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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 39

(Continued from Chapter 38...)

At my words, Jake nodded, his expression suddenly solemn as he gravely replied, "Good. Stay safe, and good luck out there. Eywa ngahu." With those words I vaulted atop my beloved's back, and - as magnetic locks built into her armor engaged to keep me safely in place - within moments Ieesha and I were away, gravitic thrusters within her gently beating armored wings aiding us aloft, as we ascended to the sky and then headed onwards and away to Old Kelutral! As it turned out, disposing of the missile would prove to be a simple though somewhat delicate task, for when we arrived at old Kelutral and Ieesha landed - disengaging the magnetic locks such that I could dismount - we found that the Dragon Weyr was one step ahead of us.

There before us, close enough to the Kelutral Catacomb entrance that they could be quickly made use of but far away enough such that they wouldn't get in our way, the multitude of components needed to craft a Stasis Cell large enough to hold the decayed missile sat, waiting to be assembled by our team of probes. Beside those, even more components for the construction of four smaller, yet no less powerful, Stasis Cells sat; three of these had already been assembled, I noticed, while our team of Probes - who had warped here ahead of us - were diligently working to assemble the fourth. "Well, everything seems to be going according to plan so far," I murmured, watching with a critical eye as the Probes continued to assemble the fourth small Stasis Cell, "but, why would the Dragon Weyr assemble the smaller Cells first?

Why not make the one for the missile and then do the smaller ones?" As I spoke, an epiphany suddenly struck me, my eyes widening in realization before I nodded thoughtfully, murmuring "The Weyr wants all the nuclear waste gone first; it doesn't want anything getting in the way of its Probes when they bring the missile out of there since a bump or knock - a spark of electricity or even a reaction from the waste material - could set the whole damn thing off..." At that we turned, to look at each other, our expressions ominous and grim as we realized for the first time exactly how much of a danger the missile actually was. Soon the last of the four Stasis Cells that would each hold one of the Warheads was assembled, and - upon its completion - one Probe each took a cell and disappeared with it into the catacomb beneath Old Kelutral.

Swiftly, Ieesha and I moved to join them as they ventured within and - once we were inside the Catacomb - we assisted the Probes with the extraction of each of the Warheads; she with her Telekinesis, and I by handling them directly since - as a Penitent Zealot - I wasn't permitted to use any of my psionic abilities. Even aided by my beloved's psionic abilities the operation was not only time-consuming, but also extremely taxing upon us. Just being near the Warheads made us ill at ease, for even undetonated they were still so very dangerous; as we lowered each into its Cell inch, by inch, by inch I had to employ extreme caution whilst Ieesha employed the gentlest application of Telekinesis she could muster. One careless action, we knew, would be all that it would take to set the things off...

Together we worked in silence - employing every single technique we knew to try and stay calm and focused - but it didn't work; anxiety made us sweat rivers within our Encounter Suits as the tension we both felt filled the air so thick that one could cut it with a knife. Finally as the last of the missile's four Warheads was lowered into its Stasis Cell where it could do no harm - and the Cell was locked, utterly isolating the Warhead from time and space - I turned to look at Ieesha, a huge sigh of relief escaping me. "Well, love," I whispered softly to her, "we're still here." Too overcome with emotion to reply, my beloved merely nodded shakily, a choked sob escaping her as her midnight blue eyes misted over with silvery tears, which ran down her muzzle, then dripped off the end of her snout to fall into her helm.

With the missile effectively disarmed and our team of Probes staying behind to clean up the remaining radioactive material - leaning against each other for support - together, Ieesha and I staggered out of the suddenly too hot, suddenly too stifling catacomb beneath the ruined Kelutral. Together - almost clinging to each other as we moved - we made our way to the outskirts of the site where it was green and then... then we just couldn't take it anymore; Ieesha lay down, almost collapsing as she rolled to her side. I sank to my knees with her, doing my best to curl into her large form as she wrapped herself about me, despite the fact that we were wearing our respective armors.

Then, for a long moment there was silence - Ieesha said nothing as she gave me a long, reproachful look - before finally, she whispered, ~I would give anything, David, to be out of this armor - to hold you, to touch you - right now...~ Oh, dear readers, to give in - to remove my accursed Encounter Suit and to have her do the same - it was so tempting... With heavy heart, however, I knew that it could not be done for to do so would expose us to radiation. "I'm sorry, Ieesha, not yet; we still have to remove the missile. I've got to complete the Penance..." Upon hearing those words, which I immediately regretted speaking, my beloved finally lost control of her emotions.

