Miles Quaritch RECOM

Long ago— before the recombinants, before Pandora chewed up and spit out the human colonists again— there was her.

A girl.

Barely past twenty, fresh-faced, idealistic, and too eager for her own good. She wasn’t RDA brass, not by a long shot— just a young avatar operator, cleared for ground activity, full of textbook knowledge and too many emotions. She had no business being near Colonel Miles Quaritch.

And yet, she was always there.

A clipboard in hand. A pen behind her ear. Fumbling wires, babbling through technical specs, or bringing him his morning black coffee without ever needing to be asked.

His gopher. His shadow. His girl— Well, not really. Not officially.

To her, Miles Quaritch was something untouchable and magnetic. A war dog wrapped in muscle and bad decisions, barking orders and chewing out grunts like he was born to dominate the room. To her, he was everything. She would have followed him into Hell— and probably did, more than once.

And though Quaritch never said anything to encourage her obsession, he never pushed her away, either. He liked her there. Maybe it was the way she lit up when he acknowledged her. Or how she always had something smart to say even if it came out jumbled, like her mouth worked faster than her brain around him. Maybe it was because he could have pushed her away, and he didn’t.

|He liked the attention. Liked the way her eyes lingered a second too long.|

|There was a possessiveness there, subtle but sharp. If someone else flirted with her? Miles would shut that shit down. If she got too close to the scientists or even the avatar boys her age, he made damn sure she found a reason to be back on his team. He never admitted why. He didn’t want to know.|

Maybe if things had gone different, there would’ve been time to figure it out.

But then came war. The Omatikaya. The betrayal. Jake Sully. And eventually... death.

———

— Pandora, Recom Facility

|The screen hummed low in the sterile white room. Reborn in a cloned Na’vi body, Colonel Recombinant Miles Quaritch stood with his arms crossed, flicking through data logs as if trying to chase the ghost of the man he used to be.|

| They’d told him to expect memory gaps. Emotion bleed. “Echoes,” they called them. Memories from the original Miles Quaritch like cigarette smoke clinging to a jacket you never wore.|

And yet... There was a face. A girl’s face. Her face.

|Human. Bright-eyed. Constantly underfoot in the memories like a persistent hum — always smiling at him, always trying to impress him. What the hell was her name?|

“Play Log: Pre-Deployment - Subject Quaritch, M.”

|He tapped the screen.|

[VIDEO PLAYBACK — PREVIOUS LIFE]

|The log stuttered to life, flickering with static before resolving into focus.|

|There he was. Human Quaritch. Leather-skinned, buzzcut tight, chewing gum like it had wronged him. Sitting in front of the camera, clearly annoyed.|

—“Alright... log whatever. This is Colonel Miles Quaritch. If you’re seein’ this, you’re lookin’ at the better-lookin’ version of me. You're only younger, taller, and bluer.”

|He pauses. Grimaces.|

—“Shit, what the hell am I even supposed to say here—?”

From off-camera, she appears.

| Young, human, in standard issue RDA attire but with the sleeves rolled up and a holopad clutched to her chest. She steps forward, flustered but excited.|

—“I can explain, sir! Um—uh, the recombinants are created through DNA encoding and full neuroscan backups, which are, um, stored pre-mortem and then transferred into a cloned Na’vi body. So when-if-you die, the backup is restored and implanted into the avatar chassis. You’re technically still you, just... taller! And blue! But, like, same memories, core identity intact, combat-ready—”

| She trails off as Quaritch turns in the seat, one eyebrow raised, lips twitching into a smirk.|

—“You rehearsin’ that in front of a mirror, kid?”

—“No!” She blurts, then adds quickly, “Maybe.”

|He chuckles — a real one. Short, but warm.|

—“Relax, you nailed it. Hell, maybe you should’ve recorded this instead of me.”

—“I just thought maybe... you’d want him to know exactly how it works. In case he wakes up confused. Or mad.”

|He snorts.|

—“If he’s me, he’ll wake up mad either way.”

| She beams. Miles, standing in front of the screen now, watches the exchange closely. The way the girl lights up just from a bit of approval. The way his human self looks at her—half exasperated, half... something else. Something softer. Curious. Almost protective. Human Miles then smirks.|

—“You’re a piece of work.”

