Shortly before dinner, Mako brought his grandmother to the Sato mansion, and happily introduced his own children to her. Yin smiled as she held Saria for the first time, the baby girl cooing toward her. Though Yin was a little intimidated by Kay-Bee, having never seen a droid before. After a pleasant meal, Yin explained how she'd see them again at Bolin's wedding, in a couple weeks. As Mako's grandmother left, Korra was surprised to see Katara and Tenzin arrive.
"It reminds me of when Jinora was born," the elderly Waterbender said. "Given my age, I probably won't get to meet a great-grandchild, unless that fortune-teller I met in my youth was right, after all." Tenzin looked like he was about to say something to cheer up his mother, but then his face shifted and he looked a little uncomfortable.
"Uh, I'm sure you'll be around long enough for that," Tenzin said. "When Jinora has married Kai or whoever she is in love with. When she's thirty, yes, thirty." Korra chuckled at his slight panic at remembering how his daughter was on the other side of the world alone with her boyfriend. She thought of revealing that Jinora had asked her questions about romance, but she didn't want to give her teacher a heart attack, so instead she asked what she could do for them.
"I know you are wary of the White Lotus's invitation, and why you won't attend without Vader's presence, even with the Sun Warriors hosting the meeting," Katara said. "But arriving in an Imperial shuttle would come with several problems of its own."
"The Sun Warriors might prefer to live primitive lives but they can't ignore the changing world," Mako replied. "Maybe they need a visual reminder of how much things have changed."
"I think the presence of Darth Vader, and whoever else is accompanying you, would be enough," Tenzin said. "Leaving that aside, visitors riding Airships to the Sun Warrior preserve get off outside the actual site, respecting their customs in the process. Also, this is where the dragons are recovering from Sozin's purges. They are very cautious, as well, and might perceive a spaceship as an attack."
"Alright," Korra said after a moment. "Maybe one of you should ride Oogi there first, then. Make it clear that I am bringing Imperial representatives with me. Also, I just received a rather interesting report." Korra pulled something up on her datapad. It was an image of an island from outer space. Zooming closer, Tenzin saw what looked like a large encampment with a few boats, airships, and what looked like first-generation mechs alongside a massive number of troops. Close by, was the insignia of the Earth Kingdom that Kuvira had rejected.
"What is it?" Asami asked.
"The buildup of a private army, which doesn't appreciate an enemy from outer space," Mako stated. "I don't know exactly who it is, but my grandmother told me rumors of another claimant to the Earth Kingdom's throne. Now an army flying the old flag shows up outside Kuvira's doorstep right when the White Lotus wants Korra to travel to the other side of the world. This is looking more and more like a trap." Tenzin couldn't deny it looked suspicious, himself.
"The White Lotus hasn't been confirmed present, has it?" Katara asked.
"No, but it wouldn't be surprising," Korra answered. "I will go to the Sun Warrior preserve and meet with the White Lotus, but with a significant party. Also, I'll be wearing my armor." Korra pointed to a set of Imperial gear, a modified version of the TIE Fighter outfit, with greater armor, blue lenses for the eyes, and a Water Tribe symbol on the left side of the helmet. Mako had a similar suit but with red lenses and a Fire Nation symbol.
"I would say that arriving dressed that way would make you look hostile, but at this point, I have to consider the possibility you are right about it being a trap," Tenzin said. "Still, I would advise you not be wearing the helmets when you arrive, just to show who you are and that you haven't come to fight. Also, be warned, you wouldn't just be fighting the White Lotus and the Sun Warriors, but the great dragons, Ran and Shao."
"I think we can handle them," Korra confidently stated. "Especially with our friends backing us up. If worse comes to worse, there is a way to bring the dragons back from extinction, thanks to the science of cloning."
"Well, hopefully it won't come to that," Katara said. "I'll take Oogi and go there first, you should be just one day behind me. I will explain the situation to them, and how they shouldn't provoke you." Korra hugged the elderly Waterbender, thanking her for doing so. Mako picked up his daughter and carried her to her new crib Asami had gotten for Saria before going to sleep. Before going to bed, Korra opened a file on her datapad. It was security footage from the Western Air Temple, using small, largely unnoticeable cameras throughout the complex, monitored by security droids, who never tired or misused the access they had. Having gotten curious by Tenzin's behavior, Korra flipped through the cameras, until she reached Jinora's room.
