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Disclaimer: Blah, Blah, Blah. I don't own Avatar; James Cameron does. All the Avatar stuff belongs to him. However, my Na'vi character, myself, the Dragon Weyr and its technologies, and the Pandoran animals of my menagerie are all mine. The Protoss - apart from my characters - all belong to Blizzard Entertainment.

Pandora's Templar

A Work-In-Progress Story by Coranth Dehanae

Chapter 38

(Continued from Chapter 37...)

At the question, my beloved's sadness tore through my thoughts - causing my eyes to mist over with tears, which I did my best to blink away - as Ieesha gazed solemnly at Jake, her expression becoming haunted. ~It will not happen during your lifetime, ma Olo'eyktan,~ she whispered, sadly. At her words, Neytiri hissed and Jake scowled as he asked, "What do you mean?" Ieesha swallowed thickly as she fought to keep herself from weeping and I placed a hand upon her neck in reassurance - passing love and affection to her through our bond - as she continued, ~High-level radiation of the type we're dealing with - such as the radiation from the warheads of this ancient missile - doesn't just decay overnight.

One radioactive element inside each of the missile's four nuclear warheads is called Uranium-235; the other is Plutonium-239. Plutonium-239 has a half-life of about 24,000 years. Uranium-235, on the other hand, has a half-life of... of...~ She faltered, closing her eyes as she struggled to stop her tears from escaping. Then, a moment later, she choked out, ~Over 700 billion years...~ At this I gave her a sharp look. 'We can do something about that, too, can't we?' I thought to her, privately. 'What about the Dragon Weyr's prototype Terraforming Nanocytes? We can have the Weyr whip up a batch of them, can't we? They should be able to help clear the radiation and work the land back into shape in no time!'

That happy thought, however, was dashed as negation from the Dragon Weyr filled my thoughts, a feeling that was soon followed up by my beloved's sadness and frustration as she replied ~No... no, we can't use those! Don't you remember? We deemed them a prototype for a reason: they terraformed land all right... by turning it into psi-steel!~ At her words I paled as I remembered the disastrous events of the day when we'd attempted to test said Nanocytes by having them transform a piece of the Great Victoria Desert into an Oasis. Needless to say the test of the Terraforming Nanocytes hadn't gone well--at all! The Nanocytes, newly created and a bit too over eager, had ended up creating not a simple Oasis, but a complete human-and-animal habitable resort, the quality of which was beyond five-star! I, Ieesha, and the Dragon Weyr had found the whole thing hilarious.

The members of the World Wide Fund for Nature, however - whom we were hoping to support with this technology at the time - hadn't been happy. Pulling myself away from these memories, I sheepishly replied, 'Oh. Yeah...' A moment later however, my private conversation with Ieesha was interrupted as Jake looked to me, his expression forlorn as he said, "So... it'll take a long time then?" On either side of him Neytiri and Mo'at just looked lost; there were no words or numbers in the tongue of the People to allow them to comprehend 'billions' of years. Nodding, I swallowed down some saliva to moisten my suddenly dry throat before answering, "Yeah. A very long time..."

A frustrated sigh escaping him, Jake responded, "Look, rutxe, just do what you can to clean up the area, alright?" At this, we promptly nodded and turned to leave - in order to get out to Old Kelutral and do just that - Jake called out, "Hang on; wait a minute!" When we turned back to face him, he continued, "Last night, when you were with me and Neytiri in our Alcove... what was that you said about setting up a 'Gateway' here? What's a Gateway, anyway?" When I explained to him, Neytiri, and Mo'at, in simple terms, what it was, how it functioned, and what I intended to do with two such devices here on Pandora, Jake let out an awed whistle before he shook his head.

"Wow..." he said, after a moment had passed, "so these things can be used to send your people from their Homeworld, Aiur, to... wherever they're needed?" Immediately, I nodded, a small smile gracing my features as I replied, "Pretty much, yeah, so long as there's another Gateway at the place they're being sent to." Mo'at, her eyes widened in wonder, said, "And you will build one of these things - a Tawfya'o - here at Kelutral, to bring our Clan to your kelku, Txra'kon We'er, for healing?" At her words I nodded, before replying, "Srane, Mo'at, with Jhake's permission I will build one here, and another at Txra'kon We'er, along with the Pylon Networks needed to provide tìtxur to both. Once they are built, Jhake will be able to swiftly move the Clan all the way to Txra'kon We'er.

