Chapter 22

"It's so good to hear your voice my Harri." An image of Sukal on the beach was displayed on his monitor as Harry and Ra'sar travelled away from Hells Gate. Now free of eavesdroppers, except for Ra'sar, Harry had been able to finally connect with his lover.

"I can't wait to hold you in my arms again." He whispered affectionately, he could see Sukal start to blush, her eyes fluttering and her tail starting to fidget. Just the sight of her calmed his nerves, the threat of death and war from the Colonel somehow didn't seem so terrifying anymore.

"When are you coming back? The tribe has already started to pack."

"Pack?" Harry was confused. Had they found a suitable island to house the tribe?

Sukal knocked her head. "I forgot you missed the council." Her eyes lowered and spoke in a quiet voice. "The Metkayina clan has agreed to accept our request for sanctuary."

The word weighed on his heart. He had only been amongst them for several weeks. If it wasn't for his rescue of Sukal, he wouldn't be counted among them. Now that family was no more.

"I'm sorry…" It was such a human and insufficient sentiment, yet it was all he could say. "When are you…?"

"We only got a response yesterday. It will be several days to prepare everyone for the long journey."

"I'm on my way, my love. I just have one more stop to make. I'll be there soon, and then I'll have a surprise for you."

Harry was tired of the struggle. His romance with Sukal may have happed faster than he anticipated, far faster than a human coupling but for once in his life, he felt free to be happy. Free to love. For that he would give up anything; the fancy equipment, the luxuries of his island home, his rotorcraft. If Sukal's tribe was joining the Metkayina, he would follow her even if he had to abandon everything he'd spent his human life building.

A blue face tried to see over his shoulder.

"Harri! You found a Navi woman to take you? Does she know about the water…"

"Stop bringing it up!" Harry yelled. How dare the single Navi mock him for finding love.

Wanting to take a closer look at his friends mate, he clambered over the seats to move closer. As he went, his limbs knocked switches and pressed buttons. Alarms started to blare and the rotorcraft started to descend.

Desperately trying to undo Ra'sar's blunders, a blue tail slapped his face. Ra'sar seemingly to ignore the crisis, pushed his face in front of Harry's to get a better view.

"Pretty! Harri what is that word you taught me… Ahh, I remember! Hot!"

Pushing him down into a nearby seat, Harry was finally able to stabilise the plane. His cheeks inflamed with embarrassment, instantly regretting having ever taught Ra'sar English slang.

"Harri… who was that?"

"No one dear. Just one of the Navi friends I told you about before."

"Oel ngati Kameie" (I see you) Ra'sar called out, finally remembering his manners. Sukal responded in kind, laughing at the antics of the younger Navi.

Seeing his island ahead, he brought the conversation to a close.

"I'm about to land my love, I will be with you as soon as I can."

"May you walk with Eywa, my Harri, until we are reunited."

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The island seemed much the same, the plants he had speciality cultivated now grew wild and tall. Checking the status of his drones on his holo-tablet, most were now sitting idle after finishing their tasks. Harry could set up more jobs and transform a wider area however he didn't feel the need to.

The once barren island was now transformed with steep ravines becoming gentle slopes of wildflowers. Where the central trees remained on the island, rich soil had been painstakingly transported to one day give rise to a thriving forest. The ocean bay had been expanded with great stone protectors forming a barrier to stop large waves and predators from entering.

Underground, more had been completed. A whole scientific base constructed below the island's surface that could comfortably house two dozen eager researchers. Where his other shuttle deliveries had been automatically used, or if not, the remaining space underground had become a large warehouse. Sitting below sea level, it was reinforced with metal alloys and was designed to hold his equipment until it was needed.

The final shuttle, if Selfridge kept to his word, would come in the next few days. It was the most fragile and in some ways, the most valuable equipment he had brought with him. What he was most keen on was the Ion powered quantum computer. It would enable him to make use of the ridiculous processing power even remotely, not having to be concerned about signal interference any longer.

Harry didn't know how he felt about the final item on the upcoming shuttle manifest. It was a final card he could use if all else failed. Katy, his CEO, had insisted on it as an emergency precaution.

A ship.

It was nothing like the scale of the ones that regularly transported troops and material to and from the local system. It wasn't much larger than his plane but was equipped with a pro-type engine that would enable him to travel back to Earth.

"Do I want that?" Harry mumbled, he was making a life on Pandora and found himself thinking of Earth less and less every day.

He made the change on his tablet to move it to storage.

He didn't see it coming in use any time soon.

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Harry was about to lead Ra'sar down to the training droid, which seemed to be one of the primary reasons why Ra'sar had followed Harry to the Island and refused a drop-off on the way when the Atokirina (Seed of the Spirit tree) moved.

