Despite the ruins surrounding it, City Hall was in reasonable shape. At Raiko's insistence, the rebuilding effort prioritized government buildings, ostensibly to allow Republic City to have a functioning administration again quickly. There was a still a tree growing through the middle of the building, which likely meant that, to Raiko's dismay, there was still a tree branch through the middle of the president's office.
Two police officers stood at attention, flanking the front doors to the building, metal armour gleaming in the sunlight. They didn't have the natural ease of most of Lin's police officers, leading Korra to wonder if they were new recruits, nonbenders, or both. As Korra came closer, she noticed that they were young, likely younger than Korra when she had first come to Republic City, and still buzzed with the nervous energy of callow youth.
It was a bittersweet recognition: the attack had spurred so many people to volunteer to help their fellow citizens, Lin's door was nearly battered down by new recruits, but they could barely replace all those who had been lost. Even with Varrick designing a new armour that allowed nonbenders to serve on the force, the police were stretched thin. The shantytowns housing the displaced population and legions of squatters in abandoned parts of downtown had allowed the triads to wrest control back from the authorities.
The young cadets saluted smartly, only partially concealing their star-struck glances at Korra and Tenzin. Korra humoured them with a returning salute and their spines seemed to become even more ramrod straight.
She followed Tenzin into the entrance hall, spotting Lin and Suyin arguing with the president's secretary. "Su!" she shouted, waving as the metalbender turned to face her.
"Korra!" Suyin's face softened into a smile as she walked over to embrace the Avatar. "I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to say my goodbyes after the wedding, but taking back Zaofu couldn't wait any longer."
"I understand. Zaofu's freedom meant a lot to you, of course you'd want to take it back," she paused, feeling the heat rising in her cheeks, "besides, I left on a bit of a vacation right after the wedding."
A brief glance passed between Suyin and Tenzin. "Well, after everything you've been through, and everything you've done, you've earned more than a little vacation," she said, placing a hand on Korra's shoulder. She leaned in and whispered in Korra's ear, "Just between us, I'm glad you're here for this. I trust Lin and Tenzin's judgement on most things, but they didn't see Kuvira's work first hand. You were there when she attacked Zaofu."
Korra's eyes fell. Her mind flew back to the Spirit World, to a conversation between her and the would-be empress. "We'll find what's best for the Earth Kingdom and for the people of Republic City," she said, never meeting Suyin's eyes.
"Hey kid, I heard about the Earth Empire soldiers from yesterday," Lin said, breaking the tension of the moment, but quickly replacing it with new stress as her familiar scowl appeared, "what in god's name where you doing, going down into that pile of rubbish?"
"There could've still been survivors waiting to get saved!"
"Bullshit, we haven't found anyone there in a month. I told Raiko we needed a lockdown on that district, but he wouldn't listen."
"Lin, you know Korra just wants to help the people of Republic City," Suyin said, turning to her sister. Her voice dropped back to a whisper, "Don't mind her Korra, Lin's just sour because Raiko made us wait while he met with Prince Wu in private."
"I heard that!" Lin said, crossing her arms over her chest. "If Raiko spent half as much time working on fixing this city as he does hobnobbing with fops like him, we would have been finished weeks ago."
"Ladies, ladies, don't be mad, there's more than enough Wu for everyone," a voice called from the upper balcony. Prince Wu stood leaning over, resting his chin on hand with a self-satisfied grin on his face. An exhausted-looking Raiko stood beside him and gestured for the four to come upstairs to his office.
Once they were comfortably seated in Raiko's office, Tenzin started to speak, "Thank you all for coming. As you know, despite taking Kuvira into custody, much of her army remains intact. Most have retreated behind the Earth Empire's borders, but we can't let this threat go unaddressed. It's only a matter of time until they reorganize and attack again. I've already heard rumours that several of her generals have claimed the mantle of Earth Emperor."
"Damn them all," Raiko said, "we stopped their Colossus, if they think they can waltz into this city and take over they have another thing coming." Korra bit her tongue to avoid reminding Raiko who exactly had stopped the Colossus. "I want an unconditional surrender from the Imperial Army. After what they did to Republic City, we need to make sure this never happens again," he continued and slammed a fist on his desk for emphasis.
Lin's tone was acidic as she replied, "And what army is going to convince them to accept this unconditional surrender? In case you forgot, Kuvira annihilated the United Republic Forces and destroyed all the heavy armoured divisions. Even with my police officers supporting them, we'd be hard pressed to keep a concerted attack from overrunning the city, much less take the offensive."
