On Pandora's orbit, inside the Star of Entrepreneurship, the RDA employees had, after several months, finally grasped their current predicament. The beings who had attacked and captured them were not some strange alien civilization; they were humans, just like themselves.
"But why do these guys have faster-than-light navigation technology? And why are their ships so un-aerodynamic?" This was a common, unanswered question among all the RDA crew members.
"I wonder what the situation is like on Pandora," the captain of the Star of Entrepreneurship mused, standing by the porthole. He gazed at the Ishimura and two other ships docked in orbit not far away. During this time, the three vessels had continuously dispatched landing craft to Pandora. Although the people on the Star of Entrepreneurship didn't know precisely what was happening below, they surmised that the situation on Pandora must be vastly different from before.
"No matter what, it has nothing to do with us anymore," the ship's first mate said with a bitter smile. "Let's just think about whether we can still return to Earth." Ever since their ship was occupied, the RDA employees on board had been placed under house arrest. While their lives weren't directly threatened, all means of communication with the outside world had been severed. Large groups of armed forces and dozens of those tall, terrifying monsters guarded them, ensuring no one dared to make any rash moves.
"What's the point of going back? I still have so many debts anyway." Some individuals, however, exhibited a surprising openness to their new reality. Earth in the Avatar world could be described as cyberpunk-esque, boasting high technology but offering a low quality of life. Even the crew members of the Star of Entrepreneurship, who could travel to planets light-years away, almost universally carried significant debt. For some, remaining here wasn't necessarily worse. But the majority still yearned to return to Earth; after all, not everyone could accept having their lives controlled by an unknown force.
"There's nothing we can do," the captain said with a bitter smile. "Even if I talked until I was blue in the face with those people, they wouldn't listen to us." He had tried to communicate with the human guards, but had never received any response. If he hadn't observed them communicating and changing shifts, the captain might have suspected they were mute. As for those tall, ferocious-looking monsters wielding various heavy weapons, the captain had no desire to approach them. However, he did learn their name from the human guards: "Tyrant."
"We can only wait. These people cannot keep us detained indefinitely; sooner or later, they will have a real conversation with us," the captain concluded, looking around at the gathered management of the Star of Entrepreneurship. Just when everyone believed today would be like any other, devoid of disturbances, more than a dozen armed PDF Soldiers entered. On either side of them stood two regular T103 Tyrants.
"All of you, gather on the bridge," the leading PDF officer stated expressionlessly. The crew members of the Star of Entrepreneurship were startled; for the past few months, they had been forbidden from entering the bridge area.
"Officer, is there something wrong?" the captain asked, lowering his status. However, the PDF Soldiers merely glanced at him, offering no reply. Finally, under the intimidating muzzles of the guns and the oppressive presence of the two Tyrants, the captain led the others out of the cabin and, under the supervision of the PDF Soldiers, headed to the bridge.
Upon arriving at the bridge, which they hadn't seen for several months, everyone saw a face appear on the large main screen.
"Welcome, gentlemen of RDA," Marcus on the screen said, scanning the management of the Star of Entrepreneurship. "The reason I called you here is to make a deal with you." Although he still didn't fully comprehend the situation, since the other party didn't seem to have any hostile intentions, the captain of the Star of Entrepreneurship spoke up. "What kind of deal?"
"I will send you back to Earth, but you need to sign this contract." As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding PDF Soldiers handed some papers to these individuals.
"This is—?" Looking at the content on the paper in front of them, everyone fell silent. The contract itself wasn't extensive. It stated that the other party would send them back to Earth at faster-than-light speed, and upon returning, they would need to work for these new benefactors for a specified period. To ensure there were no hidden traps, the RDA crew members meticulously examined the contract. They finally confirmed that it was indeed trap-free; it was remarkably clear and fair.
"Of course, you can also choose not to sign," Marcus on the screen added. "I will send you to the surface of Pandora to participate in colonization work." The RDA crew members were startled; they certainly didn't want to spend their lives on Pandora doing colonization work. No matter how harsh Earth's environment had become, it was still suitable for human survival, unlike Pandora, where you had to wear a breathing mask just to go outside, and there wasn't even breathable air. With hardly any hesitation, the captain of the Star of Entrepreneurship took the lead and signed his name on the contract.
"Hmm, I didn't expect the Psychic Contract to actually work from such a distance," Marcus, far away on the Ishimura's bridge, felt the official establishment of the Spiritual Energy Contract and thought to himself. This was also a test for him, an extension of his Spiritual Energy Contract skill. He had replicated the pre-edited contract content onto those papers, wanting to see if the Spiritual Energy Contract could still be signed and take effect from such a long distance. Facts proved that the Spiritual Energy Contract did not disappoint him. After signing the contract, a vivid scene of their heads exploding if they violated the contract appeared in the minds of the RDA crew members. Their faces instantly turned pale. Although they had no intention of breaking the contract to begin with, they were still shocked by the graphic consequences of violating it. It was clearly just a piece of paper, yet it possessed such potent efficacy and could even directly project the scene into their minds, forming a terrifying visual.
"What is the technological level of these people?" The terrifying effect of the Psychic Contract completely exceeded the imagination of the RDA crew members.
"The contract has been established. You can board the ship now."
"Ship? What ship? Aren't we going back on the Star of Entrepreneurship?" The captain of the Star of Entrepreneurship, who had just regained his composure, subconsciously asked.
"Of course not. How long would it take for your broken ship to return to Earth?" Marcus didn't explain further and then ended the communication. Looking at the extinguished screen, everyone finally reacted. Clearly, they were about to experience faster-than-light travel! Everyone felt both nervous and a little excited.