Chapter 21

The flight back to Hells Gate was awkward.

Harry had exhausted his faith in humanity and felt no desire to mend the bonds of fellowship between himself and the Avatar drivers.

The Avatars were relieved to be freed from imprisonment, however much of their valuable research data, including the resonator, had been burned beyond repair leaving a hollow feeling in their gut. Months of work ruined.

Beep!

His console flashed, and Harry saw it was a communication request.

Suakl!

His fingers quickly moved to accept the call, to immerse himself in her voice, see her enchanting face. It was all he needed and wanted.

"Who is it?" Willow, sitting next to him in the cockpit asked. Harry's fingers froze.

He wasn't alone.

He knew his relationship with the mining base was only deteriorating. Exposing Sukal to them was unthinkable. He could imagine Quaritch's glee at finding a pressure point to force Harry's hand.

If he captured her… A shiver travelled up his spine. It was too horrible to think about.

With an aching heart, he pressed the decline button and tried to look casual. He hoped Sukal would understand.

"Just a sensor reading from my home. It's nothing."

Looking out at the jungle, trying to calm his racing heart, his mind buzzed with questions. Had they brought his lie? Would they investigate where that signal came from? What would he do if…

A gust of wind sent a cloud of glowing seeds up into the sky ahead.

"Atokirina" Harry muttered in wonderment. They were the seeds of the sacred tree, the origin of the spirit tress but also so much more. The Navi saw them as auspicious omens from Eywa, a direct communication. Even the most fearsome of beasts or plant life on Pandora respected the wood sprites and wouldn't dare to harm them.

Taking a detour Harry tried to avoid the cloud, hoping not to damage or interfere with their journey. As he did, he noticed one of the Atokirina leave the rest and float down. It rested gently on the glass of his rotorcraft, hopping up and down in the breeze.

Bringing the plane to halt, leaving it hovering mid-air, Harry opened and stuck his hand out of the cockpit window.

"What are you…" The Avatars complained, not anticipating the sudden stop.

With otherworldly grace, the seed glided through the air until it reached his hand. Hardly daring to move lest the moment be ruined, he whispered to Eywa.

"Oel ngati Kameie." (I see you)

Since his visions at the spirit tree, he was starting to understand more about the great balance. A seed it may be, by Harry showed the reverence of talking to an elder.

"Are you talking to that leaf?" Willow mocked. One of the avatars chipped in.

"Dude, what have you been smoking."

Ignoring his ignorant passengers, "Are you lost little one?" Harry could see the rest of the seeds floating further ahead, descending like angles to the forest below. The Atokirina started moving again, small hops travelling up Harry's blue skin until it rested on his head. Settling down, it seemed to nestle into his hair, having no desire to move.

"As Eywa guides."

Pushing on the controls, the plane shot forward with one extra passenger on board.

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The reception at Hells Gate (mining base) was frosty. Harry could see ranks of amp suits, the mechanised infantry patrolling the landing zone. On buildings crouched mercenaries cradling their guns, just waiting for the first sign of trouble.

The head of security, Quaritch stood menacing in his metal suit. A sign of strength designed to intimate. He was a towering figure, all sharp angles and cold, hard lines, with a face that was twisted into a snarl of anger and hatred.

With the Atokirina still resting in his hair, Harry dismounted and approached the gathered men trying to master the fear he felt in his heart. This place felt so very foreign to him now, the good memories he had made here now felt like a lifetime ago.

Harry was by far physically larger and stronger than the Quaritch, or any human, however he knew at this moment he was at their mercy. All his Navi training and skills would be nothing before this army. Placing his hand over his chest, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest so loud that he hoped the surrounding soldiers couldn't hear it. He only hoped his human background still carried enough weight to restrain Quaritch's more violent impulses.

"You seem to have succeeded. I suppose you'll be wanting a parade." The Colonel's gruff voice travelled across the landing pad, the nearby mercenaries cracking smiles at their superior's joke.

"I thought you would be happy Quaritch. I did your job for you."

"You think that makes you something special? … A hero? You're nothing but a sentimental old fool More!"

The Avatar drivers quickly dismounted the craft and moved over to stand behind Quaritch and his men. They had no divided loyalties in this confrontation.

"Better a fool than a killer."

Quaritch's amp suit took a step forward. The metal joints hissed in mechanical coordination, the earth beneath their feet quivering from the force. A large metal finger pointed at Harry.

"You have courage. I respect that. Not many could stand before me to insult me like that. Even fewer ever walk away."

Harry tensed, bracing himself for the fight that was surely coming.

"I pulled your file. Some big-shot scientist; founded an impressive company. Do you honestly think you achieved all your wealth, and prestige with no blood on your hands? That a new body washes away the sins of your past life? In the murder department, I'm, a lightweight compared to you."

"I can't change my history Quaritch, we can only fight for a better future. What is so wrong in wanting to protect innocents?"

Quaritch let out a laugh, his amp suit following his movements. "Innocents?... you think those blue monkeys are innocent? Did you ask them how many good men and women have found their end at a Navi arrow?

"I…"

"What of the murders of workers at mining sites across the sector? Just today, I was writing messages to families saying their loved ones wouldn't be coming home."

Harry didn't know how to answer. War was never something so easy to understand. There were no good and bad guys in conflict. All suffered. He knew many Navi and humans both hated the other with a burning passion. The deaths on both sides sparking an unending cycle of violence.

