Storm over Pandora- In Eywa's Shadow

Started by Lehrrap Uniltìranyu, February 06, 2010, 09:01:40 AM

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Lehrrap Uniltìranyu

#60
Site 24
2045 HRS


Jax had stopped to ensure that Dr. Augustine had gotten off safely with Trudy and the Dragon and to collect his WASP and K-Bar while his hands were still small enough to use them, but he had quickly started off into the dimming daylight to follow Twonyu, who apperared to be chaseing the sniper.

He had narrowly avoided two wild shots from the sniper's rifle. One of them had hit a tree right next to Jax, so he had spent a moment inspected the bullet itself.

Unfortionally, the inspection didn't tell him much beyond that the sniper was using FMJ rounds. He cursed the bad luck and pressed onwards, following the trail that Twonyu was also tracking.

Jax had almost missed the entire path, if it wern't for the setting off of a smoke grenade. Night had 'fallen' by then, and the world lit up with color, making the smoke plume easy to see. The sniper must have set it up as a destraction/early warning system. The British SAS Special Forces snipers liked that one, and it was often taught to just about any sniper that entered the military nowadays.

Ever since everyone could get their hands on special equipment and more accuret weapons, snipers were in hot demand to diffuse situations before anyone could get close. MFR snipers were toited as the best shots, but the Brits were number one when it came to tactics.

Jax smiled. It was a good tatic, but it had a flaw. It would alert the enemy to your position, or where you probobly could be.

In any case, it had led him to a mobile lab, he had remembered seeing it on the map. It was... Site 24. He had watched as Twonyu had fired two arrows at a sleeping scientist, who was now looking out in bewilderment as Twonyu went to collect his arrows in a bit of a pout.

Jax kept eyes on, his head on a swivil as he looked around and then stepped out into the clearing. "Ftang. Fpak 'eko. Nin tawtute tseng, Na'vi swizaw ke tspang."

Jax stepped past Twonyu and said over his shoulder. "<<I handle it. Wait.>>"



-----------
"Ta'em 'eko!!!"
-----------
"Better to have fought and died then never to have fought at all"
-----------
Bionic Arms and Pandora, The most read FanFic on Learnnavi.org! Read it here! -Shameless self promotion-

Ikranä mokri

Twonyu hissed in disgust at jax as he came up from behind him.

Jax said "Ftang. Fpak 'eko. Nin tawtute tseng, Na'vi swizaw ke tspang."
throwing his hands up in annoyance as the tawtute passed him and said "<<I handle it. Wait.>>" It was as if Jax was adding insult to injury, but Twonyu knew that he wouldnt be able to communicate with the man inside the shelter.

"<<You tawtute will get on like>> hows on fyer << as you tawtute say>>" he had to use a human term otherwise the tawtute would never understand. he was also speaking Na'Vi as quickly as possible around any tawtute as he like to see how they stumbled over the ease of the phrases he had know since he was a a baby.

he rocked back into a squatting position and watched Jax talk to the scientist. he watched them intently with his ears pricked forward listening to them. he drew his knife and spun it in his hand waiting for them to finish





Tirea Tskoyä has a new look see it[url=http://forum.learnnavi.org/fiction-

Brainiac

Oscar finally managed to hear something again. His vision was still a bit blurry, but that wasn't a lot of trouble. The big trouble was finding the others. He'd been able to keep track of everyone, more or less, but after the flashbang, he had no idea where anyone was, or where he had to go. Up, he figured, to get a decent view. Climbing with just his legs wasn't easy, and the trees here didn't have a lot of stepping stones.

He saw some smoke, not far from where he was. If the sniper was there, he'd have reasons to pop a smoke grenade. Most likely, the others where there. On the other hand, it could be a trap. He figured going after the sniper was a bad idea. The man looked awfully familiar. He didn't want a bullet to jolt his memory. He got off on a running start, and launched himself at a branch, landed on it with both his feet, and kept running, jumping from branch to branch. It was starting to come natural to him. Downside? The adrenalin didn't kick in. Now that he was a bit higher, he halted, steadying himself by wrapping his tail around a branch behind him. He could clearly see the Na'vi, with a single blue figure being taken care of. Damn. Bullet wounds were nasty. Doubly so from a sniper rifle. He saw someone ripped almost in half, top to stomach, by a single bullet, once. He was nowhere near the man, but he could swear that, at least in his memory, parts of the victim landed close to Oscars feet. Up until that point, he hadn't know that movies exaggerate everything but a bullet wound.

If whoever was shot survived, they were lucky to escape with their arm attached.
Speed is a ppoor sbubstitue fo accurancy

Check out my blogif my presence on this board isn't weird enough for you.

Lehrrap Uniltìranyu

Site 24
2045


"<<You Tawtute will get on like>> hows on fyer <<as you tawtute say.>>"

Jax rolled his eyes and ignored Twonyu as he looked around the area until he found what he was looking for. A small little patch of mud. He got a handfull of it and smeared a bit on one finger before he started writing on the window.

"Do not be afraid. My ally is weary and a bit on edge, as we just got attacked by a sniper. Would you be willing to come to the Airlock to talk to us?"

Jax knew that chances of this working was minimal, but if the scientist was alone or had some others with him, they needed to know about Dr. Childs Coup de' eate of Hell's Gate so they could lock-down and close up Site 24 to prepare it for transport, so he could get Trudy to come get them later.

That was... if they wern't Childs supporters, but Jax shook away that thought as he glanced down and checked his WASP, which he had 'holstered' in the loincloth and pulled it out, double-checking that it was loaded.

All eight rounds were in, and the hair-trigger he had installed was set, safty-on. He flicked the safty off with a praticed hand, though he was cautious about his grip. Because he had one less finger, he had to double grip the WASP for extra support, or he would probobly lose the gun in the kickback.

Jax stood, tensed for whatever would happen, watching the scientist paitently and ensuring that he was ready if someone tried to come out shooting.



-----------
"Ta'em 'eko!!!"
-----------
"Better to have fought and died then never to have fought at all"
-----------
Bionic Arms and Pandora, The most read FanFic on Learnnavi.org! Read it here! -Shameless self promotion-

El Jacko

#64
Site 24
2031hrs


   Shep barely had time to land in the chair before he saw the plume of smoke rise. Evidently the natives were closer behind than he'd anticipated, but hadn't noticed his little present. It was a favourite SAS trick -- gave away an enemy approach without giving too much away as to your own position other than a rough direction. He elected to maintain the illusion, and closed his eyes to appear asleep while staring through his eyelashes, watching the treeline carefully while absent-mindedly checking his WASP was loaded, safety off. After barely 2 minutes, a native warrior stepped into the clearing and drew his bow.

s***...he knows its me...or does he?..Hard to tell...best keep focused...

*Thunk*....*Thunk*

   The first arrow hit the laminated glass window and split, while a second glanced off harmlessly. He started, pretending to be scared as the native ran up and started frantically banging its fists on the window and hissing at him, like an angry house cat. Fully aware that this na'vi was not going to be able to get in, he visibly relaxed, while his brain ran through dozens of escape plans and theories to get this particular blue deathtrap as far away from him as possible.

   One plan he hadn't considered was another native. This one walked up calmly, as if the alien intrusion of the shipping container was old hat. Also, this one looked different to the other. He was much smaller, barely 6 feet tall, and looked more child-like. Adolescent maybe? It was the eyes that captured him though...there was something about them that he couldn't quite put his finger on...a depth to them, suggesting more than na'vi, with a familiar glint in the corner...

   This second native picked up a handful of mud, before starting to write on the window.

Hang about...the na'vi don't write, they never have...

   But this one was. Backwards, aswell, so Shep could read it without much thought. It had a pistol, stuffed unceremoniously into its loincloth. Had to be an avatar, the natives always used bows. Still didn't explain why it looked so young...

"Do not be afraid. My ally is weary and a bit on edge, as we just got attacked by a sniper. Would you be willing to come to the Airlock to talk to us?"

Ahh...so they didn't know...the first native must simply dislike humans...I could turn this to my advantage...

   He reched down, pulled out a piece of paper and started writing.

"Yes, come in through the first door, I'll use the intercom" he wrote, holding it up to the window, and gestured towards the door. The native strode over, and with no thought or hesitation, punched in an access code and pulled open the outer door before Shep could rise from his seat. He stepped up to thie intercom, and gestured for the avatar to speak.

'Look at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us...on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam' - Carl Sagan

Lehrrap Uniltìranyu

Jax walked up and punched in the airlock code quickly, though it still felt weird without his extra digit. As he prepared to walk in as the airlock unlocked, he remembered something: The airlocks could self-seal. If the scientist was a enemy, he would know that Avatars and Na'vi couldn't breath the 'pure' air that the humans needed to survive.

Taking that extra moment of precaution, Jax got a big rock and carefully positioned it to prevent the door from being closed on him. He would be be able to breath here.

He walked over to the intercom and hit the button. "Hey there. Do you know whats happened at Hell's Gate?"

Shep responded, pushing the intercom button on his side. "No, I've been out here for the last 3 weeks. Can't get a com signal, the flux vortex gives too much interference. Something important?"

The Avatar sounded familiar...and he only had 3 fingers, which seemed odd. Avatars usually had human hands. Shep was confused for a moment before Jax continued.

