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Tensai's Records - Pandora

Prologue: Life

A healthy mid-afternoon at Hell's Gate base; RDA personnel were all attending to the various duties distributed to them. Most had something to do with maintaining the perfect state of operations of the core human foothold in the lush moon of Pandora. Some of those tasks involved patrolling the perimeter, verifying the defensive measures, knock back any aggression attempt from the wildlife, or, in the safer indoors ambient, the constant research made by the scientists, who always wanted to understand better the small planet.

Some weren't that lucky.

"Man, I'm so sick of this..." said Private Christian Lorincz, after letting out a heavy sigh "We've been in this fucking cargo hold the whole day"

Pvt. Lorincz and his companion, Ryan Barnes, also a Private, had been assigned the duty of cataloguing Hell's Gate's food and equipment stocks. Taking into consideration the fact that the storage warehouses occupied the underground equivalent of a third of the total area of the base, which wasn't small in itself, their day had been quite busy, though quite boring as well.

"Those be the woes and pains of being a lowly private, my friend" Barnes answered. Christian rolled his eyes. Always the poetic one...

"Don't give me that, Ryan. The Lewis brothers are as much as we are, and they got transferred to the Park as turret-manners! I can't think of a breezier job on this whole friggin' moon!" The other huffed, bringing his water-filled squeeze to his lips, taking a long drink.

"I guess you're right. Maybe we're just fucked up in terms of luck" He took a drink of his own, though way shorter "Speaking of luck, have you heard? Who's inside the Heaven's Spear, that's arriving from Earth next week?"

Chris answered with a curious "hmm?" without taking his attention from the nice, cold water running down his parched throat. Ryan took a moment, looking around discreetly, before leaning in closer and whispering "Nagato Tensai"

Coughs and sputters, followed by water droplets hitting the ground, as Lorincz fought to clear the water from his trachea, while trying to assure a fresh supply of air to his lungs. Took him a few minutes to be able to look at the other man's amused face.

"Tensai?! You're kidding!"

"Nope"

"But why would someone like him want to come all the way to this godforsaken place?!"

"Not really sure. Rumor has it that he wants in on the Avatar Program. Also has it that he bought a seat on the ship *and* an avatar for his sister and right-hand man, aside his own"

"Holy mother of pearl..." Chris wiped his wet chin, eyes still wide in surprise "How good must it be to be like him, eh?"

"That is open for discussion, Chris. He might be one of the richest men we ever heard of, but I'd rather be poor, but healthy" Barnes got up, grabbing his PDA, ready to go back to work.

"I guess you have a point" His friend mimicked him, and within instants both were back to their duties.

Owww... what happened? Did I drink too much sake last night? Wait... I don't drink. Then did I get myself in a fight and got whacked? Like I could fight to start with. Where am I?

Wait... why am I floating? Zero gravity? I'm in space?

Space...

Through the haze and the headache, I managed to remember. The shuttle, the ship, the cryogenic chamber. Yes, that's right.

A hissing sound breaks my meditative state and I feel myself moving... ACK, bright! First reflex is to cover my poor eyes, but my arms won't move. Ah, kuso... (shit) what's new about that? At least I can close them again.

"Mr. Yoruno? How do you feel?" How do I feel? How do you think I feel, damn?!

"Hungry" The robotic-ish voice I grew used to spoke.

"Expected" The voice sounded amused. I managed to open my eyes to look at him. Couldn't be older than my own mid-thirties, dressed in a light blue surgeon outfit. He was checking the device on my wrist, my vitals, no doubt.

"Is he fine?" I heard her speaking, she sounded a bit groggy, much like I would, I assume.

"If he's fine? Good God, Itami, you sound like you don't know your own brother! That one can go through anything" That was Yukito in his usual mood.

"Well, excuse me if I got worried about my very sick brother after almost six years in cryogenic sleeping!" Itami snapped back at him.

"Good God" I made mine Yukito's words "Sometimes you do worry too much, nee-chan (big sister)"

"Oh Nagato, be quiet!" I chuckled my usual robot laughter. Gosh, I hated that. Made me sound like a jammed paper shredder...

"OK people! Exiting cryo state after 5 years, 11 months and 8 days. You'll feel weak and hungry..." You don't say "...those feeling nauseous, we have bags positioned..."

Blah blah blah. Just get me out of here!

Had to wait a while, but they unhooked me from the cryo chamber. Pfft, I could teach them a thing or two about their design, but I decided to keep quiet. I'm just a tourist here, after all...

The people aboard the ISV Heaven's Spear were slowly and militaristically loaded into the planetary shuttles, the three "tourists" among them.