Through the bond we shared, all of her pent up stress, anxiety and anger slammed into me with hurricane force, causing me to gasp aloud as she snarled, ~Great Dragon burn your damn Penance, you stupid, stupid human! You are so qss'ing righteous - so big on Tae'ah'ni - so utterly obsessed with your k'll qss'ing Va'sa!~ At her heated words I snapped out, "Hey!" but she silenced me with a deathly look, a snarl escaping her as she snapped, ~Hh'ron! Ich nul ta'si!~ I remained silent as she continued, ~What you must realize, Zealot is that I - at this moment in time - don't care a whit about your vaunted duty, or honor. I don't care about your Penance; I don't care about that qss'ing missile, and I don't care about this myr'ha place...~

At her words, suddenly - irrational anger ensnaring me with an iron grip - I snapped, "Oh, and you don't care about the Na'vi either, right?" At my tone Ieesha took a step back, baring her teeth, a shoulder mounted Photon Cannon unfurling from her right shoulder to track me with the movements of her head as she snarled, ~Ich da'na sah va'cht--~ Heedless of the Cannon she bore - I knew she would never fire it - I got in her face. "But you were implying it!" I yelled in retaliation. "Adun's Swift Silence, Ieesha" I continued, a moment later, "what do you expect me to do? Cease my Penance? Just... what? Leave the missile there? Leave the old Kelutral a smoldering ruin; the bones of the brave Na'vi man there unmourned?

What about the Omatikaya, hmm? Shall I also leave them to be poisoned by radiation; to sicken and slowly die out? What about the Dragon Weyr, my Clan, and my menagerie? All my wonderful animals; many of whom were lost, wounded, and without home? What about them? Shall I abandon them for you, too?" Since I'd started speaking, my beloved's anger had grown worse, and worse and now, beloved readers - as I asked that final question - suddenly, Ieesha snapped, ~YES,~ she howled ~YOU SHOULD! THEY'RE NA'VI AND WILD ANIMALS FOR TRAG'OUL'S SAKE! THEY SURVIVED WHEN YOU WEREN'T HERE AND THEY'LL SURVIVE WHEN YOU'RE GONE!~

At this point, dear readers I was incensed! 'How dare you!' I thought, privately. 'How dare you question the Oath I took so long ago - the Dae'Uhl - the sacred Oath and Duty I now uphold to this World and one of my very core beliefs! "Bullshit!" I shouted at her. "Falkor and Miracle, my two main animal friends from the core of the menagerie, would be dead if it weren't for me! The other animals would be too, if I hadn't saved them and given them a home." Utterly lost within the depths of her fury, Ieesha swiped at me with a heavy armored paw, forcing me to dodge out of the way as she howled ~THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE LET THEM DIE!~ I shut out her madness, however, as I continued, "And as for Clan Tawkami...

Well, who knows how long it would have been before Ema'zu hurt them, or worse, killed them all? He was a madman..." As I trailed off, however, Ieesha got right in my face, a tremendous bellow escaping her as she howled, ~FEWMETS! LO'AS! THEY DON'T NEED YOU AT ALL SO WHY DO YOU HELP THEM?~ At that point, dear readers, I just couldn't take it anymore. "BECAUSE IT IS MY DUTY" I yelled. "BECAUSE IT BRINGS ME PEACE, AND BRINGS ME JOY! BECAUSE WHEN YOU DIED THEY WERE ALL I HAD LEFT. BECAUSE THEY WERE THERE FOR ME WHEN YOU WEREN'T! AND BECAUSE... because... I love them, Ieesha. I love them all... at this point in time, maybe more than I love you..."

And with those final, whispered words - as Ieesha raised her head and keened a song of grief - I swiftly stood up and moved from her embrace. As I did so she tried to prevent it but I was too fast; blocking my half of the bond I shared with her, I stepped out and away then turned to march swiftly back to Old Kelutral, leaving her to grieve alone. I know, I know, dear readers, it was heartless of me to leave her so, but I just couldn't face her anymore; I was just so angry with her! A world-weary sigh escaping me, as I marched towards the charred ruin of what had once been the Omatikaya's 10,000 year old Hometree, I couldn't help but think, 'Why the hell would Ieesha just come out and say such horrible things?'

