Italics are flashbacks
As Oogi the Sky Bison flew toward Republic City, Korra remembered how much she'd missed this sensation of riding in the sky. Mako also smiled as he felt the wind blow in his face. As they emerged through the latest cloud, they saw Republic City. All the fires had been put out, though smoke still rose from where several buildings had collapsed. Even with their faces turned away from her, Korra could tell Tenzin, Pema, and Katara were rather upset by the sight. As they landed on Air Temple Island, they were greeted by several Air Acolytes and White Lotus Sentries. All of them were relieved to see Tenzin, his wife, and mother had returned, but surprised that his children hadn't come as well. He explained how they were helping at the Western Air Temple for the moment, which the White Lotus leader was shocked that they hadn't been summoned to protect them.
"I decided my friends can do a better job," Korra spoke up, surprising the White Lotus guards and Air Acolytes at her presence.
"Avatar Korra, I didn't know you would be coming," one of the White Lotus sentries said, before noticing her husband was also there. He was one of those sentries who thumbed his nose at her the first time she came to the URN, and he still had that arrogant look on his face.
"I don't need to inform anyone of where I'm coming and going," Korra stated, unimpressed with his bravado. "I go where I deem necessary."
"And this is my hometown, so there is nothing stopping me from returning either," Mako added, also unimpressed with the White Lotus's attempts to look imposing. He'd faced things far scarier than a glorified security guard both on Elementia and across the stars. "Chief Beifong said I am free to return to work, so I am here."
"You aren't exactly...welcome in Republic City, at the moment," one of the Air Acolytes said nervously to Korra.
"Should I have waited for Raiko to explicitly revoke my 'banishment' before saving the city from the Hutts?" Korra asked. "Such decrees mean nothing to the Avatar. Raiko answers to me, not the other way around, and it's time he understood that."
"Let's not get into an argument," Tenzin interrupted. "Korra will be staying here until I smooth things over with the president. Until then, I am giving you all a direct order: tell no one that Korra is here."
"Master Tenzin, the Grand Lotus has been trying to-""Tell no one that Avatar Korra is here," Tenzin commanded definitely, cutting off the White Lotus leader. "President Raiko and the Grand Lotus are my concern, not yours. Until I say otherwise, you don't tell the president, you don't tell the rest of the White Lotus Order, you don't tell ANYONE Korra is staying here." Korra could tell that Tenzin was somewhat desperate when giving these instructions. She had forced her Airbending teacher to acknowledge how the Order of the White Lotus had repeatedly failed to protect him and his family, as well as fight virtually every adversary she had come across as Avatar. Mako had also doubted their loyalty, which Tenzin had refused to believe.
"The White Lotus has had its failures, and several of its members have been more abrasive than need be," Tenzin admitted right before they flew off on Oogi. "But stubbornness isn't the same as treason."
"The Dai Li was so stubborn in its commitment to keeping Ba Sing Se the same, it joined the Fire Nation when Aang thwarted their efforts," Mako said. "And the Jedi Order tried to force Palpatine out of office because they didn't like his changes. I figure the White Lotus are the same."
"Perhaps," Tenzin had acknowledged. "But from what I heard, it sounded somewhat similar to Tarrlock being arrested for being a Bloodbender."
"More like a personal secret that didn't affect anyone dug up, and gatekeepers on the wall calling for his blacklisting from everything," Mako said. "Just like how bullies tried to get your sister fired from teaching as a 'danger to children.' Regardless, the White Lotus strike me as the sort who break rather than bend and will try to thwart any change rather than accept it."
"You're wrong, Mako," Katara had said, remembering the bigots who tried to bully Kya when her secrets were revealed. "The White Lotus aren't a secret police group like the Dai Li or that Jedi Order your friends told us about. They are a world-wide fraternity of scholars who exist to promote greater understanding between people, exchanging knowledge that, for many generations, was horded by each nation. They have dedicated themselves to protecting as much Air Nomad culture and Airbenders as possible, so they can once again be a nation unto themselves. I think that, when the initial shock wears off, they will be willing to befriend the Imperials and exchange knowledge between them."
