Her jaw tightened as she tied a tourniquet around a female hunter's arm. The poor woman's arm was mauled and Dominika found herself wincing. Whatever had hit her did enough damage to almost completely chop off her arm, as it barely hung on.
Tsu'tey announced their mating a week ago, considering the facts surrounding her, they took it really well. Tsu'tey had also told her about transferring the leadership to Jake. Now that had caught her off guard. Wasn't the leadership everything to him?
Dominika sighed and stood up, "They're all yours."
The healer gave her a nod in thanks before tending to the woman.
The redhead closed her eyes in thought as she made her way to where she knew Tsu'tey usually was. Call it a mates intuition, but she almost always knew where he was. Or perhaps it was due to his predictable nature.
She found him in a separate area off to the side, and he was talking to one of the other clan leaders. Most of them had left already, after promptly receiving medical attention, but this clan leader and his clan lived a little farther away. Don't they live in a cave? Dominika thought to herself, leaning against a tree while watching the men.
Tsu'tey glanced at her, relief flooding his eyes. Dominika raised an eyebrow before giving him a short nod, Ah, right. This is the talkative leader.
Dominika straightened herself and walked over, purposefully putting more grace into her movements than usual, "I apologize for interrupting, Yemuk."
Yemuk smiled, noticing the young redhead's small smile, "Not at all, I need to go speak with my hunters."
Yemuk walked out rather briskly, causing Tsu'tey to let out a deep breath while Dominika smirked, "I vonder what he vas thinking." She said, suddenly bursting into a fit of laughter.
"Your movements did not help." Tsu'tey responded, his thick accent bringing her out of her fit.
She smirked and rubbed his cheek, "You know you don't have to speak like that."
"I know." He said, rubbing her hand with his own.
"Then why are you?" She emphasized each word with a light poke to his chest.
"Isn't it easier for you?" He asked, curiosity in his eyes.
She let out a little snort in amusement, "No, English is probably the hardest language for me. It sounds so different from my birth language. It's vhy I have such a strong accent."
"Then this is easier?" He responded, going back to his language.
Dominika smiled, "Most definitely." She folded her arms, "Now, what's this about the transference?"
He blinked in confusion until it dawned on him, "Jake and Neytiri, have a stronger-"
"You just want to spend more time with me without the interruptions that come with being the leader." Dominika interrupted an all-knowing smile on her face. "You greedy man." She fell into yet another fit of laughter as Tsu'tey's mouth hung open.
"How did you…?" He began, but she held her hand up.
"Hush." She grabbed his chin, "You couldn't be more obvious. You refuse to wake up for half of your meetings, and when you do, you drag me along. Oh! Another one is how you canceled half the meetings to move them to a later hour."
Tsu'tey closed his mouth in defiance, "What are you going to do about it?"
She let go of his chin, taking a few steps back before shrugging, "Nothing."
"Nothing?" The word was repeated slowly as he looked at her.
"Yep! If anything, I was wanting more attention." Purple dusted her cheeks as she smiled.
Without warning, she jumped him and slammed her lips onto his. Her hands traveling up and down as soon as he released them.
As the two made out, a situation was unraveling back at the newly abandoned Hell's Gate.
At Hell's Gate.
"Can't I get any good news?!" Grace asked, frowning deeply while Max worked at a computer.
She had wraps around her chest and stomach area from where the bullet hit, as well as a leg cast. The leg was less of a concern, it had happened when she was trying to save a native during the attack, but it wasn't as bad as her chest wound.
Grace folded her arms, "Shit." She looked closer at the message, "It's written in Russian."
Max shook his head, "Let me try translating this." After typing a few things in, the message changed to English.
Grace read it over rather quickly and her face paled a few shades, "Goddammit. You have got to be kidding me!" She held in the scream that threatened to escape, "I've got to go tell her."
"Can she handle it?" Max hurried off of the chair, dodging a now broken cigarette.
