Good Day? (Finished)

[Mineya]

”Ah! Shit!” His words echoed around the garage as he threw the wrench down on the floor and grumbled and growled at the truck that was over him. He heard someone snickering and looked out from under the truck to see his older sister looking down at him. ”What do you want?” He grumbled as he went back to trying to fix the car. She knelt down, looking at her brother. He wore a pair of camouflage BDUs and a grease stained wife beater. ”Michael wants you to hurry, it’s nearly time to go out.” His grumbling could be heard as he checked his water. Someone else walked up. ”Come on James, you need a break, I’ll take over for a bit.” It was Ryan, a guy who always tried to help out.

He rolled out from under the truck, gave the wrench to Ryan and stood up. ”I’ll be back after dinner to finish, but try and get it done, this thing is pissing me off.” Ryan chuckled and patted is back. Alicia just rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the area where they could go.


He opened his eyes, looking at the roof of the shed where his Avatar was, feeling rested and ready to go. He set up, rubbing his face slightly with his large blue hand. He turned his head to see his sister and brother already sitting up in the bed, talking about something. He grabbed the knife and set up himself, putting the knife on his belt. He wore about the same thing he wore in his human body, but it was special made for his Avatar. He looked at the two and they all headed out. ”Where to?” He looked at his brother who pointed towards the gates that lead just outside. ”What? Why?” James had been there a hundred times.

”Some samples… I saw a flower that I had not gotten, but I can’t remember where, just know it was right out there.” Michael said to him. James nodded and headed out there with them, looking around slightly and then they headed out. He made sure his knife was at easy reach and started looking around slightly, checking mostly for danger. He saw his brother and sister laughing and joking about stuff, but he thought it better to keep a eye out for any danger while his brother looked for this flower to get samples.

[HorusRe/Bila'reu]

*Goldmen?*

Chance was just finishing his suit-up checklist, making sure all the systems were running smoothly and all his batteries were fully charged. It was scheduled to be a short op, just a routine hop outside the walls to baby sit a few civies, but a guy like him didn't cut corners or take short cuts. His gear was his life, and one careless moment could lead to a malfunction. In his line of work a system malfunction always happened when it was most dangerous, so he cared for his gear and never took it out before he went down the checklist. Everything had to be 100% before he volunteered to head out. The voice in his ear confirmed what he had already checked off the list. The short range comm system was functioning.

The voice was one of the regular commops. An ex-marine by the name of Vansen. Good guy, knew his job, liked to build radios and remote control models, military trained but a civilian specialist since well before the exodus. Chance felt like he could always trust Vansen to give him the straight talk, but still keep things regulation.

"Goldmen," he responded as he continued to run the final checks on his suits integrity. "Go ahead Vansen."

*Just got the word from east gate, your party just left. Three non-com avatar, same as scheduled. Said you weren't with them.*

Chance sighed, keeping his comlink closed as he did so, and shook his head gently. Noting to himself the party probably didn't even check the posting for their security detail. To many civies had gotten complacent over the years, had forgotten how damn deadly the planet could be, and simply ignored what the colony did for safety measures... including always posting at least a single security escort whenever anyone went beyond the walls.

"Affirmative. They left without me. I'll catch up."

*Better make it quick Goldmen. Those walking sticks move quick on long legs.*

Another thing chance liked about the older marine, both men had a particular dislike of the avatars. Walking sticks was a pet name. Puppets was another.

"Affirmative."

In the infantry bay the customized, multicolored HEAT suit finished working the mental checklist and scooped up the .50 caliber MG laying close by. As the suit jogged along, through the bay, out the airlock, and across the tarmac toward the eastern gate, he went through the motions of locking the end of the belt of ammunition into the chamber and jacking the lead round into the chamber. His heavy weapon was primed and ready by the time he reached the gate and waved up at the gate operator for the day to open up.

He waited as the shaft driven door yawned open and then strode out into the belly of the enemy, the forest of Pandora. The colony did its best to trim the foliage back, but the entire forest grew like wildfire, and keeping it at bay was a constant test of patience. Regardless of the efforts the forest generally grew right up to the walls. Such that the moment you left the gates you stepped out into the jungle.

Another reason Chance hated avatars, the bodies themselves seemed to possess an innate connection to the planet. He was constantly annoyed, and regularly mystified, by how intrinsically stealthy the bodies were. Even a complete klutz of a driver could dive into an avatar body and find a whole new world of motor control and lightness of step. It was like the vat-grown organisms simply didn't want to leave any impact on the world. They left damn little by way of tracks.

