Jake was in the middle of a conversation with the senior hunters when an alert c ry went up from the sentries.

He stood up and saw an excited scout running for h im, and waved the man over. The scout was excited but not panicking, he noted. "Olo'eyctan!" The na'vi hurriedly made a respectful greeting-gesture, which Jake returned. "Report!" he ordered crisply, just as he remembered his own recon-unit captain d oing. The old bastard, he thought. "Twelve pa'li riders, approaching from the northwest! They bring an entire herd of pa'li with them! Most of the pa'li carry burdens." Jake looked sharply at the scout. "The Horse Clan?" and received an affirmative nod. He clapped the man on the shoulder approvingly. "Tell the Tsahik, then tell the others to prepare to welcome our brothers and sisters." He had no idea of w hat those preparations consisted of, but the scout apparently did he was off lik e a shot. The hunters broke up to prepare for their guests. Neytiri was concerned. "Why is a troop of Horse Clan coming here? Why now? What has happened?" Jake could only shake his head. "We'll know soon enough." The outriders appeared quickly, accompanied by Omaticaya scouts, and the rest of the troop followed shortly after. The clan had gathered to greet the visitors, and sent up a welcoming-cry as they came into view. They rode right into the clearing before the new Hometree and dismounted. The le ad rider boomed in a great voice "Oel ngati kameie, Omaticaya brothers and siste rs! I am Nasato, brother of Olo'eyctan Awkey of the Horse Clans, in whose name I greet you!" Jake stepped forward and gave Nasato a proper warrior's greeting. "Welcome to ou r new Hometree, brother. The Omaticaya are honored by the presence of the warrio rs of the Horse Clans." Nasato came forward and placed his open palm on Jake's shoulder in the respect-g esture of equals. "Toruk Makto, it is the Horse Clans who are honored by your we lcome." He dropped his palm and swept it to indicate the herd of pa'li that his clansmen were shepherding and spoke loudly so that everyone nearby would hear. " The Omaticaya gave everything they had to preserve the Tree of Souls for all Na' vi. The Horse Clans do not let that precious gift go unanswered." He gestured to one of his clansmen, who led a coal-black direhorse forward. "Here are one hund red of the finest pa'li that have ever walked the Plains. Each one carries its o wn harness, and what provisions we can spare. Most of the mares are in foal, bre d by many different stallions of our herds, and here," he took the surcingle of the black one, "is the greatest of the five stallions of your own new herd. He i s the younger brother of Olo'eyctan Awkey's own warsteed, a personal gift from t he Chief of the Horse Clans to Toruk Makto." He ceremoniously placed the surcing le in Jake's hand, symbolically gifting the entire herd. The assembled Omaticaya cheered wildly. Jake manfully reached up and patted the bridge of the stallion's nose. It looked at him sideways, and he thought Yeah, l ike I'm gonna be riding YOU any time soon Jake held up his hand to quiet the clan down for a moment, and declared "The peo ple of the Horse Clans are as generous as they are brave. See to the comfort of our younger brothers and sisters, and then let us give our clan-brothers a prope

r welcome!" More cheering erupted, and many eager hands reached to assist the ho rsemen in settling the animals into their new home. Jake handed the stallion off to an eager scout as he heard Neytiri ask "How is O lo'eyctan Awkey? Is he well?" Nasato nodded. "Tsahik Sanali says he will recover fully. She has ordered him no t to ride for another two moons, to make sure the bones and muscles heal properl y, but he is already walking again." He smiled at Neytiri and confessed "Even th ough she does not want him to." Mo'at walked up to them then. "Our guests have ridden far and must be tired. Com e, rest, let us bring you food and drink." She shepherded them to the gatheringcircle, where a celebration shortly started taking place. The rest of the day was mostly given over to admiring the new pa'li and entertai ning the visitors. When night had fallen, and the younger Horse Clan members wer e demonstrating Plains dances for their hosts, Jake looked across the circle to glance at Mo'at meaningfully. She nodded and slipped out of the group she was in . Jake took Neytiri's hand in his, and the pair quietly left for their quarters. Mo'at and Nasato shortly joined them, and the four of them sat. The Tsahik spoke quietly, "Tell us, Nasato, how fares the Horse Clan?" The man sighed. "We will recover, but it will take time." He looked apologetical ly at Jake. "We would have brought you a herd of pa'li anyway the Omaticaya sacr ificed their Hometree and two Olo'eyctans to save the Tree of Souls, and we coul dn't let you suffer because of it but the truth is, we lost so many that we had too many orphaned pa'li to be able to care for them all. These will be cherished by the Omaticaya, and are much better off here than being exposed as prey to th e predators of the Plains." The women nodded sadly. He asked in turn, "And how f are the Omaticaya?" Jake answered quietly. "Between the fall of Old Hometree and the Great War, we'v e lost a quarter of the clan, and two thirds of the hunters." Nasato winced. Neytiri continued in an equally subdued tone. "We now have two women for every m an, and three children for every two adults. Many of the women are with child." Nasato was shocked at the decimation. After a long pause, he said in a quiet voi ce "And now I understand Tsahik Sanali's wisdom." "What do you mean?" Mo'at asked. He replied, "When we assembled this herd to bring to you, we had planned on leav ing ten of our pa'li handlers with you for a time, to assist you with them. Sana li insisted on choosing the handlers herself. Of the ten chosen, eight are men a nd all ten are Na'vi who have been unable to find mates in the Horse Clan. I thi nk they will not be returning to us." Neytiri, who was sitting next to him, touched his shoulder sympathetically. "If they find mates among the Omaticaya, it is an honor to us." Nasato nodded. Then he visibly steeled himself, and looked up at Jake. "My broth er's heart has been uneasy since the Sky People were forced to leave. He says th at he feels as if he stands in the center of the Plains on a sunny day but that he Sees clouds on the distant horizon. He wants me to ask the Toruk Makto..." he looked down for a moment, and then almost whispered, "if he thinks that the Gre at War is truly over."

The women were shocked. All eyes went to Jake, who sighed heavily. He paused for a long moment before he replied. He'd had more than enough to deal with to get the clan on its feet again, and had hoped to put this off. Now it was squarely i n his lap. He faced everyone directly. "I don't believe that the Sky People are going to ju st give up and stay away. We still have something they want badly. I don't know if they'll try to deal with us honestly next time or not. I don't know if a few will come, or if they'll come in force. But my gut tells me that we haven't seen the last of them." Nasato nodded as if Jake had confirmed his own suspicions, and asked simply "Whe n?" He closed his eyes in pain. "The fastest they can get a response team here would be in six years. I'm betting they'll wait on major action until the Sky People we threw out get back home so that they can get the whole story first. Then they 'll have to assemble their people and send them out here. My guess would be; exp ect a small sortie a scouting expedition in six years. The main response would b e in twelve, thirteen years from now." Neytiri was aghast. "Jake, in six years we'll barely have recovered our numbers from before Old Hometree's fall. We could have two hundred additional warriors i n twelve years, but ." He finished the statement for her flatly. "But the numbers they could send in tw elve years will make the group we defeated look insignificant. Two hundred addit ional warriors against that kind of power would be meaningless." They all jumped when Mo'at gasped. They turned to look at her; she was staring o ff into space and whispered, "That's what it means!" "What, mother? What is it? What does it mean?" Neytiri asked urgently. The Tsahik looked at her daughter with dread, but addressed her words to the men . "Eywa maintains the balance of life. She normally sends equal numbers of males and females to perpetuate that balance. But for the past few years, she has bee n sending the Omaticaya three male children for every two female. I have been wa tching, waiting for the balance to swing back and restore itself, but it has not ." Nasato interrupted Mo'at sharply. "The Horse Clans have been the same. Sanali ha s been uneasy as well, but has been unable to say why." Jake's voice was urgent. "How long as this been going on, Nasato? When did it be gin? When did you first notice the increase in males?" His mother in law answered for their guest. "The first time it occurred to me wa s when I attended the birth of Narali's twin sons. Eight years ago." Neytiri was getting a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Eight years old. Add twelve years to that ." Jake concluded grimly "Adult. A new generation of warriors." He looked at the gr oup and concluded "Eywa is preparing the Na'vi for war." Nasato stayed with the Omaticaya for a few days, resting and preparing for the j ourney back to the Plains. He spoke with the three of them often, discussing wha t might be done to prepare the Na'vi for what was to come.

The clan gave a thanks-and-farewell party on the evening before he was to leave. Jake was pleased to see Norm attending the gathering. Norm had been fortunate; one of the Horse Clan warriors had pulled his wounded a nd unconscious avatar onto a pa'li without hesitation during the retreat, and br ought it directly to one of the healers at the Tree of Souls. Even more fortunat ely, nothing vital had been hit, though his avatar would wear a rosette of bulle t scars for the rest of its life. The plant-based poultices that the Na'vi heale rs had used had done an absolutely astounding job of stanching and sealing his w ounds. He'd started analyzing the plants that the healers had used on him almost as soon as he'd linked in again. Max and the avatar team had had no problem rem oving the slugs after everything had calmed down. Jake noted with a grin that hi s friend had finally ditched the very out-of-place looking shirt, though he stil l wore shorts. As soon as everyone was settled down with their food, one of the Horse Clan warr iors stood and walked slowly to the center of the circle. People looked up curio usly as he turned to the Tsahik and began to speak. Le'nap addressed Mo'at respectfully. "I am told that you spoke to the Omaticaya about the debt that the Na'vi owe Jakesully." He looked around at the clan. "Thi s is a good thing. An unpaid debt is a wound draining blood from the body; the e arlier it is addressed the faster and easier the healing is. But Jakesully is no t the only one to whom the Na'vi owe a debt." The horseman strode purposefully to the rear of the gathering-circle, reached do wn, grabbed a blue-striped arm and pulled. Jake grinned as he heard a very famil iar voice exclaim "Hey! Cut it out!" Le'nap pulled a protesting Norm into the center of the circle. "Omaticaya, this man rode with the warriors of the Horse Clan into the very teeth of the enemy. T hat is the action of an ally. When the Sky People's weapons were cutting down Na 'vi as easily and as swiftly as Palulukan takes down his prey, he stood his grou nd and fought back, turning their own weapons against them. That is the act of a man, and a warrior. When the enemy's weapons cut down his dreamwalker body, he returned to his Sky People body, picked up another weapon, and went back out to fight again. Omaticaya, is there one among you who will not say that that is the act of a brother?" The horseman stood silent, demanding an answer. Mo'at rose slowly, with great dignity. "It is the act of a brother," she affirme d. "We thank you, Le'nap, for pointing out what we should already have Seen." Sh e looked around the circle. "Brothers and sisters, what say you?" The unanimous roar from the clan brought tears to Norm's eyes. The Tsahik looked to the Olo'eyctan expectantly. Jake rose and addressed the cir cle as Neytiri translated. "Norm is a good man." He proudly looked his friend in the eyes and continued, "He will always be my brother, no matter what." Jake su rveyed the great circle of Na'vi. "If it is the will of the People that he walk among us as Omaticaya, then I am glad." Another roar filled the gathering-circle. Jake walked slowly forward, stopped in front of the xenobotanist, and put both his hands on Norm's shoulders. A wave o f movement went through the cavern as everyone came forward to do the same. Jake said quietly, "Welcome home, bro." Tears flowed from Norm's eyes as he whispere d "Thanks, Jake." There were a few moments of respectful silence, and then with a joyous, ululatin g cry all hell broke loose as the Omaticaya began celebrating the addition to th e tribe. The Olo'eyctan grinned as his new brother was dragged off by many eager

hands. I give those shorts ten minutes, he chuckled to himself. Jake turned and went back to his seat to watch the People celebrate. Nasato resu med his place at Jake's side. "That was well done," he commented. The clan-leader of the Omaticaya nodded. "I only wish Grace were here to see it. She'd be pleased." The name sounded strange to the horseman, "Grace?" Neytiri explained "A female dreamwalker. She was a visitor here many times, for many years. She taught many of us how to speak the Sky People's language. She lo ved the plants and the children." Her voice became sad. "The leader of our enemi es killed her himself." Jake said softly. "She was our Tsahik." He didn't see Mo'at and Neytiri start at his words; he was busy watching Norm manfully attempting to follow several Omat icaya in a ring-dance. "All of the dreamwalkers were like her children, but Norm was special to her." He looked briefly at Nasato and explained "She Saw Eywa in all the plants around her." A gesture of his chin indicated Norm, "Plants are s pecial to Norm too. Grace was happy to have someone she could share her joy in t he plants with. He was like a son to her." A raucous roar and a single protest went up in the middle of the celebrants. Lau ghter filled the cavern, and Jake grinned again. Nope. Seven minutes at best! Nasato nodded in understanding. "A healer. That is good. The Na'vi will have gre at need of healers." Then, by mutual consent, the talk turned to lighter topics that were more suited to an evening of celebration. Neytiri was still thinking of Norm and Grace when she and Jake retired for the n ight. She draped an arm over her mate as Jake laid down gratefully on the thick soft moss that several Omaticaya had thoughtfully planted in their sleeping-spac e. "Your friend Norm was happy tonight," she said quietly. Jake sighed, pleased. "He deserves it, after what he's been through. I just hope it's enough." Neytiri was puzzled. "Enough? You mean, with Grace dying?" He shook his head. "Not only that, though that was bad enough. No, I was talking about Trudy." She had only met the pilot once, when Jake had introduced his two human friends to the Na'vi before the battle, to help ensure that neither of them would take f riendly fire. Neytiri had helped to paint the blue and white marks on the flying machine so that the ikran riders would know not to attack it. "Was she special to him?" Jake could only think of one way to describe it to her. He looked at Neytiri sad ly. "Norm was going to ask Trudy to be his mate after the battle was over." Comprehension and compassion came over her face. "Oh Jake, that is so sad." He nodded and took her into his arms, needing to hold her close for a minute. "H e'll do a good job carrying on Grace's work, I only wish he could find some happ iness for himself." Jake looked down at his mate in his arms, smiled, and hugged her, saying "Like I have." Neytiri returned his embrace, "I am sure he will. Eywa always rewards those who

help Her." They said farewell to Nasato early the next morning. He and Jake clasped each ot hers' forearms in salute. "I will bring your counsel to Awkey and Sanali; we wil l send riders out to all the Clans within reach and tell all the Olo'eyctan and Tsahik to do the same. In four moons, even the Na'vi of the Ice Lands will hear the warnings." As they will hear of the need of the Omaticaya, he vowed to himse lf. Jake nodded gratefully, "Have everyone send word once each season, sooner if any thing unusual happens. Communication is a powerful weapon." Nasato agreed fervently. "One of the best. In the meantime, we are warned; we kn ow when the enemy is coming, we have time to prepare, and Eywa is with us. May S he grant victory to those who serve Her." "From your lips to Eywa's ears," Neytiri spoke softly. Nasato mounted his pa'li and the three of them walked out to join his traveling companion, who was speaking with Mo'at. The Tsahik gave the two Horse Clan warri ors a traveling-blessing, and the assembled Omaticaya saw their kinsmen off with a thanks-tremolo before returning to their normal activities. Neytiri slipped an arm around Jake as the riders disappeared in the vegetation, headed northwest. Mo'at turned to her daughter and son-in-law just as Neytiri as ked her mate in a quiet and concerned voice "What do we do now, Jake?" Both women looked to the Olo'eyctan, who said softly "Now, we take care of the O maticaya and we wait." The Horse Clan was only the first of the visitors to New Hometree. Three days af ter Nasato had left, a delegation from the Ikran Clan of the Eastern Sea arrived . Every rider carried a full load of supplies. There were carry-nets full of dried fish, and bags of fish rib-bones of all sizes for decoration and for awls and s ewing-needles. There were whole sacks of sharp teeth for arrowheads, and sea-bir d feathers for fletching. Fine nets were filled with pearly sea shells for use a s hide-scrapers, knives, and for ornaments. There were bags of brightly colored beach berries. There was fine leather made from the smooth skin of the king-fish . One rider carried a huge bag full of precious salt that the Ikran Clan had har vested. A'tey, the chief cook of the Omaticaya, practically did handsprings when that was presented. Neytiri had been wanting to speak with her mother privately since returning from her honeymoon, but with everything going on there simply hadn't been an opportu nity. The pandemonium surrounding the arrival of these latest visitors and the o ffloading of supplies gave her a perfect one. She gestured to the Tsahik with he r chin, and Mo'at came over. She greeted her mother "I See you, ma'sa'nok." Mo'at returned the greeting warmly "I See you, ma'ite." The two women shared a f ond embrace. Neytiri gestured towards the northern end of the river running by New Hometree a nd asked "Will you walk with me, mother?" The Tsahik was curious, and gestured assent. They walked together until they rea ched a place in the river where it was splashing over many small rocks. The soun

d from the tumbling water was sufficient to obscure a low conversation. The Olo'eyctan's mate turned to the older woman and got right to the point. "Mot her, Jake is tsahik" she stated. To her shock, Mo'at simply nodded. "How did you find out?" Neytiri almost stuttered, "He was in pain, I made him remember Eywa to get him o ut of it, and I saw it in his face." She was shocked at her mother's attitude. " You knew? How?" The Tsahik explained "The night that Eywa moved him into his dreamwalker body, I saw it in his eyes." Neytiri was floored. She remembered that she had been sitting behind Jake at the time. "Why didn't you say anything?" Mo'at said simply, "Eywa told me not to. I am sure you said nothing to Jake, eit her. Did you?" Her daughter shook her head, "It didn't seem appropriate at the time."

The elder woman nodded and took Neytiri's arm. "It is not. I do not know if bein g transferred into his dreamwalker body made him tsahik, or if Eywa deliberately gave him that gift while she had him in tsahaylu. I do not know how strong his gift is. There are no Songs about anyone being born from Eywa as an adult for us to go by. There has never been an Olo'eyctan who was also tsahik. What I do kno w is that when I looked into Jake's eyes as he spoke to us that night, She told me very strongly to say nothing about it to him." Mo'at looked at her daughter with concern. "Jake has more than enough to do righ t now. He must learn the Omaticaya, learn to be Olo'eyctan. You must be with him to help him. The People must be prepared." Neytiri knew her mother well. "You think Eywa made Jake tsahik because the Sky P eople will be coming back in six years," she said softly. Eytukan's mate nodded. "I do not know why She has given him this gift, but She n ever does what is unnecessary." She took her daughter's arm again. "Be with him. Guide him. Say nothing unless it becomes necessary. Eywa will tell you what nee ds to be done." Her daughter shivered but agreed, and the two women headed back to New Hometree before they could be missed. Jake made himself very popular at the welcoming-feast that night. Between the st urmbeest meat that Eywa had provided and the supplies from the Horse and Ikran c lans, the food situation had eased considerably. He declared a four day moratori um on hunting to give his exhausted hunters and their mounts some decent rest. That night, he gave the leader of the Ikran Clan riders the same briefing that h e had given Nasato, and got the same promise to spread the word in return. The c lan brothers stayed for three days. He was surprised when half a dozen unmated m ale Ikran riders decided to remain behind when the others left. Mo'at commented to him, "This is the way Eywa works, Jake." The Tsahik gestured to the riders (who were surrounded by a group of young women,) "The Ikran Clan h as no idea of the number of men we have lost, but Eywa does. She will have spoke n to the Tsahik of the Ikran Clan and whispered our need to her heart. Eywa will have guided her in the choosing of these riders, just as She guided Sanali, so

that any appropriate males would have been included in the party." Jake put that very interesting bit of knowledge about Eywa away for future consi deration. One of Jake's daily duties was to meet with the hunters and senior cooks to work out what food the clan needed to hunt or gather for the next day. Young children who were sufficiently adept at climbing Hometree safely were task ed with gathering teylu grubs and mushrooms from the bark of the great tree each day. Older children helped adults gather edible plants under the watchful eyes of the scouts on duty. A few teenagers and young adults caught fish from the riv er to supplement the food supply as well. After hearing what the cooks needed, J ake worked out with Sirtey, the senior hunter, what was to be hunted, where it w as to be hunted, and by whom. Neytiri had shown Jake how the Omaticaya typically referred to the lands around the Hometree. They divided it up into eight pie slices originating from the trun k and expanding outwards in the cardinal directions North, South, East, and West and then subdividing each quarter-circle in half. The Na'vi were careful to sta gger their hunting so that no one area or animal species was too heavily hunted. They were always very selective, to make sure that the animal populations would continue to thrive. In addition to hunting, it was imperative that the Omaticaya learn their new ter ritory quickly. One woman had thoughtfully taken some loincloths to be washed a bit downstream from where others were gathering drinking water, and had stumbled upon a huge deposit of clay exposed by the river. Many Na'vi had excitedly spen t days making cups, bowls, spoons, water jugs, cooking-pots, and ornaments from the find. They needed to discover what other such treasures lay in the new lands that Eywa had provided for them, so the hunters that were not on hunting or sen try duty were expected to scout and survey and to bring back news of what they f ound. Experienced hunters were assigned as mentors to young Na'vi who showed promise. Once a student had made a clean kill, they became eligible to travel to Ikinmaya in order to bond with an ikran. Taking those youngsters to the ikran nesting gr ounds was now Jake's responsibilty. Given how desparately the Omaticaya needed h unters, this was a priority duty. Today, five teenagers were proposed by their mentors as having sufficiently dist inguished themselves, and Jake agreed to take them. The next day, three young men and two women assembled as soon as first meal was over and stood in a line for the Olo'eyctan's inspection. As soon as she saw the five lined up, concern appeared on Neytiri's face. She was about to say somethi ng when her mother caught her attention. With only a look, Mo'at was able to con vey to her daughter that she was to say nothing. Neytiri subsided unhappily. Jake walked the line of hopefuls, surveying each in turn. They were awed, of cou rse. Not only were they face to face with their new Olo'eyctan for the first tim e, but this was Toruk Makto inspecting them. Jake could almost hear spines strai ning to be perfectly straight, and had to suppress a smile. The first three candidates presented no problems. He knew that they were compete nt, if young. No hunter would present an unworthy or unskilled protege. When he looked at the fourth one however, alarm bells went off in his head. Jake had no idea why the young man should be provoking such a strong reaction in him. When he had been in the Marines, he had experienced something similar. You

could tell just by looking that certain green recruits (and some not so green) were going to be trouble. They had attitude, a lack of confidence, just weren't competent, or a host of other issues. Wise soldiers stayed clear of such ticking time bombs until they either worked out their problems or were removed one way or another. This boy wasn't exhibiting any of those characteristics, but Jake had long ago l earned that whenever his internal alarms went off, they were to be heeded. He st epped forward and put a sympathetic hand on the boy's shoulder. "It is not yet t ime for you to meet your ikran. Continue working with your mentor for now." He s aid gently but firmly. He didn't see Neytiri's sigh of relief or Mo'at's smile of vindication as he spo ke. The boy protested, startling those around him with his temerity. "But I have mad e several clean kills! I guarded the People well on the journey to the Tree of S ouls!" Jake nodded sympathetically. "Continue to do so. Keeping the Omaticaya fed and s afe is the essence of being a good hunter. When you are ready to meet your ikran , I will take you to Ikinmaya myself. But that day is not today." He dropped his hand from the boy's shoulder, indicating that his verdict was final. Only Mo'at was able to catch the target of the young man's quick sidewards glanc e. The teenager looked like he wanted erted by his sponsor's hand on his Makto says that you are not ready, , the boy turned bitterly and left to protest further, but his attention was div arm. The elder hunter said simply, "If Toruk then you are not ready." Without another word the line. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

The last candidate presented no issue, and Jake led the four to the waiting pa'l i. That evening, he and Neytiri brought four new ikran makto home to the tribe. The rejected candidate had quickly excused himself when his triumphant peers arr ived home to show their new mounts to their friends and family. Songs and celebr ation broke out behind him as he headed for the river and splashed through it, f inding a quiet spot on the far bank to sit and brood. Pa'kan was totally shocked when a quiet voice sounded just over his right should er. He spun around in panic reflex to see the Tsahik standing just behind him. H ow did she sneak up behind me like that? She's not even a hunter! Mo'at spoke to him quietly, "Pa'kan, if it is Eywa's will that you and Kiree be mates, then it will happen whether you become ikran makto tomorrow or next year. If it is not Her will, then it would not happen even if you had become one toda y. Do not insult Eywa or your ikran by viewing its life-gift to you as simply a means of getting something that you want. This is why you were not ready today. Consider it well. And while you do so," the Tsahik's eyes twinkled, "you might w ant to consider washing your ears out, since you cannot even hear a non-hunter f ollowing you." Mo'at ghosted off and headed back to New Hometree, leaving a very amazed and cha grined young man behind her. "Where's Neytiri?" Norm asked the Olo'eyctan. "Scouting," Jake replied, "Since she didn't need to translate for me for a while , she decided to take her ikran out and fly one of the sectors. All the hunters

have to get familiar with the new land as fast as possible." "Makes sense," Norm agreed. The two men met every afternoon. One of the first things they had discussed was the amount of interaction between the Omaticaya and the remaining humans at Hell 's Gate. Jake had insisted that the Na'vi culture be left as intact as possible; he wanted no introduction of human technology that might damage their relations hip with Eywa and their world. Norm fervently agreed. The Omaticaya were the nea rest clan to Hell's Gate, and while they knew and accepted the remaining humans as allies, there was definitely a feeling of "good fences make good neighbors" b etween the two. Both Jake and Norm were satisfied to have it that way. The only piece of tech present was Norm's comm-neckpiece, which looked like a si mple decorative ornament to most Omaticaya. While he spoke with Jake he kept an open comm-link back to the biolab, where their conversations were instantly reco rded. He and the other scientists spent hours analyzing the recordings and comin g up with questions for him to ask the next time they met. As Max had promised, keeping up with the scientists' curiosity felt like a full time job! Jake was ve ry glad that Norm had been accepted into the clan; the scientist was able to gat her a great deal of information on his own now. Today they were discussing Hell's Gate. Jake had had an idea. "I'd like to have some of your guys start dismantling as much of the mining equipment and the fact ories as they safely can. I'd feel better if the stuff that you guys don't need isn't easily usable anymore. I'd like to scatter the munitions, too. Keep as muc h as you might need close to hand we're going to have another ship making orbit a little more than a year from now. I don't think they'll give us much trouble, there'll mostly be just miners. Max is already beaming instructions to the crew not to bring the passengers out of cryo?" Norm nodded. "He told the two ships that had just left Earth orbit to turn back, that there wasn't going to be any fuel for them here and that they'd be suicidi ng if they continued to Pandora. The unobtanium that we confiscated from the Ven ture Star is more than enough to refuel the two ships that are already past the halfway mark. We'll make them drop all the supplies they're bringing in exchange for the refuel. They shouldn't need to be in orbit much more than a week." Jake frowned, "I don't need to tell you not to accept any new Avatar drivers, do I?" His friend spread his hands, "They'll all be RDA hires. I don't want them any mo re than you do, Jake." The Olo'eyctan was satisfied. "I'm going to have to have the Na'vi salvage some of the more intact AMP suits and a couple of Scorpions, just to be able to teach the new hunters how to bring them down, if necessary. I'll keep the stuff well away from the village; need to know only." "Sounds like a plan. This job is really growing on you, isn't it Jake?" the scie ntist asked. The ex-marine looked down and smiled, "I've been getting a lot of help." Norm wasn't about to let his friend get away with it. "And you're good at it. Do n't sell yourself short, Jake." The conversation turned to other topics. Neytiri thoroughly enjoyed flying over the new lands that Eywa had given them. S he still missed Seze, but was comforted by the fact that her dear friend lived i n Eywa now. Her new mount was a powerful flyer, and a joy to ride with. She almo

st regretted having to turn back when the sun started climbing down. She landed high in the crown of New Hometree, dismounted, and disconnected from her ikran, giving it a good petting by way of thanks. It chirred happily, and then launched itself to find a nice roosting spot in the branches. The very topmost branches of Hometree were used by the ikran bonded to Na'vi to nest in. The rest of the top third of the tree was where most of the clan's sing les hung their hammocks. The middle third held mostly couples with no children, or those with children old enough to climb the Tree safely. The lowest third was generally occupied by elderly who did not care to climb to higher levels, coupl es with very young children, and the space for the Olo'eyctan and Tsahik. Neytiri trotted lightly along the branch she had landed on, headed for the main trunk of the tree. She was about to jump to her preferred pathway down when she heard a sound just ahead that made her smile and decide to change her route. Since she hadn't yet learned all of the side routes, Neytiri jumped to a branch that she had not yet explored and continued on her way. The view from this leade r was particularly fine. In fact, it rather reminded her of something. She slowe d as the memory became stronger. A slight curve brought a new section of landsca pe into view, and Neytiri was hit with the strongest sense of dja vu that she had ever experienced and she stopped completely. She had seen this view before but when? Then it hit her. The tsahaylu-dream! Her mouth dropped open in shock as she reca lled the vision that Eywa had given her on the night that she and Jake had taken each other as mates. Running through a Tree she did not recognize, laughing, wi th Jake following behind. This was it. This was the Tree. This was the very rout e she had seen herself and Jake running along. Neytiri's mouth was open in complete astonishment. She looked around, absorbing the entire panorama. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind; this was the pla ce Eywa had shown her. Joy burst through her surprise at this confirmation. She wanted to sing with happiness. Instead, she said a swift thanks to Eywa and star ted running down the Tree to go find her mate and made a mental note to start lo oking for fan lizards. A young boy came running up to the place where Jake, Neytiri, and Mo'at customar ily sat at mealtimes. "Tsahik Mo'at," he said breathlessly, "Healer Alai says th at it is Sani's time soon, and that you are to come after you have finished firs t meal." The Tsahik nodded, "Tell Alai I will be there shortly." The boy nodded and took off. Mo'at turned to Neytiri, "Ma'ite, you will attend me. Teekan can interpret for Jake at the hunters' meeting if it is needed." Her eyes went blank for a mom ent as she turned her attention elsewhere, and then returned to the present. She looked at Jake, "Tell the hunters to avoid First Area tomorrow." The Olo'eyctan nodded in acquiescence. The two women finished eating and then left, walking in an unhurried fashion but with purpose. Mo'at spoke casually to her apprentice, "It pleases the People to see you and Jake together. The two of you have great joy in each other, and it eases their hearts to see that happiness." It was true, and Neytiri knew it. It was obvious to everyone who saw the two of them together that they were joyously, completely in love with each other and al so that Eywa herself had blessed their union. Joy was a potent balm against the pain that the clan had endured. If Neytiri, who had lost her father in the fall of Old Hometree, could now be experiencing such love and joy, it gave hope to th e rest that they might do so as well one day. There was not a single family in N

ew Hometree that had not suffered similar loss, and that balm was very badly nee ded. Neytiri replied softly, "Many still grieve for those who were lost in the Great Sorrow." Mo'at nodded agreement, "And will for some time. When the new Tree of Voices is found, it will help many. In the meantime, seeing the joy that you and Jake shar e gives them hope that their own pain will pass, one day." They walked in compan ionable silence for a couple of minutes. The Tsahik made a small jump to a sidebranch and started speaking again. "Now that you are a mated woman, it is time f or you to assume additional responsibilities. You will begin teaching the new wo men and conducting the lesser blessings." Mo'at sighed. "There are so many needi ng Eywa's reassurance that all four of us" she referred to Tiri and An'nai as we ll, "will be very busy for a long time." Neytiri made a sad sound of assent. Mo'at continued as they walked, "It is important that you be with Jake as often as your duties permit. There are others who can help him learn to speak as we do , but you are the daughter of an Olo'eyctan. You will be able to guide him in wh at to say, as well as how to say it. He respects you and relies on your counsel. It is important that the People see that." She jumped to another branch, and to another subject. "Have you spoken with Sirtey?" she named the clan's most senio r hunter. Neytiri nodded. "He has asked me to hunt as often as I can, but said that he wil l not assign me out anymore." She fretted. "We need hunters so badly, it does no t feel right that I not be hunting." Mo'at spoke sternly, "The clan needs you to be guiding Jake more than it needs y ou to hunt. We have already gained more than a dozen hunters since the end of th e Great War. You are not shirking your duties by being with him, you are answeri ng the most important one." Her eyes softened as she regarded her daughter and s he smiled, "And if you enjoy answering that duty, so much the better." Neytiri c ouldn't help but smile shyly back. Then they arrived at their destination. A very nervous adult male was pacing bac k and forth before the entrance to a platform sleeping space, tail whipping, and hailed them with relief. "Tsahik! Neytiri! Thank Eywa the two of you are here!" Neytiri warmly greeted the expectant father, taking his focus off of Mo'at so th at the elder woman would be free to join the healer. "Eywa ngahu, Jakan. How is Sani doing?" "Alai says she is doing well, but this is her first. Is it supposed to take this long?" All the stereotypical concerns of a male whose mate was in her first lab or came spilling out. Neytiri soothed the nervous man. "If Alai says she is fine, I am sure she is. Al ai is the best healer the Omaticaya have." Jakan nodded in acknowledgement but returned to his nervous pacing. Neytiri smiled, "I am going to join them now, I will bring you word myself as so on as anything happens." She thought for a moment and then commented, "The baby will need to be bathed in warm water after it is born, and I am sure Sani would appreciate a cool drink once her labor is done." The expectant father did a doubletake, as if such a thing had never occurred to

him. Then he beamed at Neytiri as though she were a genius. "Thank you! I will f etch them right away!" He ran off at top speed down the trunk. She had to fight not to laugh as she turned to join the other women. Healer Alai saw her approaching and waved. "Eywa ngahu, Neytiri!" "Eywa ngahu, Alai. Eywa ngahu, Sani, how are you doing?" she replied. The laboring woman grunted. "Fine. I hope Jakan isn't being too much of a skxawn g." Neytiri grinned, "Right now, he's on his way to empty half the river into A'tey' s kettles to make a warm bath for the baby." The women laughed together. Sani chuckled, "A'tey should make him build his own pot to warm the water in!" T hey all saw a contraction ripple across the pregnant woman's stomach, and she hu ffed out a breath with the force of it. Alai gently massaged her patient's back soothingly. "That was a strong one. And it was sooner than the last. It will not be long now." Sani sighed, and Mo'at thoughtfully blotted the sweat from the laboring woman's forehead with a pad of soft moss. She thanked the Tsahik, looked to the youngest member of their group and smiled teasingly, "Soon your turn, eh Neytiri?" Neytiri couldn't help coloring a little bit. "When Eywa wills it." Alai snorted with good humor. "With a big strapping man like your Jake? It won't be long before Eywa sends a little bird to fill the empty nest." She nodded tow ards Neytiri's lower body. Mo'at couldn't resist joining in the gentle teasing. "Don't forget, there have b een Toruk Makto before. Eywa gifted each of them with at least three children." The unfeigned look of total shock that came over Neytiri's face had the other th ree women laughing uproariously. Her face colored more strongly even as she recognized that the two eldest women were masterfully using humor to relax and distract the laboring woman from any d iscomfort that she might be feeling. She recognized that she did indeed still ha ve a great deal to learn from her mother. "Jake and I would welcome any children that Eywa desires to bless us with," she replied firmly. Alai regarded the young woman with approval, "Any child of yours and Jake's will be a strong warrior for the tribe." She looked across at Mo'at, "Or an equally strong tsahik." Mo'at was pleased, but couldn't resist a little further teasing. "I had forgotte n how much it pleases Eywa to send children to a Toruk Makto. I will have to sta rt making another child carrier right away and I must think of more names." Neytiri was able to participate from then on, giving almost as good as she got a s the three women worked to ease their friend's labor. She couldn't help but fee l a shivery delight in her body as she considered her future children. Things proceeded as they always did, and Neytiri marveled at witnessing Eywa and Sani work together to bring forth a new life. In the fullness of time, Sani del ivered a healthy baby girl. Mo'at delivered the birth-blessing, Neytiri and Alai answering with the appropriate prayers and thanks for a safe delivery.

The elder women got the young mother settled akan so that he could meet his daughter. The parents' faces moved her incredibly, and as y to their privacy with the new arrival, she

comfortably while Neytiri fetched J awe and joy that she saw on the new she and Mo'at left the little famil couldn't help yearning.

She had seen, many a time, the incredible joy and pride a man experienced when h e held a new son in his arms. Neytiri wanted so much to give the wonder of that experience to Jake, to be in tsahaylu with him so that she could feel his happin ess. Jak'itan, her sons would be called, even once they were given their persona l names. Son of Jake. Of course, it was as likely that Eywa would choose to give them daughters as sons. After seeing Sani's face as she held her precious new c hild, she couldn't help desiring a little girl of her own. Neytir'ite, Daughter of Neytiri. She shook her head and chuckled to herself as she recalled the conversation of e arlier in the day. Three!? If Eywa chose to do now as she had done in the past, And why wouldn't She? Neytiri thought to herself, it was likely that both she an d Jake would get their hearts' desires. Mo'at left to tend other duties, leaving her daughter to her own devices. Neytir i looked up through New Hometree, and judged by the quality of the light that Ja ke's afternoon meeting with Norm would soon be over. She smiled as she recalled something she had said to him during their honeymoon. Every day is another oppor tunity for Her to say "yes." Neytiri skipped happily down the trunk of the Tree to go find her mate. Neytiri was concerned. They were just finishing the evening meal, and Jake alrea dy looked half asleep. He'd been pushing himself hard these past three weeks sin ce returning from their honeymoon, working nonstop from dawn till late into the evening to learn the language, the People, and his duties as Olo'eyctan as well as helping his dreamwalker friends. Enough, she decided. The Omaticaya normally reserved the evenings after meal tim e for socializing, when the chores of the day were done. Jake had participated e very night, interacting with as many Na'vi as he could. It was obvious that he w as pushing himself too much. Neytiri stood up and reached for Jake's hand. "Come," she commanded, to his surp rise. Let everyone think what they will, he needs to rest. She pulled him to his feet and didn't let go of his hand until they reached their quarters. She pushe d him right past the cloth that curtained off their sleeping-space and then pres sed down on his shoulders until he sat. "You're being pushy tonight," he observed. She didn't bother denying it. "You are tired. You have been doing too much, work ing too hard. It is not necessary." She sat down behind him and started massagin g his neck and shoulders. He sighed with relief as his tight muscles started to unknot themselves under he r hands. "There's so much to do. I don't want to let the People down." He looked at his mate, "I don't want to let you down." She smiled and said softly, "You care about the People, Jake. As long as you car e, you will never let anyone down. The Omaticaya understand that it will take ti me for you to learn us fully. After what you have done for the Na'vi already, no one minds giving you all the time you need. "

He faced forward again and was quiet for a minute, gathering his thoughts. "I ne ver planned on being a leader, never wanted to be one. I saw too many tin-plated dictators, too many who were willing to sacrifice everyone under their command to achieve the objective. Too many guys who became drunk on power and turned int o monsters their own mothers wouldn't recognize." Jake turned to his mate with concern naked in his eyes. "I that, Neytiri. I don't want to turn into that. I'd rather can walk up to and say 'Hey, can we get a drink and talk?' ooking at me from twenty feet away like I'm some legendary hat's not me. That's not who I am." don't want to be like be a guy that people I don't want people l being or something. T

Neytiri paused in her massage and let her hand rest comfortingly on his shoulder . You already are a legend, my mate, she thought to herself. Out loud she said, "Be who you are, Jake. No one is asking you to change. Eywa brought you here bec ause of who you are, not because of what you might become." He turned back and sighed as she started massaging his back. She spoke softly, " An'nai and Tiri told me and mother that the people speak of you very favorably. They are pleased that you talk with so many Omaticaya, that you are honestly int erested in the things that the people do." Jake turned to look at her again, "They are?" Neytiri nodded decisively. "Everyone sees how hard you are working, and they res pect you for it. An'nai said to me that one person told her that she was happy t hat Eywa had sent the Omaticaya such a caring man to be Olo'eyctan." He turned forwards again, and she was pleased to feel tension leaving his body a s he exhaled. "Jake, you have many years ahead of you to learn the Na'vi. Pushin g yourself too hard will not do the People any good, and will only exhaust you w ithout reason. It will all come, in time. Be the man you wish to be, and leave t he rest in Eywa's hands." He closed his eyes and let himself relax. Neytiri soon felt exhaustion catch up with Jake as he went nearly limp under her touch. She pulled gently on his shoul ders until he leaned back against her, all but asleep, and cradled him in her ar ms so that she could hold him all night. Norm, Jake, Mo'at, and Neytiri were meeting in the Olo'eyctan's quarters in New Hometree. "So," Norm explained, "we'll be having another Sky People ship arriving in a lit tle over a year, but it won't be carrying any large number of warriors." "All the same," Jake mused, "I'd prefer to have a significant number of Na'vi wa rriors on hand while they're here." Both women were still a little pale from having been informed of the arrival of another ship, even though the event was still over a year away. They'd been reas sured by the mens' absolute confidence that there was minimal danger, but the tr auma from the recent war made it difficult to view this new event with equanimit y. The four of them were in absolute agreement that this information should not yet be made public. Holding this conversation in English gave a little extra ins urance towards keeping things private for now. Neytiri spoke, "We do not have enough warriors among the Omaticaya to be able to do this ourselves and keep Hometree protected, we will need help from at least one other clan." She turned to her mother.

Mo'at nodded confirmation. "Tipani is the closest. How many warriors do you need ?" Jake and Norm looked at each other. Norm mused, "We still have all of the base's ground defenses operational. We'll only be dealing with a shuttle. If we train everything we've got on it as soon as they're in range, maybe fire a warning sho t, they'll take us seriously. You should be able to get away with fewer warriors that way." Jake nodded agreement, "Minimize our exposure. I like it. Have the shuttle offlo ad everything right onto the landing field, don't let them anywhere near the bui ldings. The warriors can make sure no one tries to hide in the supplies. You hav e their cargo manifests?" Norm confirmed, "Everything's on record. We know exactly what they're carrying. When they bring down the last of the supplies we'll put out enough of the refine d unobtanium we've got so that they can refuel and get back to Earth." Jake saw the shadow of a frown cross his mate's face. "Neytiri, remember that th ese people have nothing to do with the ones we fought, the ones that hurt us. Th ey've been asleep for more than four years. By the time they get back to their h ome they're going to be in rough shape, and they haven't done anything to deserv e it. Yes, they're Sky People, and yes, we're sending them right back where they came from, but that's enough. Believe me, I know exactly what they're going bac k to and it's more than enough." Neytiri's ears drooped in chagrin. "You are right Jake, forgive me. It is hard ." He reached out and cupped the left side of her face in the characteristic gestur e that had identified him to her when she had first seen him in his human body. "It's okay. We all understand." She gave him a small smile of gratitude. Jake dropped his hand after a moment and looked at Norm, "How about twenty warri ors scattered around the airfield? We'll have them right next to cover; corners of buildings, behind some of the big mining trucks, stuff like that. Able to see and shoot, but plenty of protection available. We can ring the wall with anothe r thirty warriors; they can hide in the trees on their ikran." "That sounds like more than enough, Jake. I think that'll work fine," his friend replied. The Tsahik mused, "Perhaps we would want to bring more than just Tipani." She lo oked at the Olo'eyctan. "You say that there is little danger in this ship. But t here will be danger in the ships they send in six years and in twelve years, cor rect?" Norm amended, "There'll be a second ship a year and a half after this next one, but that will be of little danger as well. But yes, the six year ship will be a greater danger, and the twelve year ship even more so." Mo'at looked to Jake. "Six years is a long time, and twelve years even longer. T ime lets memories fade, and that is not good in this case. If all the Peoples' m emories of the Great War have faded, it could be difficult to gather them again. " "What do you suggest?" the Olo'eyctan asked. The Tsahik leaned forward a bit. "Send word to the leaders of all the nearby cla ns. Tell them of this danger. Have each clan send their five best warriors here a year from now to be part of this war party."

Jake considered the suggestion. "There are more than a dozen clans within two da ys flight by ikran. Five warriors from each clan would easily give us enough." Mo'at nodded, "If anything does happen, you will have the best warriors of he nearby clans to deal with it. And if all occurs as you say, and the Sky e ship leaves peacefully, each group of warriors will return to their clan g that they have seen another Sky People ship and that the danger is real, hat the People must be prepared to face the other ships when they come." all t Peopl sayin and t

"I like it Jake," Norm immediately endorsed the idea. "Keep all the Na'vi sharp and alert. Make everyone aware that they can't drop their guard." He nodded, "I agree. If the clan leaders present this to their people carefully, they might even get warriors competing to be included in the top five." Mo'at n odded emphatically in confirmation of his speculation. "Thank you, Mo'at, that's what we'll do then. We should have messengers from each of the clans reporting to us here within the next three months. We'll have each one bring the plan back to their clan leaders." Neytiri offered, "Have each clan send their warriors here a month before the shi p will arrive. You will want to make them familiar with the base and with each o ther." She looked at Norm, "You will need to make sure that your Sky People stay inside, or paint themselves so that the warriors do not mistake them for outsid ers." Norm agreed, "I think I'll keep all the dreamwalkers away from the base until th e ship leaves. No sense in risking them. They're not warriors, they'll just be i n the way." To his surprise, Mo'at commanded, "Send them here." He looked at her in startlem ent and she continued. "There is more space in this Hometree than the Omaticaya can use right now. You are our allies. The dreamwalkers can sleep safely in the branches of New Hometree for as long as there is need. Our bows will protect you and your friends as well as our own." The scientist was deeply touched by the complete turn-about in attitude that thi s offer represented and made a formal gesture of thanks. "We are grateful for yo ur assistance, Tsahik." Mo'at was pleased by the respectful gesture. "There have been enough misundersta ndings between us, to both our sorrow. With Eywa's help, let us leave them in th e past where they belong." All four of them felt a great deal better at having a plan in place, and on that very hopeful note they adjourned. Jake lay back on the soft moss in his sleeping-space that evening and propped hi mself up on one elbow to look at his mate. "Neytiri, how do the Omaticaya raise children?" She was momentarily nonplussed. It took her a moment to remember that Jake was o r had been - a Sky Person. "A child stays with the mother for many weeks after i t is born." she began. "If she works at something like weaving, she will usually keep the child with her once she recovers fully from the birthing and begins he r work again." Jake's eyes sparkled, "And if she is a hunter?" he teased. Neytiri smiled wryly. "Taronyu is more difficult, and it takes longer before she

is ready to hunt again. A hunter who has recovered from birthing but is not yet able to return to hunting will help the clan in other ways. She can help the ch ild-watchers look after other children, or gather plants and fruits, or fish, un til she is ready." "And when she returns to hunting, what does she do with the child?" Jake was cur ious. "When the child has nursed and is asleep, she will leave it with relatives or th e child-watchers for a time. A woman learns how often her child needs to nurse, and if she has not made a kill before the time gets close, she will return to Ho metree and feed it before going out again," his mate explained. "So what happens as the child gets older?" he asked. Neytiri seated herself comfortably on the moss next to him. "As soon as it becom es able to move on its own, it must be watched carefully. Everyone helps to make sure that it stays safe while it learns." She wrinkled her nose at him playfull y, "When the child no longer nurses, the father is expected to feed it and care for it as often as the mother." Jake laughed, "What then?" "If both parents have duties that require them to be away from Hometree say they are both hunters then they will take turns, one hunting one day and caring for the child the next. Or relatives will watch while the parents are out. If it is needed, the child-watchers can care for it until the parents return," she explai ned. He was interested, "Who are the child-watchers?" She stretched her legs out in front of her. "There are people whom Eywa has gift ed with a great love of children. They are the main child-watchers for the clan. There are also older children who help watch the younger ones, and adults like women recovered from birth who cannot yet do their regular work who help. If som eone is tired from doing their usual duty, they often spend a few days child-wat ching to refresh their spirits and to give others a rest." "Don't the children get upset when their parents leave them with the child-watch ers?" Jake asked. Neytiri smiled, reminiscing. "When my mother would bring me to the child-watcher s, she would stay and wait until I was playing with the other children. Then she would interrupt me to say that she was going to do her work, and all I wanted w as for her to be gone so I could keep playing!" The Olo'eyctan chuckled, "Your mother is a wise woman!" He became thoughtful. "W ho teaches the children, and what are they taught? How does a child decide what work it wants to do when it grows up?" His mate leaned back and wrapped her hands around a knee comfortably. "Parents a nd family teach much, of course. The Singers visit the child-watchers every day; it is the task of the younger ones to sing teaching-songs to the children while a senior Singer supervises. Every day, one of the crafts will send a junior and senior member with some small thing for the older children to try. It soon beco mes obvious if a child enjoys a particular craft. There is so much for the child ren to do that they sometimes do not want to leave when the parents return!" "What about Tsahik?" he asked curiously, "Is that considered a craft?"

Neytiri made a yea-nay gesture. "In some ways yes, in other ways no." She though t for a moment and tried to explain her answer. "If I wanted to, I could learn h ow to weave well, or make things of leather. I know how to make a knife, a bow, and arrows. But doing these things would not improve my ability to hear Eywa. Th e Omaticaya have master weavers whose work is known among many Na'vi clans for i ts great beauty, but they cannot hear Eywa as clearly as I can and I cannot weav e a piece of cloth that will stay together for a day," she chuckled at her lack of textile skills. Jake rolled over onto his belly and propped his chin up on his hands. "So being tsahik is more like having an extra sense, like hearing. You can sharpen it by p racticing, but you can't create it if it isn't there to begin with." She nodded emphatically, "Yes! When it became clear to Mother that I was tsahik, I spent time with her every day so that she could help me to listen better, as you say, but it was something that I was already able to do, not something I had to learn." Neytiri then looked at him pointedly, "The Tsahik also visits the child-watchers often; she teaches the children about Eywa and answers the questions they have. Mother has said that I am to begin doing more of the teaching now. I will take you with me to the child-watchers tomorrow and you can see for yourself." Jake smiled, "I'd like that, but won't I be a distraction?" She shook her head emphatically. "The children must learn about the Olo'eyctan a s well. They are taught how he is the greatest warrior in the clan, how he prote cts all of us, that his duty is the safety and well-being of the People and that his orders are to be obeyed for that reason. It is good that you come to the ch ild-watchers; the children will have many questions for you. There may be a chil d there who will one day become Olo'eyctan, and hearing you will help him on his path. There will be a number of children who will become warriors when they are grown. Since you are the leader of the warriors, it is your duty to see that th ey are properly identified and trained. So this is an opportunity for you to mee t your future warriors as well." Neytiri delicately did not refer to the Sky Peo ple ships that they both knew were coming. She hesitated for a moment before bringing up a subject she knew Jake was uncomf ortable with. The children were bound to ask him about it though, so he'd best b e prepared. "You are also Toruk Makto, Jake. There are many in the clan, and not just the children, who are very curious." She'd been right. Jake sighed, crossed his arms in front of him, and laid his he ad down on them. "It's no big deal. Lots of Omaticaya are ikran makto, they know what it's like to bond to a flying mount." Neytiri felt a subtle prodding inside that she couldn't ignore and obeyed it. Sh e spoke to her mate softly, "Jake, it is not the same. There have been very many Olo'eyctan since the First Songs were made, but only six Toruk Makto. You have bonded to both an ikran and Toruk. Are they the same?" He flipped over onto his back and said shortly, "No." She got very clearly that he was not ready to pursue the subject; her internal s enses told her to back off. "I only mention it because I know that the children will ask. If it makes you uncomfortable, you could visit them another time." Jake was chagrined for a moment. "No, it's okay, they're only kids. It's natural for them to be curious. I still want to go. I appreciate the heads-up though."

Neytiri was relieved. "Then we will visit them tomorrow, after the hunters' meet ing." She laid down next to him and pillowed her head on his shoulder, laying an arm across his chest. After a few moments, he started gently stroking her forea rm, tracing a line of phosphorescent spots out of habit. She snuggled up to him, making a pleased sound, and Jake relaxed. "Sleep, my mate," he said softly in Na'vi. He leaned over and kissed her forehea d, grateful that she was his, and they were both soon asleep. After the next day's hunters' meeting, Neytiri led Jake to an area that was part ly under the sheltering bulk of New Hometree and which extended out into the gra ssy space between the Tree and the river that flowed nearby. He noticed several pairs of racks made of poles that looked almost identical to bamboo. Each pair of racks had several small hammocks strung between them; he sa w sleeping infants in several. The older children had spent their morning physical exuberance in play and were now sitting in a rough semicircle. Ninat was singing; some of the children were singing along and others were listening avidly. One of the child watchers saw th em standing unobtrusively nearby and did a doubletake; Neytiri brifely touched h er fingers to her lips and pointed at the singer. The woman understood that they didn't wish to interrupt the song. Once the song was finished though, the woman walked over to Ninat and faced the children, announcing "We have special visito rs today," and gestured in their direction. Jake and Neytiri came forward to the excited murmurs of the youngsters and the a stonishment of the other adults. The adults were further surprised when Jake sim ply sat down with the kids and asked if they would like to ask him any questions . They converged, and the barrage began immediately. "What was it like to be a Sky Person?" He showed them his hands. "You know that Sky People have five fingers and toes, not four." He extended them before him so that the children could see and touch the extra digits. Jake wiggled his fingers and spoke wryly, "I still have troubl e with my numbers, because when I was growing up I learned to count in fives and multiples of five, not four." The children were astonished that the Olo'eyctan should have trouble with his numbers. Jake brought his tail forward to illustrate another point. "They don't have tail s, either. It took me a long time to get used to having one! At first it felt li ke I was dragging something behind me that didn't belong. I would run or jump an d not expect to have that weight there and it made me fall a few times. I even h it myself with it once!" The children were amazed at the thought of someone not having a tail. He dropped his hands and gestured to his legs, "A very long time ago, when I was a Sky Person warrior, I fought in a battle and was badly wounded. The wound cau sed my legs to stop working. So when I first came into my dreamwalker body I was very happy to have legs that worked again." Jake smiled at the memory. "The ver y first thing I did when I woke up in my dreamwalker body was to run. It felt so good to be able to run and feel the ground under my feet again!" A girl asked him, "What is the home of the Sky People like?" Jake replied, "A very sad place. Eywa does not live there." More than children g asped in horror at that statement. He said thoughtfully "I think that most Sky P

eople are sick in their minds because they have no one like Eywa to take care of them." One of the older children whose eyes were big and round asked breathlessly, "Tsa hik told us that Eywa moved you out of your Sky People body and into your dreamw alker body so that you could stay with us all the time. Did you see Eywa?" Everyone was on tenterhooks awaiting his answer. Jake nodded solemnly. "What did She look like?" one of the children in the suddenly hushed crowd asked . His reply was simple. "Light." He gestured up towards where the sun was in the s ky. "It was like being inside the sun, with bright light all around me, and She was the light." The children were awed. After a few respectful moments one boy asked wistfully, "Why did you let Toruk g o?" Jake answered with a question of his own. "Why does someone not hold a knife in their hand all the time?" The adults immediately understood, but many of the chi ldren were puzzled. Neytiri explained for her mate. "If I have a knife in my hand all the time, I ma y hurt myself or someone else with it without meaning to and I will not be able to do anything else with that hand while it is holding the knife." He nodded confirmation and placed the fingers of one hand on the knife-sheath re sting across his chest. "When a knife is not being used, it is kept in its sheat h so that it is safe, right?" The children nodded. "Toruk is much more dangerous than a knife. When the battle with the Sky People was over, the safe thing to d o was to let him return to the sky." The questions continued, with Jake giving simple and understandable answers and Neytiri providing translations when needed. It didn't escape her attention that more and more adult Omaticaya found reasons to linger within earshot as the gril ling went on. She became amused as time went by; the childrens' focus was entirely on Jake as was that of the mysteriously numerous adults in the area. It seemed that a tsahi k-apprentice simply wasn't enough to hold anyone's interest at the moment. The k ids asked him about the dreamwalkers, about Grace, about the funny-sounding Sky People's language (Neytiri finally got a word or two in edgewise there, helping Jake by giving the Na'vi equivalents to several english words.) She was relieved to see her mate relax as he continued to speak with the childre n. Even though several asked questions that were perhaps more pointed than they realized, he gave them complete (if not detailed) answers that satisfied their c uriosity. Whatever he had been concerned about had apparently not materialized. She would have to ask him about it later. They stayed until two leatherworkers appeared with the day's project and then ex cused themselves. The kids were a bit disappointed that Jake had to go (he felt rather like a fascinating, shiny new toy) but cheerfully thanked him for coming and asked him to come again soon. Jake turned to Neytiri as they left the kids behind, "I want to hunt my ikran be fore the midday meal, it's been a couple of days since he last fed. Does yours n eed to eat yet?"

