Korra and Mako sat down in front of Tenzin, Lin, and Katara, with Asami at the end of the table. They were still staying on Air Temple Island, but right now, they were looking into the possibility of moving into the Sato mansion, so they could be with their children. Though, without Imperial personal, the only person the Avatar and her husband trusted to protect their children, was Lin. The police chief had finished her preparations, and if Lin concluded that it was safe for the young couple's children, they were safe.
"So, how will they come here?" asked Tenzin.
"On our spaceship," Korra casually said, surprising her and Mako's friends they had such a thing. "Along with Naga. Hopefully, she'll be able to handle her first ride in a spaceship. Thankfully, Kay-Bee can fly the Platinum Bender here. And Asami, I'll show you around it and the starfighter in its hanger."
"Well, thank you," the other woman said, before mentioning the guest house would be where her father would be staying, now that he'd been released for the Offworld Science initiative. Mako looked a bit concerned at that, before Asami assured him and Korra he'd stay away from their children.
"The officers who will frequent the grounds are ones you and I both trust," Lin spoke up, also surprised that her young friends had a spaceship of their own. "I'm not sure your robot nanny/bodyguard will be welcome here."
"KayBee will stay on the ship, and stop it from being stolen," Korra assured the police chief, before turning to Asami. "As long as everyone remembers that this ship is mine, I'm willing to show you and others around the tech inside."
"Well, as long as he's out of sight," Tenzin said, before changing the subject. "The White Lotus just sent this letter." Tenzin held up a container, typically attached to messenger hawks, commonly used during the Hundred-Year War. Even though technology had advanced, most of the White Lotus Order, especially its leader Grand Lotus Saigo, were extremely traditionalist, often refusing modern innovation.
"I see they still hate everything invented in the last thirty years," an annoyed Korra noted, before picking up the message and unscrewing it. "Seriously, they are that committed to worshipping the past they won't use telephones, radios, or telegrams? Oh, and not only is it delivered by messenger bird, but it's also handwritten instead of typed. If they can't adapt to our world's technology, I question their ability to accept the wider galaxy." She then looked at the message and read it quickly. For a moment, she was surprised, then she scowled and threw it away, to her friends' shock. "Wow, they must really think I am stupid, well, I won't fall for it," Korra stated.
"What's so incredulous?" asked Pema, who walked into the room, picking up the letter. She took it to Tenzin, who looked at it alongside Katara.
"I don't see what the problem is," the Airbending Master said. "It's just an invitation to their meditative retreat, close to the Sun Warrior enclave. They extend their hospitality to you, and ask you not bring any Imperials. Other than that, it is an opportunity for them to talk to you about their concerns, while hearing your side of things." Lin, however, had a different idea, and looked over it, herself.
"It looks more like a command than a request," the police chief said.
"So, you are upset at how commanding they are?" a surprised Pema asked.
"I don't think that's what's bothering Korra," Lin noted, looking at the young Avatar. "I'm guessing it reminds her of something, else."
"You know me so well," Korra complimented the police chief, before turning to Tenzin. She went on to explain how, after the Red Lotus infiltrator was exposed, she had let Mako, Bolin, and Kuvira pursue him, while she tried to find him via a Spirit World meditation, back in Zaofu. "Before I could reach Aiwei, I saw Zaheer speaking with him, before the two of them turned toward me. They both put on that wise sage act, talking about Guru Laghima inspiring them, and referencing other obscure philosophers. They went on to say how they had only tried to kidnap me, because it was the only way they could teach me their side of things. Then, they tried to convince me to meet them, with perhaps a few friends, to negotiate and hear their side of the story. I didn't fall for it and walked away. You know the rest." Tenzin had seen Aiwei in Zaofu, unable to wake up because Zaheer had trapped his soul within a prison inside the Spirit World, and Zaheer proceeded to kidnap himself and the other Airbenders to extort Korra's cooperation, as he'd already decided to murder the Avatar.
"And now, some other guy casting himself as this wise sage wants Korra to go to his stronghold, without any of her friends present, offering to negotiate," Mako added. "In truth, he wants to lock her in a cell and whip her until she accepts his dogma, or just kill her and look for the next Avatar in the Earth Nation."
