Three days later
After three days of drifting in space, the Retribution and its crew finally reached their destination. Luckily the three-day journey didn't consume much of the ship's food supplies so the crew didn't have trouble with the food. Even though the situation wasn't bad with supplies, the crew still needed to repair the ship's systems, and to do that they needed to land the ship.
When they were approaching the planet, Reyes asked his officers to come to the bridge. When they got there, they could see a planet some distance away but they were getting closer.
"Ethan, what's our status?" Reyes asked.
"We're approaching the planet, sir. So far so good," Ethan said.
"What about the planet? Does it support life?" Jason asked.
"We're still too far away to determine that with our sensors but we'll know when we're close enough," Ethan said.
"But we're gonna okay, right?" Jake asked.
"Don't worry, lieutenant. I'm sure we'll be just fine," Reyes said.
The crew on the bridge turned their attention back to the planet they were going to and couldn't help but wonder what they may find.
Meanwhile on the planet
After Korra and her friends did their part to help the village, they decided to go for a little walk around the village. Mostly they just walked and talked about their past adventures, and even about the pro-bending matches they've played.
"I know you came here to see and keep me company but I've got to ask. How are things going back in Republic City?" Korra asked.
"They're going well actually. Most of the damage left by the Equalists have been repaired and the Future Industries is doing well in the business world," Asami said.
"I've heard that now the pro-bending arena has been fixed, there will be new matches coming soon," Mako said.
"Which means that the Fire Ferrets will be back in action in no time," Bolin said with excitement.
Korra and the others couldn't help but laugh a little because it felt so good that with the Equalist conflict over, life was going back to being peaceful and balanced. While the four friends were walking through the market, they arrived at the center of the village where they saw something strange.
In the middle of the village was a huge ring (stargate) where the villagers had gathered to give their weekly prayers and gifts for their gods.
"What is that thing?" Mako asked.
"That's the ring of the gods. My people come here to pray and to give the ring the best gifts we can give to show our respect to our gods," Korra explained.
"What kind of gifts?" Asami asked.
"Mostly our harvest and fish but sometimes we even give jewelry we made ourselves," Korra explained.
"So, let me get this straight. You and your people give food and jewelry made from bone and stone to a ring?" Bolin asked.
"It's my people's religion," Korra said.
"Oh," Bolin said.
Even though Korra wasn't very religious or anything, she showed her respect for her people's customs. Little did she and her people know, the ring they worshipped was a lot more than meets the eye.
Meanwhile in space
when the Retribution finally reached the planet, the crew began scanning the planet. The sensors indicated the planet was indeed habitable and supported human life along with other things. So it was a perfect place to land the ship and conduct full repairs.
When it was proven that the planet was perfect for them, Reyes turned to his officers who looked excited.
"Alright, what do we have?" Reyes asked.
"The scans indicate that the planet has oxygen, vegetation, and animal life," Ethan said as he listed what the sensors detected.
"Are there any intelligent life forms?" Jason asked.
"Unknown, sir. We need to repair the damaged systems if we want to do a full scan," Ethan said.
"Have we found a place to land?" Salter asked.
"We think we have," Jake said.
He turned on the holo table and showed them the area that looked like the South Pole similar to the one on Earth. The map showed a large area covered in snow and ice full of perfect landing spats where to land the Retribution. But some of the officers weren't sure if the spots Jake showed them were strong enough to stand the ship's weight.
"Are you sure about this, lieutenant? I don't think the ice isn't strong enough to hold the ship," Salter said.
"Don't worry, ma'am. I analyzed the ice and Ethan did the calculations that confirm the ice is strong enough to stand the ship's weight," Jake said.
"What do you think, captain?" Jason asked.
"If O'Neill and Ethan are sure that the ice will hold. Then we'll take the risk," Reyes said.
Everyone nodded and went to their stations and prepared to land the ship. When everyone was ready and had the systems and engines standby, Jason turned to Reyes.
"We're ready, captain," Jason said.
"Understood. Take us in," Reyes ordered.
Jason nodded and told the technicians to land the ship to the coordinates they put into the nav computer. When that was done, the crew on the bridge were taking the ship into the planet's orbit and prepared for entry to the planet.