She smiled and shook her head, "I hunted her yesterday while you were speaking t o Norman. She ate so much that she's probably still sleeping off a full stomach. You go ahead, I'll see you when you get back." He gave her a quick kiss and the n trotted off towards the inner twin spiraling trunks that gave access to the to pmost levels of New Hometree. "That was well done." A familiar voice behind her made Neytiri turn to see her s miling mother approaching, "Oel ngati kameie." She hugged her mother and returned the greeting, "Oel ngati kameie." Then she sa id wryly, "If my game took as little notice of me as the children did today, I w ould be the greatest hunter in the clan." Her mother chuckled, "A wise teacher knows when it is time to speak, and when it is appropriate to let others speak for her. But perhaps this will help the Peop le notice you more." Mo'at had something in her hands and reached out towards her daughter with it. N eytiri bent her head reflexively and her mother draped a new necklace around the young woman. She straightened up and laid a hand on it in astonishment. It was not the Omaticaya Tsahik necklace, which Mo'at wore, but it marked her as compet ent to conduct the lesser ceremonies and blessings. "Now that you have begun tea ching, you should wear this," the Tsahik stated with satisfaction. "It is beautiful, thank you," the young woman said softly, brushing her fingers lightly over the intricate carvings. She reached forward and hugged her mother i n gratitude. Mo'at was pleased and proud. "You have earned it. Your bond with Eywa is strong and true. It is time for that bond to start serving the People more fully. The O maticaya will celebrate tonight. Your strength is a blessing to the clan." She h ugged her daughter back joyfully and then excused herself to attend to her dutie s, leaving a very thoughtful young woman behind her. Norm found himself in a situation that most anthropologists would have given the ir right arm for. It was about as close to heaven as he'd ever hoped to get. Jake had been Olo'eyctan for about three months now. His respect for the former marine was enormous; he'd watched the man literally change species and then push himself so hard that any two normal men would have been driven into the ground and thrive on it. One of the many things he had done, the act that had put Norm into such an enviable situation, had been to welcome his friend into the Omatica ya clan. The scientist had a permanent place in New Hometree now; when he wasn't in link his dreamwalker body slumbered in one of the singles' hammocks high up in the Tr ee. Though he'd stumbled into xenobotany (largely due to what almost amounted to a hero-worship of Dr Grace Augustine and her work) his actual training was in a nthropology. Grace had hoped planned, really on Norm's becoming the equivalent o f a cultural ambassador to the Na'vi. Through circumstances none of them could h ave foreseen, Jake had totally trashed those plans but the outcome had been bett er than anyone could have dreamed. Instead of being an outsider looking in, Norm was now an accepted insider, free to indulge his curiosity as he pleased. When he wasn't in link, he found himself as mobbed for information by his colleagues as Jake was. His standing among the remaining scientists at Hell's Gate was another source of amazement. Because of his status among the Omaticaya, and effectively having be en Grace's protg, Norm found himself the unofficial head of the Avatar program. Tr ying to direct several dozen eager scientists was rather like trying to herd cat

s. He envied Jake a bit at least the hunter / warriors his friend directed had a single, common purpose. There were about as many different disciplines among th e Avatar drivers as there were people, and they all wanted to go off in their ow n different directions. Thank Heavens he'd been able to pull together what amoun ted to the equivalent of the Omaticaya's Elders a senior scientist from each maj or discipline to direct the others in their area of expertise. Still, he had to meet with them frequently enough that he resented losing time to his own 'field work.' Max had been an indispensible go-between for him. Since his study of Grace's work had given him a decent background in Pandoran pl ants, he'd decided to begin his study of the clan by working with those who gath ered food plants and healing herbs. It was a good choice. The Omaticaya were fri endly, eager to help and thrilled that he had a better command of Na'vi than the ir Olo'eyctan did. He wore a comm necklace and kept a one-way link active at all times; everything he said and heard was immediately recorded back at the biolab . On most days, the thrill of interacting with his adopted clan was enough to oc cupy his mind and thoughts. Today was a good example. The Omaticaya were pleased that he'd jumped right in to lend a hand with the man y chores needed to support the People. No better way to learn how a culture work s than to work right along with them, he thought to himself. Today he was working with a group of about five food-gatherers. A hunter-scout n earby kept a safety watch for them while they searched. The others three women a nd two men chatted among themselves easily, eagerly teaching him about the plant s they were picking, helping him learn to identify things and naming what he did not yet recognize. Norm knew enough to say a brief thanks to Eywa before harves ting anything, and quietly observing how the others went about their work helped him to avoid making any serious faux pas. He noted how they were very selective about what they picked the very largest and oldest plants were left to provide seed for future crops, and the very smallest left to mature. There were some pla nts from which only leaves were taken, by collecting several small branches and leaving the rest of the plant alone. Other plants were taken in their entirety. They were very curious about their new clan brother, and spent nearly as much of their time interrogating him as they did explaining their work. One woman asked, "Have you had many dreamwalker bodies, or just this one?" Norm smiled. "Only one. A dreamwalker body is part Na'vi and part Sky People and only the Sky Person who helped make the dreamwalker body is able to live in it. That is why my Sky People body and my dreamwalker body have very similar-lookin g faces." One of the men was astonished. "Only one? A dreamwalker body cannot be used by m any Sky People then? It is not like a knife that anyone can pick up?" The scientist shook his head emphatically (the g the Na'vi as among humans.) "Only the person e repeated. Then he looked at his clan members eamwalker who has ever hurt any Na'vi, I would ble, and I would make sure that that person is gesture meant the same thing amon who helped make it can use it," h thoughtfully. "If there is any dr like to know. That is not accepta punished."

The woman next to him stood up to ease her back a moment and replied, "The bigge st incident was when the children were attacked at Graceaugustine's school." The man next to her spoke emphatically before Norm could comment. "Teekan said t hat the ones who killed Sylwanin and the others were regular Sky People, not dre amwalkers, and he said that Graceaugustine stood in front of him and the childre n so that he could get them away safely and that she took the wounds that would

have been theirs in order to let them get away." Norm asked carefully, "Can you think of any time that a dreamwalker hurt a Na'vi ? Or was it always a Sky Person?" The entire group paused to consider his question r appear on their faces. and then he saw shock and horro

The older woman standing next to him almost whispered, "It was always a Sky Pers on never a dreamwalker." The younger of the two men spoke with guilt clear in his voice, "We have done th e dreamwalkers a great wrong. We were so angry that we never stopped to think th at the two groups were separate from each other. The Tsahik must be told of this , at once." "Clan brother," the older man turned to him and said formally, "Please accept th e apologies of the Omaticaya for the injustice we have committed against you and your dreamwalker friends. This wrong must be redressed, at once." Norman looked at the man directly and spoke quietly, "The friendship that the Om aticaya have extended towards the dreamwalkers now is ample redress for any wron g. As Mo'at has said, with Eywa's blessing, let us leave all such misunderstandi ngs where they belong in the past." The man extended his hand and placed it on the scientist's chest in the respectgesture of equals. "Oel ngati kameie, Norm'an. Your heart is generous." The othe rs laid their hands on him as well, echoing the gesture. All in all, it was one of Norm's better days. Norm automatically stretched when he linked in to his avatar; having it sleep in a hammock in one position for hours while he was in his human body pretty much guaranteed stiff muscles. He managed to get out of the hammock without being too terribly clumsy about it, and walked down to ground level to see what activitie s might be going on that he could participate in. A senior healer and several healer-apprentices were heading out to gather medici nal plants this morning, and he decided to go with them. He slung a carry-net ov er his shoulder and trooped along. A bubbling young healer-apprentice named Tall i happily chatted away with him as they walked and he couldn't help but smile. T he child was so cheerful that her attitude was infectious. "I don't know much about plants yet," she confided in him. "I've only been an ap prentice for a little while." He smiled back, "I've been a Sky Person for most of my life, so I don't know muc h about Na'vi medicines either. It will be fun to learn together. " The healer, Tanhi, called her group together when they reached a good spot. Norm and the apprentices gathered around as she showed them a plant with pink-spotte d leaves. Many such plants dotted the area. "The leaves of this plant, kavey, ar e very good for stopping bleeding. We have used up most of our supply so we need to gather more. I would like to have one carry net filled to take home with us. When we get back to New Hometree, I will show you how to dry the leaves so that they can be stored and not lose their strength. Everyone spread out, stay withi n sight of each other, and I will call you back in when I think we have enough. Take only a few leaves from any one plant." So instructed, the group went to work. Norm and Talli worked near each other and

chatted back and forth. It didn't take much to keep the child talking; he noted that the others were indulgent of their youngest member. When Tanhi thought the y had enough she called them in and consolidated everything into one carry-net. She nodded northward as she tied the net securely shut. "Let's head that way. Th ere is a good stand of lati in that direction, and we can always use more of tha t." Talli almost bounced, it was obviously something she recognized. "Lati?" he aske d. "It tastes good!" she replied. "Oe-y sa'nok gives me hot water with lati in it if my stomach hurts." Tanhi heard the comment and smiled. She explained to Norm, "Lati is helpful for when someone eats too much, or eats fruit that is too green, or if their stomach is just feeling unsettled." They walked until they came upon a stand of odd fuzzy gray plants that had squar e stems. The healer picked a leaf and handed it to the anthropologist. "Here, tr y this." He looked at Talli, who nodded enthusiastically, and carefully put the leaf in h is mouth and chewed. His eyes lit up. "Mint! It tastes almost exactly like mint! " "What is mint?" Talli asked curiously. "A Sky People plant that disappeared a long time ago, it's not important. This t astes great!" he enthused. Tanhi smiled and gestured to her group to start picking. Norm reached out to plu ck a leaf and had a wonderful thought. "Do the Omaticaya cook things with lati?" "Cook? With lati? No, why?" the healer asked. Norm was excited, "I want to try to make something. If I can find something swee t to add to this and cook it down, maybe add something to thicken it, this could make a fantastic mint sauce." He stopped for a moment to check, "Do you think i t would be okay with Eywa to do that?" The others looked among themselves; Tanhi shrugged, "I don't see why not. How mu ch would you need?" He held his hands apart and touched his fingertips to each other, outlining a ba ll. "Would that be too much?" One of the women snorted, "That's barely enough to be missed. Let's get picking. " Everyone was intrigued, and the remainder of the errand passed swiftly. They went right to A'tey when they returned, and Norm explained his idea excited ly. The Omaticaya's chief cook brightened at the thought of something new. After tasting one of the leaves and considering for a few moments, she called for her apprentices to bring her a pot, water, and certain fruits. Tanhi had to haul a grumbling group of apprentices away to process the herbs that they'd come back w ith; they only left when Norm promised them that they would get to taste the sau ce first at evening meal. It came out beautifully. A'tey slowly and carefully simmered the herbs and fruit down until they thickened and a wonderful smell permeated the whole area. Norma

n, as the inventor, got to taste it first. He closed his eyes in enjoyment and t hen hugged A'tey in gratitude. He had her taste it and watched with glee as her eyes went round. In an instant they were going back and forth about what foods i t could be served with, how the recipe could be improved, etc. It was a great hit with the healers, too. In fact, almost every Omaticaya that t ried it liked it so much that they quickly found their lati stock coopted by the cooks, and had to go out and pick more. Healer Tanhi was curious about the dreamwalker after that, and started watching for him. It wasn't long before she noticed that sadness often lived in his eyes, and wondered why. On one afternoon she saw Neytiri walking through the ground level of Hometree an d decided on impulse to ask. "Eywa ngahu, Neytiri. May I speak with you for a mo ment?" The Olo'eyctan's mate immediately stopped. "Oel ngati kameie Tanhi, of course. H ow can I help you?" The healer indicated that they should step over to a spot marginally more privat e. "It is about the new dreamwalker, Norm'an." Neytiri immediately jumped to a mistaken conclusion. "Is he all right? What has happened to him? Is he badly injured? Jake will be very upset." Tanhi shook her head and waved her hands in negation. "Mawey, he is fine. Nothin g has happened to him. I just wanted to ask you a question." The tsahik sighed in relief. "Thank Eywa! What question?" To her surprise, the h ealer's face colored a tiny bit. "I was wondering. I noticed that sadness often visits his eyes, and I thought yo u might know why," was the reply. Neytiri was more adept than many at putting two and two together. She touched th e healer's arm sympathetically. "Oh Tanhi, I do, and I am sorry." At the woman's puzzled look, she explained, "Norm'an was going to ask a warrior Sky Person wom an to be his mate after the War was over, but she was killed in the battle. He m ourns her loss greatly." Tanhi's face and ears fell with sadness. "I see." The tsahik said sympathetically, "I am afraid that it will take some time for hi s heart to mend." The healer's ears and expression came back up a bit. "Time and Eywa ings. In the meantime, I am sure that he would welcome friends." heal many th

Neytiri smiled, "Don't we all? Norm'an enjoys learning about the People very muc h, and he is quite curious. It would make him happy if someone were willing to s peak with him often and answer his questions." And that happiness might grow int o something more, once Eywa heals his heart, she thought to herself. Tanhi's expression brightened. "I can certainly do that." Then her eyes twinkled and she looked slyly at her friend, "And you are definitely your mother's daugh ter, Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite." The women laughed together and shared a hug b efore going their separate ways. The midday meal was over, the clan dispersed to their afternoon tasks, and it wa

s time for Norm's daily meeting with Jake. He was a bit more eager than usual for today's meeting, because he was finally g oing to ask Jake about his experience in being permanently transferred to his Av atar. Norm remembered his conversation with Mo'at the morning after Jake's transfer. " But why is he still asleep? Why is he so tired? We jump in and out of the dreamw alker bodies all the time and it doesn't affect us like this." She'd shaken her head "Not like this. To visit a place is very different from be ing there permanently. There is no going back to his Sky People body for Jake no w, the thread of life that connected him to it has been cut." She looked at him wisely, "Even though you stand before me in this body, Norm'an, the thread that binds you to your Sky People body is intact and strong. It is that thread throug h which Eywa provides you with your life-energy, not the smaller one which holds your thoughts in this dreamwalker shell." She looked over to her sleeping son-in-law. "The source through which life-energ y flows to him has been changed. Has any one of the Sky People experienced such a thing before?" Norm had to admit that no human had ever consciously their species and lived to tell the tale. and successfully - changed

"Then have patience," Mo'at had urged, "give him time. I cannot say how this exp erience will affect him. He is no longer of your world, and not yet fully in our s. The balance is delicate. Let his spirit settle before you take his mind back to the place between worlds." He was glad that he'd agreed once he saw Jake awake again. The marine was someho w transparent was the word that occurred to the scientist. Norm couldn't put any objective terms to it, but he immediately knew what the Tsahik had meant by bei ng 'between worlds' when he saw his friend. Distracted, spacey, 'not all there,' they all applied. It creeped him out a bit and hammered home the fact that much more than a simple link-in to an Avatar body had occurred to his friend. The past three months had done the former marine a world of good, no pun intende d. Norm had to wonder whether Jake's near-manic drive to learn, to fit in, had b een at least in part a reaction to the transfer experience. One thing the scient ist was absolutely sure of: Neytiri was Jake's anchor. Whenever he pushed himsel f too hard, tried to do too much, refused to give in to the exhaustion that he o bviously felt, a single word or touch from her would bring him back to the groun d. Norm was incredibly grateful to her for that. He was considering how he might carefully broach the subject and what might indi cate the need to quickly end the discussion if necessary while he walked through New Hometree to what Jake jokingly referred to as his 'office.' As soon as he c ame within sight of the Olo'eyctan though, those thoughts went flying out of his head. Most of the Omaticaya Neytiri and Mo'at being the only exceptions weren't yet ad ept at 'reading' all of Jake's facial expressions, simply due to the fact that t he man still reacted largely like the human he had been. Norm could read him lik e a book, and what he saw in his friend's face immediately raised red flags and set off alarm klaxons in the scientist's mind. Jake saw him approaching and dismissed the scouts he was speaking with. "Norm!" The Olo'eyctan got up and came over, throwing an arm around the dreamwalker's sh oulders, "Come upstairs with me, I want to show you something my ikran has learn

ed." Norm liked heights about as much as he liked liver and onions, but he understood that the marine was trying to get him alone for a more private meeting than usu al. There were a number of Na'vi around who at least partially understood Englis h, and thoughts of what Jake might want to keep them from overhearing chilled hi m. "Sure, Jake, let's go." They climbed the core of the Tree, Jake much more easily than the scientist. Bei ng in his avatar 24/7 for the past three months had his body in superb physical condition. Norm, having to maintain two physical bodies, wasn't in quite the sam e shape in either one. By the time they reached the ikran-roosts, Norm was puffing hard. Jake had calle d his friend down and was feeding him some tidbits of raw meat when Norm got the re. At this time of day the heights were empty; all the hunters and scouts had l eft with their mounts earlier, and the sleeping-hammocks of the People were empt y. It was a perfect place for a private conversation. "What's up Jake? Why the secrecy?" the anthropologist panted. "A thought hit me last night," his friend replied while looking around to ensure they were alone. "Must have been a hell of a thought to have you spooked like this," Norm said as his breathing eased. "Yeah, well listen to it and then you tell me," Jake said grimly. "I'm listening." "Norm, we've been thinking and planning for what might happen if the RDA comes b ack to Pandora." He looked worriedly at his friend. "What if they don't?" The scientist was confused, "If they don't? That means we're home free, doesn't it?" Jake shook his head emphatically. "No, Norm, look," he pointed to the sky, "Look up there." He looked as his friend urged. Polyphemus filled the sky as usual. "I don't see anything wrong, Jake. What's got you freaking out like this?" The Olo'eyctan took his friend's arm and shook it. "The moons, Norm, the moons!" He looked up at the sky again, "Yeah, they're there, so what?" Then he started t o snag a clue and his face went pale. Jake stared into his eyes intently and filled him in. "Norm, what if the RDA doe sn't land on Pandora? Not at first, anyway. What happens if they decide to diver t ISVs to one of the other moons and build a base there?" Norm started to feel sick. "Holy mother of god ." The ex-marine nodded grimly, "They could take their time, bring in any number of ISVs, ships full of assault troops. Pandora's not the only moon that has unobta nium, it was just the easiest one to work with. They're already equipped for tox ic atmosphere, it's no big stretch to land on one of the others. They can mine a ll the unobtanium they need, refine it, build up an attack force that could wipe out all the Na'vi on Pandora. They could bring a whole fleet of shuttles, land

em all over the place simultaneously, and there's not a damn thing we could do a bout it. Hell, with enough unobtanium they could just ring Pandora with orbital missle platforms and blow us away without sending a single damn troop ship down. " The anthropologist had to grab hold of the tree bark behind him, he was feeling so sick and dizzy. "What do we do, Jake?" The Olo'eyctan spoke quietly, "We need people monitoring ship and comm traffic 2 4/7 from now on. If you've got any cryptology guys, marry 'em to the comm channe ls; the RDA won't likely broadcast their plans openly. If you've got anyone with any kind of background in weapons development, now'd be a good time to turn 'em loose. We'll need everything they can give us. The second we see ISVs diverting course, we'll know why." "What the hell good will all that do us, besides giving us enough time to kiss o ur asses goodbye?" Norm demanded. "I don't know, but we're sure as hell not gonna go down without a fight." Jake s tated. "And in the meantime, I'm going to make sure that the one person who can do something about this gets a heads-up, ASAP." "Who could do anything about a whole damned invasion force, Jake?" the scientist demanded in a tone bordering on panic. Jake looked off in the direction of the Tree of Souls and answered with a single word. "Eywa." Light years away from the place where Jake Sully looked up at Pandora's moons an d worried, a recorded message was playing in a very private office. "Augustine was going off about some conscious global network like she was high o n some freaking shit, and Quaritch pulled a goddamn palace coup on me. He took e very friggin miner that could walk a straight line, flew em all out to this Tree of Souls place and got them all incinerated. I had over a thousand ten foot tal l blue monkeys pointing five foot long freaking arrows at me and not enough pers onnel left to anywhere near fill a single ISV, and not a damn one who knew how t o throw a rock, for Christ's sake. They chased us out of Hell's Gate without bre aking a sweat. That marine, Sully, he's the monkeys' king now. I don't know wher e the hell Augustine is. Friggin tree-huggers. You can bet the rent that they're going to trash the installation, or let it rot back into the jungle." On the screen, Parker Selfridge looked up at an urgent call from a cryo-tech, "Y eah, yeah, keep your goddamn shirt on, I'm coming." He looked back into the comm -unit. "I'm putting everything I've got into the Venture Star's memory banks, bu t it's not much, there wasn't time to grab half the stuff before they kicked us out. You should be able to download it remotely. I'll report in as soon as I get there, Selfridge out." The screen went black. A calloused hand gently reached out and shut off the comm-unit. A ring sporting two welded chain links decorated the third finger. "You disappoint me, Mister Se lfridge," a whispery voice stated reflectively. "Your lack of ability to capital ize on an unexpected opportunity is most disturbing." An attendant standing near by stiffened imperceptibly at the expression of disapproval, but the voice conti nued in an almost genial tone. "Apparently, his abilities and potential were ove rstated to us. That is most unfortunate." The hand rose and made a steeple of fingers as its mate rose to join it. "The Av atar program is much more than it seems, and if Mister Selfridge has caused Doct or Augustine to be lost the board will be most - displeased - with him. If he wa

s so foolish as to let his own hound bite him, then his is no great loss." A ton e of amusement momentarily colored the speaker's words. "Of course, our hounds a re well trained to bite hard." The owner of the whispery voice focused his eyes on the attendant standing at pa rade-rest near the door and the amusement faded. "Quaritch was fortunate to find his death so easily. An incompetent is easily demoted, but a failure is unredee mable. A pity the Colonel has made himself unavailable for that lesson for the m oment." The door guard was a veteran of many months on this duty and had seen and heard many things, most of which would have normal men on the floor retching their gut s out in horror. The silky tones of his superior had raised the hairs on the bac k of his neck like few things ever did. He hoped that the sweat which had broken out under his collar didn't show. The whisperer continued, "Apparently this Corporal Sully is much more adept than anyone anticipated. It is possible that he may be more useful to us than we sus pected. I want to know everything there is to know about Jake Sully. Have every record that exists on the man on my desk within the week. And call an immediate meeting of the full Board, Robert." The door guard was certain he'd misheard. The last time a full meeting had been called . "The full Board, sir?" The words echoed in the spacious office as if spok en in a tomb. The whispery voice confirmed. "The full Board, Robert. We have - a situation to discuss." Unaware of her mate's tension-filled meeting, Neytiri flew jubilantly through th e sky back towards New Hometree. She'd decided to make a deep flight into one of the new sectors today, and had d iscovered a huge outcropping of arrowhead-stone. Several large pieces of the roc k now rode in the carry-net tied to her ikran's riding-harness. The weapon-maker s were going to be thrilled with the find. Neytiri had carefully marked the location of the outcropping in her mind so that she would be able to lead others back to it and was heading home when she saw a yerik herd through the branches ahead. The new territory was abundantly rich wi th game; so rich that those who had originally been concerned at being instructe d to take out an entire sturmbeest herd had long since had their fears allayed. Her ikran landed quickly and quietly at her urging; the opportunity was too good to pass up. She still felt some lingering guilt at not being assigned to huntin g duty as often as before, and this was a good chance to salve her conscience. Her bow and arrows were in her hand a moment after her feet landed on the tree b ranch. She told her ikran to wait quietly for her and broke the tsahaylu link. T he young woman ghosted down through the canopy, being careful not to reveal hers elf to her prey by either sight or sound. She evaluated the herd as soon as she came near. Neytiri was in luck; one animal had browsed its way away from the others. Slowly, stealthily, she got into posi tion, nocked an arrow, and drew it back. Then her luck turned sour. The animal s pooked just as she started releasing the arrow and her bolt only wounded the bea st. It bleated and ran off into the jungle. Neytiri swore angrily and took off in pursuit. She had to finish the job; it was n't respectful to the animal to leave it wounded. The yerik ran around trees, bu

shes, and rocks; she took to the canopy to follow it more easily. The beast approached a fallen tree that blocked its path forward. Neytiri nocked her second arrow and drew a bead directly above the tree trunk. The yerik jumpe d exactly as she expected it to; her arrow flew true and hit the animal in mid-l eap. It landed on the far side of the trunk, dead as it fell and an explosion of fan lizards took to the air as the carcass hit the ground. She froze for a moment in startlement; she'd never seen so many of the little li zards in one place before. Then she swung down from her perch and stood next to her kill, looking around in wonder. The creatures were still spinning through the air, displaying lighted discs in t heir full range of colors. One magnificently purple fan caught Neytiri's attenti on; she followed its flight with her eyes as it spun along a nearby moss-covered log. Then to her astonishment the lizard completely disappeared between one sec ond and the next. Her jaw dropped in amazement; her ears stood up straight. Then she drew her knif e and walked cautiously towards the spot where it had vanished. When she was wit hin feet of the place she saw the reason for the illusion; the log in front of h er was not one log, but two lying paralell to each other. Both were covered with the same moss, tricking the eye into thinking that they were a single entity. Neytiri peered cautiously between the two trunks; sure enough, the purple fan li zard was only now settling in what looked like a small cleared space at the end of the natural corridor. She walked forward slowly, sensing no danger, until she reached the entrance to the area. At some point far in the past, a couple of large trees had crashed to the ground , perhaps as the result of a severe storm. They had shattered and tangled up wit h each other on the way down, taking out smaller growth as they fell. The broken trunks had created a tiny protected dell between them. Her hunter training auto matically evaluated the place; the structure was far too open for any creature t o be comfortable nesting there, and at the same time far too closed in for almos t anything sizeable to risk sheltering in it. She stepped into the cleared space in wonder. The moment she did so she experienced what almost amounted to an assault from he r tsahik-sense. Neytiri was instantly driven to her knees as a vision she had ex perienced once before was revisited on her with incredible power. She smiled as she looked lovingly into Jake's beautiful golden eyes. "Be at our place where th e fan lizards nest, and I will come to you there as soon as I can." Neytiri wrapped her arms around her abdomen and started rocking back and forth i nstinctively in response to revelation. She started sobbing in joy and fervently praying in gratitude as the meaning of the tsahaylu-dream became clear. She had no idea why this place was particularly important to Eywa, but there was absolu tely no doubt in Neytiri's mind what the All Mother was saying through the tsahi k-link, what She had told Neytiri on the night when she and Jake had taken each other as mates. This was the place where she and Jake would create their first child. It took a while for Neytiri to recover her wits after Eywa showed her the meanin g of the tsahaylu-dream. She finally sat back on her heels, and wondered whether she should tell Jake and got a definite "No" from the tsahik-sense. The more sh e considered that answer, the more appropriate it sounded. She knew from Jake's confession during their honeymoon that the subject of child

ren was a difficult one for him. Neytiri had seen pain in his eyes on more than one occasion when they'd seen proud parents displaying their new offspring. Give n that it might be years before Eywa granted them a child, it seemed more compas sionate to not say anything. All she really needed to tell him was that she'd fo und a delightfully private place for them to be alone in, away from the friendly anthill of New Hometree. She thanked Eywa profoundly, called her ikran, field dressed the yerik (her moun t happily made a meal of the offal) and headed home. The weapon-makers were as excited by the arrowhead-stone as she'd expected; only her excellent description of the location prevented them from dragging her back to it right then and there. Two of the crafters ran off to fly out to the place as soon as she'd finished giving them directions. One of the remaining artisans offered to make her new arrows from half of her find in exchange for the other half, and she made the deal with satisfaction. She offloaded the yerik at the cooking-area and dismissed her satisfied ikran to sleep off its meal in the Tree with her thanks. Jake was not in his 'office' as he referred to it, which disappointed her. Then she had to chuckle as she chided herself for her impatience. The place will be t here later, silly. Drag the Olo'eyctan off in the middle of the day and you will set all the tongues in New Hometree wagging. Not that they'd be wrong but they wag enough as it is! She smiled to herself even as she shook her head ruefully. There were plenty of other new-mated couples among the Omaticaya for the gossipe rs to talk about, but she had to admit that it was inevitable that the future Ts ahik and Toruk Makto would be of particular interest. Still, it was embarassing to feel like she was in the center of the gathering-circle all the time. Neytiri looked up at the sky and judged that she had a couple of hours before pe ople would start putting away the day's tasks to get ready for the evening meal, and wondered what she wanted to do. Two Na'vi walking nearby arm in arm caught her attention. Inspiration and guilt hit her simultaneously, and she trotted off towards the crafters' area. A familiar voice greeted her arrival. "Ha! Look who comes back, finally! I thoug ht a palulukan had eaten you!" it said mock-scornfully. "Or have you broken my M aster's necklace, horsing around with Jake? I'll pull out every hair of your tai l-fur if it's broken!" The young woman who had spoken made a mock dive as if to grab for Neytiri's tail in vengeance. The tsahik laughed and intercepted her best friend with a big hug (while making sure to keep her tail well behind her.) "Your eyes are shining," her girlfriend teased when the tsahik released her. Neytiri blushed a bit. "I haven't seen Jake since this morning," she stated. Jan ni tilted her head and grinned. The tsahik blushed harder, "And no to what you a re thinking now!" Though that may soon change if Eywa is kind, Neytiri thought. Janni laughed. "Can't blame me for thinking it, though." She gestured for her friend to sit down and changed the subject. "Do you know ho w many Na'vi I've had come to me for jewelry since you landed Jake? It feels lik e half the women in the clan are convinced that it's my night-vine necklace that made the Toruk Makto look your way." Mo'at's daughter retorted playfully, "I'm sure you haven't been doing a thing to encourage them in thinking that, have you?" They laughed together.

Neytiri's most prized possession was the necklace she had worn on the night when she had chosen Jake to be her mate. Janni had made that necklace. It was a mast erpiece literally. Janni had displayed it at the semiannual gathering of clans a nd won the Omaticaya much honor when the craft elders had awarded it third place . It had won her her jewelcraft mastery. Neytiri had been flabbergasted when Janni had given the piece to her, but her fr iend had been adamant. "I designed it for you. It will not look right on anyone else." "I feel bad for having stayed away from you for so long," the tsahik confessed g uiltily. Janni smiled and made a gesture of negation, brushing the apology away. "You hav e been busy. Eywa knows how much there has been to do, with the fall of Old Home tree, the war, getting the People moved to a new home, and finding your mate all at the same time." She grinned, "You never do anything half way, do you?" Neytiri laughed and hugged her best friend again, "Oh Janni, I have missed you. You always know what to say to make things right." The jewelcrafter returned the gesture and then held Neytiri at arms' length and spoke fondly, "Oh, my friend, you have no idea how much I thank Eywa every day f or giving Jake to you. You had been living under clouds for years, and now becau se of him you stand in the sunshine." Neytiri blushed. "Is it really that noticeable?" Her friend replied softly, "Your heart left you the day that you were promised t o Tsu'tey. And now Jake has brought it back." She hugged Neytiri, "The friend th at I grew up with has come back to me." The tsahik's eyes went soft with memories, "You always told me that things would work out. I'm sorry I doubted you." Janni corrected fondly, "I told you that Eywa would make everything right. Imagi ne, me having to tell a tsahik to trust in Eywa!" They both laughed. "You have always been my own personal tsahik," Neytiri told her friend. "I can't tell you how much I've appreciated that." She touched her best friend's forearm in a grateful gesture. They were quiet for a moment, remembering. "So!" Janni said in a change of subject, "Tell me all about Jake. I'm making som ething for him and I need to know how to make it suit him." "Let me see it!" Neytiri demanded. "No way! You'll have to wait until I give it to him. I'm not having you spoil th e surprise," the jewel maker teased. "Oh please!" Neytiri begged so much that Janni had to laugh. "Nope!" Her friend pouted exactly like a little girl. "Those big eyes may work on your mate, Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite, but they hav en't worked on me since the day you put a mud-crawler into my soup bowl!" Janni retorted.

They both burst out laughing like the little girls they had once been, and spent the rest of the afternoon joyfully catching up with each other. The hunters' daily meeting was about to conclude when an older Omaticaya man wea ring a beautifully made and decorated sash and loincloth approached. Mo'at addressed the man respectfully, "Oel ngati kameie, Weaver Elder." She turn ed to Jake. "The Omaticaya are known among all clans of the Na'vi for our fine w eaving. Elder Geran is first among all the weavers and speaks for them in Counci l." The man politely waited for Mo'at to finish her explanation and then returned th e greeting, "Oel ngati kameie Tsahik, Olo'eyctan, Neytiri." "How can I assist you today?" Jake asked politely. The elder's face displayed concern. "Many of my weavers are very upset, Olo'eyct an." Jake immediately looked towards the huge project going on near one of New Hometr ee's base pillars. "Has something gone wrong with the new Mother Loom?" The Mother Loom, mas'kit nivi sa'nok, was still under construction. It was the g reatest of all the looms and in a clan famed for its weaving, that was saying a great deal. The loom would be larger than a Terran pipe organ when it was comple te. It was built against one of the central pillars on the ground level of New H ometree, far inside to be well away from the weather. The creation of such a loom which would last for dozens of generations was a ver y involved and time consuming process. Each piece that went into it had to be ce remoniously gathered and crafted one at a time, and Eywa's blessing invoked near ly every step of the way. It had to be done in that manner because only the grea test and most sacred pieces of work were made on the Mother Loom. Such pieces of ten took many months to complete. All weavers were allowed to submit projects for consideration when mas'kit nivi sa'nok became available for a new work it was a great event for the entire clan. The Weaver Elders would thoughtfully debate all of the proposed projects and na rrow down the possibilities by a series of votes. The submitter of the chosen pr oject became the supervisor of the work, entitled to co-opt any supplies or pers onnel that the clan had in order to do justice to their vision and gained their Mastery upon its completion, if they were not one already. Those who had a compl eted work upon the Mother Loom to their credit were of high status among the Oma ticaya. Geran had created four such works, and been voted Craft Elder because of them. Sometimes an entire day's effort went into the massive construction. Much of Mo'at's n spent assisting in the work. The idea of to start over again at this late date was properly installing a single piece of time over the past few months had bee having something go wrong and needing unthinkable.

The elder waved his hand in negation and said, "Kehe. Construction goes well. It is not the Mother Loom that concerns them." The relief on Jake's face was easy to see. "What is it, then?" The weaver looked towards the Tsahik. "The next gathering of the clans happens i n less than two months. I have told them that no one is expecting a great work f rom the Omaticaya, given the circumstances," he glanced at Jake apologetically,

"but it does not sit well with them that the greatest weavers of the Na'vi will have nothing to show our brothers and sisters." "Gathering?" Jake turned to Mo'at for an explanation. "All clans within three days flight by ikran gather together twice a year," the Tsahik began. "Each clan sends their greatest warriors and craftsmen. For two ha nds of days the clans compete. The warriors display their skills with every type of weapon. Pa'li riders race to determine whose beasts are the fastest. All cra fts display their greatest works to be judged by a council of Craft Elders." Neytiri interjected, "My night-vine necklace was awarded third place at such a g athering. My best friend Janni was acknowledged a master of her craft because of it." Mo'at nodded confirmation. "Those who win gain status and bring great honor to t heir clan." She frowned, "They are right. It is not good that the best weavers o f the Na'vi come to the gathering empty-handed." Jake looked at the elder thoughtfully. "Let's go and speak to them. Maybe someon e will have an idea." So the four of them walked over to the main craft area. Jake had spent some time among the weavers already, but he was grateful when Geran provided an overview of the situation anyway. "The looms to where a aking such indicated ad made. that the apprentices use are easily made in a few days." He gestured number of young Omaticaya were working. "They practice the craft by m small things as bandages and washing-cloths to hone their skills." He the piles of products some of them quite rough that the apprentices h

The elder then indicated some Na'vi who were working on larger frames. "Those wh o have mastered smaller pieces and learned more about their materials need bette r looms to work on. It can take a week to make a journeyman's loom. The weaver w ho is making it will often ask one of the tsahiks to bless it during constructio n at least once. The journeymen make the bulk of the plain cloth goods for the c lan's use and for trade with our brother-clans." He proceeded to a half dozen large looms. Three had projects in process, one was empty, and two of them still being built. All were easily twice as tall as the tallest Na'vi. "These are the looms used by those who have mastered the craft. E ach master supervises and participates in the building of his or her own loom. T hough they are not as involved as the Mother Loom, it still takes a great deal o f time over a month to construct one." "And we were all so busy getting moved into New Hometree that I bet it was at le ast a month before you were even able to start the first one," Jake mused. "It's amazing that you've gotten four made so quickly." The elder was pleased with the compliment. "Indeed. A Master's loom will be pass ed from generation to generation if not parent to child, then from a Master to a favored protg. Most of the sacred and ceremonial cloth-works are made on Masters' looms. The greatest ones, of course, are made on the Mother Loom." "It's a shame that the Masters' looms cannot be moved," Neytiri said thoughtfull y. "The simple fact that they have been built, after all we have endured, speaks highly of the weavers' dedication to their craft." "Even so," the craft master agreed with a touch of sadness in his voice.

Jake was thinking hard. This was way out of his league, but the clan's pride was clearly involved. Mo'at's brows were furrowed; she was clearly as baffled for a solution as he was. Then he noticed something. The Tsahik was wearing her customary formal red drape . He had one as well, though his was a shorter collar meant to be worn under the palulukan-claw Olo'eyctan necklace. Jake hated the thing. It made him feel far too visible, like a spotlight was on his ass. He and Neytiri had argued back and forth for weeks before they'd arrived at a compromise. Jake agreed to wear it f or ceremonial occasions if she'd let him get away with just the necklace itself for daily wear. His mate had been disappointed, but finally agreed. He suspected that Neytiri wanted him to wear it to show him off as much as for any of her ot her stated reasons, but wasn't about to jeopardize the situation by saying so ou t loud. "Elder, is it necessary that something be newly-made to be displayed at the gath ering, or can it be a piece that was made a while ago?" he asked. Geran was puzzled by the query. "Usually the pieces are new-made, but a few piec es get submitted more than once if the weaver feels it has particular merit. Why ?" A smug look came over Jake's face, "My Olo'eyctan collar Mother Loom?" was it made on the old

The weaver was startled. "Of course. Ceremonial pieces for the Olo'eyctan and Ts ahik are always made on mas'kit nivi sa'nok." Neytiri frowned, but Jake was quick to follow up on the opening. "Then I volunte er my collar to be displayed at the gathering. It might not win, but it's surely a piece worthy of the best Omaticaya weavers." The man brightened instantly. Light came into Mo'at's eyes and she jumped in before her daughter could raise a n objection. "And I will volunteer my sacred prayer shawl. That is easily the be st piece of cloth-work in the entire Clan. It will certainly bring great honor t o the Omaticaya weavers." The elder clapped his hands together and exclaimed out loud in excitement; Mo'at 's shawl was his own work. "Wonderful! We must certainly make arrangements for t hem to be properly protected with suitable coverings for the journey, but that c an easily be done in the time we have! I promise, you will have them back comple tely unharmed! Irayo, Tsahik! Irayo, Olo'eyctan! Excuse me, I must go spread the word at once!" He practically ran off to go tell his fellow weavers the good ne ws. Jake turned to Neytiri with a satisfied gleam in his eyes. She could only grumbl e at him. "Don't look like that. He said he'd bring it back." Jake made a point of spending more time with the weavers after the meeting with Elder Geran. He knew he'd dodged a bullet by volunteering his collar for the gat hering and that he might not be able to pull a solution out of thin air the next time something happened. He knew as much about weaving as he did about farming which was to say, nothing at all. Since it was the primary industry of the clan, he had to learn as much a s he could about it. Some of the things he learned were interesting. Red, for ex ample, was the rarest and most prized color. It was the color of blood, the colo

r of life, therefore the color most sacred to Eywa. Only Tsahiks and Olo'eyctans (and those who would eventually assume those positions) wore any amount of the scarce pigment on a regular basis, either in clothing, decoration, or body-paint . He learned more than just weaving-lore, though. Jake was speaking to Rantu, one of the weaver-journeyman, a few days after the collar loaning incident when they were interrupted by the arrival of four out-clan Na'vi. The craftsman's eyes li t up and he waved a greeting to the newcomers. "Oel ngati kameie, ma'tsmuke! Wel come!" He turned to Jake, "Olo'eyctan, this is my sister Ceyla and her mate Arre i, of the Green Rock Clan." Jake nodded, recognizing the name of a clan to the southeast, "The Omaticaya are grateful that the Green Rock Clan came to our aid in the Great War. You are ver y welcome here." "Irayo, Olo'eyctan," said the man, "It was an honor to fight alongside Toruk Mak to and our Omaticaya brothers and sisters." He laid a hand on the teenager stand ing next to him. "This is our son Har'ikan, and our daughter, Danay," indicating the girl standing next to her mother. Ceyla said proudly to her brother, "Har'ikan became ikran makto last month." "Congratulations," Jake addressed the youngster. "You're taronyu then?" There was no doubt the boy was a bit intimidated at speaking with a living legen d; he spoke quickly and almost stuttered. "Yes, Olo'eyctan. It will be an honor to hunt for the Omaticaya. If you would be so kind as to assign me, I can go get you a yerik, or perhaps you would prefer something else? I might be able to get you a talioang if you wish. Do the Omaticaya use leaf-points on their arrows, o r barbed points? I have only leaf-points on my arrows. My spear point is barbed, though ." Jake smiled and held up a hand to calm the nervous youth. It was obvious that th e boy would go on and on, otherwise. "Your aid is welcome. We are still short of hunters since the fall of Old Hometree and the Great War. Sirtey is senior hunt er; speak to him and he will gladly give you an appropriate hunting assignment." The weaver looked at his sister, "You are planning on staying then, Ceyla?" The woman nodded. "Green Rock has many hunters. Arrei and I spoke and decided th at he and Har'ikan would be of greater use here." She didn't look at Jake, but he sighed internally, remembering a recent conversa tion he'd had with Mo'at. Neytiri had told him that Na'vi frequently visited each others' clans, and that there was a good deal of intermarriage. So he wasn't too surprised by the consta nt trickle of visitors to New Hometree that had started up after the Omaticaya h ad gotten settled in. What did surprise him was that a number of the visitors de cided to stay permanently. He'd asked the Tsahik about it. "Of course many will wish to stay," Mo'at had said in an amused tone of voice, " Think a moment. There are many clans, but there have been only six Toruk Makto s ince the First Songs. There may not be another for many generations; of course t hey wish to see you with their own eyes. In addition to that, Omaticaya is now t he only clan to have given the Na'vi two Toruk Makto. Eywa has blessed us greatl y. It is not surprising that they would wish to live in a clan that She has so f avored."

Jake politely excused himself. "We can finish our conversation another time, Ran tu. I'm sure your sister and her family would appreciate your help getting settl ed in." "Irayo, Olo'eyctan, that is most kind of you," the weaver said gratefully. The marine headed back towards the center of the Tree. It was getting on towards late afternoon now; he'd had his daily meeting with Norm already and didn't hav e anything else pressing to attend to. He thought about taking his ikran out for a short flight before the evening meal, just to get away for a little while. He hadn't taken a dozen steps in the direction of the twin spirals at the center of New Hometree when Neytiri appeared, walking towards him from across the vast space underneath the Tree. Jake smiled and held out his hands as his mate approached, "Oel ngati kameie." Neytiri took his hands and returned the greeting, pressing the bridge of her nos e to his briefly, "Oel ngati kameie." When they broke apart, he asked "Did you have a fun time visiting Janni?" She grinned. "Very much. Janni's niece will become a woman soon, and her parents have asked me to give the new-woman's blessing." "That's cool," Jake smiled back. Neytiri looked around the area, "Are you on your way to meet someone? I thought you were going to speak with the weavers again this afternoon." He shook his head. "Got out early. Rantu's sister and her mate showed up from Gr een Rock Clan. We've picked up a couple of hunters. I was just thinking of headi ng out for a while before anybody comes up with something else they need me to d o." Jake was surprised by the expression that came into his mate's eyes. Neytiri was excited; it was like she had a secret. She immediately pulled on his hands and started backing towards the inner spirals. It was obvious that she wanted him to go somewhere. "Wait. Where are we going?" "Come," she said, "there is a place I want to show you." The general mood of the tribe picked up noticeably in the days after Jake and Mo 'at volunteered their ceremonial pieces for the upcoming gathering, which made b oth of them breathe sighs of relief. It was inevitable that losing so many Omaticaya the war had left the survivors quite grim for a mily and friends. Having Eywa gift them a Toruk food had comforted them immensely; their faith em was unshaken. in the fall of Old Hometree and time, while they grieved lost fa Makto, a new Hometree, and ample that She was watching out for th

Other things had helped to lift the clan's spirits in the past few months. Life continued; there was a regular stream of babies being born and being shown off b y joyful new parents. A number of young hunters had become ikran makto, which wa s always cause for celebration. More Omaticaya had found mates. And there were l ittle things, like Jake's "catching tails" game that had helped bring smiles to the People's faces again. With the crafters that were the clan's pride satisfied that their reputation wou

ld be well upheld at the next gathering, it felt to Jake and Mo'at that the Omat icaya were back on an even emotional keel again. That was incredibly important, given the challenges that were yet to come. Jake started to address those challenges by sending messengers to the Olo'eyctan s and Tsahiks of all the clans that would be attending the gathering, asking the m to attend an important private meeting during that event. He planned on discus sing the upcoming (and future) ISV arrivals and Mo'at's war party proposal with all the local leaders, as well as how best to get the more remote clans involved . There was also something else he needed to discuss with the Tsahik beforehand. The Na'vi were outstanding warriors with the knives, bows, and spears that were their traditional weapons, but those things were almost toys compared to the arm ament that the RDA could command. Jake knew that they'd pulled a victory out of their ass due solely to the surprise reinforcement from Pandora's wild animals. He also knew that surprise was a weapon that was only effective once. He wasn't about to introduce human weapons to the Na'vi, but there was one area in which t hey were devastatingly vulnerable. Tsu'tey had proven that to him. Jake asked Mo'at to walk with him after Neytiri had left to go teach the young o nes under the care of the child-tenders. When they were out of earshot of the ot hers his mother-in-law asked, "There is something you wish to speak of?" He nodded unhappily. "Mo'at, you know how lucky we were in the war. We can't cou nt on being that lucky again. The Sky People we sent away will tell the others t hat all the animals on Pandora came to our rescue. They'll be prepared for it ne xt time." The Tsahik nodded, as troubled by that knowledge as he was. Her daughter's mate continued, "I refuse to bring anything to the Na'vi that wou ld harm our relationship with Eywa, or with each other. That would destroy every thing that we're trying to protect. At the same time, I see what's coming and it scares me. I'm afraid for the People, Mo'at." He held his hands in front of him and looked down at them. "There are things I k now, things I can teach. Ways to fight, to defend yourself with just your body, just your hands and feet. No weapons. Even children can be taught to defend them selves this way. It's not much, it won't win any battles for us, but it could sa ve lives. Many lives." Jake looked at the Tsahik with anguish on his face, "But if I do this, it'll change the Na'vi forever. I won't do it unless Eywa approves ." Mo'at shivered; it seemed as if a cloud had passed between her and the warm sun. She understood what was needed though, and closed her eyes. A long silence pass ed before she opened them and said quietly, "Teach us, Jake Sully." After spending some time answering questions from the children, Neytiri walked t hrough the ground level of Hometree intending to get a drink of fresh water from the river. She saw a small group standing in front of the palulukan skull that was mounted near the inner spirals. "Why is this here?" she heard a youth ask curiously. A man she recognized as one of the weavers answered the question as she passed b y. "When Eywa sent the younger brothers and sisters to help us win the Great War , She also sent this palulukan to our tsahik Neytiri so that they could save Tor uk Makto from the leader of our enemies, Har'ikan." She heard the name clearly and stopped as fast as if she'd been clotheslined. Th

e movement was so abrupt that it caught the attention of the group. "And here she is! Oel ngati kameie, Neytiri. Are you all right?" Rantu saw a ver y odd expression on the young woman's face and was concerned. Neytiri forced her mind to start working again. "I am well, thank you." She turn ed to the young man. "Welcome to our Hometree. You are new here, I take it?" "Yes, tsahik," the boy said with wide-eyed respect. "Palulukan chose you? You ro de him? What was it like?" Jake's mate used the question to discipline her wildly racing thoughts. "He did not choose me, exactly." She saw the confusion on the faces of her listeners and explained. "Eywa knew Toruk Makto was in trouble and that he would need both ou r help. She ordered Palulukan to get me and take me to him." Neytiri looked up at the two meter long skull, focusing herself by remembering t he experience. "Palulukan permitted me to make tsahaylu and ride with him only b ecause Eywa commanded it. She told him where to go and ordered him to attack the one trying to kill Jake." The tsahik's eyes dropped. She smiled as she concentrated on the memories. "Palu lukan did not appreciate having a rider. He did not try to throw me off, but he ran under branches and leaped over obstacles that almost made me fall, just to m ake his feelings clear. He did rather like it when I admired him, though." There was a soft chuckle from one of the men. She looked back up at the skull and continued, "The evil one was just about to a ttack Toruk Makto's sleeping Sky Person body when we arrived. I told Palulukan t o destroy his gun, which he did, but then the warrior pulled out a knife and kil led Palulukan with it. If Jake had not arrived at that very moment, the evil one would have killed me next." "And so Eywa put you to the test," was Rantu's soft spoken comment. "Test? What test?" Neytiri was confused. The weaver explained, "Both of them were Sky People, weren't they? Enemies of th e People? You could have let them kill each other and both of them would have be en removed. You could have let one kill the other and then killed the one left s tanding. It was your weapon that ended the battle, not one of theirs. You said s o. It was your decision to make. You were the one She was testing, not either of them." She was astounded. Such a thought had never occurred to her. Neytiri looked up a t the skull again, working to put what she felt into words. "Jake's heart and sp irit are Na'vi, not tawtute," she said slowly. "I believe Eywa caused him to be born among the Sky People because She knew that he would need to learn the ways of our enemies if he was to be able to defeat them. They needed to think he was one of them so that they would trust him enough to bring him here. Even he neede d to think it, so that they would not suspect him. They never would have allowed him a dreamwalker body, otherwise." Ceyla said in wonder, "So he never really betrayed his people after all, because his real home was here all along. With us." The tsahik's eyes were still on the skull, digesting these new thoughts in amaze ment. "There was never any question in my mind about whether or not I should def end Jake. He is my mate." He is my life, she thought to herself.

"And so the test was passed," Rantu said with quiet satisfaction. Neytiri was absolutely astounded by the thought that Eywa had been testing her, but the weaver was correct, it was her bow that had decided the fight. Her choic e. The new clansmen saw her absorption and quietly moved off to give her some sp ace to be alone with her thoughts. It wasn't one of Norm's better days. For starters, he wasn't in his avatar. Wors e, he was in a staff meeting. "The Omaticaya Tsahik has offered to let us park our avatars in their new Hometr ee during the Venture Nova's visit. I don't believe there's a high probability t hat they'll be in danger ." "But it's an incredibly generous gesture, given what we've done to the Na'vi and Pandora," one of the department heads commented. "It would be a slap in the face if we didn't accept it," opined another. "My thoughts exactly," Norm stated. "Rather than have all of us show up at once on the day before the ship arrives, I'd like to begin introducing ourselves to t hem one or two at a time." "How do we decide who gets to go first?" demanded Dave Robinson, a junior geolog ist. Right on cue, Norm thought in disgust. Dr. Robinson was an outstanding geologist , which was why he'd been selected for the Avatar program, but the man had as mu ch tact as one of his mineral specimens. On top of that, he had a full clip of a ttitude. He kept his internal reaction off of his face and spoke as if he was simply bein g thoughtful. "It's critical that we keep the possibility of misunderstandings a bsolutely minimized. If we blow this opportunity I doubt we'd get another one fo r at least a decade. For that reason, I think the first to be introduced should be the ones who have the best command of the language." Robinson scowled, as Norm knew he would. The man's so involved with his rocks th at learning a language is almost beneath him. Lucky for us. "I completely agree," seconded Chris Miller, the senior entomologist. "No sense in inviting disaster." "As if we haven't had enough of it already," commented the zoology department he ad. The man who had replaced Grace Augustine as head of the botany group inquired, " Should we send split pairs? One who knows the language well and one who isn't qu ite up to speed? I'm wondering if we send a few pairs who can speak well first, the Omaticaya will get used to that. Then when we send in pairs later who don't, there'll be high expectations of them that they maybe can't meet. That sounds l ike a scenario ripe for misunderstandings to me." Norm nodded, "That's a good thought, I see where you're coming from. What do the rest of you think?" Chris shook her head, ee that we can afford , "According to Norm, separate group a few "In another situation I think it would work, but I don't s it in this case." She looked at the other department heads the Omaticaya only realized that the Avatar drivers were a months ago. Most of them definitely the non-Omaticaya Na'v

i still think of us as 'Sky People' hell bent on stripping their world. I agree with Norm, this is our one and only shot to prove that they made the right choic e in letting us stay. That being said, sending anyone with less than a full unde rstanding of the language seems reckless to me." "Along those lines," the senior geologist said apologetically, "I'd like to requ est that the geology section be the absolute last group to be considered for int roduction." Norm's eyes flitted quickly to Robinson's face; the man looked furious. He retur ned his attention to the department head, "Why is that, Gene?" He was careful to make the question sound politely neutral. Gene replied, "It's obvious, isn't it? The whole reason the RDA came to Pandora in the first place was to strip mine all the unobtanium it could find. If there' s even a hint of anyone being interested in geology, well I can't imagine an eas ier way to have things blow up on us than that. My department can do a great dea l with the data we get from the orbital scanners; that in itself can keep us bus y for years yet. Let's let the situation with the Na'vi settle down a while befo re we think about opening that can of worms." "That's a generous offer Gene, and I believe you're right, it'll give us the bes t possible chance of making this work. Thank you," Norm accepted the man's propo sal. "So, back to the question. Who goes first?" asked Chris. The anthropologist smiled, "As if we don't know who the best Na'vi speaker is, m a'tsmuke," he commented, making the others laugh. "Seriously though, in addition to that, I don't see the Omaticaya being upset by someone who's interested in b ugs. Jake can have you assigned to the kids picking teylu grubs. You'd probably enjoy it!" The whole group laughed again. "Hey, lots of cultures have depended on bugs as a food source!" she complained h alf-seriously. "Then you shouldn't have any problem eating them yourself!" Gene chortled. Chris made a face, and that made Norm comment. "That's another thing. Anyone who goes has got to expect to eat and work right alongside the Omaticaya. There are n't any observers, no free rides. It takes a lot of work for them to survive, an d everyone is expected to pitch in. If someone can't handle that, they go to the bottom of the list." The group was in agreement. The entomologist asked, "So who's my partner?" Norm looked at the zoology department head. "Kim, I'd like you to consider it, i f you would. You've got as much of a command of the language as any, and the Na' vi depend on all kinds of animals to survive. Your curiosity won't seem at all o ut of place to them. I can even ask Jake to have you assigned to the cooks, and you'd get to do discreet autopsies on whatever food animals they bring in every day." The asian man rubbed his hands together in glee, "Perfect! I assume we wear comm units set to one-way, like yours?" Norm nodded, "Just be careful not to be overheard talking to yourself too much." "Not a problem," the diminuitive man replied, "It'd make perfect sense for me to ask my fellow butchers, "What is this part?" or "How do you get this loose?" He

grinned widely. Norm looked at the department heads, "Every conversation that gets recorded is a n opportunity to learn more about the language and the customs of the Na'vi. Ple ase, even if the subject matter isn't in your field of expertise, listen to them and have your people listen. You'll fit in a lot more easily later if you know how they think and how they live. It'll save us from making mistakes." They all agreed, and adjourned on that positive note. Norm and Max left together and headed for the biolab. When they were well out of earshot of the others, Ma x spoke softly, "Did you see the look on Robinson's face?" The anthropologist replied, "Yeah. I hope Gene can keep him in line okay." Max was troubled. "Yeah. I hope." Jake and Neytiri were finishing their evening meal. They were relaxed, chatting with Mo'at when Jake noticed Har'ikan making his way towards them. He nudged his mate and gestured in the direction of the young hunter with a suppressed grin. Neytiri saw the youngster coming and sighed internally. Since discovering that the tsahik had ridden Palulukan, the young man had develo ped what almost amounted to a hero-worship of the Olo'eyctan's mate. Most of the Omaticaya thought it was cute; they'd been around Neytiri all her life though. Jake likened the hunter to a creature he called a 'puppy,' explaining it as a cu te young animal that followed one around everywhere. Neytiri had to admit that t he description fit. She was wondering if she could possibly make a quick exit without being overtly rude when her best friend came bounding up and rescued her. "Oel ngati kameie, N eytiri! Oel ngati kameie, Olo'eyctan." "Please, call me Jake," the leader of the Omaticaya requested with a smile, "You 're Neytiri's best friend, I think we can do without the titles." Janni was pleased, "Irayo, Jake." The tsahik smiled, "What has you so excited, Janni?" Her friend almost bounced in place, "Kiree began her first cycle this afternoon! " "Janni, that is wonderful news!" Neytiri leaned forward and the two women embrac ed joyfully. "She should be ready for the blessing in four days," the proud aunt declared. "W ould you mind gathering the flowers? It's so important for them to be fresh." The ikran makto was enthusiastic, "Of course I will. But you must tell we what k inds and how many." The jewelmaker held her best friend's hands, "I will ask her mother tonight. Wan naya has wonderful taste with flowers and colors. Come see me tomorrow and we wi ll make plans." Jake saw a spark of mischief appear in the woman's expression. " Is Har'ikan still hovering nearby?" The Olo'eyctan had to suppress a grin. "Waiting to pounce as soon as you're gone ," he confirmed. Both of them were amused by Neytiri's exasperated sigh. Janni shook her friend's hands. "The two of you should take off. He wouldn't dar

e follow you then, it would be too impolite." She turned a mock-serious stare on the clan leader, "You work too hard as it is." The tsahik hugged her friend in gratitude, "You are a life saver! I'm starting t o feel like a stalked animal!" The three of them rose and Neytiri firmly took her mate's hand and walked him ou t of the gathering circle towards the inner spirals and their sleeping-space. "So," Jake commented as they walked, "this sounds like an important event." "It is, very much so," his mate confirmed. Jake let Neytiri precede him as they reached the spiral trunk and started to climb. "A woman's coming of age is very important, to her and the clan." Such a thing hadn't occurred to him. "Oh?" His mate nodded emphatically. "You know that it is much easier for a person to s urvive if they are part of a clan." Jake smiled at a memory, "Like Irrey found out." Neytiri grinned in answer. "Exactly. The way that a clan as a whole survives is for the women who belong to it to bear children. They grow and carry on the iden tity and traditions of the clan and create the next generation of clan members i n their turn. To be made clanless is the worst thing that can happen to a Na'vi. " "Hmm, hadn't thought of that, but it makes perfect sense," her mate commented. The tsahik made a small jump to a side branch. "So when a female matures enough to be able to bear children, she becomes able to help ensure the survival of the clan as a whole. Of course, it also means that she may choose a mate, which for most Na'vi is the most important choice they will make in their lives. So it is very important, both personally and for the clan, and it is publicly celebrated by the the female friends and family with a feast and flowers and gifts and a s pecial blessing for the new woman." They turned into their little corner of New Hometree. Neytiri settled herself co mfortably and continued, "This will be my first major ceremony as officiating ts ahik, and it is for my best friend and her family. I so want it to go well! I mu st talk to sa'nok tomorrow and review it with her, ask her advice ." Jake saw how incredibly important this was to her and recognized that it was a b ig step towards her eventually becoming the Omaticaya Tsahik. After living with the clan for over six months, Jake had acquired a huge respect for his mate's mo ther. Mo'at was truly sa'nok for the whole clan in the best sense of the word, t eaching, guiding, and caring for them with a firm hand. The quiet power that she radiated was enormous. Mo'at was Eywa's proxy, and it showed in everything she said and did. He could see the beginnings of that kind of presence in Neytiri she already poss essed the caring for others that underlied her mother's every move. Jake laid a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "I'm sure you'll do fine," he said encouragingl y. Then he moved his hand to touch her chest gently, echoing the gesture he had made when he had put his handprint on her in white war paint. "Speak from here, and everything will come out perfectly." Neytiri relaxed and her expression softened at his reassurance. "Irayo," she ans wered quietly.

