[AN] Oh yeah, it's on now...
Loving all the theories you guys came up with after the last chapter, hope you have fun with this latest installment!
Thundercatroar: Dear lord you make me laugh
Eternalmetalhead: I hope I don't make your head explode trying to come up with more new theories, you kinda went to town last time...
"Ah how shameless –
the way these mortals blame the gods.
From us alone they say come all their miseries yes
but they themselves with their own reckless ways
compound their pains beyond their proper share."
― Homer, The Odyssey
—
Someone is pounding on the door and I am not happy about this. I groan and push the blankets off, shuffling over to the door. I yank it open and get pushed to the side as the Bitches storm into my apartment. I've only been home for about two weeks but I haven't yet managed a full night's sleep in all that time. Between finishing outpatient treatment with Asami and trying to figure out what happened to Bolin I've been going more or less non-stop.
"For fuck's sake, Major, you've turned into a slug," mocks Kuvira.
I glare at her, ignoring Opal and Jinora's snickers. "You do realize I was up until around three in the morning and it's just a little after six now. And by the way, shut up."
Kuvira waves a folder over her head tauntingly. "Poor baby. Guess you don't want to know what the latest report is from the intelligence peeps."
I snatch it out of her hand and flop it open on my dining room table, scanning as best I could on three hours of sleep. Jinora pulls one sheet in particular to my attention.
"So we know the renegades stole a squadron of fighters and two troop ships. According to this latest intel, in addition to Bolin several of the off planet prisons were attacked and all the prisoners taken. Best guess that it was around five thousand people. Now we know what the troop ships were for."
Opal points at another sheet. "The intel peeps didn't give us the names, but apparently a lot of folks in the military have been identified as being involved in this mess. We just heard that some of them were even captured. That's the good news."
I make a face. "The fact we had a lot of traitors in our military is the good news?"
Opal grimaces. "Yeah. The bad news is we figured out who Varrick was working for." Her face is grim as she waits for me to finish reading.
I stare hard at the paper, my heart sinking.
Fuck.
I look over at Kuvira. "Who knows about this?"
"Izumi already has people on their way over. We came to get you as soon as we found out."
"Give me five to get dressed. We're going to headquarters."
—
The Headquarters of the United Forces has got to be one of the ugliest buildings in the history of humankind. I have always hated the place due to its bleak and oppressive feel. I hate it even more today as I storm through the doors, the Bitches close on my heels.
I hear my name being called and turn to see Colonel Tenzin hurrying over to me.
"Thank goodness you're here. I was just about to send a car." He leads us towards the elevators and I growl when I see he's punched in the code for the floor of the Military Police. He lays a hand on my shoulder. "Major, I need you to trust me and keep your temper. But I can't tell you anymore than that right now." He then smiles at Jinora.
"Hi, dad," she says softly in response.
The elevator doors open and I see Admiral Izumi standing outside an interrogation room, surrounded by guards.
"Captain, Lieutenants," Tenzin warns softly. "Please make sure Major Korra doesn't do anything to get herself court-martialed."
I'm suddenly flanked with strong hands on each elbow as we exit the elevator.
"You got here quickly, Major," says the Admiral. Her face is grave, and she looks as exhausted as I feel. "Follow me."
A guard opens a door at her command and we slip into the darkened observation area overlooking an interrogation room. Inside the interrogation room, visible through the one way mirror and wearing shackles, is Doctor Asami Sato.
I feel the arms on my elbows tighten as I try to lunge forward in fury.
"Are you out of your mind?" I grind out. "You honestly think she had something to do with this?"
"Of course not," says Izumi calmly. "And control yourself please, so I can explain."
I do my best to swallow my rage then give her a short nod. She sighs, and allows herself to lean against the back wall.
"As you've no doubt learned, we've discovered that Varrick was secretly funded by Hiroshi Sato in conjunction with a top secret research project being conducted by Ground Forces Command under General Amon."
Kuvira and Opal immediately stiffen, and I know why. Kuvira's old boyfriend, and Opal's older brother, had been a Captain with the Ground Forces Combat Engineers and had died during a skirmish with Fire System forces on a border planet. Rumor had it was due to the extremely bad battle plan by the General. However, a subordinate had ended up taking the fall instead and General Amon was left alone. As far as many of us rank and file were concerned, it had been an example of the extremely dirty politics that happens at the upper echelons of the military. Until today I would have put Admiral Izumi as one of the few brass that was not a complete parasite, but I was starting to reconsider in the face of my doctor in custody.
"We actually discovered this a couple of days ago," Izumi has continued. "After an extremely thorough investigation, we are confident that Doctor Sato is not involved in any of her father's dealings with General Amon."
"Then why—"
The Admiral cuts me off, giving me a stern look. "We also weren't sure whether General Amon was personally involved. However, he has since disappeared despite the security measures we put in place, which means we probably haven't identified everyone involved with this conspiracy."
She sighs and looks sadly at the slumped form of Asami through the window. "We are having to play an evil game, Major. I've made a show of having Doctor Sato arrested and her research confiscated. It's now common knowledge that she's here and suspected. However, what I've really done is put her in protective custody. We need to get her to safety. If what I fear is true, they will come for her, and her research. The fact that Ensign Bolin was taken tells me this."
