"I'm Trudy, I fly all the science-sorties" the rough-around-the-edges looking woman he'd been told to follow said as she led him across the hanger deck.

It had only been an hour or so since Jake had come back into his human body and he was trying very hard to focus on what was going on. He knew all this was important. He knew he needed to learn all he could about the humans here and their operation, their plans, so when he got to Tsu'tey he could be useful to him.

"This here is my baby" Trudy smiled at him, patting an armored helicopter. Jake had to fight every muscle in his face not to grimace or scowl at her. She seemed nice, he didn't want to hate her, just like he didn't necessarily want to hate Grace. But, Trudy, no matter how nice, was a part of the biggest threat there was to the Omatacaya.

"Hold on a second," Trudy said, throwing the clipboard she'd been holding into the front seat, "hey, Wainfleet!" She yelled out as she hoisted herself up onto the side of the helicopter to inspect something, "Get it done! We bounce at zero-nine."

"Yeah, I'm on it, captaine" a huge army type yelled back to her, mounting a large gun into the cargo deck of the helicopter.

Trudy, apparently done with her inspection, hoped down next to Jake and started walking once more.

"Vine strike's still loose," she offered, he guessed as an explanation for their brief stop.

"You guys are packing some heavy gear" Jake said, managing to keep the worry and distain from his voice.

"Yeah, that's 'cause we're not the only things flyin' around out there... or the biggest" Trudy shot him a coy smile, "I'm gonna need you on a door gun. I'm a man short."

Jake's blood ran like ice in his veins, "yeah..." he had almost forgotten that all they saw him as was a marine. They would assume he was on their side.

Trudy gave him a questioning look, that obviously hadn't been the answer she was expecting, "Well... anyway, there's your man. See you on the flight line." She said as she came to a stop, she offered him a friendly fist punch as a goodbye before walking off.

Jake eyed the room in front of him, his brow drawn with the effort to wrangle a number of emotions, none of them positive. As he wheeled his way closer he was able to make out the darkened figure inside. He was a large man, bench-pressing what looked like was about Jake's body weight with relative ease.

"You wanted to see me, Colonel?" Jake decided to make himself known.

"This low gravity will make you soft" the man spoke with a fittingly deep, gruff voice. Jake knew the type well, the testosterone fueled drill Sargent kind that wouldn't hesitate to chew you up and spit you out at the first sign of weakness. "You get soft... Pandora will shit you out dead with zero warning." The colonel was sitting up, looking at him with hard, beady eyes. "I pulled your record, Corporal. Venezuela, that was some mean bush. Nothin' like this here, though." His eyes flickered down to Jake's legs for just a moment, and he suddenly felt like a slab of meat getting eyeballed by a butcher, "you have some heart, kid, showing up in this neighborhood."

Jake stayed silent.

The colonel frowned, he had obviously been looking for a response, "I was First Recon myself," he started up again as he stood, gesturing for Jake to follow as he walked out of the dark room, "A few years ahead of you, well, maybe more than a few. Three tours Nigeria, not a scratch. I come out here..." he turns back so Jake can see him gesturing to the side of his head where long, raised scars run across, "Day one. Think I felt like a shavetail louie?" He turned back, walking until they reach one of the large mechs Jake had seen earlier, "Yeah. Oh, they could fix me up if I rotated back. Make me pretty again. But you know what? I kinda like it. It reminds me every day of what's waiting out there."

As the colonel looked at him, Jake felt hatred like he never had before course through him like blood. Forget Grace, forget Trudy, forget every other human on this planet, this man was a threat. Jake could see it in his eyes, there was no part of this man that saw the Na'vis as people, no, they were animals to him, beasts that stood in his way. Jake wished with every fiber of his being that whatever had put those scars on that man's head had dug deeper and ripped his skull from his spine.

The colonel, oblivious to the burning hate Jake felt, turned from him and began climbing up the mech, "The avatar program is a bad joke. Bunch of limp-dick science majors." Be spat the words out like a curse. "However, it does present an opportunity both timely and unique." Jake moved onto a elevator platform so he could be raised up level with the colonel, who had settled himself into the mech, which suddenly roared to life.

For all the trouble Jake had had up to this point listening to the words people around him said, so focused was he on his end goal. But Jake was painfully aware of every anger-inducing fucking syllable that spilled from this man's mouth.

"A recon gyrene in an avatar body. That's a potent mix. Give me the goosebumps." The colonel smiled at him and Jake felt bile rise in his throat "Such a marine could provide the intel I need right on the ground. Right in the hostile's camp."

Jake could barely breathe, his chest felt white hot and his throat was so dry. He wanted to kill this man.

"Look, Sully, I want you to learn these savages from the inside. I want you to gain their trust. I need to know how to force their cooperation or hammer them hard if they won't."

Jake could've smiled, he knew he should probably play nice, get on the colonel's good side and play him. But Jake was self-aware enough to know that he would never be able to hold his tongue for long, he would slip up and any ground he would potentially have gained from the faux alliance would be worthless. So, Jake decided, he shouldn't waste his time.

"Colonel, with all due respect, I have better things to do than sit in your pocket."

"Is that so?" The colonel scowled at him "I didn't have you pegged as one of those Science pukes."

"Guess you were wrong then."

"I guess I was." The colonel sneered at him, then with a shake of his arms, the mech began to move. The colonel flexed its fingers and he took a few steps forward before turning back to Jake "This is a mistake, son. I take care of my own. I could get your legs back. I'll give you one last chance to reconsider."

"I didn't take you as one to beg, Colonel." Jake let a sneer tug at his lips.

"You've just made yourself a mighty enemy, boy, I hope you realize that." And with one last scowling glare, the colonel walked away, the mech's steps reverberating across the deck.