The main mission briefing room at headquarters is emptier than usual, speaking to Izumi's continued desire to keep things quiet until we know more about what the hell is going on. Normally dozen's of officers and adjutant's would be present, now there's just the Ferrets, Asami, Izumi and her personal adjutant, and one Major Ichihiro Ikeda, the head of United Forces Research Science division.

He and Asami saw each other as we walked in and immediately jumped into each other's arms, squealing. Given Ikeda's no-nonsense reputation we all stare at him, nonplussed.

The Bitches look over at me and I shrug. "I guess it's a nerd thing."

"— so great to see you —"

"— how's your brother —"

"— did you hear about —"

I wander over and clear my throat. Asami turned to me, a huge smile on her face. "Honey! I had no idea Itchy would be here!"

I smirk when I see him wince and the Bitches look at each other with barely suppressed glee.

"We were students together at university," Asami continues, blissfully unaware of his discomfort. "I knew he'd enlisted, but we lost track of each other years ago."

"Well," he corrects with a smile. "It was hard to lose track of you, Doctor Miss-Future-Industries-Research. I've been very impressed to see what you've been doing these past few years."

Asami ducks her head with a small smile. "It's been a gratifying career."

There's a brisk sound of knuckes on a solid wood table. We turn to see Izumi waving us towards our seats.

"You look like hell, Viper," Kuvira drawls as we all set. "You need to sleep more."

Izumi laughs while the rest of us wince; the Sergeant Major in particular is gritting his teeth. "Subtle as a brick, as always, Boss, and sadly you're not wrong." Her face sets into something more serious, further emphasizing the dark circles under her eyes and the deepening lines in her face. "However, sleep must wait a bit more. I've been sequestered with Major Ikeda and some of his more talented scientists, and with the additional information Doctor Sato sent over, we now have a pretty good idea of what we're up against." She sighs. "It's not good news."

I lean forward. I hadn't had a chance to review Asami's materials due to the school's training schedule consuming my and Boss' attention the past week, so was eager to get more information.

At Izumi's nod, Ikeda powered up the holographic gear. My stomach sank at the sight of a familiar-looking cylinder.

"This," Ikeda intoned, "is the IDW6 Defense Mine. We are fairly confident this is the device Lieutenant Colonel Kuvira and Colonel Korra encountered in the Zeta quadrant."

I look over at Kuvira and she nods.

"Yeah, that looks fucking familiar," she growls.

Ikeda presses another button and the device's schematics appear. "It was created primarily as a security system for uninhabited planets with a high amount of natural resources. It will home in on any incoming ship that enters within a light-second of its sensors and self-destruct in an attempt to disable or destroy it. According to the records we found there would usually be a dozen or so deployed around a target planet, making it virtually impossible to approach with an unauthorized vessel. The types of explosives used are a variation of azidoazide azides"

I hear a shocked inhale next to me as Asami leans forward.

Ikeda nods at her recognition. "It's the most explosive non-radioactive substance ever discovered. The amounts necessary to cause catastrophic damage are minimal, but the devices used to contain them are huge due to the complexity of keeping the explosive material in stasis."

"We only saw one," I comment. "It wasn't particularly hard to avoid."

"With modern space craft, one would be easy to avoid" Ikeda agrees. "However I suspect that either our suspect didn't realize the speed limit, nor need for additional devices. Or perhaps he was merely hoping to take out any initial investigation, giving him more time to make his exit.

I scowl. "Do we think that's all that was out there?" My scowl deepens as I seem him exchange a glance with the Admiral.

"Unfortunately, Colonel," he says reluctantly, "we have some evidence that points to additional offensive weapons also being stored."

The back of my neck prickles. "Like what?"

The holographic display flickers into a new image. This one is much more menacing. "The IAW10 Bombardment System." He clears his throat before continuing. "Designed as first strike weapon, an initial incoming missile splits into dozens of individual warheads that spread the damage over a square mile or more of surface area." The holographic demonstrates the mechanics, and the sight of the small seeds of death racing towards the surface makes me fell ill. "The main storage depots of this particular weapon resided in Fire System territory and before the supplies were depleted were used extensively against the other planetary systems, including the United Federation of Planets."

