Ivory Hill had spent the majority of her adult life running. Throughout her twenties and the first part of her thirties it was from bombs and bullets. Now, at thirty six years old Ivory was running from something that she could never truly escape fr...
Ivory trailed down the corridor, yawning. She hadn't realised just how long the corridors in Hell's Gate were until she was exhausted. Quaritch had summoned her and from what she'd heard he didn't like to be kept waiting.
She finally stopped outside of the door to Quaritch's office and rapped on it loudly. The door was yanked open. "Hill, I was wondering when you'd turn up." He stepped out of the way and let her in.
"Sorry... Sir." Ivory added reluctantly. "I was held up in the Medical Bay."
Quaritch nodded. "You're dedicated to your job, I like that."
"What did you want to see me about Sir?"
"Sit." The man pulled out one of the chairs that were tucked beneath his desk. Ivory sank into it gratefully. Quaritch sat down opposite her, steepling his fingers beneath his chin. "So. I've read your file, Hill. Eighteen years in the military, that's something that I could use."
"What do you mean Sir?"
"You work with Doctor Augustine the tree hugger who runs the Avatar Program, fucking joke that it is. You get to go out with her and the rest of her team into Pandora, you could get the information I need on the hostiles from the ground."
"The hostiles?" Ivory asked blankly. She knew that Grace could be sharp at times but she wouldn't exactly call her a hostile.
"The Na'vi, or whatever Augustine is calling them these days. All I need you to do is learn about those savages, gain their trust and find out how I can make them cooperate with us and give us the unobtanium or how I should punish them if they don't without Augustine finding out that you're working for me and not her. If you do that for me then I'll see that I make it worth your while when you rotate home."
Ivory bit her fingernails, deliberately not meeting Quaritch's shark like eyes. "How?"
"I'll get you what you've been desperate for."
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After her exchange with Quaritch Ivory felt oddly shaky. She tugged a hand through her black hair and exhaled sharply, dodging out of the way as one of the science sorties appeared in the corridor, their arms laden with files. Ivory vaguely recognised them, she thought that she could remember Grace screaming at them for spilling coffee all over the notes that she had been making. "Have you seen Trudy?" She asked, pressing a hand against the holster that was tightly strapped to her leg. Quaritch had told her that she needed to go and get some more bullets to carry with her when she went out in case one of the animals decided to attack.
"Chacon will probably be in the Armor Bay." The man answered, his voice muffled by the tottering stack of folders.
"Thanks." Ivory scooted around him and turned right, darting down the corridor and into the Armor Bay. She heard Trudy before she saw her.
"Go on Lyle, get it done!" Trudy's shouts echoed off the iron walls as she jumped down from the wing of her Samson.
Ivory pushed her way through clumps of techs and pilots. "Trudy?"
The shorter woman turned and smiled. "Ivy, what's up?"
"I need some more ammo, can you help me out? Quaritch said you knew the key code to get into the stores."
"Sure," Trudy turned back to the jet "Lyle, don't fuck up my baby whilst I'm gone. I'll be ten minutes, reload the Hydras for me."
Lyle raised a hand in salute.
"Come on Ivy, let's get you sorted out." Trudy took off her flight helmet and shook her brown hair out, tucking the helmet under one arm. "How are you finding life on Pandora?" She asked, leading Ivory to one of the gun ranges.
"It's..." Not doing what I needed it to, I still remember everything, Ivory thought. "Different to how I thought it would be. It's almost just like Earth." She said truthfully.
"What do you mean?"
"You know, being yelled at all day by an angry boss except this time it's a scientist and not a general." Ivory couldn't help but crack a smile.
Trudy nodded. "Yeah, I've seen Augustine's temper firsthand, it's not pretty." She reached up to a key pad and punched in a few numbers. The red light on the pad turned green and an iron cupboard door that had been welded onto the wall opened with a beep. "In fact, if I ever saw her smile I think it would be the first sign that an apocalypse was happening." Trudy added almost as an afterthought as she pulled a small cardboard box from the cupboard. "Fifty rounds in there, that should do you in a viper wolf attack."
"Thanks, Trudy."
"You want to go get somethin' to eat? If we're fast enough we'll get there before the gunners take all the good rations."
