The Government Palace
Republic City, United Republic of Nations
Shield World-0001 designated "Requiem"
Epoloch System
October 23rd [Earth Calendar]
Morning
"Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!" Prince Wu, heir to the Throne of Earth of the Earth Kingdom, yelled as he walked back and forth within the walls of the Government Palace, home of the Republic's President. "How come he isn't here yet!? How come she isn't here yet?!"
"Calm down, your majesty, I'm sure that the President will be coming down shortly." Gunnery Sergeant Mako, squad leader of ODST squad Lima-Bravo, told the impatient prince.
"If I were king right now I would order that plebian to be publicly humiliated!" Wu yelled out, gaining attention of the palace guards. "The whole crowd is already outside along with the Fire Lady, the Water Chieftain, and Master Tenzin! And that fascist Kuvira hasn't shown her stupid perfect jawline at all yet!"
Mako sighed, 'When they said guard duty they never said personal detail to the biggest blue-blooded snot in this side of the galaxy.' He thought to himself as he rubbed his head, 'Nothing but nagging all day.'
President Raiko walked down the steps to the main hall where Mako and Wu where waiting. "I see that you are ready, Prince Wu." He said adjusting his bowtie.
"More than ready!" Wu replied.
"Then let's meet the citizens outside and get started with this ceremony." Raiko said, "Sergeant, follow us." Mako nodded. The trio walked outside, Mako putting on his ODST helmet and placing his Silenced SMG on his right thigh magnetic holster, always at the ready. The palace guards also followed to be near the President. Once outside they were met with camera flashes and the voices of several reporters asking questions, one asking for the possible atrocities committed by Kuvira in her efforts of liberating the Earth Kingdom from anarchists and the Red Lotus, and another asking for the whereabouts of Avatar Korra. President Raiko walked towards the microphone addressing the crowd. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen, we've gathered here today, representatives of all four nations and the cradle world, Earth, to witness the transferring of power from Captain Kuvira, leader of the liberating forces, to the Earth Kingdom heir, Prince Wu. This ceremony will be a shining example of the peace that we all can forge when we come together not only as people, but as a race, that fights for liberty, truth, and justice."
While the President spoke, Mako turned on his radio, he whispered to his squamates. "Is everyone in their positions?"
"Kendrick here, I'm on the building overlooking the palace entrance. Nothing out of the ordinary." Corporal Kendrick Lamar, second in command of Lima-Bravo and team marksman and Earth native, informed.
"Ilia here, making rounds around the perimeter on a warthog, Luis is with me manning the turret." Private First-Class Ilia, a Northern Water Tribe native and vehicle and explosives expert, said.
"Luis here, yeah everything's alright." Private Luis Santiago, the heavy-weapons expert and Tribute native, said.
"Good, keep your eyes open, this is the kind of event that the Red Lotus would love to mess up with." Mako told them, "Mako out." He turned off his radio focusing on the ceremony again.
"I would like to welcome Captain Thomas Lasky of the UNSC Infinity to the microphone and give a few words to Prince Wu before he takes his rightful place as the Earth King." President Raiko said, the crowd and those seated behind the microphone clapped as Lasky, in ceremonial dress uniform, stood up and walked up to the stage.
"Thank you, Mr. President. When I was younger I attended military school, Corbulo Academy, there my classmates and I were taught that Earth was our sole beacon of hope across the galaxy, the place where humanity would always have as home. We were told to protect our native world at any cost, even if that meant the sacrifice of the outer colonies. Of course, this led to the rationale that the colonies were below Earth, below the home world's culture. But the day that my ship found this world, this lost colony, that rationale was wiped off my head. Never in my young years would've I imagined that there was another human world with a variety of rich cultures, history, and people. This nation, the United Republic, has also shown that democracy and justice is prevalent throughout the galaxy, without Earth's intervention. And this peaceful handing down of power proves that our species, humanity, still believes in the core virtues that President Raiko talked about before… liberty, justice, and truth. Thank you." Captain Lasky stepped off the stage finishing his speech with the loud applause from the crowd. He sat on next to the Water Tribe Chieftain, Tonraq.
