Azula Amongst the Stars

by CrimsonKaiju

Azula goes into hiding in the earth kingdom to escape imprisonment from Zuko and is being chased by the Avatar but after a strange ship from the sky crash lands Azula finds herself on board when it takes off unwillingly taking her into the stars with it. Now Azula finds herself amongst a crew of alien creatures traversing strange alien worlds.

4. Chapter 4

Chapter 004

Azula walks at her fathers side as a child of four years as they make their way to address Fire Lord Azulon while he holds a private meeting with prince Iroh. Ursa was in the gardens with Zuko as per usual and Ozai felt it was necessary to give Azula a jumpstart in the complexities of the fire nation royal court in hopes that she will grow from this experience and not be infected by the weakness of her mother and brother. When they entered the throne room Their meeting was a less formal affair as Azulon spoke with Iroh, his throne vacant and the overpowering flames extinguished with the room only being lit by torchlight.

"And you are certain this siege will be successful?" Azulon asked, stroking the end of his mustache.

"I am." Iroh stated, a wide smile on his face and jolly manor to him that conflicted with his father's more stiff demeanor, "The Earth Kingdom overestimates the strength of their walls and Ba Sing Se is no different."

Ozai, seeing this, felt the need to be a part of any plan involving the taking of the Earth Kingdom capital and pulled Azula along with him.

"Daddy, I want to go play in the garden with Zuzu." Azula complained as she struggled to keep up with him.

"Silence Azula." Ozai commanded, "Such foolishness is beneath you. If you want to grow up to be powerful you must take every opportunity you can to achieve it."

Azula pouted, puffing out her cheeks, "Okay daddy."

Prince Ozai abruptly enters into the conversation, "Father, Brother. I hope I am not interrupting anything important." he says in a silky smooth tone.

"Oh brother!" Iroh exclaimed, "Nothing too important. We were just about to have some tea as we discussed the war. Would you like to join?"

Ozai only gave his brother a scornful look, "Perhaps later. I heard something regarding Ba Sing Se. Surely you are not thinking of trying to bring the Earth Kingdom to its knees all on your own."
"Oh, you've heard." Iroh responds with a raised brow then notices his niece standing next to him, "Maybe this is a conversation best left in the absence of children?"

Ozai scoffs, "Nonsense, Azula is here because I feel it necessary to expose her to the workings of the court as early as possible so that she can gain an edge later on in life."

Iroh only gave his brother a skeptical look before turning to their father for his opinion.

"I see no issue with this Iroh, after all I allowed you and Ozai the same experience when you were children." Azulon said.

Iroh only sighed but went through with his outlines for the siege of Ba Sing Se and while the adults spoke Azula found herself growing bored very quickly. She was filled with too much energy that she wanted to expend running around the royal palace and getting into trouble with Zuko. As the conversation continued she began to wander aimlessly around the throne room not even bothering to listen to what was being said with her eyes resting on the throne. Father always spoke of it as the most important thing someone of her status could achieve and that it should always be sought after. Even at her young age it was ingrained deep into her how important the throne of the fire nation was, only the Fire Lord could sit within it looking down on their subjects and holding all the power in the Fire Nation and maybe even the world.

She wandered closer to it climbing the steps until she was at the coveted seat of the Fire Lord and promptly sat down on it kicking her little feet back and forth as she enjoyed her elevated view of the throne imagining herself bossing around all the servants as Fire Lord demanding that they serve her all the sweets the royal palace kitchen could make and declare that no child would abide by bedtimes. She giggles to herself at the thought of it.

"Azula! What do you think you are doing?!" her fathers voice cut through the air with a familiar fury pulling her out of her daydream.

"Get down from there this instant!" He demanded and she promptly obeyed running back up to him with her head hanging low fighting back tears from his sudden reprimand.

Her grandfather gives his youngest son a stern look, "It would seem your youngest needs more discipline, Ozai."

The younger prince only tightened his jaw in discontent, however Iroh only let out a belly laugh, "You are all too hard on the girl, she's only a child. I'm sure she would like nothing more than to play with her big brother rather than listen to us old men talk about boring adult things." His voice was filled with nothing but carefree passion and adoration at her exploration.

He approaches his niece kneeling down to her height, "Isn't that right? Wouldn't you rather do that, niece?" he patted her head.

At first she wanted to say the truth, that she did want to play with Zuko but a stern look from her father made her say otherwise.

"N-no. Playing is for fools that are beneath us… I don't want to play. I want to be Fire Lord." she stated, parroting Ozai's sentiments.

Iroh's wide jovial smile faltered slightly at that. Seeing a girl so young saying such things always made him feel a little sad, like part of her childhood was stolen from her.

"She shows great ambition. Wouldn't you agree father?" Ozai said proudly.

The Fire Lord only continued to stroke the end of his mustache, "Perhaps. We'll speak of the siege later, I have other duties to attend to."

With Ozai's need for being their no longer present he dismisses himself and calls for Azula to follow, but before she could go Iroh leaned closer to her and in a hushed tone and a soft smile said to her, "Don't worry niece, once I become Fire Lord I'll let you and your brother sit on the throne whenever I'm out doing more boring adult work."

"But my daddy wants to be Fire Lord." she said innocently.

Iroh frowned once more and gave his younger brother a dejected look, "I'm sure he does."

He patted her head again and made his leave just as Ozai impatiently called to her again. She runs to her fathers side and before they leave she takes one last look at the throne, the seat meant for the Fire Lord. The most powerful person in the world.

---

In one of the hangar bays the captured Death's Head mercenaries sat on their knees with their hands cuffed, tactical gear seized and surrounded by armed crew members ready to fire if given the order.

My'Rell marched with slow deliberation, each step echoing through the empty hangar as she maintained an eerie impassive gaze causing many to avoid her line of sight.

She cleared the silence with a commanding tone, "SkyBurner, your esteemed flagship, is destroyed, whatever fighters you had are either debris in space or abandoned you here. You are all that's left of your crew." She halted before one and pulled the screaming skull patch on his spacesuit off with little effort holding it up for all to see, "Duritax is dead, and with him gone the Death's Head is sure to follow. But that doesn't have to be your fate."

Many of them raised their heads in confusion with soft murmurs beginning to form as she tossed the patch aside.

"I personally do not hold ill will towards you; you are all mercenaries, paid to do a job, you can't help that you all were dragged into a bad situation. But I think we can help each other. You see; during your attack many of my crew members were killed, people that are needed to run this ship properly. I could kill you all right now in retribution for all those lost, but this ship can't run when we barely have enough people to form a skeleton crew so why shed more blood when we can help each other instead?

Work for me and become part of my Crimson Storm. I can guarantee you employment, stable pay and most importantly a way back to galactic society. We are in uncharted space after all and your only other option is being tossed back out into space where you will die a slow agonizing death as you suffocate while going over every mistake you've made in your life that led you here."

All the remaining Death's Head members looked to each other as they decided what to do. For many the choice was obvious, others were loyal to their cause but their loyalty tested when their only other option was death. Some were too loyal and harbored nothing but hatred for the Crimson Storm and have made peace with themselves.

"If you choose to follow me, stand up and show me your resolve."

A vast majority of them rose to their feet without question, some with reluctance and only a few remained seated accepting their fate to face the void.

My'Rell gave her armed troops a nod signaling them to begin uncuffing them. She then turned to Commander Shaul and simply said, "Space the rest."

Shaul nodded in agreement where he and several others gathered those who wouldn't stand and prepared to send them on their way.

My'Rell took no pleasure in sending them to their deaths but if they would not help them then there was no use in keeping them around and wasting resources on them as prisoners. She would be lying to herself if she said she was fully comfortable recruiting from those who worked for the Death's Head but the SeCore barely had a skeleton crew now and needed to replace her forces quickly. It wasn't unheard of for a starship crew to recruit members of another crew after a battle, after all space was dangerous and a starship without the proper amount of people to maintain it was a death sentence.

"Captain My'Rell." An unfamiliar voice called to her. Its source being a tall scrawny blue skinned alien with a round rodent head, large eyes, a skinny tail and dressed in a Death's Head space uniform.

"I just want to express my gratitude to you for granting us mercy to serve on your ship." His words of gratitude may have seemed sincere but My'Rell could tell a brown nose suck up when she saw one, there was always at least one every time she absorbed another crew.

"Just be sure you do whatever duties you are assigned to and you'll be fine, Mr…"

"Skeeve, ma'am." He said with a smile that was a little too wide.

"Right." She was about to turn to leave but Skeeve continued.

"I was a part of the Death's Head's financial team. Perhaps I could provide some assistance in that department?"

My'Rell raised an eyebrow at him, "I was informed that everyone in this room were members of assault teams that we fished out of space or what remained of the boarding crew. What's a financial worker doing on an assault team?"

Skeeve gave a sheepish grin as he scratched the thin hair on the back of his head, "Well… funny story about that. I worked pretty closely with Duratix, we were very close friends you see, and we always spoke to each other in a very casual way so I thought it would be fine to tell a little joke at the captain's expense… and he didn't take it so well, so he put a gun in my hand and threw me out with the assault team as punishment, but thankfully that worked out in the end."

My'Rell's expression remained impassive, giving no indication that she really cared in the matter, "Right… We already have a master of finance. All you really need to do right now is help repair the ship."

"But maybe I could-"

Her personal communicator beeps, taking all of her attention and giving her the excuse to leave this conversation, "I have to take this, we'll speak of this another time."

She left him dumbfounded as an officer came and gave Skeeve his assignment.

"Captain speaking." She answered.

