Chapter Text
May 18, 2153
The rumbles and creaks of the helicopter charge your nerves as you feel the wheels hitting the tarmac; God how long has it been since you've touched ground? Feels like it's been 50 years, well it's been a tenth of that… still, 5 years going by as if it never happened will never not unnerve you.
Cryosleep wasn't the scary part, what was scary was being 4.4 lightyears away from everything you’ve ever known. Only a few months ago (from the time you were put to sleep) were you walking across a stage to get your Master’s in biological and ecological studies. You had only ever heard of Pandora back on Earth and never would have been able to imagine that you would be able to study the local species. Apparently the right people were in attendance of your undergraduate thesis, because you were hired right out of university and prepped for your position throughout your Master’s program.
There are theories of spiritual link that ran through the planet that the locals could interact with and nowhere else would you be able to get that kind of opportunity.
“Let’s get a move on ladies” one of the marines yells from the back of the pit.
You can’t help but roll your eyes, they're acting like this is a fucking warzone. You grab your bags and head out of the helicopter; the bright blue sky blinds you as you step onto the ground of your new home- Hell’s Gate.
The walk from the helicopter is overwhelming with the bustle of human life on base. You head towards the designated entrance you were told but before you can get only a few steps in your name is called from someone behind you. Much to your surprise it’s a man in a lab coat, he has curly hair and thin wire glasses. He stops in front of you with a smile and an outstretched hand.
“Hello! I’m sorry to bombard you- I’m sure you’re exhausted from the journey. My name is Max Patel and I'm with the Avatar Program. We knew you were arriving today and Dr. Grace Austine asked me to retrieve you, there has been a development in our research and she thinks that you would have helpful insight.”
“A pleasure to meet you!” you take him with a smile, sure you’re tired but you’re also itching to explore the biology of this wondrous land.
“Of course! No problem…Dr. Patel?” you say, not knowing if the working hierarchy is strictly enforced with titles.
He shoos your words with a warm smile, “No, no, please, just call me Max”.
You return his smile, “Alright, lead the way Max”.
_________________________________________________________________
The whirring of machinery is the first thing you notice when you enter the lab, the second thing is the woman in the middle of the chaos with short red hair.
Dr. Grace Augustine.
For a moment you feel almost starstuck, back on earth every ecologist and biologist in academia knows of the famous Doctor who pioneered research on Pandora- now here she is right before your very eyes. Suddenly you feel your hands clam up and your heart beat faster; what if she doesn’t think your work is good enough? What if you don’t get along and then you’re just trapped (It’s not like there is another department they can put you in).
“Hey Grace! I brought back the new recruit” Max announces, leading you towards the other woman.
She turns around with a blank expression as you approach her… fuck.
Following Max’s lead from earlier, you introduce yourself with a smile and an outstretched hand. Thankfully he reciprocates and a welcoming smile of her own spreads across her face.
“It’s nice to have you here hun, God knows we need some more women around these parts” she whispers the last part with a wink before patting you on the back.
“I really cannot tell you how unbelievable this all is, I’ve been reading your research papers all throughout college and It’s just so surreal to actually be meeting you” you ramble, mentally smacking yourself for getting too excited.
Much to your relief she chuckles out a hearty laugh and nods, “Well I greatly appreciate that. You’ll see very soon that my methods in real time are a bit more chaotic than my polished papers. But what are we waiting for, we better jump right into it”.
Hours go by and you’ve gone from transporting spore samples to looking at microbes under the microscope; the movement of the cells are eerily similar to Earth's but yet there is something so unique about how they interact with one another. Grace’s papers weren’t joking when they proposed connected neural pathways between organisms. The microbes seem to reach and fuse with cells from other organisms when placed together, as if they were trying to make a connection on the biological level. Unfortunately for you, your body is feeling the transition from cryo to Pandora and your eyelids are feeling heavier by the minute.
Are you allowed to ask to leave for bed?
Where even is your bed?
Across the lab, Grace checks her watch and clicks her tongue, “Shit, I forgot they like the rookies down for the safety meeting”.
You look up from your microscope with a confused look, "safety meeting?”.
Grace rolls her eyes “it's just this stupid spiel the military grunts hand out to scare new recruits into submission. I guess some things never change no matter what planet you’re on. But you should probably go, otherwise they’ll just come in here and harass us for not sending you.”
Grace’s aversion towards the military rubs you the wrong way a little bit- you think of your brother; kind, selfless, and loyal- they’re not all like that…
But at the same time you can understand her plight out here- them constantly trying to colonize the planet rather than learn and embrace it. They often ignore the scientists' suggestions in favor of resource farming. You nod and quickly take off your lab gear before Max walks you down the corridor to give you directions to the briefing room. Even though Grace has been nothing but kind, you’re still intimidated by her- luckily Max seems much more approachable.
“Hey Max?” you ask.
