Author's Note: Shh, I am not taking any criticism at this time. I have one more story that I am also working on, but I'm really trying to stagger it, so I'm going to keep going with the other two as well before starting another one after this. Also, just in case this doesn't make it clear; I know just about nothing about the military and ROTC. I'm doing some research, but I'll ask that you guys be kind in correcting me. I don't know anything and unfortunately some of this is needed for the story. I'll try to keep it vague, and it won't be exact but be nice. Let me know what you think! Enjoy!
Inspired by Legends Never Die ft. Against the Current
They were a special exception.
Under normal circumstances, no one under the age of eighteen would even be allowed to step foot off Earth to go to the moon, never mind all the way across the galaxy.
But they were special.
Not really in the eyes of the rest of the crew. But the government, whether it was an oversight, an intentional fudging of paperwork, or someone simply hadn't been paying attention didn't put a halt on their departure. Either way, they were allowed to leave Earth to go on a little field trip. One that took them across the galaxy and the travel time alone was already six years. But someone thought it was a good idea. No one knowing that neither boy would ever go back.
Someone either greased palms, was so overworked or wasn't paying attention when the paperwork of two seventeen-year-olds were pushed through. Someone let it happen, or they didn't stop it, or they were negligent.
Or maybe the two were just special.
But two seventeen-year-olds left Earth, sailed the starry sea for six years and awakened in the space above the fifth moon called Pandora as it peacefully orbits the gas planet of Polyphemus. One boy with eyes wide with excitement, the other with careful trepidation, but also tentative hope. To both of them, this was a new beginning. No longer were they forced to sit around and watch as their world died around them. No longer were they forced to watch as humanity destroyed itself. Unlike most, they were free.
At least, from the confines of Earth. Or so they thought.
They were both rushed to medical, apparently someone figured out that two seventeen-year-olds were on the flight across the galaxy - which, once again, broke an entire slew of rules and regulations - and needed to be looked over. Thankfully, both managed to make the trip without any prolonged concerns. Other than one being nauseous, they both seemed to have no lasting effects, thankfully.
Or at least nothing that isn't obvious at this point in time. Something for them to learn later, they suppose. But they were given strict orders to come back and see them if they started to notice anything increasingly worrisome. Neither boy asked what exactly that entailed. They'll just figure it out when it happens.
Once the new batch of humans hit dirt on Pandora and were ushed inside the facility, the two boys were separated to opposite sides of the structure and completely different departments. And like all the rest of the newly awakened staff, they are shown to their rooms - which is separate for the first time in both the boys' lives - and rushed into safety briefings.
The boys made sure to sit together and listen in silence. Both were painfully out of place amongst all of the adults in the room. The Colonel, seasoned man that addressed himself solely as Quaritch, marched back and forth in front of the gathered group of newbies from all walks of life in this facility and gave the rundown. Practiced, precise, no illusions of the danger. And the boys first introduction to the natives that call Pandora their home, the illusive Na'vi.
From his explanation, no matter how brief, gave the boys some level of understanding of why they were there. A brilliant scientist by the name of Grace Augustine just managed to get approval from the leaders of one of the clans nearest to their location to open a school near the Na'vi's home.
The younger of the two boys leans in close to the other, whispering under his breath for just the two of them to hear, "Do you think they want us to go to this school? I mean, they aren't going to be teaching them things we wouldn't already know, right?"
"I have no idea," the older one says honestly. "It's a school for aliens, or we are the aliens, I guess. I have no idea what's going to be taught."
A pause, then, "I mean, you would think science, math, grammar, history, right? Basics?"
"Sure," the older one says, offering a little shrug.
The younger one sighs. "You are not helpful, Jake."
"I honestly don't know, Tommy," Jake says softly, watching to make sure the colonel doesn't catch them whispering. When electric blue eyes turn in their direction, Jake puts a hand on Tommy's knee to stop him from speaking. When the eyes turn away, he lifts his hand. Tommy knows the drill. It seems some habits really do die hard. But now, hopefully, things were going to change for them.
Tommy turns identical blue to him, pursing his lips a bit. "Okay. So, where did they send you?"