"That's why we need to handle this diplomatically," Tenzin said, glancing from Lin to Raiko, "the people of the Earth Kingdom believe in Kuvira's ideals. If we march in there with an army, all we'll do is harden their opposition to us."
"Why don't we throw a big party and invite all the Earth Empire generals. Then when everyone is good and drunk, we spring the peace treaty on them!" Everyone turned to see Prince Wu's hands splayed with an eager look on his face. Nobody dignified his suggestion with a response. The silence hung in the air and seemed to drag the energy from Wu's face, as his tone turned dejected, "Fine, we can do things the boring way with a bunch of boring meetings," he said, dragging out the emphasis on the word 'boring.'
"I won't stand for treating them like a legitimate negotiating partner. These Earth Empire thugs are nothing more than terrorists." Raiko punctuated his words with jabs of his finger at each of the others in the room. "If we need time to rebuild the army, then so be it. We can stall as you see fit, but this city won't be safe until they accept defeat."
Tenzin stroked his beard pensively and replied, "I understand your anger Raiko, but we cannot decide who is or is not the legitimate representative of the Earth Kingdom government. The reality is that, a few exceptions aside," he nodded at Suyin, and pointedly avoided glancing at Wu, "the lords and governors of the Earth Kingdom follow Kuvira."
"They can follow her to hell as far as I'm concerned," Raiko shot back.
"They probably would," Korra said, interrupting the argument, "she offered stability, protection, and control when nobody else could. Her nation was falling to pieces and she picked them back up."
"And how did that happen? You left for three years after the Earth Kingdom fell." Korra flinched as Raiko's word dredged up painful memories.
"Raiko! You can't even imagine what Korra went through–" Tenzin's voice turned harsh.
"Tenzin, it's okay," Korra's voice was strained through gritted teeth. "You're right. I wasn't there. Blame me. Not them. They dealt with the world they lived in."
"Although I don't agree that this is your fault Korra," Suyin said, "I'm with Raiko on this one. It doesn't matter what Kuvira promised, she delivered prison camps, slavery, and mass murder. She's a criminal and so is her army."
Raiko walked over to his desk, pulled a bottle of Fire Nation rum from a hidden drawer, and poured himself a drink. "Speaking of criminals, how are the arrangements for Kuvira's trial?"
Lin stood up and glared at the president, "I've already told you. We can't ensure the safety of the proceedings until after we've signed a peace agreement with Kuvira's army. The ceasefire won't hold up if we put her on trial, especially if it turns into a public circus like you want it to."
"So, you're just going to let her get away with her crimes?" Suyin said, while Raiko continued, "Clearly the ceasefire isn't holding up anyway if there are Earth Empire soldiers being arrested with mecha suits within the city walls."
"Where did you hear about that?"
Raiko's eyes narrowed as he stared Lin down. "Chief Beifong, I think you're forgetting your place. You work for the Republic City police; I am the president of Republic City. You do not get to decide what information I hear or do not hear."
"I'm sorry… sir." Lin replied stiffly.
Raiko's expression smoothed as he downed his drink. "Now I agree that we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. We should take input from the Earth Kingdom representatives at next week's negotiations anyway. But there will be a trial and we will hold her responsible for her crimes." He paused, then gestured at the bottle, "Anybody else for a drink?"
Rousing from his spot on the couch, Prince Wu leaned forward. "Is that?"
"Azulon Reserve. Personal gift from Izumi. Not that colonial swill they sell down by the docks." Raiko pulled two more glasses from his desk, noticing Suyin's interest. "Anyone else? Avatar Korra?"
She could have gone for a strong drink, the day certainly warranted one. But she had no intention of giving Raiko the pleasure of enticing the Avatar. "No, thank you."
Raiko shrugged, pouring two glasses for Prince Wu and Suyin, and another glass for himself. He handed them the drinks, then took his seat at the conference table once more. "As I was saying, we have images to keep up. We'll listen to what the Earth Kingdom representatives have to say before we proceed with the trial."
"Getting back to the matter at hand, we still need a position to take to the Earth Empire generals," Tenzin said, "and we need a plan for next week's negotiations."