Alas, in war, all must choose a side.

Harry had chosen his.

"An eye for an eye only makes the world blind. You slaughter Navi and uproot tribes, you can't blame them for defending their home."

Before Quaritch could respond a call went up from one of the nearby rooftops. A soldier in camo tried to draw the Colonels attention to his rotorcraft.

Looking back, Harry caught a glimpse of blue.

Shit.

"Skxawng!" (Moron) Harry shouted. "Get down. Now." His voice commanded the Navi in their native tongue. The figure quickly slid down the side with a sheepish look on his face. How and why he had remained hidden the entire journey was a mystery to him.

"Ra'sar, What are you…"

"Bring a friend along did you?" The Colonel's voice called out. Even with Harry's back turned, he could recognise the sound of amp suits raising their weapons.

Whirling around he called out the first thing that entered his mind.

"Nimwey!" Quickly realising he was speaking the wrong language he switched back to English. "Stand down! He's friendly."

"We have ways of dealing with trespassers here. Stand aside More."

As Harry watched Quaritch flix the giant knife around with sickening ease, he spat out the only thing he could think of.

"Diplomat!" Seeing him pause, Harry continued. "He's a diplomatic envoy from the tribe. Here to see their release."

"I wasn't told any…"

"You report to Selfridge. Not the other way around, Colonel." Harry emphasised his rank, as much as Quaritch might have wanted, this was not his operation. All the funding and therefore commands came through Richard Selfridge from the company.

Unhappily sheathing his blade, he conceded to Harry. Quaritch lacked the leverage needed to assume command. For now.

"Then off with you and take the monkey with you. Your smell is starting to offend my nostrils."

Trying to ignore the sniggering and hurled insults, Harry dragged Ra'sar through the crowd and into Hells Gate.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

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"You nearly got us both killed!" Harry hissed.

"I am sorry friend Harri. I wanted to surprise you."

"You can consider me sufficiently surprised." Harry tugged Ra'sar further along. The atmosphere on the base seeming very different. Everywhere he went, unfriendly eyes watched them both. There was no laughter or games to be seen, only weapons drills. Where once Harry had seen teams of white-cloaked scientists exploring the wonders of this planet, now were empty.

The faces of the humans showed a stubborn resolve that quickly looked away at seeing the pair, fully dressed in native Navi clothing.

A small group of amp suits followed the pair, their echoing footsteps always close behind making sure they weren't up to mischief.

Harry's head swivelling from side to side, trying to take in all the changes that happened in just a few months. He was starting to understand the Colonel's words.

The conflict with the Navi was no longer a cold war, fought in the shadows, but instead it was quickly becoming an open conflict. The dogs of war are finally being unleashed to subdue the Navis disrupting their pipeline of resources.

Ra'sar hunched behind Harri in his shadow. The sky-people were far worse than he ever feared. Ra'sar had naively let his good impression of Harry colour his opinion of the sky people. The degree of destruction was beyond his words to describe.

Harry paused on a corner of a new building site. Massive trucks moved mounds of dirt, toppling trees with devastating efficiency. Other machines guided by humans in reflective clothing poured lakes of concrete and welded great beams of metal together.

They were expanding.

"Take a good look Ra'sar. Bring word of this back to your tribe." Harry let Ra'sar watch the scale of construction for a quiet minute. "This is the Earth I tried to escape. This is what they bring to Pandora."

"Why would they do this?"

Shaking his head, the insanity of humanity beyond his wisdom to explain. "They are repeating the mistakes of a failing civilisation yet hoping for a different outcome."

With a strong arm, Harry pushed Ra'sar forward.

He had one final stop before he could leave this place in his rearview mirror.

Permanently.

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"You certainly look…" Selfridge searched for a polite word for to describe Harry's native clothing. "Different. Going the distance to fit in with the savages?"

He was dressed in his leather loincloth with various tribal decorations. His most valued was the shell collar around his arm, it marked his acceptance in Sukal's tribe.

"I did not travel across oceans and forests to discuss fashion with you. You have delayed my final shuttle drop for several weeks. That ends now."

"Well there have been some logistical challenges…"

"I will expect it in two days." Harry brought his mask to his face and took a deep breath. Being in a simulated Earth's atmosphere was uncomfortable for Navi, but they could last several minutes compared to human's seconds in Pandora's air.

"I will make the arrangements." Harry could see the grey circles under Selfridges eyes, his cheeks starting to hollow and his clothes ever so slightly too large. He was collapsing under the pressure of his role; trying to balance profits, science and ethics was never an easy task.

"And what about…" Selfridge waved a hand to Ra'sar, who was making a technician very nervous as he crouched over his shoulder watching his holo-screen.

"He is here to confirm the terms agreed." Harry tried to sound as officious as possible.

"And is he…" Selfridge was puzzled, he'd dealt with several Navi but this was very different from his expectations.

Harry turned to Ra'sar speaking in Navi. "Tell me something."

"What are you asking…" Not letting him finish, Harry cut him off before looking at Selfridge.

"He is satisfied."

Quickly concluding his meeting with the director, he pulled away the curious hunter from the monitors and marched back to the rotorcraft leaving a bewildered Selfridge sitting in his office.

They needed to leave this place before Harry's misdirection was discovered and they were both shot.

So much for a fond farewell, Harry thought wistfully.