May the Fourth be with you. I've changed the rating, and I have a bit of a surprise coming up.
Tenzin was shocked by what he'd seen in that conference. Korra and Mako had not only dressed like Imperials, but they had also been rather belligerent toward many of the other delegates. And now they had executed a bunch of prisoners while threatening the Fire Lord into coming? Malina had decided to contact Kyoshi Island, while Eska and Desna had gone back to their airship to discuss these new developments. As Izumi stood tall, Director Krennic came up to her with an apologetic look.
"I apologize for the subterfuge," Krennic stated to Izumi, who looked unconvinced. The director then held his hands behind his back. "When I made this gesture, it was indicating to Captain Avarik that I was bluffing when I ordered weapons set to kill." He then pointed his right hand at Izumi's face. "If I did this, my threat would have been real."
"Assuming I believe you, what justifies threatening my advisors, my mother and my daughter?" she demanded.
"You were told the Avatar wanted you here," Krennic noted. "Leaving aside the importance, did you think she would stand for such disrespect?"
"There are other ways to make your displeasure clear," Suyin intruded, before staring at her son with anger in her eyes. "Isn't that right, Junior?"
"I knew some would be upset at these changes," Baatar replied. "But they must happen, even if they are painful," looking at his mother, aunt, and Tenzin. "Now if you'll excuse me, Kuvira and I must practice our swordfighting, while Korra and Mako are off to check on their kids. We can continue this discussion tomorrow. In the meantime, you can see the trio that were again reminded Darth Vader is invincible." He then passed through a door which closed swiftly behind him, ending the conversation. Krennic marched off to meet his Death Troopers, as his black-armored guards were nicknamed, ready to practice their combat bending. With nothing else to do for the moment, Tenzin, Lin, and her sister went to where Baatar Jr had pointed them, alongside Izumi. They soon saw Katara, Toph, and Zuko stumbling forward, Katara helping Toph find her way forward while Kya, having joined her mother earlier, held Zuko up, as his prosthetic leg had been destroyed. Su went up to her mother and grabbed her hand, while Izumi helped her father stand as well. As they helped their respective parents to a bench to sit down, Zuko quickly asked his daughter if she was okay.
"I'm fine, Dad," Izumi reassured him. "What happened to you?"
"One minute we're talking on the runway about what's been up since we last saw each other," Toph began. "Next, the ground collapses out from under us and we fall into this cavern hot as an oven. Darth Vader shows up, looking like he's going to kill us, so we fight. He then beats us up, mind-controls Zuko's dragon into flying away, and puts us in some customized cells to gloat about how he can win even with the deck stacked against him. And how, since we attacked first, the people under his sway will consider him justified in doing so, or how his friendship is too important to jeopardize by questioning his side of the story." Izumi quickly told her own story of how she came to be there, stunning the three elder masters. At that moment, she and her father headed for the Fire Nation airship which had just touched down, leaving the Beifongs, as well as Tenzin and his mother, to ponder what they had learned.
"I can't believe Korra would be so threatening, bluff or not," Katara said.
"I can," Toph stated, before looking at her daughter Lin. "When I met her in the swamp, she dismissed humility as a weakness, along with everything I said. She was incensed at the slightest hint of me not showing her the respect she wanted."
"Korra has always been a bit...brash, especially with people she's meeting for the first time," Tenzin noted, disappointed that she'd fallen back into old habits. "I am more shocked at how she and Mako have massacred those imprisoned adversaries of ours."
"Perhaps they were feeling merciful," a new, snake-like voice commented. Looking over to the source, Katara saw the lizard-man who'd been at Korra's wedding that morning. He had dismantled his weapon and was cleaning its parts on a table.
"Your name is Bossk, isn't it? And your people are called Trandoshans, right?" asked Tenzin, which the alien confirmed both. "I never managed to thank you for helping Ezra and Jonah save Ikki. You have my gratitude, but I question what you believe: how can killing helpless adversaries be merciful?"
"On Hsskhor, imprisonment is never greater than twenty years," Bossk explained, naming his homeworld. "In ancient times, the Dosh word for cruelty meant 'life without release.' If you keep people imprisoned their whole lives, then they are not living. If a prisoner can never be freed, execution is the only possibility, unless you simply delight in your enemy's suffering."
