I went total geek with this chapter. xp Whatever.
Preparing
5
Quaritch was quarantined in a tiny room with a projector to the right of him. Rajian fiddled with the control panel of the computer next to him. The clone reared his head over, trying to see what Rajian was doing. The Indian man grumbled to himself.
"You okay?" the clone called.
Rajian hit his head at the bottom of the desk. "Fine!" he called. "Technical difficulties."
The Indian man stood up, dusting off his shirt. "Okay, here we go," he stated. He leaned against the desk, pulling out a tiny controller, and dimmed the light. "I wanted to show you the glory of Pandora." He paused. "What do you remember of Pandora?"
Quaritch pulled out a cigarette and a match, striking a flame, and lit up the stick. "Not much," he answered around the cigarette.
He waved out the flame, flicking the dead match into the trash next to him. The clone took in a breath of the smoke, and blew it out slowly, a cloud of dark smoke forming around him. Rajian turned the clicker to the projector. A light formed from the machine, and showed on the wall. Quaritch saw a native animal. It was a bioluminescent hexapod Clydesdale horse with a long snout that was very similar to a moth-like head. There was a fleshy tip that extended from its hair. Quaritch blinked, leaning forward in interest. He blew out smoke from his nostrils.
"This is a Pa'li, or a direhorse as we call it," Rajian announced. "They are very strong and fast, and are the Na'vi's primary mode of transportation. They eat using a long tongue. They stand thirteen feet tall."
The next slide was shown. This time the animal was bright in colours. It was the cross between a bird and a dragon. It was fierce and gorgeous. A dark blue crest was at the top of its head. The creature was scarlet and black stripes danced on the body.
"This is the Toruk, or as we call it the Great Leonopteryx," Rajian called. "This creature is very violent and dangerous. In the Na'vi culture, they are celebrated in dance, song, and totems that describe fear, yet respect. It is like a tiger to us. Tigers are shown to be strong, beautiful, and fierce. Same thing with this animal. They are carnivores."
Quaritch breathed out a smoke, staring intently at the animal. There was another animal that was shown. It was a large, fat, rhinoceros animal. It was a hexapod creature with the head of a hammerhead shark. There was a large fan of colourful feathers that were flared out. The animal was surprised to see the cameraman.
"This is the Angtsìk, or 'angtsikä, but we call it the Hammerhead Titanothere," Rajian stated, smiling up at the picture. "I like this animal. I think they're beautiful. What about you?"
Quaritch shrugged. "I dunno," he stated, taking a breath of smoke.
"Well, they are social animals and live in herds. They have a fiery temper, and are very territorial. Don't piss them off. They'll kill you."
The next slide was a deer-like creature. It was a dark furred with white and yellow stripes. A sloped skull was alert, and behind the head was a light-coloured fan-like structure.
"This is the Yerik, or Hexapede. They are herbivore animals and are very scattered-brained."
The next picture was a flying creature, similar Great Leonopteryx, but much smaller. They were a four-winged being, and a carbon fiber flexing was produced on the skin. It was blue and black in colour, and it roared out, snarling.
"This is the Mountain Banshee, or the Ikran. They are dragon-like creatures that the Na'vi try to bond with. Think of it like a rite of passage. A warrior must have an Ikran to be a complete warrior. The bond is for life, and it is very dangerous to get one. They mostly live in the mountains."
The next slide was a monkey-like creature. It was sitting down in the tree, nibbling on an alien fruit. It looked very much like a blue-lemur. Two curious eyes glanced down at the cameraman. It had four arms, the arms fused together only partially. They also had two membranes that were on either side of the animal.
"This is the Prolemuris, a monkey-like creature. I have no idea what the Na'vis call them," Rajian stated, rubbing his temples in thought. "I can't recall. They live in the trees."
Quaritch took another smoke of his cigarette, breathing out smoke. Then the next creature stunned the clone's memory—a large land animal with six legs with black and white fleshy skin under each of its hands. Quills, ten or so, were connected to six pads at the base of its skull. It was snarling, and the picture was taken from a plane or something. Rajian looked at the clone.
"You know what that is?" he asked.
"Thanator," Quaritch breathed.
Rajian chuckled. "Yes, the Palulukan," he stated. "This thing is like a Great White shark. They are very dangerous and if it wants you as dinner, it won't stop until it kills you. Stay away from that thing."
Quaritch glanced up, his cigarette settled between his fingers, a line of smoke forming from the tip. "You told me that you never came to Pandora," he stated, bringing the stick to his lips.
"Well, I went through a study course," Rajian stated. "I'm partly fluent in Na'vi."
Quaritch scoffed. "Show me," he stated, smirking slightly.
Words left the man's mouth. It was slow, yet oddly fluent. There were pauses, but Rajian picked up his speed, and then stopped. Quaritch looked at the man, his cigarette placed lazily between his lips. "Okay, I believe you," he stated, snorting out smoke.
The next slide was a wolf-like animal. It was a hairless creature with a shinny overlapping armor. Its paws were hand-like, and disturbing. There were little baby ones that were suspended in the air forever. Quaritch felt the corner of his lip twitch up in a slight smile. It was . . . cute.
