Chapter Text
Colonel Alejandro Vargas's dream wasn't to reach for the stars, that was always his twin brother's dream. Samuel Vargas was a nerd and although his parents would never admit it, was the family favorite. Unlike Alejandro, he didn't have an explosive temper, never got in trouble for starting fights in the school lunchroom, or landed himself in the principal's office unless for a reward or praise. Alejandro was envious of Samuel, but he could never bring himself to hate him. No, he could never hate his brother. The one who cleaned his scrapes gave him tissues whenever he got a bloody nose, and who could rant about Greek mythology for hours. Greek gods, goddesses, and heroes were always a conversation for Samuel and if you asked him about Bellerophon, he could talk about the hero for hours on end.
Alejandro liked mythology as well, just not Greek. He leaned more toward Aztec mythology and if you asked him to talk to you about Quetzalcoatl, he would be ecstatic. Unlike Samuel, he wasn't calm or a doormat. He chose to think with his fists more than his head. He was Samuel's protector, keeping people off his twin by fighting them off with harsh words that earned him a slap and a scolding from his mother and tough beatings. Alejandro picked fights with anyone who got on his bad side, no matter how big or small they were. With the bigger fellows, Alejandro usually ended up getting ganged up on and beaten to a pulp.
The twins, with their different interests and looks on life, went their separate ways.
Their parents weren't surprised that Alejandro joined the Mexican Army. He was a natural-born fighter and they were glad that they found a job that allowed him to put his firey spirit to good use. Las Almas needed another load to store in the canon to use in their fight against the cartel. The money he made from his career managed to give him a decent living and with his benefits, he managed to send himself to a decent college. He was content with his bachelor's degree and secluded life as a colonel in the Mexican Special Forces and he believed this was all he ever will be.
A soldier caught in a war that wasn't his to fight.
Samuel, however, put his brains to good use in one of the most prestigious colleges in Mexico. He was so dedicated to being a space scientist that he was noticed by the Avatar Program, the AVTR Program for short, started by the Resources Development Administration, or RDA, which was the largest single non-governmental organization in human space. Its power outmatched most Earth governments in wealth, political influence, and even military capability. The program enabled the humans to explore the remote and hostile environment of Pandora, an extrasolar and fifth moon of Polyphemus and it was warmed by the Alpha Centauri System, a star system that was almost identical to humanity's solar system.
Alejandro, unlike Samuel, never had time to look at the stars. He was too busy trying to keep himself alive, dodging bullets, and neutralizing all threats that came to him and his country, big or small. He stopped looking at them years ago. His twin brother dreamed of not only looking at the stars but exploring them. He would never say it to his face, but the colonel thought it was a stupid dream. It sounded so childish. But, that’s what he loved about his brother, the fact that he never lost sight of his childish side and dreams. He never gave up on his dreams and all the years he spent in college and studying for exams that lasted hours on end were taken away in only a few short minutes.
A guy with a knife took all Samuel would ever be for the paper in his wallet.
As Alejandro looked down at his brother's face, now pale and devoid of any of his liveliness and warmth, he couldn't help but feel guilt eating away at him. He wished he spent more time listening or at least acting interested in all the facts Samuel spat out during their video calls instead of brushing him off with a few nods and disassociated hums. The attendant, a person in a sanitary suit, sealed the cardboard coffin that held his twin brother as if Samuel were a package for shipping. Goosebumps prickled Alejandro's skin as the box was rolled into the furnace and the burners sparked to life. The fire made quick work with the cardboard box and soon, the gluttonous flames were making their way to Samuel's body.
The colonel couldn't bring himself to say 'corpse.'
Warm tears stung his eyes and the colonel let out a shaky breath, covering his eyes with his hand as he squeezed them shut. He could still see the hellish light through his closed eyes and he forced himself to turn away, not wanting to look at the horrifying image of Samuel's face being engulfed by the inferno.
Or, in other words, his face.
"Your brother represented a significant investment," Even though the agent was only a few feet away from him, he sounded far away.
"We'd like to talk to you about taking over his contract and since your genome is identical to his...you could step into his shoes." The second agent added, holding up a pen and a piece of paper for Alejandro to sign. "What else do you have to lose?"
The last question cut through Alejandro like a bullet and his puffy and teary eyes grew wide. His hand fell away from his face, his brown eyes, full of grief and rage, staring at the floor, seeing the agents' shoes at the ends of his vision. He was so close to saying no, cursing them out in Spanish, and maybe even punching one of the men in the salt and paper suits in the nose. Even though he was just thinking about it, the scenario was playing in his head. The agent clutching his nose, Alejandro feeling the wet and warm blood on his knuckles, and the attendant calling for security.
