Reborn - Pandora's Box (Book 2)

-.-Wide Awake-.-

"You're not in Kansas anymore. You're on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen. Respect that fact every second of every day. If there is a hell, you might want to go there for some R&R after a tour on Pandora. Out there beyond that fence, every living thing that crawls, flies or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes as Jujubes. We have an indigenous population of humanoids called the Na'vi. They're fond of arrows dipped in a neurotoxin that'll stop your heart in one minute. And they have bones reinforced with naturally occurring carbon fiber. They are very hard to kill. As Head of Security, it is my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed - not with all of you. If you want to survive, you need to cultivate a strong mental attitude. You've got to obey the rules, Pandora rules. These rules are there for a reason, they are not there to bypass, drag ass, or pass gas on, hey numbnuts? Yes you." He called out one man, a science guy by the looks of it. He looked as though he was falling asleep.  "This is for all heads, you wanna wake up and pay attention?  Rule Number One: keep your exopack within reach at all times-"

"These ugly things?" He distinctly heard her voice. 

"Yes, these 'ugly things' will keep you alive out there. Failure to comply with Rule Number One can have fatal consequences, and then the rest of the rules won't be worth shit to you. You-" Now he approached her, as though he had just randomly chosen her out of the crowd.  "-Do you think you have what it takes to survive out there?"

She straightened her back and met his eyes directly, cracking a smirk.  "Yes, Sir."

"Do you feel prepared to face the full force of Pandora?"

"Yes, and with all due respect Sir, as Head of Security, if I don't, I'll know who to come to."

So like her to push back playfully. He wanted to grab her and kiss her right then, but he didn't, not in front of this crowd. 

Later she came to find him in the gym. 

"Excuse me, I'm looking for the man in charge. You seen him anywhere?"

"Depends on who's asking. But in your case, you're in luck. Welcome to Pandora, Sweetheart."

"Thanks, that was one a hell of an introduction out there."

"Did my safety speech freak you out?"

"On the contrary - I'm more excited than ever." 

"Well please tell me some of that excitement is for me-"

 "Oh no way! I'm not touching that! Shower first, then come find me. You stink. Besides, I've got to meet the Doc." She gave a little salute  and was off.

The memory continued. He'd dutifully had a shower and awaited her return.

"Better?"

"Much. C'mere Soldier-" She hooked a finger through his dog tags and dragged him to her for their reunion kiss. "-And give me a proper welcome!"

There were a lot of memories to sift through, and, let's be honest, some more PG than others, but they all featured one common theme:

Her.

Phoenix 'Nix' Vallcourt, Civilian Specialist, brought to Pandora to serve as a civilian test subject for Dr. Augustine's Avatar program. 

And he cherished every single one one those memories. 

Up until when the science pukes had swept her up into their little cult and turned her into a tree-hugging traitor. These memories took a sudden sour turn - she had broken his heart. She had betrayed him. 

"General, I'm curious: you wouldn't happen to know anything of Phoenix Vallencourt?" he questioned his superior. 

"The traitor? No. She may be dead."

"Nothing from Sully's raids?"

"Nothing from her."

A deep swelling arose in his chest at these words. If she were still alive, she'd be in her mid-thirties now. But their lack of evidence didn't prove anything, she could still be out there. 

Well, the General was clearly going to be of no help on this matter, and he didn't really want to call a lot of attention to it. 

"Hey, you got stuff from the last fifteen years on there?" he asked one of the technicians. 

"Yes, Sir. Are you looking for something in particular?"

"Yes, I am. Anything from Phoenix Vallencourt."

"The traitor?"

"Just pull up the videos."

The guy did as he was told and pretty soon the Colonel was watching the video logs he had swiped out from under her nose, the ones she had given him without a second thought or hesitation. 

Suddenly, there she was, not in memory, but on a screen. 

She gave the camera a little wave. "Hello. I am Phoenix Vallencourt. I am here, freshly arrived on Pandora and I am truly so honoured to have been chosen as civilian test subject for Dr. Grace Augustine's Avatar Program. I fall into the twenty-to-thirty age bracket, am just five feet tall, and I speak five languages, including - thanks to this program - Na'vi. I think that's all for now... Let's get out there and get to work!"

She smiled for the camera, and he found himself smiling back, and wishing she could tell he was there, smiling back at her. 

"Pandora is a huge moon - we've barely scratched the surface of it. There's so much to discover! There are several clans, fifteen to be exact, and so far our people have only come into contact with one: the Omaticaya Clan of forest-dwelling Na'vi. Our Avatars have the DNA from this clan mixed with our own DNA, so they resemble this clan the most, while retaining more human-like features such as four fingers and a thumb, and eyebrows..."

"Hey! Why so blue? So today I finally was able to take my Avatar out for the first time - I'm officially an Avatar Driver! I can't even describe it, it was everything I ever imagined and more! I'm so tall, it's like I suddenly had a random growth spurt that I've been waiting for for years. And the tail - that's going to take some getting used to. Valuable appendage though. But tomorrow - I can't wait for tomorrow. We're actually going out into the field, the Doc's taking us. I can't wait. More updates then."

All these logs from her work led him to recalling something she had said to him early on in her time on Pandora: "...Please, don't interfere with my work, and I won't interfere with yours. You do your job, and I'll do mine."

Well, it seemed that their jobs were pretty closely linked now.

That is, if she was even still out there.

No, she was. He just knew she was. Something deep within him told him she wasn't gone, she was still out there.

And although he would keep it to himself, he would be keeping his eyes open for her. 

Also, he was definitely going to use her joke. His girl had a sense of humour. 

His girl...

Oh yeah,  she was out there, of that he was certain. She was out there, somewhere, and he was going to find her.

(This 'memory' is taken from the Avatar deleted scenes where Quaritch calls out Norm during his Pandora Rules speech.  I just had to have Nix sass him during this scene! ;)

They will be reunited in the next chapter - can't wait to put them through that! Hehe... ;)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))