A/N: Okay here's chapter 4, the plot thickens eh? Again thanks for the reviews guys. I really appreciate your input and encouragement. This is why it's after 0300 here and I'm still up lol :)
Well without further adieu, please enjoy this chapter. I'm off to bed and I'm not getting up till I wake up.
Chapter 4: Diplomacy
It had been a very rough night for Alejandra. First, she was pulled out of bed on one of the first nights in nearly a week that she had not needed to pull one of her usual all nighters be cause of the lovely FUBAR situation of the RDA losing Pandora to the natives, which would not have happened if they had had competent leadership on the ground. Instead the RDA had in stilled Captain Capitalism and Ranger Retard as the Administrator and head of security at Hell's Gate.
Then to add the whip cream to the sundae, she finds out that the one who has to fix this situation is none other than herself. Not to mention, that short of nuking the indigenous population, there was little she could do to retake the planet with her forces. In the past seven hours, she had gone over nearly every tactical scenario conceivable, and every one of them had spelled one thing: F-U-B-A-R. The only victory moves were to nuke several selected sites on Pandora for maximum shock and maximum awe or use the kinetic warheads for a non-nuclear victory, but lucky for the Na'vi these were options she had long eliminated from the table. It wasn't that she had a problem with weapons of mass destruction; it was that she had a problem of using them on innocents. A very contradictory trait since nearly all WMDs used in history had been used in highly populated areas such as Hiroshima, Nagasaki, London, Washington D.C., and Beijing, the later three being victims of terrorist attacks in the early and mid twenty-first century.
The next thing that had been eating at Alejandra was her sister. So far she had no luck in finding out if she was safe aboard the Venture Star, which made it more likely that she was either working for the Na'vi along with the other humans still on Pandora, or that she was dead. The later possibility made her shudder. Trudy can't be dead, she's too damn stubborn to be killed, she had kept telling herself. Her sister was the only family she had left since both of their parents had died a decade back. Trudy had decided shortly after to make a new life on a new world and left for Pandora.
Deciding to follow in her sister's footsteps, Alejandra soon left Earth after finishing her last tour in South America as Captain of the United States Stealth Super Carrier USS Appalachia. It had been quite the jump from sea of water to a sea of stars, but worth it in many ways. That is, it was worth it until now. Now she wanted to scream, now she wanted jump back to Earth and beat the living crap out of Nathan Andrews, head of RDA Command, and call Captain Renaldo of the Venture Star and ask him to do the same thing to Parker Selfridge. However, neither of those things was possible, nor would it help the current situation.
Instead, she had spent the several hours with her executive officer going over possible diplomatic scenarios, military scenarios, and other various approaches to solving the Pandora problem. They had just come up with possibly viable idea when they had been interrupted by the on duty COMM officer to notify them that Hell's Gate had just initiated contact with them, and none other than The Jake Sully wanted to talk.
Now she found herself face to face, in a manner of speaking, with the once US Marine Corporal while he simply stared at her. Wonder why he's doing this in his avatar in stead of in person, she thought as he continued to stare at her.
After a few moments, she found herself growing tired of the staring contest and decided to break the silence. "You must be Jake Sully," she said before adding, "I'm Alejandra Chacon, Captain of the ISV Dark Star. I've been wanting to talk to you." That last part may have been stretching the truth. She did want to talk with him, but she would have preferred to have been more prepared to speak with Sully than she was presently.
For his part, Sully seemed to gather himself quickly. He nodded to her acknowledgement then spoke. "Yes, I am Jake Sully," he said then he must have noticed her staring at him. "I bet you're wondering why I'm in my avatar aren't you?"
"You could say that Corporal Sully," Alejandra replied. "Honestly I was expecting a hu man in a wheelchair in lieu of a Na'vi warrior."
Jake laughed at her assessment. Good, I can deal with humor, she thought at his reaction. Maybe this wouldn't be a painful as she had expected, or maybe this was just the tip of the pro verbial iceberg.
"Well I'm sort of permanently in the avatar Captain," he said.
Permanently in the avatar, what the hell, Alejandra thought at his answer to her question. "I thought that the avatar link was temporary, Corporal. How'd you get stuck in your avatar? Is your real body dead or something?" Maybe the last question wasn't the best follow up, but What the hell, she figured.
