"You must trust and believe in people or life becomes impossible." – Anton Chekhov
"Have you two lost your minds?!" Harak exclaimed, his face becoming a bright shade of red. His yelling was followed by him slamming his fist onto the desk. "He's a security risk! Do you think because he's been compliant we should let him go? That is the most absurd proposal I've ever heard. You have to be morons to simply take the man at his word. We have no idea who sent him, and I'd like to keep him in containment until I receive word from my superiors. I refuse to take such a risk because you've taken pity on him."
The office became eerily quiet after he concluded his tirade. Other than him heavily breathing to catch his breath, neither of the women sitting across from his desk said a word. However, the silence was just temporary as Korra's scowl meant an explosive reaction was incoming.
Korra shot up out of her chair, causing it to fall back.
"What is your problem?!" Korra retorted loudly, matching the old man's tone. She pointed at him. "We could have imprisoned an innocent man. Do you know how wrong this would look if it got out?"
Harak narrowed his eyes at her.
"Calm yourself, Avatar. It may be your responsibility to bring balance to this world. However, you are still naive about the greater world. It is our responsibility to protect you until you've mastered each of the four elements. But, until that day arrives, you are under our protection, which means decisions like these are to be made at our discretion, not yours."
It was an incredible struggle for Korra. She balled her hands into fists, fighting back the urge to use her earth-bending. The temptation to throw Harak against the ceiling would be so easy, but Katara must've sensed her frustration as she felt a hand on her arm.
She looked over at her water-bending teacher, who shook her head. Korra was ready to disagree, but it took a moment for her to see the look in Katara's eyes.
'I'll handle this.'
"Fine," Korra muttered, turning away from the older woman. She did, however, make to glare at Harak before leaning over and picking up the chair that fell over. Once she took a seat and crossed her arms, it wasn't hard to miss the slight edge to her words.
"Harak, I think you need to be a little more open-minded," Katara chided him. "He may be an unknown soldier. I will not dispute such a fact. However, you need to realize keeping him locked isn't doing any good. The boy's done nothing to warrant such treatment. He was only seeking shelter from the storm. I do not need to remind you how even our tribes, who've inhabited these lands for countless generations, always make sure to teach our children to never venture far into such brutal storms."
The old man immediately dismissed her words.
"There is a reason why we chose this location in the South Pole," Harak countered, glaring at Katara. "I do not need to remind you, of all people, what makes his claim difficult to believe. There isn't a single water tribe settlement for days – if not weeks – in any direction. Answer my question; how did he know about the compound? The chances of anyone coming across this place by pure luck is minuscule. No, I am convinced the only reason he's here is to harm Korra. Nothing you say will change my mind."
A flood of anger surged through Korra, struggling to hold back her desire to know some sense into this idiot spouting off nonsense. She may understand the White Lotus are only doing their job, but Korra thought this was going too far. It's one thing to protect her. On the other hand, locking up someone who doesn't even know she's the Avatar is another thing entirely.
'Didn't even know what the Avatar is.'
"Korra?"
The young woman heard the voice of her water-bending teacher. She looked over to see Katara staring at her, concern etched into her features.
"Yeah, what is it?"
"What do you think?"
"I think…" Korra bit the inside of her cheek before letting the dam inside of her mind break on purpose as she wanted to give Harak a piece of her mind. She glared at him. "You're being a complete and utter asshole. He may be a stranger, but I'm also the Avatar. I'm not some little girl who can't defend herself from someone who wants to hurt me. Spirits, he didn't know about the Avatar. He thought my previous selves and I were just stories, legends, or some story cooked up to scare the Fire Nation decades ago."
Harak, however, didn't seem convinced.
"Preposterous."
"I wanted to believe he was lying too," Korra admitted, recalling her conversation with him earlier in the morning. "Then I spoke with him as if he's a person. I realized he wasn't lying to me or trying to gain my trust. That's why I'm willing to give him a chance, regardless of your permission."
He didn't miss the meaning behind her words. No, Harak understood perfectly what she was implying.
"You may be the Avatar. I will not deny the reality of your situation. That being said, you are neither invincible nor infallible. Whether you know it or not, the world is not a kind place. There are people out in the world who would love nothing more than to hurt you, use you, and destroy everything the Avatar stands for," Harak said, his voice barely above a whisper. "My role in this world is to make sure you're prepared for that eventuality by bringing all the best teachers in the world to this location, providing a safe environment for you to grow and reach your full potential."
In any other situation, Korra might've taken his words to heart. Today, however, was not that day as the young woman scowled at him before abruptly standing up. She was about to walk away, but as Korra was moments away from grabbing the doorknob, she was stopped in her tracks by Katara suddenly speaking up.
