Chapter 7: First Contact

Date: June 6th 01:46

Location: alpha Centauri system, high orbit

The lab had erupted into cheers when they had felt the inertial pull of their ship exiting FTL. And while their excitement was only natural, they had been part of the first manned extrasolar mission in Republic history. But for the necro sitting at her desk in the corner of the room there was no time for frivolity. Her own conscious eating away at her as she buried herself beneath her work, hoping to silence it.

Log: 01

"Doctor Grace Augustine in the interest of the Commonwealth Institute and the greater academic community for the purposes of medical science, anthropological studies and historical remembrance I have been promoted to principle scientist for the duration of this mission and have been instructed to record our findings on the local flora and fauna of the Moon known as Pandora. We exited FTL roughly forty minutes ago and shuttles are already on route" she said, the mental image of those trigger happy jar heads defiling the place creating a sneer across her face as she activated a small replica of the moon on her desk for illustration.

"Being 4.37 light years from Terra located in the Alpha Centauri A system, it is slightly smaller than Terra with a diameter of 11447 kilometers. Its mass is 72% that of Terra's which is evidenced by its lower surface gravity being roughly 80% of ours. From geological scans taken by the RDA's mining probes we have determined that the moon is subject to extreme tectonic activity, evidenced by the lack of large continents with even its largest being only about the size of the former United States." She continued on as the Hologram zoomed in on the part of the moon.

"While the moon itself can obviously harbor life, given its lush forests and blue oceans the atmosphere is about 20% denser and while that alone would not be cause for concern, the moon contains more than 18% carbon dioxide along with high levels of Hydrogen Sulfide which has been theorised to be caused by underwater volcano's making it lethal to all known Terran born life." She explained as the scientist in her was fascinated as to how the species on this planet had evolved to handle such high amounts of toxic gas.

"Beyond that this is the area that has been designated as our staging area for our operations, chosen for both its relatively high levels of eezo as well as its proximity to the moons indigenous inhabitants" she cringed as the idea of mankind even going near them to be a horror.

"As we have yet to discover the name by which these aliens call themselves they shall be designated as natives until further information is acquired."

"Don't want their descendants getting upset over a name we gave them" one of her junior scientists joked as some others gave a short laugh. The aged Necro scowled in anger before she forced her rage back beneath the surface.

Grace rubbed her nasal bone as she released a deep breath. "From what we know the natives organize themselves in tribal clans of several hundred members similar to many post great war societies. Further information will be needed for any anthropological accuracy but I hypothesize that the natives will not have much in the way of sociology beyond what has been observed in other hunter-gather groups. End log 01" She finished as she shut off the recorder and stood back up, feeling each vertebrae crack as she did so.

"What makes you think they'll be so similar" An incredulous voice came as the Necro looked over to see Norm Spellman standing a respectable distance from her. He was unimpressive physically with a pencil neck and sunken eyes, it seemed even a dose of FEV couldn't fix everyone.

"What makes you think they won't" she asked back, curious to hear what he'll say as he was the mission's resident anthropologist as well as their xenolinguist.

"They are alien's ma'am" he said with confidence, as if that statement alone was enough to prove his point. "They have a completely unknown evolutionary path; there evolutionary pressures are likewise unknown and how that would affect their sociality and their behavioral patterns. With so little information I find it rather presumptuous ma'am" he finished, ending with an honorific in the acknowledgment that he was speaking to his superior.

"All fair points" she agreed, "though we must go forth on the information that we do have."

"From what we have seen they live in relatively small hunter gatherer tribes and we have seen no evidence of agricultural farming or animal husbandry, similar to many groups of humans not too long ago. From this we can ascertain much about their society. We can presume they are most likely guided by a chieftain or some spiritual figure. We can presume they place great importance and respect on animals and nature similar to primitive humanity and may even worship them in some form of animism. We could hypothesize based on the images we have seen that they have a sex based delegation of labor with the stronger one being primarily the hunters and the weaker being the gathers. Whether they are patriarchal, matriarchal or even egalitarian remains to be seen but all have been witnessed in human tribes." she explained letting her centuries of cynicism bleed from her words like an irritated wound.

