The Child

Corporal Aiden Johnson had arrived on Pandora only a few days ago and was now sitting in a gunship on his way to his first field mission. He and his platoon were to get to a newly discovered unobtanium deposit and secure it for the excavation team. He looked around at his platoon which consisted of new recruits and people that he had saw getting off the transport shuttle along with him. It was made up of people of all ages and different ranks and specialty's. Aiden himself was the platoon's communication's officer, which meant for the most part he stayed around the ship and let the others do the hard part. Chasing out any stray unfortunate Na'vi that found themselves in the excavation zone. Aiden didn't really want any part of this portion of the mission he didn't necessarily believe in the cause against the Na'vi. Of course, he would never show it, it might cost him his job with the RDA, the company that paid him a six-figure income to do what he did for six years and leave the planet like it never existed. Like most of the other people there he was only there for the money with peace on earth there was not much need for soldiers of any kind anymore. Twenty-six now, Aiden had joined the military when he was eighteen when the fifth world war was well into its course. He didn't really know how to do anything else and his skill wasn't useful outside of the military unless he wanted to work at an airport and he didn't. He looked out through the window to the gunship at the lush forest below them that was Pandora, all this planet was, was jungle and habitat. It was like one big safari except you had a gun and almost everything wanted to kill you. He could see a large bird flying off in the distance. He had done some reading up on the fauna of the planet and it looked like a Great Leonuptrix, as far as he knew the largest animal in the sky, and the most dangerous. The ship shook slightly from a wind change as they got closer to their destination. Across from him sat the platoon commander Officer Rodriguez, a stern older man his dark skin covered like most of them in a slick wet film from the stifling air of the planet. The humidity was always high on Pandora, you were going to sweat so if you were going out into a field mission there was no point in being prissy about it. Aiden's bunk mate told him not to bother wearing deodorant because no one else would be and it would only attract the animals. Aiden had on his exo-pack, the air on Pandora was not safe for human consumption, without the exo-pack you would be unconscious in twenty seconds and dead in four minutes. Something terra-forming experts were working on was trying to make the air breathable for people without harming the planet's life-forms. Aiden wasn't a scientist but didn't see how it would be possible due to the physiology being so different. The only thing the same about the Na'vi and humans was the fact that they stood up right and a few social similarities. Their biology was completely different based on what Aiden had read. Suddenly the ship started to shake violently.

"Guy's were going down, I'll try to make it smooth but hang on," said Vickers the pilot.

"What is it?" asked Rodriguez bracing himself.

"It's a G. Leo sir, came at us from above," Aiden could hear the strain in Vickers voice, "Haannnggg ooonnn!" Aiden grabbed the handle beside his head as he realized that the ship was falling. He could hear the Great Leonuptrix screaming as the ship crashed to the ground and through the trees. He couldn't help but think how unlucky he was, his first field mission and they were going down. He could hear the trees whipping by the ship as it went down along with the sounds of the hull creeping. Instinctively Aiden unbuckled his belt but continued to hold on ready to be thrown from the ship but hoping he wouldn't land on a randomly spiked piece of wood. He could smell the smoke from the engine starting to filter into the cab of the gunship. There was another heavy jolt as the ship hit the ground and Aiden was thrown what must have been thirty feet away hitting the ground with a thud knocking him out. The gunship exploded in a burst of flames engulfing most of the vehicle.