- Your brain is informing you that a disclaimer is printed here -
Chapter 43: Calm Skies
Date: 20:42, June 11th, 2170
Location: Tartarus, Pandora, Alpha Centauri A System
"Come on Neytiri, we're going to be late!"
She blinked confusedly at Norm as he rushed around the room, tossing his pack aside, grabbing several of the strange, clear containers that held water.
Carefully propping herself up, she continued to gaze confusedly at her tawtute friend, "Where are we going?"
"They're having a soccer game!" the scientist was positively radiating excitement, "I haven't seen one since.." a long pause, as though he was counting in his head, "Three years before I left Earth."
"What is a sock-er game?" confusion was still running through her mind. That the tawtute intended to play a game startled her slightly, and Norm's enthusiasm was even more startling.
He blinked at her before glancing at one of the glowing machines and giving a start, "Come on! I'll explain on the way."
Slowly standing, she ambled after him. The long sleep in the afternoon had done much to erase the exhaustion from the morning, but she wanted to make sure that she did not fall again. One humiliation this day was more than enough.
Max'patel was waiting outside, gazing into the tawtute's graveyard of machines and metal. She could see numerous other figures moving rapidly in that direction, and the harsh, artificial lights that they favored so much were already illuminating that area.
She carefully followed Norm as he eagerly moved in that direction, keeping up a running commentary concerning the rules of the 'game' as he did so.
More pressing questions were on her mind, however, and Norm's chatter was quietly tuned out as she leaned down to speak to Max.
"Why must I come to this? Many tawtute will be there, and I will not be welcome."
Max smiled slightly, "You'll be fine. Selfridge said you can come, and he made sure that everyone knows not to mess with you. If anyone tries, feel free to hit them." he paused, "Not that hard though."
"As long as they leave me alone, I shall not strike them." she straightened again, adding with a hiss, "But they must leave me alone first."
"They should." the toktor promised, "Everyone will be more concerned about the game anyway."
The game. Strange that sky people play games. It was not something she had ever pictured them doing.
She tried to pay closer attention to what Norm was saying about the rules and how it was played. By the time they reached the first metal corpses, she thought she had a basic idea of the very odd game. It did not take long to traverse the mounds of decaying machines to reach a large, flat field illuminated by light.
Tawtute were crowded along the edges, more still were sitting atop the wrecked machines and piles of metal, talking animatedly and gesturing at the dirt field, where two groups of tawtute were huddled together, apparently speaking to one another. One group was wearing entirely bright orange, the other the strange patterns that their warriors favored.
The leader, Self-ridge, the one her Jake disliked intensely, was with the group clad in orange, and was gesturing and speaking rather animatedly.
Norm led her and Max to the remains of one of the massive kunsips, climbing easily up its side, the three carefully sat and gazed at the field.
Many of the nearby tawtute gave her silent glares, but their attention was always swiftly drawn back to the playing field.
She frowned, tail twitching unconsciously as the tawtute moved out from their balls of conversation and began to take up places on the field, their leaders moving to the sides, taking up spots near the few players who had also moved off.
With a sharp whistling noise, the game began.
It was the strangest game she had ever seen.
The people had games, of course. Children attempted to catch each other's tails while racing through the boughs of their kelutral. Warriors and hunters held contests of strength and archery, and occasionally they held races to prepare for the great Talioang hunts.
Nothing like what the tawtute were playing. The purpose of the game seemed to be to kick the small ball into the 'goal', which was easy enough to understand. That only one player on each team could apparently use their hands was odd, but understandable. The size of their playing field, on the other hand..
How many trees and life was destroyed so that they could play their game? She though irritably.
The crowd of tawtute, however, seemed extremely interested in what was happening, shouting, cursing, cheering as the ball moved swiftly around the field, the cheering growing exceptional when one team, the one comprised of warriors, managed to score.
And the game droned on. And on. And on.
Do they never cease? She had to admit, she was beginning to become confused at the longevity of the game, Are they not exhausted from so much running about?
Shortly after the 'mining' team managed to score, the sharp whistling sound again cut through the roar of noise that the tawtute were somehow managing to create, and the players moved off the field.
"Are they finished then?" she turned to Max.