"There are only so many ways a social species can interact with each other for any significant length of time without killing each other and whether it is humans, necros, metas, deathclaws or even tunnelers a similar through line has been observed." She finished with authority, making the once confident man slink back as she punctuated each point.

"So yes I do believe I'm well within reason to make such a hypothesis" she finished as she realized that the entire lab had been watching, some doing little to hide smiles as they watched the verbal beat down whilst other had faces that looked as though they were insulting her in the safe, comfort of their minds.

"Does that answer your question" she asked as he sullenly nodded his head and walked away to whatever he was doing before. With that little debate over everyone got back to triple checking all of their equipment as Grace moved to one of the small vision ports where she could finally see the moon with her own eyes.

As she stared at the little green and blue marble she felt a small tear slide down her cheek as memories began to slide back into the forefront of her mind. She remembered the freshly cut lawn of her home long since gone and her neighbors who always made a habit of putting their noses where they didn't belong. She remembered the buzzing of insects that once filled people's minds with annoyance rather than terror. So caught up in emotion she didn't notice the figure behind her until she felt its weight press down on her shoulder, her reaction honed from centuries of living in the wasteland was immediate as she drove her elbow backwards.

"Ow" was the man's response as Grace whipped around to see Victor Monroe, rubbing his stomach where the blow had connected. Grace quickly apologized as she reprimanded herself for letting those days return to her and letting her instinct take hold as she looked at the man. Victor had been designated as their chief geneticist and was an older man in his late sixties from Johannesburg. But what made him the most striking was his aged dark skin as he was one who had decided against the FEV treatment for reasons she did not know.

"Its fine, my fault for sneaking up on an old world necro" he said with a smile as he stood beside her; keeping his voice low so as to not be heard by others.

"Were you sure that was the right decision" Victor asked quietly and Grace needed only a moment to understand what he was talking about.

"I'm too old to deal with people who think they're smarter than they are" she whispered back, thankful that at least one person had the decorum to not question their superiors in front of everyone.

"They're just restless, the chance to use their knowledge on an entirely alien world has them chomping at the bit" he explained.

"I couldn't care less about their restlessness, they have a job to do and I…" she was cut off as she got a message on her pip-boy. Giving Victor a hand motion, signaling him to wait she began to read the report and her felt her heart drop into her stomach.

"We've made contact, Spellman you're with me!" she barked as she made her way to the door only partially aware of her subordinates panicked hesitance for a moment before rushing after her, finally ready meet the locals.

Date: June 6th 01:58

Location: Omaticaya village

Sylwanin awoke with a deep frantic gasp, tail thrashing wildly as all the muscles in her body tensed as her hands gripped the edges of her hammock in a crushing grip. She let out a wailing scream that echoed across the winding roots of Hometree like a demonic wind chime. Her throat stretched and strained as her vocal cords struggled to keep themselves together after what she had witnessed. Her body was covered head to toe in sweat, beads of it raining down her face and leaving strands of wet hair strewn about. Her heart felt as though it was trying to ram its way out of her chest, punching her ribs with every beat to the point of deep pain as she whipped her head from side to side, tears and darkness making difficult to see.

"Sylwanin!" a voice shouted in her ear as she felt her body being twisted around abruptly. But it was as if her senses had been ripped from her, left to rot in that horrid place as she desperately tried to get free of the hold, like an animal caught in a trap.

"No, let me go!" she screamed in panic as she landed a hard kick into whatever monster was grabbing her, and its grip finally released … only for her breath to catch in her throat as she began to fall backwards, off her hammock and soon into the waiting maw of gravity. Just as she saw the ground she was about to meet again she felt something clasp onto her ankle, her body dangling in the air as the reality of imminent death pulled her back to reality, if only for a moment. She was yanked hard as he body was pulled back to safety as she wiped the tears from her eyes and saw the person that had saved her.

"Fa…father" she shuttered, barely able to speak as the memory of what she had seen fought with the reality in front of her. Her father was looking at her with a level of worry she had never seen before, tinted with pain from the strike she had delivered, his aged features highlighted in the faint blue light.

She tore her eyes away from her distressed father, her sweat drenched hair whipping about as she looked to see that everything was as it had always been. Gone was the fire and ash, gone were the demons and their yellow eyes. But the burns remained, deep and raw in her psyche.

