Make a Move — Chapter VIII
Hallelujah Mountains (Iknimaya)
Asher spun the weapon to his rear, the yellow eye flashing through the optical scope, fixating on the sound of a tree branch (or was it a plant stem?) snapping from the far distance that he was running from. On his head, the avatar's ears fanned back and forth, instinctively working to locate the origins of the sound. It was a remarkable ability that Asher took for granted. Because the way he felt about the blue body was a mixed feeling that straddled between a useful tool and a disposable organism. If it died, yes, the mission was over, but his real body would still be alive—breathing. And yet, he found no value to be in awe of its ability. It was a second skin for him, to be used no differently than a space suit.
Except that this space suit had some unique perks that Asher had yet to fully exploit. It was merely a vessel to take him from one place to another, without succumbing to death from fauna, flora, or the damn intoxicating air. This also meant that he did kinda cared about it staying alive. If it was destroyed, so were the chance of delivering one of the most critically important treaty in human history. It also meant that hundreds, if not an entire species, was at risk of extinction.
No sweat, right? Yeah, Asher wasn't holding his breath. The Na'vi were after him and they didn't know what they were doing by hunting him down.
At first, Asher gave consideration to giving up and surrendering to them. But what if they were here to kill him? It was not as though he could just walk up to them and simply ask why they were after him? It was the reason he had to make his run, to escape, for as long as possible, until they either stopped or they caught up with him. By which point, he hoped he could talk sense to them.
Of course, he forgot. They didn't speak English. Maybe Danielle and Wade were right? He should've learned a few words. He could try and contact them right now and have them give him a quick lesson. Yes! He could do that! Well, first he had to shake off the threat that was following him. How pathetic would it be for him to ask for language lessons while being chased through the jungle, four-light years away from Earth, only to trip and fall and get a spear thrown at him?
Yeah, he thought, maybe another time.
Squinting through the scope, he was still unable to discern what or wasn't there that was hiding among the green foliage. The eyes of the alien was about as sharp as an eagle, but he didn't fully trust the body to believe what he was not seeing. He needed a new perspective.
Leaning the weapon over, Asher pressed down on the button above the optics to switch to FLIR mode. Unlike the avatar body that used instincts to try and find the source of the sound, Asher preferred the reliability of human technology. Technology didn't lie to him. It was about as solid as the scientific engineering that was used to create this body he inhabited. And through the scope of the weapon, he was able to see the Pandoran landscape transform from a beautiful green world to a washed-out realm of black and white. Trees, bushes, and sunlit-plants appeared in a deeper shade of black. In contrast, colder areas of the forest and the shaded sides of the plants were white.
With centuries of development behind this advanced technology, Asher possessed a tactical edge that the Na'vi could never match. If they dared to emerge from the black silhouettes they hid behind, he would see their every move. Such a feeling of being the superior species in this game brought about a grin.
Unfortunately, for his ego, as these two contrasting colors mingled, the white radiated a hazy veil, obscuring Asher's ability to discern the minute details of the forest. Just his luck.
"Damn," he whispered.
He still wasn't seeing anything move and after several seconds of standing there like a dummy that he felt he was, Asher began to question whether he had actually heard anything at all or that it was simply his imagination playing tricks on him. Looking to his right, he found that not even a gentle breeze rustled the delicate palm-like leaves extending out to feed on the sunlight. An animal scurrying along the forest floor momentarily distracted his attention, and while Asher did believe it might have been the source of the sound, he judged by its small stature that it was powerless to break even a twig.
Whatever was out there, moving about, Asher knew he couldn't stay in one place for long and attempt to comprehend this alien world in a matter of minutes. It required a lifetime of experience, and that was something he simply couldn't afford at the moment.
Wiping the sweat off his hands against his shorts, Asher kept his attention fixated through the scope. Behind his eyes, he initiated a countdown, starting from ten. If there was no sign of strange activity or movement, then he was going to conceded and move on.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
SNAP
The muzzle flew towards his three-o'-clock position.