"Hopefully, you are right," Korra said, having a vastly different opinion of the organization. In her youth, effectively imprisoned in the South Pole by them, they were extremely orthodox and unbending, frowning at any new idea that came up, forcing her to come up with her own tactics for the changing world. Whenever they saw her try something new, they would scold her, and frequently look like they wanted to whip her for disobedience. The only exceptions to this rule appeared to be the renegades who formed the Red Lotus, who considered total chaos to be the only true form of freedom, which the Avatar had no place in. "But they've disappointed me too many times to take that on faith, which is why the Empire will be monitoring them."
"That really isn't necessary," Pema said, bothered by this suggestion. "Their vows of loyalty make them utterly unshakable." Katara saw a look of disbelief on Korra's face and knew what the Avatar was about to say. And thinking it over, she couldn't disagree, herself.
"As much as I don't want to say it, this precaution is necessary, unfortunately," Katara spoke up. "It was right after I and the rest of Team Avatar unraveled the deception Long Feng had crafted around the Earth King. We thought imprisoning him was enough and paid no mind to the agency which had assisted him. The betrayal of the Dai Li almost killed Aang, and all but won the war for the Fire Nation. I never thought I'd be in such a scenario again, but I'd be foolish not to take precautions."
"Glad to hear it," Korra told her old Waterbending teacher. She then contacted the Imperial observation post high above Republic City in orbit. It was being set up by Koko's father, Major Willem Partagaz of the ISB.
"I will pay special attention to the White Lotus, Colonel," the ISB commander said. "If we find anything, we will be sure to inform you so you can catch them in the act. That will leave no way for anyone to say we conjured up a pretext for their purging."
"Indeed," Korra said, before having another idea. "I want you to maintain a close watch on the entire order. Every lodge and branch there is. If one of them betrays me and Tenzin, they all have, and must be punished accordingly."
"Of course, my friend," he replied. "Dedra has already taken the liberty of beginning surveillance of the branches beyond Republic City. We will catch any hint of treason they plot."
Mako got on the ferry alongside Tenzin and Katara, keeping his lightsaber concealed in his knapsack. After they arrived on shore, Katara went up to a street vendor and asked where the closest hospital she could volunteer at was. Tenzin was about to head for the capitol building when a voice called out.
"Detective, great to see you!" someone yelled at Mako, driving up in his police car. It was Luak, one of the only friends on the force Mako had apart from Lin herself. Mako greeted the Waterbender pleasantly, and got in the side of the car, asking to go to the station. Luak agreed, before asking Katara for her autograph. The elder Waterbender gave it, ignoring the pin on his uniform glorifying Darth Vader. If she could stomach working with Vader to save her grandson, she could put up with a stranger taking his side.
"So, how have things been going?" Mako asked his fellow police officer after they drove off.
"As well as can be," he said. "Mei and Shen are doing well, as is the chief. Too bad Zhou and Saikhan didn't die with Lu and Gang, though. Still, a lot of familiar but unwelcome faces are absent from the force, now."
"I wasn't sure if I'd come back, after hearing about that 'wake' Zhou hosted with Lu and Gang," Mako said.
"After that, the chief finally started working to get Zhou fired," the Waterbending policeman said. "But we're short on people, now, so no such luck." He then noticed Mako's ring, congratulating him on his marriage to Korra. Mako smiled back as they pulled into the station. He followed his fellow officer into the main office, and after a moment, everyone stopped working, looking up at the Firebending detective. Some smiled, others scowled, and then Sergeant Zhou, often called Officer Wheels by people who disliked him, rolled out from behind his desk.
"What are you doing here, boy?" he demanded of Mako. The entire time Mako had worked at the RCPD, Zhou had been a bully. Thumbing his nose at both Mako and Korra, no matter what they did, neglecting to clap when Mako was promoted to Detective, and being generally unpleasant. But he was a little man, and Mako had faced worse than him.
