Chapter 2: Preparations and Observations

Location: Washington confederacy Senate chamber

Date: April 28th 2385

Zao hated journalists; it was not that he hated the profession itself, the public deserved to know the truth. But for the journalists themselves he had few kind feelings for, remembering the days of constant propaganda, of news headlines speaking of a victory that was just over the horizon if they only worked a little harder, pushed a little farther. Now he was giving propaganda rather than receiving it, and the irony was not lost on him as he walked to the podium; the flash of cameras and the shouts of reporters echoing through the large room. The entire building had been swarming with them the minute the news broke.

"Intelligent life discovered"

That was the headline they decided to go with and the media had turned into a feeding frenzy desperate for answers.

Behind him was a man by the name of Parker Selfridge who had been assigned by the RDA to be his civil administrator, in charge of keeping the miners and workers in order. He was a short, thin man with a nasally voice and the kind of face that almost begged you to punch it. The Resource Development Administration had been the company the republic had chosen to mine on Pandora and had also been the company helping to excavate the Chiron relay.

As he stood there Selfridge behind and beside him he looked into the sea of reporters easily over a hundred strong. Deciding to get ahead of them he raised his hands and managed to get the noise down to a level where he could think.

"Before we begin I would like to get the more pressing questions over with. Yes one month ago the University of Berlin received footage from the xeno-moon we have taken to calling Pandora. There they found evidence of a Stone Age society of humanoids living there. Also geo-scans of the moon have shown vast reserves of eezo, enough that we could build thousands of ships for colonization." He said as the wave of question washed over him.

"When is the expedition due to leave" he heard a reporter say.

"We are expected to leave on August 12th" he replied matter of factly.

"Is it true you will be taking most of the republics eezo capable ships?"

And there was the point of this whole excursion. When the Prothean beacon was found on mars they found with it a small reserve of eezo; only enough for a dozen ships or so and if it hadn't been for the constant teleportation of material to and from mars they would be decades or even a century away from performing such an operation.

"Given the importance of our mission and the distance to the moon, we deemed it necessary" He answered.

"Sir; what are your plans for the aliens on the planet." One reporter asked hoping for him to say something that would get her some sort of dirty detail.

"Our current rules of engagement are to leave them alone while the RDA mines the eezo and if such a time that the aliens attempt to make contact we will commence from there. We have already been in talks with the followers of the apocalypse as well as scientists from the institute to provide biologists, zoologists, linguists and many other professionals to learn about them and assist in dialogue." He said trying his best to not give her an in.

"And what if they are hostile?" Another reporter said jumping at the opportunity.

"Currently I will be leading 1000 marines to secure the sight and protect the 1500 miners. Though we will do our best to deescalate the situation if conflict comes about" Zao stated doing his best to not let his annoyance bleed through.

"Doesn't that seem excessive if they are at such a primitive level of technology"? Another reporter asked in a leading tone.

"The natives are not the only possible threat on the moon. We have seen recordings of massive megafauna that travel in herds and are as big as a mirelurk queens as well as numerous other carnivorous wildlife that will necessitate the need for such a large number of troops." He answered as he motioned for the lights to darken.

There a video began to play behind him showing footage from another eyebot flying high in the sky as it observed massive creatures wading in the water each easily as big as Zao had described. The 'smaller' ones were awash in colours of orange on its flanks and blues over its ribbed black. The larger ones were grayer in colour with large flat heads like a hammerhead shark.

Flying past them the recording then fast forwarded until a shadow shrouded the camera in darkness. Turning around the eyebot was only able to record a few seconds before some large creature swooped down onto it cutting the feed though its size was obvious as it spread its wings. All the while the reporters had been taking pictures of every moment.

"Also the moon has been observed to have a strong electromagnetic field that will limit the effectiveness of some of our more advanced systems." He announced as he signaled for the lights to turn back on; the reporters being quick to continue their questions.