"Okay. I definitely heard it this time." He said.
There was no time to delegate with the Na'vi. If they had him surrounded, or were in the process of doing so, then Asher had to make his move. It was now or become flayed.
However, as Asher attempted to move, his feet disobeyed his direct instructions and remained rooted to the ground. His torso also refused to turn. It was then that he discovered his hands were locked in a rigid grip around the barrel of the personal defense weapon, rendering him immobile.
Momentarily breaking his intense focus on the forest, Asher made another attempt to move, but encountered resistance as if the body was on the verge of shutting down, yet not quite. He was still standing, he was still breathing, blinking, and making those micro-movements the body normally did. Except for the tail.
"What the hell is this?" he asked himself. He tried harder to think for the hand to move and when it did, he tossed his fingers to the throat mike to contact the woman on the other end of the line.
"Olympus to Ticon. I have a problem."
It took about twelve seconds, long enough for this threat to jump out and ambush him.
Hurry up!
"This is Ticonderoga to Olympus, what's the problem?"
"My body refuses to cooperate with me."
"Explain."
"I-I don't know. My hand was frozen, and now it feels like my legs don't want to move."
Thirty-seconds went by without an answer, which worried Asher into asking: "What the hell is happening to me?"
"We don't know."
Oh great. That's exactly what he wanted to hear.
"Uh, come again, Ticon? You don't know? Is it psionic delirium?"
"No. It's not."
"Then what's the problem?"
"Try moving again."
Yeah, okay, like that's gonna work. He tried and to his shock, his leg moved. Curious, he moved his other leg, and it did so under his thoughts.
Looking along the blue-stripped arm, he flexed his fingers. Everything was moving again. Even his tail, that God forsaken tail was moving! Asher never felt so happy in his life to see some alien tail moving, letting him know that he was in control again.
"Ticon, okay, everything seems to be working again. Did you do something on your end?"
"No. You're in control, remember? We believe that it could be a minor fluke of the avatar. If it happens again, just wait."
Oh sure. Fluke. Psionic Delirium. The list could go on and he was only on day two of using the damn thing and now they're asking him to wait? They had to be joking!
"Roger, uh-thanks I guess."
"Great to hear, Olympus. Do you know where you're going?"
Asher glanced up and saw that the rocks were getting bigger.
"Yup. I do."
"Remember, Olympus. Stay out of the shadows!"
"Roger. Olympus out."
Glancing back to the last remnants of the sound, he kept the weapon pointed, waiting to see if something would reveal itself before taking the opportunity to dash back into the forest, hoping to outrun whatever made that noise before it managed to catch up to him.
"Uh… dad, what was that about?" Neteyam asked beneath a whisper.
"I have no idea, son."
Since operating his own avatar nearly fourteen years ago, Jake never once experienced or witnessed such a peculiar behavior of an avatar before. It seemed like the avatar was experiencing some kind of malfunction, though the exact nature of it remained a mystery to him. Jake pondered briefly if the RDA had started cutting corners in their production, but that theory didn't quite add up. Why would they invest billions only to create faulty avatars?
Along that line of thinking, Jake felt a twinge of guilt and sympathy being injected in with his thoughts before quickly dismissing such feelings as he realigned his focus on capturing the avatar. It didn't matter if it was hurt, or in pain, or was breaking apart. Those were advantages.
Pressing on his throat mike, Jake needed to reach out to Lo'ak who was up ahead and on the right flank of the avatar.
"Eagle Eye. Stay low and stay still. Looks like the uniltìrantokx might have heard you."
"Understood."
"What are we going to do about it?" Neteyam said as he maneuvered himself beneath a big green leaf.
"Well. We're going to capture it."
Neteyam chuckled.
"What?"
"Nothing. Lo'ak said the same thing."
Jake smiled. "Smart boy."
"Whatever you say, dad."