"I'm, um, security. You?" Jake glances over at his twin before turning back to carefully track the colonel as he walks about the front of the room, still going through his safety briefing.
Tommy's face scrunches up at that. "Why would they put you in security? What the hell? Should we talk to the director?"
"No," Jake says, voice even, finite.
Tommy sighs. "It was probably an oversight. Once they realize, they'll move you somewhere else."
Jake shrugs, not taking his eyes off the pacing man in front of them. He waits, hand moving to Tommy's leg when those blue eyes glide over them, but when they move on, he whispers, "I'm sure. Now, where did they put you?"
"Science department."
Jake's eyebrows raise, but he waits for those eyes to pass over them once more before he says, "That's good. Sounds fun. You'll enjoy that."
Tommy grins in Jake's peripheral. "Yeah. Maybe I can talk to the director about you moving over or something."
Jake shrugs, noncommittal. He's not really a science person. And honestly, them putting him in the security department wasn't all that far off base considering he was in ROTC for as long as he could remember. And, well, seeing as he isn't even on Earth anymore to be recruited into the United States military, someone apparently thought that this was the best place for him. Not that he necessarily believes them to be wrong. He wanted to join the military for a long time, knowing college was never really an option for him.
Tommy was always the smart one. He was going to be going lots of places, and he was going to get there all on his own. Jake, well, Jake was going to be going places too. He just needed a lot of help to get there. And he felt comfortable in ROTC. He liked the structure of it. He liked the regulation, and he liked the order. There wasn't a whole lot of grays involved in what he had experienced. Follow orders. Yes, sir. No, sir. Easy as that. So long as he did as he was told and didn't stand out, he fell into line with everyone else and vanished into the crowd.
Hidden in plain sight.
Besides, how many people join the military nowadays? How many are nameless, faceless men and women doing what they can for their country? Not that Jake is especially patriotic or anything of the like. But, leaving to fight someone else's battles was a lot easier of an idea to wrap his mind around as opposed to staying and dealing with his own.
His only regret was what he was going to tell Tommy. He never wanted to leave his brother and feared that day. He wasn't sure how he was going to tell Tommy that he was leaving - for the military of all things - knowing that his brother was going to be angry with him.
Well, apparently God didn't want to wait for that. He had them packed up and shipped across the galaxy to a world unknown.
This wasn't what he imagined and honestly, not what he wanted either, but... maybe he could be okay with this. His plan could still work. This colonel seems like a hard ass, he probably sees a lot of grunts all day, every day. He... might work to let Jake disappear. Jake has always been good at the 'yes, sir' 'no, sir' sort of things. It's the invisible expectations that get him every time.
So long as he operates just good enough, he should be able to vanish.
The colonel ends the briefing, and the twins join everyone in standing. They both make their way to the door with the crowd when someone calls out, "Sully!"
Both boys turn as someone approaches. A young man in military fatigues walks up to them, looking back and forth, perplexed why two people stopped only to realized that both their faces were the same. His dark eyes flicker back and forth trying to figure out which one of them was who he was looking for. His lips part, close, then part again to sigh, like a headache was forming.
"Who are you looking for?" Tommy asks, taking pity on the man.
"Jacob Sully," the man says.
Tommy looks over at Jake, who nods, tipping his head down a bit. "That's me, sir."
The man looks relieved, turning to Jake. "Sully, Colonel Quaritch wants to speak with you."
"Okay," Tommy says, patting Jake on the back. "I'll go check in with the science department. I'll catch you later, bro."
Jake nods, mutely as his throat closes around his protest, turning to watch his brother fade into the dispersing crowd of people before turning to follow after the young man toward the colonel, who was flanked by a man and woman, he was leaning against a table, arms and ankles crossed, the perfect picture of confidence and composure. Jake was fine with distance between them, but as he draws closer, he feels his head droop lower and lower.
He has to mentally work himself up. Once he stops in front of the colonel, he snaps to a salute, eyes locked onto the spot behind his head, heart pounding in his chest. He always hated being singled out. He preferred to just be in the background.
And immediately, Jake is questioning his life-choices. He really should have just settled for a beggar on the street. Or an office worker. Or a mole person.