"This is Doctor Bevel." the voice of the Crimson Storm's chief medical officer came through.

"Doctor. How is our patient doing?"

"Just fine, just anxious to leave her room. We've got a vaccine ready for her."

"Good, I'm on my way."

---

Azula, despite protests from Dr. Bevel, paced around the room in an attempt to keep her mind active. She hated being trapped in yet another room again. This one reminded her of her time in the asylum due to its sterile appearance however it had a much more comfortable bed.

Her stay in the surgical room was anything but pleasant as she remained trapped in it for another twelve hours while Dr. Bevel worked to create a vaccine that will supposedly keep her from getting sick around the other crewmates. She would spend most of her time practicing her firebending forms and attempt to regain the strength of her blue flames but her firebending was still weak and she still could not understand why. They at least had the decency to allow herself to wash the smell of garbage off her through the use of a disinfectant room.

They had given her some new clothes at that time and now she wore a white shirt underneath a dark colored jumpsuit covered in too many pockets for her liking and a pair of boots that actually fit her. She stood before the window using her faint reflection as a mirror while she tied her hair up in a traditional fire nation topknot, just the way she always wore it during the war. She even managed to place her crown hair piece in. It was one of the few belongings from home that she kept. Even if she is now part of a crew of alien mercenaries she would always remember who and what she is.

The door slid open behind her and Dr. Bevel, the same elderly woman, came in with a case in hand.

"I have your vaccine ready. Once you have this you should be good to walk about the ship." She said preparing a needle gun and a vile of liquid.

"Let's get this over with, I grow tired of sitting in this cell." She said while making sure her crown was secure and signature bangs looked eloquent.

"Surgical room, not a cell." Dr. Bevel corrected, motioning her to come closer.

"It is a room that I cannot leave. There is very little difference to me."

The doctor tightened her lips to keep herself from biting back with her own sarcastic remark. In the short amount of time Dr. Bevel has shared with Azula she has found the younger girl to be rude, demanding and down right unpleasant to be around. She appreciated what Azula had done to save the ship but her appreciation can only go so far.

"Roll up your sleeve." The doctor asks in an annoyed manner with Azula complying.

"You know I did save this ship from destruction." She said in a velvety tone full of self assurance as she inspected her fingernails, "If I were you I'd show a little more resp-OW!"

The doctor jams the needle into her arm and expels its contents before she could finish. Dr. Bevel feels some satisfaction from this.

"And we're done. You are no longer confined to this cell." She bandaged up her arm and began putting away her materials.

Azula rubbed at the injection sight gritting her teeth in annoyance, "A warning would have been nice."

The older woman rolled her black and purple eyes at that. Bevel was too old to be dealing with the attitudes of teenagers, "The captain is on her way. Be sure to show her the proper respect that you have yet to show me. Just because you are royalty doesn't mean you'll get special treatment around here, private."

Azula almost shot back with a sneer but held her tongue after being addressed by her new rank.

She remembered her plan. She needed to keep her head down for now if it was going to work and making enemies with the ship's head doctor probably wouldn't be a good place to start.

"There won't be any side effects, I assume?"

"There shouldn't be, but if you are feeling any dizziness, shortness of breath or nausea come back immediately and I'll give you a look over."

It didn't take long for the captain to arrive in the room still dressed in her loose fitting brown pants, dark shirt and red vest. Despite her casual appearance she still commanded an air of authority.

"Private." She addressed her, "I trust the clothes fit well?"

"They will suffice." She said quickly, not wanting to waste any time with small talk, "Am I to assume that you will be giving me the grand tour of your ship?"

"Indeed. Think of it as the only bit of special treatment you'll receive." The captain turned to leave with Azula grabbing her small bag of belongings and following behind.

The two passed through a long sterile white room with beds lining the walls, almost all of which were filled by injured members of the crew.

"Quite the number of injuries." Azula commented as they exited the medical bay.

My'Rell's demeanor became more solemn, "Believe it or not they are the lucky ones. We lost a lot of good people in that battle and we're operating on low man power, but thankfully we just got a whole slew of new recruits."

"And where did you procure these new recruits?"

"Where else? The surviving Death's Head members."

"Using your enemy to serve you in your time of need. Smart, but will your crew be willing to work alongside those that caused all of this in the first place?"

They rounded a corner past a tall spider-like creature, "They'll have too if we want to get out of here. It shouldn't be too difficult, after all that's how I got most of my non-Pendaren crewmen."

Azula raised an eyebrow at that, "Pendaren? I've heard that word thrown around several times, what is it?"

"It's what I, Dr. Bevel and many members of our crew are. Our species are actually very similar, you know." They paused at a door that retracted at their presence, "It's actually how Dr. Bevel managed to create a vaccine for you so quickly. You seem to have similar biochemistry to us."

"Yes, it is quite… uncanny." She agreed as two other Pendaren's walked past, one with blue skin and the other red.

"Who knows, maybe we share a distant relative."

"I highly doubt that." She decided to shift the topic to something more relevant, "What exactly is the Crimson Storm? I've gathered that you are some sort of mercenary group but I have little else to go on."

They entered an elevator that proceeded downward, "The Crimson Storm is a paramilitary organization that does mercenary work such as private security, bounty hunting, assassinations, espionage, hacking, etc. We answer to no galactic nation and do business with all who can afford us."

"So the fabricator device has something to do with your work?"

"Oh that? No, we were hired to clear out a pirate den hiding in an asteroid belt and they happened to have that in their possession so we took it as a bonus. Little did we know the Death's Head were hired by some unknown party to take it."

"Will this unknown party attempt to make a move against us?"

"It's possible, which is why we're going to have to keep our eyes and ears open so we aren't taken by surprise again."

The elevator stopped allowing them to exit. As Azula followed the captain she processed this information. Someone else wants the fabricator as well, perhaps she could use this to her advantage in the future.

"Let's start the tour where we first found you. At the runway." My'Rell said, opening a blast door to a long runway that seemed to span the entire length of the ship.

The roof of this area was lined with fighters locked in clamping arms, catwalks running between them that led to the elevated platform they stood on. The ends of each side are capped off by a large set of vertical doors with small vehicles towing equipment from one place to the other.

My'Rell led the way down a small service elevator that took them to the main floor, "The SeCore is a heavy carrier class battleship therefore it has a sizable runway at the base of the ship that allows for the speedy deployment of fighters and other vessels. The SeCore has five hangers overall, four of which are connected to the runway and one on the top deck just beneath the bridge. That one's mainly used for shuttle craft and supply runs." She explained as they walked through the runway being sure to stay out of the way of the working deck crew.

They entered one of the connecting hangars, "This is hangar three, we usually keep larger ships and some shuttles here but we'll also use these spaces to make repairs to vehicles or store hazardous material."

Azula recognized this place, it was where Angara had knocked her unconscious, she made a mental note to get back at her for that.

The hangar was a lot emptier than it was during her first visit and only housed some large crates and fuel tanks but what caught Azula's attention was a black ship parked closer to the far corner.

The ship was a bit larger than the Avatar's bison and resembles a giant beetle due to its round bulbous shape. It looked out of place compared to the industrial design language of the SeCore, "Peculiar looking ship." She commented.

My'Rell took notice, "Oh the Shakarr? That's one of our scouting ships."

Azula approached the ship inspecting a white decal of a strange serpentine creature painted on its portside beneath what she assumed to be its cockpit.

"I'd be careful being around that ship, its owner can be… temperamental."

As if on cue the sound of metal crashing and shouting came from the rear. Azula peered in the direction of the disturbance and found the last person she wanted to see, Angara, now lacking her armor and dressed more casually in a dark tank top and loose fitting trousers with her blood red hair flowing freely down to her upper back, holding one of the smaller aliens she had seen before by the caller with one hand.

"What the hell do you think you're doing poking around my ship!"

The smaller alien trembled in her grasp trying to explain himself, "We're just scanning for damage! I swear!"

"The only one who scans the Shakarr is me!" she tossed the alien aside with him and his companion running off.

She felt some gratification knowing that she wasn't the only one to receive Angara's ire.

My'Rell could only sigh and shake her head in disappointment, "Angara, I thought we talked about letting out your temper on your coworkers."

Angara turned to them, "Captain." she acknowledged respectfully and scowled at Azula, "I prefer nobody touches my ship unless I ask them too."

"You do realize that we were boarded recently and your ship could have been sabotaged in the process?"

"That's why I'm going over it now. And I don't need help from anyone else!" She shouted that last part to a group of engineers hanging back inspecting another ship.

"So you're letting this one join?" She changed the subject, turning to Azula. Their amber eyes locking with unspoken animosity for one another.

"Yes. We're down a lot of people so we can't afford to be picky. Not only that but you've seen first hand what she can do."

"Yeah… I remember." She addressed Azula next, "So princess, how long were you going to keep that in your back pocket before you used it on us?"

"Only until you try to kill me." She responded nonchalantly with a smirk that only annoyed the green skinned woman further.

Azula turned her attention back to the Shakarr inspecting the open rear that seemed to be a storage room, "So, what is it that you do here, exactly? You seem to have a commanding presence with the other crew members yet you do not seem like an officer."

Angara let out an amused snort at hearing her being referred to as an officer, "Well you're right. I ain't no officer, I'm a bounty hunter. I only took command of the situation because somebody had too, and I'm familiar with Death's Head tactics."

"Yes, you did seem to have a commanding presence." Azula agreed, "It's a shame the plan didn't go so well and we had to retreat." She could help but let some condescension leak out when saying this. She wanted to rub in that Angara's plan was a failure and that it was she who saved the SeCore.