The khaki boots, heavy and layered, splashed over a tranquil stream as the avatar hauled himself up and over a boulder. Peering down below, he carefully landed on both feet before raising the PDW, only to remind himself that the weapon had no cartridges to deal with any substantial threats. What he did have was a machete, his hands, and if he was lucky, chewing gum.
No, he forgot about the chewing gum.
Letting out a frustrated groan to slip between his lips, Asher turned his attention to the watch on his wrist, finding the compass still spinning like a crazed lunatic. It was infuriating to venture this deep into this region without any reliable environmental guidance, aside from the perplexing floating rocks above that seemed to go on forever. How far was the Na'vi camp exactly? Truth be told, he didn't know, and the only way he was going to know was by the map he brought with him.
Good luck trying to read that while being hunted, he thought.
Asher remained cautious, mindful of avoiding the shadows. His pattern of walking through the jungle took on a quasi-kid's game of staying in the light. The shadows were lava, he told himself. However, as night began to fall, that became an increasingly challenging task. This damn moon had some wicked timing. Sometimes it would get dark and suddenly light would appear within a few hours later. Other times, it would stay lit almost all day before going dark for half of the night. He didn't have time to concern himself with the geosynchronous orbit of Pandora around Polyphemus. He needed to keep going.
He looked ahead and noticed animals darting away from his presence as he continued his journey through the dense forest of Pandora. Was he getting close? He didn't know. He sure hoped he was, otherwise, this chase was going to go on forever and he didn't exactly have time as a friend.
He began to question on how he was going to be able to reach their camp. It's not as though the Na'vi invented elevators for him to simply use. And within that instant, he saw the tall blue aliens using elevators, prompting him to laugh as he crouched down to slip through the massive over hanging root of a tree.
Straightening himself up, he took a swift two second survey through the optical scope before resuming his progress.
Snap!
Years of training and experience caused the avatar to swing the barrel of the weapon towards the sound of another twig snapping. He swore it came from his four-o'-clock position. Viewing the world through the optical scope, Asher saw that the jungle was coming alive again with wild bioluminescence, irritating the FLIR mode, and offering him nothing more than wildly blooming white splotches. He switched back to normal mode and from it, he could see better, but not much else.
There was nothing in his experience that told him he was going to make it out alive. If he tried running again, they will only catch up to him. If he tried hiding, he was going to find himself disconnecting from the avatar soon or later, rendering the body to be destroyed by the Na'vi. If he tried fighting, then he was going to surely lose against a far superior foe.
Asher had to try a different strategy. A daring strategy. Probably a stupid strategy he will come to regret soon enough.
Licking his lips, he rose onto his toes and yelled: "I mean you no harm! I am with the UNE! Avatar Program! Not a soldier! Not SEC-OPS! Not RDA!"
Nothing. He had to remind himself they didn't understand English. But there was nothing else he could use to express that he was of no harm!
Maybe take your shirt off, pants, boots, and wave them around?
Asher ignored the wayward thought. He turned around, his eyes adjusting to the low-light conditions of the forest. The distant howls and clicks of animals echoed through the air, but they seemed too far away to have caused the snapping of the twig.
"C'mon you sonsofbitches. Show yourselves." Asher muttered. He attempted to resume his walk, but he noticed his legs slowing down once again. It seemed that the link-unit had either detected his reduced speed or adjusted to the fact that his backpack was no longer exposed to sunlight, affecting his mobility.
Whatever the situation was, he was running out of time. He couldn't escape the Na'vi for long. He just hoped the Na'vi were friendly enough to spare this avatar's life.
"I am UNE! Avatar Program! I am not here to hurt you or the Na'vi!"
Snap, crunch!
Asher coiled and drew the weapon in the direction of the new sound.
"Show yourselves!"
"You don't have bullets in that gun of yours." The voice echoed all around, leading Asher to face the voice where he believed originated from. It also spoke to him in English but there was a hint of an accent.
This has to be Jake Sully.
"Jake?"
The voice didn't answer. And just as Asher was about to ask again if that was Jake, he heard cries, whistles, and animal-like noises echoing right behind him.
