James Cameron owns Avatar, not me.

Chapter 3: Wolves, Jackals, Oh My

Date: September 5th, 2162

Location: Roma, Italia, Earth, Sol System

Time seems to flow faster on Earth than it had on Pandora, Parker mused. Here, a year had already flown past in what had seemed like mere days to him, whereas there, everyday had dragged on, never seeming to end.

Probably because they're working me like a maniac, he thought grumpily.

He had been flown from one military base to another, being forced to watch the training exercises, then been sent out to Luna to meet with the RDA board and go over, again, exactly what had happened on Pandora, before then being sent to one of the massive mines on the lunar surface to go over exactly what equipment would be needed on the first expedition.

He massaged his temples, attempting to will away the migraine that had become his constant companion. After three months of endless meetings and arguments on Luna, he had been dragged back to yet even more countless meetings with Jones, going over dozens of potential base locations, made more difficult because the powers that be insisted it be near Hell's Gate, so that metal and resources could be salvaged from both the base and the mine.

And now, he was stuck watching a news bulletin going on about the "truth" that had recently come to light about what had happened on Pandora, his only companion being the Oberst, Weigand.

"...word has recently come to light about the atrocities that occurred on Pandora, prior to the eviction of the Research and Development Association from their mining colony there. Painted as acts of aggression by the natives, known as the Na'vi, recent evidence has to come to light that it may in fact been acts of aggression by the RDA that led to the exile!" the reporter exclaimed, she was obviously having the time of her life, being on a story this huge would keep her famous for months, if not years.

"Ruhig." Weigand spoke, and the television immediately quieted, the German sighed and leaned back in his chair. "We had hoped that we would be able to jam any transmissions coming from Pandora, seems were weren't quite successful. That, or someone on the communications team leaked this to the press."

Parker glared at him, "Would have been nice to keep me in the loop. All you had to say was 'Hey Parker, we think the tree-hugging hippies sent a message back, so be prepared in case it goes public.' Now what the hell are we going to do about this?"

"Us?" Weigand shrugged, "Nothing, overall. That's for our media moguls to handle. You might get called up to another press conference or two, but we've spent the last year laying the foundation of blame directly at Augustine and Sully."

"But what did the transmission say?" he snapped, "What and how they said it could wind up being very bad for both me and the company, not to mention this expedition."

Weigand eyed him, the leaned forwards, resting his hands together. "Five years ago, I was asked by a member of the green movement how I could possibly go to Pandora to be in charge of a mining operation. That it was obviously an affront to all of nature to destroy so much for mere dollars, and that the human race wold never stand for such evil. He pointed to the protest movements going on across the world, the support for the reclamation projects, things like that."

He paused to drink a small sip of water from the bottle on the table, "And I responded 'Good sir, if those protests were any indication of popular opinion, we would not go back. But as it is, you are talking of the dissent of but a few thousand, perhaps a few million, in a world of billions. The majority of humanity does not view this world as a hell as you do, they are quite content here. If they were not, this world would not be this way, ja? An American president, from before the North American Union, once called upon the Silent Majority to support him, and that is what we have done here. You may complain loudly over what may happen, but in the end, you are but one voice compared to the billions who believe that Unobtanium will save this Earth.'"

Parker blinked at him as he continued, "And the man simply stared at me, and I turned and walked away. I do not believe that most people will believe what your Avatar team has said, after all,who is to be believed in the end, people five light years away who cannot defend themselves nor debate their points, or those humans right here, who have told horror stories of the death world they so bravely faced to save this Earth?"

"I never thought of it like that," he admitted.

Weigand smiled, "Few do. No, we will do little against this, save to appear calm. No blistering retorts or massive rebuttals, just a quiet campaign of reminding the people that in the end, humans died, and our best hope to save this planet was stymied by the acts of a few who believed an alien race was worth more to them than their fellow homo sapiens."

"Ah." Parker nodded, something clicking in his mind, "That's one of the reasons for the delay before we leave isn't it? It makes sense now. The public's attention span has always been short, you're giving them a chance to cool down from things like this before we leave. Give them time to realize just how much their wallets are hurting, how slowly the reclamation projects are moving."