"Finished?" he blinked at her, "It's only halftime, half-way done."
She felt her draw drop slightly, "Half-way?"
"Yeah, they take a quick breather and get water half-way through, then resume playing." Even as he spoke, she saw the players carefully guzzling water from the strange containers that the tawtute seemed to love as their leaders spoke to them.
"The same ones?" Surely not!
"Of course. They're using the official rules, so they can change out three people if they want to, but everyone else plays the whole game." The toktor seemed to think that perfectly normal.
Spilling back onto the field, the players once more took up their positions and the game began again.
Her interest, however, was no longer upon the field itself, "How do they run for so long, without becoming tired?"
"They are tired, believe me, football is a pretty intense sport. We're not as tired as say, a Na'vi would be. Our bodies are better built for endurance than yours are."
She blinked a bit at that, causing her friend to continue, "Our species originally came from the savannah of our homeworld, we killed prey by chasing it until it was too exhausted to fight back."
A nagging thought clicked within her mind, "That is why your warriors still had strength at the end of the battle, when our hunters had succumbed to their exhaustion."
Max winced and nodded grimly.
That small mystery solved, she settled back into place atop the cold metal skeleton and watched the game continue through half lidded eyes. Her mind was not focused upon her eyes, however, but instead was quietly contemplating what else about the tawtute was beyond her.
And what among that hidden knowledge can be used against the people? What weaknesses do the sky people have that we do not yet know? Her brow furrowed slightly as she thought, not even paying attention when a goal was scored, Max and Norm hollering and cheering from beside her.
Some great time later, after they had left the field of dead machines and she was once more wrapped in the strange cloths of the tawtute, her mind was still pondering what questions she would ask her Jake when she returned to the Omaticaya.
Date: 07:15, June 12th, 2170
Location: Tartarus, Pandora, Alpha Centauri A System
Everyone in the Ops-Center was bleary eyed and slow moving, noise was being kept to a minimum as the hang-overs from the night before were slowly being worked out of their systems.
That did not, however, stop everyone in the mining division from grinning like maniacs whenever they glanced outside and saw Kozlov running his people through their morning drills.
Parker was grinning just as foolishly as his people, grin becoming even wider when he glanced at the precious leather bag sitting next to his desk. The Russian Lieutenant who had found them the day before at Hell's Gate had admitted that she had wanted to give them to him as a consolation prize for losing the game, but she might as well make his night perfect since the Russians had lost the game.
He had been struck speechless by the sight of his clubs, he had thought them lost forever.
Now they were waiting patiently next to his desk, the very sight of them causing him to remember the few good days at Hell's Gate, competing with Quaritch for the best line drive or impromptu putting sessions.
Of course, that was before Miles started to really lose it. He admitted. The nostalgic memories of the first few years of Hell's Gate quickly washed from his mind as the recollections of the increasingly stressful, increasingly desperate last few months arose and swallowed them.
The very first thing he had done upon waking was send a memo to the few remaining engineers, asking if any of them could find some kind of artificial turf so that he could, at least, practice his putts with the sole golf ball that was nestled safely within the bag.
Plotting out how much he was going to enjoy being able to golf once more was cut short as a message from Thomes flashed into existence in his inbox.
Sighing, he leaned back in his chair and idly tapped the 'Read' button.
From: Explorer's Dream – Thomes, Maria, Cptn
To: Tartarus Command – Selfridge, Parker, Admstr
Though I am glad to see that you have taken some initiative with the football game, it would have been more pleasant had you waited for both myself and my crew to be able to partake in such activity. I hope that the increasingly small store of alcohol has not been destroyed by the parties that no doubt occurred last night, and that operations are continuing on schedule this morning.
News from Earth: Our plans regarding Hell's Gate have been approved, as have the supplies you requested.
Concerning the wounded: The final group of wounded will be heading down with me.
Concerning the natives: Will the blue-skin be leaving on schedule?
- end message
With another sigh, he quickly typed up an apologetic response, assuring her that there was enough of their illicit liquid to have one more after-game party, that there would, of course, be more football games, and that, as far as he knew, the native princess was still going to be leaving them soon.
Yawning and stretching he rose and padded into the main Ops-Center, glancing at the main holo-table as he did so.