"You were fortunate to have me there when you did instead of leaving me behind." She dug the knife further maintaining her fake politeness.

Angara looked up from the panel she was inspecting directly at the princess with a scowl, "Weren't you fumbling about like an idiot once we got out there because you overestimated your ability to adapt to zero-g combat and you had to cling onto Sev like Gax?"

Azula's smile faltered a bit, "I will admit that combat on the outside of the ship wasn't something I was fully prepared for, but that doesn't change what I contributed." She swallowed her pride and admitted. It almost made her feel sick to do so, especially towards someone like Angara.

"I had a rocket ready to go. I would have done what you had in no time, just without the fancy light show." Angara dismissed and went back to her work, "Instead I had to use that rocket to save your ass. By the way, you're welcome."

This was news to her as she assumed someone else had brought her in. It almost baffled her as to why Angara would do such a thing as she's shown clear animosity towards her and continues to do so.

"I didn't realize you cared so much." Azula said in a silky tone however the self satisfaction was no longer present as the green woman's attitude drained all enjoyment from this conversation.

Angara was as stubborn as an earthbender but had all the fiery pride of a firebender that yielded to no one, not even the might of a princess.

"I don't. Probably should have left you out there. Only reason I didn't is because I knew the captain wouldn't want that."

The harsh comment and blatant disrespect was enough to snap something in her. Never has anyone shown this level of disrespect to her in her entire life, not even Zuko, and she will no longer tolerate it.

Azula was getting ready to respond but My'Rell cut in before anything could be said, "Alright kids. Why don't we agree that both of you contributed to the salvation of this ship. Azula displayed skills that caught our enemy by surprise and Angara led the charge and set the stage for our eventual victory."

There was a finality in the captain's tone like that of a parent breaking up an argument between children. It reminded Azula of the tone her mother would use when scolding her that only furthered her irritation.

My'Rell turned to the princess, "Now Azula, Angara did save you out there so I do believe a word of thanks is in order."

Azula turned to the older woman with an incredulous look at the suggestion she gave thanks to this rude person but the look in the Captain's black and cyan eyes suggested that this wasn't a request but a subtle order to remind her who was really in charge here.

Azula's contempt was replaced with a feeling of amusement. At first My'Rell seemed like her uncle; a gentle older soul that seemed to command with foolish notions of friendship and comradery but the look she gave was domineering like her fathers that wouldn't accept any failure to comply. Perhaps taking the Crimson Storm won't be as easy as she had thought. This didn't hinder her determination, if anything it only emboldened her, after all nothing worth doing was ever easy.

She will let go of her pride and kowtow to her demands, for now. She put on another fake smile of endearment to soften her expression, "You're right. My apologies, thank you for your assistance in saving my life… Angara."

Despite the kind demeanor she displayed she couldn't stop the bitterness that escaped her lips when saying her name.

Angara only scoffed, "Whatever. Don't expect me to do it again."

My'Rell rolled her eyes like a tired parent, "Just make sure you're done with your scan by the end of the cycle. We're sending the fallen before we leave."

Angara's irritable demeanor faded into a more tranquil yet somber one at the sound of that, "Right. I'll be there."

Azula didn't know what they meant by this and didn't get a chance to ask as My'Rell began to lead the way to continue their tour.

As Azula went to follow, Angara said one last thing to her, "Better keep that attitude of yours, princess. Lotta people here don't have the patience for royals."

Azula didn't bother to respond feeling that she had shown her enough kindness with her, thank you.

My'Rell gave Angara a side eyed glare that silenced any further attempt at badgering the princess and made her immediately turn back to her work.

"A little word of advice, Azula." My'Rell caught her attention as they approached another blast door, "Tread carefully when talking to Angara like that. She's a Ke'Kuvon and one thing they are known for is their tempers."

"Really?" She wasn't really interested, "What else are they known for?"

"Ripping people's throats open with their finger tips, roasting people alive on starship thrusters, raiding settlements for anything not nailed down and… oh yeah! They're slow and romantic music." Azula felt as though the captain made that last one up in some misguided attempt at humor, "Also, Angara is one of the most feared bounty hunters in this region of the galaxy so it would probably be best to stay on her good side."

"From what I've seen, she doesn't have a good side."

My'Rell let out another exasperated sigh, "Yup."

After going over several more aspects of the runway and hangers My'Rell brought her to several decks above into a long room with high ceilings and walls lined with torpedoes resting on conveyor belts, "Here is one of the many torpedo and artillery rooms that dot the SeCore. Within this room is enough firepower to level a small nation."

Now Azula was captivated, much of the power she sought was within this room. A marvel of science and destruction that not even the Fire Nation was capable of achieving, at least not yet.

Azula approached one of the belts along the wall watching as it pulled the torpedoes upward into a vent on the ceiling, "These conveyor belts pull them to where they are to be dispensed, correct?"

"Exactly, the launchers themselves are a deck above us right outside these walls. The crew here is in charge of pulling them out of the storage area, inspecting them and loading them up. The bridge is the only way to fire them." My'Rell explained as she moved out of the way of four individuals using their combined strength to carry a single torpedo.

"It's quite busy here, even though we are no longer in battle." She commented.

"That's because each and every torpedo is being inspected. The easiest way to destroy a ship from the inside is by sabotaging the armaments. If just one of these torpedoes was sabotaged with an explosive-"

"It'll set off a chain reaction." Azula finished catching on quickly.

"Exactly." My'Rell looked into the window of the opposite wall seeing most of the torpedoes being placed back in their storage rack, "They should be almost done by now, they've been inspecting since the battle ended."

"How many do you have?" Azula asked in genuine surprise given how long it has been since the battle ended.

"Several hundred."

While admiring the armaments she spotted another familiar face, Sev. The nine foot tall semi mechanical man had a torpedo in his grasp and seemed to be coming from the torpedo storage area before placing it effortlessly into one of the slots on the wall. He seemed to enjoy showing off his superior strength as other members of the crew had to wheel torpedoes around in carts.

The large metal man caught a glimpse of them and his face immediately lit up with a wide grin. Azula still couldn't figure out how such an imposing creature could have such a carefree and friendly demeanor.

"Captain!" He greeted, "And the fire spitter! See I told y'all she'd be fine." He gave a friendly slap on the shoulder to a slender alien with a banana shaped head that nearly knocked the wind out of him.

"GARI SHORA KA'TEE!" Gax shouted from above, climbing the piping of the ceiling like a hog monkey, seeming to be repairing some loose wiring.

Sev turned to him, "Yes I did say that! I was a firm believer she'd recover with no problems."

"KA'MI TA KORRO!"

"I did not say that! Now you're just putting words in my mouth!"

Azula continued to watch the strange back in fourth before deciding to intervene.

"You actually understand what… he says?" She was going to refer to Gax as a thing due to his more animalistic appearance but managed to catch herself figuring they might take offense to the term. These two seemed to be her strongest candidates for allies, other than Lectro and it would be wise not to offend them.

"Oh yeah. His language is easier to translate into my native one, so I've got a better understanding of what he's saying than most." He turned up to where Gax hung, directing his next statement to him, "Although it'd be nice if he learned how to speak primary like the rest of us!"

Gax only made a noise that sounded like a scoff before dropping down and landing on his armored friend's shoulder.

Gax leaned towards her and extended a large webbed hand, "TE' KARRI!" He then greeted her with a wide crooked smile.

"He says it's nice to meet you."

Of all the creatures she had seen so far Gax unsettled her the most. Whether it be his appearance as a walking talking frog, his smile that was a little too wide for Azula's liking, the manic unpredictability behind his large bulging eyes, how he seems to shout with every word that leaves his mouth or the way the gills around his head flared out.

Reluctantly she accepted the friendly gesture and grabbed his larger hand. It was slimy and damp, two things Azula physically couldn't stand and made her skin crawl, "Nice to… meet you." It was a struggle for her to maintain her friendly persona.

Gax shook her hand vigorously like a child who has had too much sugar and practically shook her entire torso in his grasp before retracting back to Sev's shoulder, her hand covered in a thin mucous substance that she discreetly rubbed off on the leg of her jumpsuit.

"Sev. Gax." My'Rell greeted them in an informal but friendly demeanor, "How goes the inspection?"

"So far so good. We haven't found anything on any of the torpedos in this room. Heard the same from the other armament rooms."

"Good. Once you are all done get some rest and food. We're going to need you all to help make repairs."

Both groaned at the thought of that, "Yes ma'am. We'll try and get as much of that done before the sending."

With that said My'Rell let them get back to their work as she led Azula out an onto the next destination.

They would soon find themselves in the cargo bay, the same one that housed the Fabricator. When they entered the crate that housed the target of their attackers was in the center of the room and opened. The Fabricator was a large rectangular black and silver box shaped device with each side of it having a window allowing for viewing inside its empty compartment.

Besides the device Lectro stood with his back to them as he typed away at a tablet connected to the built in console.

"Come on… just work for me." He grumbled to himself as the console screen flashes red.

"Lectro." My'Rell greeted the lizard man making him jump in surprise. He didn't seem to hear their approach.

"Don't sneak up on me like that! I've already almost had like three heart attacks today and I don't need a fourth."

"My bad Lectro, how goes-"

"Azula!" He shouted in relief and joy running past the captain up to the princess. Azula was reminded of his overbearing curiosity.

"You're not dead! That's great! I was so worried! I told you zero-g was something you wouldn't be able to handle, but somehow you survived. Which is great! I also heard that you were capable of generating a blast of electricity, which I have to know how you did that and…" he continued to bombard her with questions while speaking a mile per minute giving himself little room to breath between words until My'Rell pulled him out of his tirade with a firm hand on the shoulder.

