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RonaldM40196867: That's a difficult one, I don't know any sports that well. Football maybe? Or Rugby.

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Asami

From her viewpoint on the bridge, Asami watched the final preparations being made to the flying machines as they lined up on the deck. Their pilots dashed over to them, followed by lightningbenders and navigators, and began to climb in.

At that moment, the sky turned purple. She heard a pained gasp next to her as Korra slumped over the radio set, as several purple beams streaked in and slammed into the Fire Nation flagship. The Audacious exploded, throwing debris in all directions as its hull was cut into several pieces.

"Mako!" Asami cried out in horror. Her friend had been on board that ship!

There was a moment of horrified silence on the bridge as everyone took in the sight before them. The Audacious had already begun to slip below the waves, as another ship began to move towards it to look for survivors and the rest manoeuvred to avoid the debris. Asami could clearly see bodies floating in the water. She could only hope they were alright.

"What are we waiting for?" The captain demanded after a moment. "Launch the strike!"

A chorus of loud booms began to reverberate as the other ships opened fire on Kuvira. Even in the distance Asami could see splashes erupting around her ship.

Asami clutched her unconscious friend as she watched the launch process begin. The first flying machine moved into position and then was fired forwards, dipping for a moment as it left the front of the ship, and then rising into the sky in a lazy looping pattern as it waited for the others. Over in the distance, the other carrier had begun to launch its flying machines as well.

Another stream of purple shots came whizzing in from the enemy ship, this time barely missing one of the Republican battleships and splashing harmlessly into the water, causing the sea to fizz and boil around it. Huge plumes of water erupted from the sea where they hit, showering the deck of the warship with water.

More flying machines were in the air now, and Asami watched as they formed a V formation and turned towards Kuvira.

"Korra!" Bolin rushed over to them, having just seen Korra's unconscious form. "Is she alright?" He demanded.

"I... don't know," Asami replied. "What about Mako?"

"I don't know either," Bolin said.

"Get the Avatar to the medical bay!" The captain ordered. Hiroshi tapped his daughter on the shoulder.

"You should do as he says," he said quietly.

"What about the attack?"

Another stream of purple energy slammed into another Fire Nation ship, destroying the bridge. Now uncontrolled, it began to drift out of the formation.

"There's nothing we can do for them now. It's up to the pilots."

In the distance, the first four machines turned into the attack and dived down until they were skimming above the waves. Hiroshi's attention was now focussed on them.

A jet of purple only narrowly missed the lead flying machine, causing the formation to scatter and drop their torpedoes.

"No, too soon!" Hiroshi growled. "They're going to miss."

The rest of Kuvira's fleet had begun to move forward and engage, and enemy fire was now falling around the Republican flagship that Iroh was on. A spirit laser only narrowly missed it, while another sawed the Fire Nation battleship Hari Bulkan clear in half. The hull buckled as a burst of flame rose from the cut and the bow and stern rose into the air.

Bolin was picking Korra up and slung her over his shoulder.

"We should go!" He called to Asami.

"You should," Hiroshi told them, watching as the second airstrike made its way towards Kuvira. Like the first, this one dropped down until it skimmed the surface of the ocean and raced towards the target- but Hiroshi could only ball his fist impotently as the pilots dropped their torpedoes too soon. They could only watch as Kuvira turned her ship hard towards them, and all the torpedoes missed. The Flying Machines banked hard to the right and began to climb away.

"For spirits' sake!" Hiroshi scowled. "That laser must have spooked them!"

Asami couldn't really say she blamed them, considering the immense damage it did to ships she didn't want to know what the effect would be on a flying machine.

More purple shots flew in, and now more battleships were actively taking evasive manoeuvres to try to dodge them; some succeeded, but were forced to stop shooting because the movement threw off their aim. Others were not so lucky. A shot slammed into the waterline just short of the Republican vessel Cranefish, but it must have hit it under the waterline because the Cranefish immediately began listing as it took on water. Two more Fire Nation ships were hit by the same shot, which passed clear through one, causing a huge explosion, and slammed into the other which was positioned directly behind it.

"We're getting slaughtered," breathed the captain when he thought nobody could hear him. It didn't matter, because everyone agreed anyway.

"Asami, medical bay now!" Hiroshi ordered, gesturing to the door. "It's the safest place for her, and she needs you."

"What about you?"

"I'm needed here," Hiroshi nodded. "I love you, Asami. Spending all those years choosing an ideology over you was my greatest mistake. I cannot undo it, but there is something else I can do for you."

"What?"

"Just go!"

Bolin grabbed Asami's wrist and began to pull her away. Asami allowed herself to be pulled, still a little bit in shock from the disaster unfolding around her. They ran down stairs and through corridors, sailors piling around them. They finally reached the sickbay, which was thankfully empty. The carrier had not come under direct attack during the battle, so nobody had been wounded.

A doctor rushed over, a waterbender judging by his blue uniform, and helped Bolin place Korra down on a table.

But over the din of battle, Asami dimly heard something else as the doctor brought out a water skin.

The sound of an aircraft engine starting up.

One torpedo bomber had not taken part in the initial attack; the one that had been earmarked for use in Korra's plan to directly attack Kuvira before the battle started. And it carried a torpedo, and was still on deck ready to go.

A dreadful moment of realisation hit Asami as her father's plan became painfully transparent, his last words to her ringing through her mind.

She knew what he thought he could do for her now.

She turned and bolted.

"Asami!" Bolin cried behind her.

She flew down corridors, pushed past sailors, took the stairs two at a time. She was acting more on instinct now, entirely committed to reaching her destination in time. Finally, the right door loomed in front of her and she burst out of it, just as the last torpedo bomber roared past her.

"Dad!" She called desperately, trying to stop him.

Her father raised a hand in a salute of goodbye from the cockpit, before he reached the end of the flight deck, dropped out of sight for a second, and rose into the sky.

Asami could only watch helplessly as her father turned in to attack Kuvira alone.