"You can't be serious," a shocked Katara said. "You might have your disagreements with them, but this is the White Lotus we're talking about."
"And Zaheer was in charge of the Red Lotus, a splinter faction of the White," Korra added. "Maybe the mainstream thinks they have a bit of the right idea. After all, the White Lotus has always looked at me as just some game piece they could move as they pleased. The idea I am my own person seems to anger them."
"Is that what Vader told you?" asked Katara.
"It's what I realized," Korra said, neglecting to mention how Darth Vader had described his time with the Jedi Order in a similar manner. "Let's hear what they actually think of me." She pulled out a datapad, and played several recordings from an assortment of White Lotus meetings and lodges, having been gathered by the Imperial listening post. One had a member call Korra a traitor for joining Darth Vader instead of killing herself on another world. Another had one say how it was a shame she'd escaped Zaheer's torture. "I'm sure she would have survived, but been crippled," the voice said. "After that, we could just euthanize her if she didn't end it herself and get the next Avatar as soon as possible." Lin was angry upon hearing that, while the others were shocked by what they had heard.
"Are you sure the Imperials aren't just making these up?" asked Pema, bothered by what she'd heard. "They have so much advanced things, faking these recordings should be possible."
"We all agreed they should be monitored in case of betrayal," Korra said. "We can't ignore it just because you don't want to believe it. To their credit, there aren't any recordings of Saigo planning to betray me...yet, but this letter is rather suspicious."
"Some of the lower ranks might feel this way," Katara admitted upon hearing the recordings. "But the White Lotus and the Sun Warriors have a long, honorable history. In addition, if you are invited, it means that you have received hospitality."
"Hospitality is dead," Mako spoke up, remembering several cases he'd seen as a policeman. "No one trusts a stranger who asks to stay at your house or offers room in his house. Also, it's now a crime to pick up hitchhikers or to try hitchhiking."
"Perhaps the URN has become less trusting than before," Katara admitted. "But the Sun Warriors and White Lotus still honor the practice, as do the Water Tribes." Korra, however, still looked unconvinced.
"I'm a little confused," Pema said, noticing the young woman's disbelief. "You think that the White Lotus will come into conflict with the Empire because they are stubborn traditionalists. Well, if that's the case, why would you suspect them to betray you? Hospitality has been honored for all of recorded history by every nation, and the White Lotus is made up of every nation, while the Sun Warriors are the original Fire Nation."
"I've noticed what can be called a 'systemic contradiction' when it comes to traditionalists, no matter where they are," Korra said. "Unalaq champions customs that most Waterbenders have discarded and calls for the barriers between the Spirit and Human realms to be removed. He then fuses with a god imprisoned for wreaking havoc and declares himself a second Avatar when there is supposed to be only one. Hou-Ting champions the absolute monarchy her father and most of Katara's generation tried to limit. She then tries to make an army out of Airbenders and attempts to kill the Avatar for opposing her. And don't get me started on the ones across the galaxy."
"What are you getting at?" asked Katara.
"That most traditionalists do not feel bound to what they champion," the Avatar said. "They feel protected by these customs they love but have no problem ignoring them if they want to, even while binding everyone else to it. I'm not going to trust Saigo's word, just because it involves some ancient custom."
"Then let me go to them, first," Katara said after a moment. "I will get them to meet you at a different location, of your choosing." Her train of thoughts was interrupted, however, when the fireplace spontaneously erupted. It soon formed into the shape of Darth Vader, covered in embers and wreathed in flame.
"I thought I would see how you were doing, my apostles," Vader's projection stated. "The Spirit World is fascinating, and this is an ability I gain within it."
"I heard from Zuko how you did this in his palace," Katara noted. "Why are you here?"
"To do the same as you: offer counsel," the Sith Lord stated. "I think it is time that I meet this Order of the White Lotus myself and see what they have to say."
"You were not invited," Pema nervously said.
"I'm the Avatar, so I invite him," Korra said. "I'm denying their request to come alone. In fact, I'm going to get some other Imperials as a squad to back me up, and I'll see if Kuvira can be on standby in case of trouble, as well."