"Lectro! The poor girl just barely made it out of Death's grip and was locked up for twenty six hours. I'm sure the last thing she wants is to be overwhelmed with questions."

Lectro gave a sheepish grin realizing this, "Sorry, it's just we thought we lost you there for a little while, and they're is still so much we can learn from you."

"So you're only concerned for me when you have something to gain?" She asked condescendingly.

His scaly expression turned to one of shock and nervousness, "That… came out wrong. That's not what I meant to say."

A narrow smile crept up on her, a smile of mischief that was followed with a sinister glint in her eye, "Oh no, your intentions were made clear. I'm Just a slab of meat for you to poke around and experiment with. "

"W-wait no! That's… uh… c-captain! Help me out here?"

My'Rell, picking up on what was going on gave a devious smirk of her own, "What is there to help Lectro? You made it clear that she's your lab experiment. Why lie to the poor girl?"

"Perhaps you'd like to cut me open and harvest my organs for some immoral uses." Azula added.

"Or take out her brain and leave it suspended in a jar?" My'Rell teased, taking just as much pleasure in making him feel uncomfortable.

Lectro, having no control of the situation, decided to change the subject, "Uh… hey! We unpacked the fabricator and almost got it online! W-why don't I show you guys that?"

He practically sprinted back to the console wanting to get out of this situation.

As she approached to get a closer look at the device she walked into an object that toppled over in a loud metal clang.

"Alert. Alert." A monotonous voice droned out of the object, "I am under siege. I repeat. I am under siege."

Lectro grabbed the cylindrical object pulling it back up, "Quite being dramatic B3, you're all right."

The object in question was a short machine covered in faded green metal plating held up by four thick spider-like legs. The top of it rotated towards Azula, a single red eye staring up at her.

"You have a living trash can?" She cocked her head studying the strange being.

Lectro let out an amused chuckle as he patted the machine's head, "B3 isn't a trash can. He is my robotic assistant. B3, meet our newest recruit. Princess Azula."

The lens of the machine's eye focused on her, surveying her up and down, "Unidentified life form. Scanning… Analyzing data. Unidentified. Hypothesis, deformed Pendaren."

"Excuse me?" She responded somewhat offended by being referred to as deformed anything. She was a princess after all, no deformity would be tolerated by her, "I am not deformed, I can assure you that."

"You lack several key features of a Pendaren; such as, facial striping, pigmented sclera, cranial horns-"

"Did it ever occur to you that I might not be a Pendaren?" She interrupted feeling B3 would list out too many things to warrant in conversation.

The robot stayed silent for a moment, "Analyzing new data. Conclusion. Unregistered species."

"We could always pass you off as a deformed Pendaren." My'Rell said, clearly taking some amusement from this conversation.

She rolled her eyes at such a thing. She was her father's perfect weapon, to accept being referred to as deformed would stain her pride.

With B3 reoriented and still connected to the fabricator via cables, Lectro went back to his work, "We almost got everything ready and set, the raw material we collected from the planet is on standby. We just have to break through some of the security authorizations in order to get it to function." He explained as he typed away at his tablet, "Needless to say, whoever was the last owner of this thing really didn't want anyone else using it but them."

My'Rell peered over his shoulder as he worked, "How bad is it?"

"Every time I think we've made progress another firewall shows up."

"Firewall disabled." B3 stated.

"Great! Now we can-"

"Firewall detected."

Lectro groaned in frustration, "How many does that make?"

"Six firewall's in total."

"I don't need to remind you that this thing is the key to us leaving this system. Do I?" My'Rell stated.

"I understand that captain but this is a very advanced piece of equipment that is almost completely alien to me, and B3 has never been connected to something like this."

This caught Azula's attention and made her furrow her brow in confusion, "How is this any more alien than everything else on this ship?"

"That's because it was made by one of the most hyper advanced civilizations to ever exist. They outpaced almost every other race in the galaxy with their tech." Lectro explained as he coordinated with B3.

"Really? They must be quite the civilization if they are capable of creating such a device that everyone wants." She said in wonder as she looked into the fabricator's interior.

"They were." he corrected.

Azula cocked an eyebrow, "Were?"

"Yes, they used their magical printers here to generate components for weapons of mass destruction then nuked themselves into extinction. They didn't really venture outside their own solar system either so they pretty much doomed themselves." He continued then cursed in irritation when he couldn't get through the firewall.

"All that's left of their civilization is a few pieces of tech like this and some ruins." My'Rell finished.

This was a surprise to Azula, people who had access to such equipment and essentially unlimited resources ended up destroying themselves. How can beings with such power end up undoing everything they had achieved?

"I think the empire has some mummified corpses in their museums." Lectro added.

She then remembered when she first met Lectro he had mentioned some sort of empire. Any information on this entity could prove valuable.

"Final firewall breached. Access to fabricator acquired." B3 interrupted before she could ask, retracting its chord from the machine.

"Finally! We've been at this for hours." Lectro wasted no time accessing the console. He gestures to another crewman, "Get the coal, let's do a little test run."

The alien wheeled in a cart filled with coal to the back of the machine and began dumping shovelfuls of it in a funny shaped opening.

"Where exactly did you get this coal?" Azula asked.

"From the planet below." Lectro answered.

She rolled her eyes, "Obviously, I meant where specifically."

"B3, pull up the map." Lectro said to the robot who projected a holographic display of the planet.

"We mined out almost all of this coal from this area here." He pointed to the northern portion of the main Fire Nation island, "There was an old mine that looked to be abandoned. We sent a probe in and found a whole lot of coal still buried there, so we geared up and grabbed all this. The main reason we have data on your language is because we sent a few probes to gather info just in case we ran into any locals, if you were wondering about that."

She was wondering about that however this curiosity was overshadowed by the obvious theft of her homeland.

"Why does it matter where we got it?" My'Rell inquired.

"No reason. Was simply curious." She lied, she felt great offense that they stole from her country however she was in no position or mood to argue against it, and besides it was Zuko's fault for not noticing this theft in his own backyard.

The alien crewmen notified them that the coal was loaded up. Lectro hopped back to the console, "Let's start with something simple. How about a wrench?"

After typing in his commands the empty compartment of the machine came to life as a mechanical arm unfolded from the roof of the machine and began moving back and forth at great speed leaving behind layers of molten metal that cooled quickly until it took the shape of a strange looking wrench.

Azula watched in amazement. A machine like this could generate just about anything the fire nation would need. If they had this machine alone the fire nation would have dominated the earth in no time.

Once cooled Lectro opened the compartment climbing in and pulling the wrench free.

"Beautiful! Isn't it?"

"It's remarkable. I can see why you were being attacked for it." Azula was genuinely impressed, "How does it work?"

After climbing out of the machine Lectro was more than happy to explain, "I'm glad you asked. You see, this device is what is properly known as a matter converter. By putting matter in one end the machine can manipulate said matter down to the molecular level and convert it into a different substance to fabricate whatever you need."

She didn't quite understand some aspects of what he said but understood the basic concept well.

"However it can only do so with non organic substances and depending on the malleability of said substance determines how long it takes to fabricate. It also takes a whole lot of power for it to work."

"So it will take awhile if we solely rely on it for repairs." My'Rell said taking the newly fabricated wrench inspecting it.

"Yes, which is why I suggest we only use it to repair and replace specific components needed to get us out of here and get further repairs back at base."

"Understood. I think I know where our next stop will be." My'Rell pockets the wrench and says her farewell to Lectro and B3 before making her leave and beckoning Azula to follow.

"Be sure to stop by my lab later!" Lectro calls out to Azula before going back to his work and accidentally walking into B3 tipping him over.

"Alert. Alert. I am under siege."

"Always so dramatic. Aren't you B3?"

It didn't take long for My'Rell to lead Azula to the engineering room at the rear of the ship. The thick metal blast doors covered in bright yellow markings opened with their presence revealing a multi leveled cavernous industrial room that would put the Fire Nation's most advanced steam engines and boiler rooms to shame with its walls being covered in exposed piping, wires and machinery, the humming sounds of the twin titanic engines that hang overhead echoing loudly, crewmen ran about working at their stations to maintain the health of the ship.

"Welcome to engineering." My'Rell said over the various sounds, "This area of the SeCore is dedicated to allowing us to traverse space along with providing power to all functions of the ship."

"I take it this is where the enemy disabled the ship?" She had to raise her voice just as much to get through.

"Indeed." She turned to a large hunched over creature that resembled a komodo rhino dragging a large cable, "Where's Cetro?"

The creature pointed to the reactor room across from the twin engines.

They entered the equally large room with most of its space being occupied by a massive spherical structure that was the reactor and was being held behind a transparent wall of glass and metal to prevent radiation exposure.

"Are you stupid or are you purposefully trying to incur my wrath!? Because these cufflinks are the wrong size!" An old gravelly voice shouted from one of the corners of the room.

They turned to the source where Azula saw the same multi armed creature she had run into when she first arrived standing over a shorter creature similar in appearance but with a red mane of hair.

"Wait! No! Don't answer that! Whatever you say is only going to make me even angrier! Replace the cables on generator three on the lower deck before I demolish you!"

The other creature scampered away as they approached.

"Cetro."

The creature in question turned to her, a sour expression on his serpentine face, "Captain. Come to tear me a new one for not getting the shield generator online again?" His four blue eyes narrowed in on Azula, "You!" He reached for his firearm causing her to jump into a firebending stance.

My'Rell jumped between them, "Hold it! She's with us!"

