A New Mission: Ash to Fire

Storm, Part 1

Miles' mind was a tempest. He was caught between duty... and love. As he slowly navigated through the Operations Center's corridors back to his quarters, the cold, stark metal around him, ducking under sliding glass doorways, and taking long, deep breaths from his breather he was struggling. Suffering under the weight of his thoughts. The same existential dread and confusion that he thought he had fought off was resurfacing.

Did he not owe the RDA his duty and his loyalty? They're the source of his new existence. Yes, he believed he had the right to his own new destiny, but not in a complete sense of abandonment. And Miles was loyal. Even sometimes to his disadvantage.

And outside of what he 'owes' the RDA, it was what he owed himself—revenge on Sully and Neytiri. He was in no state to just let that go, and in fact, after what they did to Zu he was even more amped to kill Sully than the day he awoke on the Venture Star and watched the briefing from his past life. Not to mention that Spider was also in the RDA's custody. If he left to go with Zu he may not be able to access his son again and who knows how they would treat Spider without him present. He was already in a cold, uncomfortable cell, one Miles realized he was in no position to negotiate better terms for. Of course, Miles knew that Spider at this current point in time detested him, but he was still determined to win his son's love. That was something he could not do away from Bridgehead.

Miles' old duty, loyalty, and the son of his past life, his son, were at direct odds with his new self. His deepest love for Zukriyä, this incredible Na'vi woman, his life mate who brought out feelings of love and passion in himself that he didn't know he had. And perhaps he didn't have them in his past self, his new Na'vi genes opening the doorway to such.

If Miles went with Zu back to Dragon's Tail to start building a full Na'vi life with her and abandoned the RDA... they would not welcome him back in any type of ranked officer capacity, or at all, and his son would be lost to him and mistreated. He would also lose resources and support by which to carry out any personal mission to kill Sully.

If he stayed in Bridgehead he'd potentially be separated from his Zu and also likely be risking more failure and his life in another mission to kill Sully. Miles was fully aware, to his great shame, that Sully had escaped death by his hands three times already. Once in his past life, then on the Sea Dragon, and then on that floating mountaintop with Jake or Neytiri delivering deadly or near-deadly blows to him or those he cared about around him each time.

And by staying, Miles could also possibly be pitting Zu against her father knowing that she, if given such an ultimatum, could very well choose to stay with him Bridgehead. Maybe. But then if she did, Miles was not going to let her get involved in any further missions to hunt down Sully again. No matter how enraged it would make her. And it would.

Miles was at a crossroads. A path for his new self. A path for his old self. He had thought if and when the time came that this would be an easy decision. Thinking about his dream of his beautiful Zu standing there before him... of course he would choose her. Yet now that this choice was here... it seemed impossible. Miles stared ahead with intense eyes for his entire walk, deep in thought. Every human he walked past was frightened to some degree by the focused potency in Miles' yellow gaze and the imposing way he was walking through the corridors—like a prowling big cat.

Miles finally made it to their quarters, letting out a big sigh as he stepped through the hastily put-up airlock. Zu, her parents, Lyle, and Mansk were resting in the designated common room. Lyle and Mansk were sitting on some stools and chatting amongst themselves, and the Ash Na'vi family trio was sitting on a long, cushioned bench facing the window taking in the vibrant colors of the evening sky over the Bridgehead industry, the wilds of Pandora far in the background past the starkly empty Kill Zone.