Operation Spearpoint
Neytiri began to stir as she felt water lapping against her lower body. Her eyes opened slowly, and she winced. She took a breath, which immediately turned into a hacking cough as foul smelling smoke filled her nose and mouth. She was sore all over, a dozen small wounds on her and her ears ringing. She felt a heavy weight on her, realizing Jake was sprawled atop her, unconscious. They were both partially in the water, the platform they had been on having been reduced to ragged ruins. One of the corners had come loose, which explained how they had ended up in the water.
For a brief while she was bewildered. What had happened? And then it came back to her. The attack. Missiles streaking through the air. The terrible cacophony of noise as the world had shattered over, under and around them.
She was starting to become aware of other sounds as well. The crackling of small fires. The sounds of debris dripping down where it had yet to fully settle. The wailing of the wounded and the grieving…
She pushed herself out from under Jake, then shook him. "Jake! Ma Jake! Wake up! Please…"
To her relief Jake began to stir. His eyes opened, then he grunted in pain, holding his side.
"Jake? What's the matter?" She asked with concern.
"Urgh… I think I cracked a rib." He groaned.
"Damn, didn't realize they could hit us with an airstrike…" He added.
"Where are the others? Our kids?" He asked, worried.
"I don't know. I just woke myself. We have to go look. We need to find them." She said, voice brimming with concern.
"Yeah, we must." Jake agreed. He glanced up, then grunted again. "Looks like we need to do a bit of climbing. Can you help me?"
"Of course." Neytiri said, nodding. They proceeded to slowly clamber up the rubble, with Neytiri supporting Jake. They had nearly reached the top when they head an ear piercing wail. And when they reached the top they found Ronal there, cradling Tonowari. Tonowari himself stared into the sky without seeing.
Neytiri went to the Ronal's side, kneeling down next to her.
"Ronal… I'm so sorry…" She said, putting a hand on the other woman's shoulder. They had not always gotten along, but this pain… it hit close to Neytiri's heart. But her gesture went unnoticed, Ronal simply continuing to wail.
Jake was standing a bit to the side, a look of distress on his face. When he heard running steps he turned around. To his immense he saw Lo'ak running to the scene, with Tsireya in tow. With his joy Jake failed to notice how his son was holding her hand. Seeing Lo'ak, Neytiri also stood up and joined them.
"Son, you ok? You good?" Jake asked, checking Lo'ak for injuries.
"Yeah, we're fine." Lo'ak replied, out of breath. Both he and Tsireya had a few small wounds and bruises, but other than that they seemed to be fine.
Tsireya glanced past Jake. "Wait, is that…? Oh no, Father!" She gasped, running to her parents. Lo'ak was about to go with her before being stopped by his mother.
"Where are the others?" She asked.
"I… I don't know. Tsireya came to wake me and then… boom. When we came to we decided to go look for the rest of you and… you were the first we came across." Lo'ak explained.
She opened her mouth to ask another question. But then she began to become aware of a noise coming from behind her. She turned around, eyes towards the sky…
"So they weren't at home?" Jake asked in the meantime.
"No. We didn't see them. I, uh, think they woke up before me." Lo'ak said.
"Jake…" Neytiri breathed, fear creeping into her voice.
"But where could they possibly…? Okay we need to go find them. And then we need to start looking for survivors, do what we can for them. We need to get things in order in case…"
"Jake!" Neytiri said more insistently, rapidly tapping his arm to get his attention.
"What is it?" Jake asked, turning to her. Then he too noticed the rumble of engines in the distance. He then realized the airstrike had been just the start. They were coming…
"Oh shit." He cursed.
"You and Tsireya have to go. Find the other kids, find anyone who can't fight and get the hell out of here!" He hurriedly told the two.
"But what about you?" Lo'ak asked.
"Your mother and I will gather what warriors we can and distract them, buy you time. We'll join you after." Jake explained.
Lo'ak hesitated, but realized there was no arguing with his father about this. "Okay. Just be safe."
"We will be. Don't worry about us." Jake replied.
"Tsireya, you need to get your mother moving." Neytiri said, also jumping into action.
"But… this is our home! We can't just…" Tsireya protested, her eyes red from crying.
"The people are what matters now. And they are going to need leaders. Your family has to survive this day. Your clan has to live. Everything else can wait." Neytiri cut in.
"A… alright. You're right." Tsireya said after a pause, taking a shuddering breath. "Mom, come on." She went on to urge, lifting Ronal to her feet by the arm.
Reluctantly Ronal obeyed, picking up Tonowari's body as she stood up.
"I won't leave him to them. They won't have him. They won't!" Neytiri heard the Tsahik mutter as she walked past.
"Let's move." Lo'ak said to Tsireya.
"Yeah. We have to find my brother, and your sisters." She replied.
"Don't forget Spider." He reminded.
"Right. Him too." She said as they hurried away.
Jake and Neytiri nodded to each other and went in the opposite direction, to try and find a few warriors to rally to their side. Jake moved as fast as he was able, but he was hobbling as he was trying to run, holding his side. Neytiri was slowing her own pace, occasionally stopping and turning to see if he was still keeping up. Under his breath he cursed. His injury left him hardly at his best.
As the noise of the engines grew louder he realized they might already be too late. Still, he knew they had to make their best attempt at this. Their kid's lives might depend on it. If only they could find at least a few warriors still fit for battle, so they could whip up at least a rudimentary defense…
Kiri, Spider and Tuk watched in horror as the dragon gunship settled right above them, the other aircraft forming up into a firing line on either side. Onboard the machine Quaritch surveyed the ravaged village.
