Disorderly Solutions — Chapter XXIII
Quarry 3 "Red Stone" — That Same Afternoon
'You have a deal.'
Asher couldn't believe it. Did he really get away with convincing this old man to give him the Tipani woman? After everything Sato did to convince Asher that he was going to keep her here?
This was almost… unbelievable.
Because it had to be. There was no possible way Sato was doing it out of the kindness of his heart, not for a second. Not after what Asher had just witnessed with what he was doing with the Na'vi.
"Alright," Sato said, breaking Asher's concentration. "Come with me. We will retrieve the Na'vi woman for you." The old man motioned for the diplomat to follow him back to the main facility of the quarry.
Reluctantly and without reason not to, Asher followed him, but as soon as he took a step into the sunlight, he flinched. Not because of the light, but it appeared that, as the day wore on, the effects of the painkillers were wearing off, causing him to feel the bruising, the aches, and the brokenness of his body caused by the fall. The heat just so happened to remind him of that pain after staying in the shade for a considerable amount of time.
He knew he had to hold on a little longer if he planned on getting out of here with the woman. But for now, as they walked across the gravel path, Asher remained silent as he dwelled on Sato's words.
Because deep inside his mind, the words lingered there like a bad taste in his mouth. One that he couldn't spit out even if he tried scraping it with a rusty bayonet. And no matter how hard he tried to maintain a stoic appreciation for what Sato did for him, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had just walked into an elaborate trap, masterminded by Sato's mercy.
One explanation Asher used to reassure himself that this wasn't some kind of trap was that he had gained custody of the Tipani woman, which should have been enough. However, as Asher pondered on it further, now that he wasn't thinking about the quarry or the Na'vi or the skin of the avatar, he realized that Sato didn't even flinch when Asher suggested he should release her into his custody for the final time.
Come to think of it, Sato didn't even blink when he agreed; he simply stared at Asher with a cold, predatory intensity, like a shark eyeing its meal.
Hell, he didn't even put up a fight to keep her. All he did was argue that he had invested considerable amounts of resources into healing her. Which was surprisingly gracious of him to do so, and Asher was forever grateful that Sato did, but the diplomat inside of Asher couldn't help but wonder if that was Sato's way of getting under Asher's skin and irritating him by insinuating he was somehow stealing Sato's prized possession.
If that was the case, then it wasn't working.
On the other hand, maybe this whole ordeal might've been Sato's way of dragging out the possibility of releasing her for as long as possible, knowing that he was going to do so all along?
But… why?
As Asher's boots crunched over the gravel, his ears folded back, fearing what the answer might be on the other side of this question.
Because the more he thought about it, the more he got the feeling that Sato was using the woman as nothing more than a bargaining chip to gauge how much Asher himself was willing to do to get her back.
And Asher knew deep down it wasn't much.
They both understood that it would take time to receive a response once Asher sent his question over the superluminal network array. A response that required two years if Earth and Pandora were in perfect alignment on a good Sunday afternoon and up to three years if they were frustratingly far apart. But in either case, long enough for anything to transpire differently on Pandora, including Asher and his treaty, which, by every account, was intended to be wrapped up by the end of August.
Maybe Sato was well aware of this, and perhaps more importantly, recognized that Asher didn't have all of his ducks in a row, despite his best attempts to project otherwise—an admission that Asher loathed but had to acknowledge as that was the absolute truth.
Because, in reality, Asher needed the woman to salvage the possibility of a treaty. And if he returned without her. Then Jake wouldn't listen to him, and neither would the Na'vi. Effectively ending any hope for a treaty and ultimately, the prospect of peace on this moon.
That is, of course, if there was a treaty to be had once he returned back to High Camp. As Asher still needed to evaluate if Jake and the Na'vi's involvement in overthrowing the RDA all those years ago was legally within the law. Otherwise, they could forget about the treaty.
Luckily for them, Sato's work with the Na'vi was slowly moving the needle in their favor. While it was undoubtedly a positive development for the Na'vi, Asher also believed it would help him win some good will points with them by bringing the woman back, finally proving to them that he wasn't here to harm them.
Then there was the treaty itself. A treaty that might as well not exist. Because as it stands, Jake wasn't on board with it, and Ardmore's reluctance to engage in a treaty with the Na'vi was painfully evident in the way she attributed to the treaty to that of wiping her ass with toilet paper.
As such, it rendered Asher without a means to talk his way out of a gunfight if it came down to that.
Still, Asher needed to try. But Sato wasn't making it easy, and that included his bizarre experiment with the Na'vi. An experiment that Asher was not in favor of, but something he couldn't exactly force Sato to stop, as there was, as far as he was concerned, nothing illegal about it. Not unless the UNE said otherwise, which, again, was a long way from actually hearing their answer.
This left Asher entirely defenseless in his case against Sato, and they both knew it.
Now—If he did, if Asher somehow successfully smooth-talked Sato into releasing the Na'vi held at this quarry. Then who knows what kind of consequence that would bring. The Na'vi, who had been taken against their will—or as Sato put it, "captured"—wouldn't simply dismiss the situation as a mistake and move on. They would share their experience with their fellow Na'vi, and as history had shown, it wouldn't sit well with the rest of their community.
There would be hell to pay.
And then blood would again be on Asher's hands. That, he certainly didn't need, especially when everything between the Na'vi and the RDA hung by a thread, slowly being severed by the stupidity of the RDA.
Finally, there was the matter concerning Jake Sully. If that man ever caught wind of this, what was he prepared to do? How far was he willing to go to get them back?
Asher couldn't be certain whether Jake truly cared enough about other Na'vi to start a war with the RDA over them. And there was also no way in hell Asher was about to gamble the fate of the entire moon on unsubstantiated assumptions to make the claim that Jake was going to do or not do anything about it.
Not when he was this close to bringing the Tipani woman back to High Camp.