But, they came to him because they knew he had nothing else to lose. And although he wanted to deny them, he knew that they were right. It was a hard truth, but hard truths were truths nonetheless. Now that Samuel was gone, he didn't have any family left. Plus, was there anything other than war and bloodshed left for him on Earth? The once lively planet was dying and Alejandro couldn't remember a day where the sky was anything other than a dreary gray. The air here was barely breathable, filled with harmful chemicals that stung your lungs and made your eyes tear up.
So, Alejandro signed the contract the agents carried and as he looked at his messy signature on the agreement line, he knew he sighed his life away. If you could call it one anyway.
But, he didn't have a heart to give a damn.
"¿Nosotros somos..? ¿Ya llegamos? (Are we..? Are we there yet?)” Alejandro asked with his voice in a hoarse whisper. His brows furrowed in discomfort as he felt the dryness coating his vocal cords. His limbs felt like they were light as if they were just skin and blood with no bones. He felt like utter jelly and the world around him took the form of a bunch of bright lights and blurry shapes. He felt a migraine start and he couldn't suppress the groan that further assaulted his throat.
Alejandro forced his eyes to open and with them half-lidded and still adjusting, he looked up at the med-tech floating above him. From far away, the other man looked like a mass of blue, but as he floated closer and was now a few inches away from the colonel, he could see that the man was wearing blue surgical scrubs. "Yeah, we're here, sunshine," He answered with a chuckle. His sweet voice made Alejandro's heart flutter from how smooth and kind it sounded. There was a click and Alejandro muttered a curse as a bright light was shined in his eyes. "Don't mind it, I'm just checking your vitals, sir. We're here. I suggest you get your duffel bag, sir, we'll be leaving soon."
The med tech helped Alejandro out of the pod, peeling the many straps that kept the colonel still during the whole cryosleep flight. While he no longer felt like jelly, he still felt like he was weightless. He drifted aimlessly in Zero-G and as he looked around him, he saw scores of people emerging from their cryo-capsules. The others, a mix of scientists and other military figures, were like pale spirits of the dead rising from the rows of open coffins. As the med tech moved away to assist the others, Alejandro's gaze shifted to a large window. He drifted himself toward the glass, putting his hands on the cold surface. He sharply inhaled as his palms felt the smooth and icy surface and he gazed at the sight of Pandora.
The moon looked just like Earth, with the familiar green masses of land surrounded by beautiful blue water. Whirls of white were evident, looking like graceful whisps. Pandora looked like a beautiful marble suspended in endless space and a version of Earth that wasn't tainted by humanity's greed. The planet Polyphemus a gas giant that looked like a blue and purple Jupiter was Pandora's background. Like the solar system's biggest planet, Polyphemus had a large vortex storm that, according to Samuel, was considered bigger and fiercer than Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Like a curious eye, the vortex storm gazed at the endless space that surrounded it, ringed with dozens of moons that cast beauty-mark shadows on its marble and vast surface.
"People!" The med tech's sudden announcement voice reached Alejandro's ears and he reluctantly tore his eyes away from the window. "You've been in cryo for five years, nine months, and twenty-two days. You will be hungry, you will be weak. If you feel nauseous, please use the sacks provided for your convenience. Food and water will be provided. The staff thanks you in advance."
After the harsh and unforgiving wake-up call, Alejandro, with a bunch of other people, was thrown into a large space shuttle called a Valkyrie. The turbulence made his head spin and he could feel the bile threatening to push its way up and out of his throat and onto the metal floor. He had just eaten a boring meal of bland bread and chocolate spread not even two hours ago and he already felt it leaving him. But, he didn't want to throw up in front of all these military personnel, even though he was most likely the highest rank out of all of them. Across from him, a muscular man in all-black clothing and a skull mask was leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed, flaunting his biceps. If his mother was still alive and here right now, Alejandro would've gotten a scolding and an ear pull for staring. But, his punishment came in another form, a very uncomfortable staring contest.
It seemed like the masked man had caught him staring and from the shadows of his mask, Alejandro could see dull war-torn eyes staring back at him. It would've been easy since Alejandro didn't even try to hide it. He and Alejandro held gazes for a good five seconds before the colonel broke off, trying to shake away the memory of how distant yet piercing that gaze was. He suppressed a shiver tickling his spine and he directed his eyes to the duffle bag on his lap. He gulped, forcing a fresh set of bile back down to his stomach.
