Chapter 335 |
“Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Kane, but I’m already old... ruling the galaxy is out of the question. However, I will do my best to meet your demands!” Hearing Josh tempting him with ruling the galaxy, Colonel Quaritch smiled wryly.
If he were younger, he probably would have agreed without hesitation.
“It seems you have some misunderstandings about the lifespan of us Dimension Traders... look at this!” Josh just smiled slightly and then pulled up several items.
At the forefront was the Fountain of Youth from the world of “World of Gods and Monsters,” along with a supreme version of a gene enhancement serum made from the divine body tissue liquid of the “No-Existence Land,” magical blood potions from the Azeroth dimension, and other high-grade alchemical potions.
The common feature of these items was that they could all extend lifespan.
“With these, you don’t need to worry about being old... To be honest, for any trader with a trading system, whether from personal interest or fairness, ruling the entire world is the best choice. After all, only then can the plans and systems we set up be carried out long-term, right?” Josh continued his devilish coaxing.
His words made Quaritch deeply tempted.
Yes, if he could live forever and had access to countless super technologies provided by Josh, why should he still care about those rotten Federation officials? Why not find more homes for humanity in the universe and lead them to new glory?
Besides, he had already been through hell for Earth once—why shouldn’t he enjoy a bit now?
“You don’t need to worry about that. I have the most professional team and the most advanced AI systems to design the best plan for you. The execution can be entirely entrusted to robots...Although handing over governance to AI and robots may sound inhumane...there’s no denying that in most cases, AI and robots are the most just, right?!” Josh said.
“…You are right...I accept your advice...So, what level of support can you provide me?” Quaritch thought for a moment, then nodded and asked Josh.
Hearing Quaritch was so sensible, Josh was very pleased. He immediately showed him a material list equivalent to a whole fleet and the corresponding robot legion. Among the various supplies was also a large batch of the super soldier serum Quaritch initially wanted.
Of course, this fleet specification was not meant for Josh’s own fleet.
After all, the space technology of Earth in the Avatar universe was just so-so. Giving Quaritch a fleet fit for Josh’s own level would be like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, especially since the current enemy was only the native Na’vi.
Seeing Josh’s list, Colonel Quaritch’s breathing suddenly became rapid.
With such a powerful fleet, let alone Pandora, ruling all of Earth would not take much effort.
“Thank you very much for your generosity, Mr. Kane. I will occupy Pandora and start mining superconductive ore as soon as possible!” Quaritch couldn’t help but salute Josh.
“Good. The goods have been traded over. I look forward to your good news!” After trading all the materials, Josh smiled and ended the communication.
It was foreseeable that a newborn military power of human civilization would soon be born in the Avatar universe.
After Josh hung up, Quaritch, looking at the entire space fleet army and supplies in the system warehouse, felt his emotions surge.
“Jake Sully, I’ve returned from hell. The second round is coming soon! Are you ready?” Outside the cave, looking at a dazzling bright star in the sky—that was the mark of the RDA Group’s transport ship starting up—Quaritch’s face showed a grimace.
…
In space, the RDA Group’s transport ship Enterprise Star was continuously accelerating.
Although Earth in the Avatar universe had the capability of space colonization, compared to the rather extreme world of Star Wars, their travel speed at three-quarters the speed of light was insignificant.
To reach the highest speed and escape the gravitational pull of the star system, surpassing the third cosmic velocity, about half a month of acceleration was needed, and they had just started.
Parker Selfridge, the highest administrator of the RDA Group stationed on Pandora, stood inside Cambridge, watching the Pandora star on the holographic display gradually get farther away with the ship, feeling deeply melancholic.
Being chased back to Earth so disgracefully by a group of primitives, Parker could clearly foresee how he would be blamed once back on Earth.
Losing his position would be minor; he might even face prison but now, he was powerless to change anything.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but blame Colonel Quaritch.
What happened to the so-called military security expert and top commander?
He had come to Pandora full of pride, and now? Just abandoned like a corpse in the wilderness.
Well, at least he was still alive.
At this moment, the accelerating ship suddenly shook violently!
“What’s going on?” Parker, who was thrown to the ground, hurriedly got up and asked the nearby captain.
“All engines have failed. Acceleration stopped!” The captain and crew quickly checked the ship’s status.
“Sir, there seems to be something above us...” A crew member reported to the captain.
The captain hurried over to check.
Sure enough, a red light appeared on the new screen, overlapping the white light representing their ship.
“What? This is space!” Parker was incredulous. They had already explored this star system thoroughly—besides the primitive Na’vi, there were no civilizations, and no other large human ships besides theirs.
“…Sir, there’s a communication request...from Colonel Quaritch?” The ship’s communicator suddenly saw an incoming call and was very surprised upon seeing the caller’s identity.
As the highest security commander of the RDA stationed on Pandora, Quaritch’s name was very familiar to every human on Pandora.
But wasn’t Quaritch already confirmed dead before departure? Where was this communication coming from?
“How is this possible?” Parker widened his eyes in disbelief.
“Connect the communication!” The captain was calmer and immediately ordered the communicator.