Besides, when they returned, maybe things will start to turn around for the better?
But then, a sudden realization struck Asher like a bolt of dread when he contemplated the repercussions of bringing her back to High Camp. Jake, who was going to obviously ask questions, would undoubtedly inquire about her whereabouts, and as a diplomat, Asher was not about to lie to him.
Either way, Jake was bound to find out, and so were the Na'vi at High Camp.
Shit.
This was going to escalate into a war.
And maybe... that's exactly what Sato wanted. But that didn't make sense either. Sato appeared heavily inclined to save the Na'vi. After all, Sato had just introduced Asher to a Na'vi man named David, who was wearing human clothing and spoke with a distinct American accent. Furthermore, Sato had plans to 'help' the Na'vi, essentially rescuing them from what he considered their 'barbaric' roots. So, why would he put them in harm's way if that was his intention?
If Sato's purpose was to provoke Jake into a war, then dozens of Na'vi were going to die. And that didn't align with Sato's character. Not as far as Asher could discern.
Not unless Ardmore was behind the decision?
No, Asher told himself. Ardmore had no interest in hunting down every last known Na'vi on this moon, thanks to the UNE's massive stipulation that prevented the RDA from initiating conflict with the Na'vi. They could only defend themselves if attacked, but not actively engage in hostilities.
In other words, it would be stupid of her to do so.
Without an accurate answer, Asher leaned towards the most apparent explanation:
That Sato was hoping Asher would convey the belief to the Na'vi that no harm was brought upon the Tipani Woman when she returned. That he wanted Asher to assure them that she had been well taken care of and left without any harm, all thanks to a single man who, in their eyes, represented the 'Sky People.' But Asher had his doubts about whether this would make any difference. If the Na'vi didn't trust someone who looked like them, why would they trust Sato any differently?
And yet, as he followed Sato back to the facility, Asher couldn't help but believe that this was the most likely answer. Sato appeared egotistical enough to see himself as a Moses-like figure, someone who would cast themselves as the hero in their own story, and alongside it, show the Na'vi that humans were their saviors.
That made sense.
At the same time, Sato was not some toothless baron because what Asher didn't know, Sato did, and as such, Asher needed to play it cool without overcompensating anything that might give himself away to the old man.
For now, that was his best strategy. If it meant ensuring the woman's safe escape from this place, as well as his own, Asher was willing to stroke Sato's ego long enough to satisfy him with the outcome. To make him feel as though he was in control.
While these swirling thoughts and ideas filled Asher's mind, the pain in his ribs intensified to the point that he found himself bent over, struggling to catch his breath, and before anyone could notice, Asher forced himself to stand upright, hoping to endure it long enough to find a place to sit down and alleviate the agony before he really found himself in trouble. Unfortunately, this only resulted in a disorienting sensation that made the world seem to spin around him.
As soon as they stepped into the shade beside the building, Asher asked almost sheepishly, "Do you have any food or water?"
Sato glanced back at Asher, his gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny, then broke into a grin and signaled to one of his nearby aides.
"Fetch this man a bottle of water and some food," he ordered.
"Yes, sir."
"You don't look too well, Mr. Asher," Sato observed, concern underlining his voice. "Why don't you take a seat?" He pointed to a nearby crate, which was suitable for Asher's stature.
Glancing to the green crate, Asher winced as he held his side and made his way over to it. "My ribs," he explained, his voice strained. "They hurt like hell."
Sato nodded knowingly. "That's to be expected when you've broken them."
As Asher reached out to steady himself against the crate, he slowly lowered himself down, taking deep breaths to manage the pain while trying to maintain composure despite the intense discomfort.
"The patch you have around your torso," Sato said, pointing to Asher's chest. "Squeezes slightly to ensure stability of the muscles surrounding the ribs. But I also suspect you have not eaten in that body for quite some time."
Asher, looking past the strands of his hair, nodded. "Do I have you to thank for saving the avatar?"
"No. My people did not know you were there."
"Then how did you find the Na'vi woman?"
Sato thought for a moment, carefully considering his next words before choosing: "We have our ways."
"What ways are those?"
Sato leaned in and whispered, "we have our ways, Mr. Asher. Legal ways. But our ways nonetheless."
"Legal ways?"
Sato refused to answer him any further. It was neither an implication of such matters nor guilt by silence. But rather than indulge Asher's fantasies further, Sato instead seized the opportunity to ask Asher a few questions of his own.
"How does a diplomat like you get sent out here to Pandora? Aren't there more qualified professionals?"
The avatar's tail swung side-to-side, his thoughts pleading with Asher not to answer.
"Qualified?" Asher groaned out. "I guess serving in the military and saving the Earth doesn't qualify?"
"Forgive me, Mr. Asher, I didn't mean to suggest you were not qualified yourself."
"It sure sounded like it."
Sato grinned. "I mean, as someone who has done more than enough, why chose to come out here, four light years away from our Earth, to deal with the Na'vi? Certainly you could have picked any other assignment?"
Asher shrugged. "I believe in peace."
"I don't believe you do. Peace is a myth, choked on a miasma of beliefs we tell each other. A kind-of hope that one day, it comes true. But you and I know it never does. It's against our nature, and it's against their nature."
"Oh really?" Asher said, breathing in and out through his mouth to compensate for the pain that radiated into his neck. "So now you suddenly know who I am?"
"I know the kind of people who play pretend to get what they want. So what is it that really brought you out here, Mr. Asher. Hmh? I don't believe it's for a paycheck. If it was, you would be on this moon trying to be like me."
Asher laughed. "You're so full of shit."
Sato didn't care. He was trying to get under Asher's skin again. To find out more about him, and Asher knew what he was trying to do.
"Is it because you feel sorry for the Na'vi?"
That was partially true but not the whole reason why he even bothered coming out here.
"No."
