The day the skies split open
Neytiri sat at the edge of the village, her feet in the water, small fish gently nibbling at her toes. In her hands she had her father's bow, which she herself had used for so many years, now broken. She stroked its wooden surface, deep in thought. When she heard footsteps she stirred, turning her head. Seeing Jake she smiled and gave him a nod in greeting. He sat down next to her, putting his feet in the water as well.
"Couldn't sleep?" He asked of her.
She shook her head. "There's been a lot on my mind."
"I broke my bow in that last fight. I'll need to make a new one. Might take a while since the wood in these parts doesn't seem to be good for bows. Hopefully I've made one by the time we face battle again. I'd borrow one in the meantime, but the Metkayina don't seem to use them a lot." She explained.
"Not much use for them underwater." Jake commented.
She nodded, then continued. "Father would be furious that this happened. It took a lot of effort for him to make it. And… he gave it to me to protect the people, not to see it broken."
"Constant use breaks everything eventually. And you kept it in good condition for quite a few years. I think he'd understand." He said.
"But I'm thinking that's not the only thing on your mind." He added. "Feel like sharing?"
A pause before she answered. "We are going to war now, aren't we?" She asked.
He nodded. "I made a mistake. Running away didn't work. It didn't protect our family like I meant it to. But I get it now. For our family to ever be safe we have to win this."
"I can appreciate what you tried to do. But… I also thought it was a mistake. Have for quite a while actually. I never wanted to run from the Sky People in the first place. I wanted to keep on fighting them."
"I'm… glad, Jake. Glad we get to fight them again. Great Mother forgive, one should not rejoice about such things, but I do. In that last battle, after they killed Neteyam, there was a moment where I… lost myself. Indulged in a deep darkness I didn't even know I had. Reveled in it. And now I crave to do it to them again. And again and again until they are dead or fleeing back to the sky, never to return. I hate them." She said.
"I have never hated before. I have thought I did. But I have never known what it really means to feel something like that. And I suppose that is what keeping me awake." She contemplated.
"The People are taught to respect life. All life. When we kill we do so out of necessity, to feed ourselves or to keep ourselves safe when we can't avoid the fight. And war… is not something we are supposed to choose. Not unless at the uttermost end of need. We are not meant to harbor hatred towards the lives we take. But how is one to do so when faced with and enemy that utterly lacks the respect expected of us?" She wondered.
"The Sky People slaughter mercilessly. Any other life they find, they try to find a way to kill it. They destroy all the trees and tear up the very land, leaving behind only fields of dust. And to this day I don't understand why they do any of that. You have tried to explain to me their reasons. But I still don't get it. This… unending need to have and possess that would lead them to turn their whole culture to that purpose. Such willful blindness to the sorrow they inflict." She declared.
"So you see, I'm troubled because I carry this poison in me and I don't even want to get rid of it. I've… changed because of the Sky People.
Jake listened silently as she explained herself, then nodded. "I do hate a lot of them too. For the harm they've done. For Neteyam, for many others. But… I don't think it's entirely bad that it troubles you."
"It is?" She asked.
"Like you said, it's a bit like poison. A little bit a time it can be managed. Might even be helpful at times. But too much is not good for you." He explained. "Don't start hating them so much that you end up becoming like them yourself."
She hummed and nodded, conceding his point.
"…You said you hate a lot of them? Does that mean that there are some that you don't?" She asked.
"They aren't all the same. That's something I try to remind myself of." He said.
"Not all the same? That's… not what I would say. Not after they killed my son." She replied.
"…Is Norm like them, then? Is Max? Was Trudy? Was Grace?" He asked.
She gave a huff and an annoyed whip of her tail.
"Was I?" Jake pressed.
She looked at him in astonishment. "Jake, you are nothing like them. You never were."
"Oh, I was very much like them until I met you and the people. If things had turned out just a little differently I might have been one of the dumb grunts trying to shoot us dead." He countered.
