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AVATAR:
LIFE GOES ON
(Part Eight)
Spider lay awake that night staring up at the ceiling of the hut. He had been forgiven for saving the life of his new family's greatest enemy. But he saw it in both Jake and Neytiri's eyes that what he had done wasn't forgotten. Not by them. And not by him. And he had yet to forgive himself. He couldn't change the past. But the past would shape the present, and the present would shape the future. The real consequences of his choice had yet to come. How many lives would be taken or ruined? He didn't know.
He had no doubt that the family would face whatever came together. But he was under no illusion of inculpability. He would cary the responsibility to the grave. That was the price he knew he must pay. But he prayed to God... to Jesus... to Eywa... to Whomever may listen that his choice wouldn't put any of his family in the grave. He knew, that to pay the price in full, he would die himself if doing so would prevent it.
He continued staring at the ceiling for a long while before sleep finally took him. Any dreams he might have had, good or bad, he didn't remember. Perhaps that was a mercy.
O O O
Parker Selfridge sat behind his desk in his spacious office in the Bridgehead City Administrative building, leaning back in his soft, comfortable vinyl office chair. He would have preferred leather, but with all life going extinct on Earth, only synthetic materials were allowed to be used in furniture manufacturing. Not that it mattered right now, anyway. He had bigger problems to worry about. Miles Quaritch was one of those problems.
He wanted so badly to choke the life out of the man that now sat in that cell in the security complex. A foolish notion, considering the man could easily have broken him in half as a human, and was now in possession of the strength and agility of a Na'vi. It didn't stop him from wanting to do it. The man infuriated him that much.
Thanks to Quaritch, Parker had nearly been fired from his role as a RDA Administrator. But the company had needed everyone with real experience dealing with the Na'vi for what had been decided while he had been en route to Earth after being driven off Pandora 14 years ago. He had been right when he had told Jake Sully that the only thing the company hated more than bad press was a bad bottom line. In this case, him having let Quaritch take over and attempt to commit genocide against the Na'vi had generated both. No matter how many non-disclosure agreements people had signed, people still talked, and the whole story made headlines all over the world. Had he not made sure to transmit the report about the declaration of military emergency, as well as formal protests against Quaritch's plans, and the timestamp of the actual military operation to destroy the Tree of Souls undeniably proving that he had done everything by the book, he would have been fired. But thanks to his attention to detail, he was allowed to keep his job, and he would be sent back to Pandora. He had undergone flash training in top-level diplomacy, and had run simulation after simulation of negotiations with the Na'vi. His flash training included every bit of cultural information the RDA had, based on Grace Augustine's meticulous documentation. That flash training would be included in every single company officer's preparation for the return.
Aside from the initial mass destruction of the landing of the first assets to return to Pandora, the plan was to leave the Na'vi alone as much as possible. It was hoped that such a display of destruction would make the Na'vi think twice about engaging. He tried to warn his superiors that Jake Sully would not allow his Na'vi to just go quietly into the night. But he was over-ruled. A buffer between the RDA and the natives needed to be established. Ample space to build needed to be cleared, and a message that the RDA was there to stay needed to be sent. That initial destructive landing would accomplish all three of those first objectives.
Now here he was. Back in charge as Administrator, charged with the responsibility to fix everything that he had been forced to allowed to fall apart last time. His late arrival was carefully planned. Because that initial destructive landing happened a full year before he had arrived on Pandoran soil, he could condemn it and tell the Na'vi that had he been there when it happened, he wouldn't have allowed it to happen.
While Quaritch had been out with his Blue Team stirring up trouble with the Metkayina, he had met with the leaders of several Na'vi clans at neutral sites, where he formally apologized for everything that had been done under his watch before, and he had given assurances that he would seek diplomatic solutions to all issues going forward. And if they would all play nice, he had every intention of keeping his word. He had made it clear that amnesty for their Toruk Makto was not possible, as Jake Sully had committed treason against his own people, and was directly responsible for too many deaths to allow him to remain free. Had Sully remained Olo'eyktan, they would have been compelled to throw that right back in his face. But Sully had exiled himself and his family from the tribe he once led. The Na'vi were under no cultural obligation to protect him.