Sato held his chin, rubbing it for a moment before going 'ah'. "I know what it is. It's you, isn't it?" And before Sato could elaborate, his aide returned with a bottle of water and a wrapped package of food.
"Here you go, sir."
Asher thanked the man and carefully placed both items on his lap. He began to peel back the plastic when he was struck by the familiar aroma wafting out from the package.
"Meatloaf and green beans?" Asher said with a hint of amusement before coughing from the pain. "You guys really spare no expenses out here."
"Best of the best," Sato noted with a cheerful tone. "Is she almost ready?"
The aide nodded. "I was told to give her thirty minutes."
"That will do then."
Asher unscrewed the bottle and began chugging it. Clearly, he was far thirstier than the body let on as streams of water fell from the sides of his mouth.
"About earlier," Sato said, his gaze shifting upward to Asher's avatar. "Forgive me for touching your face. I have studied the Na'vi for most of my life, and while my job here on Pandora is to oversee our mining operations, I have always been drawn to the Na'vi and, admittedly—maybe even shamelessly—I have been envious of the avatar program."
"Why?" Asher was now prodding for an answer. But he had to be careful and avoid the verbal landmines that came with the risk of doing so.
"Are you not fascinated with the Na'vi? I imagine, being a driver, you are."
Asher didn't really find himself all that interested in them, but he would be lying if he wasn't in the least intrigued by them.
"Not really," Asher answered, then followed it up with, "but lately, they're kinda… I don't know. Interesting, I guess?"
Sato chuckled, an unexpected informality from a man who typically wore expensive suits. "They get to you. I should know. David and I? We've been friends since we found him," he admitted, a hint of genuine warmth in his voice. "I never thought I'd have a Na'vi friend, but, here I am with one. If you'd ask me thirty years ago that I was going to be talking regularly with a Na'vi, I would tell you that you're out of your mind. But we do, and I mean, every single day. You'll be surprised to find that he's quite fond of our ways."
"And what ways are those?" Asher asked.
Now Sato had him by the hook.
"He's seen the Na'vi up close and personal," Sato began. "They've all rejected him. He claims they don't want him for his behavior, which I do not understand what that means. His clothing choices. Even the way he talks, which he has completely forgotten his native tongue by the way. Doesn't know a single word in Na'vi. But interestingly, he believes Humanity holds the key to saving his people."
"Saving? From whom? From what?"
"Mr. Asher," Sato said, tilting his head, expecting that a diplomat like himself should've been keeping up with their discussions. "From themselves, of course. Have you not been following?"
Asher did. But he was more curious what was driving Sato decisions, particularly with handing the Tipani woman to him. If there was more to uncover, then Asher was going to play naïve about it.
"I don't see how," Asher said, "The Na'vi from what I've seen are doing nothing to hurt themselves or us."
Sato stood still for a moment, disagreeing with the sentiment before finally allowing himself to clear his throat. "That is the ideological camouflage that Dr. Augustine has long propagated through the annals of Na'vi myth. That they don't attack unless provoked."
Without a spoon or a fork to use, Asher scooped some of the food into his mouth, chewed on it, then swallowed before following up on Sato's assessment on the Na'vi.
"I mean, sure. Yeah. To tell you the truth, Mr. Sato. I've been attacked by them twice already without ever attacking them."
Sato's eyes lit up. "You see? They are savages, Mr. Asher, but..." He kicked a pebble with his boot, watching it roll over the gravel. "...they do have a soul. And I wish for nothing more than to bring that soul to the surface while suppressing their savagery."
"Humans can be savages too," Asher observed, his finger inadvertently smeared with food as he gestured toward Sato.
Sato expressed a gross look before giving a sideways nod. "They can be. It is most unfortunate that our species is still drawn to war like moths to the light."
"I know the feeling," Asher conceded.
Sato then posed a more pointed question, his tone slightly uncertain. "Do you believe what I'm doing is... moral?"
Asher pondered the question for a moment, his mouth moving as he chewed and then swallowed a bite of food. "It's not for me to decide."
Sato's grin widened. "Ah, ever the neutral party."
"That's my job," Asher added and continued, "By the way, you almost had me figured out. What's this about me being here because of … me?"
Sato slipped his hands into his pocket and smirked. "I highly suspect you'll find that out before I do."
"Cryptic," Asher said with a faint hint of sarcasm beneath the masking pain.
There was nothing to figure out. Asher had a job to do. He got picked and arrived to Pandora with the added bonus of driving an avatar—which, while cool, wore off its welcome after the first psionic delirium crap.
No. There was truly no other reason that he was here than finish the job and go home.
The air was cold. It clung to her as death. Making it impossible to move the weary muscles beneath the broken skin. A repugnant stench hung over her, penetrating her mask and filling her nose with an assortment of repulsive smells, each one stronger than the last, causing her toes to curl and her throat to tighten in rebuke.
Directly above, an unforgiving light cast a cruel glare upon Kxeyìn, making it impossible to see exactly where she was. Her vision slipped with the smeary blur of grogginess as she looked about. The oppressive light made it hard to see. It was too intense. Compelling Kxeyìn to shut her eyes and turn away. An attempt that was futile as she soon found out that her arms were bound, rendering her incapable of shielding her face. Her legs too were pinned down, preventing any chance of escape. Covering her was an abrasive texture in the form of some kind of fabric. It scratched at her skin with merciless fervor. Mocking her attempts as she tried everything in her own power to find a way to escape.
Beside her, a short, small, and grotesque creature stood staring at her with a smile that only fueled her rage to reach out and snap its insignificant little neck. She wanted nothing more than that and also to escape, but they had cruelly denied her both opportunities.
It was through the Great Mother's wisdom that allowed her daughter to retain control over her voice. She use it to scream at the creature, which only summoned more of them, each one dressed in a peculiar attire with concealing masks. Her cries persisted, her fangs bared in a menacing display, a stark warning that she would not hesitate to defend herself if they dared lay a hand on her.