"SSTO-TAV-37 model orbit-atmosphere personnel transport shuttle, B-class, codename Valkyrie" the black-haired asian said through his voice digitalizer as they detached from the ship and began planetfall to the lush moon below "Control looks stable, decent aerodynamic, though it shakes a bit every quarter mile, due to a small difference in the size of the right wing in relation to..."

"Yurusai, anata wa ooki na chizu shouoofu! (Shut up, you big showoff!)" Itami snarled impatiently to Nagato, for his own and Yukito's amusement.

Once the shuttle's trajectory became more horizontal than vertical, Nagato started looking around, as best as he could, at least. Two grunts sitting near him were whispering.

"I can't believe I'm sitting next to the famous Tensai!" One of them said excitedly

"He looks smaller on TV"

"Must be all the machines he's hooked up to"

"Yeah, to depend on that to stay alive... poor sod. Does he have the same thing as that physicist from the XX's?"

"No, mine is way cooler" Tensai cut in, making both jump and look at him with a frightened look, like they just heard a ghost talking " It's called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. Basically, all my muscles became bone, and so I'm a Pinnochio whose Blue Fairy's got a massive hangover"

After the shock went out, both chuckled at the declaration.

"Good one, sir" The first one complimented.

"Thanks" And in that moment, Nagato wanted more than most days be able to smile.

The rumor had spread quite fast in a week's time, and when the shuttle TAV 25 landed noisily on Hell's Gate, there was quite the large crowd of people waiting outside. They were all waiting to see the group of three people last to come out of the shuttle.

Engineering legend, Nagato Yoruno, a.k.a. Tensai, sitting on a sophisticated wheelchair that also carried several machines, with tubes that went awkwardly in and out of his body, followed by his older sister, Itami Yoruno and his closest friend, Yukito Sato.

The siblings carried evident similarities. The same shade of black hair, falling over his face and tied behind her back, same nose shape, same eye color... but still, they could be told apart even by those who weren't at the vanguard of the crowd. And not only because Itami was two feet taller than her seated brother, but because of her obviously feminine body, showing through the tight Japanese-styled dress she was wearing, while Nagato showed a visible lack of physique, due to the inability to use his muscles. His body was thin, like he had gone through some severe anorexia, which was shown by his discreet black suit, which would easily fit a large 12-year-old.

And yet, that squalid human being, who could barely breathe on his own, was largely responsible for the last decade's greatest engineering-related breakthroughs. One of the most relevant was the growth accelerators that allowed, for one, avatars to reach maturity in only six years.

Beside them, towered the muscular, white-haired form of Yukito, Nagato's faithful companion ever since both were kids. Brawn and brains in a synched two-man cell. Yukito was the kind you would find handling hundreds of enemies at a fortress gate to allow Nagato to sneak in for an assassination. Muscles and brains. Black and white. Ying and Yang, and so on.

They made their way down the shuttle's loading ramp, and then treaded their first steps on Pandoran soil. Nagato lagged a little on this instant, though no one could know why, as he showed no expression change. Not that he could, of course

Directly facing the shuttle, at the crowd's spear-head, stood three people. One enthusiastic sided by two not so much so. Both, man and woman, looked like they'd much rather be doing something else. Itami approached the center man, smiling pleasantly.

"Mr. Selfridge, I presume?"

"Quite right, miss Yoruno." He smiled broader "It is a true honor to have you here, on our humble base"

"Humble is hardly the word I'd use" Yukito entered the conversation, gesturing to the huge complex with an amused grin.

"Touchè" Selfridge said, lowering his head a little "Nothing escapes you, does it, Mr. Sato?"

"That's what I pay him so well for" Nagato said as he caught up with the others.

"Ah, Mr. Yoruno! How... delightful it is to us to have someone such as yourself here. Please, allow me to formally introduce myself, and my companions" He took a step back to be right between his less-than-enthusiastic escorts "Parker Selfridge, director of the RDA Pandoran mining operations"

He then gestured to the man to his left, clearly a military officer, judging from the muscular build, the stern look and the short-trimmed grey hair. What caught Nagato's eye were the three lines that broke the perfect keptness of the man's hair. A scar, and a big one at that.

"Colonel Miles Quaritch, chief of Security, our responsible for the defense and protection of our assets"

Then, he turned his guests' attention to the woman. While not terribly attractive per se, she had a nice body that had survived well the dark middle-ages, her intelligent but unfriendly-looking face was laden by a nice shade of curly red hair.

"Dr. Grace Augustine, lead researcher and commander of the Avatar Program"

"A pleasure" Tensai said, though no one would hear pleasure in his emotionless voice.