"Good speech there, Captain." Tonraq congratulated Lasky.
"Well it was improvised." Lasky smirked, wiping sweat from his brow with a cloth napkin. Tonraq smiled and watched as the President took front stage once again.
Mako saw a large satomobile stop by the other side of the fenced courtyard where the stage had been erected and the crowd stood on. Out of the satomobile walked out Kuvira, the liberator of the Earth Kingdom, alongside her walked a Spartan in full armor, Mako gulped a bit. "You guys seeing what I'm seeing?" He asked.
"Yeah, a goddamned Spartan, what the hell is he doing here with her?" Kendrick asked.
"Security detail?" Ilia added.
"Keep your eyes opened." Mako told them as he looked back at the crowd, who gasped as Kuvira walked onto the stage with her Spartan bodyguard. Mako, cladded in black ODST body armor looked pathetic in comparison with the Spartan, enveloped in MJOLNIR NOBLE sage power armor, standing next to him.
"Now, Prince Wu and Captain Kuvira will commence the handing down of power." President Raiko allowed them to take frontstage. The crowd clapped as the two stepped forward. In the crowd stood Korra, dressed in her old water tribe garb, watching the ceremony. When she looked at Kuvira, she felt uneased by her serious expression. Something was wrong here, and that Spartan only fed her dread.
Kuvira had a case in her hand, she placed it on the wooden floor of the stage, and opened it, revealing a gold crown. She took it out and held it in her hands, Wu had a medal in his. They exchanged the items and the crowd cheered. Kuvira turned to Prince Wu, "Could I say some words?" She asked.
"Of course." Wu replied with a big smile on his face.
Kuvira walked to the mic, "It's been five years since the Earth Kingdom fell into chaos thanks to the actions of Zaheer and his Red Lotus. Five long years have I led a battalion of brave soldiers to liberate the kingdom. Through my mission I realized something, it didn't work, the kingdom, it fell because Queen Hou-Ting's blatant hubris and maltreatment of her subjects. Several places where we visited, they had been left in ruin long before Zaheer's coup. Disgusting." The crowd was taken aback by Kuvira's words, so were Wu and the other representatives. "You might think that this handing down of power will bring back the status quo, and that that is a good thing. It isn't. I'm here to tell you that this ceremony is nothing but a farce." She metalbended the medal into scrap. "From this day forward, the Earth Kingdom is no more. I will lead it into a better nation, stronger and ordered, from this day forward the Earth Empire is born." Kuvira walked off the stage with her Spartan guard behind her, the reporters quickly jolted to ask questions as the President tried to defuse the situation.
"What the hell was that?" Lasky asked Tenzin as the other leaders walked back into the palace.
"I don't know, Captain, but this reek of treachery." Tenzin replied.
Korra was furious, she knew just by looking at Kuvira that things would turn out for the worst. She walked through the crowd and climbed up to the stage. She couldn't allow this to happen, not on her watch. Mako noticed her, "Korra, what are you doing?!"
She tapped the President on the shoulder, he turned and gasped once he looked at her. "May I?" She asked, and he backed away. She took the microphone. "People of Republic City!" Everyone fell silent, the world leaders turned as soon as her voice boomed through the speakers. Kuvira stopped and turned to see who spoke before she got into her satomobile. "What happened here is a blatant taking of power in the most unjustified manner possible! Kuvira cannot be allowed to continue with this, she has violated the trust of everyone in the world, including those she liberated in the Earth Kingdom! I will not allow her to go through with this. I am Avatar Korra, and I have returned." Everyone with a radio heard Korra's words, every single person. Asami listened to the broadcast, surprise washed over her face and later a warm smile appeared. Bolin, while washing his hair listened to the broadcast. He smirked and laughed, she was back. In a dark room a figure listened to the radio, "Déjà vu." The man said. Korra walked away from the microphone and approached Mako as the crowd roared leaving the poor President to deal with them alone…again.
