Although he was curious about whether Thor would eventually become the "Red Thor," Josh didn't keep watching for long—he wasn't the type to waste time. He had only come to see Thor's unlucky situation. Now that the man had been rescued, there was nothing more to see.
He also didn't worry too much about missing anything interesting later. With Kirin Tor mages tracking and recording everything, anything important—or amusing—would be reported.
Josh still had his own priorities, especially since it was almost time for the yearly Dimensional beacon. He wondered what kind of world it would connect to this time.
Back at Neuschwanstein Castle, he followed his usual routine—taking a shower before preparing to "open the box."
–
Another Universe—Pandora
The battle between human corporate colonists and the native Na'vi was coming to an end. Colonel Miles Quaritch, the highest-ranking human military officer, lay still inside his damaged mech, two arrows piercing his body as he stared at the blue sky.
He knew he was dying. But he couldn't accept it—after a lifetime of service, he refused to believe he would fall to a human traitor and a group of "primitive" natives.
It was too late now. Before the battle, he had already backed up his consciousness. The Federation might recreate him someday, but that wouldn't truly be him. He wasn't naive like that traitor.
He was tired… perhaps dying under the sun wasn't so bad.
As his vision dimmed, he thought of Earth's darkened skies, his grown daughter, and his eight-year-old granddaughter. The compensation money should give them a comfortable life.
Suddenly, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind:
[Ding… Dimensional Beacon loading complete. Welcome to the Dimensional Trading System. You may now begin trading with the terminal owner.]
Strange information began flooding his thoughts.
What is this? Dimensional Trading System? Is this a hallucination before death?
Then, a warm, male voice spoke:
"Tsk, bad luck—the beacon landed on someone about to die. Huh… this scene… Avatar? The human officer? Well, lucky you. Accept the trade, or you'll really die."
Accept the trade? Trade what? My soul? So I am going to hell…?
With his last bit of will, Quaritch agreed.
The moment he did, hundreds of robots—nothing like the RDA's tech—appeared around his mech. There were military units, civilian models, and most importantly, medical robots. (TL/N: The Resources Development Administration, or RDA, is the main antagonistic organization in the Avatar franchise)
Fortunately, the battle was nearly over. The Na'vi, led by the human traitor Jake Sully, were advancing everywhere, so no one noticed what was happening here.
The robots quickly used their built-in tools to remove the dying Quaritch from his mech and began treating him.
Once his vital signs were stable, they immediately moved him. Along the way, they encountered some wild animals and a few Na'vi, but none of them posed any trouble for the robots.
Before long, they found a cave several kilometers from the battlefield. After covering their tracks, they set it up as Quaritch's temporary recovery site. As for the cave's original owner—a Thanator—it would just have to find a new home.
When Colonel Quaritch woke up more than ten hours later, he was surrounded by unfamiliar robots.
"What's going on? Wasn't I dead? Or is high-level tech popular in hell now?" he muttered to himself.
"Congratulations on waking up, sir," a medical robot said as it walked over. "Scans show your body is fully recovered and has completely adapted to the enhancement serum. You may try moving around."
Quaritch tested his body. "You're right—I feel stronger than ever, and the arrow wounds are gone. No signs of poison… Can you tell me what happened? How long was I out? Whose forces are you with?"
Federation medical tech was advanced, but nothing like this. Na'vi arrows were coated in neurotoxin—without treatment in under a minute, survival was impossible. Even then, survivors usually had permanent damage. Yet here he was, fully healed, without even a scar, and brimming with strength.
"We were sent by Mr. Josh Kahn as your assistants and guards. We treated you immediately and moved you here. You were unconscious for about thirteen hours, most of which was your body adjusting to the genetic enhancement serum," an intelligent robot explained.
"Josh Kahn? Who is that?" Quaritch frowned.
"According to Mr. Kahn, you'll understand if you think about it," the robot replied—its programming contained no information about the Dimensional Trading System, so it could only give this hint.
"Think about it? … Oh, the Dimensional Trading System? I see. Amazing. Very interesting."
Memories from the device returned to him instantly—everything about the trade, even though he had been near death at the time.
His only recorded transaction:
One dose of Super Soldier Genetic Enhancement Serum
50 all-terrain military robots
40 all-terrain engineering robots
5 medical robots
5 multi-purpose life-support robots
Checking the serum's description, Quaritch warmed up, then struck the cave wall with a punch. His fist ached, but the cracks in the stone made him grin.
This improvement to his body was nothing like the feeling of piloting a mech. He launched a series of rapid punches until he'd left a shallow pit in the wall before stopping.
Other than a little pain and a faint white mark, his skin wasn't even broken. What a powerful body.