"This is my real body," Jake said gesturing to his avatar body. "I chose to become one of the people and go through a rite of passage the Na'vi call 'Passing Through the Eye of Ewya,' which permanently transferred my consciousness into my avatar body, so yeah my human body is dead."
That last part didn't seem to faze him, at least not to Alejandra. Apparently he's given up on humanity and decided to go full alien hippie, she thought. The phrase 'this just gets better and better' also flowed through her mind as well, except in a very sarcastic tone.
"Oh and Captain," Sully said looking Alejandra in the eye. "I'm not a Corporal anymore, so you can drop the military honorific."
Alejandra tensed at his tone. Yep this is going downhill, her mind told her. "Well then Corporal, how would you prefer me address you?"
Jake smiled at the emphasis she applied to his former rank. "Just call me Jake. Everyone else does," he said with a boyish grin.
Relieved that he wasn't going stone asshole on her just yet, she sighed internally. "Alright then Jake," she said emphasizing his name but not in a rude or threatening way. "I can work with that. Why don't you call me Alejandra then," she added. First name basis, maybe this FUBAR situation may have less FUBAR than I thought.
Her fatigued mind was now racing on how she should handle this situation to keep this…chat civil.
"Alejandra. I think I like that better than just calling you Captain anyway," Jake said. She noticed that he seemed to be less tense than when he'd first connected with her.
Alejandra shifted her position in the chair and looked at her XO before returning her gaze to Jake. "Jake, may I have a moment with my executive officer before we continue?" Come on give and take Jake, that's how negotiations work, her mind thought as she asked him.
"Sure, just don't keep me hanging," Jake replied still appearing civil.
Alejandra nodded, "Thank you Jake. I'll be just a moment," she said before muting the transmission.
"Darren," she called. Her XO turned around to face her. He'd been studying a photo of her and Trudy on Earth from when they were children.
"Yes Captain," he said in response.
She sighed. "This may take some time, why don't you go and get some sleep. I don't need more than one officer fatigued at a given time."
"Are you sure Captain? What if negotiations fall apart?"
"If they do," she began, "I'll call you. Go get some sleep; you look like you need it."
Darren chuckled. "Look who's talking Alejandra. You're definitely the 'pot calling the kettle black.'"
She waved him off dismissively as he left. "Yeah, yeah laugh it up; anyway, good night Commander and pleasant dreams."
"Likewise," he replied. The door slid shut and then she was alone with Jake, or rather alone and Jake billions of kilometers away.
Alejandra turned back to her monitor and disabled the mute. "Thank you Jake, I'm sorry it took longer than I intended," she said. She knew that it had been less than minute, but she had to keep him calm if her plan had any chance at success.
"I appreciate your concern," Jake replied adding emphasis to 'concern.' Apparently, he was letting her know that this wasn't a social call. This was something she had never forgotten.
"So Jake, I'm really enjoying our conversation, but I would venture that you haven't called me to simply chat. Though I appreciate the fact that you have been receptive to breaking the ice," Alejandra replied as she interlaced her fingers and leaned toward the monitor.
Jake shook his head and inhaled deeply. "I have to admit that this conversation is not proceeding as I had imagined," he said before adding, "but in a good way."
Alejandra nodded at his assessment. "That's good to hear Jake. Why don't we promise each other to do everything possible to ensure this conversation remains as such?"
"I am not willing to promise anything at this point, Alejandra, but I am willing to keep this exchange civil for as long as possible," was Jakes reply to her question.
"Fair enough," Alejandra replied giving Jake a deferential nod.
"So Alejandra, where do we begin," Jake asked.
Alejandra inhaled and then exhaled. Shit, now the hard part begins. "Well Jake," she be gan, "I think that I should begin with an official statement before this conversation continues. However, I am fairly confident I know what your response will be to my statement, so I would implore you not to read much into this statement as it is merely a formality."
"What would that be," he asked then added, "Surrender or die?"
"Not exactly," Alejandra continued, "but along similar lines. Like I said, this is merely a formality before we begin our real negotiations. So will you at least humor me?"
Jake rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said as his only reply to her question.