"Exactly. Now come." the colonel rose, "We have a meeting with the ICA to get to."

Date: December 12th, 2161

Location: Beweglichkeitsrüstungsysteme training base, Essen, Deutschland, Earth, Sol System

The noise was, as always when AMP suits were involved, incredible. Even from his spot several hundred meters away, Parker could still hear the roar of AMP suit cannons, the softer chatter of assault rifles, as he watched the training exercise. The massive German-built AMP suits provided covering fire from behind simulated trees as infantrymen rushed from cover to cover, their own weapons firing in short, controlled bursts down-range.

"As you can plainly see, our new armored suits are far indeed superior to the Mitsubishi model used previously on Pandora." the elderly German CEO of an arms corporation whose name Parker couldn't even begin to pronounce was next to him, gesturing at the AMPs as he spoke. "We built them with the specifications your team requested, much heavier armor over the leg and cockpit regions, more advanced gyro systems to help with balance. We sub-contracted the weapon design to an American firm, and we should be getting their prototypes within the next month. If my memory serves, they've chosen a 20mm design to replace the old GAU-90 30mm weapon." he continued on in that vain for several more minutes, Parker all but tuning him out as he watched.

He did snap back to reality when the cost was mentioned however, "The United Nations Security Council will be fronting the bill." he interrupted, "As such, cost holds little issue. As long as the reliability is everything you've said it is."

"They will function in any environment with minimal troubles" the old man assured him, "We've tested the prototypes in what's left of the Brazilian jungle, Antarctica, Luna, as well as the reclamation zone in Sweden."

Parker nodded, "Good. Now if you'll excuse me." he turned and began to make his way back inside, tearing off his exopack as soon as he was through the doors. The air had improved in cleanliness while he was gone, but it was still far better to wear one that it was to go without. He walked briskly through the base, making his way to the office he had manged to claim for the duration of his stay here.

Opening the door, his mind was already occupied with the budget report that the RDA chairman had requested concerning the mining equipment, and how much the UN would be willing to front, when he stopped short, the chair in his office was already occupied, and not by someone he particularly wanted to see.

"Good to see you again Mr. Selfridge." Matthew Wallace smiled at him.

Parker glared at him. "The feeling isn't mutual. What do you want with me this time?"

The British investigator held a hand over his heart, "You wound me sir, surely it is not too much to expect that I was merely dropping by to see how our dear administrator was doing?"

"Yes." he snapped. "I've been non-stop working for over a year now to go back to a planet that I just got back from after being kicked off by a bunch of damned blue monkeys. The RDA is screaming bloody murder at the budget requests, the ICA is dragging its feet in providing compensation for the ISV fleet, and the only one who seems to actually be willing to work with me is Weigand."

Wallace's smile faded. "I do not bring news on the budgetary situation I'm afraid, I am here to take you to Geneva for a press conference, concerning the transmission that was leaked to the media several months ago."

"That!" he shook his head, "I already consented to an interview, and getting prodded for three hours by reporters trying to trip me up was unpleasant enough the first time. I acted in the company's and in humanity's best interests dammit, it was not my fault!" his voice had risen to a shout by the end of his little tirade.

"Be glad that the United Nations agrees with you," Wallace spoke in a calming tone, "But before you continue shouting I would like you to know that once the press conference is complete, Oberst Weigand has assigned you two weeks leave at a resort in Helsinki."

Parker, who had been quite ready to continue on his rant, drew up short. "Leave? Helsinki?" The Finnish capital had become one of the top tourist destinations in recent decades, the carefully maintained forest around it led to resort homes within being rented out for millions of dollars every year.

"Yes. Helsinki, fully paid for by the UN in recognition of all of the hard work you've done. Now, if you're quite finished, we have a train to catch. All of your possessions will meet you in Finland, so there is no need to pack."