The slightly lighter gravity probably had some effect on it. Chance didn't know about that, he didn't give two shits about science, and all he really cared about was how difficult it was track puppets through the forest.

Fortunately it got easier when the drivers were about as stealthy as a jumbo jet flying low over Chi-town. It only took a dozen minutes for him to pick up the trail and track down the trinity. He emerged from behind a large tree, also not being all the quiet, with his massive MG carried across his shoulders, his free hand held out as he leaned against the wood and glared out through the golden mask of his visor at a distinct male.

Chance was bad with social skills but awesome with data that pertained to combat and security. He had virtually everyone in the colony committed to memory, and all working adults. He knew names with faces, and professions with names.

"Mister Richardson," he said in a flat, almost monotone voice. The words slightly distorted by an electronic buzz as he had to speak through the suits integral audio system. "I'm your security detail. Can we gather up? I want to recover the ground rules of exterior civilian operations."

[Mineya]

James watches his two siblings as they finally found the flower. He walked over to them and looked at it. It was beyond beautiful, but he was not a flower man, his sister loved them. She carefully took the sample and then set back on her hands. She looked towards the gates, which from where she sat, could easily be seen, Michael did the same, glancing towards them and smiling slightly. ”So, why was it that you came and was so pushy about getting me out.” She smiled up at him.

”Because… Our guard was being slow and you are a way better protector anyway. You got eyes like a freakin’ eagle and you have ears better then a bat.” He chuckled at her for a moment, patting her head. She might have been older, but he was her guardian. He turned as he heard something coming, the Gates opening, even Alicia and Michael heard it.

It was easy to hear the sound of him coming through the light jungle and he rolled his eyes when he saw him. ”Mister Richardson," James turned to him, looking down at him for a moment, looking over his shoulder before looking back at him. ”I'm your security detail. Can we gather up? I want to recover the ground rules of exterior civilian operations." Alicia and Michael stood slightly.

”We know of the ‘exterior civilian operations’, which is why my sister came and got me… You were taking to long.” James said, turning back to his siblings and helping them get things ready. He looked at Michael for a moment. ”Anything else?” Michael shrugged before looking at his brother. ”I think this should be it… Maybe a walk through Pandora will be nice, Alicia has been wanting to go swimming and maybe we will met up with a Na’vi, would be nice… Been working on the Native Language.” James chuckled slightly, patting his brother’s shoulder and looking at his sister, who smiled brightly at him.

[HorusRe/Bila'reu]

No expressions could be seen through the mirrored surface of his golden face plate, but that wouldn't have mattered really, as his face was just as bland and emotionless as the sheen of the visor.

"I am right on schedule," he corrected as he held up his free hand and showed off the digital chronometer that was a part of the forearm display system. "The gates were to be opened for you at 14:21 hours, it is now 14:07:39 hours. If you had been patient I would have been there right on time."

He looked around and noted the demeanor of the civie puppets, used to such attitudes from clods that would eventually get themselves killed if not for people like Chance.

"And if you know the rules for civilian exterior operations then you should know that it is mandatory to carry proper defensive weaponry while performing those operations. A knife doesn't qualify. One of you should have requisitioned and brought out an AR-31 at the bare minimum. It is also mandatory to wait for a proper security detail if one has been assigned. You would know I was assigned had anyone checked the security posting for your outing."

He turned his head to the female and his face mask shimmered in the sunlight.

"Also, this external operation wasn't cleared for extended penetration into the forest, so 'a nice walk' is out of the question. There are duties to be completed in the colony, duties we are all required to accomplish, so collect your samples and lets get back inside."

[Mineya]

James could really cared less what the man said, so he joined his siblings, looked at his older sister, who was slightly shorted then him in the Avatar, but in real life, she was much shorter then him and so was his brother, Michael, who proved to be about the same height. ”I am right on schedule," James rolled his eyes slightly, taking the bag from his sister. ”The gates were to be opened for you at 14:21 hours, it is now 14:07:39 hours. If you had been patient I would have been there right on time." Alicia laughed.

