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Once Jake had left, I gently shook Falkor and Miracle awake and asked them both, "Are you hungry?" Said question, however, was a rhetorical one; the two were always eager for a bit of extra food here and there, and so - chuckling as they crushed my resolve with forlorn expressions of begging - I shared my meal with them and Ieesha. As we ate said meal, however, I noted that my two animal friends ate far less than usual; only a little bit of the yerik meat I offered them. After checking them over to ensure that they weren't ill - and they weren't; they were both perfectly healthy - I grinned as I realized what was going on. "You scallywags; you begged extra food from the Omatikaya, didn't you, hmm? You did! Naughty boys!"

At my words, their expressions became truly forlorn - their heads lowered, their ears drooping as they whined pitifully - and with a laugh I embraced them, wrapping my arms about their bodies and stroking their heads. "Aw," I said to them soothingly, "you know I'm not really mad at you..." Miracle and Falkor both nodded - they did indeed know - and they cuddled up against me, chirruping and murring softly as they leaned into my gentle touch. As I petted my animal friends, however, my mind began to wander and soon, my thoughts turned grim. "Jake was right," I murmured to Ieesha, "it's going to be a big day - a huge day - tomorrow. Before we even think about restoring the land around the old Kelutral, we've got to get rid of that missile, and... I have absolutely no fucking idea how to do it!

I don't know jack shit about radioactive waste disposal, let alone how to go about pulling apart a damn Russian missile..." Concern filled my thoughts, then, as Ieesha folded the wing I was laying under to her back such that she could turn her head to look at me. ~You'll find a way, sweet David~ she said. ~You've done things like this before. You know... for all the things you've done for them--becoming their Olo'eyktan, battling against 'They Who Cannot See,' as well as rescuing the kidnapped females and helping many of Eywa's Animal Children,~ and here her mental voice dropped to but a whisper before she continued, ~many among our Clan revere you as a hero!~

At this, my eyes widened for a brief moment, before I rudely snapped, "Bullshit! I'm not, nor have I ever been some kind of hero, Ieesha! I don't go looking for trouble or 'heroic' deeds to do..." A world-weary sigh escaped me, then, as Ieesha nodded her head before she nuzzled me, gently. ~Of course you don't - you're not Superman, you know - but you do get into all-manner of situations through which you persevere and come out all the better for it~ she said. Her words, though heartfelt, did nothing at all to change my mood - in fact, they only made it worse - causing me to rest my head in my hands and groan softly. Eventually, I continued, "I'm not cut out for this shit, Ieesha.

You say the Clan reveres me as a hero, but I'm not; hell, I'm not even a warrior anymore; I'm not supposed to be! I'm an Ambassador, damn it, and a High Templar, or I was. Now, I'm not even that anymore..." Nuzzling me - softly breathing her sweet breath upon my face and through my hair - Ieesha replied, ~But you will be, sweet David, you will be... once your Penance is complete.~ My beloved paused for a moment, collecting herself, and then, she continued, ~You say you aren't a hero, but you are! Look at the difference you've made here on Pandora; all the lives you have touched. You are a hero, sweet David!~ As she said this, Falkor and Miracle chirruped and woofed their agreement.

A moment later, Ieesha leaned her head forwards to capture my lips with her own, her mental voice softening to a whisper as she said, ~You are my hero.~ It was soft, and gentle, that kiss. We held it for what seemed like an age as we shared our breath; every breath she took was mine; every breath I took was hers. When at last we pulled away from each other Ieesha grinned, her happiness and humor filling my mind as she said, ~Bedtime, Zealot; that's an order. We've got to get plenty of sleep since as Jake said, we have a massive day tomorrow.~ Returning her grin, I nodded, replying, "Yes ma'am!" as I gave her an informal salute. Carefully moving my finished Leaf Plate aside, I stood up, and - after carefully stepping from Ieesha's embrace - I whistled.

Upon hearing the soft sound Falkor and Miracle sprang to their feet and took their places at my sides. "Bedtime folks," I said to them. "Got a big day tomorrow..." We made our way from the alcove, then and, after Ieesha and I had bid Jake, his Clan, and my own Clansmen a good night, we headed down the stairway inside Hometree to the ground whereupon we made our way to our Field Tent and went inside. There, I switched on the halogen lantern so that we all could see before Ieesha and I busied ourselves with preparations for bed; namely undressing and cleaning our teeth then settling down and getting comfortable upon the tent's fleece-lined floor. Once my beloved was curled around me and I was ensconced beneath one of her wings, with Falkor and Miracle draped about me to provide yet more warmth, a yawn escaped me.

"You know..." I murmured shortly thereafter, "one of the best things about having you around is that... I don't need a bed anymore. You'll keep me warm..." Upon hearing my words my beloved nodded, her midnight-blue eyes becoming misty as she swallowed thickly, her love and affection for me filling my thoughts as she huskily replied, ~Always...~ We gently drifted into sleep, then, but - although Ieesha, our animal friends, and even the Dragon Weyr's Probes all slept well for the first half of the night - I did not. Instead of experiencing a deep and restful sleep, I found myself caught within the grip of an horrific nightmare in which I made a critical mistake when attempting to disarm the nuclear missile buried beneath Old Kelutral.

That mistake proved to be fatal, and in my nightmare the missile detonated, violently, the resulting blastwave killing Ieesha and I as well as utterly destroying everything for hundreds of miles around us... When, at last, the terrible dream ended, I woke, startled, my body drenched with sweat, and my heart thumping so hard I feared it would burst from my chest. "Fuck!" I uttered as I fought to control my breathing, too loud and too harsh within the silence of the Field Tent. For a moment, I couldn't remember where I was! Two pairs of eyes, one emerald-hued and the other golden, stared at me - obviously belonging to the warm bodies nestled at my sides - but what was I lying against that was actually breathing?