She had seen those eyes, those horrible glowing eyes staring down at her and she was certain that image would be branded onto her mind forever as she struggled to keep her breathing steady. Her father clutched her tightly as she shook like a leaf, each moment stretching out as she faintly heard the sound of several footsteps getting closer.

She looked up from her father's shoulder to see his mother who looked strangely serene and unbothered by her daughter's mental breakdown. It only lasted a moment before her mind seemed to register what was happening as her face morphed into one of immense concern.

"My daughter, what has happened" She questioned as she placed a gentle hand against her tear slicked cheek, pushing stands of hair away as she composed herself.

"I don't know mother, one moment I was in the forest and the next…" she tried to say as tears threatened to re-emerge. "Everything was on fire" she whispered with a shutter as more and more of the tribe came to see what had happened.

"It was only a bad dream" her father said trying to console his daughter. But Sylwanin could only shake her head fervently.

She'd had dreams before and nightmares too but what she had felt was unlike anything even close to those. She would have begged, pleaded on her hands and knees to just have it be that, but this had been different. It had felt cold and certain, like the last breath of a dying man or the loosing of an arrow towards an unsuspecting target, a sword about to fall.

"No, it wasn't a dream; it was too real, too painful" she said; clutching at her head as she relived the feeling of the heat and the stones that stabbed at her skin as she tumbled, the walking voids and lines. She was so caught up she barely noticed the large crowd of people slowly surrounding her, some even carrying weapons and wreathed in the amethyst glow of Eywa's power having expected the worse from her screams.

One of those faces was filled with a deeper worry as he hopped down from a branch and landing at Sylwanin's side.

"Sylwanin are you okay!" Tsu'tey exclaimed as he clutched her free hand in his own; the warm, strong certainty in them brought a level of comfort to her spirit. But even that small level of comfort was stripped away and looked to the faces of the crowd that surrounded her, or rather who the face she wasn't seeing.

"Wait, where's Neytiri?" She asked as she scanned the crowd again and again, hoping that she had just missed her. Her mind beginning to run wild as she imagined those things she had seen grabbing her, taking her in the night.

As she finished her question, everyone else seemed to notice the sudden lack around them.

"Where is she, where's Neytiri!" she asked again, this time more frantic as she saw a hand raise above the crowd and with it a voice.

"I know where she went" a feminine voice spoke out as the crowd turned around almost in unison and begin to part revealing Menari. She strode to the front with even steps as she pressed her hand to her head in respect to her Olo'eyktan and Tsahik.

"She and Arvok went out hunting" she said as all within earshot looked to each other in surprise as anger and fear rippled across Sylwanin's mind like a tidal wave.

"We need to find them now!" she all but commanded as she brought herself up to her feet, Tsu'tey standing with her in case of losing her balance again. Her father meanwhile was more hesitant.

"Neytiri can look after herself" he assured her but she was not having it.

"No father. Please, she might be in incredible danger" she pressed as she looked to her mother, hoping that she would intercede on her behalf.

"She is to be Tsahik one day, a bridge between Eywa and the people. Perhaps Eywa has sent her a vision." Mo'at advised as she laid a hand on her mates shoulder, giving him a silent nod as he thought over her words.

Sylwanin could only hope he would listen and though she didn't believe she was ready, if Eywa did and if that nightmare was truly a message from her than that was all she needed to know.

Her father stood up, glancing to bother her and her mother as he looked towards the crowd. "Just as it is a foolish thing to fly in a storm, so too is it to not heed Eywa's message." He said in a deep commanding voice.

"Tsu'tey, take some hunters with you and go find them" he commanded as Tsu'tey bowed his head, giving one last knowing look to Sylwanin before leaving, grabbing Maru and Takuk as he went.

Sylwanin for her part was made to stay, her heart filled with worry as she prayed that he would find her sister, and bring her back safely.

Date: unknown

Location: unknown

Arvok's mind was swimming; his senses having abandoned him for who knows how long as he floated through the ephemeral void.

"Where am I?"

