What If? (P1) || Jake / Reader || Draft

Drafting

Jake understandably drops his face into the palms of his hands, and drags them down as he groans. Tired, stressed, and worried.
    "And they're absolutely trying to sniff us out before they attack."

"I don't think they know exactly where we are just yet, they haven't gotten close enough to find the links or the building, but if that happens - this is over. We have to get to them first."

"We could buy ... maybe a month." Jake tries to sound optimistic, but with how heavy his words fall it doesn't provide much hope at all. "Ideally we need three weeks, I can maybe squeeze it into two."

"My worry is the basement, still." Norm reiterates. "It isn't finished, but we can try some last minute patches. If anything happens, the kids can be escorted there with Mo'at to keep them safe. Hometree isn't ideal for them, clearly."

You haven't been back down since the incident, but everyone decided it was best to close off the back room where the bodies once were.. leave it alone and shut away from everyone else. The research had been taken, so Mo'at could study it with Grace - get exactly what or why they were doing there if not just working on the early days of the avatars.

"We will lose a few branches there." Jake agrees. "But it won't fall, they don't know where to hit. We have that advantage."

"Even if they don't go for Hometree, their tree of souls is much more vulnerable." You remind. "They will go for it if nothing else. Our building may not even be their main target or any concern. The worst they'd do is knock out the links here or destroy the bases, and that won't help them with the Navi coming for them."

Jake reaches over for your hand, and squeezes. It's clear that his time to seek out Toruk is approaching, and while he knows and believe he can do this — he just worries with the kids around, and your pregnancies.
    "Last time they did this, they managed to get hells gate back from us, right?"

"Yes. It's valuable to them, especially the mines and the factories. They won't destroy those."

"Good." Max jumps in with his own commentary. "We need that. Maybe something we could hold hostage from them?"

"I'm sorry, but no." You softly inform. "Nothing will make them hold back, except knowing they're at the point they are so over run that they have no choice."

"How many troops did I gather last time?" Jake asks.

"I.. fuck, I don't remember. Thousands, though. Plenty. We have the power, we can rush the time. My worry is they're just going in blind if they come here."

"If most of their remaining vehicles are on the ground, then maybe we could lure them past the mountains and hit them there. Instead of airstike." Jake offers.
  "I could use myself as the bait."

"Are you insane?" Grace worries. "That's so dangerous, Jake."

"Not permanently." He holds his hands up. "Only so they can follow me, and then I'll call for Toruk and ambush them."

"You really think Quaritch would fall for an ambush?" Max asks.

Jake shrugs and tilts his head a bit.
  "I believe it's worth the try."

"He did last time? Sort of?" You explain. "He had to go through the mountains to get to the tree of souls, so we cut him off on the way.
  It could.. maybe work. But he would be too suspicious if it was Jake."

"If not Jake, then who?" Max asks.

By the way your eyes fall to the table, and you squeeze Jake's hand harder - it shows what's on your mind.
   "He wants me. Hes pissed off that I tried to come for him before, that trying to send me off didn't work-" and you run your other hand over the scar. "-that killing me didn't work. Jake is his direct enemy, sure - but he's frustrated that he can't finish me off."

"No." Jake sternly asserts himself into the idea. "Absolutely not. Not with your avatar as pregnant as she is. I don't even want you on that battlefield."

"I'm not talking about the avatar."

His brows press together as he tries to make sense of it.
   "What makes you think your human self would have any better luck against him and his team? You can't use your Ikran or the direhorses. You're risking too much."

"They track us with heat sensors. If I can get close enough, just so they know it's me and I'm human - it may just work. I can lead them away. We will get out of range on their sensors, and U-Turn it back here so I can get my avatar."

"Who is 'we' in this scenario?"

"Me.. and.. Trudy?" You offer up. "She can wait just out of bounds, and get us out of there."

"I don't see that going well." Norm address. "The scorpions are fast, but it takes too much time to start-"

"No, not that. We could take one of the jeeps. Have a group of Navi waiting by it. We just need Quaritch to believe we're retreating, unaware, and that we're vulnerable.
     He wont take the full bait with Jake, but it does give Jake the proper chance to swoop in with backup and catch them off guard."

"If we go with this." Jake brings your hand up and kisses the back of it. "I expect you both to get the hell out of there, and if anything goes wrong we're cutting the plan and I'll go in full force if I have to."

"I've got her, Jake." Trudy insists. "It's a good plan. We can do it. Quaritch would smell your bullshit a mile away if he saw you trying to lure him in, anyway."

"It's only to bring them to you. After that's done, we're getting the hell out — and I'm coming back here for my avatar."