"I think you're overreacting," Pema said, still thinking Korra was mistaken about the White Lotus setting a trap.
"It's where the last dragons live, alongside the cult that protects them, so yes, it's appropriate," Korra said.
"Then it's decided, I will come in three days, and accompany you to their redoubt," Vader stated. "Perhaps the White Lotus will be less willing to engage in treachery if they have a better understanding of the consequences." As Vader's specter flickered out, Korra wrote a message of her own and placed it into the same hawk which delivered the White Lotus missive, saying she'd be there within three days, but not mentioning who she was bringing.
"It would be best if they knew who was accompanying you," Katara said.
"They know Vader is my friend," Korra stated. "Also, they need to learn I don't bow to their whims." Shortly afterward, Lin went to Korra.
"Has Mako told you about the therapist Dr. Guo?" she asked.
"Yeah," Korra confirmed. "I'm not really interested in talking about my job to a stranger."
"Don't talk to me about jobs," Lin stated firmly. "You treat everything from the Triads to the Red Lotus as something to have fun with."
"I'm not the only person who enjoys her job, Lin," Korra replied. "Besides, I'm not sure where this is coming from. Why exactly do you think I need this?" Lin was about to say Korra should just trust her on that, but then she remembered a conversation shortly after her and Mako's wedding, in which Korra refused to explain her point of view unless Tenzin did as well.
"We've known each other for almost three years," the police chief began. "You've been targeted by Equalists, kidnapped by a Bloodbending politician, suffered the same Debending that Amon inflicted on me, betrayed by your uncle, lost your connection to the past Avatars because of his actions, and targeted by the Red Lotus. I'm sure you faced many challenges of great danger in space, as well."
"All part of being the Avatar," Korra replied. "If I wasn't constantly facing danger, I'd be a coward running from my duty."
"That's what's often said, but many people forget the Avatar is still human," Lin said. "All those experiences mount, and often the Avatar is more willing to negotiate as time goes on."
"A waste of time," Korra dismissed. "Better to beat the bad guys to a pulp immediately before they do anything." Lin groaned, reminded of how Korra was when she first came to Republic City.
"I often feel that way, myself, but that's not what's bothering me," said Lin. "What's bothering me is how suspicious you have been of everything. You immediately think that an invitation for parley is a trap and believe the absolute worst of the White Lotus."
"You're angry at me learning from my experiences?" a baffled Korra asked.
"I'm concerned that you see danger wherever you look," Lin clarified. "Talking about how you feel to someone like Dr. Guo is a good way to process what you went through." Korra thought for a moment, she had been through a lot in her time active as the Avatar. There were times she had nightmares, but with Mako's company, they'd subsided. Still, she'd become rather paranoid as a result of her adventures. Darth Vader, however, had taught her the perfect way to handle it: loving the excitement of battle and drawing power from it. She doubted Lin and the others would approve, however.
"Mako hasn't made up his mind on this guy yet," Korra replied.
"Well, I think you should give it a try, yourself," Lin said. "It could help you come to terms with what you've gone through."
"Alright, I'll see this guy," Korra lied, having no interest in what Lin had advocated.
"Before your meeting with the White Lotus?" the chief asked. "So you don't go in expecting a betrayal, like Vader has taught you to?"
"Now it's wrong to be on guard during a meeting I'm suspicious of?" the baffled Avatar asked.
"If you go in expecting a fight, you might cause a fight," Lin said, unconvinced the White Lotus was plotting betrayal. "Also, you are the Avatar, and you are bringing Darth Vader and others of your choosing. Do you really think the White Lotus will pick a fight with you?"
"I've run into countless fools who think they can take me in a fight," Korra said. "Vader has as well, so yes, I might get attacked."
"I meant the political ramifications," Lin said. "Starting a fight with the Avatar is like declaring you're the bad guy. Also, Saigo witnessed that extremely detailed explanation the Imperials gave as to how Darth Vader was above the law and how attacking him was an act of war they couldn't possibly win." She looked at Korra, noticing how the younger woman seemed less convinced of that. "It's okay to take precautions, but you need to give others the benefit of the doubt if you are going to have any luck reasoning with them."