"You said that the eezo would be for colonization; are you planning to colonize Pandora" another reporter asked.

"It would be a waste of time to try" Zao stated, agitated by the implication.

"Atmospheric scans have shown the moon has levels of carbon-dioxide that would result in death within 3 minutes. The only way to colonize the moon would be to terraform it which would certainly cause the complete ecological collapse of the moon. And this was decided before we found out about the aliens" he finished.

"And what right do you have to take the eezo from them in the first place." A female reporter demanded pushing for her voice to be heard.

Zao didn't show it but on the inside he cringed as she announced the million dollar question; truthfully Zao had asked himself that question multiple times before this conference and despite his own personal misgivings he had made as much peace with it as he could. But getting to watch as her smug grin was washed away did soften the blow.

"As I said; from recordings of their encampments the aliens are currently in a Stone Age level of technology; they will have no need for it regardless. But if they do take offence we are prepared to make whatever trades and agreements necessary to maintain our quota. Also the site for our first mine is several dozen kilometers away from any observed alien population." He said as he continued his offensive gripping onto the podium as support fingers turning white as he squeezed.

"I know what many of you might be thinking at home, there are many who still breathe that remember the days where gangs of raiders were behind every corner, ready to rape and pillage because they would rather steal then produce, destroy rather than create. But we are not them; the eezo is needed and it has not been found anywhere else. The Chiron relay is close to being excavated and once it is we will need as much of it as we can. Our population is growing; it needs the resources to expand lest we find ourselves in the same situation that nearly killed us all. Trust in me; as a man who lived and suffered through those dark days that we will not be like them."

Finishing his speech he stared down the women before she finally sat down, the newfound silence hanging as he left the podium and the conference, the roar of the reporters returning with intensity as he left Selfridge to finish up. He had a job to do and a future to secure.

Location: Washington confederacy 'Brotherhood Citadel'

Date: May 5th 2385 15:45

The Citadel; once known as the pentagon had served as the Brotherhood of Steel's command center for centuries and had seen much renovation and expansion over that time. Nestled next the Potomac River the facility had been expanded to nearly three times its original size with multiple sub-levels underneath. It was so large it would not be an exaggeration to call it a city within a city where scribes and knights developed and tested new weapons and technology.

The interior spoke of their utilitarian nature as there was not a hint of wasted space. If it wasn't for a computer it was for a gun rack and if not that than some other piece of equipment as Zao watched from an observation room deep in one of their sub-levels as brotherhood knights fired their laser rifles. Even through the thick glass he could hear the crackle of energy as beam after beam struck their target leaving small red hot marks with each hit.

"As you can see our knights armed with these new laser rifles will be more than capable of handling anything there is planet side." Anthony announced with pride as though talking about his own children.

Head sword scribe Anthony was an older man with thick rimmed glasses. Even after being administered FEV you could see the graying hair and wrinkles forming around his mouth and eyes. Though trying to compare appearances as a Necro-human was never a good idea Zao thought to himself.

He had been assigned as the leader of the Brotherhood delegation to Pandora and had hit the ground running as he had asked Zao to look over all the new 'toys' they would be bringing.

'To help familiarize him with the equipment and to put to its best use' had been his reasoning.

Looking down on the table in front of him he saw a model of these new rifles. The design had moved away from the boxy, rectangular design of the pre-war AER series to look more like traditional kinetic rifles.

The laser rifle now had a more traditional barrel hiding the sensitive focusing lens inside the guns housing. The micro-fusion cell that was once cylinder shaped and held horizontal to the sights had seen a complete redesign with the cell now in the shape of a traditional magazine and loaded on the underside of the gun. Picking up the gun a wave of nostalgia hit Zao as he held it in his hand; it had been designed after the type 93 assault rifles from china. Though the wooden grip and fore grip had been replaced with carbon fibre the shape was unmistakable to him. Hoisting the gun against his shoulder, he rested his cheek against the cold metal as he aimed it against the far wall; memories of boot camp and his drill sergeant flashing through his mind.

