Chapter Text
JAKE'S FACE, in icy darkness. CLOSE ON his eyes -- they OPEN suddenly, and he takes a sharp breath.
“Were you okay, daddy?” Tuktirey asks, concerned. Did he have a nightmare? Or was it something else…
”Yeah, I was okay, Tuk.” Jake reassures, with a smile.
JAKE'S POV -- the inside of a metal coffin. We see the camera focus on two droplets of water, floating in midair.
“How is it doing that?” Kiri asks, mesmerised. She’s never seen anything like it.
“I was in space,” Jake explains, “there was no gravity, meaning we, and everything else, had to float.”
“What is ‘gravity’?” Tsireya questions.
“It’s what keeps everything on this planet on the ground. Without it, everything would be dancing about in midair.” Jake answers.
Everyone looks slightly confused at Jake’s wording, but get the general gist. This is turning out to be very educational, as well as intriguing.
A SERVO WHINE and we are moving, emerging into a large chamber --
INT. CRYO VAULT JAKE'S POV -- A TECH in medical scrubs FLOATS WEIGHTLESSLY toward us. Wherever we are, we're not on Earth.
Many of the Na’vi in the room lean forward on their seat, ears facing forward with interest. They had never seen anything like this, they hadn’t even known it was possible!
Jake squints as the lights flicker on, revealing -- WIDE SHOT -- the multi-tiered CRYO VAULT. Hundreds of CRYO- CAPSULES are opening like morgue drawers, as med techs pull themselves about in ZERO-G, tending to their patients.
“There were so many Sky-People.” Lo’ak comments.
JAKE (a hoarse whisper): Are we there?
MED TECH: We're there, Sunshine. We’re there.
“‘Sunshine’?” Tuktirey voices, tilting her head. Why had this man called her daddy that?
“It’s a pet name,” Jake says, “like how I call you ‘babygirl’, or how your mother calls me ‘My Jake’.”
Tuktirey makes a noise of understanding and leans back into her seat, looking at the screen.
Neytiri smiles at Jake acknowledging the name she uses for him. The name shows the significance of her love towards her mate. Even if Jake doesn’t understand its meaning, it reminds her of everything there is to love about him, and that he is hers.
TIME CUT -- SCORES OF PEOPLE emerge from their cryo-capsules in ZERO-G. Pale spirits of the dead rising from rows of open coffins. The MED TECH floats among them, using his announcement voice.
MED TECH: People, you have been in cryo for five years, nine months and twenty two days. You will be hungry, you will be weak. If you feel nausea, please use the sacks provided for your convenience. The staff thanks you in advance.
“I’d hate to be the one cleaning up the mess of other peoples vomit.” Lo’ak grimaces.
“I feel bad for whoever had that job.” Roxto agrees.
FOLLOWING JAKE as he pushes away from his capsule, gliding to the LOCKERS across the aisle, his paralyzed legs not an impediment in weightlessness.
CUT TO: EXT. SPACE Against the cold infinity of stars glides an INTERSTELLAR SPACECRAFT -- ISV VENTURE STAR. As it moves past like an endless train, we realize this thing is ENORMOUS -- over half a mile long.
PAN WITH IT 180 to REVEAL -- A GAS-GIANT PLANET called POLYPHEMUS, ringed with dozens of moons which cast beauty-mark shadows on its vast face. The ISV diminishes away from us toward the largest MOON-- a blue and surprisingly Earth-like world called PANDORA. The ship dwindles to a speck against the BLUE MOON.
The Na’vi stare in wonder at the different point-of-view of their planet. It was as beautiful from afar as it was up close.
CUT TO: EXT. PANDORA ORBIT ISV Venture Star drifts above a spectacular vista -- the sapphire seas and unfamiliar continents of Pandora.
CLOSE ON ISV -- two massive "VALKYRIE" SHUTTLES are mated to a DOCKING NODE. One of them separates from the starship and moves away, its thrusters FIRING in short bursts. As the shuttle moves away, descending toward Pandora, we hear the sound of DRUMS, building, louder and louder.
CUT TO: EXT. RAINFOREST - TWILIGHT FLYING OVER A LANDSCAPE of massive cliffs and towering mesas carpeted in rainforest. Great scarves of cloud swirl around the mesa tops. A primeval landscape, vast and forbidding.
The trees are alien, the color too cyan. There are waterfalls, rivers, and distant flocks of WINGED CREATURES.
The Metkayina take in the beauty of The Forest. Their home is beautiful, but the Ometikaya’s home is just as marvellous. Perhaps, they could visit sometime.
