RDA's Imperialism

6

It was a peaceful night on Pandora. The last ten years had been peaceful for the Omaticaya Clan. Ever since Hometree had been destroyed, they moved near The Tree of Souls. Norm was very helpful when it came to building. He taught the Na'vi how to build huts made from the materials around them. Other once-human-now-Na'vi people helped with the building of the huts. Jake sat on a small ledge, glancing over his tribe. The plants glowed, giving off different coloured lights. White glowing Woodsprites danced in the air, and Jake watched. He smiled, offering his five-fingered hand to one of the sprites. It landed gently in his hand, slightly bouncing there.

"Kaltxì," he greeted with a smile.

The Woodsprite danced off his hand, floating back into the air to join its friends. Jake smiled. Silently behind him, a male child approached. His name was Ma'ki. He was the little brother of the great (yet partly blind) Tu'sky. He wore a loin cloth, his hair pulled back, and his pattern skin glowed. Tu'sky and Ma'ki were one of the many orphan children that Neytiri, Jake, and the rest of the clan cared for. All the children had one thing in common: they had lost their parents in the Great War. Ever since the siblings' parents perished in the war between the Na'vi and the Sky People, Jake and Neytiri filled in the parents roles. Mostly for Ma'ki—Tu'sky was an older teenager at the time, now she was a young woman searching for a life-long mate (which was not going well for her). The younger boy jumped, letting out a battle cry as he did so. Jake laughed, knowing who it was.

"Ah! You got me!" the once human cried. He fell to the earth, his arm out dramatically, Ma'ki hovering over the chief.

Ma'ki laughed joyfully. Neytiri was close behind, smiling at the young ten-year-old and the former marine. Her arms folded over her chest, and her tail twitched. Her mate sprawled out on the grass, glancing over at the female Na'vi. His hand was out in a dramatic position towards her.

"Neytiri, save me!" he cried, yet smiling a little.

She chuckled, but shook her head. "No, this is your fight," she stated with a large grin.

Jake bit his lower lip, suppressing the need to laugh his head off. Ma'ki placed his hands on Jake's chest, gently pushing. "Ah! You got me!" Jake tried again before he went limp.

Ma'ki paused, looking at the older male Na'vi. "Are you okay?" he inquired.

Jake snapped his head up. "Yeah," he stated.

The male Na'vi ruffled the younger boy's head. Ma'ki stood up, smiling brightly and innocently. He lowered himself to a crouch, looking up. Jake sat up, smiling. Neytiri moved over to the boy, sitting down on the grass. "Ma'ki, 'evi, may I talk to Jhake alone?" she inquired. "Go find Tu'sky."

"Okay," Ma'ki stated, getting up and dashing to the village.

Neytiri smiled at the boy. "What sweet boy," she stated, her tail twitched subtly.

Jake smiled at his mate, leaning in a placing a kiss on her temple. "Yeah, he'll make a fine warrior some day," he stated.

"Yes he will," she stated.

Neytiri kneeled on her knees, placing her hands on her legs. Jake rested on the grass, his arms above his head. The female Na'vi followed his example, resting her head on his chest. She could feel his heart beat. He draped and arm around her, looking up at the stars. They were like little dots that hung in the blackness above them.

"The stars are beautiful," Jake whispered.

"Yes, they are," Neytiri whispered. There was a silent pause. "So, what you planet called?"

"Earth," Jake answered.

"E'arth," she whispered. "Earth."

Jake smiled at her, his ear twitched. "Yep, Earth," he whispered.

Neytiri sat up, glancing down at him. "What is it like there?" she whispered the question.

Jake sighed, bringing his hand to his chest. "I told you—we killed the green there," he whispered. "There's no more trees—all metal." A sudden flashback filled his head. He saw towering buildings made of metal and steal. Cars that pumped out deadly smoke filled the air. It was bleak and dead in the cities. Rats crawled over homeless people, who lived in the allies. The buildings towered over the tiny people. A jungle of cement and steal. "It's nothing like here."

Neytiri looked at her mate. She laid her head down back on his chest. "Okay, I will not talk about it," she whispered.

Then there was a flash of light that shot across the sky. Jake blinked, looking up. "What was that?" he inquired.

Neytiri glanced up at her mate. "What?" she asked.

Jake pointed up at the sky. "What was that?" he questioned.

Neytiri glanced up at the sky. There was another flash that formed in the sky. "Falling stars," she whispered with a smile.

