Dream Hunt

"Brother!" Kayuli cried out, rushing to Tey'un's side and kneeling beside him as he rocked back and forth, gripped by terror.

"Tey'un, are you alright?" Anzyl knelt beside Kayuli, placing a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder.

Neil stood nearby, his mace resting on his shoulders. "Everything okay?"

Tey'un muttered repeatedly, "Kali'weya… Kali'weya…"

"It's over, brother! You're safe now!" Kayuli embraced him tightly, cradling Tey'un's head against his chest and softly chanting in an attempt to calm his autistic brother's ravaging nerves.

Anzyl sighed heavily, realizing his holographic healing abilities were insufficient to heal this deep-seated trauma. Spotting the curious townsfolk nearby, he had an idea. "Neil," he said, turning to his first officer, "Tey'un isn't going anywhere, and this room is safe for now. Can you escort these folks to the entrance? The way back should be clear."

Neil nodded and quickly went to guide the townsfolk to safety.

Returning his attention to the two brothers, Anzyl watched as Tey'un began to calm down.

"It's alright, brother," Kayuli reassured him.

"I'm… I'm alright, brother," Tey'un said, sitting up and shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I froze when you needed me."

Anzyl knelt down to meet Tey'un eye to eye. "Tey'un, can you tell me what just happened?"

Tey'un gulped and nodded. "That was a Kali'weya, from our homeworld. The last time I saw one was during my 'Uniltaron'... my 'Dream Hunt.'"

Anzyl furrowed his brow. "I'm not familiar with a Dream Hunt. What's that?"

Tey'un stood up, walked over to a ballroom chair, and sat down heavily. "Shall I tell you about my Uniltaron then Captain?" His brother Kayuli sat next to him, offering reassurance, while Anzyl nodded, giving him his full attention.

Taking a deep breath, Tey'un began, "When a Na'vi boy reaches the age of 15, he undergoes his ceremonial Uniltaron… his Dream Hunt…"

—

On the moon of Eywa'eveng, also known as Pandora to humans, a young Tey'un stealthily navigates through the dense, bioluminescent jungle of his homeworld.

With a stone jar clutched tightly in his hands, his gaze is fixed on a small decimeter (6") long Kali'weya arachnoid perched on a thick tree trunk. With determination and agility, he swiftly traps the arachnoid in his jar and seals it tightly. Then, he hastens back to his tribe at Home Tree.

—

Timidly and clutching his jar tightly, Tey'un walked towards the elders of his tribe, the yips and yelps of his tribesfolk echoing through the dense foliage surrounding Home Tree, their colossal dwelling. Tey'un handed the elders his jar with a shy demeanor, avoiding eye contact and maintaining a stoic expression. His Asperger's and autistic tendencies were evident for all to see.

"Today!" the chief priestess of Eywa announced to the tribe, silencing them and drawing full attention to the young Tey'un. "Today, Tey'un will join our tribe as a young hunter. Within his Uniltaron, he will meet his spirit animal guide!" She declared, placing her hands on the timid teenager's shoulders. She quietly muttered to herself "May Eywa help us..." before speaking aloud again. "Today, Tey'un will learn his destiny! He will meet his spirit animal, who will forever be his guide from this day forward! And finally, he will learn his place with Eywa and among the tribe!" Her words carried a hint of prayerful hopefulness.

The air was thick with haze of burning herbs and spices, creating a strange concoction of fumes that waft thru the air.

Another priest opened the jar provided by Tey'un and, with a stick, extracted the venomous Kali'weya that he had captured. Drums reverberated around them, chants and yelps resounded, while the other teenage Na'vi boys gossiped and chuckled among themselves, aware of what was about to transpire.

Approaching the apprehensive and scared Tey'un, a priest lowered the large arachnoid towards his neck. Meanwhile, another priest wafted the smoking incense in his face, filling Tey'un's nostrils and lungs with a strange mixture of herbs and scents.

Tey'un wanted to be anywhere but there. He didn't want to see a vision; he wanted to run. He struggled and squirmed as he whimpered in terror.

The high priestess held his head back, revealing his neck, and held him firmly in place. He cried and screamed in terror as the insect neared his neck.

The other teenage boys erupted with mocking laughter at his distress. "I told you he would cry like a baby!" they mocked, pointing at him.

The insect touched down on his neck, its rear stingers jabbed deep into his skin, injecting him with its poisonous venom, Tey'un yelled and screamed in pain and terror.

The noxious venom quickly flooded his veins, mixing with the fumes and incense in the air. The combination swiftly took effect: his pupils dilated, his breathing calmed, and his eyelids grew heavy as he descended into a hallucinogenic dream.

His Dream Hunt had begun.

—

Tey'un's eyes shot open as he sat up, finding himself not in the home tree but in the dark, on a sand barge, a minute desert island in the middle of the ocean. There was nothing around him except ocean water stretching out in every direction. No trees, no ferns, not even a bush. Just him, perched on a small sandy island roughly 3 meters (15 feet) wide, surrounded by the calm expanse of the ocean. It was night, with stars illuminating the sky, but nothing else. No clouds obscured the view, not even the massive gas giant that normally dominated the horizon.

"Hello?!" he called out, his voice echoing across the water as he searched the horizon for any sign of life. "Spirit animal guide?!"

His desperation and panic were palpable as he sought any connection to guide him on his dream hunt. "I would really like to meet you and discover my destiny now," he pleaded, his voice tinged with urgency.

Scanning the horizon, he found nothing. As he sank to the ground, pulling his knees in close, his breathing quickened, edging toward a panic attack.

Alone, with no response to his calls, no creature emerging from the depths of his dream, Tey'un felt the weight of isolation pressing down on him. Tears welled in his eyes as the realization sank in. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. He was meant to encounter his spirit animal guide, to unveil his destiny, to finally understand where he belonged within the tribe—to discover what was amiss with him and to find his place. "Are you there?... Can you hear me?... I can't see you… Are you there?" he repeated in a chant, rocking back and forth, curled up tightly in the beach sand.

A glimmer of light above caught his attention, and Tey'un looked up with tear-filled eyes. In the starry night sky, an endless expanse unfurled before him. Planets of all colors, shapes, and sizes appeared, while nebulas with gases of all colors of the rainbow formed and billowed. Comets streaked with their trails across the sky, and the wonders of the galaxy spun and billowed before his very eyes as he gazed up at the endless galactic heavens.

Then, a singular bright light sparkled and grew brighter and brighter. Tey'un stood up, his head tilted in confusion as the light slowly approached. Suddenly, realization struck him—it wasn't growing brighter; it was getting closer.

Panic seized him, and he ran, but the small shoreline prevented his escape. Tucking into a ball, he covered his head, bracing for impact.

The meteorite crashed with an explosive impact, sending sand and water flying everywhere, before silence filled the air.

Tey'un cautiously opened his eyes, peering at the small impact not far from him. Slowly, he crept towards the crater, his eyes widening in surprise.

Instead of a smoldering black stone like a normal meteorite, the crater contained a metallic shape—well-formed, cubic geometrical, and polished. Strange images and pictographs danced and shifted on its clean black surface.

Amazement and wonder filled him as he beheld this unfamiliar material from the stars. With trembling hands, he reached out to touch the object.

However, it wasn't a meteorite at all—it was a Starfleet computer terminal.