"You're crazy, you know, right?" Mako told her.
"No way I'm letting that lunatic get away in thinking she had the final word." Korra said. She looked at Kuvira, their gazes connected. She entered her satomobile, the Spartan followed next. They quickly left afterwards. Then the thought fell on her head… "Oh spirits, what I've gotten myself into…."
Argent Moon
Three Elites, one Zealot and two Warriors, were disposing of several pieces of automated defenses, the last ones in this sector. "The unggoy are getting restless, what should we do?" One of the Elite asked the bigger one, the Zealot.
"Throw them out of the airlock!" The Zealot responded in a clearly annoyed tone as he walked towards the other room. But before the other Elites could follow the order, a single sniper rifle bullet ripped through the large window that was close to them, the bullet ripped thought the glass and through the heads of the Elites. The window shattered, and Blue Team jet packed in, the vacuum of space began sucking everything out, but the Spartans activated the magnetic properties of their boots to stick to the metal floor. The Zealot ignited his energy sword and tried to swing it at the Spartan-IIs but the pull of the vacuum of space threw the Elite into space before the energy blades touched the outer layer of energy shields of the Master Chief. A metal emergency sealing gate then automatically covered the window.
"Coast's clear." Fred said, walking towards one of the room's exits.
The Master Chief approached to one of the nodes within the room, looking through data logs, "Not much information. Last dated log was several months ago." Chief said, "I'll share it to your HUDs."
Small texts appeared in each of the Spartans' visors, "This is the log of one of the technicians of this sector, an engineer. Says here that there had been a leak in the science wing, they were working on a biological super weapon." Kelly said. "He didn't have many details, he knew because his girlfriend was the assistant to the assistant director of the science team stationed here."
"Then what happened?" Linda asked. Fred walked out of the room, finding several human corpses on the floor, all with their uniforms intact.
"I can tell you what." Fred replied, "They're dead."
"But how?" Kelly asked.
"We'll find out more as we head towards the moon's core." Chief responded walking pass Fred with Assault Rifle ready.
Exiting the room, they found themselves overlooking a hangar. It was massive, easily dwarfing any hangar made for frigates. There was a strange looking vessel parked in it, "Looks unfinished." Linda said. "ONI must've poured a lot of credits into this place."
"Advanced research in defense and offensive weapons, biological research, chemical warfare, and possibly more shady things hidden in this ball of metal and rock." Fred replied, "If anything, it wasn't the Covenant who raided this place, they must've just found it like this."
"Possibly." Chief said coming up to another terminal, this was an AI port, and its light was blinking. He tapped the light, and the recorded avatar of a smart AI appeared on top of the terminal.
"This is UNSC artificial intelligence RKR 1206-5, Rooker. This is a warning to any possible Office of Naval Intelligence salvage teams who have been able to find Argent Moon. Six months ago, from today's date, September 17, 2557, there was an accident involving the release of a poisonous substance from the science wing's ventilation systems. I tried halting the spread of the substance by quarantining half of the station, but it was too late, the entire crew was dead in a matter of hours. There was nothing else I could do to save them…so I jettisoned the entire station into uncharted space hoping that eventually the gas would dissipate into the vacuum of space. I've unfortunately entered rampancy, and I will not be of operational use anymore soon, so I decided to put a warning to all those who decide to enter deeper into the station. Most of the toxic gas has not been thrown off the station, something happened to the crew in the science wing after I quarantined that section…something horrible. Please, do not go in, I beg of you. This is AI Rooker, former caretaker of Argent Moon, signing off." The terminal then stopped working.
"Yeah, we're blowing this place up." Linda stated.