"That might be the belief of Trandoshans," Katara said.
"But among Air Nomads, all life is sacred, even our enemies," Tenzin stated. "My father helped abolish capital punishment across the world because of this belief. And in respect of all he did, the various nations and the White Lotus Order have continued that legacy."
"Such a belief is exceptionally rare across the galaxy," the Trandoshan noted. "And from what I understand, the most dangerous of these inmates, and his deceased companions, were so dangerous, they were constantly chained to the floor in environments hostile to them. Within lonely cells where the guards actively hid them from the sunlight while being denied any sort of contact with the outside world, fellow inmates, or even their guards most of the time."
"What's your point?" asked Katara.
"The Empire doesn't need to beat, electrify, or otherwise torture its inmates for discipline," Bossk continued. "Most of the time, a single week in solitary confinement is enough. Very few inmates are kept in such a cell for more than two weeks. Any longer and the likelihood of hallucinations, aggression, suicide, or some other type of psychosis becomes increasingly greater. At which point, death is the only release they can gain once they suffer such a fate." Tenzin looked skeptical, until Lin spoke.
"Yeah, I saw that a few times," the police chief said. "I don't like using solitary that often, either. But Korra and Mako have done more than just follow your idea of mercy."
"You mean, you are bothered by how they have been so receptive to Lord Vader's teachings," the bounty hunter noted. "For a Trandoshan, it is actually quite simple as to why they respect him so much."
"Well, I'm not sure what to say to that," Kya said, having joined her brother and mother at the bench. "We're not sure what's normal for a reptile guy from another planet."
"Trandoshans are not the only group to have this understanding," Bossk replied. "The Jedi, the Sith, the Mandalorians, they have all fought each other many times over the course of four thousand years. And all of them have followed a similar training ritual." He then said a bizarre word in his own language, referencing what it was called by Trandoshans.
"And what exactly is this ritual?" Tenzin asked.
"The specifics vary, but they always have one thing in common," Bossk answered, reassembling his weapon. "The word I just said means 'success or death.'" That shocked everyone, even Toph.
"So, Mako and Korra like Vader, because he'll kill them for failing?" Lin asked incredulously.
"That's not it at all," the Trandoshan explained. "The test could be hunting a dangerous animal. Surviving a camping trip alone. Fixing a dangerous piece of machinery. Or perhaps winning a battle. In short, the test itself would kill you if you failed."
"It sounds familiar to a few final tests other dubious people have put their students through," Katara replied.
"I never said it was the final test," Bossk noted. "In fact, it often occurs somewhat early in the apprenticeship. Also, while the dangers are real, they are always manageable. It is very rare for a Trandoshan, or any of these other groups, to actually lose a student to this."
"Then what is the point?" a baffled Tenzin asked.
"Honor," Bossk answered. "By sending the apprentice on such a test, the master demonstrates faith in his student. After the success, the apprentice repays that faith by being far more willing to listen to the master. When he deemed them likely to succeed, Lord Vader sent Mako to capture or kill a traitorous Inquisitor and sent Korra to do the same with one of the most notable Jedi fugitives. From what I understand, he gave similar tasks to Kuvira and Baatar." At that, Suyin remembered how, when Vader contacted Zaofu via hologram, he revealed he was testing her two oldest children by sending them to kill Jedi, with him confident they would succeed.
"Sending a student into danger might demonstrate the teacher's belief," Suyin stated. "But Kuvira is my daughter, and Baatar Jr my son, who only unlocked his 'Force Power' recently. I could never do such a thing, nor could any other parent I know. For I am a parent first, and a teacher second. You can't expect other parents to feel differently."
"You speak by the standard of your own world and nation," the reptilian being noted. "If mine, Boba's, or Sabine's parents did so, they would be telling the entire world that we were worthless and incapable." He then stood up, thanked them for the conversation, and walked away. Tenzin and the others were baffled by this attitude at first but then they remembered how Vader had previously boasted that he'd honored their students in ways they hadn't. Tenzin thought it was simply teaching them how to use 'lightsabers' as he heard the energy swords were called but perhaps there was more to it. Did Korra and the others genuinely think Vader was a good teacher because he was willing to send them into danger? What was this wider galaxy like? And what prompted this change in their students?