Jax thought to himself carefully. How much information could he reveal to this guy?

'Well, better safe then sorry...' he thought to himself and said, "Dr. Childs has enacted a coup de'eate on Hell's Gate. He killed Director Selfrige and framed it to look like a Na'vi attack, along with several other importent scientists and civilians, and has taken pretty much compleate control over RDA Security on the planet. He tried to kill me, Dr. Augustine, and a bunch of other new guys to Pandora, and exicute us for being 'traitors'."

Quick...think of something to say... Shep thought before he came up with a response.

"Well, that explains why I haven't had any supplies this week...Did many of the others escape unharmed? Without a significant number, any resistance is pretty much pointless."

The first thought that entered Jax's mind was 'LIE LIKE A DOG', but he shook the thought off and instead decided to only tell a 'half-truth'. "Blake Goodson was able to secure three of the four linkrooms in Hell's Gate. He and Trudy were able to steal the Dragon with the help of a Avatar pilot. No one knows where they are now, but they have a pretty good number according to what I've been told."

Jax shook his head. "Frankly, its nice to have some 'human' contact. Com's been quiet and most of the other Avatar pilots are all... well, off trying to be Na'vi."

Shep pretended that this was news to him, trying to look shocked, whereas he knew full well everything the Avatar had just told him, plus some other details. The Dragon was not, in fact, in an unknown location, but quite near to his present locale. When that thing flies nearby, you feel it.

This avatar was niggling at his thoughts. He was younger than your usual adult avatar, and had only 4 fingers or toes per appendage. Plus those eyes...there was something else behind them. They were clearly not human eyes, but they felt...human. He had to ask.

"You say 'human' contact...but the avatar pilots have each other to talk to, outside the link? Unless..."

"Like I said. The Avatar Pilots have been seeming more... like the natives, then Human." Jax said, supressing the urge to laugh aloud at what he said.

If only this scientist knew. He would go NUTS.

"In any case, I'm Jax, I've been out here for a little while, trying to figure out what the hell is going on at Hell's Gate. We've been working on setting up a base of operations, but it would be a good idea for you to pretty much lock yourself down here. If you want, I could get Trudy to bring you some supplies and set up a new-com system so you can be in contact with SOMEONE."

Jax...that was a name he hadn't heard in a while. Could it..?..nah, that wasn't possible...must be a coincidence...

'Yeah, that sounds good. Running a bit low on essentials here, should've had a care package turn up about 3 days ago. And if Childs is running the show, staying out here might just be bearable'

He thought back to the list Quaritch had given him. Augustine priority, avatar drivers and their two pilots as 'targets of opportunity'. If Chacon was going to bring supplies all the way out here, that might present an opportunity...but he had to be careful. He knew full well that if this...'avatar'...knew where he was, he'd be sure to tell the others. 'Harmless scientist' would only work if someone didn't have any unfortunate accidents, and if Chacon came with backup then the chance of a clean kill would be virtually zero.

He'd have to wait. Maybe his charade could stretch a little further, or even work to his advantage.

Jax was just about to wrap up the conversation when he put his fist into the palm of his hand. "Thats right! I almost forgot. Do you have some more paper? Dr. Augustine left her collected samples back by... well, a mound with a cross over it. I would suggest go getting it for her. I can't really give you a guard or anything, and the Na'vi are all freaked out about it because my... I mean, a human pilot, James Logain, was buried there."

Jax looked down at his WASP and then put it down on the floor of the Airlock. "I don't know if you got a gun in there, but this was a custom-build model that was James. He gave it to me, but I think you need it more. I can always learn to use one of those crazy bows that the natives use."

Jax wasn't too sure about leading the scientist to his body, but James Logain was a dead man, literally. He still didn't trust this scientist, but if the man tried to cross him and the rest of the crew, at least he could effectly let Childs know that Jax was 'dead'. That would defently work to his Advantage, and Jax really didn't need his WASP anymore.

'Play along...', he thought.

   Now he mantioned something about James Logain being buried out in the forest. 'Target of opportunity' again, although with him dead, that was one less opportunity to worry about finding. But before that, the avatar asked for paper, so paper he shall receive.

   Jax pulled out his pistol, and Shep twitched slightly. He was always wary of guns in someone else's hands, and this nearly showed through his 'act'. Then, Jax spun it round, flicked the safety off and placed it on the floor in the airlock. Shep figured he'd better hold up his end of the bargain, and bustled off to find paper and a pencil. Presumably he was going to draw a map. While rummaging around, he palmed his WASP into one of the drawers, before returning to the airlock.

'Unarmed for now, my security detail was recalled 4 days ago. Probably to assist Childs's coup...a weapon would be appreciated, yes. I'll take good care of it. You might want to step outside for a moment...'

Jax did so, and he sealed the airlock, before opening the inner door and passing out the paper and pencil, retrieving the pistol.

Once the scientist had safely moved inside, Jax reopened the Airlock and took the pencil and paper and quickly wrote down directions to his grave and the speciment that Dr. Augustine had taken from the Tree of Souls.

He put the pencil and paper down and said, "On that paper is a rough map and directions to the grave-site so you can get the speciments. You shouldn't run into any Na'vi, they are avoiding the site due to a fear of his 'spirit' returning or some kind of bull like that."

Jax's eyes flashed a bit, a bit of his old glare shining though for a brief moment before he walked out the airlock and closed the door behind him. Walking out past Twonyu, he said, "<<Come. We should leave now, this Tawtute is no threat.>>"



-----------
"Ta'em 'eko!!!"
-----------
"Better to have fought and died then never to have fought at all"
-----------
Bionic Arms and Pandora, The most read FanFic on Learnnavi.org! Read it here! -Shameless self promotion-

Coyote

The Borderlands Trail
2045 hrs (Tawtute Reckoning)
Late in the Third Moon, Na'vi time










Sek'Mut walked back to the campsite with the other warriors, displeased with the way things had turned out. The man in the Tawtute artificial cave was suspicious, and Sek'Mut was unconvinced that he was innocent. The trail had led to him, and he either was the attacker, trying to play innocent, or he had covered for the attacker by keeping them busy and distracted while the other man made his escape.

Damn the Sawtute, he groused, How they all look alike. Only their colors change, but their faces are all still that same unreadable, coy, arrogant look... how do they ever end up mating, when they can never tell when one another is lying? But then he figured that maybe "trust" wasn't important in their society, certainly not important enough for them to worry about when mating.

In a way, it made sense-- from what the Uniltirantokx had said, the humans had bred like insects, covering their planet in their defective seed, overrunning and consuming everything in sight so badly that they had to go out into the sky to survive. Obviously, they are not too particular at all in their mating; they probably just randomly mate with one another with no thought for bonds of Tsaheylu.

He returned to camp to find a well-arranged defense. In the center, where the Uniltirantokx "Grace" had lain after being wounded, was Ariel and Arik. Ariel was upset; she'd never seen someone nearly killed and was unprepared for the shock. Arik and the strange, new Uniltirantokx female were talking to her, calming her, Arik hugging her reassuringly before pointing her towards Sek'Mut. She went to see him, overcoming her upset but still somewhat distressed.

"You will be... ohhh-kay?" he asked, using the Sawtute expression that seemed to be universal.
"I will," she assured him. "I... I just... I saw the others get wounded before, but I never saw someone get shot right in front of my eyes. It... horrible." She frowned, and looked to the dead Na'vi warrior who had been Twonyu's father. "And that poor man... he knew that other warrior?"

"The father is dead; the son lives in grief and hungers for... what is it?"
"Revenge," Ariel said.
"Reev-inj," Sek'Mut said. He looked over at Arik and the new, female Dreamwalker. "Come, we shall speak together, and leave them alone." He guided her away from the spot where Grace had been shot, and where Arik had comforted her. Several warriors watched them walk together, and looked back at Arik, and spoke among themselves.

"He finds someone new to talk to?" Sek'Mut asked, wondering what was going on while he was away.
Ariel looked back at Arik and Na'ama. "That's his sister, Na'ama," she said. "She helped us escape from the lab."
Sek'Mut gave her an odd look. Uniltirantokx dreamery, he decided. He knew the basic principles, in a way, but still found it hard to imagine, or even fully comprehend. On top of that, however, was the notion that his hopes had been dashed-- Arik had not found someone else to chase while leaving his sister alone.

"I did not know he had a sister," he said.
"She has done a lot to help us," Ariel said, "She helped Damien get supplies to us, she was spying on the people at Hell's Gate... she killed someone helping us escape, and Arik has done a lot to help her get through that."

"She is not a tsamsiyu, then," Sek'Mut said, trying to sound disdainful but failing. He found himself having empathy for Arik; since Aniuket wasn't much of a tsamsiyu either.

"A fighter? No," Ariel said. "She was really upset. Bawling like a baby, actually."

Sek'Mut looked back at Arik, who was ignoring him and Ariel and talking to his sister while keeping a watchful eye out for any further disturbances. He is devoted to helping her, and protecting her, he realized, and again felt a moment of understanding for the Uniltirantokx.
"I want to protect my sister, too," Sek'Mut muttered.
"From what?" Ariel asked, confused. She knew that Aniuket had not come with them on this mission.
Sek'Mut looked at her. "I want to protect her from--" he stopped. He was about to say from Arik, from Uniltirantokx but realized that she would be offended by something like that. "--from hurt," he said. Ariel's eyes narrowed, as she studied his face. She knew he'd changed his mind about something, but didn't know from what.

