𝙒𝘼𝙍 𝙊𝙁 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙎. 𝙇𝙊'𝘼𝙆

𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙪𝙚

Where humans go, destruction follows. The end of one planet wasn't enough, so they sought after one more. A moon named Pandora, orbiting Polyphemus in another solar system. After Toruk Makto forced the humans to regroup on Earth, they sprung back to reclaim their place, not forfeiting the opportunity of colonization.

A child soldier signed up for the military task to receive the benefits after service. A lost cause on Earth without some sort of platform to stand upon meant certain death. If she was going to be unhappy either way, she'd rather have a bed to sleep on and food to eat at the end of the day.

The gap between her life before her awakening was foggy. For the lost girl, her head was filled with the battles that waged on Pandora once before, the ones recorded and shown to the rest of the world. She dreamed of guns, fire, ash, and an unfamiliar boy with alien blue skin.

Nameera Ahmed woke with a frightened start at the flash of a bright light, pupils constricting rapidly. Two people stood before her in white hazmat suits and curious eyes. Not one person in her line of sight was familiar. As she swiveled her disoriented head around, studying the rest of the occupants in the stark white room, what lay next nearly killed her.

Blue. Wide, large yellow eyes resembling a cat. Blue skin. Alien ears that pricked up in a feline sense. Blue. Blue. Blue.

A shriek erupted from her throat before she could think, instincts controlling her when her mind failed. She threw a wide punch at the nearest one, then launched herself at the next to attack. Survival fueled her, which kept her standing her whole life.

Her whole life. What was her life before? What happened? What was the last thing she could remember before this moment?

Voices yelled, either to sedate her or calm her down, yet nothing could calm her rapid heart rate at the sight of the one enemy she gravitated to kill. "Get the fuck away from me! Who the fuck are you! GET BACK!"

"Ahmed!" One of them yelled to get her attention, but all she saw was blue. Blue. Enemy. "Nameera, stand down!"

Words didn't register in her mind, not one bit. Her name even sounded foreign, like it was a distant, faded memory. Though she could recognize that it belonged to her, it didn't help the way she furrowed her brows to concentrate on any previous memories.

"You get the fuck back!" Her hand latched onto a wheeled cart holding a dozen medical tools and launched it towards the group of rowdy natives she naturally believed were hostile—like she was always told. If she remembered anything, she could recall that blue signaled danger.

"NAMEERA, STAND DOWN!" A voice boomed from beside her, slamming her head down on the table she once lied and pinning her hands behind her back. The voice was familiar with authority, one she must have spent a long time fearing and following. "You don't remember us, soldier?"

And a dam burst in the back of her mind, flooding in the memories of who the Southern drawl belonged to.

"Qua-" Her voice sounded raspy, even shocking herself for a moment. "Colonel Quaritch, sir." His name was familiar on her tongue.

"You ready to relax, kid?" His grip barely loosened, despite her violent behavior ceasing. "If you do, I'll let you go."

Nameera nodded, wriggling under his uncomfortable grasp. "Yeah- yes, sir." She gasped a large breath once his touch disappeared, springing up to stand before the sea of blue. The back of her hand wiped away any drool or blood, she couldn't tell the difference, from her mouth. "What happened?"

The man shrugged, clearly avoiding the question. "The important thing is that you're alive again."

— 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 —

Nameera nursed a cup of water in her trembling hands, mind swirling with a million questions as she breathed one inhale at a time. Her mind continued to hold a sort of fog over everything that happened before waking up in that white room, the same one she continued to reside in before she calmed down.

She wiped a bit of blood and mucus trickling down her nose again, brain not familiar with her body and body not familiar with anything.

"Lieutenant Ahmed." At the sound of her name, Nameera shot up from her seat on the white table in a medical examination room. Her posture straightened, body stiff as she followed the commands drilled into her brain. "At ease. My name is General Ardmore."

Nameera stayed in her stiff stance all the way until the older woman waved for her to sit. "I know your name. They told me you're the one in charge."

"I am." She confirmed, crossing her arms before the girl. "Then you must know your role here, I assume?"

Her breath hitched, then reluctantly shook her head. "No, ma'am."

General Ardmore studied her figure a little longer, noticing the lean muscle the girl carried and her calculated, yet apprehensive stare. "I've heard great things about you. Top of your class, in both combat and intelligence. You were handpicked to be here, kid. You remember that part?"

"A little bit, yeah." She nodded, gaze averting around the room for a moment before returning her eyes back to the general. "I worked hard to be here, and I got here. To learn from the best, to do my job."

"Not to do your job," she corrected with a hand raised to stop the girl, "to adapt. Grow. You couldn't learn anything useful back on Earth. We needed you, Nameera. Earth needs you, now more than ever. You got a second chance. You know why?"

Nameera shook her head, afraid she may say the wrong thing.

"You're special. Everyone knows it. You proved yourself before, and I know you're gonna bounce back like before now, even with your new body." General Ardmore placed her hands on her hips and lowered herself down to the girl's eye level. "Nameera. You died. At least, your human body did all those years ago. A soldier of our own turned Na'vi, named Jake Sully, he murdered you."

The older woman reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a picture, holding it up right in front of Nameera's eyes. "This is the man you'll want revenge on for stealing your life, your potential. You're too special to lose, so we brought you back. Stronger. Better. To kill him."

A growling, aggressive Na'vi warrior snarled in the photo. Sharp white teeth displayed, eyes wild and wide, stance ready to attack. It captured the danger of the man who was described to have punched her ticket too soon, according to General Ardmore. White and teal paint lined his face, sides of his hair shaved as the rest was braided. The enemy to kill.

"Lieutenant, before you died, you were an important figure, do you remember?"

Her breath fell short, mind searching deep within itself to procure any image other than a Na'vi boy and fire. She only kept her natural talents in defense as a reflex, like a muscle she would always have. Nothing else. "No. I can't remember much before."

General Ardmore offered her a half smile, though it appeared strange and foreign on the woman's face. She tossed the picture to the side of the girl and pursed her lips. "You were the best of us. We needed you to climb the ranks as you aged, eventually to lead the human population to paradise on this planet once we colonize it completely. You've gotta brush off your memories quickly, kid. The world isn't gonna wait any longer for you, our greatest hope."

A/N—welcome to war of hearts!!!