Chapter 642: Traitor to Humanity
In near-Pandora orbit, a colossal Valkyrie-class interstellar transport ship—showing subtle signs of wear after its grueling interstellar voyage—slowly adjusted its orientation, preparing to deploy personnel and cargo modules down to the Hell's Gate base.
Named the Venture Star, the vessel brought yet another scheduled rotation of staff and material replenishment from Earth to the Pandora outpost.
Inside Hell's Gate, the atmosphere in Dr. Grace Augustine's lab was unusually tense.
Grace had just received the initial manifest of arriving personnel over the internal comms network. Her brow was furrowed, her finger lingering over one specific name for a long moment: Jake Sully.
"Another Sully..." she muttered under her breath, her tone laced with conflicted emotion.
Right then, a distinctive chime sounded over the lab's encrypted communication channel—the signal from Rei Ayanami-kun's detachment.
Grace hesitated briefly before connecting the link.
"Dr. Grace," Rei Ayanami-kun's calm voice came through. "We detected the arrival of a new interstellar vessel. Are there any operational personnel changes of note?"
Grace looked at the manifest and sighed, deciding to share the development with these unusual collaborators.
"There is a development. Among the new rotation is an individual named Jake Sully. He is... Tom Sully's identical twin brother."
"Tom Sully?" Asuka's voice cut in with open skepticism. "The dead driver?"
"Yes," Grace confirmed. "According to the records, Jake shares the identical genetic profile required for compatibility. He is stepping in to replace Tom as the new candidate driver for the Avatar Program. Corporate HQ approved the transfer—presumably because cultivating an Avatar body is absurdly expensive, and they refused to let a ready-made asset go to waste."
Her words carried biting sarcasm directed at corporate bean-counters.
The other end of the line fell silent for several moments.
Everyone understood what the Avatar Program represented: a brand-new driver capable of directly integrating into Na'vi society was an undeniable wild card.
The Anatomy of a Traitor
Ending the transmission with Grace, Rei Ayanami-kun's detachment immediately relayed the intelligence to Ryo inside the Trailblazer over the encrypted channel.
"Doctor, the situation has shifted," Rei Ayanami-kun reported succinctly. "The new RDA arrivals include a former Marine named Jake Sully. He will assume his late brother's role as the new driver in the Avatar Program. Dr. Grace has verified this information."
Asuka chimed in, a subtle undercurrent of concern in her voice: "Doctor, this guy is an unknown variable. If he successfully integrates with the Na'vi, will it disrupt our current board? The line we established with Tsu'tey and her faction was just starting to gain traction."
Shinji-kun added quietly: "If... if he can communicate with the Na'vi too, then our advantage..."
Inside the main control room of the Trailblazer, Ryo listened to the debriefing without the slightest flicker of surprise across his features.
Jake Sully's arrival had always been a certainty within the predictive timelines glimpsed through his main body's fragmented memories.
Yet knowing it was one thing; hearing the name spoken aloud was another. A visceral disgust toward traitors—burned deep into the genetic instincts of an Adeptus Astartes—ignited like a cold flame within his chest.
A paraplegic former soldier who, merely to regain the ability to walk and experience the lifestyle of an alien race, ultimately betrayed his human identity and species interests, throwing himself whole-heartedly into the embrace of xenos—even orchestrating the planet's ecological fury to slaughter his own flesh and blood...
Within the doctrines and convictions drilled into Ryo, such an act transcended common treason; it was an unforgivable desecration of the human species itself.
Under the cold logic of the Warhammer universe, the sole verdict for such a traitor was immediate, absolute purging.
His fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the console, eliciting a faint groan from the reinforced alloy.
The urge to execute this latent traitor on the spot, severing the thread before it could unravel, was intensely tempting.
Yet taking a slow, deep breath, he forcibly suppressed the impulse.
Emotion was the antithesis of sound command. Closing his eyes, his consciousness linked instantly with his main body stationed far away on Necromunda, sharing the data and running a high-speed strategic simulation.
A moment later, he reopened his eyes, their depths returning to their habitual state of calculating calm.
The will of the main body and the avatar aligned perfectly: Jake Sully—this repulsive variable—could just as easily be wielded as a razor-sharp, double-edged blade aimed straight at the heart of the Na'vi.
Repositioning the Pieces
"There is no need for alarm; everything remains within projected parameters," Ryo's voice returned over the channel, steady and measured. "Jake Sully's arrival poses no immediate threat to your operations in the short term. On the contrary, his presence may unlock entirely new avenues of opportunity."
He paused, methodically laying down the revised directives:
"Rei Ayanami-kun, your detachment will maintain established contact with Dr. Grace and Tsu'tey. Monitor Jake Sully's progress closely once he interfaces with the Avatar Program. Dr. Grace appears to harbor doubts about him as well; this provides a shared analytical angle."
"Asuka, Shinji-kun, you may direct your attention toward this individual, but keep your distance—do not initiate contact. Observe him and document his behavioral patterns, particularly any shifts in his posture toward both the Na'vi and the RDA."
"Maine," Ryo switched channels. "The arrival of fresh personnel indicates the balance of influence within the RDA may experience subtle friction. Deepen your dialogue with Colonel Quaritch to assess his views regarding the newcomers, specifically this unusual driver. You may drop subtle hints that we maintain ongoing interest in the scientific applications of the Avatar Program."
The commands were lucid and absolute.
Ryo's doctrine was simple: hold ground and observe.
He would allow the piece named Jake Sully to advance along his historical trajectory, gradually reclaiming the trust of the Na'vi.
That process would inevitably send ripples throughout the clan; whether met with acceptance or ostracization, it would exacerbate pre-existing internal fractures, providing Rei-kun's squad with superior cover and deeper leverage for infiltration.
He had already calculated even further down the board.
When Jake Sully eventually rose to lead the Na'vi and gathered their armed resistance in one place, that very convergence would present the optimal moment to neutralize all uncooperative, entrenched hostiles in a single stroke.
When that hour arrived, many vectors would be available. Direct kinetic confrontation was a blunt, secondary option; a precision ecological countermeasure tailored to specific genetic sequences—such as an engineered retrovirus—would offer a far more efficient and absolute resolution.
Those willing to accept aid and vaccines would become compliant assets; those who refused would simply be reclaimed by Pandora's biosphere.
Jake Sully's arrival had not disrupted Ryo's overarching design; instead, it presented a catalyst to accelerate his timetable and resolve the native question once and for all.
Now, all that remained was to wait patiently for this restless seed to take root and sprout in the alien soil, until it matured into the exact shape he required.