They walked past a small knot of warriors who had been watching them. As they passed by, the group fell silent, and watched as Sek'Mut and Ariel walked past, but his ears flicked as one of them mumbled something to the others, causing them to snicker.
"--Poe aysaheyluyä--" he heard. Woman of many bonds.

Sek'Mut stopped, wheeling on the warriors and glaring at them.

<<Upe sanuya aynga?>> he demanded. The snickering stopped, and most of the Na'vi eyes turned to face one particular warrior, smaller than the rest, but to his credit, once he figured out he'd been made, he stood firm.

<<Aynga woman,>> the warrior --Sek'Mut knew his as Yashuck-- said, <<ayoeng tse'a po hu Uniltirantokx Ahrik... ulte nga. Ayoe tse'a Poe aysaheyluyä... ulte nga." He faced Sek'Mut squarely.

For a moment, Sek'Mut stood there, glaring at the man, a junior warrior who had only climbed Iknimaya just two zìsìt before. He stepped forward and put his nose centimeters from the disrespectful Yashuck's face and gave him an evil hiss, and put up a warning finger inches from the warrior's eyes.

<<Speak like that again,>> he warned, and <<Ayngawngìl ngati wutsoru yayeiom-- tslam?>>
Yaschuck 'gulped'. <<Oe tslam,>> he acknowledged.

Sek'Mut stepped away from the young warrior and glared at them all, forcing them all to step back in deference. Satisfied, he turned back to Ariel.
"Everything okay?" she asked.
"It will become so," Sek'Mut said, glancing back. The warriors were breaking up and finding useful things to be seen doing.

"What did that guy say?" Ariel asked.
"He made to question my... I am not 'chief', but I am... on bigger place than him?"
"He questioned your authority?" she asked.
"Athorr-ritee," he said, nodding his head. "About the wise-making of this journey. Much danger we have seen on this, for the one called Jax. Now we have more dead."

Ariel could tell he wasn't being entirely truthful. Whatever had happened between Sek'Mut and the other warrior seemed much more... personal. But she didn't think she'd make any progress questioning him directly about it. She held the encounter in abeyance and figured she'd come to it again at a later round of discussion. Something about... 'Uniltirantokx Ahrik', she knew, she'd heard that much plainly.

"You don't like Arik at all, do you?"
Sek'Mut looked at her, then shrugged. "My sister finds him interesting. He is new, different. Like when a child finds a new play-thing. She will grow bored. She will see he..." he stopped, about to say when she sees he does not belong here, but realized that so far, two of the Sawtute were there to stay for good, now... What if Arik also gets stranded here for good...

Ariel looked at him, raising her eyebrows in curiosity, inviting him to go on.

So alien they look, Sek'Mut thought, seeing the novelty of the Avatar's eyebrows. "Arik will move on," Sek'Mut said. "You all will. You all will go back to your burned world, and leave us here."

"You don't want her heart broken," Ariel said.
Sek'Mut looked at her, shuffling the words in his head. "Heart broken?" he asked.
"Sadness," she said. "Someone falls in love, and the person they love goes away. So they are heart broken."

"Yes," Sek'Mut said. "We have that too, just not the Inglisi words." He gave a snort of ironic laughter. "Not so different we are, yes?" He looked around, frowning. He glanced at all the people in the clearing, in the dimming light-- Uniltirantokx and Na'vi alike, all faces were worn with stress and grime and set fierce with determination from fighting, or taut from sadness and grief. Taronyu, Na'ama... "We all suffer together," he said. "Fight same battles."

Ariel looked at him, seeing his eyes focusing on something deeper than she felt adequate to say. "Yeah," she said, and smiled up at him.

Sek'Mut gazed up at one of the many moons that shared orbit around Polyphemus. What sky brought you here, and will that same sky carry you all back? he wondered.











Results:
Sek'Mut fights off feelings of empathy for Arik's plight.
Also shares a moment with Ariel; finds himself defensive of her when other warriors tease her.
Convinced that Sawtute are good for nothing but pain and hurt... but... they suffer as the Na'vi suffer, and these suffer for the same reasons.

***
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around!


VIDEO LOG DAY 8:
Attempted to pee on Viperwolf to test reaction. Please see attached medical file.
WARNING: Attached medical file exceeds gigabyte limit. System failure.

El Jacko

Site 24
2040hrs


   Jax departed, saying something to the warrior on the way past. Shep did his best to lipread him, but from this angle and distance he couldn't. Would be pointless anyway, he thought, they speak in Na'Vi around each other.... He stood there for some time, staring blankly out of the window. Jax seemed so...human. That and he didn't act like a scientist...more like a soldier. And his size...seeing an avatar that wasn't 10 feet tall came as something as a shock, and the lack of fingers called even more into question...

   ...he'd find out. Eventually. For now, though, he was slightly stuck. The rebels knew exactly where he was, even if they didn't know exactly who he was. Trudy would be flying out some supplies in the morning, which would be helpful. This mobile link site hadn't been used in months, maybe years, and the only available food was some dehydrated protein bars. The com link did, in fact, work perfectly, but Shep wanted to avoid it for now. If he radioed back to Quaritch, then Hell's Gate would know exactly where he is and want updates, information, and results.

   Which he didn't have yet. As assassinations go, this one wasn't the best. Augustines avatar was wounded, yes, but he had no idea how severely, and Augustine herself was theoretically unharmed (at least physically) in her link machine. Coupled to that, the death of a Na'Vi warrior had forced him underground, and now he'd wormed his way too deep to take out any more from his list of targets.
   At least Logain was dead. He could check that tomorrow, when he went to collect Augustine's samples. Sorry, 'Dr' Augustine now. Helping the enemy...this is way too deep...

   He headed into the sleeping pod, to get some rest. If he turned in now, he'd be up before dawn, hopefully before anything else in this forest wakes up. Wandering over to the window bed, he looked at his sniper equipment, stuffed roughly under the mattress. At this rate, I won't be needing these for a while...
'Look at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us...on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam' - Carl Sagan

Ikranä mokri

#68
Site 24
2040hrs


Walking out past Twonyu, Jax said, "<<Come. We should leave now, this Tawtute is no threat.>>"

"Ha<< no threat>>" he said with a laugh "<<All tawtute are threat, even ones who look like Na'Vi>>" his expression turning serious.

Jax started to walk off but Twonyu grabbed his arm and spun him round to face him. On Twonyus face was plastered a smile which barely hid the fact that he hated Jax and he had come up with a plan to show that the tawtute would never be a Na'Vi.

"<<You wish to learn our ways, even though it is impossible to fill an already full head, I will give you a challenge, find your way back to your friends without following anyone, I will see you back with the other tawtute>>"  with that, with his bow sung over his shoulder he walked off into the forest.

finding the nearest tree he climbed steadily before climbing onto a branch which had a good view of the clearing, Jax and the forest below. He may have hated the tawtute but he didnt want to be outcast by the tribe for getting him killed so he kept a watchful eye on him. he would not interfere unlesss the tawtute was in dangfer of being killed.

Jax walked into the forest. his head on a swivel. looking around for any sings of where he was. he was thinking that bastard is going to get me killed

he looked up scaning the trees to see if Twonyu was around. he couldnt see him, so chosing the direction he had come from he started off down the trail again





Tirea Tskoyä has a new look see it[url=http://forum.learnnavi.org/fiction-

Coyote

Hell's Gate
Biosciences Lab
(Earlier That Night)
1800 hrs.










"Final check-up," Dr. Max Patel said as he approached. A nurse brought a small tray of equipment and a diagnostic computer behind him on a cart.

"Personal attention from the human-Avatar interface scientist himself," Julia Childs said, smiling. "To what do I owe this particular honor?"

Dr. Patel gave her a stony look. "How about the fact that your uncle mostly destroyed my main lab and scattered my participants?" Patel asked. "I seem to find myself with a copious amount of free time these days."

Julia's face fell to a look of guilty sobriety. "I honestly didn't think it would come to that," she said. "Uncle Warren just wanted to set things straight; he's acting on orders from RDA headquarters. And Senator Hardy."

"Mm, yes," Patel said, unimpressed, "Because corporations and politicians always have our best interests at heart, don't they? If a corporation can sell you out for money, they will; if a politician can sell you out for power, he will. Those of us trying to advance the cause of science and understand humanity's place in the galaxy? Well, we either dance to the tune or get out of the way. And you, my dear, seem to be part of the band."

He and the nurse were performing diagnostic scans on Julia, to make sure she had not suffered a psychosomatic reaction --physical, mental, or emotional-- to the shooting of her Avatar. So far, things looked well. It was her second test in as many days since the attack.

"Looks like a clean bill of health so far," Patel said.
"Thank you," Julia said, her voice brittle. "Doctor... how's my Avatar?"