"Fine," Korra said after a moment. "I'll see this doctor before I leave and see if he has anything to offer."
"Thank you," Lin said the young woman she looked at as a daughter. Korra hugged the older woman before she left and joined Mako in the room they were staying in at Air Temple Island. Of course, Korra had no intention of visiting Dr. Guo, concluding she didn't need such help. Before going to sleep, she thought she saw another figure in the room, but she didn't sense anything through the Force and thought nothing of it as her husband wrapped his arms around her.
Bumi and Kya brought Srinivasa with them to the dam where the main Imperial garrison was. Bossk was sitting next to them on the landspeeder truck, while TC-14, who'd been commandeered, was in the cargo hold deactivated, while the Lambert family had elected to stay at Alkenzi. As they arrived at the base, they were greeted by several Imperials. None of them were Stormtroopers, but in addition to the Army Troopers, there were also the EUA soldiers Baatar had under his command. The EUA and the Imperials saluted Bumi, calling him Commander, in reference to the title he held in the Republic Forces.
"It is an honor to have all of you here," a middle-aged overweight man said, eagerly shaking the hands of each of them, with a dark-skinned officer by his side. "I am Commander Beehaz, the commandant of this base, and I am honored to have you all here. Especially you, Hunter Bossk, the first Trandoshan to be awarded the Cross of Valor."
"Thank you, Commander," Bossk said, pleased he was being recognized for his heroism by the average Imperial.
"As it is for you, Commander Bumi and Dr. Kya," the man said. "It is a privilege to have more of Lord Vader's close friends, here." The mood of the scene shifted from gratitude to awkward silence when both siblings, along with Baatar and his subordinates, heard that. At that moment, a lower-ranking soldier came up and whispered something to Beehaz. Bumi only caught a few words, but it sounded like this guy knew Korra.
"Oh, yes," Bossk said, upon seeing the soldier. "He was there on Maridun, as well. His name is Kimzi, looks like he's a corporal now." The dark-skinned officer seemed displeased at the break in protocol from the enlisted man, but the Commander waved him off, listening intently. After a moment, he looked rather shocked.
"Oh," the Commander said surprised, before looking at Bumi and Kya, specifically Bumi's prosthetic leg. "Well, I'm sorry your first meeting with our lord was under such circumstances."
"Well, the past is the past," Bumi said. "I thank you for your hospitality, Commander. And look forward to seeing the Eye with you. Also, the droid I saved from the Acheron. I ask she be allowed to stay with me and my sister, as well as our little friend." The commander looked at Srinivasa, feeling a mix of pity and sympathy at the new orphan, and agreed to both requests. He then directed the dark-skinned officer, Lieutenant Gorn, to take them to the guest quarters.
"What about the Engineer coming the day after tomorrow?" Gorn asked.
"He'll understand," said the commander. Gorn led the two Benders, the droid, and the Togruta child to the guest room for any visiting dignitary.
"Corporal Kimzi has many stories of heroism about you, Hunter Bossk," Gorn said, before looking at Bumi and Kya curiously. "And of the Avatar and her husband, though he wasn't exactly clear on what the Avatar was."
"The only one who can use all four elements," Kya said, sitting down on one of the two beds. "Our father was the Avatar before Korra."
"Then he retired?" asked the lieutenant.
"Then he was killed," Bumi spoke up, looking at Gorn intently. "By a man that, for the better part of twenty years, was only known by a moniker, the Obsidian Knight. But that's not what you call him." Gorn was initially confused, and then his eyes lit up in realization that the Bending siblings were talking about Darth Vader. He bid them a good day and quickly left.
Cassian Andor had kept experimenting with his new Waterbending whenever he was alone. For much of the day, he'd been following Taramyn's drills to carry himself as a soldier. He'd tried to avoid Nemik's attempts to illustrate his manifesto in the making, and heard Vel and Cinta quiz him on the Rono freighter they'd have to hijack in order to escape. Only it turned out they didn't know the answers to the questions themselves, horrifying the reluctant rebel. Then, they heard Lieutenant Gorn returning from the base. At that moment, Cassian went up to the officer with his own questions.