Jake smiled at his mate. He picked up his hand and lightly touched a small and s oftly glowing phosphorescent spot on her chest. "Since we're here a little earli er than usual," he said as he slowly began tracing a line of spots with his fing ertip, "how about giving me another lesson in the spot-language?" Neytiri's mind was preoccupied two seconds after she woke up on the morning of K iree's ceremony. She got up quietly so as not to disturb Jake and went over to h er things to debate which loincloth she should wear. Her hair was freshly braide d, and she'd had Ceyrene use her prettiest hair-pipes and beads to decorate the braids with. She wore her night-vine necklace and the matching arm-bands, of cou rse, and her tsahik-necklace over that. Should she wear the blue loincloth? She' d decided to, last night, but now she wasn't sure. She didn't have to decide just yet though. There was still this morning's hunter s' meeting to attend having one duty did not excuse her from any others. Then sh e had to go gather flowers for the ceremony. I need so many! she thought with di smay. Then she'd need to bathe before she absolutely had to decide which loinclo th to wear. She was deep into a review of the blessing itself, considering how best to custo mize it for Kiree (again,) when Jake stirred. He looked around, saw her, and smi led sleepily, "Morning." Neytiri looked up and gave him a brief smile, "Morning," and went back to her re view. Jake sighed, got up, and got himself assembled. They walked down the spiral trun ks to go to breakfast. "You'll do fine," he reassured his mate. Neytiri replied with some stress in her voice. "I must gather many flowers after the hunters' meeting. Kiree is very popular; many women will be attending and e verone must have at least one." "I'll help," Jake volunteered. "You'll have to show me what to pick, but it shou ld go a lot faster with two of us." Relief came over her face, "Irayo! That will help a great deal." He was pleased with himself as they entered the common area and took their seats . Neytiri started talking to her mother as soon as Mo'at showed up of course, an d was preoccupied through most of the hunters' meeting. After the meeting she fetched a large piece of thin tree bark from the detritus along the river's edge and placed it in her carry-net to support the blossoms th ey would be gathering. She and Jake mounted their ikran and flew off to the first of several spots that she wanted to pick from. They worked for a while, flying to a few different pla ces to spread out their harvesting. Neytiri was reviewing the blessing yet again and almost didn't notice Jake comment, "Here's one," and move behind her. Instinct was all that saved her from being caught she whipped her tail out of hi s reach at the very last moment and turned with flattened ears to glare at him. Her mate met her expression with the unrepentant boyish grin that she couldn't r esist; the corners of her mouth turned up, spoiling the disapproving frown. Neyt iri knew that Jake was just trying to get her to relax, so she couldn't stay mad at him. Still, she whacked him with her tail and muttered just for principle's sake while he chuckled.

She did relax a bit just enough to keep an eye on him. He did make one or two mo re attempts at her tail, but he was being more playful than serious, which made her smile rather than annoy her. They finished gathering flowers much sooner than she'd originally expected, whic h she was grateful for, and headed home. Neytiri carefully offloaded her precious cargo as soon as they'd landed and peer ed into the carry-net anxiously. Were the flowers damaged? Lost? Did she really have enough? Everything looked in order, so she carefully looped the net over he r shoulder and had to whip her tail out of the way as Jake made another playful grab for it. She narrowed her eyes and flattened her ears and determined to pay him back for it later. She took off down the tree, paying more attention to her cargo and Jak e's increasingly obvious attempts than to where she was going. He was plainly in an amorous mood, which would provide her with a perfect opportunity for some pa yback later. Neytiri stopped to let him catch her, planning to kiss him to set it up. The int ensity of Jake's response surprised her and took her breath away. She pulled bac k when the kiss ended and was dumbstruck when she saw where they were. The only reason she could say anything at all was because she'd had the words memorized f or months. "I must say the blessing, they are expecting me. I cannot stay." Just as in her tsahaylu-dream, Jake's voice was low, intimate and promising, "I wanted to make sure that you will come back as soon as possible, and not let Har 'ikan drag you into a hunting conversation for hours after the blessing is done. " She couldn't help but laugh despite her shock. O Eywa, I can't believe this is a ctually happening! Her heart was racing. The tsahik-sense was screaming confirma tion at her. Joy exploded inside her, filling her completely. It was followed by a yearning, a longing so strong as to be almost painful. She reached out to tou ch his face, "Be at our place where the fan lizards nest, and I will come to you there as soon as I can." Anticipation made the tone of her voice mirror his per fectly. He kissed her again and then ran off calling his ikran, just as Eywa had shown her. Neytiri watched in stunned amazement as the about-to-be-father of her firstborn flew off in the direction of their rendezvous. Neytiri stood still for a full ten minutes after Jake had left, stunned by the i mpact of what had just happened. Her thoughts and emotions were total chaos. Hal f of her wanted to drop everything and fly after Jake right then and there. The other half was screaming that she had responsibilities to tend to first. The deadlock broke when the thought occurred to her, "Aren't children the greate st joy and responsibility that Eywa can bestow?" That recognition pointed out he r proper course. Neytiri turned and nearly flew down the Tree, going as fast as she safely could. She made a quick detour to her quarters and snatched the first loincloth that came to hand, then nearly ran to the clearing where the ceremony was to take place. The tsahik delivered the flowers to a waiting Wannaya and headed for a spot in t he river that was safely inside the scouts' perimeter but which was far enough f rom Hometree to be private, and plunged into the cool sparkling water. It took quite a while for her trembling to subside. When it did she let out a he avy sigh. Neytiri knew that she had to get the shock of this event out of her sy

stem before she would be able to focus properly on Kiree's ceremony, so she let herself dwell on it for a bit. In all the history of the Na'vi, how many women were ever given such notice of i mpending motherhood? she asked herself wryly. How ironic it was that one who had just become a woman would be welcomed to that status by one who was about to be come a mother! Eywa truly had a sense of humor. Why had the All Mother deemed it important to give her such information? Neytiri sat down so that the water covered her shoulders and stared at the sandy river bottom as she considered. Well, Jake was a dreamwalker. No Na'vi had ever mated with one before. It was obvious to her that Eywa intended there be offspring fro m this union, that he become part of the People in blood as well as spirit. She had no problem with that. But why tell me beforehand? Why is it important for me to know this now? Her head was spinning from all the questions that were compet ing for her attention. She wondered if she should tell Jake about the tsahaylu-dream when she saw him a nd got a definite "No" from her tsahik-sense. The more she considered that answe r, the more compassionate it sounded. She knew from his confession during their honeymoon that the topic of children was painful for him. Neytiri was convinced that she understood the full meaning of the tsahaylu-dream, but Eywa knew that o ther tsahik had been equally certain of their visions and wrong in the past. Tel ling Jake and being wrong would be a hideous and needless cruelty. Better to wai t until I have confirmation, she concluded. With that decision made her mind finally calmed. Neytiri settled into the water and prayed for it to cleanse her for Eywa's purposes both the ceremony ahead and what she fervently hoped would happen afterwards. When she was calm and focused she rose from the water and absently donned the fresh loincloth. The tsahik wal ked back to the clearing slowly, easing herself into the mindset of ceremony by praying silently as she walked. O Eywa, blessings are yours alone to give. I offer myself to be an instrument of Your will, to deliver whatever blessings You choose, if it is Your will to do s o . Neytiri was heavily into tsahik trance by the time she entered the clearing wher e the women waited for her. Mo'at was watching the gathering from the concealment of the jungle, and rejoice d when she saw Neytiri appear. She would not diminish her daughter's participati on by her presence, either official or social, but it was incredibly important f or her to see her protg in action. What she saw made her want to sing. Neytiri was clearly in strong communion with the All Mother; her 'presence' was enormous even at this distance. Mo'at could see all the women present recognize the energy of Eywa and come to attention in awe and respect. She watched as Wann aya brought Kiree forward and the ceremony began. Happy tears flowed from her ey es at this confirmation of the strength of her daughter's gift. She was not yet ready to be the Omaticaya Tsahik, but Mo'at no longer had any doubt that the cla n's all-important connection to the All Mother would endure after her own energy had returned to the Source of All Life. She whispered a joyous prayer of thanks as she watched. In the clearing, the formal words of the blessing flowed effortlessly. Neytiri f ocused on a private heartfelt wish as she spoke. O Eywa, please give Kiree the s ame joy in her eventual mate that you have granted me with Jake, and when You de cree that it is her time to bear the next generation of Omaticaya, may she embra ce it with all the happiness that I am feeling now .

There were murmurs of awe and respect once the blessing was done and the tsahik had formally embraced the new woman in welcome. Wannaya took Neytiri's hands for a moment in thanks before escorting her daughter to the social part of the cele bration that would now follow. Neytiri would not be attending; it was inappropri ate to bring her "official" presence to the social part of the event. And of cou rse, there was somewhere else that she very desperately wanted to be now that he r part in the ceremony was over . Janni came forward and took her best friend's hands. "That was the most beautifu l and meaningful blessing I have ever seen in my entire life, and I will be tell ing your mother so. Irayo," she said and hugged Neytiri tightly. "I am grateful to have been asked. Do give Kiree my personal best wishes, will y ou?" the tsahik requested. The proud aunt smiled, "Of course I will. I should go join them now. Eywa ngahu, ma'tsmuke," she said softly. "Irayo. Neytiri center r. Then ree and Eywa ngahu," Neytiri replied and then left to go join her mate. kept her speed down to a dignified walk until she was high enough up the spiral of New Hometree to be out of sight of everyone on the ground floo she dropped all decorum and ran as fast as she could to the top of the T her waiting ikran.

She couldn't help but reflect on how different her life was with Jake in it. For one thing, I would certainly NOT be running like this if the man I was running to was Tsu'tey! Just the thought made her ardor cool considerably. That in turn got her thinking. There are so many women that would have been thrilled if Tsu't ey had looked their way. He was handsome, strong, a good Omaticaya warrior. Why did I feel only aversion towards him? Neytiri considered it thoughtfully as she climbed the trunk at a slower pace. Well, she remembered how he'd acted as though she were a possession. That alone was reason enough to put her back up. In retrospect, other things came to mind a s well. She remembered Tsu'tey deliberately sending Jake to the ikran-roosts fir st, when it was obvious that the man was exhausted from the climb. Her eyes narr owed and her ears flattened; he had deliberately put Jake in needless danger. A snarl curled her lips when she remembered how the warrior had taunted Jake, dist racting the dreamwalker when he'd needed all his focus on the ikran in front of him. She'd heard Tsu'tey snap angrily at the other two candidates who'd cheered when Jake had succeeded. More memories came to mind as she reached the top of the Tree and called her ikr an. Tsu'tey, attacking Jake - a fellow Omaticaya - without provocation, and knif ing him when the two of them had returned from mating before Eywa. If Tsu'tey ha d a problem with my choice he should have confronted me! She remembered how Jake had thrown his knife away, refusing to use it on his cla n-brother. Neytiri saw in her mind's eye how Jake had almost without effort, una rmed, beat the knife-wielding best warrior of his generation into the ground. Ot her Omaticaya had told her of Tsu'tey's rage, afterwards. The tsahik mounted her ikran and took to the sky as the memories continued to co me. She recalled Jake's lifeless body falling to the ground as the Sky People st ole his spirit from his dreamwalker body to punish him for betraying them. Then, most hideous of all, she saw Tsu'tey leap upon a helpless, unconscious man and attempt to get the People's blessing to condone his violating Eywa's most sacred rule: never to kill unless it was necessary to preserve life.

Neytiri shuddered as she realized that only her instinctive defense of her mate had prevented Tsu'tey from betraying Eywa herself. Coward. Jealous. Tsu'tey's concern had always been for himself. Never for her. I am grateful that Tsu'tey redeemed himself once Jake returned to the People as Toruk Makto, but I could never mate with someone who held such anger and hatred in his heart that it would make him betray Eywa. An unexpected tear of mourning fell from her eye. She looked ahead as her mount flew towards their destination. I knew, somehow, t hat I did not want what Tsu'tey offered, but what did I want? The answer came wi thout effort. Neytiri remembered the deep joy she had seen in her parents' eyes when they had looked at each other in the privacy of their family-space. That joy had overflow ed abundantly onto her and her sister, making her feel warm, loved, and included . She had seen, many a time, her parents' happiness when they had looked at thei r younger daughter. Neytiri had felt so proud, had wanted so much to return that happiness. What she wanted was to be that joyful with someone of her own. She had never fel t like that with Tsu'tey but she did with Jake. In the first three months laugh so damned much that laughter never upset him. ed the odd color his face s eating came from. they'd known each other, he'd more than once made her it had made her sides hurt. He didn't mean to, but my Even now she had to burst out giggling as she remember had taken on when he'd found out where the teylu he wa

Neytiri remembered Jake in Ikinmaya, whooping and hollering with unrestrained jo y just like any youngster new-bonded to their ikran. She recalled him jinking hi s mount towards hers deliberately, mischievously, startling her and making them both laugh like a pair of kids. She remembered him playfully trying to catch her tail, and his wide grin whenever he managed it. She couldn't help shaking her head and chuckling whenever she thought of that bo yish grin of his. It could make her smile no matter what she was feeling And wel l he knows it! Underneath everything, Jake was joyful because of her. Janni was right, she thought, Eywa brought the sun back into my life when she br ought Jake to the Omaticaya. They arrived at their destination. Neytiri overflew the protected little dell, g iving her whooping call to alert her mate. She saw him stand as she flashed by. The tsahik made a wide circle, scouting the area to make sure it was secure befo re landing. Fan lizards exploded into the air as her ikran touched down near the entrance of their private place. She patted her friend's neck in thanks and sent Guard befo re disconnecting her queue. Her mount nudged her in friendly fashion and took of f to perch in a nearby tree. Neytiri walked towards the entrance of their little dell, reliving things she ha d experienced during the numerous times she had made tsahaylu with her mate duri ng the past half year. Jake's feelings of awe and gratitude that she had Chosen him. His feelings of protectiveness, his intense desire that she be happy. The o verwhelming impression of how beautiful she was in body and spirit that even now

brought a deeper color to her face. She stepped into the space between ng for her. His mate-spots those excitement. She knew her own were walking slowly forward as the last ne's mother ticked away. the two mossy tree trunks, and saw Jake waiti that had shifted to match hers were bright with flaming. Eyes locked on his, Neytiri started few moments of her life before becoming someo

Seeing Jake waiting for her unexpectedly brought back the vision of the battle b etween him and the leader of the Sky People warriors, and illumination flooded h er awareness. Rantu had it wrong, she realized. The choice she had faced that da y had not been a choice between one Sky Person and another. The choice had been between hatred and joy, destruction and creation, death and life. Her answer had been so automatic that she hadn't had to think consciously of it. She stepped into the small clearing and the final insight of her tsahaylu-dream slipped into place as gently as an atokirina landing. Neytiri saw at last why Ey wa had sent it to her. The All Mother had been showing her the consequences of f ollowing her heart, of following her joy instead of blindly complying with what others expected of her. The greatest smile she'd ever known appeared on Neytiri's face as she reached ou t for Jake and willingly stepped into his embrace. Jake was woken up early a couple of days after their rendezvous by Neytiri, who was murmuring in her sleep. He couldn't quite make out what she was saying at fi rst, but then he heard "ma'sempul" very clearly. For an instant he wondered if she was having a bad dream about her father's deat h. She'd had a few of those in the past, but he thought they'd stopped several m onths ago. Oddly though, she seemed to be happy rather than upset as she said th e word. She made a pleased sound and turned over to snuggle up to him, still asl eep, and sighed. When she finally woke up he asked her about it. Neytiri smiled sleepily. "I was dreaming about my father. He was telling me that he was proud of me." Jake stroked her cheek, "That's a nice dream," he said with a smile. They cuddled for a couple of minutes, then Neytiri rolled over and pulled a corn er of the privacy curtain aside to peek out and found herself face to face with Palulukan. "Oh!" The statuette was gorgeous. It fit easily into the palm of her hand, perfect in every detail. The craftsman had rubbed soot into every part of the figurine but the teeth, replicating the midnight-black of the real beast beautifully. A clear tree resin sealed the soot to prevent it from rubbing off and also echoed the l eathery shine of the animal's hide. Jake touched it gently with a fingertip. "It's beautiful, but where did it come from?" Neytiri answered in wonder, "It is customary to give a tsahik a small gift when they have performed a service. This has to be from Janni's family." Her mate smiled, "So much for being palulukan makto. It looks like you're palulu kan tsahik now." She flattened her ears and smiled at the quip. They got themselves assembled and went downstairs to first meal, Neytiri carefully cradling the new treasure in h

er hand. She passed it around and let everyone exclaim over it while they ate. A fter the meal and the hunters' meeting she took it off to Janni to express her t hanks and appreciation. Jake headed out as soon as she'd left. He had a private errand of his own to see to. If he was going to teach the Na'vi unarmed combat, he had to do some practi cing. He traveled through the forest until he came to a small clearing where he could be private and started stretching to warm up. It had been years since he'd lost the use of his human legs, and the avatar body he was in had some definite diffe rences that he still had to get used to. His fights with Tsu'tey and the RDA for ces had proved that he still had all the instincts, but those would only take hi m so far. His body-memories were still part human, and that needed to change. After he'd warmed up he started practicing by throwing punches and kicks at a la rge leaf more to get used to his new longer reach than to do any damage. He was only half-surprised when a voice came from the trees behind him. "Has the leaf offended you, my friend?" Jake turned to see a smiling Sir'tey emerge from the jungle. The hunter did not wait for a response, saying, "I have seen worry on your face many times in the p ast few months. Your heart is troubled. Our enemies are gone, but," he gestured to the now-battered leaf, "one who sees peace ahead does not need to practice fi ghting." He looked at the Olo'eyctan and said softly, "When Palulukan fails to c atch his prey, he simply tries again another day. It seems clear to me that you expect the Sky People to return. In fact, I would be very surprised if they did not." The former marine exhaled hugely. He felt an odd kind of relief that the hunter had guessed, and laid the entire situation out. The man absorbed the flood of in formation without blinking, nodding his approval after Jake finished explaining everything that their group had come up with so far. "So," he gestured at the leaf, "You are to teach this new form of combat to the Na'vi." Jake sounded like he wanted to vomit or cry. "I have to, Sir'tey and I don't wan t to. This kind of fighting is only the start. What I have to teach is going to change the Na'vi forever, and that shouldn't have to happen. Why the hell did we have to come here and mess things up in the first place?" he said in an incredi bly bitter tone. Sir'tey was quiet for a while. Then he asked, "Do you know how Eywa creates a Ho metree?" The Olo'eyctan was startled and shook his head. The hunter looked off into the distance. "She causes many trees in one place to start growing. When they get very large they lean against each other, grow toget her, support each other. Eventually they all twist together like the strands of a strong rope, merging to become one great Tree." He looked at Jake, "I believe you and your dreamwalker friends are like one of t hose trees. I have watched you carefully. You do not seek to dominate or choke t he life out of the Na'vi, as the other Sky People tried to do. You have supporte d the People, you respect Eywa even though you do not yet understand her as well as we do. I believe that you and your dreamwalkers will grow with us and streng then us and us you."

Sir'tey looked back out at the jungle. "All things that live must grow, even the People. Do not be afraid of growth. Growth is change, and that can be frighteni ng, but it makes us stronger and healthier, and that is nothing to be feared." Jake responded quietly, "Thank you, Sir'tey." The master hunter stood up. "So. If Eywa wants you to teach, then we should begi n." He gave Jake a smile, "Perhaps I can give you a bit more of a challenge than a mulpxar leaf." Demand for Neytiri's services as tsahik went through the roof after Kiree's cere mony. Every woman who had attended told friends, and the friends told their frie nds, with the result being that the Olo'eyctan's mate suddenly found herself wit h a very full schedule almost every day. She still attended hunters' meetings, since she was there as tsahik as much as t aronyu, but more often than not she was off to tend her fellow clan members as s oon as the midday meal was over and didn't return until very late in the afterno on. Mo'at also occasionally asked her daughter to assist with mas'kit nivi sa'no k, so Neytiri was suddenly quite busy. Norm had brought his first two scientist-volunteers to today's afternoon meeting . The next ISV was expected to arrive in about seven months, and both he and Jak e wanted to have the avatar team familiar with the Omaticaya and New Hometree we ll before it arrived. "Hey Jake. These are the two I was telling you about. This is Dr. Chris Miller, head of entomology, and Dr. Kim Yoshi, head of zoology." The scientists nodded p olitely as they were introduced. The Olo'eyctan looked at the two newcomers and spoke bluntly. "I'm gonna lay it out straight for you guys. We screwed these people over by coming here and that was wrong. I'm not going to let it happen again, whatever it takes. If you wanna call that going native, fine. Here's the rules: No tech, no advanced knowledge, nothing that'll change their culture." He cringed inside as he said that, knowi ng that he himself would be the biggest violator of that decree, but plowed ahea d anyway, "I'm sure Norm's told you that we're here to learn from them, not the other way around. You have any questions, you bring it to me first. I've got vet o power over everything. You have a problem with that, don't let the door hit yo u in the ass on the way out." Norm winced internally at the marine's borderline hostility. Can't blame him tho ugh, given the way everyone treated him before, he thought to himself. Glad I wa rned them ahead of time. Miller, who was (surprisingly) dressed as a Na'vi and for some reason had a carr y-net full of fruit on her back, took the near-tirade with aplomb. "Understood. I appreciate the opportunity you're giving us, Olo'eyctan. As far as I'm concern ed it's a miracle that this is being allowed at all. I assure you that the very last thing in the world that I want to do is blow it." She looked at the ex-marine and spoke in a softer tone. "I'm afraid that there a ren't many scientists known for carrying a brass pair. Augustine was the closest thing we had, and the rest of us were too glad to leave the politicking to her and keep our heads buried in the sand. Truth be told, we're just as much to blam e for what happened as anyone, if not more so. We saw what was happening and pre tended it wasn't, just so we could keep our noses buried in our own work. For wh at it's worth, I'm sorry."

It was the right thing to say, and moreover he could see that the words were mea nt. "My name's Jake," he said, a bit more courteously. Chris replied firmly, "You come visit Hell's Gate in your human body and I'll ca ll you Jake. I'll call you that here when I've earned the privilege." He looked at the scientist in startlement, "My human body's dead." The entomologist looked at him evenly, "So?" A hint of a smile appeared on the marine's face. The woman had a full clip of at itude, that was for sure. "I think we'll get along." He turned to the other avat ar, "You're the zoologist?" Kim took his clue from the entomologist and reached forward to shake Jake's hand . "Kim Yoshi, Olo'eyctan. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to get this chance. " "It's Tsahik Mo'at who's giving you this chance, not me," Jake replied. "I suppo se I should take you to her." A familiar voice commented formally, "That is unnecessary, Jakesully." The tall woman strode with regal dignity towards the small group. She looked over the new comers. "So, these are the new dreamwalkers you spoke of." "Yes, Tsahik," Norm spoke respectfully. "This is Chris, and that is Kim," he sai d as he pointed to each in turn. "They are the dreamwalkers who understand the l anguage best." Mo'at was curious. "You are dressed as one of the People?" she inquired of Mille r. The scientist nodded respectfully. "Yes, Tsahik. When I first became a dreamwalk er I learned that a body is simply clothing for the spirit inside. It seemed sil ly to me to add unnecessary clothing to that which is clothing already." The Tsahik tilted her head, impressed with the answer. "And the fruit in your ca rry-net?" Chris pulled the net off of her back and held it in front of her for inspection. Norm noted that the scientist had not, for some reason, gathered the largest fr uits from the compound gardens, but those that were more the size of the wild fr uits that grew in the jungle. The scientist explained, "My family taught me that when someone does you the hon or of inviting you into their home, it is polite to offer a gift to thank them f or their courtesy." She gestured to the fruits, "I only picked one or two from e ach plant, and thanked them for their gift. I was told that that is the proper c ustom. I would be honored if the Omaticaya would be willing to accept these." "So," Mo'at turned to her son-in-law, "It seems that there are some dreamwalkers with proper manners after all." She hid a smile at Jake's fleeting expression o f exasperation and turned back to the newcomers. "Your gift is welcome, irayo. I am told that one of you will be working with the cooks?" Kim bowed, "Yes Tsahik, that would be me. I would be happy to help the cooks." "And to learn more about the younger brothers and sisters who help sustain our l ives, I understand," Mo'at countered.

The zoologist chuckled at the matriarch's shrewdness, "Yes, Tsahik." She nodded firmly. "Then let us go to the cooks. We can take the fruit with us a nd introduce you there first. The Omaticaya have set aside a branch of our Homet ree and hung hammocks your dreamwalker bodies can sleep in when your spirits ret urn to your Sky People camp. Norm'an can show you there after the evening meal." The new dreamwalkers thanked Mo'at and obediently fell in as she and Norman esco rted the pair to the cooking area. Jake watched after the little group and mentally shook his head. Then he remembe red what Sir'tey had said about dreamwalkers and Hometrees. Maybe this will work after all. Neytiri was fondly watching her ikran splashing in the river water. Her friend w as one of a number of the flying creatures that enjoyed eating fish, and it was funny to watch the great winged beast trying to catch them. She turned when she heard a voice call her name. "Neytiri!" Sir'tey was trotting in her direction. "Oel ngati kameie, are you bus y this morning?" She greeted the clan's senior hunter, "Oel ngati kameie, not this morning, why?" Concern showed plainly on the man's blue-striped face. "Je'ran's riding harness slipped when he tried to mount his ikran, it had worked loose without him realiz ing it. He's injured his leg badly. He'll be all right, but he won't be able to hunt for a while. We have a lot of young hunters out today, and I'm concerned th at a number of them will come home empty-handed. There aren't any other experien ced hunters still around that I can send to replace him, would you mind?" "Of course," the tsahik stood up immediately, "I'd be glad to help." "Irayo, that's a relief. Je'ran was going to hunt Seventh Area today; a large ye rik herd was reported just south of the large eastward bend in the river," Sir't ey instructed. Neytiri nodded in acknowledgement. I wasn't expecting to hunt today, better go e mpty myself first, she thought. It was one of the first hunting lessons you coul dn't focus on hunting when your bladder was full. She left her happily splashing ikran and trotted off to the squatting-grounds. She considered how best to approach the herd while she was doing her business. I 'll have to make a very wide circle around, a lot of the river is exposed in tha t area and any moving flashes reflected off of the water will spook them. I have that blessing for a new journeyman's loom to do this afternoon, and I don't wan t to have to wait for a spooked herd to settle down. Neytiri stepped back and absently looked down to resettle her loincloth properly and saw that the patch of grass in the spot she had just vacated had assumed a color that it had not been a couple of minutes before. Her mind went completely blank for a few seconds as she stared. Then incredibly intense joy made her heart start racing like a runaway pa'li. She gasped for air and then heard others approaching the area. I want this private! was her instant reaction. She took a few swift steps away f rom the telltale color and took a moment to compose her expression. Then Neytiri strode directly towards the approaching clansmen. The two young women saw her s tep on to the path and hailed her. "Oel ngati kameie!"

She returned the greeting and made a request. "Oel ngati kameie. Could I ask a f avor?" The younger of the two replied, "Of course, tsahik, how can I help you?" Neytiri tried with all her might to keep her expression under control as she ask ed, "Would you go to the Olo'eyctan and tell him that it is important for him to meet me at the fan lizard place as soon as he can? I must fly there right now o r I would tell him myself." "Gladly," the woman replied, "I will tell him right away." "Irayo," the tsahik said gratefully. That was about as far as she could trust he r composure and she ran back to the river. She mounted her ikran as soon as she arrived fortunately her friend had eaten enough fish not to protest the departur e. She flew to their trysting-spot, all thoughts of hunting forgotten. She ignored the usual explosion of fan lizards and almost yelled Guard! mentally at her frie nd. The ikran was content to go perch in a nearby tree, and Neytiri ran into the little clearing. The tsahik dropped to her knees and let go of what little cont rol she had left, crying and rocking back and forth while she waited for her mat e to arrive. Jake was surprised by the message, to say the least. That's odd, she wasn't acti ng amorous at the hunter's meeting. Maybe I missed something. Well, he certainly wasn't opposed to the idea. He excused himself as soon as possible and headed out on his ikran. He flew to t heir spot, stepped into the corridor between the tree trunks and saw Neytiri kne eling on the ground rocking back and forth, apparently in great pain. His blood ran cold and he sprinted forward, yelling "NEYTIRI!" He thumped down on his knee s next to her. She looked up, and he was horrified to see tears streaking her face. She gasped, "Tsahaylu, Jake." He didn't question it, just grabbed for the end of his queue and jammed it again st hers. The now-familiar sensations of their nervous systems connecting swamped his awareness, to be followed by something totally unexpected. Joy? He was stunned, unable to comprehend what was going on. With tears still flowing down her face, Neytiri told him, "Eywa has said 'yes,' Jake. I carry our child. " She'd expected Jake to be stunned how many men weren't, when first told they wer e going to become a father? She expected disbelief, after the confession he'd ma de to her on their honeymoon. Neytiri expected surprise, elation, shock, triumph , any number of the normal reactions of a man come face to face with the reality of his first child. She felt all those things and more; as he struggled to come to grips with her news, one emotion swiftly overtook the rest. Her tears dried as she reacted in confusion to the emotion that was swiftly overpowering her mat e. Terror. Jake had never been so terrified in his entire life. Panicked thoughts chased ea ch other through his head like leaves whirling in a hurricane. What have I done? This wasn't supposed to happen! It'll kill her! The last one brought a furious

roar of NO! out of the depths of his soul. His poor, beautiful Neytiri was staring at him in absolute bewilderment. The sig ht of her sitting there, so trusting, brought back a memory. Whether or not any Na'vi has a child has always been in the hands of Eywa. You are no different. If She decides it, then She will make it so. Resolve crystallized out of that NO! and temporarily beat back the panic. If Eyw a has done this, then she is damn well going to make it right! He reached for Ne ytiri's hand and pulled her to her feet as their queues detached and grimly orde red, "Come on." He ran to his ikran and took off with Neytiri in his wake. It didn't take long t o reach his destination: the Tree of Souls. He directed his mount to land right on the floor of the amphitheater near the base of the Tree. He flung himself off as soon as they landed and ran a few steps forward to the very dais where Eywa had transferred his consciousness. He grabbed the end of his queue as Neytiri ca me in for a landing and jabbed it at one of the softly glowing branches. For the first time since permanently entering his avatar, he threw himself forwa rd into the sensations of transfer-link. Neytiri saw her mate go absolutely still as she ran up behind him. She reached h im and saw immediately that he had linked to Vitraya Ramunong, but when she look ed into his face her blood ran cold. Jake wasn't talking to Eywa, he had gone to Eywa. She sat down on the edge of the dais in shock. Jake had never discussed with anyone, not even his mate, what he had experienced when he had 'passed through the eye of Eywa' as Mo'at had called it. He didn't like even thinking about it, but the potential threat to Neytiri made his prefer ences completely irrelevant. He felt himself 'land,' though there was nothing ph ysical under his feet. There was nothing to see except for his own blue body. Ev erything around him was a uniform white, but he could sense somehow that someone besides himself was there. Now that he was here the panic he had felt for his m ate returned full force. "HELP! HELP ME! PLEASE!" Jake screamed into the whiteness. He was shocked to hear a very familiar voice answer him, "Jesus, Marine, keep it down, will you?" Jake whirled towards the voice to see a friend he'd thought gone forever walking towards him. 'Grace!? What the hell?" "Do you realize what an incredibly asinine maneuver you just pulled? Do you have any idea how lucky you are that Eywa decided to make an exception this time?" G race Augustine shook her head in amazement. "No way. No fucking way. This can't be you. You're dead." Jake was on the edge o f losing it completely. The xenobotanist smiled and held up both hands in front of her. "Well, yes and n o. If you've got a few degrees in comparative philosophy and physics that you ne ver told me about we might be able to have a conversation on the subject." He was freaking out too badly to be able to process her statement. "Wha?" Grace dropped her hands and her smile got wider. "Okay, 'Cliff Notes for Jarhead s' time. This is me AND Eywa, together. She felt this way would make it easier f or you."

That was enough to remove coming face-to-face with a dead woman from the top of his list of priorites for the moment. Jake's primary reason for coming here came surging back to his muddled thoughts. "Grace, Neytiri ." The scientist interrupted him, "Is pregnant, I know." Her smile didn't falter fo r an instant. "Congratulations." Unexpected fury rose inside him. "Congratulations? For what, killing my wife?" h e yelled. All of his fears came boiling out. "Grace, you told me the avatars wer e sterile! This shouldn't have happened! Now I've gone and sired some kind of hy brid freak on her. What's that going to do to her? What the hell kind of monster is growing inside her? It'll kill her! I've killed my wife! Oh God, Neytiri " he moaned in agony. Grace grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him to snap him out of his terror. "Jake. Jake, listen to me." The marine looked up at his mentor with tears streaming down his face. Her voice went soft, "Jake, it's all right. Everything's fine." He started to protest, "But " The scientist snapped at him. "Are you going to listen to the answer you came he re to get, or are you going to stand there and argue with me?" That was familiar. Jake shut up instantly. Grace was amused. "Better. Jesus, that must be a marine thing. Trudy's just as b ad sometimes." She shook her head ruefully. The comment set off Jake's confusion again. "Huh?" "Keep it simple, I know," his mentor commented. "Listen Jake, when you asked Eyw a to transfer you permanently, she did more than just relocate your spirit." He was barely able to keep it together. "What?" The scientist told him, "While Eywa was pulling your essence out of your human b ody, she did two things to the avatar." Jake was tracking, barely, and nodded to indicate that he was with her so far. Encouraged, Grace explained. "The first thing that she did was to update the hum an genes in it. She used your human body as a template to change the DNA that wa s taken from Tom." Her face shone with her scientific excitement. "There are gen etic differences even between identical twins that our science isn't capable of duplicating yet. We can copy the mechanical genetic structure, but we can't comp letely replicate which genes are active and which are dormant." Joy as well as f rustration colored her tone. "Oh God, I so wish you were a geneticist! There's s o much I could tell you!" She was losing him again though, she could see it in his face. "I know, back to Cliff Notes." Grace looked intently into his eyes. "Jake, the genes in the avata r aren't Tom's anymore. They're yours." He shook his head, "But what's the point ?" "The second thing," she began acerbically.

Jake recognized the tone. He shut up. Again. Grace's voice and expression went soft, "Eywa converted all of the human genes i n the avatar to their Na'vi analogues." Puzzlement appeared on the marine's face. Out of nowhere, a thought that had occ urred to him during his honeymoon popped back into his awareness. Eywa could exc ise a specific electron from a specific molecule from a specific gene in each ce ll of his body simultaneously with infinite ease, without him even being aware o f it. His mentor's face was shining with joy. "Jake," she said gently, "the body that you're living in now isn't an avatar anymore. It's Na'vi." Amusement came back t o her expression. "I'll have to admit that you're probably the most spectacular case of polydactyly that they've ever seen, though." Jake's face went blank. "Polly what?" She had to restrain the urge to laugh. "Ask Norm later." Pride replaced amusement, and she continued. "You're Na'vi, Jake. The child that you and Neytiri have created together is completely Na'vi. This pregnancy is no danger to her at all she's built for this. Your genome is going to keep the Na' vi healthy and evolving for dozens of generations to come." His panicked mind focused on the most critical piece of information in her state ment. "Neytiri is all right?" Grace confirmed, "She's fine, Jake." She saw the fear begin to leave him. Reason started returning to his face. The scientist repeated joyously, "She's fine, an d the baby is fine. Everything's okay." Jake blinked as the information soaked into his brain. His mentor said softly, "Congratulations, sempu." The word settled into his awareness. "Daddy " he whispered, translating. Grace grinned widely and hugged him. "Listen Jake, we'll speak again later." She got serious. "Right now, you have to get back to Neytiri. She's starting to ser iously panic, and that is not good, for her or the child." The marine was still dazed, but for a different reason now. The scientist reache d up and touched him on the forehead gently and repeated, "Go back, Jake. We'll talk again later." His eyes closed reflexively at her touch; everything went white again and he fel t himself being transferred back to his body. His Na'vi body. Neytiri saw Jake's queue disengage from the branches of Vitraya Ramunong, saw hi s eyelids flutter open, and wanted to cry in relief. She reached out and took hi m by the shoulders as he swayed, "Jake? Jake, come back to me. Jake, wake up." T he stress in her voice was clear. "Ney tiri," he spoke slowly in a wooden tone. Tears started flowing down her face, "Yes Jake, I'm here. Come back to me," she urged.

He blinked a couple of times before his eyes finally focused. The first thing he saw was the most important person in his life. "Neytiri!" He flung his arms aro und her, nearly sobbing in relief, "You're okay! You're alright!" She was stunned, He was worried about me? "Yes Jake, I am fine. What frightened you so?" He buried his head in her neck and held her close, "I was so scared, I had to ge t you help!" Neytiri wrapped her arms around her barely coherent mate and started stroking hi s back to try and calm him down. "I am all right Jake, I am all right." She star ted rocking slightly and continued rubbing his back for a minute or two while he got a better hold on himself. When his shuddering subsided she quietly repeated her question, "Jake, what frig htened you? Why did you need to speak with Eywa?" She had difficulty keeping a t remor out of her voice. Jake finally released his bear hug but kept his hands on her upper arms, needing the reassurance of contact. Tears were flowing freely down his face, "I was afr aid that having my baby would hurt you. I had to get help." She heard what he didn't say and her ears went straight up in astonishment and t hen flat in exasperation, "Jake, no child of yours could ever hurt me. Eywa woul d not allow such a thing." Her mate's ears drooped in chagrin, "I found that out," he admitted. Neytiri's eyes narrowed. The fear she had felt waiting for Jake to return now sp arked the beginnings of anger. "Next time, ask me first before you do something like that! Do you know how dangerous that was?" "She mentioned something like that," he admitted sheepishly. The spark grew into a full blaze. "Do you know what you did?" "Not really," he confessed, "all I could think about was that Eywa was the only one who could help and I had to get her attention no matter what." The blaze instantly morphed to space-cold ice. "You made your spirit leave your body and go to Eywa." It took a moment for Jake to understand what she was getting at. Then his ears f lattened against his skull and he nearly shit a brick, "You mean ." Neytiri confirmed, "Most people who make that journey do not return from it." He r tail lashed with barely controlled fury, "Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again." She e mphasized the order by making a complete sentence out of each word. "I didn't know," he said in a contrite voice. "Obviously," his mate retorted acidly. She glared at him for a full minute to ma ke herself clear. Then, just to be absolutely sure, she cuffed him upside the he ad, muttering "Skawng!" Jake made no move to avoid it, but his shoulders drooped immediately afterwards. Neytiri knew what was happening and gathered her mate into her arms. "Come here , you idiot. You have used up all your strength and must sleep. I will hold you while you rest."

Exhaustion hit him like a truck and he made no protest. Within a couple of minut es he was asleep. Neytiri shook her head, still exasperated, and muttered, "Eywa , if the other Toruk Makto were each as big a skawng as this one, tell their mat es that they have my sympathy!" Jake slept into the afternoon. Neytiri was curled up beside him, awake and watch ing when he finally opened his eyes. She was the most beautiful thing he could p ossibly ever wake up to. Neytiri, his mate. His pregnant mate. Jake's eyes went wide and his gaze traveled down her body, to her abdomen. He re ached out and tentatively laid his fingertips on her as if he were touching the most delicate of spun glass. The marine's life had been one of regular bloodshed right up until the point whe re he had been cast aside as useless because of his spinal injury. Jake had had no problem sticking a machine gun into the gunner's foxhole on top of the Ventur e Star's shuttle and blowing away several of his fellow human beings without a s econd thought; they were the enemy, and it was what he had been trained to do, w hat he had done for most of his adult life. Given that everyone he had ever kill ed would have killed him likewise without a qualm if they'd had the chance, he d idn't feel any guilt. But God, he was so tired of it. Tired of the death and the blood. You didn't liv e that kind of life very long before you realized that killing never changed any thing, never made anything better. At best it gave you a temporary pause, a shor t space to catch your breath before you got spattered with a fresh layer of gore . You did your best to never get close to anyone because you knew that everyone would lose a shootout someday, and you couldn't afford even an instant's worth o f grief if you were intending not to be the next loser. All that was changed now. Changed because a lost brother had left him the gift o f an opportunity he'd never imagined possible. Because of a People whose ideal w as life, not greed. Because of a blue woman with a cat's tail, golden eyes, and more love in her heart than he'd ever dreamed existed. Changed because of a Being he couldn't comprehend, who had taken on the appearan ce of a dear friend and redeemed him from a world of senseless slaughter by mean s of an incredible gift. He touched his mate's abdomen with tentative fingertips and tears started silent ly pouring from his eyes as he stared with wonder at his own personal miracle. Neytiri saw the awe, the hesitation in Jake's face. After a minute she laid a ha nd over his and gently pressed on it until he let it rest flat on her belly. The boyish grin that she so loved to see broke out over his face even as his tears continued unabated. She stayed still, giving him space to be with his emotions a s she held his hand to that place on her body beneath which their child now live d. After a minute or two he turned and threw his arms around her, sobbing in his joy and relief. Neytiri started crying as well and held her mate close. She reached for her queu e with one hand and gently brought it into contact with Jake's. Their sensory ne rvous systems joined, and it was all there. Joy. Love. Awe. Unbelievable gratitu de. Excitement. Exultation.

The Omaticaya's Olo'eyctan and Tsahik-to-be kissed each other fervently and twin ed together under the protective watch of the Tree of Souls, sharing their mutua l joy at the advent of their first child. Jake and Neytiri woke when the sun dipped below the rim of the caldera in which the Tree of Souls grew. Looking at his woman, Jake's attention was caught by a n ecklace Neytiri was wearing. The sight of it made several things click together in his head. He reached out to touch it. "I'm tsahik," he stated softly. His mate reacted with amusement, "Yes you are, and you are ordered to do nothing and say nothing until you and Mother have had a long talk," she said with a rue ful smile. "How long have you known?" he asked. Neytiri replied, "Mother knew the night Eywa transferred you into this body," sh e touched his arm. "I knew when you told me you could not give me children when we were in Ikinmaya." His pregnant mate smirked at him. The comment brought a memory back to Jake; he ignored the smirk and said excited ly, "This body!" he reached out and seized Neytiri's arm. "Neytiri, this body is n't dreamwalker anymore!" The tsahik was puzzled. He continued, "Eywa changed it when she put my spirit in here. She made this body Na'vi, she said so!" Neytiri's mouth opened wide in astonishment for a few moments. Jake laid his fin gertips on her belly and said softly "I'm Na'vi, and so is our baby." His mate got over her speechlessness to comment, "We need to talk to Mother, soo n!" Jake agreed, "We should get back." He helped her up and then did a doubletake. " Should you be flying? Is that safe? Now that you're pregnant, I mean. Should I g o get you a pa'li?" She burst out laughing and hugged him. "I am fine, silly. I will not need to sto p flying for a couple of months yet." "Just asking," Jake said a little miffed, "I'm new at this whole parent thing." Neytiri grinned and kissed his nose, "So you are. Let's go!" She took his hand a nd they raced for their ikran and flew home. She directed her mount to deposit her on the ground beside New Hometree and ran into the cavernous space with Jake following. Neytiri paused to look around and saw the person she wanted standing near the Mother Loom. "MA'SA'NOK!" she yelled at the top of her voice. Mo'at turned at the shout and saw her daughter. There could only be one reason f or the jubilation in Neytiri's voice, one cause for the joy blazing in her face. The normally dignified, reserved Tsahik punched the air with both fists and let out a high, ululating cry of triumph and thanksgiving. Neytiri ran into her mother's arms as others nearby took up the call. Jake walke d over to the two women slowly to give them a few moments together. Mo'at hugged her son in law as soon as he arrived. Word spread like wildfire; within the hour everyone in New Hometree had heard th e news and party preparations were underway. Everyone nearby had to congratulate the happy couple of course, and it wasn't lo ng before a joyous shout of "NEYTIRI!" came from the direction of the crafters'

area. The young woman turned towards the sound and saw her best friend running for her full tilt, "Janni!" The two hugged each other hard, crying together in joy. "I am so happy for you, heart sister!" the jewelcrafter said, "And for you too, of course, Jake," she added with a guilty afterthought. The Olo'eyctan grinned, "Irayo, Janni." The crafter pulled on her friend's hands, "Come! It is time to eat, and I will g et all your favorites straight from A'tey's own hands!" Neytiri laughed and allo wed herself to be led off. It took a while for Neytiri to eat a full meal, as people were constantly coming over to congratulate the happy couple. Any new child was viewed as a blessing s traight from Eywa; that the Olo'eyctan and his mate should be having one was vie wed as a sign of the All Mother's blessing of the entire clan as well, and cause for celebration. The party atmosphere got more and more pronounced as the meal progressed. Sir'te y came over when they were almost finished eating. He roared a joyous bellow at the Olo'eyctan, proudly male, exultant, and with a bit of a challenge to it. Jak e roared back in kind without even thinking; more than a dozen roars from the cl an immediately answered him. One of the Singers immediately struck a huge bass drum and started a fast, pound ing beat. Sir'tey grabbed Jake's hand and pulled him into the center of the gath ering-circle. He started dancing, a proud male strut full of braggadocio and joy that Jake had no difficulty emulating. Men who had fathered children poured int o the circle and joined the dance, gladly welcoming Toruk Makto to their ranks. Neytiri and the group of women seated around her laughed, watching the antics of the men as they celebrated new fatherhood. At least Jake will be tired out enou gh from dancing that he won't likely do anything stupid before Mother can speak with him, she thought with amusement. Mo'at leaned close to her daughter so that she could be heard over the increasin gly loud celebration, "You are done hunting, I will tell Sir'tey in the morning. You have enough work to do as tsahik now, you can focus on that. I want you to see Alai tomorrow as well." Neytiri sighed internally. A g . e roar from the crowd made the women look up at the dancers. A man was presentin Jake with a full bowl of kava. He took the bowl in both hands and drank deeply The dancers shouted their approval, egging him on, and he drained the bowl. Th men cheered and laughed and resumed dancing. and winced internally. He won't be do

Neytiri laughed with the rest of the women ing anything tomorrow, either!

It wasn't too much longer before her mate returned, happily tired from the danci ng. Jake went to step up to the branch where Neytiri was sitting and almost stum bled, his tail lashing out to prevent him from overbalancing, "Whoops! Didn't se e that there." Mo'at laughed and turned to her daughter, "I think we'd better get your mate to bed now, before he loses his legs." Neytiri grinned and agreed, and the two wome n walked Jake off to his quarters to the knowing chuckles of the other women. He fell asleep almost as soon as they laid him down in the sleeping-space.

The first thing he did when he woke up the next morning was to grab his head and groan. "Oh my god, what the hell happened? My head feels like it's going to exp lode." Neytiri chuckled evilly, "You drank a bowl of kava that was intended to be share d among several men, not drunk by just one." Jake moaned, "My tongue tastes like I don't wanna know what my tongue tastes like. " He stuck his tongue out to get it out of his mouth. His mate laughed merrily at his woebegone expression, "Come on, silly, Alai will be able to help you, and Mother wants me to see her anyway." The Olo'eyctan covered his ears with his hands, "Just let's be quiet about it, o kay?" Neytiri snickered and helped him up, making sure to keep a precautionary hand on his arm as they negotiated the Tree's curving limbs on their way to the healer' s enclave. Alai smothered a smile when the Olo'eyctan showed up. "I expected to see you thi s morning," she commented. The healer turned and called out to her newest appren tice, "Talli!" Jake winced and covered his ears again, "Shhhh!" The youngster brought a brimming cup over to the senior healer, who passed it to the suffering man. "Here, drink this. It will make you sleep until the pain in your head has gone away." He grabbed for it eagerly, took a swallow and almost gagged. "Gah! That tastes w orse than my tongue! What the hell's in this stuff?" The healer was amused. She'd heard that comment many times. "Your head or your t ongue. Choose." Jake grimaced and downed the rest of the potion while the women smirked.

Neytiri addressed Alai while he was forcing himself to drink the medicine. "Moth er wanted me to see you today as well." The master healer nodded knowingly. She examined Neytiri's eyes for a moment, th en stood back to look at the tsahik's phosphorescent body-spots. "You're fine, o f course. I'll tell her so. She just needs something to do to make her feel usef ul. I'll tell her you're under orders to eat liver once a week." The Olo'eyctan' s mate stuck out her tongue in distaste, and Alai laughed. "I know, but it is go od for you and the child, and it'll keep your mother off of your back." The heal er's eyes sparkled; she had a great deal of practice with new mothers and nervou s grandmothers-to-be. Jake finished the medicine and croaked, "She'll eat it. Can I have something to get this taste out of my mouth?" Talli was prepared and gave the Olo'eyctan a handful of lati leaves to chew, and then a cup of water to wash them down with. He gulped it down gratefully and si ghed. Alai removed the cup from his hand and took his arm, gesturing to Neytiri to tak e the other. "Come, sempul, time to sleep. Next time you feel like celebrating, leave the kava alone!"

Jake blinked owlishly, "I will, but right now can you turn off the sun?" He cove red his eyes and moaned as the women grinned. Neytiri and Jake met with the Tsahik the next morning in a small clearing near N ew Hometree. "So," Mo'at asked after they had settled themselves comfortably, "what do you wi sh to discuss?" Her daughter glanced sideways at the Olo'eyctan and stated drolly, "Jake discove red two days ago that he is tsahik in a rather spectacular way." Mo'at's ears immediately went upright, "Oh?" She looked at her son-in-law. Neytiri explained, "He was afraid that being pregnant with his child would hurt me, so he went to the Tree of Souls to get Eywa's help." The elder woman was puzzled, "She would never allow such a thing to happen." She noted that Jake's ears were lowering in chagrin. "Get Eywa's help? How?" Her daughter said in a tone of exasperation, "He made tsahaylu with Vitraya Ramu nong and sent his spirit to Eywa." Mo'at's jaw dropped open in shock. The Olo'eyctan's ears flattened in anticipati on, but he still wasn't sufficiently prepared for the Tsahik's reaction. He'd be en expecting another cuff upside the head, but he didn't expect a blow so strong that only a reflexively outflung arm prevented him from measuring his length in the grass. "Ow!" Jake covered the side of his head with his hand and looked at his outraged mother-in-law, judging whether or not it was safe to move. He sat up slowly. The Elder's voice was icy, "My daughter needs her mate. My grandchild needs its father. The Omaticaya need their Olo'eyctan. And the Na'vi cannot do without the one man who has a chance of saving them from the Sky People!" He couldn't help but cringe just a bit. "Yeah, that's pretty much what Grace imp lied," Jake admitted sheepishly. Mo'at was astonished, "Grace?" She looked at her daughter, who gestured to her m ate with an ironic flourish. "Tell me everything!" the Tsahik demanded of him. The marine related the entire tale of his experience to the two women. They were amazed by the story. Silence followed as they digested the implications of the encounter. After a few minutes, Mo'at looked at Jake. "When Eywa speaks to a tsahik, it is because she wants that person to act upon what is heard. It is safe to act." She drew a deep breath to steady herself and continued, "The All Mother will direct Her words to the tsahik who is most likely to take the action that is appropria te for the situation. If it is a small thing, She is most likely to direct one o f the lesser tsahik to deal with it." She looked at her daughter, "The Clan Tsah ik is responsible for greater matters. Eywa may need to call upon her to sacrifi ce some individuals for the greater good of the Clan, or of the People." A chill went down Neytiri's spine at those words. Mo'at turned back to Jake, "There has never in the history of the People been an Olo'eyctan who was also tsahik. I believe that Eywa has given you that gift bec ause She will need you to hear Her during the battles that lie ahead."

The idea made him less than comfortable. "What if I miss it? What does She sound like?" The Tsahik asked, "Do you remember the young man that you rejected from ikinmaya ?" Recognition flooded Jake's face, "Yeah, I remember." Mo'at nodded encouragingly, "What made you reject him?" The marine mused, "Nothing obvious. I just had a really strong feeling that ther e'd be trouble if he went." His mother-in-law confirmed, "You were right, there would have been." Neytiri chimed in, "That is how Eywa speaks to a tsahik, Jake. You will suddenly hear or feel something very strongly, something that may have no cause that you can see." Mo'at continued, "Both Neytiri and I also sensed that there would be danger if P a'kan went to ikinmaya, but I told her to stay silent. Eywa spoke to you because it was important that you assert your authority as Olo'eyctan. If you had not a cted on what you heard, I would have done so." The Tsahik summarized, "It is safe to speak TO the All Mother; you do not have t o be in tsahaylu with one of the Sacred Trees to do so. She hears all that Her c hildren say. It is acceptable to request assistance from Her. You saw the entire Clan doing that together when you first arrived at Vitraya Ramunong on Toruk." She then pinned her son-in-law with a steely glare, "Because you ask Her for hel p does not mean that you will get it, or that you will get it in the manner that you expect, or when you expect it. She assists or not, as She wills, to suit He r purposes. Taking action on your own without Her blessing is extremely dangerou s. Tsahik listen because it is our purpose to communicate Eywa's will to the Peo ple. She tells us what needs to be done so that the Na'vi will prosper." Jake nodded to indicate his understanding, and Mo'at concluded, "From now on, yo u are to consider yourself my apprentice in all things tsahik. You may listen fo r Eywa's voice. You may respond to whatever Eywa tells you. For anything else, y ou are to ask me first." The tone of her voice made the prohibition absolute. He wasn't about to argue the point with three (four, if you counted Grace and Ey wa separately) strong females on his case. They decided to keep Jake's gift quie t for the time being. Neytiri was assigned the task of teaching her mate the bas ic exercises, since no one would find their being together remarkable. Mo'at dismissed the pair once she was certain that her son-in-law wouldn't likel y be making any other such gross blunders. Once they had left she stayed there a lone for quite a long time contemplating what had happened to Jake. AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've decided to roll the "Dark Whispers" fic into "Clouds on the Horizon." It's getting too involved to be a standalone fic, it'll be easier for me to coordinate timing / timelines, and it really belongs in "Clouds" anyway. : ) The RDA's CEO finished the instructions he was writing and saved the document to a data stick on which a carefully selected computer virus already resided. He d ouble-encrypted the device with specific hash codes; only the Venture Nova's com puter would be able to decrypt the first level of encoding, and only the main He ll's Gate computer could decipher the second level. Any other computer that acce

ssed the files would find only innocent accounting information. The workstation beeped and ejected the data stick. The CEO shut down his compute r terminal and waited until it went dark before pressing a button on his desk. H is office door opened, and Brown Hair walked in. The head of the RDA stood up and handed the data stick to his associate, "Here i s the virus for Hell's Gate and the instructions for our sleeper agent aboard th e Venture Nova. The head of the black ops unit is awaiting a final briefing in c onference room C. I'd appreciate it if you could handle that personally. You can drop this off on your way there." Brown Hair took the data stick and nodded gracefully. The CEO returned to his desk. "What's the status of the in-orbit ISV?" Brown Hair replied, "The Venture Pulsar's been offloaded and moved to drydock. R etrofitting can begin as soon as the schematics are finalized." The man with the whispery voice frowned, "I don't want a rush job. We've got mor e than five years before Selfridge arrives. We'll have the information from the black ops team and the Hell's Gate virus to consider as well. I want absolute ma ximum possible firepower installed on that ship by the time it leaves here. I'd rather see Pandora destroyed than in the hands of our competitors. When the Vent ure Pulsar arrives in orbit twelve years from now that planet will be ours again or it will be rubble." His associate bowed in acquiescence and took his leave. Brown Hair dropped the d ata stick off in the control center with instructions to transmit the contents t o the Venture Nova, and proceeded to the conference rooms. The individual who awaited him there was remarkably nondescript muddy brown hair and eyes, medium skin tones, no scars or other marks, and a face that was neith er pointed nor round. He was a man you could look directly at and then not be ab le to describe him thirty seconds later. All of which was quite useful if you we re a covert operative. Colonel Aron was one of the best. Brown Hair was quite certain that "Colonel Aron" had as many names as he had way s of killing. It didn't matter, as long as the job got done. "You've been briefed?" the RDA director asked dryly. Aron nodded and extended a hand that sported a two-link chain ring on it. "Got a ll the information you sent. Not much to go on. We've no idea why he turned, he just up and went native?" The director ignored the outstretched hand and took a seat, "We don't know to wh at degree the natives have accepted him. He's an avatar driver, and to all accou nts they weren't on friendly terms with anyone but Augustine. We don't know what 's happened to her." The Colonel dropped his hand and gave his superior a sideways look, "We're to ta ke her into custody if we find her?" Brown Hair confirmed, "She's very valuable to us. Protective custody necessary, but don't harm her." The operative summarized, "But Sully is a target?" The director waggled his hand in a yea-nay gesture. "Potentially. He may be sitt by force if

ing on something of enormous value. It could be he's waiting for an offer. If he is, negotiate. Offer him whatever he wants, but don't make it too easy." A very nasty grin creased Aron's face. "And when we've got what we want?" Brown Hair summarized, "Your primary objective is to get the information we need in order to retake Hell's Gate. Take it only if you can do so successfully and be able to hold it until we can send reinforcements. Secondary objective is to g et the intel on whatever Sully may be sitting on. Acquire control of it if you c an. After you achieve those objectives, we really don't care what happens to Cor poral Sully." The director sounded bored, "Your ship will contain a delegation that's been ins tructed to carry out negotiations with Sully and the natives for a peaceful retu rn of the facility to RDA control. That's your cover. You and your men will be a wakened from cryo before the negotiators and will be dropped on the planet witho ut their knowledge. Any questions?" Aron had a self-satisfied smile on his face, "No sir." Excitement built in the clan over the next couple of weeks as the semiannual gat hering approached. The craft masters were flown to the site with their clan's su bmissions two days before it opened; by the time everyone arrived most of the ju dging would be complete and the proud winners' crafts on display for all to admi re. The gathering was held where the plainsland of the Horse Clans met the tree line of the Omaticaya's new territory, where there was plenty of space for all to sp read out and a branch of the river that supplied New Hometree provided fresh wat er for the thirsty gatherers and their beasts. Jake's first thought on arriving was that it looked like the country fairs he'd read about as a kid. A cooking area had been set up and was already going full b last. Each clan was serving their signature dishes, and he could tell that he wa s going to gain at least a couple of pounds by the time he got through sampling all of the items that were sending such tempting scents into the air. He watched the fighting-contests with great interest. Hunters competed to see wh o was the most accurate with a bow at the farthest distances (they all looked da mned deadly to Jake.) Warriors wrestled and engaged in knife fights with dulled wooden blades that had been dipped in paint. Preliminary racing heats were already in progress on a course marked out on the grassy plain. Five pa'li thundered past as Jake watched, spectators cheering on their favorites. He noted that the grass was quickly getting pounded into the di rt; by the time the final races took place there would be a solid clear track fo r the animals to run on. Neytiri pulled on Jake's hand and excitedly tugged him to where they could get a good view of a number of ikran that were flying acrobatically above the gatheri ng-grounds. They appeared to be fighting. Neytiri explained, "Each ikran has a s trip of grass-cloth tied to its tail. There are two teams. Each team tries to re move the cloth-strips from the other team's ikran. When one team has lost all of its cloth-strips, the game is over and the other side wins." The game looked fantastic to Jake. He was itching to try it but his own ikran wa s still tired from having flown here so he had to settle for cheering on the par ticipants. It was such a rush that they stayed and watched two more matches befo re moving on. He promised himself that he was going to try it as soon as he got back to New Hometree.