It had been silently with the pair in their adventure into Hells Gate and didn't respond to any of the threats or show of force but now returning to the island, it started to float away. Harry had to resist the temptation to capture it and pull it down, feeling strange without its presence resting in his hair.

It started to float before his eyes before drifting away on unseen winds out to the bay. It's unspoken command to follow.

Taking off, surprising Ra'sar who jogged after, the pair followed in the path of the seed. Seeing it float over water, Harry dived in. The water flowed over his body as if welcoming him home. After spending weeks every day learning the way of water, it was now where he felt most comfortable. Most at home.

Ra'sar, not a fan of the sea, decided to halt his pursuit and observe the chase from a nearby rock.

Harry swam further out, occasionally putting his head above water to track as he moved away from the main island towards the smaller surrounding outcrops of rocks or islands. Then the seed did something unexpected. It descended below the water.

As Harry was about the follow it, a black shadow approached him. Not as scared, or defenceless in the water as he had once been, he grasped his knife.

Chirp!

It was his old friend, the ilu. It circled him before popping out of the water and splashing him. Harry reached out and for the first time stroked the ilu that had been persistently irritating and amusing him since he first came to the island.

"It's been a while huh. Good to see you again old friend."

Chirp! Chirp!

"Well, I'm sure there have been plenty of fish you could have hunted by yourself…"

Chirp!

"Ok, I'll be sure to let you know next time." Laughing at the sheer absurdity of having conversations with sea creatures, Harry asked. "Do you think you could help me out?" Reaching for his braid and queue, he noticed the ilu paddled back slightly. This wasn't one of the reef people's domesticated ilu, who had been trained for generations to accept the bond. It was wild. "Trust me."

The ilu approached slowly, offering its queue to Harry. As the nerve fibres met, Tsaheylu was made. Adapting to the new mind, it being different than even his experience of other ilu's, he mounted its body before mentally commanding it to follow the seed.

The seed shone with white light as it descended into the water. Harry wasn't sure what to do. It was clearly a seed, and therefore it made sense if it landed somewhere it could grow. But it was from a spirit tree from land, he didn't know if it could survive under the water.

Taking a more scientific role as an observer, Harry followed and didn't interrupt its path.

Several minutes later, the seed approached an underwater rock outcrop. Gliding around it Harry tried to follow but quickly lost sight of it. Looking down he saw what seemed to be a tunnel. Guiding the ilu closer, he steeled his nerves and followed.

The tunnel was narrow with black rocks lining the walls that sparkled as rays of light hit it. Unobtanium. Going further in, he finally caught up to the Atokirina in a wide empty space. An underground cave system.

Breaching the surface and replenishing his breath he looked around in wonder. Beams of daylight descended from a fissure in the roof leading to the island above. The cave system was lit up by the refracted light that bounced off the Unobtanium walls. The whole cave seemed to be made from the rare material. It was also the reason his scans hadn't detected this space. Unobtanium was difficult to detect hence the need for resonators, however Harry hadn't bothered as he had no intention of mining.

The cave was under one of the secondary islands near his home, isolated and safe. Diving back down, his head and a heart full of questions he saw something few Navi had ever had the privilege of seeing.

The birth of a spirit tree.

The seed seemed to melt before his eyes, a fountain of white light pouring into the sand. A single brilliant white stalk remained above the surface. Small but majestic. It was the first growth of a new spirit tree that would be at the heart of Navi tribes for generations.

As Harry watched the miracle performed before his eyes, he wondered hopefully, could Sukal's tribes join him here?

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Harry decided not to share the whole story with Ra'sar, instead omitting mention of the seed's final destination. Luckily Ra'sar was easy to distract by giving him access to the training room.

Harry watched Ra'sar spar before taking his turn. It felt like a lifetime ago when he trained here, since then he had learned much from both the way of water and his spear instructor Doeung.

The fight was surprisingly easy, Harry being able to dominate the droid with his increased strength and greater understanding of how to link his attacks together. The fight ended with his victory, however still not satisfied he increased the level.

Ra'sar cheered on from the sidelines as Harry and the machine battled it out. Many of the tricks he had learned from the reef people were able to exploit an opening in the machine's fighting style. Grabbing the extended arm, he yanked the droid forward into his waiting fist. As he went to finish the match with a quick stab to the heart, he felt it by his ribs.

A foam knife was pressed just under his ribs, angled up to pierce his heart.

"Dead!" The machine declared victoriously.

He had been so focused on his attack that he had left a gap in his defences. He had forgotten to fully disarm his opponent and suffered for it.

Perhaps Harry still had much to learn about combat.