"You care?" he asked brusquely.
"I... I do," Julia said.
"Well," Patel said, "The wounds were deep and to be honest, by having to penetrate Na'vi muscular tissue and skeletal structure, the bullet was slowed sufficiently that she managed to avoid damage to both lungs. The right lung was collapsed, the rib cage around the bullet was shattered, and the muscles were tore up... and after getting shot, you had a burst of adrenaline that allowed you to keep fighting for several minutes afterwards, so she lost a lot of blood. That said, however... she'll live."

Julia breathed a sigh of relief. Patel gave her a strange look.

"I'll be honest with you, I'm surprised you even care. You were more than willing to kill your fellow Avatar drivers without a thought."

Julia looked away, her face suddenly taut with stress. Max Patel looked at her, trying to gauge her reaction. Maybe she doesn't have quite the taste for killing she thought she would, he figured, Not after someone tried to kill her.

Patel sighed. "Anyhow," he said, "It's a damn dangerous game you've decided to play in, Julia. It's a game where the people play for keeps. You could have easily been killed out there, both your Avatar and you. The link is strong. We once had a guy commit suicide after his Avatar was killed, you know that? They don't like to make that public. Obviously."

"I'm sorry," she said, not knowing why she was apologizing --but also wanting to say something even if she didn't know exactly what. She looked back at Dr. Patel. "When can I re-link with my Avatar?"

"It'll be awhile," Patel said. "I won't even begin to consider it for at least another week, and that'll just be to test the link and her reactions while you occupy her. It'll be painful for both of you, because I'll have to let the anesthesia wear off a little to get proper results. It'll be even longer before you can get her back on her feet, and then it'll be rehabilitation for weeks. You won't be going on any killing sprees for awhile, yet, young lady."

Julia sighed, slumping, defeated and frustrated.






***   ***   ***





Hell's Gate
Avatar Barracks









The ears on Blake Goodson's Avatar flickered as a faint noise whispered through the dark confines of the Avatar barracks. He froze in place, trying to place the noise and categorize it. It was, in fact, a whisper --of sorts. It was increased breathing, and came from the Avatar on the bunk next to his.

"Jesus, Liz," he said, rushing to her side.
"habbulbi..." she mumbled incoherently.
"Liz, Liz, wake up," Blake said, patting her shoulder gently. Her Avatar was thin and drawn, and on it's fourth IV bag.

They eyes opened, having difficulty focusing, and she blinked several times. Blake reached over and flicked some of the "eye sand" that collected in the corners of her eyes. "I'll get you some water," he said, and grabbed a bottle, cracking open the lid. Liz struggled to sit up. "Easy, easy," he said, and helped her. He pulled he rup gently by the shoulders and placed pillows behind her back. She drank the bottled water greedily.

"Go slow with that," he said. "Drink too fast and you'll barf."

She stopped, gasped, and drank some more. Her eyes became wetter, less cloudy, and she rubbed at them.

"Blake?" she asked, her voice raspy.
"More water," he said, "but slowly."
She drank easily, finishing the bottle.

"Good to see you," he said, smiling, "I've been worried. I've had you on IV for awhile. How are you? How's the link? Where are you linking from?" he asked, concerned.

"The backup drivepod room," she replied. "The one Julia used to attack you. Goddamn, I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat?"
"Protein bars," Blake said, "Lemme get you some." He rushed to the storage box and brought over a handful of the protein bars, which Liz began devouring. "Don't eat too fast, you'll get sick," he said.

He sat in silence for a bit as Liz put away three protein bars. He pulled the rest away. "Let that settle for a bit," he said. She was too weak to protest.
"Is it safe?" he asked as she finished chewing and swallowed the bar.
"Julia is in Dr. Patel's lab, getting checked out," she said. "She's the only Avatar driver left in Hell's Gate-- officially. So there's no one else to use the drivepod while she's busy, so I'm in there."

"They'll detect the energy use," Blake said.
"Scheduled calibration tests," she replied, smiling. "Personnel on Earth was the first place we infiltrated; Avatar tech program was the second. We have a couple people in Ops that can help reroute power as need, too."

"Admin and Security?" Blake asked, wondering how deeply they'd penetrated.
"Background checks are too tight," Liz said, shaking her head. "We're hoping to recruit from the inside. We've had our eye on people who seem to be sympathetic, and we were going to contact them-- until this happened." She reached for another protein bar, and he gave it to her. "Now we're just laying low."

"So, who is in on this?" Blake asked.
Liz gave him a cautious look. "Um, don't take this personally..." she started to say.
Blake waved it off. "Nevermind, I understand. The less I know, the safer you are. So you, at least, are hiding out somewhere, and the rest of your band of Merry Men are continuing operations as usual?"

"Pretty much," Liz said, nodding. "Can I get more water? Thanks... and I seriously need to go to the bathroom."
"I'll help you up," Blake said. Like he had been, she was weak and dizzy upon first standing. He helped her to the restrooms, supporting her on his shoulder as she staggered towards the door. He helped her into a stall, where she assured him she could take it from there.

After a few moments he heard the flush, and re-entered to help her back up. She washed up, also splashing water all over her face and rubbing her eyes some more. "Ohhh, man, much better," she said. She looked at him. "What have you been doing here?" she asked.

"I started using my Avatar again after we escaped," he said. "It hadn't been used for about a week, and I had a hard time getting going. Since then I try to link in twice a day, get some food, and I do pushups, sit-ups, jog in place... my strength and coordination are coming back." He nodded towards the portable radio on the bunk next to hers. "I've been trying to find the frequency you guys use, but no luck."

"We keep radio silence," she said. She began a series of stretches. "Owww... I see you've also been keeping me in fluids, at least. That's cool. Thank you," she said.
"Yeah," he said, suddenly turning as bright red as an Avatar could. She looked at him with a curious, guarded, yet amused expression.
"Yes, Blake Goodson?" she said, "And... what?"

"Well, I..." he said, feeling sheepish, "I would rub your arms and leg muscles," he admitted, "Trying to keep circulation going. I... I felt like I had to do something to keep your Avatar alive."

Liz gave him a guarded smile as she stretched her legs and arms, and did a couple deep-knee bends. "Well, thanks for the thought, but I don't think it's necessary," she said.
"Sorry," he said.

"Forget it," she said. "What's the food situation?"
"The shack is stocked with emergency rations and bottled water, and we're also on the Hell's Gate water system," he said, "We've got supplies and first aid for basic upkeep of the Avatar bodies, but that's it. It's stocked for up to twenty Avatars, but so far there's only me --and now, you-- drawing on supplies. So we're going to be okay for a bit. I figure a couple weeks, at least. Then we'll need another plan."

"How about the garden?" she asked.
"Full of fresh ripe Pandoran fruits and vegetables," he said, "All of it right in the middle of Hell's Gate and under the watchful eyes of several towers. Essentially useless to us."

Liz sighed. She looked around, noting the other bunks. "So Augustine and her group got away, then."
"Yeah," Blake said, "We're... hidden. Safe," he assured her. "Any news on Julia?"
"Her Avatar is in the science lab being patched up," Liz said. "It'll be awhile before she returns here. So we have time to cook up a plan, maybe get food and weapons down here to us."

"What's the mood in Hell's Gate?" he asked.
Liz began doing some yoga moves. "Paranoid," she revealed. "Childs had most people calming down, and accepting the story about a Na'vi attack. It was a steaming pile of bull, and everyone knew it-- like Director Selfridge would charge out there to do battle in his shirt and tie? Really? But for generations corporations have counted on people's desire for normalcy. Herd mentality. Make a cover story, repeat it, and quickly get back to normal. People will eagerly go back to worrying about their own little things, and ignore the crap being shoveled at them."

"Until we broke out," Blake said.
"Exactly," Liz said, transitioning from downward-looking dog to cobra. "No way someone was going to believe that the Na'vi got into Hell's Gate undetected, blew up a lab, and stole the Dragon gunship. Security is tight, and some people who've demanded answers to too many questions have been roughed up. So even though there's a lot of talk, people are keeping their heads down. Childs just needs to keep things quiet long enough for things to go back to normal."

Blake nodded, thinking the situation over. "So, as long as we keep things stirred up, keep Childs off-balance, people will continue to see him as the outsider."

"Technically, yeah," Liz said as she did some jumping-jacks. "But it's dangerous. If people are restless, he'll get more and more paranoid and have the Security teams make examples of folks. He already knows we're in there, somewhere, the Environmental Freedom Front, and there's been talk that if any of us are found, we'll become the latest victims of Na'vi attacks ourselves."

"I see," Blake said, disheartened.
"Don't worry about us," Liz said, stopping and doing a few push-ups. She could only do a handful of them before she was exhausted. She went to the food locker for more protein bars. "We know the risks," she said. "We have to keep Dr. Childs in the hot seat. That may mean casualties. We're prepared to accept that."

"Not everyone is," Blake said.
"Now is not the time to get squeamish, Goodson. Sides have been chosen; you're on one whether you like it or not. In two years, the Venture Star docks. If Childs is accepted as large & in charge by everyone, then he'll be accepted as the rightful authority here. But if he's struggling to keep his head above water, and Hell's Gate is burning, and there's rebellion and Na'vi attacks, then he'll have no legitimacy and they'll arrest his ass. He's got powerful friends back on Earth, but they aren't all-powerful. There are competing interests at stake. The RDA board of directors is split, and Senator Hardy will face competition from the Liberal party. If Childs is a failure, they won't want to be associated with him. They'll drop him like a bowl of burning grease."

