Chapter 13: If you build it

Location: N/A

Date: N/A

Zao let out a breath, faint wisps wafting in the cold surroundings as he found himself back in this place, his Yangtze. But it was not his Yangtze, that one had been stripped for parts, it rusted frame long gone in the harbor of Hong Kong. No, it was not his. But still he looked up watching the flickering lights buzz in his ears, shuttering on and off and revealing a long hallway. As he gazed at it, the corridor seeming to grow longer and the more he looked he felt a strange and familiar compulsion to walk. Hearing and feeling the dull, rumbling thuds of his boots against the rusted metal he made his way down the hall. The walls creaked and groaned, long and low like the call of some wild unseen animal.

As he walked he began to feel something wet and bristling with legs crawling up his back feeling each and every step it made but he knew better than to look, there was nothing there he wanted to see. The hallway kept going and going, his steps feeling shorter. Was this how it was going to end this time, would he only get this far? Than he saw it, the hatch, amidst the rusted hall it was the only thing that was left pristine, its hand wheel bright and red. It was agonizing how slow he was going, closer and closer until finally he made it to the door. It was than he began to hear the whispers of so many familiar voices.

He closed his eyes and waited for the moment, that was how this nightmare always ended, darkness enveloping him and then he would be back in the real world. But that moment never came, and a surreal unease fell over him as he stared at that red wheel. He could just wait, he'd have to wake up eventually but he was again compelled, this time by his own will to see. Taking both hands on the wheel, he held his breath and began to twist. The wheel was like molasses twisting an inch for every pound of effort and even in the confines of this place, he felt himself begin to tire feeling his brow slick with sweat. He could hear the inner workings of the door grind as it began to open and looking down he began to see trickles of water seep out from behind the seams and training centuries old screamed at him to stop. But he pressed on and eventually the door gave way with one last crank and snapping click.

Steeling himself and with a shaky exhale he pulled the door open, flakes of rust breaking off the hinges as he was greeted by a wall of water. It was so strange he needed a moment to even process what he was seeing. It was as if he was looking inside a fish bowl but without and glass as the water rippled and lapped all across the edges door yet not a drop fell.

And inside that yawning pool was a pulsing green light that like with pulsed like a heart and shadowed by its light were dozens figures staring back at him, black eyes darker than the water that surrounded them. Their clothing floating and swaying around as they stared at them and he knew each of their faces even as they were and had been.

But before he could do anything else the subs alarm began to blare. Turning his head he saw the flashing siren coating everything in shades of black and red. He then began to hear growling and only had enough time to see the necrotic face of officer Chang lunged at him, mouth filled with broken teeth, arms out stretched.

He woke up with a sharp gasp, every muscle tensing as he tried to lift his arms to defend himself. He stared at the ceiling, quick shaky breathes going in and out as his body rode through the jolt. He pressed his hands into his face, "when would these nightmares end?" he thought to himself and immediately gave himself the answer "when you're dead"

Taking a long breath he became aware of the alarm clock on his pip-boy that had been the cause for his awakening, showing it to be 7:03 AM. "Shit" he sighed, he really didn't want to get up today but the voice of ELMA shot that wish in the head.

"Zao, you are late for your morning briefing" she said as he peeled the covers off and let his feet touch the cold, metal floor. "

"Thank you ELMA , tell them I'll be there soon" he breathed as he slowly stood up, awaiting the flair of pain from the injury to his ankle and received the first bit of good news as the pain had dissipated, the swelling having gone down without a sign of previous injury.

"And tell Sullivan I want him there as well" he added and knew that she had heard him.

Completing his morning rituals and getting dressed, snapping himself back into the air and image of their impeccable Admiral he pressed the button to open his door and filed out into the hallway. The main building of hell's gate was still being constructed as engineers and technicians walked and worked through the halls like worker ants. But even amidst their great deal of work those that noticed him gibe their best attempt at a salute. They did not have to; they were directly part of his command structure but he supposed it was a matter of respect. He was responsible for their safety.