Ao’nung feels a small amount of guilt creep up on him for insulting the Sully’s about not being Metkayina. He wonders if he should apologise, but then remembers it’s Lo’ak he’d have to apologise to, and immedietly loses that thought.
“I forgot to say,” Roxto starts, “I am sorry for making jokes about your looks when you first arrived. I had never seen Ometikaya Na’vi before, so I didn’t know what to expect.” He finishes, bowing his head.
“It is okay, Roxto.” Kiri smiles. “We are glad you apologised to us.”
Roxto looks up to see the other Sully members smiling at him. The smiles range from wide smiles (Tuktirey), to small smiles (Neytiri), and to forced, but genuine smiles (Lo’ak). The rest of the family have a gentle smile on their face.
Huh, Ao’nung thinks, Roxto must have been reading his mind.
Suddenly the carpet of virgin rainforest gives way to -- AN OPEN-PIT MINE. A lifeless crater -- as if a giant cookie- cutter took a chunk out of the world. Down among the terraces are EXCAVATORS and TRUCKS the size of three story buildings. And beyond the mine is the HUMAN COLONY -- 7.
Neytiri and Ronal growl at the sight of their planet being destroyed. The Sky-People have no right to ruin something that is not theirs.
Jake places a hand on Neytiri’s thigh, she looks at him and he looks at her. Jake’s face is wearing an expression of empathy and sorrow, but he still has a small smile. Neytiri’s anger melts away, her pupils dilate as she smiles back, knowing this her mate is here and everything is okay.
Kiri, Lo’ak and Neteyam watch, mouths hanging open in shock at how easily their dad calms down their mom. When they had misbehaved and Neytiri was the one to punish them, they had never been successful in calming her down, it’s a miracle at how fast their dad does it.
They must have the strongest bond out there, they think with a smile.
EXT. HELL'S GATE - TWILIGHT HELL'S GATE is a cluster of squat concrete and steel structures surrounded by chain-link FENCE 10 meters high, topped with razor wire. At the corners are towers with automated SENTRY GUNS swiveling on servo mounts.
Visible beyond the gun towers, the VALKYRIE SHUTTLE roars in across the treetops. VECTORING NOZZLES change angle, bringing the ship to a SLOW HOVER.
EXT. RAIN FOREST - TWILIGHT Through a screen of jungle canopy, we see the VALKYRIE thunder overhead. Camera TILTS with it until leaves block the view. A BLUE INHUMAN HAND reaches INTO SHOT, parting the foliage to reveal the shuttle hover-taxiing across the compound.
REVERSE -- ECU of two intense, cat-like golden EYES watching
The Metkayina are looking, pleasantly surprised, at how the Ometikaya put up a fight. Having Na’vi spy on the Sky-People is very smart.
INT./EXT. SHUTTLE The CREW CHIEF stomps down the aisle yelling --
CREW CHIEF: Exopacks on!
Passengers don their EXO-PACK breathing gear with practiced moves. Everybody except JAKE, who's turning his this way and that trying to figure out the straps.
Lo’ak and Kiri snort at Jake failing to understand a simple instruction, Neteyam and Neytiri shake their heads fondly at him. Jake glares, playfully, at them all and sits back in his chair with a huff.
Tonowari and Tsireya smile at the inderaction. It’s a great bond the family share, even with a lot of miscommunications.
CREW CHIEF: Remember people, you lose your mask you're unconscious in 20 seconds and you're dead in four minutes. Let's nobody be dead today, it looks bad on my report.
The crew chief stops by Jake long enough to bark --
CREW CHIEF: Exopack on, let's go!
Neytiri hisses, lowly, at the treatment of her mate, the rest of the Sully family becoming protective of their father, as well.
Jake squeezes Neytiri’s thigh, hoping to calm her and the rest of his family when he says, “Guys, you can’t be reacting like this whenever you see someone treating me wrong. Everyone has to be rough there, it’s how they get things done.”
“They should not treat eachother like that.” Neytiri says, angrily. “Especially, not you.”
The children nod in agreement.
“I know, but it was normal over there. I worked for the military, remember? I went to wars! I could handle a bit of shouting.” Jake insists.
Neytiri takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Although, she hates to admit it, Jake is right, she would be to disrupting if she reacted every time Jake got hurt. She leans back in her seat, quietly.
The children except Jakes reasoning, understanding he’s strong enough to endure it, even if it does make them mad. Lo’ak has a harder time to do this, anger still bubbling in him, much like his mother, but he shakes his head to rid of it, and goes back to watching the screen.