It didn't take her more than a split second to know where she was, and like the ancestral instinct before her, she was repelled by such sights and sounds, causing her to revolt to her environment. Violently.
"LET ME GO!" She screamed in Na'vi.
The creatures did not understand, and their hands ran over her body. Some even holding her down. She writhed with anger, her breathing fogging the mask strapped to her face.
Suddenly, an overpowering, warm, and soothing sensation calmed her. A needle from an unseen hand was removed from her arm, and soon, the creatures left her alone. She was forced to stare at the ceiling, the light now dimming, her thoughts slowly drifting away.
Several minutes later, a Na'vi woman entered the room. She was dressed in Sky People clothing: a plain white shirt with the RDA logo front and center, and green shorts to cover her lower body modestly. As she stepped into the room, her movements were deliberately gentle, producing a soft 'plomp' with each step as she made her way towards the bed. She was also without shoes, a conscious decision the woman made to ensure that Kxeyìn's hearing was not crowded by the idea that another sawtute was in the room.
In one arm, she cradled a white brace meant for Kxeyìn's leg. In another hand, she clutched a pair of crutches.
An easy, humble smile soon graced behind the woman's mask as she turned her gaze toward Kxeyìn, who only now vaguely registered the newcomer's presence.
Astonished by the unexpected sight of another Na'vi, Kxeyìn instinctively tried to reach her own forehead in greeting, only to be thwarted by the shackle that had been placed there, both for her own safety and the safety of others.
The woman appeared slightly older, though not significantly so, judging by her appearance and the softness of her voice that warmly portrayed herself to Kxeyìn as a Na'vi not here to hurt her. But what was troubling Kxeyìn was the unsettling fact that both she and this woman now found themselves inside a Sky People building, dressed in the ugly and irritating clothing of their captors.
"You were close to death," the woman explained, addressing the question that weighed heavily on Kxeyìn's mind. "They saved your life."
"Who saved my life?"
"The sawtute."
Kxeyìn's ears flattened. She refused to believe it. "No. They are only capable of death."
The woman remained silent, laying the brace on the bed and putting aside the crutches against the frame before stepping around to remove the blanket that covered Kxeyìn up to her chest.
"But they did save you," the woman said again as she leaned over to remove the zip tie cuffs around Kxeyìn's wrist.
As she listened, Kxeyìn's gaze naturally drifted downward, finding herself covered by a similar shirt. She tried to tug at it, pinch it, and pull it off, but it clung stubbornly to her body. She then felt the woman's hand lightly resting over her own, stopping her as the woman attempted to shift Kxeyìn's focus away and onto her.
Poor girl, the woman thought behind the veil of a soft smile when she caught sight of Kxeyìn's injuries.
"When they brought you here," the woman started to say in an accent that was unfamiliar to Kxeyìn, "You were barely breathing. Your life was almost gone."
"Wh-who are you?"
"I am Tuo, of the Tawkami," the woman introduced herself, placing her hand over her chest in a customary greeting. "What is yours?"
Kxeyìn had to think about the name 'Tawkami' before realizing who they were. Intrigued, she shifted in her bed, trying to get a better look at the woman to verify if she was who she said she was. Tracing her attention over the woman's face, Kxeyìn found that it was void of markings, of jewelry that the Tawkami were famous for. Rather instead, her face held a reserved expression, mitigated by the lines that stretched around the contours of her cheeks, suggesting to Kxeyìn that she had been through more than a lot.
"Tawkami?" Kxeyìn said, her ears slowly rising. "Did you not lose your home to the demons of the sky? What are you doing here? Why are you helping them?"
Tuo's expression softened into a subtle frown as Kxeyìn didn't immediately respond to her question, but she understood the curiosity in Kxeyìn's eyes and decided to indulge her.
"They did," Tuo began, addressing Kxeyìn's first question, "our ancestral home was destroyed. We escaped, desperate to reach the seas, but they found us again. We feared greatly that we would die that day, but without the Great Mother, we would have not known about the mercy she saw in the hearts of these sawtute. Our Tsahìk instructed us not to fight. After we laid down our weapons, the sawtute took us. Here. To this place. They claimed it was our new home, as forgiveness for destroying it in the process of claiming these lands. Not a home of the forest, yes… but close to it. We now live in wooden homes, without metal, without the coldness of this place. With my family, with my friends. Great Mother wanted to bless us with another day of life. I thank the Tsahìk that we listened. If we had failed to listen, then you would not be speaking to me."
Kxeyìn's expression revealed her confusion. "How does Great Mother know the hearts of demons?"
"They are as us. Not with the pure of heart you will find between our People, but of a heart that you will be familiar with."
Kxeyìn did not believe it and pointed out the flaw in her argument. "They destroyed your home."
Tuo nodded, acknowledging the painful truth.
Kxeyìn persisted, "Instead of choosing to fight them, you allowed them to take your People as captives?"
"We are not captives here," Tuo emphasized, her voice holding conviction. "Our choices were few. Either we fight and die, or we live another day. Great Mother helped us choose."
It sounded like an excuse to her ears. Disturbed by this belief, Kxeyìn leaned up from the bed, her gaze fixated seriously on Tuo as her voice trembled out the words. "Death is preferable than to live here as their captives."
Feeling the shirt rubbing against her skin again, she reached down to the hem and tried to pull it off, but her injuries and her inexperience with wearing such dastardly clothing caught her in an awkward struggle.
"I will not become a captive!" Kxeyìn yelled.
Tuo could see the wounds of her torso and quickly helped Kxeyìn lower her arms.
"I want this off!" Kxeyìn said, her voice raising in annoyance.
"Sister, your wounds have not healed, and your body is scarred with bandages. You must wear this shirt until you see your healer." Tuo explained, her tone soothing.