Meanwhile on the planet's surface
After they got out of the market and the ring, Korra and her friends headed to her hut where her parents were making dinner for them. But when they reached the hut and were about to enter, they suddenly heard and felt something.
"What is that?" Korra asked.
"I don't know. An earthquake?" Asami said.
"But there aren't any earthquakes in the South Pole," Korra said.
"Maybe it's just a pack of whales swimming under the ice," Mako said.
"Or maybe we're under attack," Bolin said as he started to panic.
But before they could speak further, they suddenly noticed something in the sky. Everyone, including the villagers, turned their heads to the sky but as soon as they did that, they couldn't believe their eyes.
Right above them was a huge metal object that seemed to be landing. This of course made everyone in the village run in panic and hide into the caves near the village. Korra and her friends on the other hand didn't know what they should do or how to react. But of course, Bolin started to panic along with everybody else.
"Aaah! Aliens! It's an alien invasion! Aliens are attacking us!" Bolin yelled in panic while running around with Pabu holding onto his leg.
"Calm down, Bolin! This isn't time to panic," Mako said.
"No, this is a perfect time to panic!" Bolin said while digging the hole where he jumped to hide.
"Guys! Please, calm down," Asami said.
"But what do we do?" Mako asked.
"I don't know. I'm not exactly an expert on aliens," Korra said.
But their moment was broken when the ship landed next to the village. Luckily it landed carefully and a little distance away from the village so it didn't harm anyone. Korra and the others just stood there until Asami spoke.
"What now?" Asami asked.
"I... I think we should go and say hello," Korra said.
Meanwhile inside the ship
After they successfully landed the ship, the crew on the bridge began to estimate their situation. Luckily they were able to land the ship without causing any damage to the settlement they detected during the landing but they still had to make sure everything was ok.
"How are we doing?" Reyes asked.
"The landing was a success, captain. The ship is in one piece and no damages occurred," Jake said as he checked the readings from the computer.
"What about the settlement we saw during the landing?" Reyes asked.
"It's intact but it looks like the people in it are gathering," Jason said.
"Are they armed?" Salter asked.
"Not as far as we can see," Ethan said.
"I'm not an archeologist or a linguist but I think they probably think we're gods or alien invaders," Jake said.
"Then we've got to prove to them that we're not a threat to them or anything," Salter said.
"And that we're people just like they are," Jason added.
Reyes wasn't sure if their current situation was good or bad but this was basically the first-contact situation. So they had to stick to the protocol on this one. The last thing they needed was to start a war with another race of people or start a conflict.
"All right. Under the circumstances, I'm initiating the first-contact protocol," Reyes said.
"Are you sure about this, Nick?" Salter asked.
"We don't have much of a choice. If we want to repair this ship, we also have to make sure we won't be attacked while repairing it," Reyes said.
"We could also try to negotiate with the natives. That way we would establish peaceful contact with them," Jason added.
"That's why I'm going out there with you," Reyes said.
Some of the officers froze like a statue as soon as Reyes mentioned his intention of going outside to meet the indigenous people of the planet. After they recovered from their shock, Salter was the first to question Reyes's decision.
"But, sir. I think it's too dangerous for you to come outside with us," Salter said.
"As a captain of this ship, it's my responsibility to represent the UNSA and its interests in first-contact situations," Reyes said.
"While you do have a point, sir. Shouldn't we at least take precautions to ensure your safety?" Jason asked.
"Such as?" Reyes asked.
"We could take pistols and have Ethan with a sniper rifle on the floor just in case," Jason suggested.
"No offense bro but isn't that a little extreme?" Jake asked.
"I know but we must be ready for anything. I just think we should be prepared for any outcome," Jason said.
The officers on the bridge nodded agreeing with Jason's reasoning and began the preparations for the first contact.
Meanwhile outside the ship
After the alien ship landed, Tonraq and the water benders from the village gathered and were ready in case the aliens inside the ship were hostile. Korra didn't think that was the case but she couldn't blame her father for being cautious.