Now, he felt he could face the Na'vi in hand-to-hand combat without any equipment. After finishing his punches, he also noticed something else—he wasn't wearing a breathing mask, yet he could breathe without being poisoned.
On Pandora, the air contained far too much carbon dioxide, along with other gases toxic to humans. Without a filter mask, a human couldn't survive for more than four minutes.
"This genetic serum… can it change what kind of air I need to breathe?" Quaritch asked one of the robot assistants.
"Yes, sir," the robot replied quickly. "The Super Soldier Genetic Serum has been improved over many generations. It can now adjust itself based on the user's environment. Your stronger lungs can filter out excess carbon dioxide and other harmful substances in the air."
Hearing this, Quaritch's mind began to race. If the Federation military could be equipped with this serum, Pandora could truly become humanity's new home.
As RDA's top military commander on Pandora, he knew the truth behind their monopoly on resource extraction beyond Earth. Aside from their technological and economic power, they carried another mission—finding a new home for humanity.
Earth in this reality was dying. Scientists estimated that in no more than a century, the planet would no longer support human life. The search for a new world was urgent.
Pandora was one of the candidates, but its environment made colonization costly. The Federation was still debating, but Quaritch knew time was running out. A century sounded long, but relocating an entire civilization was a massive project, and most candidate planets were so far away that a round trip could take a decade.
If the serum formula could be obtained, Pandora—lush and full of life—would become the first choice for humanity's migration.
With that thought, Quaritch summoned the system's interface and selected Josh's contact icon, requesting a call.
It was night on Pandora, and he didn't know what time it was in Josh's world, so he hadn't planned on calling. But the serum's power left him too eager to wait.
To his surprise, the call connected almost instantly. Josh appeared on the screen, wearing pajamas.
"Thank you for saving my life, Mr. Josh Kahn," Quaritch said respectfully, his expression serious.
"No need to be so formal—we're partners, not in a chain of command. By the way, I didn't catch your name," Josh replied. He remembered most of Avatar's story, but not the name of the highest human military commander on Pandora. Jack Sully's name, however, he knew well—it was hard to forget the main character.
"Miles Quaritch. I once served in the Federal Marine Corps with the rank of Colonel, and now I'm the head of security for the RDA Corporation on Pandora," Quaritch said in a formal introduction. "If it weren't for your help, I'd have already been a meal for the beasts on this wild planet."
"It's nothing. Now that you have the dimensional trade beacon, we're partners. If you died, that would've been a headache for me too," Josh replied casually. "By the way, I'm guessing you haven't eaten yet. The robots probably gave you nutrient injections, but that's not the same as real food."
With that, Josh sent over a large amount of food, drinks, and other supplies from his system inventory. According to the current storyline, after RDA's defeat on Pandora, all personnel who hadn't betrayed them like Jake Sully had were sent back to their ships to return to Earth.
This meant that until Earth responded to the war, Quaritch would be stuck alone on Pandora—at the ships' speed, that would be at least ten years. Without enough supplies, life would be miserable, even with his enhancements.
Of course, Josh wasn't acting out of kindness. These were just an early investment. Pandora's superconducting ore was valuable not only to the Earth in the Avatar universe but also to Josh's own purposes. A wide variety of resources was essential for any advanced civilization.
"Thank you for your generosity," Quaritch said. He didn't know the Na'vi had already taken over the entire mining area, but he understood the need for ample supplies.
"No need to thank me. You should know this isn't free," Josh said plainly.
"Of course. But you must understand my situation—I can't pay you back anytime soon," Quaritch admitted.
"I understand, but that's not a problem. Take a look at this." Josh displayed his usual goods list for Quaritch.
When he saw it, Quaritch's eyes widened. Energy weapons and nuclear arms didn't surprise him much—though Josh's were more advanced, the Federation already had such things, even if RDA wasn't allowed to possess them.
But faster-than-light ships… that was completely different.
Even if Josh's ships only traveled at three to five times light speed—what Josh considered "junk"—to a humanity still stuck at sub-light travel in the Avatar universe, they were revolutionary.
There were also advanced modification systems, genetic technologies, and robotics—each one priceless in Quaritch's eyes.
"I'm interested in Pandora's superconducting ore and its diverse life forms. As long as you can deliver enough goods, even if you're the only human left on Pandora, I can make sure you crush the natives easily… and if you can provide more unique resources from your universe, helping you rule the whole galaxy wouldn't be a problem," Josh said with a smile.
If Pandora had superconducting ore, then there could be even more valuable minerals in this universe, and Josh was willing to invest more to get them.
Even if Quaritch only provided regular resources later, Josh could still recover his investment over time—after all, this was an entire universe.
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