Nordica's POV

"Nordica!" Jake calls and wheels over to me. After his talk with Norm and Grace. I only heard the end of it. Grace telling Jake to keep his mouth shut and let Norm & I do the talking.

"Morning Jake, excited for our first expedition?" I ask him

"Yeah should be fun" he states. "When we get back I have a gift for you" he tells me.

"A gift?" I ask confused.

"I had it made before we shipped out, after dinner" he tells me.

"Of course" I tell him and he wheels over to his link pod. "Jake, don't do anything stupid out there" I tell him before closing my  link pod. I link with my avatar and vomit into the bin beside my bed.

"Morning Nordica" Grace says cheerily. I nod my head and head to the bathroom with my outfit for the day. I rinse my mouth and brush my teeth. Then get changed. I exit and see the others ready and waiting.

"Morning sickness?" Norm asks me.

"Yeah, hopefully it won't happen every time I link" I state. Jake tosses me a fruits. "Thanks" I say and eat it as we head for the hanger. Grace introduces Norm and I to Trudy. Before we take off.

Flying over a carpet of rainforest, past sheer cliffs and cloud-wreathed mesas. A trooper Wainfleet, in exo-mask and body armor, leans on his door gun, scanning for aerial predators. Jake also has a gun. We in our avatars watch the forest unrolling beneath us, the wind blasting our clothes.

"Sturmbeest herd, one o'clock" Trudy tells us. Norm points and I smile with Jake at the herd as they went across a river.

"Looks like a bull, six cows and some juveniles" Grace states.

"And one calf" I add pointing to it and she nods her head.

"The bull has the red on the dorsal armor?" Norm asks Grace. She nods her head approvingly. Hundreds of purple winged creatures take flight from a lake, startled by our aircraft. The ground drops away as the Samson flies over a waterfall hundreds of feet high. Trudy banks hard, rolling in on the gorge below like it's a gun-run. Jake whops as I cover my mouth.

"Take it easy Trudy" Grace tells her as Norm hands me a bag. Just encase I vomit. Trudy levels out apologizing. We soon land in a small meadow. Grace has Trudy power down the ship and told Wainfleet to stay with her. While she, Norm, Jake and I headed into the woods.

"Want me to carry that medical kit?" Jake asks me.

"I'm pregnant not disabled" I remind him. "Besides it's not that heavy" I state. This forest is more alive than any on Earth, with plants that react and move like animals. Jake white-knuckles his rifle as if every shadow conceals razor-fanged death.

"Relax, Marine. You're making me nervous" Grace tells him. Making him lower his gun.

"He would of loved this" I state looking around with a smile.

"Yeah, he would of" Jake agreed.

"I wish he was here and that the baby could of known their father" I tell him.

"He would of been an amazing father" he states. "But I'm here, and I promise to be the best uncle possible. I'll tell the kid so many stories about Tommy" he tells me.

"I'd love to hear some of them" I tell him. I notice Grace and Norm have stopped to take a plant sample. "Want to see something cool?" I ask Jake.

"Uh sure, but shouldn't we stay with the other two?" he asks me.

"We're just going over there" I assure him pointing to a glade of spiral plants. "These are called helicoradians, but the Na'vi call them Loreyu" I explain.

"Which means what?" he asks me curious.

"Beautiful spiral" I tell him. "Watch this" I say and brush my fingers against one lightly. I pull my hand back with a giggle as it is sucked into a tube into the ground. Vanishing from view.

"Whoa!" he says with a smile. "Let me try" he states and touches one. He laughs as it disappears and touches another. As I smile shaking my head, what a child. Suddenly they all disappear to reveal a juvenile hammerhead titanothere or angtsìk as the Na'vi call them. Jake points his gun at it, pushing me gently behind him.

"Don't shoot. You'll piss it off" Grace tells Jake. As she hides behind a tree with Norm. I give him a reassuring nod. The hammerhead bellows lowering it's head.

"It's already pissed off" Jake tells her.

"No it isn't" I tell him.

"She's right, it's a territorial threat display. Do not run, or he'll charge" Grace explains. "Also that armor is to thick" she adds.

"What do I do? It could hurt Nordica" Jake states.

"Just hold your ground" Grace tells him and he pulls his gun up. The hammerhead slashes its head sideways, splintering saplings. It bellows again, lowers its head and charges. Jake screams at the top of his lungs, spreads his arms wide and runs straight at the thing. It stops abruptly, with an oversized bleat and backs away.

"You did it!" I cheer.

"Oh yeah! Who's bad?! That's right" Jake cheers. But I notice the hammerhead not looking at him or me. But something behind us, looking scared.

"Uh Jake" I say trying to catch his attention as the young bull rejoin it's herd.

"That's right, get your punk ass back to mommy. Yeah? Yeah, you got nothin'. You keep runnin'. Why don't you bring some of your friends, huh? " Jake taunts the young bull. As the rest of the herd go on alert looking our way.

"Jake!" I say louder.

"What?" he asks looking at me. Suddenly a shadowy figure jumps over us and lands in front f Jake. Looking at the herd and roars.

"Oh no, it's a thanator" I say scared as I back away from it. The Na'vi call it a Palulukan. It's the most fear land predator on Pandora. Jake backs away from it gun raised as it looks our way.

"What about this one? Run, don't run? What?" Jake asks Grace and I.

"Run, definitely RUN!" Grace shouts. Jake runs my way and grabs my hand. We bolt as the thanator follows us with a roar.

A/N

Picture above of Nordica's outfit and the medical kit.