One Right Decision
Tez was the last one to step off the ramps of the gunship, her crew already a couple minutes ahead of her, since she was the newbie she had already forgot her protocol before landing so it took her a while to prepare, but she finally got it.
Her boots sank a little every time she took a step into the soft white sand of the metkayina village. She can feel the humidity already causing her skin to stick to her bullet proof vest and camo pants.
She looked around as she held tight to her automatic rifle that hung from her shoulder. She was in awe of the natural beauty, she could smell the sea salt and if there was any nature sounds she wouldn’t know because the only noise that could be heard was the RDA rotors that was drowning out the sound of the waves.
She walked up with the rest of her squad members, where each and every one of them had their guns pointed at a Na’vi that were all knelt before them. She recognized some of them since she had been told to study them back at the base and learn their tactics.
She remembered the face of Tonowari since he was the leader of the clan, the Olo’eyktan. And kneeling next to him was his mate, Ronal, the spiritual leader known as the “Tsahík.” She kept looking around scanning any familiar faces that she had studied and she recognized Tsireya and Anoung, the children of Tonowari and Ronal.
It didn’t take her long to acknowledge the Sully children as well. They were a darker hue of blue with a few other physical differences.
But what she mostly noticed how they were defenseless, they weren’t threatening or fighting back. As Tez became more aware of her surroundings her chest began to tighten. She felt off, she knew something was wrong here.
Sergeant Quaritch stood in the middle of the chaos, he calmly looked around searching for something in specific, or someone to say the least.
“Where is he, Tonowari?” Quaritch sneered, pacing in front of the Olo’eyktan. “Where is Sully?”
Tez gripped her rifle, her pulse hammering. This wasn’t the mission she signed up for.
Her eyes scanned the line of captives and landed on a small, trembling figure. She knew this one, it was Tuk- Jake Sully’s youngest. A soldier that was standing not that far from Tez grabbed his rifle and shoved the barrel against the back of the small girl’s head to stop her from crying.
There was words being shouted by all the Na’vis towards the soldier to leave the child alone. One of the boys attempted to run towards the child but was quickly yanked back to his knees.
“Sarge, she’s just a kid,” Tez whispered into the comms. Her eyes welt up with tears watching the child cry.
“Eyes front Tez,” Quaritch snapped. “Target’s a target.”
The soldier holding the gun to Tuk’s head clicked his safety off. “Am I counting to three, Sarge? Or should I just---”
This was the turning point for Tez, she didn’t react, she didn’t have the time to, she just did. She pivoted, her rifle was up and kicking her shoulder back. A burst of fire dropped the soldier that was threatening Tuk before he could pull the trigger.
Her heart was beating fast but was calm in her stance, suddenly all her squad members had eyes on hers.
“Traitor!” Quaritch roared, reaching for his sidearm, but Tez was already moving. She dived behind a supply crate, spraying cover fire. Everything was running so quickly, In the blurred chaos of the next sixty seconds, she took out three more soldiers who were leveling weapons at the crowd.
The remaining RDA, caught between the Na’vi and a rogue soldier, began to retreat towards the sea. The Metkayina warriors saw this opening as their opportunity, began to downfall their spears, taking out most of them. Quaritch, snarling a promise of vengeance, was dragged back onto the now lifting gunship by his remaining men.
Tez stayed in her cover spot until she saw the gunship turn into the size of an ant in the sky, knowing she was safe for a while until they were completely gone.
But now the silence that followed was heavier than the gunfire that just occurred.
Tez stood up and slowly walked around the crates, she lowered her rifle, its barrel still smoking. She plopped the weapon on the sand a couple inches in front of her, raising her hands. She wasn’t expecting a thank you or a welcoming in any way.
Within seconds, she was surrounded. Tonowari and Ronal approached her, their faces only expressing fury, rightfully so. Their eyes fixed on the human in the “Sky People” uniform.
“You killed your own kind,” Tonowari said, his voice a low rumble filled with only suspicion.
Tez took a pause and looked him in the eyes, “they were going to kill the girl,” her voice steady despite the circle of spears directly pointed at her throat.
Ronal hissed, circling Tez like a predator. “A snake who bites its own tail is still a snake.”
Tonowari gave a signal to one of his warriors and he was already in front of Tez binding her wrists with rough fiber rope and marched her towards the center of the village.
That evening, Tez sat bound to a support pillar of a communal marui. The entire village was gathered to decide her fate. The air felt thicker than before she got here. She felt steps approaching and in front, a couple feet away from her sat Tonowari, Ronal and now with them Jake Sully and Neytiri.
Tez guessed that they were filled in what happened earlier because Jake said, “she saved Tuk.” He didn’t come from a trusting place but from a more gratitude perspective. “We owe her at least for that, regardless of her uniform.”
“Owe?” Neytiri’s voice was like a knife. “She comes from the sky. She wears the skin of the demons. If we keep her, we bring their eyes back to us. I say we end it now.”
The suggestions from the crowd poured in like thunder. The warriors stated, “Take her to the deep water. Let the Akula decide of her fate.”
Ronal hissed, “She is poison. We should send her back to her people in pieces, as a warning.”
The debate raged for an hour. The villagers shouted for exile; others, moved by Turk’s rescue, whispered for mercy. Finally Jake looked at Tez searching for the soldier he once was, and spoke up
“Wait,” he said, “She should be a captive for now. We need to know what Quaritch’s next move is. If we kill her now, we lose our only eyes inside their wire.” Jake looked at Tonowari to see what he thought about his suggestion.
Tonowari raised his hand for silence, and everything fell so quiet, Tez could finally hear the waves clashing against one another and oddly in that moment of life and death, it calmed her.
“She will not be killed, the sky soldier stays” Tonowari declared. A chorus of hisses traveled through the hut. “But she is not a guest. She is a captive of the sea. She is to be kept in the hollows of the roots. If she moves without permission, if she speaks without being spoken to, the spears will not miss a second time.”
Tez looked up at them with her scarred face, she felt exhausted but her gaze unbroken. She had traded her life for a child’s and looking over at Tuk safely tucked under Neytiri’s arm, she knew she’d make the choice again if she was ever put in the same position.