"These are Viperwolves, or Nantang. They are meat-eaters that hunt at night. They nurture their babies and are good parents. Just stay away from their pups." He clicked to the next slide. "On to the plants!"
A large spiral-leaved plant stood up from the ground. They were curled up from the ground and were brightly coloured.
"This is the Helicoradian, or the Loreyu. They are carnivorous plants that curl down and collapse into themselves when they are touched. They are both plant and animal. Here's the next plant."
A large tree that looked very much like a giant puffball tree graced Quaritch's view.
"This is the Obesus Rotundus, or the Rumnut."
The next picture was a cycad-like tree. It stood up mighty and tall.
"This is Pseudocycas Altissima—the Na'vi call it the Tsyorina'wll."
A sudden wave of déjà vu rushed over Quaritch when he looked at the next picture. A significantly large tree stood tall. The clone glanced up, blinking in interest. He leaned back, pointing at the image. "I know what that is," he stated. "I—en't that where the Na'vi lived?"
"Yeah, Hometree; Kelutrel," Rajian breathed gently. "It was a honeycomb-like system that the Na'vi lived in. It was naturally hollowed out." There was a pause. "It is not alive anymore."
"Why?" Quaritch inquired, taking a smoke.
" . . . You destroyed it."
The clone stopped, his hair standing up on its end. He breathed out smoke, looking at the grand tree. How could he do such a thing? Rajian flipped to the next image. This tree was weeping willow-like plant that seemed to glow.
"This is The Tree of Souls—the Na'vi call it Ayvitrayä Ramunong, this is a tree where the Na'vi communicate through a biological network. It is like a big 'input-output' station. The Na'vi can communicate with it."
The next slide was something similar to The Tree of Souls. It was illuminated, but smaller than The Tree of Souls.
"This is The Tree of Voices—also called Utral Aymokriyä. It uploads memories into the tree, and you can hear the ancestors' voices. It was bulldozed down by us humans."
The next slide was of a small white creature. It was similar to a floating jellyfish. Quaritch looked at interest in it.
"This is a Woodsprite, or the Atokirina'. They are seeds from the holy tree. Na'vi placed these on bodies of dead Na'vis so that their souls could become part of Eywa."
"And Eywa is their god?"
"Goddess."
"Whatever."
Rajian shook his head. "And here we have the Na'vi."
The slide was a female Na'vi. Her skin was pattered blue with darker blue stripes, a mobile tail, feline-like face, movable ears, and sharp yellow eyes. Her hair was pulled back, and many beads were scattered in her hair. A long braid whipped out, and she stared curiously at the picture man.
"Their bodies are narrow in proportion, and they are difficult to kill. The braid is actually part of the brain. A long membrane comes out like movable fleshy membranes. It is called the Tsahaylu. It is used to 'connect' to the living creatures around them, and talk to their goddess. They can command animals with the nerve system, and also use it to find a life partner. It can never be broken once the bond is made."
The door opened, and Selfridge appeared, Dr. Wolfe trotting submissively behind the business man. The shorter man looked at the screen, and then towards the clone. Selfridge sneered at the Na'vi female on the screen, and turned to the colonel.
"Okay, here's the plan," the business man stated. "Do you remember that we had a base on Pandora?"
"Sort of," Quaritch stated, taking another breath of smoke.
The rich man went over to the clone, casually leaning against the table, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. "Well, we want to restart that base," he stated. "It's for a stepping stone back onto the planet. Your mission today is to clean up that base. Not too hard, right?"
The clone shrugged, rolling the cigarette between his fingers. "I can do that," he stated. "Not that hard, right?"
Selfridge smirked. "Good, now a group of trained soldiers will accompany you," the business man said. "So, you'll go to Hell's Gate. Remember that?"
There was a pause from the clone. Then it all came back in scattered memories. There was a shuttle runway, hangars, a main storage area where the AMP suits were located, his workout room, and every other machine that was needed.
"Somewhat."
Selfridge nodded. "Good," he stated. "Now, you'll be going on a ship with twenty or so AMPs and Scorpions."
"Yes, sir."
"Good, now get."
The ship was tiny due to all the AMPS and Scorpions. It was larger than the Valkyrie, however. The small ship was the size of three to four football fields. There were many of these small ships were at the bowls of the ISV Venture Star. Quaritch grabbed an air mask (he remembered that the air was extremely toxic to humans), attaching it to his jacket. Rajian smiled widely than normal. He was sporting a pair of hiker's shorts and a T-shirt; not his normal white lab coat.
"Why are you so happy?" the clone demanded, handing an air mask to the Indian man.
"I get to go to Pandora!" he cried. "Oh—I've been dreaming about going here since forever, now it's really happening!"
Quaritch half-smiled at the man before him. Behind the male nurse, two soldiers smirked and scoffed at the man. The clone glared intently at the men, and they scurried away. Quaritch's eyebrow twitched, and then walked, Rajian followed. There were rows of seats next to the AMPs and Samsons. Quaritch sat down, fastening himself in. This was his squad—he had to be a leader. He smirked at the idea. The machine rattled, and then jetted off towards the lush moon.