In the South Pole, Korra was extremely happy. After a year, she was finally home. Her parents had been overjoyed to see her again, and thankfully, they were past the point of being mad at Mako for impregnating her. They were just as enthusiastic to meet their grandchildren for the first time, as well, and were downright grateful to Vader for all that he'd done for her. Naga, who'd been rather downcast after her owner's disappearance, was also quite happy to have her back and to meet the children. She didn't like Vader or KayBee but hopefully that would change. After a joyous reunion with Mako and KayBee staying with Harou and Saria, Korra's parents helped her prepare a tub filled with Spirit Water for Vader. Tonraq and Senna were rather surprised to learn that aliens and robots were real but quickly accepted it. Everyone, even Korra, was shocked to see just how extensive his injuries were as the medical droids removed his armor and attached a breathing tube to his mouth. After over an hour of applying spirit water to his injuries, Vader was taken out and put back in his suit.
"Your cell regeneration is thirty percent above average, sir," 31-D reported. "It appears that the Force-imbued water is indeed a potent healing agent."
"The Force?" asked Tonraq.
"It's the source of his power, and ours," Korra answered. "We just never realized it." Turning to face the Sith Lord, Korra asked how he felt.
"Better than I have in years," he stated. "Thank you for this." As he reentered his ship to contact Appo, who was working with Kuvira to set up operations in the Earth Nation, Korra took her parents into the living room and began to explain what she had gone through. Her dad was surprised to learn that Vader was part of a group called the Galactic Empire, but he was past the point of mistrusting the Sith. He snapped to attention when Korra explained who the Hutts were and how they knew their planet's location.
"The Hutts are the sort of people who think they can do whatever they want without consequence, and try to punish anyone who reminds them otherwise," Korra explained. "Victims who escape and humiliate them especially."
"I thought the Empire hid its involvement," Senna said.
"We've tried to hide our involvement, but we had to improvise when we learned where Kuvira and the others were taken," Korra told her mother. "Kor Besadi wasn't part of our plan, and we didn't have time to be as careful in covering our tracks. If they learn what happened, they might decide to attack 'Elementia' as our world is called." The planet of the Four Nations had no official name, as each nation called it something different. "I don't know what sort of weapons they would bring to bear," Korra continued. "But there is only one way I can guarantee our safety: we help the Empire set up a presence here, station it's warships above, and begin upgrading our infrastructure with their technology." After a moment, Tonraq spoke up.
"I understand the danger Korra, but-""No, you don't," an annoyed Korra interrupted. "You never thought it was possible to leave this planet. I spent over a year out there, I'm the expert, here. You're not." Tonraq was surprised his daughter would so abrasively state her opinion, but he continued.
"No, I don't understand the dangers out there," Tonraq explained. "I don't know how to best protect our world from aliens, but I do know many people will be horrified to learn this. And many people still fear the Obsidian Knight. Helping his army set up on our world will look like a betrayal."
"Which is why we are keeping it secret until it is done," Korra stated, surprising both her parents. "The Imperials with Kuvira are already laying the groundwork in her ranks, and after we're done here, I will join them. Varrick has agreed to help them, as well, and will be the front for the various projects. Some other friends of mine, like Major Sunber, will come here to help you build the necessary shield generator. The bounty hunters Boba Fett and Bossk will preside over training in blaster weapons and other technology."
"All of this would go faster if you approached the other leaders," Senna noted.
"Like President Raiko?" Korra asked incredulously. "He refused to listen to me, even when we learned Unalaq's plan, and almost the entire world was destroyed. Then he blamed me for the damage. As for the rest, they all hate the Obsidian Knight, regardless of what I have to say. The White Lotus would probably try to kidnap me and lock me in a cell until I was 'free of his brainwashing' as they would call it."
"That seems a little extreme for them," Tonraq replied.
"In my travels, I heard of the Jedi Order, who tended to bring children into their ranks when they were too young to question their dogma," Korra explained. "They denied them any contact with their parents, and any life outside the Order. All the better to control them. Sound familiar?"
