"I promise that we will see each other again one day, no matter what. I swear on my heart and my soul."
Two years later...
Rune looked at herself in the mirror of her miniscule bathroom, water dripping from her face and onto her bra and tracksuit pants. The now twenty-six year old leaned on her elbows, panting slightly from her morning workout, pushing her hair back with a headband. The flower tattoos across her collar and under her rib were fresh in colour, Rune having gotten the colours renewed two weeks ago.
Today was the day.
She had finished her two years of training with impressive progress, being as well educated on Pandora as many of the program graduates were. She had impressed the teachers there with her ability to quickly pick up on the Na'vi language and nail it's pronunciation, many of the other students there had asked her to assist them in learning the alien tongue. She was happy too. She enjoyed teaching others after all. Her half-deafness may have made it a little difficult, but she would always go home at the end of the day and practice the words till she perfected them.
She however, did not manage to log as many hours as she would have liked on the simulation, only managing to log just under four-hundred and eighty hours, which was actually quite good considering she was only there for two years. And despite common belief, the simulations did not allow her to hear fully as they were VR-Simulations, and she was receiving in-simulation audio through speakers which had to be slightly adjusted for her. But she loved entering the simulation, being able to run through the digitalised forests of Pandora and examine all of it's beauty.
Learning about plants and animals was the hardest thing for her, as biology wasn't really her specialty, but she still did her best and was able to identify most plants and animals and state a simple fact about them.
Bringing herself back to reality, Rune sighed and grabbed a towel from beside her and dried off her face. She checked the army edition watch on her wrist and noticed that she had to be out of the apartment in an hour and a half. So with that, she quickly put herself through the shower, emphasis on quickly, not wanting to bring her steep water bill up any more.
Mr. Minelli drove a hard price on her utilities bill, which was fair if he wanted to make any money from his business.
She dried off, cleaned her face, and prepared to get ready.
Rune went with a more practical set of clothes, due to the fact she'd have to sit through an eight hour flight to America, and wearing skinny jeans is not a good idea. She wore a pair of black canvas pants, a burnt-orange sleeveless turtleneck and her favourite pair of basketball shoes. Rune kept the thick headband and pulled her remaining hair into a ponytail, it had gotten long enough to do this. The shirt left her scarred arms exposed, but she didn't care. She also removed most of piercings, except for a singular one in both her ears.
She then went about packing everything she would need into a large duffle bag.
A new pair of sneakers.
Check.
(Everyone going to Pandora had to by new pairs of shoes to avoid bio contamination)
Two new pairs of army boots.
Check.
Multiple sets of cargo and army pants.
Check.
Army shirts.
Check.
Other shirts and pants.
Check.
Underclothes.
Check.
A couple of books.
Check.
Her cricket bat and ball.
Check.
Photos and some collectibles.
Check.
Thumb drives and army medals.
Check.
Spare batteries and repair kit for hearing aid.
Check.
Rune zipped up the duffle bag and slung it over her shoulder, grabbing her tech-pad, key-card, and a large photo frame that sat on her wall. She then grabbed her ticket and passports. She placed in her hearing aid, replacing the earthy sound of nothingness with a muffled echo and buzz. She walked out of her apartment, leaving the key card under the door for the removal people to collect when they came to move everything in her apartment into storage for her. She grabbed her lanyard with her citizen and army ID from her pocket and left the apartment, heading towards her local tram station, to which she'd ride to the Foster home for one last time.
---{--o--}---
"Hey kiddos," Rune greeted as the two dozen youths ran towards her, crashing into her torso and legs and embracing her into a hug as she ruffled up some kids hair affectionately, "You've all grown up so much since I've last seen you all."
"Hey!!!!!" they chorused back at her, some signing to her like she'd taught them.
She quickly moved herself from them, telling them to sit around her as she set down her duffle bag behind her. She was currently sitting outside in the very same courtyard she'd been sitting in all those years ago, the same trees still there, still looking somewhat green. It was early autumn, and there was only a light breeze, but it was still quite hot, it being Darwin and all that.
"Ok, so I have some news to tell you all, and, to be honest, you're not going to like it."
She could already see some looks of disappointment upon the children's faces which made her feel even guiltier about leaving. But just like ripping off an band-aid, it had to be done.
"I have some news. I'm going to be going away for a really long time, I've got a new job and it's really far away."
"How long will you be gone?" one of the kids, Jedda was his name, asked, his dark brown hair bobbing up and down.