"You say he's an unknown. A threat you might even say to Korra. Is that correct?"
She didn't know what Harak's response was as the man never said a word. It had to have been a nod or something as Katara continued speaking.
"What if we allow him to prove he isn't a danger to anybody within these walls?"
Harak snorted loudly, "And how would we go about doing that?"
"Let him stay with me."
Korra looked over her shoulder to see a rather surprised Harak. The old man leaned back in his chair and didn't say anything for what felt like an eternity. Then he managed to find his voice again.
"Suicide. That's exactly what this is Katara. Do you understand what exactly it is you're risking here? I thought you said you would never use such a technique again after the war ended. This intruder does not deserve anywhere near this level of respect or faith from you." Harak's scowl only deepened as he continued speaking. "I will not put you through such stress. We have no idea of what he's capable of."
"The decision to use my bending belongs to me, Harak. I may be willing to tolerate the ridiculous shackles you've placed on Korra, twisting my husband's final request. But do not think such authority extends to me," Katara stated calmly, yet Korra hadn't missed the simmering frustration lacing her words. "Lastly, I can dictate who is allowed and not allowed to step foot in my home. My decision is final. The soldier is to stay with me until he proves his innocence. I will not tolerate another argument with you."
Korra's eyes went wide during the verbal beat down from the old woman. Tensions were running high, getting to the point where Korra feared an actual fight might break out between them.
Both of these people are considered powerful water benders. However, Katara's ability is legendary to the rest of the world. It's why the White Lotus went to her first. Harak, while strong in his own right, seemed to acknowledge the reality of his situation as there was a look of uncertainty in his eyes. Harak then responded, ending the unofficial staring contest.
"It's your funeral should he choose to harm you, Katara. He is your responsibility. Remember that."
(X)
Boredom.
A perfect word to describe how exactly Six was feeling. For most of his life, the lieutenant was used to being out on some sort of mission. Whether being tasked with taking out Covenant bases behind their lines or slitting the throats of Insurrectionist leaders, Six never experienced boredom. However, things have changed with his most recent, and peculiar, circumstances.
He tilted his head back, staring at the wall of his cell. While it may have only been two days since waking up inside this makeshift prison, the spartan was feeling the itch to escape and move around for the first time in what felt like forever.
No matter how easy it may be for him to walk up to those bars and break them, the fundamental issue remained the same; he had nowhere to go.
There wasn't even a window inside this building. The only thing to keep him entertained was either the books and maps he received from Korra or trying to figure out this world's writing system. At first, Six had been taken back by the sight of symbols reminiscent of Chinese letters, but what confused him the spartan more were the differences.
The suit's systems, which were specially modified by ONI, enabled him to decipher the language. That's allowed him to understand their writing system. On the other hand, their actual speech was bizarre. Six thought these people spoke some form of Chinese until he analyzed the recordings of Korra's voice and found it to be English.
Something was off about this place.
Yet, Six knew there was no help on the way. Not only would any remaining UNSC forces be recalled to defend the inner colonies, especially Earth, but every warship left would be tasked with slowing down the Covenant. 'Unless they're the first ones to find this place,' Six thought, knowing his race's enemies would just glass this planet from orbit.
After thinking about the alien invaders, Six placed the book he'd been reading earlier onto the ground next to him. He remembered shaking his head at the idea of someone possessing the ability to cut off an entire landmass, turning it into an island, all in the name of protecting her people from a tyrant king.
Again, his mind wanted to believe the story was nothing more than myth, serving as a way to explain how their island came into existence. Humanity in their earlier days did the same until science came along and explained how the natural world functions. But these people do possess the ability to manipulate the elements. So is it possible to perform such an incredible feat?
He contemplated what the others would've said if they were around.
Emile might not have cared, stating it wouldn't do them much good in a fight against a spartan. As for Kat and Jorge, the former ONI operative can see them being a lot more open to the idea. Carter, on the other hand, was a bit more difficult to pin down. Although, Six knew the man would've come up with a plan or something.
'Then there's Jun.'
Noble team's sharpshooter. Out of everyone, Jun had the best chance to survive the fall of Reach after he was tasked with escorting Dr. Halsey. 'Or maybe that's what I want to believe happened.'
"We all make it sooner or later."
Jorge's words echoed in his mind, but, unlike the others, death hadn't come for him yet. For whatever reason, Six managed to survive Reach and make it off the dead world. A question he's been unable to answer for the past couple of days since waking up in this frozen wasteland.
Is this what boredom is like?