"They only isolated you to protect you," Tonraq said. "And they didn't stop us from being in your life."
"YOU only isolated me to protect me, Dad," Korra replied. "I'm sure they were already planning it and were just trying to think of an excuse that Tenzin, you, and the others they had to be nice to would agree with when Zaheer made his move. Also, if you were a fisherman instead of the chief, do you think they'd let you visit me once or twice a month?" Her parents paused, thinking about what Korra had said. "Regardless, the leaders of the world and White Lotus Order will not agree to this, regardless of what I do," she continued. "They would probably try to undermine it or actively attack the Imperials present."
"And what about Tenzin?" Senna asked. "You said he was like a second father to you."
"Tenzin, and even Lin for that matter, do love me," Korra replied, remembering how Vader described his second fight with them. He described Lin's feelings for Korra, Mako, and Bolin were so strong he initially thought the three were her children. She hadn't been surprised to learn Tenzin thought of her that way. "But they've rarely listened to what I think we should do, before, and they absolutely hate Vader. Too much to listen to what he has to say."
"How long do you think you can keep this secret?" asked her mother.
"I don't need it to last more than six weeks, according to Director Krennic's estimates," the Avatar answered, the director having agreed to help with the Imperial development. Many other Imperials she met on Maridun would be joining them, as would her various students. Having learned how to tell who could be made a Bender, she had empowered almost ten thousand Imperials with bending at this point, but the difficulty with one teacher and that many students delayed their education, even with recordings and broadcasts. Hopefully, she would be able to find more teachers for her students.
"At this point, we have no reason to mistrust Vader," Tonraq said. "Perhaps, if I hadn't been reluctant to believe what he said of my brother, we could have avoided the civil war. But what about his superiors in this Empire?"
"Vader's only superior is the Emperor himself," Korra answered. "I don't know Palpatine well, but he's done everything he promised, ruled the galaxy rather effectively, and Vader wouldn't be offering this if the Emperor disapproved. Some of the other bigshots are jealous of me for being new or think that bending threatens their careers somehow. But they can't overrule Darth Vader."
"There's something you aren't saying," Tonraq noted. "Something bothers you about this emperor."
"It shouldn't, since it's not his fault," Korra replied. "Palpatine's survived many assassination attempts, but some came closer to succeeding than others. As a result, while his injuries are largely cosmetic, his appearance and voice are actually scarier than Vader's. But when I think about it logically, I move forward and work with him." After a moment, Tonraq agreed to Korra's suggestion. "Great, by the way, we need a used mech," she added.
"Why?" her mom asked.
"It is for me," Kaybee spoke up. "As the nanny, I must be able to protect Mako and Korra's children as best I can. As such, I am being given a new body, one impervious to Metalbending. The mech made of what you call platinum will be sent to Mandalore, smelted, and forged into my new body." Then, the droid looked over at Naga. "You might be the pet but I'm the nanny. Someone has to stop you from eating the children."
"Naga would never do that," Tonraq said. "Also, what we call platinum?"
"They have a metal called platinum, themselves, but it isn't what we call platinum," Korra replied. "They call what we have Beskar. A metal largely unique to the world of Mandalore, whose people are the only ones who know how to forge it. But that's a story for another time."
Vader was reporting to his master what he'd experienced with the Spirit Water. He noted that it could strengthen Sidious, as well. "And here Tarkin thought we should bombard Elementia until it resembles Mustafar," the emperor remarked. "I wouldn't have done so regardless, as those 'Spirits' Korra told us of might be able to fight back against it. Still, I question your plan to recruit more natives to our side."
"Kuvira and Baatar Beifong are both strong in the force, and have a ruthlessness tempered by cunning the ideal commander should have," Vader stated. "In addition, master, the Southern Water Tribe is indebted to me. I have studied the various peoples of the planet, and they would be intrigued as opposed to intimidated by the sight of a star destroyer flying above. Spreading our reach quietly costs nothing, while a show of force will lead to unnecessary conflict."