Good to see that the mining teams are already at work. The current three-dimensional image showed the mining site, the equipment's symbols registering that they were being brought online even as he watched. He had been a little hesitant to put Buck in place as his new foreman, but the man had proven capable, if only a little hesitant at his new job.
If only he wouldn't wear those bizarre fleece jackets and blue-jeans everyday. Then again, if we don't let a little individualism in, are we any better than the blue-skins? He smiled a bit at the last, making a mental note to make sure that everyone knew that uniform regulations would be lowered slightly in the coming weeks.
"Morning Administrator." the communications officer nodded to him.
"Good morning Lieutenant, and thank you once more for finding my clubs." he beamed at her.
The Russian woman smiled, "Not a problem sir. If you would please lose the next football game in payment, however, that would be most pleasant."
He laughed at that, "And break our undefeated streak? Never."
She smiled dutifully and returned to directing the AMP suits as they ran through an exercise near the perimeter.
Smiling a bit, he slowly manipulated the main holotable away from the mining site to the ruins of Hell's Gate. Though Thomes had not told him to begin the planning to recolonize the area, it was better than going over mining reports yet again.
He had been at it for several hours, and debating with Kozlov over the radio over the defensive set-up they were going to use at the old base, when Patel arrived.
"I'm telling you, strictly sentry guns won't be enough, not for the size of the base. We'll need to base at least one of the arriving squadrons there, and maybe a company of troops." he insisted to Kozlov, nodding to Patel as he maneuvered his way through the stations to the holotable.
"I dislike spreading our air power out," the Russian shot back, "It would be better to keep all of our aerial assets here, where they will be better protected and from where they can operate in massed force."
"It's only a two hour flight." he sighed, "We'll go over this again when Thomes arrives, I have a meeting with Patel now."
Kozlov, no doubt in a doubly foul mood now, cut the line without a goodbye.
Shaking his head, he turned to Patel, "I hope you're not here for an argument."
The darker skinned man shook his head, "Just here to go over the plans about the science wing at Hell's Gate."
Nodding, Parker brought up the old lab schematics, "Did you want them set up as they were, or a full remodel?"
"Partial." The other man, once younger, now older, And how odd is that to think about?, began to outline his plans, "We don't need the link room or the Avatar chambers anymore, so we can turn those into additional lab space, or maybe into living quarters. We can probably leave the old decanting chambers open to the local air and turn it into a flora lab, that will save at least some modifications."
"What about the old cabin and field?" he pointed to the utterly overgrown and totally useless Avatar training area.
"Probably turn it into a farming area, there's a few plants that humans can eat, we can use them to supplement our rations." the good doctor explained easily.
After spending several more hours going over the details with Patel, and after he had left to go check on his precious blue-skin, he made his way down to the cafeteria for lunch.
The smell coming from the kitchen almost made him turn back.
He sighed, Burnt tapirus meat. Lovely. Maybe there's some soup left. Without much hope, he forced his body to take him into the cafeteria. Though they did have plenty of rations now that the base's population was a mere third of what it had been, the cooks still insisted on using local 'supplies' whenever possible to stretch the human food longer.
The Lament had better be carrying plenty of good food aboard, so that we don't have to put up with this. Maybe I should come down on those punks back in the kitchen, he thought bitterly to himself as he joined the line.
Date: 13:36, June 12th, 2170
Location: Tartarus, Pandora, Alpha Centauri A System
"As long as your wounds don't open up and you can walk around on your own, yes, you'll be able to leave in two days." he promised Neytiri as she slowly and carefully paced around the AMP suit bay.
As soon as he had arrived, Norm had gratefully directed Neytiri's irritation away from himself and to him, though Max had to admit, that had he been stuck with an annoyed, woundedwarrior all morning, he would have tried to direct her anger elsewhere as well.
"And how will I return to the kelutral? Ikran?" she demanded.
She's in a demanding mood lately. "Pa'li. Don't try flying for a few weeks yet, stick to the ground please, unless you really want to go back up to the stars so they can heal you again."
She hissed quietly but nodded.
He tried to cheer her up a bit, "Jake and Peyral will both be here to go back with you, they headed out this morning so that they'll be here in time."