"You don't think…" Kelly said. She looked at Fred, he wasn't sure what to think. None of them had faced the very thing that had drove the Forerunners into extinction…the only enemy the Covenant feared.
"Samples must've been taken off from Installation 03." Chief said, "They ignored the signs, the reports."
"They just couldn't leave well enough alone." Linda said.
Council Chamber
Republic City
Noon
After the rewriting of the United Republic's constitution, the Council was no longer the sole seat of power in the country. The establishment of the executive and legislative branches of government ensured that in an event that the nation was once again in a position in which several heads of government were in severe danger that the nation would not fall into chaos. This would allow the power not to be kept to a tight knit group of people not elected by the citizens of the Republic since the councilmembers were elected by the rulers of the other four nations. But the council would enact new laws, and keep the balance among all three branches of government. The council room was empty, not in session, but that did not stop the President of the United Republic to assemble a small group of individuals within it.
"Alright, what do we do now? This is something that none of us were readied for." President Raiko said.
"Kuvira has crossed the line, Raiko. She must be stopped." Tenzin insisted, "But we cannot openly declare war, not yet."
"I agree. Barely a century has passed since the end of the Hundred Years War, and the wounds are still fresh. The Fire Nation will not be dragged into another armed conflict." The Fire Lady added, "But we will not stand by if Kuvira threatens us. In any case I hope that you have a plan in dealing with her."
"The Water Tribes can lend a hand, we have communities within the Earth Kingdom, we cannot allow Kuvira in subjugating them into her new Empire." Tonraq stated.
"Your daughter has returned, Chieftain. And none worse for wear." President Raiko said, "She is still the Avatar, she could deal with Kuvira herself."
Captain Lasky, who had been sitting a few meters away from the heads of government stood up. "Korra is officially a member of the United Nations of Space Command, and a Spartan. If anything, she will be under my supervision."
"So, you agree?" Raiko asked.
"I don't know if you noticed, but there are defectors among Kuvira's ranks. Rogue Spartans that have cut ties with the UNSC, they've gone AWOL. We've tried in getting them to return to no avail." Lasky responded, "I believe that to maintain colonial stability, Kuvira must be removed from power before she decides in doing something drastic. But she is protected, and the only one that can effectively defeat her is Korra and her team."
"It is the Avatar's role in restoring balance to the world." The Fire Lady added. Tonraq sighed, he never through that it would come to this.
"Then its decided. Avatar Korra will bring Kuvira to answer for her defiance in restoring the order of the Earth Kingdom." He officially stated.
Ba Sing Se, Earth Empire
Noon
The Earth Palace was silent, guards stood quietly as screams of anger roared through the halls, sweat dropping from their faces. Within the operations room, Kuvira had been throwing chairs into the wall in an act of fury. "Kuvira, stop." Donar said entering the room, trying to calm her down.
"No one defies me, no one!" Kuvira yelled, "I have no dedicated half a decade into bringing this cesspool of a country into order to be looked down upon by a stupid girl who believes herself to be a true soldier!"
"The other heads of government know that you are not fooling around, Kuvira. They know that your words are backed up by not only an army, but by an idea." Donar said, "They will come to fear us in time."
"They won't, not as long as they have the Avatar on their side." Kuvira responded, "The Avatar is a sign of unity, of hope. They will most certainly send her to stop me."
"What do you wish to do?"
"Act first." Kuvira said, "Hit them before they hit us. There was a single province in the Empire that has defied our attempts…Zaofu. I will take the city and boost our own forces."
"Zaofu? But Su…"
"Su is out of the loop, her ideas outdated, unnecessary. If we want the Earth Empire to be respected and feared, then we will need to be united. And besides…." She walked towards another room, it was large with a missing roof. There were several Hornets, Warthogs, and other UNSC supplies stored here. "The Red Lotus did after all bless us with this equipment."
"We will not fail." Donar said putting his helmet on. "Fireteam Horus is at your command."