When the survivors involved with Quaritch's failed attempt to defeat Sully had returned, he was furious. Once the other clans learned what had been done to the tulkun and the Metkayina, his words, no matter how sincere, would be seen as lies. So once again he had to make decisions that would lead to more death, which is why he had greenlighted Quaritch's plan to subvert the islolated Ash People. In a way, it played into his diplomatic plans. He had promised to help all Na'vi as much as he could. Food. Medicine. Better living conditions. He could make that happen. With the ash people, the offered aid would simply include a heavy dose of propaganda. A Na'vi civil war would draw the clans' attention, giving the RDA the breathing room it needed.
Humanity needed Pandora. That means they needed the Na'vi on their side. When things would come to a head, and he knew they would, the RDA could step in and put down one side for the favor of the other. It didn't matter what side that would be. At some point, one of them would demand RDA intervention, and that would allow a decisive military operation to wipe out the enemy while maintaining diplomatic relations with the ally.
Quaritch just needed to stay on point with this plan, and leave Sully alone. They would capture the traitor eventually, but the Na'vi needed to be pacified first. His terminal beeped, and he glanced at the screen, seeing confirmation that Quaritch would be released within the hour. He shook his head and sighed. He had little doubt that the man was going to screw things up again. Just as long as he did it far away from him. He'd deal with the fallout from it, but he had already documented the plan Quaritch had devised. He had noted that while it wasn't ideal, it at least presented a way to reduce RDA involvement in hostilities, if the peace talks failed to bear fruit.
O O O
Tuk was the first of the kids to rise the next day. She had taken to getting up early so she could prepare for her daily gathering, and to enjoy the coolness of the morning which seemed to intermingle with the warmth of the rising sun in a way that both did and did not feel natural. It somehow made a good night's rest feel all the more invigorating for the new day.
She made her way out of the hut and began her morning walk. She hadn't gone far when Spider caught up with her.
"Morning, sis," he said through his mask.
"You're up early," she said, a little surprised. "Did you not sleep well?"
Spider shook his head. "Not really. I mean, you would think I should have. God knows, I just had a terrible weight lifted from my heart. But in its place, there are other weights on me."
Tuk tilted her head to the side. When she thought about it, she understood. "You're worried about what will hppen in the future. Ronal taught me that when a storm is coming, all we can do is prepare to weather it, and trust in Eywa to see us through it."
Spider sighed. "I know. I read in the Bible that we shouldn't fear. That we should just be still and know that the Lord is God."
Tuk didn't know what to think about the human religion the Bible spoke of. Her father was a deist, as he once referred to himself. He believed that there was a higher power, and that it manifested itself different ways to different people. Though on Earth, the debate as to which deity that was had still been going on when he left. But he believed that here on Pandora, that power had made itself known as Eywa. Her mother didn't even think about any other religion being true. Neither did her grandmother, Mo'at. Tuk herself was only beginning to understand the power of faith. She had seen things to prove that it was real. But she was not prepared to rule anything out, as something bigger than she could imagine always felt like it was there, just out of reach and sight. For some reason, she felt a need to talk to Kiri about it. "They sound like good words to live by," she responded.
Spider smiled and shrugged. "So were your words last night."
This caught Tuk by surprise. She hadn't really been thinking about what to say as she weighed in on the family issue of Spider's actions. They just came to her as she was speaking them. But it was her new friend, Jedru, who had planted the thoughts behind them into her mind as they had spent time together that day. she told Spider as much.
"He sounds like a smart kid," he responded. "I'd like to meet him."
Tuk smiled. She reached out and took spider's hand. "Then come on, I promised to meet him at the pier this morning."