—“Thank you, sir,” she says too quickly, and Miles watches as his human self leans back, just watching her in the background. Almost fond.

—“End log,”

| Human Miles says at last, rubbing the bridge of his nose.|

|The screen fades to black.|

|Miles doesn’t say anything, but his tail flicks once behind him.|

…

|The video was old. Before the final mission. Before it all went to hell. But something about it clung to him like jungle heat. That girl— she wasn’t just background noise. She meant something. Still meant something, if the weird flutter in his chest was any indication.|

—“Sir, we’ve got the targets.”

|Wainfleet’s voice crackled through the comms.|

| The Sully kids. Spider, his human estranged son. And her.|

| They’d been found in the lower valley— and she was with them. Not human anymore. She walked in a Na’vi body now, tall and graceful in ways her younger self could never be. But her eyes were the same.|

———

| The dense jungle of Pandora closed in around them, the towering trees casting long shadows under the setting sun. The air was thick with humidity, the distant calls of creatures echoing through the underbrush. Recom Miles Quaritch stood tall and imposing, his hands resting on the rifle slung across his chest, his tail flicking lazily behind him, though there was nothing lazy about the tension in his posture.|

|His team— Wainfleet, Lyle, and the others — stood around you and the Sully kids, their weapons at the ready. The Sully kids were held down by force, arms gripped by the soldiers, and Spider was barely able to breathe under the oppressive stare of Miles as he circled them like a predator.|

|And then, there was you.|

|You stood still, face hard but eyes betraying a flicker of emotion. He didn’t want to look at you. But he did. He couldn’t help himself. Not when you stood there so damn calm, so quiet — a stranger now in that Na’vi body.|

|For a moment, he considered taking you with them— bringing you back to the base. But the memory of the video, the face of your younger self, haunted him. The girl who had once eagerly tried to impress him, who had loved him, who had begged for his survival in that final moment...|

|No. Not yet.|

|His eyes narrowed, and he glanced toward the others, tightening his grip on his rifle.|

—“Hold ’em down. Don’t let anyone move.”

|The command was quick, sharp. There was no hesitation.|

|Spider was shoved to the ground with a grunt, his wrists twisted behind him by Lyle. The Sully kids were forced to kneel, restrained by the soldiers. Their eyes were wild, defiant. But they stayed still for now. All except for you— you who stood there, watching him carefully, the cold, unblinking eyes of a Na’vi now hardening in response to his presence.|

| Miles didn’t flinch. He stepped back, crossing his arms as he pressed a button on his wrist comm. The video log flickered to life on the nearby screen— the video of his death.|

| The scene shifted to the past.|

It was the final battle. The ambush at the floating Hallelujah cliffs.

| He saw himself, human, bloodied and furious. Jake Sully standing over him. Neytiri with her bow drawn.|

| And there—she ran into frame.|

| Still human. Desperate. Screaming his name.|

—“MILES, NO! STOP!”

| She shoved between him and the enemy like she could shield him. Tears already spilling, hands shaking.|

— “Jake, please! He doesn’t have to die! You don’t have to do this—!”

| Quaritch— the old him —coughed, choking on blood, and pushed her back roughly.|

—“Get outta here, girl... you don’t need to see this.”

—“I love you, dammit!” she screamed. “I’ve always loved you!”

|Jake didn’t stop.|

|Neytiri didn’t hesitate.|

|Gunfire. Arrows. Blood.|

| He watched himself die. But the worst part wasn’t watching it— it was the moment after.|

|She dropped to her knees. Cradled his lifeless body like she could still keep him. Cried his name so brokenly that even Miles blinked at the force of it.|

—“Miles... please... don’t leave me…”

Static. End of recording.

| Spider looked away. The Sully kids said nothing. She didn’t. Couldn’t.|

| Miles jaw was tight. His expression unreadable, eyes locked on the screen long after it had gone dark.|

—“Guess that idiot died not knowin’ what he had.”

| His voice was quiet. But his fists clenched.|