”Pandora is not patient, why do you think our group always leaves early and with someone far better adapted to the land then you.” Alicia said, glancing at James who smiled. He looked at Michael for a second who ruffled Alicia’s hair and then let out a sigh before looking at James, about to say something to him. ”And if you know the rules for civilian exterior operations then you should know that it is mandatory to carry proper defensive weaponry while performing those operations. A knife doesn't qualify. One of you should have requisitioned and brought out an AR-31 at the bare minimum. It is also mandatory to wait for a proper security detail if one has been assigned. You would know I was assigned had anyone checked the security posting for your outing." James looked at him. ”We want to met the Native Na’vi, not kill them unlike you and your pals like to do. The Native’s have knives and arrows, something all three of us are aware of how strong they are and we know how to handle them. So, guns would not be a good idea for us.”

Michael patted James slightly and who turned to look at him, smiling slightly. They need to wrestle some to make sure they were ready for such a attack. ”You know, there is a creek not far from here…” Before she could finish, the guy said something.

”Also, this external operation wasn't cleared for extended penetration into the forest, so 'a nice walk' is out of the question. There are duties to be completed in the colony, duties we are all required to accomplish, so collect your samples and lets get back inside." She rolled her eyes at him. ”Duties we are done with… Why do you think my brothers and I wake up so early in the morning. We finish ours and then return at dinner from here to finish other things, such as cleaning in the kitchen or the lab. My brother fixes more then enough things during the middle of the night. That is why we can go out there and do more then others.” Alicia said as she looked at trail, a smile coming to her face as she started walking towards the creek, Michael close behind her. James stood there for a moment, looking at the guy with blank face.

[HorusRe/Bila'reu]

"Blah blah blah... we know better than you..." is all Chance heard. It was the loose translation anyway. The subtext was as clear as if they had come complete with subtitles.

Typical civies. Give a fool an inch of rope and the mother fucker thinks he/she can be a cowboy. Give a moron a 57 million dollar biological survival system, an avatar body, and the next thing ya know they think they suddenly become natives themselves, every inch as ready to deal with the native fauna as the natives. No tactics, no intelligence, and certainly no respect. The same type of people that caused Earth to turn into a mass of worthlessly poisoned rock, with no concern for anyone else, and totally caught up in their indulgently myopic little world.

Chance was straight forward but polite, and he was catching nothing but abject disrespect for telling them how things worked.

The comment about him specifically told him everything he needed to know about what this trio thought of him and his profession.

As if they knew anything about "him or his pals". Making an assumption that he wanted to kill the natives, when he had not once discharged a weapon at anything even remotely similar to a Na'vi since he was thawed and given his colony assignment. It was insulting, rude, and tellingly and short sighted. Just because he was a trained soldier they thought he was a warmonger.

Fact is he didn't feel the least bit threatened by the natives, nor did he feel even a twinge of animosity toward them. They left the colony alone and the colonists left them alone, it was a mutually beneficial relationship, one that didn't need any alteration. The colony had its hands full with just sustaining itself, the last thing they needed was even a hint of conflict with a native sentient species that could wipe them all out. Besides, if the illness could jump species (as it had with some species on Earth, like dogs and simians), then what good would it do the Na'vi, it would just be a repeat of human history where invaders brought disease that an indigenous population has no immunity for. Maybe after the colony could fully get on its feet... but why invite trouble before then.

Truth was he felt a more pressing compulsion to shoot each one of these fake natives right between the eyes than any of the real Na'vi. At least Na'vi didn't pretend to be something they were not, and it wouldn't actually be murder... as the avatar was nothing more than colony property (they bodies didn't belong to the drivers, they belonged to the colony) and not a sentient being at all. The driver was not killed, they just lost synch, and they were the "soul" of the puppet. It would be like someone tossing his HEAT suit into the colony compactor. Nobody gets hurt and something worth several million dollars is lost in the process. In fact, as a unit, his HEAT cost far more, clicking in at just over 325 million. Of course his suit didn't require a several billion dollar facility to use, so in the long run it was far more cost effective. But in the end there really was no difference, his HEAT, an AMP, and an avatar served the same purpose... to keep a human breathing when working in the toxic atmosphere of the planet.

Of course that was all neither here nor there, as Chance didn't respond to them when they spoke. He just stood there stone cold and showing them only the sheen of his expressionless golden face plate.