A small smile graced her lips at that, "I have heard little of Peyral, how does her arm fare?"
"She'll heal up nicely, even if she is just as bad as you are about actually listening to the advice I gave her." the headstrong hunter had attempted to use her bow not long after he had stitched and bandaged her wounds, promptly requiring him to do all of his work over again.
The image of Mo'at fiercely scolding the woman as he worked made him smile a little.
"And what news of my son? Does he do well in my absence?"
And just like that, the good mood is gone. "I suppose." he allowed, "I know that he and your mate disagree on the future of the clan, many of the youths do."
The future tsahik hissed softly, tail flicking angrily back and forth, "Sxkwang." she took a moment to glare at the sight of several AMP suits pounding across the ground in the distance, apparently doing some form of drill, "Both of them. Perhaps I shall tie their tails together until they cease their bickering."
Norm snorted a bit at that, and even he had to smile.
"And of my mother?" Neytiri continued after turning away from the outdoors and striding slowly to her room.
"She is well, or as well as she can be considering." he grimaced a bit at that, "She and the other elders are very shaken up by Eywa at the moment."
The three fell into silence as they entered the small room, Neytiri taking her place on the overly large bed as he and Norm settled into chairs.
"That knowledge is deeply unsettling." Neytiri admitted after she had gotten comfortable. "The Great Mother truly is in great pain at the moment."
"She had some of the warriors who still had ikran head to the nearby clans to see if any other tsahikwas able to get through to her." Norm spoke up, "They should be back in a day or two with news, but..."
"But it's probable that she isn't going to be speaking with them either." he finished for him. "And we have no idea how long it might take for her to overcome the backlash of so much death."
Neytiri sighed as she closed her eyes, "The Great Mother will speak to her children when she is ready. Until then, we must trust in her and keep faith that she will once more show us the path to maintain the balance of all life."
The two scientists quietly backed out of the room to award her her sleep, slowly shutting the door behind them and heading out into the open.
"What do you think is going to happen?" Norm asked him as they leaned against the wall of the Ops-Center.
"With what? Eywa?" he sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, fighting the urge to run a hand through his hair.
"I don't know." he admitted eventually, "I hope that she realizes what happened, that war isn't the answer, that it will only bring more pain than she can bear. But.. all the same, I hope that the UN's reinforcements know what they're doing. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."
"Yeah." Norm sighed slowly pushed off, "Well, I actually have some work to do, Thomes wants a full briefing on the local fauna ready when she gets back."
"And I need to get back to Selfridge about Hell's Gate." he responded with a small smile, "Strange to have deadlines and meetings again, isn't it?"
"A bit." Norm smiled in return, heading towards the Apartment Complex, "See you at dinner!"
He waved a hand in response before turning to head into the airlock.
A meeting with Selfridge, followed by dinner, followed by research, followed by sleep. Smiling to himself, he began to plan out the rest of his week as the door quietly shut behind him.
Next up: Epilogue – Pandoran Winter
And here is Chapter 43, the last full chapter in Semper Victoria. Originally, before I planned the sequel, there was going to be a four-part epilogue detailing Parker, Max, Mo'at, and Thomes' futures, but as it is, the epilogue is going to be more of a tie-in to Semper Furor.
Hope you all enjoy this chapter, I'm not sure I did the best job wrapping the ending up to be honest, hope it isn't too bad. Though I suppose that there is a sequel taking place after this renders less need for that, in the end.
Please keep reviewing!
Review Responses:
Croc117: glad you like it, and expect those errors to be fixed soon.
insanduk: very glad that you like it, and glad you noticed the emphasis on realism that I tried to portray.
AndreyRus: yes there is, the title explains it a bit I think.
wired dragon: you'll get to 'see' the colony ISV's in the sequel. The deleted scenes do a much better job of portraying Jake as being stuck between a rock and a hard place than the movie does, giving me a bit more sympathy for the character.
Author's Note:
Special thanks to everyone who has reviewed and read, and I hope you all enjoyed the fic and that you all enjoy the sequel. The final, fixed and proof-read copy of Semper Victoria will be up by the end of this week, but expect Furor to be published before then.
Kat