Kxeyìn tried to say the word 'shirt' but rather than complete it, she clenched down on her jaw and pushed Tuo's hands away.
"I will not wear this… clothing. Release me. Now."
Tuo sighed, her sympathy evident as she bent down to remove the zip tie cuffs from Kxeyìn's ankles. "You will be released. Your friend, the dreamwalker, is waiting for you. But I am here to help you to get you on your feet before you do."
The Sky People expression of 'get you on your feet' greatly bothered Kxeyìn. But not nearly as much as Tuo referring to the dreamwalker as her friend. The demon was responsible for her being in this bed, in a demon's stronghold. As such, she wanted nothing to do with it.
"If I am allowed to leave. Then direct me where to leave." Kxeyìn asked.
Tuo pointed to the door. "You can leave through there."
Without wasting a moment, Kxeyìn propped herself up on the bed, laboring to move her legs toward the edge while suppressing the pain that seared across her right leg. She managed to get as far as the left leg over the bed before she was succumbed to the pain of her right.
Exhausted but not defeated, Kxeyìn relaxed back onto the bed, her breaths irregular from the pain pulsing from the broken leg.
"But you cannot leave without first putting this on," Tuo said, reaching for the cast before it could fall to the side.
Kxeyìn glanced up to her new shackles, unsure what it was designed to do.
"What," she stammered, frightened of what it might be. "Is that?"
Tuo smiled. "It is a brace. For your leg. It will help you move without injuring it further."
Kxeyìn's eyes fled to the door, then returned gradually back to Tuo before dropping it over the brace. She didn't like the look of it. It was an ugly, hideous contraption. But if it can help her, she was willing to try.
"If this… thing hurts me in anyway. I will kill you."
Tuo grinned. "Then you must know what it looks like on me leg?"
Kxeyìn silently nodded.
It took thirty seconds for Tuo to put the brace over her leg. When she did, she demonstrated by walking towards the door and back to the bed, showing no indication that it was hurting her.
"How do you feel about wearing it now?" Tuo asked as she removed the brace.
"Resentful," Kxeyìn said, then, "but I will do it if it gets me out of this place."
"Good," Tuo said, "after we have fitted the brace over your leg, then I will help you to use these crutches." She pointed to the set next to her bed.
Glancing to them, Kxeyìn then shared an annoyed look with Tuo.
"Do not worry, sister. They will also help you walk." Tuo gladfully stated.
An hour slowly passed, and there was still no sign of the Tipani woman. At this point, Sato had grown weary of waiting and silently departed, presumably to attend to some part of the quarry that demanded his attention. In his absence, he instructed Asher to stay put, leaving behind the unfortunate company of an annoying aide who had taken it upon himself to mindlessly bounce a ball against the wall of the building out of sheer boredom.
With each thud, Asher winced, his patience wearing thin. Like any red-blooded male who cherished silence and reflection—mostly silence—he could only tolerate so much before fantasizing about delivering a satisfying punch to the man's face mask. And while he wrestled with the growing desire to live out this fantasy, the recent delivery of food and water had calmed the brewing rebellion within him long enough for his attention to quietly drift across the gravel space towards the canopy, where he began to notice the Na'vi gathering around it.
Sitting on the crate, Asher had a hard time making out what was going on with the dust blowing in from the quarry, obscuring his view. He counted five Na'vi, with three employees, all huddled beneath the canopy, but little else. Driven by a burning desire to know precisely what was happening, he decided to reposition himself on the crate, lifting his side just enough—
"Gah!" Asher grunted as he clutched his side, momentarily forgetting about his broken ribs. He pulled at his shirt to see that the patch around his side was doing its job, stabilizing the muscles and preventing the bones from rubbing unnaturally.
"Damnit," he murmured as the ball struck the wall a few more times, pushing him to the far edge of his remaining patience.
I swear I'm going to hit that man
"Get it together," he told himself.
Carefully adjusting his position on the crate, he gained a better vantage point from which he observed the three RDA employees interacting with each Na'vi individually. They appeared to be discussing something, presumably related to their work in the quarry, but the distant explosions erupting every twelve seconds made it difficult for Asher to discern their words accurately.
Nevertheless, he could see that most of the Na'vi were exchanging smiles after the employees moved onto the next Na'vi. Save for a few at the rear of the group. These guys were certainly different. Caked in mud and their bodies smeared in a white substance, each of them wore an expression that reminded him of overworked protein farmers back on Earth. Farmers that constantly faced immense pressure to meet weekly quotas, or, as their company often warned, the world would go hungry. Yet, they worked to the bone, often in conditions worse than these quarries, which compelled the company to resort to employing slaves due to the high turnover rate. These slaves were euphemistically labeled as 'indentured servants' because they couldn't earn enough to pay off their debts, leaving them vulnerable to predatory creditors who seized not just an arm or a leg, but their entire livelihoods.
Not these guys, though. They had no choice on the matter. They had fought against the RDA, attempted to evade their grasp, only to be captured and coerced into labor. To the RDA, they were indeed a godsend, as the Na'vi represented the most abundant source of labor on this moon.
To the Na'vi. They seemed… happy.
Their smiles, their swaying tails, even the occasional sound of laughter— all of it contradicted the belief that the RDA was here solely for vengeance.
Still, this troubled Asher. There was something inherently wrong with this situation. If only he could speak with one of the Na'vi in private, free from the watchful eyes of Sato and his men, perhaps he could gain a better understanding of their true sentiments. Just as this thought began to form in his mind, the massive doors of the main facility swung open, revealing two SEC-OPS soldiers who were returning with Asher's backpack.
"So," one of them stated, his shaved head matching his gruff voice, "you're the avatar we found in that forest back there?"
"I... I suppose," Asher replied, sizing up the soldiers as he accepted his backpack from their hands. "Thanks."