Even as the thought entered my mind, however, within I knew the reason for her maddened words; she desired something that I could never give her: the life we used to live on Aiur, wherein it was just me, her, and my work at the Judicator Assembly of Chionesu. Upon arrival back at the site of Old Kelutral, I sat down - resting my back against a blackened tree stump - and watched with a critical eye as our team of Probes, lead by Senior, began the laborious task of raising the body of the decaying missile up from the depths of the Kelutral Catacomb via judicious use of their Graviton Beams. It was an immensely difficult task - something that neither Ieesha or I could do - for the ruined Kelutral was so unstable that one wrong move could bring the entire structure toppling down...

"Easy... easy..." I murmured as they raised the missile up and out inch, by inch, its engines appearing first followed by the main and upper body; the only part missing being the missile's spike-nosed tip. 'Good' I thought to myself, 'they left it for the moment, but I'll need to remove it later when I check things out down there.' At last, the Probes managed to wrest the twenty-three by two meter missile from its prison of wood and earth. Once the army of little machines had the thing out, ever-so-carefully, they carried the disarmed missile over to its assembled Stasis Cell. 'Huh' I thought absently, 'that wasn't assembled when we first got here; only the smaller ones were. I reckon they must've put it together whilst we were having "time out" from the place...'

As I continued to watch the Probes work, soon I became aware of Ieesha as she slinked up to me forlornly, then lowered herself such that she could rest her great head in my lap. Without even thinking about it, I removed the block upon our bond, and then - as her fatigue, sorrow and grief filled my thoughts, I absently rested a hand upon her head, murmuring, "Hello there, big girl..." My beloved did not reply, at first - she just heaved a deep, shuddering sigh that ended in a choked sob - but then, softly she said, ~W-We... we should help them, David...~ Slowly, I shook my head, before I responded, "They know what they're doing better than us, Ieesha; we'd only get in the way."

A moment later, my voice became utterly devoid of emotion as I coldly intoned, "Please do not ever question my honor, duty, loyalty, and beliefs again, Ieesha." Yet another choked sob wrangled itself from her throat at my coldly spoken words, but I paid it no heed as I continued, "I know you and your kin - with lives lived in millennia instead of years - do not adapt well to change, but you've got to learn to adapt and you've got to do it quick. Things have changed, Ieesha - I cannot live the life I once had with you on Aiur because my life is here now, on Pandora, with my Clan and animals. If you cannot accept that..." Knowing where I was heading with this conversation, my beloved keened softly, the sound desperate and pleading, but I held firm and continued, even though it broke my heart to do so.

"If you cannot accept that, then I will find a way to cut the bond we share without killing either of us; that we might both go our separate ways." At my words - so utterly chilling and final - sheer horror filled my thoughts as Ieesha whined piteously, then removed her head from my lap and rolled onto her back, baring herself utterly to me in the ultimate gesture of submission. ~No, please, sweet David, please, d-don't leave me!~ she begged, her voice reminiscent to that of a frightened hatchling. ~Please, don't go! I will do whatever you ask of me - anything, anything at all - just, please don't leave me! I... I don't want to be alone, lost in the dark...~ Affixing her with a firm, unwavering, no-nonsense gaze, I replied in fluent Na'vi, "Then you must learn to See, Ieesha; to See me again, and See the world of Pandora as I do.

When Txe'lan is well, I shall ask ma Olo'eyktan Jhake, and ma Tsa'hiks Mo'at and Sen'aya to help you in this, but I will not aid you; this is something that you alone must do." Switching back to English, I continued, "Now come on, up you get! You might damage your armor if you roll on the ground like that." Having finally secured the rest of the Nuclear Missile into its Stasis Cell, our team of Probes loaded it - and the others housing the warheads and waste material - onto a custom-made, nanocyte-forged Gravitic Sled. Whilst this was happening, Ieesha carefully rolled over and moved to sit upon her haunches, resting her head in my lap again, her expression one of sorrow as she gazed up into my eyes.

