[AN] Posting two chapters today, be sure to read Chapter 23 first.

Also, "Oh Shit".

ONE

With a hard push I disengage the hatch lock and shove forward. Kuvira launches herself through and rolls behind a control panel for cover. I clamber after her, much less gracefully, but can't help my awed grin when I see her rise, her second blaster now in hand.

"What the—" I hear the startled shout before Kuvira starts shooting, methodically taking all five men down before I get a shot off.

"Fuck, Boss," I joke as I start disarming the groaning but living, albeit only semi-conscious, lumps. "Share with the class next time." I throw the confiscated weapons down the chute because getting shot while my back was turned wasn't on my list of things to do today. I take grim satisfaction from the lack of sound as I walk away. The access shaft apparently goes down a long way.

"You're dead, asshole!" rasps one swarthy man near me. He's clutching the smoking remains of his arm and glaring at me.

"Shut up," I advise as I kick him none too gently in the ribs, then I look around again. "Shit."

"I don't like 'shit'," says Kuvira from her position near the navigator's station. She's holstered one of her blasters while she examines the control panel but is keeping the other one pointed in the direction of our groaning captives. "What shit?"

"My uncle isn't here." I turn back to the man I kicked. "I have two questions for you. One, where are the missile controls, and two, where is Unalaq?"

He unrolls himself from fetal position enough to spit at me. "Fuck you."

I kick him again, this time in the head, and he slumps. I turn to a man I can see is now awake and clutching his leg. He immediately says, "Unalaq is in the comms center next door last I knew. He's in there with Haru." He points at a blast door on the far wall Kuvira immediately moves to flank it."They're the ones who know about the weapons system."

His face is pale and his voice shakes, and he recoils as he sees me approach. "I didn't know we were going to do any of that shit! I just wanted to make some money!"

Kuvira sprints to flank the door as we both see the blast door opening.

"And you would have, had you an ounce of nerve or loyalty," I hear a sardonic voice drawl, and the wounded man's head disintegrates in a flare of blaster fire. I leap behind a nearby station as more blasts erupt around me, then am flung to the deck as an explosion rocks the ship. I scramble to my knees and commando crawl under a console to take advantage of the small space at the bottom, only to see unfamiliar legs. I start firing. There's a scream and some thuds. After a few long moments I call out.

"Boss? What's your status?"

There's no reply, and my heart starts pounding.

"Boss?"

I hear a hoarse, pained, chuckle.

"Don't think you'll be getting an answer any time soon, little Korra," says a familiar voice, tight with pain but with no less vicious amusement. I hear a roaring in my ears and I find myself leaping forward, blaster in my hand and my trigger finger twitching to unleash hell at first opportunity.

I want to vomit when I see Kuvira slumped against the bulkhead, a smoking hole in her side. Nearby a man I don't know but assume is the aforementioned Haru lies sprawled, very dead with half his head gone. Just beyond that body is someone I had never thought to see again, my father's younger brother. He's covered in blood and reaching weakly towards a nearby blaster. I'm thrown into a wall by another massive shake and pain flares up my side. The blaster my uncle was reaching for disappears and he screams as he's rammed into a post.

"You son of a bitch," I grind out as I push myself towards him. "What exactly did you hope accomplish? You can't believe you were going to actually get paid."

He looks at me, and now I see the manic look in his eye. "Justice," he rasps. "Revenge. Whatever. It was fun while it lasted." He coughs, blood spittle appearing on his lips. "What do you care? You can't stop me, and I can die happy knowing I took out an entire planet!" He shrieks with laughter than coughs. I fall to my knees next to him and rip open his jacket. There on a chain around his neck is gold embossed device with what is clearly a plug on one side. Unalaq struggles when I reach for it so I slug him across the face.

"Raava," I growl, "Is that the key?"

UNKNOWN BUT HAS HIGH POTENTIAL OF BEING THE KEY WE NEED.

I rip the chain free and stand, looking around, finding the weapons control station, and to my immense relief I see a an alert flashing dimly next to what is clearly a port. I race over and slam the key in place.

"Go!" I yell, even as I stagger as the ship gives another lurch. To my immense relief I see the whole weapons panel light up, clearly responding to whatever Raava is doing.

COLONEL KORRA THE OXYGEN SYSTEM IS STARTING TO FAIL.

"Tell me something I don't know," I shout over the growing roar. I look around frantically and finally see what I was hoping for, then hurry over to Kuvira. "Tell Asami and Bolin to get going."

The wounded men are starting to shout at me.

"You can't leave us here!"

"Help me!"

I ignore them and the sick feeling in my gut, and hoist Kuvira onto my shoulder. Mercifully she stays unconscious. Or maybe she's dead already. Either way she's going with me even if it kills us both.

"You going to leave us here to die, Korra?" My uncle groans. "And here I thought you were a hero."

I clench my teeth against the bile that threatens to come up.

DOCTOR ASAMI AND LIEUTENANT BOLIN WILL NOT LEAVE WITHOUT YOU, COLONEL KORRA.

"We'll never make it back to the hanger," I reply. "Are you able to recall the missiles?"

I HAVE SENT THE SELF-DETONATION COMMAND. WE WILL NOT KNOW FOR SOME MINUTES WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS SUCCESSFUL.

"Get them going, Raava!" I roar. "Tell them to look for an empire escape pod. Hopefully the fucking things still works."

COLONEL KORRA, the AI begins.

Around us the ship is groaning and shuddering in the beginnings of its death throws.

"That's an order, Raava!" I scream. "Get Asami launched!"

READ YOU LOUD AVATAR

I fumble one-handed with the bridge's escape pod hatch and as carefully as I can I ease Kuvira down into one of the jump seats and start strapping her in. Another explosion, far closer now, flings me down. I fight my way back to the hatch and pull hard to close it. Terror roils my gut as I see flames start to curl into the bridge. The men who are conscious continue to scream at me to help them. My gaze drops and I meet Unalaq's gaze. His expression is malicious and wild.

"I'm no hero," I shout at him. "And you can go to hell! If I meet you there, I'll just kill you again!"

The hatch snaps shut and I slam my hand against the emergency launch control. There's a pause, and just when I think we're about to die a fiery death a series of small explosions shudder through the pod and we're blown away from the ship. I feel a sharp pain as my head hits the bulkhead, and then there's nothing but black.