The next second, Colonel Quaritch appeared on the screen, dressed neatly in a Marine Corps admiral’s uniform—the uniform had been made by clever industrial robots in a very short time at Quaritch’s request, an easy task for the robots.
“…Quaritch? Are you alright?” The captain couldn’t help but ask.
“Of course, old buddy! I’ve never been better!” Quaritch laughed heartily. He was an old acquaintance of the Enterprise Star’s captain.
“Where are you now? We’ve already begun heading back to Earth. Stopping and sending someone to pick you up would take two days... And what about that outfit?” The captain noticed the unfamiliar background behind Quaritch, which didn’t look like a human base on Pandora, and why was he suddenly wearing an admiral’s uniform?
“Just a new outfit, no big deal. And you say you’ve started...but haven’t you just stopped?” Quaritch lightly brushed his sleeves, unconcerned.
“Was that you just now? What did you do?” The captain frowned.
“Of course, I made you stop that lousy plan. We haven’t lost yet!” Quaritch said proudly. “Are you really willing to slink back to Earth with your tails between your legs?”
“Quaritch, we’ve already lost!” The captain frowned and continued, “And what exactly did you do to my ship?”
“What did I do to your ship? Why don’t you open the armor panel and see for yourself?” Quaritch smiled slightly and asked back.
“Open the external armor panel!” The captain nodded without hesitation and ordered the ship’s operator.
The Star of Venture also had transparent portholes, but like other worlds, when the ship was traveling long distances at high speed, the armor panels would be closed to prevent accidents. So previously, Parker and the others couldn’t see outside the ship with the naked eye.
But since the ship had now stopped accelerating and Quaritch said so, they naturally had no choice but to open them.
As the external armor panels opened, they finally understood what Quaritch meant.
A spindle-shaped ship, larger in size and specifications than the Star of Venture, was quietly hovering above their heads, maintaining a beam of light that entirely enveloped the Star of Venture.
Obviously, this ship was the red dot they had just detected.
But this was not the most important thing. More importantly, there were more than a dozen similar ships surrounding the Star of Venture tightly...and the Star of Venture’s detection systems hadn’t detected the presence of these ships at all.
Moreover, they could see with the naked eye the giant cannons on those ships surrounding the Star of Venture.
These ships were not merchant vessels...they were warships!
It was just that Parker and the others had never seen this model of warship, and there were no Earth Federation insignias on these ships...
“What is this fleet about? Everything we have been doing on Pandora is commercial activity. The military shouldn’t interfere!” Seeing this, Parker asked Quaritch somewhat angrily.
Although he had never seen these warship models and hadn’t seen any Federation insignia on them, Parker instinctively regarded these warships as the Federation’s military fleet.
And the development rights of Pandora had always belonged to the RDA. Although they had temporarily lost the battle, with the RDA group’s strength, they could quickly make a comeback.
But if the military got involved, whether the RDA group could continue to control Pandora’s development rights was another matter.
So as the supervisor sent by the RDA group to Pandora, Parker instinctively wanted to protect the group’s interests.
“Sorry, Parker, right now I do not represent the Earth Federation, but the Galactic Federation...Now please allow me to reintroduce myself: I am Miles Quaritch, General of the Galactic Federation Marine Corps!” Facing Parker’s questioning, Quaritch just grinned and gave an answer that shocked everyone on the Star of Venture.
“Galactic Federation? Quaritch, what nonsense are you talking about?” The captain of the Star of Venture frowned again and asked.
“I’m not crazy. See this fleet? They all come from an extremely powerful cosmic civilization, and I am their new leader...I will lead them to build the grandest Galactic Federation...and now I am honored to inform you that you will become the first citizens of the Galactic Federation...Of course, you can choose to refuse...but I believe you won’t!” Colonel Quaritch...no, now General Quaritch grinned wildly.
“Crazy, crazy...he’s insane!” At this moment, everyone on the Star of Venture, including Parker, finally understood Quaritch’s meaning.
The other side had somehow obtained a fleet from an alien civilization and was now planning to break away from the Earth Federation to set himself up as a ruler.
What a joke? They were all citizens of the Earth Federation; how could they betray their own country?
But soon they realized they really couldn’t refuse Quaritch’s proposal.
Originally, the captain, Parker, and other high-ranking RDA group members didn’t intend to cooperate.
But after Quaritch dispatched a landing craft with a large number of robot troops to forcibly board the ship, and seeing the black muzzles of the robots’ guns beside Quaritch, everyone fell silent.
There was no way out. The Star of Venture was just a merchant ship. Most of its arms had been confiscated by the Na’vi on Pandora. The remaining weapons were few and not enough to resist Quaritch’s army.
Not to mention those more than a dozen warships that looked tough.
More importantly, Quaritch’s prestige among the mercenaries on the Star of Venture was exceptionally high.
As soon as Quaritch boarded, many of his old subordinates immediately came over with weapons to report...
In this situation, what could they use to resist?
So Quaritch took control of the situation on the Star of Venture effortlessly, without firing a single shot.
And the reason he wanted to control the Star of Venture was partly because many of his trusted men were here, and partly to delay Earth from learning about the situation on Pandora.