Trinity

Plans Change

That previously crushed hope blossomed within her stunning red eyes and echoed through their bond. It felt like the first step towards a redemption he didn't deserve, but one he would pursue regardless. Miles chased her touch as she pulled him back into a tight hug. Her rekindled flicker of hope, however slight, fanned the smoldering coals of determination within him.

He couldn't take back what he'd done or what he'd caused, but he could forge a new path. One lit and guided by the flame of her renewed hope, a flame he wouldn't let die again. Even so, her eyes begged for answers to questions she hadn't even asked as he stared into them, softly caressing her cheek.

"There is so much more I wanna tell you, Ne-" He catches himself; he shouldn't be calling her that. Especially not when she's... he didn't want to say mentally fragile. If she had been fragile, she'd have stayed catatonic or already lost her shit, but there was no use in pushing her. "Ten."

"You can say Nera. It feels right." Her smile was soft, yet still tinged with understandable pain.

"Mansk will stay with you; we've already talked about this. He'll explain the plan. The rest of us have work to do." A gentle touch of his lips on her temple, and he was gone.

After Miles' quick departure, Mansk threw off his jacket and other accessories; they were going to be in here for a while. He then hauled himself up the bed to lay next to her. She was wrapping her arms around him and laying her head on his chest before he could even finish repositioning. He encircles her and strokes her arm in soothing lines, smiling fondly as she relaxes in his arms.

It didn't take her very long to return to a state of relative calm. Mansk attempted to maintain control over his worry so she wouldn't feel it alongside her catastrophe of a mind. Not that he could hide his concern for her. Her arms drew him in closer with each pulse of worry.

Soon after, he made the decision that it was time to inform her of the plan.

The plan itself wasn't complicated, but the ramifications were.

On the last island, Mansk hadn't taken the Hydra. For what they were doing, it was overkill, and they had plenty of available human/skel muscle to more than cover his absence. Ten and Mansk would stay onboard the SeaDragon while Spider and the remaining Recombinants descended upon the island to keep up appearances.

There was a promise of no deaths, but they still intended to burn down the village and interrogate them for information on her father. Once back on the SeaDragon, they would stealthily begin stockpiling supplies so as not to raise suspicion. The identities of the mercenaries posing as maintenance workers were known to the Recombinants, and they'd be diligent in avoiding them.

Ja would refill all of what he deemed medically necessary, things that Spider informed him couldn't be made with plants on Pandora. Lopez and Z-dog were tasked with restocking all of their ammunition and swiping a few extra Na'vi or Skel suit-sized guns when no one was looking. Lyle and Spider would remain with Miles; anything different would potentially arouse suspicion.

An exopack system would be acquired for Spider, along with some spare masks that lacked trackers. The necessity of a radar setup was raised, but Prager claimed he had it covered, and no one disputed it. Not when the man had somehow managed to procure several new datapads with added software not already on their personals.

Even though Ten didn't particularly want to, she had to concede that torching yet another village was their best available option. The choice would result in the displacement of an entire village, but saving lives was far more important than that. At the end of the day, she valued the lives of the Recombinants far more than the homes of the islanders, moral crisis or not.