37 Chapter 37
Harry descended into the maelstrom.
He knew he needed to take down the Dragon Assault Ships that were protecting the shuttle. If he could take them down, it would not only allow Jake and the other Navi to save the Tree of Souls but hopefully take down the biggest threat of all. Quaritch.
Beep!
Beep!
Harry quickly used his targeting system to select the RDA gunships that hovered around Dragon Assault Ships, hoping his rail guns could slice through their defences. Harry flicked the switches to arm the missiles. All his missiles. There would only be a short window before he was targeted and in the close nit formations of the RDA, dodging wouldn't be possible.
Taking a final breath, he pulled the trigger.
Like a torrent of rain, his turrets unleashed their payloads. Waves of metal clashed against the gunships in a chorus of destruction. The smaller scorpion ships quickly started falling to the jungle below, their pilots and engines silenced. The attack from above was effective in taking down nearly a dozen gunships but now was the real target.
A Dragon Assault Ship.
There were two of them flanking the huge white shuttle, its guns and missiles lashing out at the native assaults that were starting to lose their effectiveness. Even with Harry's augmentation to the traditional Navi weapons, they were only able to inflict surface damage to the larger craft.
Using the tiller, he moved his plane closer. Closer to the four great rotor engines that held the assault ship aloft. Reaching up to the myriad buttons and controls, he pressed the four red buttons.
Swoosh!
Four streams of fire erupted from missiles mounted underneath the cockpit. They left a small trail of orange flames as they soared through the sky like a man-made phoenix. Before they could connect with their target, smaller turrets on the RDA ship flared to life. They shot down three missiles causing them the burst into fiery explosions that shook the very air.
The final missile hit its target. It exploded on one of the engines. Metal sheared and bent under the force of the explosion. Black smoke wafted into the air as the fuel lines and circuitry smouldered and glowed orange.
Harry, at seeing the Gunships start to turn and position their weapons at him, quickly unleashed another flurry of missiles. He held nothing back. Every time he secured a target, be it on the Dragon assault ships or the smaller scorpions, he pressed the buttons to launch a missile.
Boom!
Another gunship exploded.
He flew over the larger ship, missiles penetrating deep into the hull. The humans on board ran around like ants in a hive of activity. Many trying, and failing to reach the safety of the evacuation craft.
Each hit cracked the hull further until the engines stopped and it glided slowly to its fiery destruction below.
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Harry watched the destruction in a daze. He had attacked wanting to destroy the gunships, to take out one of the biggest threats to the Navi attack force, but he didn't think he would succeed. He stared deeply into the flames that consumed the wreck as it burned on the forest floor.
Harry tried to block out the thought of all the humans on board whose existence he had ended. Who would never see their loved ones again.
Harry glanced out at the conflict. The Navi were still attacking with a rain of arrows however their progress was stalling. The RDA had fully mustered its force and was now in full assault mode. Their gunships worked in pairs to target and eliminate the Navi. His scanners showed the melee on the ground where lines of RDA shock troops with AMP suits standing firm to engage waves of mounted Navi.
Harry watched Jake's behemoth of a mount, the great Toruk that swung gunships around as if they were children's toys. The claws tore through metal and rendered flesh asunder.
"Harry… do you copy?"
"Copy." Harry replied, clicking his bone mic to communicate with Jake.
"We need to take out the shuttle… I need you to draw its fire away."
Harry paused for a moment. He had succeeded against one of the larger assault ships, mainly due to surprise and liberal use of missiles. Missiles he had now fully expended.
Fighting a Dragon Assault Ship head-on with his smaller and more fragile rotorcraft was a suicide mission.
"Copy…" Harry forced the words out. He knew what was coming and felt a strange sense of serenity. He didn't matter, saving the Tree of Souls was the mission.
He used the tiler to fly out in front of the last remaining Dragon class gunship. He had to draw the ship's ire and hate to leave an opening for Jake to take out the shuttle and the pallets of bombs waiting to reduce this whole area to rubble.
He picked up his radio and moved the dial to connect with the RDA's network.
Harry knew Quaritch would be on one of the gunships. His intuition told him that Quaritch was still alive and waiting to take both his and Jake's life.
"Quaritch… do you hear me?" Harry challenged. "I would have thought your boys would have put up a better fight."
"…" The radio crackled in the silence. The moments seem to stretch every second into an eternity.
Not receiving a reply, the gunship kept closing the shuttle, not letting any Navi close. Deciding to punctuate his challenge further, he pulled the trigger. His turrets lashed out sending a blast of bullets at the cockpit. They couldn't do much damage to the heavy armour, but it at least got its attention.
Like a predator finally spotting its prey, the gunship rotated around placing him in its sight.
The radio flickered to life. A deep voice croaked out. "To think a traitor dares to threaten me. Tell me, Mr More, how does it feel to betray your race?"
Harry let out a primal hiss at the radio, his white fangs flared outwards. "Every death, every ounce of destruction is on your head. You murdered your way through Pandora and thought there wouldn't be any consequences? All lives have a beginning and an end. This is your end."
The Colonel's response was a salvo of missiles. Harry quickly darted to the side. The missiles blew up on the mountains behind him. He moved in closer, launching his attack. The turrets peppered Quaritch's gunship with bullets.
Another salvo of missiles. This time they spread them out, arching around in a net that didn't allow him to escape.
Bang!