When you are all there, I will bring each member of the Clan into the swotu eo ayzeyko inside Txra'kon We'er; there you will all be given a medical examination and, if it is needed, treatment for damages caused by the sngel that emanates from the Sawtute weapon beneath your old Kelutral." At this, Mo'at nodded, a pleased expression upon her face, whilst Neytiri scowled furiously at us for a moment and then turned away. Jake Sully, meanwhile, nodded - the expression upon his face grim - as he looked to us both and said in Na'vi, "As Olo'eyktan of the Omatikaya, I grant you, Zealot Txa'vit and Templar Iee'zha of Txra'kon We'er, permission to erect one Gateway and its network of supporting Pylons at the outskirts of our land, so long as you swear that the ketuwong structure will be used for the good of the Clan."

Then, switching to English, he continued, "Whatever it takes; get it done, then get your asses to Old Kelutral and get rid of that damn missile, soldier!" Immediately Ieesha and I straightened to stand at attention, holding our heads high as I gave Jake Sully a formal salute, barking in Khalani "Gau'gurah!" Inside, our hearts swelled with happiness, for it felt like the old days, back on Aiur; we had a go for a mission from a Commanding Officer! Softly I asked in English, "Look after Falkor and Miracle for me?" At this, my beloved animal friends both whined and trilled softly in protest, but I stood firm with them and wouldn't back down; this made Jake laugh aloud before he answered, "Sure, the Clan and I will keep them both safe. Now get out there!"

With a final bow to Jake Sully, I, Ieesha, and our team of six Probes did just that; together, we made our way down new Kelutral to the ground and then - once our feet were on Terra Firma - we headed to the outskirts of the Omatikaya's new Hometree. Upon our arrival there we scouted the land, looking for a large flat area upon which to Warp in the Gateway and its Pylon Network. As we did so I contacted the Dragon Weyr to ask for two of said Gateways - in addition to six Pylons - to be fabricated, however there was actually no need for me to do so. Whilst I, Ieesha, and our animal companions had slept last night the Weyr had been busy and had already fabricated the first Gateway and Pylon Network; then it had brought the structures into being, after warning the Clan to keep well away from the Warp Vortices preceding their arrival!

Now, even as I let out a whoop and jumped for joy - briefly startling several of the Omatikaya whom were weaving textiles for the Clan, and their children whom were playing - the Dragon Weyr was nearing completion of the second Gateway and its support structures. "All right!" I crowed. "Thank you!" At my exclamation, Ieesha cocked her head in curiosity; however before she could speak I said to her, "The Dragon Weyr's already fabricated and Warped in the first of the two Gateways we need, and is finishing up the second; the mission's underway!" Upon hearing this - much to my and the Omatikaya's amusement - my beloved trilled for joy than briefly chased her tail, before stopping to nuzzle me as she enthusiastically said, ~Alright; that's great!

Let's find a good area where we can place the second--oh...~ and here she spoke to the Dragon Weyr, ~can you please tell the shuttle we arrived in to head back to the Homestead? With the second Gateway coming I just realized that we won't be needing her to bring us and our Clanspeople home when we're done here.~ The Dragon Weyr - as was usual, responded by sending us both a vision... Standing before John Connor, his protector - the Terminator - grinned, before he said "No problemo!" When the vision faded, Ieesha and I just couldn't help ourselves; for a moment we leaned against each other, shaking with silent laughter! A few moments later - when we were able to get ourselves under control, Ieesha asked, ~When - he-he-he - will the second Gateway and Pylon Network be ready, mae aya'fo?~

At her question - as the great construct continued its work - it sent us yet another vision... Facing his assistant, Smithers, Mr. Burns - the Boss of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant - rubbed his hands together as he uttered darkly, "Soon... very soon..." The little clip once again had us in stitches of laughter; once we were able to recover, Ieesha's body heaved as she gasped for breath. ~Remind me... oh, remind me - he-he-he - to tell the Dragon Weyr to stop sifting through its archive of old Cartoons when it's bored!~ My beloved said. Struggling not to resume laughing myself, I snorted and chuckled for a moment, before I managed to choke out, "Will do!" A short while later we managed to get ourselves under control and it was a good thing, too, for no sooner had we done so than I was hit with a psychic 'ping' from the Dragon Weyr.