There was no point in trying to debate with people that thought they owned the planet, had no further responsibilities to the colony that allowed them to remain alive, and had such a low opinion of the military they figured Chance was beneath them. Though he pondered why they had been accepted for the exodus. If they had time to play around in the woods, like they were selected by the colony council to engage in contact with the natives (and he knew they were not cleared for that, as he knew all the people that had standing petitions and were being considered for contact - none of these three were on that short list), then they could be helping someone in the colony keep the place from falling apart. It was over a century old, the planet had almost totally reclaimed it, and humans didn't breath Pandoran air. Everything needed constant work, there was always work to be done somewhere with the colony systems. That was why everyone in the colony had to do everything... only the most specialized colonists were excluded. Chance was semi-excluded, as his skill set was very specific and (on a dangerous planet like Pandora) always useful, but he was regularly used for all sorts of "grunt work", and he never complained. In fact he was happy to slog through the sewers or cram himself into a filtration duct if that was what a tech told him to do. He regularly pulled twelve hour shifts, back to back, with only a few hours to eat and catch an hour catnap in between. Shifts clicking around twenty-four hours were certainly not uncommon. It's what needed to be done, for the colony, and Chance always followed his orders.

And here they were, three important colony members, wasting his time, and the colonies time, with childish games and selfish desires.

Should have been left on Earth to die with her. They were nothing but a transplant of everything that was wrong with humanity. The people organizing the exodus from Earth should have done a better evaluation when it came to this trinity.

But he had a job to do, and unlike them he wasn't one that made efforts to ignore his obligations and assignments. It didn't matter one bit that they didn't want him along, he wasn't going to be leaving. He could easily keep up with them, as his HEAT suit was designed for long operations in hostile environments, and he was ARMY elite, people didn't make it into the HEAT division without being in top condition. So let them disobey the needs of the colony. He would follow and collect his report on them for the council. They could explain their irresponsible and selfish behavior to the community later on. So he followed. Silent, perceptive, and annoyingly close behind.

[Mineya]

As they started moving a bit further, of course, James made sure they did not go to far, he could still see the gate and she constantly reminded them of that. He turned to see Michael looking at something, smiling as he took another kit out and took another sample. Alicia moved to join her brother and they smiled at each other, looking at the sample before looking back at James. ”What is it?” Michael shrugged. It was something he had not seen before and James was surprised by that. He chuckled and looked at them before he helped them up by grabbing the samples. ”Well, now that we have more then one sample, we probably need to get back.”

Alicia smiled at him for a moment, jumping up and grabbing his hair slightly, jumping onto his back and nearly causing him to stumble. ”You just want to get back to that Garage and working on that damned truck that is giving you problems.” He smiled slightly, looking back at her for a moment. ”Besides, you need to relax… What time did you go to bed last night?” He looked away for a moment, feeling a bit of guilt. ”What?” She was more angry then shocked. ”When was the last time you slept?” He looked back at her again and then let out a sigh.

”Two days ago… After dinner… Been helping out in the Kitchen, cleaning up and then see what else needs to be done before going back to the garage and working on all the trucks and stuff.” She slapped him so hard, he nearly blacked out. He had forgotten how hard she hit, even in the Avatar body. ”Look… You better get some sleep tonight baby brother!” He growled slightly, show his teeth before he picked up the stuff. Michael looked at him a big angry himself. ”I have to get one more thing you two… A sample of the creek.”

Again Michael?” He nodded and followed his brother. It was not far, the gate could still be seen and it did not take long to take a quick sample and then put it in the bag before heading back towards the Gate. He looked at the guard and then looked back at James. ”Hey, tonight we are gonna be playing some basketball out in the courtyard with out Avatars in the protective area. Want to join after dinner?” James smiled at his brother for a moment and then shook his head. ”No… I have to get that damn truck running tonight.” Alicia looked at him for a moment, tapping her foot before they headed into the gate.

[HorusRe/Bila'reu]

The sibilant guardian followed and tracked all three, his motion detection system giving him the ability to trace even those that he could not see. He didn't speak again, he just kept his heavy MG lowered and kept a silent vigil for danger.

It was a good thing too. His motion detection system only had a range of about ten meters, and as the fool civies moved toward the creek something tripped his sensor for just a fleeting moment. Something very large, and then it was gone again.

Chance knew exactly what it was. The other militia/soldiers of the colony perimeter patrol gave this particular beast a name years ago. A huge thanator named Abassy, or Iron Tooth depending on who one was speaking to. Hakan Lupei, a former marine of Romanian and Turkish ancestry, had named the beast, as he was one of the first to be attacked by the resident nightmare, and the only one of the two (of that first encounter) that survived. Chance was lead to understand the word was Turkish for an iron-toothed demon, which is why several other soldiers just called it "Iron Tooth".