However, when I heard a soft noise - almost a purr - and then felt a smooth, fine-pointed tongue start to lick me, I remembered... "Ieesha?" I stuttered. "Is that you?" My beloved's gentle licking became a little faster, her worry and concern filling my thoughts as she said, ~Yes, beloved, it is I,~ As she continued to lick me, carefully cleaning the sweat from my body, she continued to speak. ~What a horrible dream that was!~ she said. ~Are you alright?~ At her concerned words, a choked sob escaped me before I replied, "No... I'm not. I think I'm going to fail at disarming that missile, Ieesha, and I'd rather not do it at all; I don't want that nightmare to become reality..."

A shudder coursed through my body as Ieesha continued tending to me. ~I don't blame you, sweet David; I shared your dream with you and saw the devastation the missile caused as it exploded. It took out not only Old Kelutral, but New Kelutral as well and the radiation from the fallout...~ She fell silent, a shiver coursing through her body, before she continued ~My advice to you, love is this: don't both disarming the damn thing at all! Instead, have the Probes construct and activate a Stasis Cell around the thing; then have the Dragon Weyr stuff it into the most heavily armored and shielded storage room the Nexus has. Once that's done, we clean up the area - dispose of the warheads and radioactive waste - and afterwards we have the Dragon Weyr shift the missile into the sun. Problem solved.~

At her words my worries soon faded - her idea seemed sound - but a moment later, I frowned in concern. "That's definitely doable" I replied, "but how do we dispose of the warheads and radioactive waste?" I asked. For a moment Ieesha didn't answer - she merely continued tending to me with her wonderful tongue - but once she was done cleaning me and my body was free of sweat, she said, ~That's easy, vitrification; we'll mix it with glass-forming chemicals in one of the smelters in the Dragon Weyr's Machine Shop and pack the resulting glass-like substance into psi-steel cylinders and store it. It'll harden in the cylinders, and then later, we'll have the Dragon Weyr toss it into Alpha Centauri B along with the old missile.~

At her prompt, matter-of-fact reply, my eyes widened, and then I said, "Damn, girl! Where do you come up with this stuff?" Though I could barely see her - the darkness rendered her large form as little more than a moving, dark shadow - I distinctly saw her lower her head, bashfully. A moment later, her embarrassment filled my thoughts as she replied, ~Well, Wikipedia helps!~ At that, I couldn't help it and neither could she; we both burst out laughing! Once we were able to get ourselves under control, feeling much lighter of heart and spirit we bid each other, and our animal friends, goodnight once more and then we all gently fell into sleep again. This time, our rest was far more easy.

The next morning - after downing a hearty breakfast, completing our morning ablutions and donning our respective armors which had been sent back newly cleaned by the Dragon Weyr - Ieesha and I briefly stopped by the Omatikaya Hometree. There, we took the time to wish Jake, Neytiri, the rest of the Omatikaya and my own Clansmen - who guarded the Life-Support Capsule housing Txe'lan ever-vigilantly - a good morning. "Has there been any change in her condition ma Tsmukan?" I asked Lompor. The Master Warrior of Tawkami shook his head, a weary sigh escaping him, before he turned to face me, his expression grave. "If there has been, ma Olo'eyktan, I could not tell you for I am no healer; all I know is that Txra'kon We'er watches over her still."

I nodded to him in acknowledgement. "Irayo ma Tsmukan" I intoned softly. "I know it must be hard for you to do this; you are a Warrior and Hunter for the Clan; it must be killing you to be standing about playing guard like this..." At my words, Lompor frowned deeply for a moment, his eyes narrowing, and then, a moment later a weary sigh escaped him before he replied, "While it is true that I am not suited to the life of a Clan Guard ma Olo'eyktan, don't think for a moment that I will shirk from the duty you have given us all; I, and the others, are honored to help Txra'kon We'er watch over our Clan Sister!" The other members of my Clan, whom were all on duty with him, nodded fiercely at his words.

"Sìltsan! When I complete my Penance, ma Tsmukan - the restoration of the Old Omatikaya Kelutral and its surrounding lands - Eywa willing, Mo'at will allow us to travel with 'Ite Txe'lan to Vitrautral. Then - one way or another - this will all be over..." Lompor nodded, a troubled expression creasing his face for a moment. "Srane" he replied, "there, Sa'nok Eywa will decide her fate..." For a moment, I did not reply; instead I fell silent for a moment. 'I hope that Eywa does save her...' I thought, 'because if she doesn't...' The thought was simply too horrible to comprehend, dear readers, and so I returned my attention to Lompor, giving him a small smile before I said, "Until that day comes, ma Tsmukan, guard her well!"

The Master Warrior nodded curtly, and then turned to resume his duty; as he did so we headed over to where Jake Sully sat eating breakfast with his people. Upon catching sight of us, Jake nodded to us in acknowledgement. "Ready to get on with the job, Zealot?" He asked. I, Ieesha, Falkor, and Miracle all graced him, Neytiri, and Mo'at with a polite and respectful bow, after which I promptly nodded as I replied, "Yep; got a plan for dealing with that missile..." Then, I told Jake of my beloved's plan and - once I had finished speaking - he nodded thoughtfully as he said, "Your yawne's plan seems like a good one, Txa'vit, but there are a couple of things I need to know: once the site's been cleared, how long will it take for any lingering radiation to decay, and for the land to become habitable again?"