One soldier responded with a nonchalant shrug, while another simply turned away, showing little interest. "Whatever, man," the soldier nearest to Asher mumbled. "Wait here. We'll get your blue girlfriend."
Ignoring the comment, Asher sat the backpack down and inspected it quickly. It was scuffed, torn, and battered, with holes revealing the contents within. Astonished that it had held up, Asher poked his finger into one of the holes, feeling the equipment inside.
"Well, at least it held," Asher noted to himself.
The rubber ball continued to bounce against the wall as he opened the backpack's flap and found that the network extender was intact, albeit seriously dented. The crystalline solar panels were damaged in some areas but still functional, judging by the power readout, which showed a decent seventy-percent charge.
"Good enough," Asher whispered as he closed the flap and settled the backpack between his legs.
Glancing down at his wrist, he noticed that the watch face was cracked, resembling a spider web. Fortunately, the crack didn't obscure the time, which indicated that it was the height of the afternoon—when the heat and humidity worked in tandem to sap the life force out of him.
"Come on, where the hell is she?" Asher muttered, his attention flipping between the doors and the Na'vi who were now conversing with the human employees as though it was an everyday occurrence.
The ball still bounced and thudded against the wall.
When is that man going to stop?!
Annoyed as ever, Asher scanned the surroundings, searching for a way to extricate himself from this predicament before things turned violent. That's when he locked eyes with someone else.
A Na'vi.
Their small, beady eyes were visible from Asher's vantage point. He wasn't sure what the Na'vi was looking at, but he couldn't resist returning the gaze, curiosity piqued. For a while, they engaged in an unintentional staring contest, neither blinking, until Asher's brain registered that the ball had finally ceased its incessant bouncing.
Without realizing it, the doors had opened again but this time with the Tipani woman slowly moving with the help of crutches. She was also helped by another Na'vi woman.
"Dreamwalker," Tuo called out in broken English.
Asher turned and nearly slipped off the crate when he saw the Tipani woman trying to move to the best of her abilities. It was awkward and frustrating for her, trying to move her entire body with the help of two sticks. But she was doing it.
"Whoa… hey… is she okay?" Asher said, stunned by what he was looking at.
Kxeyìn shot a glance at the dreamwalker, her expression silently conveying a message of 'leave me alone.'
"She is okay," Tuo reassured him.
Asher turned his attention to Tuo, his curiosity evident. "What happened?"
"Leg," Tuo pointed at her own. "Broken. Many injuries. Many wounds. Bandaged."
In Na'vi, Kxeyìn spoke to Tuo, saying, "I do not want him around me, I do not want him to follow me."
Tuo nodded and turned to Asher. "She speaks to you."
Asher was perplexed. "Me? What about me?"
Tuo clarified, "She speaks of you, to not be around her."
Asher still didn't entirely understand but decided to respect her wishes. As he lowered his head to inspect her injuries, Kxeyìn unexpectedly turned her gaze towards the canopy behind him, where she recognized the blue bodies of the Na'vi.
"What is this?" Kxeyìn questioned as she slowly advanced in their direction. "What is this?!"
"Sister!" Tuo called out, chasing after her. "Your leg! Be careful!"
Kxeyìn tried to hobble forward, but her injury slowed her down, and she winced in pain. Nonetheless, she was determined to find out why the Na'vi were… talking to the sawtute.
"Why are there more People here?" Kxeyìn asked to no one in particular as the crutches faltered over the soft gravel.
"Whoa-whoa-whoa!" Asher cried out, following after her.
That was when the male Na'vi who had been staring at Asher suddenly started to walk towards Kxeyìn. His pace was uncertain at first, not wanting to make a fool of himself but he knew his eyes were not deceiving him the closer he got.
As his vision adjusted to the harsh sunlight, he recognized her face—the face of his daughter.
"Kxeyìn!"
Kxeyìn froze in her tracks, her eyes locked onto the approaching man. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over and blur her vision. Her trembling lower lip betrayed the surge of emotions within her. It was him, a man she had believed was lost to her forever. In an instant, a torrent of memories inundated her, each one flashing before her eyes in rapid succession.
It was love. The love of her father.
"Sempul?" Her voice cracked in disbelief; her muscles wavered underneath her.
The man broke into a sprint toward his daughter. "Kxeyìn!"
She didn't care. Wobbling unsteadily at first, she abandoned her crutches and tumbled face-first into the gravel. Fresh cuts marred her face, blood seeping from the wounds. But nothing could deter her. With raw desperation, she began crawling, aching to reach her father.
"Sempul!"
Nosasney lunged forward, reaching out to grasp his daughter. She clung to him, crying uncontrollably and clawing desperately for her father's embrace. Her sobs wracked her body as she buried her face into his chest. In that poignant moment, the once-presumed-dead Olo'eyktan of the Tipani rose up, cradling his daughter, their reunion wrought with overwhelming emotion.
"Who is that?" Asher said, his surprise evident as he stood next to Tuo.
"Father," Tuo replied simply.
"Father?" Asher repeated, his ears folding back in amazement.
Kxeyìn clung to her father, the pain in her injured body fading into insignificance compared to the overwhelming rush of emotions. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she touched his face in disbelief. He was real, alive. How could this be… possible?
"Sempul! I thought-I thought you were…"
Nosasney shook his head silently. "No."
The Na'vi who had gathered at the canopy slowly began to approach, curiosity piqued by the emotional scene unfolding before them. Eventually, several of the captured Tipani arrived with Nosasney.
"But," Kxeyìn choked on her words as she held his face in her trembling hands. "This is impossible."
Her father, Nosasney, gently took her hand, hoping to prove to her that he was physically here. "I am. Alive."
A radiant smile broke across Kxeyìn's face, mirroring the joy she saw in her father's eyes. It was a fleeting moment of happiness, a spark of hope in the midst of despair.
