This just in! I don't own Avatar.

Chapter 38: Matters of Spirit

Date: 06:00, June 2nd, 2170

Location: Explorer's Dream, Pandoran Orbit, Alpha Centauri A System

"She'll survive." the taller doctor looked utterly exhausted as she explained the native 'princess's' condition, the other having already retired to her quarters to sleep. "But she's going to be in a lot of pain, and it's probably going to take a few months for all of her injuries to fully heal. She'll need a lot of rehab work before she's anywhere ready to do things like hunt, even after that."

Sully leaned in eagerly, "So she'll be fine?"

The doctor had enough of a conscience to wince, "No.. not really. She should wake up soon, if that's what you mean, but the damage to her body was extremely severe, she might never get over all of it. Control over her tail is probably gone, the nerves were damaged too badly for us to save. She might have unconscious control over it, maybe someday she'll get it back, its hard for me to tell."

"What of her tswin? Her.. queue?" Mo'at asked quietly.

A shrug from the doc, "We think it's fine. It did get scraped a bit when she hit the ground, but to be honest, we have no idea. Whether it was working or not was never really a concern for the Avatars, and that's what our training was originally for."

Parker yawned hugely, stretching his arms back, as the two natives kept up with their barrage of questions. She's going to live dammit. Everything else is secondary to that point, he thought irritably. Can we go now?

"How long until we can head back to the surface with her?" he interjected after she finished answering an inane question from Sully.

The doctor sighed softly, "To be honest? Probably shouldn't send her down for a week or two, but we have no where up here to keep her. You can take her down when she wakes up, but she'll have to be inspected by the medics soon as you land, and it would probably be best to keep her with them for at least a week, maybe two, before you send her back to their... tree."

He nodded, yawning again, as she bade her farewells and left.

"Will it be safe, to take her back to our world?" Mo'at asked quietly, "Would the.. zero-gee harm her?"

Sully answered before he could, "It's never really going to be safe for her, but heading down is a lot faster than heading up, we won't be in zero-g for very long. It's more the jostling of the ship that could hurt her."

"Not like you've got a choice," he pointed out, "We don't exactly have native-sized beds up here, or any food that you can eat." his stomach groaned softly, reminding him that he had not eaten since he had left for orbit.

"If you'll excuse me, I think I can catch breakfast with some of my wounded personnel. Try not to wander away or anything."

Barely waiting for them to nod, he moved out of the waiting room and stepped across the hall, entering the recovery room, the smell of food with an underlying scent of medication hitting him instantly.

Of the dozen beds crammed into the room, none were empty, and he knew the other two 'wards' in the module were full as well, to the point where several of the least injured people had been moved to the module on the opposite side of the ring, into the crew's quarters for recovery.

Everyone blinked as he entered, several waving or calling greetings, the rest too busy wolfing down breakfast to notice.

He tapped one of the nurses, "Could you bring me a tray, please?"

She nodded brusquely, sweeping out and down the hall, and he casually leaned against the wall, or bulkhead, or whatever the space-crewmen called it.

The nurse brought him breakfast a moment later. The eggs were instant, and the bacon was slightly burnt, but it still tasted heavenly to him. The quiet buzz of conversation was slowly stifled as he ate, and he looked blearily around when it died completely, leaving the room in silence.

A few people were looking questioningly at him, others were resolutely eating, eyes staring at their food.

He sighed, Better to get it over with fast, before they even ask. "Yes. We did bring a native up here for treatment."

A wounded engineer asked quietly, his voice hoarse, "Why sir? After everything they did to us, why bother?"

Several other soldiers and miners rumbled their agreement.

"To avoid it happening again." he spread his hands out, "Look, I don't like it anymore than you guys do. Hell, you all know what happened here last time, doing anything to help the blue-skins isn't high on my list of things I want to do. Unfortunately.. this is something that we did have to do, considering how the battle turned out."

"We're kowtowing to those freaks?" a miner asked savagely.

"No! No way in hell." shaking his head firmly, he continued, "In effect, they are kowtowing to us. We're healing her, and in exchange, that tribe is going to leave us alone. Forever. They won't lead the others against us again, or join them. That is why we're doing it."

"Still don't like it," the miner muttered quietly.

"As I already said, I don't either." he pointed out, "But this is the best thing we can do to get the closest tribe to us off our backs permanently. We don't have the people to fight anymore."

The wounded group glanced quietly at each other, nodding slowly. It was clear to Parker that none of them liked it at all, but they'd accepted his explanation, and they would go along with it.

