while they were installing the first Geo-Pack. Pushing it to the back of his mind Rocky continued to scan the land up ahead for a second suitable location. The plains had given way to low forest, with the occasional tall tree popping up here and there. What appeared to be jagged cliffs could be seen in the distance, slightly west of the current heading. Changing heading Rocky vectored the Samson direct towards the highest cliff.
"That might be a good spot," Zoe commented ten minutes after the Samson had altered course for the cliffs. She had been using the field glasses Rocky had given her when she spotted what appeared to be a small plateau, or terrace in the face of a sheer rock cliff that rose five hundred meters from a canyon floor. The cliff was on the west wall of a canyon that ran north to south. The east facing wall would provide protection from the strongest storms that traveled west to east.
"Yes, I see it." Rocky was able to follow her line of sight when she pointed at the ledge she felt might work. "It looks big enough. Question is, how do we get on it?"
Hovering about fifty meters away from the ledge the avatars looked for feasible ways to lower themselves on to the ledge.
"Zoe, I don't think this will work," Buck said into his comm-link. "Short of repelling down the cliff wall there isn't any way to get to it. Sorry."
"Then we'll look for another. Something further up the canyon might pan out."
For fifteen minutes the Samson cruised north just above the middle of the canyon as everyone scanned the sides for a place to anchor the second pack. The bottom of the canyon was an endless series of cascading rapids. White water was in constant abundance. The further north they traveled the higher and steeper the canyon walls became. It was becoming obvious that the canyon was not going to work. Rounding the next bend the canyon widened out into a small lake with a two hundred meter high falls at the far end. In the middle was a stone shaft that rose fifty meters out of the water. The top of the shaft was mostly flat. It would be relatively easily lower an avatar down, install the Geo-Pack and hoist the avatar back aboard.
"What do you think Zoe?" Rocky asked as he flew in a tight circle around the pillar of rock.
"Let me see if I can get a signal from the satellite. Give me a couple of seconds…Ok, got one. Yes this should work."
"I'll go," Abby said before any of the other avatars volunteered. "I'm the lightest and smallest. Besides, this looks like a walk in the park. Next one might be trickier."
"You're so thoughtful," Judy replied. "True, you are the lightest and smallest, but that doesn't have any application here. On Pandora nothing is a walk in the park. There are no parks. Be careful."
"Help me into this harness, will you?"
With Judy's help, Abby stepped into the leg loops, slid her arms through the shoulder straps. After buckling the waist and chest straps she moved to the pilot's side opening where Judy had extended the external hoist. After Judy attached the hoist cable D-ring to the harness ring she double checked the all the straps giving each a firm yank.
"Hey! Go easy on the boobs. I might just have need of them someday."
"Sorry. I forgot these harnesses weren't designed with females in mind. Ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Judy sat down at the door and placed her feet on the landing rails. "Ok, lower me down."
"Abby, don't disconnect from the hoist. If you can't get to where you need to be, I'll raise and lower you again. Got that?"
"Got it." Abby felt the harness take up her weight as she stepped off the landing rails. Rocky was hovering about twenty meters above the top of the shaft. The trip down took about fifteen seconds as she slowly twirled in a lazy circle.
"Landed, play out some slack."
"Giving you about three meters worth. Don't get tangled up."
"Yes mother. Relax will you."
"Buck is it my imagination or are the canyon walls around us moving?" Kyle asked as he tried to figure out why the rock facing seemed to be shimmering.
Before Buck could answer, the walls of the canyon started to close in on them with frightening speed.
"Banshees!" Buck screamed as the air all around them was suddenly filled with hundreds of flapping wings.
Through the windshield Rocky could see nothing but a solid wall of banshees in front and overhead. Instinctively he rotated the Samson a full one eighty while ordering Judy to get Abby back onboard. As soon as he felt Judy's weight on the hoist cable Rocky nosed over and accelerated to maximum speed.
The path was clear ahead but he wasn't sure the Samson would be able to out run the banshees diving directly for them. When three of the banshee's overshot the Sampson he had his answer. At the same instant he heard the Hydra's open fire. The noise was deafening but he blocked it out concentrating on picking up as much speed as possible by diving without dunking Abby in the water below. A quick glance in Zoe's direction told him she was gripping her shoulder harness with everything she had. If any of the banshees got tangled up in the rotors they were all dead.
The second that it was clear that they weren't going to be able to out run the banshees, Buck and Kyle opened fire, trying to scare or kill anything that got too close. Keeping an eye on Abby as the hoist brought her closer to the door, Kyle made sure she didn't get in his line of fire. The banshees were relentless. When one tried to fly right into the Samson Kyle had no choice but to kill it with a quick burst of .50 caliber rounds.
From the instant Abby had looked up and saw the sky above the Samson filled with banshees she knew she was going to die. The hoist seemed to be reeling her in at an agonizingly slow pace. That coupled with the fact that she was being effectively dragged behind the accelerating Samson made her feel like a piece of bait.
Second by second, foot by foot, she moved closer to the door where she could see her own terror reflected back on Judy's face. Kyle and Buck were trying to keep the banshees at bay but they couldn't get to the ones closing in directly from behind. Twisting helplessly on the line she caught just a glimpse of an outstretched mouth closing in on her. Throwing her legs in as wide an arc as she could manage she caught the banshee in the side of the head with her feet knocking it to the side before it could bite her in half. Before she could swing back to see what might be coming from the other direction, she was even with the landing rails. Five long seconds later she felt hands grab the back of her harness and was pulled inside just as another banshee tried to snatch her out of the Samson.
"Rocky, Abby's aboard!" Judy shouted, but he had already sensed the change in drag when Abby was pulled inside and immediately sent the Samson in as steep a climb as the craft could manage. With dozens of banshees in pursuit the Samson cleared the canyon walls and continued to climb. One by one the banshees dropped away as they gained altitude and speed.
Easing out of the climb Rocky leveled the Samson and let his adrenaline saturated system start to return to normal.
"I know it's a stupid question, but is everyone Ok?" Rocky asked when he was sure he could speak without his voice cracking.
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Author's Note:
I will not be able to post again for four or five days. This post will have to hold you until then.