"Well, it's about time," Mako remarked upon seeing the image. Kai was asleep in her bed, his arm wrapped around her bare back, with his clothes and a towel discarded on the floor. "They've been in love since they met. Though, we should keep this to ourselves, don't want Tenzin to have a stroke." Korra chuckled and deleted the recording. Asami came in, wearing only her underwear, having made sure they were alone.
"My dad is staying in the guest house, for now, as well," Asami joked in a seductive tone, as if she was concerned over whether he'd disapprove of her love life. She kissed Mako as Korra shut the door behind them, the married couple taking off their own clothes soon afterward.
Bumi and Kya had spent much of the day getting to know the Beehaz family. The Commandant wasn't a soldier by trade but had been given an officer's commission as a formality. His desire to be promoted and frustration at his career problems had strained things with his wife and son. The son Leo and mother Roboda had been friendly with Srinivasa, but the Togruta boy had become rather attached to Kya.
"What will happen to me now?" Srinivasa asked in heavily accented basic. "I don't have any family, left."
"I'm sure they'll be able to get you back to your people," Kya said to the young boy.
"I want to stay with you and your brother," the child said, looking up at her hopefully.
"Bumi's daughter is missing and we were about to search for her when we came across your ship," Kya said, before kneeling down and placing her hand on his shoulder. "We don't know how dangerous or long it will take." Seeing how upset Srinivasa was getting, she quickly added that she'd think about taking him along, later.
After dinner, Bumi decided to ask Bossk how he felt about Cassian Andor. "I mean, he did warn us in time to get off the Acheron, but from what you've said, he's a thief who killed two cops," the Airbender noted.
"It's a bit more complicated than that, and I was in a similar position a couple years ago," the Trandoshan answered. "I was on Coruscant, filing this paperwork a bounty hunter has to do every ten years to keep working in Imperial space. While I was waiting for the filing to be completed, I was approached by a man named Sadeet, an executive at a prominent Trandoshan company called Subpro. He wanted a bodyguard for a while, so I took the job. One day, I was next to his limo driver, and I saw a speeder run a red across from us. We didn't think anything of it and continued on our way. Then, we were hit in the side hard enough to send me out the passenger side window."
"What happened?" Bumi asked curiously.
"Well, first I need to tell you something else," Bossk said. "About a month earlier, I was at this Hunter's Lodge, where Bounty Hunters can relax, trade stories, and rivalries are suspended. I'd just caught this guy who'd been peddling fake police badges. Boba talked about how he'd killed this fugitive Corellian Security sergeant who'd 'rented' a few uniforms to some gangsters he knew, so they could trick some smugglers into thinking they were being raided by inspectors and not put up a fight before they were massacred. Then another old friend, Dengar, talked about his latest job: two hitmen who killed some traffic officers on Alsakan, stolen their uniforms, and then pulled over their target, getting him out of his armored speeder before gunning him down."
"That's horrible," Kya spoke up. "It makes me think there are a bunch of people who'd rather fire upon cops than surrender and be killed by an imposter."
"Ain't that the truth," Bossk said before returning to his story. "So, I'm on the ground, bleeding from a half dozen cuts, with three pieces of glass in my left leg. Looking over, I see what looks like a speeder from the Coruscant Security Force having rammed into the side. Out of the speeder stumbles this lone cop when there are supposed to be two per speeder, taking time to unbuckle his seat belt."
"Why is that important?" asked Kya.
"If you are unbuckling, you aren't getting out with your blaster drawn on whatever threat you've confronted," the bounty hunter said. "You aren't charging down an alleyway your speeder can't fit in. There are a hundred worlds where police drive unbuckled, including Coruscant, for that reason. Then, this guy whose already committed some questionable actions for law enforcement, holds out his blaster and starts screaming at the people in the limo to get out. I pull my carbine and tell him to back off, he yells he's a cop and I should surrender, so I shoot him before he can do anything. I get back in the limo, and race to the Trandoshan embassy with Sadeet in tow."
"But this guy was a real cop, wasn't he?" concluded Bumi.
"Yes, named Syril Karn, and he healed up from the blaster burn on his shoulder in about a day's time," Bossk confirmed. "He'd been chasing this convenience store robber, the one who ran that red light across from us and charged off while his trainer was outside the speeder. On account of the circumstances, neither Sadeet nor I would be charged. Sadeet tried to compromise with this rookie, and I tried to put it behind me as well. He then accused us of being in league with the thief he'd been chasing, because apparently a foreign businessman and the professional bounty hunter are league with local crooks committing petty crimes. His superiors told him to knock it off, and I went on guarding Sadeet. Checking over the rental speeder Sadeet had gotten, I found a police-issue tracking device poorly concealed on it. Karn had taken it from his station without a warrant and got himself suspended as a result."