When they finally landed after a few short minutes that felt like an eternity because of the turbulence, the crew chief gave them a welcome in the form of a grave warning. "Welcome to Hell's Gate! Exopacks on! Remember, you lose your mask, you're unconscious in twenty seconds and you're dead in four minutes! Let's keep everyone alive and well today, I don't want anyone dropping dead! It looks bad on my report...Now let's go!" Everyone got to their feet, Alejandro and the masked man following suit. With a hydraulic whine and a sharp hiss, the cargo ramp opened. "Go directly to the base! Do not stop! I repeat, do not stop!"
The new colonists marched out of their transport in two neat queues, their shoes making a heavy and repetitive stamping noise that was a steady rhythm. Alejandro followed the queue, the masked man a few people ahead of him on the opposite line.
Hell's Gate, Pandora's human colony, was a cluster of squat concrete and steel structures. It was guarded by a bunch of human guards with Exopack breathing gear and heavy guns in their hands a chain-link fence at least ten meters high and topped with razor wire. The corners were towers with automated sentry guns swiveling on servo mounts. Aircraft leaving and entering the human colony roared above, chasing their shadows across the treetops. MITSUBISHI MK-6 AMPSUITS, human-operated walking machines at least four meters tall, patrolled the perimeter. The Pandora sun made its metal look sleek and shiny, despite its dusty shell. The heavily armored suits clanked with each step and were armed to the teeth with their GAU-90 guns, and huge rotary cannons. A huge tractor taller than a house roared past, its muddy wheels thundering and rattling the ground and leaving gnarly marks on the dusty ground. However, he realized something was sticking out of the wheels, arrows. They looked like they were made out of feathers and were the size of a full-length arm.
His eyes were laser-focused on the arrows, but his attention was ripped away from it when he saw a shadow in the corner of his eye. He turned to look to the right where the chain-link fence separated Hell's Gate and Pandora's forests and something smashed into it. When it landed on its stomach on the ground, he could see it was a winged creature with purple and blue skin with neon yellow markings. Aside from its wings, it had a secondary pair of limbs that looked like pincer-like arms. Yellow eyes stared at him in piercing desperation and its tail looked like a scorpion stinger. The vicious aerial predator lunged forward, using its pincer arms and hooked fingers to crawl on the chain-link fence, gnashing its glass fangs against the steel, but there was a bang. There was a heavy plap as it dropped off the fence and onto the unforgiving stone, blood pouring out of the sound. Alejandro couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows at the dying animal. Two soldiers went up to it, both carrying guns, and before they were out of earshot, he could hear one of them say, "These sting bats are ugly little bastards, aren't they?"
The newcomers file into a walkway of the cafeteria and from a makeshift stage made from two long tables put together end to end, a uniformed figure watches the new men and women entering the room intently. He's American, it was evident with the American flag patch sewn onto his uniform. His blonde hair was clipped short and he had a scar on his left cheek. Once everyone was in, there was a dull sound as the doors were closed and the room was dark. He paced like a panther across the stage before he stopped, his stance wide. On his hip, Alejandro could see he carried a very large pistol. It felt uncomfortable in the hot room and standing shoulder to shoulder with people you barely knew. There was a window behind the officer, showcasing the dark treeline beyond the chain-link fence.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. I am Commander Phillip Graves, but you will be remembering me as 'sir' or 'Commander Graves.' You are not on Earth anymore," The American said, and just as Alejandro predicted, he had a country accent. "You are on Pandora, ladies, and gentlemen. Respect that fact every second of every day." Without turning his back on the crowd, Graves raised his hand and pointed out the window toward the dark tree line. "Out beyond that fence, every living thing that crawls, flies, or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes jujubees." The room goes quiet and Alejandro raises his eyebrows.
Was this where Samuel, the man who was scared to walk into a movie theatre to watch a scary movie, wanted to be and work? Even live?
"We have an indigenous population of humanoids here called the Na'vi. They're fond of arrows-" Graves stops and a person walks on the stage to hand him an arrow. It looked familiar to the arrows that were stuck into the tractor's wheels. He held it up for everyone to see with the arrowhead facing the sky. "-dipped in a neurotoxin that can stop your heart in one minute. We operate, we live, at a constant threat condition yellow. As head of security, it's my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed-" There was a heavy pass. "-for all of you. If you wish to survive, you need a strong mental attitude, and you need to follow protocol and orders."
There was nothing like an old-school safety brief to put your mind at ease.