"It's Detective," Mako retorted, unintimidated by Zhou's bravado. At that moment, Lin Beifong walked out of her office to see what was happening, and actually smiled at the sight of Mako in front of her.
"Mako, I didn't know you were back," she said. She then held out his detective's badge, asking if he was returning to work.
"Of course, I'm here to help our city," he smiled, picking it up from her hand and fastening it to his waistband. Half the station smiled with Lin, and the other half scowled with Zhou.
Bumi and Kya were riding in Slave One when Kya decided to ask Fett about bounty hunting. "So, you are a policeman who hunts escaped fugitives?" she began.
"No, I'm a mercenary who hunts for people that someone, a government or otherwise, are offering money for the death or capture of," Boba answered.
"Wait, so you're not actually employed by the Empire?" a surprised Bumi asked.
"I don't collect a salary, if that is what you mean," the Mandalorian replied. "I live off the reward collected from the Bounties I catch or kill."
"Wouldn't actual police be responsible for catching fugitives?" a surprised Kya asked. "Or the Stormtroopers and other Imperial soldiers?"
"Soldiers back home either patrol the area around specific bases, serve on ships that sail certain routes, or attack entrenched positions, usually of Rebels or some hostile power, I'm guessing it's the same for a Stormtrooper out here," Bumi said, which Boba confirmed. "Still, what about local law enforcement? How can Bounty Hunting be a sustainable career?"
"How can it not?" Fett replied as he maneuvered the ship for its final jump. "Suppose you're a cop on say, Corellia. You will probably start off patrolling three streets of a single town or one street of an entire city for approximately four blocks. Depending on how your career goes, you might patrol the whole state. If you are really lucky, you can go to one of the other four worlds in the system on your job. But when your quarry leaves the star the Five Brothers orbit, he is no longer your problem. Corellia is a rather pleasant and powerful world, so I think that sets the stage for how things are in the wider galaxy."
"Many police I'm familiar with wouldn't be so ready to admit defeat," Kya spoke up, remembering how, good or bad, most of the law enforcement in Republic City was exceptionally stubborn and committed to their duties.
"How long can they ignore the actual responsibilities of their jobs?" Fett replied. "How fast can they find enough evidence for an arrest warrant before the fugitive blasts off in his own ship? How many trade ships have secret compartments which can accommodate fugitives? They can't ground all traffic offworld whenever there is a murder, and they can't search every vessel. And all of that is assuming the fugitive went to a starship at an official landing area as opposed to hidden in a field, somewhere."
"Well, if someone got under Lin's skin enough, she'd take some 'vacation time' and go after the creep," Kya said.
"Then Beifong is one cop in a million," Fett replied. "As for any contemporaries she might have amidst the stars, there are several questions they must answer: how do they know where this fugitive went? How long can they be on vacation? Do they know how to fly a ship? Do they have their own ship? And does it have proper restraints? Those last three are the most important, as that is the only way to successfully transport a fugitive you've captured."
"Well, they could always contact the local authorities and try to get him extradited," Bumi added. "Obviously, they'd have to know where he was, before doing so."
"You're assuming that those authorities will care enough to help you," Fett answered. "Unless that fugitive is a terrorist or someone actively challenging the Empire, they probably won't, since they have their own problems. And leaving aside places like Nar Shaddaa, there is no shortage of worlds where there are no 'authorities' to speak of. As such, you need professionals who are paid only when they succeed in returning these fugitives."
"Some of those professionals might take a bribe," Kya brought up.
"As opposed to a patrolman, who's given a tiny salary and can't collect the reward even if he catches the bounty?" a disbelieving Boba replied. "Hunters who make a habit of doing so tend to get prices on their heads, in short order. A hunter develops sources and methods for finding people, he can go across the galaxy in his hunt, and there is no vacation time limit for him unlike the cop willing to walk away from his patrol route. Then you go to worlds like Coruscant, where there are so many people packed tight together atop each other, that a policeman's beat is FAR more limited, and anything that isn't solved within three weeks is a cold case."