At this point, he'll settle for anything so long as he can just vanish from this situation, and any and all that could probably precede it. Wait, there probably isn't enough people here for his to just vanish, like he would be able to in an actual military. Okay, this officially sucks. He could smack himself if he wasn't paralyzed in fear, feeling like all their eyes are seizing him up and down.
He wants to sink into the ground and disappear forever.
"Jacob Sully, is that it?" Quaritch finally says, tilting his head in a way that showed off the scar on the side of his head and face. Faintly, Jake remembers hearing the colonel mention it in his briefing, but Jake was too busy talking to Tommy to catch all that he said about it. And he certainly wasn't going to ask him now. Or at all.
"Yes, sir," Jake says, holding his attention, still not making eye contact.
The colonel huffs, as if something amused him. "At ease, son." Stiffly, Jake falls into ease, eyes still on that spot beyond Quaritch's head. "Now, imagine my surprise when I look through the dossier of all the new, young bloods coming to our lovely little slice of paradise," that elicits a chuckle from the three surrounding him, all of them part of a joke that Jake has no intention of being part of, "and see an entire baby joining our squad."
He called Jake a baby. Which is honestly kind of fair seeing as the man had to be at least two and a half decades his senior. In terms of the military, and even in life, he supposes, Jake is practically a zygote in comparison. Calling him a baby was a kindness.
Jake doesn't respond, not even sure what to say. Or if he was even allowed to, even if he wanted. Which, he didn't. He was still hoping that a massive earthquake would hit them, and the floor would open under his feet. But, alas, it did not.
"How old are you, son?" Quaritch asks, and it takes every ounce of Jake's self-control not to recoil at the name. It's probably one of the nicest names he could be called in this position, but still, it triggers his flight response. He has to struggle to stomp it down.
Swallowing a few times, he manages to choke out, "Seventeen, sir. Technically."
Quaritch nods as his three companions share looks with one another, communicating silently amongst themselves. "Yeah, that whole, six years asleep thing really messes with your perceptions. But yea, let's go with seventeen."
Jake shrinks under Quaritch's gaze and even though the movement is unperceptively small, Jake feels like he's the size of an ant while Quaritch is the size of a skyscraper. Jake's breaths are in small, controlled huffs, and his heart is pounding in his chest. He's not sure he knows what the older man wants from him. He's not sure if he supposed to respond to that or not.
"Are you nervous, son?" Quaritch asks, and Jake has to wonder if it is incredibly obvious so he's pointing it out, or if Jake is hiding it really well, but the colonel has keen enough eyes that he noticed.
Jake has absolutely no idea, but just in case it's the former, Jake rolls his shoulders a bit and refocuses his face for practiced stoicism. It's the nerves. They get him every time. If he can get into his headspace, he should be fine. But he is still feeling the effects of waking up after six years and everything just doesn't feel like it's connecting well. And, admittedly, this man is extremely intimidating. He's acting friendly, which under normal circumstances, would make people relieved. But it doesn't do that for Jake. Platitude and kindness don't relieve him.
It scares the hell out of him.
After a few beats of silence that stretch on too long, Jake realizes that he was asked a question. Finally, he chokes out, "Yes, sir."
Quaritch's eyes follow even the slightest shift of Jake's weight. The young man is feeling incredibly intimidated. Once more, he wishes that the floor would split open, so he didn't have to be here, in the middle of this, for a second longer. These little puffs of breath are not doing anything kind to Jake's lungs. They feel like they are on fire. His nerves are ramped up to a thousand.
If this continues, he's probably going to vomit from the stress.
Quaritch nods slowly, bringing one hand up to rub at the lower half of his face. He sucks in a little breath and asks, "Not a big talker, are you, Sully?"
Jake shakes his head, heart pounding. "No, sir."
Quaritch smiles at that, like something that Jake said amused him. He lets out a little chuckle, jerking his thumb at the two men and one woman standing with them, as if Jake could possibly forget that they were there. "The trick with this lot is getting them to shut up."
They laugh at that, blatantly amused. The man that got Jake reaches over and slaps at the woman's shoulder. "That one is for you, Z-Dog."