"Ah," I murmured, "and that would be the second Gateway and its Pylons completed..." Affirmation from the Dragon Weyr filled my thoughts at this, and with that Ieesha and I swiftly set about looking for a suitable area of land upon which to have the Dragon Weyr warp the structures in. As we walked about, looking for a suitable area - despite stern warnings from their parents to stay away from us - we soon began to be followed about by a group of young Omatikaya children; children I noted who held no fear of either myself or Ieesha. They were far too young to have heard the horror stories of the RDA; of what my kind had done to their Clan, and their land.

Soon, we found the perfect piece of land for the Gateway and its Pylons to be sent to; a large, roughly flat piece of grassland not too far from Hometree and yet far enough away that having the Gateway there wouldn't upset, or impede, any of Jake's Clan. "Probes... fall in!" I ordered softly in Khalani. At my command, the six Probes with us - and surprisingly the Na'vi children who had followed us - all stopped before me at attention. Ignoring them for a moment, I addressed the Probes. "Initiate Warp-In for all Pylons followed by the Gateway in three, two, one... Mark!" No sooner had I spoken than four of the Probes split off from our team and then, as separate entities each manufactured and planted a micro-beacon into the grass-covered ground.

A device similar to - but much smaller than - the personal warp beacons that I, the animals of my menagerie, and my Clan wore on their bodies, the micro-beacon provided an anchor and entry point for structures to be warped to a destination; in this case said structures were the Gateway and its supporting Network of three newly manufactured Protoss Pylons. No sooner had the three devices been planted than the micro-beacons each emitted a unique psychic signal. Far, far away, back at our Homestead, the huge Protoss Nexus known as the Dragon Weyr detected the anchoring signals emitted by the beacons, locked on to them, and - now knowing where to Warp in the buildings - sent a signal of its own back to the beacons before shunting the newly completed structures through its internal Warp Gate.

The Gateway and Pylons were now on their way. Back at the outskirts of New Hometree, meanwhile, the People of the Omatikaya - adult and child alike - gasped softly in awe, and sometimes fear when, upon receiving the return signal from the Dragon Weyr, the micro-beacons activated, opening four great Warp Vortices in their vicinity; swirling cerulean rifts that tore the very fabric of space and time asunder! Although they had never seen a Warp Vortex before - and knew not what these strange burning lights that floated in the air were - instinct coupled with a healthy dose of fear warned the adults to stay away from these hiyìk things, for they were dangerous.

The children whom were with us, however, either didn't listen to those instincts or were simply curious; although many of them stayed with us when the Warp Vortices appeared, two of them - a young boy and girl, the names of whom I did not know - gasped with wonder and ran towards the amazing pretty lights. As their parents cried out with fear, swiftly, Ieesha and I chased after them and, thankfully, managed catch them; I wrapped my arms about the young girl whilst Ieesha snagged the young boy's taparrabo in her jaws! ~Whew, that was close!~ Ieesha said as she carried the now very contrite boy back to his parents like a Viperwolf carrying an unruly pup--in her jaws, hanging by his taparrabo.

'I'll say,' I thought privately as I carried the whooping, cheering girl in a fireman's carry back to her father, 'Warp Vortices that powerful aren't meant to be used by humans or Na'vi! Those two foolish children could have been killed!' No sooner had we returned the children to their much relieved parents, than all the Na'vi about us gasped again and gave voice to their feelings of awe, amazement, and fear, staring wide-eyed as the first of the three Pylons needed to support the Gateway appeared before them, the Warp Vortex it had arrived through swiftly closing as the structure materialized into being. All Protoss structures and, to a lesser extent, the Protoss themselves, gained energy from a great Psionic Matrix emanating from their Homeworld, Aiur.

Whilst a Protoss Nexus - in this case, the Dragon Weyr - provided a link to this matrix, Khaydarin crystal-based Pylons were the structures needed to actually tap the psionic energy drawn by the Nexus and then shunt said energy to new colonies. As with all Pylons employed by the Protoss Empire, this one was an incredible sight to see. Hovering in the air roughly six meters above the ground the Pylon consisted of two distinct parts, the largest of which was a giant Khaydarin Crystal that measured 61m tall, had a 25m radius, and weighed almost 600 tons! Wrapped around the circumference of the central part of the crystal was an enormous, golden psi-steel band.

This band was called the Control Ring and, normally, it would have been populated by a number of Khalai Technicians going about their business of monitoring the Pylon's systems and ensuring that it operated properly to provide the correct amounts of power to whatever structures the device serviced. Here on the world of Pandora, however, the Protoss Technicians weren't needed for the Pylon was a construct created by the Dragon Weyr and - like all such things - was possessed of its own artificial intelligence that automated all of its systems. As Ieesha and I stood there, gazing at that first Pylon with satisfaction, from beside me a roughened male voice spoke in English, "Wow..."

