Korra had awoken early that morning. Her superiors had been calling on her for a status update on her situation. They were eager to have her instruct rookies in flying helicopters as soon as she was able. The problem was: flying right now brought back unwanted memories. The medical leave was indefinite until she was once again fit to fly the aircraft. The Air Force refused to let her go due to her skill in flying merits in reports and medals definitely showed whenever she wore her officer's attire. Korra wanted to fly again but something was stopping her from stepping foot into the airbase. She didn't feel worthy at all to come back, much less to fly.

Once Korra settled her breaths she took a calm look around her room. The familiar blue walls and the simple furniture were a comfort to her and seeing the kitchen made her stomach growl. Almost everything in her apartment signified where she came from. The white furniture, the blue walls and tiles, the tribal décor, and most of her belongings boasted the Southern Water Tribe. She stepped into the living room with the adjoining kitchen and proceeded to fry some eggs and toast bread. She is supposed to report for duty today and get a full examination in the airbase. The faint light of the morning signified that she, once again, woke up too early. Her reporting time wasn't until late in the afternoon. Something inside Korra made her wonder if she was ever going to have restful sleep. The nightmares always haunted her. Thoughts of things that could have been done better or something else she could have done plagued her.

Korra shook her head and ate in silence. After she finished stretching and did some pull-ups on a makeshift bar in her apartment, Korra took notice of the mail and documents she received. She began sifting through them in her living room, sorting them from most important to least important. The process wasn't that hard since only a few were there but a card fell onto her lap. She took one look at it and set it beside her so she could see who had given her the thing later. Then she turned her attention to the box marked as "classified" and it was addressed from General Iroh II. She immediately opened it. She took hold of the letter first and read:

2nd Lieutenant Korra

I suppose it's not quite appropriate to call you that anymore. The United Forces Armed Forces has decided to promote you to Captain of the Air Force. I know you don't like to stand in ceremony much so I did you a favor as a friend. This box contains all the necessary documentation, pins, and new uniform sets. Everyone in the army thanks you for your loyal service to the United Republic. Of course, the favor you will be giving me is that you accept this promotion. I won't take no for an answer.

Sincerely yours,

General Iroh II of the United Armed Forces

Korra gaped at the letter which was immediately followed by a frown. She skipped a rank and got honored with a good position in the force without her knowledge. Korra browsed through her new uniform and found a set of pins, patches, a new officer's attire, and a new combat uniform. She had known the General since she was an airman and by then he was already shooting through the ranks and gained merits everywhere. Korra had served under him personally during the Fire Nation civil war. This civil war had taken a toll on the General since it was his home nation. He was Korra's commanding officer when she was still a rookie and Korra admired the General's discipline and compassion towards his comrades. They both got along well when they had to work together.

"Spirits, Iroh. Why did you have to promote me?" Korra muttered.

Korra felt bittersweet at the sudden promotion. Some part of her felt unworthy of it and some part of her wanted to jump with joy at the moment. Korra sighed and returned everything inside the box. She then remembered that a card was lying right beside her. Korra cursed when she remember where exactly it came from. It had already been a month since she saw that green eyed woman from the bar. Remembering that she hadn't exactly acted like the best person in the world to a person who just offered their help earnestly. Then the soldier looked at the card closely.

"CEO of Future Industries…" Korra cursed at herself. The person who helped her was the one to have strengthened the fleet of the United Republic who designed most of the army vehicles whether they were for land, sea, or air. If it wasn't for this person's company there would be no job for her in the first place. "Korra. You first class idiot."

The soldier didn't know if she should formally apologize to her or just simply leave it be. Truth be told she didn't have any obligation to apologize to the said CEO but her conscience would not stand for it. It was only proper. Korra furrowed her brows and sighed deeply. Then she took a look at the clock which read seven-thirty in the morning. She still had plenty of time before she had to report for duty at the airbase later. The soldier immediately got up and took a long cold shower to formulate how she was going to explain her behavior to the CEO later.