I feel sick. I want so desperately to be at Asami's side but I force myself to wait. I recognize this for what it is — a mission briefing — and we need all the info I can get.
"Where are we taking her?" I ask, watching Izumi closely.
She smiles. "Your reputation is well earned, Major. Yes, you and your squadron, and a few others, are going to accompany Doctor Sato to safety. However, given that we don't know how badly we've been exposed, I can't offer you much in the way of support. The most I can offer at this point is a ship. You pick the crew, people you are assured of trusting. Any other personnel or facility through United Forces must be treated as having been compromised until we can be confident that the threat has been contained. You are going to have to go off the grid." She bows her head. "I wish I could do more."
I nod my head, now understanding what's being asked of us.
The Admiral sighs and pushes herself off the wall. "Officially you're transporting her to the Gamma Moon Penitentiary where she'll be held under arrest until her trial. In reality you'll be hiding her until we can crush this conspiracy. I will leave the method by which you divert yourselves up to you. The less I know the better." She grips my shoulder, her face pale but resolved. "Keep her safe by any means necessary. We will likely need her to help counteract whatever is being planned."
I swallow hard, suddenly ashamed of my angry suspicions of the Admiral. I should have known better. This woman is a straight flyer. I snap to attention and fire off a salute.
"We won't let you down, ma'am."
She shakes her head. "No Major. Don't let her down."
—
I put Kuvira in charge of preparing our ship, a light battle cruiser that could carry up to six fighters but only required a small crew to fly and was atmosphere capable. In the meantime, I've discretely contacted people I know I can trust to help us. The first to arrive are Sergeants Wei and Wing, Opal's twin brothers and expert flight mechanics. They've been keeping the Fire Ferrets airborne for years and I know them as well as their sister.
Soon after, Captain Saikhan and Master Sergeant Song show up. They have long been in charge of training recruits to the Space Fighter Corps, and their loyalty to those who survive their training to become full-fledged members of the Corps is as ferocious as their combat skills.
The last to arrive is not someone I would not have considered as I don't know him personally, but I trust Tenzin's recommendation as well as understand that the motivation is probably as much about the success of our mission as it is about his worry for Jinora. She squeals with delight when he appears at our hangar; Tenzin's brother, retired Brigadier General Bumi. He was until recently the division commander for the Special Forces unit, and despite the fact that he's older than my father I have no doubt he can kick all of our asses with his eyes closed and one hand behind his back. He's crusty as hell, and I can already tell he and Kuvira are either going to be best friends or kill each other.
Twenty-four painful hours after we got our orders, I'm ready to collect my 'prisoner'. I'm pissed that I've had to leave her alone and probably terrified this whole time, but I needed her somewhere secure while we prepare for her transfer. I stand impatiently with Bumi at the base of our ship's ramp; Admiral Izumi has alerted us that the trucks bringing Asami and the R.A.a.V.A. systems are about to arrive. Saikhan and Song are manning the top guns and Kuvira and Opal are already deployed in their fighters. Jinora's waiting in the cockpit to take off the second we get Asami on board.
"Incoming, north gate," comments Bumi and I see them, a line of vehicles making their way into the launch area. They pull up nearby and Admiral Izumi and Colonel Tenzin step out of the lead car. Two squads of guards jump out of the following troop trucks, one forming a perimeter, the other grabbing large black cases and carrying them up the ramp of our ship. Finally, I see a final guard exit the backseat of the third car, pulling a disheveled Asami Sato out with him. I hurry over and grab her arm.
"I'll take it from here," I bark at her guard, and he steps back, surprised.
"Oh god, Korra, what's going on—" she stammers.
"Shh, just come on. We need to get on the ship."
As we hustle up the ramp, the guards run back down, their cargo delivered. I nod at Izumi and Tenzin, still standing silent and tense near their car, then hit the ramp controls to close us up.
It's now up to us.
Bumi stands up from where he was double-checking the straps holding down the R.A.a.V.A. cases. We will deal with them later. "Heading to the belly gun, Major," he grunts as he slides open a hatch to expose a ladder leading down. "Try not to crash land on anything."
"No promises." I activate my throat mike. "Wee, get us out of here."
"Copy that, Avatar."
I feel the engines come online, then a small lurch as Jinora takes us up. I have about a minute and we're finally alone, so I turn to Asami and grab both her shoulders, pushing her against the wall and crashing my lips against hers. She throws her arms around me and I can feel her trembling.
She breaks the kiss, her voice choked with emotion. "Korra, I swear to you I didn't know—"
I cup her face, bringing our foreheads together. "I know, sweetheart. We all know. I don't have time to explain everything because I have to get up to the cockpit, but I promise we'll tell you everything as soon as we can. Just know we're going to keep you safe." I kiss her again, hard but brief, then pull her down the gangway to the cockpit. I pause before I open the door and brush my thumb across her cheek, wanting nothing more than to get lost in those luminous green eyes. "You ready for this?"
She takes a shaky breath and nods, a hint of a smile appearing. "Looking forward to seeing the Fire Ferrets in action, Major Korra."
I grin and kiss her knuckles. "Just so you know, this doesn't really count as our first date."
Those of you who correctly guessed the next bad round of bad guys please collect your prize at the door.
:)