"These will do nicely." He said "Though atmospheric scans of the planet show that its atmosphere is 20% denser than earths. Will this affect its performance?"

"Hardly sir" the scribe said as he beckoned for the rifle. "These rifles are rated for a laser divergence of less than eight picometers per meter and their energy output will be enough for it to cross a distance of around 1100 meters without suffering significant thermal bloom. Though as per your instruction, only my people shall be given access to energy weapons." He finished as he slid in the rifles MF cell as he racked the charging handle back letting the energy flow into the gun. A small green light glowing under the iron sights showing how much charge there was inside.

Zao was thankful for that; it wouldn't do anyone good if the public saw natives with sticks and stones being gunned down with laser weapons.

"Would you like to fire it sir?" he said looking at Zao expectantly. Zao nodded and the two walked out from the observation room the rolling hiss of the doors marking their entrance though most were too busy to notice. Coming up to one of the isles Anthony returned the rifle to Zao as he unfolded the stock and aimed down sight, looking at the human shaped target. Steadying his breath he slowly squeezed the trigger as a beam of crimson light sprung from the barrel and impacted the target leaving a glowing red mark roughly the size of his eye in the metal.

"In addition we've taken to replacing the titanium housing the crystal array with tungsten making it even more durable to both the elements and the lasers heat. You could burry this gun for a week in mud and it would still fire a thousand shots without issue. Also the MF cells have been designed with solar panels on each side for charging while in the field." He said with pride as Zao turned the gun noticing the solar panels gleaming against the artificial light.

Ejecting the cell and putting the rifle down Zao accessed his pip-boy and began jotting down notes. The guns themselves would definitely be overkill if used against the Natives though they should prove useful against the megafauna.

"Excellent, now I believe you have some other things to show me". He said as the two began to walk away from the firing range.

As the walked he could see Anthony moving his hand to his ear obviously ordering for the next demonstration to be prepared. Until the came to a large security door a shield emblazoned on it. Zao watched as Anthony scanned his hand as the large door shuttered open revealing more scribes and brotherhood knights repairing and maintaining their power armor. The sound of machinery, the glare of welding torches and the shower of sparks assaulting his senses as the two pushed through.

"Due to the lack of any real threat imposed by the natives we've elected to pull some our old t-51s, t-45s and t-60s out of storage. Though as you can see they require a bit of a retrofit, can't help that the armor was designed for people under six feet" he chuckled to himself.

Through another door they were inside another observation room and as the pair moved closer to the glass he could see a lone soldier standing below them in a large room nearly the size off a soccer field with several cars and barricades strewn about along with flashing red lights spread out across the ceiling.

The soldier was wearing a suit of power armor and from head to toe Zao could tell it was resilient. Thick heavy boots flowed up to angled greaves and thigh armor. From there it came to a bulky, armored chest and arms with pauldrons that were rough and angular with black paint covering most of it. Though what was most striking was the helmet. Like a pig it had a long snout like design and large orange lenses over the eyes that angled down slightly giving it a scowling appearance.

"I have to give those Protheans credit; whoever they were they were masters of miniaturization. With their tech the newer models weigh almost 35% less." Anthony said one hand on his hip and the other pointing to the soldier.

It was the Hellfire Mark 2 power armor and just like he said it was now far more form fitting, resembling more a suit of armor than an armored mech removing the need for artificial hands. In said hands however was what he could surmise as some sort of weapon. From where he stood it looked to be around three feet long and blood red with a stock that reached all the way under the trigger to become part of the grip and barrel.

"This is paladin Xavier and he will be showing you our latest in flamethrower technology; perfect for clearing any dense foliage." The scribe said before he pressed a button beneath the glass and spoke into the loudspeaker signaling the paladin to begin.