~xXoXx~

Asami was staring at countless blueprints on her desk, carefully sorting each one from impossible to possible. She carefully studied each one until she got engrossed into an improvement on her original biplane design. The details were a bit sketchy and she had to calculate some things carefully. It was a damn good idea. Asami then ventured into making the airplanes lighter, more efficient, and bigger for travel. This blueprint would outmatch airships in terms of speed and the commercial use was quite good too. Though, this would entail that airports in major cities and some remote locations would have to be possible and that always meant more projects and proposals to run by investors, world leaders, and her board of directors. The CEO set aside the blueprint for now. She would deal with that process later with Varick, her business partner and lead engineer.

A soft ring came to Asami's telephone. The CEO stared at it for a while and wondered if she should answer it. Somehow, she grew a little weary of all this paperwork and wanted to tinker at her workshop. Her office had sometimes become her own bedroom especially if she found herself simply buried in all the paperwork. The lush red interior décor was quite comfortable and the brown accents that came with the white walls and windows seemed to place a relaxing aura. It reminded her to take a break from time to time. This was a message Asami wanted to apply to herself; however, she still forgets sometimes. The CEO's attention returned to the, still, ringing phone. She sighed and put it on speaker.

"What is it, Rina?" Asami asked.

"I… uhm… there's a Captain Korra here to see you." The assistant replied, obviously flustered.

Asami wondered what a ranking officer was doing in her building when no meetings with the army were scheduled. "Did she tell you what she wanted?"

There was a pause. "She said, she wanted to talk to you about it personally."

The CEO raised a brow. Suddenly, she remembered making that offer to a soldier in the car a month ago. The soldier she forgot to ask her name… or rather, simply forgot to introduce herself. She could remember feeling the intensity in those blue eyes. The blue eyes that seemed to threaten to just suck her in. "I'll see her. Send her up here."

Asami felt elated that the soldier actually even remembered her offer. She herself, also began to forget sometime after the first week because work started to swamp her. The CEO found herself fixing her desk to make it look as neat as possible. Then a realization dawned on Asami: she finally knew the name of the stranger she gave a ride to home a month ago. It came along quite naturally too. Her heart began to race when she heard soft knocks on her door. She took one last look at her desk and decided it was neat enough.

Asami cleared her throat and began to raise her voice a little, "Come in."

The door softly opened and revealed a tan woman in a blue officer's attire. It was exactly who Asami had expected. She remembered exactly how this person looked like. The CEO recalled her somewhat smaller stature when they walked together back to her car. Her heart started to step up its rhythm.

The soldier gave a sharp salute to the CEO and dutifully announced herself. "This is Captain Korra."

Asami motioned for one of the chairs in front of her wooden desk. "Have a seat, Captain."

The soldier saw the permission granted to her and took the chair to the right. She sat down and let out a heavy sigh. "I uh… came to apologize for my actions in the previous month. I was under the influence of alcohol and… some other things."

Asami knew she would that this explanation would have to do, for now. The CEO wasn't satisfied with it but at least this was a start. "The state you were in was understandable. You don't have to apologize, Captain."

The rank sounded foreign to the soldier. Apparently, she would have to get used to it and soon. "I had to ma'am. It's only proper after my inexcusable rude behavior."

An idea came to the CEO's mind. "Why don't you make it up to me? There's a fundraiser tomorrow evening and I'm without an escort." Before Asami could stop herself, the offer came out of her mouth. The CEO found herself in an awkward position. She really was without a date but it was odd that she would invite a nearly total stranger with her to such a big event. Asami berated herself for not thinking clearly on this.

The soldier didn't know how to react exactly. She tried to process the offer cohesively and carefully. It was flattering that someone would even think of her as a proper escort even for a woman and she didn't think that anyone would think of her as great company. Then something moved her lips, "… I'm sorry?" She knew she was feigning ignorance.