Grace pushed through the doors, face locked in a glare, "Yes. Even if she doesn't, they aren't here yet. We still have a good while."
The scientist practically stomped towards the lab. This pissed her off, only a couple weeks after the fight and she has another problem.
Max turned on one of the link beds and nodded to her, "You're good to go in a minute."
"What makes them think they can threaten her like that?" Grace muttered, rubbing the bandages on her forearm in thought.
Max glanced at her, "She was their hero, their legend. To find out that she wasn't coming back on the flight home must've killed them."
Grace looked at him with a frown, "Sure, I bet they were brought to tears."
"That's not what I meant. I mean, imagine someone, someone that you idolize was injured. That someone, left home to be safe and was now in the hands of a different country. They must've talked to them when she left, and I bet they agreed to keep her safe. So, upon hearing that she could possibly be dead or stranded." Max paused as Grace rubbed her eyes.
"Still," She began, "They knew the consequences that could come with this, they had to have known this!" Grace walked over to the link bed, "This, is ridiculous, they do not own her." She finished with a frown and climbed into the bed.
Max sighed, hitting a button before leaning back in his chair.
Time Skip
Grace dodged each native that rushed around, Even after a week or so they still have so many. She thought, lightly touching a woman's arm, "Where's Dominika?"
The huntress glanced up at her in mild surprise, before nodding, "I last saw her over there, she was with Tsu'tey and Yemuk."
Grace followed the female's eyes and saw the young couple talking to a large group of hunters, "Thanks." She stated, and the huntress simply nodded once more.
Dominika's ears twitched at the sound of the woman's voice, "Grace! I didn't think you would be out here by now!"
Grace gave her a smirk, "You and me both, kid." She frowned upon remembering the real reason she was there, "We recently got a transmission in."
Dominika's eyes narrowed, "Vhat? Do you know who sent it?"
Grace nodded her head, "Yep, but I think you need to see it to believe it. I didn't believe it at first, let me tell you that."
"That bad, huh?" Dominika murmured, squeezing her mate's hand in thought.
Grace let out a small sigh, "Max and I have no idea how they managed to hear about this and respond back...All within a couple weeks!"
"They vould have to possess better technology than, vell, anybody in order to do that." Dominika stated, closing her eyes as she thought about who could have sent the message.
Right as she did so, she remembered something. Something she never thought would be possible, "They shouldn't have that completed by now…"
Grace heard her and wheeled to look at the redhead, "Dominika, what shouldn't be completed by now?"
"Something about a network...The Russian government vas talking about it one day, they declared that it vould revolutionize interstellar communication." She shook her head in disbelief, "That vas a little bit over a decade ago, so they could've finished it...But they shouldn't be able to get here."
"So, you're saying that they have the ability to do this?" Grace asked, trying not to sound worried.
Dominika was silent at that, leaning against Tsu'tey as her eyes closed, "I'll take that as a yes." Grace muttered, beginning to turn away.
"We will be there, Grace."
Grace raised an eyebrow at the taller male before nodding, "Got it."
With Jake
As his ikran landed, two more calls sounded above him. Dominika swiftly landed with a blank look on her face, followed by Tsu'tey who mirrored his mate's expression.
"Wha-?" His voice fell when Tsu'tey gave him a cold glare.
The former marine turned away as his eyes scanned the abandoned base. It's kind of weird seeing it like this… He thought as his eyes landed on a short, slim, limping figure.
"Good. You showed." Grace commented, directing the comment more towards Jake than anything.
"Yeah, what's this all about?" He asked as the scientist folded her arms.
"Dominika and Tsu'tey already know this, but I assume you weren't filled in." Two shakes of the head confirmed that and she frowned a little, "We recently received a transmission. The message was in Russian, while that is suspicious already, it's contents are the problem here."
"What, her country want her back or something? Cause if so...It's a little late for that." Jake smirked, but it fell at frown that still remained on her face.
"They're pissed. Big time." Grace said, unfolding her arms and rubbing her forehead, "It's a threat message, that much was clear with the translation."
