The Balance of Life
Part One - Discovery
Chapter 4 - Part 6--- NewHome
When a bolt of blinding lightning flashed directly overhead, the immediate thunderclap was so loud it made Jake's ears ring. He could almost feel the shockwave of the air being ripped apart and instantly slammed back together. The pungent smell of ozone filled his nose and acid rain burned his eyes. Ralu had been holding both his and Neytiri's hands as they followed Tey'bar towards the shelter he said was waiting. The lightning bolt that had all but deafened his ears had Ralu swinging up to grab him around his neck. The piercing scream that all but echoed his own was barely noticeable over the crack of thunder.
"Damn that was close." Jake yelled it at Neytiri. His ears were still ringing so that he couldn't tell just how loud he was actually yelling.
The next bolt made the last one seem almost soothing by comparison. The force of the electrical discharge knocked them all off their feet. He could actually feel his skin prickle from the current flowing around them. The intensity of the flash left him momentarily blinded. By some stroke of luck he had managed to break his fall so that he didn't crush Ralu beneath him. On his hands and knees, with Ralu clinging to him like monkey, Jake blinked rapidly trying to restore his vision. The rain was beating down on his back like rocks dropped from the sky. When his vision partially returned he saw Neytiri kneeling beside her mother, who was sprawled flat out in the mud. He wasn't sure where Tey'bar and Ell'a'u were, or what shape they were in.
"Hold tight," Jake told Ralu as he crawled over to where Neytiri was trying to lift her mother's face out of the mud and water.
"Ralu, hold onto your mother! Neytiri let me take Mo'at."
Jake was scooping Mo'at out of the mud and beginning to stand the instant Ralu had jumped into her mother's arms. Looking around, his eyes just starting to adjust, he spotted Tey'bar helping Ell'a'u to her feet. All of them were caked in mud but that was the least of their problems. Tey'bar shouted something that sounded like 'hurry', but Jake wasn't sure. Glancing at Neytiri and Ralu to be sure they were okay he set off after Tey'bar and Ell'a'u as they hurried ahead.
Several smaller, more distant, lightning bolts flashed around them as they continued to follow Tey'bar. He knew that Mo'at was awake, because she held on tight as he jogged along with Neytiri and Ralu at his side. Just as he was about to ask how much farther they had to go, Tey'bar and Ell'a'u stopped under the edge of a wide, thick arch that had one side blocked by the remains on a collapsed arch. The formation made a small cave like shelter that would protect them from the worst of the rain and wind. It was high enough that flooding shouldn't be a problem. Jake waited until Neytiri set Ralu on her feet before he set Mo'at down so that she could lean against the flat side of the fallen arch.
"This will make a good shelter," Jake told Tey'bar after Ell'a'u sat down beside Ralu. "I hope the rest of our people find shelter as well."
"We are used to taking shelter in storms," Tey'bar answered. "This one is stronger that any that I can remember."
"From what the Sky People told me, the worst of the storm is going to be south of us. I'm worried for some of the other clans."
"They too will find shelter." Tey'bar's voice gave away some of the conviction that his words tried to convey. He didn't want to seem less than a warrior in front of Jake. The man as a legend as far as he was concerned. The Omatikaya would never have or find a better leader than Toruk Macto.
"I see you managed to collect a couple of drinking bladders and animal skins," Jake told Tey'bar when he noticed them against the back wall of their shelter. "That was thinking ahead."
"Ell'a'u, pass me one of those skins, mother is starting to shake."
Between Neytiri and Ell'a'u they wrapped both Mo'at and Ralu in the largest of the skins before sitting back down on opposite sides to lock in as much warmth as possible.
"Ralu puts off lots of heat," Neytiri told her mother. "The two of you keep each other warm. It looks as if we are going to be here all night."
"I'm going to fill the bladders," Jake began as he walked over and picked them up.
"Ell'a'u, you and Tey'bar wrap up in one of those skins," Neytiri suggested as she got to her feet to help Jake with the bladders.
When Ell'a'u and Tey'bar just looked at her, Neytiri realized the reason for their discomfort.
"I know you're not mated, but I think it will be acceptable for the two of you to bundle up under the circumstances. I'm sure we can relax the rules for however long the storm lasts."
Satisfied that the two young warriors would do as she suggested Neytiri followed Jake to the edge of their shelter.
"The rain is not cold," Neytiri commented after sticking her hand out to catch some water to splash on her face. "I need to wash this mud off."
"Didn't your parents teach you not to go outside in lightning storms?" Jake asked as he stopped her from stepping out into the heavy downpour.
"I will be quick."
"So will the lightning," Jake added when she just looked at him with that defiant look in her eyes. "You don't want to end up extra crispy, do you?"
"After the next flash I will jump out, wash and jump back in before the next flash can come. I do not want to sit in here all night covered in mud."
"Would you let Ralu go out and wash off?"
"That's what I figured," Jake added when Neytiri went and sat down beside her mother.
After filling both bladders as best he could by holding them out in the rain, Jake set one next to Tey'bar. He couldn't help but smile at how cute they looked snuggled against each other.