He didn't know; he couldn't even tell where his body ended and the world began. He couldn't feel his toes or his fingers; he couldn't even feel his tongue in his mouth or his eyes rolling in their sockets. The only thing letting him know of his continued existence and keeping him from losing his muddled and confused sense of self were the flashes of images. He could not see them in the traditional sense, more feelings than anything else and each was different with seemingly no pattern. Warm, cold, hot, freezing, wet and dry; random sensations going on and on until all at once it stopped, leaving as quickly as they came.

"Am I dead?"

He questioned; were those his final moments, the shadows of memories both momentous and mundane flashing through his mind before he would be with his goddess, to become another song in the tree of voices. The thought filling him with both a sense of fear and shame; he was not ready to die. Even if his soul would land in the tender arms of Eywa he was not ready. So many things left undone, so many things left unsaid.

"Please don't let me die!" He cried out; but he couldn't hear his own voice and even as he desperately tried to take in air that wasn't there, into lungs that for all he knew didn't exist either and scream into the never ending abyss.

He was losing himself and as he did the images returned once again; clearer and more refined, with sight and sound and like a drowning man to a piece of driftwood, his mind latched onto each and every one for as long as he could. But no matter how hard he tried the memory would be pulled away from him.

The angered glares of his parents that in any other time would have made him roll his eyes in frustration but now was like a warm fire in the cold of night, his brother with that same self-assured look that just made him want to punch him and give him a hug one last time and the face of Neytiri, whose smile was so warm he felt it could melt stone and the sadness of never getting to see her again.

Neytiri!

Like a strike of lightning the events that led him to this place flashed before his eyes; the strange objects falling from the sky, the cold bark beneath his feet, the blinding light and thundering noise, the feeling of weightlessness as he plummeted to the forest floor. The last thing he saw being her eyes go wide in shock, mouth wording something he couldn't hear.

What had happened to her? Did she get away? Had they killed her too?

The realization dragging him into a tailspin of despair as he laid there in silence lacking even the energy to voice his grief; if she was dead than that means he had led her to her death, that she had been right all along and they should have just told the Olo'eyktan. And so he floated in that inky, black place. Perhaps this was his punishment, to be left utterly alone with only his regrets for company.

But it seemed he was not doomed to stay in this abyss forever as he began to hear something beyond himself. It pulsed slow and rhythmic in his ears, unlike anything he had heard before. His mind tried to capture the alien noise, the sole proof of him still being alive. Little by little the sound grew louder and with it came light. Like rays of sun through murky water he could see it, as if it were the most wondrous thing in the world. And he was being pulled towards it as though he were some deep sea fish caught on a line and pulled out of the darkness.

All at once he was assaulted by a blaring light that stung at his eyes, blinding him and forcing them into a tight squint. His mouth felt dry and swollen, his chest tight and heavy and there was a deep throb in the back of his head but even still it was glorious, victorious and grand like a tulkun breaching the surface of the water. His heart sung in his chest as he felt real air enter his lungs, spoiled slightly by the sharp pain in his chest that only served to further prove that he was alive.

Slowly his eyes began to adjust and he could finally see what could only be described as small sticks of light, its brightness so different from the bio-luminescence of the forest or even the light of the sun. Trying to move his head his muscles strained as he found himself unable to, his head forced into place by a tight pressure. Forcing his eyes up he saw the vague outline of something on his head filling his mind with questions as to where he was as he once again heard the strange noise that had brought him out of the abyss. Straining his eyes he walked them along the edges of what he could tell was some sort of chamber when he finally saw it.

It's body was long and grey with a face that was pitch black accentuated only by a thin green line that would jump every second or so. More and more questions swarmed his thoughts as he began to hear a different sound.

Turning his eyes down to the rest of his body his heart almost stopped as he saw two small figures talking to each other. There forms were white, brown and green with no sight of the blue stripped skin of the Na'vi. Again he tried to move but like his head he had been strapped down, his arms and legs held tight to his sides.

The noise was getting faster and louder now as he struggled to free himself he watched frantically as the two figures snapped their attention to him, their earlier conversation instantly forgotten. Desperation threatened to drown him as the pair rushed to either side of him as he twisted and pulled with all his strength. He hissed and snarled at them in a last desperate attempt at intimidation as his life now so recently returned to him was about to be lost again and while one of them seemed to hesitate the other did not.