"Are you absolutely sure the Rono is on the tracks and ready to go?" he asked. "No disassembly for maintenance? No parts that need servicing?"
"Of course, what's this about?" the insider asked impatiently.
"Well, it seems like I'm the only one who knows how to launch this flying box," Andor said. "Do you know how to launch it?"
"I've never had cause to, I just keep the vault in order," Gorn said as the others came up.
"Alright, but I'm flying this thing, since I'm the only one who has!" Cassian declared.
"You'll do as you're told, Clem," Vel stated, annoyed a subordinate was taking initiative.
"It makes the most sense to have someone who knows what he's doing, especially with everything else," Gorn agreed with the man they only knew as Clem, humiliating Vel. "But if something does happen to you, we have to know how to launch it."
"There's a big, ugly handle in the cockpit, with a gauge underneath which reads out the weight of the cargo," he answered. "Every Rono still in use was slapped with this add-on eight years ago." After everyone caught their breath, the heist crew noticed their inside man appeared troubled.
"You look a little bothered, Lieutenant," Nemik spoke up. "Has something else come up?"
"Yes, but I'm not sure if it will affect anything, here," Gorn replied, before explaining what had happened today. Most of them had heard of the bounty hunter Bossk, who'd been glorified alongside the Benders on Maridun. They were surprised to hear, however, that he was escorting two siblings from the Bender homeworld. Cassian listened intently, especially upon hearing the names of the two Benders.
"Why are they here?" asked Cinta, disgusted with anyone so close to the face of the Empire, Darth Vader.
"They rescued some people from a spaceship that had a disease outbreak," Gorn said. "I don't know all the details." Cassian was relieved the three who had saved him from the monsters onboard had managed to save others, as well.
"But that's not why you're bothered by them," Cassian noted.
"Apparently, the Empire is more controversial on Elementia then we thought," Gorn confirmed. "It seems that Vader went there, many years ago, and killed a bunch of people over a 'misunderstanding.' Which included cutting off the leg of the brother...and killing their father." That shocked the Rebel cell which would attempt to rob the vault underneath the base, in two days.
"Then why are they so chummy with Palpatine's favorite thug?" a shocked Vel asked, remembering how every Bender they had heard of until then was extremely close to Darth Vader.
"I get the feeling they've accepted Vader is untouchable," the officer stated. "Why they have left their homeworld, I'm not sure."
"Well, just another reason to make sure the mission succeeds," a determined Cinta stated. "To prove their assumption false."
"Robbing a vault on the edge of civilization isn't assassinating the Emperor's second-in-command," Cassian noted.
"No, but we have to start somewhere," Skeen said.
As Kai listened to the Stormtrooper teaching him how to operate a speeder bike, Jinora was teaching Agent Kallus more refined Airbending. Korra had taught him well, but he still lacked refinement. His greatest obstacle, however, was learning how to open himself up to nature and feeling. Perhaps that was a remnant of growing up on a city world. Or perhaps he was as wary of nature as Grand Moff Tarkin.
"You have any problems with animals, like Tarkin does?" asked Jinora as she watched him practice.
"Well, I was attacked by a horrible flying thing on my first tour of duty," the ISB agent replied. "But my parents never did anything like what the Grand Moff revealed about his own family."
"Did you know about how he...dealt with pirates plaguing his homeworld?" asked the young woman teaching him.
"I wasn't even born when the Stark Combine Conflict happened," the blond man replied, also bothered by how Tarkin casually revealed he'd dropped pirates into a star as a type of summary punishment. "I heard rumors that a few years ago someone stole Tarkin's personal ship. After he got it back, he supposedly stranded the thief in that nature preserve he mentioned. I thought it was an enlisted man's tale about how you shouldn't screw with superiors. Now, I'm not so sure."
"He seems like a...strange choice for someone to be given such a high position," Jinora said. "At first, I thought he was just some boring numbers cruncher. But after what he said, I almost thought he likes hurting people."
