Sector 5, Deep Core - Andromeda galaxy
3rd person POV...
A lone J-1 shuttle struggled to fly through the empty void of space in an effort to escape its attacker. The hostile ship in question, a Knife-9 starship, relentlessly pursued the shuttle with a continuous barrage of fire from its laser cannons. Eventually, the Knife-9 scored a direct hit on the J-1's hull.
The pilot of the J-1 shuttle cursed as the ship shook from the impact, sparks erupting from several places around the cockpit. He glanced over at the woman sitting in the co-pilot's seat beside him, who held a clear expression of fear on her face. She painstakingly tries to calm the screaming toddler held in her arms, but to no avail
"There there, we'll be fine... we'll be fine," she says soothingly, not believing her words. "...we'll be fine..."
The child only cries more when the ship is hit by another blast, and she turns her head to gaze at the pilot with a look of despair. He briefly shuts his eyes in a mixture of frustration and defeat, though still with an absolute refusal of letting their pursuer get what they want.
He feels a slight tremor in the Force, pulling his attention away, and focuses on it. He lingers on the feeling for several seconds, slowly shifting his gaze towards his crying son and his despairing wife. He tightens his grip on the ship's throttle and glares forward, his determination becoming resolute.
He knows what he has to do.
"Our child will live, Miranda," he declares, looking at her with a reassuring gaze. "They won't take him."
She stares back at him, still frightened, but beneath that her eyes glimmer with trust, and she nods her head. He then grabs a lever on the console and prepares to pull it down right at the moment a shot hits the engine, causing the shuttle's systems to go haywire. Still, he doesn't hesitate to pull the lever, his trust in the Force in that moment unbreakable.
Without a destination given, the heavily damaged shuttle jumps into hyperspace, leaving the Knife-9's pilot to glare furiously at the spot where it vanished.
South Pole, Reylea - Deep Core
The South Pole, as one would expect, was an icy cold tundra of snow spread out across much of the continent, and although the night was still young the temperatures were well below freezing.
Korra didn't mind it though.
As a native of the South Pole she's lived in this kind of weather all her life, and is more than used to it. Dressed in her heavy fur coat the six year old happily trudged her way through the snow, her faithful polar bear dog and best friend, Naga, trotting along beside her. Normally her parents would want her back inside for the night by now, but she doesn't see why she can't take a little longer to get a clear view of the stars.
And if trouble does find its way to her, she'll handle it! She's the Avatar!
"We're almost there, Naga!" Korra says happily.
Naga barks a response and maintains her steady pace after Korra, who starts to speed up a little bit herself. Soon enough they reach the top of one of the cliffs surrounding the village, granting a much better view of the landscape and the sky above. Korra gazes up at the sky in awe, seeing a lot of twinkling stars beginning to emerge with the fading sun. Naga drops down on the ground and scratches her ear with a paw, and Korra sits down beside her. She's not familiar with many constellations, but she is able to recognize a few of them.
"Look, Naga!" she says, pointing out one in particular. "Those stars make a tea cup! See?"
She grins at her friend, but the polar bear dog just stares blankly in reply before licking her paws. Korra's smile drops into a deadpan.
Just then, however, a bright flash in the sky pulls her attention back up to it, and she gets to her feet with a gasp. A bright orange light in the sky is quickly growing in size, appearing more as a ball of fire the closer it gets.
"What is that?!" she asks in amazement.
The fireball begins arcing over the horizon and Korra furrows her brow in confusion by the very strange shape of the object. It then passes overhead and she instinctively ducks her head for protection while Naga barks in befuddled surprise. Picking her head back up again, Korra watches with wide eyes as it falls down from the air and disappears over a mountain, the distant sound of a crash sounding much later.
"Whoa..." she whispers.
"Korra!"
The sound of her parents' faint voices calling out for her gets her attention and she looks back in the direction of her house, also hearing a few other voices as people start to ponder what caused the nightly disturbance. Naga's ears perk up at the sound of Korra's parents, though the latter wasn't as concerned about them right now, her focus solely on the strange fireball.
"Naga, come!" she eagerly says. "Let's go see what that was!"