"Great," Blake said, "Your small band of revolutionaries, my small band of people forced into rebellion because we wouldn't lie down and die like Childs wanted us to... we just have to keep bleeding things and endangering everyone in Hell's Gate for the next two years, and maybe the Venture Star will arrive and unseat Warren Childs? I'm sorry, but that's just not much of a plan."

"It's the only one we've got," Liz said. "If you can come up with a better one, by all means. Childs has 75% of the Security team on his side, and about half of Admin and Operations. Everyone else either goes along to get along, or they're afraid to speak up-- but they know Childs is in the wrong. We have to get that silent population to challenge him."

"But you said it yourself-- he's the one with the guns! He's got Security on his side!"
"Not all of them. There's a lot of people scheduled to go home in two years. You think he's going to let them go back to Earth so they can tell the world what's going on? We need to keep the pressure on." She stopped, and looked at the wall clock. "Crap, how long have I been here?"

"Forty minutes, maybe," he said.
"Alright, that's how long Julia's exam is supposed to be. I gotta get going. Thanks for keeping me alive, Blake. I mean it. We'll try to keep Julia busy tomorrow so I can wake up again, but I can't guarantee anything. But please," she said, laying down on the bunk, "Don't give up. We need to keep up the pressure. Undermine his legitimacy whenever and wherever we can. Your guys and my guys both," she said, and closed her eyes.

"Good luck," Blake muttered, displeased with the situation. But Liz was already disconnected, and the Avatar slept soundly.









Results:
Julia and her Avatar are undergoing medical checks after getting the Avatar wounded.
Julia having doubts about killing people to achieve her goals.

Blake and Liz awaken, Liz's Avatar hydrates and eats.
Both discuss plans and compare notes.
EFF operatives want to keep up the fight so Dr. Childs has no control; looks weak and illegitimate.
Blake argues that keeping up pressure is too risky, on a gamble that the Venture Star will be --at best-- RDA loyalists.

***
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around!


VIDEO LOG DAY 8:
Attempted to pee on Viperwolf to test reaction. Please see attached medical file.
WARNING: Attached medical file exceeds gigabyte limit. System failure.

Lehrrap Uniltìranyu

The Jungle
2100 HRS

"Great." Jax muttered as he watched Twonyu rush off into the night. "As if I didn't have enough problems, he's still to wound up."

He sighed as he looked out into the forest. He hadn't learned much from the Na'vi in navigating his world, but he smiled to himself. Twonyu forgot that while he was indeed a tawtute... once... he was still a warrior. Specificly, he was a Marine, and a pilot at that. He had gone though Hell twice to get his wings, and he wasn't going to let those lessons go to waste.

Survival training was all about being able to survive, using any possible means to keep himself alive. The month he spent out in the Rocky Mountans was indeed one of his favorite memories... just they were a bit diffrent then how he had told him.

Hunting and killing game with a knife and a pistol that he had self-built a silencer for, eating bark for three days when game was scarce, the nightly games of cat-and-mouse with patrol dogs and D.Is that were hunting him down...

It had been hell, but it had made him tougher in the end and gave him invaluable experience.

He balled his fists and cracked his knuckles. "Right, lets do this."

The first step was the simplest. Make his way back to the smoke plum that was still rising into the sky, though the smoke had stopped, it was the quickest way to a followable trail. The only reason why he even knew the little smoke trick was that it was used on him as a traceing trap on his second day out in the forest in Colorado. He had barely escaped, and he learned a few things by observing how the D.I's attempted to track his trail.

He quickly made his way to the smoke plum before it vanished and smiled. It was going to be much more simplistic from here.

Backtracking the trail was a pretty simple task, though it took a bit of expeience and lots of paitence to figure out. He follows the tracks left by the Mysterious Sniper and those who had tried to follow the sniper back towards the rest of the crew.

From there, it was pretty simple to just take a rough stab at where everyone was and to follow the sounds. Mutters, people talking. Soon he found himself leaping into the center of the group, brushing himself off after a bit of a landing.

"Easy." He said with a grin as he looked around, unsuprised to find a few arrows being pointed in his direction.



-----------
"Ta'em 'eko!!!"
-----------
"Better to have fought and died then never to have fought at all"
-----------
Bionic Arms and Pandora, The most read FanFic on Learnnavi.org! Read it here! -Shameless self promotion-

Tanhìyärina'

Tireamokri looked up as Hun'nar-- no, Jax, she corrected herself again-- leaped into the center of the small throng of Na'vi.  It's the eyes, she thought.  When I don't see them, it's Hun'nar, just a little less coordinated.  When I see his eyes, all I see is Jax.

In those eyes just now was a flash of self-satisfaction, despite the few arrows pointed at him.  Tireamokri just smiled and shook her head.  After some of the samsiyu had recognized the Tawtute-turned-Na'vi and lowered their bows, she approached him.  "Tawtutea tsamsiyu ramun srak?"  (You) found the human warrior?  There was something else about him... a little unease.  He was trying to hide it, but Tireamokri's eyes could see it flickering here and there on his face.  "Pehem lamu?" she asked softly.  What happened? (literally, what action was?)
Fitseng lu oe, tìftia kìfkeyä seri.

Ikranä mokri

#72
The path
2105 hours


Twonyu followed above Jax the whole time. Deep down he almost felt a little admiration for the tawtute, who was using his wits to get back to the rest of the group, but these feelings were so deep they may as well have not been there at all.

he clambred down the tree he ended up in and came out into the crowd a little further down from where Jax jad appeared. He watched as Tireamokri spoke to Jax. A strange feeling welled up inside Twonyu, it was jealousy but why he was jealous he didnt know. He turned away and look at the small groups that were building up around him.

He walked off and looked around until he found a stick that was straight enough to make an arrow from. Using long straight strokes of his knife he started to fashion himself a very rough and ready arrow.





Tirea Tskoyä has a new look see it[url=http://forum.learnnavi.org/fiction-

Brainiac

Oscar returned to the others. He saw Grace, with a massive hole in her shoulder, blood and bone fragments everywhere. Oscar gritted his teeth. He wasn't really used to this kind of thing.
He walked over to her, intending to ask a nearby Na'vi how she was. And then he realized he spoke almost no Na'vi. None whatsoever. He'd been constantly relying on others, and on a very limited vocabulary to get himself through. He just stood there a bit, looking at Grace, before turning around and walking away. He almost got a heart attack when Jax jumped out of nowhere just a few feet away. He wasn't the only one, because all the Na'vi immediately jumped up and aimed their bows at him. The guy just stood there with a silly grin on his face. The guy could make an entrance, you had to give him that.
Speed is a ppoor sbubstitue fo accurancy

Check out my blogif my presence on this board isn't weird enough for you.

El Jacko

#74
Site 24
0600hrs (roughly)

   Shep stood, like a sentinel, on the roof of Site 24 and stared out into the abyss, the endless expanse of unearthly forest, and felt at ease. It was just before dawn, and the cyan hue of the morning mist was set aglow by the dim light of ACB. Given another half an hour, ACA would rise, throwing the world below him into daylight. Various beasts were stirring, Banshees calling to the morning, the odd flock of Stingbats bursting into the sky in a splash of colour. It was a serene sight, one that Earth had not seen in many years.

  To be stood here, he thought, Three trillion miles away from home, the only man in the universe to behold this sight...The very thought of it brought a tear to his eye. Everyone he had ever loved, everyone he had ever truly known, was drifting on a mote of dust suspended around the 3rd star to the right, 6 long, uncertain years away. Anything could have happened on that planet, nuclear war, natural disaster, pandemics, and he would never know about it. 8 years ago, he made the decision to leave it all behind, turn his back on all his problems, and get as far away as possible. He knew coming to Pandora would, for him, be a one-way trip.

- - - - - - - - - -

0800hrs


  He felt it before he heard it. The steady beating of propeller blades, carried through the still morning air, followed soon by the whine of powerful jet engines. After what seemed like an age, the mighty Dragon gunship drifted into view before coming to a hover above the site. He could just make out several people moving inside, before a large crate slid down the cargo ramp and floated down under parachute. This done, the Dragons engines flared into life, and the unwieldy slab of metal heaved itself off into the sunrise. That'll be the supplies then...

  Jumping down off the site roof, he went to get the supplies inside. Opening the crate, a veritable bounty lay before him. Sure, there was the usual dehydrated rubbish courtesy of the RDA, and a portable com-link, but underneath that lay something more...a few cuts of meat, and some fresh fruit.

  Wait, what?

Must be courtesy or the Na'Vi..., he thought, the RDA always insisted they were 'savages', but here they are, helping a human? It didn't quite add up. Yesterday, they tried to kill him, but after a change of clothes and some little lies and they sent him a care package? Either they trust my scientist persona, or that Jax is...influential.

  Some time later, having got all the supplies inside the mobile site and in the best possible place (the slab of meat was huge, it nearly collapsed the shelf in the fridge), he figured he'd better hold up his end of the bargain. Going to the bed by the window, he rummaged through his ghillie suit until he found the datapad and a flashbang (just in case, you can never be too careful...). Studying Jax's map, he plotted the location of Logain's grave on his datapad and kitted up for a day in the woods. He took both WASP pistols, the flashbang grenade and a combat knife, and concealed all but 1 WASP inside the science uniform he'd 'borrowed'. This forest had tried to kill him once before, and he wanted to make sure he won again.

