"I see," Osiris noted with a nod, dropping the subject as if it were a mere passing thought.
Shifting his focus back to the telemetry on the screen, he asked, "Dr. Augustine, based on your experience, what are the primary areas we should focus on regarding the energy interactions between Hometree's root system and this levitating rock mass, particularly any resonance nodes with the surrounding ecology and Eywa's consciousness field?"
He seamlessly slipped back into his role as a rigorous scientist, politely consulting Grace on specialized ecological questions. This single-minded pursuit of knowledge and respect for scientific research significantly lowered Grace's guard, giving her a sense of shared purpose. Setting aside her curiosity about the origins of his team for the moment, she began to earnestly share her insights into Pandora's unique ecology.
The atmosphere in the laboratory temporarily shifted into that of a conventional scientific collaboration.
However, Osiris's internal thoughts were far from placid. The emergence of the name "Weyland-Yutani" meant the complexity and potential threats of this universe might far exceed his initial evaluations.
While Osiris and Grace engaged in their scientific dialogue in the lab, a completely different scene unfolded inside the officers' club at Hell's Gate.
Colonel Quaritch had shed his usual combat uniform for a slightly tight-fitting service dress. Holding a glass of synthetic whiskey, he sat with Maine, Valerie, and several officers from the Hellfire squad. As a member of Maine's squad and the pilot of the high-performance Iron Guard heavy mech, Valerie's presence naturally drew Quaritch's attention.
The atmosphere was quite warm; the prior joint operations and the shock of the Hometree incident had made Quaritch considerably friendlier toward Maine's team.
"Maine , I have to say it again, the gear and training you guys provided have been outstanding!" Quaritch clapped a hand onto Maine's solid shoulder, his voice booming. His eyes, however, drifted toward the composed Valerie and the hard-lined silhouette of the Iron Guard mech visible through the window behind her. "Those blue monkeys used to rely on their thick hides to bounce around under our firepower. Now? Hmph, one plasma blast and everything goes quiet. That's the kind of efficiency a war needs!"
Maine raised his glass, which contained only plain water, and replied evenly, "As long as it's effective, Colonel. Only by combining tactics and equipment can you unleash maximum power." He naturally deferred the conversation to his teammate, who was better suited for this dynamic.
Valerie picked up the thread seamlessly, offering a professional smile and a tone that was neither distant nor overly warm. "We're glad you're satisfied, Colonel. Precise, efficient force certainly eliminates a lot of unnecessary trouble."
"Exactly!" Quaritch downed a gulp of his drink, his eyes turning sharper as he looked directly at Valerie, steering straight toward his core objective. "So I was thinking, we could take our cooperation a step further. Do you have any heavier models of those plasma rifles? Like squad-level support variants, or vehicle-mounted heavy weapons? Do you have energy shields?"
His finger gestured toward the window. "And that Iron Guard mech you pilot, Miss Valerie—it completely outclasses our AMP suits in mobility, armor, and firepower configuration. As long as it keeps my boys alive and kills the enemy faster, price is no object!"
Valerie maintained her smile, though her eyes sharpened with the shrewdness and caution of a seasoned merchant. She lightly swirled her glass, which held a non-alcoholic synthetic beverage. "Colonel, we are honored by your high regard for our technology. However, regarding further arms sales..."
She shook her head with an apologetic expression. "I'm afraid I have to disappoint you. The Seekers of Knowledge are fundamentally a scientific exploration team, not arms dealers. The weapon systems and technical support we provided previously were a gesture of goodwill to establish our initial partnership—a non-profit technical exchange."
She paused, letting Quaritch's undisguised disappointment sit for a moment before continuing at a measured pace. "The organization we represent does indeed possess defensive technology reserves that far exceed conventional standards. However, our operational model typically does not accommodate individual gear acquisitions or small-scale orders."
Quaritch pressed eagerly, "Then what tier of projects do you usually handle? Orbital defense platforms? Fleet escort networks?"
Valerie kept her polite smile, shaking her head slightly. "Colonel, you need to think on a grander scale. When we deliver a comprehensive solution to a client, we are designing the long-term security architecture of an entire star system, or the total defensive ecosystem of an intersector enterprise. Specific project details involve core commercial secrets, so I cannot elaborate. But suffice it to say, we have never focused on the transaction of individual weapons."
"The defense architecture of an entire star system..." Colonel Quaritch's eyes lit up instantly, his breathing quickening.
At its core, the RDA was merely a mining corporation. Though its security forces were formidable, it had never dealt with strategic interstellar concepts on this scale. Images of orbital weapon arrays, planetary-grade shield systems, and deep-space monitoring networks flashed through his mind.
"Does that mean your team..." Quaritch lowered his voice instinctively, leaning forward. "...services clients of that echelon?"
Valerie simply maintained her professional smile, seamlessly deflecting the specifics. "Colonel, that touches upon core commercial secrets and client privacy, so I cannot disclose anything further."
She deftly moved past the topic, but just as Quaritch was left hanging, her gaze swept across the Iron Guard mech outside the window. She added a final note, her tone absolute and unyielding: "As for the Iron Guard I pilot—it is strictly not for sale. It is a highly customized prototype containing proprietary intellectual property, and there is currently zero possibility of a commercial release. There is no room to appeal this up the chain of command."
Her words were clean and decisive, cutting off any lingering ideas Quaritch had about acquiring the powerful machine. A flash of regret crossed Quaritch's face, but the horizon of the massive operations Valerie had just sketched out was far too alluring.
He could only bury his curiosity and desire deep down, viewing Maine's team and their backing organization, the Seekers of Knowledge, with significantly more weight—and a mounting sense of wariness. The technological prowess they displayed and the commercial scale they claimed were clearly far beyond his initial assumptions.
Standing in sharp contrast to Quaritch's growing enthusiasm, however, were the deepening suspicions and unease brewing in the base director, Parker Selfridge.