"Like you were for us" the voices from the dream said, biting and vengeful. "It would be different this time" he whispered, more to himself than the voices, hoping beyond hope that it would be true.

Finally he came to the command center, two republic marines snapping a salute as he did the same, the door sliding away as he passed through and saw Selfridge, Quaritch, Anthony and Sullivan waiting for him.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting, let us begin" he announced as he came to the large holo-table and noticed the lack of the only other Necro of rank.

"Where is Ms. Augustine" he questioned as the image of ELMA emerged from the table.

"Grace Augustine has elected to continue her study of the local flora and fauna of the planet" she said as Zao quirked his long gone brow. He did not like her, in fact he might of gone as far as to say he hated her but personal feelings should not be getting in the way

"She does realize that these briefings are so clear communication of goals and happenings can be done" he said as the AI gave of annoyed remembrance.

"Ms. Augustine made it clear she had no desire to come and to quote without the flowery language "I will speak to him when I have something" she told him and Zao had to fight to keep a grimace off his face.

"How is the construction of the mine going" he asked Selfridge, the man perking up with the mention of his work.

"Better than expected" he smiled, pulling out a data slate and began running down the numbers. "We're ahead of schedule and from what I've been told by my tunnelers there might be even more eezo in the ground than we initially thought and since we've began operations we've already pulled out nearly three thousand kilograms."

Zao eyes widened at that, the mine had only been open for a day and a half.

"That much" he repeated, wanting to make sure that he heard him correctly.

"Yes, the tunnelers have been digging like mole rats on jet looking for veins of the stuff, plus their getting paid by the tonne so don't lack for encouragement." He said, with no small amount of pride, it having been his idea to get them to work as hard as possible and it had definitely paid off.

Zao had to keep his jaw from hitting the floor, with current technology that was enough eezo to make the drive cores of half a dozen frigate sized ships and as the true scale that number represented he let out a low breath. This moon was without a single doubt the most vital resource to the republic in its admittedly short history.

"Well done, tell them to keep up the good work" he finally said, the shock still settling as he looked over to Quaritch. "What about our defences, has the wild life given us many more issues?"

Quaritch straightened himself. "For now there have been no major incidents besides the initial battle yesterday night" he told relayed and the reminder of his injured soldiers stabbed at him for his failure and he could not help but the words the voice said.

"But it seems the desire for death is not unique to them" he continued. "One of the big creatures called a Talioang came rushing in from the brush, the turrets killed it but it still had enough momentum to slide into the pit"

"Was anyone injured" Zao worried.

"Thankfully not but it slowed extraction as they needed to pull the damn thing out" Selfridge explained and Zao sighed in relief in his mind and with it came an idea.

"How often would you say these animals are attacking" he asked inquisitively.

"Every few hours or so" Selfridge said as Zao nodded his head, feeling the ghost of smile crease his features as he looked over to the priest.

"Perfect; Sullivan you have my permission to use the trees to build your church. How many laborers do you think you'll need" he as he watched Sullivan's face brighten. "Oh I'd like to have it finished within a week so fifty or so would be good"

"Zao with all due respect I think we have more important things to worry about than a church" Selfridge tried to argue but Zao would not hear it.

"Like you said Selfridge we are ahead of schedule and this church will do well to create a neutral place that might bring some of them to our way of thinking" he told him and though even Quaritch looked unconvinced he made it plain that there would be no room for argument.

"Anthony, have a few more turrets constructed for the mine and set about creating a fence to keep them out. And any animals that are killed and are still in decent condition should be collected and prepared for the natives to eat. Let us hope that their attitude might change with full stomachs" he explained as the rest of the meeting went by, speaking of where exactly to put the church, going over the optimal distance for both resupply and defence, who and what would aid in said defence and the makeup of the laborers that would help build it. As the meeting ended those with work to do set about it; leaving the room with only himself and Sullivan who looked at him with curious, perhaps even mournful eyes.

"I doubt she will be happy about the drop in specimens" he quipped, both knowing exactly who "she" was.