Naga whines but readily complies, trotting along after Korra when she starts running in the direction of where the fireball landed. After several minutes the two reach the top of a hill and see a deep gash torn up in the ground, which travels for several hundred feet before eventually stopping at a very strange looking object. It's clearly made of metal, looking almost like something that is... man made, weirdly enough. Though as such, even she could tell that whatever it was is severely damaged beyond repair.
"I wonder what that thing is," she murmurs to herself.
It takes another minute for them to reach the large object, which looks a little bit smaller up close than she expected. There were a few fires burning around the exterior, which itself was broken and shredded up by the ground it crashed through, and smoke billowed out from the back end. It seemed that one side was made to have an entrance, though the door was busted as well. Naga growls in suspicion and unease the closer they get to it, but Korra pats her snout reassuringly.
"It's okay, girl, this thing is busted!" she tells her.
Just then the faint sound of something wailing emanated from the burning structure, reaching the pair. Naga pulls her ears back with a whine while Korra stares at it with wide eyes, briefly startled and a little bit afraid. However, recognizing the sound to be a crying child, most likely a baby, Korra's fear was replaced with immediate concern and a willingness to help.
"That's a baby!" she gasps, looking at Naga. "We-we have to help it!"
Naga whimpers in protest, growling at the structure.
"Come on, Naga! I'm the Avatar, so I'm going to help that baby!" Korra declares.
Sticking her tongue out in concentration she rushes over to what looks like the door to enter the structure, despite Naga's anxiety. The inside wasn't any better than the outside, and was likely worse in comparison. Every which way Korra looked there was something broken, causing sparks to spray out repeatedly. Korra keeps her arms up to protect herself from the sparks, grateful to be wearing her fur coat for added protection.
"Hello? Who's there!?" she calls out.
The sound of the baby crying only continues, coming from somewhere right ahead of her. Reaching the end of a very short hallway Korra widens her eyes in shock at the sight that lay before her. The first thing she immediately noticed above all else was a bundle of blankets and padding strewn all about, in the center of which lay a baby boy waving his arms about while screaming up a storm. Although he seemed relatively safe from all of the destruction around, he did have a few cuts on his face and hands that were bleeding, and his legs were caught underneath something.
"Oh no!" Korra cries out.
Without hesitation she rushes over to the baby and starts untangling him from the mess. He continues to flail and cry, making it difficult for her to help at first.
"Hey, baby, I'm helping! Don't worry!" she tries to reassure him. "You're okay now, baby! I'm the Avatar!"
Korra finally extracts the baby from the floor and awkwardly holds in her arms, unsure of how to do so properly. Looking around quickly, she picks up one of the blankets and fumbles with wrapping it around the child's body.
Much to her relief, the baby did start to calm down somewhat, though more from exhaustion than anything. When she finally had him wrapped up in a blanket she took the opportunity to look at him more closely. His hair, which was blonde in color, was the strangest thing by far, as she's never seen a hair color like it before. His eyes were also green, another rare color in the Water Tribe, and he had a roundish face, which was still a bit red from all of the screaming. Korra then remembers the cuts on the baby and gasps in concern.
"Oh no! You're hurt!" she says anxiously.
She takes part of the blanket and uses it to wipe the blood away from his cuts, sticking her tongue out in concentration. The baby struggles in an attempt at protesting, whimpering, and she grimaces uneasily.
"Sorry, baby," she meekly apologizes. "Just don't worry, okay?"
A faint glimmer from the ground catches her eye and she looks down to see a small glittering crystal. Curious, she reaches down to pick it up, noticing that it was attached to a thin band of string in the form of a necklace. She narrows her eyes, feeling something strange about it... even familiar for some reason, prickling at the back of her mind. She turns the crystal in her hand and spots a thin engraving on the metal piece connecting it to the string; even though the markings are completely foreign to her the correct word still pops into her head.
"C-A-R-A-N..." she says thoughtfully, gasping in realization. "Caran! Is that your name?!"
Korra looks at the baby with a bright smile, which only grows wider at seeing him gaze right back at her without any fear in his eyes.
"Caran," she repeats, and he makes a small noise in response. "I like it!"
