The Scientist's Daughter | Neteyam x Reader

Chapter 3: A Not So Warm Welcome

I sat down in one of the lab chairs, facing a camera. I was told to talk directly into the lens like you were talking to another person or your future self. I wasn't exactly sure what to say honestly so I kinda just went with it.

"So here's what I've learned so far," I spoke out loud. "Every driver is matched with their own avatar so their nervous systems are in tune. This is an expensive project, which is why they still wanted me to come here so we could put my avatar to use instead of getting rid of it."

I paused for a moment and began to think of my mom again. It was difficult to think about the fact that I'm here on Pandora and she isn't.

"Do I really have to do this?" I asked Norm, who was behind me talking to Max.

"Yeah, you need to get into the habit of documenting everything. What you see. What you feel. It's all part of the science. Good science starts with good observation," he responded.

I nodded my head and turned back to face the camera.

"I'm not sure what else to say honestly but here I am on Pandora. Doing science. I haven't been in a lab in so long. I used to be in one all the time when I was younger because of my mother. Man, if only she could be here now. She would lose her mind at the sight of this place. I haven't even gone into the forest yet but I know it's going to be a stunning sight," I said into the camera.

"It's time to log off. You need to meet your boss for the next five years," Max said to me.

"Time to go I guess I'll check in again soon," I said to the camera before turning it off.

I stood up from the chair and followed Max and Norm out of the room and down a short corridor to another room. The link room.

I walked in and saw a dozen pods that looked like coffins with MRI scanners. These must be the psionic link units I read about before coming here. Since I had absolutely no training, that was the only experience I had was that thick ass book.

"Grace Augustine is a legend. She's the head of the Avatar Program and she wrote the book, I mean literally wrote the book, on Pandoran botany," Norm said excitedly.

"That's because she likes plants better than people," Max said, looking over his shoulder at us.

We approached one of the psionic link units and a woman came out of it. She sat up, stretched, and cracked her neck from being in there for so long. She looked like she could be in her late 40s or early 50s, with a strong face and intelligent eyes. She had auburn hair and brown eyes.

"Who's got my goddamn cigarette?" She barked.

One of the techs quickly brought her a cigarette that was already lit. It seemed that everyone was intimidated by her. They always did what she said whenever she said it. When she stood up, she noticed the three of us walking toward her and scowled.

"And here she is, Cinderella back from the ball. Grace, I'd like you to meet Norm Spellman and Y/n L-" Max said before Grace cut him off.

"Norm. I hear good things about you. How's your Na'vi?" Grace asked him.

Norm began to speak to Grace in fluent Na'vi which I had no understanding of. She nodded approvingly and answered him in fluent Na'vi. I waited there awkwardly as they continued to speak.

"Uh, Grace, this is Y/n L-" Max once again was cut off.

She turned to me and scowled.

"Yeah, yeah, I know who you are, and I don't need you. I need your mother. You know, the scientist who trained years for this mission," she said, annoyed.

I started to get annoyed with her. I get that she's a big person around her but I didn't like being spoken to like that. I get that I'm not my mother but I was asked to be here. It's not like I wanted to take her place.

"She's dead. I know it's a big inconvenience to everyone," I said bluntly.

"How much lab training have you had? Ever run a gas chromatograph?" She asked me.

"No, I haven't."

"Any actual lab work at all?"

"Not exactly no. I would sit in the lab with my mother but I wasn't allowed to do or touch anything."

Grace quickly turned to Max and began to walk away. I didn't mean to piss her off but damn she gets angry easily.

"You see? You see? They're pissing on us without even the courtesy of calling it rain. I'm going to Selfridge," she said before walking out of the room.

Max began to run after her to try to stop her.

"Grace, that's not a good idea," he said but it was too late. She was already out the door making her way down the hallway. Max turned to me with a disappointed look.

"I'm sorry about that. She just needs experienced people and well, you're not that. Just be here tomorrow at oh eight hundred. Try to use big words," he said before walking off.

I sighed and looked down at the floor. This is going well.

"Hey don't take it to heart. You deserve to be here like the rest of us. Your mom wanted you to be here for a reason," Norm said as he gently grabbed my shoulder. At least I have one person that has my back here.

*The Next Day*

The next morning, I made sure to be at the link room on time so I didn't make another bad impression. Grace, Norm, and I made our way over to our link units. I looked over at a window that was on the side of the link room. Inside, my avatar lay on a gurney, breathing slowly. Norm's avatar was laying on the other side of mine. Both of them were being attended by med techs.

"How much time have you logged?" Grace asked Norm as he slipped into his link chair.

"Five hundred and twenty hours," he answered.

She nodded her head approvingly and looked over at me.

"And you?" She asked.

"Umm an hour I think," I answered.

"Tell me you're joking," she said annoyed.

Grace opened the hood of my link unit and I began to climb into it. She began to look at the screen and the monitors to make sure they worked correctly.

"So you just figured you'd come out here to the most hostile environment known to man, with no training of any kind, and see how it went? What was going through your head?" She asked me.

"Maybe I just wanted to prove that I'm more than just Rose L/n's daughter," I responded.

I adjusted myself so I was comfortable in the warm fluid gel that packed the unit. Grace adjusted the biometric sensors and then lowered the upper clamshell.

"Relax and let your mind go blank," Grace stated.

I nodded and Grace slowly closed the hood to the unit.

I let out a deep, shaky breath and closed my eyes, ready to go into my avatar body.