Thank you for your reviews and favs. I'm still learning, but I hope I wrote the characters at least a bit convincingly. I hope that this chapter is in-character, too. Enjoy... :)
Chapter 2 - Contemplations
Miles Quaritch lay on his bunk, the arms crossed above his head and he smiled. It was a dirty, evil smile, but it fitted his current mood. He was very satisfied with himself – everything had happened just as he had it planned – not that he was used to something else.
He knew that he was a controversial person and that there were many people who believed his methods harsh or brutal, but almost all of them agreed on one thing: He was a brilliant tactician. That's why he had been hired in the first place.
It might take him a while to develop a plan, but if he finally had one it never failed. This trait had earned him many recommendations back on earth and apart from his first encounter with these blue savages it also proved useful on Pandora. Very useful.
The truth was he had wanted her from the first time he had seen her about six years ago. She was intelligent and not frightened to speak her mind and had this air of independence although she depended on a great many things here.
Even when it became obvious that her research was only tolerated, because it might turn out profitable one day she continued as if she had actually a say in all this. She defended her territory with teeth and claws and was even able to get a few concessions here and there.
Quaritch remembered her lively debates with Parker Selfridge and sometimes also with him all too vividly. She was actually pretty good at this. She knew exactly how to appeal to Selfridge's ego or his sense of greed, she knew when it was useful to overstep her boundaries and when it was better to stay silent.
No, she was not afraid. Maybe it was, he guessed, because she had nothing to lose, but always something to gain, but it didn't matter. It made her attractive in his eyes.
Of course there were other women in this facility and he even had slept with one or two of them, but it never had meant anything for him apart from the fact that he had to fulfill a human necessity from time to time.
Normally he avoided sexual encounters with subordinates. The obvious reason was that one could easily accuse him of abuse of power, but another reason was that they wouldn't dare to talk back. They feared him and the power he had over them, which made them docile and obedient. And they were much too young…
Grace didn't fear him, she despised him and his methods and she had never made an effort to hide those feelings. That much became clear to him that evening.
But it was also, what made her interesting.
She was one of the few women on the compound who was not obliged to report to him. As an independent scientist she answered to no one directly, apart from the fact that her research was largely funded by RDA.
Almost all the other women were marines and thus his responsibility. They knew how to shoot and how to obey orders, but they lacked a certain spirit.
She was also a worthy opponent. He clearly remembered her fierce expression when she defended the Na'Vi children during his raid of the school. She had not been in her human form then, but her features had been very recognizable. There was this fire in her eyes, this sense of defiance. Not that he had cared, he had shot her anyway in the end, since he had had a job to do and she had been in the way. She had never forgiven him, but that was okay.
His smile widened when he remembered his conversation with her the last evening. He almost had her although it was probably too easy. Now he could only wait.
He knew that everything in her wanted to fight him, but she could not escape if she wanted to save her precious savages, which she wanted of course.
And she had no evidence against him whatsoever.
Since it was highly unlikely that anyone would break in the lab there were no security cameras – and if he recalled it correctly she had strongly encouraged this. Apart from that there was nothing except her word against his. And he would deny everything. It was perfect and she had no way out, if she decided to play by the rules. He didn't doubt that she did, since dirty tricks were his domain. She lacked the proper imagination and the military training as well as the willingness to sacrifice others in order to achieve a goal. Although it was still beyond his understanding what fascination those ugly aliens could possibly hold. They were uncivilized and dirty and they hindered the company's progress. He was quite sure that nobody would ever miss them, should the need arise to eradicate them for good.
But that was nothing he had to worry about right now. Grace would give in, he was certain of that.
What he hadn't told her was that he had no intention to strike before he didn't know more about his enemy. This would make the attack more efficient and less expensive.
And she and her team would be the ones helping him to get that information… He had time.
Grace stared at the bunch of empty coffee cops before her.
She couldn't bring herself to go to sleep after her encounter with the colonel out of fear that what he had told her would have haunted her in her dreams. Besides, she needed to think.