At once Xavier hoisted his weapon to his hip and aimed it towards a wooden barricade made of crates and barrels. With a pull from the trigger Zao had to squint as the room was bathed in a violet-blue light as the flames consumed the flimsy fortification. From his position he watched as the wood near instantly began to char, the wood turning white before finally disintegrating into ash. The whole process was over in seconds and by the end only a large pile of ash and a large column of smoke was left.

"Proceed to demonstration two" Anthony ordered as the armored soldier turned towards a car hidden inside a shipping container.

Spacing himself about nine feet away the soldier pulled the trigger once again bathing the room in violet-blue. Again the weapon proved its utility as the shipping container began to melt, rivers of molten metal flowed like water around the edges of the flame with the car inside faring no better as the heat bored its way straight through the obstacle until it finally breached the other side; the whole container buckle and sink into itself.

After several long seconds Xavier released the trigger letting the fire dissipated leaving only a quickly darkening pool of metal, patches of glowing orange mixing with black and clumps of half melted container dangling from a hole large enough for Zao to walk through.

"That would be our newly designed flamethrower; we've taken to calling the Bushmaster. The flames are able to reach temperatures of 3200 degrees Celsius. Its casing is made of saturnite with the fuel and propellant housed and reloaded through the stock reducing the potential for any battlefield debris or enemy fire setting it off. And armored in the Mark 2 Hellfire power armor they will remain combat effective even in the middle of the flames."

Zao had to admit he was impressed, with their initial landing zone inside the moon rainforests it would be imperative to clear as much of it as possible and quickly.

"And how many will the brotherhood be bringing to Pandora." he asked inquisitively dotting down notes in his pip-boy.

"Several dozen of the bushmasters will be ready for departure but for the older suits it will be around one hundred." He replied turning his head from the glass to Zao.

Closing his eyes for a moment the ancient admiral mulled over the size of the facility they will need to construct to house and maintain so many suits.

"Good, what's next" Zao asked finishing his notes as he was once again lead through the facility.

As they walked Zao could see the design of the hallways begin to change. From simple concrete and vaulted ceilings came pristine white walls as they entered through another heavy set of doors with the object of his question was plain to see. It was large, easily as tall as he was and coloured white and grey. It almost looked like a sea mine though with fewer, larger spikes. Moving towards it he could see it was being attended to by other scribes as they moved about from one piece of it too another.

"This is the Mesmebomb the latest in mass non-lethal subjugation; once activated it will fire off a high frequency wave that will render everyone and everything unconscious within one kilometer for up to twenty minutes". Anthony announced as he rubbed his hand against the device.

"And before you ask, we've hardened the electrical components so the moons electromagnetic interference shouldn't have an effect on it and we were able to drop the likely hood of 'spontaneous cranial eruption' to as low as 1-3%" Anthony said happily.

It was Zao that had asked for the device specifically in the event of diplomatic breakdown. Even with the chance of death it would be better for a few to die than for all of them too.

"Excellent you do the Brotherhood justice, now if this is all I will take my leave" Zao said as he began to walk away.

"Actually sir, there is one more piece I have to show you. It is experimental but given the environment that you will be heading to it would be the perfect testing ground" he said simply as he rubbed his hands together.

Zao thought for a moment; everything else up till now had been satisfactory so he could spare a few extra minutes to see what he has.

"Alright, show me" he said as Anthony reached for his ear piece; a large smile growing across his face.

"Bring out the wraith"

Location: Omaticaya Village

Date: May 10th 2385 18:12

Arvok sat once again in his tree, the same tree where he had seen the strange flying creature all those nights ago silently hoping he would hear its buzz again. But each night he had only silence for company as he slept. Some had taken to asking him why he had begun to sleep away from Hometree but he knew better than to answer truthfully. Ever since that night he had been given looks and had heard laughter from those that either did not know or care if he heard.

His parents had seen fit to leave him alone and for that he was thankful but his brother…

He had kept his grudge close to his heart and refused to speak to him. Perhaps he should at least try to apologize if only to placate him. He mused on this until a light voice came from below.