"Give them a volley." He ordered.
"Roger." The pilot replied. "Squadron, volley on target area on my mark." He said into his radio.
"Fire!" The pilot shouted, and a new wave of missiles was sent streaking towards the village.
"Damn them!" Kiri snarled on the ground. She stood up. "That's enough! You've done enough. Stop it! Stop!" She shouted at the aircraft, as if thinking her words alone could make them stop.
"Kiri! Don't be a fool! They'll see you!" Spider shouted, dragging her back down.
"Nice shot." Quaritch congratulated. "Squadron, begin hosing their line. Advance and deploy troops." He then ordered.
At his command the machineguns on every aircraft began firing, sending a stream of bullets towards the village. The dragon moved forward, then dropped a squad of AMP-suits. The other aircraft moved forward as well, soldiers on foot and in Skel-suits beginning to descend on rappelling lines into any shallows and dry spots of land available. As the troops touched down they joined the fusillade with their own weapons, further adding to the intensity of the storm of fire.
Quaritch observed this firing for several seconds. "Cease fire!" He then called out. The shooting tapered to a halt a short time later. Quaritch nodded to himself. The General had been right. These were good troops. Disciplined.
"Advance and secure the village perimeter. Weapons free." He gave his next command.
The troops approached the village, cautiously starting to climb the broken structures, while the AMP-suits, too heavy to enter, waited further out. The soldiers found the village deserted. No attackers challenged them, and no Na'vi could be seen trying to flee from them. There were many dead ones. Some dying ones as well, quickly dispatched. But this was… not what had been expected. In puzzlement the soldiers spread out, spoken and radioed orders sounding between them as they explored their surroundings.
One soldier was passing by a pile of baskets covered by a piece of cloth when he thought he spotted movement amongst the baskets. Tensing, the soldier pointed his weapon at the pile and stepped closer. He reached out and pulled the cloth aside. He had just enough time to be startled by the roaring Na'vi warrior that was revealed underneath before he was run through with a spear and flung away. Heads of other soldiers turned to look only for throwing spears to start raining on them a force of warriors charging into their midst. Jake put a knife through a Skel-trooper, then picked up his gun, firing several quick bursts to take down a number of other soldiers. Close by Neytiri cut down an enemy as well.
"Contact, contact! Multiple hostiles! They're among us!" Quaritch heard over the radio.
"Acknowledged! All units, engage at will." Quaritch replied.
"Formations B through D, status report?" He then asked.
"B formation has touched down and is making for our objective." The voice of Waynfleet responded from the radio.
"C formation just touched down. Heading inland now." Richardson responded.
"D formation has encountered some obstruction on route. Estimate touchdown in four minutes." Murkowski.
"Double time it, Murkowski. We need to close the net." Quaritch replied.
"Understood. We're moving as fast as we can." Murkowski replied.
"I'm heading out. Open the drop doors." Quaritch told the pilot.
"Doors open, sir." The pilot replied.
He snatched his assault rifle from a rack on the wall and went to the doors. His Ikran had persistently followed the air fleet all this way. Now, as if sensing his intent his steed appeared right below him. He hopped down, connected his queue and took flight. Once in the air he began sighting for his first target. He soon settled his crosshairs on a group of Na'vi warriors at the edges of the village, taking them down with a series of controlled bursts. He then turned hard to the right in search for his next prey.
"Jake, look…" Neytiri said, pointing.
Jake's eyes turned to where she was pointing. Then his mouth fell open is astonishment. "What the… how!? How many time do we have to kill this guy!?"
"No. No way. He can't be here." Kiri said back on the atolls. "We had already… already…"
Her head slowly turned to Spider. "Earlier... what were you trying to tell me?" She demanded.
"I… I…" Spider stammered, struggling for the right words.
"Watch out! Over there!" Tuk shouted a warning.
Turning around, Kiri saw a Seawasp pivoting towards them, the nose mounted cannon aligning to point straight at them.
They had been spotted…
"Oh, crap." Kiri had time to curse.
"MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" Spider shouted.
The trio turned to flee. The Seawasp opened fire moments later, sending a hail of bullets to chase after them.
"RUN! DON'T LOOK BACK, JUST RUN!" Kiri shouted while sprinting as fast as her legs could carry her.
The Seawasp was chasing after them, spewing more and more death at them, chipping at the stones at their heels.
"INTO THE WATER! GO!" Spider shouted.
The three jumped into the waters of the lagoon and immediately began to dive deeper. The rotorcraft kept on firing, bullets tracing lines of bubbles in the water. Kiri desperately tried to gain more depth, beyond the reach of the bullets, every moment dreading the possibility of feeling a shot pierce her. It was only a while later she noticed the attack had stopped. The water was still murky, but looking up she could see a dark shape against the sun. She also made out the shapes of Spider and Tuk in the water. They seemed to be swimming normally. She motioned for them to follow her. Staying underwater, they swum away from the aircraft.
They held their breath for as long as they could, but eventually they had to come up for air. As soon as they breached the surface they looked for the aircraft, ready to dive back in if the shooting resumed. The Seawasp was still circling where they had made the dive. But it seemed to have lost their scent.
"Tuk, you ok?" Kiri asked next.
"Yeah, I'm alright." She replied, though she was obviously terrified.
"Spider?" Kiri asked.
"I'm good." He said. "That was too close guys. Way too close."
"We need to go. Come on guys." Kiri told them. As they began swimming away she and spider exchanged looks. Silently they reached an agreement. Words would definitely need to be exchanged about Quaritch being alive. But that had to wait. But first they had to make it through this day.