Avatar: {Hybrid and Alien]

{15}

The trip through the forest and towards the base was not bad.

If the attack of the Slinth was subtracted from the events transpired, then it would have been a perfect journey. But Asim had to admit that, even if the attack from the medium sized predator delayed them a bit, everything was alright. Now that the thanators of the na'vi and the other hunters had recovered from the venom, they continued their journey to the mountains. Along the way, the na'vi seemed to be impressed by what Asim had shown then when he went head to head with the Slinth. They spoke to him in some English and in their native tongue that Asim's couldn't clearly make out. Whatever they said, they were in a good mood and quite happy for what he had done to protect them. And, to be honest, Asim really appreciated the compliments that the na'vi hunters gave him. He thanked them and tried to answer their questions on how he did what he had done with the predator.

Asim also noticed that Layontsin had somewhat been impressed by Asim's impressive stunt back there. Because she now walked near them instead of traveling above across the trees to look out for danger. And from what Asim noticed, the thanator creature now gave him a look of what seemed to be respect instead of the usual threatening glare that she gave him before. Which led Asim to think that maybe he didn't have to worry about her trying to attack him in the future. 'What am I thinking? She may be able to think like a na'vi, though it doesn't mean that she is that impressed or interested in what I did.' Asim thought to himself one time as he glanced back at the towering figure of Layontsin walking near the group of na'vi hunters. The thanator creature in turn glanced sometimes back at him when he wasn't looking, giving him what seemed to be looks of wariness, observance, or something in between those two. This made Asim smile, as he thought that in the future there would be absolutely no problem with Layontsin or the na'vi that has spared his life. And this fact alone made Asim make the choice to return what they have asked for that has been stolen. Considering the value, it wouldn't be a risk to go to the base and give them back their stolen belongings.

***

The journey was long that led them to the mountains

On top of that the na'vi led Asim to a mountain pass that looked like the only safe route to cross. Letting them lead the way as they knew about the terrain more that Asim did, he continued to follow them without missing a step or falling behind. As they neared the mountains, the forest around began to decrease in the quantity of trees and other plant life, until they came to a small flat landscape that was around the mountain to the right. Then the na'vi hunters began to slow down as they began to look around in search for something. Asim noticed that they looked rather wary, and he asked the hunters what was wrong. "Danger...tawtute tsray" one of them said, pointing to the right side of the mountain above and in front of them. There, Asim spotted a smaller base outpost, which was connected to what seemed like several biome greenhouses made from semi-transparent material. From the looks of it, there were some plants over-growing and covering the whole perimeter, though it looked like as if it had been maintained for some time. Which meant that it wasn't abandoned fully.

Clearly someone, or several someones, were in there.

With windows that weren't see-through and no activity sighted around the place, Asim decided to head there and take a closer look to make sure. The na'vi spoke something to him in their tongue in a worried tone, gesturing him to get back. "What? There's no one here....yet. I'll go take a look and return. I promise." Asim assured to them and turned back to walk towards the outpost. He almost took one more step when he stopped, feeling some tension underneath and hearing metal make a creaking noise. When he looked down, Asim saw in surprise that he was about to fully step down on a metal wire. Slowly and carefully he retracted his foot from it, and then followed where the wire connected to. Under some well-camouflaged spots he found a connection point, which he continued following to where else it connected. Soon he found what looked like a turret. Several turrets, hidden under the grass and behind some bushes and trees.

All of them pointed at the outside around the outpost and aimed at intruders that stepped too close.

"So that's what they were warning me about" Asim muttered to himself as he looked around. Knowing that the na'vi couldn't follow him without getting shot at, Asim went to each turret and pried their access doors open. Which wasn't hard enough to manage as he knew where to open them before he pulled the power cables and shut each one of them. Once that was done, he looked back at the na'vi hunters, which were observing him with interest, and gestured them to come over now that it was safe. They were hesitant at first but after some more encouraging gestures they all came out from the forest and stepped forwards. Asim now went to the frost door, making sure that there were no more hidden traps along the way or at the front, before stepping up and giving the door several loud knocks.

...Nothing

Asim tried again, waiting for even the slightest noise or response, and still there was nothing. He sighed and looked to the side, noticing a keypad and going up to it and entering one of the codes he remembered in Hell's Gate. It was incorrect as the keypad beeped and lit up red. When that didn't work, Asim tried something else as he looked at the na'vi hunters behind him that were now close. He asked if he could have a knife again, and one of them handed theirs to him willingly. Asim thanked them and used the knife to pry off the keypad lid off, exposing the interior and its wire connectors. He handed the knife back and reached to start disconnecting wires and rearranging them, carefully determining which connection worked accordingly and rearranging them to create a short-circuit. Asim was already familiar with this type of work, and wasn't going to let anything stop him. The connections sparked, and the keypad lit green. Then the door lock mechanism slid open, making the na'vi jump in surprise, and then the door opened. Asim smiled proudly and then moved to the door. He stood outside while he stretched a hand to open the door, peering inside from the edge.

Making sure no one was inside, Asim carefully began to enter the outpost. The na'vi and Layontsin stood outside, not wanting to enter as they weren't sure wether to follow him into the metal house. While the natives stood outside, Asim looked all over the room that he entered. The placed was filled with containers, each stacked in neat piles while some lights were still on. The most interesting part was that the place was clean, almost like brand new with no single trace of rust or dust. Asim now confirmed that this outpost was currently occupied. Moving carefully, he walked slowly and peered at the containers, seeing that many of them were mainly supplies that were slowly being used. Asim was about to check the contents of one when something clattered on the ground, muffled as it was on the other side of the door that led further inside. He crouched down a bit to hide, and then peered up again. "Hello? Anyone in there?" Asim called out, trying to figure out who it was.

Immediately soon after, chaos was let loose once the door flew open.