"Then she should have come and made her case. She made her bed, let her lie in it" he said, letting more venom than he would have liked to.

"Did something happen between the two of you" he asked coming closer. "It is my calling to help those that are in need.

"I have no need for your help. Keep your religious sermons to the natives. I'm far too old and seen too much to believe" he said, brushing off Sullivan and began walking away.

"As you wish but if you change your mind. Mt door is always open" He told him as the door closed behind him.

Location: Hell's gate medical ward

Lyle had a love-hate relationship with medical bays, military ones especially. The rooms always smelled awful, reeking of medical waste and blood, there was always the light sound of pain somewhere off in the distance and the docs had an attitude problem a mile long. But even with all that he was more than happy to have then whenever one of his men got injured. Now was one such time.

"Stop picking at it" fussed Fulson, clicking her tongue as Victor fiddled with his bandages, a self-satisfied look on his face before it turned into one of pain as she quickly pressed a hard finer onto his injury.

"Ow you bitch!" he hissed, lips pursing as he stared at her.

"Oh is big bad Victor gonna cry or are you going to fucking listen for once" she mocked, bringing her hands and fingers together and talking like doting mother.

"You're lucky to be alive" she continued; calling attention to the rest of the room where all the marines that had been injured by those freaky alien dogs. Victor didn't say anything at that as he slumped back into her bed, still giving Fulson an angered glare.

"Yeah it's my fault there all like this" Battista admitted solemnly, his earlier enthusiasm dampened greatly by the condition of his squad mate. "Maybe if i'd hit that damn thing none of it would have happened"

"Oh don't start with that" Victor chided. "I have enough with her in my ear, I don't need you whining like a kicked puppy… it wasn't your fault" he confessed, his abrasive personality faltering in the end.

"Besides, how were we to know that they could launch themselves like a damn cannon?" Martinez huffed, visibly irritated by the whole ordeal.

He could do nothing but agree, they had those damn dogs dead to rights, they couldn't get close and those 40mm grenades were sending the bastards flying and yowling all the way to their graves. But they just kept coming, it didn't make sense. He was a member of the Dead Horses and he had been hunting all his life from Giant Mantis's to Geckos and all of them had one thing in common that these things lacked, self-preservation. No animal save for those trying to protect their young would throw themselves so eagerly into a meat grinder like.

And then that damn purple one, flaring like a fucking glow stick and he swore he saw bullets ping off of something before it was on them in the blink of an eye. They had all been blown clean off of their feet by the shockwave and by the time he had gotten back up its buddies where on them.

Then came the third weird thing about them, perhaps it was the least of the three given their location but he had seen their armor that could take a dozen 5.56 rounds before becoming useless get bitten into a torn apart like it was wax paper, black fangs sinking deep to the screams of his fellow soldiers. The poor bastard that had had gotten hit had his chest caved in, his spine poking out beneath the skin once they got the armor off, and the crazy animal was still on him, biting and clawing at the body in a blind frenzy.

And Atom thank those big green bastards, coming in with that tele-spike, sure it had knocked them on their asses again but they seemed to be the only things that gave those creatures pause.

But his squad had been lucky, they had been near one of the ends of the firing line when it had hit, and the dogs had plenty of bodies to get through before they had reached them. Aside from Victor they had all gotten off without injury.

"Well it's good to see you all recovering so well" came a voice as they turned to see the aged face of Colonel Quaritch. Immediately they all saluted, backs straight as arrows and even Victor had done his best interpretation.

"At ease" he said, giving an air of calm as he grabbed a chair and sat down, back of the chair facing them and looked to Victor. "Hows the arm?"

"Never better sir, doctors said i could leave soon" he answered, his bravado asserting itself.

"Good, because it's your lucky day, you're all getting reassigned"

"To where" Lyle asked.

"Father Sullivan's little conversion project. He wants a squad to help defend his church" he said with a chuckle, not hiding his thoughts on the whole idea.