"Well, I'm sure he's just putting on a show to scare troublemakers, and that he knows the value of restraint," one of the Stormtroopers said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself as well as the Airbender siblings. Later on, at lunch, after morning Bending practice was finished, the three Airbender siblings sat down with the four Imperials closest in age to them. Ikki hadn't entirely accepted that Jonah was with Koko, just as Meelo hadn't given up on the pale-skinned, pale-haired girl was disinterested in him. Both Ikki and her brother, however, had accepted that Sabine and Ezra were far more interested in each other than Meelo and his sister. After lunch, Kai had answered a transmission from offworld, and seen both Kya and Bumi. Afterward, he delivered the news that the aunt and uncle of the Airbender siblings would be fine.
"Did you say Rakghouls were on that ship?" a shocked Sabine asked upon overhearing the conversation.
"Yeah, what's the problem?" a surprised Kai asked their Mandalorian friend.
"Rakghouls are the one thing my mom is afraid of!" the Firebending Mandalorian shouted. She proceeded to explain everything she'd been taught about the monsters while growing up on Krownest and traveling to other Mandalorian worlds. "For thousands of years, the Mandalorians thwarted recolonization of Taris. The chances of those abominations escaping were too great. Then, the Dar'Manda who hijacked our society at its weakest point decided to befriend the fools who sought that planet's restoration. Helped them make a bit of progress, even as fears of this thing happening persisted. Thankfully, my mother and others who followed the True Path tossed down Satine Kryze and eventually won out."
"Uh...Dar'Manda?" asked a confused Ikki.
"Mandalorians who have lost the things that define our people and therefore their souls," Sabine clarified. Meelo thought it sounded like an insult thrown about by reactionaries but said nothing in response. "Fortunately, the Empire has no interest in humoring the vanity of Kin Robb and others like her. They've been making things much harder for that reconstruction project, ever since taking power. And now we have a reminder as to why Taris should be a no-go zone or perhaps destroyed outright." Just then, Sabine and Ezra's shift started, and they went on patrol.
The Airbenders, both the three siblings, and the new Air Nomads like Kai, were somewhat divided on what they'd heard. Given how dangerous these Rakghoul creatures were, Sabine's opinion was hardly invalid. What she'd said of Taris didn't paint a pretty picture, either, but here they were, trying to rebuild a destroyed nation from the ground up, over a hundred and seventy years later. Meelo, however, noticed several differences.
"Well, the water and plants haven't been poisoned, here, and we aren't spreading a forgotten plague to the wider world," the youngest of the three siblings said. "Also, if I'm bit by a flying lemur, I get a Band-Aid, I don't turn into a lemur and bite more people." Everyone laughed at his last remark, while remembering how scary Rakghouls sounded like. Sometime after dinner, Kai was heading to his room, when Jinora stepped in front of him. She was only wearing a towel, having just gotten out of the shower.
"Uh, hi," he said to his girlfriend, noticing she was a bit close. She pulled him up to her face and kissed him.
"I love you, Kai," she said, smiling seductively, before looking over to her bedroom. "I want you to see my tattoos. ALL of my tattoos." As she went to her bedroom, Kai hesitated but when she started closing the door, he sped down the hall and whisked her into his arms.
"I love you too, Jinora," he said, kissing her as he carried her bridal style toward her bed. She Airbent the door shut behind him. As he set her down and eagerly got out of his robes, she remembered all the advice Korra had given her when it came to lovemaking and let her towel drop.
Mako had finished his latest session with the therapist Dr. Guo and had decided to go to where his grandmother and the rest of his family in Republic City were. On the way, however, he sensed danger close by. Parking his motorcycle, he leapt onto the rooftops, using the Force to ascend as fast as he did. Following his senses, he saw what the problem was. About twenty people were hiding in an abandoned building across the street from his family's home tenement. While they were masked, Mako could sense their hostility toward both him and Korra specifically. They weren't just robbers or something.
"Where's that traitor, anyway?" one of the masked figures said, sounding familiar to Mako.