"Jake, no. That's just not true. You may have been born among them, but your heart was always one of ours. You just needed to come here to find out." She said, putting a hand on his chest.
He gently placed his hand over hers. "…Maybe. But there could be a lot more like me. Trapped, wanting to wake up but not knowing how. It's like you say: It's hard to fill a cup that is already full. All I'm saying is that if we find folks like that then try to give them the chance to show that they're different than the rest."
She thought for a moment, then shrugged. "If we do, then maybe I'll try. But I'm still very skeptical that any such exist among the Sky People. The handful you mentioned maybe. But the rest sounds like a myth. The Sky People are deaf to Eywa. They cannot see."
He sighed.
"…We should continue with this later. Tonowari asked for a meeting." He said then.
"Already? It's not even morning yet." She said in surprise.
He shrugged. "He wanted an early start, so come the dawn we might have a plan put together."
She nodded, standing up. "Right. Then let's not keep him waiting."
"Right…" He agreed, and followed after her.
Hours later, at daybreak, a reconnaissance drone hovered a safe distance away, its cameras recording footage of the village.
"Doesn't look like there is whole lot going on at the moment. Couple sentries here and there. But it doesn't look like the blue boys have started their day yet for the most part." The drone operator said aboard the dragon gunship. Outside the other gunships of the third regiment swarmed like a horde of insects. Even inside the hull the roar of many engines was noticeable. Outside the noise would be deafening, audible for many miles around. Fortunately they were still quite a distance from their target.
"Good. Then we'll be able to catch them with their pants down." Quaritch said where he was sitting in the slightly more roomy areas of the hold.
"Let's get started." He decided, then spoke to his earpiece. "Scythe Squadron, this is Charlie Oscar. Commence."
"Roger that. Beginning attack." The response came from the other side.
"Right then. Scythes, heat 'em up!" The squadron leader said while flipping a series of switches to arm the missiles his fighter carried.
"Scythe two, missiles are hot."
"Three is good."
"Four is up."
"Targets locked! Scythe Squadron, volley fire on my command." The squadron leader ordered.
"Volley one, fire!" He ordered. Each of the fighters launched a missile, lines of smoke left in the air as they streaked towards their target.
"Volley two, fire! Volley three, fire! Volley four, fire! Volley five, fire!" He ordered, each command sending a fresh wave of missiles.
"Missiles away. ETA to target five minutes." Came the report from Scythe two.
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is your wake up call." The squadron leader said, earning a few chuckles from the other pilots.
"Charlie Oscar, attack complete. Going to loitering mode in case you need us. One missile apiece." He reported back.
"Acknowledged." Quaritch replied, then switched channels.
"Lyle, Murkowski, Richardson, split off your strike groups and head to your waypoints. We'll see you all back on the ground." He commanded.
The aircraft of the third regiment split off into four groups, heading into different directions.
Kiri had just woken when she happened to notice Spider leaving the village. Curious as to where he was going, she decided to follow him. He walked along the edge of the reef until he was a considerable distance from the village. His pace was unhurried, and he seemed to be deep in thought. She was then alarmed to see him remove his mask. She started to run towards him until she noticed him remove something from his mask and quickly slipping it back on. That was when he noticed her.
Realizing she was caught, she could only smile sheepishly at him. "Monkey Boy? What are you up to?" She asked.
"Uh, they put a tracker in my mask when I was prisoner. Finally managed to figure out where they had put it and decided to get rid of it before it caused any trouble." He explained, showing her the tiny bead shaped device in his hand. He laid it down on the stones, then picked up a rock. There was a loud crunch as he smashed the device.
"There. That's one headache dealt with." He said.
"It's good you got that dealt with. But I'm guessing that's not the only reason you came out here." She said.
He looked surprised at her intuition first, then nodded. "Thought I'd go for a walk. To think."
"What about?" She inquired.
"Just the couple few days. And related stuff. I feel really bad about Neteyam."He said.
"We all do. But… he's with Eywa now." She said sadly.