"Thank you Jake." Alejandra said then readjusted her position in her chair and sat upright. She then reached for a piece of paper on her desk and began to read from it.
"As I have assumed responsibility for all actions of the Resource Development Administration on the world of Pandora, I hereby formally request that you, Jake Sully, leader of the Na'vi surrender all RDA assets and hand over those assets to me upon the arrival of my ship into the Alpha Centauri star system. If you accept these terms, I am authorized to grant you immunity from any and all legal actions that would normally be undertaken in a situation such as this. I will also be willing to negotiate a more amicable relationship with the Na'vi in return for the resumption of all mining operations on Pandora," Alejandra read before asking the question that she already knew the answer to. "Do you accept these terms Jake Sully?"
Jake only smiled at her 'official statement.' "Well Captain Alejandra Chacon," he began with an almost sly grin, "Your offer is both generous and kind, but I must formally decline your offer," he said almost mockingly to her statement before taking on a more annoyed appearance. "Are your formalities done?"
"Yes."
"So what now," Jake asked still annoyed.
Alejandra let out a deep breath, "Now we really begin."
Jake crossed his arms at her statement. "Look before you begin, I just want to say that if you are simply going to lead me on and nuke me when you get here, I'd really appreciate you not waste my time with this…dialog and let me enjoy what few days I have left before you begin raping this world again," any and all of his earlier civility vanished now from his face. "I know all about your ship. I know that you are carrying nuclear warheads and kinetic strikers. And I know that you have a full wing of aircraft at your disposal to use against us.
"But I want you to know one thing, Captain," he said dropping back into formality, "If you think that you're going to take this planet back while we lie down and die, you are sorely mistaken. Even if I die, and everyone around this base dies, the Na'vi will never give you this planet freely. We will fight until there is no one left to stop you from destroying this world," Jake finished in a very stern voice.
"You listen to me Jake, and listen good," Alejandra began in her response, which made Jake's stern look shift more toward anger. "If, and I say If I wanted to nuke you or strike at you with kinetic warheads, I would not be wasting valuable time that I could be planning for a strike, or better yet getting some sleep instead of sitting up all night and chatting with you about your change in lifestyles and your little forest friends.
"I know you don't trust me…"
"You're damn right I don't," Jake interrupted.
"And I don't trust you as far as I could throw your skinny blue ass," Alejandra continued sternly, "but I'm not about to destroy your world. I'm not here, right now, talking with you to only betray you later. I'm not Selfridge, and I'm sure as hell not Quaritch, but I'm not stupid. I know that your people will never allow us to simply land and mine your world and that you will fight us the whole way. I also want you to know that I do not, I repeat, I do not have a large enough military force to fight you and your people. Even if I intended to, you already control all of the viable landing zones where I could properly maintenance and refuel my military assets, which would force me to deplete my reserves I have aboard this ship. My best estimates are that you would overrun my forces within a month if I engaged in either a ground or aerial battle. My only victory options have already been wiped from the table, so diplomacy is all I have left as I am not willing to sacrifice my men and women in a vain attempt to ensure the RDA turns a god damn profit.
"That being said," her face softened some, "I want to find a peaceful solution that benefits us both."
Jake snorted at her speech, but his face also softened some. "What are you proposing, Alejandra," he asked saying her first name instead of her honorific.
To Alejandra, it seemed that their hostilities may be over…for now at least. "I propose that you allow me to send down a small contingent of troops when I arrive to secure and occupy some of the RDA's periphery assets and the administration wing of Hell's Gate, and in return I am willing to give you and your people food and medical supplies…maybe even a Samson or two if negotiations do not deteriorate."
"No deal," Jake retorted. "I'm not allowing you to gain a foothold anywhere on this world."
Alejandra nodded to his response. She wasn't surprised that he would deny this request, but as with any negotiator worth their salt, she was starting high with her requests and would allow him to whittle her down to the request she was really intending to pursue. "Okay fair enough, I understand that you would not want any opposing military force operating in your territory, but would you at least be willing to grant me the ability to allow some personnel to land at Hell's Gate and set up shop under your people's supervision?