"It sounds like you talk from experience," noted Bumi.
"A few years ago, there was this guy who killed six Coruscant policemen," Fett began. "There was a huge stink raised by the CSF, but their other responsibilities didn't just vanish, and within a month, the killer had a bounty placed on his head and was removed from active cases. The officers who kept looking for him...one was killed in something unrelated, and two were given punishment detail for being three blocks away from their assignment, looking for clues, and nowhere in sight to help with a nasty fire. I took up the assignment, began looking...and the killer was five levels down, living fairly openly in a lawless part of the city-planet."
Bumi and his sister processed what Boba had told them. With the different jurisdictions in play, along with the ease of interstellar travel, it would be very hard for normal law enforcement to pursue criminals. In addition, Bumi didn't expect the Imperial Military, much less Darth Vader, to devote themselves to hunting every fugitive. Still, while Boba and Bossk didn't strike him as the type that could be bribed, the bounty system seemed to encourage desperate or unethical hunters to accept such payoffs. Just then, they arrived at their destination, where Bossk was waiting inside the Hound's Tooth.
"Great ride with you," Kya politely told the Mandalorian.
"Kick that Bane's butt for me," Bumi encouraged, remembering what Boba was going to do now. Cad Bane had nearly killed Bumi, and abducted his children, only one of which had returned, and somehow became an Airbender, as well.
"I plan to," Fett answered as he maneuvered Slave One close to Bossk's ship. "Hopefully, I'll be able to deliver some long overdue justice, before
Bane escapes it again." Bumi and Kya wondered what Boba's history with Bane was, and decided to ask Bossk what he knew, when they were traveling with him.
Mizuki and Luke had listened intently to Obi-Wan's story of how he met Anakin. They were surprised to hear how Anakin, then a nine-year-old, had managed to win a Podrace in order to obtain the replacement parts for the ship Obi-Wan and his friends had come on. Still, she thought that the way Obi-Wan's master, Qui-Gon, went about securing their departure from Tatooine was needlessly complicated.
"I get that you didn't have either enough to barter, or any local currency," Mizuki said. "But couldn't you just sell the ship you had and buy a new one? Or hire a captain to fly you to Coruscant?"
"Panaka and I made sure to look over the various ships that could be bought, and given the shape they were in, we felt safer repairing the ship we had then trusting those rustbuckets to fly us across the galaxy," Obi-Wan answered, before looking a little sad. "As for hiring someone to fly us to our destination, it was a different time. Back then, to be a Jedi was to be the highest enforcers of law and order in the entire galaxy. Now, however, we are either worthless charlatans or the greatest outlaws in the entire universe, according to the people who rule it. Any starship captain on Tatooine we could hire was likely a pirate, smuggler, or some sort of criminal. There would be virtually no way to hide our identities from whoever we approached, in those circumstances. In all likelihood, they would betray us to either the Trade Federation, or someone else who thought they could profit from us."
"But you hired someone to fly you to Nar Shaddaa, before finding Cal," Luke brought up.
"I didn't have to reveal exactly who I was, as I wasn't as suspicious as the Queen of Naboo's party," Obi-Wan said. "But more importantly, I am no longer a law-enforcement officer. I am an outlaw, just like those pirates and smugglers I could hire for transport." His explanation finished, Obi-Wan continued with the story of his first meeting with Anakin, mentioning how someone attacked them right before they fled Tatooine. "I later learned his name was Darth Maul, the apprentice to the Sith Lord behind the blockade," the Jedi Master continued, looking a little uncomfortable. He went on to explain how Anakin had to join them for the battle on Naboo, and how he would ultimately destroy the Droid Control Ship his first time in a starfighter.
"So, you and Qui-Gon caught the viceroy alongside the queen, right?" Mizuki assumed.