"Are you serious?" He asked incredulously, "She's the intruder that burned me!" He raised a hand wrapped in a black brace, "For all we know she was a scout sent ahead by the damn Death's Head!"

"Then why would a Death's Head spy shoot the bridge to her own ship?" She recalled, standing over him with a commanding presence, "And now what's left of the Death's Head is on board helping us get the SeCore up and running again. I expect you to play nice with her."

Cetro only snarled at her as he eased back into a lax demeanor.

"I suppose I should apologize for that, along with kicking you in the head." As much as she hates the idea of apologizing if she wanted to plant the seeds of her takeover then maybe saying sorry to this crotchety creature would be wise.

Cetro only scoffed. He and Angara seem to have in common a distaste of her, at least Cetro seemed to have a valid reason to not like her.

"Azula, this is Cetro. The head of engineering and he will be your mentor outside of combat." My'Rell introduced.

"When was this decided?" Cetro asked.

"Right now." She stated with finality, "As you know everyone who serves on a starship needs to know basic engineering and she knows nothing of it which is why I need my best engineer to get her up to speed."

Cetro's scaled brow furrowed as he looked back at Azula, "But she's a primitive. Does she have any scientific knowledge at all?"

"I dissected a squirrel toad once." She wasn't wrong, she did do this when she went to the Fire Nation royal school for girls but she knew this isn't what he wanted to hear and took silent pleasure in his annoyance at her comment.

The head engineer only scowled at her in silence for a long while before speaking, "Captain, can I speak with you privately?"

The engineer and the captain took a few steps away out of earshot.

"I'm already standing up to my agnots in idiots here with a bunch of new idiots who tried to kill us on the way to repair this relic of a ship. I don't have time to play babysitter to some primitive that grew up in a mud hut."

My'Rell sighed pinching the bridge of her nose, "Everybody pulls their weight here Cetro, she needs to do the same. It doesn't have to be anything complicated, just give her some simple tasks that will keep her busy and out of your way while also giving her some tips and tricks on how things work here."

"I don't like her attitude either. She's a smart ass and I don't like smart ass's."

"Now you're just being childish."

Cetro scoffed.

"Listen, she's smarter than you think, she'll adapt and hopefully learn quickly. Think of it this way, you'll get to boss around the girl who burned you and gave you a minor concussion, and if she becomes too much of a hindrance I'll put her to work in the mess hall instead."

Cetro still didn't seem convinced but rolled his eyes and accepted it, "Fine. But I'm not going easy on her just because she's a kid."

"Never said you needed to go easy on her."

They turned back to the princess who was observing the massive sphere above them and called to her.

"Alright kid, what did you say your name was again?"

"I am Princess Azula." She introduced.

"Private Azula." My'Rell corrected.

Azula frowned at the mention of her new title and the emphasis the captain put on it.

"Alright kid. I'll teach you what you need to know. Just keep that fire trick of yours under wraps unless I need you to weld something."

She narrowed her eyes in annoyance at him wanting to use her bending as some workplace tool.

"What's wrong with the shield generator this time?" My'Rell asked.

Cetro scoffed, "What isn't wrong with it?"

The multi armed alien led them to the upper levels and into the room that housed the shield generator that was a large cubical machine.

"So far we've tried the basic fixes but nothing has worked so I think it's a more advanced issue inside." Cetro explained as they approached a panel, "I've got Copelo in there inspecting all the components."

"Someone is inside that?" Azula took another look at the shield generator noting that the impressive machine was indeed large but seems like it is filled to the brim with components that would make fitting inside it impossible.

"Yup. Let's see if he's made any progress." Cetro pounded on a panel door, "Copelo! You find anything?"

After a few moments a panel door swung open with a narrow headed serpentine creature with six beady eyes slithered out arching up at them, six segmented limbs sprouting out of its underside just beneath its head.

"I did!" it said in a strange high pitched voice, "The coolant pump is broken. It won't pump anything into the generator thus causing it to overheat when in use."

Azula looked at the small creature slack jawed and spacing out to the technical talk between Cetro and the snake creature. She was perplexed at how something as small and weird as this was considered a person despite the fact that it looked like a mutated animal. Then again it spoke clearly like an educated person and wore a dark blue sleeve over its long coiling body like clothing.

"So it's just the pump?" My'Rell repeated taking Azula out of her analytical trance at the sight of Copelo.

"That's the main problem, yes. But there's a bunch of smaller issues like wires beginning to rot away, rusting gaskets and a slew of other issues that could turn into problems in the future, but that's to be expected from such an old ship."

"So we either replace all the broken down components or buy a brand new shield generator."

"What of the Fabricator?" Azula mentioned catching all of their attention, "Lectro has it working, surely we can replace said old components with new ones."

"Exactly." The captain followed up producing the fabricated wrench and handed it to Cetro, "He made this wrench from coal converted into steel."

Cetro inspected the tool testing out its weight and tapping it against the generator, "Hm… this could work. We could save a whole lot of units with this."

"Make a list of everything that needs to be replaced and we'll replace it back at base. Right now talk to Lectro and get a new coolant pump made."

After that the pair left the engineers to their work with My'Rell giving Azula a quick rundown of the reactor, showing her the gravity core on the opposite end of the room before leading her to various other locations such as the briefing room, the mess hall, living quarters and locker rooms, escape pods, various component rooms and Dr. Bevel's cultivation room that was filled with strange alien plants used to create medicine.

Their final stop was the bridge. They entered the command deck where many of the officers in the room continued to scramble, monitoring the ship's health and other factors. A majority of the bridge crew being Pendaren.

"Here is the command deck. From here we monitor the SeCore's health, chart courses, control weapon systems and scan the space around us." My'Rell explained, "You won't be on this deck very often but I feel you should see it at least once."

"Captain." Commander Shaul called out with a tablet in hand, "We've organized the new recruits into the stations where their expertise can be utilized."

She took the tablet from him looking over the reports, "Good, hopefully we can get everything up and running again."

Shaul looked over the captain's shoulder at their new recruit, "Is this her, captain?"

"Yes. Azula, this is my second in command, Commander Shaul. Commander Shaul, Azula."

The commander bowed his head slightly in respect while extending a hand, "pleased to meet you."

Hand shakes were not something Azula was accustomed to, living a life of royal luxury made her expect people to prostrate themselves at her presence but even then hand shaking wasn't very customary within the fire nation.

Reluctantly she took his glove hand and gave him the most sincere smile she could fake in order to hide her discontent at the strange greeting, "Likewise, commander."

"I didn't expect you to be up and walking around so soon after your trip into space. You gave Dr. Lectro quite the scare when he heard what happened."

"Oh yes, I am aware." His bombardment of questions and worry came back to mind.

"He won't have too much time to worry about. I'll see to it that his attention stays on the fabricator for now." The captain added.

"I assume that means the device is online?" The commander asked.

The captain and commander continued their discussion and Azula felt that her presence there was no longer needed and decided to wander about the cabin, being sure to stay out of the way.

The holo table was the first thing to catch her attention as a glowing hologram of the gunmetal gray ship with a bright red nose that she stood on floated in midair. The surface was covered in red highlights, likely damaged areas.

She paced away towards the panoramic window again gazing out into space at her home world to the left of the ship, the earth kingdom taking up a majority of the planet's surface. She wondered if she could see Ba Sing Se from up here, after all it was the largest city in the world and all of the Earth Kingdom maps proudly display its size on all of their maps.

No matter how hard she squinted she couldn't find the city in the sea of green and beige that made up the continent. Perhaps the Fire Nation wasn't the only one that exaggerated the scale in their maps.

Satisfied with the view she turned her attention back to the captain still embroiled in conversation with important matters for the ship but noticed a vacant seat on a raised platform in the center of the room. Undoubtedly the captain's chair, the throne of the ship, the most powerful position on this ship. Her throne if she plays her cards right.

She approached the chair studying the various buttons that lined its arm rest. Her observation reminded her that she's been standing all day and her legs were feeling a bit stiff so she decided to have a seat, might as well see the view from her future position and determine if it's satisfactory enough for her.

The view was as splendid as she expected it to be. She had a clear elevated view of the whole vessel before her, dorsal cannons facing forward or her flanks with the planet clear in her sights. She feels she has the power to level the whole world if she wanted to, like her plan for Sozin's comet but on a far larger scale. She could see it now; the crown hair piece being placed in her topknot as the SeCore looms overhead threatening to rain down destruction, the alien creatures following her every will, policing the populace and tearing down all that oppose her. It was glorious.

The sound of someone clearing their throat pulling Azula out of her daydream. Commander Shaul loomed behind her with a stern expression. It was then that she noticed the other bridge officers scowling at her, mainly the Pendaren's.

"Enjoying my seat, private?" The captain asked with a sense of amusement just like how her uncle laughed when she had sat on the Fire Lord's throne when she was younger.

"That chair is meant only for the captain's use or any she gives command to." Shaul reprimanded.

It would seem the Pendaren's take the chain of command very seriously and violating it in any small way earned their scorn.

"My mistake, I felt a little light headed. Must be a side effect of the vaccine." She said, fainting a dazed expression as she got back up.

Hopefully this lie would placate them along with her general ignorance of her environment.

His expression softened, "Be sure to see Dr. Bevel then." He turned back to the captain, "I have some preliminary reports sent to your ready room for your convenience."

She thanked him before making her way to a room at the back of the command deck, Azula followed behind.

The ready room was a small office that was more spacious than some of the other rooms she had seen on board, with a desk near the back, a small window displaying the planet beyond, a rack filled with personal mementos and a tank filled with alien fish swimming about.