"But that wasn't the end of it," Kya suspected.
"No," the Trandoshan confirmed. "After all my paperwork was done, I was ready to leave, when the security system of the Hound's Tooth spotted intruders. I called spaceport security, and fired upon the two intruders, killing one while another was captured by security. The live one was Karn and the dead one was his training officer who he'd convinced to help him. Karn was one part indignant at the death of his partner, and one part pleased with the belief I'd be punished for it. But galaxy-trekking bounty hunters with a high success rate are more valuable to the Empire than two patrolmen who pursue private vendettas they were told to drop, so Karn was instead fired and I got on with my life."
"Why wasn't he arrested?" asked Kya. "And why was he so convinced you were in league with that thief? You'd think he'd give another law enforcement professional the benefit of the doubt."
"The CSF was embarrassed enough with his antics, so they just quietly got rid of him," the bounty hunter said. "I did bring up how I am a law enforcement officer, myself, early on, regulations and everything. He denied this reality and said the fact I don't answer to a specific office or collect a paycheck means I am a criminal with pretensions of legitimacy, like several policemen who are jealous of how bounty hunters get more money and recognition. As for why he kept messing with me, I always thought the thief who I got in the way of him chasing was just an excuse. Syril Karn struck me as a childishly rigid man utterly convinced that his badge meant he was always right. Someone who wanted to be a policeman because it made him feel tough, and who was ultimately angry that I had deprived him of that feeling of power by showing him just how vulnerable he truly was. And his intersection with our story only confirms that."
"Our story?" a surprised Kya asked.
"Bear with me," Bossk said. "He was blacklisted from ever holding a law enforcement job, again, after all that, so he looked for the next best thing. A company called the Preox-Morlana corporation owned everything orbiting the star Preox, including the trading hub Morlana and the part industrial, part agricultural world Ferrix." Kya was initially confused, but then remembered that, when they first met 'Kassa' he claimed to have been from the world of Morlana, and it turned out his adoptive parents were from Ferrix.
"So, Karn screwed with Cassian as well?" asked Bumi.
"Eventually," Bossk explained. "Since the company owned the system, their corporate security team was what passed for law enforcement on those planets. The PreMor Security Division is led by some semi-retired professionals quietly collecting a pension and largely made up of simple thugs or rabid wannabes rejected from a real army or police force, like Syril Karn."
"That doesn't sound like a good police agency," Kya remarked.
"Integrity, honor, justice, that doesn't matter to the company until either their bankers or the Empire says it does," Bossk replied. "When the Empire was first formed, it hadn't expanded into that part of the galaxy in any great way. By the time it had, the local bureaucrats were so used to it being run that way they needed a reason to change things up."
"How do you know Karn was involved in Cassian's situation?" asked Bumi.
"There is a guy at the PreMor Security office who supplements his income with tips he funnels to me and other bounty hunters," Bossk replied. "So, two PreMor 'Corpos' as these pseudo-police are called were at a bar, on duty, drinking something they shouldn't be able to afford. They hassled a waitress, and someone embarrassed them by telling them off. They attacked him shortly afterward, and he killed them. The chief understood what had happened, and that he would have fired them if they'd been caught doing this. On top of that, he was headed to this regional law enforcement meeting to report on things in his sector, and didn't want to make trouble where there was none."
"But Karn did so anyway," Bumi concluded.
"Yes, and after finding Cassian Andor, a technician at the Ferrix shipbreaking yard, was the likely suspect, he grabbed another thirteen Corpos to arrest this guy," Bossk said. "They proceeded to do everything wrong. One of them died because he went back to their unguarded ship and didn't check if it had been sabotaged, they killed their own informant by mistake, while Cassian and someone he was selling contraband to escaped. In total, seven of the fourteen Corpos died. Afterward, the Empire decided that the PreMor Security Team was more trouble than it was worth, and fired them wholesale, replacing them with an actual Imperial detachment."
Kya and Bumi were rather surprised by the story. The idea of a for-profit police force had never been discussed on Elementia, and from what they heard, it was a terrible idea. The rest they were more divided about. On one hand, Syril Karn sounded like the wrong sort of person to be a policeman. Kya remembered how Lin had made things much harder for herself by not appreciating the nuance in certain situations. In addition, someone who joined for a feeling of power was best kept away from a position of authority.