Dominika raised an eyebrow, "Any names mentioned?"
"As far as I could tell, no, no there wasn't." Grace replied, pulling out a device of some sort.
She pressed a button and a blue holographic screen expanded until it was large enough for the lone female na'vi to see.
Dominika's eyes scanned over it rather quickly until they stopped at one part, "...Vhat?" Her face contorted into a snarl, "Eti ublyudki! Kak oni smeyut!"
"English." Jake reminded her, causing her to glare at him. He raised his arms innocently, a smirk on his face.
"Unless you vant to know a new swear word, I'm not translating that." Dominika stated with a growl before looking at Grace, "About the message, it seems they are angry that the U.S allowed this to happen. They claim that the U.S did not uphold their part of the deal. So yes, they are pissed. Very much so."
"What are they going to do?" Grace asked, a new feeling of worry filling her.
Dominika closed her eyes momentarily, "One of two things. Blow the U.S to smithereens, or...or come here."
"Are you serious?" Jake muttered in shock.
"Completely. Remember vhat I told you about my country?" Dominika's voice grew quiet, "This is something they vould do." She looked at Grace, "Do you have a way of replying to the message?"
"I should, the contacting info is in there. Let me try something." Grace shrunk the screen down to her size before quickly typing something in, not noticing the look of disbelief on Jake's face when she mentioned that, "Alright, just say what you want and it will be translated."
Dominika nodded, causing everyone to move away so she could talk. She frowned as she took a deep breath, trying to come up with something. Has to be somewhat strong, though, most of the power came from the person speaking. At least that's how it worked in Russia…
The redhead shook her head, folding her arms with a nod, satisfied with her thoughts.
"How dare you…" She began, "And here I thought you vould vant me to be happy." She paused, "I never dreamt that I vould be so wrong. That you vould threaten an entire country, over a couple hundred thousand idiots mistakes! Not millions, but the filth that happened to represent that country. There is so much good in the people's hearts, good that ve Russians clearly lack. I even lacked it until my accident. It made me realize that everyone has good in them, even those who hurt us!" A few tears gathered in her eyes, "Everyone has a reason to fight, and you are currently lacking a good one. So, if you don't vant to find yourself hated by the entire world over nothing, I suggest you accept that this vas, not their fault! And if you even dare come here, I will not spare you any mercy. I am happy here and I vill not allow you and your selfish hearts ruin this. Remember this, remember vhat I am saying before you decide to kill innocent people." The redhead turned her head away, allowing the device to translate her message.
Her eyes met Jake's, and the memories of her being on Pandora surfaced, "I hope you choose well, if you do not, may God have mercy on you. 'Cause you're gonna need it."
This shouldn't be happening. It's too soon, we've barely recovered from the battle. Dominika thought, a pained look on her face, We aren't prepared for this, we could actually die this time.
Stop panicking, Red.
Dominika's body moved on its own, her eyes meeting Vasilisa's ancient ones. How can I not panic?! The People have lost so much, and now to learn that they could all be destroyed because of me?...I shouldn't be here.
Vasilisa let out a snort, Seriously? If you weren't here many, MANY, more would have died. Vasilisa circled the woman, wearing a stupid grin as her eyes bore into the Russian's, The Titans are awake, and they are bored. If those demons come here, they will not be able to step foot on this land, instead, that very foot will have a viperwolf on it.
Dominika managed a small laugh, They are that loud about their boredom?
The Titan rolled its many eyes, Loud is a polite term for it. She shook her head in irritation, It hurts sometimes because they are using the connection between us Titans. In simple terms, we can hear each other in our minds, and they are very loud.
Dominika's face morphed into one of slight displeasure, Sounds painful when you put it that way.
You'd think that they too would be in pain, but no, they act like nothing's wrong. The Titan muttered, a growl sounding from her throat.
Dominika shook her head, looking at the message on the hologram once more, "Let's just hope this goes vell."