"And the other nations, alongside the White Lotus Order?" Palpatine asked. "Everything I have heard indicates they are liable to oppose us."
"Korra will attempt to bring them into line," Vader assured his master. "If they reject her, after all she has done for them, she will lead our army in conquering them."
"You are learning, apprentice," Sidious complemented him. "Continue with your plan."
"As you command, master," Vader said as he bowed to the flickering transmission. After that, he went to Tonraq's house. After a short meeting, laying the groundwork for the Imperial engineers who'd soon come, Korra and Mako left for their next meeting with Kuvira's army. They would soon be educated on the true nature of the galaxy, and how the Empire was the future.
Katara had been rather displeased with Tenzin and his siblings over how they had kept knowledge of their father's killer from her. "I guess, saying it out loud makes it true," Tenzin admitted.
"I'm meeting Izumi next week," Bumi said. "I'm done keeping this secret. Hopefully, she and her parents will be as understanding as Iroh." Iroh understood his father didn't want to consider the possibility of his father's reincarnation on the side of his father's killer but now they had to consider it.
"I didn't help teach Korra Waterbending so she could join Dad's killer," Kya stated. "If she does, she'll really get a piece of my mind when I smack some sense into her."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Aunt Kya," Ikki spoke up.
"No one asked you!" her aunt snapped before calming down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, but this is a very sensitive topic."
"It's why you should listen," Ikki said firmly. "Despite his scary castle surrounded by lava, along with his voice and appearance, Vader was more convincing than Zaheer ever was. And he made me realize something." Ikki's eyes had started to tear up.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" asked Pema.
"When he read my mind, he saw what I didn't see," she sniffed. The adults tensed up, the revelation Vader could read people's minds and discern what they wanted was already disturbing and made it likely he could figure out how to turn Korra to his side. "Zaheer was so nice, that I ignored how his story and behavior made no sense. He hurt you, Aunt Kya."
"That's not your fault, Ikki," the Waterbender assured her niece. "We didn't consider the Red Lotus might return, so we didn't tell you about them."
"Well, because of my ignorance, Zaheer went on to hurt many others," the twelve-year-old continued. "When he ran out of ideas to get to Korra, he took us prisoner to make her surrender."
"Are you saying it's our fault Korra wound up in her predicament?" asked Tenzin, having never considered that view before.
"I'm saying that, even with a baby on the way, Korra put us ahead of herself," his daughter said. "Whatever the world she ended up on is like, it's unknown and has a bunch of stuff she and Mako don't understand. If she returns home with Vader's help, being angry at her won't make her reconsider. It'll just make us look like jerks who don't care about her."
"You're right, Ikki," Tenzin said after a moment. "Getting angry at them won't help Korra and Mako see Vader for what he is, only the opposite." Shortly afterward, Tenzin and the others met with Jinora.
"How is Kai doing?" Pema asked her daughter.
"Lin is introducing him to this doctor, tomorrow," Jinora answered. "He helps people who were...messed with like Kai was." Everyone nodded in relief at that. Jinora's story was the most unsettling of their experiences. Lin had grit her teeth when she heard it. She said that an alien using pheromones that way was no different than a new drug meant for insomniacs being used by perverts on people they fancied. "I just talked to Asami," the fourteen-year-old said. "She doesn't see a way for Korra and Mako to get home, without Vader's help."
"What are you saying?" Katara asked.
"Maybe Vader is evil, maybe he's not," Jinora said, earning a flash of anger from her father, his siblings, and grandmother. "But either Vader uses the crystal to give them a portal, or he flies them home in his ship. Tell me I'm wrong." After a moment, the adults conceded she was right. "If Vader is evil, Korra will see through it, like with Tarrlock and Unalaq. But if he is evil, I don't know why he would help her return." After a moment, Tenzin decided to talk to his daughter alone.
"You seem to be doubting his villainy," the Airbending leader said.
"Do you want the truth of how I feel?" his daughter asked.
"Yes," he answered. "We don't always agree but I've learned that I need to hear what others think, otherwise I'll fail to get anywhere with them."
