Jake wheeled himself past the kitchen and in the direction of his link unit.
"Not happening Marine." Grace darted up out of her seat and caught Jake by the handles of his wheelchair, pulling him back into the kitchen. "You and I are having a chat."
"Grace you can either help me or get out of the way." Jake snapped.
"Jake will you fucking listen to me?" Grace's voice rose.
Ivory gave Norm a quizzical look.
"Jake wants to do a vision quest." Norm whispered.
"Explain, Norm."
"The Na'vi eat a psychoactive worm and it gives them a vision, it's an important rite of passage to becoming a true member of the Omaticaya clan." Norm said importantly.
"He's mental." Ivory muttered, pulling her sketchbook towards herself.
Grace slumped back into her seat and lit up a cigarette, exhaling smoke slowly. "Look Marine, sometimes the Na'vi themselves die in these vision quests. The venom takes you to the very edge of death and we've got no idea what it'll do to an Avatar brain." The redhead got up and stood in front of Jake. "No matter what you prove out there you're still in here." She shook him by the shoulders.
"Grace you don't understand, I have to become one of them-"
"Goddamnit Jake, you can never be one of them!" Grace shouted.
Ivory knocked a mug off the table, startled by the vehemence in Grace's voice. The cup clattered to the floor, shattering into tiny pieces.
"Our life out there takes millions of dollars of machinery to sustain. You visit and you leave." Grace's voice softened momentarily. "I know you love Neytiri but you can never truly be with her."
Jake froze, pinioned by the truth. "You know why I'm here?" He said eventually. "Because Quaritch sent me."
"What?" Norm's voice was thick with disgust.
"That's right. To find out how to screw the Na'vi out of their home with deceit or force. And if it came to force how best to do it."
"And what about now Jake?" Grace's voice was eerily calm.
"I'm not that person now. But if I tell Quaritch the truth he'll pull me out and I'll never see Neytiri again. And if I tell her the truth the clan will throw me out." The man looked helpless, he was trapped in his own perfect hell.
"They won't understand what you've done." Norm said quietly.
"They don't even have a word for "lie"- they had to learn it from us." Jake's voice was gruff as he forced tears back.
"I know. I taught them it." Grace pushed a red curl out of her face.
"Grace I've gotta go, they're waiting."
Hours later Jake, Grace and Norm reappeared from the link room.
"So you made it." Trudy gave Jake a broad grin then went to give Norm a hug.
"Yep." Jake wheeled himself forward. "I'm one of them now, properly. I'm a son of the Omaticaya."
"Go get some rest now Jake." Grace ordered.
Jake didn't argue. He disappeared from the link room and made his way down the hall.
"Come on Norm." Trudy took him by the hand and dragged him off to the sleeping quarters.
"It was quiet without you." Ivory pulled her bandanna off, taking her hair out of its tight plaits.
"Have we got any coffee left?"
"Yeah." Ivory gave Grace her own mug. "Are you seriously not going to say anything about what Jake did?"
"No."
"But Grace he betrayed you and Norm and-"
Grace ran a hand through her hair, her face white. "I know. But Quaritch offered to get his legs back for him-"
"Yeah and Quaritch told me that he'd get Olivia's name on a war memorial but funnily e-fucking-nough I said no because I didn't want to get innocent people killed." Ivory's eyes were flashing.
"Ivory he's changed and that's the end of it."
"Grace don't be so stupid, he's going to fuck you over-"
"Why are you suddenly so bothered about this? If you were that bothered about the Na'vi you'd be here driving an Avatar-"
"I'm bothered because I don't want you getting yourself hurt or killed, I've lost almost everyone I care about and I don't want to lose you into the bargain."
Grace was silent for several seconds. "Ivy you've got to stay objective, don't let yourself get emotionally involved. This-" the woman paused, gesturing between herself and Ivy. "Can never go beyond the physical."
"I know, it won't." Ivory had messed about with women on the army base but for some reason Grace was different, the more she tried to push her feelings for the woman away the more involved she became.
Outside thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, filling the link room with a bright white light.
"I'm going to bed." Grace shrugged off her lab coat.
"Alright."
"Well are you coming or not?"