"Hey" said the voice again.

Turning his head to the forest floor he found the source of the familiar voice in the smiling form of Neytiri looking back at him. The two had never been close for most of their lives with only the arranged marriage between their siblings bringing them into contact. Now though it was as if they were joined at the hip. Though it would be a lie for him to say he didn't enjoyed her company. Visually she was rather different from her sister and in his mind more attractive with a smaller forehead and large yellow eyes that always looked like a question was hiding behind them. And despite her being the younger of the two she had been almost half a head taller than Sylwanin for as long as he could remember, leaving the two at about eye level with each other.

Hopping down from his perch he landed with a dull thud a few feet away from her.

"Soooo… see any signs of the creature"? She asked looking at him with an expression that said she already knew the answer.

"No" he sneered in annoyance at the situation; kicking a small stone into the underbrush.

"Whatever it was it doesn't seem to want to come back" he said as he looked back at her.

Neytiri looked to be deep in thought as her ears flattened against her head before striking back up like an arrow.

"Then we will have to find it" she proclaimed, a smug smile on her lips as she marched past him grabbing his hand.

'Her hands are soft' he thought to himself as they walked blood rushing to his cheeks. Before he snapped himself back to reality

"And how do you suppose we do that"? He questioned doing little to try and free himself as they walked back to Hometree. In the time they had spent together he had learned that she could be rather… determined once she had made up her mind.

"Easy we'll fly" she said as though it the most obvious thing in the world.

"Won't your parents be mad, if they find out you went flying by yourself"? He asked silently hoping he wouldn't have to fly.

"Probably" was all she said as she continued on undeterred, to Arvok's chagrin.

As they entered into the village with many gathered around the fires, some singing songs whilst others compared the sizes of the animals they had killed. The children would squeal and giggle as their parents and friends chased them.

It brought a feeling of wholesomeness to him as moved their way through. But once they came close to the trunk of the tree he heard a noise he truly did not want to.

"Oy Arvok seen any shiny, flying creatures lately" came a condescending voice as he twisted his head to see the grinning face of Takuk.

Takuk was one of his brothers hunting partners and had been friends with him since they were young. His face was a constant scowl and his smiles were as kind as a viper wolves and a hairline that made even Sylwanin's forehead look tiny. Though the years of familiarity with Takuk had done nothing for their opinion of each other with Takuk believing him to be too weak to become one of the people and himself seeing Takuk as a far less exceptional version of his brother; undeserving of his ego.

Beside him was Maru who like Arvok had not yet become a full member of the clan and perform Tsaheylu with a banshee. She had made a habit of covering the left half of her face with her hair after falling into a fire pit as a child, though from her one visible eye she was staring daggers at Takuk.

"Leave them alone, besides I'm sure Neytiri has something she wants to show him" she said looking at Neytiri as the pull on his arm reappeared as they walked away.

"Oh I'm sure she does… ha-ha OW!" was all Arvok heard from behind him, a smirk crossing both of their faces as they made their way into the tree.

The climb up the tree was thankfully much less irritating with only the quick glance or murmur as they climbed higher and higher until finally they reached the canopy. Up here there was none of the ambient noise of chatter and footsteps or the crackling of logs; only the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves and the low, rumbling breathing of sleeping banshees. Feeling Neytiri's hand leave his she motioned him to stay as she hurried off further into the dark.

Now all alone with his thoughts his mind returned to the day of his proving on the floating mountains. When he had tried to bond with a banshee which resulted in him nearly falling to his death and having his arm bitten off; the phantom pain appearing in his mind as he looked down at his right arm, the upper half lined with scars from where it had sunk its fangs. Before the memories could appear in full he felt a cold chill crawl up his spine. It the feeling he got whenever he went hunting only to find a viper wolf stalking him from behind.