"We were going to, but Maul made his presence known," Obi-Wan answered, looking a little bothered by the memory. "Qui-Gon and I fought him throughout the power complex, until he separated us, allowing him to fight us one at a time. After a long, fierce struggle, I defeated Maul, but not before he severely injured Qui-Gon. As his dying wish, I agreed to train Anakin, with the council ultimately agreeing." After processing the story, Mizuki noted how Obi-Wan said 'defeated' instead of killed. Luke however, began asking many questions of Obi-Wan, including how his father trained, what his first missions were, and how Anakin's mother reacted after being freed.
"Luke, there is something very important you must know," Obi-Wan said in response to the final question. "Jedi are mortal, they make mistakes, and many bad decisions. It happened throughout history, and I made one very early into your father's teaching."
"What do you mean?" asked Luke.
"I thought that your father needed to break his ties to his old life as fast as possible," Obi-Wan began. "His mother was the greatest tie to his life before joining our order. And as Tatooine was outside the Republic, I had no reason to return there, or to end her bondage." Luke and Mizuki were shocked by what they had heard. Obi-Wan's eyes showed shame at this mistake, and after hearing his story, Luke and Mizuki decided to leave the room and ponder what they had heard. Mizuki took to exploring the settlement, noticing a beautiful river close by. She practiced her Firebending at the water's edge for some time until Cal walked close to her, holding his daughter in his arms. Little Natalia was in awe of the show of bright flames Mizuki was shooting from her fists.
"Conjured a lightning bolt, yet?" Cal playfully asked. She shook her head and continued with her flamework. Looking at the river, she saw it led to a lake, and a question popped into her mind.
"Can we swim in that?" she asked, thinking of all the times she and her family had gone to the beach on Ember Island. Sadly, her father had rarely joined them in the water, given his leg had been cut off by Darth Vader.
"Yes," Cal confirmed.
"Great, the Fire Nation is an archipelago, so I can teach Luke how to swim," she said, trying to hide her smirk at the prospect. She decided to ask Cal about what she might have to do on a mission against the Empire.
"Well, you will have to do several hard things," Cal began, deciding to ignore the teenage girl's obvious intent toward Luke. "Sometimes, you will have to ignore people in trouble, as helping them might ruin the mission. Some friends will get maimed or killed. Some might betray you or be spies to begin with. And you will have to kill the majority of your adversaries."
"What?!" a surprised Mizuki asked. "My dad talked about all those things in his service, but not 'kill everyone you fight.'"
"Well, from what I understand, your father has more options in the United Forces than I do, here," Cal began, setting Natalia into Merrin's arms, who then returned to the house with their daughter. "We don't have a dedicated prison here, and any prisoner we bring will do his best to escape or at least send out a signal to the Empire, who will begin looking for a way to pierce the Koboh Abyss. Any Imperial soldiers we encounter will either do their best to kill us, or to summon reinforcements. The only way to stop them without killing them is with a mindtrick, and sometimes not even that is enough."
"What about the other people you might fight?" a surprised Mizuki asked. "Can't you just leave them somewhere for the local authorities to arrest?"
"There might not be any authorities to speak of," the Jedi Knight replied. "Even if they are arrested, they are still a danger. The Empire considers us the greatest outlaws in the galaxy, as Master Kenobi noted. The easiest way for a regular pirate or some other rogue to get out of trouble, will be to offer information on Jedi. As such, the majority of our adversaries must be killed when we battle them." Mizuki could see Cal was somewhat bothered by how he rarely had any other option, but that he firmly believed it. She wondered how she could adjust to this reality.
Pema was looking over her home on Air Temple Island, after making her and Tenzin's bed. The events of the last two weeks had been one part enrapturing, one part nightmarish. It was truly a relief to see Korra and Mako return, along with meeting the friends they had made in outer space. On the other hand, she had seen the dangers of outer space could easily come to their world. Korra was convinced that only the Obsidian Knight could protect their planet, and Pema couldn't help but agree with the younger woman. If anyone other than Korra had advocated it, Pema and her family would have rejected the idea outright. Given all that Korra had done for them, however, they had agreed.