The one who kept moving held something in their hands and he pulled with all his might against his restraints, till he could feel the skin of his wrists and ankles begin to tear and the bones in his arms beginning to bend under the enormous pressure he was putting them under. But it was no use as he felt a sharp prick in his neck, and in that moment he began to cry, tears forming in his eyes. They were going to kill him, he was going to die, he, he… felt his desperation and panic beginning to slip away like water between his fingers, turning the raging storm into a light drizzle and he was not even given the time to figure what they had done to him when the hesitant one placed something in his ear. His hearing felt muffled for a moment as he as it settled in and no matter how he moved his ear, it remained in place.

Through tearful eyes he looked upon the aliens and in place of the primal fear came a pure existential horror as he saw it and understood in that moment what the brown he had seen before had been.

'It didn't even look alive, it shouldn't be alive' he screamed to himself inside his mind as he tried to inch away from it, yet his body still trapped could do little more that shake in terror.

Its skin was burnt; horribly burnt, it almost reminded him of Maru the day she fell into the fire; her screams echoing in his mind even after all these years, but this was worse, much worse. Entire sections of skin were gone, revealing a part of its skull underneath and its ears were gone as well, leaving only barren holes in their place.

What hair it had was little more than lone strands and patches, the skin looking decomposed with blotches of black that looked ready to peel off with the slightest pull. Of all the things he had seen from these beings; the buzzers the crawlers even their weapons, this was the most horrific. His body grew cold and breath shallow as if his own life-force was retreating from this thing.

It was a spit in the face to Eywa, to all that was right in the world, a corpse that still moved; a corpse that should have long since passed from this world and go to wherever their people went.

"Look up"

He heard it say; its mouth covered by some sort of mask with bright yellow bulges on either side. Its voice was deep and raspy, like rough sand ground together. But what shocked him the most was that he was certain this thing had spoken the language of the Na'vi. Its pronunciation was off and some words missing but he could understand.

"How could it speak the language of the Na'vi" he questioned internally, his higher mind slowly retaking control over his instincts. Eywa enabled communication between the clans making certain they all spoke the same tongue but he had heard the little people speak before and it was nothing like his own. What was this thing?

"Look. Up."

It said again emphasizing each word as it looked down at him, its black pits staring into him as it waited for a response. Seeing little choice he once again looked up to the thing held around his head.

Looking back down he saw that the thing seemed to like that he had understood, the muscles in its cheeks pulling back into what he could guess to be a smile behind the mask. The idea of it smiling made his skin crawl as he watched the walking corpse speak to the other person in the room. That person though was not a walking corpse and the fact they could look and speak to it as if nothing was wrong was beyond belief.

Looking closer he could tell they were male with thin features and a face that appeared almost gaunt. He was clothed in the same strange garment as the corpse and his skin was coloured a light green as he watched the corpse speak to him.

"Good, inform Zao" He heard it say to the man; hiding no small amount of annoyance in its tone at the final word. And as the green one began to leave a part of the wall slid away and close behind him adding to the shock that was quickly returning back to anger. What had happened to Neytiri? Where was she? Why wasn't she here with him? As he stared up at the thing, their black featureless eyes looking back with an unreadable expression there was only one thing on his mind.

"Where is Neytiri, what have you done with her!" He raged; the strange thing they had done to him beginning to wear off. The walking corpse put a hand up in a placating manner as though to try and calm him.

"Alive" the corpse said as it placed its necrotic hand on his arm, making him cringe, believing it touching him would spread whatever curse had befallen it. Noticing this the thing pulled its hand back, its eyes downcast for a moment before reaching into its strange clothing, pulling a small rectangular object filled with colourful dots as another pitch black object descended from the top of the chamber.

As the corpse touched one of the dots, the object lit up to revealing Neytiri standing alone. Arvok's eyes bulged in shock as to how these people had made her so small as he screamed her name trying to get her attention, to tell her that he was alive. But no matter how loud he was she didn't seem to notice him, all she did was stand there motionless, staring off at something only she could see.

"She fine, now you stable we take you her" the corpse said in its best attempt at a kind tone; the jumbled wording doing little to settle his nerves as he began to feel harsh steps coming closer and closer. The vibrations becoming harsher and harsher through his strange bedding as the wall slid away once more to reveal what must have been one of the large ones from the night before and they were even more unnerving without their armor.