"No offense sir but isn't that what the Sisters are for" Fulson asked, confused by the strange order.

"It is but the good father saw it necessary to have people with some 'on the ground experience' and seeing how yours is the least injured squad after that fight, your the only ones that fit the bill." he further explained, looking at all of them one by one and no doubt judging their reaction as Lyle asked only had one more question.

"When do we leave?"

Location: First Church of Atom's Light, six Kilometers from Hell's Gate

Date: June 8th 10: 36 AM 2385

"It is a beautiful thing, is it not Father" Sister Ophelia sighed, her voice synthesized through the speakers of her helmet.

"Indeed it is" Father Sullivan answered, a soft smile spreading across his face as he watched the final boards that would act as the floor of the church were set into place. He had seen many churches built in his life from the plains of Pan African Republic to the mountains of the Chinese alliance. He had even been witness to the first church built on the first floating city of Venus; but even after so many times it never stopped being as belief affirming as it had been the first time. All around them, tunnelers and other miners and workers assisted with the construction with the guidance of his retinue's engineers. It brought a warmth to his chest as he watched them work, living testament to Atom's Glory as they worked in the brightness of the day, with the cloudless sky above them. Truly, the Great War had brought suffering and death but not only had it produced innumerable new worlds it had also brought such wonders to their own that would forever grace it. And he couldn't have been happier when Zao had agreed to his idea.

And it had taken little time for Zao to send him the people and materials he needed, nothing a few transport Vertibirds couldn't handle. Selfridge had tried to protest this, but Zao had the final say and even though he might not have been a believer, he none the less understood the importance of his task. Though it pained him to see one of the chosen of Atom, try so hard to fight against him and though Selfridge's world was that of the material, his was that of the soul and there were indeed many souls upon this world.

Many "Shackled souls", the words of the Magi worming around in his brain. There was something here "beneath the colour" that had done something horrible. And now that thing had a name "Eywa".

That thing that called itself a goddess; few things in this existence could stoke pure ire in him but what that thing was doing, creating laws and keeping the people of this world i a perpetual state of ignorance… it was evil, there was no other word that could describe it. He could never have imagined a thing so invasive, so defiling could exist; to take away and deny a people their divine right given to all by Atom, the promise of division and change.

How long had they been stuck like this, stuck in a trap they did not know existed? No, it was worse than that; it was a trap that actively made its prisoners fight in its defense. Like a parasite infecting the body of its host, driving it to work for its own ends. Every cell in his body called for its destruction and perhaps Atom would show mercy upon its inevitable division.

"Do you really think these Na'vi will come" Ophelia asked, pulling Sullivan away from his thoughts "They might not be so willing to hear the word after Zao's duel"

Sullivan, though undeterred could not help but agree, a pang of regret that their first encounter had ended as it did. Even still the meeting having ended better than he expected, with no native or human losses and only the maiming of their leader. The loss of his hand growing his hatred for their damned laws, they could have given him a new hand within a day, just as if not better than his natural one. And with importance of their mission he had no doubt he would have gotten the best they had, but he never would have accepted it. Now though, that duel would no doubt weaken the already fraying rope of diplomacy. Why would any of them care to speak to the people that had wounded their leader?

"We must have faith Ophelia, our arrival will cause a great deal of questions to be asked and those not satisfied with the answers of their people will come looking… or to burn it down" he told her, gaining a small amount of laughter at her expense as he watched Ophelia look at him in shock at the idea. He knew well how personally they took their roles.

"I and my sisters will not allow them to desecrate this place" she told him, armored fist clutching tightly around her helmet.

"I'm sure you won't" he told her as a gunshot echoed through the air. He looked to see one of her sisters, radium rifle pressed to her shoulder and barrel pointed to the edge of the clearing where the body of a viperwolf finished its tumble to the ground. It had not been the first of the day, nor did he expect it to be the last. It seemed the animals of this world were either incredibly territorial, suicidal… or not of their own mind, and given what he had seen of the republics forces when they first encountered them, he was leaning towards the latter two. For no sane creature would charge a gun line with such ferocity, accept death so willingly and desire only to kill what was in front of it.