"I have over five hundred people aboard this ship, and it would not be fair to them to force them to remain aboard, and keeping them in cryo for the duration of my stay in Alpha Centauri is not…desirable." She didn't think that he'd go for this one either, but again this was just one stop along the way to what she really wanted to pursue.
Jake shook his head. "I'm not willing to allow you to deploy a large number of people here, even if they are under our supervision. You'll just have to make due on your ship, or keep them in cryo stasis."
"Alright, then will you at least accept this. I propose you allow me to send down one, I repeat, one person down to the surface, Hell's Gate specifically, to negotiate with you in per son," Alejandra continued. This was what she really wanted, and she would not let him say no to this request.
"I'm not comfortable with any of your people down here," Jake began but was interrupted.
"Wait Jake," Alejandra put her hands up in a calming gesture, "Surely you can allow one person. Just one, that's all I asking. Just allow me to send down one of my Valkyries with a negotiator of my choosing. One person plus two pilots are all I'm asking. The pilots will merely fly the Valkyrie down to Hell's Gate drop off my negotiator, refuel, and then return to this ship. In return for granting this request, I'm still willing to ship down supplies to your people and the humans who live at the base."
Alejandra watched him consider the proposal. Good he's hesitating, she thought. "All you'll have to do is talk with this person, and allow them to communicate with their progress to me."
"One person," he asked holding up one of his long fingers.
"One person," she nodded. "I think it's a pretty good deal from your perspective Jake."
Jake's face hardened again, "This better not be a ploy."
"No ploy, Jake. I know you don't trust me, but humanity has already burnt enough bridges with the Na'vi. How about the two of us drive the first nails in the first new bridge be tween our two peoples? This could be a new beginning, for all of us. Let me earn your trust, that's all I'm asking," Alejandra spoke emphasizing words for effect. Come on Jake, come on boy, I know you're thinking about it. I know you don't want another war on your hands as well…
"Fine," Jake said nodding his head. "One person, no more," Jake said emphasizing his statement by holding up a lone solitary finger.
Alejandra nodded, "Thank you Jake. I will endeavor to ensure you do not regret this."
"For your negotiator's sake, I hope you bear that in mind," Jake responded.
"It will never leave my mind Jake. Now, since we have reached an agreement I really, re ally need some sleep. If there is nothing more you would like to discuss at this moment, I would like to retire for the remainder of the night," Alejandra said unable to suppress the yawn that she'd been holding for quite some time now.
"Very well," Jake responded.
Alejandra allowed relief to grace her tired face. "Thank you again Jake. Before I go, I would ask one more question."
"And that would be?"
"It will be nearly seven days before my ship arrives, would you be willing for me to con tact you say at noon your time, everyday? This would be 1700 hours Universal Coordinated Time," Alejandra requested.
"Why noon, and for what reason," Jake asked allowing some of his earlier humor to re turn in his voice.
Alejandra smiled. "Easy, to maintain dialog with you, and noon local time because right now it may only be 2130 hours your time, but it's nearly zero-four-thirty here aboard this ship, and I've have not had a decent night's sleep in five-and-a-half days."
Jake's attitude seemed to shift to a much more good natured humor, "Well then you bet ter get some sleep because I doubt you're going to get much rest in the near future."
"You can say that again," Alejandra responded exasperatedly.
Jake nodded, "Good night Alejandra."
"Good night Jake," Alejandra said and then disconnected the transmission. Well that went a whole lot better than I'd hoped, her mind told her. She stood from her desk and stretched. As she stretched she felt and heard her joints pop. Time to go to bed, she told herself. She reached down and tapped the CIC COMMs. "Actual to CIC," she said to her terminal.
"CIC here, Captain," the on duty officer said.
"I'm just letting you know that the negotiations have proceeded smoothly and I'm going to get some rack time. You wouldn't mind letting me and Fisher sleep in a little, would you?"
The officer simply grinned, "As long as you approve my overtime, I've got no problem with it."
"That's what I wanted to hear," Alejandra said before closing the window. She then turned from her desk and stripped out of her jumpsuit, removed the rubber band from her hair and crawled back into bed once she was reduced to her underwear. "Lights out," she muttered to the computer. The lights winked off leaving her in a room that was only lit by the glow her computer. Within moments, she was fast asleep.