Author's Note: Would anyone like to see a flashback chapter or two about the night Sokka died, tying into Suki's storyline? If you do, I'll write it. If you don't, I won't. You decide!

Responses to Reviews:

RonaldM40196867: I think he could, whatever the moral implications of the Nuktuk films being blatant propaganda intended to feed a war, Bolin did a good job in them.

As Always, Please Review!

Kuvira

The Great Uniter rocked in her chair in her cabin gently as the Colossus crashed through a wave, lifting it up and down as it raced north through stormy seas. She frowned and readjusted the paper she was writing on. A light flickered.

There was a knock on the door, and Kuvira looked up as Baatar entered. Behind him came Kuvira's naval chief, Admiral Fang.

"The rest of the fleet is up ahead!" Baatar told her cheerfully.

"That's excellent," Kuvira told them. "Ask them to fall in behind us. Do we need to resupply?"

Admiral Fang shook her head. She was a stern looking woman, around Kuvira's age, with her black hair tied up into a bun and fierce eyes. Kuvira had appointed her to be naval commander for her talent, and also because the existing Admirals were all monarchists. "We still have months' worth of food, and hundreds of rounds of spirit ammunition on board," she said. "We have everything we need."

"Good," Kuvira said. "Tell me, what do you know about Chin the Conqueror?"

Fang blinked at the change of subject.

"He conquered the entire continent except Ba Sing Se before falling off a cliff when Kyoshi moved her island?" She ventured.

"Yes," Kuvira waved a hand. "That's the accepted version of events."

"The accepted version?" Fang asked, looking confused.

Kuvira sighed. "Were you here when I deposed the last Earth King? I don't suppose you would have been, you were here building this. I was compared to Chin as an insult."

"I see," Fang raised an eyebrow, but Kuvira saw that she only thought she was offended over a potential slight.

"No," she said. "I wasn't offended. I'm not so lacking in self awareness that I can't see the parallels. A non-royal warlord nearly uniting the continent under their rule, only a few isolated territories still to go, and then the Avatar opposes them. Unfortunately, in Chin's case that opposition killed him. He died humiliated, powerless, and alone. I do not intend to share his death, but I do have a lot in common with the man."

She paused.

"For better or worse, I am Chin the Conqueror, which is a problem, because a lot of pro-Avatar histories have been written vilifying him. Opposition to him could mean opposition to me. You saw that it did on Kyoshi Island."

"So what?"

"If I'm going to get compared to that man, then It's going to be on my terms. Chin the Conqueror will become Chin the Great. Biographies will be written about him, movers will be made about him, statues will be built of him, I'll even dedicate a national holiday to him. They'll all tell the same story; Chin was a brave warrior who stepped in when Ba Sing Se failed to provide security to those outside its walls, and gave them safety until the Avatar treacherously killed him only when it benefited her to do so. And by doing that, the image of Chin as not a tyrant, but as the first Great Uniter like me takes hold, and his name ceases to be an insult."

She leaned back.

"At least. That's the plan."

"So your grand plan is to redeem the image of a man who has been dead for hundreds of years?" Fang asked. "Forgive me, I don't see the importance."

Kuvira sighed. Fang had proven herself exceptionally capable as a naval commander, but was a poor politician.

"It's about power," She told the Admiral.

"Power lies in thought. Make people think what you want them to think, and you never have to worry. I want my people to believe that I am the best option for them. I want young people to believe that I can safeguard their futures, and the old to believe I honour the past. I want foreigners to believe we are not to be messed with, and having my own people believe that wouldn't hurt either."

She smirked.

"And if that means making them believe that Chin the Conqueror was a hero, then that is what I must do. It's for their own good, after all. It's this, or chaos. And none of us want chaos."

"Do you think he was a hero?" Baatar asked. "Because it doesn't sound like it."

"Of course!" Kuvira replied. Having just directly compared herself to him, she couldn't exactly say anything else even if she had wanted to. Besides, saying otherwise would make her look both incredibly cynical and like she was deliberately lying to her people.

"Anyway," Fang butted in. "All this talk of history is very interesting, but don't we have more pressing concerns?"

"I shouldn't think so," Kuvira replied. "We're still more than a week's sail from the United Republic, and this is a pressing concern. But fine, we'll leave this until the battle is won. Speaking of which, how do we win the battle?"

Kuvira was a veteran commander of many victorious battles, but they were all won on land. She didn't much understand the doctrines of naval warfare, and so intended to defer to Fang, who did know what she was doing.

"We're going to be heavily outnumbered," Fang warned. "The enemy combined fleet will outnumber us three to one at least. I'm sure they'll like those odds. I know I would."

"So we'll have to fight."

"Most likely."

Kuvira had been irritated when news had come that the Fire Nation was openly supporting the United Republic and had sent ships to assist them. That hadn't been supposed to happen. But if she had to take on the old enemy again in order to reunite the country, she would do it

"But we do have one trump card," Fang continued. "We have Colossus, and they do not. Their ships are new, and powerful, but nowhere near as powerful as us. But they may not know that yet."

"So we just let this ship do all the heavy lifting?" Kuvira asked. "Can she take it?"

"She's the only ship we've got which can," Fang nodded. "Just let Colossus take the lead, and let her do the rest."

"And once we've defeated the fleet, what do we then do about the city?"

"I don't want to fire on civilians," Baatar interjected.

"Don't worry, we won't," Kuvira soothed him. "I don't want to kill innocents either. I have a plan to get the Republic to surrender quickly and with the fewest lives lost." She leaned in conspiratorially.

"The United Republic army is in the north and east, away from the city, because I've put my army there to threaten them. Their navy will probably leave Republic City to come south and deal with us."

Fang got a knowing smirk on her face.

"They'll have left their capital undefended," she said.

"Precisely," Kuvira grinned.

She took advantage of her position leaned over the table to subtly shuffle the list of names she had been poring over to the bottom of the pile.