"As surprising as it is, I get what the alien guy was saying," Toph admitted, surprising everyone, except Katara. "My parents never believed in me growing up. All they saw was a blind little girl who had to be sheltered. It really pushed me to excel, and when they refused to acknowledge how I'd proven myself, I ran away." Lin and Su nodded in understanding at the reminder of their mother's lonely childhood.
"No one ever treated Korra as weak or incapable," Tenzin replied. "And Mako had been looking after his little brother for almost a decade by the time I met him, having made a career as a Firebender in Probending and the electrical industry."
"I always acknowledged Kuvira as my greatest student," Suyin stated. "I believed in her enough to make her guard captain when she was eighteen. As for Baatar, I always praised his skill as an engineer but before now, he couldn't bend at all, let alone the way Vader does." Katara then rubbed her head in frustration, at an epiphany she'd just experienced.
"I know that groan, Sugar Queen," Toph snarked at her old friend. "You just realized you did something wrong and/or stupid."
"Unfortunately, yes," the Waterbending master said. "Korra's upbringing, really wasn't that different than your own, Toph. She was isolated from the world, she had no friends her own age, she almost never left her house, and apart from Tenzin and later his children, she had no friends at all outside her own parents and pet. I was the only teacher she actually liked, all the others had a detached mentality toward her. Eventually, when it was time to learn Airbending, she didn't take no for an answer and ran off to Republic City rather than stay in that gilded cage any longer."
"This was done to protect her from people who might use or harm her," Tenzin noted, before sighing in resignation. "Though, she didn't know that at the time. Whether she would have been more accepting of this as opposed to resentful, I don't know."
"Well, you're already an improvement over my own parents," Toph replied, before looking at Tenzin, Lin, and Suyin. "Whenever I acted out, got angry, or ran away, they acted as if I was being bad as opposed to admit they screwed up. Hopefully, you can get through to Korra and the others, since you are better parents than they were and are willing to admit your mistakes. Hopefully, they will admit to their mistakes as well."
Darth Vader had just completed his latest session with Senna, who'd been using Spirit Water to better heal the horrific injuries he'd sustained years earlier. His injuries had healed more in a few months than they had in over a decade. In addition, he could feel a greater connection to the Force than he had since he was encased in the suit. Spirit Water was truly effective at healing injuries.
"You know, given all you've been through, I'm not sure how old you truly are," Tonraq asked the Sith as his helmet was reattached.
"I am thirty-five years old," Vader answered. "Standard galactic years are only two days longer than the years on this planet." That remark surprised both the Southern Chief and his wife. Given Vader's attitude and demeanor, they had thought he would have been at least fifty.
"Did you grow up quickly, as a slave?" Senna asked in understanding. Korra had related the past Vader revealed to her parents.
"Somewhat," the Sith answered. "My mother and I could never count on anyone else. I learned machinery and piloting rather quickly, since the junk salesman who owned me longest could benefit the most."
"Why didn't you fly away?" Tonraq asked.
"The Toydarian didn't own a ship, just a few trucks," Vader answered. "Also, most slaves in Mos Espa had a tiny transmitter implanted inside, which would explode should the slave go out of bounds." Tonraq was shocked by this, while Senna nodded in revelation. She'd wondered how slavery could still be profitable in a space age civilization, and now she knew that guards were no longer necessary to stop escape.
"Is that how you learned how to build droids?" asked Senna, remembering how Korra attributed him with building KayBee's new body.
"The first droid I ever built was in that dismal little hovel," Vader answered. "Later, I built a podracer, meant to be raced at speeds so fast it was commonly said it was impossible for humans to compete. Naturally, since I was the only pilot Watto had access to, I would race it." Senna and Tonraq were shocked. Darth Vader, or rather, Anakin Skywalker as he was called at the time, was forced to race an impossibly fast vehicle when he was eight or nine?
"How did you get free?" Senna asked Vader as he tinkered with his lightsaber.
