A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for tuning in to another chapter! We are now getting much closer to tipping the kettle of boiling water, so to speak. Just a brief announcement here before the chapter of the day. I have recently released another story in the ATLA category to add on to the continually expanding "The Rift" series. The title is: "The Rift: Postwar" and will be a collection of short stories and tales that take place between the end of "The Rift: The Eagle, Rising Sun, and Sozin's Comet" and the events of the first season of LoK (which does not have an AU "The Rift" version as of yet). Almost like "Tales of Ba Sing Se" or the additional TV series episodes in the Marvel MCU, most of those stories will serve to provide further back story, world building, and lore expansion in this AU adaptation of ATLA/LoK. Please, by all means, go and check it out. There is (as of July 21, 2023) already one short story there detailing some postwar insight into the Kyoshi Warriors.

As always, thank you for your continued interest and support of "The Rift"

Ch 19

Northern Earth Empire

Weapons Development Base - Tai Hua Mountain Range

"Field and line officers have been gathered, General Guan," Major Choi reported. "They are awaiting your arrival in the main hangar."

"Excellent. And I take it they have been informed of the proceedings?"

"Yes, sir," Choi answered.

"Good." The newly promoted one-star general removed his peaked cap and handed it to an awaiting corporal. The newly sewn-on silver oak leaves that adorned it's black leather visor shone in the lamps of the facility corridors. He handed his great-coat to another enlisted soldier opposite the first. He wore the heightened authority symbols, the silver Earth Empire coin insignia's on the gray shoulder boards of his uniform with an air of absoluteness. The pewter buttons of his tunic were as shiny as the medals that hung from the left breast pocket. He was the face of a growing military group with ulterior motives and loyalties than solely to the Great Uniter. There was no sugar coating it, this was treason. And everyone involved could be punished by execution.

It was a gradual operation. A game of patience and timing. They weren't seeking to undermine Kuvira and Ba Sing Se just for the sake of seizing power. No, their loyalties were still with the Earth Empire and its further progression for the posterity of the prospering nation. But where Kuvira wanted the Empire to have its stability and identity in the world, these men wanted it to be more than a worldly power; they wanted the Earth Empire to be a World Authority. They had become drunk with power on the battlefield, and they held the Empire's newest and most powerful weapons in their arsenal.

For now, they had to follow the operational agendas coming from Ba Sing Se, and the Ministry of the Armed Forces. They were, at this moment, aligned perfectly after all.

This time wasn't the master plan briefing. This was simply an operational briefing of the two upcoming offenses; an additional one.

The pair of officers paused before entering the main hangar.

"Ready to take reign, sir?" Choi asked.

Guan inhaled deeply, basking in the moment. "Of course. It's just another military briefing." He straightened out his jacket. "Let's do this…properly!"

He threw open the doors, drawing the attention of all the men present. Major Choi ran through ahead of the general. "Room! Attention!"

At the center of the hangar, before a Tiger II heavy tank that had its main turret, and gun assembly in the middle of being overhauled, was a congregation of officers and high-ranking enlisted amid a central planning table strewn with maps, charts, and files. The lieutenants, captains, and colonels turned to face the entryway. Guan entered shortly after, and after a brief pause to survey the room of his loyal following, ordered the men to take their seats.

"Gentlemen, and ladies, we are but two final offenses away from achieving total unification of the inter-worldly recognized Earth Empire," his voice boomed. From the large screen that hung on the reinforced concrete walls of the bunker, beneath a faded but still distinguishable painting of the 3rd Reich's Reichadler, a map depicted the current state of the continental Earth Empire; identical to the display that showed in Kuvira's own war room in the previous days. "As you can see, with the work of the 2nd Armored Division claiming the state of Beisup in the northern regions, essentially all of the state's of the former Kingdom have now fallen into alignment. This just leaves individual towns and villages that continue to resist unification, but those can be addressed later."

The small central state changed from brown to green, signifying its unification.

"This just leaves the rogue state headed by the Liu, a small castle town, not too far east from this particular location, which will undeniably fall in the next couple of days… I will see to that personally. And, the current elephant in the room, for the Great Uniter: Zaofu."

Unlike the independent states, these two regions were marked in red, showing as hostile entities.

"I've no concerns for the daofei dream-state. It will be a stroll through a park on a Sunday afternoon. But Zaofu, inevitably, will be a challenge," Guan boomed. "I want status reports on the units and weapons that we will field to topple the city."