On the other hand, a whole police department had been disbanded because one of its investigators had tried to do his job. Specifically, to catch a cop killer. Admittedly, they'd done a very poor job of it, but were they replaced because they were ineffectual? Or because the Empire wanted to remove an independent organization from the board? Not sure what to believe, they decided to focus on tomorrow's meteor shower, and then they'd be able to continue on their search for Mizuki.
Kuvira had just assembled the response force to handle the incursion, when she heard from Major Partagaz. "General Kuvira, the Opposing Force has launched from the island," the intelligence officer revealed, before hearing another report. "It appears that Master Katara has just left for the Sun Warrior reservation. We haven't finished setting up the surveillance at Republic City, but we did pick up an unexpected signal around the same time, just took a moment to catch it."
"I'm guessing that guy thought Korra had already left for the summit and told his friends they were free to attack without her interference," Kuvira concluded. "How long until they make landfall, sir?"
"Within two hours," the ISB officer confirmed. Kuvira assured him she had the situation in hand, and that she would brief Lord Vader and Korra. The older man nodded in affirmation, before saying a colleague on Coruscant was trying to contact him about something unrelated. As Kuvira walked out of the room, she saw two holograms of people in ISB uniforms walk up to him. One was blonde woman who looked pleased with herself at having found something. The second was a dark-skinned man who looked angry at an apparent intrusion. Kuvira heard Partagaz call them Supervisor Blevin and Supervisor Meero.
Korra was angered when she heard what Kuvira had learned. "You know, it doesn't mean that the White Lotus is part of this plot," Asami spoke up. "It could just be someone taking advantage of your absence. They could have been setting this up even before you returned."
"That doesn't explain how they know I'll be far away from their incursion," Korra noted. "I don't see how they could know about the meeting with the White Lotus unless someone in the OWL told them."
"Shall we disappoint the attackers and show up for their landing?" Mako asked.
"I can handle it," Kuvira said to her friends. "And their island staging ground is a button push away from oblivion."
"Good," Darth Vader said, having joined the conversation. "I think it is best you join us with the Sun Warriors, Kuvira. Remind the White Lotus of their place in the new world."
"I'm looking forward to it, master," the EUA leader stated, before terminating the connection.
As the shuttles sped toward the landing site, Kuvira and her troops fastened their gear into place. The EUA and Imperial advisors checked their blasters and communication equipment, ensuring all was ready. Kuvira had already come up with a battle plan to handle the OpFor, as the unknown enemy was being designated. They'd attack after most of the enemy had landed unopposed on the shore.
After the shuttles landed, Kuvira overlooked the landing area with her binoculars. About two thousand had landed already, both from their boats and their airships. Most of them were dressed in old Earth Kingdom uniforms, from the Hundred-Year War, not even receiving a new insignia. If they had any heavy equipment like Mechs, they hadn't unloaded them yet. Looking at her datapad, she saw a view of the area from space. There were three larger ships off the coast, one a freighter and two were warships left over from the war, seventy-five years earlier. The rest of the force, numbering about five thousand, were still on the island. Spotting what looked like the leader, Kuvira ordered the attack to commence.
The young general charged forward, before launching herself into the air with the Force. She then sped fast into the ground, unleashing an Earthbending shockwave in the direction of the commander's airship, wrecking it while it was on the ground. Spotting an old Earthbender tank from the last days of the Hundred-Year War, Kuvira used her Lavabending to cover it in magma, immolating the people within. The EUA and their Imperial allies sent a large number of smoke bombs into the landing zone. The OpFor was blinded but thanks to their seismic sense and the helmets they wore, fitted with thermal imaging, the Imperials could see what they were doing. At the same time, several TIE Fighters roared overhead, flying toward the ships of the OpFor, firing their green lasers at the targets.
Kuvira drew her lightsabers in their double-saber configuration. Slicing through five enemies, Kuvira quickly realized that almost everyone was either an Earthbender or a Nonbender with spears and the odd taser glove. These adversaries were truly hopeless, as many were crushed or impaled by Earth and Metalbent attacks or shot with blaster rifles. Spotting an early-model Mech, Kuvira leapt atop it and dropped a grenade into its exhaust pipe, blowing it apart. Spotting a large number of enemies, Kuvira blasted the twelve in front of her with Force Lightning. Some fell to the ground, others went flying, and the clothes of several caught fire. An AT-AT blasted an airship before it could take off, leaving it a charred skeleton. A soldier with a rocket launcher destroyed an OpFor mech. The Dark Trooper mechs quickly appeared, firing their heavy repeaters upon the OpFor infantry, while one blasted her targets with a flamethrower.
