The Pilot from Olympus

Chapter 1: The mission

The footsteps echoed through the large metal room, bouncing off the jet which stood tall among the men preparing around. The hangar held five jets which were tasked to a simple mission where they would fly around Pandora three times over the course of two days. The purpose alluded most of the pilots, all they wanted to do was fly really. "Sergeant Apollo!"
A loud voice called from the left side of the aircraft. Chief Wolfsheim came into view, he was a muscular man and much outranked the younger woman walking towards him. He held the highest position in the American  Air Force on Pandora so his presence came as a shock.
"I'm surprised to see you here Chief, I wasn't aware how important this mission was but-" Apollo was cut off by the roar of the jet, it was time for them to leave.
Chief Wolfsheim didn't flinch, merely saying, "Your team flies the planes and the scientists use the measurements collected. Nothing more, nothing less"
This statement made her feel uneasy, it just didn't make sense for the Chief to be present for an experiment. The scientists conducted research all the time - field work which she flew them to. Except, she was just a good pilot not a decision maker in the welfare and future of society on Pandora. Unfortunately she didn't have the time to further question him; not that she was allowed to anyways. The unease was pushed to the back of her mind while trying to focus on the task at hand. The team of pilots saluted and moved to their separate jets. Apollo was the highest rank of this mission as well as the only OLYMPUS member- making her the leader.
She climbed into the aircraft and began her regular checks. Within an instant they were in the air in a v-formation, Apollo leading. There were no words for how amazing the forest looked down below with the blurs of purple and blue. A sight like this was special since the pilots were mostly confined to the gunships which flew with cargo on railways. Only the elite were going on more exciting missions, those included were the OLYMPUS regiment or "kids" as the higher ups liked to call them. They were enlisted at the age of two to become military dogs who followed every order of the General. Classes at school never included morals in hopes of them being cold towards the native Na'vi tribes. In theory this would have worked but the older members found love in literature, all though banned could be snuck into the dorm, and used their teachings to educate the younger ones. Ten kids in total were a part of the program, the four older ones were the same age, the next five two years younger and the youngest two years younger than the five. Each was named after a Greek god and assigned a number as a surname. Apollo -04 was the highest ranking of the two pilots in the regiment, Ares -01 followed closely behind. Ares typically would have  been chosen to be involved in this scientific expedition but was called away to guard some particularly vulnerable cargo.
They had done their first round while seeing blurred oceans, this was the first time anyone had gone near the Metkayina clan in seven years. They were left alone to avoid conflict with the Sully family, as long as they stayed away from the construction of the new world there was an unspoken ceasefire. Apollo had only heard stories of what they had done to Recom Squad. QC (Quaritch Clone) liked to tell the new recruits about how he pursued Jake Sully, obviously ending badly enough for QC to have long lasting health concerns. These complications led to his death five years after the fight. She felt it best not to stop and look around when reaching the lands which were occupied.
Once reaching base they regrouped to have a meal and a brief nap. It was short but made all the difference to the tired rookies which accompanied their mentors. Again with haste they were off but this time something felt off, more off, almost like butterflies in Apollo's stomach. She brushed the feeling off and continued the mission. It was a few hours into the flight when a loud explosion could be heard from behind. Frantic calls rushed across the radio trying to figure out what was happening. Were they being shot at or was it engine failure, Apollo thought.
"What's happening back there?" She yelled.
No answers came so she yanked the yoke up with ferocity. The jet landed back and above the other aircrafts which showed a jet with flames bursting out of the engines. Almost in an instant it stopped moving and collided into the jets around it. She called again across the radio but this time there was nothing but silence. They pulled backwards which sent shrapnel hurling towards Apollo. The side had gashed out of the fuselage which turned the aircraft in multiple directions. She lost control and flew forwards away from her team which either crashed into the ocean or continued on.
"Finish the mission, get back to base and don't stop." She called over the radio to the remaining crew. Only two aircrafts survived.
As she tried to stabilise the metal coffin more distance was covered, continuing into the reef a few kilometres away from the clan lands. As the jet neared the water her hand found the eject button. The chair was flung into the air with the parachute following closely behind. Whiplash strung through Apollo's neck. She crashed down into the seemingly still water, hitting her head on the back of the chair. Darkness consumed her vision.