Upon hearing the softly spoken word, we whirled about to see Jake, Neytiri, Mo'at, and my own Clan's Senior Tsa'hik, San'eya, standing with us their eyes wide with awe and their jaws all hanging open! A grin split my feature for a moment, before I asked Jake, "Hey, man, what are you doing down here?" For a moment, my question didn't even register with Jake - he was still staring in awe at the newly warped-in Pylon - but when Neytiri sharply nudged him he closed his jaw with an audible clicking of teeth before he answered, "Shortly after you and she," he said, gesturing to Ieesha, "snagged those two children; thanks for that, by the way." My beloved and I nodded to him in acknowledgement.

"We wanted to see what was going on down here, but we weren't expecting to see this" he continued a moment later, gesturing to the Pylon. "Is this the Gateway? It's amazing!" At the question, I laughed and shook my head before answering, "Nah, this thing's a Pylon. It provides power to other structures, and if you think that's amazing, then you ain't seen nothing yet..." No sooner had I finished speaking, then the last two Pylons and the enormous Protoss Gateway arrived via their respective Warp Vortices. The three Pylons - arranged in a triangular formation about the Gateway - were big, but the Gateway itself was bigger, towering over the other three structures in all of its golden psi-steel glory.

"Damn..." Jake uttered softly, an awed whistle escaping him, "you... you really aren't a Tawtute, are you? No Tawtute can just... make things appear from thin air!" At his words I slowly shook my head before replying in the voice of a movie announcer, "I'm half Tawtute. Half Ketuwong. All Hero!" A chuckle escaped Jake at this, before he became somber and asked, "So, what happens now, with the Gateway?" For a moment, Ieesha and I looked at each other, thinking - our thoughts passing back and forth to each other faster than could be comprehended. 'Jake and his Clan should be fine for the moment; they've survived with the missile here for 142 years. Getting them to the Dragon Weyr can wait a little longer, until we've cleared away the missile.'

My beloved Ikraness nodded in acknowledgement, her agreement filling my thoughts as she replied, ~I agree, David, but we'd best get it cleared as soon as we can; I don't like the thought of treating the Omatikaya, only for them to be afflicted by radiation again because we were negligent in our duties.~'Neither do I' I thought to her; then, speaking aloud to Jake I answered, "We'll keep the entrance to the Gateway closed for now; I don't want any of your Clan - children especially - going in there due to curiosity and ending up at the Weyr by accident." At my words, Jake frowned in concern - the elliptical pupil of his eyes narrowing into slits - as he asked, "Would that be a problem? There's nothing dangerous at Txra'kon We'er that could hurt them, is there?"

Almost immediately, Ieesha and I both shook our heads before I replied, "Nah, there's nothing dangerous there; it's just that... well, the Clan I lead - Tawkami - is very different when compared to most other Na'vi Clans. I don't want anyone going to the Weyr by accident and then getting scared shitless by the things they see there, such as all the different animals living there without any violence and all of the ketuwong technology. Tell your people what this", I pointed to the Gateway, before continuing, "is; that it's a way back to my kelku and won't cause them any harm. Tell them to ignore it all for now, but that we'll be using it later to take them to Txra'kon We'er for healing."

Jake nodded to me in acknowledgement, but then, a grin split his features, as he replied, "I can tell the Clan we'll be using the Gateway later, sure, but as for telling them to ignore it, well... it's a little too late for that..." At his words, I returned my attention to the Gateway and its Pylons to find that - upon realizing the strange structures weren't a threat - many of his Clan were actually gathering about the alien structures in curiosity. Those of the Clan whom were tool makers marveled at the glyph-inscribed psi-steel construction of the Gateway, whilst children and other adults alike played happily, or lay upon the ground to bask in, the rejuvenating aura emanating from the Pylons.

Those of the Clan whom made jewelry were in awe as they gazed up, and up, and up at the Khaydarin Crystals that were the heart of each Pylon; never had they seen or even conceived of crystals so large, or so beautiful, even if they weren't natural things. Soon I was pulled away from watching the Omatikaya when Jake tapped me on the shoulder, sharply clearing his throat, "Ahem!" Slowly, I turned to face him, only to find him glaring at me sternly, a deep frown creasing his face. "Look at what you have done to my people, Tawtute; turning them away from Eywa and corrupting them with the beauty of your kawng ketuwong things!" he spoke in Na'vi, in a deep, booming voice.