To his great embarassment (and Neytiri's delight,) Pohtey and the Omaticaya Sing ers were already performing the Song of the Sixth Toruk Makto near the gathering -tents, and they had a considerable audience. The tsahik couldn't help snickerin g as Jake hurried her past the group. Many hides and cloths had been set up as awnings to provide shade and shelter fo r the people and for all of the craft items that were on display. Weapons of all kinds, leather goods, cloth, bone, wood, clay, and jewel crafts filled numerous tents. Food-gatherers displayed baskets of all kinds of fruits, berries, roots, and vegetables from their home areas. There were tents displaying the results o f hunters' work, great skulls, bones, teeth, and pelts of all kinds of creatures . Great fish that had been cleaned and then dried or salted whole to preserve th em were on display, advertising wares available for trade. Jake saw one of A'tey's assistants bargaining with a counterpart from the fishin g-clan and he brightened at the prospect of something different to eat. That was n't the only bargain in process; there were Na'vi all around him eagerly negotia ting for whatever had caught their eye, or on behalf of their clans. Children were running around everywhere, shrieking their delight as they called to their parents or companions to come see this now, happily kicking brightly co lored stuffed leather balls all over the place. Jake had to duck once as an enth usiatic but badly aimed ball came a little too close. Other children munched hap pily on sweet fruits or other treats while they walked with their parents. A young boy appeared in front of the couple, running full-out to try and grab a wildly-thrown ball. Neytiri had to catch him or get run down, and got a lovely s urprise when the lad turned to her to apologize. "Natan!" The child whom she'd consoled over the loss of his parents went wide-eyed as he recognized who he'd literally run into. "Tsahik Neytiri!" He immediately wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug. Teekan came trotting up and looked abashed as Jake handed him the errant toy. "M y apologies, Olo'eyctan. I'm afraid my ball-throwing is not as good as it should be." Jake chuckled, "Well, no harm done." Neytiri smiled at the boy, "Teekan brought you to the gathering?" Natan nodded enthusiastically, "I am with him now. He is teaching me how to hunt and to fight. He says that I will surely have a fine ikran one day, and then I will be able to fly in the ikran games!" The boy's happiness radiated off of him like sunshine. She hugged the child, "I am happy for you, my young friend. Eywa has blessed you greatly." The hug was joyfully returned. Teekan laid a hand on Natan's shoulder, as proud as any father. "She has blessed us both," he said softly and looked at the tsahik. "I like to think that if Gra ce had lived she and I would have had a child like Natan. I consider him a gift from both Grace and the All Mother. Both of us have found our joy again, right N atan?" The boy nodded enthusiastically and let go of Neytiri to hug his new foster-fath er. The man tousled Natan's hair fondly and said, "I'm sure I smelled tapirus ro asting on the cook-fires earlier ."

He didn't need to say another word. Natan grabbed Teekan's hand and said "Let's go!" The hunter laughed and let himself be pulled away by his young charge, nodd ing farewell at Jake and Neytiri as the boy all but dragged him towards the food . Jake chuckled, "A boy is a boy, no matter what planet he's from." Neytiri had to blot a happy tear from her eye, and said a silent and fervent pra yer of thanks to Eywa for Her healing both Natan and Teekan's hearts. They spent the rest of the day wandering through the tents, watching the various contests, and sampling the many food items available. Jake was relieved to see Mo'at's sacred prayer shawl displayed prominently in the cloth crafting tent wit h a small red feather attached to it, indicating that it had taken high honors f rom the judges. His own collar had a small white feather attached, but that didn 't bother him at all. As long as his clan artisans' honor was satisfied, he was happy. When evening came they listened to the singers of some neighboring clans until t hey were ready to sleep. They bedded down together in one of the guest areas. Ja ke couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive; tomorrow, he would have his mee ting with all the local clan Olo'eyctan and Tsahiks. Tomorrow, he would have to tell the Na'vi that the Sky People were coming back to Pandora. Jake and Neytiri encountered a familiar face early the next morning. They had op ted to breakfast at one of the plains clans' cook-fires. The clansfolk were serv ing pockets of flat bread made from the abundant grains that grew in their lands , and had stuffed them with tart berries drizzled with a sweet fruit syrup. He h adn't tasted anything more delicious in his life, wolfing the first one down so fast that he nearly inhaled it and walking away with another one in each hand. "A'tey would feel hurt if she saw you now," Neytiri teased. "She would say that people would fault her for not feeding her Olo'eyctan properly." Jake managed to chew and speak at the same time, "I can't help it! Everything he re tastes so good. Even teylu tastes better than the pond scum I ate all the tim e growing up." "Maybe we should move higher in the Tree then," his mate teased, "or maybe you s hould run all the new hunters to ikinmaya so that you will not become as round a s a tapirus and be mistaken for a meal by a nantang!" Neytiri's eyes were sparkling, but she couldn't help feeling a bit of a shudder inside. Jake had explained to her how Earth was so overcrowded that the only sou rce of protein abundant enough to feed so many was the spirulina algae that thri ved in the polluted seas of the planet. It had horrified her to even think of su ch an out-of-balance situation. Truly, Pandora and the Na'vi were indeed fortuna te to have Eywa looking out for them. Her mate's preoccupation with all the diff erent foods the People enjoyed was certainly understandable! A familiar voice added, "Or perhaps Toruk would choose to dine on him instead of fly with him!" They turned to see the Olo'eyctan of the Ikran Clan of the Eastern Sea walking u p behind them with one of the berry pockets in her hand. "Kaltxi Jake, Neytiri," she greeted them with a smile. "Oel ngati kameie, Perrat, it is good to see you again," Mo'at's daughter return ed the greeting to give her mate time to swallow a huge mouthful of berries and bread.

Perrat held up her own breakfast in acknowledgement, "And you. It is pleasant to be able to speak without a war hanging over our heads." The Sea Clan's Olo'eyct an frowned momentarily; she'd been briefed by scouts that had returned from visi ting the Omaticaya that they were experiencing no more than a lull in hostilitie s. She knew very well what Jake's private meeting was likely to cover. "Would yo u walk with me for a bit?" Jake had cleared his mouth and gestured towards the pa'li raceway, which was emp ty at this early hour and would afford them some privacy. "Certainly." The trio strolled casually away from the cook-fires, speaking in normal tones so as to attract no interest. Perrat ate a huge bite of her berry pocket and then commented, "I would be grateful if the two of you would come visit the Eastern S ea clan for a few days. There are some things that I would like to discuss that need more privacy than a clan-gathering." Jake was concerned, "Is something wrong?" The female Olo'eyctan furrowed her brow in concern. "Not wrong, but unusual. My Ts ahik is uneasy." Neytiri asked, "Uneasy? Why? What is happening?" The concern became worry. "The fish are running early, and their numbers are gre ater, but she senses that it is not because the fish are prospering. There shoul d be more fish-predators following such rich schools, but their numbers are the same. We are also seeing fish in our waters that are normally only seen far to t he east or west." Perrat turned to Neytiri and said, "Eywa has said to Mirran th at the clan should start new storage-caves and begin drying fish to fill them." "Oh!" The worry on the Sea Clan leader's face was instantly mirrored on Mo'at's daughter. Jake was puzzled. "I don't understand. Why is it a problem if there are more fis h than usual? Isn't that a good thing?" Neytiri explained, "It is out of balance Jake, and that is bad. If there are mor e fish but no more predators to eat them, then something has gone wrong, or is a bout to go wrong." Perrat contributed, "My Clan does not usually need to store fish. With all the s ea in front of us and Eywa to care for us, even a child can cast a long-line int o the surf and catch a fish to eat in less time than it takes to pick a basket o f berries. We dry some fish for convenience during the cold-season, and for the days when storms lash the water, but we have no need for great stocks of stored fish. That Eywa has told us to begin creating such stocks is not a reassuring th ing." His mate continued, "Such a thing has happened before." Jake looked at Neytiri c uriously. "The third Toruk Makto was herself a Tsahik, and Eywa told her and all the other Tsahiks of the Clans to lay in great stores of food," she explained. "There were great runs of fish, and tapirus, and yerik, and talioang. The People listened to Toruk Makto and stored as much food as they could. Then one day, al l the animals disappeared." Jake's eyes went wide, and Perrat picked up the tale. "Two days after all the cr eatures disappeared, the People were awakened by the most awful noise that any o f them had ever heard. The ground itself screamed like a wounded palulukan, and thrashed about as if it were in agony. Indeed, the land was ripped apart in many places. Great waves such as no Na'vi in memory or tale had ever heard of came i

n from the sea and destroyed much. If the Sea Clans had not heeded the warnings of the Toruk Makto and stayed where they were, they would have been swallowed wh ole by the waters." Neytiri shuddered. "But that was not the worst of the danger. When the land beca me still once again, and the People began to recover from the damage, they disco vered that the dangerous beasts had feasted on the corpses of the creatures kill ed by the land-shake. Feasted and multiplied. Areas that had supported a single pack of nantang now held five, and the packs were twice as large as they had bee n. Packs so large were not afraid of any size party of hunters." Jake could see what had happened next. "And then the free food ran out." Perrat nodded grimly. "The animals that had survived the land-shake were decimat ed by the larger, more numerous packs. And when the predators had cleaned their lands of carcasses and creatures ." He replied grimly, "They turned to the Na'vi." Neytiri confirmed, "To even step into the jungle was a death sentence. One woman of the Omaticaya walked out from under Hometree to fetch water from the lake ri ght in front of her and was caught and dragged off by a starving pack even as ot hers watched helplessly." Perrat concluded, "The People had to live off of their stored food for most of a year until the predators finished devouring themselves, for want of other prey. Toruk Makto and her hunters flew from Clan to Clan for months, ferrying food an d rescuing those in need. Had we not listened to her most of the Na'vi would hav e perished." The marine shuddered, "And now the fish are running in great numbers again ." The Sea Clan Olo'eyctan nodded uneasily. "I do not say that what happened then i s about to happen again, but this is not normal. I would appreciate the chance t o speak of it more with you, privately. After the gathering?" Neytiri turned to her mate and took his arm, "I would like to go, Jake. I will n ot be able to travel much longer, and I would like to visit the sea." The red-painted woman brightened, "You are with child then, Neytiri?" Mo'at's daughter nodded happily and Perrat's face cleared, worry momentarily for gotten. "Congratulations! Eywa has blessed you and the Omaticaya. Let us put the se concerns aside for the moment and celebrate. We will need to deal with them s oon enough." Jake knew that they would, indeed. Jake's stomach was twisting itself into knots as the Olo'eyctans and Tsahiks arr ived at the meeting location. What the hell do I think I'm doing? What in God's name am I doing here? Who the hell am I to lead anyone into a battle, much less a planetary war? Who do the Na'vi think I am that they're willing to follow me i nto a slaughter? How the hell am I supposed to live up to that? More such though ts raced through his head until Neytiri touched his arm. He looked at her and could tell that she saw what he was thinking. She laid a ha nd on the side of his face wordlessly. Jake saw trust and encouragement in her e yes. He drew on her confidence as if it were a lifeline and gave a heavy sigh. N eytiri smiled and dropped her hand. I'm the only one who has any idea of what's coming. The only one who has any ide

a of what the Sky People are capable of, how they think, how they operate. I'm t he only one who knows and is in a position to do something. I'm no great general but I'm the best they've got, and they know it. And they're right. His gratitud e towards his mate was plain on his face. Jake drew in a deep breath. He wasn't an orator, either. He was just a jarhead grunt. But his cause and the cause of t he Na'vi was the same. He'd just have to rely on that. "Thank you nths: more signation, o be under for coming. You've all received the same message over the past few mo Sky People are coming." Jake looked around at his audience. He saw re apprehension, anger, and thankfully, fear. He didn't want the Na'vi t any misapprehension about the perilous nature of their situation.

"The home of the Sky People is so far away from here that it takes six years for one of their ships to make the journey. Because it is so far, they do not wait for one ship to come to Pandora and return. They send a ship once every year and a half. Right now, there are two ships that are more than halfway to Pandora. T he first one will arrive in seven months, and the second ship a year and a half after that." Jake saw Neytiri start, and turned to her inquiringly. She shook he r head in negation and motioned him to continue. "Our dreamwalker allies have told the two ships closest to the Sky People home t o return, but the two ships that are almost here cannot return without supplies from the dreamwalkers. They have been told that they will be given what they nee d to return home, but that no Sky People will be allowed to stay on Pandora and that they must leave as soon as they have their supplies." There were some murmurings and grumblings among the assembled, and Jake hastened to add, "The Sky People aboard these ships are not the ones that hurt us, the o nes we threw out. They have been asleep for years, and they know nothing of what has happened here. The dreamwalkers have told the ship to keep the Sky People a sleep until they have returned home. We will not harm them, but we will not allo w them to stay either." He was relieved to see nods and to hear the grumblings s ubside. "The Sky People we threw out will have sent a message to their home. I am sure t hat those on the home world will send another ship when they receive that messag e. I do not know if they will want that ship to talk to us or to fight with us, but it will take six years to get here." Black looks from his audience boded ill for the inhabitants of that ship. Jake continued, "When the Sky People that we threw out arrive home in six years and speak to their friends another ship will probably be sent, and that one will most likely be sent for war." Perrat queried, "So the greatest dangers will be from the six year and twelve ye ar ships?" The marine nodded and confirmed, "The next two ships left the Sky People's home years ago, long before our battle this past year. They do not contain great numb ers of warriors or weapons. They contain no more of the flying machines. By keep ing most of the Sky People in the ship asleep there should be very little danger to us." "So what do we do?" asked an Olo'eyctan who bore huge scars from the last battle . Jake replied "Tsahik Mo'at has suggested that each clan send its five best warri ors to be part of a war party that will be at the dreamwalker's camp when the ne w ship arrives. I don't expect that we will need to fight, but the presence of a war party will tell the new Sky People that we will not allow them to stay."

There were some fierce nods and thoughtful looks. "If this ship and the one after it leave without fighting, as you say, what abou t the other two ships?" a Tsahik queried. "Those are the ones I'm concerned about," Toruk Makto confirmed. "We must be pre pared to fight when they arrive." The Olo'eyctan of Green Rock Clan exploded, "The only reason they did not destro y us last time was because Eywa sent the younger brothers and sisters to help us , and we cannot count on that again. How are we to defeat such an enemy?" It was the opening the marine wanted. "By giving them what they do not expect." The group was puzzled. "Here, look at this." He dumped a small carry net filled with seed pods and other items before the gro up. "You have seen palulukan hunt talioang," he stated. Jake arranged a number o f large green seed pods in a circle, and put a handful of nuts in the center. A black rock was placed outside the circle. "The black rock is palulukan, the green pods are talioang, and the nuts are chil d-talioang. When palulukan attacks a herd, they circle to protect the young." Ev eryone nodded. Jake moved one of the pods forward. "Palulukan will try to draw one adult out an d kill it. If he can create a break in the circle, he can reach the young inside ." He accompanied his words by jumping the rock onto the nuts, past the breached circle. "If palulukan is unsuccessful at drawing an adult out, he eventually gi ves up and goes away, but he will return to threaten the herd another day, right ?" The marine looked up and saw agreement on all the faces around him. "Now," he proposed, "imagine this." He reset the seed pods and the rock. "An adu lt allows itself to be drawn out, puts up a fight and convinces palulukan that i t is down." He moved a seed pod to the side. "Palulukan jumps for the young as b efore, but," Jake scooped up the handful of nuts and replaced it with another gr een pod. "Instead of the young it expected to find, there are more adult warrior s." He moved the pods on either side of the 'breach' together. "The other adults close the gap after palulukan has entered, and ." Perrat said in a tone of intense concentration "Palulukan is surrounded by warri ors on all sides, and the herd kills him." "Exactly," said Jake. "Palulukan will threaten the herd no more." He looked arou nd at the astounded group. "Imagine each clan's warriors as one of those talioan g, and the Sky People as palulukan.This is just one example of how to lure an en emy in by giving him what he expects to see and then surprising him with what he does not expect. We can adapt this strategy to many different situations." Ever yone understood what he was getting at. "But someone must coordinate all this, tell each clan how to move and when," obs erved another clan-leader. "Toruk Makto will do that, of course," Perrat instantly replied, "Who better? He knows the enemy, knows how they move, their strengths and weaknesses. Jake will know what they expect to see and what they will not expect. But this must be pr acticed if we are to succeed." There was general agreement. The marine couldn't believe it was going to be this easy. "And that brings me to the other thing I wished to discuss." He spoke carefully, as he had rehearsed w

ith Neytiri and Mo'at, to put things in a framework that the other Na'vi would u nderstand. "Most of the Sky People are insane, sick in their minds because they do not have an Eywa to care for them." He saw the group shudder. "Because they are mind-sick, they do terrible things to others that no sane pers on would do. They will attack people who are not fighting, women and children. T hey will even mutilate a defenseless enemy who has already fallen." The Na'vi le aders were incredulous. Mo'at affirmed grimly, "I have seen this with my own eyes. Our Olo'eyctan Tsu'te y was shot by the Sky People's guns and fell from the sky during the Great Battl e. He told the hunter who found him that a Sky Person warrior had come across hi m helpless on the ground, already dying, and the insane one deliberately cut off Tsu'tey's queue." Several members of the group heaved and retched; others put their hands over the ir mouths in an attempt to keep from joining them. Jake nodded, "They would do the same to every Na'vi in their power if they could ." He didn't want to tell them how much worse he'd seen during his time in the m arines. "For that reason, I want to add some teachings to the basic knife skills that all young Na'vi are taught. I can teach everyone how they can better defen d themselves and to fight without any weapons at all if necessary." Green Rock Clan's leader was skeptical, "How can an unarmed Na'vi hope to save t hemselves against one of the Sky People?" The marine stood up and gestured, "That's what I'd like to show you." Jake spoke to the group, "To show how you can defend yourself in a fight, I'll n eed someone to attack me." Green Rock Clan's Olo'eyctan was on his feet in a moment and the marine nodded a pproval. "Don't hold back, attack me like you really mean it. When you land on t he ground without meaning to, the attack is over." They moved to the center of the circle and the men squared off. There were a few tense seconds as the men sized each other up, and then the Na'vi charged. Jake waited until his opponent was almost on him, then crouched suddenly, grabbe d the man around the knees, straightened up, and heaved. The astonished warrior went flying through the air, windmilling his arms frantically and landing uncere moniously in the grass. There were a couple of chuckles and approving noises. The marine smiled and gest ured to another warrior as the first man got up. "Would you assist us?" Ra'ki was astonished. "Two on one? That is not a fair fight." And that is one weakness that all of you are going to have to get over if you ar e going to survive this, Jake thought to himself and said, "Please?" The leader of the Sighing Grass Clan shrugged and got up. The two men set themse lves side by side in front of Toruk Makto. You are about to find out what a mistake that is, my friends, he thought. One of the Tsahiks gave a short bark to start the fight. The warriors charged Ja ke in unison. When they were a pace away he launched himself at their shins and knocked both their legs out from under them, dumping them facefirst on the groun

d. He used his momentum to complete the roll and stood back up on his feet. My o ld instructor would be chewing my ass out for 'gutter fighting' right now, but e ffective is as effective does. While the two men were getting up, he motioned to a third Olo'eyctan with a beck oning gesture. The Na'vi were shocked, "Three?" Jake nodded and waited until a third attacker joined the group. This time they w ere smart enough to spread out and encircle him. He judged the spacing carefully and put himself a step closer to one of the three before indicating that he was ready. A bark sounded the attack and the three Na'vi closed in. This time he took a step towards his chosen assailant and reached out for the ma n's arm. He grabbed it, pulled it in towards him, pivoted, and threw the man ove r his shoulder directly into the two oncoming fighters. The three went down in a heap. This time there were cheers from the watching crowd. Cheers turned to shock as the marine indicated that a fourth warrior should join the group. Even Mo'at was surprised, "Four on one?" He beckoned insistently, and a fourth man joined the group. They encircled him a gain. This time, Jake kept to the exact center of the circle. A small smile appe ared momentarily. My old martial arts instructor would have my ass for this one. The shout came; the four charged in, intending to bury him. In the second before they converged, Jake simply dropped and rolled for daylight. The four warriors crashed unceremoniously together, the whole group of them endi ng up in a groaning heap on the ground. Uproarious laughter erupted from the larger circle of watchers, to the chagrin o f the battered warriors. Jake gave them a couple of moments to get themselves to gether and gestured again. Incredulity replaced amusement on the faces of the wa tchers. And then Perrat rose from the group to take her place among the four Olo'eyctan. She set herself in the circle with the others and waited for the shout that star ted the fight. Unlike the others she did not charge in immediately but prowled t he outer edge of the melee, waiting for an opening. Jake was very aware of her, even as he dropped and took out two of the warriors with a leg-sweep that knocked them down. He stood as the momentum of his leg str ike brought him around, grabbed the man nearest him and simply threw the warrior bodily into his companion. Four down. He turned to face Perrat in a slight crou ch, hands open and ready. The Olo'eyctan of the Eastern Sea Clan smiled and drew her knife, to the astonis hed gasps of the others. They started what almost amounted to a dance. Perrat feinted, testing. Jake sway ed out of the way. She made an experimental slash at eye level, to see if he wou ld blink. She presented several targets that way, but he opted to let them pass. Perrat stabbed forward but didn't commit to the strike, and the marine jumped ba ck. There were muffled cries from the audience. She figured she had his measure, and set herself to truly test him. She hauled back with her knife arm and slash ed forward at chest level with all her strength. It was a huge mistake. Jake had been studying her moves as well. If my knife ins

tructor was here, he'd beat your ass raw for being an amateur, Perrat. Your weap on is your hand, not the knife, and you don't realize that. The Na'vi was fighti ng as she had been taught her fist, holding the knife hilt, was leading the stri ke. It was a horrible error, as she was about to find out. Jake swung his left fist sideways at chest height, across his body, his torso tu rning to add impetus to the strike. He struck her wrist, blocking her blow and c osting her her grip on the knife. His right hand followed and clamped down on th e numbed wrist. He raised her arm, pivoted, and swung around to twist her right arm behind her back. His left hand snaked over her shoulder and grabbed her by t he throat. They stood still for the space of two heartbeats. It was over. Jake let go of Perrat, then retrieved her knife from the grass and handed it to her with a smile, hilt-first. She accepted it with an ironic nod of acknowledgem ent. The Na'vi were absolutely floored. They'd never seen such a thing in all their l ives. The eldest of the Tsahiks shook her head unbelievingly, "Five on one, with a knife, and they lose. Five Olo'eyctans! And all he was doing was defending hi mself! Not so much as a scratch on him! He never even attacked!" Toruk Makto looked to the group, breathing easily. "If we teach these moves to a ll the People, even young ones would have a chance to defend themselves until wa rriors come, or to be able to run away to safety." "And how do you intend to teach so many?" someone demanded. He nodded acknowledgement, "When each clan has chosen its five warriors to be pa rt of the war party, send them to Omaticaya two months before the ship is to arr ive. I will train them to act as the tailoang," he gestured to the seed pods sti ll on the ground, "and I will teach them how to defend. When the ship is gone an d they return to you, they will begin teaching your clans how to do the same." "And after that?" the exhausted and battered Green Rock Clan leader asked. Jake looked at them resolutely and committed himself. "At the gathering after th e ship leaves, let them come back to Omaticaya for another two moons and I will teach them how to fight." The meeting broke up into several small groups, discussing the amazing demonstra tion. Jake made a beeline for Neytiri and pulled her aside. "You were going to s ay something at the beginning. What was it?" His mate looked at him with a troubled expression, "Jake, I will be heavy with o ur child when the new ship arrives. I will not be able to fight with you." He'd thought of that a while ago but hadn't wanted to throw cold water on the jo y she'd been feeling. He took her face in his hands and spoke softly, "I think E ywa knows that this ship isn't dangerous to us, so she's given you something to do that's a lot more important than being bored sitting in a tree outside Hell's Gate for a few days." She gave him a brief smile, but he could tell that she wa s still disturbed. The noise of an approaching crowd broke into all of the conversations. Everyone looked to see dozens of Na'vi approaching their conclave. Nasato was in the lead , and he was followed by something Jake had never expected to see five Na'vi wea ring clothes! All five were wearing leather breeches and moccasin-type footwear. Three were we aring soft hide vests; two were bare-chested in acknowledgement of the warm weat

her. Every piece of clothing was lavishly decorated. It was obvious that many in the crowd were itching to examine the garments close-up. Nasato waved when he saw Awkey. "Kaltxi, ma'tsmukan. We have visitors! These bro thers and sisters have come all the way from the Ice Lands to see Toruk Makto!" Almost everyone present did a doubletake. It had been generations since any of t he local clans had seen a Na'vi from so far away. Jake waved to get Nasato's attention, "Here I am." The brother of the Horse Clans' Olo'eyctan shepherded the guests over to the Oma ticaya leader. "Ta'sit of the White Mountain Clan, this is Jake Sully, Omaticaya Olo'eyctan and Toruk Makto," Nasato formally introduced the head of the delegat ion. For the first time Jake wished that he had his stupid Olo'eyctan collar on. He felt rather naked. The tall Na'vi nodded and then asked, "Forgive me for making an odd request, my brother, but may I see your hands?" Jake obligingly displayed them and saw expressions of relief and confirmation ap pear on the faces of all the newcomers. He put them down and queried, "May I ask why my hands are important to you?" Ta'sit explained, "Two months ago Eywa spoke to our Tsahik, Ramanoa. She said th at Toruk Makto flew once more and that he had wisdom that the People would need to learn in order to face a great enemy from the sky who will come years from no w. The All Mother told Ramanoa that five warriors of our clan must journey north to seek out Toruk Makto, and that we would know that we had found him when we m et a Na'vi with five fingers on each hand. We are to stay until we have seen thi s enemy with our own eyes and then bring this wisdom back to the White Mountain Clan and our nearby brother-clans so that all may be prepared when the Great War comes." Jake almost reeled. How in the hell ? he thought to himself in shock. Mo'at saw her son in law's expression and smoothly introduced herself to take th e pressure off of him. "I am Mo'at, Omaticaya Tsahik." She indicated Neytiri, "T his is my daughter Neytiri, mate to Toruk Makto and our future Tsahik." The grou p politely acknowledged the introductions. "You are very welcome among us, broth ers and sisters. Our Hometree is not far from here and we would be pleased for y ou to stay with us for as long as you like. What you see here," she indicated th e quickly-growing crowd, "is the semi-annual Gathering of all the local clans, w hose Olo'eyctans and Tsahiks these are." She indicated the group around her. Awkey looked up at the sun, which was halfway down the sky. "It grows late in th e day. Not even the swiftest ikran will be able to fly you to the Omaticaya's Ho metree before night falls, and that is not a time for those who are unfamiliar w ith the area to be about." A couple of the visitors' eyes bugged out at his words. Fly? It was obvious that flying was not a common mode of travel for their people. He continued, "Please, be our guests and rest here for the night. You must be hu ngry and thirsty, and the best food and drink that our clans can make is hot and ready. Allow us to entertain you. You can continue on to the Omaticaya's Hometr ee in the morning, when you are rested." It was obvious that everyone was dying for a chance to speak to their far-away kin. Ta'sit bowed his head in gracious acceptance of both the hospitality and the cur iosity. "Thank you, we would be grateful. The journey has been long, and we welc

ome the chance to speak with our brothers and sisters." The Horse Clans' Olo'eyc tan gestured towards the cook-pits, and the whole group started moving off in th at direction. Jake lagged behind with Mo'at and Neytiri, badly spooked. "How the hell did that happen? I only decided to teach the Na'vi a little while ago! How did they know to come? And why did all the clan leaders agree so easily? I was expecting all kinds of arguments, that I'd have to convince everyone. I mean, they all saw how badly the Sky People overpowered us in the war, but I thought there'd be a lot of resistance to having a dreamwalker teaching them Sky People skills." Neytiri touched his arm comfortingly as they walked. "That is because you do not understand the Na'vi fully yet, Jake." Mo'at explained, "There is much more to being Toruk Makto than simply taming Tor uk. There are any number of ikran makto that have the ability and skill to ride Last Shadow, but that is not what determines who rides the Olo'eyctan of the ski es." Jake looked at his mother in law with a puzzled expression and she continued, "O nly Eywa decides who rides Toruk, and She only allows it when the People are in great peril. The person She chooses is the one who knows what must be done in or der to save us all. Every single person She has chosen has saved the Na'vi from terrible danger. No one would be so foolish as to disagree with you. To go again st Toruk Makto is insanity; he is the All Mother's own hand, guiding and protect ing us." Jake couldn't help but shudder. He was starting to feel like a piece that someon e was moving around on a great, unseen chessboard, and he didn't like it at all. Not that there was a damned thing he could do about it which also didn't help. He sighed and wondered if there might be any berry pockets left as they approach ed the cook-pits. There were so many wanting to speak to their kin from the Ice Lands that it was afternoon of the following day by the time the group finally arrived at New Home tree. Mo'at had spoken with the kinsmen and acquainted them with recent events. She ex plained that Jake had not yet made a general announcement to the Omaticaya about the coming ships, and asked the cousins not to speak of it just yet. The clan d id not need to have the joy of a gathering marred by such news; she'd advised Ja ke to wait at least a day after their return to inform the people. The Tsahik ha d a shrewd notion that between the new cousins and a gathering, the impact of he aring that more Sky People were coming would be significantly blunted. She was right. The entire clan was electrified when the cousins arrived at New H ometree. Nothing would do but they must show their entire home off, immediately, from the ikran-roosts at the very top to every single craft area on the ground level. Some of the great tree's branches bore more weight in curious Omaticaya t hat day than they would see for many decades to come. The tour gave A'tey (newly back from the gathering) and her crew time enough to prepare a meal worthy of a great celebration. And there certainly was cause to celebrate. The weavers' reputation had been wel l upheld by Mo'at shawl, which had been awarded highest honors as an emeritus pi ece, and Jake's collar had not gone unremarked either. The greatest victory was a totally unexpected one, however. A'tey had entered Norm's mint sauce into the cooking contest without saying anyt

hing to him, and it had taken top honors. The poor scientist's first thought whe n he saw a crowd of Omaticaya running towards him yelling was that he'd inadvert antly violated some unknown cultural taboo and was about to be executed. The Na' vi he'd been standing with had gotten the gist of the excited shouts before he d id, and they'd grabbed the anthropologist's arms to lift him into the air and pa rade him around the Tree in jubilation. A full party broke out as the Singers brought out their drums and other instrume nts and started playing. Food and drink were soon being passed around (Mo'at smi led to herself when Jake quickly passed the kava bowl along without drinking any of it.) Dancing broke out in earnest after the meal, and there were many more participat ing than usual. All of the White Mountain clan Na'vi were young and unmated; the re was a considerable amount of flirting going on, and interest on both sides. A nd that was not the only focus. Norm had earned the Na'vi's respect and a place in the tribe for his actions dur ing the war. He'd been content with that, enjoying the freedom to study the Peop le at will, from the inside. It was natural that his new clanmembers had been in terested in their dreamwalker-brother at first, but he'd been relieved when he'd become enough of a fixture around New Hometree that their interest had turned t o other things. Now that interest was back, and more than doubled. He'd brought great honor to t he Omaticaya by having a winning entry in the gathering, and his status had take n a huge leap. Norm had gone from being almost unnoticed to someone that the unm ated females were suddenly very aware of. A large group surrounded him for most of the evening, since he didn't want to be impolite by declining anyone's invita tion to dance. Neytiri watched her mate's best friend often, and had to hide a s mile when she caught sight of Tanhi wearing an almost-snarl which was directed a t one woman who was being quite forward with the dreamwalker. Jake was relieved as he watched his people enjoying themselves from his customar y place on the sidelines. Mo'at was right, he thought. It had been a very good i dea to put the news off for one more day. Neytiri saw the shadow over his smile and took his hand to comfort him, knowing the reason for it. He caressed her che ek in his characteristic gesture and she leaned into it, pleased. She scooted ov er to settle herself against his side and he wrapped an arm around her so that t hey could watch their clan together. One Omaticaya stayed in the shadow of a great pillar, not at all inclined to joi n the celebration. Pa'kan was watching Kiree and a group of her friends dance wi th one of the young male visitors. Her cheeks were colored more deeply than usua l, her body-spots bright. She spoke shyly to the young man, who responded with a smile and a comment that made her face color further. Pa'kan scowled in displea sure and looked around the area. Everyone was having a good time; he knew that h e would soon be noticed if he remained, so he slipped away into the shadows of t he approaching evening with the sight of Kiree and the stranger burning in his m ind. Jake announced the arrival of more Sky People ships the following evening. He st ressed that the people soon to come were few in number, mostly not warriors, tha t there would be no more flying machines, and that Vitraya Ramunong and New Home tree were in no danger. He told them that the ice-cousins and the best warriors from all the local clans would form a war party to make sure that the newcomers would leave quietly, and that he would begin teaching them how to defend themsel ves better. The Olo'eyctan said that in years to come there would be a need to f ight, but that they had time to prepare for it.

The Omaticaya took the news well, all things considered. Toruk Makto had saved t hem from the Sky People once already, and he said that the People would be all r ight. He called the clans once again, and would teach them how to fight and how to win. With that, they were content enough. Jake began teaching the day after he made his announcement, making a schedule th at was already full almost hectic. He and Sir'tey selected a small group of expe rienced older hunters and when they had taught a few basic moves, assigned young er ones to learn from those, who would teach still others in their turn. Then th ey would teach the original group a few more things, and so on. The Olo'eyctan's regular duties still needed his attention too; he attended the hunters' meeting each day. Sir'tey insisted that he hunt at least once a week, t o keep his hand in (and, Jake suspected, to make sure that he got a break every so often.)There was always more to learn about the creatures of Pandora, their n ew lands, and his people. He insisted on continuing to visit each of the craftsm ans' groups on a regular basis too. The results of that practice were so benefic ial that he honestly couldn't justify dropping it. Meeting with Norm daily was also a priority now that the scientists' avatars wer e showing up at New Hometree by ones and twos on a regular basis, he was incredi bly antsy and absolutely needed to stay on top of any potential gaffes. Fortunat ely, the ice-kin occupied a great deal of the Omaticaya's attention. They'd been familiar with dreamwalkers for years, after all. Na'vi from so far away were su ch a novelty that a few minor human goofs went nearly unremarked upon, for which the new Olo'eyctan was profoundly grateful. Jake also met with Mo'at daily. He gathered a huge amount of background informat ion on the life of the Na'vi while she taught him all about being tsahik. His re spect for his mother in law grew greater by the day, as did his compassion. He h ad no idea how he'd be able to function if he lost Neytiri, and that fact that M o'at kept on going without Eytukan impressed the woman's incredible strength on him like nothing else could. Most important of all, he wanted no, needed to learn how to be a father to a Na' vi child. He spent as much of every day with Neytiri as possible. When she had t o tend to her duties as tsahik, he would often go visit the child-tenders and as k them all the questions he could think of. They showed him how to hold a child properly, how to feed and care for it, and especially how to keep it from crawli ng off to places where it shouldn't go. Jake was often exhausted by the time nig ht fell. He definitely had no trouble sleeping! Neytiri shooed her mate off to his duties after the hunters' meeting on the fift h day after the big announcement and smiled fondly as he disappeared in the dire ction of the archery-ground, where the new fighting practices were held. Jake wo rked hard to be a good Olo'eyctan, and she was very proud of him. There wasn't any place she needed to be immediately, so she decided to take a wa lk along the river. Jake is still new to our world and our people, she mused to herself. He knows that, and because of it he takes nothing for granted. She came upon a convenient log and sat down as her thoughts turned to another. Unlike Ts u'tey; he assumed much more than he should have. The young tsahik remembered how the former Olo'eyctan had died and tears came to her eyes. Poor Tsu'tey. I never meant to hurt him, and no one should ever have to suffer what he suffered. Her sniffle didn't go unheard. "Ma'ite? Are you all right?" Neytiri turned and saw Mo'at approaching. "Oel ngati kameie, ma'sa'nok," she replied. "I am well. I was just remembering T su'tey."

A compassionate expression came over the elder woman's face as she sat down next to her daughter and hugged her, "Oel ngati kameie, I am glad you are well. What were you remembering that makes you sad?" Neytiri looked at her mother with a mournful expression. "I never meant to hurt Tsu'tey, mother. I did not take Jake as a mate to spite him " Mo'at smiled in understanding and rubbed her daughter's shoulder in comfort, "Yo u took Jake as mate because you love him, where you never loved Tsu'tey." The younger woman was amazed, "You knew?" The Tsahik smiled a mother's knowing smile, and lovingly tucked an errant braid behind her daughter's ear. "I knew it for years, ma'ite." She looked at Neytiri' s shocked expression, "I did not know how to resolve the situation. Eywa was sil ent whenever I asked her what to do, so I had to stay silent myself. I could onl y wait for Her plan to unfold." The elder's eyes went distant with her own memories, "Who could have foretold th e events of the past year?" she remarked rhetorically. Then her focus came back to her daughter, "I am proud of you, ma'ite." The comment was surprising, "Proud? Of me? Why?" Mo'at gently replied, "A year ago you were a very angry and pain-filled woman." She caressed her daughter's braided hair. "The Sky People had taken your beloved sister away from you, and you hated them for that. You were also promised to a man you did not want, and could see no way out of it." Neytiri looked down at her lap, but her mother still saw the tears fall. "I miss her, ma'sa'nok. I miss her teasing me when I was learning to hunt, and how she would braid her nicest beads into my hair, and how we laughed together when we t alked about the young men who watched her. She was so proud of me at my becoming -woman ceremony. I would love for Sylwanin to have met Jake, and to see her neph ew or niece " her voice trailed off. The Tsahik had tears in her eyes as well, and hugged her remaining daughter clos e, "So do I, ma'ite, so do I. But from where she lives now, within Eywa, she see s and she knows, and she is happy for you, and so is your father." A wistful smile came over Neytiri's face, "I dream of him sometimes. It makes me happy. He says that he is proud of me." Mo'at took the young woman's forever for bringing Jake to s gone now because of him. I it eases my own heart to see hand in hers. "As am I. I will be grateful to Eywa you. The pain and hate that filled you a year ago i see more joy in you now than I have ever seen, and your life so full."

Neytiri had to lean over and wrap her arms around her mother. They shared a long , heartfelt embrace. Happy tears were filling her eyes now, "I love him so much, mother. I had no idea that I could ever feel this way about someone." Mo'at smiled, "Joy is Eywa's way, ma'ite. She wishes Her children to be happy, t he same as any mother wishes happiness for her children. I felt the same way for your father. And when we discovered that Sylwanin was on the way ." She gently to uched her palm to Neytiri's abdomen in remembrance. Neytiri covered her mother's hand and fresh tears fell. "Eywa has given us such a blessing, mother. Jake was certain that we would never have children, because

his body was dreamwalker. When he came back to me, after She told him that we we re having a child I have never known anyone to be so happy." The Tsahik smiled. "He is a good man. He will be a good father to your children, and he is a good Olo'eyctan to the People. Eywa has blessed all of us by bringi ng Jake here. Truly, Her wisdom and power are beyond our imagination." Neytiri leaned into her mother's embrace. "Tell me more about you and Father, wh en you found out you were going to have Sylwanin." The older woman gathered the young mother-to-be into her arms and willingly bega n telling tales. It was a pretty grim meeting for Norm and Max. The avatar driver was poking thro ugh cargo manifests on an electronic pad while listening to his companion. "You can see what's incoming for supplies on the next two ships. Long range tele metry has confirmed that the two closest to Earth have turned back, so what you see on there is all we're going to get." The fuzzy haired scientist looked at th e anthropologist with undisguised concern. "You know we're boned as far as the R DA goes. None of us are going home now. Not that we mind," he hastened to reassu re his friend, "but you gotta figure we're going to start running out of things. Stuff is going to start breaking down, eventually." Max was apologetic, "Even i f all the drivers pulled a Jake and moved into their avatars permanently, we've still got a lot of folks here that don't have that option." Norm put the pad down and leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes and ran a weary hand over his face. "Yeah, I know. Thank God we've got enough oxygen gene rators to keep Hells Gate in breathable air for generations, and there are more coming on the ships. We'll want to grab every single one. If we shut down all th e nonessential buildings we can stretch them even further. We can distill all th e water we need. Heck, we can synth it in the lab if we need to. The big problem is food. It won't be a problem to keep the avatars fed." Max nodded in agreement. "The hydroponics will last for years but they're eventu ally gonna break down. And once the supplies that the ships are bringing are use d up ." his voice trailed off ominously. "God," Norm swore halfheartedly. He felt so tired. He hadn't asked for this job. Just like Jake never asked to be Olo'eyctan, he thought to himself. "Look, have the hydroponics guys start saving seeds from everything they're growing. Have t hem save the best plants for seed stock, only send the puny stuff to the galleys ." At least he remembered that much from his study of early Earth cultures. Save the best to create future generations with, eat the rejects, or you'll wind up with nothing for crops. "Tell the geology guys to start looking for any kind of native minerals that we can process into a growing medium that won't poison us. That should keep them busy enough." His brow furrowed briefly as a dark thought went by, then he brushed it off and continued. "Have metallurgy gather as much s crap as they can find. Repurpose what's intact, melt down the rest and see if th ey can tool up to produce the most critical spare parts we're likely to run out of." The short scientist indicated agreement, but it was obvious that he had somethin g on his mind. "Norm," he started slowly, "Don't get me wrong. I'm really, reall y hoping that Jake can pull something out of his ass and kick the RDA off of Pan dora for good. I hope he can save the Na'vi, cause they deserve it. They're good people. They didn't ask for us to come here, and they didn't deserve what we've done to them and their planet. But what if he does? What if he pulls off a fuck ing miracle? Where does that leave us?" It was the one question Norm had been trying to keep himself from thinking about

. He looked at his friend, "To be brutally honest Max, I don't know. Frankly, I don't know if Eywa would be willing to accept any of the other avatar drivers ei ther. Why the hell should she?" He exhaled gustily and dropped his hand, "With S ecOps gone, all Eywa needs to do is turn the animals loose on us the way she did on them in the battle, and we're history. Hell, she doesn't even need to do tha t much. All she needs to do is wait us out." Stop it, pull yourself together. Th is isn't helping, he berated himself. "But let's keep going until that happens. Tell the Zoology and Botany heads to have their people start analyzing everythin g they come across with an eye towards our food supplies. Ninety nine point nine percent of it is going to be too damn contaminated with heavy metals and crap t o be of any use to us, but maybe we'll get lucky and find something that the lab can extract enough protein out of to stretch our supplies out a bit. Carbon is carbon, after all." There was no sense in pursuing such a depressing situation further at the moment , so Max tactfully changed the subject. "How is the integration of the avatars w ith the Omaticaya going?" Norm sighed with relief at an easier topic. "Good. We had a couple of minor gaff es you wouldn't believe what a New Jersey accent does to certain Na'vi adjective s." He smiled despite his weariness, remembering. "Thank God for the new Na'vi t hat are visiting the Omaticaya. The avatars are almost uninteresting at this poi nt." "All the better for us. What'd you do about New Jersey?" Max inquired. It was the only chuckle Norm got all day. "I dragged him back to barracks as fas t as I could and demonstrated the difference between what he said and what he th ought he said with a banana fruit. I've never seen an avatar's face get that pur ple before." Both of them got a much needed laugh out of their colleague's misfortune. Max as ked, "So do you think you'll be able to pull off parking them at New Hometree wh en the Venture Nova comes?" Norm held up both hands and displayed two sets of crossed fingers, "Looking good at the moment. Hope so. It'll sure open up options if we can do it without caus ing another problem." Weariness brought back a sense of gloom, "I hope to hell w e can learn enough to be able to make all this worth it." The shorter man reached out and grabbed Norm's shoulder for a moment in support and sympathy. "Get some rest, Norm, you need it. You've been burning the candle at both ends. Not going to help anyone if you crash and burn on us." The anthropologist turned-chief covered the hand briefly. "I will, thanks. Maybe a good night's sleep will get my brain back in gear." He put the still-activated pad down on the table absentmindedly and got up to head for his bunk. The soft impact of the pad hitting the table was just enough to cause the device to accidentally flip to the next page of the Venture Nova's manifest. The page listed four new avatars and their drivers. The head of the RDA entered his private elevator, the faithful Robert following behind. It descended a considerable distance, more than enough to emphasize that they were traveling far below the commonly accessed areas of the building. The lift disgorged them into a brightly light and sterile hallway. The only peop le in sight were two guards who stood on either side of a heavily reinforced doo r at the far end of the hall. The right-hand guard had his hand on his duty side arm. The left-hand guard challenged them without hesitation when they approached , and the CEO nodded in satisfaction. Everyone who was assigned to guard duty do

wn here was told at their orientation briefing of one man who had tried to curry favor with the whisperer by passing him through these doors unchallenged. The m an hadn't lived to see the minute following his mistake. The guard held out what appeared to be a simple palmprint scanner. The executive laid the hand that sported his two-link chain ring on the device, knowing that it was much more than a simple reader. Everything that a person on Earth ate and drank was a matter of public record. B ecause of the teeming hordes of people that populated the planet and the (suppos ed) need to feed as many as possible, the absolute minimum amount of food was do led out to the masses. Of course, those in higher positions, or the rich, or tho se in 'special situations' were always able to get more than the allotted minimu m share. Given what the CEO had eaten and drunk today, computers were able to anticipate the compounds that should comprise his sweat at this moment. The ring he wore ha d a high concentration of unobtanium, meaning that it conducted minute electrica l currents such as that produced by his body and transmitted through his sweat erfectly. The characteristics of that current, as altered by the chemical compos ition of what his sweat should be, was a far more accurate and foolproof way of identifying someone than an easily faked pattern of lines on one's hand or finge rs. The red light on the lintel of the door went green and a melodious tone sounded. The right hand door guard saluted, taking his hand off of his gun; the left sid e guard withdrew the reader and stepped aside to let the whisperer pass. Robert made no motion to follow his boss as the man entered the high security ar ea. These guards, and most of the people in the facility beyond these doors, wer e some of those in a 'special situation.' What was inside this facility was so secret that most of those who entered it ne ver left. They lived royally compared to the hordes of people that made their li ving on the planet's surface. They had some of the best food, roomy living space s, video and audio entertainment, world class educational and exercise facilitie s, but they were never allowed to leave. No one who had known them on the surfac e ever heard from them again, once they came here. The CEO walked unconcernedly through the facility until he came to the section t hat was his destination. He had waited for quite some time before taking this ac tion. Something done in the heat of anger is usually done for the wrong reason, he thought with amusement. He'd wanted to make sure he had full control of the s ituation before introducing something so potentially explosive, but now it was t ime to start. He was working to a deadline, after all. More than a hundred feet above this area was the RDA's "public" Avatar Research Lab. The huge tanks that incubated the human-Na'vi hybrids that were sent to Pan dora along with their genetically matched researchers were proudly displayed the re, as was the special lab where the actual DNA fusing was performed. The facility that the whisperer was surveying now was a mirror image of the one located so far above. A few people moved about the area, taking readings, quietl y checking status. No one came over to offer assistance to the CEO. They knew be tter. He moved to a large console in front of a sealed workroom. Inside that room, rob otic equipment carried out programmed actions in complete sterility. No DNA othe r than that which was being manipulated was permitted inside.

The executive placed his ringed hand on a scanner pad built into the console. A recorded voice announced, "Access authorized," and the controls lit up, ready fo r use. He paged through an electronic catalog until he found the subject that he was looking for and tapped the "OK" button with a light touch. The computer voice sounded melodiously, "Please confirm: initiate incubation ope ration on DNA catalog item 9324." The CEO tapped the "OK" button a second time a nd was rewarded with the announcement, "Evaluation sequence initiated." He watched as the robotic equipment inside the sealed room came to life. A muted hum marked the activation of a conveyor system. After a few minutes a small acc ess door inside the room opened. A petri dish with the numbers "9324" stamped on the cover was presented to the robotic arm that was standing by. The executive knew that there was a miniscule sample of fresh genetic material i n the exact center of that dish. The robotic arm picked it off of the conveyor a nd slid it into the tray of a large boxy apparatus nearby. A display screen lit up in front of the CEO as the apparatus swallowed the petri dish and began operating on the contents. The man looked up at the display as t he genetic material was gently flooded with a warm liquid bath containing nutrie nts, oxygenated material, selected hormones, and growth activators. He waited fo r a few minutes until the computer voice announced, "Sample viability confirmed. Initiating incubation process on catalog item 9324. Time to decanting: five yea rs, two months, three days, seventeen hours." The whisperer watched with satisfaction as the embryo-equivalent was shuffled of f to a container where it would be constantly bathed with fresh growth solution, its metabolic wastes continually washed away to prevent them from sickening the incipient organism. It would be transferred to larger containers in a well-defi ned sequence of steps until it was ready to occupy one of the large Avatar capsu les. Then, in five years, a couple of months, and a few days, the CEO would have a ve ry interesting meeting. It took a couple weeks after the gathering before Jake was satisfied enough with the new defensive training routine to be comfortable leaving it in Sir'tey's ha nds for a few days. On a fine morning, he and Neytiri loaded their ikran with gifts, things that wer e hard to come by for their hosts. She loaded carefully selected pieces of wood for bowstaves, spears, and arrow-shafts. Jake had Swizaw carry all the dried red meat it could. Then the two of them lifted off and headed out to the Ikran Clan of the Eastern Sea. They arrived to a heroes' welcome (which embarrassed Jake no end.) He readily ag reed when Perrat offered to take them on a tour of the storage-caves as soon as they'd unloaded their gifts. It was a relief to stretch their legs, and she led them up a steep path to the nearest set of caves. They had to stop and let their eyes adjust a minute when they entered. The air w as markedly cool and smelled strongly of salt. The natural cave was filled with wooden racks. Perrat showed them how the Sea Clan made the horizontal stringers from the limbs of thorny trees and hung fish either filleted or whole from the t horns. "The sea air cures the fish and keeps it moist at the same time," the Olo'eyctan explained. She rubbed her fingers across the nearest section of wall. Jake and Neytiri saw a fine layer of salt come off of the rock and fall into Perrat's han d. "We can harvest salt off of the cave walls three times each year. Other clans

are always eager to trade for it, so that they can preserve their meat and salt their food." She reached out and took a fillet off of the nearly empty racks, broke it in hal f, and handed Jake and Neytiri each a piece to try. It was delicious; though the re was a definite salty taste to the fish, it wasn't at all strong or unpleasant . Perrat apologized, "The caves are nearly empty now; we traded most of our cured fish at the gathering. It will take a couple of months for new fish to cure, tho ugh I am sure we will fill the caves again fast enough." A shadow crossed her fa ce and the two Omaticaya nodded sympathetically, recalling the conversation they had had at the gathering. There were Na'vi moving about, preparing the racks for more fish and doing gener al maintenance on the caves, so they didn't speak further about those concerns a t the moment. "Come, I will show you our divers," she said, and ushered them out side. Divers? Jake thought to himself. Does that mean what I think it does? The Ikran Clan leader brought them down to the shore to where two men were worki ng. An entire sturmbeest hide was lying flat on the sand. One Na'vi was piling f ist-sized rocks in the center while the other was sewing up one side of the hide with tiny stitches. Neytiri was puzzled. "Why are you doing that?" The man piling rocks on the hide grinned at her and indicated his companion, "To make sure A'than's tail sinks to the bottom of the sea!" Both the Omaticaya were confused. Perrat smiled and explained, "They will sew up the sides of the hide and leave j ust a small opening at the top. The inside will be painted with sticky sap so th at the bag will hold air well. When they go out on the sea, they will fill the b ag with air by pulling the sides apart, and then tie the opening shut. Then they will throw the bag into the water. The rocks will make the bag sink to the bott om. One Na'vi will hold on to the bag while it sinks. When he has reached the bo ttom, he will begin filling his carry-net with whatever is appropriate to harves t. When he needs to breathe, he will come over to the bag, loosen the tie at the top, and suck in as much air as he needs. Then he will close the bag again, col lect some more in his carry net, and so on until he has gathered all that is app ropriate from that area. Then he surfaces, empties his carry-net into the canoe, and they pull up the bag with a rope and move to a new spot. They fill the bag again, tie it shut, and throw it into the sea again. They keep doing this until the canoe is full, then they come in and unload." "Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Jake asked. "I mean, I'm sure there must be danger ous creatures in the sea that would attack a swimming Na'vi." A'than replied, "Indeed there are, Toruk Makto. Three people go out in each cano e; one dives deep, one swims just under the surface to watch for danger, and one stays in the canoe." He pointed towards the shore, where several ikran riders a ppeared to be on alert. "Those people are watching the water for dangerous creat ures. You will see that all of our clan who are in the water are safely between the ikran posted on either end of the beach, and no one is out beyond those who fly back and forth between them. If any of the scouts see danger they will sound the alert; everyone will get out of the water and then the scouts will drive th e animal off or kill it."

"If you would like to swim, please stay inside the safe area between the ikran m akto," Perrat requested. "We may not have palulukan here, but there are other cr eatures fully as dangerous. I will be happy to take you on a tour underwater mys elf, tomorrow. Indeed, you should see it; Eywa's ocean is an incredibly beautifu l place." Jake and Neytiri readily agreed to the tour; even from the shore they could see marvelous phosphorescent colors through the crystal-clear water. Perrat showed them the rest of the clan, and there was much to see. They were cu rious about the boot-shaped leather house-tents that the people lived in. Many i n the Sea Clan worked with the abundance of shells that were found in their wate rs. Everyone wore beautiful pearly and opalescent knives that were as sharp as g lass, and sported shimmering ornaments of the same material carved into a multit ude of shapes. When Neytiri e Ikran Clan orking for a y were happy made an offhand comment that her best friend was a jewelcrafter, th folk immediately pressed enough raw material on her to keep Janni w full year, saying that they had so much of it lying around that the to supply a fellow crafter.