"Don't do this. I'm not a threat!" Asher left the weapon dangling from the sling as he drew out the machete from its sheath. That didn't mean he was entirely defenseless.
"Big knife." The voice echoed back. "Do you know how to use it?"
Asher continued to hear whoops and cries, the voices intermingling to make it seem as though there wasn't three Na'vi but a dozen.
"I do."
The voice laughed. "So do I. Wanna find out how I skin dreamwalkers like you, alive?"
Was this really Jake Sully? If he is, this man is off the deep end!
The reality for Asher was simple. He had a machete, but it was no knife he could use in combat. At most, he might be able to strike them with a few blows before being downed himself. Switching posture, he was going to show them how an Army Ranger handled himself.
"I'm waiting!" Asher taunted back.
The animal cries were getting louder and aggressive. Then. Silence.
The avatar leapt around, the night had consumed the last bit of natural light, leaving Asher to squint across the forest with the bioluminescence being the only source of light to aid him. That didn't help either. Compounded further was the sensation that he was feeling drunk again.
"Damnit!" He choked out.
The voice laughed again, this time, from Asher's eleven-o'-clock.
"Come out and show yourself!"
In that instant, Asher keeled to the ground when he felt something strike across the back of his head. Rolling over the ground, the avatar sprang back up but nearly lost his balance as he did. Cursed link-unit!
"Where are you? Is this how all of your kind fight? From the shadows?"
"All the time," mused the voice.
"Then show yourself so I can test how well you fight face-to-face!"
Again, silence. Asher looked around, his ears twitching, hoping to catch a hint of where the voice was being broadcasted from. Just as he was about to turn and check his unseen flank, a whispered voice reached his ears:
"Here."
Asher spun around and came face-to-face with a Na'vi, their blue features mere inches away. Driven by instinct, Asher swung the machete, narrowly missing the head of the Na'vi as the blue alien ducked out of harm's way. In an all too swift motion, Asher felt his wrist being held down, twisted about and another hand striking the underside of his wrist, causing the muscles to relax and the machete to drop.
"Sh-!" Asher's exclamation was abruptly cut off as a powerful punch connected with his cheek, momentarily blinding him with a burst of white light. The force of the blow sent his body spiraling through the air, crashing onto the forest floor with a resounding thud and leaving him vulnerable to another attack.
Growling, Asher scrambled along the forest floor before feeling a tree beside him that he used to climb up with. Facing the Na'vi again, he realized that the alien didn't even stop to gauge his next reaction as Asher swung for his face.
The Na'vi stepped back, avoiding the avatar's knuckle meant for his nose. The Na'vi then took hold of the offending arm and twisted, causing Asher to obey the offense of the twist as he faced the jungle, forcefully exposing his backside to the Na'vi.
Jake then kicked behind the avatar's knee joint, sending him to the ground, kneeling, and as he held the arm still in his grip, Jake was about to deliver a knock-out blow when he felt the arm slide in his grip. Asher rolled with the momentum of the twist. It wasn't enough to loosen Jake's grip, but it came as a surprise when Asher managed to throw a kick to Jake's side, causing him to stumble somewhat.
"The hell was that?" Jake said, almost wanting to laugh before finding the avatar standing up right again.
Raising his fits, Asher displayed determination for the second round. Same with Jake, who began to approach him. Asher swung and missed. Jake dodged the incoming attack and struck Asher in the ribs with his fist.
Grunting out in pain, Asher retreated, creating a space of distance between himself and the Na'vi as he recalibrated his bearings. The Na'vi, however, spared him no such time as Asher saw him approaching with the intensity of a fighter. A fist was launched for Asher's face and if Asher didn't avoid it in time, then he knew he was going to be dead within the next few seconds.
Much to his surprise, he managed to duck. Maybe the avatar wasn't useless after all? But instantly felt something wrap around his throat. A bow string from behind him caught Asher by surprise, just as he was moving out of Jake's punch. Gagging, he felt the string dig into his flesh as the force of gravity threatened to bring him onto his back.