"One day, a Jedi named Qui-Gon Jinn landed on Tatooine," Vader replied. The Avatar's parents had heard the term before, understanding the Jedi to be some type of fraternity of warrior monks who functioned as a secret police agency for the Galactic Republic the Empire had been formed from. "Qui-Gon was rather atypical of a Jedi and was very much an outcast among his peers because of it. He was escorting...an important young woman when their ship was damaged and forced to land on that miserable sand pit of a planet. Watto was the only person with the repair parts necessary, and Jinn had neither the money or the items to trade for it."
"What happened next?" asked Tonraq, genuinely interested.
"I learned who they were, and how that young woman's world, Naboo, was now in danger, with Qui-Gon taking her to the senate to plead for help," the Sith answered. "I knew the only way they could get what they needed was to gamble on a podrace."
"Wait, so, they agreed to let a child endanger himself on their behalf?" Senna asked.
"Reluctantly," Vader answered. "I didn't expect a reward for helping them. But after I won, Qui-Gon revealed he'd managed to secure my freedom because of winning...but a single pod is only worth a single slave, so my mother wouldn't be coming."
"Did Jinn and his friends go to get more money for your mother, after that?" asked Senna. "At least, after getting help for that planet?"
"No," Vader stated. "Qui-Gon thought I was prophesized to 'bring balance to the Force' as the Jedi called it. Others were unconvinced but still intrigued with me. But the effort to gain help for Naboo on Coruscant was in vain. Qui-Gon and his companions returned to fight off the invasion themselves, and I accompanied them as I had nowhere else to go."
"Did your side win?" asked Tonraq, again surprised at what Vader had been through when he was just nine.
"Eventually," the Sith answered. "Early in the battle, I had hidden inside a starfighter. Then, I pushed the wrong button, and it took off. The battle above Naboo was my first time on the battlefield, where I struggled to fly a starfighter I'd never seen before. But, almost by accident, I destroyed the enemy flagship and ended the war." Tonraq and Senna initially looked skeptical, but then they remembered all the other insane things they'd seen or heard happen in the time Korra had been acting as the Avatar and said nothing. "Then, my feelings of triumph and pride were interrupted by a sudden feeling of tragedy and pain. For it was the first time I the death of a loved one through the Force. When I returned, I learned that Qui-Gon had been killed in battle." They were both surprised by that. They knew the Force granted a degree of psychic awareness, but this was the first time they'd heard specifics of it. "At his funeral, Qui-Gon's apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, revealed he would be training me to be a Jedi Knight."
"Is that when your new friends went back for your mother?" asked Senna. Vader stared at her, giving the impression of displeasure mixed with incredulity.
"The other Jedi appreciated my power in the Force, but they were afraid of me," Vader explained. "I had come to them at nine when their ideal 'recruit' was no more than two. I remembered my mother and a life outside of their order. I was not the only recruit in living memory this was the case for, but they'd only made exceptions for them so they could spread their influence and presence into places they'd been absent. As such, most Jedi didn't want me taught at all, including Obi-Wan."
"But I thought he was going to teach you," Tonraq noted, a bit surprised at the apparent detour from the subject of Vader's mother.
"Because his dying master asked him to, and he couldn't bring himself to lie to Qui-Gon," Vader explained. "Before that, Kenobi looked upon me first as a stray animal, and then as a rival to his father's affection."
"Did things eventually improve between you?" Senna asked, to which Vader nodded. "I'm still not sure what this has to do with your mother."
"The Jedi didn't want their members to have any life outside the duty imposed upon them," Vader explained. "As such, they left her on Tatooine and told me to forget her." That revelation outright shocked the two Waterbenders. "You can't be surprised by this," continued Vader. "From what Korra has said, the White Lotus behaved in a similar manner." The Avatar's parents thought about that. There were many times where it seemed like the White Lotus tried to exclude them from their own daughter's life. Thankfully, they had largely dialed back their behavior when it was clear that Tonraq and Senna would not be persuaded to maintain their distance, but Korra now believed it had less to do with the White Lotus changing their minds, and more to do with her father's status as chief of the Southern Water Tribe.
"There were a few times where the White Lotus could be a bit overbearing and demanding," Senna admitted. "But there was one time where they thought Naga was distracting Korra and took her away. We pointed out how Korra would think less about her studies and more about her absent pet, and while they didn't listen initially, eventually they were forced to admit their mistake and let Naga live with Korra. I would think that your teachers would understand a boy couldn't just forget about his mother being enslaved."