Ophelia had been surprised when she and the rest of her sisters had been told the church would go without any standard barriers or walls, opting instead for only automated turrets an the perimeter and defenders of flesh and blood, comprised of the Ionic sisters, a squad of republic troops and a Deathclaw pair to handle any creature that came close.

They of course had protested it, saying that to show the natives of this world the full breath of their technology would show the truth of Atom's light but Sullivan had been adamant. While to the natives those things would have seemed like magic to them, it also would have cemented their beliefs about them and would have made their spiritual goals all the harder.

For these Na'vi were themselves a seemingly deeply spiritual species who held nature and the natural world with the utmost reverence. And if these natives were to cross the bridge they were building and into Atom's glow, it would have to be tailored to them. They would have to show that despite their initial appearance that they were no true threat to this world.

It was why they had chosen this place over other, more securable locations. Its first advantage had been it was a clearing, meaning they would not have to destroy any of the trees that native loved so much. Likewise it was a fair distance away from both Hell's gate proper and the mining sight so that any Na'vi that came could not be constantly reminded of their laws being broken.

Sure it also meant that any and all required materials could only be sent either via vertibird or teleporter but it was a small price to pay.

The only things would serve as a reminder would be their hab-blocks that would serve as the churches foundations and the large antenna that would be placed on top of the church.

Just as he finished his thought the main foreman of the construction came up to him. He too was a Tunneler, whose dark green scales almost seemed to absorb the light.

"Father Sullivan, the base of the church is ready. If you would like to come inside for anything specific now would be the time" he told them with the characteristic hiss of his species.

"Thank you my son" he told as he made the sign of infinity and the foreman did in turn. "Ophelia are you ready to see the fruits of their labor"

With a nod the two were led inside and though this place of worship was unfinished he could not help but feel a deep resonance as they passed through the precipice; an almost imperceptible change in the air and a sense of serenity.

The main hall was nearly two hundred feet long and sixty feet wide, a blessing granted the extreme size of the trees of this planet. Even after so much time and with the help of G.E.C.K terraforming technology, trees of such size were still a rarity in the land once called North America. Only the deep jungles of the Pan African Republic and the Rain forests of the Venu Union and Chinese Alliance could compare and even then could not come close to the largest specimens.

"How many pews would you like constructed" the foreman asked. "With what we have left, we could make at least a dozen"

"As many as can fit inside" he told him and while he knew those seats would remain mostly empty for some time, he had faith that one day this place would be full. It would take a lifetime but all things can come with time.

Walking to the side and looking out of what would end up being the frame of window he saw more tunnelers and humans building the houses the Natives of this world could use. It had been part of the original plan Zao had in the case of having to imprison them all if they proved violent but now hopefully the buildings could be called to greater, more productive purpose.

"How much longer until your work is complete" he turned to ask the Foreman.

"If work continues as is we can expect construction to be done in two or three days" he answered back with no small amount of pride on his reptilian features.

Sullivan smiled at that and allowed him to continue monitoring his workers. All in all he had been tasked with something more difficult than any task he had ever been given before but by Atom's will he would not fail.

Location: Omaticaya village

Neytiri lay upon the branch of the tree that had served as their nuptial union. The first rays of sunlight were peaking between the leaves and the smell of dew filled her lungs. And she felt the slow breathing and heartbeat of Arvok against her back. But even amongst all this her mind was conflicted as she held the alien blade in her hand. The image of that corpse that called itself Zao slicing off her father's hand, watching the blood gushing out was enough to drive her into a rage and the breaking of Eywa's laws made her not to have anything to do with the sky people.

But as she lifted the blade to the sun, letting its lights shine and reflect against the blade the words of Arvok continued to play in her mind. He had made his case clear and she had accepted it because it was true, no matter what she would have liked. These…humans had things they did not understand and ignorance would not save them. It was why she had even allowed herself to hold the human's blade. Though she knew it was made of metal, there was a hole in that law that perhaps Eywa had put for a reason.