She then looks around the broken down room with a frown on her face.
"But... where's your mommy and daddy?" she asks in confusion. "They can't leave you all alone like... this..."
She trails off at the end of her sentence when her line of sight falls on something she's standing right beside, the thing she had uncovered the baby's legs from. She never noticed it before, too distracted by the crying baby, but as she looks more closely she realizes that it was a woman, laying face-down on the floor, unmoving, with a big piece of the metal wall laying on top of her.
Korra gasps in terror and takes a step back from the woman's body, and Caran begins to sniffle and cry once more.
"Oh no... w-what should I do?" the young Avatar starts panicking. "I- I don't... Maybe mommy and daddy will know!"
She anxiously rushes out of the broken metal structure and is instantly met by the worried whining of Naga.
"Naga, we gotta go get mommy and daddy!" Korra says urgently. "This baby needs help! And I think someone else in there needs help too!"
Naga growls in confusion and pokes her snout forward at the bundle of blankets held in Korra's arms, inspecting the small child whimpering within them. Hearing Caran's distress, Korra realizes another crucial fact about the environment they're in.
"You're not used to being cold!" she says in concern.
She places the crystal necklace in her pocket and attempts to wrap the blankets more securely around Caran to block out as much of the cold air as possible. He continues to whine, much to her frustration and unease.
"I know, I know, please stop crying!" she pleads with him.
With the blankets now wrapped more tightly around him to provide better protection, Korra holds him tight to her body to shield him as much as possible and then starts walking back in the direction they came from.
"Come on, Naga! We gotta get this baby home!" she states.
Naga barks in acknowledgement and trots along through the snow beside her.
Back at the village much of the tribe was in panic mode regarding the whereabouts of their young Avatar. Tonraq had gathered several close friends and skilled waterbenders together in preparation to go out searching for her. However, none in the village seemed more panicked than Senna.
"...what if something happened to her?" she was saying anxiously.
"I'm certain she's not in any danger," Katara replies gently, attempting to calm her. "Kids at her age tend to wander, and Korra has quite a bit of energy."
"But what if she's hurt? Or doesn't know how to get back?" Senna argues helplessly.
"Then she has Naga with her," she reminds her.
Senna holds her head in her hands with a despairing look, struggling to feel comforted despite Katara's assurances. Fortunately as she lifts her head up she spots movement up on a ridge by the outskirts of the village, widening her eyes in excitement at recognizing her daughter, alongside a young polar bear dog.
"Tonraq! The ridge!" Senna exclaims, pointing.
Tonraq whirls around at the call and quickly spots Korra himself, much to his relief.
"Korra!" he shouts.
He takes off running in her direction with Senna not far behind him, while Katara makes her way over much more slowly. Korra marches her way through the snow with a happy smile on her face, oblivious to the worry and concern of her parents as they rush over to her. Soon enough the two reach her and Naga, and Senna bends down so as to draw her into a hug.
"Korra, thank goodness you're safe!" Senna cries out in relief.
To her surprise Korra quickly backs away from Senna's reach, drawing her arms around her chest protectively.
"Mommy, wait! You might hurt him!" Korra yelps.
Her parents both pause for a second, somewhat confused.
"Hurt who?" Senna asks.
"Korra, you know you're not supposed to be out this late at night! Your mother and I were worried sick!" Tonraq begins scolding her.
"I know, but I had to help Caran!" Korra insists.
Meanwhile, Katara also joins the group on the ridge, hiding her exhaustion with a small sigh. Hearing Korra's statement, however, she frowns in curiosity.
"Caran?" she inquires.
Naga barks as Korra holds her arms out to reveal the bundle of blankets carrying a blonde baby boy. The adults look on in surprise at the reveal, sharing baffled looks with each other.
"Korra, where'd you find this baby?" Tonraq asks cautiously.
Exposed to the cold again, Caran is roused from his nap and begins to cry at the freezing temperature, making Korra panic.
"No, don't start crying again!" she protests.
"Here, let me take him sweetie," Senna tells her, taking the baby into her arms. "Sshhh... there there, you're okay little one."
She holds him carefully so as to block out the cold, rocking him in her arms while the others look on with thoughtful expressions.