"Fuck," I breathe.

Ikeda looks even more somber. "It was this device, Doctor Sato, that was responsible for the Capitol Bombing that took your mother."

Anger, sorrow, and rage all fight for primacy in Asami's expression, and I grip her hand tightly.

"Love you," I mouth silently.

She stares back at me, eyes bright with unshod tears, but she nods and gives me a tremulous smile.

"From what we were able to extrapolate from we could find on the Zeta Quadrant depot, there are at least one hundred of the bombardment devices, and perhaps three dozen of the mines."

"Mother fucker," Kuvira swears, echoed by the other Bitches. Even Saikhan, out of uniform for several years, shows the same twitching of hands that indicates a need to scream a fighter into battle, ready to reign death on those that would attack us.

I glance back at Izumi. If anything, her face is even more pale and drawn. "This is your mission, my Fire Ferrets," she says quietly but firmly, her gaze taking us all in turn. "Find them. Find the head of this travesty and destroy them and anyone else involved. A full frontal assault would likely fail — against such wanton destructive capability an attacking fleet will be at a disadvantage."

"Too many targets," Kuvira mutters. "Would be like throwing a bomb in a pond."

Izumi nods and her shoulders slump. "Most of our forces will have to be focused on strengthening our defenses of the Terran home planet as well as our allied systems. She looks at each of us in turn. "If any of us fail, it could well be the end of us all."

—

I find Asami in her workshop. Papers are scattered across the scarred wood in front of her, and several tiny models sit perched in their midst, including the familiar, innocuous-seeming cylinder that had caused Kuvira and I so much trouble. I flick it over disdainfully with my pinky finger, just because.

She glances up at me, her verdant eyes dull with pain and fatigue. My arms open automatically and she falls into them with a shudder.

"Baby, it's late." I murmur. "Come to bed."

She stiffens and tries to pull away, but I merely pull her more tightly against me, breathing in the sweet smell of her hair. A choked sob bursts from her chest.

"I'm so scared," she whispers. "I can't lose you."

"You're not gonna," I promise, ignoring the fact that it's a promise that can't always be kept. "I'd fly through Hell itself to come back to you." I nuzzle into her neck. "But I'm not even gonna need to do that because between you and Raava, we've got more brains than the entire Galactic empire and certainly more than my dickhead of an uncle."

She's shaking in my arms. "What if it's not enough?" My heart breaks at the defeat in her voice.

I shake my head and slide my arms under her, lifting her bridal style. "It will be." Together we make our way to the back of the house.

She rests her head against mine, now so quiet as to almost be inaudible. "I love you."

I shoulder my way into our bedroom and lay us both down on the big bed. After a moment's fumble I manage to pull a blanket over us — a temporary barrier against the horror of that will face us all too soon. We hold each other as close as we physically can.

"I love you so damn much, Doctor Asami Sato." I say firmly. "And we will make it through this. I have complete faith in this fact."

She's silent and still for a long moment, then I feel her nod against my chest. "Okay." Her hand slides under my shirt, coming to rest right below my ribcage.

I can tell it's a move made for comfort rather than desire so I stay still, simply running my fingers up and down her back.

After a long moment I hear her mutter, and lean a little closer to hear.

"We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down."

I blink. It's familiar…

She chuckles. "I can hear your brain turning. It's a quote from General Aang, allegedly given to his troops before the final battle that overthrew the old Imperial Court. It seemed apt."

"I fell asleep a lot during history class," I say with a shrug.

"I'm so shocked to hear this," she replies dryly.

"Hush, you."

She squeezes me in response. Soon the warmth of our cocoon lulls us to a peaceful sleep, and my last thought before succumbing to my well-needed slumber is a fervent hope that it's not the last time we can hold each other like this.

[AN] The quote attributed to Aang was in our mundane universe actually uttered by Sir Winston Churchill. Despite the fact that he was an unrepentant racist, colonialist, and generally shitty sort of person, he was fairly outstanding as Prime Minister of Britain during WWII. It's arguable on whether the Allies could have won without him. I guess the moral is "people are complicated"...