Its clothing was a mixture greens and browns that pressed tight against his his over muscled physique with bulging veins showing under his green, pickled skin. Their breathing was harsh under the mask and its bald head shined in the artificial light.

"Remove" the corpse said as she placed her hand on the thing around his head. "I remove, you no attack yes?" she asked as Arvok was left will no real choice. These creatures had taken both of them and he had no doubt that they would both die if he tried to resist.

Shaking slightly despite himself he remained still, the corpse slowly reached up behind Arvok's head, his heart still hammering in his chest as with a loud click he felt the pressure around his head release as he let out an involuntary sigh of relief, but even still the dull throb remained.

Slowly the corpse pulled away and went about undoing what he now saw were leather straps around his wrists and ankles. As the final binding fell away he Sat up rubbing his now bruised wrists and ankles, seeing beads of blood from where the skin gave way. Looking now at the pair he could see the corpse walking back and the large one stared at him, rhythmically tapping away at his weapon on his hip as a silent warning that he would not live long enough to regret fighting. And as the images of the viper wolves being reduced to mist he was rightfully wary. Looking down at himself he saw that he was no longer wearing the clothes of his tribe. He was shocked had hadn't realized it before as he rubbed the strangely soft material between his fingers.

Getting of the bed; his feet touching the cold floor sent a shock through his body and along with it the pain in the back of his head as he reached back instinctively only to realize something horrible. His braid had been undone; the braid that protected queue, the very thing that allowed the people to commune with Eywa was open and bare. And on it was something foreign and that did not belong.

Immediately Arvok tried to rip the thing off, gasping and clawing at it as pain became worse and farther reaching. The pain was so great it caused his eyes to water and his panic to skyrocket as he felt something large grab him by the wrist and pin him against the bed. He tried to push himself back up and only succeeding in having both limbs trapped behind his back as his body was pushed into the bedding. His legs meanwhile had also been pinned, his knees pressed against the cold floor by a heavy foot on his calves. With one eye Arvok looked up to see the muscled monster from before had managed to not only cross the distance but render him defenseless before he could even react.

The corpse for its part was berating the massive green man; which seemed to do little in the way of getting him to release him as his grip grew tighter and his foot pressed harder as Arvok tried to wiggle free.

Arvok wriggled in the brutes grasp, the pain still stabbing at him as the corpse got close to his face and spoke to him one word.

"Stop"

It was blunt, heavy and certain and when the pain from head and queue became less than the strain being put on his arm he finally relented, letting his body go limp. The brute however did not let go as the corpse did its best to explain that he had fallen from the tree and had landed queue first onto a root, damaging it. And what he had felt was something to keep the damaged part still so it could heal properly.

Arvok remained silent; his mind picking through her words like a comb for any deceit. After seeing what looked like honesty in those black eyes, he in fear and shame forced himself to believe her; fear that his connection to Eywa had been damaged and shame that he had allowed himself to so easily lose his composure in front of these people. For if they were telling the truth and what he had told Neytiri about these people not being mindless destroyers was true, than to push away their aid now would be hypocritical of him. To ask her to be patient but to then act without thinking, for they never would have attempted to heal him let alone free him from that bed if their only aim was destruction.

And the thought of Neytiri still trapped somewhere focused his mind as the brute slowly released his grip on him, letting him stand back up to his feet. His arms were at his side but Arvok could see that he was ready to strap him back in that bed if he needed.

"Grace" the cor… woman; or at least what he thought must have once been a woman said, pulling Arvok from his observations as he saw it pointing a necrotic finger to her chest. She did this a few times before pointing towards the large one who looked down at her with a sigh before speaking for the first time.

"Tom" he said, his voice low and rumbling.

"Grace, Tom, you?" she said pointing to each of them and ending with him. Slowly the gears in his mind turned until he realized she was asking for his name.

"…Arvok" he answered back as he rubbed his aching wrists. Standing again now to his full height he came to realize just how small these people were as even Tom was only up to his shoulders and had to crane his neck to look him in the eye.

Still feeling the object they had put in his ear he lifted his hand to touch it when Grace again told him to stop. He watched as she pulled out a similar device from her ear and again did her best to explain that it let them understand each other.