The thanator stalked the jungle around the colony, probably brought in by the huge resource of game that moved in after RDA moved out, and it showed a marked fondness for rending humans. It was also sickeningly cunning. Iron Tooth had harassed, and sometimes killed, colonists for several years, and every attempt to take the critter down had failed miserably. The thanator had plenty of war wounds from this ongoing battle, but it survived everything the humans or the puppet-driving humans could throw at it. Chance had drawn down fire on the beast twice in his tenure, both times before the animal got close enough to attack (which means he opened suppressive fire on a location, but he never saw the target) so it was a defensive move only, and obviously he never got a good solid hit on the predator.

Chance wanted Iron Tooth removed as a threat, it was as simple as that. The colony had lost five puppets to the creature, four humans, and billions of dollars worth of irreplaceable tech to the savagery of the predator, not to mention dozens of colonists had been wounded and had to remain in the med center for days/weeks after. As each colonist was essential even having one down on bed-rest endangered them all.

He also didn't particularly care for these puppets, especially the female, or their drivers. So he said nothing as the large blip on his motion detector appeared (whenever it moved, so silently no sound could be heard over the normal noises of a living forest) and vanished (when it stopped motionless). If he could lure the beast into a clear shot he figured it was worth losing a puppet or three. Especially one of these three.

Before the walking sticks could get back into the colony the huge black shape crashed down behind the female, leaping off a high branch, and roared as it attacked. The sensory quills flared as it zeroed in on the Alicia-puppet, lunging forward to rend flesh and ravage the artificial biological survival suit.

[Mineya]

James felt like they were being watched and as they moved to the creek, he took in the air deeper, trying to pin-point anything that could hurt himself or his family. He moved carefully, his large knife at the ready as he followed his siblings. Alicia was also on guard more then normal, her eyes watching everything and they met for just a moment. As Michael got what he needed, they moved quickly, James was quick to glance back, looking at the guard whom, in his eyes, seemed to know something that they did not.

James knew of the Thanator, or as the Native’s called it palulukan, he knew that the Colonist named it, but he just let it be. As they moved, he heard something crack and he turned in time to see it coming at Alicia. He jumped at it, thrusting his knife into the side, causing it to move it’s target to him. He hissed, his fangs showing brightly. Michael dropped the bag, pulling out his own Knife and Alicia pulled out her own. The beast had not expected a fight to come, they could tell by the way it moved and looked at them.

James did not hear gun fire though and this just angered him slightly that the guard was doing nothing but watching. The large beast started to circle, the three moved to stand together though, waiting for the next attack, but all held a determined look not to be taken down. As it lunged again, all three moved, thrusting there own knives into the beast if it was close enough. James jumped at it’s back, slashing out with his own knife and then preparing himself for the next attack. He glanced at Alicia for a moment who did have a small scratch on her arm and he growled, his teeth showed one again, showing that he was not going to let the Palulukan. He let his voice be heard, but it was in the Native Language he was learning. ”Ne neto.”

[/b] His voice was strong and loud.

( Ne Neto – Get Away )
[/blockquote][/size]

[HorusRe/Bila'reu]

Chance could hardly believe his eyes, but only hardly. They were within running distance of the gate, and still all three turned to fight... an animal that the Na'vi respected and feared, and they turned to fight.

How the female avoided being ripped to shreds, suffering only a small scratch, was beyond the soldiers capacity for understanding. It came down and lunged, she didn't move, and she only had a scratch. Had that been Chance they would have been scraping his guts off the wall with a spatula, and this puppet got off with a scratch. It was actually a little insulting.

Must have the luck of the Irish or something.

He brought his MG up and scoped down on the thanator, but Iron Tooth was smarter than that. It wasn't an animal that hesitated when it met resistance from puppets, as they looked and smelled mostly like Na'vi, and a native predator knows Na'vi, so it wasn't threatened by them. It kept itself removed and circled, placing trees and other foliage between Chance and it. Chance smelled of human tech, a scent and a thermal signature that spoke of danger. Humans carried guns, and grenades, and incinerators, and other tools of destruction that the thanator knew were way more of a threat than a knife.

It was also wounded, and how that worked chance also couldn't explain, so it was more cautious, but it was intent on the kill and was smart enough to leave Chance little opportunity to get a clear shot.