To a degree.

"You won't have to interact with the blue-skins." he promised them, grimacing as he continued, "That is, unfortunately, my job. Anyone want to trade? I could use some time away from them, and the accommodations up here have to be at least as nice as my apartment on the surface."

That brought a small round of laughs, and the tension slowly defused as breakfast resumed.

Date: 17:45, June 2nd, 2170

Location: Explorer's Dream, Pandoran Orbit, Alpha Centuari A System

"Thirsty." Neytiri whispered, very quietly.

"Here my daughter." Mo'at carefully raised the strange, clear object that the Tawtute doktor had given her, letting her daughter sip the water held within very slowly.

Jake'sully was clutching Neytiri's hand, as though he was afraid to let go.

"Where are we? What happened during the battle? I... I can't remember it.." her daughter whispered as she finished sipping the cool liquid.

She glanced at her daughter's mate, and he cleared his throat before speaking quietly, "The battle is over.. the leader of the sky people's warriors injured you badly, near the end of the fighting. We are.. we are in the stars, aboard a ship of the sky people. Their healers saved your life."

Neytiri smiled softly, "Then.. we won?"

She shared another glance with the Olo'eyktan, and opened her mouth to gently correct her daughter, only to see her slowly drift back to sleep.

"That is a conversation I do not look forwards to." Jake murmured quietly.

Privately, she agreed. "Stay with her, I will tell the sky person doktor that she awoke."

Awkwardly squeezing her way through the far too small opening, she saw Jake slowly caress Neytir's face as he settled down beside his wounded mate.

Smiling softly, she glanced around the 'waiting-room'. The tawtute leader, Selfridge, and what a strange name that is!, was asleep, stretched out over several of the tiny chairs.

The tawtute doktor was doing something with what looked like hovering, glowing lights. She knew the lights were being caused by a machine, but that didn't stop her from starting and staring for a moment.

Their ways are so strange... so many wondrous things that they experience, yet their wonders are tempered by their insanity.

She had hated them once. A long time ago. Clutching the fallen body of her mate, sobbing with her daughter at the senseless destruction they had wreaked, it had been hard not to hate the petty, insane creatures that had caused them so much pain.

But she had seen what happened in war, in battle. Treated the hundreds of wounded, listened to the crying of the loved ones of the dead. Her hate had been tempered by that anguish, as though the Great Mother had reached out, had shown her what that hate could lead to.

The tawtute who had been allowed to remain behind had whittled what hatred remained into oblivion, the Uniltirontokx struggling to learn how to See, to dismiss their preconceptions of the world around them. The doktors, who were unable to pass through Eywa, surviving their world despite its rejection of them.

And then... then the true tawtute finally returned, and everything became a tangled web of confusion and despair. They had once more began to destroy everything around them, seeking the gray rock that they desired so much. Eywa, her goddess, the mother of all living things, had grown to fear and hate the tawtute in the time since their exile, and their acts of destruction had spurred her to action.

She shuddered at the mere thought of the nightmares her goddess had sent, of the burning fires... the screaming faces. When the call to war came, the Omaticaya had answered. She had blessed the warriors with a heavy heart, the warnings of Jake'sully and Max'patel clear in her mind.

None of those who had done battle against the terrible weapons of the tawtute desired to do so again, but Eywa's will was not something easily refused.

And perhaps, that is the cause of it all. She mused quietly, awaiting the doktor finishing whatever it was she was doing on the strange machine. The sky people have no mother. No caring voice to speak to them, give them warmth in the darkest nights. They struggle alone, refusing to cease their fight, even against that which might save them.

Pity had replaced the hatred within her as she finally began to realize the depths at which the tawtute were unlike the People, the impossibility of them being able to See as they did.

And yet...

The soft, lush glow of her world below her was a sight she never even dreamed of... and she knew that she would treasure it forever. And when she had seen it, for the briefest instant, she wanted to see more. Wanted to see the world of the tawtute, their Earth. Wanted to see the other worlds. Wanted to sail the stars... but then the cool, dead metal around her and shaken her from the trance, the too-thin air reminding her to breath more. Reminding her that to see those sights of wonder, she would have to forever leave Eywa.

She still could not understand the much of the tawtute, but now she could understand their wanderlust, why they traveled the stars despite the danger.

"Hello?" the voice of the tawtute doktor carried the sound of one who had repeated herself many times.

Her skin burned softly as her marking glowed with her embarrassment. Age seems to be catching up to my mind as it has my body.