A captain shot up from his chair. "Work on the siege weapon is progressing well, and we should have one operational to partake in falling Zaofu. Meanwhile the super-heavy tanks will be fully operational with a small fleet ready to roll to break through the inevitably thick defensive lines of the city. Several Tiger II's are also having their main guns overhauled to fire smaller versions of the new energy weapon: a shell-encased charge variant."

"Excellent. It's a push, but for now we are right on schedule. What kind of damage, on our side, are we expecting?"

A major stood up, holding his reports. "We out number the remaining defensive forces and the metal bending guard at Zaofu ten-to-one. It is not a matter of if, but when Zaofu will submit. However, Zaofu does hold the second most technologically advanced arsenal in the bending world, on par with the Fire Nation and second to the US, NATO, and Japan-backed United Forces." The map on the large screen changed to aerial photographs taken from the 747 that overflew Zaofu in the week prior, as well as photos taken from other military aircraft, disguised as passenger and freight flights.

"Zaofu, possesses a handful of third-generation fighter aircraft, specifically acquired McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantoms. They inherited these birds, as I'm sure we're all aware, many years ago through trade with the United States and have been the pride and joy of the small but formidable Zaofu Air Forces." The images depicted several overhead shots of the jets in various positions at the Zaofu Air Field, in hangars and on the runways. The jets were, interestingly enough, a gray and blue color scheme to better blend with the sky, as opposed to adopting traditional green with yellow or silver, that was a staple for Earth Kingdom forces. In contrast to the forest green and battleship gray colors, the Empire's F-86s and 747s were, the risk of mistaking planes in the air was not a concern. "Needless to say, if these jets get airborne, even with overwhelming numbers, our fleet of 2nd generation fighters that are still heavily reliant on guns and primitive-by-comparison missile technology would be cannon fodder. The speed of the enemy fighters alone in comparison to ours is concerning. But our saving grace in the air is our investment and acquisition of long range cruise missiles." The screen flipped again to the map, and two images: one of a militarized Boeing 747 and one of a mobile ground missile platform appeared in corners of the map. Prior to launching the full-on ground attack, our 'initial strike' units will engage the airfield with long range cruise missiles, launched simultaneously from the air and ground. The missile salvo currently is alloted to be over twenty missiles strong and will strike aircraft facilities as well as airfield infrastructure such as fuel depots and runways in one crucial blow. It is anticipated that the enemy's aerial defense weapons will engage and likely destroy several warheads, but enough will get through to effectively cripple Zaofu's ability to get units airborne. The last fly over tested their reaction times to get fighters in the air. It was fast, but not fast enough for this kind of strike. Needless to say, we will need to implore a surprise attack at night for the overall operation."

"Of course,"Guan observed.

The slide changed. "Once the enemy's air forces are taken out of the equation, it is time for the ground forces to close in on the city. Air defenses in and around Zaofu will be strong, so air support will be limited until the armor and infantry can clear the emplacements. On the ground we are expecting a number of different weapons." The slides changed. "Armor. Zaofu has many similar tanks and armored units that we have, with the exception of mecha-suits. We can expect Panzer IVs, upgunned and standard M4 Sherman variants, Tiger I's, Panther tanks, among others. Lesser in number, but still formidable. More of concern to our tankers are these: M26 Pershing tanks, built domestically in Zaofu. Historically these US-designed heavy tanks were built to counter the Panzerwaffe's Tiger I's and II's; the bread and butter of our armored corps. With similarly modern engines, these tanks are smaller and a bit more maneuverable with guns that can effectively pierce our tanks' thicker steel armor. Though we have more experienced tank aces, Zaofu will be a first with dealing with formidable enemy tanks." The slide changed. "At the tip of the spear, our Tiger tanks, both versions, will lead the charge in the initial wave. We have greater numbers and more experienced crews, some of them even formerly serving in the ranks of Zaofu's metalbending guard. Guns and armor, ours and theirs, are fairly matched…so likely it will come down to who sights and fires first." The slide changed. "We are expecting 88mm anti-tank guns scattered throughout the terrain to stand as a block to our forces, as well as more modern ATGM systems. Zaofu was able to develop and produce rocket systems similar to the M220 TOW missile, the US developed in the 70s. We can also expect the more primitive, but the current number one tank killer for our forces, the RPG-7 to be present and plentiful." The slide changed finally. "Machine gun nests, pill boxes, trenches, and mines. They have always been there, and they will be there when our forces roll through. It will not be an easy walk to the walls of Zaofu." The major turned to the other officers and then to Guan to finish his report. "The Metalbending Guard are a bending-arts centric force, so we can expect infantry to try ensnaring, disabling, or even destroying mechanized units with bending. Which means they will swarm and try overpowering tanks and mecha-suit units. It will be an intense coordinated effort between tanks and infantry the whole way through."