The backpack!
Irritated by yet another opponent, Asher instinctively elbowed the person, aiming for what he believed to be their torso, before wriggling free from under the bowstring that was constricting his throat. As he turned to see who had attacked him, confusion washed over him when he realized it was:
"A boy?" Asher exclaimed.
His surprise was short-lived as he was suddenly tackled to the ground by another individual. The impact drove his mouth into the grass, causing him to spit it out. He quickly rolled over, only to find the Na'vi holding a sharpened blade against his neck.
The Na'vi hissed at the demon before saying unintelligible words that Asher couldn't understand. Seeing that his grip on the blade was somewhat antithetical, Asher sprang into action and pushed the boy's elbow upward, allowing the blade to slip across the side of his neck, inflicting a shallow cut that drew blood before kneeing the boy in the rear. The contact sent the teen tumbling over Asher.
Freed from the boy's grasp, Asher swiftly rose to his feet, determined to face his adversaries. But before he could react fast enough, Jake's powerful right fist connected with his left cheek, jolting him backward.
The blow was too much, and Asher was again, on the ground, surrounded by three Na'vi who looked down upon their enemy. Reeling from the blow, Asher held onto his check before feeling a new weight lay over him.
"This blade," the Na'vi said as he tapped the tip against the avatar's throat. "Is sharp enough to cut flesh without much effort. So if I were you, I would hold still."
Asher groaned.
"Who are you, avatar driver?" Jake asked, the blade teasing along the vein of the avatar's neck.
"I-I'm a diplomat, from the UNE. Name's Rayan," he coughed, the weight was becoming somewhat heavy over him. He needed to get Jake off before he crushed the backpack. "Asher."
Jake blinked. "UNE?"
"Yes sir."
"What's a UNE bloodhound doing all the way out here?"
"I'm here for you, the Na'vi, and the RDA."
Jake laughed. This was unreal.
"That's a helluva trifecta, bloodhound. Why travel all the way out here to go after me, the Na'vi, and the RDA? That last one doesn't even make sense. I mean-heh-you're in their avatar!"
Asher tapped on Jake's arm.
"Please, get off. My ba-"
"You don't tell me what to do, bloodhound. I have the knife here, remember?"
Yeah of course, shithead!
"Yes sir," Asher said instead.
"So what're you doing out here? And in an avatar body?"
"I'll answer your questions if you can get off of me," Asher managed to stay between coughs.
Jake laughed. "You don't get it, do you? I'm in charge of this conversation. Not you."
Asher coughed again. "You-you're sitting on my backpack."
"And?"
For some reason, Jake brought his hand down to grip tightly around Asher's throat, squeezing down on his air supply.
Clenching his teeth, Asher couldn't believe that his first meeting with Jake was turning into some black-site interrogation session.
"I have a network device in my backpack." Asher stressed, gasping between words. "If it gets destroyed, I'm goin-going to lose my connection to the avatar."
The ears on Jake flattened, but he remained skeptical. "Avatars don't need some fancy network device to operate. You're bullshitting me, aren't you bloodhound?" The blade tip started to cut into Asher's neck.
"I'm not bullshitting you, sir. My link-unit is outside of these-these mountains." Asher rolled his eyes around, trying to catch his breath. "I'm too far to operate the avatar without a backpack."
"I never had these kinds of issues," Jake argued. "Why now? Why are your avatars struggling to work here?"
"I don't know. This is my second day in one. Tr-try asking one of the other drivers you have."
Jake contemplated Asher's words, his expression showing a mix of suspicion and curiosity. As much as he didn't trust this Rayan Asher, he still needed to know what he was doing here, and besides, Jake thought, the prepared speech did nothing for him to believe this avatar driver. As far as Jake knew, the UNE had no jurisdiction in this place, and even if they did, they weren't getting anything from either him or the Na'vi. As for Asher's claim of not being here on behalf of the RDA, but somehow, working to investigate them only deepened Jake's skepticism. After all, Asher was operating an avatar, making it difficult to discern truth from deceit. The only way to find the truth in a pile of lies was to keep him alive.