- - - - - - - - - -

  Shep managed to trek through the forest far easier today. As a sniper, he'd needed to leave as little trail as possible, to avoid detection, but for the purposes of cover he needed to be clumsy as a scientist. If he left the same trail as last night, the natives would cotton on and he'd be toast.

  For the first hour, the forest was alive with insects and other small creatures. A herd of Titanothere ignored him, intent on getting breakfast. But now, as he was closing on the grave site, it had fallen almost silent. It was as if nothing wanted to breathe, move, or even open an eye for some strange reason. SAS training kicked in, and he pulled out a WASP, flicking the safety off and dropping to a crouch, keeping his head on a swivel. Of the various beasties that would take him for breakfast, the one he feared most was the Thanator. The armour on its head was pretty much bulletproof, and they would always strike from behind, to catch their prey unawares.

  The next clearing confirmed his fears. Three tonnes of muscle and teeth, glistening navy black in the morning sun. This one was preoccupied, mid-way through devouring some poor Banshee. One shot...he heard his former captain again. There had to be a weak point. A shot to the torso would penetrate, but not mortally wound. He needed a headshot, and the only available weak spot was the beast's eye.

One shot...

Taking careful aim, he watched the animal's movements as it tore chunks from the banshee. Strike bite, toss head back to swallow, repeat. He needed to time this perfectly.

Wait for it...wait for the opportunity...

*BANG**BANG*

  Shep squeezed off two shots, in quick succession, and sprinted forwards. The first glanced off an armor plate, while the second struck its mark. The Thanator roared with rage and pain, thrashing at its eye in a vain attempt to get whatever just bit it, out.
  It didn't notice as a human sprinted in and jumped onto its back, nor did it notice as the human shoved the barrel of a pistol between two armour plates on the back of its neck. And that's when it went dark, as the human put a bullet straight into the back of its skull.

  It was a close call as to what, exactly, had the advantage on Pandora. The human forces couldn't breathe the air and suffered in the low gravity, but their technology could kill anything that stood against them and keep them alive. The native fauna, however, was perfectly built, had too many legs and far too many teeth, and a severe advantage in numbers. Yet the apex predator could be beaten, single handed, by a human using only a pistol and the element of surprise. Had the beast had the element of surprise, Shep might now only be a stain on the forest floor. It put a lot of things into perspective.

   The grave site lay in the next small clearing. It wasn't particularly glorious, but had that feel about it. A simple earth mount, marked with a wooden cross. A heroes grave, he thought.

   Someone had scratched a faint memento into the cross. It was very sketchy, but just legible:

Here lies the body of James Logain,
Reaper of MFRML 1717
Once human, rises again. No time to be blue.


What? 'Reaper of 1717'?

  8 years, he'd been running from that. And now, here of all places, it haunted him still.

"That's not possible...no...no, no, NO! I saw it crash, watched you die...you were DEAD, damnit!" Shep yelled, at the forest, at Jax, at Logain, at anything. He collapsed to his knees, sobbing quietly...remembering all that he'd gone so far to forget.

- - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - -

Eastern Nigeria, October 2143

"Overlord, this is Delta One, I have bogeys in sight, requesting your instruction. Over."

Delta One, Overlord, do they show up on Sentinel? Over.

"Negative Overlord, we have been EMP'd, Sentinel is offline"

Enemy presence is high in your area, permission to engage granted. Use M421 guns only.

"Affirmative. Beginning strafing run"

A quarter mile below, the Royal Dragoon Guards spot 3 strike jets on the horizon. A spotter confirms them as American USAF jets, and attempts to contact command. 3 successive gouts of fire from the fighter's chain guns put an end to this, and leave the convoy devastated. From a holed tank, one Daniel Sheppard claws his way out onto the blasted plain to find a radio, and calls for medical evacuation for any other survivors.

- - - - -

MFR medical, Overlord. We have a friendly fire incident on our hands, request medi-evac to sector 7. All available call signs, please respond.

At the Marine Force Recon base, pilot James 'Jax' Logain and his crew pile into Medi-evac Samson 1717, codename 'Scythe'.

"Overlord, this is medical 1717 'Scythe', we are airborne, ETA 14 minutes", Jax said into his helmet mic. He was dreading this, as he dreaded every sortie. 87 flights to date, and not one person saved. Yet every time, he went back out, for the chance of saving just 1 life. Once more, unto the breach.

  Scythe burnt a path through the desert, flying in low and fast. His two door gunners were firing insicriminately at anyone who so much as waved a gun at the SA-2. They understood the risk as much as Jax, and the potential glory of saving that 1 precious life.

  Daniel forced his eyes open as he felt the tell-tale thrum of a Samson SA-2. The medical evacuation chopper lumbered in at an unholy speed, throwing up a large cloud of dust as it landed heavily next to the broken convoy. As the dust cleared, he saw the designation on the side, and the body count, and his eyes widened in horror.

  Shortly after, as the medics were loading his stretcher into the back of the Samson, his expression was one of shock when a private opened up a minigun on the medics, in a vague attempt to end the pain Scythe caused. The world slowed as the spray of lead reached him, and he watched blankly as round after round tore into his already-battered body.

  Cpl Daniel Sheppard, Royal Dragoon Guards. Killed in action, October 2143.

  After the death of his brother, SAS sniper Alan Sheppard vowed for retribution against Scythe, and James Logain, in lieu of countless lives lost.

- - - - - - -

Eastern Nigeria, August 2144

  The war had now entered its final stages. The joint US/UK operation was winding down, and the rebel militiamen were no longer firing upon allied soldiers on sight. Finally, the plan Shep had been cooking for 10 long months could be put into action. He'd blackmailed a group of militia into gutting an American convoy, and was now waiting with an RPG-11 in hand for the medi-evac Samson to fly over. After some time, he saw it. It was a sight to behold – flown dangerously well, guns blazing, pushed to the very edge of stability. He had one chance.

  The RPG flew true, and struck the aft fuselage of the Samson with frightening precision. The blast tore the rear doors off, and set the cabin alight. He watched as it burned, fuel cells exploding one by one, throwing 50 foot gouts of flame out into the dusty sky. Out of control, it plummeted into an embankment and disintegrated. Revenge, it seemed, had been served. He swung round his M26 sniper rifle, and scanned the debris for signs of life.

  The pilot, James Logain, had survived the blast...no-one survives that sort of accident...not for long, anyway...

  He took careful aim at the burnt form of James Logain. One shot was all it would take; one shot to end the pain that this man had caused Shep and countless others to suffer.

  Slowly, deliberately, he pulled the trigger. But something, somewhere, deep inside his mind, cried out. It is not his time...not yet, not here...

  He relaxed his grip. These past 5 years he had killed countless people, without remorse or guilt, his only thought being for the accuracy of his shot and his method of escape. But now, faced with an easy target, he was unable to do what used to seem so easy.
 
  Desperately, he looked for an alternative. Something. Anything. Any way to remove Jax without directly killing him. As if on cue, the pilot raised his left hand to the sky, revealing a GPS watch – his only remaining chance of rescue.. Shep focused the scope and held his breath. He had one shot, and one shot only.

  The crosshairs steadied just above the watch, allowing for gravity and coriolis. Shep pulled the trigger, marvelling as always in the mechanical precision of his rifle. The stock kicked back into his shoulder, just as Logain's watch exploded off his wrist. The deed done, Shep upped sticks and fled, leaving no sign of his presence at the crash site.

  He signed on to the RDA after his tour finished, using his rank to force his way onto the next ISV to Pandora, as far away from everything that haunted him as he could possibly go, hoping to forget...

- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
 
"It's not fair...you took my brother, my only family, my only true friend...and I left you to die, cut off, no hope of rescue..."

  He kneeled limp at the foot of the grave. His brain couldn't be bothered holding him up, it was thinking. About the war, about Pandora, James Logain, everything and nothing all at once.

No time to be blue...What could that mean? Could it...and Jax...no...that was more improbable than his being here in the first place...

  Shep knew now that Jax, or rather James Logain, had died. He felt a slight relief that the problem he gave up so much to flee from had resolved itself, but at the same time felt sorry for Logain. All those missions, not once managing to save someone, yet every week they send you back out, again and again, in the fruitless quest to rescue even 1 person. At least now, that chapter was over. Gone. Finished.

  And somewhere, out in the forest, a presence made itself known to Shep, a presence not felt by any mere human before, and his mind fell calm, resolute, almost...happy. Happy that the personal vendetta he had held for so long had finally come to fruition, be it by his hand or another. The last sentence still itched at him, though...what it meant, he couldn't decide.
'Look at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us...on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam' - Carl Sagan

Txontaw

The Path
2000 HRS


The gunshot echoed around the jungle. The sound seemed to linger for many seconds. After what seemed like ages, Txonunilyu took a shaky breath. She noticed that Jax had disappeared from the branches behind her. How long had she blanked out? Why had she reacted like that? It wasn't like it was the first time she had been shot at; there had been a lot of shooting from the attack on the way to The Tree of Souls. Perhaps it had been the unexpectedness of it. She hadn't seen it coming; she was not in complete control.