"The Jedi did not," Vader plainly stated. "Whenever I thought about her, I was told not to. Usually accompanied by a spiel about how personal feelings and desires should be denied. And since I was just an apprentice, I didn't have the means to go to her, much less free her." The Waterbending ruling couple was baffled, the Jedi believed that 'Anakin' as he was called at the time, was their chosen one and they did nothing to help him?
"And when that changed?" asked Tonraq. "Did you get to her?"
"I did," Vader said, sounding surprisingly emotional through his vocal modulator. "In time for her to die in my arms." The two Waterbenders expressed their condolences at this tragedy. Vader thanked them for their time, and noted he had to get back to his ship. As the Sith Lord left, Tonraq and Senna thought about what they'd learned. After all he had been through, perhaps it was inevitable Darth Vader would be as reserved as he usually appeared. When he returned Korra to her parents, meeting Tonraq again, Tonraq had sworn an oath of brotherhood to the Sith Lord. Several of his advisors, even if they understood why their chief felt indebted to the Obsidian Knight, didn't believe the vow would matter to an alien 'cyborg' as they heard the mechanically enhanced were called. But after hearing this story, Tonraq knew that wasn't the case, and that Darth Vader was a true friend.
After changing out of their dress uniforms back into their normal clothes, Mako and Korra returned to their home, where Asami had volunteered to look after Naga and the children. Asami walked up to her, handing little Harou to the Avatar, while Mako saw Saria was lying in her crib with Naga curled up close by.
"It's great to have you back, and the kids did rather well, with me," Asami smiled to the young couple. "KayBee is a little strange but he's also fascinating. I can't wait to learn more about how droids work."
"Well, you'll have plenty of opportunity to tinker with other droids and offworld devices," Korra smiled back to her friend. Through the Force, she sensed something was bothering Asami, and decided to ask what it was.
"Well, I'm a little stunned by your...attitude toward some of the rulers," Asami admitted. "You've never been that demanding of them before."
"I was telling Raiko and the Fire Lord they needed to do this," Korra replied.
"Still, my mom often said you'd get more with honey than vinegar," Asami noted.
"We tried that with the Earth Queen, and look how that turned out," Korra replied, putting a bottle in her son's mouth. "On top of that, after all I have done for the world, almost dying a few times, and endangering my kids before they are even born, I really can't sympathize with the crowd which assumes I'm wrong. Or blames me for every bad thing in the world."
"I get it, it's frustrating," Asami said, before rubbing her side briefly.
"Are you okay?" Mako asked her, remembering how she'd been shot with an explosive arrow, which he'd torn out before detonation, with Korra burning the wound closed so Asami wouldn't bleed out.
"Yeah, just an itch," Asami said with a small smile. At that, Mako decided to change the subject.
"Vader said that, right before he sent you home, you tried to give him a message to pass on to us," the Firebender remembered. "He told you to tell us yourself." Asami perked up at that reminder.
"At that moment, I thought I would never see either of you again," Asami admitted, looking somewhat ashamed. "For all I knew that crystal could have sent me a thousand years in the past or future. Thankfully, you are back, so now I can tell you two."
"Well, we're here now, what's this thing you were going to tell us?" Korra asked. At that moment, Asami walked rather close to the Avatar, triggering a strange feeling within Korra. Mako felt compelled to come closer to his wife and ex-girlfriend. At that moment, Asami pulled Mako closer, and kissed Korra. Before the Avatar could react, Asami had delivered a similar kiss to Korra's husband. Mako was aroused by this, while Korra felt her nipples harden.
"I still love you, Mako," she admitted. "But Korra, I've also been thinking of you. Of all the times you've helped me, and others. And of the time we shared a shower, early in your pregnancy." Korra remembered that, it was shortly after she killed Hundun. She was at Asami's mansion, who lent her a shower, before realizing the other needed repair, forcing the two young women to share a shower. Korra was rather impressed with how much Asami strapped down her chest, while Asami had been very admiring of Korra's musculature. This allowed the young engineer to be the first to spot the Avatar's pregnancy, with the almost unnoticeable bump beneath her belly button.