"He should be coming soon, Shaozu," another familiar voice said, with Mako realizing who they were. A collection of people who blamed Darth Vader for something they lost, as opposed to Unalaq who caused everything, and extended this grudge toward any who befriended him. Smashing through the window, Mako sent a Fireblast smashing into Ping of the Wolfbats, knocking the Earthbender unconscious before he could react.
"Still trying to rig the odds in your favor, Tahno?" Mako asked as he charged into the crowd. "Well, there are no rules to play by here, so you're done for." He rocketed up to a huge guy and punched him in the jaw, breaking it. Flipping another thug onto his stomach, he twisted the man's leg, taking him out of the fight. Absorbing lightning blast from Shaozu, he redirected it at his old rival's feet, sending him flying into a wall. Dodging attacks from more adversaries, Mako sent a table smashing into them, using the Force. Vader had taught him well, allowing Mako to hoist one into the air and smash him against the Firebender's strong leg, knocking him out from the pain. Dodging a punch, Mako swung this attacker onto his back and smashed his wrist, knocking the masked man out.
Realizing something was coming, Mako jumped out of the way of an ice chunk tossed at him, smashing into another masked man behind him. Mako dodged another of Waterbending attack, which hit another masked man. Blasting several more with his flames, soon Mako was all alone with the Waterbender, Tahno of the Wolfbats. Tahno Waterbent many icicles and sent them flying at Mako with murderous intent. Mako conjured a wall of flame, melting the frozen daggers, but Tahno sent a huge wave through the middle. Mako dodged the wave but was slapped in the stomach with a Water Whip, knocking him against the walls of the tunnel they had entered.
Tahno tried to freeze Mako to the wall, but Mako's flames were too hot and he rocketed at his old rival. Getting close quickly, Mako tossed a flame at Tahno's face, but the Pro-Bender managed to avoid it. Still, Mako was the real fighter, while Tahno was just a sportsman who had frequently cheated his way to victory. Mako got close, and kicked Tahno in the stomach, knocking him back. He then used the Force to grab a piece of chain and wrap it around Tahno's hands and feet.
"What's with you?" Mako asked. "Are you afraid Korra and I will return to Pro-Bending and take the title you gained when we were absent?"
"Is that what you think?!" an enraged Tahno asked. "Your new pal killed my parents! Same with Shaozu and Ping!"
"I think Baatar said it best," Mako stated. "Your parents, like everyone else who died during his first visit to our world, were killed by Unalaq, when he managed to convince everyone Darth Vader had murdered his father instead of himself."
"So the Storm Men, or whatever you call them, were forced to set fires?" an enraged Tahno asked. "They were forced to gun down my mother when she arrived to help, even as she was driving me home?! Vader was forced to strangle my father to death on Air Temple Island when they were alone?!"
"The Stormtroopers, well, they were ordered to only cause a distraction and defend themselves," Mako replied. "As for your dad, well, Lord Vader remembers that foolish White Lotus sentry. He was of the opinion that Turaq was so married to his job, that he didn't love you." Tahno rose in anger, Waterbending streams to break the chains holding him. But Mako was ready and blasted the left side of Tahno's face with a fireblast. Tahno fell to the ground in pain, holding his head where he'd been severely burnt.
"Collect your friends, and get out of here," Mako commanded. "If you come near me or my family again, you will wish I inflicted this." As Tahno got up, he applied water to his face to his burns, stumbling out of the building with his two teammates, nursing their own injuries. The others quickly got up and, like the cowards Mako suspected they were, left without a fight. Mako sensed his entire family had returned to their apartment building now and went to meet them.
So, I wanted to show more of the Sith's influence on Mako and Korra. Hope I captured it with their attitudes. Also, now some Rebels know the Elementals feelings about Vader are far more complicated. Of course, Korra's suspicion about the White Lotus is hardly unfounded. I also wanted to show how, instead of depression, Korra's reaction to everything is paranoia. I also wanted to hint at the sort of education the daughter of a Death Watch member might have been given, with Sabine's remarks about the past government. As well as have Meelo showcase some intellect. I also figured that, at this point in their romance, Jinora and Kai would take the next step.
Hope I made Tahno an effective opponent. Mako mocking him about his parents is about getting back at an old bully.