When the soldier realized the three idiots were not making tracks, but were grouped up to fight the creature, he almost laughed. Knives, against a thanator, when one swipe of its claw could literally rip them in half, and one snap of those jaws could detach a limb with the ease a human pulls the legs off a spider. An animal twice as long as they were tall, and outweighing the heaviest of them by several orders of magnitude, and they were so stupid, so full of blind bravado, that not a one of them realized they were voluntarily risking the only puppet bodies they would ever have. Millions to produce, billions to operate, belonging to the colony and not to the driver.

That was probably why of course, they didn't feel any sense of urgency, as they probably knew they really didn't have a life to lose. They obviously didn't care about what it cost anyone else, as any one of them should have realized that the human in the suit couldn't leave until they were all inside. So not only were they risking their puppets, but they were risking his life. He wasn't driving a blue monkey body, if he got wounded he could die. He wouldn't wake up in a tube and just write the day off as a bad one.

He looped in the opposite direction of the trinity, into the path of the thanator, and crouched down when the beast came into sight. The weapon came up and he drew back the trigger, a short burst erupted. Ground and plant life suffered, but the damn thanator charged and his rounds that were on target passed between its legs as it moved.

Iron Tooth also seemed to have the luck of the Irish. And it was not about to leave the trio without doing more damage than a scratch on an arm. There would be blood before this was over.

Chance squeezed off another short burst, mostly to try and turn the animal aside, but it was fast, darting through the trees, and every time it came into contact with one of the puppets the soldiers instincts were to hold off on his trigger. Even though he knew there was no reason not to vape both the thanator and the puppet his instincts refused to let him fire into a fire lane occupied by a friendly.

[Mineya]

James knew he had to get his siblings out of there, he might have been the youngest, but he could handle himself a bit better. The soldier needed to learn a bit more about taking care of them and telling them when something was on the radar, which he was sure was there on him, as all had them. He turned towards his brother, who glanced at him for a mere second. ”Go! Get the samples and get the hell out of here!” Michael nodded, grabbing Alicia by the arm and leaving the Soldier and James to at least put up something. He showed his teeth, holding the knife in his hands, looking at the creature through the branches and moving backwards slowly towards the Gates.

As the large beast came at him again, he jumped aside, thrusting the knife into the side of the beast, moving in different directions each time. The sound of slight annoyance could be heard from the beast, but each time, he helped him out some. He growled at the beast, showing the beast his teeth and showing he was not giving up this fight. He cared for his avatar, more then some would, but he also wanted more then anything to get to the Na’vi people, which is what his siblings were planning. The colony did not know it, but they were preparing a day to run deep into the land, to come face to face with one of them. He did not know how, but he would make it and see them, he would become a part of them!

As the Soldier quit shooting the next time, he moved under the beast, sending his knife upwards towards the beast’s stomach, hoping to wound it more. As he got up, he moved closer towards the gate, slowly still, watching the beast. He glanced back, his siblings were explaining everything to the guards, he knew it and soon, they would hopefully have some extra help. He stepped back, his foot hitting a stick, causing the snapping sound. He smiled at the beast, a smile that only a insane person would use. ”Come on.” He was not going to let this beast attack him without having a memory of it.

[Jai'byrd]

All the ruckus and commotion attracted a new set of eyes to the scene, as Ni'awtu and the small five person hunting party she was a part of watched from high above in the nearby canopy. All of them were on branches or hugging a tree-trunk, completely out of view of the ongoing altercation. The group was composed of her, two other females and two other males, two of which were younglings, out with their Elders this day to continue their hunter education. The two were grinning ear to ear, nearly buzzing with the desire to whoop and holler at the palulukan in egging it on but knew better than to do so or lest their elders like Ni'awtu slap them in the head one.

At first Ni'awtu had made sure that none of the three uniltìrantokx down there were Nia, which when she saw none of them were she breathed a small, quite sigh of relief so that the others didn't see. Her comrades on the other hand chuckled quietly and gestures in humor towards the three Dreamwalkers - how stupid were they? Fighting a palulukan with knives, what did they think they were, Na'vi? Hell, even Na'vi didn't do something so dumb, they shot at palulukan with their arrows from a safe distance! Still, it was hilarious. The only smart one seemed to be the Sky Person in the odd armor, trying to use one of their odd weapons on it from a safe distance.

Then the one shouted in Na'vi, which made the group shut up for a moment, then buzz amongst themselves about that. So they could talk in their language.