He was already regretting that choice.
"Okay, bloodhound. I'll let you up. But under two conditions. You don't do anything stupid, and you answer all of my questions truthfully. Got it?"
Asher nodded.
"Excellent. Boys."
Taking their father's cue, Neteyam and Lo'ak stood over and beside Asher as Jake lifted himself off of the avatar. Lo'ak retrieved the demon's weapon that was slung around the body, leaving Asher far more defenseless than he liked.
Pulling back on the charging handle, Lo'ak remembered how his father told him that there were always one round in the chamber, even without the magazine. A brass cartridge glinted dully in the bioluminescence, showing evidence that the demon did in fact, had an opportunity to kill at least one of them.
"You won't be needing that," Lo'ak said in Na'vi as he slid the charging handle all the way, ejecting the cartridge out and onto the ground.
Damn, he really taught the Na'vi how to use human weapons. That's something. Asher thought.
Picking up the round, Lo'ak inspected it before shoving it into his pouch. Handing the weapon over to Neteyam, the eldest son reached out and took it before slinging the weapon over his body.
He nodded for Lo'ak that he got the demon covered as he positioned his bow in such a manner as to aim for the demon's back. If the demon chose to fight again, then it was going to get killed for its stupid decision.
Lo'ak helped the avatar to sit up but kept him sitting. He then took several steps back, giving himself enough distance to shoot the demon if need be with his bow.
"Do you feel better, bloodhound?" Jake amusingly asked.
"Yes, sir."
It was funny. Jake only had his sons refer to him as sir. The fact some stranger was referring to him as sir only made Jake feel a sense of agitation towards him.
"So. What are you doing here?"
Again with these stupid questions, Asher thought.
"As I've s-" Asher felt the world slowly tilt. Great, it was starting again. "As I've… excuse me."
Jake squinted. "What's wrong with you now?"
"I-uh," the avatar's head bobbled around, his eyes drooping. "Sorry, I-I uh, I won't have enough time. I'm about to lose connection."
"Like hell you will!" Jake brought the knife back to his throat.
"Listen. I'm here to help." Asher said as best he could through the bleary haze. "I represent the United Nations of Earth. I'm a diplomat. Not a soldier. I'm not here-to-uh… to hurt you or the Na'vi. I'm—," he shook his head, trying to remain connected. "—I'm here to see the Na'vi. To write a peace treaty. Between Earth and Pandora. That is…"
The world was smearing of all the colors of the jungle. "That is… if—if."
"If what?" Jake asked. "If what?!"
Jake saw the whites of the avatar's eyes as the avatar fell back onto the forest floor. The avatar was disconnected.
"Dad?" Neteyam looked up to his father, searching for an answer to an inexplicable case of weirdness.
"That's freaky." Lo'ak added.
Standing, Jake exhaled as he sheathed his knife back. "Well, that takes care of the hard part. Listen, boys. We're going to bring him back to camp. I haven't told your mother, or your sisters, or anyone for that matter. Which means, I don't want you two mouthing about the dreamwalker. Norm and Max will take care of him until he… comes back. And then, we'll ask him the questions."
"Is that a good thing?" Neteyam asked.
"We took his weapons. And he sounds too vulnerable to do anything harmful."
"I meant about not letting mother know about this dreamwalker."
Jake looked over to Neteyam. An expression of concern briefly flashed across his face before nodding to his eldest. "I'll handle your mother. For now. Let's get him tied up, and blind folded."
"What if someone asks who we've brought?" Lo'ak was now asking uncomfortable questions.
Inhaling, Jake nodded. He was right. This was where lying factored into it, and he hated lying to the People. But it was for their benefit.
"Leave it to me. All we're doing is bringing a dreamwalker back to camp. They won't question it."
I hope they don't, thought Jake.
"And then we kill it, right?" Lo'ak added, his hand reaching for his own blade.