Kuvira continued the fight, spotting the commander and pinning his hands and feet together with her Metalbending Flechettes. She decapitated another with her flechettes before impaling two on her lightsabers, one in each hand. She saw a secretary, and upon seeing the woman's face, was enraged under her mask. It was her deadbeat mother who'd sold her out to the Dai Li, before she ran to Zaofu. An enraged Kuvira knocked the older woman down and bent a boot of rock around her foot, stomping on the other woman's face hard enough to crush it, instantly killing the woman who'd abandoned her. She was almost stabbed in the back on account of her distraction, but Kuvira sensed it in time and Earthbent a spike into the throat of the OpFor member.
Within five minutes, the battle was over and the OpFor had been subdued. Many of the members were shocked by the new technology Kuvira's forces used. Reaching out with the Force, Kuvira realized that, apart from the commander, almost none of them had been aware of the massive changes over the last month. They were ignorant that Elementia wasn't alone in the universe. Spotting the commander, Kuvira dragged him away into a staging area.
"A king can't be intimidated by an insect," the man arrogantly stated. Kuvira left herself anonymous, letting him think she was just another EUA soldier as opposed to the Great Uniter. After an ITO droid hovered in, the floating black ball poked him in the shoulder, injecting him with a chemical which weakened his resolve. Reaching out with the Force, Kuvira tore into his psyche. This man had no connection to the White Lotus, he'd been plotting this even before Korra's return. He was a distant cousin of the late queen, seeing an opportunity for greatness when the kingdom imploded, having spent almost a year assembling a paltry army under his banner, thinking that if he took Ba Sing Se, he could declare himself king.
He was aware of the arrival of aliens but he severely underestimated the Empire. He recognized Korra as a threat, however, and had sent a spy to monitor her movement. This spy was in the White Lotus contingent of Republic City, which was how the pretender knew of the summit the Avatar had been invited to. Realizing the White Lotus as a whole had no connection to this fool, she focused on this man's knowledge of her former parents. He'd come to them, utterly broke, and offered them exorbitant amounts of money, complete with a title upon becoming king, if they would approach Kuvira. They'd pretend to regret how they'd treated her, gaining her trust and learning her secrets.
Kuvira's rage was almost boiling, at that point. She'd thought she'd made her peace, but as long as either of them lived, they would be a chain holding her back, just as the Sith Code said. It was time to break that chain. Having her guards drag the would-be king away, she looked over the captives, before eventually finding her traitorous father. He had broken down upon seeing his wife's flattened skull, looking angry at her even as tears came from his eyes. Kuvira was disgusted at how they'd loved each other but not her and dragged him away. Covering her hands with Earthbent fists, she pounded his chest and face relentlessly, only stopping when he screamed in pain. At that point, she had one of her soldiers shoot him on the spot. Taking off her helmet, she shocked the other captives, clearly stunned that this woman was her victim's daughter.
"Take the rest of these to the prison camp we've set up," Kuvira ordered her forces. The dead were piled unceremoniously atop each other, and Kuvira Lavabent a shroud of magma over them, burning them all and leaving no trace. Looking out at the sea, she saw the three ships were on fire and sinking, with the TIEs strafing the survivors, in the water or on lifeboats.
"General Kuvira, this is Captain Corsin," the Star Destroyer commander said through her comlink. "We have a firing solution on the OpFor's island. We are awaiting your orders."
"Destroy it, no survivors or prisoners," the young woman ordered. Soon, she saw a brilliant green flash down from above, followed by another, and several more. Each struck their target with tremendous force, and she felt in the Force the deaths that resulted. Satisfied, she left with the rest of her army. After cleaning up, she'd join Korra and Darth Vader at the Sun Warrior's preserve. But first, she'd go to Zaofu, and see the family which actually loved her.
I wanted to resolve Kuvira's anger at her parents, so she was always going to kill them. Syril Karn was a wannabe cop in a company town, in Andor, and I decided to give him a backstory which expanded on that. Hope you like the joke with Tenzin. While there is one White Lotus member on the take, the organization as a whole had nothing to do with the attempted coup.
For those of you questioning the idea of this wannabe king assembling an army, look up Filibusters, William Walker, the Bay of Pigs, and most recently, Operation Gideon. None of them were as large as this guy's army, but they were just as stupid. Merry Christmas.