Upon looking at him, at first, Ieesha and I were worried; had we come so far, only to be denied now? Then, I looked at Jake a little closer, a sigh of relief escaping me as I saw that it was all a facade; Mo'at had her hands over her mouth as she attempted to suppress the laughter threatening to escape her, Jake was fighting a smile that tried to turn up the corners of his lips and Neytiri was struggling not to smile even as she gave me a deathly glare. My love and I gazed at each other for a moment, and then I turned back to Jake, shrugged my shoulders and replied, "Uh... Oops?" At the point, all three lost it; Jake, Neytiri and Mo'at slumped to the ground, howling with laughter.

When they were able to control themselves again, Mo'at spoke, her voice filled with wonder as she looked at the great Gateway and said, "So this is the Tawfya'o that will take us to Txra'kon We'er. And it will not damage the land? It will not fill the air with txum, like other Sawtute aytxula do?" At her question, a short burst of negation from the Dragon Weyr filled my thoughts as Ieesha and I shook our heads before I answered, "Kehe. The Tawfya'o is not a Tawtute aytxula; it doesn't work like that, ma Tsa'hik. The Tawfya'o is powered by Txra'kon We'er. Let me tell you how..." And thus, I did. By the time I had finished my explanation of Psionic Energy, Aiur's great Psionic Matrix, how the Dragon Weyr was connected to it and how the mighty Nexus drew upon the energy of the matrix - to not only power itself but also other structures - Mo'at was utterly silent, her eyes wide and jaw dropped in wonder.

Shortly thereafter, Neytiri, gazing at me in wonder - as if truly seeing who I was for the first time - spoke up. "So... let me see if I understand what you are saying" she said. I nodded to her and she continued, "Deep within your, kelkukifkey, Ay'rr, there beats a mighty txe'lan, a txe'lan from which all Pro'tx'oss aytxula draw tìtxur, including Txra'kon We'er. Txra'kon We'er draws titxur from the txe'lan of Ay'rr into his own; what you call the... 'Weyrhome?' Is that right?" We nodded, and she continued, "From there, Txra'kon We'er draws upon the tìtxur to not only keep himself alive, but also every other aytxula at your... your Homestead... and even this Tawfya'o," she gestured to the Gateway, "but for this aytxula, Pxaylonxs are needed to bring Txra'kon We'er's tìtxur here, because he is so far away."

When she finished speaking, I smiled at her and nodded as I responded, "That's it; you've got it!" At my words, Neytiri smiled for a moment, but then, a frown creased her features before she asked, "Txa'vit? What... What would happen if the Tsaheylu between Txra'kon We'er and Ay'rr was mun'i? Would Txra'kon We'er die?" at the question, a shot of /fear/ from the Dragon Weyr ripped through us for a moment. A Total System Failure of the Dragon Weyr was something we couldn't bear to think about; it was something that hadn't ever happened; something that we - prayed to Adun - would never happen! Soon, looking at Neytiri I grew solemn and thoughtful as I answered, "I do not believe so.

Psionic energy is the power of the mind; it exists wherever life is in the Universe and doesn't just come from Aiur. If the psionic matrix were ever lost Txra'kon We'er would still be able to live, because he can draw tìtxur from other things such as the sun, the wind, the rainstorm, and even heat that comes from below the ground." At this, Jake, Neytiri, and Mo'at nodded, their expressions warring between amazement and relief. As they did so, I heaved a weary sigh and said, "Well, that's enough talk; we'd better go and deal with that missile beneath old Kelutral before it gets too late in the day..." With that, as Ieesha activated her armor's helmet, swiftly I reached up and pressed a button at the base of my Encounter Suit's neck to don my own helmet.

The activation was swift and, at least for the three Na'vi, unexpected. Microscopic panels engaged and slid out of each other, the entire thing folding out from the suit's collar that rested around my neck, until at last the golden-scaled head of a male Kirathian Dragon rested atop my shoulders to cover and protect my own simple human face. With the softest hiss of air, the NBC seals of the Encounter Suit engaged and then - after running a quick diagnostic upon the armor's systems to ensure that all was well, I raised my hand in a wave to Jake and his Clan as Ieesha did the same with her tail. "Well, we're off to deal with the missile now. If all goes well, we shouldn't be too late getting back; in fact, we'll probably be back sometime this afternoon."