"Don't get mad, then," Jinora replied. "I think it's clear that he was telling the truth when he saved Tonraq and Senna." Unalaq murdering his own father to ascend faster would be in complete accordance with his later behavior. And, just as Vader warned him, Tonraq's life was almost ruined and destroyed by his brother out of pettiness.
"Yes," Tenzin admitted. "But he could have gone to my father to plead his case, and your grandfather would have believed him, even if Unalaq was technically part of the family at that point."
"But he couldn't know that," Jinora continued. "Also, there are his injuries to consider. Asami doesn't think he can breathe without his suit, and given what Ikki and Meelo describe, it's easy to believe that his healing tank sessions are necessary like he claims."
"True," Tenzin continued, being patient with his daughter. "But then there is his behavior. He killed many people who wouldn't bow to his threats, and when I saw him again, he'd already killed several children."
"Did you see him do so?" asked Jinora. "Did you see him blow up an orphanage on that jungle world? Stab kids with his 'lightsaber' as I hear it's called? Did you see kids at all? Or did you just see little aliens who happen to be my size, regardless of how they age or if their species is just that size no matter how old they are?"
"I saw a burned doll in one of the ships he'd destroyed," Tenzin answered calmly. "I admit, I didn't see any children, but Vader was the only one alive, and it was clear he'd inflicted the damage."
"Okay, that is suspicious, but it doesn't prove anything," Jinora said, remaining calm. "They could have been terrorists just like he claimed, and the doll might have been a good luck charm or something. The reason I'm inclined to think he's a good guy, however, is how he treated you."
"What do you mean?" Tenzin asked.
"Some people with a grudge against him show up out of nowhere," Jinora says. "He offers them a chance to back down and they attack. He doesn't kill any of them, or even inflict a lasting injury. Instead, he keeps them alive and, as soon as he finds a way to send them home, does so. As far as I can tell, he gained nothing from this. At that point, I must consider his kindness isn't just an act. Maybe, the Sith have more in common with us than we think." Tenzin wanted to snap at Jinora for saying such things, but he'd learned from her and Korra how behaving that way didn't teach them but push them away. Regardless, it demonstrated how terrifying Vader was in an unexpected way: charm. Ikki herself said he was more convincing than Zaheer, and if the wisest of his children was giving him the benefit of the doubt, that was true. It wasn't just gratitude for saving them, or desperation for Korra and Mako to return, she was actually considering Vader might be a misunderstood hero. Vader was probably inserting some truth into his story, but given his behavior, it was hard to see him as a policeman like he claimed to be.
"Anything else to say?" Tenzin asked.
"Evil people want to be feared, not understood," Jinora added. "They don't let others see them vulnerable. Vader made sure Asami, Ikki, and Meelo saw him vulnerable because he wanted to be understood."
"Or perhaps was hoping to trick them through a fake display," Tenzin replied. "Perhaps you are right about Vader. I've been wrong before. But I want you to keep in mind he might be trying to trick you."
"I'm not stupid, Dad," she replied. "I am wary of him. But I don't have any history with him, like you. Maybe I can see something you can't."
After Asami passed through the security checkpoint, she made her way into Republic Central Prison. It was where the worst criminals in the URN were held. Soon, many of them would be transferred to the reopened Boiling Rock. After the Hundred-Year War, the island between the Fire Nation and Western Air Temple had been given to the White Lotus as a training ground, with the prison in the middle of the caldera closed. Now, it was being restored and expanded to house people like the Equalists and Red Lotus. Asami wouldn't be able to see her father as easily, so she had come now.
"Asami, it's good to see you," Hiroshi said to her. Even though he was only fifty-two, his hair had turned almost entirely white during his time in prison. "Though, given our last conversation, I didn't expect you here. Are you coming to say goodbye before they send me to the cruelest prison in history?"
"No," Asami told her father. "I'm here to tell you I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. I will be writing back to you, and even visiting on occasion." Her father was stunned to hear that. The only time she had visited before was to tell him to stop sending letters, as she was busy trying to rid herself and the company of his stench. "The letters will be examined but your guards already observe our conversations."