Six heard about the phenomenon from a couple of marines he interacted with during the transfer from orbit to Reach's surface. The stop-and-go nature of the military usually led to periods of boredom. Well, now he understands what exactly those devil dogs meant.
No knife to sharpen.
No weapons to maintain.
Nothing to keep his mind off the reality of his situation. Sleep wasn't much of an option for him. When he tried closing his eyes, the spartan was met with the same memory, constantly replaying ad nauseam.
It always starts the way. Jorge tosses him from the Long Night of Solace into the vacuum of space. The sudden feeling of weightlessness affected the spartan. For what feels like an eternity, his body is slowly but surely falling back down to Reach. His dark green eyes, hidden by the visor, are focused entirely on the Covenant warship.
Then, right before their makeshift bomb went off, the memory was cut short by a door swinging open with incredible force. Six, in that moment, felt a spike of adrenaline flow through his body, causing it to tense up. Memories of the alien invaders forced him to prepare for the chance things may not go his way. But, thankfully, his discipline and training kicked in the second he saw it wasn't an enemy soldier entering the building. It was Korra.
She immediately threw her hood off and approached his cell with a big grin on her face.
"Today's your lucky day, pal," Korra said excitedly. "You're going to get to leave this stupid cell."
"What's changed?"
"Katara was able to...convince Harak to let you stay with her. You know, prove once and for all you're not some murderer trying to put me six feet under the ground. Just normal stuff."
Six blinked once at Korra's answer. He wasn't a stranger to the idea of using intimidation to make folks see his way of thinking. It's a tactic he made use of on numerous occasions as an ONI operative, which only made him more wary about Katara if she was able to convince his warden to let him out of his cell so easily.
"Hmm."
"Seriously? You're not even going to say thank you or anything." Korra scoffed at his apparent lack of gratitude. She placed a hand on her hip and leaned slightly forward, pointing at him. "You should count yourself lucky Katara is letting you stay with her. If we let Harak have his way, you'd still be locked up in this cell for however long he wants."
"That so?"
Six stepped up to the iron bars of his makeshift cell. The enormous height difference between him and Korra became even more pronounced despite the bars separating them.
"Y-Yeah."
He mulled over her answer. The old man didn't seem to be the type of person to relinquish control so easily. It truly Six wonder what kind of influence Katara has around this place. It prompted him to ask a question he'd been curious about since encountering the old woman for the first time.
"What do you know about Katara?"
His question made Korra blink.
"Um." She didn't seem prepared to answer. The way her eyebrows furrowed meant she must've been confused before ultimately finding her voice again. "She's a great teacher. Someone I respect, and someone more than willing to give people a chance to prove themselves."
The rather pointed look she was giving him wasn't lost on the spartan. He saw the way she was caught off guard by the immense difference between them. However, Korra appeared to have found her spine as she took a step closer to his cell despite how far back she had to tilt her head back to look him in the 'face'.
Then he heard someone cough rather loudly, grabbing both of their attention.
Katara. The topic of his question was standing at the threshold of the building. For whatever reason, the old woman seemed to be amused by something if the look on her face is of any indication. Then, she stepped inside of the building. Although, she was not alone. Harak and two younger people dressed in a uniform similar to his.
"You two seemed to be getting along," Katara said, walking up to his cell. "Now, young man, I'm sure Korra has explained to you what's going to happen."
Six nodded.
"Good." She seemed pleased for some reason. Afterward, Katara looked over her shoulder. She was looking at the unknown man and woman who stood behind Harak. "Gohon and Laya, would you two please open his cell for us?"
While it would've been much easier for Six to pry open the bars, there's a good chance it would lead to these people being spooked by his strength. He decided to let these folks do whatever it is they're going to do. Korra and Katara moved out of the way, clearing a path for the two people. He saw a brief hint of apprehension pass through their eyes.
The two people – whose facial structures seemed remarkably similar – stepped up to his cell. They both made a quick swiping gesture in opposite directions. At that same time, Six saw the iron bars of his cell be pried open without either of them touching it. Six remained calm in the face of seeing these two bend metal.
'Ain't that something.'
He waited for the two people to move away before stepping out of the cell. Once he was free, Six scanned the room. His suit's radar wasn't picking any movement within several meters of his position.
"Now, before I ask you to follow me, I do believe it's appropriate for me to learn about the name of my guest," Katara said, smiling at him.
His name, huh?
The spartan couldn't remember his real name anymore. It's been nearly twenty years since he last heard the voices of his parents. He doesn't remember much of them. But the only name he does recall is the one given to him by Noble team during the defense of Reach. That being said, these people don't need to know that. Not now, maybe not ever.
"Six."