Between Two Skies

chapter one

"I don't want to hear anything," Quaritch cut in.

His voice was flat.

"But—"

"I said no buts." He didn't even raise his voice. He didn't need to. "You're going on an expedition to Pandora. No matter what."

He didn't look at me when he said it. Not once. His eyes stayed locked on the screen in front of him like I wasn't standing here at all. Like I was just noise in the room. A task to deal with. A problem to move somewhere else.

My fingers curled slightly at my sides.

"According to the rules—" I started again, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Uh uh." He lifted one hand in front of my face without even turning toward me, cutting me off mid sentence.

That was his way of ending conversations.

"According to the rules," he continued calmly, "you serve me. No matter what."

"But I'm not even in the military!" I snapped before I could stop myself. The words tore out sharper than I intended.

For the first time, he turned his head just enough for me to see his eyes.

"No," he replied. "But you're still in my crew."

He gestured toward one of the soldiers standing near the door.

"Now," Quaritch added, finally fully facing me, "do you want me to put you in the link unit myself... or are you smart enough to walk there?"

The threat sat heavy in the air. I knew better than to answer back. Everyone did. Orders here weren't suggestions. They were facts. And people who tried to argue with facts didn't last long.

My jaw tightened as I turned and followed the soldier into the hallway.

The lights overhead buzzed softly. The corridor felt colder and narrower than usual. Like the walls were closing in.

"Will I be going alone?" I asked quietly after a moment.

"You'll have two guards," he answered without looking at me.

Of course he didn't. Why did nobody ever look me in the eyes anymore? Like I wasn't worth acknowledging. The thought made something sour twist in my chest.

Everything suddenly irritated me. The hum of the lights. The echo of boots on metal. The way the air smelled like steel and recycled oxygen. The way this place felt less like a base and more like a coffin.

We reached the Link Unit room.

A woman in a white lab coat looked up from a tablet when we entered. She looked calm and professional.

"Have you ever been to Pandora?" she asked kindly.

Her voice was gentle, almost too gentle for this place.

"No," I answered.

Pandora. A world I had only seen through screens. Through reports. Through videos that didn't carry smell, wind, danger, or life.

She gestured toward the open unit.

I climbed inside slowly. The surface beneath me was softer than I expected, molding slightly to my body. For half a second it almost felt comforting. Then the cold metal restraints moved into place.

My chest tightened.

"Try to relax," the woman said. "Just breathe. Fall asleep. When you wake up, you'll be there."

She smiled like she was sending me on vacation instead of into unknown danger.

The lid slid closed above me.

It was too quiet. Too tight. My own breathing suddenly sounded loud inside my head. My thoughts started racing, bouncing off the walls of my skull with nowhere to go.

Fear crept in slowly, like cold water rising around my ankles.

Pandora.

Glowing forests. Massive creatures. The Na'vi.

The idea that I was about to stand face to face with something not human made my stomach twist with nervous energy.

Was I excited?

Was I terrified?

I couldn't tell anymore.

Time blurred. Minutes stretched into something meaningless. My eyelids grew heavy. My muscles slowly relaxed whether I wanted them to or not. Whatever was coming, I couldn't stop it. So I let go. And darkness took me.