An amused smile formed on the CEO's lips. Asami knew the soldier heard her perfectly; resting her chin on crossed fingers, "I know you heard me Captain."

There was something in that truly beautiful smile that seemed to draw the soldier in. It was like it temporarily disarmed her. If there was such a thing as armor penetrating rounds, then perhaps there were smiles like that too. She thought to say no but her brain was clearly somewhere else, "If it's to make up for my rude behavior… I suppose I could accept."

The answer hung heavily in the air. Silence invaded their ears like a blitzkrieg towards the enemy. The captain finally decided to clear her throat. "Uh… I suppose we should start over? My name is Korra… I prefer being addressed that way instead of my rank." Korra said, extending her hand towards the CEO.

"I'm Asami Sato. You can just call me Asami." Asami replied, taking Korra's hand.

"So… what time is the event?" Korra asked.

"It's at eight o' clock in the evening tomorrow. Does seven sound good to you?"

Korra breathed deeply. "That's good. Is there a dress code or something?"

Asami suppressed a smile. "It's a formal event, Korra. I don't think anyone's going to scold you for coming in your officer's attire. Don't worry, I'll steer you away from the politicians. I actually want you to meet with the children."

Korra didn't know what to say. She was prepared to accept the consequences of coming to a public event and she was lucky enough to be spared from the brunt of the things she didn't want to go through. The captain smiled, "Thank you."

Asami's heart melted at the lopsided grin that was so very unlike the serious face she had gotten used to seeing in the Captain. "It's my pleasure, Korra."

"I'll uh... be going now. I shouldn't waste any more of your time." Korra said, scratching her head.

"Dismissed." Asami joked.

Korra was in such a great mood that she didn't even think too much of the joke. In response, she gave a formal salute before going outside Asami's office. The soldier hadn't smiled like that in quite a while. She smiled to herself and made her way outside the building.

~xXoXx~

Korra was now in front of her superiors. The room was a neutral green color with the blinds closed for privacy. In front of the Captain, there were three of Korra's direct superiors and the three of them were to assess if she was ready to return to duty. Korra felt like she was in the hot seat now. Her eyes would drift to the United Republic's flag from time to time then to the blinds that were shut. The captain then turned her full attention to the people in front of her.

"How are you doing, Captain?" The eldest general asked.

"I'm doing fine so far, Sir." Korra responded promptly.

"Fine… as in are you ready to come back to active duty yet?" The younger, Lieutenant Colonel, was now asking.

"I'm fine with civilian life so far." Korra paused and inhaled deeply. "I don't think I'm ready to go back to active duty yet, Sir."

The eldest general paused to confer with his colleagues. Korra looked at them whispering to each other and it was nerve-wracking. She took silent breaths to calm herself and tried not to mind her superiors who seemed to be in deep thought. This became a sort of habit for Korra. It relaxed her when her mind seemed to wander off into unwanted or unneeded territory. It became her silent way of meditation.

Finally, the general looked at Korra and gave a nod, "If that's what you think is best for your comrades in arms, Captain. We thank you for your loyal service to the United Armed Forces."

Korra was relieved it was just that. "Sir." She stood straight and gave a proper salute.

"Dismissed." The general said.

Korra walked out of the tense office and exhaled in relief. That little meeting could've gone much worse with the word "discharge" thrown around for good measure. She then grit her teeth as her heart began to pace quite fast. Korra looked for the nearest bathroom to find a little privacy. The Captain found a small cubicle, closed the toilet lid and started to let out quick-paced breaths. Korra could hear gunfire once again.

She closed her eyes and let the scene play out slowly.

The spirits knew she would need a drink tonight.

Once again, a big thank you to my beta reader, Aziraphale. This person keeps my story in check. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this :)

SIDE NOTE: Thanks to some people on AO3 I realized that there were errors in the very limited military knowledge I had. So... I had a friend break this ranking thing down for me and I sort of got the gist of it. (Lordy. Hahaha. Oh well everyone makes mistakes)