AUTHOR'S NOTES: I've been in something of a major funk with my writing altogether, and so I apologize for how long it took to get this chapter out. The rebellion finally moves out to District 8, and while they're at it, Romula Snow is hatching schemes of her own. There's a wild ride ahead of us here, so strap in and prepare yourself.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 26: The Taking of District 8

While it was clear that Cadence and Lux wanted a wedding of some sort, and that President Fox promised to make it happen, they weren't about to just drop everything and have it here and now.

"As much as the idea appeals to us," Cadence mentioned to Korra in passing, "we've got districts to save, and some Capitol fuckers to rip the throats out of. We'll get married when we can."

"I… am glad you feel that way," Korra forced a smile. Even with them warming up a little to her, she still found their extremely violent and sadistic tendencies to be rather unnerving. They were not cruel, per se, but it was clear that they had no moral qualms with murder and placed very little value on life apart from those of one another.

"Hey now," Amy reasoned, "as long as they're not killing allies and calling it collateral, you should probably just let them do their thing."
"Fair enough," Korra concurred. "I suppose we should get back to our plans to move in on District 8 then. The longer we wait, the more people die—particularly in District 4…"
District 4's plight was still gnawing at the back of Korra's mind, and she knew that Romula was playing mind games with her that she was winning. That did not sit well with the Mockingjay.

Mobilizing the forces to attack District 8 was similar to District 3, except there were far more rebels in the district, which were ready to help. In fact, an oddity that Korra and her armies noticed upon arrival was that there seemed to just be a basic contingent or two of Peacekeepers. Romula did not seem as interested in this district as she did in District 3.

"Stay wary," Kolton warned from HQ, citing that this could very well be a trap. Some of the team members had cameras to help the operatives in District 13 know what was going on and where they could send support if necessary, and Korra was one of many that had communications devices attached to her so she could interact with her fellow officers back at the base.

"Don't worry," Shishio assured them, "We've got this."

While it seemed like a bold and somewhat silly statement to make, Shishio was actually right. As they moved in and started to storm the district, they noticed that Peacekeepers yielded and surrendered far easier than they had expected. The rebellion was not the only one with cameras in District 8—or any of the other districts, for that matter.

Romula watched the scene unfold, turning to her chief advisors, Arkando and Jocasta. The former of these two looked skeptical as he watched the rebels storm through District 8 with minimal resistance.

"Ms. President," Arkando turned to Romula, "I do not mean this rudely or in the improper way, but are you just going to let this rebellion waltz through your districts and claim them as its own?"

"Oh no, dear," Romula cooed, "This was an extremely calculated move on my part. I rounded up some of my Peacekeeping force and asked them a very simple question—one that I ask anyone who dwells in the Capitol at this point."
Arkando and Jocasta did not reply to this, but their eyes were fixed on the president, wondering what she was going to say. Romula Snow was something of a wildcard in the eyes of some of the other authorities that worked under her. Her grandfather Coriolanus had been much more ruthless and direct. By contrast, Romula's methods seemed very slippery and roundabout—but so far had proven to be remarkably effective.

"I asked them if they supported the rebellion. I posed it plainly; promised that there would be no punishment for those that defected. Those that came forward, one by one, were promoted to chief officers in District 8 and then sent there."
"This is all just a ruse?" Jocasta gasped.

"Aye," Romula smirked, "these Peacekeepers are unenthusiastic and therefore useless members of my army. If they want to donate themselves as meat shields for Ms. Francisco's rebellion, then by all means, let them. If I start executing my own soldiers, what does that say about me other than that I'm a paranoid tyrant? When I am trying to gain the trust and popularity of my peers, I will do so in a way that instills trust rather than fear. However, when I need unwavering loyalty… I will simply remind people that there is nothing in the world they love more than they fear me."
"Ms. Snow…" Jocasta pointed out, "How will you do that if you are allowing the Mockingjay to deliberately waltz through District 8 and claim it?"
Romula turned her head towards a large television screen that she flipped on. Footage of the 77th Annual Hunger Games played, where it showed the career pack about to turn on little Ikki Ortolani.

"Do you know who this is?" she asked rhetorically, before continuing under the assumption that Arkando and Jocasta knew the answer.

"This is Ikki Susanna Ortolani—an unremarkable child barely a day older than 12, who outsmarted seven boys and girls much older, bigger, and stronger than her." Romula continued, "She played their games; let them think that she was submitting to them, and it made them careless. We all know how this game ends…" She pressed the play button, where Ikki set off her infamous trap that fried all seven of the other career tributes in the upset of a century and ended the games.

"My strikes against the rebellion will be strong and fierce," she went on, "but most of all, if things go as planned, they will not see them coming. District 8 is full of rebels, and clinging to it is not in my best interests for this war when I need more formidable suppliers. I suppose tragedy will strike some of the populace who will lament their loss of fabrics and materials to make the latest fashion statements with… but I dare say there are few things that strike me as more professional than business suits. Whatever the case, it is no matter. Let them take District 8 and relish their victory. It will make dropping bombs on them a lot easier, after all…"

There would likely be some slight collateral in the event that some of the few who were loyal to the Capitol that remained in District 8 would fall victim to one or more of Romula's bombs, but the rebels would suffer far more for it. As the Mockingjay Rebellion swept through the district like wildfire, Romula Snow began mobilizing her forces.

The lack of resistance in District 8 helped the rebels take it over in just over a day, and soon the Mockingjay flag flew from the top of the Justice Building just as it did in District 3 and District 12. Forces were mobilized, and troops from both District 3 and District 13 helped occupy the area to ensure it was safe and secure. As Korra and her company returned to District 13, she found herself sharing a hovercraft with Clove, who had her hands together in her lap, and her head down.

"You seem rather grim considering our victory…" she commented, "did… did any of your soldiers die?"
"Miraculously, no," Clove shook her head, "though casualties on both end seemed minimal to me as well during that battle. That's not what's bugging me."
"What is?" Korra tilted her head. "I'm obviously no therapist like Akiyo, but you can tell me what's on your mind."

"It seemed too easy," Clove warned, "It was almost like Romula let us have that district without any fight. Sure it's the most rebellious district apart from '12, but it was almost like Romula deliberately trimmed her army here to give us the delusion of strength."
"What would you have us do then?" Korra asked, "Just because I'm the leader of this rebellion doesn't mean I should be the only one making decisions around here. I need the help of all of you much more than you need me."

"You know I'm a paranoid little piece of work," Clove laughed, "but honestly, what I would do is I would keep a close eye on the west as we move that way. Keep aerial patrols to ensure the safety of the districts, and to watch for Capitol forces. It's a lot easier to stop trains and foot soldiers from storming the district than it is to stop planes and hovercrafts."

Clove shut her eyes for the rest of the trip, and while Korra did the same, Clove's words got her thinking. What if Clove was right? What if this was a ruse? She didn't want to take any chances if it meant putting her people at risk.

Fortunately for Korra, she was not the only one that felt this victory was too easily obtained. With this recent revelation and suspicion, she wondered if even District 3 or District 12 were safe, before realizing that nowhere was safe as long as this war raged on. Romula would need to be stopped, but Korra could not just forget the victories they had secured and leave them unprotected and at risk. They would have to proceed with caution over the next few days, both in choosing their next target, and in defending the ones they had already won.