An engine exploded. Harry tried to compensate, to regain control. Alarms blared out as the plane fell into a downward spiral. Moving closer and closer to the trees below. Death becoming more and more real.
The world seemed to slow. Harry watched missiles fly through the sky, knowing he was no longer capable of dodging. In the distance, Harry could see Jake and Tsu'tey swooping down on the shuttle to eliminate the greatest threat to Eywa.
It was all up to them now.
Boom!
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Tsu'tey, the leader of the Omatikaya clan, dived between two gunships. An arrow was released and in a single, clean motion, ended the life of the human controller. The RDA ship survived to the side, swiping the other ship aside until they both crashed.
Another victory for the Navi. He held his bow over his head a called out the war cry.
"Ou Ou Ou!" Tsuy'tey scanned the battlefield, letting the rush of feelings wash over him. This was where he belonged. This was his purpose.
Boom!
He watched in sudden horror as a gunship killed one of his fellow hunters, leaving blue limbs and torn wings soaring through the air.
Calling to the nearby Navi, Tsu'tey renewed his attack. Every death, he would avenge with bloody retribution.
Swarming their next target, two Ikran riders distracted the sky people's weapons while he was able to perform a flanking attack.
The Ikran let out a fierce screech, signalling its intent to attack. Its eyes locked onto the gunship, and it swooped down towards its prey.
The RDA soldier inside the gunship knew that he was in danger. He had been trained to deal with all sorts of threats, but the sight of the massive Ikran hurtling towards him was enough to make him break out in a cold sweat.
He reached for his weapon, knowing that he had to act fast if he wanted to survive. But before he could even pull the trigger, the Ikran was upon him.
Its razor-sharp talons slashed through the air, striking the gunship with incredible force. The sound of metal rending and tearing filled the soldier's ears as the Ikran tore through the ship's armour like it was paper.
The soldier was thrown to the ground, the wind knocked out of him as the gunship began to plummet towards the ground. He could hear the screams of his fellow soldiers as they tried to regain control of the ship, but it was too late.
The Ikran continued its attack, ripping through the gunship's hull with its powerful claws. The soldier could see the beast's eyes glowing with a fierce intensity as it relentlessly tore the ship apart.
As the gunship spiralled towards the ground, the soldier knew that he was running out of time. He struggled to free himself from the wreckage, his heart pounding in his chest as he realized that he was about to die.
But then, he saw the Ikran's beak coming down towards him. With a last burst of adrenaline, he managed to roll out of the way just in time, narrowly avoiding the creature's deadly strike.
As the soldier stumbled to his feet, he saw the Ikran circling for another attack. He knew that he had to keep moving if he wanted to survive, and he broke into a run, his heart pounding in his chest as he raced towards safety.
But the Ikran was too fast, too powerful. With one final swoop of its wings, it lunged at the soldier, its talons slashing through the air as it aimed for his throat
Tsu'tey was painted red by the spurt of blood from the crew that his mount had eviscerated. Leaving the metal bird to continue its plummet, he looked to regain the battle.
The greatest threat remained the shuttle. It dwarfed even some of the floating mountains with it sheer size. The very sight of it, so white and straight opposed everything he loved about Pandora and Eywa. The sky people could create terrifying machines but they lack life and therefore would have served Eywa better by staying in the ground as metal.
Jake Sully, the Toruk Makto, had tried to explain to him the terrifying consequences if the metal bird was able to reach the Tree of Souls. A part of him still doubted Jake, that nothing could be so destructive, but there was no time for debate. Eywa had made her choice of champion clear, he couldn't and wouldn't question that.
Seeing the Avatar fly closer, almost casually tearing into a gunship leaving it ripped nearly in two, Tsu'tey waved his bow and indicated the shuttle.
Jake's voice came from the small device on his neck. He disliked having sky people technology so close to him but it was a necessary concession.
"Brother, I will take the engines out. Attack the ramp and stop the explosive dropping."
"I understand and obey Toruk Makto."
He swooped up and over the shuttle, his Ikran unleashing a fierce cry as he aimed his bow and arrows at the RDA soldiers within.
The RDA was not going to go down without a fight, however. As Tsu'tey approached, they opened fire, the sound of their bullets filling the air as he dodged and weaved through their shots.
Tsu'tey knew that he was in danger, but he refused to back down. He continued his attack, his arrows finding their targets with deadly accuracy as he tried to thin their numbers.
Taking the risk, he leapt from his mount landing on the open ramp of the shuttle. His blue form towered over the much smaller humans and with a swipe of his bow he sent two falling to their doom.
Reaching for the next closed human, he used his stone knife to slip into his heart and bring the end to yet another life. Demons, invaders, killers these sky people may be, but he had been taught to show Eywas mercy, even in death.
But then, everything changed. One of the RDA soldiers managed to get a clear shot at Tsu'tey. A bullet ripped through his side, sending him tumbling back. Trying to regain his balance, trying to ignore the burning wound on his chest, he charged at the human.
Bang!
Bang!
For a moment, everything went quiet. Tsu'tey could feel the pain wracking his body, but he refused to let it stop him. He struggled to his feet, his vision blurred and his head swimming as he reached for his bow and arrows.
But it was too late. The RDA had already taken aim, and another volley of bullets tore through the air, striking Tsu'tey with deadly force. He could feel his body growing weaker by the second as he fell to the ground, his eyes fixed on the shuttle as it disappeared into the distance.
For a moment, everything went black. And then, Tsu'tey was gone.