She realized that her hands were shaking and she probably looked like her own ghost, but she couldn't care less. She needed this overdose of caffeine – in a strange sense it reminded her that she was still alive.
There had to be solution. It simply had to be…
She had thought of talking to Parker, but discarded it quickly. It would only look as a weak attempt on her part to denigrate the Colonel.
Parker knew of her history with Quaritch and he also had witnessed some of their fights. Most notably the one where her Avatar body got damaged. She had lost a lot of credibility that day, since she had dared to defy the troops of her own people. All things aside she had to consider herself lucky that she hadn't lost more in the end. She still had her position and was allowed to continue research. Although it had been a major drawback, it had been the last really violent confrontation between human and Na'Vi for the time being. Because of all of this she feared that her disagreements with the security chief were motive enough for Parker in order not to believe her. And she did not want to be called a liar or insane again.
There also existed no evidence of that conversation, since she had believed it unnecessary to install any security measures at the lab. A decision she now cursed herself for. Additionally Quaritch had refrained from physically abusing her, leaving no trace whatsoever of his late visit. Clever bastard!
He seemed to have carefully planned this, leaving her no way out. And the worst thing was that he knew this and enjoyed it all the more. If there only were a way to turn the table in her favor.
She was still puzzled by his recent advancement. What did he hope to gain by doing this? And why did he choose her? He certainly had much younger women at his disposal who were eager to serve him. What a pun!
Without realizing it she grabbed another cigarette. They had vanished almost at the same rate as the coffee had. Definitely not healthy – but it helped.
She heard steps behind her and it took her an immense effort of will not to recoil. It was one thing to see her drinking coffee and smoking – she did that on a regular basis, but it was another thing to see her in that nervous state.
"Everything okay?"
Max stepped into her view. He had a tray with food with him and seemed surprised to find her where she was sitting. "You look terrible…," he added with a worried tone in his voice.
No kidding…
"Yeah, everything's fine. There simply was this research project which kept me up the whole night."
And a research project it is!
He didn't seem convinced, but he decided to leave it at that.
"Just be careful not to overwork yourself."
She smiled weakly. Of course she appreciated his concern, but she feared it would do no good to tell him the truth. There was nothing gained by doing so, apart from the fact that he would probably believe her.
He couldn't help her either and she didn't know him well enough to tell him about it anyway. It would only spoil his eagerness for the research and that was the last thing she needed. She needed at least something she could relate to.
"Could you do me a favor?" she finally asked.
"What is it?"
"I have some plant samples on my desk. I couldn't finish cataloging them last night and I fear I have other things to do today. Could you do this for me please?"
It probably was pretty stupid, but those samples reminded her of her encounter with Quaritch. She wanted them out of the way as soon as possible. And she didn't want to see them again.
"Sure, no problem!"
"Thanks…"
Slowly she got up.
"Gotta go, but I guess I see you around! Enjoy your meal!"
She smiled again, trying to hide her true feelings.
He returned the smile and nodded.
"Thank you. You know where you can find me."
When she had turned her back on him her smile faded quickly. Max was one of her closest colleagues and still she found it impossible to confide in him. This was something she had to do alone.
For the moment she saw no other option than to take part in Quaritch's little game. She convinced herself that it would only be for the time being, since he had said he would give her time in exchange for her 'services'.
Maybe time was all she really needed. She knew that another transport ship was due to arrive in several weeks. On board were some new members for her team. Maybe they would be able to speed up things a little and help her to regain control. Who knew?
And what was there to lose beside her dignity? … She sighed.
Her dignity was a small price compared to the lives of countless Na'Vi.
But why on earth did he do this to her? She had come to Pandora to escape a nightmare and now she had landed in another one. This time there was no escape. At least not a permanent one…
But she knew one thing for sure: she wouldn't make this easy for him.
Three days was what he had said and three days was what he would get. She would not go to him sooner than necessary, oh no she would let him wait.