"What are the projected losses," Guan jumped.

A captain stood up to answer. "Friendly losses are projected to number in the thousands at worst, hundreds at least."

"And the enemy?"

"On the Zaofu side, depending on what the city leadership and civilians do, we are anticipating complete annihilation of the metalbending guard. Collateral damage, cross fire, and civilians turning combatants leave civilian estimates uncertain. But they could be high, depedinding."

Two colonels stood up at the edge of the table. "Additionally this attack will likely sully our relationship with the Mechanized World. Specifically the United States since Suyin, with her familial relationship to Toph, and by extension her affiliation with Avatar Aang, garnered a relation between Zaofu and the Mechanized World." They set their pages down. "Nevertheless, direct intervention is highly unlikely."

"Excellent. Besides, that's a bandaid we'll have to rip off eventually, if we are to establish ourselves as an authority in the Bending World. This reliance on the Mechanized World will have to come to an end. This will set us up for the end-game."

Satisfied with the overview of the major military maneuvers, the general now wanted to hear from his line officers, the captains and lieutenants. "Covert operations, what do we have on the table?"

A captain rose to attention to answer. "Beyond the train wreck, and the prior attack on a 2nd Armored Division tank column. Infiltration details and sabotage units recently carried out an attack on the 22nd Engineer Corps, and recently the 13th Cavalry Brigade. Self-inflicted losses include over two dozen men, a couple of half-tracks, three mecha-suits, and a light tank. Civillian losses in uncooperative villages and towns are at about a hundred. As usual, they believe it is the result of daofei." The officer paused and shuffled his papers. "As a result, support for the army and the Empire is, again, trending up."

"Doctor Sheng's work, as usual, is superb," the general remarked. Seated far off to the side, still donning a white lab coat over her uniform, a young female scientist quietly accepted her praise. She adjusted her glasses, as they slid down the bridge of her nose when she bowed in gratitude. It was the work and research of her that proved instrumental in properly implementing these covert units.

Major Choi turned to his superior. "Doctor Sheng, I don't know how she did it. Getting a bunch of soldiers to act…in opposition of themselves. Even when they don't know what they're doing."

Amid the applause, Guan answered him directly. "No, Major. See, that is the beauty of Sheng's work and research. It's not total mind control. If they didn't know what they were doing, then we leave a lot to chance. Those men may be terrible at their duties, or worse, they could be captured and then interrogated." He faced the major. "No, those men that she brainwashed…You see, Doctor Sheng pulled on the many years of first-hand experience that the Dai Li had in brainwashing people. Gathered what they had learned, and then mixed it with the wonders of technology in a series of science experiments. The men that we have playing insurgent and criminal roles…they know exactly what they are doing. Mentally, they are fully aware. They remain the same militarily trained soldiers we made them as, but their oppositions, convictions, and conscience is essentially suppressed entirely. And if and whenever it wears off, they don't remember a thing."

"Ah, I see." Choi glanced at the doctor from the catwalk above. Even for someone as merciless as him, that was a scary thought.

General Guan boomed over the crowd once more. "With the combined efforts of everyone here! We will take Zaofu in no time! And then! It will be onward to Republic City! We will establish the greatest era in this nation- no- this world's history to date!"

The cheers of the men quickly filled the hangar as they all looked onward, with conviction, to victory.

"Vent!" Zhu Li quietly shouted "Vent!" The slender and slim assistant-turned-lead mechanist crawled through the dated ventilation shafts as fast as she could. She was the obvious choice to be sent through as, not only was was the smallest between the three of them, but she was also the lightest.

The duct at the end of the made a slight rattle and screech as it was pulled out of its slot, opening the way back into the holding cell they were kept in. Varrick, who was now more than capable of moderate physical activity, and Bolin were there to catch Zhu Li as she dropped down from the vent.

"We need to cover that vent up," Varrick remarked. "Those brutes will surely be back in here later today."

"Yes," Zhu Li confirmed, rising to her feet, having stuck the landing. "They'll want me to make the final checks on the weapons."

Bolin concealed the tampering they had done to the vent with his earth bending. It was fortunate that the guards did not seem to know it was there. They couldn't risk revealing it; especially since it would be apparent they were using it to sneak around the facility.

"I can't believe you are actively going along with it, Zhu Li!" Varrick accused. "The things that they will use that gun on!?"

