Part 4, this will go on for some while as a series and I hope I have faithful readers, you won't be disappointed.
The message from Andrei Semyonov, the day following his personal briefing of Sully, and the day when Sully first ventured out into Pandora proper along with she who could not be named searching for the Na'vi, was alarming.
"Sir!" said Andrei urgently, and he very rarely interrupted so suddenly into the Colonel's work habit.
On his desk Quaritch pressed a button to open communication with the young Russian. "Yes what is it?" knowing he would not like it.
"Sir, I've heard on the grapevine that Jake Sully, our man, is lost in the jungle and the science chopper is returning home" he said, with the apprehension of a man who knows he could be burned for telling the truth.
Quaritch almost laughed as he edited himself by shouting "Expletive!"
He heard a stifled snort of laughter from the other end. "Sorry sir, but no, they are coming back without Jake."
"Damn, Damn, Damn, Damn, Damn!" said Quaritch. He now regretted his word on no night operations, and Sully was valuable, but it was only Avatar body, not the real deal. So Quaritch was not going to spend lives to recover something fake. However he knew that the drivers of the Avatars were in tune with their Avatar's nervous system. Quaritch was not sure what would happen if that Avatar body were killed by say, being eaten alive, as might happen.
Nothing for it, but to go down there and brave she who could not be named, and ask what could happen to Sully. It was important as it would be difficult to make a new Avatar and get the intel, but it would also be a stupid way to go. It would be like dying because you died in a video game. He keyed in "Andrei, come with me, and be armed scientists are infinitely more deadly than Pandora." He keyed off and checked himself in the mirror to make sure he looked as un-thuggish as possible. He straightened himself and walked outside his office door, to see Andrei standing there waiting and watching. Quaritch nodded and the two men walked off in silence to the Avatar room.
They walked through the Hell's Gate complex following the signs, until they were in the outer laboratories, everyone ignoring them or giving them hostile glances. As they approached the Avatar room Quaritch saw the science puke from the day before yesterday, Augustine, and an Indian looking fellow, bending over and observing the functions of someone, probably Jake.
The thud of boots against a metal grating caused the three to look their way, and Augustine glared at Quaritch. He returned the look, she had no right to dislike him, not after what she had done. He walked over to them and looking at the Indian fellow, who seemed to be the most neutral of them all, and asked "How's Sully?"
"What in the hell are you doing down here?" demanded Augustine angrily.
Quaritch ignored her and looked at the Indian fellow patiently "I asked you a question, how is he?"
"Um, well, he's alive..." he said
"Don't answer him Max. He has no business sticking his nose in my department!" she said irritably. The science puke glared at Quaritch like the good little poodle he was. Andrei stood there expressionless.
"That is good Doctor, now do we have any idea where he is or what is happening to him?"
"Look just get out of here, you people cause enough trouble as it is" said Augustine.
Quaritch could see this was impossible, all the scientists were glaring at him, and the one person who was talking was neutral in as unfriendly a manner as possible. "I'm sorry I care about human lives more than I do for plants or blue savages." Everyone was overtly hostile to them now, looking at him as if they would murder, and even Quaritch would have felt threatened, if they had been brave enough, but they were all cowards. He turned to Andrei "Lets go. We'll come back when he is awake." Without a word Andrei followed him out. Quaritch felt empty and furious, nothing had been accomplished and Augustine was still acting as if she held the moral high ground as the great humanitarian. Quaritch knew better, he knew her.
He went back to his office, dismissing Andrei for the day and waited. He read a book on the French Revolution, and waited. After a while he realized how pointless this was as Augustine would never tell him when Jake was awake out of spite for him which he could not comprehend. It was she, who had committed a far more serious breach of what would be considered the right way of conduct. He checked the clock it was 2224 hours, past his bedtime, you needed plenty of energy on Pandora. Then he got a buzz at his desk, it was Sully. "Hey Colonel, I'm back."
Eagerly Quaritch keyed in "Hey Jake, are you alright?"
"I sure am Colonel, and like I said to Augustine you are not gonna believe where my Avatar is!"
Sully was excited so this must be real good news "Where?"
"I'm in the big tree with the local Na'vi tribe sir, they're gonna teach me how to be a warrior."