BENEATH THE SHUTTLE air blasts outward for a hundred meter radius as it settles onto its landing gear. INSIDE everybody is queued up in the aisles, with duffles ready. Rows of tense, expectant faces in breathing masks --
We DIP DOWN to find Jake, wheelchair putting him at the level of everyone else's WAISTS.
THE CARGO RAMP OPENS with a hydraulic whine.
CREW CHIEF: Go directly into the base! Do not stop! Go straight inside!
HAND-HELD, running with the arriving colonists who double time down the ramp. They jog across the exposed apron toward a walkway covered in CHAINLINK which leads to the complex.
“I must say, their methods are very effective.” Tonowari comments, tilting his head.
His family look at him like he’s lost his mind, causing him to hold his hands up in surrender, “I’m not saying we do that, it’s just an observation.”
Tsireya calms down, sitting back in her seat, while Ao’nung and Ronal roll their eyes in exasperation.
Inside the chain-link tunnel are a couple of SEC-OPS TROOPERS, CORPORAL LYLE WAINFLEET and PRIVATE FIKE. Sec-Ops is the colony's private security force. These guys are laid back, hardened, and haggard.
Jake bares his teeth at the screen, unable to stop himself. Remembering what they, and everyone else, did to the Ometikaya. He can’t help but feel attacked by guilt when he remembers that he took part in that.
The Sully kids exchange looks of concern, never seeing their father show such aggression to someone. He only shows his disappointment when shouting at them, and any other time he prioritises everyone being safe, so seeing him that mad is suprising.
“My Jake?” Neytiri questions, looking at him with worry.
Jake closes his eyes, relaxing back into his seat. He runs his hand down his face, “Sorry,” He says.
“Do not apologise for feeling.” Neytiri says, firmly. She puts her hand on his shoulder, squeezing.
Jake looks at her, smiling, showing his gratitude. She smiles back, comfortingly.
WAINFLEET: Look at all that fresh meat!
THEIR POV -- Jake rolls down the ramp.
FIKE: Check it out, man. Meals on wheels.
WAINFLEET: That is just wrong.
“Why are they so rude to you, just because you are not like them?” Kiri comments, frowning. The Sully’s look at Jake, waiting for a response.
Ao’nung has the decency to look ashamed, knowing he did the same thing to the Sully’s when they first arrived.
“Because, I had no feeling in my legs. Me, on a strange, unknown, dangerous planet wasn’t going to end well.” He explains.
The family nod, accepting the reasoning, but are still not happy about the treatment if their father.
Jake, pumping his chair, looks around as -- A huge TRACTOR, taller than a house, ROARS past on muddy wheels. He notices something sticking in the tires -- ARROWS. The neolithic weapons are jarring amid all the advanced technology.
Beyond the tractor, two VTOL vehicles take off. Armored and heavily armed, they are AT-99 "SCORPION" GUNSHIPS. MITSUBISHI MK-6 AMPSUITS -- human operated walking machines 4 meters tall -- patrol the perimeter.
They are heavily armored, and armed with a huge rotary cannon called a GAU-90.
The Na’vi stare, impressed, yet disgusted at the machines. They are impressive, but what did the Sky People have to do to achieve them?
Beyond the outer fence stands a black wall of forest hundreds of feet high. A SENTRY GUN OPENS FIRE from a tower. TRACERS light up the twilight. A shadowy SHAPE SHRIEKS and drops off the fence. It is an armed camp in a state of siege.
WAINFLEET and Fike give Jake and his chair the hairy eyeball as he approaches.
Neytiri and Kiri roll their eyes at the men.
JAKE: What're you two limpdicks starin' at?
The children let out unexpected laughs at Jake’s comment, not expecting such a thing to come out of Toru Makto’s mouth. The adults huff with laughter.
Lo’ak and Neteyam can’t help but notice how different their father acted back then. He was younger, yes, but he also acted more.. carefree. More relaxed. It was weird, but it was also nice to see a more chilled version of their father. A version they could both relate to.
As Jake rolls past, SOMETHING SWOOPS down behind him.
K-KRASH! SMASHES against the chain-link right next to his head. A vicious AERIAL PREDATOR a meter across gnashes glass fangs against the steel.
It STABS at him through the chain link with a tail ending in a glistening stiletto. A STINGBAT.
WAINFLEET casually BLASTS IT with his PISTOL. It drops off the fence, tail still lashing.
Jake winces at this. Neytiri let’s out a low hiss, while Lo’ak and Neteyam glare, tails swishing. Tsireya and Kiri look sad for the creature.