"My daughter awoke, for a short time."

The small woman nodded, "I know. You want to know if you can take her down?"

"She will heal better if she is closer to Eywa." though the machines of the tawtute had saved her daughter's life, and though she understood them more now, the wounded should be surrounded by life, in all its glory.

The tawtute gave her what seemed to be a very skeptical glance but nodded slowly, "I'll examine her and let you know."

Following the doktor through the tawtute sized opening once more, she watched quietly as Jake carefully backed out of the healer's way.

The woman said nothing, carefully examining the machines around her daughter, pushing small... 'buttons' she thought they were called, and hmming to herself as she did so.

Finishing with the machines, she moved onto carefully examining Neytiri herself. This did not take nearly as long, outwardly, her daughter looked to be nearly fine, save for the massive bruise. The damage was to the inside.

"She looks like she is doing all right. As a doctor, I'm really, really not happy about the idea of moving her back to the surface, it could undo a lot of the work we did, but unfortunately, there isn't much choice." the doktor sighed, "We just don't have the room up here for any more patients, human or native, and I doubt the atmosphere here is going to help her much. I'll wake the Administrator up and get a few nurses to help bring her back to the Valkyrie."

The two of them murmured their thanks to her, Jake moving to once more caress and hold his mate as soon as he was able.

Mo'at moved slowly to the other side of her daughter, and quietly thanked Eywa that her last daughter still remained to her, and asked the Great Mother to watch over Neytiri as they returned from the stars.

Date: 19:20, June 2nd, 2170

Location: Omaticaya Kelutral, Pandora, Alpha Centuari A System

"When will my mother and father return! Answer me!" the young voice demanded once more.

Maybe I should have stayed at Tartarus. Max mused. Dealing with Thomes was annoying. Dealing with Tsu'tey was arguably worse. The human woman, at least, had other things to do besides annoy him, and at least had provided them with supplies.

Tsu'tey, as soon as he'd snapped out of his state of shock, had appointed himself Max's aide. He'd been surprised and grateful at first, until he realized that the young Na'vi intended to grill him constantly as they worked.

"They will return when the tawtute doktor says they can return." he replied irritably as he wrapped bandages around a young warrior's calf, the woman watching him with wide eyes as his hands secured the white bandage. He switched to Na'vi, "Try to walk on it as little as possible for several days, at least."

"Thank you doktor'patel." the young woman murmured quietly in return.

Standing and stretching, he glanced around. The last few wounded had been treated, and now it was merely changing bandages and reminding the stubborn Na'vi not to do anything that would re-open their wounds.

"I don't understand why the sky people's doctors could not come here to heal her." Tsu'tey grumbled.

He sighed again. As soon as his friend's son had realized that he spoke and understood Na'vi, he had not shut up. Granted, it was better than listening to his terrible English, but he had already answered that question. Five times.

"Because they can't move the machines they need to work on her." Six times. "Why don't you go help Tsaro? I think he's going to organize a hunting party tonight."

The youth frowned at him, but obediently moved off to find the elder.

Expelling his breath in a grateful sigh, he trudged over to their Samson. Katrina was sprawled in the cargo area, completely passed out. Norm waved from inside the cockpit, and Max gratefully hopped in as quickly as he could.

The two waited for the small air-purity indicator to flash green before removing their exopacks and digging into their packs for food. Tapirus jerky was not particularly good, but he was starving enough not to care.

"Tsu'tey annoying you again?" his spindly friend asked around a mouthful of dried meat.

"Constantly." he shook his head, "Kid has plenty of stubbornness in him, not surprising considering his parents, but he's got his namesake's temper and dislike of humans."

"Gonna get him in trouble someday." Norm predicted as he slurped on some water.

Max blinked at him. Norm was eating and drinking as fast as he could, an odd change of pace considering that he had always preferred to take his time eating in the past.

"What's the rush man?"

"Huh?" Green eyes blinked confusedly at him.

He sighed, "You're eating like you're on a time limit, which you never do. What's up?"

"Oh." his fellow scientist blinked and stared at his mostly gone food, as if just now realizing what he had been doing. "Just.. caught up I guess."

A smile threatened to work its way onto his face. Of course. This must be like a dream come true for him. After fifteen years of waiting, he finally gets to help the tribe and be accepted doing so.

"I think most of the wounded will make it." he changed the subject.

Norm smiled, "Yeah, those supplies really helped, even if who we got them from is kind of annoying."