"Uh, Pema," one of the apprentice acolytes intruded, gaining her attention. "The Avatar and the White Lotus members are getting a bit angry with each other." Pema nodded and headed for the Airbending practice grounds, hoping to stop it before it got out of hand. Before she arrived, she could already hear trouble.
"You are the most ungrateful person I have ever met!" one of the White Lotus guards yelled.
"I'm ungrateful?!" retorted Korra.
"Absolutely," the leader of the sentries retorted. "The Order went out of its way to give you a secure and comfortable life, and to train you to be the best. Is this what we did it for? So you could join the man who killed our world's greatest hero?" Korra's eyes flashed with the Avatar state, engulfing the White Lotus sentries in water before freezing them in place.
"I have saved the world repeatedly," Korra retorted. "I created thousands of new Airbenders. I almost died saving them from total extinction, along with my children. Not once did the White Lotus help me, or even praise me for doing so."
"You are the Avatar, you exist to help the world, you shouldn't need help or praise," the White Lotus leader stated. "Your life should be your duty, and nothing else. Those children of yours are a waste." That was the wrong thing to say, and Korra punched the Earthbender hard enough to break his nose. At that moment, Pema called on Korra to stop it.
"What, you're taking his side?" Korra asked in disbelief.
"Of course not," Pema said. "We'll always be grateful to you. You deserve recognition for all you've achieved. They just don't understand all you've been through. Please, let them out of this, and you can have a more civil discussion with them." After a moment, Korra began walking away and heading for the pier. "Where are you going?" the Air Nomad matriarch asked.
"I need to cool off, and I'm hungry, so I'm headed to Narook's," she said. "If they are still frozen in place when I'm back, I'll let them out."
"Wait," one of the Air Acolytes spoke up. "Councilor Tenzin hasn't gotten your banishment revoked, yet." Pema, however, knew Korra wasn't in a mood to listen or pay heed to President Raiko's decrees, and asked she be careful. As Korra sped across the bay with her Waterbending, Pema stared with disapproval at the White Lotus members.
"One of the reasons she has befriended the Imperials, is that many of them are very respectful to her," Pema began.
"Then she's a bad Avatar," the White Lotus guard captain said, completely missing the point. "The Avatar shouldn't need praise or deference to do the right thing."
"The Avatar is a human being, stop acting like that isn't the case!" Pema yelled, losing her own temper. "Human beings need to be treated with dignity and respect! And you wonder why Korra is closer to Darth Vader and his followers, who she's known for little over a year, than with the fraternity she's known her entire life!" She then walked away, telling the Acolytes to leave the White Lotus members in place so they could reflect on what Pema and Korra had said. As much as she didn't want to believe Korra's skepticism about the Order, their behavior hadn't done much to counter it.
Korra rocketed up to the roofs close to the shoreline with her Firebending after crossing the bay. She'd wondered if this was how Vader felt when the Jedi Order continuously disrespected him no matter what he did for them or how much he proved himself. She knew it was a matter of time before the White Lotus betrayed her in some way. When that happened, she would wipe their pathetic fraternity from the face of the planet. As she headed for the restaurant she, Mako, and Bolin frequented as Probenders, she sensed a familiar phenomenon.
Looking down at the street, she saw a multitude of thugs standing in front of a relief station. They were led by the same three gangsters she beat to a pulp the first day she went to Republic City. The Waterbender, called Viper, was trying to extort one of the supervisors. Typical, the entire world had changed, and this guy was still up to his old tricks. This time, he had twenty Benders in his gang, no doubt to better handle the large crowd. One of them, a new face, was close to Viper and the other two gangsters she recognized. Reaching out with the Force, Korra determined he was an Airbender. Realizing there was an instability beneath the street, Korra reached out with the Force, and caused a massive sinkhole, engulfing Viper and his entire gang. They slid down harmlessly into the tunnels below, and Korra leapt after them, hidden in the fog. Airbending herself gently, she landed on her feet in front of the twenty gangsters.
Several of the gangsters got on their feet, including Viper, and one of them saw Korra, pointing her out to his boss. "Still think I'm fresh off the boat and something you can handle?" Korra called out, taunting Viper over their first meeting.