Quaritch felt like whooping for joy, what an intelligence windfall, what luck. He just hoped Sully did not reveal anything about their methods to the Na'vi. "Hot digedee damn son, that is just fantastic! However its late I'm sure you need rest, and I know I do. I'll see ya with the Administrator in the administrative tower at 0630 in the morning. You can tell me all about it then, I'm looking forward to it."
"As am I sir." Sully keyed off, and Quaritch could finally go to bed.
Sully told him, Administrator Selfridge, and the assembled officers about how he had walked aimlessly through the jungle, been attacked by a horde of the creatures which had given Quaritch his scars. He had killed two, but was about to be overwhelmed when a female Na'vi saved him. As Quaritch expected she was more concerned about the lives of nasty carnivores than the life of a fellow humanoid. She had been rude, and although Sully did not seem to know it, she had probably been stalking him and regretted not killing him. Killing a 'sky person' to the Na'vi was a great battle honor. Jake also described how he had had luminous seeds land on him, and at that the female Na'vi had become friendlier and led him towards the Hometree. He had then been ambushed by hostile Na'vi warriors and force marched back to the Hometree. There the tribal leaders had obviously wanted to kill Jake, but probably to gather intelligence themselves, did not kill him. What amused Quaritch most was how he had gotten out of dying.
"Yeah they became more curious when I said I was a warrior. I tried to put it in terms they would understand. So I said I was a Marine, a warrior for the Jarhead clan."
Quaritch laughed "Jarhead clan? And it worked?"
"Yes sir" Sully said proudly "Hey, I'm practically family now, they're gonna study me, and teach me their ways."
Proudly Quaritch clapped Sully on the back "That's called taking initiative son, I wish I had ten more like you."
Selfridge had found the story interesting but he did not want anyone getting sidetracked. His relief at what looked like a breakthrough in passively getting what the company wanted was a relief to him. "Look Sully, just found out what the blue monkeys want. I mean we've tried giving 'em medicine, education, roads, but no, they like mud. That would not bother me" he said walking over to the holographic console and ineptly fiddling with the controls "Its just that..." In frustration he tried to move the map ninety four kilometres west to the Hometree, but all he succeeded in doing was bringing up a 3D Hell's Gate. "Um could somebody help me please?" An officer took the controls and got into travel mode. "Sector 12" Selfridge said. "Alright go" the map moved in the right direction showing the progression of the company dozers "go...go...go" They were at Hometree. "Okay stop right there" he said to the Officer, but he overshot the big tree and then had to come back "Whoa, Jesus" said Selfridge out of temporary concern for this presentation becoming awkward. The officer knew what do and showed the underground survey "Their damn village just happens to be resting on the richest unobtainium deposit in a two hundred kilometre radius." The survey showed easily a half a million kilos of unobtanium under the tree. "I mean look at all that Cheddar!" Selfridge was glad that Sully seemed to understand now why everyone was making such a fuss. Selfridge chuckled with amused greed, at thinking how pleased everyone would be. The company would earn easily ten trillion dollars from this, and everyone would get a bonus, the board of directors, the shareholders, and everyone on this base. What was there not to like?
Sully however seemed to disapprove of this corporate greed, and Selfridge could understand, it was not appealing. He was also not going to say 'You know we give 5% to forest restoration and 5% to water purification' as he was afraid Sully would not believe him. "Look Sully" he said walking over to him, and trying to ape the humorous tone people could put on to sugar a pill, and make that task far less unpleasant. "It looks bad if we use force on the indigenous, but, if there is one thing shareholders hate more than bad press its a bad quarterly statement. I didn't make up the rules." In a way it was supposed to be funny and pleasant. For Selfridge and the assembled Officers it was, knowing just how hostile and savage the Na'vi were, but maybe Sully did not see it that way.
"Well who gets 'em to move?" asked Sully.
"Guess" said Quaritch rhetorically.
"How long do I have?" asked Sully
"Three months" said Quaritch "That's when the dozers get there."
"Look Sully find a carrot that is going to make these guys move, otherwise its gonna have to be all stick" he said indicating the Colonel.
"Well then we're wasting time" said Sully.
The Colonel had not been lying, this guy was focused on his mission. "I like this guy!" Selfridge announced proudly "With that attitude Sully I'll make sure you get the corporate approval to get the stem cells grown here, and have the operation here if you want." Selfridge could see that they were all going to get along just fine.