"I wish I could go see him. Don't have the means unfortunately." He said.
"Yeah, that sucks." She said. "I can't connect to Eywa either though. Not with my health problem. Not ever…"
"Ok, yeah. To have it and then lose it… that has got to be worse. Sorry to bring it up." He said.
"It's fine. For my part I'm just relieved we didn't lose anyone else. We're all glad to have you back with us." She said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.
He bowed his head. "Oh, well… at least some of you are."
Kiri frowned. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Eh, nothing." He said dismissively.
"Nono. That one you are going to have to explain." She insisted.
"…It's Neytiri." He admitted reluctantly.
"What, mom? What about her?" She asked.
"Ever since I got back she has kept on giving me death glares at every opportunity. I thought things might finally get better with her. But nothing's changed. If anything it's gotten worse. I'm still just the son of her enemy to her. The son of a demon." He complained.
"Hey, we've talked about this. She may act aloof, but deep down she cares about you too." She said.
"Really? Because the day I got captured as far as I know she didn't even try to stop it from happening. She'd go to hell and back for any of her kids. For you. But she couldn't lift a finger for me. And when I finally managed to get back to you, what does she do? She held a knife at me." he countered.
She shook her head. "She was bluffing to save me and dad…"
"No she wasn't. You know that. I could see it in her eyes. She was only a second away from slaughtering me. A part of her thought about doing it even after Quaritch let you go." He argued.
Kiri had no excuse, so she sighed and stayed silent, looking away.
"…There is one other thing that's eating at me. I haven't told anyone because I'm probably going to be in huge trouble once the truth comes out. I can tell you but… it has to stay between us."
Understanding that Spider wanted to admit to something serious, she looked him in the eye and nodded.
"Back when the battle was ending, I…" He began to say. Then he stopped abruptly, looking past Kiri. He gave an angry snarl and ran past her, disappearing behind the rocks. There was some shouting and screaming. Then Spider reappeared, dragging Tuk by the ear.
"What the hell, Tuk!? Were you eavesdropping?" Kiri asked, exasperated.
"You followed him here! And I just followed you!" Tuk protested.
"So what was the secret you were about to tell?" She asked innocently.
Spider sighed and released his hold of Tuk's ear. "Like I'm going to say it when you're around."
"Come on, not fair! I want to be in on it too! I won't tell anyone, I promise." Tuk complained.
Spider rolled his eyes and was about to reply when something caught his attention. Something off in the distance. A noise he was only now becoming aware of.
"Tuk… sometimes a secret is only meat to be shared between two people. It…" Kiri was saying in the meantime.
"Hey, hey, shush, both of you! What is that…?" Spider interrupted, quieting them both. For a moment they listened. Then their eyes widened in horror.
"Get down!" Spider shouted. The three of them threw themselves on the ground just as four missiles streaked low overhead, heading for the settlement, a terrible screeching sound in the air as they arrived. A heartbeat later a thunderous noise broke apart their reality, the shockwave feeling like a slap on the skin all the way over where they were.
"No…" Kiri gasped when she saw the damage the attack had done to the village. She tried to take off running towards the village, only for Spider to grab her wrist.
"No, no! Stay down! There's more coming!" He shouted, dragging her back down.
"But I have to…!" She said before more missiles arrived, the rumble of explosions swallowing her voice.
The first three volleys struck the village and the surrounding area. The final two hammered the waters of the lagoon. Massive geysers of water and mud were thrown into the air. The shockwaves passed through the water, killing everything in their path.
Spider, Kiri and Tuk remained huddled amongst the rocks of the reef. All of them were covering their ears and screaming, the sounds of the explosions drowning out their voices.
When the earsplitting sounds finally ceased Kiri dared to peer from behind the rocks. Her eyes met a sight of utter devastation. Acrid smoke had shrouded everything in a veil of mist. The previously blue waters of the lagoon were now a muck of dark brown. There were dead Ilu in the water… dead Na'vi….
Bitter tears began to flow…