Jake smiled up at the sky. There was another shooting star, but it was bigger and stronger. The once man Na'vi watched intently at this "shooting star." It was moving straightly and slowly in the sky, a long tail behind it. The star fell to the earth, and Jake watched. He looked at it until it faded from his view. Neytiri glanced up, looking at her mate.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. Just . . . nothing."

Quaritch rubbed his shoulder, the strap digging into him. Rajian, just in the time they were descending to the lush moon, the Indian man slammed his head into the back of his seat several times, not by his fault. The man growled, rubbing the back of his head. The clone rolled his eyes, shaking his head at the same time. Rajian bent forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He glanced up at the woman across from him. She smiled at Rajian, a blush forming on her cheeks. Quaritch glanced at the woman, and sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, you want some of that," the colonel stated.

"No, I had some of that," Rajian stated, smirking broadly. "And it was good."

Quaritch rolled his eyes. The clone gripped his belts, sighing. There was another hour that rolled by before the squad landed on the land of the alien moon. The colonel quickly unbuckled his seatbelts, and stood up tall. He walked over to the opening of the small compact ship.

"Alright, ladies," he boomed. "Welcome to Pandora. Now listen here. I am your boss. I am here to look after you. After all, if one of you dies, it makes me look bad." Quaritch placed the mask on. "Listen here, the moon has a dangerous and toxic atmosphere. Never remove you mask—you will be exposed to the dangerous air. You will die a slow and painful death if you do so."

The soldier placed the masks on their faces, tightly placing it to their faces. Quaritch looked at the control panel. He glanced over his troops, seeing that they all had their masks on. He nodded, and pressed a button. The fresh, toxic, night air rushed over the humans. The men and women shivered, glancing outside. There stood an empty building that was covered with exotic plants and shrubbery covered the walls and inside of the building. Quaritch grabbed a loaded machine gun from the wall next to him, slinging it over his shoulder.

"Okay, the plan is simple: clean up that building. That is all," Quaritch yelled. "Now, go!"

The soldiers rushed out towards the building—Hell's Gate. Quaritch followed, glancing around. The flora was abundant. The clone glanced at his feet, and noticed that the grass glowed. He stepped down on the grass, and watched it glow, and then faded away. Dr. Wolfe was glancing around. Quaritch was surprised to see the scientist as part of his squad. The clone approached the scientist.

"Why are you here?" the colonel inquired.

"To help," he answered. "The air is toxic, so it's my job to purify the air."

He snapped his fingers. A man using an AMP held two large containers filled with Earth air. He glanced at the colonel, and walked off towards the direction of the building. Several more AMPs followed, all carrying the containers with air inside. Quaritch watched, and then followed. Rajian's voice called out:

"Whoa! Tsyorina'wll! Oh, and Loreyu!"

Quaritch glanced at him, smirking slightly. "C'mon, you nerdy bastard," he laughed.

Hell's Gate was covered with grass, plants, and vines. The AMPs hacked away at the greenery, throwing it to the side. Quaritch watched, pulling out a knife and cutting up the vines. It felt wrong to do this. He was killing a life.

Naw, it's a plant, it had no feelings, he thought roughly.

He hacked at it. They worked for hours, cleaning up the plants, animal waste, and mud. The women and men cleaned the walls, ceilings, and floors. Quaritch looked at the building, going to the other room. It was a large room with machines and such. He remembered this area. Images of large AMPs filled his head. People filled every corner. There was a man in a wheelchair. He spoke to that man. He was entering an AMP while speaking to that man.

He remembered.

The cleaners worked, scrubbing at the room. He watched, walking pass them, his hands behind his back. The clone moved over to a room, looking at a back rest and weights. Another memory flashed through Quaritch's head. He worked out in here. The clone moved forward, glancing at the equipment. The weights were still there, covered by dust and dirt. There was a calendar that hung from a wall. It was old, tattered, and rotting.

"Right, okay, Mr. Selfridge."

Quaritch turned to see Dr. Wolfe on his cell phone. He flipped it closed, pocketing it. He looked right at the colonel. "Selfridge is coming," he stated clearly.

"For what?"

"Something about surprising the Na'vi," he stated absentmindedly, waving his hand around carelessly. "Something to that nature."

Quaritch's jaw locked. He did not want to know what he meant by "surprise."

Na'vi:

Kaltxì—hello.

'Evi—child; an affectionate name.

I'm such a freakin' nerd.