The woman grins at that, popping the gum in her mouth, offering a little shrug, but doesn't say anything. It takes Jake a second to realize that he was probably joking. That like Jake, she didn't say a whole lot either. She at least looks amused; Jake feels like he's sweating bullets.
He just wants to be dismissed. Forever, preferably.
This entire thing just started and it's already feeling like a punishment.
"Not at all," Quaritch laughs, amused. "She's one of the few of you lot that I can actually stand." The corner of Z-Dog's lip curls up before she pops another bubble while both men laugh at that.
The younger of the two men, the one that came to get Jake, taps on her arm, grinning. "What do you have on the colonel, Z? I got to know your secret."
She chews for a moment longer before a smile curls her lips and she finally says, "I'm not an annoying shit like some people."
He clutches at his chest, in mock pain. "You're killing me, Z-Dog."
She shakes her head, amused, before turning to Jake, offering a little nod. "Good luck, kid."
Jake offers a shaky nod, praying for that to be a dismissal. His blue eyes turn to Quaritch and maybe it was a dismissal, even by this Z-Dog, or the colonel finally took pity on him, because he nods, hand gesturing for him to go. But before Jake can completely turn around, he says, "We start bright and early, son. Be outside your room at 0600 hours. I'll have someone there to help you get started."
Jake hesitates, wanting nothing more than to literally run for his life, but he forces himself to nod, salute, then turn, retreating quickly. His ears burning as laughter follows after him.
Jake wanders aimlessly until he manages to find his room. He swipes the card they were all given. His room beeps at him before the locking mechanism clicks and he can open the door. The room is bare bones. A bed, bedside table, dresser, a trunk at the foot of the bed, and desk with four drawers. There is another door that leads to a small bathroom with the necessities. A shower stall, toilet and sink. But Jake doesn't intend to leave anything other than his toothbrush and comb in there. Jake spares the room a disinterested look, eyes landing on his duffle, that he dropped onto the trunk. That was all of his world possessions. Jake was told that it was only going to be for a rotation - seven years - but a part of Jake just felt like he was never going back.
And even if he did, there was nothing in that house that he wanted.
Jake sighs, staring at the duffle like it was staring back at him, mocking him. He kneels down, opening the trunk and his duffle. He pulls out his meager belongings separating them between the trunk, which he's going to reserve for anything work related, and the dresser, which is for everything else. With all of his clothes spread out, he hardly fills any of the dresser drawers even a third of the way and trunk only has a razor in it. He puts the two sets of shoes that he owns now - one of which he's wearing - into the closet, neatly on the floor. The comb and toothbrush go into the bathroom and the duffle goes under the bed.
Jake takes a moment to appreciate the order around the room, despite it being plain, it was... clean. Orderly, even. And while it's going to be strange not having Tommy next to him, this could be a good thing. Jake knows that he's been holding Tommy back their whole lives, and this will give his brother a chance to expand his horizons.
Pandora is going to be good for Tommy, Jake just knows it. Who knows? Maybe... maybe it'll be good for the both of them, never mind what just happened. Maybe? Who knows?
Jake had the worst night that he's had in a long time.
Jake and Tommy got to learn together that Tommy still was too nauseous to eat, so they just nibbled a bit once they managed to find the cafeteria. Jake listened quietly as Tommy talked about one of the other new guys that just showed up, just a few years their senior, Norm Spellman. Who seemed, "cool enough" to Tommy with a shrug, but Jake gets the feeling that his brother already liked the guy to which Jake was happy for him.
Thankfully, Tommy didn't ask what the colonel wanted from him, because the last thing that Jake wanted to do was to relive that moment again so soon.
Tommy was more interested in talking about what he and Norm were going to be doing, or at least, what they think they were doing. The head of the division, Grace Augustine, herself, was currently "indisposed" but they were talking with her second, a nice man named Max Patel, that was just running them through some of the things that they were doing. As Tommy talked, getting more and more excited, Jake tried to follow along, but quickly realized he wasn't sure of anything that his brother was talking about.
