Postwar Matters

It was not only the Hunter Company led by Arthur Morgan—even the loss of a single ARS soldier would make Sui Yang ache. These were his direct troops, the foundation of his and the company's ability to suppress all opposition, both within and beyond its ranks.

The more than six hundred RDA Mercenaries could be combined with ARS infantry companies and used for high-intensity frontal combat.

The more enemies they killed, the higher their pay. They were essentially auxiliary personnel, so the details of their contracts would naturally differ from those of regular employees.

Thinking this, Sui Yang raised a hand and waved. A holographic keyboard appeared before him, and he created a new document and began drafting the initial contract for the RDA Mercenaries.

Before long, Sui Yang typed the words "Atlas Emergency Countermeasure Force (Atlas Emergency Countermeasure Service) Contract Details" at the beginning of the document.

"AECS" would be the official abbreviation for this auxiliary force. Its commander was yet to be determined.

Sui Yang greatly admired Colonel Miles Quaritch of the RDA, and it was true that he had considered recruiting him to work under him and Atlas. However, it was impossible for Sui Yang to directly hand the position of AECS commander to Quaritch, even though he was the most suitable candidate.

The six hundred RDA Mercenaries obeyed Quaritch implicitly. If Quaritch were immediately reinstated as their commander, it would only create more trouble.

Therefore, Sui Yang planned to break up and reorganize the six hundred RDA Mercenaries, then transfer one hundred ARS elites to the AECS as commanders and adjutants for squads, combat platoons, and companies.

As for Miles Quaritch, Sui Yang would give him a list and relevant files on the Hunter Company, allowing him to select fifteen elites each from the RDA Mercenaries and the Hunter Company to form a combat platoon for special missions.

Sui Yang believed Quaritch could naturally see the intention behind all these arrangements, and he also believed Quaritch would make the right decision.

This would separate the RDA Mercenaries who admired Quaritch most from the group as a whole, while allowing Quaritch to make use of his own abilities. Only after he had grown thoroughly accustomed to and adapted to the company's system, and acknowledged Atlas from the bottom of his heart, would Quaritch have a chance to become the AECS commander again.

As a soldier with an unwavering will and firm convictions, Sui Yang believed even more strongly that Quaritch would devote himself wholeheartedly to Atlas.

Besides, Sui Yang could now see through the thoughts of ordinary people who possessed no Psychic Power. Anyone who came within range of his psychic perception would have nowhere to hide their emotions of concealment or deception.

It did not take him long to finish the initial contract.

The salary and benefits provided by Atlas were enough to tempt the six hundred Mercenaries. Their designated spending area would be Europe on Earth-01.

Moreover, the AECS could not remain an auxiliary force forever. The contract clearly included clauses related to "promotion." If they passed regular evaluations and tests, they could be promoted in rank and might even have the opportunity to join an ARS company.

In truth, this was also Atlas's process of "assimilation," only made more straightforward.

After dealing with Miles Quaritch and the six hundred RDA Mercenaries, Sui Yang began handling Jake Sully and the Na'vi prisoners.

Although Jake Sully's crime of betraying humanity had been conclusively proven in the battle not long ago, Atlas would not mistreat prisoners. Once the technicians finished collecting all the necessary data to analyze Eywa's effects on the human brain and mind, Jake would be given a quick death. The same applied to all the Na'vi who had participated in the battle.

Atlas had already obtained all the data on Hell's Gate, including Avatar and consciousness-transfer technology. After interrogating the scientists who had participated in the rebellion, the Bioengineering Department should theoretically be able to master both technologies before long and develop further possibilities from them.

Finally, there was the recovery of all useful equipment and vehicles, such as the Dragon Assault Ship, Valkyrie Transport, Scorpion, and Samson helicopters, along with the RDA's mining equipment. Once Atlas's personnel became familiar with them, they would be able to put them back into operation and resume mining Room-Temperature Superconducting Ore.

Besides the most obvious application of room-temperature superconductivity—magnetic levitation—it could also greatly reduce energy loss during power transmission, improve transmission efficiency, and enhance medical imaging technology, making magnetic resonance imaging more efficient and accurate.

It might even be possible to turn magnetic propulsion from a concept into experimentation and practice. Combined with the antimatter and nuclear-fusion engines, photon-sail technology, and more provided by the Venture Star, this would send Atlas's aviation, aerospace, and every other field into rapid development.

However, it would take far more than a year or two for Atlas to fully digest these technologies. Manufacturing products was easy enough, but bringing their various specifications and performance data up to acceptable standards, and then to excellent ones, required a great deal of experimentation.

Fortunately, aside from money, time was also something Sui Yang and Atlas had in abundance. While focusing on expanding the company's operations, he could also devote himself to teaching Sanguinius and Roboute.

After arranging for personnel to inspect the recovered RDA equipment, Sui Yang finally finished dealing with the more pressing matters at hand. Only then did he turn his gaze toward his two sons standing on either side of the central console and ask:

"How did you two feel about your first battle?"

"Father!" Sanguinius had been waiting for this moment. When he saw that Sui Yang had finally finished, he immediately failed to hide his excitement and said, "The War Spear was incredibly useful! I also helped Uncle Morgan capture Jake Sully's mount and took down twenty-six flying Banshees."

Sanguinius clearly looked like a child who had achieved good results and was hoping for encouragement and approval from his parent.

Sui Yang could naturally see that. He smiled faintly and affirmed him, saying, "Well done. I imagine Dr. Ashford will be very fond of a Leonopteryx as experimental material."

"I told you it would definitely be useful." Sanguinius seemed completely satisfied. Then he added, "If Uncle Morgan hadn't given me strict orders to deal only with those wild animals, I could have helped them take down even more Na'vi."

Sui Yang did not comment on that, but he understood that Arthur was protecting the Primarch in his own way.

Next, he looked toward Roboute, who had been somewhat quiet ever since returning.

Noticing that Roboute was struggling with something inside, Sui Yang remained patient and asked with a smile, "And you, child?"

"I learned a great deal." Roboute also began to share his thoughts. "Detailed intelligence and information are crucial in modern warfare. Our pre-positioned artillery positions directly destroyed the enemy's effective forces and their will to resist.

"And by joining the battle at precisely the right moment, we avoided excessive losses among the RDA Mercenaries while also earning their recognition and goodwill, making our subsequent operations much easier.

"But..." At this point, Roboute instead voiced the question troubling him. "Father, did you already know everything about the actions of the RDA, the Na'vi, and Eywa's consciousness? Is that why you were able to make such precise judgments?"