Trinity

Inner Demons

Quaritch's initial warm reception of Ten'etirey, cooled somewhat as she spent more time with them. At first he had been excited about her accompanying them, but now he felt nothing but dread.

General Ardmore made contact with him after the first week, he assumed she was checking on their progress and she was. Just not concerning the Recombinants. She wanted a status report on the Paragon's memory situation. The irritation and disappointment in her voice grated on him with the report of no changes.

We'll find other ways to get our Paragon back if this is unsuccessful.

Quaritch spent the rest of the day, livid. That bitch knew what she meant to him, to all of them and she was openly threatening her because she didn't view Ten as a person. Ardmore and the RDA only viewed her as their property. He was more than aware of what they'd be willing to do to get her back.

If Ten started getting memories back, Ardmore would pick them up and destroy her. He'd already destroyed her once. She wasn't his wife, but he had those memories and the emotions bound to them. He felt the pain of her death, the way his chest tightened and his heart ached upon seeing those red eyes. But, he had a mission and he was going to complete it. He owed it to himself and to those who died fighting for the humans to see this through.

The Recombinants gave the Colonel the space he obviously needed. The man looked like gasoline next to an open flame, ready to go and consume everything in its path. And not a single one of them wanted to cause that gas to move. Ten looked at him with concern, he wasn't going out of his way to avoid her but... he wasn't seeking her out either. Two nights after Ardmore's 'check in,' and he was still incensed.

Up to this point they had been talking almost every night. She asked questions about Hell's Gate and his time as a human and he would do the same about her life. Nothing was ever too prying, she seemed to avoid sensitive topics and he finally asked how she was doing it.

Ears and tail. She could read their expressions through those, the movements were far more noticeable than micro-facial expressions. When their conversations started to approach something he didn't want to talk about, his tail would apparently flick and his ears drooped. Something else the RDA apparently didn't know about. The Recombinant ears and tails were expressive like a child, untrained and untamed. She promised to teach them how to repress the movements, it just takes practice.

Night gave him some reprieve, able to separate from his men and decompress from the stress of the day. He relaxed at the river against a large moss-covered boulder and closed his eyes. He needed to get over this. They had a mission, take out Jake Sully and the Na'vi insurgency, and get the RDA their Paragon back. A heavy breath left him as he ran his hands through his cropped hair.

"Quaritch?" His eyes shot open, it appeared a lot of time had passed between him closing his eyes and now. Ten'etirey stood nearby, holding a wooden bowl with what he assumed was their dinner. She and Spider took to providing meals for the Recombinants, he was unsurprised that what they made was delicious. Far more edible than the MRE trash the RDA provided.

Now that he was awake, she approached and offered him the bowl. He took it wordlessly and if he expected his pissed off look to deter her, he was sadly mistaken. She left plenty of space between them and sat nearby. He wanted to be annoyed at her presence, he wanted to be alone. But, she didn't disturb the silence as he ate and he was okay with the silent company. Ten didn't leave when he set the bowl down, seemingly content to just be there.

She looked stunning in the soft glowing lights of the Eclipse. Those large red irises flickered with pulsing lights surrounding them, they were luminous and... sad. The appearance of anything but her usual mischief and amused glint filled him with unease. Throughout the past two weeks he hadn't seen a hint of doubt within her, but it was there now.

Maybe she wasn't rawdogging this quite like he originally assumed. It appeared that both of them were fighting their own battles.

"No questions tonight?" She had been deep in thought until he spoke, but a quick shake of her head and that sad look was replaced with concern.

"You haven't seemed interested the past few nights, figured you'd appreciate the space."

Quaritch didn't want space from her, he wanted her in his arms. The last time he held her, he felt her body become limp and watched the remaining light in her eyes fade. He wanted to hold her and not let go, for her to know how much he missed her.

But she had no memories of her previous life and he would do good to not get attached. Ardmore was going to take her, it was best to keep space between them. The idea that it would make it hurt less was laughable, but it was the only comfort he could find in the situation. She wasn't his wife, he wasn't her husband. She didn't love him, but he loved her.

Eventually she returned to the camp after washing the dish and he found himself glancing at the empty spot she left. His purpose after she died was the mission. Fulfilling that mission and keeping his men safe were his only purposes. With her here... the mission didn't matter as much and that presented a problem. If he continued this mission, he'd lose her again. If he didn't continue this mission, he'd lose her anyway.

She wasn't his. She wasn't Tenera anymore. This wasn't a second chance for him to have her. He owed this life to the RDA, this was his second chance to not fail again. The only redemption here was through the spilled blood of Jake Sully, justice for the humans he betrayed.