"So private, what do you think of the tour?" The captain asks as she sprinkles some flakes into the fish tank.

"It is impressive. Truly a marvel of science. At least to my "primitive" understanding of it." She began to despise that word.

"Thank you, despite the shape the SeCore is currently in and her age." She sat at her desk, "Any lingering questions that weren't answered?"

"A few. What is our destination once we leave?"

"Kazima." She answered plainly, "It's a backwater planet on the fringes of explored space. Outside the jurisdiction of just about every major galactic power."

"Such as this Pendaren Empire?" Azula asks as she inspects some of the captain's personal items; many of which being military medals, trophies and model ships.

One that caught her attention was a picture of a younger My'Rell dressed in a royal purple military uniform of some sort, her hair tied back into a neat bun, bright red cape draped over her left shoulder and a decorative hat resting on her head with one of her upward spiraling horns decorated with a gold ring.

She wasn't surprised that the picture didn't seem to be painted and instead looked like a real image captured in time. She had seen so many spectacular things as of late that this seemed mundane in comparison.

She then noticed a young girl that looked to be the age of five or six standing next to her. She had yellowish orange skin and bright green eyes, lacked horns and dressed in a school uniform. Undoubtedly My'Rell's daughter as they shared similar faces. There was a third figure as well, they wore a similar uniform only this one was white and the red cape was draped over the opposite shoulder but the corner of the picture where their face would have been was burned.

"Oh yes, the empire." There was a flatness in her voice as if it was something she didn't care to talk about, "Before you ask, yes I was part of the empire along with many of the Pendaren crew and yes the SeCore was also an imperial warship. We no longer affiliate with the empire or share in their ideals."

"So you're a defector? A traitor to your nation." The scorn laced in her voice was not lost to My'Rell. After all, why wouldn't Azula despise traitors. Her brother betrayed her, her two best friends betrayed her, even her own mind betrayed her and led to the fire nation losing the war and losing her title of Fire Lord.

Their eyes met, Azula's narrow gaze probing the captain, attempting to find any weakness to exploit however My'Rell's steely gaze and calm expression gave a calm defiance, with no indication of giving her what she wanted.

"Let's just say that we don't agree with the direction the current regime was taking us on." With that said My'Rell brought the topic to an end.

"Why don't you tell me about yourself, private?" She gestured towards a small couch by the window, "Just who is princess Azula?"

Azula thought carefully of what she wanted to say, taking the seat and sitting upright with her legs crossed giving an image of authority while the captain took a more laid back and informal posture.

"That's easy enough to answer. I am the youngest child of Fire Lord Ozai…" She paused remembering who was the current leader of her nation, "Former Fire Lord. I am a firebending prodigy with years of experience fighting in our war against the other nations. I am the conqueror of Ba Sing Se, effectively winning the war and was to be crowned the next Fire Lord, all at the age of fourteen." She stated proudly at all her achievements being sure to leave some elements out but overall speaking in nothing but truth for once.

Her expression soured as she remembered how all her achievements crumbled away, "Until my traitorous brother Zuko joined our enemy and effectively undid everything our nation had accomplished. Stole my crown along with imprisoning my father and I for two long grueling years." Her voice and anger rose with each word before she realized she was losing control and quickly regained her composure, "I managed to escape and… well, here I am."

My'Rell took all this information while leaning back in her chair, an impassive expression still on her face, "Impressive, very impressive. Assuming you're telling me the truth."

Azula scowled, "You think I'm lying."

"Not really lying, more like… embellishing the truth. You have to admit, it is a little far-fetched that a teenager conquered an entire city by herself, and based on some of the observations some of our probes picked up, Ba Sing Se is quite a large city. Not only that but a capital city as well. The brother betrayal sounds truthful and tracks well with the little information you've already given and the crowning sounds plausible. A lot of societies that use monarchies tend to crown children as rulers."

Azula's eye twitched, "Ba Sing Se was my greatest achievement! I conquered the city when so many others had failed! Question it as much as you want, but the fact of the matter is I took the city all by myself without anyone's help." She left out the aid Mai, Ty Lee and Zuko provided but she didn't care. They were all traitors anyway, the names of traitors don't deserve to be by hers in the history books.

My'Rell's lips curved into a subtle sly smile, "I'm curious, just how did you take this city?"

"Simple really. Everyone else tried to brute force their way in so I took a less direct approach."

"So, you snuck inside and caught them where they'd least expect you. Clever, but I can't imagine it was that easy."

She scoffed, "Persuade or fool the right people and it is."

"Interesting." That was all My'Rell said of the matter before looking over to her console.

The way she said it though set off an alarm in Azula's mind. This whole conversation wasn't just some friendly attempt at banter, My'Rell was probing her for information just as she had been and used her lapse in judgment when her conquering of Ba Sing Se was put into question. Had she given away her plan before she even began to put it into action? No, she could work with this, treating it like she was listing off her skills to further convince her that she would be a valuable asset. If the captain was as cunning as Azula believed then she would have eventually found out her skills sooner or later. She just needed to maintain control, that's it. As long as she remains in control of her actions and mind she will succeed. Her greatest worry now is that perhaps being trapped in a mental asylum for two years may have dulled her ability to stay calm and collected.

"I've got some reports to go over. Why don't you go down to the mess hall and grab something to eat. I'm sure you're tired of the nutrient bricks Dr. Bevel has been giving you."

"Glady." She said feeling her stomach beginning to rumble. Food that didn't taste like bland chalk would be nice.

"One last thing before you go." My'Rell stopped her before she exited, "In a few hours we are having a sending in hanger two. It's a funeral tradition for all those that had fallen in battle. I'd like for you to be there."

"Are you sure it would be appropriate? I've only just joined."

My'Rell gave her a nonchalant gesture, "Nonsense. You're a part of the storm now. It would also be best to get you familiar with some of the naval traditions that come with serving on a ship. Although I wish it didn't have to start with a funeral."

"Very well. I will attend. Just find me at the appropriate time." She said hastily then turned to depart.

"Very well…" My'Rell repeated expecting a certain response.

Azula gritted her teeth as she almost choked out the words, "Very well… Captain."

My'Rell gave a satisfied smile, "I'll see you there, private."

She rolled her eyes in annoyance once she was certain the captain couldn't see her and went for the door, almost running into Commander Shaul on her way out.

The commander entered the office closing the door behind him leaving only him and the Captain, "I take it everything went well?"

"You could say that." She replied, not looking up from her screen, "Be honest with me Shaul. What do you think of her?"

The commander looked away in thought as if to find the right words, "She's bold, I'll give her that. Not many would think to sit at the captain's chair on the first day, although I would chalk that up to cultural ignorance and the dizziness from whatever the doctor gave her."

"You really fell for that Shaul?" The captain gave a half hearted chuckle, "She was lying through her teeth. She knew exactly what she was doing."

"Well then perhaps she is due for some lessons in proper naval etiquette." Shaul was annoyed that the captain seemed to be letting her off easy, "What do you make of her, ma'am?"

My'Rell paused for a moment really thinking about her opinion, "She has potential. She's got the ego of a princess, there's no doubt there, very headstrong and confrontational."

"How confrontational?" Shaul asked not liking the sound of that.

The captain let out a disgruntled breath, "You should have seen her with Angara."

That statement alone was all Shaul needed to understand, although now his opinions on Azula may have softened knowing that she was most likely being confrontational in self defense.

"That bad?"

"I can already tell that those two are going to be the best of friends." Her tone betrayed the optimism of that statement as she rubbed her head as if already feeling all the future headaches they'll cause, "But she's smarter than she lets on, she's cunning, her fighting skills alone say a lot, and she's ambitious. A little too ambitious though."

This caught the commander's attention, "That won't blossom into a future problem, will it?"

"Right now it's too early to say for certain, but I want to keep a close eye on her. Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

"Well, she is a teenager and teenagers tend to do stupid things." Shaul took a seat before her desk, "Although I can't say I've ever seen a teenager shoot blasts of fire or electricity, so there's that to consider."

"This isn't just some normal teenage shenanigans I'm worried about. All throughout the tour she was asking questions about the ship and to some of the crew. Probing questions, questions I would ask my commanding officer if I was tasked with taking down a larger foe, and she was subtle about it too."

Shaul took this in, his brow hardening as he stroked his beard, "I'll keep tabs on her. If she's as cunning as you believe then I want to be ready for anything."

"Please do. Was there anything else you needed?"

"Yes, some of the other officers and I were wondering about the planet and its inhabitants. Will Azula be the only one we recruit?"

"For now, yes. As much as we need new crewmen, I would rather not waste time grabbing a bunch of random primitive people and teaching them everything they need to know after they freak out at the existence of life outside their home. One is good enough. As for the planet, we'll mark it on the map. If we need to go into hiding for any reason or are in need of resources this place will do. And if our new private ever changes her mind on her new career path we'll put her on a shuttle and bring her back."

"Wise idea. I'll let you get to your reports then." With that said Shaul let himself out and My'Rell went back to her work.

---

Azula walks with purpose in search of the mess hall with her chin held up high and arms crossed behind her back. She needed to look like she had some kind of authority to the other crewmen despite her low rank. She still couldn't get her last exchange with the captain out of her head. How foolish she was for walking into that obvious trap. She would need to meditate and try to regain her cool collective persona back.

That could wait, for now she needed food that actually had flavor. The nutrition bricks, as they call them, she was given by the doctor were so bland it almost made her want to vomit. She just needed to remember the route.

