Avatar: The Guardian

Prologue: Steel Flames

Author note: I use { } to separate Na'vi and English when it's appropriate for the scene.

The spinning cyan and white orb of the gas giant Polyphemus dominated the sky as night fell over the vivid jungles of Pandora. There was no sign of the normal serene bioluminescent landscape as huge flames flickered into the sky, lighting it up. Screams of terror and panic took the place of the typical nocturnal animal cries in the night sky.

In the heart of Pandora's jungle, ash fell from the sky and covered everything as thirty Na'vi huddled together in a clearing that was encircled by the flaming wreckage of their village. They clung to one another, wailing and crying, as the remains of their loved ones were strewn around them after an unexpected battle broke out when they were preparing their evening meal. The only survivors were those who had been injured and were either too young or too old to take part in the battle.

These people were the last of a peaceful tribe that had lived in the lush jungle of Pandora for endless generations; their only crime up to this point had been to settle in a place too close to where the RDA planned to build a new facility. There was neither a warning nor a threat provided in advance to relocate elsewhere. Without prior cause, they were attacked.

Surrounding them were a dozen human soldiers, the dreaded "sky people" they've heard so many stories about. Some of them were torching what remained of their village with flamethrowers, while the rest held their guns trained on them. A patrol aircraft hovered overhead as a cyclone of fire and ash whipped around them. The landscape seemed like something from the depths of Purgatory.

A lieutenant, who was outfitted with one of the recently developed exoskeleton suits known as Skels, served as the group's leader. These cutting-edge, lightweight suits made a human as tall and powerful as a Na'vi. His freshly shaven face had a look of utter malice, and the Na'vi could see his diabolical expression in the flames' reflection. The robotic hand of his suit gripped a young Na'vi girl by the neck while her mother sobbed hysterically.

More soldiers would arrive, bringing three more prisoners at gunpoint. One of the prisoners was cradling an arm that was bleeding from a gunshot wound. The soldiers cursed and mocked them, calling them "blue monkeys" and using some offensive words in badly broken Na'vi they had picked up. They coerced them in the direction of the other detainees at gunpoint, and once there, they joined the ranks of the other captives.

The lieutenant watched the scene without a hint of remorse and signaled his soldiers to look over the prisoners with a brief hand motion. His troops acknowledged him with nods, and they moved into a new position to look over them. After this, he looked at the man next to him. "Ask them about the rebel leader, Sergeant."

The man next to him took a few steps forward, draped his weapon over his shoulder, and then pulled a PDA out of his bag. After pressing a few keys, a picture of Jake Sully showed on the screen, along with the words "Rebel leader, Wanted Alive" in English underneath it. He then cleared his throat, and began speaking to them in Na'vi while displaying a photo of Jake Sully to them at the same time. "{We are looking for this individual. Anyone who steps forward with information about his whereabouts will be allowed to leave unharmed.}"

The Na'vi watched in bewilderment since the majority of them were too young to recognize him, and the Elders had not seen him in almost a decade since the last conflict with the sky people. Since armed soldiers were encircling them, they were unable to escape or take any action.

"I'm confident they'll understand what will happen if they don't cooperate." The lieutenant said as he tightened the suit's hold on his hapless victim's neck while grinning menacingly. There was a brief period of tense silence before the prisoners began to speak.