Chapter 4-A spy
Jake had gone missing last night. We all wondered whether we'd lost him-an avatar who was on our side, who could help us gain what we needed.
But he came back. And we got the info I needed. I laughed as Jake relayed the story about how he got into the clan.
"Jarhead Clan? And that worked?"
Jake grinned. "Yeah. That want to study me. See if I can learn to be one of them."
"That's how you seize the initiative." I said. "I wish I had ten more like you." Ten more marine avatars-I should put a proposal forward.
"Look, Sully." Selfridge said "Find out what these blue monkeys want. We try to give them medicine and education! Roads! But no-they like mud. I wouldn't care except-" Selfridge turned on the 3d graphic display and flicked to the natives hometree-a large area underneath coloured in underneath showing large amounts of ubontunium-and a proposed road form Hell's gate to the tree.
"There damn village is sitting right over our richest deposit site for a hundred kicks in any direction. Which sucks-for them-because they need to relocate."
Jake took all this in. "Does Augustine know about all this."
Me and Selfridge exchanged a look, both thinking the same thing-how annoying the science team were, especially the Avatar's, and especially Augustine. They only seemed concerned about the plants.
"Yep." Selfridge answered. "She does, and she's on the next ship home if she messes this up."
"So-" Jake said "Who talks them into moving?"
"Guess." I said.
Jake suddenly realised. "What if they won't go?"
"I'm betting they will."
"Killing the indigenous looks bad, but there one thing that shareholders hate more than bad press." Selfridge explained "And that's a bad quaterly statement. Find me a carrot to get them to move, or its gonna have to be all stick."
Jake looked shaken by the weight of his new responsibility.
"You've got three months." I said "That's when the dozers get here."
"I'm on it." he said.
*
Jake came back with information on the hometree that evening. He'd made plans.
"You've got outer columns." he explained "Then a secondry ring here, and an inner ring. Then a core structure-its like a spiral. That's how they move up and down."
"I'm gonna need accurate scans of all these columns." I said.
"I'm on it." Jake promised.
*
The annoyance came later. Grace, late at night, entered the ops centre.
"Grace Augustine. How charming." Selfridge said.
I groaned. She ignored me.
"Selfridge-we're moving."
"As in-you and your scientists?" He said.
"No-as in me, Jake Sully and Norm Selfridge. As soon as possible." She said.
"I wonder what could have brought the sudden urge to move, Grace." Selfridge replied, eyes narrowing "Is the Avatar compound unsuitable?"
She ignored him. "We're planning to go to the mobile link at site 26-in the hallelujah mountains-we'll need a Samson and pilot."
"So far, Grace." Selfridge said "Are you sure?"
"Yes." She answered stiffly.
"Very well-I'll get Trudy onto it."
Her eyes narrowed at the name. She knew Trudy was faithful to me-she'd report back.
"Fine." she said after a while "Is she avaibille first thing tomorrow?"
"It can be arranged." Selfridge said.
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