UNSC FLEETCOM Building, Republic City, United Republic
Korra rested her head softly, still trying to think about what happened an hour ago in Galileo Base. Then it hit her... "Why is it called Galileo anyway?" Korra asked everyone around her which included Throne, Mako, and other naval officers.
"Uhh…what?" Thorne responded.
"Why is the base called Galileo?"
"Well…hmm, back on Earth, Galileo was this very smart man who discovered some pretty neat stuff." Thorne replied while looking at his helmet. "He once said 'We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves." I like to think that we honored him in the long run."
"When my friends and I were on the Infinity, we never had the chance to learn anything about the…cradle world. Could you uh…tell us some things about it?" Korra asked the Spartan IV, her curiosity getting the better of her yet again. Mako, for some reason, didn't seem to like the Spartan. He didn't know why but something in him just yelled…competition.
"Me? I'm no history professor." Thorne replied looking around for Madsen or DeMarco to get him out of this situation. They were waiting for DeMarco or anyone from the city council to come in at any moment. But they were already waiting for an hour…might as well comply with his VIP. "Fine…"
"Let's start with something that not many of us know but should…a really long time ago, in the lands between the continent of Africa and Asia was the Fertile Crescent, there earliest recorded civilization was born. Sumer, the very first city of Mesopotamia." Thorne explained, images appeared in Korra's mind as she tried to imagine the ancestors of her people and theirs.
"Some time later, they disappeared leaving only records of their culture. Their legacy was later inherited by the Babylonians and the Assyrians, nomadic tribes that soon discovered the abandoned Sumerian cities and occupied them. That was the beginning…many, many years after that, what we know as the Classical Age rose." Thorne explained.
"From ashes of wars and conflict, the nation we now know as Greece flourished, with the city-states of Athens and Sparta leading the charge. The Spartans…the finest warriors of the Classical Age, we are named after them…for they glory, experience in battle and courage. During the conflict known as the Persian Wars, the mighty and enormous empire of Persia threatened the Greek city-states and the valiant Greek Army, composed of only 300 Spartans and a handful of other Greek warriors defended their land and died fighting a superior enemy…the man leading them was King Leonidas and he died with his men."
Korra imagined a tall man, leading his army against the most powerful men of history, well…at least what her imagination allowed her to imagine. She saw the Spartans as powerful and mighty Water Tribe warriors, making their last stand against the larger and more technological advanced Fire Nation army.
"Eventually though, this Classical Greek Age would soon be over as well. From the north, what the Athenians called the barbaric lands, the kingdom of Macedonia invaded the Greek cities. With the leadership of the then king, Philip of Macedon, the Macedonians conquered the Greeks. Philip died and his son, the legend…his name was Alexander and at the age of nineteen he became the Macedon king and swore to free all of Asia Minor."
A legend? And at that age, he wasn't much older than her or Mako…
"By the Aegian Sea, to the east of Greece, in 334 BC he utterly beat the armies of the Persian Empire. Alexander moved swiftly through Asia Minor, defeating and then liberating his enemies. One by one they fell, from the Scythians to the Egyptians, they fell like dominos. And last but not least it was Persia; Alexander entered Persia and conquered it. He was seen as the Pharaoh in Egypt, a god in mortal flesh and in other parts as the savior, thus he became Alexander the Great."
"And he did this all while he was young?" Korra asked.
"Yeah, he got all the way into deep Asia when he was around thirty I think, pretty impressive considering most conquerors were really old." Thorne replied. "You have anyone like that here?"
"Well not really, the last conqueror was killed by my past life." Korra responded, Thorne didn't even bother asking what she meant by past life.
"Anyway, Alexander died of fever after he returned to Babylonia. Sad end for a great guy, his empire was then carved into pieces by his generals. But enough of that, we are getting to the more interesting stuff now. Rome, the pinnacle of ancient civilization."
"How so?" Korra asked.
"Well for a multiple of things, they established the rule of the people and many other things. They conquered much of the known world and paved the way for our modern nation-states." Throne responded.
"Kinda like the Fire Nation for us…they were evil back then though." Korra said, remembering the Hundred Years War.
"Rome was not really evil but…considering all they did it would be easy to brush them off like they were. It started out as a republic but it eventually turned to an Empire, with Julius Caesar helping in shaping it but it was his adoptive son, Octavius who became the emperor. It was a one thousand year empire, with its golden years known as the Pax Romana, the Roman Peace." Thorne kept telling.
"They were beaten? How?"
"Bunch of barbarians and Vikings from the north and political intrigue. Even the mighty must fall eventually."
"Hmm…tell me something more current." Korra said.
"More current? Well the 20th Century was home of two world wars and longest running cold war. The United States of America, it was a country that existed with the foundations of liberty, rights and with the promise that all men were created equal. It with its allies fought against the Axis Powers during World War II." Thorne replied.
"World war? A world war?!" Korra couldn't believe it.
"Sounds a lot like the Hundred Years War." Mako added. "What happened?"
"A lot of things happened, it was the consequences of the First World War, but it was mostly because of one man…Adolf Hitler. He built Germany from the ground up after losing the first war and established the Nazi Party…pure evil I say."
"An Ozai…" Mako said.
"The good guys won, but at a great cost. About 60 Million people died, and it was the bloodiest conflict in human history for centuries until we met the Covenant." Thorne said. "But my favorite piece of history for me is the First American Civil War."
"The United States was split on two, north and south, it was fought for many reasons but the main was slavery." Thorne stated.
"Slavery?" Korra asked.
"Yeah…makes my skin crawl. Led by President Abraham Lincoln, the Union fought against the Confederacy or the Rebels for five long years, until victory was achieved. In one of his speeches, the president said that the conflict and the men who fought in it should never be forgotten and I guess he was right. He said that a house divided shall not stand…"
Those words resonated through Korra's head, something told her that something like what happened to the old United States would happen here…on her world soon. She just had a feeling…a bad feeling.
"And then…the Covenant, we first met them over the colony of Harvest. It was the first to fall, they massacred us. We got small victories but everything changed once they attacked Reach, our fortress among the stars was ravaged, we poured everything we had on them…but we lost and Reach fell." Thorne continued. "And that's when the Master Chief and the crew of the Pillar of Autumn discovered Halo, the ringworld. A few months later and the war ended on a high note, the faction of Elites loyal to the Arbiter became our allies and we defeated the Covenant on the Ark and ended the Great War."
"Wow…" Korra said. "It sounds like your history is full of wars."
"It kinda sounds like it doesn't it? But there were some good parts in between them, some really good parts." Thorne replied.
"History lesson to the kids Thorne?" Madsen said as he walked towards them along with DeMarco and Tenzin.
"Tenzin!" Korra and Mako cheered. Bolin and Asami came after them, they had gone exploring while Korra and Mako had stayed with Thorne.
"They really did some repairs to this place from the looks of it." Asami said.
"You should've seen the eating room! It was amazing!" Bolin said with enthusiasm.
"Korra, I'm glad to see you again." Tenzin said after hugging his former student.
"Me too Tenzin, I have something important to tell you." Korra said.
"What is it?" But before she could tell him anything, a man walked from behind the airbending master.
"Ah, Korra! It's very good to see my niece again."
I am sorry if this chapter didn't have as much action as the previous one, but Korra was really curious. :)
Thanks!