WAINFLEET: Seen a lotta guys leave this place in a wheelchair. Never seen anybody show up in one.
Jake stares at the gnashing fangs of the dying alien.
ON A WALKWAY of the OPS CENTER, seen from above, a UNIFORMED FIGURE grips the railing, watching Jake pump his chair through the tunnel below.
Jake can’t help but let out a growl at this. He knows who that is, and he’s not happy that man is being shown. Alas, Eywa must show what needs to be shown, he supposes.
The children are shocked, once again, to hear such a feral sound be released from their dad. He looks even angrier than before.
Neytiri looks at Jake, confused and concerned. “What is wrong, My Jake?”
“That man is Quadrich.” Jake growls.
The children and Neytiri now know why Jake is reacting in such a way, anger and fear shown on their faces, too.
The Metkayina look confused.
“Who is ‘Quadrich’?” Tsireya asks, tilting her head.
Jake attempts to gain composure. He knows he can’t be acting like this whenever someone he dislikes comes on screen. He sighs, answering Tsireyas question. “He is not a good man. You will see, but he is not to be liked.”
Tsireya nods, the message also being sent to the others.
The hair is clipped short. The scalp is etched by long parallel SCARS where some Pandoran denizen's claws raked across it. The bare arms, below tightly rolled sleeves, seem hewn out of some hard tropical wood. Criss-crossed by scars.
The MAN raises his masked face to look at the sky. He eyes are an icy steel gray.
HIS POV -- the mighty POLYPHEMUS seems to fill the sky, beyond the clouds.
MAN (V.O.): You are not in Kansas any more...
Neytiri and Jake frown, but do not show another outward reaction. They do not want to cause a scene. This is in the past, they keep reminding themselfs.
Ronal must admit, the man even sounds cruel, just by his tone of voice.
CUT TO: INT. COMMISSARY - TWILIGHT THE MAN from the balcony -- COLONEL MILES QUARITCH -- is the HEAD OF SECURITY for the Hell's Gate colony.
A hundred new arrivals watch raptly as he paces like a panther across the front of the large cafeteria.
He stops, stance wide. Without his mask, we see that Quaritch's features are rugged and handsome, except for the SCAR, which runs from scalp to jaw down one side of his face. On one hip he carries a very large PISTOL.
Lo’ak smirks at the damage their planet had done to the evil man. Nobody should be able to hurt his family and get away with it. Sully’s stick together, that’s what his dad always says.
QUARITCH: ... You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen. Respect that fact every second of every day.
“Damn right, you should respect it.” Jake comments, earning himself a find eyeroll from Neytiri.
JAKE ROLLS IN, watching from the back.
“Always late.” Neytiri tutts, trying to lighten Jake’s, and everyone else’s, mood.
“I was on a wheelchair then, you can’t blame me.” Jake huffs, falling for Neytiri’s trick.
The children become less agitated at their parents pleasant mood.
COLONEL QUARITCH raises his hand and points out the window, toward the dark treeline.
QUARITCH: Out beyond that fence every living thing that crawls, flies or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes for jujubees.
The room gets very quiet.
QUARITCH: We have an indigenous population of humanoids here called the Na'vi. They're fond of arrows dipped in a neurotoxin which can stop your heart in one minute. We operate -- we live -- at a constant threat condition yellow.
“‘Threat condition yellow’?” Roxto questions, looking at Jake quizzically.
“It basically means that you should be constantly cautious. Never let your guard down.” He explains.
Roxto nods, pleased with the answer.
PAN ACROSS the solid faces of miners, Cat-machine drivers, engineers, geologists, as they take that in.
QUARITCH: As head of security, it's my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed… not with all of you. If you wish to survive, you need a strong mental attitude, you need to follow procedure...
“Straight to the point.” Lo’ak comments, making Neteyam chuckle.
PUSH IN ON JAKE, watching as the briefing continues.
JAKE (V.O.): Nothing like an old-school safety brief to put your mind at ease.
“Really? This relaxed you?” Ao’nung points out.
“It gave me a sense of familiarity. Everything else was new to me, I was used to this.” Jake responds, defending himself.
“Whatever you say.” Ao’nung shrugs, looking back it the screen.
Toniwari and Ronal frown at his tone, while Tsireya hits him on the arm, not hard, but still sore.
“Stop being so rude.” She scolds, looking back at the screen, causing Ao’nung to frown.
Roxto giggles at the scene. Ronal and Tonowari smile is their daughter and her politeness. She will grow up to be a fine young female, they think, also turning to look at the screen.