"Annoying? That's an understatement." Max shook his head, "I finally understand all of those jokes the guys they sent out to examine Hell's Gate for reclamation used to tell about her."

His friend laughed, "Yeah. Good to know that people over there think she's a bitch too, not just us."

Max carefully put his exopack back on as Norm finished his food, donning his own pack and hopping out of their ship and heading back into the village.

Smiling and shaking his head, he waited for the air to clear again before he resumed eating at a more sedate pace.

The tribe would heal, given time, and with luck, Neytiri would as well. His smile fell as he slowly ate.

Going to have to talk to Selfridge as soon as the four of them return. No way am I asking Thomes permission, not after earlier, he began to lay his plans out in his head, Worst they can do is say no, which means me and Norm will have to stay at our Camp. Maybe trade ammunition from them at least, get Jake to let us move the modules closer maybe, help the tribe in exchange for food?

Nodding to himself as he established back-up plans, he yawned and stretched out as much as he could in the chair. He had done all he could for the day, and it was time for sleep.

Date: 19:35, June 2nd, 2170

Location: Valkyrie docked to Explorer's Dream, Pandoran Orbit, Alpha Centuari A System

Sleeping a good portion of the afternoon away had done wonders for his disposition.

All in all, it had been a rather successful trip, a rather pleasant change of pace considering that almost everything always went wrong when he was on, or near, that cursed planet below them.

The nurses were slowly lowering the comatose native woman into the main cargo-hold, preparing to secure her tightly once more. Sully had not left her side except when forced to, and was even now holding tightly onto the side of her stretcher as they glided downwards.

Mo'at seemed just as uncomfortable in zero-gravity as ever, trying to emulate how the humans were moving around her and just as evidently trying not to show how much not holding onto something was terrifying her. The spots on her body seemed to light up brightly when she saw him smiling and shaking his head as she tightly grasped and clung to the handlebars next to the seats.

The native woman had seemed a bit more at ease aboard the station after he had shown his 'revelation' to her, but seemed glad enough to heading back to the ground.

Sully had been almost completely silent since the morning, spending all of his time clinging to whats-her-name.

Which is a massive improvement. Easy to make sure no fights break out if all he does is obsess over her and refuse to talk to anyone.

It had made his promise to the wounded men and women easy to keep, neither of the natives had left the waiting-room or the surgery room during the day.

The nurses finished strapping the unmoving native in place, then kicked off and headed back up towards the airlock without a word.

With what looked like a great deal of regret, Sully drifted away from her, strapping himself in and showing Mo'at how to do the same.

He sighed. It was such a lovely break too. Then again, any time away from that death-world and the heaps of work it requires is a lovely break.

Resolving to visit the wounded as often as he could, he sighed as as the Valkyrie shuddered lightly. Shortly thereafter, the alarm rang as the pilot announced that they had detached and were preparing to begin their descent.

The matriarch's voice carried across the hold as the fusion engines began to whine, pressing them sideways as the ship began to accelerate, she seemed to be praying.

Closing his eyes, he laughed softly and called out, "Your goddess can't hear you up here, our lives are in the hands of machines and the people operating them."

Both natives shot him a glare and he laughed again as the temperature began to rise as they fell into the atmosphere, the engines shifting in tone, his body beginning to press down into his seat as real gravity began to pull upon it.

It was a far more interesting return than normal, watching Mo'at trying to act as though this was all normal to her, and Sully trying to quietly reassure her that everything was fine, was a hoot. Her face contorted in fear each time the engine's changed their pitch, first as the fusion engines cut out, so that the turbo-jets could activate, then again as they shifted to VTOL mode as the massive shuttle groaned with the efforts of deceleration.

The ship shuddered once more as they lightly touched down, and with a sigh he donned his exopack, the medics who had traveled with them doing the same.

It was already dark, or as dark as it ever got on Pandora, though what he could see of the base from the slowly descending ramp did look much better than it had before they had left.

His eyes were drawn to three massive wooden pyres, colored flags gracing the tallest portions catching them.

He sighed, "Break's over, time to get back to work, and we're just in time for the funerals."

Next up is Chapter 39: Hail the Fallen

Neytiri should make it, Mo'at is beginning to understand the humans more, and the tribe seems to be in good shape. This story is winding down towards its planned end at this point, though I might increase it's length or start a spin-off/sequel if enough people want me to.

As far as reviews go: Wow. Thanks for all them guys & girls, please keep them coming!

Please keep reviewing everyone!