"He doesn't seem to be from around here," Katara observes, taking note of his blonde hair and green eyes, something not commonly found in residents of the Water Tribe.
"Poor thing must've been accidentally left out in the snow," Senna remarks.
"Can we keep him?!" Korra asks hopefully.
"Korra," Tonraq replies sternly.
"But daddy, he was all alone! We should help him!" she argues.
"I know, sweetie, I know. And you did a very good thing rescuing him," he says, kneeling down in front of her. "But his parents are probably looking for him right now, so we have to find out where he belongs."
Korra suddenly grows a bit nervous and holds her arms together in front of her, unable to meet their gaze.
"Umm... I don't know if they are…" she murmurs.
"What do you mean?" he asks.
"Well... I found him in some wrecked metal thing, and there was a... uh, woman... on the ground next to him…" Korra replies slowly, looking even more uncomfortable and frightened.
Realizing what she probably saw the adults share a worried look before turning towards Korra with reassuring expressions.
"It's okay, Korra. We should probably head inside right now," Katara suggests with a small smile. "We don't want this little guy to freeze, do we?"
Korra widens her eyes and quickly shakes her head in response.
"No way! Let's go inside!" she cries out.
Inside their small home Korra anxiously sat beside Naga and her parents, impatient to see the baby boy again. After what felt like too long for her Katara finally enters the living room, and Korra instantly jumps to her feet.
"Is Caran ok?" she asks.
"Yes, Korra, he's quite healthy," Katara informs her. "Fortunately, you found him before the weather could do anything bad."
Korra smiles happily.
"Can I see him?" she eagerly asks.
"Of course. But would you mind telling me where you found him?" Katara questions in reply.
Korra hesitates, glancing nervously at her parents before responding.
"Well, since the sky was so clear I wanted to go look at the stars," she says sheepishly. "I know I was supposed to be at home, but I just wanted to see."
"It's alright, sweetie. Keep going," Senna reassures her, noticing her unease.
"Hmm hmm," Korra nods, brow furrowed in thought. "Oh! While Naga and I were looking at the stars we saw a big fireball fall from the sky!"
The adults lift confused brows at the statement.
"A fireball?" Tonraq asks.
"Yeah! But it was weird. It looked like something metal and pointy," she explains. "Naga and I followed it and we found a... uh, I don't know what it was, um... I know it was broken, and I could also go inside! That's where I found Caran!"
Tonraq and Senna share skeptical glances with each other, though Katara has a troubled look on her face.
"Korra, are you sure that's where you found him?" she asks.
"Yeah! He was in the metal thing that fell from the sky!" Korra nods confidently.
"Do you remember where it fell?" Katara asks.
"Uh huh. It was past the cliff I like going to. Over that mountain," she explains enthusiastically. "The fireball broke the ground when it crashed!"
Katara nods her head slowly, pondering the information.
"I see," she murmurs thoughtfully.
Still skeptical about the story, Tonraq gives his daughter a wary look.
"Korra…" he starts to say
"Oh, I also found this necklace with Caran too!" she exclaims suddenly. "It had his name on it!"
She fishes the crystal necklace out of her pocket and holds it up for her parents to see, and Senna takes it into her hands.
"I don't see a name," she remarks.
"It's right there, see?" Korra says, pointing to it. "Those letters spell it out!"
Senna and Tonraq look more closely at where she was pointing and spot five small symbols etched onto it, unfamiliar to their eyes. Katara catches a glimpse of the writing and widens her eyes slightly.
"You can read it?" Senna asks in surprise.
"Well... yeah, but I don't know how," Korra answers, growing nervous. "Is that bad?"
"No, not at all!" Tonraq quickly reassures her. "It's just a little surprising, that's all."
"Ok," she nods, turning back to Katara. "Can I see Caran now?"
"Of course you can," Katara replies, smiling to hide her troubled expression.
"Yay!" Korra jumps excitedly. "Let's go, mommy, come on! You too Naga!"
She takes off running for the door and Naga follows with an excited bark. Senna pursues them with an exasperated gaze.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming, Korra," she says, frowning. "Hey, no running in the house!"
