Chapter 654: Confrontation
This mission was exceptionally challenging.
To make two blood-crazed enemies sit down and talk was tantamount to a fantasy.
Through their clandestine channel, Rei Ayanami-kun arduously relayed the intelligence to Tsu'tey.
Tsu'tey was entirely disbelieving at first. But when Rei repeatedly emphasized that RDA soldiers had been murdered with "the exact same" methodology, and pointed out that this cruel, ritualistic display was not the operational doctrine of either faction, Tsu'tey's conviction wavered.
She carried this intelligence to Eytukan—who was hovering on the brink of homicidal rage—and the infuriated war council.
"This is just another lie from the Sky People!" Tsu'tey dismissed it outright. "They are trying to trick us into lowering our guard!"
"But... what if it's true?" Tsu'tey countered under immense pressure. "If there truly is another enemy, wouldn't fighting the RDA until we both bleed to death be exactly what it wants?"
A fierce debate erupted within the clan.
On the other side, Maine and Valerie approached Colonel Quaritch directly as he was mobilizing his strike force.
"Colonel, stand down your deployment," Maine got straight to the point. "We have reason to believe the entity that attacked your outpost and the Na'vi hunting party are one and the same."
"Unknown entity?" Quaritch sneered. "Who else could it be but those blue beasts? Are you telling me there's a third sapient species on this godforsaken rock that likes to skin people alive and rip out their spines?"
Valerie powered up her datapad, displaying high-resolution imagery captured from a distance by the Trailblazer's micro-drones, depicting the mutilated Na'vi hunting party.
"Colonel, observe the methodology. The surgical precision of the dissection, the deliberate, exhibitionist posing of the corpses—does this not perfectly mirror the condition of your outpost garrison? This is a signature, a provocation, not merely a kill. The Na'vi are entirely convinced you did this to them, and they are equally enraged. Does that align with logic?"
Looking at the imagery that mirrored the horrific state of his own men, the fury on Quaritch's face hitched for a second, though his suspicion remained: "They could have faked this! Or it's a copycat kill!"
"We have no reason to fabricate this," Maine replied evenly. "The highest probability is that an unknown adversary is operating in the shadows of Pandora. It wants to see you both bleed each other dry. Launching an offensive now plays right into its hands."
Through arduous persuasion, backed by incontrovertible technical telemetry provided by Ryo's end, and compounded by Quaritch's own underlying doubts regarding the highly unorthodox nature of the kills, the Colonel finally—and grudgingly—agreed to temporarily halt the massive military deployment.
However, he demanded that the Na'vi dispatch representatives of sufficient rank for a face-to-face confrontation at a "neutral ground" selected by the expedition team.
Similarly, within the Omaticaya clan, due to Eytukan's suppression of the militants and the persistent urging of Tsu'tey's faction, they ultimately decided to risk the meeting.
Eytukan resolved to attend personally, escorted by a detachment of elite warriors led by Tsu'tey. Jake Sully, serving as the "Dreamwalker" capable of bridging the communication gap, was also ordered to accompany them.
A high-stakes confrontation, forcibly brokered by the expedition team amidst an atmosphere thick with impending bloodshed, was about to commence.
The Neutral Ground
The confrontation site was set in a relatively open river valley situated between the RDA-controlled sector and the Na'vi migration route.
The terrain offered clear lines of sight, mitigating the risk of ambush, with a modest river cutting the valley in two.
The Trailblazer mobile base was parked on one side of the riverbank, serving as a neutral buffer and the physical staging ground for the meeting.
Maine's entire squad maintained a solemn perimeter guard.
Rei Ayanami-kun, Asuka, and Shinji-kun stood near the entrance of the mobile base, ready to facilitate dialogue.
On the far bank, Colonel Quaritch arrived personally, leading several armored transports. He was flanked by Sergeant Reynolds and the core operatives of Hellfire Squad, alongside a platoon of heavily armed infantry. Several AMP suits provided heavy deterrence from the rear.
The atmosphere was suffocatingly tense; every soldier had their finger resting just outside the trigger guard, ready to open fire at a moment's notice.
On the opposite bank, Eytukan, Tsu'tey, Neytiri, Jake Sully, and over a dozen of the Omaticaya's most elite warriors rode in on Direhorses like a dark blue storm cloud, coming to a halt at the edge of the valley.
They gripped their longbows and bone spears tightly, their golden eyes burning with absolute vigilance and undisguised hostility.
The two factions stared each other down across the river and the open expanse, the air thick with almost palpable hatred and mistrust.
Standing on the observation deck of the Trailblazer in his "Dr. Chen" persona, Ryo looked down upon the scene with cold detachment.
He issued directives to Maine and Rei via comms: "Control the pace. Prompt them to present the physical evidence. Emphasize the identical methodology of the kills."
Maine stepped forward, standing near the riverbank. His deep voice carried clearly across the valley through external amplifications: "Chief Eytukan. Colonel Quaritch. We have gathered here to clarify a misunderstanding that could cost countless lives. We request both sides present the evidence regarding the recent attacks."
Colonel Quaritch let out a cold grunt, gesturing for his men to bring forward a stretcher covered with a tarp.
The tarp was pulled back to reveal the corpse of an RDA soldier. Even though it had undergone preliminary processing, the gruesome state—flayed skin, missing skull, and extracted spinal column—was a horrific sight. The soldiers surrounding it wore expressions of grief and rage.
"Look! Look at the handiwork of you beasts!" Quaritch pointed at the corpse, roaring across the river.
Seeing the body, a wave of commotion rippled through the Na'vi ranks. Tsu'tey shouted back fiercely: "That is exactly what we demand to know from you! Look at what you did to our warriors!"
He swept his arm forward. Several Na'vi warriors carried forward the remains of their kin wrapped in massive leaves, displaying the exact same horrific mutilations, and laid them out at the front of their formation.
The Invisible Enemy
When the nearly identical, desecrated corpses of both factions were laid bare under the daylight, the furious shouting and accusations abruptly choked off into a heavy, suspended silence.
Tsu'tey stepped forward from the Na'vi ranks. Her gaze swept from the ghastly remains of the RDA soldier to the identical tragedy inflicted upon her own kin. Her voice trembled slightly from shock, yet carried clearly to everyone present: "Look! Open your eyes and look! The method... this cruel butchery... it is exactly the same!"
She pointed to both sides. "How could this be the work of the other? What warrior would desecrate their own kin like this? What clan would defile their braves in such a manner?"
Neytiri stared in horror at the RDA soldier, then back at her own people, her eyes swirling with confusion and shaken resolve.
She instinctively stepped closer to Jake, seeking support.
Eytukan spoke in a deep rumble, sounding like suppressed thunder: "This... is truly not the way of the Na'vi. We hunt, we fight, but we do not desecrate the fallen."
Colonel Quaritch's brow furrowed tightly. He scrutinized the Na'vi corpses, then looked back at his own dead soldier. The unbridled rage on his face was gradually replaced by grave solemnity.
He was no fool; this highly consistent, ritualistic torture-killing that transcended species boundaries reeked of something bizarre and deeply wrong.
"Then who the hell is it?" Quaritch's voice dropped, tinged with confusion and the fury of being provoked. "Is there really some other... thing on this planet?"
Just then, Rei Ayanami-kun, who had been quietly perceiving the surroundings, suddenly raised her head. Her red eyes locked onto a steep, jagged cliff face further up the river valley. Her calm voice carried clearly over the PA system into everyone's ears:
"It is right there."