There was a feast after the tour that night, as the Na'vi honored Toruk Makto an d his mate. There was music, singing, and dancing aplenty. Neytiri listened to t he songs with great interest, memorizing those that she did not know. She smirke d when the Ikran Clan's singers performed the Song of the Sixth Toruk Makto in h onor of their guests, watching her mate do his best to keep a pleasant expressio n on his face. When the evening was well underway and the clan's focus had shifted from their v isitors to the festivities, Jake said, "May I ask you a question, Perrat?" The Na'vi looked at him quizzically and nodded. The marine said, "I don't mean to be rude, I'm just curious. How did you come to be Olo'eyctan?" To his relief, the woman didn't seem offended by the query. Perrat looked out over her clan and spoke thoughtfully. "An Olo'eyctan chooses w ith the assistance of his Tsahik, of course who will be the next clan leader. Mo st often, the person who is chosen is the greatest hunter in the clan, or the gr eatest warrior, depending on what the clan needs. But once in a while, a differe nt kind of leader is needed." She turned and smiled wryly at Jake. "A charging sturmbeest has a great deal of power, just like a warrior who charges into battle. Sometimes though, power is n ot enough, or is not appropriate. Sometimes it is better to solve problems diffe rently. Cleverly. In a way that others do not expect." Perrat looked out at the crowd, "Our previous Olo'eyctan decided to hold a great contest to determine who was most fit to lead the clan. It was a low-flight com bat; those who wished to try for the position mounted their ikran and did their best to unseat the others." She turned to the Omaticaya, "I knew that many would charge right in and do their best to knock everyone off; I kept my ikran out of the main fighting and the let others tire themselves and their beasts out. I di dn't actively engage anyone until there were only four of us left. At that point , my ikran was still fresh and theirs were tiring. Two of the others took out th e fourth, but by then they were nearly exhausted and my ikran and I were able to defeat them easily. So I was chosen to be the next Olo'eyctan." Jake was floored. Holy gods, a strategist and tactician, and one who knows the s

trengths of the Na'vi from the inside!he thought excitedly. He had to restrain h imself from bombarding Perrat with the avalanche of questions that threatened to burst forth; this wasn't the right time or place for it. He managed to respond diplomatically, "Perhaps Eywa had even more than the Ikran Clan in mind when She had you chosen to be Olo'eyctan." Perrat gave Toruk Makto a glance filled with understanding, "Perhaps She did." Perrat took Jake and Neytiri diving the next morning. "It is truly magnificent a t night," she apologized, "but it is also incredibly more dangerous, since our i kran makto cannot see hazards from above as well as they can during the day. You are not used to our breathing-bags, and the sea is no tranquil jungle pool to b e kind to swimmers. I promise that I will take you night-diving another time, bu t for now I think the Na'vi would not thank me if Toruk Makto and his mate came to grief while visiting my clan." She smiled, but her words were sincere. The Omaticaya had no problem with the precautions. The Ikran Clan's Olo'eyctan h ad them practice with personal sized versions of the air bags she had shown them yesterday until she judged them reasonably proficient. Jake caught the hang of it quickly, having been used to the rebreather masks and having done some limite d diving as a marine. As ut an ey soon as the two were ready, Perrat waved to some nearby clansmen who fanned o around the three protectively as they entered the surf. A whistle from the cl leader brought two ikran makto to fly protectively above the little group. Th struck out for the edge of the safe area after some breathing practice.

It was incredibly beautiful underwater, even for someone who was used to the glo wing phosphorescent inhabitants of the jungle lakes. There were unbelievably gor geous colors everywhere, colors the marine didn't even have names for, and shape s that Jake couldn't decide belonged to plant or animal. Shafts of sunlight spea red the water from above and made gorgeous rippling curtains throughout the seas cape. There were delicate fronds waving back and forth with the water currents a nd small creatures of all descriptions swimming in among them. A set of divers were near the swimming area plying their trade, and the group st opped to watch with great interest. The Na'vi collecting things would occasional ly pick something up and examine it, then either replace it or put it in his car ry net. Once in a while he would pull his knife and use it to pry or cut loose a n object that had caught his interest. Jake noted with approval the alertness of the lookout at the surface above. Perrat indicated that the Omaticaya should follow her, and they left the divers to their work. She swam over to what appeared to be a bunch of softly glowing pu rple bushes, and made sure her guests were watching her. She wiggled her fingers next to the plants and a horde of tiny fish immediately came out to investigate . They were striped in a variety of neon colors and were clearly harmless; the c lan leader grinned as they nibbled on her blue fingers. She gestured encourageme nt to Neytiri with her other hand. The tsahik extended her own fingers cautiousl y, and a number of the small fish came over to examine this new phenomenon. They started nibbling delicately, and she grinned with delight at the tickling sensa tion. After spending a couple of minutes with the striped fish, they moved on. Perrat made sure their air bags were full, then took them down to the sea floor. Various creatures were climbing, crawling, slithering, or fixed in place along the rocky bottom. There were more living creatures of all shapes and sizes conce ntrated here within easy eyesight than Jake had ever seen in one place in his en tire life. He craned his neck around, trying to take in all the amazing sights. The Olo'eyctan waved the Omaticaya over and pointed to what looked like an oddly rounded rock with pock marks all over it. She drew her pearly knife and traced

a finger back and forth across the blade, then pointed at the rock. Jake was puz zled. Clearly, she was indicating that her knife was made of the same material a s the rock, but the two didn't look anything alike. The Na'vi waved at her two companions, indicating that they should back up a bit . When they had, she set her knife point against one of the pock marks and made a sudden sharp thrust, pushing herself away from the creature at the same time. An inky green cloud immediately issued from all of the dents in the rocky surfac e and a multitude of foot-long stingers emerged. They quivered for a few moments and then went limp in death. Perrat cautiously approached as the inky cloud dis persed. She tugged her knife free, and then slipped it flat under the creature, sliced, and the entire top of the rock came off in her hand. She turned to her f riends and flipped the creature over and there was the glowing pearly material o f her knife, brilliantly luminescent, a bowl-shaped shell that filled both her h ands. Perrat pointed at the meat filling the bowl and rubbed her stomach in an e asily understood gesture; the creature was good eating. Jake opened the carry ne t that he had brought, and she carefully deposited their catch into it. They spent the whole morning exploring the area near the Sea Clan's home. At one point there was a startlingly loud splash above them; the party looked up to se e one of the surface-swimmers alerted and pointing off into the sea. Everyone be low immediately blew out the air in their lungs and inhaled deeply from the air bags as they had been warned to do, and drew their knives. The Ikran Clan swimme rs drew in tighter to surround and protect their guests. A few tense seconds wen t by during which they all heard the whish! of spears entering water. One of the top guards surfaced for a moment, then came back under and made an "all clear" gesture and then pointed them in a different direction, which they were glad to take. The rest of the morning passed uneventfully. When they emerged from the sea they had a hearty lunch of hot, freshly grilled f ish, straight from the morning's catch. Jake and Neytiri were ravenous from the unusual exercise and gladly filled themselves on the rare treat. Perrat suggeste d that they rest for a bit afterwards. Neytiri was glad to, but she had something in mind. "Would it be all right if I went down to the water? I won't go in, I would just like to sit on the sand and look at the sea for a while, if it is safe." Perrat smiled in understanding. "I am told that Eywa's sea has a near-irresistab le attraction for women who are with child. Please, go ahead. Just stay in the s afe area between the ikran makto on guard." Jake smiled and watched his mate eagerly head down to the shore. He took advanta ge of the tsahik's absence to broach a subject that had been on his mind for day s. Once he was sure Neytiri was out of earshot, he spoke in a low voice. "Perrat , there is a favor I would like to ask of you." The Ikran Clan leader was surprised. "What favor?" Urgency colored the marine's tone. "The Sky People know that Neytiri is my mate. When they come back they will probably try to find her and catch her, as a way to control me." Perrat's ears went straight up in shock, "That's unbelievable! Reprehensible!" He said grimly, "You don't know the half of it. In a fair fight, I wouldn't worr y about it too much. She's a good warrior and she can hold her own." He was lyin g through his teeth about not being worried but continued on, "It's the baby I'm worried about."

The Ikran Clan leader's eyes went blank. Jake explained, "Perrat, if the Sky People find out that Neytiri and I have a ch ild, they'll stop at nothing to capture it, even kill it, to control both Neytir i and me." Her ears went flat to her skull in horror and revulsion, "In Eywa's name! No one , not even the insane, would even think of doing such a thing!" The marine corrected her, "Believe me, they would. I've seen it done." He looked into his counterpart's face. For the first time he let full awareness of the ho rrors of his service in the marines into his eyes, knowing Perrat would see it a nd understand. The hideousness of the truth in Jake's eyes was plain. If she were a lesser woma n, Perrat would have been retching her guts out. "What do you want me to do?" sh e asked in a strangled tone. Worry came back into the marine's face. "When the six and twelve year ships come , keep our child safe. Hide it here, in your clan, where the Sky People won't re cognize it and can't find it." Jake very desperately wanted to include Neytiri i n this request for asylum. But if I'm fighting she won't go, not unless I can gi ve her a damned good reason. Maybe if I can convince her that our child needs he r close by, to protect it. I'll have to work on that. He put his inner musing as ide. "If our child is safe, Neytiri and I will be able to concentrate on defeati ng the Sky People." Perrat swallowed hard, "And if you are distracted by having to worry about your child, diverted at the exact worst moment, all our planning could all too easily fall apart." Her strategist's mind easily saw through to the fatal danger inher ent in that distraction. Jake nodded grim confirmation. Perrat's brow went flat and furrowed, her lips went thin and straight in suppres sed anger. A ferocious glint lit her expression. "Your child will be safe with t he Ikran Clan, Toruk Makto. I pledge our lives on it." Jake let out a huge sigh of relief. He had no doubt that he'd be able to convinc e his mate that this was a wise precaution, when the time came. "Thank you," he said sincerely, "I didn't want to speak about this in front of Neytiri, not yet. It won't happen for more than five years, and she doesn't need anything like th is to worry about while she's pregnant. I just feel better making arrangements a head of time." His counterpart nodded in approval. "A wise choice. You are a considerate mate t o your woman, Jake Sully." Jake joined Neytiri on the beach after his short conversation with Perrat. "Oel ngati kameie, oe-ya timuntxa. How are you feeling?" His mate turned and gestured to him. "Happy. Come, sit with me." She patted the sand next to her and he willing sat down. The tsahik looked out at the ocean. It was a beautiful day; there was just enough surf to make a soothing, monotonous sound. The air was incredibly fresh and smelled of salt. The water sparkled and foamed as small waves rolled up onto the sand. Neytiri shaded her eyes for a mom ent, "It is very bright here, with no trees to block out the sun." Jake agreed, "And not as misty as at home, either. The wind here must be pretty constant. Keeps things moving." They were content to sit on the beach and watch the waves for a while.

The tsahik finally spoke, "Perrat said that Eywa's sea has a great draw for preg nant women. I can feel it. I do not know why. It just feels right to me. Like it is good for our child. I am glad we came." She turned and smiled at her mate. J ake briefly laid a gentle hand on Neytiri's belly and smiled back. They spent an hour or so just sitting on the sand, resting and enjoying each others' company. They had their strategy session late that afternoon. Jake was anxious to follow up on the conversation they had had at the gathering. "You're still seeing large runs of fish, Perrat?" The Sea Clan's leader sighed and nodded affirmatively. "At the rate we are catch ing them, we will fill all the storage caves again in a month. Mirran has said t hat we are to continue to catch as much as we can. We are bringing in easily a t hird again as much as we usually do. We have already made drying-racks for two n ew caves and Mirran has said that we should start building for a third." The news was grim. Jake turned to Neytiri, "Have you or your mother felt anythin g similar? Should the Omaticaya start doing the same?" It was the first time the tsahik had been called on officially while outside the Clan. Neytiri paused and focused her attention on the internal sensations of tu gging that indicated she should pay attention but there was nothing. She shook h er head in negation after a couple of minutes. Perrat sighed, "So whatever is happening, it appears to involve only the Sea Cla n, at least for now. That is good and not good. " Jake hastened to add, "Or it may be that other clans are involved, just not the Omaticaya, not yet. We should send word out to the other clans, discreetly, to s ee if any of the other Tsahiks have sensed anything like this." The Sea Clan leader nodded, but she wasn't happy and he couldn't blame her. He'd be worried too if the Omaticaya had a big target painted on them again. "Whatev er it is Perrat, don't worry. We'll stand with your clan no matter what. You nee d anything, just let us know and we'll be here." His counterpart was grateful for the offer. "Since there is little else we can d o about that for now, let us turn to other things. Something occurred to me a fe w days ago that I think I should tell you." Neytiri asked, "What is it?" Perrat replied, "Whenever there have been great storms here, my people have take n refuge in the storage caves until the danger is past. There are too many of us to fit in a single cave, of course. It is very rare, but if one cave should be lost, the others remain safe." She looked at Jake meaningfully, "It occurred to me during the Great War that the Sky People's forces were very much like an onco ming storm." Jake wanted to kick himself in the head for not thinking of it earlier. "In a gr eat storm your people have got a lot better chance of survival spreading themsel ves out instead of staying in one place. Several groups of people present multip le targets and lower value targets than an entire clan grouped together." Perrat nodded and looked at Neytiri apologetically, "If the Omaticaya had known the great danger they were in, they could have scattered the clan throughout the jungle ahead of time. Many lives might have been spared." The tsahik nodded sad ly. Jake spoke quickly; he didn't want to rub salt in that still-painful wound. "I'l

l speak to Sir'tey as soon as we get back. I'll have him send some of our experi enced hunters to scout out other trees in our territory that could temporarily h ouse groups of Omaticaya. Makes sense to get the noncombatants out of danger any way. It's a great idea, Perrat. I'll send ikran makto to the other clans to tell them to do the same. I wish I'd thought of it sooner." Then a thoughtful look c ame over his face. "In fact, if we play it right, we could make it one of our tr aps." The women were puzzled, "How would you make a trap out of a temporary encampment ?" Neytiri asked. A cunning and satisfied expression came over Jake's face. "Give them what they e xpect to see," he quoted. "If the Sky People see a Hometree that has actually be en emptied, or a camp filled with noncombatants ." He gave the Sea Clan Olo'eyctan a meaningful stare. Light dawned in Perrat's eyes. "They will fail to see palulukan ringing the camp from the outside," she supplied. "Or even hiding inside it." Jake finished with satisfaction. The Sea Clan leader said thoughtfully, "We could fill our longhouses with traps, and my people could hide in the storage caves. I must think on this. There are many things that can be done." "We should ask all the Olo'eyctan and Tsahiks to think on how each clan can make such traps," Neytiri urged. "Some of the traps might be usable by more than jus t one clan." "And we will need to see that all the clans know of all the traps as soon as pos sible, so that they can create them and train the People the way of such things so that none are set off innocently," Perrat agreed. "This will be a great under taking." Jake finished, "We have to get everyone talking. I think the gatherings just got co-opted." The Sea Clan leader looked at Toruk Makto in understanding. "Yes. They will cont inue as they have been, but now they will also function as a war council." Jake was itching to stay with the Ikran Clan longer, but he couldn't be away fro m the new training program much more. Perrat insisted that was the higher priori ty. "We have years to prepare for the first dangerous ship, but the training wil l take time to spread. There is time enough to plan." A smile crossed her face, "And there is no reason why I cannot come to the Omaticaya. In fact, it gives me an excuse to inspect the training first hand." So he let himself be persuaded and they loaded up their ikran and headed back. I t was reassuring to see the great crown of New Hometree welcoming them as they a pproached. Good to be home again, Jake thought to himself and then did a doublet ake as he realized that he regarded the huge tree as 'home.' He shook his head a nd chuckled to himself as he compared the life he had lived on Earth as a crippl ed ex-Marine to the one he was living now. If anyone had ever told me back then that I'd wind up blue, with a tail, and calling a tree 'home' I'd have knocked t hem out and called the shrinks. They landed at the base of New Hometree and unloaded their mounts. Neytiri took the supply of shells off to Janni, and Jake went to check with Sir'tey on the pr ogress of the training. Life remained busy. The week following Jake and Neytiri's visit to the Ikran Cla

n saw the new Omaticaya Mother Loom finished at last. Everyone excitedly watched Geran install the final piece, and then joined Mo'at in a ceremony of consecrat ion and blessing. The Weaver Elder addressed the assembly when the ceremony was completed. "Only t he greatest works of weaving are done on mas'kit ni'vi sa'nok. The very first wo rk on a new Mother Loom in a new Hometree should be the greatest work possible, to bring honor to the birth of the loom and to the entire clan. With the agreeme nt of all the Weavers, it has been decided that the Clan Elders shall choose whi ch work shall be the first to be made on our new Mother Loom." He gestured grace fully and the elders came forward to sit in a group to review the proposals. As Olo'eyctan, Jake was of course one of the Elders, along with Mo'at and the mo st senior member of each of the professions. Nearly every weaver had a project t o present for consideration. To his great embarassment, most of the proposals in volved making something for him. A few were for Mo'at, a couple for Neytiri, and one or two for one of the other elders, but most were for him. It was all he co uld do not to squirm as each petitioner came before the elders to present their idea and then listen as each project was debated. This torture went on for hours as the candidates were examined. Finally, a young man who had only recently been acknowledged a master of the craft stood before the group, holding a rolled-up length of cloth in his hands. "Please describe your project," Geram requested politely. Tsa'rit's eyes shone with enthusiasm as he stated. "I will make a gift for all t he Omaticaya." He looked out at the clan. "We have all heard the Song of the Six th Toruk Makto. It is in our hearts forever. I will do what no other weaver has done before. I will make the Song visible to the eyes of the People. I will crea te this!" He grasped the edge of the cloth he was carrying and let it unroll before the el ders. Exclamations arose from the crowd and people craned their necks to see. Ts a'rit had used cloth dyes to paint a picture of his proposed project on the fabr ic he held. He turned slowly to display the image to everyone as he explained. "The top of my work shall show the night sky and the stars from which Eywa broug ht Toruk Makto to us. The center shows Old Hometree lying on the ground in flame s, with the black smoke of the fires rising to join the night sky. The crushed p lants under Old Hometree merge with the jungle across the bottom of my work, thr ough which I shall show palulukan running with Tsahik Neytiri on his back. In th e center of the entire weaving, emerging from the flames of Old Hometree is the great Toruk with his wings spread wide with Toruk Makto astride his neck." He shifted his grip so that he could hold his prototype in one hand for a moment and pointed at the twin spirals rising through the core of the tree, right abov e the stand on which palulukan's skull had been mounted. "I will hang my work th ere, for all Na'vi to see so that they may be reminded of the Song and the stron g heart dreamwalker who was sent by Eywa to save us." He returned his hand to th e cloth and held it open for inspection again, waiting expectantly as he complet ed his turn and faced the Elders once more. Poh'tey beamed with approval. The clan was abuzz with barely restrained chatter as the group conferred. The di scussion was short, the decision swift. Jake was absolutely mortified, but could only go along with the others. Geran stood and asked in a ringing voice, "Are there any other weavers who would present a project to compete with this one?"

The crowd could hardly contain themselves. No one answered the Elder's call. He nodded his head in acknowledgement and announced, "The decision is unanimous. Ts a'rit shall weave the Song of the Sixth Toruk Makto on mas'kit ni'vi sanok." The Omaticaya cheered and shouted. Tsa'rit was mobbed by the clan. Two journeyme n weavers took the cloth and held it for him as he excitedly began explaining ho w he intended to create the work as the senior craftsmen crowded in to listen an d make suggestions. There was a great deal of rejoicing. With mas'kit ni'vi sa'nok finally finished, the Omaticaya finally felt their new home was complete. Everyone was abuzz abou t Tsa'rit's project and many did their best to crowd in around the weaver to get a better look at the prototype. Many small groups of clansmen scattered about the area chatted together happily. Pa'kan was dismayed when he saw Kiree and some of her friends speaking with the White Mountain Na'vi he had seen her with earlier. He approached the group casu ally, straining to hear the conversation. "This is a very important event for the Omaticaya?" Ta'sit was asking curiously. Kiree replied, "Very much so. We have the best weavers of all the nearby clans. For them to be without a Mother Loom has been like a taronyu being without an ik ran. " "Or a man without a mate," suggested one of the other young women, flirting with the Ice Clan warrior. Ta'sit smiled and asked, "And how does a man without a mate find one among the O maticaya?" Pa'kan had heard enough and stepped up to the group, "To be a man among the Omat icaya, one must find one's ikran and make tsahaylu with it." The clansman queried politely, "And how long have you been bonded to your ikran? " The hunter's face colored, but he managed to keep a level tone of voice as he re plied, "My ikran is not yet ready to make tsahaylu with me. I believe it is quit e young, so I wait patiently until the time is right." His voice sounded so conf ident that he almost believed the excuse himself. Pa'kan turned to Kiree and put a better smile on his face. "Soon my ikran will be ready for me. I will go to I kinmaya and we will bond, and then I will be able to choose a mate." Kiree's reply was polite but only polite. "I am sure that you and your woman wil l be very happy together." She turned to Ta'sit and became much more animated. " And how do warriors of the White Mountain Clan become eligible to take mates?" Pa'kan kept the smile on his face but didn't hear the man's reply. His blood was pounding in his ears. This was a disaster! His mind raced frantically. I have t o get my ikran now, I have to choose her before he can steal her away from me! H e broke into the conversation as soon as he could politely do so. "Please excuse me, there is someone I would like to go speak to." He left as quickly as he dec ently could and began searching the crowd. He didn't want to speak with Mo'at; the Tsahik was far too intimidating, especia lly after their earlier encounter. He didn't want to talk to Neytiri, either. Sh e will certainly tell her mate, and I do not want him to be aware that I have as ked.

It took a while for him to find one of the two persons he was looking for, and i t was a relief when he finally spotted a familiar profile. He greeted the woman, "Kaltxi, An'nai. May I speak with you for a moment?" The tsahik excused herself to her companion and turned to address him. "Oel ngat i kameie, Pa'kan. How can I help you?" The hunter could barely keep the sound of urgency in his voice muted to an accep table level. "I am anxious to meet my ikran and bond with it, and I was wonderin g if you could tell me if the time is right for me to go to Ikinmaya yet." He lo oked into the face of the tsahik hopefully. He watched An'nai's eyes go out of focus as she concentrated on her tsahik-sense and prayed to himself with silent fervor. She came out of tsahik trance after a minute or so, and his hopes were dashed as he saw the expression on her face an d knew the answer to his question. His own sight went misty as she shook her hea d and said softly, "I am sorry, Pa'kan." He excused himself and walked away quickly, trying to get away from the celebran ts before his face could communicate his distress to his clansmen. He broke into a trot as he rounded the nearest pillar and got beyond everyone's sight, and th en ran into the forest. One thought pounded in his mind even as his feet pounded against the jungle floor, I must have her. I must! Dave Robinson looked up at the natural splendor of New Hometree and was totally unmoved. He'd gotten several lectures ('training', they called it) on appropriat e behavior and comportment with the Na'vi. At last he was being permitted to vis it the Omaticaya in his avatar. Unlike most of the others he wasn't overly familiar or happy with being an avata r driver. He saw it as a tool necessary for procuring information regarding his true interest: the geology of Pandora. Norm's stricture that everyone who wanted to mingle with the natives be at least minimally fluent in the language had ran kled. Why couldn't I just pass my instructions on through one of the enthusiasts ? Why did I have to waste my valuable time learning how to speak to scientific c retins? He forced himself to stifle his resentments for the moment. Spellman was babysit ting him personally on this first trip and he knew that the man was touchy. Jump ed up grad student. Why didn't one of the other more experienced researchers tak e over? Why did they all defer to this neophyte? He had to reinforce his discipl ine to keep a neutral expression on his face. The anthropologist spoke firmly, "I've arranged for you to work with the weapon makers, since they're the ones who work with stone the most. Gene briefed you on protocol, right?" Robinson repeated his instructions obediently, "No introduction of topics beyond their developmental level, no discussion of unobtanium at all, no field investi gations without express permission from Sully or the natives beforehand. Any vio lation and my field privileges are revoked permanently." And how the hell am I s upposed to get anything productive done under those conditions? Norm nodded in confirmation. "I don't know anything about geology myself, so I t hought I'd tag along on this trip. I can help you out if you have any trouble wi th the language as well." Going to be my babysitter so you can pull me out at the first excuse, you mean, Dave thought sourly.

They walked up to the weapon makers' area. The place was littered with piles of stone large and small. Apprentices worked at flat anvil-like stones with more en thusiasm than expertise. Robinson noted the glass-sharp flakes littering the gro und and winced at the sight of everyone's bare feet. One short (for a Na'vi) man was sorting through a pile of rock a bit away from t he apprentices and Norm hailed him. "Ar'ratey!" The master weapon maker straight ened up and waved at the dreamwalkers in response. "This is the one I spoke to y ou of a few days ago. His name is Dave, and he loves rocks. I thought he would b e able to help you with your work. The language of the People is new to him, so I thought I would come along." "Oel ngati kameie, Ar'ratey," the geologist spoke carefully. The stoneworker nodded, pleased. "Oel ngati kameie, Dave. You are welcome in our home. Norm'an has told me of your interest in stone, and we are very much in ne ed of those who know it well." Robinson relaxed a bit. "How can I assist you?" he asked politely. Ar'ratey picked up a stone that was long and narrow which had obviously been set aside for a specific purpose and handed it to the dreamwalker. "We need to make a number of knives for the clan. Can you do anything with this?" A test, obviously. The geologist took the piece and examined it. Definitely igne ous in origin, almost a glass, like obsidian, but it has a crystalline structure ! He noted the blue-steel sheen to the stone as he turned it in the light. Unobt anium in it of course, but is it a contaminant or was it actually created in the lava flow that this rock came from? Damn! I need my equipment! If I could analy ze this properly there's no telling what I could find. If I could determine how unobtanium is actually formed I could win every award ever made! My name would b e known to geologists forever! Norm's gentle cough brought him out of his inner musing and he brought himself b ack to the present. A quick examination told him all he needed to know to answer the question and he shook his head. "The piece is certainly big enough for a kn ife, but the structure of the rock is all wrong." He held the piece at an angle and drew a line across it with his finger to indicate where the fracture plane w ent diagonally through the stone. "A spear head is the best you'll get out of th is." Ar'ratey indicated an empty working space with a graceful wave of his hand. Dave took the rock over to it and noted the hard wooden mallet and crude chisel that the Na'vi used to work stone with. He held the piece up again to double check, Better move the strike line over a bit, stay away from that inclusion. It might disturb the fracture line. He turned the piece over a couple of times to set the strikes in his head, then set the stone down on the crude anvil. He felt a great sense of satisfaction when his first blow sheared the stone perf ectly, making a huge chunk of the excess material fall away in a clean cut. He r epeated the action a few more times, repositioning the rock and flipping it over as needed. In just a couple of minutes he stood up, a wickedly sharp spearpoint shape now in his hand. Perfect thirty degree symmetry to the crystal structure, he noted with professional interest, and handed the piece to the Na'vi. The stone worker took the point and examined it minutely, impressed. "No master could do better, or faster. Eywa has truly given you the gift of stone-sight." Robinson preened a bit at the praise. At least these people recognize talent whe n they see it, even if that was the equivalent of an undergraduate's stunt."

Ar'ratey nodded acknowledgement at Norm before addressing the geologist. "We hav e a great deal of new arrowhead-stone here," he waved to indicate the pile he ha d been working in, "and it needs to be sorted according to what can be made from it by those who are more skilled, and what is best given to the apprentices for their training. None of them yet have the ability to See the stone as well as y ou. If you could take on the sorting, I will be able to give them a lesson." The geologist nodded in genial agreement. At least I'll be able to examine them closely! I'll have to take notes in my head and transcribe them later, though. M aybe I'll be able to take some of the debris back to Hells Gate for analysis lat er. "I'll be glad to, Ar'ratey." "Irayo, Dave. If you would sort them into piles for arrowheads, spearheads, and knives, that would be most helpful. I will be over here with the apprentices if you should have any questions," the stone master offered. Norm was greatly relieved. For all the man's attitude back at Hell's Gate, he wa s obeying the rules and completely within bounds here. Hell, he was being downri ght cooperative. Maybe he was just upset at not being able to do his work, earli er. It has to tick you off to travel six years out into space and then be told y ou can't do what you came to do, after all, he thought in a more charitable fram e of mind. "Well, I can see that I'm not needed, so I guess I'll move along. Dav e, after dinner I'll show you where the hammocks are so that you can park your a vatar for the night." The geologist nodded politely, Be nice. Be a good sheep. I've got years to get w hat I want. I can be patient. The anthropologist headed off with a much better attitude than he'd arrived in, but back at Hell's Gate, events were happening that would make sure Norm's good attitude was going to be short-lived. Most of the RDA staff (and all of SecOps) had been booted off the planet with th e Venture Star. Unfortunately, that meant that most of the personnel that were f amiliar with running some aspects of the installation were gone. The people rema ining were filling in as best they could. One such young man was working at a navigation console. He frowned when the comp uter made a blip noise at him and started running data across his video screen. It took him several minutes to decipher what the blasted thing was telling him, but when he finally figured it out he went pale. He turned in his seat and yelle d to the nearest warm body. "Hey! Get Max in here, on the double! Tell him it's an emergency!" The now de facto head of the support staff was there in a couple of minutes. "Wh at is it, Mike? What have you got? What's the emergency?" he puffed. Mike stood up and got out of the way so that Max could read the information on t he screen for himself. "Take a look. It took me a while to figure it out, becaus e they're not broadcasting the way they normally would, but the system saw them as soon as they passed the first nav beacon." The fuzzy haired scientist scanned the data readout and his blood went cold. "Go tell the comm guy on duty to buzz Norm's throat transceiver. As soon as he call s in, tell him to park his avatar and drop the link as fast as he can." The tech was worried, "It's bad Max, isn't it?" Max straightened up and blew out a gusty breath. "Nothing we didn't expect, but

it's still gonna be a gut kick. Don't know about you, but I wish I wasn't the on e to have to tell him that we've got confirmation of an ISV launch." "I sent them the same message that we sent to the two ships that turned back," N orm was speaking to a hastily gathered war council in a private glade outside of New Hometree. "This is the recording we got in answer." He touched a stud on hi s throat transceiver and a strong male voice emerged. "This is the Venture Comet. We beg your pardon for not following standard contac t protocol. We understand that a colony of Na'vi were attacked without provocati on by Administrator Selfridge and a SecOps force led by Colonel Miles Quaritch. We regret this action and wish it known that it was in no way authorized or cond oned by the RDA, and we extend our profound apologies to the Na'vi and any of th e civilian staff at Hell's Gate that may have been affected by this unfortunate incident." Jake muttered something colorful under his breath, and Neytiri put a hand on his shoulder to quiet him so that they could hear the rest. "We understand that you may find our apology difficult to believe," the voice co ntinued. Norm was having as much trouble stifling himself as Jake, even though he had alr eady heard the recording once. "Yeah, you could say that," he commented sarcasti cally. "We therefore intend to put something concrete behind our apology. The Venture C omet has been loaded with supplies for the Hell's Gate installation. It carries food and medical supplies, hydroponics supplies and equipment, oxygen generators , spare electronics, electronic parts, repair and replacement parts specific to the Avatar project equipment, everything that the personnel now on the base will need to support themselves for at least a decade. It is our intent to deliver t hese with no strings attached, not even a demand for a refuel to enable us to ge t back home. To be blunt, it is in the RDA's best interests that Hell's Gate rem ains manned and maintained, so we're serving ourselves by giving these to you." Jake was stunned and looked at the anthropologist. Neither said a word as the re cording concluded. "We would appreciate the opportunity to speak with those now in control of the H ell's Gate facility. The RDA intends no retaliatory action be taken against the Na'vi or the scientific staff on Pandora. The Avatar project is a valuable endea vor that we have no intention of endangering. We regard this incident as a regre ttable misunderstanding and wish to make amends for it. It is our intent to nego tiate for a peaceful return of the installation to RDA control. We are willing t o entertain any conditions or modifications to the way mining on Pandora is cond ucted that the Na'vi may wish to impose in exchange for permission to continue e xtraction of unobtanium, which is crucial to the continuation of Earth's populac e. All we are asking for is a chance to present our side of the story, no string s attached. If you choose not to refuel us for the journey home after hearing us out, that is your right and we accept that. We understand that we have certainl y caused enough injury to warrant such a response. In any case, even if you shou ld choose not to hear us out at all, the supplies we carry are yours. We will be making live contact with you when the Venture Comet approaches Pandora and we c ome into real time communications range. Venture Comet out." Norm felt helpless and angry. "They've got us by the balls, Jake. We need those supplies and they know it. They're using it as an excuse to get to us." The marine was sympathetic and reached out to lay a comforting hand on the scien

tist's shoulder. "I know, Norm. It'll be okay." Mo'at asked, "What are these supplies they speak of? Why does it cause you such great distress?" The anthropologist blew out a gusty breath and got hold of himself. "Tsahik, you know that Sky People cannot drink the water on Pandora. We cannot eat Na'vi foo d. We can't even breathe Pandoran air. It'll kill us in minutes." Neytiri's hand on Jake's shoulder clenched reflexively. She remembered all too w ell the panic she had felt when she'd found him unconscious in the wreck of the mobile lab, strangling in the planet's alien atmosphere. Norm continued, "Not all of us have dreamwalker bodies. Unless we wear the face masks, the Sky People who remain on Pandora will have to stay inside the buildin gs at Hell's Gate for the rest of their lives. The only food and water we have i s what we can grow or create for ourselves." Jake chimed in, "Those buildings, and the equipment inside them that the Sky Peo ple need in order to stay alive will eventually fail, given enough time." Mo'at was shocked. She turned to Norm, "Does this not mean that your people will die?" Surprisingly it was Max who answered her, via Norm's transceiver. "Eventually we will, Tsahik. The supplies that the ships are bringing will help us survive for a long time, but even they won't last forever. We just hope they'll last long e nough." Sir'tey was astonished by the voices that came out of nowhere, but was taking hi s cue from the others and had enough presence of mind to ask, "Long enough? Long enough for what?" Max answered the hunter, "We're hoping that we can learn something from the Na'v i. You've seen how insane some of us are. Well, not all of us are like that. The re are some of us who are willing to learn, who are willing to change if only we knew how. Those of us here can see that the Na'vi know how to live on Pandora w ithout destroying it. The Sky People don't know how to do that. If those of us h ere can learn how, we hope to be able to send that information back to our world so that the people we left behind can start again, so that they can stop destro ying our own planet and be able to live with it, like the Na'vi do." The Tsahik was appalled, "But all of you here ." Max replied gently, "All of us who chose Tsahik. We're grateful that you allowed rtunity to learn what we need to know to planet, and we thank you for that. It's to us." to stay knew what we were getting into, us to be here. You've given us the oppo be able to save our own people, our own worth the risk, no matter what happens

Sir'tey turned to Mo'at with a grim expression on his face, "This is not accepta ble, Tsahik. It is not Eywa's way." Eytukan's mate nodded in agreement, obviously disturbed as well, but Jake broke into the conversation to get everyone back on track. "Max, how long do we have u ntil the Venture Comet makes orbit?" The neuroscientist's voice became brisk and businesslike again, "Five years, sev en months."

Neytiri turned to her mate in concern, "Should we tell the other clans?" Jake heaved a sigh and considered. Then he shook his head. "We already told them a six-year ship was coming. We don't really have much more information than we had before. We've got lots of time to figure out how to play this. Norm," he add ressed his friend. The scientist shook his head, "Don't let it influence you Jake. You can't let th e RDA back on Pandora, not for any reason. Not for our sake." "I won't," the marine gripped his friend's shoulder reassuringly, "but I'm not g oing to let everyone suffer because of it, either. I told you, I don't walk out on my friends. We'll get those supplies. We'll make it work, somehow." Pa'kan was racking his brains while running through the jungle canopy, trying to come up with a solution to his dilemma. As a hunter who did not yet have an ikr an, he had to travel by pa'li or on foot. He was afoot today, and so needed to r estrict himself to game small enough for him to carry back to New Hometree unaid ed. I cannot choose a mate before bonding with an ikran, and no one will take me to Ikinmaya while the tsahik say that it is not time. Even though his thoughts were agitated, long practice kept his footfalls sure and silent as he moved through the trees. No amount of inner turmoil could pull his attention completely away f rom his surroundings. To be out in the jungle alone was dangerous; to be alone a nd distracted was a death sentence. He knew better than to make such a tyro's mi stake. He sighted a small group of yerik browsing in the lush greenery below and passed them by. They were too large for him to carry back, and so he continued on. Per haps it is true, what I told Ta'sit, that my ikran is too young for me still? The hunter shook his head in dismay. It cannot be. I have made many clean kills; I am experienced enough that Sir'tey sends me to hunt alone. If I can do this, so can my ikran. He altered direction a bit. There was a large meadow not far aw ay. I may well find tapirus browsing along the edges. They would not be too heav y for me. He focused on approaching the field cautiously. Tapirus there may well be, but w here they are, predators gather as well. I must be cautious. Pa'kan stayed well hidden in the canopy as he ghosted around the perimeter. He was about a third of the way around when he was rewarded; a prime male was rooting amongst the plant s at the meadow's edge. Perfect! He is mature, not of this year's birthing. Mati ng season is past, so he has already sired young to carry on his kind and he wil l not be full of the rut-stink. He spent a minute or two cautiously scanning the surrounding area. Good, no pred ators are tracking him yet. If I kill and clean him quickly, I will be back in t he trees before anything comes. Pa'kan quietly nocked an arrow to his bow and dr ew it back full. There was a long pause while he studied the movements the anima l was making, anticipating where his arrow must go. Then there was a quiet twang and the missle flew. A perfect shot. The boar made a single startled squeal and dropped in its tracks. Pa'kan descended as quickly as he could, stowing his bow and drawing his knife a s he landed at the animal's side. He spoke the words of thanks and blessing as h e quickly field-dressed the beast, then heaved it up onto his shoulder and got b ack into the canopy. A sigh of relief escaped him as he reached the heights; hun ting was a dangerous endeavor. There was always a chance that one might become t

he prey, or that some accident might occur. Thankfully, the hunter-luck appeared to favor him today. He let his mind return to his dilemma as he made his way home. How long must I w ait for my ikran to be ready for me? Pa'kan remembered Kiree and Ta'sit speaking to each other. I cannot wait! I cannot interest her until I am eligible to take a mate; she will not See me before then. If I am eligible, she will See me and know that I am the man she desires as mate, not Ta'sit! But how was he to achiev e this, when no one at New Hometree would take him to Ikinmaya? The only person who is willing to go is me! I . The hunter stopped dead in his tracks as an enormous idea hit him with the force of a runaway angtsik. I am willing to go . Then he recoiled from the thought for a moment. There was a good reason why those who went to Ikinmaya did so in groups. The jou rney was long and dangerous. A guide had to show the way, at least one air suppo rt watched and guarded the party from above, and at least one person had to brin g the pa'li back home. Predators that wouldn't hesitate to attack a lone Na'vi s tayed well away from a strong party. I could not take a pa'li; it would surely be killed when it was turned loose. It would take me much longer to reach Ikinmaya traveling afoot, but do I not trave l the canopy alone whenever I hunt? His excitement rose as he considered. I can easily provide food for myself along the way, and I can rest in the highest bran ches where the great predators cannot come when I need to. Still, the danger of such a journey was immense. I will need to take as many pre cautions as I can. I will carry a pouch of medicine with me, in case I am injure d. I should bring more arrows as well; I may need to fight something off. His spirits climbed further as he worked out his plan. I can do it! I will go to Ikinmaya by myself! Eywa must be waiting for me to have the courage to do this alone! I will bond with my ikran and fly it home, and when Kiree Sees how brave and daring I am she will Choose me immediately! He quickened his pace in his eag erness to get home quickly; he needed to visit the weapon makers right away. Robinson was working the arrowhead-stone pile again. Ar'ratey had taken the appr entices out into the field, so he was very happily alone. He wasn't getting much sorting done, though. The scientist was almost resentful when a young Omaticaya approached him. "Oel ngati kameie. I am looking for one of the journeymen weapo n-makers, are any of them about?" The dreamwalker's interest was unexpectedly piqued. Unless he missed his guess, the youngster was up to something. The boy definitely had a furtive air about hi m, as though he were doing something that he wasn't supposed to. Robinson well r emembered having that air himself, a time or two. "Oel ngati kameie, my name is Dave. I am sorry, everyone else is out in the field today. I can make stone weap ons though, can I help?" Relief came over the young man's face. It was obvious to the scientist that the boy didn't want someone of rank to know what he was doing. "Irayo. I am going on a long hunting trip, and I would like to take extra arrows with me. Are there a ny about?" Robinson answered politely and lying through his teeth "I do not know of any rea dy-made, but I could make you several arrowheads if you like. I am very fast." Pa'kan nodded, "Yes, please," and sat down to wait.

The geologist selected four appropriate pieces of stone and went to work at what was for him a very leisurely pace. Flakes of rock fell away with glasslike clin k-clink sounds as he worked. "You must be going very far on your hunt to want ex tra arrows," he commented. He caught another furtive glance as the young hunter replied, "A few days, no mo re. I simply want to take precautions." "Very wise of you. I'm sure your hunt will be successful," he flattered the lad. He finished the first arrowhead and started on the next. "If you will be travel ing so far, perhaps you would like a spare knife as well? We have a great deal o f new stone, and I have found several pieces that will make very good knives." "Irayo, Dave, that is most kind of you. I had not considered a spare knife. Yes, please," Pa'kan replied. Robinson turned the second arrowhead over and began working on the other side. " Is anyone else going with you? I could make extra arrowheads for them as well." He probed delicately to discover the cause of the boy's unease. "No, only I am going. There is something I need to do by myself," the Na'vi stat ed uneasily. Dave knew he was getting closer. "Ah. It is good for a young man to be capable o f doing things by himself. It shows how responsible, how mature he is." He almos t lost the rhythm of his stone-knapping when he saw the boy sit bolt upright out of the corner of his eye. Bingo! Pa'kan was nodding in relief and agreement. This dreamwalker is wise, and very k ind. Perhaps I should tell him ? He thought about it for a minute, then decided ag ainst it. Best that no one else knows. "That is very true, Dave," he said polite ly. Robinson set aside the third arrowhead and started on the fourth. "f there is any thing else I can do for you, please let me know. I would be glad to help you." I f I push too hard, I may lose him. Best to make myself someone he feels he can c onfide in. He finished the fourth arrowhead in silence and then reached for one of the knife-worthy stones. A few minutes passed in companionable silence while the geologist worked on the piece. When the blade was done, he passed it to the hunter. "Here, grasp the hil t so that I can see how to fit it to your hand." The boy tried to settle the knife in his grip, but there were several proturbanc es that wouldn't let it sit properly. Dave nodded and took the weapon back so th at he could smooth out the rough spots. "I am sure that your hunt will go well, but would it not make it safer if someone else accompanied you? I would be sadde ned if any accident were to befall you. Perhaps the Olo'eyctan could have anothe r hunter assist you?" He was shocked when the boy flinched as if he'd been stung. The furtive air was back in spades. "No, no, that will not be necessary. The journey is not difficul t, and it is a way that many Omaticaya travel frequently. I am sure that I am ju st being over cautious. There is no need to trouble the Olo'eyctan with such an unimportant matter." The young man was almost stuttering in his haste to reassur e the geologist. It took all of Robinson's effort to keep a neutral expression on his face, "Ah, that is good, then. I am glad that the journey presents no danger to you. Here, try this now." He handed the knife over. A small part of him was very satisfied

to see that the hilt fit into the young man's grasp perfectly. Pa'kan was relieved that the dreamwalker made no further issue of the matter. Th e new knife fit smoothly into his palm, and he himself could easily finish the n ew arrows without anyone else's assistance. "Irayo, Dave, this fits my hand beau tifully. When I return from my journey I will hunt for you and bring you some ne w material to work with." The geologist feigned an expression of satisfaction; he could see the boy was it ching to be gone. "I am pleased that I could help you. I would be glad to assist you in the future if you should be in need." He watched the young man quickly d isappear while containing his own now-enormous curiosity. He has a problem with Sully! Now isn't that interesting? Pa'kan left New Hometree in the dark hours of the morning. He told the scout-lea der that he was going to hunt in the direction of Ikinmaya and headed out before anyone was able to question him further. The journey was harrowing. As he'd anticipated, predators that shied away from a party were quite interested in a lone Na'vi. He had to travel slowly and carefu lly. He had to hide in the highest reaches of the canopy more than once, and los t one of his new arrows to a nantang that refused to stop chasing him. The momen t the beast hit the ground, dead, its former pack-mates attacked the carcass and started tearing it apart. He thought it best to move on quickly. It took a couple of days at his slowed pace to reach the ascent to Ikinmaya, and he was tired and scuffed up by the time he reached the path leading to the jump ing-off point. He forced himself to rest for a few hours, though the exhiliratio n that was filling him made it difficult. I have made it! I am here! Soon I will find my ikran and I will go home and claim Kiree! The sun was not quite at zenith when he gave up on resting and started up the pa th. It wasn't long before something odd came to his sensitive ears. He stopped f or a moment, shaded his eyes with a hand, and looked up into the sky. Ikran, dow n this low?That is strange. Are they hunting? Pa'kan examined the group of flyin g creatures, which were coming closer. No, they are not hunting. They are angry. Has Toruk invaded their nesting-place? He shook his head, discarding the though t. If they were, such a large group would be chasing him away, not coming down t o the ground. They look like they are pursuing something, though. He continued his approach to the place where the sky-pathway began, keeping an e ye on the ever-nearing group of animals. Have they knocked something from the sk y that has fallen nearby? Is there some predator around here that I have not det ected? The thought made him instantly whip his bow off of his back and nock an a rrow. The hunter spun in place, all senses alert. I sense nothing. I should get on the sky-path quickly; if there is something on the ground nearby, I will be s afer in the sky. No sooner thought than done; the sky-vines were in sight and he ran for them, sh ouldered his bow as he got near, and leaped for a handhold. Three quick leaps, a nd he was over twice his height off of the ground. The maddened screams of the i kran filled his ears. What has disturbed them so? I sense nothing! He was shocked when a mighty blow very nearly threw him off of the vine-wrapped rock he was clinging to. A moment later fire ripped across his shoulders as the claws of an ikran scored him. A third beast's talons screeched across the rock, spewing sharp shards in his face as the strike barely missed his head. Pa'kan screamed in pain and shock as the flock attacked. They are attacking me!

It was plain that he was their target. He dodged as best he could while trying t o maintain a precarious grip on the vines. He had to pull a knife to try and war d off the deadly claws that were trying to pluck him from the rock and throw him down. Several more of the beasts scored on his upraised arm, shoulder, and back . Whenever he tried climbing higher their fury increased. "Why are you doing this?" the young hunter screamed in frustration. "I am not a danger to you or your young, I am not trying to hurt you! One of you will be my friend!" He could have been screaming at the wind for all the effect it had. One of the ikran an acid green colored animal with hate clearly showing in its e yes got in a glancing blow to Pa'kan's head that made the world spin. A bronze f lyer raked claws across his back in a deep gouge and the Na'vi was forced to dro p his knife and hold on with both hands to prevent a fall. Cries of triumph came from the flock as they sensed his vulnerable state. Blood was pouring from the hunter's back and shoulders; his head was still swimm ing. It was clear even to Pa'kan that this attempt was futile. He backed down th e vine-path as quickly as he safely could, dropping the last body-length. His ba lance was bad; he had to roll to absorb the force of his landing, and screamed a s his weight pressed his bleeding back into the gravelly dirt. Run! He thought t hrough the blinding pain, Get away from here before they kill you! The nearness of the screaming flyers emphasized the fact that they were still af ter him. Pa'kan forced himself up and ran down the path, not stopping until he h it the tree line. He screamed with the effort of pulling himself up into the can opy, feeling the flesh in his shoulders and back tear further. As soon as he was out of their sight , the ikran stopped their pursuit. He did his best to stifle himself. Thank Eywa the pouch of emergency medicines h e had tied to his loincloth-cord was safe and secure. Blood poured down his shak ing arms as he pulled the bag free and opened it. He grabbed for the powdered ka vey and frantically began covering his shoulders with it to stop the bleeding, k nowing that the blood-smell would attract predators quickly. When he had covered all he could reach, he could still feel blood running down h is back. He whipped his loincloth off and spread it on the wide branch before hi m. He dusted kavey all over the garment, clenched his teeth, and flipped over to lie down on it. He wanted to scream but kept his mouth shut until he had covere d the back-wounds. When he got up, his loincloth was liberally streaked with blo od. He went to the medicine-pouch again and pulled out powdered ivoh leaves. Blessed numbness spread across his shoulders from the anesthetic. He didn't dare distur b the wounds on his back too much, so he sprinkled ivoh over the bloody loinclot h and gently pressed the medicine onto his violated flesh. He gathered the medic ines back into the pouch and lurched up. I must leave, quickly. The smell of the blood will draw predators, and I am weakened. I cannot rest, I must get back to New Hometree as fast as I can. If I can. Late in the afternoon, five days after Pa'kan had left, the Omaticaya were prepa ring to put the day's tasks away when the alarm-cry went up from the sentries. E veryone instinctively pulled in towards the roots of the Tree. The call went fro m "all alert" to "hunter wounded," and people started running for the incoming s couts. A blue and green ikran appeared, flying fast and low for the main ground entranc e. Na'vi cleared a path for the beast to land. Everyone saw the unconsicous body behind the rider. The woman landed her beast and many people gasped; her passen

ger was covered with blood. Dozens of hands reached for the wounded one and quic kly bore him to the healers' enclave. An hour later, the Olo'eyctan, Tsahik, and the master healer were holding a lowvoiced conference near the drugged and sleeping young man. Jake's voice was grim, "Those are ikran claw marks on him, aren't they?" Alai confirmed, "Yes, and he's lucky to be alive, the young fool. The scout said his back and shoulders were covered with kavey when they found him. If he hadn' t taken it with him, he never would have made it back." The Tsahik was troubled, "How long will it be before he wakes and can talk to us ?" The healer frowned. "He has lost far too much blood for my liking. It will be at least two hands of days before he has any strength back. It will easily be more than a moon before his wounds will heal enough to allow him to move without pai n. His recovery will be hard. Several muscles are severely torn. I have done wha t I can, but he will be an invalid for a long time. He may never completely rega in full strength and range of motion only time will tell." Jake dismissed the healer to tend to her patient and motioned Mo'at to move off into a corner with him for a private word. "He was trying to tame an ikran, wasn 't he?" His mother in law wore a troubled expression, but nodded. "It is the only thing that explains this." The Olo'eyctan looked at the unconscious hunter across the room and frowned, "Da mn kid. Do you think this'll teach him his lesson?" The Tsahik said uneasily, "If this does not, then nothing will." Jake had a great deal on his mind that was of higher priority than a wannabe hot shot youngster, so he left the matter of Pa'kan in Mo'at's capable hands. The Ve nture Nova was due to arrive in only four months and he hadn't yet figured out h ow to teach the Na'vi to think and act as a unified and integrated whole without destroying the integrity of their way of life. Granted, he didn't think it woul d be needed by the time this ISV arrived, but it was still going to take years t o spread the training throughout all the clans before he'd have an effective fig hting force. He'd also had to split his hand-to-hand training into two separate groups. The O maticaya were getting the defensive instruction that he'd originally envisioned. The White Mountain Na'vi were of necessity getting an accelerated version of th e training, since they would not be returning after the Venture Nova departed. Jake had had to split the teaching duties. He practiced privately with Sir'tey a nd a handful of the most adept Omaticaya who then taught the defensive maneuvers to the rest. By the time the war parties of all the nearby clans arrived in two months there would be enough trained Omaticaya to provide teachers for all the newcomers. The ice-kin attended the defensive training with their hosts in the morning afte r the hunters' meetings, and offensive classes with Jake in the afternoon. He wa s working the White Mountain Na'vi hard to ensure that they would have everythin g they were capable of learning by the time they left to return to their home. T a'sit wholeheartedly approved even though it meant that his clansmen were doing double shifts in addition to working alongside their hosts. He was well aware th

at his people would be teaching these skills to his own neighbor-clans and it wa s essential that they be correctly and thoroughly learned. The former marine was also continuing to adapt his martial arts training to his Na'vi body, which meant more private practicing with Sir'tey. All of this was in addition to his full plate of duties as Olo'eyctan. It was a grueling schedule. Neytiri had her own way of dealing with things when her mate's fatigue started t o catch up with him. The People hid knowing smiles at the number of mornings the young couple showed up late to first meal, or when they slipped out into the co ncealing darkness of Pandoran evenings after last meal. Jake had won the respect and loyalty of the Omaticaya when he had shown up at th e Tree of Souls on Toruk. He won their hearts with Neytiri's pregnancy. No matte r what else was going on, he was constantly offering assistance, insisting that she rest frequently, making sure she got the choicest portions from the servingplatters that he himself fetched for her. In short, the People saw him acting ex actly like every other nervous first-time father-to-be that they'd ever seen, an d they were absolutely delighted. His mate, of course, reacted like every other first-time mother-to-be. Neytiri e njoyed the attention initially, but after a while it became annoying. "Jake, I a m perfectly capable of seating myself!" she said with exasperation one evening w hen he'd been particularly solicitous and had offered a hand to help her sit. Several women sitting nearby chuckled knowingly. "Enjoy it while you can, Neytir i," Wannaya advised. "you'll be wishing for him to be even more attentive soon e nough!" "Or that he'd disappear entirely!" quipped one wag to the hilarity of the others . Jake just grinned in response to his mate's sour expression, and put another mus hroom on her leaf-plate. There were certain things that he made time for no matter how busy he was. On on e morning when Neytiri had had to leave immediately after the hunters' meeting, the Olo'eyctan made a quick trip back to the niche that he and his mate shared. He snagged the beautiful shell-bowl that he had brought home from the Eastern Se a clan and took it to Janni. "Jake, this is beautiful!" the jewelcrafter said in wonder when he unwrapped the opalescent shell. "Can you make something with it?" the Olo'eyctan asked. When Janni looked at him in puzzlement he explained, "I want to give Neytiri a gift. She means so much t o me, more than anything I've ever known." His eyes went soft and unfocused for a moment as he contemplated his great good fortune at being Neytiri's chosen mat e. "Now she's giving me a child. I can't do anything to compare with that, but I want to give her something ." Janni was hard put to keep her eyes from misting over at Jake's fervent tone. Sh e touched his forearm gently, "Then it must be something truly special. Let me p ractice more with the shells I have already before working with this. Would it b e all right if I asked Mo'at for her opinion and guidance?" He readily agreed, realizing that Neytiri's mother would know her daughter's tas tes and likings better than anyone. "As long as she doesn't give it away! I'd li ke it to be a surprise."

His mate's best friend smiled, "That, I think, we can manage quite nicely. Let m e put this away for now," she wrapped it back up in the soft leather, "and when I am satisfied with my skill in this material and with my inspiration we can mak e her a gift such as she has never seen before." Jake was quite satisfied to lea ve the matter in Janni's capable hands. Days and weeks went by as the training continued. The marine was getting more an d more concerned; he was worrying constantly over how to implement the greater p art of the training. He was getting downright grumpy about it. He came down to first meal with Neytiri one morning already wearing a concentrat ion-frown. Mo'at was seated in her customary space and she looked to have the ex act opposite attitude; she was acting exhilarated. Her daughter smiled, "You look like you have found every single banana fruit in the jungle all at once," she observed. "What has you so joyful today?" "I have no idea," the Tsahik replied happily. "All I know is that when I woke up this morning I felt that Eywa was about to present me with a great gift." "Greater than your first grandchild?" Neytiri teased. Mo'at was too excited to be baited, "When I find out what it is, I will let you know!" she countered. The women laughed together. "Maybe she's sending us a fleet of ISVs and a few thousand marines, that'd be da mned useful," Jake grumped as he filled his cup with the hot, stimulating root-t ea that he favored for waking himself up in the morning. The Tsahik sobered for just a moment. "You need a morning off," she told her son in law in a tone that brooked no argument. "If you are sour much longer your fa ce will freeze that way and you will scare my grandchild. Sir'tey can take the h unters' meeting this morning. You take the time and go sort out your attitude." Neytiri wasn't very successful at stifling a giggle. "Why don't you visit the ch ild-tenders this morning, Jake?" she suggested. "You enjoy the children, and tru ly, it would be a nice break for you." "Okay," he conceded, his mood already starting to lighten up. It was true, he di d like watching the kids. It was amazing to see the kind of mischief that youngs ters with tails and the agility of monkeys could (and did!) get into. He headed out as soon as he was finished eating. He felt like watching rather th an participating, so he found himself a convenient spot to sit in where he could see the older children playing on the flat space between the Tree and the river . Within minutes of taking his perch a couple of the kids started a mud-fight, sli nging the sandy muck from the riverbank at each other and shrieking hysterically . Jake chuckled and noted that the child-tenders prudently kept the non particip ants close to the Tree and out of the way of the combatants. It went on for quit e a while. When it looked as if the battle might be getting too serious, one of the child-tenders shrewdly threw a brightly colored grass-stuffed leather ball i nto the middle of the melee. Diverted, the kids immediately converged on the toy and started kicking and throwing it around. Of course the ball went into the ri ver a number of times; the kids wound up getting most of the mud washed off of t hem as they cheerfully pursued it. A girl flew through the water like a young otter and snagged the ball. She yelle d in triumph as she jumped up and threw it two-handed to a friend standing on th

e riverbank. The throw was perfect, but her friend hadn't been paying attention; the ball hit the youngster's head and ricocheted off in a high and very familia r arc. Jake sat bolt upright as if he'd been stung. No, it can't be that easy! He watch ed with amazement as the pack of kids ran after the rolling toy en masse. The bo y who reached it a half-stride ahead of his mates drew his leg back and let fly with a huge kick that sent the ball sailing away with a great thump. There was another thump as the Olo'eyctan jumped off of his perch and hit the gr ound running for the clothcrafters' place, which was where Mo'at would be this t ime of day. Visions of Teekan and Natan chasing after a ball at the gathering fi lled his mind. He was exhilirated to see Norm standing next to the Tsahik when h e careened around the pillar nearest the crafters' area and braked to an abrupt halt. "Whoa, Jake, what's wrong? Why are you in such a rush?" the scientist asked in a larm. The marine ignored his friend for just a moment, focusing on his mother in law i n exhilaration, "Mo'at, I need to ask " he started breathlessly. He didn't even ge t a chance to complete his sentence. "Yes!" the elder instantly exclaimed, "You found it!" "Found what?" the puzzled anthropologist asked, "What did you find? What did you lose?" Jake reached for his friend's arm and tugged, "Come on Norm," he urged, "We've g ot to get somewhere private so we can talk to Max. I need him to look up some in formation for me." His friend was still confused. "What information, Jake? What are you going on ab out?" "I found out how we can teach the Na'vi to be team players, but I need to refres h my memory on the rules," the marine answered excitedly. "What rules? How are you going teach them to fight as units without turning them into Spartans?" the dreamwalker demanded. "By ee. The her using something they already know and do," Jake's eyes were gleaming with gl "We're going to teach them how to play soccer." Omatikaya warriors were understandably puzzled when Jake gathered them toget on the large flat space between New Hometree and the river.