While the women and children stayed in the huts, Korra along with her friends and the men of the village were standing by for whatever the outcome. However, the longer they waited, the more nervous they became. Especially Bolin who couldn't take the pressure under any circumstances.
"I can't take this anymore. What's taking so long?" Bolin said as he was going to panic.
"Would you calm down, Bolin? This is not the time to panic," Mako said.
"But this is a perfect time to panic. There's a huge alien ship right in front of us full of aliens and we have no idea if they want to blast us into smithereens," Bolin panicked.
"Calm down, Bolin. If they wanted to attack us they would have done it already," Korra said.
"She's got a point," Asami agreed.
"Whatever they are and whatever their reasons are, we must hope for the best," Tonraq said.
Korra and the others nodded before turning their attention back to the ship. They stood there waiting for the aliens' move until the huge door on the side of the ship opened. Everyone looked at the opened door but couldn't see anything because of the smoke until they saw something moving in the ship.
Korra and the others saw four figures coming out of the ship who slowly walked towards them. Korra and her friends took a good look at the aliens who were wearing some kind of suits and helmets that hid their faces. But judging from their form, they seemed to be human as they did unless they were lizard people as Bolin would have said.
No one said or did anything until the alien that seemed to be the leader spoke.
"Greetings," the alien said.
The benders didn't respond at first because they were surprised that the leader spoke their language. They remained quiet until Korra decided to speak to the aliens.
"Uh, hello," Korra said trying to sound as friendly as she could.
The four aliens in front of her took a step back and looked at each other for a minute. Korra didn't know if it was something she said or if they were just surprised that she spoke their language as they spoke hers.
Everyone was quiet until the alien people in front of them took off their helmets showing their faces. Korra and the others couldn't believe what they were seeing. The aliens in front of them were humans as they were.
No one definitely didn't expect this but they were relieved that these 'aliens' were people and not lizard men as Bolin thought. They stood there without saying anything until Jason to his comrades.
"Uh, I think we should say something to them," Jason said.
"But I think we should talk to them with simple words so they understand what we mean," Jake said.
"We're standing right here, you know," Korra said getting Jason and the others' attention.
"Oh, sorry," Jason apologized.
"Uh, forgive me for interrupting but who are you guys?" Asami asked.
The UNSA officers looked at each other for a moment until Reyes decided to introduce themselves to Korra and her people.
"I'm Captain Nick Reyes, commander of the ship called Retribution. This is my First Officer Nora Salter and Lieutenants Jason Connor and Jake O'Neill," Reyes said as he introduced himself and his officers to Korra and her friends.
Now that they knew who these people were, Korra and the others felt that they were friendly and Tonraq told his men to stand down. After that, Korra decided to introduce herself and her friends to these people.
"Pleasure to meet you, captain. My name is Korra and these are my friends Asami, Mako, and Bolin," Korra said. "I'm also the Avatar."
"Avatar?" Jason asked.
Korra smirked and bent first water, then fire, earth, and then air. This caught Reyes and his officers completely by surprise, they never in million years expected that the native girl in front of them could control elements.
"Whoa! What just happened?" Jake asked.
"I bent the elements. As the Avatar, I have the ability to control all four elements," Korra explained.
"Wow, that's fascinating," Jake said.
"Uh, Jake. I don't think this is the time for science," Jason said.
"Oh, sorry," Jake apologized.
After it was clear that the natives were friendly, Reyes told Ethan to stand down and come down. But when Ethan appeared to Korra and the others, they were a little frightened because now in front of them was a metal man with one blue eye.
"Eeek! What is that thing?!" Bolin asked.
"I am E3N," Ethan said.
"A what?" Mako asked.
"Enhanced Tactical Humanoid 3rd Revision but you can call me Ethan," Ethan clarified.
"Fascinating. Are you some sort of machine?" Asami asked as she took a closer look at Ethan.
"I'm a bot capable of human responses and emotions," Ethan explained.
"This is incredible! You're the most advanced human engineering I have ever seen," Asami said with excitement.
"Oh boy," everyone thought.
This was definitely going to take a while to explain everything.
Note: this chapter was short but the next one will be longer.