Arvok eyes widened in astonishment that these aliens needed these things to simply understand each other. As he felt the object in his ear he took the risk that they were telling the truth, hoping that his trust would not be abused.

"Now what?" he asked.

The woman seemed to relax now that he wasn't flailing about as she motioned to the door. "Now take you to woman Neytiri" she answered.

Arvok breathed a relieved sigh, finally he was going to see her and make sure she was alright.

Getting ready to leave they settled into a line with Grace at the front, Tom in the back and Arvok in the middle, he was fairly certain this was to make sure he didn't try to run away but they didn't need to worry, he wasn't leaving without her.

As the wall slid open once more Arvok had to bend down to get through and was greeted to a wide featureless passageway. Following along Arvok could see many other sliding walls, though he didn't know what was inside them or even how these aliens commanded them as they came to an even larger wall.

With a high pitch squeal that hurt his ears to listen to, the wall gave way to rays of sunlight washed over the trio, the glare piercing his eyes as they readjusted to the light. But as the warm light washed over him and soothed the dull ache of his body he mind snapped to the realization that the tribe must have already awakened. After they had been seen returning the first time they made certain to return before everyone woke up but now he could only imagine what was happening back in the village.

As his eyes finally adjusted they his grew as wide as dinner plates at what he saw. He was certain they were not in the same clearing anymore or the two had been taken for longer than he thought. Like the first site where there was once grass and trees was nothing more than dirt and structures of stone that dotted the area with the sound of rumblings off something off in the distance.

'Stone'; the word came to him almost like a flash of light as he gazed at the massive structures, and remembered the lessons the elders had taught him of the three laws that was given to the people from Eywa during the time of first songs.

"You shall not stack stone upon stone" he whispered under his breath as a feeling of dread washed over him.

"This way" Grace instructed, pulling his thoughts away for a moment as they continued on, though with Arvok's shoulders far more hunched over as his fear of just being near them would insight some sort of divine retribution. They past more and more of the aliens, dozens upon dozens of them and all of them were looking at him, even for just a moment before returning to tasks he could not understand. In the light of the sun he could see the differences between them all. Most were like the man from before with skin that ranged from light to dark green. But there were also the ones he had seen with large heads and glowing eyes where in the light of day their features were even more pronounced. What he thought had been skin had in fact been small overlapping scales that ran up their arms and down their necks.

And in that moment her realized something else, something that shook his understanding of reality to its core. They had no queue, none of them, not a single one and the revelation left him reeling, he had accepted that these beings would be different from his people but to be without a queue, it was a horror. How could they be without one, it was how the Na'vi were capable of souring through the sky and traversing the land. But more than that, so much more, it was how they could commune with Eywa, with the spirits of their ancestors. To have it severed was the greatest punishment the people had, saved for only the truly horrid and unrepentant, to be severed from Eywa and be left completely alone was a fate worse than death. But these people…

"Keep going" Tom said giving his shoulder a light push bringing his mind back, having not realized he had stopped walking. This seemed to only make Tom happy as the large brute chuckled to himself.

He just stared at the brute; how could he laugh, how could any of them laugh, how could they not be screaming in despair.

Tom did not seem to notice or care for the look that no doubt painted his face as again he was forced to walk until the trio were stopped once again as he saw what had been creating the rumbling from before. To call it large would be an understatement as it rolled by on large circular wheels each as big as a hammerhead. Its body was a bright yellow with black accents and its weight reverberated through his legs as it passed them.

"Neither shall you use the turning wheel"; again the lesson came and again he saw another blatant spurning of Eywa's laws and his mind turned to another idea, an idea that paired with their lack of queue slipped into his mind like neural poison. If they had no queue, did they have no Eywa? And in that moment, beyond anything else he had seen. He realized just how alien, how truly other they were.

Further they marched on until they came to anther structure that like all of these aliens' things was massive.

Walking through the equally large opening they entered a chamber filled with similar things from before though far smaller with even more alien's running back and forth. Their hands were filled with strange torches of blue fire that created showers of sparks. Further and further they marched inside until the came to another sliding wall, revealing a blood stained chamber and with it Neytiri.