People roamed through their new environment, looking for their rooms and lugging duffels and cases. Alejandro had just found his when a hand tapped him on his shoulder. He turned around and there he saw a woman that had dark blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a white lab coat that smelled like soft tones of rose with a hint of lit cigarette ash. She said, "You're Colonel Vargas, right? Samuel's twin brother?"
Alejandro nodded and he smiled, "That's right, ma'am, I'm Alejandro. No need to be so formal. I assume you and my brother were close if you know him." Samuel always had a rule whenever he met new people: Make friends with them. He always used to be a social butterfly who took every opportunity to be friendly. He extends his hand and the scientist takes it, both of them exchanging a firm yet friendly handshake.
"I'm sorry about your brother, he was a very dedicated scientist. He was funny, too. It was a big shot to all of us." Laswell's smile softened to a more sympathetic look as they let each other's hands go. "I'm sorry to bring him up, I know he may be a sensitive topic for you-"
"It's fine."
Laswell once again smiled and said, "Come on, I want to show you your brother's avatar. Or...your avatar. I believe you heard Commander Graves's talk about how everything beyond the fence is out to kill you, right?" Laswell didn't need a verbal word to know Alejandro's answer, she just had to look at his expression to confirm it. She sighed. "I won't say all of it is bullshit, but a few parts are. There is some beauty here. So, the Avatar Program comes out here to explore Pandora, or Eywa'eveng in Na'vi language, with remotely controlled bodies called, you guessed it, avatars. They're grown from human DNA mixed with the native Na'vi DNA. Oh, yes, before I forget, I have someone I want you to meet."
Alejandro raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent and continued to follow her. She led the colonel into another part of the lab. Among the personnel in the room, some were wearing their signature white lab coats, and others were in special hazmat suits with protective gloves and eyewear to boot was another person. Alejandro gulped when he recognized the all-black clothing and white skull mask.
The masked man.
"Lieutenant Ghost!" Laswell got his attention and when he turned around, sure enough, those blue eyes met Alejandro's brown ones and he could feel the color drain from his face. "This is Colonel Alejandro Vargas, your partner here in the Avatar Program. You'll be doing your Avatar drives with him, so I suggest you two get to know each other. As you guys do that, I'll be showing you your avatars." She passed the two of them, clearly shorter than the men, and she looked over her shoulder and cocked her head to the side as a sign for them to follow.
Alejandro wasn't a small man, he was six feet tall for goodness sake! But, Ghost had to be six feet and four inches, so he was tall. Very, very tall. If that wasn't enough, his form was more muscled and larger than Alejandro's and even though the colonel was quite intimidated, Laswell was right. If they were going to work together, they might as well get to know each other. So, he put on a brave face and a friendly smile and cleared his throat. "Hey," Ghost cast a glance at him and Alejandro swallowed the lump in his throat. "Um, I'm sorry about our first encounter, I shouldn't have been staring. I apologize."
"No harm done," Ghost grunted, his voice gruff with a British accent. "I'm used to it by now."
"So...are you British?" As soon as those words left his lips, Alejandro wanted to smack himself on the forehead. Jesus, of course, he was British!
"How could you tell?" Ghost chuckled, a bit of sarcasm in his tone but it wasn't aggressive, it was more joking than aggressive. Alejandro breathed a sigh of relief, he was getting on the lieutenant's good side and hopefully, he stayed on his good side.
"So, why are you in the Avatar Program?" Alejandro questioned. He was generally curious.
"Well, I...um...I used to have a twin brother named Tommy. Uh, I don't want to go too much into detail, but he..." Alejandro could hear Ghost gulp under his mask, his Adam's apple bobbing underneath his black balaclava. "...He passed." The colonel's face softened and although he wanted to say something, he refrained. "Along with my sister-in-law and nephew. He was supposed to be here in the Avatar program, but I guess fate had different plans." He dryly chuckled, not an ounce of humor in his voice. "The contractors needed someone to fill Tommy's slot and since I was his twin brother, they said that his-"
"-Genome was identical," Alejandro finished for him. Ghost looked at him, confusion riddled in his eyes. Even without seeing his face, the lieutenant's eyes were the most expressive ones he had ever seen. "Yeah, I had a similar situation. I also had a twin brother, named Samuel. My story is like yours in more ways than one. He was supposed to be here, but then he died, and then at his, I would hardly call it a funeral, some suits showed up and offered his spot. All I had to do was sign a contract...Small world, isn't it?"
Ghost only nodded.
"Alright," Laswell's voice cut through the almost deafening silence that cloaked the two military men like a thick blanket. "These are your Avatars. Have a good look at them."