"Asami, I...don't know what to say," he said. "I've written 'I'm sorry' so many times. Why have you decided to give me a second chance?"
"What have you heard about Mako and Korra?" she asked.
"What everyone else has heard," he said compassionately. "Some of the people here celebrated when they heard the news. I might have, once, but they have been better friends to you than I was a father," he said regretfully. "They were not like the people who killed your mother, and I was too angry and jealous of benders to realize it. They are...trapped in the Spirit World?"
"Something like that," Asami told her father. "Tenzin and I have recently met someone who can bring them back. Tenzin doesn't trust him, and I have mixed feelings about him as well. But all we've tried has failed, so he's our only hope. If I can bring myself to trust him, I can give my father the benefit of the doubt."
"I won't betray your faith, Asami," he assured her. "In here, I've realized how wrong I was, and how, if Tenzin and the other councilors allowed our protests before the Revelation, we could have achieved equality without violence. But we were angry, we didn't want equality, we wanted revenge. I wanted vengeance on the man who killed your mother, Lieutenant Lao wanted vengeance on the benders who bullied him at school, and Amon wanted revenge on his father, so he pretended every bender was like his father. You realized it, and it's why you rejected me." After pausing for a moment upon getting his realization off his chest, he asked another question. "Are you afraid the guards watching us are part of that 'Red Lotus' I heard about? Or are you afraid I would say something, given how you've avoided talking about this person you hope will help your friends?"
"A bit of both," Asami answered. "One day, if they trust us enough to be left in private, I might tell you more. But I don't want the return of my two best friends to be endangered."
"I understand," he said as she walked out of the room. "I love you, Asami." As he went back through the prison door, she quietly said "I love you too, Dad."
Lin was back on Air Temple Island, having returned Kai from the councilor she'd brought him to meet. Lin had accompanied the young Airbender to stress the councilor's oath of secrecy regarding his patients. Normally, she wouldn't have done so but no other patient had ever gone to a different planet and met the Obsidian Knight. Of course, Kai was less disturbed by Vader than he was of the 'Falleen' as his captor had been called. Cases like that made any decent cop's blood boil. Lu and Gang, who'd managed to regain their detective posts after Mako's disappearance, laughed at how a teenage boy had 'gotten a hot lady interested in him' as they called it, unaware of the whole story. Lin had given them traffic duty for the next week for laughing at how a child had been tormented by a pervert, with the warning the next time they angered her, she'd fire them regardless of what their union representative did.
"Opal's here," the former thief said, pointing to her sky bison as it landed on the island. In addition to Opal, there was a woman Lin didn't recognize.
"Opal, where were you?" the policewoman asked with an edge to her voice. "You were supposed to be here three days ago. And where is Bolin?"
"Right now, he's introducing my parents to Dr. Raylen," her niece answered. "He's a brilliant prosthetics engineer who's built legs far more advanced than anything else, and he could help Wing get back to his old self."
"That's good to hear," Lin replied. "But that doesn't explain where you were, and who is with you. Or why you aren't with Bolin, introducing this doctor."
"This is Dr. Aphra, an archeologist and new Airbender," Opal introduced the other woman. "As for why I'm not at Zaofu, I'll get to that."
"Hi," she said. "I never knew much about the Air Nomads but now I'm curious. Also, I have a bit of an...addiction, so some time at a monastery would do me good."
"I'll get you started," Kai said. After Kai brought her inside and introduced her, Tenzin asked a few questions of the new Airbender.
"Why didn't you come sooner?" he asked.
"Well, I wasn't just going to drop all my work because I woke up one day with Airbending," she answered. "Then, well, I got dragged to a mine and forced to dig for platinum. To keep everyone there under control, they gave us heroin." She rolled up her sleeve and showed several puncture marks on her arm.
"That's terrible," Bumi stated, who'd just finished packing up his things before heading to the Fire Nation. "We don't have anything that might tempt you, here."