As they leave the room Tonraq moves to follow them, but is stopped by Katara.
"Tonraq, a moment please?" she asks.
"What is it?" he replies, turning to face her.
"Would you mind gathering a few waterbenders together? I think we should investigate this mysterious 'fireball' that Korra found," she says.
Tonraq frowns with some skepticism as he ponders the suggestion.
"I don't believe my daughter was lying, but are you sure the baby really came from a meteorite?" he asks.
"I'm not so sure it was a meteorite at all," Katara states grimly. "It must've been a vessel of some sort."
"Vessel? Like a... a spaceship? As in alien life?" Tonraq asks in astonishment, shaking his head. "I mean no disrespect, Master Katara, but that's very hard to believe."
"Maybe," she replies in agreement. "But if there's one thing I learned in the war, it's that nothing is ever certain."
After having gathered together the group he initially intended for a search and rescue party, Tonraq set out in the direction that Korra reported the fireball to have landed, Katara by her side. Fortunately the starry night meant there was no blizzard raging at the moment, though gusts of chilly wind remained a consistent weather pattern. Eventually the group reaches the ridge where Korra said she found the crashed ship, and they come to a stop with wide eyes.
"By the spirits…" Tonraq murmurs.
Just like she said, something large and made of metal had crashed into the ground, leaving a large gash through the icy surface. The shape of it seemed only partially reminiscent of an airship, but the similarities ended there. Whatever it is was clearly assembled, and has since been left mangled by the crash. Any fires that had started have since been blown out by the cold wind.
"Keep a sharp eye, everyone," Tonraq states.
The group heads over to the crashed ship and begin to inspect the area. Finding an opening in the side Tonraq cautiously enters the ship, Katara close behind. Holding up a lamp for visibility he looks down the small hallway and carefully makes his way through, noting the occasional shower of sparks shooting out of torn cables or broken wall panels. Tonraq narrows his eyes and tensely enters a wider space, immediately spotting a woman's body lying lifelessly on the floor.
Immediately he crouches down next to the woman and checks for any signs of life while Katara enters behind him. It only takes him a few seconds though to conclude that she's been dead for a few hours, considering her skin feels as cold as ice. Katara crouches beside Tonraq in anticipation of using her water, but reaches the same conclusion just as quickly.
"If this is the spot Korra found the baby then I imagine this woman died protecting him in the crash," Katara deduces.
"Probably. She's been gone at least a couple hours," Tonraq nods in agreement.
A faint sound of movement against the metal interior catches Tonraq's attention and he stands back up with narrowed eyes, immediately knowing it not to have been from one of his men. While Katara stays with the woman's body Tonraq goes to investigate, re-entering the hallway heading towards the front of the ship. He holds the lamp up in the small space and spots a man lying on the ground, a broken chair on top of him. Unlike the woman, however, this man is still breathing, albeit with extreme difficulty.
"Spirits almighty…" Tonraq mutters in astonishment, crouching down beside him. "Hey, hey, are you okay? Can you hear me?"
He removes the chair pinning the man down and grabs his shoulders, carefully turning him over. The man groans in pain and Tonraq spots a large piece of metal sticking out of his side.
"I need some help over here, now!" he yells down the hallway.
"C... Ca…" the man tries to say, coughing up blood.
"Easy, easy," he states firmly.
The sound of footsteps echo from the small hallway before Katara and another skilled healer enter the small room, the latter unable to move past the doorway.
"Please, allow me," Katara says.
"Of course," he nods.
Standing back up he moves over to the doorway to allow Katara and the healer room to work. Katara kneels down beside his injury and inspects it with a critical gaze, sharing a concerned look with the latter.
"This isn't good. I can't heal an injury like this here," she states.
"He'd lose too much blood if we pull it out," he agrees.
The man coughs again struggling to speak.
"M- my…" he whispers.
"Try to relax, don't stress yourself," Katara interrupts.
"We need to get him back to the village. Fast," the healer tells Tonraq.
"N-no... please," the man protests weakly. "My son... w-where…"
"Your son is safe," Katara reassures him, taking his hand into her own. "One of our own found him and brought him back to our village."