"I have no choice, Varrick!" Zhu Li scolded. "If I don't they'll kill you."

"This goes beyond me, Zhu Li. You know that."

Admirable, Zhu Li thought. But she knew if Varrick was on the muzzle-end of a gun again, he would soil himself. "They'd also kill Bolin, sir," she said, rolling her eyes and dusting her clothes down. She had to look as if she were not just clambering through the dirty 1940's era ventilation shafts that were built crudely into a mountain. "It is getting serious, though," she said to Bolin. She had heard everything.

"How bad?" Bolin inquired.

"Zaofu is in the crosshairs. And, just as we feared, so is Republic City!" She took a breath, her heart still racing. "I'll be honest. I'm not convinced they would stop at Republic City, even at that. With the energy they can field from these spirit vines? They have a plentiful, and easier to produce, nuclear bomb at this point!"

"Kuvira's really gone off the rails!" Bolin cried.

"That's one more thing," Zhu Li reported. "I don't think Kuvira herself is fully onboard, or knows about it either."

"Impossible," Varrick interjected. "She's the mastermind behind all this. She is the Great Uniter! The president, for all intents and purposes, presiding over the Empire in its entirety!"

"From what it sounds like," Zhu Li slowly said, trying to process it herself, "It sounded like Kuvira herself would be in the crosshairs as well at that point."

Both Bolin and Varrick stopped in their tracks, equally bewildered. They could only glance at each other. The room shared a moment of silence.

"If…somehow…that was the case," Varrick pondered.

"The army is going to come up from under Kuvira, herself?!" Bolin questioned.

"...then, they'd be rogue!" Varrick surmised. "We don't know their intentions. And they'd be armed with…the next atomic bomb!"

Bolin slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand. "We need to bust out of here! Fast! We need to warn them," Bolin sounded.

"It'll take time to figure out a quiet way to slip out of here."

"No time for that," he countered. "We need to break out of here. Even if it is loud!"

Jun shined the flashlight into both eyes. The United Republic's key prisoner had indeed been wiped clean. A clean slate. There was no sign of any pupil dilation, and his answers were answered with conviction.

"No, I wasn't there."

"Why would we willingly commit acts of war and terrorism?"

"Why am I being wrongfully detained?"

"How did I get here?"

Among other points, and protests, these were the lines that Sung Teishi repeated over and over again to his interrogators at UFDI headquarters.

"What exactly are you looking for? He's not on drugs," Korra asked.

Jun grunted. "Hm. A long time ago, the Dai Li used to brainwash people. On paper they haven't done that since the end of the Hundred Year War…but you can never be too sure. Especially since Empire headquarters is in Ba Sing Se."

John chimed in. "We learned it simply for redundancy, though it is old. Usually the thing to look for is pupil dilation."

Korra listened intently.

"Pupil dilation without any of the other indicators of drugs. No bizarre actions, no unstable moods, no slurred speech. Rather, the person would act and appear fully cognizant…sometimes more so than a normal person would. I'm sure you're very familiar with Joo Dee's…back then, not the current ones.," Jun added. "Prime example of what it would look like. Famous one, Mei-ying, the lady who was the assigned Joo Dee for Aang when he came to Ba Sing Se looking for his bison, was how we learned about the Dai Li's techniques. The US Navy was able to learn some valuable information in 1946 when a sailor ended up befriending her while helping process all the Joo Dees postwar. The CIA further investigated that in the 1960s.

"Creepy," Korra simply said.

"In a human security camera slash tape recorder for the state built into a twenty-four-seven guide it can be creepy. But in a soldier, a missed opportunity the Dai Li thankfully only used a handful of times, it can be downright deadly. Their method of brainwashing is very dated though. Very primitive. It's rarely used now, and usually is used by smaller organizations. Local militias or even gangs. It's easy to detect by professionals." Jun clicked his flashlight off. "This, however, is something new. Their handiwork was very clean. There wasn't any suspicion of brainwashing or mind control." He turned to Lin. "You really got nothing?"

Lin opened her eyes. She was busy concentrating, as hard as she could, listening to the prisoner's replies and physical reactions. "Nothing. He really is a clean slate. His surprise is genuine, and he really does not remember anything about how he got here, or anything that has happened in the past two months."

"Two months is a long time," John commented. "Usually this kind of thing is temporary." He turned to a whispering volume. "It was probably the extreme trauma that turned off his brainwashing."

"Which means, there could potentially be many of them operating about," Jun commented, concerned.