Spider couldn't help but smile back. Tuk was changing. There was no denying that. She carried herself with a much more mature demeanor than she had back in the forest. She often talked with a more serious tone, like Kiri usually did. This no doubt came from his little sister spending so much time with the Metkayina Tsahik. But in moments like this, her playful child-like nature would surface and she was her old self. Spider envied her. He didn't think that he would ever be able to be his old self again. Not after the things he had seen. The things he couldn't stop from being done. But he would not be unhappy for his adopted siblings when they could take joy in things. He followed Kiri down to the pier.
O O O
Jedru stoon on the pier, looking out to sea at the approaching storm clouds. This would not be a good morning for harvesting, as the storm would reach the island before much progress could be made. He had made his mind up that he would resume his old schedule of going out in late afternoon. He had planned to talk to Tuk about joining him, and when she would see the storm on the horizon, she'd probably agree. He had really enjoyed spending time with the girl the previous day. She was so open. So welcoming of his insight. The others were always telling him that he thought too much. That he should just learn to hunt and to fight, and leve the thinking to the elders. Some of the other boys even teased him that he'd never find a mate if he didn't learn to be physical. The oldeer boys found that statement amusing, and he suspected that the words had some sort of double meaning, which he would understand when he got older. But Tuk seemed to really like listening to his thoughts. She ws different. Not just because of the color of her skin and the thin shape of her tail, but the way she acted. He knew the story of Toruk Makto. Her father was once human, but thanks to Eywa, his spirit now resided in the Avatar body he once merely wore as a piece of clothing. The way Tuk thought clearly had been influenced by the man. He was grateful. Because for the first time in his life, he had made a true friend who didn't care that he was small for his age. Or that he thought more than others of his age. And the way she would smile at him made him feel good about himself. He seldom thought about what it would be like having a mate. He was still a few years away from that being a priority in his life. But if having a mate was anywhere near as fulfilling as having a friend like Tuk, then he figured it would be a very good thing indeed.
Hearing the voices of Tuk and an older-sounding male approaching from behind, he turned to face them. He smile at Tuk when his eyes caught hers, and she smiled back. "There he is," she said to the human who was walking beside her. This was clearly her adopted brother, Spider. He wanted to meet him sooner than this, but until now, there was a sense of tension around him that made him feel uneasy. Not scared. He had just gotten a strong impression that it was not good timing for words. He stepped forward and prepared to greet the human.
Spider immediately made the formal Navi gesture of greeting and spoke in his most formal dialect. This Na'vi boy was someone special to Tuk, or at least, he felth that he eventually would be. "I see you, Jedru. May the All-Mother smile upon our first meeting."
Jedru's eyes widened at the respectfully polite formality of the human's words. He didn't know many English words. It was a relief to him that he would not need them to communicate. "I see you, Spider," he replied, just as formally. "I thank the all-mother for allowing us to meet."
"This isn't good," said Tuk as she eyed the horizon.
"What isn't," Spider asked.
"A storm will be here within a couple of hours," Jedru said. "We won't get much harvesting done this morning."
Spider gave it some thought. "Why not go out in the evening, after it passes."
"I'm fine with that," said Tuk.
Jedru smiled. "It is a good thought. In the meantime, why don't we go back to the village center and enjoy the morning together."
Spider felt awkward for a moment. These were little kids who probably wanted to just have fun. He was so much older than both of them. But the Na'vi boy suggested it, and he didn't want to risk offending him, so he agreed. After feeling so isolated and alone since after the battle, even hanging out with kids seemed to be a pleasant prospect. But this Jedru seemed to speak with a much more confident tone than most Na'vi of his age. And the three of them were small, so it wouldn't feel as awkward as it would had they all been of the same species. Besides, he figured that it would be nice to have something light-hearted and fun to share with Kiri later.
"Sounds like fun," he said, and the three left the pier together.