"I really don't know what I would do without you two," Jake told them as he crouched down in front of them. "I couldn't ask for better comrades. I appreciate everything you have done for me. Besides Neytiri, there is no one I would rather fly with."
"Now, try and get some rest," Jake added when they sat totally speechless. "That's what Neytiri and I are going to try to do. That is ,if she'll share the last skin with me."
Gary had been correct in his assumption that Roger would have a meal together by the time he and Zoe reached the mess hall. They had met Rocky on his way to the Ops Center saving him a jog up two flights of stairs. Max was the last to arrive with Susan and Ron arriving just moments before. As everyone seemed ravenous Gary decided to let them all eat before beginning his briefing.
"I'd say that all you have to do is look out the windows to know we're in the mother of all storms, but the shutters are closed for that very reason," Gary began. "The screaming wind is a pretty good clue that we are in the thick of it. The compound is battened down as tight as I can make her. The auxiliary generator is tested and ready to kick back in if necessary. The winds were just over eighty miles per hour when we left the Ops Center. I'm going to let Zoe fill you in on the details as much as we know them at this time."
"The map of what used to be our continent shows that the entire area is covered by one gigantic storm cell," Zoe began after she linked her PVC to the projection display so that everyone would be able to see what she had to show them.
"Based on the size and speed of the storm it is going to take 48 to 72 hours to pass. The strongest part of the storm is located one hundred seventy five miles due west and will arrive here in about seven hours. Maximum winds as measured by satellite are about the same as a force five hurricane. Gary pulled up the specifications for the compound from the RDA databank. The building was designed to withstand two hundred mile per hour winds."
"I guess we're going to see if the RDA got their money's worth for this place," Rocky interrupted.
"Yes, it would seem so," Zoe continued. "Our biggest threat will be from airborne objects. Anything not nailed down will be picked up turning them into missiles. Flying debris could do some serious damage to our dish arrays. Lightning strikes pose another threat, although the compound was designed to handle them. I have no idea how much rain we are going to get, but over the life of the storm it will be measured in feet not inches. Flooding could be a problem. We'll just have to wait and see."
"You're just full of good news," Karen commented.
"Sorry. It is what it is. Our only option is to just sit tight and wait it out."
"While we're waiting I'll remind everyone to keep their exopacks close at hand," Gary began. "Just in case something breaches our outer wall or the winds cause a seal or joint to fail. Also grab an emergency lantern from the rack at the back of the mess hall in case all the lighting fails."
"You're just as gloom and doom as Zoe," Karen added. "Does anyone have something less foreboding to say?"
"I'm not sure if it's less, but I've learned that the clone was given several mind altering drugs on its trip out here," Max began. "Most of them would be illegal back on Earth. Since the clone doesn't have the same legal status as a person and the injections took place out in space it probably didn't violate any laws. What it did do however was place the clone into a near catatonic state. A state that it still in at the present time. Of even more interest is the fact that the clone's DNA is totally human. At first I suspected it would be a hybrid like the avatars. Detailed blood analysis showed up the DNA source and the drugs circulating in its system."
"So how is this thing able to breath Pandora's air?" Kyle asked.
"That's possibly the most interesting discovery that we found," Max answered. "The clone's lungs are loaded with nanobots. From the little we have been able to learn these nanobots absorb the excess carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide that make the air lethal to the rest of us."
"What happens when the nanobots stop working, or just get used up?" Abby asked.
"The nanobots appear to be self-replicating. We plan to run a series of tests to see how the nanobot's population varies over time while the clone is breathing Pandora's air and while it's breathing Earth normal air."
"Too bad we don't have some of those nanobots," Buck complained. "Sure would beat the hell out of these exopacks."
"Actually, as long as the clone lives its body will continue to produce the nanobots," Max said as he glanced at Buck. "It would be a simple process to extract them from the clone's blood and inject them into our blood streams. I'm not suggesting that we do this as there are too many unknown factors at this point. I'm simply pointing out that it could be something to consider down the road."
"You know, another thought occurs to me," Karen began, her face a bit pale. "Maybe the RDA wasn't just planning on using these clones for laborers. Maybe they are planning on colonizing Pandora with suitably equipped humans. I'll bet there would be thousands who would volunteer to come here. The RDA would make a fortune selling tickets to Pandora. Along with the magic elixir, of course."
"I never thought of that," Max replied. "You could be right. This clone could be a test case to see how the nanobots worked in the field under actual conditions."
"Isn't this just a bit farfetched?" Rocky asked. "Even if you could breathe the air, what would they eat? Without AMP suits humans would be just a bunch of puny little ants compared to the Na'vi."
"Puny little humans have a habit of breeding like bunnies and over-running their environment," Ron added sarcastically. "Get a couple of thousand suitably adapted humans here on an isolated island and the next thing you know there will be migrations to neighboring islands to reduce population pressure. This sounds exactly like something the RDA would cook up."
"Max, keep us all up to date on the results of your testing regarding the nanobots," Gary said as he got to his feet. "In the long run it may just mean the difference between life and death. I'll be in Sys Ops if anyone needs me."
Author's Note:
More later.
Enjoy.