"Yes, yes, equally..." she grumbled, a bit bothered by the metallic voice "Be all very welcome to hotel Pandora, we hope you enjoy your stay" Her voice was so loaded with irony that provoked a laugh from Yukito "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some actual work to do"

With that she turned around to leave.

"Dr. Augustine?" She stopped at Itami's call "Mind if we go with you? We'd love to see the lab, and check on the avatars"

"I'm sorry, miss" Quaritch manifested himself "But all new arrivals must go through the safety briefing before being allowed to carry with their happy little lives"

"Safety briefing?" Tensai turned his neurally-controlled wheelchair to face the colonel "Let me guess: You will be saying that this is the most hostile ambient of the universe, that every living thing out there can have us for lunch, and that we should work together to fulfill our duties with no hero play?"

"What was that?" If he was surprised, he made an effort not to show it.

"I read the manual. I read a lot, you know. Not everyone can do push-ups whenever they're bored..."

"Lucky you, lab rat. If you were under me, that smartass attitude would have cost you a couple hundred ones"

"Joyful me I'm not then. Dr. Augustine?"

Those with a decent-enough sight would see her quickly hiding a grin "Yes yes, of course..." She motioned for the trio to follow her, and follow her they did.

"Grace!" Shouted a geeky-looking young man when she entered the laboratory "I discovered something that looks like a polymer in the latest samples, I think you should have a look..."

"Ah, Norm!" She greeted him with unusual enthusiasm as he made his way to her "Perfect timing. I'll look into it right away, meanwhile could you show the lab to our guests?"

"Guests?" He noticed, for the first time, that there were three people behind her, and his gaze froze on the one in the wheelchair "Oh. My. God! Is that who I think it is?"

"Probably" She ushered him in their direction "Go on, show them around, please"

Obviously glad to have found an escape route, she walked away, heading to where Norm was before he went to meet them. Meanwhile, the same Norm was still dumbstruck.

"Are you... Nagato Tensai? I mean, THE Tensai?!"

"Last time I checked, yes" He said "Itami, my arm, please"

She nodded and lifted his right arm so his hand was reaching to the man "And you would be?"

He frenetically wiped his hand on his pants before shaking it enthusiastically "Norm Spellman. It is my honor, sir!"

"A pleasure to meet you too, Dr. Spellman"

He was visibly ecstatic "Come, I'll show you around"

Not losing an octave of his enthusiasm, he showed the three Asians the linking room, the monitors, the training grounds outside, and when they returned to the lab, there were three tanks already positioned there, filled with blue liquid and blue bodies.

"Lady and gentlemen, your avatars" He gestured dramatically to the tanks.

Anyone with good eyes could tell which was which: Itami's was the middle one, the only female; her now-discreet Asian traits gave the Hybrid body a nice, exotic look. Yukito's was the right one, farthest from them, although slim as any Na'vi should be, his avatar had an especially good physique, giving an idea of strength and endurance.

Nagato drove his wheelchair till he was facing the side of the leftmost tank.

"That is yours, Tensai-san" Norm said.

He had his eyes fixed on the blue version of himself sleeping inside the tank, occasionally twitching from the sensory emulators.

"Norm?" Grace called, emerging from the research area, making him, along with Itami and Yukito look at her "That polymer you mentioned, it was your saliva. Again"

"Oh... I see..." He looked away, a blush coloring his cheeks as Yukito's booming laugh filled the space around.

"Don't worry though, I managed to save a part of the sample" She was now smiling amusedly "But we'll need more pretty soon"

"Oh, don't worry, Dr. Augustine. I'm pretty sure we can find volunteers to go get them" Itami said, smiling, as she turned her head to speak to her brother "Don't we, Naga..."

She stopped and looked dumbfounded at him. Yukito noticed and looked too, the same face befalling him. Nagato was touching the tank, just in level with his face. His weakened arm twitched violently at each second, like a twig who suffers a great amount of strain.

"Nagato..." She walked to him, speechless. When she got close enough, she was even more surprised.

"I...no...ri..." She saw his lips move and curl weakly into a smile, and a faint, hoarse whisper of his voice came out.

Yukito, Itami, Norm and even Grace looked at him with amazement in their eyes. After a few more seconds, that sliver of strength seemed to wane away, and his arm fell back down. He let his eyes close.

Itami smiled with sisterly love in her eyes, and grabbed his wheelchair, pushing it out of the room, looking for a place to let him rest.

"Yukito-san?" Norm called to Tensai's friend after they left.

"That crazy idiot..." He whispered with amused surprise.

"Yukito-san?" He called again.

"Oh, sorry. Yes, Dr. Spellman?"

"Umm... what does "inori" mean?"

He sighed, and looked back to the door where his friend was carried out before answering.

"Life"