First Flight

Chapter 2 Link Day

Link Day was finally here. The Avatars that had been growing for a while were now ready to take out of their incubation tubes, or whatever the scientists called them. Norman was the first to go in while Grace got Jake settled in his pod.

Norman Spellman, one of the scientists to join Dr. Augustine's team was a complete nerd when it came to Pandora. This guy knew just about everything there was to know. Over dinner, while Y/n was doing a little gloss over on her studies, Norman gave extra details on certain subjects that the book didn't even list. Y/n knew he was going to be fine going out into the wilderness, he had book smarts. Not to mention the Avatar body he was about to inhabit would have kept him out of danger a lot more than his human body would. Y/n got along great with Norm, it helped that he had a little medical training that they could bond over, and the fact that they were on the same team.

Jake Sully, the fill-in marine in their group, Y/n got along with him relatively well. Granted she had a little predisposed grudge against military personnel due to her hate for what they did to countries and now worlds, but Jake was somewhat different. He didn't have the same mindless hate and attitude towards everything that might have been against him, he was understanding, open-minded in a sense, and more human than marine.

"Dr. L/N, your link is here." The medical staff motioned as he led the girl towards the capsule, it was humming with life already. The screen above showed empty vital signs and a monitor for where she would be lying down. This was it, the moment she was going to step into a completely different body and start a new chapter in her life, at least for the next six years that was. Y/n took off her shoes and slipped up into the pod, it was cushiony foam soft enough to be comfy on her back, yet stiff enough that she wasn't swimming in it. When she was nicely situated the staff closed the top and more noises came to life inside as the girl tried to relax and clear her mind as she had practiced these past few months.

As her eyes fluttered closed everything went silent, there was no light, no noise, no feeling, absolutely nothing, it was peaceful. Then in a flash, there was a tunnel of light and she was flying through it before she could sense everything again. A bright room slowly came into focus as her ear drums began to pick up on the sounds, a few snaps from the medical staff's fingers, and some inaudible questions. Y/n's body felt different yet just the same all at once. It felt like she was coming out of a deep sleep. Slowly but surely every sense of hers was back online and working spectacularly, then she began to sit up with the medical staff's gentle orders.

Her hands and arms came into view as well as her legs which were visible from the bottom of the hospital gown she was wearing. She was a deep vibrant blue along with what looked like tiger stripes running along every inch of visible skin she could see. Y/n tried to examine her new body as much as possible all the while trying to answer the medical staff's questions.

That was until, to her left a commotion began. Jake was moving too fast for what was supposed to be a slow medical checkup with the avatars, and the staff was getting worried, but the guy just wasn't listening. Sitting up and even hanging his legs over the side of the gurney he was on like he was about to stand up and bolt with the Avatar. 'Jesus, do his ears not work or something? What is he doing?' Y/n watched along and decided to speak up and try to help out the medical staff since they were so tiny as humans, and she was about the same size as Jake in her avatar. If there was something wrong with the link she'd be able to hold down Jake's Avatar for the nurses. "Jake, hey, dude come on sit back down, you're making it harder for–"

Before Y/n could finish her sentence Jake was up and moving towards the door, just as she predicted and the staff in the room began to call out for him to stop for fear of him getting hurt. Norm was already on the move to go grab the rouge avatar, 'Oh come on seriously??' Palming her face in annoyance, Y/n unhooked herself and followed the two men out of the room. There was no point in letting Norm have all the fun chasing the marine down, and it was a good way to test out her new body.

Passing through two doors more light hit Y/n's eyes but instead of the harsh fluorescent bulbs hanging above her, a warm sun caressed her face heating up the raven hair on top of her head. It was hot like a jungle would be back on earth. The humidity was no joke either, it wasn't too thick to where she couldn't breathe but still, it was refreshing to her lungs. She stopped in her tracks, running after Jake and Norman didn't seem so important anymore as she took in her surroundings. Even though she was on a military base, the little training yard they had set up for the avatar drivers was so immensely lush and colorful. Full of life in every corner she looked, the sky was the clearest baby blue she had ever seen, and the tree tops that littered the blue sky were as green as a chameleon, tall, thick, and strong in every way. Vibrant plants were in farming rows over in the distance, some with plump fruits hanging and some just newly sprouting. The grass below was just as beautiful, it was soft and cool to the touch, refreshing. Even the soil between her toes was a bright brown, the smell of it all surrounding her was pure nature. There was nothing dull about the scenery, the Earth could never compare to the beauty of this planet. If this is what the base looked like Y/n couldn't even begin to imagine what awaited her and the team out in that forest.

Once Y/n took a deep breath of the fresh air she focused on chasing down her two teammates. Norman seemed to have given up running and was simply walking out of breath towards Jake and what looked to be Dr. Augustine. So, Y/n started up a gentle jog towards the three, her legs definitely felt different from her human ones. The avatar's muscles felt stronger, with more elasticity, and bounced back with every step she took. "Grace?" Y/n came to a slowed stop flashing a smile at the woman.

"The one and only," Grace replied with her own smile. The woman's avatar looked just like her, but the Na'vi version of her. "You three seemed to have skipped the testing stages already, so why don't we get you changed and take a walk? We'll get you all field ready for tomorrow." The woman suggested and without waiting for an answer she turned and began to walk off. No one waited up and Y/n fell into line as they followed Grace towards a cabin.

Later that night when everyone was getting settled into bed, Y/n took the time to have a look over her avatar one more time. It looked like her human self, down to every detail, it was scary yet amazing what science was capable of. The face had similar features to that of a feline back on Earth, even her teeth had sharper incisors like a lion or some type of predator animal. Her hands and feet were the same all ten fingers and toes, though her tail was a new addition that she'd have to get used to along with her new ears. Both seemed to outwardly tell her thoughts and feelings unless she thought hard about keeping them still. It was like fidgeting her hands or curling her toes, it would become second nature to her soon enough. Another thing she recently found on her new body was these delicately designed fluorescent dots covering her skin. They were similar to freckles on a human, but more precisely placed, less random chaos, and now that it was night they lit up like the moon. This avatar's body was so close to being the same as her human body, and yet there were so many differences. The braid of hair was probably the coolest thing to Y/n, at the end of it there were these weird tentacles that had a mind of their own. She read about them in her books, but all she knew was that they helped the Na'vi people connect with their world and animals that was it.

"Don't worry Y/N you'll have plenty of time to look at your new body over the next few years, right now you need to put it to sleep," Grace said as she passed by Y/n's cot.

With a nod, Y/n sat down on her cot, "Sure, but hey I can't help it, it's way different than I thought it was going to be."

"Oh yeah? Just wait till you get out there, it's nothing like you've ever experienced in your lifetime kid. Just do me a favor and don't die on me once your brain implodes from shock." the woman chuckled at her joke before she walked off, and Y/n couldn't help but crack a smile as she lay down. The sounds of the jungle were close and distant all at once, soothing her mind into a gentle sleep. Before she knew it she was back in her own body, back in the pod.