Wu sipped at his glass, then leaned forward, his expression unusually serious. "My grandfather and aunt proved that a monarch hidden away in Ba Sing Se cannot run the Earth Kingdom. Abolishing the monarchy and turning the Earth Kingdom over to elected representatives should help create a lasting peace for the people."
"Besides," Suyin said, gesturing languidly with her glass, "with how spread out the Earth Kingdom territories are, regional lords and governors have always acted with a fair bit of autonomy. The challenge won't be removing the monarchy at the national level; it'll be convincing those local monarchs to give up their power."
"They might even try and kick you out in Zaofu," Lin said, giving her sister a smirk and causing Suyin to roll her eyes.
"The Earth Kingdom doesn't have the same history as the United Republic, even under our old council, most of us felt we had to be responsive to the citizens," Tenzin's voice was grim. "Our elites were willing to share power once it became clear our ways were wrong. When the Earth Kings were under threat, they gave power to the Dai Li. I doubt the old guard will step aside willingly now either."
"But I'm their king! The monarchists should be the most willing to listen to me!" Prince Wu said with a note of protest.
Tenzin shook his head. "Their loyalty is to the throne, the notion of the monarchy, and the system it represents, not the person occupying that office. Even Long Feng was a loyal servant of Earth King Kuei while he hid the very existence of the war from the king. Getting them to give up power won't be as easy as asking them nicely. It wouldn't be the first time the Grand Secretariat replaced an Earth King for 'the good of the crown.' If they felt threatened, they'd dredge up one of your cousins and put him on the throne."
"No doubt they're already jostling to the front of the line. Kuvira sidelined them when she seized power. It might be the only useful thing she ever did for us," Raiko stared bitterly into his glass.
"But she had her whole army to prevent them from trying any funny business," said Lin, "whereas we barely have enough men left to defend against the Earth Empire, much less try to fight a second war against the old powers of Ba Sing Se."
"Unfortunately, I agree." Raiko finished his glass. "I expect tomorrow's government in the capital will bear a striking resemblance to today's. Over time, it might be possible to weaken the oligarchs to the point that you could introduce true democracy to Ba Sing Se, but I don't think it's a realistic goal to expect them to give up power right away."
"Well, you said the outer territories are pretty much independent already. Maybe we should focus on pushing power down to the local level and trying to make changes there." Korra spoke up, causing the group to turn.
Raiko raised an eyebrow, while the others looked thoughtful. After a moment of thought, Tenzin nodded, "I think that's probably the best idea. If we push the system too hard, it'll push back, but we can probably make that work."
"Well if we're all settled, I have a date with Tarrook's Spa. I can't let these princely good looks fade right before the big meeting!" Prince Wu stood up from the table.
Tenzin breathed a sigh of frustration and rolled his eyes. "I suppose that's enough for today. Raiko, shall we consider this meeting adjourned?"
"Indeed." As they stood up from the table, Raiko walked over to Korra. "Avatar, might we have a word?"
They stepped out onto the balcony, ducking under a branch, to look out over the plaza. "What do you want?"
"Avatar Korra. I appreciate your work stopping Kuvira, but I don't think the Avatar should be involved in the negotiations with the Earth Kingdom."
"You just want me out of the way again."
"No. It's hardly a secret that we don't see eye-to-eye. Frankly, you've been a thorn in my side the entire time we've known each other. But I'm thinking of your own wellbeing here."
"How am I supposed to maintain balance if you expect me to sit at the kids' table?"
"Korra, do you remember when you first came to Republic City? The Equalists rose up in part because of what you represented: the power benders held over nonbenders. Even when Amon was revealed as a fraud, that fear remained. It's what helped me win the election. Why do you think the nonbenders voted for me over the other guy?" He paused, letting Korra digest his words, but before she could give him a sharp response, he continued, "You can't think of yourself as just a person, neither can I, neither can Tenzin. We represent something greater than ourselves."
Korra's knuckles tightened on the railing as she bit back the harsh words that came to mind. "This is all just an excuse to push me out of the way."
"No, I would be fine with having Korra at the negotiations. You're not the naïve girl who wanted me to send my army to fight in the Water Tribe Civil War anymore. It's the Avatar I don't want at the negotiations. Think about what the Avatar has done to the Earth Kingdom, what the Avatar represents to these people."
"The world fell out of balance because I wasn't around before. I don't intend to make the same mistake."
"Hmph, I can't stop you from attending the negotiations. But think about what I said." He turned and walked back into his office, leaving Korra alone on the balcony.