Ni'awtu nudged her hunting brother's shoulder in response, "Not all of them, remember they did learn from us long ago, so I bet they are all learning it again."

"Feh, they should have learned to stay away too!" her replied, to which she honestly nodded to him in agreement.

"I hope the palulukan eats them! That would be so funny!" one of the two younglings spoke up some.

"We shall see what Eywa has in store for them," the female in charge of the group said with a swat to the ear of the younger.

Two of the Dreamwalkers broke off, headed back to the gates of their gleaming metal settlement as one stayed behind to keep attacking the palulukan.

"By Eywa, what a moron!" the other youngling let out, but didn't get cuffed for as everyone kinda nodded in agreement as they just kept on watching...

[HorusRe/Bila'reu]

"CLEAR MY FIRELANE!"

The solider shouted the order as his patience had just run bone dry. He would have gone full auto on Iron Tooth if he could have done so with any safety, but this clown kept holding his ground against a superior adversary, or (worse yet) closed into melee combat (with a larger and stronger opponent). Every time this happened Chance had to obey his instincts and bring his finger off the trigger. But he was about sick of it and now his finger was on the trigger.

"YOU HAVE SIX SECONDS TO GET CLEAR BEFORE YOU WILL BE BREATHING 50 CAL!"

He honestly didn't care anymore. If the thanator couldn't inexplicably finish off a puppet that dared to hold still, a prey species that wouldn't run like his tail was on fire, then chance might have to end the conflict for good. Regardless, the beast needed to get deadified and the soldier wouldn't pull his fire anymore. If the puppet got blasted into blue paste, so he could end a major threat to the colony, Chance would risk that loss and brave the anger of the colony. After he delivered his report his actions would be mostly forgiven.

[Mineya]

"CLEAR MY FIRELANE!" James looked at the Soldier for a moment, and as the large beast came at him, he jumped over him, grabbing the trees and glaring down at the beast who was slightly confused. He was out of the way, but now he had a choice… Go back… Or… Go into the Jungle. He wanted to so badly and he knew they his siblings had run to request for help… James thought long and hard about it… He wanted to be with the Native and he figured that if he went now, he would leave his siblings.

”YOU HAVE SIX SECONDS TO GET CLEAR BEFORE YOU WILL BE BREATHING 50 CAL!" He used the trees to get back to the gate, moving through them quickly and landing not far from the gate and running the rest of the way. He glanced back, narrowed his eyes. Alicia put her hand on his shoulder and looked at her. They would talk tonight about their plan. He was tired of this place, so tired of this place. It was time he got the hell out of here. But, he saw something.

Na’vi, he had trained his eyes to find them and there they were, watching them all. James could not believe his eyes, they were here! He could not allow himself to turn away, he had to met them, he had to learn from them. Maybe they thought he was stupid for staying and fighting, but he protected his family, weather he died or not. He turned his head towards the gate, seeing his sister and brother eyes of worry. He closed his own and then let out a sigh. He let his voice ring towards them. ”Oe neu ne nume ta aynga.” He said, looking towards them, glancing down at the beast. ”Oe omun ke'u slä pe Tawtute peng.” His words were true. He was tired of them, he wanted to go with them.

He looked back down, knife at the ready in case he had to protect himself again.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----
”Oe neu ne nume ta aynga.” --- I want to learn from you
”Oe omun ke'u slä pe Tawtute peng.” --- I know nothing but what sky person tell

[Jai'byrd]

A stunned silence was all James got in reply. How could he see them? Did the Sky People in these Demon bodies have magical eyes or something? It made Ni'awtu's skin crawl, maybe she should ask Nia this later, but the female Na'vi could see that the others were completely unnerved as well by this mystical power of the uniltìrantokx. They all started to move away, ghost into the forest making sure this time they completely disappeared so this Demon couldn't follow them - just the thought of it trying to follow them back home... perish the thought.

Ni'awtu took one last long look, the fool ignoring a predator that even the Na'vi feared and respected and never took on alone, and then declaring while in mortal danger that he wanted to learn from them.

Making a quick decision she turned back and belted out; "Nume fìkem vrrtep: kä kelku! Kawtu new fìtseng!"

With that the whole hunting group left, leaving no trail behind them to follow...

[Exit Ni'awtu and group]

---

Nume fìkem vrrtep: kä kelku! Kawtu new fìtseng! = Learn this Demon: Go home! Noone wants you here!