A New Mission: Ash to Fire

Discussion

Yesterday, the Marines finished their day by feeding their Ikrans and then, after what happened in the mess hall for lunch, they decided to eat in. This entailed Lyle and Mansk going to the mess hall late, practically before closing when much of the line food was already being taken away, and getting some for take-out essentially. They were able to convince the line workers to just give them the remaining full metal trays of "chicken" protein nuggets, corn pudding, and mac and cheese which they covered in foil and took back to their hangar and shared. Sadly, the pizza was all gone for this evening. Much to Zu's dismay.

Lyle and Mansk promised to bring the trays back for the kitchen workers the next day and they weren't particularly upset about fewer dishes to clean... well, put into an automated dishwasher. If their bosses got on their case they could just say they were intimidated by the recoms. And truthfully they were. How do you say no to two hungry nine-foot-tall recombinant Marines asking for your leftover food?

The four just ate directly out of the trays, dipping the nuggets into the lukewarm mac and cheese and the corn pudding, using them as spoons. Zu loved the nuggets and especially adored the mac and cheese. These foods brought her comfort, Miles seeming to derive as much comfort from the mac and cheese as she did. In general, all three recoms seemed to be enjoying RDA food much more than they had before when they ate it with Zu.

Zu also took time to slightly adjust her new camo pants which were a little long. She didn't know this Zeedog whose pants she was wearing, but she was obviously much taller than she was, so she cut the bottoms off to be above her ankles.

All four went to bed for the evening thinking about the mission that they had in store. Zu was lying in the cot, her mate's arm wrapped over her, thinking about her place amongst these three combined bloods, happy to feel more included, more assimilated in just a simple thing as wearing their clothing. Lyle and Mansk of course never made her feel like an outsider, they were so quick to welcome Zu into their tight-knit little group as their leader's partner. Still, there were always those subtle feelings of not belonging when you're different. She was also pondering the mission that was planned.

Zu was to be involved in threatening highly culturally important aspects of a Forest Na'vi clan—their Tsahìk and spirit tree—and she had reservations. Zu felt a deep loyalty to her mate, and she wanted to follow and support him in his plan, but she was nervous as to what this meant for her. That she was an Ash Na'vi wasn't exactly subtle and other Na'vi repudiated her people for going against Eywa and drove them away. She knew that her people and other Na'vi were historically openly hostile to each other. However, the last great conflicts between Ash and other Na'vi were a long time ago, told of in some of the Ash People's oldest songs and stories. But it is one thing to hold animosity and to remember. It is another thing to violently act upon such feelings, unprovoked.

Zu didn't yet know how to say any of this to Miles. She knew she couldn't change his mind about the mission and that wasn't what she wanted. What she was interested in was his assurance and justification that everything would be okay. Zu just went to sleep, nestling into the warm body of her sleeping mate.

Miles awoke more relaxed today. He earned some respect back from Bridgehead Command and had a plan to force Sully to his knees and get his son back. His goals for the day were to show Zu how to use a rifle with a scope and start organizing supplies for their nighttime mission departure tomorrow. They'd be going with their Ikrans only, so there'd be no crates. They had to pack lightly and efficiently and take into account the explosives they'd be bringing. Miles also realized that today was the "best day" to go see Dr. Park. "Best day" as in the most convenient.

He was incredibly irritated at the General's orders to go see the damn Na'vi psychologist. Why did the General care? Why did Dr. Park care? Why was she not bothering Lyle and Mansk? Miles didn't want to ruin his moderately good morning mood. He just threw the thoughts from his mind and focused on Zu who was snuggled behind him, her left arm wrapped over his body, under his tattooed arm, her hand pressing into his strong chest. This morning, he was the little spoon.