"How is playing a children's game going to teach us to defeat the Sky People?" a sked one confused hunter when told of the morning's activity. It was a fair question, and Jake had been struggling with how to explain it to t he Na'vi. Before he could open his mouth to make the attempt, a hand went up in the middle of the crowd. It was the zoologist, Kim, "Olo'eyktan, may I?" Surpris ed, he nodded assent. The scientist turned to address the clansman. "A lone hunter seeks prey that he can successfully take, whether that hunter is Na'vi or palulukan. He develops th e skills and strategies needed to make sure his hunts succeed as often as possib le." The Omatikaya nodded their agreement, and Kim continued. "Sometimes the prey one wishes to hunt is so large or so powerful that one needs

help to hunt safely. When the Na'vi hunt talioang for example, they ride pa'li or fly on ikran." The zoologist warmed to his subject, "But sometimes what one h unts is so large, or so dangerous, that an entirely different way of hunting is needed." "And what way is that?" a hunter asked. "The way of the nantang," he replied simply. Even Jake was confused. "Viperwolves?" Kim nodded enthusiastically, "Think about it for a minute," he encouraged. "A si ngle nantang cannot hunt anything larger than a tapirus, but an entire pack work ing together can take down an angtsik that is many times their size." There were doubletakes and startled looks among the Na'vi hunters as they realiz ed that the dreamwalker was right. The zoologist continued, "Think of how the nantang hunt. Members of the pack wor k together, but perform different tasks. Some will drive the prey towards a plac e where it can be trapped. Others will prevent it from escaping. A number of the m will threaten the prey, snapping at it but if the prey starts attacking a sing le nantang, the entire pack will close in and divert it from its target to prote ct their pack-mate. All of them must work together and very often, they will hav e to change which job they are doing while they hunt. Each one must know not onl y its own job, but the tasks of all the others as well, in case it is called on to change what it is doing." He pointed at the ball that Jake was holding in his hands. "The game that the Ol o'eyktan has in mind will teach groups of Na'vi how to act as packs of nantang. There are different tasks that must be performed, and all must work together whi le performing those tasks if the group is to succeed." "And when the Na'vi have learned to hunt as the nantang hunt, they will be able to fight an enemy that is too powerful for single hunters to face the Sky People ," one woman concluded in wonder. Jake was absolutely floored. The scientist's explanation was simple, easily unde rstandable to his clansmen, and dead on accurate. "Irayo Kim, that was very help ful." The zoologist subsided with a well-earned expression of satisfaction. "So," the Olo'eyktan announced, "Today we'll start with some basic skills. Our f riends the dreamwalkers will each take a group of hunters and start teaching the m." Several of the humans came forward in their avatars and divvied up the Na'vi to begin the instruction. Soon the area was full of people practicing how to mo ve a ball with their feet alone, up and down the river side. It wasn't long before the hunter / warriors were having a great deal of fun at t his "war practice." A couple of times warriors stepped on the ball while trying to control it and wound up in the air, arms and legs flailing helplessly before landing on their butts, to the hilarity of the others. The "clumsy nantang" joke s started almost immediately. They wound up with a good audience, too. Many Omatikaya had tasks that took them near the players and they stopped to watch the participants and enjoy the not-i nfrequent mishaps that occurred. As soon as Jake called a halt to the lesson, the children commandeered the balls and swarmed the dreamwalkers, demanding to be shown how to play this game. The scientists were happy to comply, and the riverbank soon rang with the childrens'

happy shrieks and laughter. Sir'tey caught the Olo'eyktan's attention from across the field; he smiled and n odded to the knot of dreamwalkers earnestly explaining the game to the kids. Jak e couldn't control the rueful grin that came over his face. Sir'tey chuckled and turned away as he headed out to oversee the day's hunting. 'Nantang ball' was the talk of the clan at the evening meal that night. Animated conversations were everywhere. It was a great relief to Jake to see his people so happy. "Your teaching seems to be a great success," Mo'at commented to him with a smile . "Well, at least the idea is out there. We'll just have to wait and see if it doe s what we want it to," Jake conceded. Neytiri frowned and made a sound of disgust, taking a piece of half-eaten food o ut of her mouth. "What's wrong?" her mate asked. She handed him the piece of tapirus, "Here, try this. Does it taste off to you?" Jake took the morsel, popped it into his mouth, chewed and swallowed. "Nope, tas tes fine." His mate made a face and scooped the rest of the offending meat off of her leafplate and on to his, "Here, you eat it then. I usually like A'tey's tapirus, but it just doesn't taste right to me tonight." Mo'at leaned over and spoke across her son-in-law, "You should expect that to ha ppen more now. Being with child often changes how things taste to a mother-to-be ," she informed her daughter. Neytiri spat and swallowed some water to get rid of the offending taste. The Tsahik excused herself as soon as she was finished eating. The young couple stayed for a while, watching the clan with contentment. When they were ready, th ey got up and headed up the Tree towards the niche that served as their sleeping -space. Jake was going on about the day's activities. Neytiri could easily see how great ly relieved her mate was. "We'll have to adapt the rules to the Na'vi; we only h ave so much flat space available, and we'll run out of warriors quickly if we fi eld full eleven-man teams," he was nattering on. His mate frowned as they approached their quarters. Her guts were grumbling, an unusual occurrence. Perhaps that tapirus truly was bad?We are all so careful abo ut cleaning and using meat quickly, and cooking it thoroughly, but sometimes it does happen. Maybe I should go see Alai? Neytiri stepped into the entrance of their private space as her guts rumbled aga in. Not her stomach, but lower down. Her hands went to her abdomen without think ing. She took one more step. Then the world changed. She stopped in her tracks and her eyes went wide. Jake continued his relieved ch atter, not noticing. Neytiri's mouth opened in a soundless "Oh!" and she sank to

her knees in slow motion. Her eyes went blank as her attention went within. Eventually Jake realized that Neytiri wasn't responding to his monologue as she usually did. He turned around and only then saw his mate on her knees with a stu nned expression on her face. His blood went cold, his ears flattened, and he couldn't get to her soon enough. "Neytiri!" He thumped down onto his knees in front of her and grabbed her upper arms in panic. Most of her attention was elsewhere, but she managed to say "Tsaheylu, Jake." The marine immediately grabbed the 's. The now-familiar sensations of ses. He held his focus through the g it aside as he tried to find out end of his queue and connected it to his mate their nervous systems joining swamped his sen flood, recognizing what was normal and settin what had changed.

Then he felt it, through her senses. A fluttering, deep inside her body. Somethi ng that had not been there before. Neytiri raised her wondering eyes to Jake as tears started flowing silently down her face. After a long, stunned moment, matching tears began falling from his. In complete silence they both looked down at Neytiri's hands covering her belly, beneath which they could both feel their child moving. Mo'at's heart sang with joy when she saw her daughter coming down to first meal the next morning. The young woman walked much more slowly and carefully than usu al, as if she wasn't quite sure of her footing. A hand held over her lower abdom en was ample explanation to the elder. When Neytiri looked up and saw the beaming smile on her mother's face she realiz ed that Mo'at knew exactly what had happened. Parent and child shared a joyful e mbrace. "You must take today to be alone with your child," the Tsahik insisted. "There i s only one day in a woman's entire lifetime when she feels her first child begin moving within, and this is that day for you. It will not be the same ever again . Today you truly begin your relationship with my grandchild. You will learn whe n it sleeps, and when it is active." There was a twinkle in the grandmother-to-b e's eyes. "You will also learn what foods you eat please your child and which do not." They all sat down to eat and converse. When they were done Jake and Mo'at went o ff to the hunters' meeting and Neytiri decided to spend the morning by the river . When the alert signaling Pa'kan's return had gone up, the Na'vi at the stonework ers' area had pulled Robinson along with them, so he'd seen the bloodied hunter arrive and get hustled off to the healers. The hubbub surrounding the boy was ob vious, even with his limited command of the language. He'd managed to gather tha t the young man's injuries were caused by a banshee, that he had gone to Ikinmay a against the will of the Olo'eyktan and Tsahik, and that he would be a long tim e in recovering. He'd decided it best to wait for the furor to die down complete ly before taking any action, but today he was on his way to see the boy. I can use a rebel, the geologist thought to himself. If the boy is willing to di sobey Sully in the matter of his banshee, he might be persuaded in other areas l ike the restriction keeping me out of the damn field. Why won't those idiots see that I can't do my work properly without going where the rock formations are? B y the time they hack off a specimen badly, might I add and bring it back here, m

ost of the information I could have gotten from it is gone! He refocused on his immediate target. Pity the kid didn't get his banshee, it'd be damned useful if he could fly me around! I'll have to encourage him to try again, carefully of co urse. First I need to convince him that he can trust me, that I'm on his side, t hat I'm his friend. The scientist peered cautiously into the infirmary area. Good, no one is around. The young man was lying on his stomach a short distance away. He was awake; whe n Dave approached, Pa'kan asked "Who is there?" in a drugged-sounding voice. "Oel ngati kameie, it is Dave, the stoneworker dreamwalker," he answered as he w alked around to where the Na'vi could see him easily. "I saw the ikran macto bri ng you in. I am sad that you were wounded so badly. I wish I had done more to he lp you." He sat down cross-legged before the hunter so that they could speak com fortably. Pa'kan's thoughts were muddied and sluggish, At least someone is sympathetic to me, even if it is a dreamwalker! "Irayo Dave, I am grateful for your concern." "I hope you will be well soon?" the human did his best to make the question soun d hopeful. Act concerned. The hunter grimaced, "Alai tells me that it will be a long time before I can hun t again." Dave's ears and expression drooped in an apt imitation of dejection. "I am sad t o hear that. I should have gone with you, to help you. I am sorry." He laid it o n thick, and it had the desired effect. "Do not blame yourself Dave, there is nothing you could have done," the youngste r consoled him. The scientist kept a dejected expression on his face. "Perhaps having some compa ny from time to time would help pass the time and ease your pain. May I visit yo u again? I am often at the dreamwalkers' camp, but I would like to visit you whe n I am at New Hometree." The boy was grateful for the offer. "Irayo Dave, I would like that very much, if it would not get you into trouble with Norm'an or the Olo'eyktan." "I am sure that Norman will not object," Robinson said with satisfaction. "I am supposed to learn to speak Na'vi better, and visiting you will certainly help me do that." "That is good. Alai does not want me to move very much. She says the wounds in m y back are deep and she wants me to stay as still as I can while they heal. The healers give me medicine for the pain, but they have other duties and cannot sta y with me all the time. I sleep much, but it is very boring to be awake and have no one to talk to." A situation I'll be glad to take advantage of, Robinson thought with satisfactio n. "I would be happy to come speak with you whenever you wish." The hunter looked at the dreamwalker with eyes that were just a bit unfocused. " So what would you like to talk about?" he inquired. The geologist leaned back with a contented smile. "Eywa's land is most beautiful . I see many wonderful things about it. The clay in the river, the yellow and bl ue arrowhead-stones. Do you have any stories about the land that you could tell me?"

Pa'kan realized Of course, Dave is a dreamwalker. He did not he Singers telling him the stories of the world. He was glad o do that would repay the dreamwalker's kindness. "The Na'vi ny songs about our world. My singing voice is no good, but I peak the stories for you. It would be a small thing to repay to me."

grow up here with t to have something t grow up learning ma would be happy to s your thoughtfulness

Robinson nodded in satisfaction. "That would help me learn to speak Na'vi much b etter indeed. You could tell me as many stories as you want, and sleep when you grow tired. I would be very grateful." And maybe, just maybe, I'll get some usef ul clues about the geology of this place! The scientist listened with rapt attention as the hunter began telling the tales . Alai allowed Pa'kan to get up and move around when she was reasonably certain th at the deep wounds in his back could withstand normal movement. They remained ti ghtly bandaged, but he could walk around without too much difficulty. "You are t o come see me every day so that I can check them and change the bandages. Here a re some herbs for the pain; put this much," she took a large pinch in her hand t o show him the appropriate amount, "in warm water and drink it when you become t oo uncomfortable. You are not to hunt, and you are not to pick up or carry anyth ing heavier than your food and drink until I say so. Return here to sleep at nig ht; your back is not yet healed enough for a hammock. Sit in the sun as much as you can, it will help your body to heal faster." So instructed, she waved him aw ay. He moved quite gingerly; everything was still sore. Pain quickly taught him how not to move. Still, it was a great relief to be able to get up and about. He spe nt several days on the river bank near the base of the Tree. It was comforting t o lie belly down on the sand while the warm sun gently bathed his injured back a nd shoulders. He'd expected the whispers and surreptitious stares. He was the only person amon g the Omatikaya in living memory who had gone to Ikinmaya against the advice of the Tsahik and Olo'eyktan, and he knew that parents would hold him up to their c hildren as an object lesson for some time. Generations, probably, he thought rue fully. After a while most people seemed to write it off to misplaced enthusiasm and youthful impatience, and the scrutiny lessened. The real reason behind his actions, however, remained. When the eyes of the clan 's gossipers moved on to other things, the hunter began hanging around the cloth crafters' area where Kiree worked, staying out of sight as best he could and jus t within earshot of the young woman. Most of what he heard was innocent gossip; compliments regarding a new bead, or bracelet, or new-braided hair, talk about friends, family, the Olo'eyktan's new war-training. But a conversation he overheard a dozen days after Alai had releas ed him from the infimary turned everything upside down again. He'd barely settled himself in his usual niche before Kiree and her friend Kiyer i arrived from the morning meal chattering together in high excitement. Janni's niece almost squealed, "I think he will ask soon!" Kiyeri took her friend's hands in equal anticipation, "Do you really think he wi ll?" Kiree nodded emphatically, "There is to be a talioang hunt in three days. Sir'te

y told ma'sempul and the other hunters yesterday that the Olo'eyktan wants a sto re of meat ready for the war parties from the other clans when they arrive. They will be very busy learning the new war-trainings, and of course our hunter-warr iors will be doing much of the teaching." "That makes sense," Kiyeri approved, "If there is already a good supply of meat then they will be able to focus on the war-practice much more." Kiree added with glee, "If Ta'sit gets a talioang he will have proved his huntin g skills to the elders and they will have no objection to his asking an Omatikay a woman to be his mate!" "And better that he asks before the war-parties arrive! Who knows how many unatt ached men will show up then?" her best friend commented. The two young women started excitedly speculating who among their friends and ac quaintances might possibly find mates with all the newcomers showing up soon. As soon as the conversation turned to other Na'vi, Pa'kan heard none of it. He s lipped away as quickly as he could to hide himself somewhere so that no one coul d see his shock. When he had secreted himself in an out-of-the-way hollow his th oughts ran rampant. No! This is a disaster! I cannot heal and make another attem pt at Ikinmaya before then! The pain that shot through him at an attempt to flex his shoulders was more than enough to convince him of that. What am I going to do? He cannot have her! Kiree must be mine! Similar despairing thoughts occupied him while he sat there the rest of the day and kept him up most of the night before he finally decided on what to do about it. Kiree and Kiyeri were surprised to see the young hunter waiting for them when th ey arrived at their customary working-spot the next day. "Oel ngati kameie, Pa'kan," Kiyeri greeted him politely. He returned the greeting, "Oel ngati kameie, Kiyeri. I hope you are well." "I am, irayo. How can we help you today?" was the reply. The hunter turned to her companion, "I would like to speak to Kiree." The girl was mystified. She couldn't think of anything that the young man might want to talk about. Surely he can't want cloth-work from me I am only an apprent ice, and there are many whose work is much finer than mine. So there was a defin ite tone of puzzlement to her voice when she replied "What would you like to spe ak about?" Pa'kan drew a deep breath and launched into the course he had decided upon in th e early hours of the morning. "I ask you to be my mate," was the shocking answer . Both womens' jaws dropped and he hurried to follow up on his request. "I know that I have not yet bonded to my ikran, and so perhaps you have not yet consider ed me as a potential mate, but I am convinced that if you will make tsaheylu wit h me so that you can See me truly, you would gladly choose to be my woman." The two before him were speechless. He reached out and took Kiree by the wrist, "I ask you to come with me now. We w ill find two ikran macto and have them take us to the Tree of Souls. There we wi ll make tsaheylu and you will gladly have me for your man. I will spend my entir e life working to make you happy."

The pull on her wrist finally brought the girl out of her shock; there was no do ubt that the hunter was entirely serious. She pulled back but was unsuccessful a t freeing herself and that finally got her tongue working. "Pa'kan, let me go! I do not want to go with you and I do not want to be your mate!" Pain lanced through Pa'kan's shoulders as the woman started to struggle, but her words made him almost oblivious to it. No! I cannot be too late! I cannot! "I k now that you do not See me truly now, but come make tsaheylu with me and I promi se you will change your mind about me," he begged, and tugged harder. Kiree's voice rose to a near-scream, "Pa'kan, no! Let me go!" Between the two young people there was suddenly a multicolored flash and a whist le of air, then a crack! as Jake's bowstaff came down hard on the hunter's wrist . The hunter gasped in new pain, but didn't have time to voice it before he was flung violently backward by the Olo'eyktan's foot in his chest. Pa'kan flew back wards nearly three times his body length and screamed when he landed on his back , opening up the newly-healed wounds. The thunder of his hunter-warriors' feet running to the scene couldn't penetrate the pounding of his blood in his ears as Jake stepped in front of Kiree and too k a square stance with his staff in both hands to block Pa'kan from his target. It was all he could do not to attack the young man. Fury whitened the Olo'eyktan 's thoughts, the most prominent one of which was, If it was my daughter . Jake had seen his share of violence against women during his time in the Marines . Even then it had sickened him. He'd refused to have anyone with that kind of i nclination in his squad. They got transferred out, or they regrettably were lost during action. No one commented on the location of the bullet holes. When he had joined with Neytiri, he'd found out for the first time in his life w hat sacredness was. The entire core of it revolved around her willingness to fre ely join everything that she was to everything that he was, spots and all. The v ery idea that someone would even think of trying to compel that willingness, muc h less actually act on it, had Jake in a near-killing fury. His hands trembled w ith his efforts to restrain himself, and his canines were exposed in a snarl tha t struck fear in more than one of the newly-arriving clansmen. Jake growled through clenched teeth at the warriors pouring in to the scene, "Pi ck him up." Two burly Na'vi immediately did so, and he snarled at the youth, "No one attacks a clansman like that." Then he shocked everyone, "Pa'kan is no longer Omatikaya. Take him to the edge o f our territory and leave him there. If he tries to return to New Hometree, shoo t him." The judgment was delivered in a tone of absolute finality. The boy didn' t even have a chance to protest as the two warriors manhandled him away forthwit h, glad for the excuse to get out of range of Toruk Macto's fury themselves. Sir'tey had been one of the ted when the Olo'eyktan had mmand, "Sir'tey, send ikran has been made outcast, and acquiescence and turned to first to arrive the hunters' meeting had barely star jumped up like a shot and ran off. Jake snarled a co macto to all the nearby clans. Tell them that Pa'kan tell them why." The senior hunter bowed in immediate gesture to several in the growing crowd.

Jake got a leash on his fury when he saw his orders being obeyed, and turned tow ards the object of the aborted attack. "Clan-daughter, are you all right? Did he hurt you? Kiree was obviously shaken. Mo'at supported her on one side and Kiyeri on the ot her. "Ir... Irayo... Olo'eyktan I I will be all right irayo ." The clan leader's pre

sence and strength was enormously comforting to the shocked girl. He looked to his mother-in-law, "She should have hot food and drink, and a warm place to rest." Jake turned to the crowd, "Someone go fetch her parents, and hav e Alai check her, just to be safe." Several people immediately hared off. "Come, child," Mo'at said drink, as the Olo'eyktan r of the day. Pa'kan will a significant look as she ous discussion was in the in a kindly tone, "Let us go get you something warm to says. It will help a great deal. Rest for the remainde not bother you again." The Tsahik gave her son-in-law supported Kiree inside. There was no doubt that a seri wind, but now wasn't the time for it.

While the warriors were marveling that a single move of Jake's had sent a near-g rown Na'vi flying, and the gossip got started even before he could get the crowd to begin to disperse, the marine's conscience started making itself known. Jake was mentally kicking himself before he'd gotten the crowd to disperse. When the area was cleared he went to the healers' area to check on the status of Pa' kan's victim. "No physical damage, just understandable shock," was Alai's favorable assessment . "Her parents are caring for her; the Tsa'hik went along to help get her settle d." "Janni is with her as well," Neytiri informed them as she entered the infirmary and went directly to her mate. "Jake, are you all right? Did he hurt you?" The marine clasped his mate's hands. "I'm fine, he never touched me." Though her relief was obvious, Jake's face was quickly becoming a study in misery and self -recrimination. "I'm so stupid Neytiri. He's just a kid. I way overreacted. I sa id I wasn't officer material. I'm not any kind of a leader ." She laid the fingers of one hand on his lips, "Jake, stop. You are not helping a nyone by accusing yourself. This will not solve anything." "Eywa is the one who will solve this," declared Mo'at as she entered the area. T he Tsahik made a hand gesture to Alai and the healer withdrew to give the three some privacy. "You have put Pa'kan's life into the All Mother's hands, and that is properly where it belongs." Jake look at his mate with misery written large all over his face. "How could he do a thing like that? What would make a na'vi act that way?" Mo'at's voice was firm. "Whatever the reason, it is insufficient. I have spoken with Kiree; she did not encourage him, told him plainly that she had no interest in him as a mate. He did not listen. Now he will take the consequences of his l ack of comprehension. You did the right thing." "How can you say that? That kid's on his way to the deep jungle alone and injure d, and it's my fault." Jake wallowed in self-castigation. "Better that than dead," the Tsahik said bluntly and finally had her son-in-law' s attention. "This has not happened in many generations, but it has happened bef ore. Kiree told me that she has not yet asked anyone to be her mate. Since Pa'ka n did not honor her choice, she would have been within her rights to choose a ma n to challenge him on her behalf. Her father is not a strong warrior but you are responsible for the safety of everyone, as Olo'eyktan. Had she chosen you to fa ce Pa'kan in formal challenge which I am sure she would have - you would have ki lled him outright. This way, his life is in the hands of the All Mother, where i t belongs. This is between Eywa and Pa'kan now."

Jake turned to Neytiri. "It all happened so fast! I was up and running before I even knew what was going on. I saw him grab the girl and start pulling her away and all I could think," he glanced down at Neytiri's swollen belly and placed hi s fingertips gently on her skin, "was what if that was my daughter that he was t aking? It made me berserk just to think it." Neytiri smiled and gently caressed his face in comfort. Mo'at felt a thrill of jubilation at the marine's words, though she didn't say a nything out loud. He reacts to one of the People being in danger as he would if it were his own child. All Mother, you have given us a true Olo'eyktan! Neytiri spoke softly, "Jake, leave this in Eywa's hands. She will do as She sees fit." He looked at her with worried eyes, "What are the People going to think about me after this?" His mate replied firmly, "They will say that you did your duty and protected som eone you were responsible for protecting." The Tsahik decided it was time to pull her son-in-law out of his self-pity. "And you have much work to do." Jake looked at the elder in puzzlement. "You have a talioang hunt in two days that you must prepare the hunters for. They will be di stracted by this morning's event and you must make sure that they focus on the t ask at hand. You have over fifteen hands of warriors arriving in a few days, and you must prepare to start teaching them the new war-trainings. The next clan-ga thering is little more than a month away, and it will be the first true war-coun cil. The next ship, which you say is not dangerous, is only two months away. You must ensure that the war party will be ready to meet it. We," she indicated her daughter and herself,"will deal with the clan's reaction to Pa'kan's exile. You have a great deal of work to do." The marine had a wan smile on his face by the time the Tsahik's stern lecture wa s finished. His mother-in-law sometimes reminded him of a drill seargeant he'd h ad back on Earth. The man had been demanding, uncompromising in what he expected of his charges, unaccepting of anything less than their utmost efforts, but abs olutely fair. Jake had respected him immensely. "So stop whining about what I ca n't change and get back to work, huh?" Mo'at nodded firmly, "As you say." She held herself impassive as the Olo'eyktan turned to his mate, who walked with him as he left obeidently to get on with the tasks at hand. Jake's was not the only intense reaction to the events of the morning. Robinson was absolutely livid when he found out what had happened. Dammit! What the hell did the kid have to go and get himself banished for? There isn't anyone else in this godforsaken tree that would even think about taking me into the field witho ut Sully's approval! Now I'll never be able to do my work properly! "Calm down, Dave," he spoke out loud to himself. Thankfully, he'd had the wit to excuse hims elf and park his avatar before dropping the link so that he could be alone in hi s quarters at Hell's Gate. "Patience. This is only a setback. If the kid's gone, there's no reason you can't find some other way around this." That thought settled him enough that he could start thinking again. But how? Goi ng out into the jungle alone is suicide! There aren't any functioning Scorpions left, and no one left to pilot them if there were. Sully and Spellman won't let any of the RDA personnel on the incoming ISV so much as land here, much less let 'em resume normal operations!

The geologist's eyes went wide as a thought occurred to him. Sully and Spellman won't support any unobtanium research but the RDA sure as hell would! I was hire d by the RDA, not by that dropout marine and jumped-up grad student! They'd supp ort my research to the hilt! Excitement started rising and helped him to focus h is thoughts. But they'd have to take over the facility again in order to be of a ny help to me. How the heck is that going to happen with thousands of these heat hens ready to shoot anything that moves and every damn animal on the planet wait ing to pounce on whatever the Na'vi leave alive? Dave thought and thought, but couldn't see any way to make it happen. He finally gave up on that point. "I'm no military man, I'm a scientist. It's not my job t o figure out how to get the facility back, it's my job to do my research," he co ncluded. But how to make that possible? Well, the RDA has to have some plan. They wouldn' t just give up and walk away, would they? No way! They have to be doing somethin g, right now! It'll take six years for them to get a response team here of cours e, but they have to be on the way! How can I help them? What can I do? His eyes narrowed in satisfaction as he considered, Well one thing I can do is l et them know that there's someone here who's not a tree-hugging monkey-lover! Robinson sat back and began to plan. Jake definitely had a great deal of work to do. He and Sir'tey made sure that th e more inexperienced hunters were each assigned to a mentor. A number of the you nger ones would qualify for Ikinmaya if they managed a clean kill and so excitem ent was running high to begin with. Neytiri had counseled him to treat the incid ent with Pa'kan as a responsibility that had been dealt with and was a closed is sue as far as he went. The Omatikaya seemed to accept that, to his great relief. Fortunately, the hunt went very well. There were only a few minor injuries and a generous number of sturmbeest were bagged. The clan was kept busy for several d ays processing such a huge amount of meat. The war party delegates from the local clans began arriving almost as soon as th e last of the meat was dealt with. Parties showed up each day for almost two wee ks and Jake had to get each one settled in, briefed, and started on both the def ensive martial arts and soccer practices. His leather workers were going as fast as they could to provide each of the delegates with soccer balls the influx of new hides from the hunt was quickly coopted. It was both tiring and time consuming to welcome each delegation properly, get t hem located in the Tree (the hammock-weavers were working furiously to make all the needed spares quickly enough) and introduce them to a skilled Omatikaya who would begin teaching them defense. After several repeats of the head-scratching questions regarding soccer, Jake finally delegated the initial explanation to th e hunter in charge of each group. His clansmen had caught on to the game quickly, and Jake finally got the idea of having the most adept play practice matches to demonstrate it for the new arriv als. It was much easier for the Na'vi to absorb the explanations when they could see it happening in front of them. They got the analogy to nantang, even though t Jake privately thought the teams were more like packs of bumbling viperwolf cu bs at the moment, but that would change with time and practice. The afternoon meetings with Norm now included Neytiri, Sir'tey, and Mo'at, and w ere largely strategy sessions on how to deal with the Venture Nova. They discuss ed what different scenarios they might have to deal with, and had to decide wher e to post Na'vi to cover those eventualities. They also needed to plan for evacu

ating the avatars to New Hometree. Norm confided privately to Jake, "It's not re ally necessary this time around but it might be next time, and it won't hurt to know how to do it before we actually need to." They also discussed what needed to be brought up at the next gathering's first w ar council, which was quickly approaching. "We must make sure that Perrat's idea of traps is considered," Neytiri insisted. Sir'tey agreed, "Everyone will have ideas to share, and those thoughts will spaw n more. The more traps we can devise, the better. It will take time to implement them and time is our greatest advantage. We must make good use of it." Mo'at added thoughtfully, "Olo'eyktans and Tsahiks will need to discuss these id eas with their own clans as well. Many Na'vi will have things to contribute, and these things will need to be brought to the next gathering so that they can be shared with the rest of us." Jake turned to Sir'tey, "How many trees in our territory have the scouts found t hat could temporarily house small groups of Omatikaya?" The senior hunter immediately answered, "We have identified three hands of trees that can support various numbers of Na'vi, some for several months if necessary ." Norm chimed in, "You'll want to make sure that you don't locate too many people in any one place. The more Na'vi there are in one spot, the more attractive a ta rget they become." Sir'tey nodded acknowledgement. "We will have to make sure to stress that to the other clans as well. It will be difficult to attack people who are so scattered ." The scientist turned to the ex-marine. "Jake, one thing I'm concerned about. We know that this ship isn't likely to be dangerous, but wouldn't it be better if t he Na'vi started practicing these maneuvers now? I mean, we don't want to give a nything away, obviously, but won't it be confusing and dangerous if we don't do it before we actually need to?" "Good point," Jake conceded. Privately, he was impressed by Norm's attitude. He' s really stepped into Grace's shoes in a big way these past few months. He's gon e from being a green recruit to taking responsibility for the whole mission. He' s a good man. The Tsahik cautioned, "I agree this should be practiced, but there is not enough time to do this before this ship comes." Sir'tey added, "Even if there were time, I think it would be wise not to show ou r plans to the Sky People, since we expect this ship and the one following to no t be dangerous." The Olo'eyktan agreed. "We can practice this some time after the first ship leav es. We should probably do it two or three times before the six year ship comes, just so everyone is familiar with the safe locations and how to get there as qui ckly as possible. It'll cut down on the chaos later. We'll need to discuss this at the war council too." Neytiri turned to Norm, "Will you need help moving your supplies once the ship h as gone?" The xenoanthropologist shook his head, "Everything will be safe in its container

s on the landing field until we can deal with it. It'll give my people something positive to do. I appreciate the offer, though." Mo'at nodded, "To bring the food that Eywa provides for them into their home wit h their own hands will be very good for their spirits." After a bit of a pause, the master hunter said thoughtfully, "I am thinking that the gathering presents another opportunity that we should take advantage of." Everyone in the group turned to him. "What opportunity is that?" Jake asked. Sir'tey looked at his Olo'eyktan. "You are intending that all the warriors of al l the clans learn how to play nantang-ball, are you not?" The marine cautiously nodded, so he continued. "Why not have those here play practice games at the gat hering, just as they are doing here now?" Neytiri caught the idea and ran with it. "It will be a new thing. People will be curious and interested. They will see the game and want to play it, even before their warriors return to their clans from the war party. The People will welcom e a new game." The hunter agreed, "It will make spreading nantang-ball through the Clans much e asier and faster, and that will make it achieve its real purpose that much the s ooner." Norm snorted in an undertone to Jake, "Welcome to the Pandoran Soccer League." A beep at the scientist's throat Max's signal cut off any reply the Olo'eyktan w as about to make. Norm pressed the transmit button on his throat transceiver. "G o ahead, Max. What's up?" The fuzzy haired scientist's voice came back immediately. "Sorry to interrupt, b ut I knew you were in your meeting and I thought you'd all better get this infor mation at once." Jake was instantly on the alert. "What is it Max? What have you got?" "We just got a telemetry update from the outer system nav-sats," was the reply. "We've got a firm time estimate. The Venture Nova will be making Pandoran orbit in exactly six weeks." Jake was both tired and wired when he and Neytiri returned to the niche that ser ved as their quarters that evening. He unstrung his bow and hung it on the branc h-stub that already held Eytukan's; Neytiri was too far advanced in her pregnanc y to be able to draw it comfortably, so it was unused for the time being. As sure as he was that the fast-approaching Venture Nova was harmless, it was al so going to be their first encounter with humans since they had thrown the Sky P eople off of Pandora. He couldn't help being keyed up about it a lot was riding on his and Norm's evaluation of the situation. The passing of a year had not dim med the Na'vi's memories of the last encounter. Neytiri sighed with relief as she sat down. Jake sat next to her and laid a hand on her distended abdomen. "Almost six months. The baby's getting big." She leaned into him and laid her head on his shoulder contentedly as he wrapped his arms around her. "Yes," she agreed, "the baby will come a few weeks after th e ship leaves." Jake knew his mate intimately enough to detect that something had her uneasy. "H mmm?" he inquired wordlessly.

There was a few moments' silence before she replied, "I do not like it that I wi ll be unable to help you when the new ship comes. It does not feel right." She f elt his reaction and immediately reassured him, "I know that I cannot be there, I just do not like the idea of not being with you." He settled his arms more comfortably around her. "It's okay. It'll take a few da ys for all the supplies to be offloaded. I expect we'll be sitting around with n othing to do most of the time. You'd just be bored." He fervently hoped so, anyw ay. "Once this ship leaves we'll have a year and a half before the next one arri ves. We'll have lots of time to just be with our baby." He hugged her lightly an d gently spread his hands over her belly. "It's hard to believe that I've been h ere over a year already," he said softly, "the time has gone by so fast." His mate smiled, "You have had much to learn. It will be easier, now that you ar e not such an ignorant skawng," she teased playfully. "I have not had to transla te for you for weeks." The grin she loved so much appeared on his face, "At to say to our child!" he shot back. That earned him h laughed, remembering. She snuggled up against him. le. Jake was very content to just hold her and watch nally wound down and let him rest as well. least I know what words not a playful slap and they bot Her eyes closed after a whi her sleep until his mind fi

At Hell's Gate, Dave Robinson had been thinking for days on how to implement his intentions. I'm not a computer jockey, I have no idea how to hack a network, an d there are probably safeguards in place anyway, he thought as he worked. Can't risk bribing one of the communications techs. McKinney transmissions are so damn ed slow that only system-critical traffic is allowed anyway; anything else would raise screaming red flags. I don't know how to encrypt anything, so it'd be out there for anyone to see. He exhaled explosively in frustration; one of the othe r scientists looked over at him in query. Dave shook his head to indicate that nothing was wrong, and the woman went back to her work. His inner monologue continued, How the hell am I supposed to get a message to the RDA without anyone here being aware of it? You'd think that among all the personal crap that gets sent back and forth when the ISVs make orbit yo u'd be able to hide something . His eyes went wide for a moment as inspiration hit, and he paused what he was do ing. He made a quick decision and logged off of his terminal. "Got some stuff to do, back later," he informed his colleague on his way out the door. He went to his quarters, locked the door, and logged into his private terminal. "Personal s tuff," he said out loud, "boring, inane drivel that'd put any reader to sleep in a New York minute." He paused to think of something suitable. A letter to Anna. No one'd think twice about a message to my sister or know that we haven't spoke n to each other in years. Dave opened up the messaging program and began to write. Dear Anna, hope this fi nds you and your husband, What was the idiot's name? Gerry, well. Is he still wo rking at the factory? I hope his abilities have been suitably recognized over th e years and that he's being well rewarded for all his hard work. "That idiot cou ldn't reason his way out of a wet paper sack," he muttered to himself. My work h ere is going well, and I have great expectations for publishing some groundbreak ing research, in time. "Might as well give any casual reader some reassurance th at I'm being a good little sheep," he snorted. He went on in that vein for some time enough so that a cursory inspection of the letter would convince someone that it was a harmless enough letter to a far-awa y loved one. Then in the middle of the third page he got down to business.

Anna, if you can get a message to my old supervisor at the RDA, Dr. Weston, I ca n guarantee that both your boys (the little brats) will get free college educati ons at the University. Go to the Energy Department and ask to speak with him. If anyone tries to turn you away, tell them to ask him about the "polonium sample substitution." Don't worry about what that is. I guarantee that he'll see you. W hen you see him, tell him that it's critical to give the Energy Head this messag e: that the RDA has a mole on Pandora. That's all you have to say. They'll figur e out what it means and what to do about it. I'm counting on you, Anna. Get this message to Weston and your boys are set for life. "She might not give half a damn about me, but she'd face a gunship down over tho se two worthless brats of hers," he commented to himself. Robinson filled anothe r page or two with meaningless chatter to obscure the important paragraph, then queued the message for upload to the Venture Nova's computers. Though McKinney transmissions were pretty much restricted to ship-vital traffic, more conventional means of communication were usable when a ship neared its des tination. Work reports, personal letters, entertainment materials, documentation requests, etc. were sent and received in such proximity traffic and stored onbo ard until the next location was reached, when the process would be repeated. His note would be stored in the Venture Nova's messaging system, carried to Earth w hen the ship left, and in a little over five years . Well, we'll just see, won't w e? The next few weeks flew by swiftly. The defensive training was moving right alon g; assigning small groups to a skilled Omatikaya, mimicking the way that young N a'vi were first taught hunting, was turning out to be an incredibly effective ma neuver. When he first brought all of the warriors together to introduce them to soccer h e gave them both an overview of the game and of what he planned for them to lear n from it. "I'm going to keep everyone in their clan-group to start with, but on ce everyone has got the basics down I'll be mixing everyone up, frequently. When a member of a nantang pack falls, another is right there to take its place. Eac h of you must be ready to immediately take the place of any warrior who falls, r egardless of what group they are in or what job they were doing. The important t hing is for the group to achieve its goal. Individuals can be picked off easily, but a group is harder to take out." The warriors understood and took to the game quickly. Knowing why they were doin g this was a great motivator, apart from the fun that they had. To Jake's glee, a handful of the newcomers soon showed marked talent at directin g nantang-ball teams. He gathered together everyone who displayed that kind of p romise for special sessions on strategy and tactics, adding still more to his al ready overfull plate. He took the entire war-party to Hell's Gate a couple of times, to get them used to the idea, to familiarize them with the lay of the land, let them know what th ey were most likely to see, where they would be posted, etc. Neytiri was concerned that he was overextending himself, but she also saw that i t was doing him incredible good. He feels useful, he is doing something that is going to make a great difference when we must fight the Sky People again and we will have to fight them again. She watched him explaining to one of the visiting warriors how taking a hit on a certain section of the forearm would successfull y block a blow without damage, and how taking it on a different section could re sult in a broken bone.

The baby was active and she caressed her belly to soothe the child. And that is another reason a very great one - why Jake is working so hard. She knew that her mate was resolved to make sure that his child would be safe. We are of one mind in that, as in many other things. A familiar voice hailed her. "Oel ngati kameie, Neytiri!" Her best friend appear ed. The tsahik made a move to get up, but the jewelcrafter waved negation. "Kehe, do not get up for me." Janni came over and wrapped her arms around her friend in a fond hug. "You are getting big, and will be getting bigger still. Rest as much as you can, you will need it." Kiree's aunt looked at the group being trained in front of her. "Wishing you could join the fun, I bet," she teased. Neytiri laughed, "Jake has promised me that he will teach me himself once the ba by has come and I have recovered, but yes, I wish I could be learning now too." The expectant mother dropped her guard in front of her best friend and fretted, "I do not like that I cannot be fighting. It feels wrong." Confusion also showed on the tsahik's face. "I feel so torn, Janni. Most of the time I am so happy an d excited for the baby to come, I just want to curl myself around it and hold it and have Jake holding me. Then I see these practices and know that the Sky Peop le are coming to threaten us again and I just want to tear out the throats of an yone who would hurt my child, my mate, or my people!" Janni patted her friend's arm comfortingly. "So does any mother feel, heart-sist er. Even a palulukan is the most tender of mothers to her own young, but let som ething threaten them and they will see all her teeth and claws!" Jake's mate was startled, but her best friend had a soft look on her face. "Don' t worry Neytiri, you still have all your teeth and claws intact." A smile appear ed. "You have been so used to showing the world a snarl before Jake came that it feels strange now to be without one. You certainly had cause and I'm sure that if you'd had less than a snarl on your face you'd have had much more trouble kee ping Tsu'tey at bay. For now, the need to snarl is past. Enjoy it. There will be time enough in the future for it, and you will certainly be fighting, but now i s not the time. For now, your task is here," she patted her friend's bulging bel ly fondly. "Tend to the task at hand, and leave other tasks to their own time." Neytiri sighed, but had to admit that Janni was right. The next clan-gathering was upon them almost before they knew it. Excitement was running high, and there was a noticeable tinge of nervousness. The Venture Nova would be arriving in scarcely three weeks. Jake was grateful for the presence of those making up the war party. The sight o f them was very reassuring to a Clan that had suffered so much the last time the Sky People had come. The Omatikaya saw these warriors and felt comforted that t his time the People were ready, were prepared, and that Toruk Makto stood betwee n them and harm. He would have lingered with Neytiri for a time before leaving on the first morni ng of the gathering, but she smiled and kissed his nose and bid him be on his wa y. "Be sure that you play at least one ikran-match, or Swizaw will sulk for a we ek," she admonished. "Tell Perrat she must come visit us, it has been far too lo ng since we have seen her and there is much to talk about. And leave enough berr y pockets for the others!" Her mate held her hands and fretted. "You're not upset that I'm leaving you alon e?" She smiled and caressed the side of his face. He has the cutest little wrinkle o

n his forehead when he worries, Neytiri noticed fondly. "Get going! I am hardly alone among a Tree full of clansmen who will all fall over themselves if I so mu ch as sneeze!" He chuckled, "Then don't sneeze. I should be back in three or four days. Stay sa fe." They shared a long and heartfelt kiss, then Jake headed off for the first r eal War Council. This gathering was both like and unlike the previous one in Jake's eyes. Everyth ing was laid out the same, the same activities were going on and many of the sam e people were there. The difference was the attitude of the Na'vi; the previous gathering had been a celebration after a great victory. This one was marked by t he nervousness of People who were expecting another attack. It pained him to see it, and he went out of his way to project a calm, confident demeanor to his ado pted kinsmen. Jake made the rounds of all the displays and chuckled in remembrance as he walke d away from the cook-fires with a berry pocket in each hand. The Omatikaya were well-represented in the craft judgings, which was a relief. He smiled at the sig ht of children running excitedly around the fair, anticipating the day when his own son or daughter would be among them. He felt a little wistful and very aware that Neytiri was not at his side. He kept his promise and flew with Swizaw in not one but two ikran games, and was pleased with their mutual performance. They weren't the best flyers, but were f ar from being the worst. He felt he'd put on a good show, and Swizaw was definit ely satisfied. Jake fed a well earned meal of fresh tapirus to his friend, and p etted and praised him lavishly before the flyer left to go roost happily in a ne arby tree for the night. The next day saw the first War Council convened. One of his hunters had flown No rm in first thing in the morning; Jake wanted the scientist at the meeting, in p art to emphasize how the remaining humans on Pandora were on the Na'vi's side. H e addressed the Olo'eyktans and Tsahiks present, "This is Norm'an, the leader of the dreamwalkers who fought on our side during the last war. He has important i nformation to give you on the new Sky People ship that is about to arrive, and I wanted you all to hear it from him directly." He nodded to Norm. The scientist began the briefing, "The machines at our camp can See the incoming ship. It will be here in seventeen days. It is exactly the ship we were expecti ng, and there is only this one. We know what is on it; there are few warriors an d no more flying machines. We are sending a message to those who are on the ship that they will not be permitted to stay here. They are being told not to awaken most of the Sky People who are asleep, only those who will be needed to unload the supplies that they are carrying for the dreamwalkers." Jake broke in for a moment, "Most of the dreamwalkers will be sleeping in the Om atikaya Hometree while the ship is here. They're not warriors for the most part, and I don't want them getting in the way if anything should happen." Several of the Na'vi present nodded in understanding. Norm continued, "Once they have unloaded the supplies for my people, we will giv e the Sky People what they need in order to return to their home. We'll watch th e ship with our machines to make sure that it leaves." "And what if it refuses to leave?" asked Ikariyu, the Green Rock Clan's Olo'eykt an. Norm answered immediately, "We do have Sky People weapons. They leave or they di

e." There were a number of nods and expressions of approval at his words. Jake spoke quickly. "We're going to have warriors posted all over the dreamwalke rs' camp. Here, look at this." He spilled a carry net full of material out on th e ground before him and laid out a representation of the Hell's Gate compound, s howing where the shuttle would land and unload, where archers would be posted be hind appropriate cover within the compound, and where ikran macto would be locat ed in trees around the perimeter walls. They spent most of the day going over the details. Several Na'vi (Perrat among t hem) made excellent suggestions that Jake incorporated on the spot. It was late by the time everyone had had a chance to say everthing they wanted to. Not everyone was confident about the situation. Ikariyu in particular was leery about the fact that a great deal of their information was coming from the scient ists. "You say that the dreamwalkers' machines can See this ship," he gestured a t Norm, "but how do we know that what they say is real?" The Green Rock Olo'eykt an looked around the group for support, "They have said what is not so, in the p ast." Several of the clan leaders had been having similar thoughts, by the look on their faces. This was a very worrisome development and Jake addressed it immediately. "I have gone to the dreamwalkers' camp myself, and Seen the ship on their machines with my own eyes. Everything is as Norm has said it is." To Jake's relief Awkey spoke up as well. The leader of the Horse Clans of the Pl ains put one hand on the hilt of his dagger and addressed Ikariyu sternly. "Norm 'an rode into battle with me and my warriors, and bears the scars of that fight proudly. If the Omatikaya had not taken him in as a brother, the Horse Clans wou ld have. He is Na'vi-adopted, a man and a warrior, and therefore what he speaks is so." A number of the Horse Clans' warriors were arrayed outside the circle of leaders listening to the conference and made sounds and shouts of approval at A wkey's words. The Green Rock clan's Olo'eyktan dropped that argument but was not silenced. "St ill," he insisted, "We all Saw what happened to the Omatikaya Hometree. Will we not learn from that bitter lesson?" He glanced around the circle of leaders and made eye contact with each. "I will not risk that happening to my clan. I intend to send the young and the weak, the most vulnerable, to safe camps while this n ew ship is here. If all happens as Toruk Macto says," he made a perfunctory nod in Jake's direction, "then no harm is done. If there is some danger in this new ship that the dreamwalkers' machines cannot See, then at least I know that they will not be a target for the Sky People, as the Omatikaya Hometree was." Norm blurted out, "But that could give away our strategy ." Jake stopped the scientist's protest with shes to hide their vulnerable members, of they think best. There's no question that best of circumstances. If this makes them shouldn't do it." an outstretched arm. "If Green Rock wi course it's up to them to do whatever surprises can and do happen under the feel safer, there's no reason why they

Ikariyu sat back, his honor satisfied. A meaningful glance from Jake made Norm k eep the rest of his protest to himself. There was a bit more conversation after that, but it shortly died down as people started drifting away for the evening m eal. Once the leaders had left Norm cornered the marine. "I thought we agreed that we should keep relocation under wraps? Why didn't you countermand him?"

"Because I can't do that!" Jake exclaimed. "He's not a subordinate that I can or der around, Norm." Mo'at agreed. "An Olo'eyktan is the head of a clan. No one can tell him or her h ow to lead their people." She met Jake's steady gaze, "The Toruk Macto leads the People when danger appears, but he does not usurp an Olo'eyktan's authority wit hin his own clan." "Great," Norm threw up his hands in disgust, "So we've got an internal diplomati c situation on our hands now. Wonderful." Jake shook his head thoughtfully at his friend, "Maybe not. This ISV is just a r egular supply ship, mostly miners. They've been asleep for almost six years. The y don't even know about what happened last year. Why would they even think about what the Na'vi are doing? They never did before. Besides, it stands to reason t hat someone would react visibly to another ship appearing. Maybe it'll get writt en off, even if they do bother to take notice." There wasn't much they could do about it regardless, so Norm let the subject dro p and the three Omatikaya headed off for food and rest. On the third day of the gathering, Sir'tey had organized the Omatikaya's warrior -visitors into a number of nantang-ball teams and had them play a series of elim ination games. As he had foreseen, the new sport drew a huge amount of interest, which increased throughout the day. The master hunter had posted Omatikaya who could explain the game to the onlookers all around the field. People recognized players from their clans of course, and there was soon a great deal of noise as Na'vi cheered on their clan-mates. By the time the final matches took place in the afternoon, more than a third of the Na'vi attending the gathering were around the ball-players. After the Sighin g Grass Clan's team marched victoriously off the field to the cheers of their cl anmembers the leatherworkers were astonished to be descended upon en masse by do zens of Na'vi asking for "nantang-balls." The game was as much of a hit as they had hoped, and Sir'tey was quietly smug as they settled down for the night. Jake couldn't help but think to himself, If on ly everything else goes as well! Norm's recorded voice was strong and clear, "Venture Nova, this is a class one p riority alert. Do not initiate cryo-release. Your passengers will not be permitt ed to disembark on Pandora. Contact Hell's Gate control immediately for further instructions. Venture Nova, this is a class one priority alert " The scientist cli cked off his throat-mike and looked at Jake. The marine nodded, "You sure you want to take point on this, Norm? Selfridge is sure to have sent a message about me invading the base before he went into cryo. No sense in two of us being on the bulls-eye. As far as he knows you're just on e of the Avatar project scientists." "A scientist on the wrong side, who was holding a machine gun pointed at him whi le he was being escorted off of Pandora with his tail between his legs," his fri end reminded him. "We went over this, Jake. Selfridge was in charge of the minin g operations, and he's gone. Quaritch was head of SecOps, and he's gone. The onl y figure of authority the Venture Nova crew is aware of is Grace." "Who's also gone, but they don't know that," the former corporal supplied. "Exactly. The captain'll listen to Grace's second, if I play it right, but they' ll dismiss you out of hand." A smile crossed Norm's face for a moment, "They ten

d not to listen to blue jarhead grunts." An echo of the smile came and went on Jake's face. "I just don't like having you set yourself up as a target. We could get away with it for this ship and the ne xt one, but it'll put you square in the middle of that bulls-eye when the six an d twelve year ships come." Norm waved a hand in dismissal, "Selfridge'll make sure that I'm there anyway. H e doesn't strike me as the forgiving kind. I'll worry about that when they get h ere. We've got to deal with this ship now." Jake dropped the subject. If his friend was that determined, it wasn't Jake's pl ace to try and persuade him otherwise. "I'm going to bring the warriors to Hell' s Gate two days before the shuttle comes down. That'll be just about the time yo u get a response from the ship. I want the Na'vi there long enough so that the b attle-nerves calm down a bit, but while they're still alert." The anthropologist approved, "Make it less likely that someone'll shoot without thinking. Good idea. I'll have people bring their avatars in to New Hometree by ones and twos over the next couple of weeks. We're still Sky People after all, a nd I think that having them all show up at once is a bad idea. I'll make sure th at they don't congregate while they're here, too." The Olo'eyktan agreed. "Any problems with any of them? There really shouldn't be any trouble from the ship, you could keep a few at the avatar compound if need be." Norm shook his head briefly. "No, I don't think we'll have any problems." He loo ked at his friend, "This is such a generous gesture on the Omatikaya's part that I don't want to risk insulting anyone by holding back. If the other clans see u s staying with you peacefully and then leaving peacefully once the ship has gone , it'll be a huge step towards reducing the mistrust they have for us." That certainly made sense to Jake, and he moved on. "The war party is looking go od. I'm keeping clan-groups together for now, but they've definitely got the con cept of small-unit maneuvers down. Each group has an assignment. Each one knows what it's covering, and they know what the others are doing and why. We'll be pr acticing coordination between the groups for the next couple of weeks. Once we'r e at Hell's Gate I'll run them through the most likely scenarios, so they can se e and get used to how the groups function together." "And in the meantime you've got everyone blowing off steam with your little socc er league. Way to go, Jake." Norm smiled. The Olo'eyktan returned the smile, "Well, it's working. Last thing we want with your avatars showing up is a bunch of trigger-happy archers with nothing to do." "Absolutely," the scientist agreed. "How is Neytiri doing? She's getting big." The marine nodded. "Almost seven months now. She's upset that she can't be a par t of the war party. I'm doing my best to convince her that this is going to be a n absolutely boring cakewalk, and I've promised her that I'll teach her myself a fter the baby comes, but she's still not happy about it." "She's not the type to sit on the sidelines when there's a potential fight," his friend sympathized. "God, no!" Jake agreed. He laughed, "As pregnant as she is, I've still caught he r trying to draw her bow once or twice. The baby starts kicking up a storm whene ver she tries. It's big enough now that she really feels it when that happens."

Norm was pleased by the obvious joy in his friend's face when the man spoke of h is pregnant mate. "You're really looking forward to being a father, aren't you J ake?" he said rhetorically. He laid a hand on the marine's arm briefly, "I'm hap py for you, man." "Thanks," was the reply. His eyes went distant for a moment. "I never thought I' d be a dad." He chuckled ruefully, "It still blows me away to think about it." H e looked at his friend, "I mean, it happens every day, right? People having kids . Nothing particularly special about that. But then I look at her and think, 'Th at's my Neytiri. And that's my kid she's carrying!'" He met his best friend's ga ze, even though his own expression was still distracted, and said in a quiet voi ce, "And then somehow, there isn't enough 'special' in the world to describe it. " Norm was genuinely pleased for his friend. "We'll have a helluva party when the baby comes," he promised, "and when the next ISV makes orbit, Neytiri can sit on a tree branch watching the shuttle unload to her heart's content!" Both men got a good chuckle out of that, and the discussion turned to other topics. Out in space, the Venture Nova ghosted along towards Pandora. The ship was still a few days away from being slowed enough to be able to approach the planet. The immense vehicle was almost perfectly silent inside; rows upon rows of cryo-caps ules kept their occupants in induced coma. Banks of lockers containing those occ upants' few personal possesions waited nearby. Inside one of those lockers a clandestine communications panel that had been sil ent for years suddenly came to life. What had appeared to be a palm-sized sectio n of blank wall lit up, and a frenzied display of lights chased each other for a few moments as the device received and acknowledged an incoming message. When i t had stored the data for authorized retrieval, the panel went blank except for one pencil-eraser sized yellow dot that slowly pulsed. It was something that wou ld definitely be noticed when the owner woke up and came to retrieve his belongi ngs. Something that was going to lead to a very great deal of danger in a very s hort amount of time. Norm deposited a full carry-net of freshly picked tubers at the cooking area. On e of A'tey's assistants nodded thanks and advised, "You'd better hurry, we start ed serving the meal a while ago. I'll take care of those." "Irayo!" he waved and headed off to the eating-area. There was still a bit of a line despite the warning and he took his place at the end, wondering what he fel t like eating. He was saved from having to make a decision when Tanhi appeared, hands full of leaf-wrapped steamed food, and indicated that he should join her. They found a bit of unoccupied branch and she handed him a couple of very warm p alm-sized parcels. Norm unwrapped one to find a sizable chunk of fish that sent a light but mouthwatering aroma into the air. He picked a piece off of one end a nd popped it into his mouth. It was a little on the bland side, but not at all u npleasant. Tanhi made an inquiring sound, and he nodded. "This is good. It isn't from the r iver though, is it?" The healer made a satisfied noise and commented, "It is from the Eastern Sea. Th e Ikran Clan brought a great deal of dried fish to trade at the gathering and A' tey bartered some of the talioang that we had from the last hunt for it." "Good idea to vary the food every now and then," he observed, "I'm sure it helps keep the People healthy." She nodded in agreement.