She gestured to two large tanks that were side to side. They were unusually large tanks with blue liquid floating in them. Submerged and floating inside the blue liquid was a large body. It had smooth and iridescent blue skin. Indigo stripes marked the large body and glowing freckles dotted his skin. Long black hair in a neat braid drifted in the cool-looking water and an umbilical cord is embedded in the abdomen. The figure twitched in the amniotic fluid and Alejandro flinched as it turned his head and something caught his eye. Swishing in the water along with the jolting body was a lemur-like tail. It had a broad and feline nose with sharp ears and Alejandro felt like he was under a spell as he put his hand on the tank.
Ghost's avatar was just like Alejandro's with the same blue skin, freckles, and stripes. However, the Avatar wore a balaclava with the same skull face painted on him, thanks to a special request fetched from his files. Ghost gazed at the Avatar, watching it flinch and move as if his blue copy was having a bad dream.
"Alright, so how much lab training have you had?" Laswell asked the two of them.
Alejandro looked at Ghost, who gave him an equally worried and confused look. The colonel cleared his throat before he said, "Um, I dissected a frog once in biology." Laswell's eyebrows raised and he swore he saw her eye twitch.
"Oh. I see." The scientist seemed disappointed and Alejandro felt his face grow hot with embarrassment. Usually, he would've laughed at his remark and got others to chuckle with him, but the question she asked was a serious one. The blonde scientist ran her hand through her hair as she considered her options. "Uh, well, I want you two to be here. Tomorrow. At 800 hours. Got that?" She pointed her finger at the two of them, first at Alejandro then at Ghost. The two military personnel answered with silent nods. "Good...I gotta go talk to Shepherd about this." Laswell tapped the tanks one last time before she stormed off. Even though her words didn't show it, Alejandro could tell she was utterly pissed.
"Shepherd!" Laswell boomed. Tucked under her arm were two manila folders, both labeled with a red stamp that said 'CONFIDENTIAL. As she stormed into the main bridge, a tower with lots of screens and bay windows through the whole complex, and crawled with military and scientific personnel. As she strode into the lab, she bumped into one of the camouflaged uniformed men, however, she didn't stop, she just spat, "Oh, man up!" Laswell walked to General Shepherd, who was sitting on a rolling chair and looking at some reports. "Shepherd, I used to think it was benign neglect, but now I see you're intentionally screwing us."
General Shepherd was the stern and passive-aggressive head administrator of the RDA on Pandora, meaning he had authority over the Avatar Program, much to Laswell's dismay. Laswell's hands were shoved in the pockets of her white coat, her brows furrowed as she looked at Shepherd, who was in his Active Duty uniform and sitting comfortably on his chair. "Laswell. You know I enjoy our little talks."
"I need research assistants, not soldiers!" She slammed the files she had in her hand.
He sighed as he took the manila folders and looked over them. With his eye still on the information of Alejandro Vargas and Lieutenant Ghost, he sighed, "Well, you're lucky your guys had twin brothers and even luckier that said brother wasn't an oral hygienist or some shit. A decorated colonel and a badass lieutenant are something we can use. So, I'll be assigning them to your team as security escorts."
"Lucky? LUCKY?! The last thing I need is another bunch of trigger-happy assholes out there." Laswell said through clenched teeth, her gaze darkening. "We're already on the Na'vi's bad side, do you want to piss them off even more?!"
Shepherd shook his head, "Look, you're supposed to be winning the hearts and minds of the natives. Isn't that the whole point of your little puppet show? If you look like them, if you talk like them, they'll trust you, right?" He stood up from the rolling chair, crossing to his office behind a glass wall and Laswell followed. His office has a desk with a magnetic base and hovering in mid-air, in the invisible field, is a cluster of rock. "But, after how many years? Our relations with the indigenous are only getting worse."
Shepherd wasn't stupid, he knew Laswell had sympathy for the Na'vi and Pandora. Or, in the Na'vi and her words, Eywa'eveng. He was too proud to say anything, but it worried him.
Laswell scoffed and rolled her eyes. She knew better than to act like this in front of a general and important person such as Shepherd, but in her books, respect is earned. "That tends to happen when you use machine guns on them..."
Shepherd grabbed the metallic rock, holding it between his thumb and forefinger, wanting Laswell to see it. "This is why we're here. Unobtanium. Do you know why? I know you know. This little gray rock sells for twenty million a kilo. There's no other reason we're here and spending good money. This is what pays for the party. And, it's what pays for your science." He placed it back in the magnetic field carefully. "These savages are threatening our whole operation. We're on the brink of war and you're supposed to be finding a diplomatic solution. So use what you've got and get me some results."