"How's the situation out there," Chief Beifong asked.

"Not good. Not good at all," he said, adjusting his hat. "Paid a visit to your mom."

Lin's expression changed. "How'd that go?"

"Was also a bust," he said, quickly motioning out of the room. "Come on, we need to get a move on." He motioned to his partner, and Korra to follow along as he grabbed his suit jacket and items.

"Where are you headed?"

"Northern Earth Kingdom! Shanguchi! The Earth Empire is poised to strike that position very soon!" He suddenly turned around and peeped his head back through the door towards Lin. "If you haven't already, refresh your officers on crisis response and evacuation procedures! Don't cause mass public panic, but I have my agents and officers on heightened alert!"

"Why?!" she asked.

"I have reason to believe the Earth Empire could possibly strike Republic City in the near future."

"You have reason? What reason?"

"Okay, scratch that. Maybe not reason, but a strong painful hunch."

The main doors flew open as Jun and company burst through the heavy cherrywood doors of UFDI headquarters and started rapidly descending the stone stairway, Agent Masaoka and Avatar Korra in trail. Outside, Asami and Mako were awaiting the two; both were equally surprised at this sudden bee-line action.

"What's going on?" Mako asked.

Korra shrugged, she only had a vague idea.

"We need to head off the Empire's push on the Liu's Castle Town!"

"Why? I thought they were written off as criminals," Mako questioned.

"They are, but one of them claims to have valuable intelligence on the Earth Empire's weapon developments and troop movements. I need to get to him and retrieve him before he is just lost in the fighting," Jun explained. One of the department's personnel carrier trucks rounded the corner on the previous light, making the approach for an immediate pick up.

"Are we stepping in?" Asami asked. There's no way we can hold off a military assault!"

"No, we are not," John answered, breifly.

"We are merely a third party in what will be chaos. There is no way we can save them without declaring war on the Earth Empire!" Jun had lied to his contact, Xiaoli. In reality, they could only manage to secure him, and maybe Mei Liu herself. Maybe. Everyone else in those towns would either fight to the death, run, or submit to the oncoming military.

"They'll be slaughtered," Korra voiced out.

"Korra, there is nothing we can do!" Jun emphasized. The truck screeched to a halt on the curb behind him and its rear cargo door flew open.

"No!" Korra shouted. "There is absolutely something we can do! We can help those people!"

"How?" Jun asked, placing his hands on his hips. "How do you propose we do that!? Raiko will not mobilize the United Forces!- Why would he? To openly act militarily against a foreign country? And for who? Criminals? Separatists? In the eyes of the worlds, they are criminals and borderline insurgents. And I hate to break it to you, but the harsh reality of the world is: Perception is reality!" Jun removed his hat. He could feel himself getting hotter in the head. "Which leaves it to us three. And mind you, if we get identified, we might as well be wearing United Forces uniforms, because it will get traced back to the UNR! They have made their graves by following what is well known as a former powerful daofei group!"

Korra stood tall, firm against the head of the intelligence department. "You're wrong, Junichiro. Even if it is stacked against us, there is always something that can be done. I need to help as many of those people as I can. Being the avatar, it's my duty. That's my cross to bear! People need to know the Avatar is still here for them, and not just a passive WMD in a human body," she declared. "Maybe you can't officially get involved. But I can. My actions will get traced to me, and me alone, right? You, the UFDI, and President Raiko can just write me off as going rogue and acting on my own volition, right? That has always been the go-to official release, right? You've never hesitated to paint me as a loose cannon before, so do it again now!"

Jun scoffed. His mind ran a thousand miles an hour. He couldn't see any issue with that. A look at John gave him a shrug; his partner could not see a flaw in that logic either. And the UFDI, like any intelligence agency, was proficient in burying things.

"Okay," Chief Stevenson allowed. "But in Shanguchi, you're on your own. Officially, we," he emphasized, pointing to his partner and himself, "are not there. Got it?"

"Got it," Korra acknowledged.

"Wait!" Asami called out. "You're not going off on your own again!"

"Yeah, you don't need to do this alone," Mako added. "We're coming too!"

There was a pause. Jun took that as silent agreement. "Alright, everyone into the van now! We got to get a move on!"

"Sky bison would be a lot faster," Korra suggested. More discreet too."

"Tenzin wouldn't approve."

"No, but Jinora and Opal would," she countered.

"Very well, let's get moving!" Jun hurried the group, now five people strong, into the waiting truck. The door shut and the vehicle sped into the streets toward the airfield.