She slowly made her way down the tree, making sure her foot was connected to the trunk every step of the way. When she was back on the ground, she walked - one step at a time - toward the main group. There was a protecting circle of Na'vi, their bows drawn. Txonunilyu walked up to them, and saw what was in the middle. Augustine lay on the ground, a huge hole in her shoulder. The blood had pooled around it like a morbid highlight to the injury. Her breath came in labored spurts.

Txonunilyu bowed her head, saying a silent prayer to Eywa, before walking over to a group of Na'vi and quickly joined the conversation, desperate to take her mind off of the wounded Unìltirantokx lying not fifty feet behind her.




---

The Path
0600 HRS (APPROX.)


Txonunilyu woke with a start for no apparent reason. She stood up quickly, and stretched. The sun was casting a beautiful sunrise, and she knew that in only a little bit, she would see the other sun come up, and throw the sky into a dance of color all over again. She climbed up a tree, peaceful.

Then something in her heart broke. She gasped. She could almost feel her paluluken sliding away into darkness, it's brain slowly becoming still, as if she had bonded with it. And she knew. She knew that someone had killed her paluluken, her Eanswizaw. <<No, not someone. It was that tawtute. The one that attacked us.>> She thought. The sunrise looked at her coldly, the pale red sky stained with the blood of a thousand sawtute, a thousand Na'vi.

<<How much hurt will it take to bring peace?>> she wondered, her hands wringing ceaselessly around her missing finger.

Txonunilyu cried freely, her tears slowly bring blue into the sky above.
"You're not in Kansas anymore. You're on Pandora, Ladies and Gentlemen." - Colonel Quaritch


Coyote

#76
Trail to Kelutral
0630 (Tawtute Reckoning)









The traveling party had left the area of danger and relocated to a fortified position; there they had made a brief camp and caught some sleep. The Avatar drivers logged out, and the Avatars themesleves got some rest as well. They had only a few short hours to nap, during which the Avatar drivers back at the base camp had time to eat, use the restroom, and worry about Grace as they took brief naps as well.

By 0630 they were on the way again, tense as they rode for the rest of the day.

The gentle rocking of the Pa'li lulled Ariel to a sense of thoughftul introspection. She subconsciously leaned against Sek'Mut, who let her think quietly to herself. He was realizing that the Sawtute had some odd social customs; not everyone was a hunter and warrior. It occured to him that many of them may not even know where their food comes from-- he saw them eat the dry, tasteless things that came in the hard-to-open packages, wrapped in "plas-teek" that was inedible. Did they even know that an animal died for them to live?

Maybe that was what was so wrong with the Sawtute. They no longer understood that in order for them to thrive, others had to die. It was too easy for them to forget it; by the time food reached them it was... just some thing that someone else provided. Maybe that makes it so easy for them to take from us, he mused. For them to have, we must be forced out-- or killed. Maybe they honestly do not see the imbalance that is created. They are used to getting something --food-- for nothing --clean hands.

He looked over at Arik, who was riding his Pa'li next to Tireamokri. His sister Na'ama rode behind him, marveling at the forests and creatures. Her hands are clean, that's for sure, Sek'Mut thought. There is one who has never had to kill her own game, gut and clean it... He looked away in disgust. And Ahrik, his hands are not clean, but they are unclean in the way of the warrior. He knows that in order for him to eat, the person who has the food must die. It is similar to the way of the hunter, but a cruel version of it...

He wondered how cruel Arik was, inside. I have seen him kill, but he takes no pleasure in it. Sek'Mut was troubled. For Arik, killing was a job to be done, and he was very efficient at it-- cold, even, mechanical like others of the Sawtute. And having to kill made him angry... yet he does not shy from it.

Sek'Mut watched the aliens among them, falling so easily into their midst, and yet so different from the Na'vi.




***   ***   ***





A small knot of travellers moved together; Arik and Na'ama on one Pa'li, Tireamokri on one, and Jax with another. Arik felt like he wanted to say something, but was at a loss for words, especially ninavi ones. His sister was still overwhelmed by the events of the last two days-- she'd seen more death, even causing some, in two days than most people saw in their whole lives.

Tireamokri seemed to know that his mind was working in overtime. She glanced at him, with a look if understanding at the pressures he faced, and glanced at Na'ama, who was unfocused.

"Grace," she said, "ohh-kayy?"
"She'll live," he said, than glanced at Tireamokri and remembered that she didn't speak much by way of Inglisi. "poe... um... tirey. Srane. Life."
Tireamokri looked at him for a moment and finally could not help but smile a bit. Arik's command of ninavi was horrible, at best.

And so I cannot ask if they live in orange trees, she figured. Or if they really make tsaheylu with their ears. And Nef'Tys asked me to help him learn the ways of the People? She looked at the two Uniltiranyu, uncertain. Am I to teach the tsmuke also? she wondered. She would try, at least, with Arik, but see how well the female did... maybe. So far she seemed to be completely out of her depth.

I will wring that little devil's neck when I get back, wondering what wry humor had prompted Nef'Tys to ask her this favor.





***   ***   ***





Midday





It was time for a lunch break. The pongo Mo'at had, by now, eaten most of the nikt'chey they had packed, and were now supplementing their foodstuffs mostly with hunting and foraging. They had not planned to be gone this long; the decision to take a longer trail back had not been planned for.

The Pa'li were dismounted and some of the younger warriors rounded them up and set to guarding them as they grazed, watching with bemused looks --and some apprehension-- as the varius Uniltiranyu were gathered together.

"All you," Sek'Mut said, "Will live and hide among the People. To do this, you must act as we do. And you must look as we do," he said, fixing a stare at Na'ama, who was in her RDA-issued Avatar clothing. Na'ama bit her lip in apprehension, but Ariel leaned over next to her.
"It's actually quite liberating," she said.
"Eltu si!" Sek'Mut barked at them, but no too harshly, as he followed up with a glance towards Ariel. "There are good reasons to look Na'vi," he said, looking at Na'ama, "You see what happens to Grace, who still had her Tawtute clothing. The animals of the forest hide by looking like the forest. You have word for it, big word? Kem--?"

"Camouflage," Chris said.
"Kamoo-flaj," Sek'Mut said, nodding. "You must use kamoo-flaj as well, among the People." He pointed to his head. "You must make your thoughts more like the People as well. Not just looks, but actions." He picked up his bow, and pointed to Ariel. "You will come with me. You begin learning now. The rest of you, begin learning. Today, mid-day meal is for you to hunt! If you fail, we go hungry, and Na'vi will be unhappy to talk with. Now... go!"

Of them all, only Jax looked confident in the day's lesson. The Avatars and their chosen tutors teamed up to get started.






***   ***   ***





Arik watched as Jax strode confidently towards the depressed Txonunilyu, and Chris eagerly teamed up with Eanataw. He looked to Tireamokri, who speared him with a dubious glance. He licked his lips in nervous apprehension, and glanced at Na'ama.

"Can my sister come, too?" he asked.

Tireamokri frowned. She didn't know the words, but knew what he was asking. She was about to indicate that Na'ama could join them when she saw another hunter nearby, with the Pa'li, and an idea struck her.

"Beyral," she called, and the female hunter came toward sthem. Arik recognized her; she was one of the hunters that had asked him to sing on the ride out, before the ambush. He'd sung Yellow Rose of Texas, partially because he liked the song and partially because it would annoy Sek'Mut, who'd heard him refer to the song earlier in reference to Aniuket.

<<Beyral,>> Tireamokri said, <<Can you teach this one?>> she indicated Na'ama. <<You will have to be patient, she is squeamish and does not know how to move silently.>>
"Hey," Na'ama said, "Oe plltxe ninavi," she said, "Kinda."

<<Her accent is worse that this one,>> Beyral snorted, thrusting her chin towards Arik with a grin. <<But these two, they are entertaining. I will try.>>
<<You are the best hunter, Beyral. Be patient.>>
"Yoo kom wit mee," Beyral said to Na'ama, "Yoo make shoot bow," she explained as they moved off together.

"So," Arik said, "You're my Drill Sergeant. Let's go."
Tireamokri ignored him. She handed him her bow, warily, to see if he even knew what to do with it.

Arik hefted the weapon, testing it's weight and the draw of the string. "Whoah, that's, um, taut," he remarked. Tireamokri's eyes narrowed and she pointed towards a tree. He raised the bow as if readying an arrow, and took aim.

"Psshht!" Tireamokri hissed, looking at his stance. She kicked his feet out some more, and kicked them into position so that he had proper balance for the follow-up.
"I just do what I saw in movies," Arik said in weak defense.

Tireamokri put a hand on his hand to lower the bow, which he did, and she reluctantly gave him an arrow. She pointe dat another tree --much closer, and wider, which Arik took to be a hint about her assessment of him so far-- and pointed towards it.

Arik took the bow and raised it, again assuming his firing stance. Tireamokri put up her hand.
"Skxawng," she muttered, and kicked his feet back into place again.
"Next time we do this, you should clutch a rose in your teeth," Arik said.
Tireamokri looked at him strangely, not understanding a word and wondering if it was worth worrying about. She finally decided it wasn't, and indicated the tree.