She managed to find it after several wrong turns and blocked off hallways. This ship was a maze without My'Rell's guidance, she managed to find the spacious room filled with tables and benches with a line already formed.

"Hey look, it's the fire spitter!" Sev called out from his place near the front of the line after spotting her.

The dozens of other alien creatures turned to her and for a moment Azula felt a bit threatened by all the unfamiliar eyes on her until the room erupted in cheers and claps. Some of the closer creatures even gave her pats on the shoulders.

She can't say she wasn't used to being cheered on when entering a room but it was still a strange sight coming from people that didn't look remotely human however it seemed they were all appreciative of her actions during the battle so she reveled in their praise.

"Why don't you come up to the front and cut in front of me." Sev said and was met with a series of lighthearted complaints from those around him, "Oh shut it, she saved the ship so she should get first pickings."

She put on a self satisfactory smile as she strode to the front being showered with praise as she did so until she was before Sev.

"Thank you for your praise. I don't think I had the patience to wait in line for long."

"No problem. It's always good to get on your good side early so you don't shoot lightning at me for whenever I eventually piss you off." He laughed.

Azula did not laugh, instead she grabbed a trey and observed the display of unfamiliar foods that ranged from things that looked normal like steaks that were purple instead of red, misshapen fruit and soup that seemed to glow along with things that were much stranger such as what looked to her like a roasted pill bug, surreal shaped vegetables that she wasn't sure were either food or set dressing an some sort of floating red liquid inside a glass canister.

She had no clue what would be considered edible to her, so she grabbed the closest thing to something she was used to, a bowl of cold blue noodles, some green bread and water.

"Damn, you got the last bowl of zamnu." Sev commented over her shoulder as he grabbed over a dozen plates.

She ignored his comment and whatever else he may have said as she examined around looking for a place to sit. Almost all the tables had at least one person occupying them but she manages to spot a table by the window and decides a seat with a view would do her good.

Once sat down Azula decided to dismiss Sev's conversation with her own topic, "I'm surprised your little friend isn't hanging off your shoulder right now."

"Oh Gax? He's talking to his sister back at base right now. She worries."

"There was another one of him?" Azula shudders at the thought of another slimy and damp handshake from a similar creature.

"Yeah, Chani. Don't worry she's not a psychopath like him." The giant said nonchalantly as he began eating.

She couldn't tell if he was joking or not, "Right… the Captain informed me of a sending later."

"Oh yeah." His demeanor seemed to simmer down, "Not the first one I've been to but it's never something I look forward to. Stick around here long enough and you'll see a few."

"I imagine all the crew will be there, but does that include our new Death's Head friends?"

"No, that's a recipe for disaster. Pretty sure the captain has them making repairs while we're doing that. Gax and I weren't invited to our first sending when we joined."

"So you were absorbed into the crew as well?"

"Yeah, I used to run with a crew of pirates for a while, boarding ships and making off with anything we could sell, then one day we attempted to board the wrong ship and My'Rell annihilated us."

He took another bite of his food and spoke with his mouth full, "She could have killed me and the other survivors but instead she offered us a job and I tell you what, this job is way better than being a pirate."

She looked him over once more looking at all the mechanical bits ingrained into his body, "I assume piracy had something to do with the various pieces of metal sticking out of your body."

"Oh you mean my improvements?" He seemed to like that she pointed this out.

"You call those improvements? Meaning you did this to yourself?" She said with a muddled expression.

"Not all of it." He stood up showing off his mechanical legs, "I got involved in a really bad shuttle crash when I was a little kid and lost my legs." He grabbed the knee to his right leg and with a quick twist his leg from just above his knee down detached, the stump was covered in a mechanical ringed cap.

He reattached the limb and sat back down, "The doctors said I would never walk again unless I had cybernetics and… implementing cybernetics into the body is heavily frowned upon by my people's culture."

"Yet you have them?"

"Yeah I do. My race, the Dretta, are a deeply spiritual people that preach spiritual enlightenment and the rejection of material goods." He said with mockery present in the last portion, "My parents and I were a part of that life for a while. Until the accident." A soft smile crept up as if in remembrance of something, "And my parents sacrificed everything; their faith, their cultural standing and their reputation just so I could walk again."

Azula had never been sympathetic towards others but she had to admit that sacrificing everything for a loved one in such a way sounded special. She wondered if her parents would ever do the same. Her father probably would have discarded her if she ever suffered an injury as severe as that. Her mother had thought she was a monster, so there was no doubt on her mind that she would do the same. Maybe for Zuko but not for her.

Not wanting to get bogged down thinking of her mother and run the risk of her apparition appearing she continues the conversation, "And what of your parents, if I may ask?"

Sev's expression turned into a scowl, "They were excommunicated, me with them. We were shunned by every other dretta we ever met. They called me the child of material sin. The rest of our family wouldn't even look at us." The utensil he used was crushed in his grip no doubt from years of pent up anger, "My parents spent the rest of their lives continuing the practices until they died, mother to sickness and father to a robber, leaving me alone. So instead of following the practices of the people who shunned and exiled us I decided I didn't want that life. My people call me the child of material sin so that's what I'll be, a mechanical monster that spits in the eye of everything they stand for, so I cut out bits of myself and replaced them with cold hard steel until I became the beautiful mechanical mountain you see before you."

Azula was captivated by his tail, more so than she'd like to admit. The idea of replacing useless parts of yourself with machinery was fascinating alone but what really enthralled her was his reasoning for doing so. He is considered a monster to his people just as she is to many of hers and he wore it as a badge of honor, perhaps she has more in common with him than she thought.

"And where does Gax play in all of this?"

"Oh him? Gax was a black market tech dealer when I first met him. He helped me create and install a lot of my tech and eventually he went from being my 'go to tech guy' to my best friend."

Not as fascinating as his first tale but nonetheless interesting.

"That's all about me. What about you, fire spitter? What's your story?" He asks before taking another bite of one of his many antreys.

Azula gave him a brief version of what she had told the captain, still leaving out some key details that could be incriminating for her.

"So how big is this Ba Sing Se place?" He asks, finishing a bowl of mashed vegetables.

"Massive." She answers in a pleased manner, "It's the largest city on earth and for one hundred years it stood against us. My uncle led a two year long campaign to take it and failed miserably."

"That must suck." He said flippantly before finishing his beverage, "You should probably eat your bowl of zamnu before they die on you." He gestured at her bowl of noodles.

She was so hooked on her conversation with Sev that she forgot how hungry she was. Then she remembered what he had said.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'they'll die on me'?"

He slurped up some noodles from one of his remaining dishes, "Your zamnu have been out of their tank for awhile, they'll dry out and die. Zamnu tastes best when they're still alive."

Her eyes widened at that statement and she looked down at the bowl now noticing that the blue noodles were slowly rything around. She poked at it with her utensil inspecting it further only to find a glossy black eye staring up at her. She sucked in a sharp breath in alarm once she realized that what she thought was a bowl of cold blue noodles was actually a series of tentacles attached to several live squid-like creatures. It almost made her lose her appetite.

She pushed the bowl away, "How about I trade you?"

"Sweet!" He eagerly took the bowl and offered her anything she wanted that was left from his tray.

She settled for a bowl of soup that would glow amber when disturbed.

"What is… you know what, it's probably best if I don't know."

---

After eating her fill it was nearly time for the sending. Down in hanger two she and many of the other surviving crewmen who could be spared gathered. In the center of the hangar lies caskets for each fallen crew mate lined in rows, a holographic image displaying their likeness along with a name written in a language she could not read. Everyone in attendance wore a space suit as per requirement, Azula was given another emergency shield suit. Many of the crew mates gathered around the caskets grieving their fallen friends and saying their farewells, some even carving messages into the caskets with a knife.

Azula observed from a distance, she didn't know anyone so felt no need to grieve. Instead she observed the holographic faces displayed on each casket and saw one for the insect man she ran into when first arriving. He must have been killed during the boarding as she didn't remember seeing him with the assault group.

Azula saw Angara standing far back as well dressed in her full suit of armor observing the mourners but not being a part of them. It seems she didn't have any one special she knew amongst the dead and was content with hanging back like her. Sev and Gax stood amongst the mourners giving their respects to some of the casket.

Commander Shaul called to attention when My'Rell entered clad in her own shield suit. The crew all scattered away from the fallen in a small crowd. My'Rell marched before the caskets and cleared her throat being sure to speak clearly.

"Today is a solemn day. We have lost a great number of our own. Friends, family and even lovers. As mercenaries these losses are of no surprise but that does not mean we should forsake the pain their absence leaves behind. For some of you this is not the first sending you have attended and for others it is, this will not be our last sending but let us learn from this experience and make sure the next one is far in our future and never forget those who we send to the stars."

"To the stars!" the crew repeated.

The speech was short yet the captain said all she needed to with the crowd clapping their various appendages at her words. Azula clapped with them but not as moved by her words as they were.

"Masks on!" She ordered, turning on her shield suit.

The crowd put on their masks and helmets with Azula turning on her own shield suit. Once everyone had dawned their space gear commander Shaul signaled the Hangar control room who then began depressurizing the room and shutting off the shields on the bay door that separated them from the void of space. Various crewmen made their way to the caskets gently lifting them up, two per casket depending on its size, and slowly marched towards the bay door until all members were lined up upon its length.

"To the stars!" My'Rell repeated and with that the crew gently released the caskets to float out into the infinite night, all the caskets gently floated out like a fleet of small ships setting sail, fairing the deceased into a sea of stars.

With that the sending was complete. The crew said their final goodbyes as the shield came back online and the atmosphere returned. Everyone removed their space gear and began to depart back to their stations.