They ate in companionable silence for a while. When they were nearly finished Ta nhi asked in a neutral tone, "You will be leaving with the war party soon, will you not?" The anthropologist confirmed, "In a few days. I need to be in my tawtute body to speak with the new ship when they get close to us, so I actually have to leave before the war party does. I'll have my dreamwalker body sleep here in Hometree while my other body is over there. It'll probably be two hands of days, maybe th ree before the new ship is gone and everything's settled down again." She frowned. "A body cannot function for so long without being cared for. You wi ll make yourself sick or worse if you do not come back to it and take care of it regularly." Norm hadn't really thought of that, having been lost in all the planning for the Venture Nova. "Hmm, you're right. I should link in for at least an hour every d ay just to take care of it. The muscles get stiff enough when I'm away just over night. I don't want to know what they'd feel like if I didn't move them for days ." He smiled at the healer, "You win. I'll make sure to come over every evening for a bit, after the shuttle has left for the day." Tanhi made a satisfied sound. "I will have food ready for you when you wake up." He smiled at the pleased expression on her face and didn't think any more of it. Jake's training went on apace, and the time was upon them almost before they kne w it. Norm ate with his friends on the evening before taking up watch at Hell's Gate. "You've got the message broadcasting on auto, right?" Jake asked the scientist. Norm nodded around a mouthful of yerik (which he preferred over the fish,) "It's been going for a couple of hours already. The ship's command crew won't be able to hear it until they finish dropping down to normal speed that's at least anot her day. It'll be the first thing they hear, though." The Olo'eyktan was satisfied. "Good. Make sure you keep an open comm-link when y ou talk to them, I'll be listening on my throat-mike. It'll take them a full day to deal with final deceleration and getting into orbit. I'll bring the war part y over the day after tomorrow and get them deployed." "And hopefully the day after that we all get to be bored out of our minds watchi ng more than three hundred tons of boxes getting unloaded," his friend smiled. Jake wasn't fooled by Norm's light attitude. Those boxes contained essential sup plies for the Hell's Gate personnel. There were a lot fewer humans there now tha n there had been, and that would certainly make the supplies last longer, but th is delivery was definitely emphasizing the precariousness of the scientists' sit uation. They still hadn't come up with an alternate food supply and there had be en only limited success in remanufacturing parts so far. Neither of the two men mentioned it, but the sizable cargo that was supposed to be inbound on the Ventu re Comet was weighing heavier on both their minds. After they had finished eating Norm excused himself to go make one last check on the avatars that were now all in New Hometree. Neytiri watched their friend go and smiled when she saw Tanhi intercept the dreamwalker before he got out of the eating-area. She picked up another teylu and chewed it speculatively as she wat ched them leave together. Excitement was running high at Hell's Gate the next day. With the miners and Sec

Ops personnel gone, the scientists would have to manhandle all the supplies them selves not that they minded. A scientist seated next to Max at breakfast was so buoyant that he was amazed the man could sit still long enough to eat. "It feels like Christmas is almost here, doesn't it?" he asked his seatmates. "Yeah, Christmas," Max muttered. He couldn't blame the man for being enthusiasti c, though. When you only got a resupply once every year and a half, it was natur ally an event. New equipment, new entertainment materials, news from home, new f ood of course people were excited. He looked around the room and saw a couple of the department heads. They were not displaying the same anticipation as their j uniors. Max met their eyes and nodded grimly, They know how critical these suppl ies are. They know that our lives depend on those RDA ships, and they know that the RDA is not likely to be very happy with us right now. Everyone who's here is good people, but have they really thought about what the RDA's likely to do to us if when they come back? Or the likelihood of eventual starvation or suffocati on when the ships stop coming? The department heads had. Max could see it in their eyes. Norm had been aboveboa rd with all of them. They knew that it was possible that something could go wron g with this ship, or the next. They knew that judgment day was coming. That know ledge was a layer of tension over the excitement that made his food much less ap petizing. Max finished his breakfast as fast as he could and headed for the comm and center. Far above Pandora, the Venutre Nova's matter-antimatter engines were slowing the ship down as they had been for the past five and a half months. Something as ma ssive as an ISV did not go from seventy percent of light speed to normal speed w ithout a great deal of very carefully applied effort. The four man crew were entirely focused on bringing the ship safely out of its t raveling velocity. As massive as the ship was, it was deceptively fragile when y ou considered how fast it was going. Even now, just a day from space-normal spee d, the ship would snap like a twig in a heartbeat if the engines' thrust was all owed to wander off their directional axis by as much as a hair. All their focus was needed to ensure that such a thing didn't happen. Tomorrow, once they had su ccessfully completed deceleration, they could begin to wake their passengers and prepare to assume Pandora orbit. The atmosphere of New Hometree was electric on the morning that the war party ma de ready to leave for Hell's Gate. Neytiri was not happy, and didn't eat much at the morning meal. Jake took her as ide when they were finished eating and gently wrapped his arms around his pregna nt mate. "It's okay, don't worry, I won't be far away." He drew back and took he r face in his hands, started rubbing her cheeks with his thumbs. "You know that there aren't any number of warriors on this ship. There won't be any kind of a f ight at all. We'll be fine. I'll be back in a few days and then we'll have nothi ng to do but wait for our baby to arrive." He smiled and caressed her belly ligh tly. She wanted to believe him, she really did. She'd been in on every single strateg y meeting, heard Norm and Max' reports for herself. Neytiri held her mate, "I ca nnot explain it, I have a feeling that something about this is not right." Her f ace was full of worry, "Jake, please, be careful. Be safe, and come home to me q uickly." "I will, I promise. I'll be back before you know it." He touched his forehead to hers for a moment, then kissed the bridge of her nose in farewell. Then he turn ed and left to lead the war party to Hell's Gate. Jake led the ikran makto among the war party; Sir'tey had left the day before wi

th those who rode pa'li. The two groups would arrive at nearly the same time. He made sure that all his flyers were in the air, then activated his throat mike. "Norm, come in. You there?" "Right here, Jake," the reply was immediate. "We're on our way. How's everything there?" "In great shape. We should be getting a response from the ship in six to eight h ours," the scientist informed him. "We'll transmit to your mike simultaneously." "Okay. See you in a bit." Jake clicked off the connection. It didn't take long t o reach Hell's Gate; they overflew the pa'li riders minutes before crossing over the compound's fence. The avatar drivers and remaining base personnel had posit ioned mining trucks and other heavy equipment around the landing field according to their plan. He was kept busy for the next few hours giving his warriors a fi nal briefing and getting them situated to his satisfaction. They really shouldn't have much to do, he thought. If any show of force is neede d, it'll be the base's guns the shuttle'll pay attention to, not bows and arrows . Jake and Norm had warned the warriors that the laser cannons might be fired as a warning to the intruders; Jake had had them fired during an earlier visit so that the Na'vi would recognize the sound and not panic. He'd gotten everyone in their assigned initial positions and then had them run t hrough a couple of position changes that might be needed to cover the two most l ikely scenarios. He had them reset and was about to take them through a third wh en his mike beeped a warning. Jake gestured urgently to Sir'tey, "Take over." Th e hunter knew what was about to happen and nodded grimly. Jake stepped over to a nearby mining truck for a bit of privacy and cued his mik e. Here we go. "Hell's Gate control, this is the Venture Nova. We have received your message an d are reporting in as ordered. What the hell have you people got going on down t here?" the ship's captain asked. "Venture Nova, this is Hell's Gate. We've got a situation going on here, for sur e." Norm's voice came through strong and clear. "We can't allow any of your pass engers to debark. We'll need you to wake up just a shuttle crew and your longsho remen to unload your cargo. We've got all the anti-hydrogen you'll need to refue l and get back to Earth, but you won't be bringing any unobtanium back with you. " The pilot exploded as they'd known he would. "What? Are you crazy? Who is this? Put Administrator Selfridge on." Norm replied evenly, "Administrator Selfridge is gone. All of the mining personn el are gone. SecOps is gone too." There was a moment of silence from the Venture Nova, then, "Holy shit, what the hell's going on down there? You got some kind of plague or something?" Jake saw an opportunity and was quick to take advantage. He hit his throat mike, "Norm, if he thinks we've got some kind of disease down here he won't argue abo ut the passengers and he won't want to hang around. It'll give him a legit excus e to tell the RDA." His friend's reply was equally swift, "Gotcha." In the command center, Norm swit ched the communications channel back to the Venture Nova and started improvising

. "Something like it, but we haven't identified what it is yet. We don't want to risk any of you getting infected, and we don't want you taking it back to Earth ." The scientist could almost hear the captain gulping, "Appreciate that. Uh, if Se lfridge is gone, who's in charge?" "Grace Augustine, but she's gone into isolation. I'm her second, Doctor Spellman . Guess you could say I'm in charge for the moment." "Right Dr. Spellman, thanks. You sure it's gonna be safe to have the ground crew unload this stuff? Won't they get exposed to whatever it is?" Norm had his own flash of brilliance, "I'll keep everyone here inside the buildi ngs. You can have them drop everything right on the landing field, they won't ha ve to come inside at all. I can have my people bring the cargo in after you've g one." Max gestured urgently to get his attention and mouthed, "The Na'vi!" The anthropologist cued the mike again and added, "We've made friends with the l ocals here. They're not affected by whatever this is. I'll have them posted arou nd the buildings to keep our guys in and make sure your guys don't go anywhere n ear the contaminated areas, all right?" Outside, Jake took a couple of swift steps into the open and made an urgent gest ure to Sir'tey. The senior hunter immediately started getting the warriors deplo yed into a new pattern as the conversation continued. "Much obliged, Doctor Spellman. I'll start waking a crew up while you're getting the base secured. They should be ready to make their first run by 0900 hours to morrow. Will that give you enough time?" "That'll work," Norm replied with obvious relief in his voice. "I'll make sure e verything's under wraps well before they get here." "Acknowledged," replied the captain, "We'll contact you as soon as the shuttle i s loaded and ready to take off. Initiating data link." Lights on the consoles al l around the control center came on as the Venture Nova's computer systems start ed delivering the digital portion of the ship's payload. Scientists at each of t he primary stations immediately started working on directing the incoming data. There were a lot of control panels in the tower, and a lot fewer people to man t hem than there had been. The people in the room weren't trained flight controlle rs, either. They were having to focus on the bare essentials to ensure that the shuttle would be able to land and take off safely. A number of the panels that w eren't immediately involved in that effort were simply left unmanned. On one such panel a red light flashed for a fraction of a second like a scream i n the night before it was abruptly squelched and replaced by a slowly pulsing, m ore innocent amber glow. No one noticed. Out on the landing field, Jake started to feel a slight twinge of uneasiness. It can't be this easy. Can it? Neytiri winced and absentmindedly put a hand on the side of her belly. Janni not iced the movement, "Something wrong, Neytiri?" "No, the baby is moving around a bit. I think it just kicked me, is all." They w ent back to their discussion. Janni was showing her friend some of the trial pie ces she had made with the shells that had been brought back from the Eastern Sea

clan. After a few minutes she noticed the tsahik give another small wince. The jewelcrafter put the piece down. "I think it would be good for you to lie do wn and rest a bit, heart-sister. Your child seems to be a bit overactive today." "Maybe it is telling me that I need to eat something," the mother-to-be suggeste d, "It's been a while since I last ate, and I wasn't able to eat much." Janni reached out with her hands to help Neytiri up. "Come, then. We'll get you something to eat and then you can rest." So they went to the cooking-area, where A'tey immediately got them something war m, but the Olo'eyktan's mate didn't seem to have her normal healthy appetite. Wh at worried her friend more was the fact that she saw the mother-to-be wince a co uple more times during the meal. Janni insisted on escorting Neytiri to her slee ping-space afterwards. Thank Eywa she doesn't have to get in and out of a hammoc k, she thought as she helped her friend to lie down in the niche that served as her quarters. The jewelcrafter waited until her friend had lain down, closed her eyes, and was breathing slowly and regularly. Then, worried, she went straight to Mo'at and s pilled the beans. "I left her sleeping, but it would ease my mind if you would c heck on her first thing in the morning." Mo'at took both the young woman's arms and thanked her sincerely, "Irayo, I will ." With that, Janni took her leave. The Tsahik went to her daughter's quarters as soon as she rose the next day, int ending to share first meal with Neytiri. That idea flew straight out of the gran dmother-to-be's head when the Olo'eyktan's mate emerged from her sleeping-space wearing an expression of discomfort and rubbing her abdomen. "Come, we are going to Alai, right now," said Mo'at in her Tsahik tone of voice. It bothered her greatly that the obviously-tired young woman made no argument v ery unlike her daughter. A short time later, Neytiri was lying on a pallet in the healers' closed with the effects of a relaxing draught she had been given. Mo'at to come out of earshot. "I have given her medicine to relax ody," she informed the anxious Tsahik. "She is worrying too much, urbing the child. A few hours of peaceful rest may give them both enclave, eyes Alai motioned her mind and b and it is dist ease."

Mo'at looked at her only remaining child with no small amount of anxiety on her own part and fervently hoped so. On the Venture Nova, a gurney-style cot slid smoothly out of its cryo-capsule, d isgorging its occupant into the echoing zero-g environment. It had barely locked into the 'open' position before a med tech came into the occupant's field of vi ew. "Up and at 'em, chief," the tech said. "We're here. Time to unload boxes." H e disconnected the man from various monitors and tubes while he spoke. The crew chief of the longshoremen pushed himself free of the cryo-capsule as so on as he was disconnected. He looked around and saw only a handful of the dozens of capsules being opened. "What's up?" he asked in a voice rusty with disuse. The tech shook his head, "Let's get you processed first, then the captain'll bri ef you all at once," and drifted off to tend to another sleeper. The chief kicked off the gurney to propel himself to his nearby locker. He scann ed the area briefly before opening it. Inside, his clothing duffel obscured most

of the space. He removed it from its hook and immediately noticed the yellow li ght pulsing on the rear wall. Another quick glance reassured him that no one was nearby, and he touched the dot. It disappeared and was replaced by a digital ke ypad. He entered a long string of numbers. The keypad faded out, and a small war ning appeared. "RDA CONFIDENTIAL. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS PROHIBITED." When the first ships had gone to Pandora, it had been obvious to the upper brass at the RDA that people being so far away from any real figure of authority were bound to slip the leash from time to time. Oh, there were nominal RDA people of course, Parker Selfridge having been the 'official' face of the company at the mining colony. The Board of Directors were well aware though, that anything subv ersive going on was unlikely to take place in the open, at least at first. So each ISV contained at least one clandestine agent, someone whose real purpose was to keep an eye on what didn't take place in the open. Someone who was autho rized to take any action that circumstances might dictate, in order to ensure th e security of the RDA's best interests on Pandora. These agents usually went abo ut their business hidden in the ship's crew, the passengers, or among the milita ry recruits that had signed on for the very considerable amount of money that a tour on Pandora offered. The crew chief of the longshoremen watched the screen intently. When the orders had finished scrolling by the screen lit up with two side-by-side pictures. One of them was of a human male with blue eyes, a buzz cut, and a day's growth of be ard. The other was a picture of a male Pandoran native with closed eyes, but one who bore an uncanny resemblance to the human. The small screen went dark after displaying the pictures for fifteen seconds. Th e crew chief knew that neither the data nor the pictures could be coaxed to reap pear the briefing had been automatically deleted, the device's memory wiped beyo nd recall. Being eidetic, it didn't bother him. He would recognize either of tho se two faces the moment he saw them. He reached for a priceless possession lying on the locker's top shelf a carton o f cigarettes and smiled ruefully, Out here, a pack of these things would easily get me three months' pay, if I wanted to sell them. He opened the carton from th e wrong end and slipped out a pack that had obviously been previously opened. To his trained eye, one of the cigarettes inside was noticeably different. He look ed around to make sure he was still alone, then pulled it out. He put the carton and the pack on top of his duffel for a moment and took the cigarette in both h ands. It appeared to be a regular filter-tip. He held the filter end in one hand and gently grasped the middle with the other. A slow twist on the filter caused the top end of the device to rotate ever so s lightly. From the bottom end of the faux cigarette a hair fine needle emerged. T he crew chief pressed the filter end lightly just as someone who was innocently smoking a cigarette would when they had one in their mouth. An infinitesimal dro p of a sickly green liquid appeared at the tip of the needle. He grunted in sati sfaction and let up on the filter immediately. The drop withdrew. He twisted the filter back into place and the needle did likewise. He put the fake cigarette back in the pack amongst its real brethren, took his j acket from its hook in the locker, and stuffed the pack in the breast pocket. Th en he gathered the rest of his belongings up and headed off to what promised to be an interesting briefing. While Mo'at was walking Neytiri to the healers, the first shuttle load of cargo was heading down to Hell's Gate. The longshoremen were nervous. "Whaddya think C hief?" one of the men asked, "They sure it's safe to deliver this stuff?" The crew chief had a slight frown on his face, but it wasn't there for the reaso

n his men assumed. He turned to address the lift operator, "We won't be going in side at all and they won't be coming out, so we should be good." He didn't tell the man that the greater danger was likely to be from the Venture Nova's crew. There were strict protocols in place governing the potential for serious disease s being brought back on an ISV. The cryo-capsules were designed to detect every mode of contagion known to man. At the least sign of illness, the ISV's crew was under orders to ensure that an infected sleeper never woke up; the cryo-capsule would be jettisoned into space to protect the others onboard. And that's assumi ng they'd even need an excuse, the chief thought to himself. He was a bit more fortunate than the others. His status as an RDA agent meant th at his cryo-capsule was immune to all but a direct manual override. Not that it couldn't happen, if they got the order, he mused, but he was fairly sure that ev en if this disease turned out to be a total fabrication his fellow workers had j ust acquired one-way tickets. Not that he was about to tell them so. They soon came in to a landing at the erstwhile mining colony. The pilots taxied the spaceplane to the far end of the pad so as to allow plenty of room for the many loads of cargo they would be dropping off over the next few days. "Masks on!" the chief hollered, and made sure everyone had complied before he hi t the ramp release. Ugly shimmers in the bay marked the invasion of Pandoran atm osphere into the previously breathable space. "Mount up! Let's get a move on!" h e ordered as the ramp settled on the tarmac. He walked down the ramp while his men were starting the lift trucks, and surveye d the situation. There were a number of the tall blue natives scattered around t he landing field, most of them armed. Don't trust us much, do they? he thought w ith amusement. He moved to the side of the ramp to get out of the way, scanned the area, and mo mentarily froze. There! Standing beside one of the big mining trucks to the side of the facility's main ground entrance was a knot of four of the blue people. O ne of the four, wearing a neckpiece of three huge claws, wore the face that he'd seen from the clandestine briefing. Phase one, observation. Drawing attention t o oneself too early was a virtual guarantee of mission failure, not to mention a likely failure to survive. He'd never made that mistake before and wasn't about to start now. It was perfectly natural for him to stand there supervising the u nloading, so that's what he did while scoping out the situation. The blue people were on edge, he could see that. They're definitely defensive, b ut they also look what, angry? Wonder why? His target was speaking to a taller n ative. Clearly in charge, he noted as the taller man paid close attention to the other's words. He turned to inspect a loaded forklift coming off of the ramp, acting in charact er to avoid any undue notice, then went back to his casual scrutiny as he waved it off to the drop point. The exo-pack's straps were tight around his neck, unco mfortable, and that brought him back to the issue he'd been contemplating on the flight down. If we can't get into the base, I'll have to figure out a different way to dart h im. There was obviously no way to smoke a cigarette with an exo-pack on. Have to figure out a different way. He considered the possibilities while the shuttle w as being unloaded. They'd repeat this procedure nearly a dozen times; there was no need to hurry on that account. On the other hand, there's no telling how long my target will hang around. I can't follow him off the landing field if he happ ens to leave, that'd make me screamingly obvious. He considered all the options carefully while the shuttle was emptied and the signal came to head back to pick

up another load. He waved the trucks back into the now-empty bay and followed t hem in, hitting the ramp control on his way by. He got his men settled, and pulled the exo-pack off when the pressurization klax on announced that the air inside was breathable again. He brooded as he felt the shuttle start moving and then taking off. Accidental spill, he decided. As prec ious as cigarettes were out here, no one would find it odd that he'd pick up eve ry single one that got dropped, not odd that he'd examine them to make sure they were undamaged. It wasn't the best option. The spill itself was bound to attrac t some attention, even with a fake stumble to explain it. Best option at the mom ent, though. The chief pulled one of the real cigarettes out of the pack, leaned back and lit up. It took effort not to cough on the stupid thing. Ironic that I can't stand these. Oh well, cover is cover. One of the longshoremen commented anxiously, "So far so good, eh Chief?" The assassin blew out a puff of smoke. "Yeah, Billy. So far so good." In the healer's enclave in New Hometree, Neytiri woke out of a troubled rest wit h a cry of pain. Mo'at was sitting with her daughter and anxiously called for Alai. The senior me dic did a quick examination. She wore a concerned expression, which did nothing to allay the Tsahik's worry. "Ketenan, bring me more of the tiraya bark. Talli, a cup of hot water, quickly." The junior healers were quick to obey orders. In a couple of minutes Alai was ho lding the decoction for the young woman and urging her to drink it down. Neytiri made a sound that was half-pain and half protest. "I know," the healer soothed, "but the medicine is more effective when it is hot . It will relieve the cramping faster and damp the pain sooner." That was all the young woman needed to hear; she drained the cup as quickly as s he could without scalding her mouth. Neytiri gasped for air when she finished, h anded the cup off to Ketenan, and slapped a hand to her side with a moan. "Relax as much as you can, the medicine will take effect soon," Alai promised. " Here, let me see." She gently pushed on the hand that the young woman was holdin g tight to her swollen belly. The healer felt a cold chill when the area was exp osed; the phosphorescent body-spots in that area were markedly duller than norma l. Oh Eywa, this is not good! Neytiri moaned and covered the area again. "Ma'sa'nok, why is this happening? I have not eaten anything unusual, I have not been injured. What is going on?" The Tsahik took her daughter into her arms. "I do not know, ma'ite. Do your best to relax. The medicine will take effect soon, as Alai says." The Omatikaya's senior healer did her best to project a firm, confident tone of voice. "You need to stop worrying about the war party. Jake is fine, and all you are doing is upsetting the child. Stop worrying and the pain will cease. Think of other things. Think of how happy you and Jake will be when your child arrives . Think of holding your child in your arms. Think of the look on Jake's face whe n he sees your child for the first time. Think of how proud your father and sist er will be when they see the child born from where they are within Eywa." It see med to help. Neytiri calmed a bit, and Alai's practiced eye could see the small signs of slackness set in as the sedative started to take hold. The young woman'

s eyes closed while the healer kept up the small talk, giving her patient someth ing besides what was going on inside her body to focus on. The older woman looked across the pregnant one to meet the Tsahik's eyes while s he continued the stream of encouraging words. Mo'at had to fight to not let her reaction to the truth she saw in those eyes be transmitted to her daughter. Alai 's nonverbal message was clear. This is not good at all. "'You'll be picking up the first load of anti-hydrogen on this trip," a disembod ied voice informed the crew chief. "We're sending the empty magnetic bottles dow n with you as part of each load. Hell's Gate will refill them for the next ISV. Hopefully they'll have their problem under control by then." The assassin grunted and picked up the tablet and stylus that had been left on t he table for him before he'd entered the room. He looked over the manifest. Not taking any chances, are you?, he commented to himself. "They making any progress on whatever it is?" "Their neuroscientist is compiling data for us to take back with us. He said the y needed the help of the research group back home, since most of them aren't med ical specialists. Hope they survive long enough to get their answers," was the r eply. Another grunt. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary listed in the manifest. He waved it at the unseen crewman, "Well, better be off. The sooner we get this stuff unloaded and get out of here, the better." There was no reply as he turned and left the conference room, and his thoughts t urned to the more important issue. I'd better take advantage of the first opport unity that presents itself, he decided as he walked the echoing metallic corrido r towards the main cargo bay. I'll be lucky if he isn't gone already, though tho se blue people didn't look like they were going anywhere soon. If I have any kin d of a decent shot I'll have to take it. The chief mused over various options until he got to the bay. His crew were busi ly driving forklifts and mobile pallets, loading the shuttle for another run. He allowed himself to get absorbed in the task; it was all cover for his more impo rtant duty. Once the shuttle was loaded and ready to go, most of the longshoremen took advan tage of the opportunity that the flight time presented to either eat or nap. Whe n the chief was certain that no one was watching him, he pulled the cigarette pa ck out of his jacket pocket and carefully ripped the paper off of the top end. I t was something many smokers did so that they would have easy access. Nothing th at anyone would find unusual. But if I should happen to drop something and need to bend over to pick it up . The contents of the pack would spill out and land all over. A simple, stupid accident, and of course everyone would expect me to stop and pick them up. He smiled and crumpled up the small strip of paper as the shu ttle's engines painted the dark space above Pandora's atmosphere with a pair of brilliant blue-white jets as it began to descend. Janni walked into the healers' area and looked around anxiously for her friend. It didn't take long to find Neytiri; several Na'vi were gathered around her. Mo' at was seated behind her daughter, cradling the pregnant woman in her arms comfo rtingly. The jewelcrafter could see fatigue and worry in the Tsahik's face. "Her e, let me do that for a while, before your legs go to sleep," she offered immedi ately. The older woman switched places willingly, moving stiffly at first, which confirmed Janni's suspicion that Neytiri's mother had been holding her daughter for hours.

They did their best to make the switch as smoothly as possible, but it still wok e Jake's mate. Janni had to work to hide her own concern; the pupils of her frie nd's eyes were significantly dilated by the medicine that she had been given. It was unnerving. Neytiri smiled when she saw who had arrived. She laid a grateful hand on Janni's arm. "Thank you for coming, I'm glad to see you." The jewelcrafter encouraged her best friend to rest on her shoulder with a gentl e hand, and then stroked the long braids slowly. She did her best not to communi cate how much her friend's limpness upset her. "How could I not come? How are yo u feeling, heart-sister?" Neytiri closed her eyes and sighed. "Tired, very tired. The child is moving so m uch. It will not let me sleep, and the cramps keep coming back." Even her friend 's voice betrayed the presence of the drug she had been given. Janni did her best to cheer up the tsahik with an attempt at humor, "It probably doesn't care for the spicy talioang that you insist on eating so often!" That did get a weary chuckle out of her friend. "But it tastes so good! And it r eally does calm my stomach down. I ahhhhhh!" The young woman suddenly doubled up with a cry of pain. Each of the three women around her saw the ugly ripple move across Neytiri's abdomen before the mother-to-be folded herself around it reflex ively. Alai took the young woman's arms, "Here, let me see," she commanded. They had to wait until the spasm had passed before they could lift Neytiri's upper body. Th e senior healer's ears flattened in dread as the other two women got her patient straightened out so that she could see that the phosphorescent body-spots all o ver the pregnant woman's abdomen had gone dull and gray. The healer only had a minute or so to inspect them before another contraction ri ppled visibly across Neytiri's stomach and doubled the young woman over again. " JAKE!" she screamed in fear and pain. "JAKE!" Mo'at's arms went around her daughter in near-equal fear. "Hurry!" she almost ye lled at the healer, "More of the medicine, quickly!" "I cannot give her much more of this!" the healer agonized. "If I give her too m uch it could cause her to lose the child!" Another muffled cry came from the young woman in her arms, and the Tsahik retort ed, "If you do not give it to her she will lose the child anyway!" There wasn't any reply Alai could make to that, and she feverishly began stirrin g the herb into the almost scalding hot water that Talli brought. They lost some of the sedative because of Neytiri's thrashing about, but managed to get a dece nt amount into the suffering woman. As soon as the cup was emptied, Mo'at commanded, "Stay with her, Janni. I will b e right back." "A whole herd of pa'li couldn't drag me away," the jewelcrafter replied grimly. The Tsahik bolted from the room and ran with all her strength to the scout-leade r of the day. The man was shocked and alarmed to see Mo'at in such a state. "Tsa hik, what is " he began to ask. Eytukan's mate cut the scout off without apology. "Send the fastest ikran makto

you have to the dreamwalkers' camp. Tell Jake that I do not care if the camp is on fire, he is to come home now! " "But Tsahik, the Sky People ship " the scout began to protest. "Can wait or it can burn, for all I care!" the anguished woman cried. "If Jake d oes not come home right now, Neytiri is going to lose their child!" "Let me get that, Billy. I'd like to separate the magnetic bottles from the rest of the supplies on the tarmac," the crew chief called. "Sure, Chief," was the reply. The magnetic bottles that were used to contain the anti-hydrogen that fueled the great ISVs were temperamental, touchy things, and the longshoreman saw nothing unusual in the request. Getting them away from the rest of the cargo was a good idea. The chief got up on the forklift, picked up the pallet of bottles, and carefully maneuvered them down the shuttle's ramp. He was very aware that his target was nearby and split the distance between the area where cargo was being left and th e place where Jake was standing. The group of blue people turned towards him as the forklift approached, and watched him as he carefully located the pallet off to the side of the landing area. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Jake turn and speak to the others. He un loaded the pallet and turned the vehicle around to go back for another load. His eyes made contact with the marine's as he turned and he nodded in friendly fash ion, receiving the same in return. He went back and forth a couple of times, carefully creating a visual barrier wi th the pallets that was just inside the compressed-gas dart's effective range. T he assassin came out with and unloaded the last pallet. He jumped off the truck with his clipboard and stylus, ostensibly to check the load against his inventor y, when a banshee came flying fast and low over the compound fence. The creature drew the attention of everyone on the field when it screamed. Perfe ct. The RDA agent deliberately fumbled the stylus, leaned over to pick it up, an d naturally swore when his cigarettes spilled out over the pavement. No one paid him any attention, being focused on the now-landing messenger. The chief knelt and put the clipboard down so that he could start gathering his smokes. He got them all in his hands and stood up as the newcomer hit the ground running and started towards his target. He stuck a couple of the cigarettes in the empty pack so that he could manipulate the dart thrower, and turned slightly so that the business end of the weapon would be pointed at his target. He pressed on the device to arm it and out of the corner of his eye saw the mess enger skid to a stop, coming between him and his target. He had to suppress a fr own of frustration. To cover himself, he picked one of the real cigarettes he st ill hand in one hand and made a show of inspecting it before replacing it in his shirt pocket. The messenger had grabbed his target by the arm and was chattering at high speed in an agitated voice. The assassin wondered whether he should pick another real cigarette or his weapon next and then the group around Jake burst into activity . The tall Na'vi that Jake had talked to most often almost bodily pushed the mar ine forward, blocking the assassin's target from view even more completely and t hen his mark was sprinting away at high speed, already out of range of his weapo n, making a screaming cry as he ran. The agent had to fight down a snarl of rage and frustration as a banshee flew ou t of the trees and landed at his target's feet. He shoved the rest of the cigare

ttes back in the pack as the man jumped on the beast's back and flew off. Patien ce, he growled to himself, this is just a delay. I'll get him when he comes back . He picked up his clipboard and stylus and got back to work. Jake was swearing even more vehemently than the crew chief was, but it was all d irected internally. Why the hell didn't I leave a throat mike with her? Swizaw f elt every bit of his anguish and was pushing himself to his utmost limit in resp onse to his rider's overwhelming need for speed. The marine didn't want to hurt his mount, but the need to be at Neytiri's side now was overwhelming. It was a g ood thing that ikran riding was such a physically demanding activity, since that was the only outlet for his agitated state. The trip back to New Hometree had n ever taken so long. He cried out when the crown of the great tree finally came into view. An idea ca me into his head as they approached. He sent it to Swizaw through their neural l ink and jumped up onto the ikran's back. The beast screamed affirmation and dive d for the base of the Tree as they neared it. If anyone else had tried this maneuver, Jake would have had them doing the dirti est job he could find for a week. He directed Swizaw to fly into the open space underneath the Tree at ground level, shocking dozens of Omatikaya and making a b unch of them dive out of his way. The ikran cried a warning, and as he began to pull up to brake, Jake launched himself into the air off of his mount as they ap proached the central spirals. Swizaw hooked his feet and wing-claws into the tre e bark and grabbed on to stop himself while Jake landed spread-eagled against a trunk and used his momentum to jump onto the walking surface of the great pathwa y and start running upwards. He hadn't gone four strides before he heard his mate call his name in a panic an d pain-filled scream. "NEYTIRI!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs, and sprint ed for the healer's area. Jake burst into the space in moments and was greeted by a horrible sight. His ma te was doubled over in pain, agitated people surrounding her. Everyone looked up at the sound of his entrance. Janni yelled, "Get over here!" and vacated her spot as fast as she could to make room for him. Simultaneously, Alai cried out, "Calm her down now!" Jake thudded to the floor of the bower behind his mate and encircled her in his arms. "Neytiri? Neytiri, it's me, it's Jake, what's wrong? I'm here." He spoke i n a rapid-fire, panicked tone. His voice was the one thing that could reach the young woman. She looked up, mom entarily distracted from the pain, "Jake?" He crooned anxiously, "It's me, I'm here, it's okay now, I'm here. What's going on?" He sat down behind her and gathered her into his embrace. Neytiri cried out and reached for him, "Jake, I don't know what is happening. I don't know why this is happening, I am so scared! Jake, I do not want to lose ou r child! It hurts!" She clung to him with the strength of desperation. He instinctively began rocking back and forth, "Shhhhh, shhhhh, you're not going to lose our child, everything's going to be all right." Tears were pouring down her face, "It kept getting worse the longer you were gon e, I did not mean for this to happen, I tried to stop it, I kept feeling like yo

u were in danger," she hiccupped. He cradled the back of her head with one hand, frightened by her obviously drugg ed state. "Shhhhh, I'm here sweetheart, I'm here." Jake took the hand of his cry ing mate and held it to his upper arm as he continued rocking her. "Here, hold o n to me, as tight as you want." She immediately gripped him fiercely while still sobbing. "Listen to me, Neytiri," he urged, "listen to my voice. I'm here and I 'm fine. I'm okay." She quieted a bit as his voice reached through the hysteria. He continued, encou raged, "Feel me holding you. Feel how warm I am." Her cries subsided a bit more and he gently pressed her head to his chest. "Listen to my heart. Hear how stron gly it's beating. Feel me breathing. Feel me rocking you. It's okay, I'm not goi ng to let go, hold on to me all you want. Listen to my voice. I'm right here." Fear laced through him as she cried out in pain. He saw the ugly ripple travel a cross her swollen belly and gathered her more closely into his arms. He instinct ively reached out and laid a warm hand on the spot that had moved, "Shhhhh, it's okay, it's going to be fine. You've just scared the baby, that's all. As soon a s you calm down the pain will stop. That's all it is. Hold on to me, that's it." He kept rocking his mate, small back and forth movements that effectively commu nicated his presence to her on a very physical level. His hand on her belly was warm and soothing, his voice low and comforting. The others present had drawn back to give Jake space. They watched with mouths a gape as the presence of her mate did more than all their ministrations combined. Neytiri calmed, the agitated movement of her abdomen slowed. Mo'at was astounded as she watched her son in law, clearly going into tsahik tra nce, reach out with his spirit to touch the spirit of her daughter and grandchil d-to-be and pull them back from the precipice. No one dared move or make a sound as they watched Neytiri's body relax slowly, b it by bit, until she finally let out a huge sigh. Her arms and legs lost the ten sion of fighting pain and went limp. Alai's sedative claimed her quickly as the panic dissipated and she fell into an exhausted sleep with Jake still rocking he r. Norm pulled Max off of his work creating fake disease data for the Venture Nova to brief him on Jake's abrupt departure and its cause. The fuzzy haired scientis t paled at the news. "Jake and Neytiri have been so excited about having a kid, they'd be absolutely devastated if she loses it," Norm concluded. Max hated to bring it up, but could see an even worse case scenario. "Norm," he asked with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, "what happens if its even w orse than that? What if Jake loses the baby AND Neytiri?" He thought the anthrop ologist was going to pass out, the man went so white. Norm had to swallow to clear his throat before he could reply. "It'd destroy him . Completely. The Na'vi would lose their Toruk Makto." Max nodded, "And be wide open to a full scale RDA assault. They wouldn't stand a chance." "What can we do?" Norm asked helplessly. The neuroscientist looked down for a moment to gather his courage. "I didn't wan t to suggest this. I mean, I know how adamant you and Jake are about not contami nating the Na'vi culture and I agree with that, don't get me wrong! It's just th

at under the circumstances I thought " he trailed off. "What?" his friend demanded. "Well, I thought I mean if a c-section could at least save Neytiri ." Norm's eyes almost bugged out. "Surgery? Are you nuts? No one here's ever done s urgery on a Na'vi, much less a c-section. The internal reproductive system is to tally different than a human's. And they'd have to do it at New Hometree, no ste rile surgery, minimal equipment, no anaesthesia. Hell, Max!" "I know," he said grimly, "but you just admitted that if Jake loses Neytiri it's game over for the Na'vi. I think so too. Shouldn't we do everything we can to p revent that? Isn't that why we're here?" Grace's protg was silent for a long time. To say that he didn't like this option w as a understatement to say the very least. Finally, though, he had to bow to rea lity. "It has to be Jake's decision," he conceded unhappily. Max nodded sympathetically, "I'll get a kit together and have people on standby, just in case." He gestured at his friend's throat, "Do you want to tell him?" The de facto leader of the Avatar program shook his head, "Not yet. He won't eve n be back at New Hometree for a while, and I don't want to interrupt him the min ute he gets there. I don't want to risk causing a problem by distracting him at the worst moment." He thought for a minute, "Hand over the database work to Jerr y. Simon's got the most medical experience of any of us thank God his avatar's a lready at New Hometree. Get a kit together and take it to Sir'tey, tell him to h ave one of his riders take it there as fast as they can." Max nodded agreement and was off like a shot. Norm walked back out into the rol room where most of the scientists were supervising the unloading of the ure Nova's cargo. "Dave," he called, "what's the status on the supplies for stereolithography plant?" We'd better be ready to make surgical instruments he fly, he thought to himself. cont Vent the on t

Robinson was monitoring a screen listing what was coming down on each shuttle ru n. He touched a line on the display and frowned at what it showed him. "Not much ," he replied as the anthropologist walked over. "Looks like most of that stuff' s still aboard the ISV." And they'd damn well better bring it down, he thought p rivately, I need those raw materials to make the surveying equipment I need! Norm stood over his shoulder, both of the men sharing the same concern for once. "See here?" the geologist pointed out the relevant line marking what had been de posited on the landing field to date. The numbers didn't make him happy. "Keep an eye on it, would you?" he requested. "Let me know if it doesn't improve over the next two or three loads. We're goin g to need that stuff badly." Dave nodded agreeably, "Will do," and watched as the younger man walked off to c heck with the other stations. He nonchalantly touched a button on the screen onc e he was alone again. The panel that came up was titled "Message Status." He had a number of messages ready for upload to the Venture Nova; requests for geology references, a note to one of the RDA's premier unobtanium researchers, a couple of papers for submiss ion to scientific journals. The one he was most interested in sat innocently amo ng the list of all the others, labeled "Anna Rodrigues." To the right of each on

e was the status "Queued for Delivery." He patiently waited while the shuttle was unloaded and watched it launch itself back into the sky. Just before it disappeared into cloud cover, his message scre en flashed. He looked at it just in time to see the status lines on the screen c hange to "Delivered to Relay." He allowed himself a small smile before going bac k to work inventorying cargo. Norm linked in to his avatar as fast as he reasonably could after the last shutt le load for the day had been delivered. He heard a familiar voice the moment he sat up. "Neytiri and the baby are safe," Tanhi informed him. "She is sleeping now, and t he contractions have stopped. Jake is with her. One of the warriors brought some thing for Si'mon. I told him to leave it with A'tey, that she will give it to hi m when he wakes." Norm jumped out of the hammock, "Thank God," he replied fervently, "and thank yo u!" He smiled at the healer. Tanhi handed him a couple of warm leaf-wrapped food rolls and gestured towards t he healers' enclave, knowing that he would want to check on his friends. "What d id you send to Si'mon?" He swallowed a mouthful of food, "Sky People medicine. I don't want to use it un less we absolutely have to ." "But we must be prepared to use it if there is no other option," the woman repli ed grimly. Norm stopped in his tracks, shocked at her easy acceptance of using alien medici ne on the clan's Tsahik-to-be. Tanhi looked at him steadily, "I am a healer. I w ill use every tool Eywa puts at my disposal that could help me to save lives." T hen she added in a softer voice, "You are not the only one who has thought of th e consequences of this pregnancy." She turned away and walked towards the healers' enclave, leaving Norm to follow her with some very sobering thoughts in his head. He was relieved to see Neytiri sleeping in Jake's arms when they entered. Someon e had thoughtfully placed a grass-stuffed talioang hide behind the Olo'eyktan's back for support. Like a leather bean bag chair, the scientist thought to himsel f. The place was unusually quiet. Tanhi whispered, "Alai has the others doing their work below. She did not want to move Neytiri, or risk waking her." The whisper caught Jake's attention, as low as it was. He was grateful to see hi s friend and waved Norm over. "How is she?" the scientist asked as softly as he could. "Better," Jake said to his relief. "The contractions have pretty much stopped. A lai drugged the hell out of her and as soon as she stopped panicking it hit her like a truck. She's been out for hours. Mo'at says she needs the sleep, but Alai 's worried that she might have given Neytiri too much. We just have to wait it o ut." Norm reached out and grasped his friend's arm, his grip silently communicating h is support and concern.

Jake was grateful, but his friend's presence brought other issues to mind. "How' s the unloading going?" The scientist nodded, "Done for the day. All's quiet." Toruk Makto's brow furrowed with concern. "Norm, I don't know if I'm going to be able to come back in the morning. The way Neytiri was panicking it was totally unlike her. She was practically hysterical." Norm tried to laugh it off. "Leave it to you to be worried about a delivery of b oxes at a time like this." Jake knew what he was trying to do and would have none of it. "You've got to be in the control center to talk to the ISV, you can't command the Na'vi on the gro und." He fretted, "Sir'tey is a good man, he knows all the maneuvers, but he has no idea what to watch out for. Damn," he swore softly, "what I need is someone like Trudy. Someone who knows what a snake in the grass looks like. Someone who knows how to respond on the fly if something goes sour." "Someone like me?" came a quiet voice from behind the two men. Both of them whir led in place to see a familiar face wearing a fresh application of red body pain t and the Olo'eyktan horn of the Ikran Clan of the Eastern Sea standing in the e ntranceway. Perrat and Norm took their leave of Jake as soon as he finished briefing the Na' vi on the situation; Perrat to fly immediately to Hell's Gate, and Norm to park his avatar high in the branches of New Hometree. Deliveries resumed the next morning at the usual time. Norm what was on the tarmac with what remained on the ISV before e day had arrived. Supplies for the stereolithography plant today's schedule, which eased his mind greatly. He flipped Nova's manifest in an almost idle fashion and came upon the taining the avatars of his supposed-to-be colleagues. was again comparing the first load of th were a large part of through the Venture four amnio tanks con

Out of curiosity, he skipped over to the formerly-ignored passenger list to chec k those colleagues out. He read the profile on the first one, "Assignment: devel op an analytic method for determining unobtanium content of raw ore by measuring maglev effect on mass." The anthropologist snorted internally, Another geologis t. Thanks, but no thanks. He turned to the second profile, "Assignment: investig ate possibility of volcanic involvement in formation of unobtanium with a view t o recreating process under controlled laboratory conditions." He shook his head and flipped to the next entry. The third driver wasn't a geologist, at least. "A ssignment: investigate flighted Pandoran wildlife and analyze aerodynamic qualit ies of their anatomical structure." Hmm, a zoologist. Too bad, Kim would have li ked a colleague. But the third driver wasn't a zoologist. Norm's eyes got wider and wider as he c ontinued reading. "Holy shit!" he finally exploded. He ran for the conference ro om where Max had gone back to his fake disease data work and threw the door open , "Max! Max!" The neurologist's hands swept across his keyboard in surprise, ruining his last half-hour's worth of data. "What?" he cried as he wheeled around in alarm. "Fire up the lab, Max," Norm said excitedly, "I've got an incoming driver for yo u!" He disappeared before the stunned scientist could say a word. Max was sure h e'd understood wrong and bolted up out of the chair to give chase, "What did you say? An incoming driver? Are you serious?"

Norm was already on the horn to the Venture Nova by the time Max caught up with him and the shorter man stopped to listen. "Venture Nova, this is Hell's Gate Co ntrol." "Hell's Gate Control I'm reading you five by five, go ahead," was the reply. "Venture Nova, I want you to send amnio tank number three down here, along with, " he double-checked the manifest, "passenger 42. Make it as quick as you can." "Norm, no!" Max was aghast. It was echoed by the ISV captain. "Unload a passenger? Are you kidding? Down int o the middle of a plague situation?" Max took a stand in front of his friend. "Norm, don't do this. You can't do this to someone. Besides, Jake will take your head off!" Norm shook his head and waved the man off, "No he won't, he'll thank me. At leas t he will after he calms down." He reopened the link to the ship and started blu ffing for dear life, "This passenger has got exactly what we need to solve the s ituation down here. You're going to be in enough hot water when you get back to Earth and have to explain why you don't have any unobtanium on board, you want t o tell them that you refused to deliver the one person who could fix the problem and made them wait six more years to restart the mining? Cause if you don't, I promise that I will!" The threat had the desired effect. "Jeez, all right, all right, keep your shirt on. I'll get my med tech to start cryo-release right now. You'll have your guy i n a few hours." Norm wasn't through. "Good, and this is what else you're going to do." The capta in squawked more when presented with the list of demands, but he was backed into a corner and they both knew it. The man promised that the driver would be deliv ered before the day was out and signed off. "You gonna tell me what that was all about? At least tell me what version of the funeral service you want, cause Jake is going to rip you apart when he finds ou t," Max demanded in a huff. Norm shoved the tablet he'd been reading the driver's vitals on at the scientist , "Here, read this." Puzzled, Max did so. The information didn't make much sense, "I don't get it. Wh at's so special about someone studying flying animals?" The anthropologist was nearly bouncing with excitement and clapped his friend on the shoulders, "You will Max, you will. Fire up the lab. I've got to go down to Perrat and warn her about an incoming Sky Person. I'll fill you in later." With that he practically ran off down the hall. The neuroscientist watched his friend leave with no small amount of confusion. H e scanned the profile again. It still didn't make any sense. He shrugged and put the tablet down on the table to go start up the avatar receiving lab and mutter ed to himself, "Someone's been sniffing too much Pandoran atmosphere." Perrat was startled when Norm appeared in a breathing mask, and was even more so when he explained that a new dreamwalker was on the way down. She felt much better about it when he explained that the new dreamwalker was goi ng to be a huge help in the great war against the Sky People that they knew was

coming. They went over how the delivery was going to be made, and Perrat and Sir'tey rea rranged the warriors around the landing field to adapt to the situation. When the first shuttle load of cargo for the day touched down on the field and b egan unloading, the assassin immediately noticed two things: the rearranged nati ves, and the fact that his target was nowhere in sight. His place seemed to have been taken by a near-hyperattentive female native wearing a huge triangle of re d paint. Damn, damn, damn! he swore to himself. If I can't take out Sully's avat ar I'm going to have to go for him directly, and how am I supposed to do that wh en we're not allowed into the base? He fumed to himself while they were unloading the shuttle. There weren't a lot o f loads left to deliver; the amount of time he had to accomplish his mission was becoming very short. The shuttle was about half way unloaded when everyone on the ground heard a fami liar roar approaching from above. It was such an unexpected sound that all work stopped and everyone's attention turned towards the source. The assassin was stunned, What the hell did they send down the second shuttle fo r? The Venture Nova's second and the nearby buildings. arted walking towards the was surprised when one of by a straw-haired person shuttle came down and landed between its sister craft As soon as the engines had shut down the crew chief st vessel. The cargo bay door opened as he walked up. He the three pilots appeared in the open maw, accompanied lugging a huge duffel.

He didn't have a chance to ask questions; the pilot waved him into the cargo bay while escorting the avatar driver off the ramp directly towards the ground entr ance to the facility. The assassin watched as the entrance opened and a tall gan gly looking guy wearing a breathing mask came out to take charge of the newcomer . The pilot waved the driver forward, taking no chances on getting too close, an d then turned around to come back to the shuttle when he saw his charge escorted safely inside. As soon as the pilot neared the shuttle, the crew chief called in an honestly pu zzled tone, "What's this all about? Sending a shuttle down with just one person on it?" The pilot shrugged, "Avatar driver. Apparently has the skills they need to solve the plague problem. Can you get some of your guys over here? We need to offload the amnio tank." His heart almost skipped a beat. The tank has to be brought inside! This is it! This is my ticket in! His voice didn't betray an iota of excitement as he turned to get his men, "Sure, no problem." A forklift driver and a couple of assistants were soon gathered, and no one thou ght it odd that the chief elected to supervise this delivery himself, given how crazy expensive avatars were. The tank was carefully loaded onto the lift and sl owly brought down the ramp. The vehicle proceeded at an easy walking speed towar ds the receiving doors. Given that the tank was filled with fluid it was incredi bly heavy, and the lift driver didn't want to risk it getting away from him if h e should hit a bump or need to change direction quickly. The receiving doors opened as they approached, and the assassin's heart started beating faster. Once we get inside I'll go through the nearest door as soon as n

o one's looking my way. The biolab is right around the corner from here; Sully's sure to be in there, probably in link. I can use the dart on whoever's monitori ng the link pods. I'll find out which pod Sully's in, and a few commands typed i nto that pod's controls will ensure that he never wakes up again. He was almost walking on the balls of his feet, ready to put his plan in motion, when the unexpected happened. A half dozen scientists in breathing masks appear ed in the doorway. "Stop right there," commanded a short scientist with fuzzy bl ack hair. "Park the lift and head back to the shuttle. We don't want to risk inf ecting you with this disease. We'll take it from here." The assassin wanted to scream as the lift driver immediately shut down the vehic le's engine. He hesitated even as the others started eagerly turning away from t he supposedly-ill men. No place to hide! I can't rush them. If only Sully was on e of them! Rage and helplessness colored his vision as he stood there motionless . Then there was movement all around the compound, not from the humans, but from t he Na'vi. Bows came up and were half-drawn, the natives understanding only that something odd was happening. The killer looked around at the movement, and saw the red painted female staring intently at him, with her hand half-raised. Caught! He wouldn't get three steps towards the building before he was shot down. His cover was blown. Any injudici ous movement now would mean his death and a failed assignment. There was only on e thing he could do. Snarling in rage to himself, he turned and followed his men to complete unloading his shuttle. The moment Jake woke up that morning he was immediately aware of the need to not move. This was a bit of a problem, since his right side was tingling fiercely w here Neytiri was still lying on him. His stomach was also growling, which didn't help matters. He did his best to shift his mate's weight without waking her jus t so that he could get some circulation back in his leg. Talli addressed the other issue before he could even speak. "Olo'eyktan, here. A 'tey sent these up for you," she said quietly. A serving leaf with a number of h is favorite herbed and steamed mushrooms was placed at his side. The savory smel l wafting up from the warm food set his mouth watering and he lost no time in pi cking up the nearest and taking a huge bite. He was so hungry he almost inhaled the thing. It made the healer-apprentice titter to see the clan leader act so. Jake finished the first mushroom and was about to reach for a second when he fel t a stirring. He turned to see his mate partially rise, obviously roused by the delicious scent teasing her nose. "Neytiri?" he asked softly. "Mmmm," she responded sleepily. She rubbed her half-closed eyes with the back of a hand, "Are there any more of those?" Joy and relief burst inside Jake like a sunrise. "Plenty! Here," he reached for another while she pushed herself into a sitting position and gave it to her as s oon as her hands were free. She ate it almost as fast as he'd eaten his. The little healer-apprentice was off like a shot, "I'll go get more!" He was ready with a second as soon as Neytiri had licked the juice of the first one off of her fingers . "Here, have another one," he urged gently. She was stil l ravenous. "Slowly, slowly," he encouraged, "there are plenty more. Don't upset your stomach." Talli was back with another filled leaf-plate by the time the tsahik had finishe d the third softball-sized mushroom. From the look Neytiri gave the plate it was

obvious that she was considering a fourth, but when Jake offered a clay cup of juice she immediately seized it instead. The juice was cool and soothing, lightl y sweet and with just a bit of astringent tang to it. It was delicious, just wha t her body wanted, and she drained the cup dry. Jake took the empty cup and handed it off to Talli, taking his mate back into hi s arms. He felt almost limp with relief, "You were hungry!" He hugged her gently . "I haven't felt like eating for the past couple of days," were her apologetic wo rds. He chuckled and cradled her head to his chest, lightly caressing her braids. "We ll, you just made up for a lot of that." She sat up again, a bit guiltily. "Jake, I didn't mean for this to happen ." He could see an echo of the earlier fear in her eyes, and knew that he wasn't go ing back to Hell's Gate. "Shhhh, it's okay, I know you didn't." Then, not quite an afterthought, he asked, "umm, would you mind moving over a bit so I can get m ore comfortable? My leg went to sleep a long time ago." Neytiri hastened to shift over. He winced as circulation started coming back and the limb got even more pin-tingly. He shook it out and then settled back, holdi ng an arm out for his mate. She willingly nestled against him and rested her hea d on his shoulder. A collective sigh of relief went around the room. Alai stepped forward quietly; to her relief she could see that the tsahik's body-spots were significantly brig hter than they had been twelve hours ago. The healer moved to a position where h er patient could easily see her, "I want you to rest here today, and probably to morrow too. This has been a great strain on you and the child, and I want to mak e sure you are fully recovered from it before you do anything else." Neytiri nodded obediently, her eyes already starting to close. With a full stoma ch and her mate's presence, she had no problem with those orders. The senior healer nodded approvingly and addressed the Olo'eyktan, "I sent the T sahik off for a few hours rest. I will tell Mo'at that her daughter will be well as soon as she wakes." She turned to her little apprentice, "Talli, stay here w ith them and fetch whatever they need. If anything happens, come get me immediat ely." Jake gently ran a hand up and down his mate's shoulder as the healer left and Ne ytiri gave a small hum of pleasure. "How are you feeling?" he asked softly. She sighed with no small amount of relief herself. "Better. The cramping is gone , and the child is much quieter. I think it must have been as tired as I was." Janni chuckled softly, "Or it finally realized that there is no fight going on a nd it does not have to hurry to be born so that it will not miss it." The quiet laughter was echoed by everyone in the room. Neytiri turned to her best friend, "Janni, thank you." The jewelcrafter's eyes shone softly, "Any time, heart-sister. Now that you and my niece or nephew-to-be are well I think I will go get some food and sleep myse lf. You rest some more; I will come back later." She got up and touched the preg nant woman's arm fondly and then headed out.

Jake stayed with while she slept. ri was sleeping, as okay and that

his mate, speaking with her when she was awake and holding her He called Norm on his throat-mike a couple of times while Neyti just to check in. The scientist reassured him that everything w he would be visiting that evening as usual.

Alai allowed Neytiri to go bathe in the river late that afternoon. Janni, who wa s looking much restored after resting, suggested that Neytiri wash her hair as w ell. Once they got back to the healers' area the jewelcrafter proposed to teach Jake how to braid his mate's hair, which was good for more than an hour of hilar ity as he struggled to make the strands come out regular and even. He had to und o and redo a number of times, but finally became reasonably proficient. Dinner w as ready by the time they were done, and Norm showed up to share the meal with t hem. Neytiri was ready to sleep again, but Jake had something he needed to tend to fi rst. "I've got to run outside for a minute but I'll be right back, okay?" She nodded assent, and Janni commented "I'll stay with her until you get back." "I'll come with you," Norm offered, and the two men left to tend nature's calls. Norm stopped him on the way back. "Jake, can I talk to you a minute?" "Sure Norm, what's up?" his friend replied. "Something great happened today that I need to tell you about," the scientist sa id. "Oh?" Jake arched an eyebrow at him. The anthropologist said in a rush, "I had the Venture Nova deliver one of the av atar drivers to Hell's Gate." There was a long moment of silence while the color of Jake's face went from ligh t blue to a definite lavender. Then he almost yelled, "What? What the hell posse ssed you to do that?" Grace's protg had to speak fast to get his explanation in before the explosion tha t he could see coming could burst. "I know, we agreed we didn't want any RDA sto oges unloaded on us. But Jake, this driver's an aerospace engineer and a fully q ualified shuttle pilot!" The Omatikaya Olo'eyktan had to fight the automatic impulse to yell in rage. "So what? What the hell good does that do us? We don't have a shuttle!" Norm's eyes were bright with excitement, "We do now!" It was such an unexpected statement that it left Jake flatfooted for a moment, " What?" The anthropologist rushed to take advantage of the momentary pause in the firewo rks, "I ordered the Venture Nova to send the driver down in the second shuttle, told them they were to leave it here. It's sitting on the landing field at Hell' s Gate right now!" The marine's face was a study in puzzlement, and Norm continued, "Weren't you co ncerned that the RDA might try staging from other moons? Weren't you worried tha t we wouldn't be able to do anything about it if they created a new base on one of them?" He waved at the moons in the sky for emphasis. "Yeah, there's no way a shuttle could leave this system, but it'd have no problems going back and forth

to the other moons! We could take a strike force there if we had to! Hell, forg et the moons, we could move troops around on Pandora a lot faster by shuttle tha n by ikran! You wouldn't have to wait days or weeks for the clans to get their w arriors together!" Jake ran a hand over his jaw and mouth in frustration, trying to contain himself . Plus, he was forced to concede that Norm did have a significant point. He rein ed in his temper, "And what if your new driver is another Selfridge, or a Quarit ch, or even worse? Did you think of that? It takes at least three people to pilo t a shuttle, not one!" His hot temper flared despite his best efforts, "And you' re supposed to be an anthropologist! We agreed we weren't going to introduce any high tech to the Na'vi and risk destroying their culture! What happened to that ? What are you going to do if the other Olo'eyktan start demanding the use of th e shuttle for themselves? Hell, Norm! Where was your mind?" He paced back and forth like a furious tiger for a moment; he needed the movemen t to keep himself under control. Then he stopped and pointed a commanding finger at the scientist and spoke in a tone of leashed anger, "This is your problem. Y ou had this guy delivered, you deal with him. I don't want him anywhere near New Hometree. If he turns out to be on our side, fine. If he shows any sign of caus ing trouble you're going to ship his ass back to Earth on the next ISV or I'll s hoot him myself." He shook his head in disbelief at what his friend had done. "I 've got to get back to Neytiri before she starts worrying again." The marine sta lked off, his body language clearly communicating that the scientist's continued presence was definitely not welcome. "That's the last of it, Hell's Gate," the Venture Nova's captain transmitted as the shuttle docked with the ISV and secured itself for interstellar travel. "Much appreciated captain," Max responded, "Hopefully we'll have this all ironed out by the time the Venture Comet arrives in a year and a half." "We'll send your data via McKinney transmission as soon as we're out of range of local interference, but you do know that you'll be lucky to get a response any time soon," the pilot responded in a concerned tone. "Yeah, we know. We're hoping that the guy you dropped off will be able to help u s out with it. Either way, Earth should know about this. They can find a remedy for it and come out here and start again if they have to." The fuzzy haired scie which wasn't hard to ntist did his best to sound like a man resigned to his fate do. The captain was sympathetic, "Well, we sure appreciate your enabling us to get b ack home given all you're dealing with. We'll make sure the info gets through. G ood luck and Godspeed, Hell's Gate. Venture Nova breaking orbit." The great ship's engines flared, painting twin blue-white streaks above Pandora as it accelerated out of its parking orbit and headed for home. All of the antihydrogen that had been brought up from the surface was already in place and conn ected; the only thing left to do was to secure the longshoremen back into their cryo-capsules for the journey home. The med-tech member of the ship's crew who was overseeing the cryo wore a full b ody hazmat suit, which was a lone spot of amusement for the assassin. Still, can 't say I blame him, the man thought. He watched as his workers were hooked up an d sealed into their compartments one by one. Bitter thoughts occupied his mind. I can at least confirm that Sully's there and that his avatar is intact. For wha tever good that would do him, given what his orders had been. The tech finished with his crew and gestured the chief to his own cryo-bed. "Tim

e for a nap, chief," he said with an attempt at lightheartedness, "When you wake up, you won't even have to unload cargo. You'll be a free man with a huge wad o f cash and a whole world to spend it in." "Yeah, great," he responded as he lay down and let the tech attach the cryo-appa ratus to him. He closed his eyes as he felt the chemicals flood his veins and sh ivered in response to the chill. His last thought before unconsciousness claimed him was that his blond haired patron on the RDA's board of directors was not go ing to be pleased when he presented his report. The tech t sealed , pulled cked his watched the last capsule withdraw into the wall and heard the hiss as i itself shut. He pushed off and grabbed a handle when he got to the door himself through it, and sealed the vast cryo chamber behind him. He cli throat mike, "Secured. Flood it."