"She's just a little girl far from home boys, send her back to daddy!" Viper yelled, Waterbending several icicles at her. Korra easily dispersed them and formed an Ice Fist around her right hand, speeding up impossibly fast with her Airbending and punching Viper in the head with it as hard as she could. He was sent flying back into the wall with a dozen cuts on his face, smashing into the wall with tremendous force.
"Tokuga, get her!" one of the others yelled, and just as she suspected, he unleashed an Airbending blast at her. She quickly dispersed it, and drawing on the power of her unique lightsaber crystal, engulfed him in a massive inferno. Tokuga and several others tried to defend against it but to no avail, they were engulfed in her controlled firestorm, reducing them to cinders. Some of the gangsters realized it was impossible to fight her and ran away as fast as they could. One of the gangsters she recognized alongside Viper Earthbent several shards of rock at her. Korra easily deflected them, and remembering the lessons her husband had taught her, conjured a bolt of lightning and sent it flying into his chest. His entire body was turned into a blackened husk, crumbling to pieces shortly afterward. She Waterbent an icicle and stabbed it through the last one's side, before grabbing and twisting the Firebender's wrists, causing him to fall to the floor in pain.
Walking over to where Viper was, she picked up his wallet and appropriated the money he had. A fitting way to pay Narook when she sat down at his restaurant. She burnt the rest of the wallet, and saw that Viper was now dead.
"Okay, you got us," the last gangster, Korra thought his name was Ping, spoke up. He was in pain, trying not to pass out as he pressed his broken hands on where the icicle had stabbed him. "Get me to the hospital. I'll be sent to prison, afterward." Korra thought in response to that. She could send him to prison and Lin would do her best to keep him there. But Ping had been released for similar things. She thought of what Vader would do and hoisted the Firebender up. He initially thought she would save him, but instead she ripped the icicle out of his abdomen before sending him flying into the wall with an Airbending blast. She heard his bones break even further upon impact, and saw him crumble onto the floor, bleeding profusely. With that, Korra Bent an Air Scooter and headed for where she knew Narook's would be.
After emerging onto the street, several people immediately got out of her way, while others held barely restrained contempt on their faces. Korra pressed past and walked into the restaurant favored by Probenders. She walked in and saw Narook behind the counter. He looked up, and unlike many others, smiled at the sight of her. He warmly asked one of his favorite customers what she would like, she chose her meal, and he placed her order at the top of his list. Korra sat down and waited to be served, happy that there were those loyal to her on her homeworld as well as from across the stars. Hopefully, she'd be able to bring her kids, and their guardian KayBee, there soon.
One of the things that should have had more consequences to the world was the Dai Li's betrayal. Even Katara, who overall thinks well of the White Lotus given her history with them, can't help but notice the parallels between them and the Dai Li, at this point. Kya is gay, so I worked that into the story. Her family is so powerful, and loyal to her, that Kya has been able to defy cultural stigma without consequence.
Mako is back in the RCPD both to help his home city and to keep an eye on fools who might pick a fight with the Empire. He sees the later as an extension of the former.
I briefly watched some of Generation Tech's video on why Bounty Hunters are so common. I made my own spin on it here. In addition, I decided to have Obi-Wan list off the reasons why Qui-Gon got them off Tatooine the way he did as opposed to the 'easier, better' solutions that some viewers advocate. Of course, Obi-Wan was going to admit he made mistakes, at some point. Mizuki is looking forward to giving Luke swimming lessons. Given their circumstances, Cal almost never has an opportunity to do anything other than kill his adversaries. Even if they are disarmed, one way or another, they are still a threat.
Pema thinks of Korra as a headstrong but wonderful niece. I'm taking inspiration from how the Jedi alienated Anakin in how they keep antagonizing Korra. This time, Korra doesn't leave any of the Triple Threat alive, nor many of their underlings. She hadn't fought anyone, recently, so I decided to change that. Of course, Korra still has people grateful and friendly to her, and Narook is one of them.