James Cameron owns Avatar, not me.
Chapter 4: Hurting Homes
Date: April 27th, 2158
Location: Hell's Gate, Pandora, Alpha Centauri A system
Max Patel gazed at the base from his seat in the last functioning Samson. There was not nearly as much to see as there had been just a few years ago. Without the nearly constant acid sprays and clear cutting, the forest had encroached rapidly into what had once been a bastion of human technology amongst a world of nature.
Eywa was taking her revenge with interest it seemed. The Avatar training grounds were now indistinguishable from the forest around them, the unobtanium refinery had collapsed in on itself last year, the pipe system and buildings unable to support themselves with the additional weight of trees and vines.
Only the massive armor vault remained clear of the native fauna, its massively thick walls and magnetically sealed doors standing fast against the rising tide of life around it.
Max nodded to Norm, pointing at the vault, "Assuming the seals hold we should be able to use the armor vault as a shelter against the radiation storms every year, we won't have power while we're there, but it should only be for a week or so."
Norm nodded and shouted back over the noise of the rotors, "Yeah. They definitely built that brick to last. Ironic that it's going to save us."
The other three avatar team members in the Samson chuckled along with them as the Samson slowly banked away from the remains of the facility, heading deeper into the jungle.
Max smiled and leaned back. It was good to have something to smile about, even if it was nothing more than minor jab at their former-employer's expense. The last several months of negotiation with Jake had been tense. The Na'vi had not been thrilled at all to hear that the tawtute couldn't stay in their metal home anymore, and it had been clear to Max that they'd never even thought about the amount of work required simply to maintain the entire base. Hell, he hadd barely considered it himself until after the fight.
But as it was... as it was most of the tribe did not want sky people to be living among them.
Cindy spoke up from her place next to him, her quiet voice hard to hear over the noise, "I still can't believe that Jake shot us down."
"He's not a dictator," Norm responded from his place across from her, his voice just as despondent, "The tribe didn't want us there, he can't make them accept us. That he managed to convince them to let us live at the edge of their territory is a minor miracle in itself."
Max chimed in, "And at least he and the other Avatars are going to help us with getting food, when they can."
"When they can," she replied, sarcasm lightly coloring her voice, "Jake wasn't thrilled about the idea either remember."
The cabin went quiet as everyone glanced away from each other. Jake had not been thrilled about the idea of dropping a pair of mobile site units next to the home tree either. He had been more than happy to offer to help them set up and to bring them what excess food he could, but it been painfully obvious that he did not really want them to be living next to the people.
Max remembered Jake taking him aside after the meeting in which they'd come to the agreement, "Max.. I'm one of the people now." His English was slow, paced, it was obvious he had not spoken it in months. "You and Norm and the rest are my friends, and always will be, but you can't just drop mobile bases and live amongst us, our ways of life are just too different from one another. You need that technology to survive here, but the people won't accept it."
He had turned aside, gazing at the home tree, watching his young son run, Neytiri chasing him, before breaking into a smile, "I know you love both technology and nature Max, but for the people.. for me, only nature is beautiful." He had strode off, picking up his son to squeals of laughter and heading into the tree for dinner.
"I don't love technology Jake," he had murmured after the Olo'eyktan had left, "But I know that I need it to live here, and you used to know that."
The Samson banking down broke him from his reverie, angling down for a landing next to their new home. They had managed to drag pieces from two other mobile sites to location 17, and had angled them in a U shape, with a clearing for the Samson to land in the middle. He could see Jordan and Alice carefully tilling the ground next to one of the shacks in preparation for planting, and a trio of Avatars waved at him, a pair of dead Tapirus at their feat.
He sighed and dismounted from the Samson, walking into their new home.
Next up is Chapter 5: Here, there be Dragons
And another Max pov chapter. Less discussion in this one, mostly a moving chapter. Expect more philosophy in his next outing.
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