But it wasn't meant to last long.
From across the distance, the old man, who had watched the entire scene unfold from the tower above, couldn't bear the uncertainty any longer. He rushed down the flight of stairs, his mask still adjusting as fear and a thousand dark possibilities racing through his mind.
Bursting through the door, he shouted, "Get him away from her!"
Sato's voice was sharp and commanding.
SEC-OPS soldiers immediately formed a circle around the father and daughter, forcefully prying Nosasney's grip from Kxeyìn's.
"What is this madness?" Sato continued to shout as he approached the scene. "I said get him away from her!"
"We are, sir!"
But when Nosasney, who didn't understand the sawtute's commands, didn't comply, SEC-OPS resorted to the next option in their arsenal: shock prods. One of the guards found a soft spot and began jabbing his prod into Nosasney's leg, eliciting a bone-chilling scream of agony as he dropped to his knees.
The Na'vi who witnessed this brutal intervention couldn't stand idly by. They surged forward, grabbing the guards in a protective frenzy. In response, a heavily armed response team rushed out from a nearby garrison, ready to enforce Sato's orders with ruthless efficiency.
Asher couldn't just stand there and watch the brutality unfold. His voice rang out, a mix of anger and desperation as he shouted at the guards, "What the hell are you doing?"
He dashed toward one of the guards and pushed him away, unable to contain his outrage. It was entirely undiplomatic of him, but he didn't care.
They didn't like that. In response to his actions, one of the SEC-OPS guards, who had been previously shocking the Tipani leader, abruptly turned and started shocking Asher. The others continued their merciless assault on the Tipani Olo'eyktan.
Chaos erupted as the rest of the Na'vi sprang into action, grabbing the guards and dragging them down to the ground. The situation escalated rapidly, and Sato was struggling to maintain control. The Tipani, loyal guardians of Nosasney, quickly formed a protective circle around their leader, who clung to his daughter with all his strength as she cried out for him not to let go.
Tuo, acting on Sato's orders, moved in behind Kxeyìn and forcibly separated her from her father, leaving Nosasney desperately gripping her hand. A Tipani warrior tried to intervene, but a guard used his shock prod to immobilize him, striking him across the knee before swinging it like a baton to strike the warrior across the face.
"No!" Tuo shouted at the guard, outraged by the unnecessary violence.
"I'm not letting you go!" Nosasney cried out to his daughter, his grip on her hand slipping as she pleaded with him, her heartrending pleas echoing through the chaos.
"Sempul!" Kxeyìn pleaded, feeling her hand slipping away.
The response team arrived swiftly in their Skels, tackling some of the Na'vi aside. Overhead, several drones hovered, watching the incident unfold while also relaying the footage back to the Red Stone tower. If things got out of control, then the quarantine protocol was to be activated. Which also meant activating the Locusts.
Tuo finally yanked Kxeyìn free from the guards, who continued to shock Nosasney into submission. She clung to her father as long as she could, her heart aching with helplessness.
Asher's voice roared through the turmoil, filled with fury and frustration, as he yelled, "Get the hell off of me!" He kicked one of the guards to the ground, a desperate attempt to protect himself.
"You sonuvabitch!" the guard retorted as he prepared to shove the prod into Asher's face.
Sato quickly leapt between them, positioning himself between the guard and Asher before the guard could carry out his intended attack on the diplomat.
"That's enough!" Sato's voice boomed, anger and authority resonating in his command. "You've just attacked a UNE diplomat, you dumb bastards! I'm going to have your pay docked!"
The guard was pointing to Asher with his mouth fully prepared to say it was Asher who started it. But that didn't matter when Sato quickly spun around to face the towering avatar.
"Stop it right now!"
As the chaos continued to swirl around them, Nosasney lay unconscious on the ground, his arm outstretched, palm skyward, as if reaching for his daughter's hand once more.
"He's out cold, sir," one of the guards reported as they checked Nosasney's vitals.
"Cold like ice," another guard added mockingly, reveling in the mayhem as he swung his prod around proudly, his cruelty on full display.
"Stupid moron should've listened to us," chimed in another guard with a malicious smirk as he loomed over Nosasney.
Asher confronted Sato, his voice seething with anger. "Are you going to tell me exactly what the HELL you guys are doing by shocking a Na'vi?"
Sato, visibly agitated but attempting to maintain his composure, answered back: "It was for the safety of your Na'vi woman. We did not know what that man was doing."
"Isn't it obvious?" Asher retorted, pointing to Nosasney. "That's her father!"
Sato squinted in disbelief as he looked between Nosasney and Kxeyìn, who was crying inconsolably.
"Let me go!" Kxeyìn shouted and struck Tuo, who surprisingly responded with gentleness as she laid Kxeyìn on the ground.
Kxeyìn began to crawl back to her father across the rough gravel as the others around her discussed the chaotic situation.
"I did not know," Sato admitted quietly. "Truly. I didn't."
"That means you have the Tipani here, don't you?" Asher pressed.
"Possibly," Sato replied.
Asher shoved his finger into Sato's mask, visibly displeasing the older man. "You're going to release them into my custody. Now."
Coolly, Sato raised his hand and gently pushed Asher's blue finger away from his mask. "I will do no such thing."
"You will or I will—"
"What?" Sato interrupted, looking up at Asher with the full weight of the RDA's power behind his gaze. "What will you do, Mr. Asher? Call in the UNE Peacekeepers to stop us?"
Asher remained silent, his frustration boiling within him.
"You have NOTHING on us. You are but a small bitch dog, barking with no bite. I gave you the woman as honor to your title. As respect for what you are doing here. And instead of taking her. You insult me with your demands!"
Cool it, Asher
Asher leaned in closer to Sato, his voice icy, "Release them."
"No."
"Release. Them."
Sato's tone matched Asher's intensity, "If you ask me that one more time, damn you, then I will take the woman away from you."