"Thank goodness," she said. "Also, two things I need to clarify: one, I'm not sure what to think of the Air Nomads, so don't be surprised if I decide this life isn't for me." Tenzin nodded at that, when the Harmonic Airbenders first emerged, he'd made the mistake in thinking all of them would want to join his resurgent Air Nation. Many of them had been reluctant to varying degrees, and several had even left to return to their comfort zones. He hadn't been happy about that, but he knew they couldn't be forced to stay, as Air was the element of Freedom. "Second, I've always hated needles, and now I hate them more. I'm not getting a tattoo no matter what I decide."
"It would be some time before that was a possibility," Tenzin said. "You might have overcome your fear, by then. Regardless, while it is the traditional mark of a master Airbender, you won't be forced into it should you attain that status."
Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Lin heard from Opal how Bolin and Kuvira had taken her on a mission to liberate the mine Aphra had been enslaved in. "After we saved her, Zhu Li, and the others, we had a few revelations," Opal told her aunt.
"That your brother and adoptive sister are kissing each other, or that Varrick is kissing his secretary?" Lin asked.
"Thankfully, both couples have gotten together now but that's not what I meant," her niece answered. "Have you ever wondered why Amon could Bloodbend during the day? Or how Ghazan could turn rock and dirt into lava?"
"The question's crossed my mind," Lin admitted.
"Well, Kuvira found the answer," Opal said. "A strange teaching device called a 'holocron.' It belonged to Yakone before it was found by Ghazan. It has taught Bolin to Lavabend, Kuvira how to shoot lightning, and Baatar how to 'use the Force' as it's called." At that, Lin's eyes shot open. The only time she'd heard of 'The Force' was when Darth Vader described his power.
"How does this thing work?" Lin asked her niece.
"It's asked questions, and a recording answers them," Opal answered. "Apparently, it can tell when someone who can learn from it is present. At which point, this little image of a man appears and tells you to ask your questions."
"This device should be studied, immediately," Lin said, hoping it might have a clue on how to fight Vader.
"Well, Kuvira and Baatar are refusing to give it away," Opal asked. "They are using it to teach their followers Metalbending far better and faster than normal. And I learned something rather important, myself."
"What is that?" Lin asked.
"Zaheer thinks that a world without rulers would be a paradise," Opal replied. "So, he killed the ruler of the Earth Kingdom. Things fell apart across the continent: warlords trying to make themselves the next monarch, bandits running rampant in the chaos, crops being disrupted, there was even a dam that fell apart because no one was doing its scheduled maintenance. In truth, a bad ruler is better than no ruler." Lin was surprised, Opal had been rather free-spirited but not in a bad way like her mother. To hear her say something like that was downright shocking. Then again, given what anarchists had done in recent times, maybe it wasn't so surprising. "But the places that Kuvira has taken, they have prospered, and rebuilt."
"With those that oppose her imprisoned," Lin noted.
"Most of those people are just bandits or suspected of some crime," her niece replied. "Unfortunately, there aren't any courts right now, so they are all in jail indefinitely. Bolin and I have our reservations about it but we aren't blind to the reality of the situation. Regardless, I don't know if Kuvira's way is the right way. But unlike the warlords and bandits she fights, she actually cares about our country and its people. I don't know of any alternative to her methods that aren't worse, and that prince I keep hearing Mom and Raiko pump up hasn't done anything to make me respect him, much less fix the mess he's inherited." Pausing for a moment, Opal changed the subject. "You asked why I'm not seeing Mom right now," she continued. "Well, I have come to realize a flaw about her that Baatar and Kuvira already noticed."
"What is that?" Lin asked.
"Her tendency to ignore problems and hope they solve themselves," Opal explained. "Something that she's done her whole life, really." After a moment, Lin nodded.
"Your mother can be rather frustrating," Lin admitted. "Her attitude towards my scarring certainly didn't make me want to see her. Still, I could have gone to see her and investigate the claims she'd changed, at some point."