"I've thought much of you, as well, Asami," Korra smiled back, placing her son down in his father's arms. "How smart and kind you are. As well as how beautiful." As Mako set their children down in their cribs, Korra rapidly pulled Asami close to her and kissed her passionately. Korra had learned how important it was not to deny your feelings, and she'd developed more than just admiration of Asami Sato. Mako came up behind Asami, kissing her neck as he undid her vest, leaving her topless. After breaking the kiss, Asami turned to face Mako, as well.
"I still love you too, Asami," Mako smiled to her, a bulge having formed in his pants. As Korra undid her own pants, she Metalbent the zipper down from Mako's pants. Asami hesitated, realizing this was the point of no return. Korra decided to take a chance and pulled Asami's pant zipper down with one hand, and tossed off her own top with the other, pressing her large chest into Asami's back. Korra then licked the back of the other woman's neck, and with that, Asami pulled off her wrappings and her underwear, leaving her completely naked. Mako picked her up by the hips, carrying her to the bedroom as Korra took off her bra and underwear. Carrying their clothes into the bedroom, Korra joined her husband and their new lover.
"I've...never done this before," Asami admitted, before seeing Mako's manhood. "Or seen a man naked."
"I've never been with two people before, either," Korra smiled, positioning herself in front of Mako. She then started licking between Asami's legs, thankfully her new girlfriend having removed any hair which would have been there. Mako wrapped his hands around Korra's stomach and thrust, entering her own womanhood from behind. Both the Avatar and the engineer started moaning in pleasure as this continued, before Korra broke off and repositioned herself. She came up next to Asami, wrapping her hands around the second woman's breasts.
"Are you ready, Asami?" asked Mako. She eagerly nodded, to which the handsome Firebender placed himself on top of her. As Korra started fondling Asami's breasts, Mako thrust into her. Korra continued working with her hands as Mako kept moving, both earning joyful moans from Asami. As the Firebender kissed his wife, Asami yelped in joy as she felt how deep Mako penetrated her. Her walls soon slammed shut, followed by her now-not ex-boyfriend pumping his essence deep inside her. As Korra massaged Asami's breasts, she began moaning in bliss before Mako silenced her with a passionate kiss.
After they were done, Mako laid down on his back, his right arm wrapped around Korra, his left around Asami. The Avatar pulled the sheets up over the three of them as Asami smiled at Mako.
"Well, that's a way to handle the tension between the three of us," Korra smirked before placing her head on Mako's chest. Asami curled up on the Firebender's chest as well. There was a time when Mako would have been more cautious and haphazard with the women in his life but after all he'd been through, he'd become far more confident.
"Is there an alien world where it's okay for three people to live together?" Asami asked the two people she loved most.
"I think I heard something about Zeltrons doing this," Mako reassured her. "I'll have to ask Jonah, later."
"Well, if I can have three fathers, Harou and Saria can have two mommies," Korra smiled, kissing first her husband and then her girlfriend before they drifted off to sleep, happy at their new reality.
Bossk's ideas about imprisonment are actually rather normal for a Trandoshan. I made up the Success or Death ritual but it seems like something his people would have. As for the other three groups he mentioned, well, he's not an expert on them and is only relating what he believes regarding Jedi, Sith, and Mandalorians.
Darth Vader is coming to trust his bending allies more and sees his Apostles as kindred spirits with similar experiences and backgrounds. Also, he doesn't just see Tonraq as a useful asset, but an actual friend, though after his own experiences, Vader keeps friends at an arm's length. Tonraq swore an oath of brotherhood to supplement his previous oath to Vader. After protecting and teaching his daughter as well as her children while helping her find her way home, Tonraq thinks Vader is a better brother than Unalaq ever was.
This last part was a bit of a surprise, even for me. But I needed a way to keep Asami involved, so she acted on her feelings for both Korra and Mako. After all they have been through, Mako and Korra feel that Elemental taboos and beliefs are obsolete, especially when it comes to their personal lives. Next chapter, Korra and Mako are confronted by their displeased mentors, Kuvira and Baatar meet their father as well as Suyin, and the Imperial execution squads move out.