Asher remained still, realizing he was pushing his luck. Slowly, he leaned away from Sato, who continued speaking, "You have overstayed your welcome, Mr. Asher. I believe it is time now that you leave. Gentlemen."
"Yes, sir," responded a pair of SEC-OPS guards positioned nearby.
"Take Mr. Asher and the Na'vi woman to the Kestrel."
"Yes, sir!"
When one of them reached for Asher's wrist, he instinctively jerked his hand away and moved back toward the woman who was clutching her father's hand on the ground.
"Sempul," she murmured tearfully. "Come back with me."
Nosasney lay silently on the ground as a group of soldiers began dragging him away by his feet.
"Sempul…" Kxeyìn said softly, "…I… love you."
Tuo couldn't stand it. She turned away, holding back her own tears as Asher knelt beside Kxeyìn and helped her up to her feet.
"We're leaving," he told her, knowing she did not understand him.
"Let me go!" She shouted at Asher in Na'vi. "My Sempul! He needs me! Let me go!"
Asher couldn't understand her words as he cradled her and retrieved the crutches that had fallen nearby. He then quickly picked up his backpack and held it between his fingers.
"Hurry it up!" A guard barked impatiently.
"Sempul!" She howled over Asher's shoulder.
But her father was nowhere to be seen.
Inside the Kestrel, Asher secured Kxeyìn into a seat, buckling her in. As he looked up, he was met with a sudden punch to the face that caused him to stumble against the seats directly behind him. Pain radiated from his face, but he bit back any defensive reaction. Maybe he deserved it, but right now, Asher didn't have time to explain anything to her. Especially since they didn't understand each other's language.
Maybe he deserved it, but right now, Asher didn't have time to react defensively.
Picking himself up, Asher then leaned over and signaled to the pilot by smacking on the window to indicate that they were ready to depart. He then sat down beside Kxeyìn, staring out the door as the Kestrel lifted off and circled around the quarry.
As the Kestrel soared overhead, it took several seconds for Asher to grasp the sheer expanse of the quarry below. It sprawled out, an expanse that seemed to stretch for half a mile in every direction, and the visible roots of the ancient Hometree were a stark reminder of what had been sacrificed. Hundreds of Na'vi toiled relentlessly in the brown, mucky earth, like ants in a colossal, cruel experiment.
Asher remained silent; his gaze fixed on the heart-wrenching scene unfolding beneath him. His insides churned with a tumultuous mix of emotions. It was an unforgivable injustice, an affront to humanity, but he was powerless to change it.
Sato wanted him to see this grim spectacle to drive home one message: the RDA held all the cards, and he didn't.
The reality was now sinking in for him. There was no help coming. There was no cavalry to rescue them. No diplomatic intervention. There was just him and his words. Nothing else.
Now he was beginning to believe that maybe the Na'vi did have a reason to fight back. But he couldn't accept it. Not yet.
There has to be a reason, Asher excused himself once again. I need to find out.
Sighing heavily, Asher turned away from the disheartening view below and noticed Kxeyìn gazing out the window to her side. The wind was softly howling passed her as she saw it too. The pain scorched into the forest. A hole, as deep as her soul, entrenched as a gaping wound. Her People were here. Alive. Her father was here. Alive. And every demon here was responsible for keeping them there. Including the demon beside her.
She wanted to kill them all.
Leaning into her seat, the Kestrel's momentum caused her head to tilt toward Asher. Their eyes locked, and he could see the depths of her despair, the haunted look that reflected her inner torment. She was a soul rendered lifeless by the Sky People's cruelty, a spirit crushed and left with only one thing still pulsing within her—bloodlust.
As the Kestrel gradually disappeared beyond the lush horizon, fading into the dying light of the sun. Sato returned to his office where he desperately tried to reach out to General Ardmore.
"Come on!" He shouted at the viewscreen on the wall, his frustration boiling over.
Finally, after two minutes, Ardmore's face appeared on the screen. "What is it, Sato?"
"That UNE dog!" Sato's anger flared as he grabbed something heavy off of his desk and flung it against the wall in a fit of rage.
"Hey-hey!" Ardmore cried over the viewscreen. "Look at me, Sato. Look at me and tell me what Asher did."
Sato, panting heavily, leaned over his desk, his head bowed, and his arms trembling with anger. Despite his age, he possessed an immense reservoir of energy and strength that could easily demolish his desk if he wanted to.
"I want. That man. Dead!"
"What. Did. He. Do?"
Sato slowly raised his head to look at the viewscreen. For several agonizing seconds, there was nothing but silence as he clenched his teeth.
"You better tell me this is going to work."
"What?"
"Your stupid little plan. You tell me right now, Francis, that it's going to work. Because right now. Right now, Francis. I want nothing more than Rayan Asher dead! He… He insults me. I could have had his avatar killed where he stood."
Ardmore took a sip from her cup. It was her evening tea, something to calm her down after a long day's work, which was now being spoiled by Sato's demeanor towards her.
"Never doubt me, Sato. Remember what I did for you."
"Yes," he said, his head bowing again, exhausted and angry. "Yes I know."
But Ardmore wasn't finished. She wanted to drive the point home, to ensure Sato stayed in line until Operation Agamemnon was completed.
"I wanted you here, but the board didn't. They thought you were insane for suggesting that the Avatar Program should be used to breed all those… blue babies of yours."
Sato nodded again, still refusing to look up to the viewscreen.
Yeah, and that man got his Ambassador Program. And I was left looking like the bad guy.
"Sato. Look at me."
The old man slowly rose his eyes to meet hers on the screen.
"You play nice with our UNE friend. Okay?"
"He wanted the Tipani I've captured, released."
Ardmore tilted her head. Contemplating on his words before saying, "I will talk to him."
"I want him dead."
"You might get that too."