~I am so sorry, David~ she said quietly, her voice thick with emotion. ~I didn't mean to say all those horrible things. It's just... the stress and tension we felt in there... it got to me, you know? I know you love your Clan and your animal friends - I love them too - and I know you would never give them, and your life here, away for anything; you told me that before, the day after we mated and found each other again, remember?~ Smiling behind my helm, I nodded, resting a hand upon her head, in between her ears as I replied, "Yes, I do." Then, looking at her with a mischievous gleam in my eye, I continued, "I also remember you being very cheeky, which resulted in me... chasing... your... TAIL!"

Swiftly I attempted a grab at that beautiful wriggly tail of hers but my beloved was too quick; laughing joyously, she leaped to her feet and raced away from me and I hastened to chase after her with a faux angry cry of, "Come 'ere!" All over the site of Old Kelutral did we chase each other - our Encounter Suits enhancing our speed greatly yet never quite allowing us to catch up to each other - until finally we collapsed, breathless in a pile of ash! As we lay there in that ash pile, through our bond the love we felt for each other - and the sorrow we felt at the harsh words we'd said to each other previously - flowed back and forth between us with all the intensity of a rushing river. After a moment, my beloved turned such that she could curl about me and press her armored head gently against my own. ~I really am sorry, you know?~ she said.

Wishing I could discard my armor that we might share breath and become more intimate, I suppressed a frustrated sigh as I replied, "I know, I'm sorry too, but... it was all true. When... when you were gone, all I had for twenty years was the silence of the Void where you once were - along with the presence of the Weyr of course - but then, I came to Pandora. I found Falkor first, then the others along with Sa'nok, and... here was something I could do; something I could focus on to... help me move on, you know? Helping the animals, and my Clan... it does bring me peace; it does bring me joy... but so do you, Ieesha! You are my Lifemate for Adun's sake and I will always love you - you will always be in my mind and my heart!"

My beloved did not reply; she couldn't for she was too overcome with emotion, her body wracked by silent cries, silvery tears streaming from her eyes to fall into her helm. Her helm wouldn't become damaged of course - her suit's Life-Support systems would remove any and all materials considered to be waste - but still, as we held each other close I couldn't help but curse again the fact that we needed the Suits; how I longed to remove them so that she and I could hold each other close! In most stories, dear readers, it is usually a cliché that - as the hero and heroine are relaxing and winding down, or becoming intimate, after a major event - something will happen to spoil the downtime.

Well, although she and I weren't "living a story" per se, it still happened; a soft curse escaped my lips as the Dragon Weyr pinged me with a moment's warning before a large burst of data was dumped into my head. "Ah, shit..." I cursed again. At the foul language, my beloved's alarm filled my thoughts as she cocked her head to stare at me before she asked, ~What's the matter, sweet David?~ Wordlessly I stood, gesturing for her to follow me as I moved over to the missile waiting upon its Gravitic Sled. "The Dragon Weyr just hit me with a Databurst" I said as we walked. "All the info it could scrape up from its Archives about that missile." At this, Ieesha seemed to wilt, her helmed ears drooping as a forlorn sigh gusted from her nose.

~Well...~ she said wearily, after a moment has passed, ~let's hear it...~ As we continued making our way over to where our team of Probes waited with the Sled and its sealed though still dangerous cargo, I obliged her. "Okay, according to the Dragon Weyr, that missile is a relic from one of the last Great Wars humankind had before First Contact with the Protoss was made; America versus the new U.S.S.R. Kept in its silo, but never used..." I lapsed into silence, then, as Ieesha raised her head to glare at the decayed missile, her eyes narrowing dangerously. ~Yeah...~ she said, her anger thick in my thoughts. ~Never used... until now! Trag'Oul's Burning Breath. What I want to know is: how, in Trag'Oul's Name, could the RDA get something like this? You don't just purchase a Nuclear Missile at your local Flea Market!~

"No, you don't, but the question's an easy one to answer, Ieesha" I replied. "Two words: money talks. Pay off the right people and you can get anything you want from a Nuclear Missile to..." Through our bond, Ieesha saw where I was headed with the conversation, and visibly paled as she voiced my unspoken thought. ~The assassination of a loved one...~ A second later, with a shake of her head, she continued, ~Sketh! This is the last thing Jake's going to want to hear!~ At this, I nodded as I solemnly intoned, "Yet I must tell him, Ieesha, for this is the Penance I bear..." With that, Ieesha and I moved behind the Gravitic Sled and then - with our team of happy, yet exhausted Probes following in our wake - we began to maneuver the Sled and its Cargo back to new Kelutral.