Jake nodded. "If he proves to be deserving of a death."
Neteyam's tail twitched. "Dad?"
"Yes, Neteyam. Come, I don't want to be out here too late."
F.O.B. Ticonderoga
The link-unit opened with Asher's face drenched with sweat.
"You're early," mentioned Wade who was standing by the computer monitors.
"Yeah."
"What happened?"
"I encountered Jake Sully."
"Uh… Danielle!" Wade cried out for her.
Danielle, adorned in the white lab coat, entered into the link room to find Asher sitting up in the link-unit with Wade beside him. "What's wrong? And why is Mr. Asher back so soon?"
"Our boy here met Jake Sully."
Danielle frowned. "Y-you have?"
"Yes ma'am."
So soon. Danielle was ill-prepared to handle the feeling that she looked somewhat lost in the eyes until she gathered her thoughts to say: "How did that even happened? I thought you were still in the forest?"
"Yeah about that," Asher said as he exited from the link-unit. "Remember when I said I was being chased by the Na'vi? Well, turns out, it was Jake."
"O-oh."
"Yeah, and we got into a scuffle."
"A scuffle?" She said it in such a way that she was frightened that he might have hurt a very important man in the eyes of the Omatikaya. "What kind of a scuffle?"
Asher was trying to squeeze his way past her when he glanced to her and answered, "well you know. Punches were thrown, kicks were given."
She cried out a: "What?!"
"What do you think a scuffle means? A poker game?" Asher answered sarcastically as he moved into the corridor. He was hungry. Too hungry to get into a verbal fisticuffs with Danielle.
"Besides," he said. "I think, no, I'm certain I hit his sons' too."
"What the hell were you thinking, Asher?!"
Wade was heard chuckling from behind them as Danielle followed Asher into the quarters' room. "Miss Danielle, I was being chased by them. Then, they cornered me. They wanted to engage in a fight. I gave it to them. Besides, your friends won."
Friend. Danielle dismissed the notion that Jake was a friend of hers.
He tossed a hand, waving at the fact that losing to the Na'vi should've made her swoon with praise for his restraint. Instead, she stood beside him, arms crossed, and a face that could kill a dog on sight.
Kneeling over a box, Asher didn't have time for this. His stomach was grumbling, and his appetite was returning with a vengeance. He looked over and found a box labelled with black marker 'FEWD'.
"Well ain't that cute," Asher noted as he began opening the lid of the box and digging through the pile of MRE packages left for them to eat.
"Mr. Asher. Do you have any idea of what you just did? You could have instigated another war!"
"I didn't."
"And how do you know?"
"He wanted to know what I had to say. I told him why I was here, and it seems like he's interested. Well, that's what I hope before I disconnected from the avatar."
He picked at a MRE package that read 'Spaghetti & Meatballs'. "Looks like I'm going to be dining good tonight."
"You hope?" She stressed in such an angry why that Asher wondered if she was deliberately pissed that he didn't allow his avatar to outright die by Jake's hands.
Standing and facing her, he held the package in his hand as he said, "What do you want me to do, Miss Danielle? Roll over for the Na'vi? Besides, didn't you say you disliked Jake? So why are you suddenly irritated that I hit him? I almost expected you to throw me a party after what I did."
She scowled. "Damnit, Mr. Asher! I didn't want you going in and intentionally seeking fights—"
"—I wasn't. They found me. Major difference."
She didn't care. "You still attacked them."
"I didn't kill them. Let's just hope they're gracious enough not to kill the avatar. Otherwise this mission is over."
Asher left the room with Danielle staring at his back. A series of violent, ugly thoughts transcended through her and if she didn't have the respect to say anything ugly, she might have very well found incredibly vulgar and choice words for him to hear. Yet, she conceded. Asher made contact with the Na'vi, a critical step to getting what she needed. To keep the Na'vi alive.
However, one thing remained. Ardmore. She needed to talk to her right way about Asher making contact with the Na'vi. Which meant that she needed to have Asher write up his report to send to Ardmore.