He watched through the window as purple gas crept through the chamber, sanitizin g it of any microorganisms that could have been brought in. Lights flashed in th e airlock, indicating that a similar decontamination procedure was being perform ed on him. When it was finished and the lights stopped flashing he got out of th e hazmat suit, threw it down a disposal chute, and left to join his fellow crew members. The captain heard him enter the bridge and asked, "Done?" without turning around . "Yeah, whenever you're ready," he replied. The captain turned to his copilot, "Hit it." The copilot leaned over and pressed a button on his console without a moment's h esitation. A panel above the button displayed a schematic of the cryo facility. The capsules of each member of the ground crew were lit up. In the cavernous room there were over a dozen thumps and then the sounds of pres surized capsules being shot out into the frozen depths of space as each person w ho had been sent down to Pandora was jettisoned, to be forever frozen in space o r to burn up in atmospheric reentry. The copilot watched the panel as the lit capsules went dark one by one. Then he frowned. The pilot noticed. "Problem?" "Yeah. One of the capsules isn't jettisoning," was the reply. "Let me look." He checked the occupant and smiled. "No big deal, I got it." The captain leaned forward and tapped a control. "Try it now." The copilot did so and smiled with relief as the last capsule was successfully j ettisoned. "Thanks. Don't know why it malfunctioned like that." "We'll have it repaired when we get home. No harm done. Feel like a game of five card stud tonight?" "You're on. Let's get this baby moving," was the unruffled answer. The pilot smiled to himself as they turned their attention to getting the great ship properly accelerated and on its way. He considered for a moment the fate of the man he had just murdered. His whispering patron was not going to be pleased with a cargoless ISV, to say the very least. But what an interesting report he'

s going to get regarding a fellow Board member. The captain stretched in his fli ght chair and looked forward to a nice friendly game of cards. In the now-quiet control tower at Hell's Gate Max was making a final round, shut ting down unneeded panels. He glanced out a nearby window when movement caught h is attention and smiled when he saw his fellow scientists eagerly swarming the t ons of cargo on the landing field. He'd barely been able to keep them from shout ing for joy when the shuttle had left for the last time. Christmas Day, he smile d, remembering. He went round the room, putting panels in standby, shutting things off. When he was finished he hit the light control at the door prior to leaving the room. He stopped when a still-blinking amber light filled the darkness. On-off. On-off. Max frowned and turned the lights back on. That's weird, I was sure I got everyt hing. He walked over to a console in the back of the room, one that had been unu sed during the unloading operations. He sat down at the panel, turned on the mon itor and blanched. His hands started flying over the controls, "Oh no. Oh God, n o. Don't tell me " he said out loud as his heart started a triphammer beat. The screen came alive with fast-scrolling text as the scan he began started exec uting. It didn't take a minute before red flashing lines appeared on the console . "Holy mother of god " escaped his lips in a whisper, and he covered his mouth wi th one hand in anguish as the list of red-flashing lines got longer and longer, scrolling off the top of the screen within moments. He could barely breathe whil e he watched the list of infected files grow, because he recognized the names of those files. He'd helped Norm set them up. Max wanted to scream, cry, kill something, and throw up all at the same time. He could barely keep himself sitting still, transfixed by the silent horror unfold ing on the screen before him that was going to result in Armageddon for him, all his fellow scientists, and the Na'vi. Only the need to know the full extent of the devastation kept him where he was. Oh my god, when Jake and Norm find out . An ebullient scientist unexpectedly entered the control room, "Hey Max, come joi n us! Kelly's gotten into the food supplies and we're busting out the steaks!" The man practically soiled himself when the neuroscientist wheeled on him with a n expression in his eyes that suggested he'd just seen every demon in Hell faceto-face. "GET OUT OF HERE!" he roared. He changed his mind before the man could react, "No, wait! Get me a rebreather. No, two! Norm's in his avatar at New Home tree now, right?" "Y...y...y...yes " the poor slob stammered in panic. "M M Max, what's wrong?" The neuroscientist ignored the question. "Buzz Norm's throat transceiver." He sa id the words as though they left an acid taste in his mouth. "When he calls in, tell him to have Jake order a banshee rider here immediately. Tell him it's an e mergency. I've got to get to New Hometree as fast as I can. I'll be waiting on t op of the control tower. Go! Now!" The man banged into the door frame in his has te to get away from his terrifying colleague. Max turned back to the console and moaned to himself as he watched the end of ev erything they had achieved scroll down the screen in bloody red letters. "It didn't destroy or alter anything that's why the system didn't raise an alarm, " Max was explaining to his horrified colleagues in the healers' enclave at New Hometree. Jake's voice was thick as he countered, "But it copied every single recording ma

de from the throat mikes and transmitted it back to the RDA." The neuroscientist still wanted to retch, and not because of the ikran ride that had brought him here. He nodded, "And all the personal logs and data it could f ind." The Na'vi in the room could tell just from the expression on their friends' face s that something had gone horribly wrong. Mo'at broke in to inquire, "What are t hese 'recordings' you speak of, and why are they dangerous to us?" Norm answered her, feeling sick himself since he was the one who had started the practice. "Tsahik, you remember that in the last battle, we used these 'talking -necklaces'" he touched his throat mike "so that we could speak to each other ev en when we were apart." Neytiri's mother nodded her understanding and gestured for the scientist to cont inue. "Our machines can remember what is spoken, and repeat it exactly at a later time . We used this to help the dreamwalkers who did not know how to speak the langua ge of the People well to learn it better." He did his best to put things in term s that the Na'vi would understand without getting into technical details that wo uld only confuse them. Perrat was the quickest to begin seeing the ramifications. "How often have the t alking-necklaces been remembering our conversations? And is there any way we can stop this?" she demanded sharply. "Constantly," was Norm's miserable reply. "And no," Max added, "It's long gone." The leader of the Sea Clan looked at Jake's throat mike in horror. "Our plans. T he traps. The war councils ." "Every bit of it is on its way to our enemies right now," Max choked. There was a terrible silence as each person in the room digested the implication s of this revelation. Jake was filled with a growing, helpless fury like he'd never experienced before . All the plans, all the training. Gone now, delivered right into the RDAs eager hands. All his efforts, wasted. The RDA knew exactly what they were dealing wit h now, would know exactly what to expect. They'd learn that the Na'vi didn't hav e control of the wild animals after all. Martial arts training was useless again st guns. His greatest weapon surprise was gone. And what was even worse fellow Olo'eyktan's eyes. for release. Jake did the threw his fist full force Jake looked at Perrat grimly and saw recognition in his The pressure inside the marine crescendoed, screaming only thing he could do at that moment. He whirled and at the tree trunk he was standing next to.

The sound was shocking. If he hadn't known exactly how to punch properly, if his bones hadn't been reinforced with natural carbon fiber, he would have shattered his hand. As it was, everyone saw a thin stream of red begin running down the t ree bark as he stood there, absolutely still. Norm began an instinctive move towards his friend, but Neytiri intervened. She h eld her hands up before the scientist and urgently shook her head, indicating th at he should neither move nor speak.

Neytiri had made tsaheylu with Jake so many times over the past year and a half that in some ways she knew him better than he knew himself, because she could Se e objectively in places that he could not. Unlike the others in the room, she kn ew exactly what was going on with her mate and knew that it must not be interfer ed with. Jake was fighting for control of himself. The rage he felt inside was incredible ; rage at the RDA for what they had done and intended to do to this pastoral wor ld, this peaceful race. Rage for their underhanded methods. Rage for making all his efforts useless. Most of all, however, he felt rage towards himself for putt ing a friend and hundreds of innocents in danger needlessly. The only thing that had a chance of cutting off the impending explosion that he did not want to unleash among those friends was pain. Raw, red, screaming, mindsearing pain. Everyone watched Jake in stunned silence for several excruciatingl y long moments as the two forces clashed inside him. After what seemed like an e ternity, the pain won. He let out the breath he had been holding and his head an d shoulders collapsed in release. Only then did Neytiri walk up behind him and lay a gentle hand on him, "Jake?" s he asked quietly. He didn't move, but in a choked voice stammered, "Perrat, I'm so sorry." All eyes went to the Sea Clan leader, who remained frozen in horrified silence. Mo'at turned back to her son in law. "Jake, what is it? Why are you apologizing to Perrat?" He finally let his hand fall from the tree; it was a bloody mess where the skin over his knuckles had split. Neytiri gently reached out to cradle the mangled fl esh in her hands, and he spoke directly to his mate. "When we visited Perrat's c lan after we'd found out you were pregnant, I asked her to hide our child so tha t the Sky People wouldn't be able to find it and use it to control us." Neytiri, Mo'at, and Sir'tey had the same reaction that Perrat had when he'd told his colleague that the tawtute wouldn't hesitate to threaten or harm a child if it meant being able to coerce him. They all looked like they wanted to retch. Jake turned from his mate and faced the Olo'eyktan of the Ikran Clan of the East ern Sea, "That information is on its way to our enemies right now." He looked at his stunned mate and her mother, "Of course there's no way we'd send our baby t here now, but the tawtute won't know that. They'll go straight to the Ikran Clan when they arrive and they won't have any problem burning down the whole village if it means capturing my child." The marine's expression was anguished as the others caught up with what he and P errat had already realized. The Sea Clan was ground zero for the RDA's invasion. Everyone hastened to assure Perrat that the Ikran Clan would not be allowed to s uffer the fate of the Omatikaya's Old Hometree, but it wasn't until Jake reminde d his colleague that the first potential attack wouldn't occur for years yet tha t anything approaching normal color began to return to the woman's face. Perrat's mind went into overdrive as soon as the panic passed. "Surely, we can u se the information sent to our enemies as bait for further traps," she reasoned in a still-shaky voice. "Still, how could such a thing have been allowed to happ en?"

Jake did his best to explain to the Na'vi, "Max is a dreamwalker-healer, he does not have the machine-gift. Everyone who had that skill was one of the enemies t hat we sent away with the last ship. He has been doing the best that he can ." Mo'at interjected, "But he cannot be held responsible for someone else taking ad vantage when Eywa has not given him that gift." "It is to his credit that he came forward to help his clan when no one else coul d do so," added Sir'tey. The marine was incredibly relieved at their understanding of the situation. "So what do we do now?" the leader of the Ikran Clan asked. Sully said thoughtfully, "I think we can be sure that the tawtute will believe e verything we said in those recordings." Norm interrupted acidly, "Since we meant every word of it." The marine continued, "Even if they suspect traps they'll have to check everythi ng out, just in case. So we can figure out what things they'll do and where they 'll go. Max," he turned to the neuroscientist, "We need to know exactly what was in each of the recordings they got so we can figure out countermoves." "I'll get right on it," the scientist promised. "I want to bring my Tsahik and my chief warrior in on this," Perrat insisted. "I will need their assistance to prepare my village." "That's a good idea," Jake agreed, "We need to start considering how we're going to handle this. It's going to take a lot more than one evening, even to get sta rted. Can you stay for a couple of days, Perrat?" The Ikran Clan leader was getting some of her normal composure back, "I think th e Clan can spare me for a little while longer," she commented dryly. There were a couple of soft chuckles in the room. "Right now though, there is something we must attend to. The new ship is gone, just as you promised it would be. The war party has returned unharmed, and there will be a celebration tonight to mark suc h a victory." "Hell of a victory," Norm commented in a dejected voice. Jake turned to his friend, "We can deal with it, Norm. I know, it sucks big time . But think of this you just got a full resupply that was meant to provide for o ver a couple hundred people for more than a year and a half, and you've got a te nth of that number at best. This one delivery has set you guys up for years. If we can pull the same thing off with the next ship, you might well not need what the Venture Comet is bringing. At the very least you'll be a hell of a lot bette r position to deal with it." The anthropologist knew that the marine was trying to cheer him up. He knew it w as obvious to Jake that he was blaming himself for the whole mess. The fact of t he matter, though, was that his friend was right. The scientists were much bette r off than they had been. It took effort, but he made himself focus on the posit ive side. "You're right. Sorry." "No need for that. It'll work out, you'll see. We'll make it work," Jake encoura ged. "In the meantime, we'd better get downstairs. The last thing we want to do is alarm the People needlessly at this point."

"The first thing you're going to do is to see Alai for that hand," Neytiri order ed firmly. "Oh yeah, right. I forgot," he lifted his hand to examine the damage. "Ow." The others laughed and headed downstairs while Neytiri escorted her mate to the Omatikaya's senior healer. Alai tsked at the Olo'eyktan, slathered the split knu ckles with kavey and ivoh, bandaged the hand well and dismissed him with an admo nishment to stop picking fights with trees. The celebration was indeed raucous. Food and drink were being offered everywhere , every single drum was being pounded enthusiastically, every instrument was bei ng played, every Singer was trilling a victory song accompanied by the voices of a grateful People. The Omatikaya remembered the loss of Old Hometree all too cl early; tension had been thick on the ground for the past few weeks. Now the new tawtute ship was gone, no one had been injured, and New Hometree was safe, just as Toruk Makto had promised them. They deserve to let off some steam, Jake thoug ht when he and Neytiri appeared in the common area to still louder shouts and ch eers. Norm was absolutely mortified when he was hailed as a hero at the celebration. T he Omatikaya warriors had spread the tale of how their dreamwalker-brother had c leverly taken a ship like the one that Toruk Makto had destroyed away from their enemies without firing a single arrow. They boasted proudly of their clan-broth er's cleverness to everyone who would listen. Norm was mobbed all night by admir ers who pressed food and drink on him and begged him to tell the tale. All of th e warriors who had been in the war party came to him at some point or other duri ng the evening to make the respect-gesture and to congratulate him on what they saw as a near-unbelievable accomplishment. Jake was pleased to see his friend forced out of his self-castigation by the att entions of so many eager Na'vi. "A party is just what Norm needs," he commented to his mate. Neytiri agreed, "He blames himself for what happened, I can see it in his face." The Olo'eyktan nodded, "And he shouldn't. It was bad luck, plain and simple. I m ean, there's no doubt this complicates things incredibly, but we can get through it. I know we can. We'll manage, somehow." The young lovers held each other close and watched as their clansmen celebrated far into the night. Norm withdrew the avatars from New Hometree over the next couple of days. It was a big help to have them assist in manhandling the cargo from the landing field to the storage bays. The Tsahik's generous offer had wound up paying off in spad es for the scientists after having lived and worked with them for a while, the O matikaya's attitude towards the dreamwalkers had mellowed considerably. There we re even a couple of offers to assist with the cargo, which were gratefully accep ted. It boded well for future interactions. Most of those in the war party left New Hometree two days after the victory cele bration. Alai had had so many hungover warriors to deal with that she'd complete ly exhausted her stock of sleeping-medicine and had to send the apprentices out to gather more. She'd grumbled good-naturedly at A'tey, who had her apprentices gathering fruit to replenish the many kava jars that the celebrants had emptied. Mo'at's suggestion of having warriors from all the nearby clans participate had been a huge strategic success as well. Each of them had indeed not only seen mor e tawtute ships, but thanks to Norm's scheming had actually gotten to touch one.

All of them had fought in the earlier war; the first-hand knowledge that the ta wtute had more ships such as the one that had so nearly destroyed the Tree of So uls was a chilling realization. Toruk Makto had been absolutely right about the new ship's arrival; no one questioned his assertion that more tawtute were on th e way. They were all determined to get back to their home clans and begin the de fensive training as soon as possible, and promised to return for the fighting-tr aining in a few months. The White Mountain Na'vi were the last of the visiting war party members to leav e. The Omatikaya had gifted them with a number of pa'li for the journey home and had generously loaded the animals that were not being ridden with gifts and sup plies. Five Na'vi were traveling back to the Ice Lands, but not the same ones that had arrived. One of the White Mountain men had found his life-partner among the Omat ikaya leatherworkers and had decided to remain with her at New Hometree. Ta'sit had found a mate as well. Kiree's friend Kiyeri rode at his side, overjoyed to h ave discovered her life-partner and excited to be traveling with him to his home clan. Kiree was a bit teary-eyed as she hugged her friend farewell, "Eywa ngahu, Kiyer i. I am so happy for you! We have loaded your pa'li with as much cloth and finis hed pieces as we can spare. I envy you all the new materials and patterns you wi ll find in your new home!" Kiyeri was equally emotional, "I can't thank you enough. I am so grateful that y ou were willing to be my go-between! I would never have had the nerve to speak t o Ta'sit if it weren't for your encouragement." The younger woman smiled, "Your happiness is thanks enough. Here, take this," sh e handed her friend an intricately carved wooden toy. "This is a gift from me to the first child you and Ta'sit will have together, so that it will know that it will always have an aunt among the Omatikaya." Kiyeri's eyes overflowed and she took the toy, hugging her friend again. "A thoughtful and generous gift, befitting someone from the Toruk Makto's clan," Ta'sit added his own thanks to that of his new mate. He turned to Jake. "We wil l spread your teachings to all our brother-clans as soon as we get home. When th e tawtute arrive in a few years, we will be ready for them. Until then Toruk Mak to, Eywa ngahu," he reached down to clasp forearms with Jake in farewell. Then t he group rode off at an easy pace and soon disappeared into the forest. Jake put his arm around Neytiri and they turned back to New Hometree, "Place fee ls kind of empty with the dreamwalkers and the war party gone." He chuckled and shook his head, "Over a thousand Na'vi here, and it feels empty." His mate smile d as they walked inside together. Things were bustling back at Hell's Gate. The atmosphere was more cheerful than it had been in a very long time. It would take weeks for the scientists to bring in and sort through all the supplies properly, and thanks to their little 'camp ing trip' at New Hometree they all felt like they'd taken a huge step forward in their work. Things were definitely looking up. One person wasn't quite as content, though. Max brooded over what had happened e ven while he was lugging boxes around with the rest. He took the RDA's virus as a personal affront. He was grateful beyond words that Jake had managed to explai n to the Na'vi that he was a neuroscientist, not an IT guy, but still . It rankled incredibly to think that everything that they had worked for, everything that G race had worked for, was in jeopardy because of such short-sighted troglodytes.

He considered things in his room that night. He picked up a picture of Grace and the Omatikaya kids in front of her schoolhouse that he'd saved and framed. She looked so happy. Max knew, better than anyone, how well the avatar body and musc ulature responded to the thoughts and emotions of the driver. To everyone else o n the Avatar Project, Grace Augustine had been a hard-nosed, hard-driving, uncom promising taskmaster. Max saw in this picture the side of Grace that she hadn't allowed anyone else to see a woman with a heart more open and more caring than a ny other he'd ever known. He gently put the picture back on the shelf. Does Jake realize how much she care d about him? Does he know how much she respected him, for being crippled and hav ing the guts to come out here, asking for no favors? Does he know that he got cl oser to seeing the real Grace than anyone else ever did? Max knew. He'd worked w ith Dr. Augustine for years, had been on Pandora nearly as long as she had. He w as an expert in his field, had more hands-on experience with the intricacies of neural linking than almost anyone, and it showed in the precision of his work. G race had respected that, and they had built a working relationship based on mutu al acknowledgment of each others' expertise. Over the course of years they'd become friends, or as close to being friends as professionalism and protocol permitted. The day those idiots had opened fire on the kids at Grace's school to this day, it still made Max close his eyes in angu ish. The link pod had done an emergency shutdown in response to the injury to Grace's avatar, and she'd come out of it screaming orders furiously. Only Max had noted that tears were streaming down her face. She hit the control tower like a torna do, had Scorpions enroute to the school before anyone could even think to summon Selfridge, and steamrolled the hapless administrator without hesitation when he finally did show up. The only way Parker got the scientist to settle down was b y agreeing that the gunmen would be jailed, stripped of all their contract pay, and sent back to Earth on the next ISV. Max had followed her to the control tower and seen the whole thing, and even he wasn't sure that the head of the Avatar Project would be satisfied short of gunn ing down the perpetrators personally. Only when Selfridge assured Grace that he would show her all the logged orders did she get hold of herself and leave the t ower. They'd had a nervous few hours once her avatar had been brought in, but th e surgical team did a fantastic job dealing with the damage. The knowledge that she'd be able to drive it again in a few weeks had drained the last of her rage. She'd excused herself and retired to her quarters. He'd walked quietly past abo ut an hour later, and heard the sobbing even through the locked metal door. Max brought himself back to the present with a shake of his head. His lips came together and made a thin straight line. I'm not going to let her work die withou t a fight. I owe her that, he thought grimly. I may not be an IT guy, but I did my share of 'viral video' back in the day, and I've got plenty of time to perfec t it. Let's see how the RDA likes having the tables turned on them, for once. A new determination, a new purpose, filled him. He sat down at his private compute r console, turned it on, and went to work. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to spend much time with you the past couple of da ys," Norm apologized to the new arrival, "things have been pretty hectic. I unde rstand that you've linked in to your avatar and everything looks OK so far?" He wasn't encouraged by the noncommittal grunt that was his new colleague's only response to the comment. The head of the Avatar Program gestured toward the mess hall in front of them, w hich was empty at this hour of the day. "I'm sure you've noticed that things are

a bit odd around here. I've had a presentation put together to bring you up to speed on the situation." He gestured to a seat and turned the video unit on. Norm and Max had put together a montage of video clips from the Hell's Gate secu rity databases all of them showing the timestamp information marking them as off icial data. The presentation opened with a flyover view of Pandora's lush jungle s, pristine waterfalls and rivers. The vantage point overflew huge flocks of tet rapteron, herds of sturmbeest, direhorses, and hammerhead titanotheres, then wen t to a long range zoom-in around the old Omatikaya hometree, showing a peaceful people going about their daily lives. The presentation then cut to the vast ugly open pit mine gouged into the ground just outside of Hell's Gate. It showed scenes of SecOps personnel opening fire w ith automatic weapons on loincloth-clad natives armed only with bows and arrows. Then, more damning, the video cut to the suit camera of one of the gunmen invol ved in the shooting at Grace's school; it was clear that the humans were shootin g adolescents in the back as they fled. Finally, the scenes cut to SecOps' destr uction of the Omatikaya Hometree. The new avatar driver watched without a word a s the images of the great monolith burning and crashing to the ground filled the screen. The presentation ended, and Norm brought the lights up to normal. "The Na'vi on Pandora have a congruent oral history going back, near as we can tell, for eight een thousand years. They're scattered all over the planet in groups of no more t han about 1,500, but no matter which group you talk to, each one has an oral tra dition that agrees with all the others concerning major historical events going that far back in time. Our geology guys have been able to confirm the stories by examining recent volcanic activity and correlating it to their oral tradition." Norm pointed at the still image of the fallen Hometree that remained on the scre en. "That tree was the city-home of a local clan called the Omatikaya for over t en thousand years. They were living in that tree before Christianity existed, be fore Rome burned, before there were emperors of China. Hell, they were living in that tree before the Sumerians invented cunieform script." His audience was sil ent, not an encouraging sign, and he continued. "Unfortunately for them, it was sitting on the richest deposit of unobtanium for hundreds of klicks in any direc tion. We had gotten a guy on the inside who they knew and trusted and was about to start negotiating to get them to relocate peacefully, but Administrator Selfr idge wouldn't delay the bulldozers by a single day, much less the amount of time negotiations would have taken." A bitter and disgusted expression came over Norm's face as his personal feelings got the better of his narrating, "Ten thousand years they'd lived in that tree, and Selfridge wouldn't give them a damn month to relocate." The anthropologist' s anguish at the loss of such a treasure trove of history was plain to see. He shook himself and got back to the briefing. "Well, Selfridge and SecOps found out that they'd bitten off more than they could chew. When word of the destruct ion of the Omatikaya Hometree spread, every single clan in the area came running , and they were loaded for bear. Most of SecOps was wiped out. The miners and th e RDA administrative staff were captured. Everyone except the Avatar team was lo aded onto the Venture Star and kicked off of Pandora." The straw-haired driver's head tilted, and Spellman addressed the obvious questi on. "Yeah. The Avatar team took the natives' side. After seeing all of that," he waved a hand at the video screen, "we couldn't stand on the sidelines. Besides, what I didn't say is that we found out the RDA used us to get to the Na'vi. If it wasn't for the information we gave them they never would have been able to pu ll it off. They never intended the Avatar Project to succeed. We have the proof. After being betrayed by our own and seeing the truth about what they intended t

o do here, well, we decided that turnabout was fair play. We're lucky that the N a'vi decided we deserved a chance to prove that we're not like SecOps or Selfrid ge's people." "So," the newcomer summarized, "SecOps and the RDA Admin group got thrown out, y ou've got a couple, three dozen scientists with little or no military or adminis trative experience living in a stalled mining base on an environmentally hostile planet with only the supplies that just got delivered from this ISV and little prospect for more, the natives are skittish at best, and the RDA is gonna hit th is place with the hammer of God as soon as they can get said hammer out here. Is that pretty much the situation?" Norm had to admire the forthrightness, at least. "Yup. That's about it. Come on, I'll introduce you to the others, they're waiting in the big conference room." He led the way out of the cafeteria and down the hall, gesturing to the newcomer to proceed him. They walked into a lecture hall where the entire remaining population of Hell's Gate (which didn't half fill the room) was assembled to meet their new colleague . The de facto head of the Avatar project stood in front of the group, gestured to the woman beside him and announced, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet our newes t driver, Doctor Sara Evans." "Here's the inventory of the in-orbit ISV. It'll take them a number of days to o ffload." Brown Hair dropped an envelope containing a sheaf of paper onto the RDA CEO's desk. The whisperer picked up the envelope and perused the sheets inside; a bit anachr onistic in this electronic day and age, but what wasn't transmitted electronical ly couldn't be intercepted electronically. "Understate the unobtanium tonnage in the official report by ten percent," he ordered after a few moments. "So much?" his companion murmured. Five percent was usual. It was standard opera ting procedure that not all of the unobtanium that arrived at Earth made it into the official quota. A certain amount always went into the RDA's personal coffer s. It was beyond easy to accomplish; personnel unloading cargo always worked in shifts, didn't work for the duration of the unloading, supervisors were rotated in and out equally, and those who offloaded the precious material were never the same people as those who moved it from the receiving bays to the storage areas. After the shift supervisors delivered their reports, who could say for certain how much had arrived and where it had gone? The CEO commented, "I'd considered making it twelve percent; if it wouldn't draw too much of the wrong kind of attention, I would. We have three loaded ISVs com ing after this one. All our outbound ISVs are either turned back or coming home empty. I seriously doubt the Venture Comet will be bringing cargo home. The earl iest we can expect a steady supply to resume is when the Venture Pulsar gets to Pandora and reclaims it." "Almost sixteen years," Brown Hair replied, wincing. His superior nodded grimly. "If we're very, very, lucky, our stockpiles will get us through, with rationing." Neither man was comfortable with what could happen if they weren't lucky. "On a related subject," the junior director added, "We've had one or two discree t comments made about the increase in materials being requisitioned." The whisperer frowned, "I assume the comments were shrugged off?" "Successfully, so far," was the reply.

Both men knew that the comments would increase, and then turn to informal inquir ies, and then . "Continue to do so for as long as possible. When that doesn't work any longer, d rop hints that we're working on developing a new, ultra secret mining method or device," ordered the CEO. "And when people become a little too inquisitive?" Brown Hair asked. "Payoffs. Money keeps mouths shut, especially if it's implied that further discr etion will garner further rewards. Pay a man enough and he'll be willing to over look almost anything." An expression of concern came over the director's face, "You don't want me to ha ve the overly curious eliminated?" The whisperer shook his head, "Not right away. Missing people and bodies attract the wrong kind of attention and involve too much trouble. A payoff implies some thing going on that isn't important enough to warrant murder; we want that assum ption working for us as long as possible." "And a murder where a payoff might have been expected could cause people to reev aluate the importance of the operation, to our detriment. Very deft," his compan ion commented. "I'll start speaking privately with our friends in the government who are in a p osition to help us 'explain' whatever needs to be said to the populace. When it comes time that payoffs are no longer sufficient, government misdirection will u sually pacify the sheep," was the whisperer's conclusion. "Our friends may not remain so once the unobtanium stops flowing," Brown Hair ca utioned. A small smile came over the CEOs face, "Oh, there are a certain few who are quit e firmly in our pocket. They'll keep the others in line, provided we reestablish the unobtanium supply as soon as possible. Once the Venture Pulsar is ready we' ll announce that a fantastic new method of mining has been perfected by our rese arch and development branch that will easily double the rate at which we can ext ract ore, and they'll fall into line quite quickly." "And what about our competitors? What happens when the unobtanium stops in four and a half years and they start getting curious?" Brown Hair wanted to know. A serene expression came over the whisperer's face, "Now there I will make an ex ception. Industrial espionage is a longstanding tradition, and those involved ar e well aware of how hazardous an activity it is. A certain fatality rate is expe cted, is it not? Do the usual, lay down false trails, false leads, smoke out who ever might be on others' payrolls besides our own, and when you find them you ca n simply make them disappear. If it's handled judiciously, our competitors will write it off to our protection of our 'new mining device.' Most of all though, w e need to delay. We need time, as much time as we can possibly get." Brown Hair nodded in satisfaction. "And the status of the situation on Pandora? The Venture Nova's certainly arrived by now." The CEO agreed, "The data gathering virus will have erything it found. I want trusted people monitoring rom the Venture Nova as soon as that information is gh. It's to be classified 'Eyes Only.' I don't want done its work and sent us ev the McKinney transmissions f likely to begin coming throu anyone but you and I seeing

that information, at least not until we know what's in it. We'll decide what to present to the full Board afterwards." The director gave a short bow of acquiescense and agreement and left the office, taking no more notice of the faithful Robert guarding the door than he did of t he door itself. The head of the RDA established a secure channel from his office computer to an ultra secure file server located in the duplicate genetics facility far below. I t took a couple of minutes to enter all of the appropriate codes to gain access to one of the reports that only he was allowed to view. The CEO looked at the amount of unobtanium hidden in the RDA's private stores, a nd worried. To say that Sara Evans' mind was in turmoil was the mother of all understatement s. She'd known something was amiss the moment that she'd noticed there weren't a ny other passengers about. No one had answered her questions; all she'd been tol d was that she and her avatar were being delivered to Pandora. Since that was th e reason she'd come, she'd gone along with it. Now, standing in front of a bunch of rebel scientists, she fervently wished she hadn't. There was no question that the actions of the SecOps personnel in the video she' d been shown were revolting. There was, however, a question of whether that vide o was authentic, or taken out of context. Sara had no doubt that SecOps and the mining personnel were gone; the echoing emptiness of the base was proof enough o f that. That in itself was reason enough to give her pause; were the oh-so-primi tive and helpless Na'vi in that video truly primitive and helpless, given that t hey'd annihalated a force that was so much their technological superior? And wha t about these scientists, who admitted that they'd sided with those same natives ? Justified or not, that was treason no matter which way you sliced it. She was an outsider, with no ties here at all. Would they welcome her? Did she want them to welcome her? How was she supposed to accomplish her original purpose here no w? To top it all off, how would the RDA regard her? She had no doubt that these sci entists were marked men. Unfortunately, she might well also be marked simply bec ause she was physically here. Unless of course she tried to betray them, which w as definitely a stupid thing to do given that she was effectively surrounded and isolated. Her fate might already be sealed either way, and in that case where s hould her loyalties lie? This is not one of my better days, to say the least! The only reasonable thing she could do at this point was to be absolutely neutra l; give nothing away, volunteer nothing. I have to stick to what they likely alr eady know about me, or what they could easily discover. I'm sure they're expecti ng me to be pretty guarded anyway; who wouldn't be? She put on her best poker face and began speaking. "I'm an aerospace engineer; I design ships, and I fly what I design. I came to Pandora to study the indigenou s flying life forms here. Back on Earth, all the dominant flying animals were bi -winged. When ships were first built, the designers copied that characteristic. The early fixed-wing aircraft used air pressure flowing beneath the wings to pro vide lift." Her voice warmed a bit despite herself as she got into her subject, "You might not have thought of it, but even today's Samsons and Scorpions owe a lot to those early designs; they might have rotors, but those rotors are arrange d along the same axis you find in an ancient fixed-wing aircraft. They just prov ide their own lift instead of relying on horizontally-placed engines for suffici ent airspeed to create it. Either way that axis is under a lot of stress, from a ir underneath pushing up, or from the rotors pushing air down. Add the stress fr om having that axis moving perpendicularly to the flight direction with a load s

uspended underneath it and you've got a pretty engineering problem and some pret ty high requirements for structural integrity." Her audience was at least pretending to display polite interest, so she continue d. "The dominant flying life forms on Pandora your Leonopteryx, banshees, and te trapterons, are quad-winged, not bi-winged. That wouldn't have happened if there weren't some serious evolutionary advantages present in that design. Just one e xample: if a bi-wing design loses a wing in flight, it's toast. If a quad-wing l oses one, it still has enough lift, maneuverability, and control to at least lan d safely." For some reason she saw several audience members frown, a clear sign that she'd said something they didn't care to hear, so she cut that line of discussion shor t and moved on. "We don't know exactly what it is about Pandora that favored the evolution of quad wings. Is it the atmosphere? The gravity? Can we design a shi p to take advantage of those conditions on Pandora and elsewhere? Earth research hasn't done a lot of work with quad-wings. I intend to change that." Sara was c autious with her next statement, "We know that the Na'vi have some kind of symbi otic relationship with the banshees. We thought that an avatar might be capable of establishing that symbiosis as well. If that's the case, an aerospace enginee r who bonded to a banshee could get direct experience of a quad-wing in flight a nd could then translate it to a ship design. I volunteered to attempt to do just that." Norm was absolutely floored, She expects to make tsaheylu with an ikran? Just wa ltz on in here, create a permanent neurological bond with a vicious predator for the sake of feeling it fly, and then no doubt walk away from it? If the ikran d idn't kill her, the Na'vi or Eywa - would! Clamping down on his internal reactio n was hard. He could see that a few of his fellow scientists were responding sim ilarly and he spoke up to cut off any nascent protests from being voiced. "Well, first we need to get you used to being in your avatar. It'll be fairly weak fro m having been confined in the amnio tank for almost six years and you'll need to get it into shape physically before it'll be fit enough for any excursions. Fir st things first. Since you're here to study flying animals, we'll have you repor ting to Kim Yoshi." He indicated the zoology head with a wave of his hand, and t he engineer nodded politely in acknowledgement at the diminutive man. Norm met Max's eyes briefly and understanding flashed between the two without a word. Go through the standard procedure for acclimating a new avatar. By the boo k don't leave a single motor test out. Drag it out, fail her on as many tests as you can get away with, and insist that she spend as much time out of her avatar as in it. Make it take months before she's able to do any more than watch video logs and study recorded data. We need to know exactly where she stands before w e allow her any amount of free rein at all. The meeting broke up shortly after that. Norm watched the straw-haired woman wal k off with the chief zoologist, politely listening to what her new boss was sayi ng. The anthropologist worried, Did I do the right thing by bringing her here? W hat if she doesn't work out? What if I have to 'eliminate' her? Could I do that? He remembered the engineer's impassive expression as she'd watched the video of Hometree being destroyed, and a grim certainty settled in his gut. Yeah. If she turns out to be one of 'them', I'll pull the damn trigger myself. The atmosphere at New Hometree was as different from Hell's Gate as it could pos sibly be. A few days after the Venture Nova left, Neytiri woke early in the morn ing, before Jake the baby was active and this close to being born, big enough th at it couldn't be ignored. She ran a hand over her belly fondly, soothing the ch ild. Her eyes focused on her still-sleeping mate. Jake's phosphorescent spots gl owed quietly, dimmed in slumber. He had two spots just above his chin that were so cute Neytiri knew she would get an irresistable urge to nibble on them if she

focused on them for too long. She sighed with contentment; she and her child were healthy, the tawtute ship wa s gone and Jake was safe. The next ship wouldn't arrive for a year and a half, a nd they had years to deal with the rest of the situation. Jake needs a break, sh e thought to herself. What he had accomplished in a year and a half had been not hing short of astounding. No one can keep up that pace forever though not that h e wouldn't try! He and Perrat had conferred for several days after the tawtute ship had left. Ma x had immediately started analyzing the stolen information, but the problem was that there was so much of it to go through. The Ikran Clan's Olo'eyktan had begu n strategizing nearly as soon as she'd recovered from the shock. "If our enemies expect these traps, then we can create entirely new ones by having no trap at a ll. We can leave other traps in place as we discussed after they have encountere d a few traps and no-traps, they will have no idea what to expect." Jake grinned in appreciation, "You'll have them mistrusting their own shadows be fore too long." He sobered a bit, "You do know that as soon as they hit a few no -traps they'll realize that we know about the stolen information." Perrat nodded thoughtfully, "So we must consider where and how to place the no-t raps to best advantage. Let them encounter the traps they are expecting first; t hey will become confident that they know what to expect. Go for the kill with a no-trap or an unknown trap when it will cause them the most damage." The former marine agreed, "Camoflage something and leave just enough exposed tha t they find it and expect it to be a trap, but have the real one be something el se entirely." "Anything that would destroy or remove the face-masks would be effective," she m used. "Or any small poisonous creature, like the kali'weya," Jake offered. "Lure the S ky People into one of the tents, make them think that someone is going to be in there, and let them find kali'weya waiting for them instead." Perrat agreed, "There are a number of Eywa's children, plant, animal, and fish t hat we can use in such ways." "We'll need to scatter your people when the time comes. I think groups of four o r five would be small enough to not attract too much attention, but the bulk of your clan would be safest if they split up and stayed with other clans. The Omat ikaya would be glad to take in as many as you'd like, we have plenty of space he re." "A generous offer, thank you," his colleague returned. She contemplated a bit lo nger. "You are still expecting the six-year ship to send a small force?" Jake agreed, "It's already on its way, we know that much. There's no way they co uld have raised the kind of numbers they'd need for an all-out assault that quic kly." He had earlier explained how the Sky People were split into factions, and how the RDA had to move in such a way that it didn't arouse the suspicions of th e other groups. Incomprehensible as such a thing was to a Na'vi, it certainly ha d played into their hands. Perrat was willing to take whatever advantages she co uld get. "So their main focus should be on the dreamwalker-home, you, and your child," sh e summarized.

"And Neytiri, if they can get to her," the marine amended. Perrat made a sour expression. The thought that anyone would target a child or i ts mother to control the father was still repugnant. "You do realize that you wi ll not be able to send your mate into hiding," she commented dryly. It was Jake's turn to make a face. "Not when our child's in danger, no. I haven' t told her yet, but I'd like to split her and the baby up. They won't recognize a child, but they know what she looks like. If they find a child of the right ag e with her, they won't hesitate to take it." "Good luck separating a mother from her endangered child." Perrat muttered, "Tha t is not a task I would want to have to perform." He made a wry face in response. The Ikran Clan Olo'eyktan shifted uncomfortably, "Still, the greater concern in all of this is to ensure that the six-year Sky People do not send any informatio n back to their world that would give them any advantage over us. Or, that the i nformation they do send back works to our advantage. It will do us no good to de stroy the six-year tawtute if we allow them to tell the twelve-year ship how to defeat us first. The twelve year ship is the one we truly need to defeat. All ou r traps and strategies must lead us towards that goal." There hadn't been much more they could do without Max' analysis after that, so P errat soon took her leave to go back to her clan to confer with her Tsahik and c hief warrior. Now, two days after the Ikran Clan Olo'eyktan had returned home, Neytiri watched her mate until he finally stirred and opened his eyes. Jake smiled when he saw that he was being observed. "Oel ngati kameie, oe-ya tim untxa. You're awake early." The smile was returned, "The baby decided I had slept enough," she commented wry ly. The former marine turned onto his side and ran a gentle hand over her distended belly. A delighted grin appeared on his face, as it always did when he felt thei r child moving. "Shhh, ma'evi," he crooned, "let sa'nu sleep." Neytiri laughed quietly, "A little late for that." Her eyes went soft with love and she reached out to touch her mate's face. "So much has changed in the past y ear and a half. It seems such a short time ago that we first met." The baby kick ed Jake's hand at that moment, making them both laugh. "And it seems like foreve r!" she said with exasperation, reaching down to rub the spot. "It won't be much longer," he consoled her through his chuckling. "Come on, sinc e we're up we might as well get something to eat." He helped her to rise and the y made their way down the center spiral. "I was thinking that I'd talk to Max af ter the hunters' meeting, see how far he's gotten." That immediately brought Neytiri's earlier thoughts back to mind. "After the hun ters' meeting, you are going to fly Swizaw in at least three ikran matches befor e the poor thing goes into a permanent sulk," she informed her man tartly. "He's been quite lonely for you, and he's driving my ikran out of the Tree. After tom orrow's hunters' meeting, you are going to play nantang-ball with the warriors u ntil it is time for the midday meal." A familiar voice met them as they entered the eating-area, "And the day after th

at, I will make sure that Sir'tey has assigned you out to hunt!" "Kaltxi, Mo'at," Jake greeted his mother in law. "It looks like everyone's got m y time planned out for me," he said with a touch of exasperation. "With good reason," the Tsahik fire cannot burn without fuel. o not rest now you will having ytiri spoke up; I was planning countered. "A river cannot flow without water, a You have been using all of yours up, and if you d nothing left when you truly need it. I am glad Ne on doing so myself if she had not."

Another familiar voice, male and laughing, joined them. "And I had planned to do so if they had not!" Sir'tey joined their little group. Jake stopped and put his hands on his hips, looking at the three Na'vi closest t o his heart, "I'm not going to get out of this, am I?" All three chorused "No!" in the same voice. He shook his head as they laughed an d lead him off to breakfast. Neytiri and Mo'at escorted him to the area where the ikran games were held as so on as the hunters' meeting was done to make sure he did as ordered. Swizaw was c learly ecstatic and was outdoing himself. Jake and Sir'tey were flying on the sa me side, and they were turning into a devastatingly effective team. When her son-in-law was completely absorbed in the game, Mo'at turned to her dau ghter. "I have something for you, ma'ite." Neytiri turned to her mother in surprise. "For me?" Mo'at nodded and held out a closed hand. "Your child will be born soon, and you will need to braid its' queue. I thought you might like to use these when you do ." She dropped a couple of small objects into her daughter's hand. Neytiri looked down to see two hair-beads resting in her palm. She instantly rec ognized both of them. One was a brilliant azure blue; it had been her sister Syl wanin's favorite bead. The other was a rich ochre, with swirls of yellow, brown, and red. Her father's. Neytiri's eyes immediately filled and she closed her han d gently on the precious treasures and wrapped her arms around her mother. Mo'at echoed the tears and the hug, and whispered into her daughter's ear, "Your sister and your father are happy for you, ma'ite, and from where they are in Ey wa they will always watch over you and your children." The two women shared a long embrace as Swizaw called out triumphantly in the sky above them. The next couple of weeks saw life at New Hometree go pretty much back to normal. The Omatikaya were happier than they'd been since Old Hometree's destruction. E ywa had saved them once again. Toruk Makto had confronted the new tawtute ship a nd made it leave without harming a single Na'vi. Yes, there would eventually be more ships, and the warriors of the People would be called on again, but the Gre at Mother herself was with them and all would surely be well. Jake finally got some much-needed relaxation under the care of his friends while everyone waited for the big day to arrive. It started very early. Neytiri woke up in the dark thinking that the baby was ac tive (again,) and was about to try and go back to sleep when a markedly strong c ontraction informed her that she'd had all the rest she was going to get for now . She focused within out of pure reflex and her tsahik-sense told her all she ne eded to know. Everything around her, the mosses, the mushrooms, the great Tree i

tself seemed to be harmonizing around a single, low, sustained note that was foc using encouragingly on her lower body. It was time. Lying down was not feeling like the most comfortable position, so she pushed her self upright with her arms. It didn't seem like sitting was going to be comforta ble either. Another contraction hit while she was considering the issue and she huffed out a breath in surprise. The sound was enough to wake Jake, who opened his eyes to see his mate hunched o ver in a half-seated position. He sat up so fast he nearly pulled muscles. "Neyt iri ." She smiled at the half-panicked expression on his face. It was so cute on him. " It is time, Jake. Go fetch mother and Alai." He jumped up as fast as if he'd sat on a kali'weya. He kissed her on the forehea d, "Be right back!" and was off like a shot. Neytiri gingerly got her feet under her, pausing when she felt her belly muscles tighten. Squatting was definitely the most comfortable position to be in ('comf ortable' being a relative term at the moment.) She knew that she wouldn't be abl e to stay in that pose for as long as this was going to take, though. The tsahik had been present at enough births in her life to know what to expect, so she wasn't at all frightened. She got to her feet and walked slowly around t heir sleeping-space so that her body was working with gravity, rather than again st it. A few hours of work, and then I will not feel like I have a carry-net of rocks tied to my stomach, and Jake and I can hold our child in our arms! The thought made her so happy that she hummed a little thanks-song to herself wh ile she walked slowly around and simply allowed her body to do what it needed to do. Mo'at was the first to arrive her sleeping-space was much closer to her daughter than the healers' enclave. The two women embraced happily, and the about-to-be grandmother encircled her daughter with an arm to support her as they walked. Alai was not far behind, though she was preceded by a very anxious Olo'eyktan. T alli happily brought up the rear, carrying a basket of supplies. Mo'at stopped her daughter for a moment so that the senior healer could do a qui ck inspection. The physician ran one hand along a ventral line of her patient's phosphorescent body-spots and called it to her apprentice's attention. "Talli, s ee here, how the spots in this area glow strongly? A woman will always have spot s in this area, no matter what the pattern is, and they will shine strongly when labor has begun." The clan leader was anxiously paying attention as well, almost nosing Talli asid e to see what Alai was referring to, bringing himself to the senior healer's att ention. "All right, sem'pul," she said dryly, "time to go find yourself somethin g to do for a few hours. Why don't you go play nantang-ball with the warriors fo r a while?" Mo'at muttered to her daughter, "If he does that, Alai will wind up having to se t broken bones in his foot when he misses the ball and kicks a rock instead!" Gi ven his distracted state, Neytiri could picture it easily and giggled in spite o f the progressing contractions. Jake looked to his mate with a longing plea in his face, "I'll do anything you w ant, I'll sit in a corner and not move or say anything, I promise. I'll go if yo

u want me to. But we were together when we created this child, and I'd like to b e together when it's born." The heartfelt wish moved Neytiri strongly; it felt right in a way she couldn't e xplain. She smiled at her mate, "Stay." The two older women were astounded. "She will have no attention to spare for you ," Alai cautioned, "all her focus will go within as the birth proceeds." He nodded understanding and immediately made good on his promise by backing up t o the tree trunk next to Talli to give them plenty of space and plopped himself down to sit there without a word. The elder women continued to walk their charge around slowly, pausing as often a s Neytiri wanted to. Mo'at half-sang, half-chanted a happy, comforting song in a low voice to pass the time. The young woman's attention turned gradually inward as the process of bringing forth new life claimed her. Neytiri stopped walking when the contractions got too close together to make con tinued movement practical and dropped to the balls of her feet between her helpe rs. Mo'at and Alai were astounded to hear the laboring woman command, "Jake, com e here," in a clear voice. The marine practically launched himself forward to get to Neytiri. "Sit," she ordered as soon as he appeared in front of her. As soon as he had don e so, Neytiri reached out and grabbed his shoulders to steady herself. The older women backed up in astonishment. Over the next hour or so the laboring mother used her mate almost like a piece o f furniture, taking whatever position she needed to in the moment and using Jake to support herself with. Several times she buried her face in his neck and drew in great gulps of air, drinking in his masculine scent as a thirsting person wo uld guzzle cool fresh water. She finally squatted between Jake's legs and circled his neck with her hands jus t before the now-constant contractions made any further movement impossible. Her eyes were closed, her attention who-knew-where. Jake was watching her in wonder. Neytiri didn't seem to be in any amount of pain , which he had feared. It was clear that she was doing an enormous amount of ver y physical work, but it was equally clear that she wasn't exerting any conscious control over the process. Her conscious mind was obviously a passive participan t; body-instinct was clearly in charge as strong ripples played unhindered over her distended abdomen. He focused on leaning into her grip just enough to give h er the physical support she needed, his hands on his thighs to brace himself aga inst her pull as he listened intently to her gasps and grunts. Her grip around his neck slacked off a bit as her body's efforts became focused entirely inward and down; the balls of her feet braced on the wide tree trunk no w bore the brunt of her muscles' force. Jake watched as the mass of her abdomen shifted subtly down, down. Neytiri's back arched; her stomach sucked in. Her entire body bore down in one g reat sustained effort. For one long moment everything seemed suspended in time. Then her abdomen suddenly deflated. There was a soft thud-thud on the branch ben eath her. She gasped a great shuddering breath and a thin wailing protest arose from between her feet. She burst into joyful sobs as her labor ended, and collapsed against Jake in exh

austion and release. Her mate's arms were around her shoulders in an instant and they cried together at the sound of the most beautiful music either of them had ever heard. Alai took a quick look underneath the new mother to be sure that the little one' s breathing was unobstructed, then sat back and nodded in satisfaction and reass urance to the Clan Tsahik. Neither of them yet made a movement towards the coupl e; they knew instinctively that this moment belonged to the new parents. Neytiri panted and sobbed in Jake's arms for a minute or two, catching her breat h. She could hear the tears in her mate's voice as he murmured his love in her e ar. Curiosity soon caught up with her fatigue. She opened her eyes and met Jake' s; he steadied her as she made the effort to back up a bit, and they both looked down at the child lying beneath her. She burst into more joyous tears as she saw that Eywa had granted her her wish f rom what seemed like so long ago. "Ma'itan ." The new parents hugged each other, crying and laughing together as their newborn son waved his tiny arms and legs in protest at the coolness of the air and the soft moss under his back. Neytiri's exhaustion soon caught up with her, now that curiosity was satisfied. She wilted in her tiredness; Mo'at and Alai were there to take her shoulders and ease her gently down while Talli obligingly pushed the grass-stuffed hide bag i nto place beneath her. As soon as the women had taken Neytiri's weight from him, Jake's attention had b een completely captured by his son. Time seemed to slow down as he reached out w ith slightly trembling hands to gently scoop up the baby. Neytiri looked up as t he women got her settled, to see him draw their child up close to his body. She laid a silencing hand on her mother's arm as Mo'at began to ask him to bring the child over; the enraptured expression on Jake's face was everything she had lon ged to see, and she drank it in greedily. Jake was temporarily in a world of his own. The pupils of his eyes were as dilat ed as they had been the first time he had made tsaheylu with Neytiri. Something reached out of a vastness and gently Touched him; for a timeless minute he saw n ot only the newborn baby in his hands, but all the ones who ever had been born a nd all those yet to be. An insight more vast than any he had ever experienced il luminated his mind, simple and at the same time more profound than anything he h ad ever known. This is it. This is the reason why. This is the reason for everyt hing. This is what matters. Both Mo'at and Alai could see that something out of the ordinary was going on an d were silent. They moved out of the way when the new father turned towards them still entirely focused on the child in his hands, who had surprisingly quieted at the man's touch. Neytiri's arms reached out with longing and encircled her son as Jake carefully placed the baby on her chest. She gasped reflexively as the child instinctively latched on and began nursing. Jake curled himself carefully against his mate's side, close enough to give her the comforting warmth of his body without jostling her, his focus now expanded j ust enough to hold the three of them together. Mo'at and Alai withdrew in wonder to sit with Talli to give the new little famil y time to be with each other in their own sacred little world. Alai sent Talli off on an errand after Neytiri and her new son had fallen asleep

. The girl shortly returned with a fairly large and obviously heavy clay jar tha t sat in a deep saucer. Jake's odd focus on his mate and child had eased when they'd fallen asleep and h e stepped over to relieve the girl of her burden. He was startled to find that t he jar was very warm; he peered inside as he brought it over to Mo'at. It was fi lled with warm water and a number of the ubiquitous cloth-apprentices' washcloth s. His mother in law relieved him of the clay saucer and set it down next to her da ughter, indicating that Jake should do the same with the jar. She gently picked up her sleeping grandson and indicated that the new father should hold out his h ands. She placed the boy in Jake's palms, motioning to him to hold the baby over the saucer. The Tsahik fished a washcloth out of the jar and used it to start cleaning the n ewborn. She went through a number of the cloths, depositing the soiled ones in t he saucer as she worked. The baby squeaked and squirmed a little bit but between the birthing fatigue and a full tummy, not enough to really resist the bath. Mo 'at finished by scooping out several handfuls of water and carefully rinsing the boy's hair and queue clean. Alai had bathed and examined Neytiri while they were cleaning the baby and indic ated that Jake should return the child to its mother. His son settled back to sl eep almost as soon as he felt his mother's warmth beneath him. The healer and her apprentice took the jar and saucer away and returned with eno ugh food and drink for all of them. By the time they had finished eating Alai wa s satisfied with Neytiri's condition and excused herself, instructing Talli to r emain in case the little family needed anything. Jake returned to his position next to his mate. He and Mo'at were content to wat ch until the new mother woke up. Neytiri was aware of two things when she awoke. First, she was incredibly sore. Second and almost completely obliterating her awareness of the first there was a very tiny person lying on her chest. She opened her eyes to see a small head co vered with hair the exact color of Jake's right underneath her chin. An incredible smile lit her face and she reached up reflexively to cradle the sl eeping child. Movement caught her attention; she looked up to see Jake leaning i n over her. His eyes were large and luminous. He looked like he wanted to both l augh and cry with joy. "Oel ngati kameie," he whispered as he touched his lips t o her forehead. She closed her eyes and reached out with one hand to grasp his as she echoed sof tly, "Oel ngati kameie." Jake clasped her hand and drew back, tears now spilling unheeded down his face. Neytiri looked down and ran her hand lightly over the baby's head. "He has your hair," she said in a delighted tone. The marine laughed softly as they began to indulge in the favorite and most anci ent pasttime of all new parents; looking for signs of self and family in the fea tures of their newborn. He slipped a finger under his son's small hand - "He has your hands," a quick look confirmed, "and feet!" The wide grin that Neytiri lov ed so much appeared on her mate's face and she returned his quiet laughter as th ey inspected the baby's fingers and toes.

They happily explored their son. Jake was startled when he moved the baby's queu e aside while looking at spot-patterns. "What's wrong with his queue?" Both Neytiri and Mo'at hurried to inspect the newborn. "What do you mean?" his m other-in-law asked as her daughter picked up the appendage to examine it. The new father took his own queue in his hand and held it up in explanation. "It doesn't have," he pointed at the writhing nerve-ends. Both women relaxed. Mo'at snorted, "Do you think he is going to make tsaheylu wi th a pa'li and ride away before he even knows what his own arms and legs are for ?" The new mother smiled at the sarcastic question. "Children are born with the que ue-end closed, Jake," she explained. "It will open when they are grown enough to begin learning their place in the clan." "And their first tsaheylu will be with one of the Sacred Trees, so that Eywa can speak to them and remind them of who She is and how She loves Her people," adde d Mo'at. "Oh," was Jake's sheepish reply. Neytiri stroked her son contentedly, "That will not happen for quite some time, though." The new father's voice got soft and low as he lightly touched the baby. "What sh ould we call him?" His mate smiled, "For now he is 'Jak'itan.' He will show us who he is as he grow s, and then he will get a personal-name." She caressed her son proprietarily for a minute or two, then looked at her own mother. "Ma'sa'nok ." Mo'at was ready, and smiled as she gave her daughter a handful of hair beads. Ne ytiri happily braided her son's queue, working the ornaments in as she went whil e Jake watched proudly. The baby woke when she finished and started nursing agai n. The new mother began singing softly to her firstborn, " Uniltiranyu a hu txura txe'lan, Omatikayay Olo'eyktan, Uniltiranyu alu Toruk Makto ." Jake didn't mind at all.