Date: December 13th, 2161

Location: United Nations Press Hall, Geneva, Switzerland, Earth, Sol System

"So what you are saying is that the message from the Avatar team and the Na'vi on Pandora was incorrect in its information, that it was truly their fault? And that they did so in an attempt to prevent us from returning?" a male reporter asked pointedly.

Parker sighed, I really hate press conferences, these reporters are like rabid dogs, they don't care what's right or who is at fault, only that they get a story. "As I've said before," he spoke aloud, struggling to keep his voice even, "There is no one thing that can be pointed to as the action that led to the circumstances on Pandora. There is no one person at fault, no one situation to blame. It was a sequence of failures of communication on the part of the Avatar team, a failure of diplomacy on the part of Jake Sully, and overzealous protection of human lives on the part of the late Colonel Miles Quaritch. These sequences built off of each other, resulting in the battle that culminated in the attack on Hell's Gate by the native forces."

A female reporter leaped to her feet and he nodded in her direction, "Could you please define the 'overzealous protection of human lives' for us please?"

"After the attack on our mining team that resulted in their deaths, Quaritch believed that the only way to ensure the safety of our miners and security personnel was to remove the Na'vi from the area. However, the Avatars sent in to negotiate were instead captured and held hostage, and hostilities broke out at the Na'vi hometree when the Colonel attempted to rescue them." he continued, shamelessly blending the truth with lies, Keep them focused on Quaritch and Sully, not on you or the company! he thought furiously as he continued, "Attempts to use tear gas and warning rounds to drive the Na'v away failed and they attacked, the Colonel was forced to use deadly force and in the ensuing battle the Na'vi hometree was destroyed after it caught fire. After-"

The reporter interrupted him, "But according to the Avatar team's message, the tree was destroyed not for that reason, but because of the large quantity of unobtanium beneath it, and that the Na'vi attack on the dozers was merely an excuse! Is this true?"

He snorted mentally, As if I would say yes, that is true, "No, definitely not. The Avatar team, though filled with good people, constantly made mistaken assumptions about what was occurring at the complex. I believe this was because they began to care far more about the natives than about their fellow humans. There was a massive load of unobtanium under their hometree, that is true, however the load spread out fairly far in every direction, and the dozers were en-route to begin a small mine at a point as far from their tree as possible."

An Japanese reporter stood up this time, reading from his notepad, "So the Avatar team was being kept in the dark about what was truly happening? Does this not strike you as a bad management practice?"

"They were not being kept in the dark," he asserted, leaning forwards to project both confidence and defiance at the suggestion, "They simply did not care, they didn't read the official bulletins, didn't socialize outside of their circle, and I am offended that you immediately assume the worst about the people who were doing everything they could to help humanity."

At this, Wallace leaned forwards and spoke into his own microphone, "All of this has been discussed before, and is available in the public report made by Administrator Selfridge and the other survivors of Hell's Gate made over a year ago. If there are no new questions pertaining to either the future expedition or the assertions made by the Avatar team, then this press conference is over." He gestured at Parker, "Mr. Selfridge has been working non-stop for over a year now, with no breaks or vacations to aid us in returning to Pandora to resume the flow of unobtanium to aid in saving our world, and I would appreciate it if you all would respect that fact."

Parker blinked a bit. Holy hell, they've been working me non-stop for over a year just to throw it at the media's face! His estimation of Wallace's ability to manipulate both the people and situation around him went up several notches.

The reporters, glancing uncertainly at one another, slowly began to rise to their feet and shuffle out.

Wallace turned off the mics and turned to him, beaming, "There, that wasn't so bad now was it? Now let's get out of here before they try and see through our smokescreen once more."

Parker rose, a bit shakily, and turned to follow him. Helsinki and two weeks of relaxation, here I come.

He'd earned it dammit.

Next up is Chapter 4: Hurting Homes

And there is chapter 3. This is probably going to be my target length for most of my Selfridge oriented chapters.

Reviews:

Robby Cartwight: Answer to your question in the next chapter, when we're back to Max's POV.

Beliskner01: Probably not. The story as I have it envisioned so far is going to bounce between Selfridge and Patel, I want to show the Na'vi from an entirely human angle.