He hums in response as the two of you turn the corner.
“Do you think it would be alright if I turned in for the night after this safety meeting?”
For a moment he stops and looks at you before laughing a bit, “Of course! You know you didn’t have to stay today, right?”.
Your confused expression answers his question.
“Oh no! Now I feel bad”.
“Huh?”.
“We all thought you were just really in a groove with your research- we didn’t know you thought you had to stay til a certain time” he explains with a shy smile.
Another mental facepalm.
“No worries, I’ll just store that information away for another time” you joke.
_______________________________________________________________
Everyone is already seated and listening attentively, once you reach the room. An older gentleman with a commanding demeanor is speaking; he’s a marine- a colonel in fact- you can tell he wears his rank with pride the way he leads with his chest. He slightly glares in your direction as you take the last seat available at the last table in the back. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too mad about it.
You can’t help but trail your eyes down his strong form; his arm muscles bulge from underneath the sleeves of his cammies and you can’t stop yourself from following his veins down to his rough hands. They’re worn from years of combat and training but do not seem any weaker from the wear. His expression is rough as well but is surprisingly expressive. His compelling blue eyes make it harder to look away.
“As head of security, it is my job to keep you alive” he says loudly.
There is a thick air of unease as he pauses and turns on his heel.
“I will not succeed” he states.
Honestly it’s a good line, keep people in line and comply with the rules- a classic marine speech tactic, you remember your brother used to use a similar trick on you when you were younger. You were too exhausted to be too bothered by the prospect of a giant alien planet possibly killing you. You were a scientist why would-
“Not with all of you” the man finishes, his eyes staring directly into your soul.
Ok, now you can worry.
You sit rigidly in the metal seat until he finishes, eyes locking a few more times throughout. The briefing ends and everyone scatters whispering hushed concerns; you also get up to leave but you're stopped by a familiar voice.
“Ah-ah Sweetheart, not so fast” his heavy bootsteps approach you slowly.
Once you turn he’s right next to you, staring you down with intent- it’s not like you to get intimidated so easily but you also have an audience. Behind him is a small group of other marines who have all taken a seat at the table beside yours (no doubt to watch you get chewed out by their leader).
“Colonel.” you address him with a nod.
He quirks a brow and tilts his head, “I’m impressed you caught my rank considering you were late to my briefing”.
Ok, so he’s one of those guys.
“Did you happen to catch my name?” he quirks a brow.
Fighting the urge to roll your eyes you answer his stupid question, “Colonel Quaritch”.
Quaritch’s piercing blue eyes bore into yours as his mouth quirks into a smirk, “Colonel Miles Quaritch- That’s right, sweetheart”
What a prick.
“And If you really must know, I had been called by my superior to aid an incident right after I touched base- so I think if you’re really that upset you might want to talk to them”, truly you did not mean to have that much sass but your tone was exacerbated due to the fact that you had not had a lick of sleep since you landed on this planet.
“Feisty” he says, his upper lip curling into a smirk as he shoots a glance back to the crew of spectators behind him; a few of them egg him on.
“Alright little missy, no need to catch an attitude” he says with a slight playful undertone to his gravely voice, “But since we are on the topic, who is your supervisor?”.
“Dr. Grace Aug-” you begin but he cuts you off with a huff.
“That explains the little stick up your ass, you’re one of those science pukes” he places his tongue in his cheek and turns to the others with a certain look you can't quite place.
“Without us ‘science pukes’ you would have tried to breathe Pandora’s air and would be growing bioluminescent fungi in the forest right now” you shoot back, your exhaustion making you irritable.
“What’s your name, Darling” the colonial asks, in a much more serious tone.
Reluctantly you give it to him and a satisfied smirk settles back onto his face.
“Good girl, I’ll have to watch out for you around here, make sure you’re staying in line” he says as he begins to leave the briefing room, the posse of other soldiers following.
What did that even mean?
Once the group is out of sight you exhale a breath you didn’t know you were holding and wait a few more seconds before heading out to make sure you wouldn’t run into them again. You head back towards the lab since you aren’t actually sure where the barracks are.
“So how was the tyrant’s speech?” Grace asks, looking up from her task when she sees you enter.
“Well he definitely takes himself seriously” you say with an awkward laugh.
She scoffs and rolls her eyes, “ain’t that the truth”.
“He called us science pukes so I told him that he’d be dead without our research” you say in passing as you head towards your bags in the corner.
From behind you Grace bursts out into laughter- literally bursts; it honestly shocks you. Who would have thought Dr. Grace Augustine could be so tickled by your (pretty standard) attitude?
“It’s about damn time someone else gave that old meat head some pushback! I knew I liked you” she said with a wide grin.
Happily you return the smile before she gets up and stretches.
“Alright, I guess I better show you to your barracks, we’ll have the real tour tomorrow” she says with a short wink before you follow her out of the lab.
You’re going to fit right in.