Jake just listened quietly, which, thankfully was his default so it didn't prompt Tommy into wondering if something was wrong. Nor did it force Jake to admit that he had no idea what his brother was talking about. Jake just picked at his food, nodding and making noises of affirmation as he listed to his brother talk, long enough to get them through dinner. Thankfully, sort of, Tommy could bring himself to stomach anything, so he was content to fill the silence with his excitement.
Once they went their separate ways, Jake made it back to his room, set the small alarm on his bedside table before changing into his pajamas, locating the hamper back in the corner, nearly hidden by the desk, before crawling into bed and...
Staring at the ceiling. All. Night. Long.
Not a wink of sleep. No amount of tossing and turning. No amount of counting or reciting the alphabet over and over again was enough to settle his mind. It wasn't so much that his mind was racing, which it was at some points, but mostly it was just the silence. He's lived with Tommy laying by his side, snoring or humming in his sleep, occasionally talking, for his entire life. This silence is... eerie.
Maybe it's because he just spent the last six years asleep. It's got to be that. He hasn't expended enough energy to warrant sleep.
God, he hopes that's it.
Regardless, after painstakingly waiting, Jake is staring at the ceiling of his room, slow blinking for the last hour before his alarm clock starts beeping. He turns it off and sits up, thankfully not yet feeling the full drag of a sleepless night, but tomorrow is going to be hell, no doubt. Without waiting any longer, he moves to get ready. He showers, shaves his face clean and hair to regulation, figuring it was probably the same as it would have been back home, before putting on his pants and a simple t-shirt, being sure to tuck it in and wear a belt.
He opens the door at the sound of the knock, already ready. The guy that came to get him the day before is standing there. He gives Jake a look, grinning, as if pleased. "Don't worry, kid, they'll have your uniform for you by the end of the day." Jake wasn't worried, but he nods all the same. "Alright, to the cafeteria for a quick breakfast and then off to work. You ready?" Jake nods again. "Alright, let's go." Without waiting, the young man turns on his heel and saunters off. Jake follows silently.
Thankfully, the guy, Sean Fike, didn't mind Jake's quieter nature. He was content to fill the silence between them with his own ramblings. He served one tour back on Earth for the US military before coming to Pandora. He was born in Kentucky and always dreamed of bigger and better things. Which ultimately lead him to deciding to come to Pandora in search of excitement.
"Yeah, I've only been here six months," Fike was saying around the mouthful of food. Jake nods, forcing himself to eat as much as possible, knowing that he's going to need it. He can't be not sleeping and not eating. His body will not survive that. Especially if he's going to be working in security. "Which, don't you think is weird?"
Jake stares at him, confused. After a few seconds of them staring at one another, Jake realizes that Fike was waiting for him to say something, so Jake quietly says, "I... guess?"
Fike gives him a look. "It takes six years to get here, right?" Jake nods. "So... why would they send two ships six months apart from one another, huh?" He raises his eyebrows, like he was on to something. Jake just stares at him, honestly unsure of what he wanted. Jake certainly had no idea. Those decisions were made by people who should, hopefully, know what they're doing.
"I don't know," Jake admits, when he realizes that Fike is still waiting. "Someone made that decision."
"Sure," Fike says, rolling his eyes. "But why? What happened? From what I've been told, this is very unusual. They've never sent two ships so close together like that. What do you think changed?"
Jake shakes his head again, taking another bite of his food, using his chewing as an excuse to keep quiet.
Fike, thankfully, accepts that, as he continues to roll through his speculations on what happened, not really giving Jake any time to process any of them before moving on to the other, or waiting to hear any of Jake's input - which he thankfully had none - and after a grueling hour of this, Fike finally made the call that they spent enough time "messing around" and it was now time to get to work.
Jake's day was split into two. The first half could only be described as boot camp, where he actually learned how to both be a soldier and how to operate under the colonel's death grip on the safety of this place. He was in charge of everything that had anything to do with safety, military, and anything of the like. He was almost like a pseudo boss of this place. Basically, anything he said, goes.