"Well, thinking about it, I realized she still has this attitude in regard to many things," Opal explained. "When I was eight, I thought Kuvira was replacing me in the family. Mom didn't seem to notice, so I ran away. Aunt Malina set me straight, and my parents tried to be more attentive. A few years later, some rich jerks show up for a business meeting, and they tell Kuvira to get them some wine. Kuvira doesn't do so, and one of them yells that she's just a servant who thinks she's part of the family. Mom and Dad scolded him for his terrible manners but Mom never went to Kuvira's room to check on her after. I know, because I did. Baatar loves Dad but he doesn't like being mistaken as Dad. There have been plenty of times where various people say 'you're just like your father' and he either frowns or gets angry. Again, if Mom did notice, she ignored it. Now, the entire continent has fallen apart, and she still ignores the problem. She said it wasn't her place but given Korra's...absence I'm not sure who would be a better choice." Lin processed what Opal had said.
"Why are you telling me this instead of your mother?" she asked her niece.
"Because you are the only one who would understand, Aunt Lin," Opal answered. "Well, you and Grandma but no one knows where she is or if she's even alive. I gave Bolin a letter I wrote to her, basically saying how I feel. Hopefully, it will get through to her but until then, I think it's best I stay away."
"Why?" asked Lin.
"One of Kuvira's followers called me the 'good daughter' since I joined Mom in condemning her and Baatar's actions, when they first started," Opal said. "Maybe, if the good daughter also stays distant for a while, Mom will realize just how much she's affected us."
"Hopefully, she's a better mother than ours was," Lin stated. "So, you are supporting Kuvira now?"
"Yes," Opal answered. "I don't entirely agree with what she and her army are doing. But it's better than nothing. Even if their fashion sense has taken a turn for the worst." Lin didn't know what her niece meant by that but nodded in understanding.
"Will you be joining her army, then?" asked Lin.
"No, and I'm not leaving the Air Nation, either, but I'll be helping her manage relief supplies for the provinces she's claiming," Opal said. "It shouldn't take long to do, and then I'll be back." In addition to her Airbending, Opal had learned how to manage and organize supply runs. They would serve her well in helping the Earth Kingdom.
I'm splitting this chapter in half. Some might be a bit surprised at Korra's attitude, here, but between how the various leaders and her own father either don't listen to her or outright keep secrets that actively affect her, I can see Korra coming to resent them. She also understands that Vader will be opposed by pretty much everyone outside the Earth Nation, as it is the one place he hasn't significantly affected in some way. The Southern Waterbenders will be a bit trickier, as they have heard the stories of Vader but they also hate Unalaq. Of course, there would be Imperials who think the best thing to do would be to exterminate all life on Elementia but not only does Sidious want to use it, he's also heard the tale of what happened to Zhao. Korra's attitude toward the Order of the White Lotus is her own resentment for being isolated combined with Vader's disdain for the Jedi, who are somewhat like the OWL.
Of the Airbender kids, Ikki is the most distrustful of Vader, since Zaheer tricked her before. Jinora is more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, as is Kai, while Meelo is between the two girls in mistrusting Vader. Tenzin still hates his father's killer, but he has learned how exploding in anger at his daughters, including Korra, has only made things harder for himself.
At this point, I'm sure Hiroshi has reconsidered his past actions, while Asami is willing to give her father a chance since she's doing so for the Obsidian Knight. Lin, being an honest policewoman, does try to help kids who get hurt in various ways. I think that, if benders are enslaved, they are addicted to something in order to control them, which is why Lin believes the story. Aphra is here, both to learn Airbending and to sound the alarm to an Imperial rescue team in case Tenzin and family are kidnapped again.
Opal is talking about the Empire as well as Kuvira, since she doesn't see any other options to protect the world, especially since Korra has told her and Bolin there isn't one. Of course, she and her siblings would ask for someone to help Wing walk again, but Opal has acknowledged her mother's biggest flaw, that the show largely ignored.
Next chapter, some undercover Rebels probe Kuvira and Bolin, Korra runs into a familiar face, and her star students handle a worthy test.