"You shall take the metal of the ground" what did she mean by the ground, did she mean the world itself, if so that it shouldn't be against the laws to have it since it was probably made from metal not of their world.

She had told herself that but more and more it sounded like she just making an excuse after seeing what the blade could do. But like Arvok had said they needed to learn, even if that meant learning from people you hate.

Huffing at her own metal war she slowly peeled herself out of her loves grasp, hearing his sleeping mind protest in a low grumble and the sudden lack of her warmth making her body wish to slide back and return to it. But she persisted; she needed to give herself space to think and perhaps a hunt would give her mind time.

Sliding the blade back in its sheath and grabbing her bow she gave Arvok a final look, thinking how cute he looked while he slept as she began to climb down. Letting her feet hit the ground she looked to see her people just beginning to get up, a feeling of happiness and dread filling her for how long could the people live like they always had with the humans so close? How far would their reach spread and in their attempts to understand, what consequences would come from it?

Author's notes

And here is chapter 13 i hope you all enjoyed it and be sure to please review.

also a little bit about myself, I've been a fan of avatar since the first one came out but as time as gone by and the sequel came out i found that i was into the stories potential rather than what was done with it. in the first movie we really never seen any na'vi use human technology, even when it would no doubt be beneficial to their way of life. Case in point like in this story better knives or horseshoes for dire horses.

Codex updated:

THE CHILDREN OF ATOM:

"Unity through division" common phrase of the church of Atom

The children of atom are a Monothestic religious group that came to prominence in 2277 out in the town of megaton in what is now part of the Washington confederacy. Though seen by many at the time as crazies and fools the group amassed many followers after the Lone Wanderer and Saint Jericho defeated the enclave and brought forth clean drinking water to the capital wasteland. Over the coming decades the group splintered of with local cults being founded all across the former United States with some even cropping up in Asia and Europe and always around places of high radiation. All this would be jeopardized by a radical sect from the island of far harbor that once again tried to launch a nuke that would wipe out everyone on the island. Though it was thwarted this act it showed the fledgling nations the power that such an institution could have and told the followers to get themselves under control before they did with the relationship between Jericho and the Lone Wanderer being the only thing keeping the children from being wiped out which led to what would be called the first Council of Los Alamos where the high confessors would convene over their religion and its place in the rapidly changing world. After which the children of atom became recognized as the 'church of Atom' and would later become the Republics largest religion, though they promised that they would keep no men under arms.

The church's belief is that inside each atom is an entire universe and that a new universe is created when one is split. They also believe that radiation is the key to unlocking division and worship radiation as a mark of their god. The religion is Monotheistic meaning they believe that Atom is the supreme primeval creator of all universes.

Ionic sisterhood: The ionic sisterhood is an all-female order of warrior monks whose history can be traced to the irradiated ruins of what was once France; the cult much like the children of Atom worshiped radiation and in particular the vaunted mother of radiation Marie Curie in their monastery located in the french alps.

Initially used as the personal guard of a powerful raider chief that had gained their loyalty through a feat of radiation resistance. The sisters would ultimately kill their leader after meeting with what they saw as their patron saint given flesh once again. From there the ionic sisterhood would become the militant arm of the church of atom with several convents within it with one convent's duties including the protection of atoms holy sites, places of worship and high religious figures. While another shares space with the followers of the apocalypse as battlefield medics and first responders to disasters; while the third is responsible for preaching the word of Atom to new species.

Radium rifle: The radium rifle is a fully automatic upscale version of the post war model used by the pre-council children of atom. Firing .50 Beowulf depleted uranium rounds coated in radium; the round is designed to be fired by the power armor wielding ionic sisterhood and the Templar order. They deliver high penetration on enemy infantry as well as delivering a high quantity of rads hopefully inducing as many different types of cancer as possible which will either kill the enemy before he can retrieve treatment or force the enemy to divert more resources to curing them.