"Fifteen years, you'll probably all be grown up by then. I may not even come back either. Pandora's really far away and it's really dangerous."
She was met with cries of various emotions, most upset, others asking why she was going to Pandora.
"I'm going to Pandora to help research the Na'vi and record everything I can about them. I'm going to write a book all about their history, it'll be really popular, I'll be just like Dr. Augustine."
"Why do you have to go?!!!" A girl, Nadi, whined with her tears brimming.
"It's a good job opportunity and it's a chance to maybe improve Earth. I also need to know what the RDA is doing on Pandora."
The children began softly crying, which didn't help Rune's heart whatsoever.
"I'm sorry. Ok. But it has to be done. I have gifts for you as well." she promised, before pulling out the large photo frame she had brought with her.
It was the photo that had been taken by the caretakers of Rune and the kids all huddle together with a Cheshire-cat size grins on their faces, it was taken just last year. Rune knew the name, the age and almost every single thing about every single kid in that photo.
"You guys get to keep this."
"Really?" some asked.
Rune nodded sadly in response, the next words she said were sombre and she sounded ready to cry, "I'm also investing a large amount of my savings into a trust fund for you guys, it'll help you get into a good university and become really smart, just like me."
They all nodded and rushed her again, tackling the woman to the ground in a pile of hugs and sobs, which left her hearing aid rattling, but she couldn't care. She spent her last couple of minutes like that, surrounded by the people she knew she'd probably never see again.
Just as Rune began to leave, one girl approached her, tugging on her shirt. The little one was only seven years old, she had pale brown skin and curly black hair that framed her face that was filled with a pair of moony brown eyes. Rune knew her as Amaia, a child at the foster home that had grown fiercely attached to the older woman, who was now leaving her.
"Oh Amaia, sweet child." she cooed, kneeling down to hug the girl, who tightly hugged her frame.
Amaia had grown attached to her when they first met, Rune being one of the few people in her life that knew sign language and was willing to teach her. The caretakers at the home made Amaia write what she wanted to say on a blackboard. The young girl was born mute due to a deformity in her vocal cords that prevented her from being able to use them properly.
"I'm sorry that I'm leaving you." Rune both signed and spoke, feeling that if the girl was going to respond in Auslan, then she should also talk to her and sign to her.
"I don't want you to go." Amaia's hand movements were a bit blocky, but the message was clear.
"I have to. I've trained for two years to do this and this job is important for a lot of things."
"No, don't go." Amaia signed, she was being stubborn.
"I will miss you, you understand that? But, I need this, I need to do a job and prevent some things from happening."
"I come."
"No, you stay. Pandora is not safe. I cannot protect you." Rune's hand movements began to express some frustration. The only person she had somewhat emotionally invested herself in was being difficult, she wanted to come with her and Rune knew she couldn't, even if she could, Rune wouldn't let her. Pandora was no place for a little human child like her, and Rune's heart would break again if something happened to Amaia. This was for the better anyway, if Rune was far away from the girl, then she wouldn't have to put herself through any pain of.
Tears streaked the child's face now, which Rune wiped off with her thumb.
"Don't cry," Rune told her, "Now is not the time to cry, you have to be strong, like me."
Rune then unzipped her duffle bag and fished around in it until she had hold of the two items she wanted. She pulled out the two things, an Auslan book and one of her medals.
"These are for you, you keep them. They will remind you of me, always."
"I come."
"No, ok. "
The child looked away sulkily, she was not taking this well.
"Amaia, look at me, please. Listen, I promise," Rune pointed to herself, then touched her chin with her pointer finger and brought her hand down on the other with a chopping motion, "I promise that we will see each other again one day, no matter what. I swear on my heart and my soul."
"You promise?"
"I always do." Rune's tech-pad buzzed angrily from her duffle bag, reminding her that she had to leave now, "Now, listen. You're going to grow up and I'm not going to be around, but I want you to learn everything you can, you're going to be so smart, ok?"
Tears dripped from both of the child's face, that soon dried. Rune hugged her one last time, Amaia touching the scar on her face. She saw Amaia slip a small plushy of a Kangaroo into her hands, the girl loved this toy so much and was now entrusting Rune to look after it. She smiled and ruffled her hair. She promised inside of her head to always keep the toy with her, whenever she could.
"Make me proud Kiddo."
And with that, Rune departed, turning away from the children as she climbed into a taxi that was sent for her to drive her to the airport.
They waved, and she waved back.
-------- ~~< ♡ >~~ -------
Hope you enjoyed the chapter
- Luv the Lady Artemis