The man's breathing becomes even more labored while his heartbeat slows.
"P-please, take care of him… t-take... care…" he gasps out.
His movement then falls still and his eyes shut slowly, much to the others' alarm.
"Hey, hey! Don't shut your eyes!" the healer exclaims. "Hey!"
He tries shaking him to stir him into wakefulness, but there's no response. Katara shakes her head mournfully.
"Master Katara?!" Tonraq anxiously says.
"I'm sorry. There's nothing more we can do," she states with grim finality.
Korra looks on in disbelief as Senna effortlessly gets Caran to fall asleep in his crib. When it's clear that he's out she switches her gaze repeatedly between him and her mother.
"How'd you make him fall asleep so easily?" she demands incredulously.
"Same way I got you to bed, honey," Senna replies.
"Doesn't feel like it," Korra frowns skeptically.
"That's because he doesn't have as bad of a temper as you did, you silly turtle-duck," she teases her.
Korra gasps in indignation and glares up at her with her fists on her hips.
"I'm not tempered!" she snaps.
"Oh?" Senna raises a brow at her.
Korra goes to say more but then falters as soon as she opens her mouth, suddenly unable to refute her mother's claim. She closes her mouth and turns away from Senna to pout with her arms crossed, much to Senna's amusement. Just then Tonraq enters the room, dropping his parka's hood from his head.
"I'm back. I've got some news," he declares.
"What is it, honey?" Senna asks in concern.
Tonraq frowns thoughtfully for a moment, giving the baby and Senna a brief but meaningful look, before responding.
"Turns out the baby will need a new home after all," he reveals.
Senna frowns with unease, acknowledging the hint Tonraq is giving her about Caran's status as an orphan; the specific details she's unsure of, but she can ask him later. Korra on the other hand, still youthfully innocent about the reasons, gasps in excitement and rushes up to her parents with a big smile on her face.
"So can we keep him? Can we?!" she asks eagerly.
"Are you sure, Korra?" Senna questions.
"I super-Avatar-promise I'll be the best big sister in the whole world!" she pleads with them.
Senna and Tonraq regard their daughter's excitement and enthusiasm with fond expressions, though still share a glance with each other that conveys their own reservations about adoption. Nevertheless, there aren't very many families in the South Pole open to adopting new kids, much less one under Caran's circumstances. While they themselves have considered having a second child they've refrained thus far for fear of tension among their children regarding Korra's Avatar status, not to mention that the White Lotus, as annoying as they have been with their requests, have repeatedly told them not to.
But why not take this opportunity for their family? They get to raise another child, Korra clearly desires to have a sibling, and most importantly they provide an orphaned infant with a second chance at life.
"I guess we'll see, won't we?" Tonraq smiles down at her.
"YAY!" Korra cheers, jumping around in excitement while her parents watch fondly.
Unfortunately for them, however, Korra's excitement ends up rousing the baby from his sleep, much to his frustration.
Hidden location - Unknown Regions
3rd person POV...
"...I had them trapped, but... somehow they... jumped to hyperspace."
He stood in front of a tall yellow Twi'lek woman, whose skin was covered with black tattoos. At his statement her glowing yellow eyes narrowed in cold anger.
"How disappointing," she says, her voice no more than a whisper.
He averts his gaze out of unease, anticipating the unspoken promise of punishment.
"I swear to you, it was a completely blind jump made out of insanity!" he quickly adds in his defense. "I destroyed their navigation system. There's no way they would have known where they were going!"
"And what does that say about our ability to find them?" she demands.
"I-" he stutters, unable to formulate a response.
"Exactly. There's a reason we don't let you go off on your own, Scar'lok," she scowls at him. "Failure is not tolerated by our master."
She steps closer to him and he flinches, unable to look her in the eye as she glares down at him.
"Count yourself lucky he still has a need for you," she tells him.
Author's Note: Hello everyone! Before I get your hopes up, I'm not currently writing this story at the moment. This specific chapter I've had written out for a while, and so I figured I'd post it now. I'm not yet sure when I'll be writing this story, as my main priority is LOJS V6, but if I do get working on it I suppose you'll know!