Turning around just barely in sight was Mo-at, Tsahik of the Omaticaya staring at him. No she wasn't staring at him, but through him as though she was peering into his soul.

"I see you, Tsahik" Arvok stammered out as he tried to hide his surprise and give proper respect.

Mo-at just continued to stare into him for several long moments creating a tension that could almost be seen before she turned away and back down into the tree never saying a word and only serving to increase the nervousness he felt.

He stood in the dark for a few minutes the encounter worrying him. Why was she there? was she following us? Does she know?

Questions swirled in his mind as he focused on the grooves in the bark beneath his feet, trying to calm his mind. Until he felt a gust of wind behind him and the sound of flapping wings as he turned to see a large yellow eye peering down at him. Their skin was turquoise with patterns of black draped across the wings.

"Seze this is Arvok, Arvok Seze" Neytiri said with a confident smile, until she saw the distressed look on his face.

"What happened"? She asked her tone growing cautious as her mount shivered in psychic resonance with her.

"Your mother was here" he said plainly, still unsure of what she wanted.

"What did you say"? She asked.

"That's the thing, she didn't say anything. She just stared at me" he said in bewilderment.

The two were silent for a moment before Neytiri said "Well whatever she wanted, she either doesn't know or care so let's go before she changes her mind".

Arvok had to agree and when compared to climbing back down and seeing Mo-at again he would take flying.

Coming closer Seze turned their head to reveal Neytiri's hand as she hoisted him behind her and guided Seze to the edge of the branch.

"I've never done this, just so you know" Arvok said as he looked down doing his best to not sound scared which only caused Neytiri to turn back at him and grin.

"Then you better hold on" she said as Seze leaped of the edge and the world rose to meet them. Arvok took her advice as he wrapped his arms tight around her waist, too scared to be embarrassed as he felt the wind rush by them. The few seconds of falling felt like hours until Seze unfolded her wings and glide.

"So how do you like it"? Neytiri asked as Arvok opened his eyes and was awe struck as he gazed out across the world. Looking back he could see how small the village was as they flew farther away.

"So which way did that thing come from"? She asked as Arvok tried to reorient himself to the moment he saw it.

"It came from… that direction". He said pointing southwest of the village as Neytiri guided Seze silently through the night sky.

It took several hours but eventually they spotted something and it was only thanks to them flying at night that they saw it.

Where in the day they might have seen nothing but a clearing hidden away in a small valley; where in the dark they could see it. In an ocean of glowing blues, greens and purples it stood out both for the lack of those colours and the blinking red lights that shined in their place.

"Fly us close to that dark clearing" he said pointing to it as they began to descend.

As they got closer it became clear that the clearing was not natural. All the trees had been cut down. Both were shocked as Seze reached the ground the fear only grew. Hesitant to even set foot on the ground, their eyes glued both to the trees stumps and the tree line as Arvok placed a hand on the stump, its rings telling of a long life. He knew whatever did this was sharp; the cut was clean as were the hundred others.

It was then they heard it, for Neytiri it was the first but Arvok recognized it immediately only this time it was louder, much louder.

"Arvok I think we should go" he heard Neytiri say from behind fear evident in her voice as she shook his shoulder.

Arvok was torn between his fear and his curiosity, he had come he looking for answers but only found more questions.

The shake became a pull as Neytiri pulled at his shoulder, he wanted to see it, to know the why but as the buzzing came closer his fear finally won out as the piled back onto Seze fleeing that place as though hell itself was chasing them into the night.

: Native fauna detected on site, lethal force authorized

: Negative, sapient detected, lethal force belayed

: Roger, sapient appear to show use of flying mounts, new data sent

: Affirmative, returning to standard patrol

AUTHORS NOTES

Second chapter done and done. This is my first published fanfiction so don't hesitate to review and I'd like to thank Fury Joe for being my first ever reviewer. Also to answer his question, no I don't plan on having the other species show up in this story as it is only a prequel to set up the Na'vi in my main story.