Arik took the arrow, nocked it, drew back as tight as he could, and once again Tireamokri held up her hand. He started to release the tension on the string but she slapped his elbow, so he resumed his firing stance. She carefully re-aligned his fingers so he had a tighter grip and supported the shaft of the arrow properly.

"Ohh, lotsa push-ups," Arik said through grit teeth as he held the string back.
Finally, Tireamokri stepped back, satisfied, and pointed to the tree. <<Shoot!>> she said in ninavi.
Arik shot.

The arrow hit the tree and buried itself deep in the bark with a solid, resounding thunk.

"Hey, I'm doing okay with this!" he said, his face lit with a smile.
Tireamokri gave him a dubious expression. <<You can hit a big fat tree from ten paces away,>> she said to him in rapid-fire ninavi, <<You are at the level of a Na'vi of two hands of zìzìt.>>

"Thank you," Arik said, "You're an excellent teacher, I am honored. Let's go whup us up some buffalo, Stands-With-A-Fist."

Tireamokri took the bow back from him, and motioned him to follow her. He left his M60 strapped to the back of his Pa'li. He followed her into the brush, staying just a few paces behind her.

In the brush, Tireamokri was pleasantly surprised to find that the uniltaranyu could, at least, move decently in the forest. He was far from being a Na'vi scout, but he was leaps and bounds ahead of most other sawtute. He stayed relatively silent, his eyes alert and his ears swiveling to intercept sounds almost like a hunter ready to make his Rites of Passage. So he is not totally helpless, like a baby.

They approached a yerik munching on some plants, and Tireamokri put her hand up. Arik froze in place, still and focused. I forget, he is supposed to be a tsamsiyu back on his world, she remembered. But this is different. She pointed to the yerik but indicated that he would shoot it. She handed him the bow, and he carefully took it from her and got in his firing stance. She handed him an arrow, and he nocked it.

The yerik had stopped eating, and stared right at them, curious about the unusual behavior of the creatures. Finally, it decided it was spooked, and started to bound away as Arik loosed the arrow.

The shaft buried itself at a steep angle into the creature's back, blanketing one side of the creature's flank with red blood. Tireamokri winced at the sloppy marksmanship, and grabbed the bow from Arik's hand and quickly, expertly, drew another arrow on it. But the Yerik was bleating in fright and pain, bouncing madly between the trees, and she couldn't get a shot on it.

<<You waste it!>> she hissed, and motioned for him to follow her. Fortunately, his sloppy shot left a copious blood trail, making it easy to follow. Tireamokri led him on a chase through the forest, not caring if he kept pace, so as to catch up to the animal that was suffering on their account. She charged through the undergrowth expertly, leaping over branches and logs almost like a yerik herself. She heard at least one crash-and-gasp of a fall on his part, but she didn't stop to look back.

Finally vaulting atop of large fallen tree, she spotted the yerik ahead and nocked an arrow. She reacquired her breathing pattern and ignored Arik's unstealthy approach behind her as the arrow let fly.

With a barely-audible swoosh, the second arrow hit between the forward shoulder blade carriage of the animal, neatly severing it's spine. The forelegs collapsed beneath it and it stumbled into a ball, everything behind the shot paralyzed as it flopped to the ground. She leapt from the tree and ran to the kill.

Arik caught up as she finished a revised version of the hunter's prayer, where she apologized to the animal for the sloppy kill and asked its forgiveness. She'd had to dispatch the yerik with a knife.

"Ohhh, man," Arik said, wheezing. "Damn, this is like... running and gymnastics. We never used to run in the forest, you know? Not like that."

Tireamokri wheeled on him, frowning. She was about to say something, but knew he'd never understand her words. Will he ever reach the point where he can understand not just the words, but the meaning? she wondered. She gave him a glare, and handed him her knife, and pointed where he should start cutting.

"It's gonna be a looong walk back," Arik said, taking the knife and going to work where she indicated. He'd seen blood and guts in war, but he'd never had to do this, up close and personal, with his hands, at any point. Hunting itself had been illegal on Earth for decades, and the law was actually unecessary, since there were almost no animals left to hunt, anyway.

He looked up at her and gave her an exapersated look. "I thought they smelled bad... on the outside!"








Results:
Tireamokri --with some "help" from Arik-- bags some game.
Arik has a long way to go before he'll be climbing Iknimaya.

***
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around!


VIDEO LOG DAY 8:
Attempted to pee on Viperwolf to test reaction. Please see attached medical file.
WARNING: Attached medical file exceeds gigabyte limit. System failure.

Nume fpi sänume

Trail to Kelutral
Midday

Alex had ridden in silence since the attack, and the resulting chaos. He had sat at that tree for hours, lost within his own thoughts until Hunu had finally come and picked him up, placing him on the back of the pa'li and continuing down the path. They had eventually stopped, and Alex got himself some water, though still, he spoke to no one. There was too much shock still running through his system. He had come here to fix machines, to stay behind metal and concrete walls, protected and sheltered by auto turrets and a security force. He knew the Na'vi were here, he never expected to be out here, trying to live with them though. The departure of the other humans didn't do much to help things either. Alex could have probably gone back with them to the other site, but instead of speaking up when he had the chance, instead he sat behind the tree, his mind swimming in a sea of nothing, arguing with himself. He watched as the others went off with their teachers, learning to be Na'vi, learning to survive with these people, to help them survive as well. It had taken Alex a long time, but he missed home. He missed a warm cot, and human food, even if it was crap and half of it powdered, he still missed it. He hadn't been given the chance to properly bathe in a few days now, and he didn't have any kind of razor, or enough experience with a knife or straight blade to shave himself with one. His beard has started to grow out, his hair was a mess. He had cuts and scratches all over him. Blood stained his mechanics uniform, and it looked as if a small child had taken a bucket of red paint and randomly spattered it all over him. His clothes were caked in dirt and mud from fighting as well, and there were rips and tears in it from the jungle. Alex just sat, observing his current situation, wondering where he could fit in. Perhaps he could adapt. He would have to wear more clothing than the rest, his human body wasn't as used to the temperature differences, or exactly suited for this climate in the long term. He could have a bow made for him, on a much smaller scale. Perhaps he could even learn how to take his mechanical understanding and apply it to something else. He looked around for Mil'Ano who seemed to be nowhere nearby. Perhaps Alex could learn how to heal the injured; his smaller human hands could probably get into smaller spaces than the Na'vi hands. Yes, his clothes were worn and tattered. His missed his bed, and his human comforts, but every day he seemed to be less and less "human". Though he would never walk with them as a true equal, he could do his best to fit in. He was unsure of his place anywhere, and that bothered him more than anything. His mind continued to wage war on itself as everyone left to begin their activities, and Alex sat in silence, still contemplating his role in all of this.

Kiyoshi Tenshi

#78
"Mil'Ani...Ani, wake up." His older brother's voice brought Mil'Ani back to reality. He rubbed his eyes. "I fell asleep?"

Mil'Ano chuckled in response. "As you can probably tell by now, yes you did. We should go find some of the other dreamwalkers and see if they will accompany us to the Iknimaya mountains."

Mil'Ani looked up at his brother in confusion. "Why?"

His brother grinned back at him. "I think we should gather some medical supplies." He took his brother's hand and began walking.

Mil'Ani had no choice but to follow his brother, even though he was scared to death of heights.

Mil'Ano eventually spotted Alex, and waved to him. "Hey Alex!" he called. "You want to come with me and my brother to the Iknimaya mountains? We're going to be gathering medicinal herbs!"
[move]

Tanhìyärina'

Tireamokri knelt before the yerik, speaking softly and gently, a sing-song soothing quality to her voice, completely opposite of the tone she used with Arik.  She heard him crashing through the brush long before he arrived.  "Oel ngati kameie, ma tsmuktu, ulte ngari irayo sì tsap'alute tìng.  Oengru txoa lilvu, taluna kenìvin tìtaron.  Ngari hu Eywa saleu tirea, tokx 'i'awn slu Na'viyä hapxì."

The Uniltìranyu stood before her, out of breath, and speaking his harsh nasal language.  His face looked flushed with exertion, but it also looked flippant.  She narrowed her eyes, standing to face him, her knife still in her hand.  Will he ever understand? Will he ever See? she thought.  Still, she handed him her knife and indicated the easiest place to start carving the meat from the yerik corpse.

She could see the distaste on his face.  He, the tsamsiyu, did not like to field dress game?  I suppose they do not eat their own kind, she pondered, watching his clumsy attempt to skin the yerik.  Though you never can be sure.  They are so strange, the Sawtute.

Arik looked up at her, now frustrated, but his eyes danced with... something.  Something irreverant.  He spoke in Sawtute, "I thought they smelled bad... on the outside!"

Tireamokri hissed softly, baring the tips of her incisors.  "Prrnen lu," she spat.  <<You show no respect.>>  Fi'u eyawr ke lu.  Sngä'ikrr zene sngä'i.  Yol yol tskxekeng lìyängu."

She looked pointedly down at him, crossing her arms.  This time, she spoke slowly and clearly.  "Eltu si, tsun?  Zene frakrr eltu si."

No one can make you See, she thought.  But I can at least make you look.
Fitseng lu oe, tìftia kìfkeyä seri.