---

Outside of the ship many of the newly acquired recruits welded metal plates over holes with some of the SeCore engineers. The SeCore crew operated with specialized repair pods for the larger breaches and left the more tedious work to be done manually by the new recruits.

Skeeve grumbled to himself in his space suit as he held a panel in place while another welded it down. Of all the things he could have been assigned to do, space welding was the one thing he did not want, he already had an uneasy fear of being out in open space hence why Duratix thought sending him out with the assault team was a fitting punishment. Thankfully he managed to hide himself in one of the SeCore's crevices with a blast shield over him and wait out the battle, in either outcome he would find his way to weasel himself to safety.

"Hey you!" One of the Storm members, whose primary purpose there was to oversee them, pointed to Skeeve.

Skeeve hid his disgruntled demeanor behind a passive smile, "Yes sir, how can I help?"

"Just got word from the bridge that something is blocking a thermal exhaust port. Go check it out." He ordered pointing at the ship's curvature.

"Oh sure, yes! I'll have that taken care of in no time, boss."

"Just get it done quickly." As soon as the guard was out of sight Skeeve's submissive expression faltered and was replaced by a scowl as he made his way to the vent.

No matter how many times he sucks up to those in charge the sting of shame from their disrespect never goes away and he always finds himself grasping the short end of the stick. Perhaps he's trying too hard, maybe tone down the submissiveness.

His magnetic boots carried him past the ship's curvature separating the dorsal and starboard sides and found the vent several feet away with something preventing it from closing fully. He made his way there, being sure to keep his eyes either on the object or his feet so he wouldn't feel nauseous from open space.

On closer inspection he saw that the object was a pair of legs.

"Great, a dead body. Just my luck." He grumbled as he grabbed the legs and pulled.

Whoever it was they were lodged good in the vent as it took him several tries before they were finally dislodged. Still holding on to the ankle of the body Skeeve decided to have a look at who it was and to his shock he saw that it was his former employer Duritax, his face frozen in a panicked gasp for air, his moist green skin now frozen and his uniform partially charred.

When the bridge blew out the sudden decompression must have shot him out at high speeds to where he found himself now.

"Well, well, well." Skeeve said condescendingly as he mockingly brushed some frost off his shoulder, "Guess sending me out with the assault team was a good idea after all, wasn't it boss?"

He then peered into one of his pockets pulling out three small golden bricks of Units, the most common currency in galactic society, and pocketed them for himself. After all, Duritax wasn't going to be using them. He dug into his other pocket and pulled out Duratix's personal communicator. He thought about selling it for a decent price until it started to vibrate with a green light flashing from it, someone was calling him.

After peering around and making sure the others weren't looking he pulled out his arm mounted mini computer and connected a cord to the device and switched his radio frequency before answering the device.

"Duritax!" An agitated voice came through with a deep voice filter disguising it, "I've been trying to contact you for the past few hours! What is the status of my fabricator?"

This must be the employer. Skeeve weighed his options on weather or not to report this to the Storm and maybe fall under My'Rell's good graces. However, perhaps this could be an opportunity for him.

"Hello, this is Skeeve. High ranking member of the Death's Head." He lied while giving his best attempt at an authoritative tone.

"Where is Duritax?" The voice demanded.

"I am so sorry to tell you this but unfortunately Duritax has been killed in the line of duty." He said solemnly while unceremoniously kicking his former employer's body out into the void.

"I don't care about that. Have you been able to secure my fabricator or not?"

"Uh… no. But I am currently thinking up a plan to-"

"We're done here. I knew I should have hired somebody else."

"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! Hold on!" Thankfully the line didn't go out yet, "Death's Head may have lost but what's left of us was absorbed by the Crimson Storm meaning I have access to the fabricator."

"I'm listening." The voice no longer held any animosity.

Skeeve looked over his shoulders again and was still clear, "I can get you your fabricator, you've just got to give me time to plan and make it happen."

"And what do you want in exchange?"

"I want all of the units for this job, not only that but I want the bonus for taking out the Crimson Storm as well."

The voice let out a shrill laugh, "You're just one person, Mr. Skeeve. How do you plan to take out an entire mercenary group?"

Skeeve couldn't help but grin to himself as the gears turned in his head, "The Crimson Storm has a lot of enemies, just have to get one of them to do it for me."

"If you get me that fabricator and set up the Storm's downfall, I'll be sure you can retire with peace of mind and more units than you know what to do with."

He gave him his familiar subservient voice, "Thank you, good sir. It will be a pleasure working with you, Mr…"

"None of your concern. Keep your head low and stay in contact." The voice cut out leaving him alone.

He disconnected the device from his suit and pocketed it. It would seem the universe has delivered him a boon in this dreadful situation he found himself in. It didn't matter to him that he would betray the new crew he swore loyalty to, he held no loyalty to the Death's Head either and was only ever there for the money, now he has a chance to make even more money than he ever would have working for the Crimson Storm.

A hard hand slammed down on his shoulder pulling him out of his thoughts and making him momentarily panic as the Crimson Storm guard turned him around. The guard pointed to the ear of his helmet telling him to switch to his frequency.

"What the hell are you doing?! I've been shouting for you for two minutes!" He said furiously, "What's that you've got?" he indicated to the hand still in his pocket.

Skeeve fumbled around in his pocket not wanting to let him see the communicator. The guard grabbed his wrist and pulled it out of his pocket only to find the small bricks of units, "Uh… these were lodged in the vents." He lied hoping that it would be believable.

The guard grabbed the unit bricks out of his hand inspecting them before pocketing them for himself, "Get back with the group and start welding."

"O-of course." Skeeve went ahead back to the group with the guard following behind.

For now his plan is safe, he just needs to make sure he is careful if his plan is to come to fruition.

---

Some time had passed since the sending and with many of the major repairs done and the broken down components replaced the SeCore was ready to disembark back to its place of origin with Azula ready to leave everything she knew behind. She stood before a window overlooking the planet, the fire nation in all of its glory resting before her, the sun rising from its eastern shores. In a few moments the lands she has visited, everyone she knows and the enemies she has made will be behind her, but only temporarily. She will return one day but she will do so as a conqueror.

She wonders what people will think of her sudden disappearance. She's sure many are jumping with joy; Zuko won't have to worry about her scheming against him, the avatar and his companions are probably shocked about the SeCore but will probably believe that it was better that she was carried off with it, Mai and Ty Lee are probably overjoyed that they no longer have to worry about her ever coming for them and the last person who would be remotely affected by her disappearance being her mother would probably be happy that her little monster has disappeared for good so she can be with her favorite child Zuko and the replacement daughter she had with her new peasant husband.

As Azula was lost in thought she glanced at her side, her eyes widening to see the apparition of her mother standing behind her in the reflection of the window in the same royal robes with the same somber expression that seemed to be a permanent fixture of her appearances. The one thing she could not leave behind was this illusion of the woman that haunts her mind.

The sudden appearance of Lectro snapped her out of her vision.

"What?" she asked, slightly panicked.

"The view. I asked if you were admiring the view?" he asked.

She looked back to the reflection in the window seeing that her mother had vanished, "Somewhat." she ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to calm herself, "Are we set to leave?"

"Yup. Everything is good to go. Just waiting for the captain to give the order." He joined her in their view of the Earth, "You think you'll miss it? Your home?"

Azula scoffed, "There's nothing left for me here anymore."

"I understand that. There isn't much for me back at my home either, but one positive thing about the universe is that if you don't like one world there's an infinite number of others to visit." he reassured with a smile across his narrow snout.

Azula kept a blank expression but somewhat appreciated his consolation, "It would seem so."

They stayed silent for a while, Azula keeping her gaze on the Fire Nation while Lectro seemed a little more awkward trying to think of a way to fill the silence, "So… I bet you're wondering how we are actually going to leave your home star system?"

"In a way, yes." She admitted.

Lectro put on an excited expression, "Well in that case-"

"But it can wait. I've had enough long winded explanations for one day."

"Oh…" He said with some disappointment.

A voice came from the intercom, "All hands be advised. Dimensional jump immanent."

"Maybe a visual will do better." He said, angling himself to look at the ship's nose.

She followed suit and saw the space before the SeCore beginning to distort and swirl into a spiral until it formed a bizarre swirling sphere where stars, or the reflection of stars, warped and rotated as light bent around it. It was another amazing sight for her to witness Azula. The SeCore's engines charged up and in an instant it darted into the distortion at blinding speeds and entered a tunnel of infinite color. Lights of all hues darted past as the SeCore hurtled towards its destination.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Lectro asked, "I've seen Dimensional jumps countless times but it always amazes me each time we do it. What do you think, Azula?"

She did not answer, as soon as the SeCore entered the distortion Azula felt deep within her soul her fire extinguish as if she never had it to begin with. She clenched her chest and breathed heavily from the shock.

She was certain now, she had lost her bending.

---

Now that we've finally left the world of Avatar the Last Airbender Azula will now get to explore the stars, however a new problem has arisen with the loss of her bending. What will she do now?

This chapter is a little exposition heavy but this is inevitable for this brand new setting Azula will be exploring. Had a lot of fun with all the character interactions in this chapter and Azula's reactions with the strange aliens she meets, my favorite being the clashing egos of Azula and Angara. Sev is by far my favorite character to write with his backstory being a highlight in this chapter to me. The hardest part of this chapter was coming up with My'Rell's funeral speech.

I hope you all like the descriptions for many of the aliens Azula has met, I try to be weird and creative with them while trying not be too word heavy on the descriptions.

I hope you enjoyed the read and let me know what you all think!