Despite being seventeen, they were going to teach him everything he needed to work within their operations. He was going to be one of them, whether he wanted to be or not. And child labor laws apparently don't exist if there is no one around to enforce it. Which was fine, it was hard work, but he liked that he was able to vanish into the crowd of others also on their first day. Most already knew what they were doing, as former military, and mercenaries, but they all had to learn the way the colonel ran things. It was his way or the highway.
Thankfully, everything thus far was all plain and simple.
People kept asking Jake why someone so young was on the mission. Why the company would have allowed that, and Jake's answer was always the same.
"I have no idea."
And people, thankfully, lost interest when they realized that he honestly had no idea why he was there. He's sure he's centered around some rumors, but so long as it doesn't last a long time, Jake is willing to accept that this was all normal. Soon, him being there won't matter to anyone at all. He'll just be another one of them. Just doing what they to survive in an obviously unfamiliar, strange environment.
One of the hardest parts of the training, aside from trying to remember everything, it was having to exorcise with a mask on his face, as Pandora's air wasn't breathable for humans.
The second half of his day was learning all the rules and regulations that he was supposed to memorize in order to keep the facility running as it should. He had to learn all the code words, all the frequencies on the headset and for what purpose they are. He needed to learn about all the dos and don'ts. He learned about uniform regulations, as well as getting his uniform and few spares of everything in case. He then had to study maps of the base and the surrounding areas to get acquainted with what could possibly happen.
He had others in this class with him, and while they were all asking questions and taking notes, Jake was just trying to wrap his mind around everything. He was never going to be smart enough to do whatever it was he's sure Tommy's doing, but he figured that he would at least be smart enough to figure this out. He feels like his brain is leaking out of his ears as he tries to wrap his mind around everything. Thankfully, he's just writing everything down to look over again later.
Maybe... maybe he will ask Tommy to help him.
Everyone was always saying that Tommy was a lot better than him at things like this. More academic things, he supposed. That was probably everyone's nice way of saying that he was the stupid twin, which was fair. He wasn't Tommy. Tommy could do everything. Nothing was every hard for Tommy, and he was smarter than anyone else that Jake knew.
Jake didn't get to see Tommy that night. Jake missed his brother and wanted to know if he was doing alright, but he didn't want to bother him if he was enjoying himself. So, he went to the cafeteria alone, ate alone, and went back to his room alone. He made sure to shower again, set his clothes into the hamper before changing into his pajamas for the night. As he was drying his hair, he stops.
Over the desk, there is a window, that has no way to open it, and is only there to offer some natural light to the room. There are bright lights pointed out toward the forest surrounding the perimeter of the facility, just past the electrified fences. So, Jake was surprised to see some form of... floating dust ball hovering outside his window. Jake moves closer, watching as it dances, bouncing up and down just outside his window. It is all white and almost... glowing.
It had a bulbus body, with long, feather-like tendrils that sprout out from the top and curve all the way down past the body of it. It floats and bounces back and forth, definitely like it's dancing. Jake leans in close to the window, stomach pressing into the desk, as the ball of white light, moves closer, pressing to the window, but Jake doesn't hear any sound. It must not be strong enough to make any sort of noise. Or heavy enough, at least.
It doesn't... appear threatening. But Jake's just not sure what it is. Is it a creature? A beast of some sort? A seed from a dandelion? Or the Pandora equivalent? Something poisonous? Something... something?
Jake had absolutely no idea.
Upon closer inspection, something in the bulbus body of the... thing, is... moving. Like twinkling lights moving back and forth in the small space. Jake stares at it for a long moment, and the longer he stares, the more he feel... different. Like he was slowly slipping out of his own body and falling into the lights. He could feel his body starting to relax, feel his mind start to empty as the questions died away, and then... it was like he was falling. Slowly, serenely, into the lights. Into the blinking and the flashing and the gentle swaying of the... thing.
More and more and more, until something in his brain snaps, and Jake throws himself backwards, hitting the ground hard on his back, staring at the window. Huffing loudly, heart pounding, from his angle on the floor, Jake can't see the thing anymore. He jumps up, but keeps a step away from the window, as it bounces for a few moments more before floating away on an invisible breeze, moving opposite the way the trees beyond were being pushed.