Bumi and Kya were led through the great entrance of the Imperial Palace. "What was this building before the Empire?" Kya asked Mas Amedda. The speaker seemed bothered by that question. "I'm assuming this place was around for a while."
"It was the main Jedi Temple in the galaxy," the Chagrian answered. "After they were cast down, it seemed wasteful to tear down this place. Some parts are open to the public, so they can better understand what the Emperor does for them and what the Jedi who hid behind these walls were like. But you are going to the most exclusive part of the palace." As they walked past a room with many fountains, the bureaucrat stepped out of the way for them to enter an elevator. "His highness is waiting for you," the Speaker said, surprising them that he wasn't coming with them but the door closed before they could say anything. When they reached their destination, they saw a large, grey room with a desk in front of a black throne on a swivel. As they looked about, Bumi and Kya were surprised that there were only a few chairs present, along with no guards.
"Um, hello?" Kya asked as they approached the desk. Looking behind the swivel chair, they saw a figure next to the window. He, or she since they siblings only saw the figure's back, was slightly hunched, looking out the window to the city beyond. He was wearing a simple black robe, with no decorations or status symbols at all.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" the man said in a raspy voice. "This city has been built up over the course of a hundred thousand years, and now it is the greatest in the galaxy. It's been damaged many times, over the years, but for twenty-five thousand years, the center of government has always been Coruscant. How have you enjoyed your stay in my capital?"
"It has been rather educating, your majesty," Kya said. "You are Emperor Sheev Palpatine, are you not?"
"Yes," the man said, neglecting to turn around. "What did Korra and Vader say of me?"
"That you were a skilled politician who deserved his post," Bumi answered. "And that you were heavily scarred in some assassination attempts. Not the one that Captain Sloane mentioned, though."
"Sloane?" asked Palpatine.
"She was a cadet on the ship Defiance," Kya answered, to which Palpatine remembered when a disgruntled instructor tried to crash the training vessel into a star.
"Indeed, I was," the emperor said of his scars, turning around so they could see him. Both siblings were fairly shocked to see his face. He looked prematurely aged with countless wrinkles, in addition to his warped voice. "Towards the end of the Clone Wars, the Jedi cited...something irrelevant in the hopes of forcing me from office, and when I wouldn't step down, they tried to kill me. Thankfully, a friend managed to save me, and afterward I ordered the Jedi purged for their treason. Six months later, a group of Jedi fugitives, along with traitors in the senate and the military, attempted to overthrow me. They hit my original headquarters with a modified, airborne pathogen. Several friends, like Sly Moore and Ars Dangor, died, and I was infected. Thankfully, Lord Vader and several others managed to place me in stasis, until they could find a place with the necessary equipment to save me. But the scars you see remain."
"Uh, can't you get them healed, your majesty?" asked Kya.
"I sometimes fancy doing so," Palpatine replied. "But I like a reminder of the dangers of my position, both for myself and others. Similarly, I prefer not to decorate my workspaces, as you can see. I saw far too many people in my career that thought being a ruler was about the privileges, as opposed to being a servant of the people."
"I've run into that sort of person as well, your highness," Bumi said.
"But where are my manners?" Palpatine asked. "I know far more about you than you know of me. I suppose that its fitting that I tell you more about myself, beyond the position. There are several questions about Darth Vader I will not answer, however. He is a dear friend to me, and I won't betray his privacy."
"Of course," Kya said as they followed the man to a different elevator than the one they'd taken up. It took them to a larger room, which seemed to double as a bunker in case of catastrophe. This one had a large red carpet, a strange-looking bed with several machines attached to it, a massive holoprojector, and two sofas. In the four corners of the room, were four bronze-like statues of cloaked figures. Palpatine was certainly efficient, using his bedroom as the place where he entertained guests and relaxed. "I'm a bit surprised that there aren't any guards here."
"I'm good at judging people, and you seem the trustworthy type," the Emperor replied. "Besides, they aren't as far away as you'd think...or as necessary as some believe. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I think it best to start at the beginning."
"I never lied to you, Tachi," Baatar Sr told his brother. "I didn't know what Kuvira and Jr were doing."
"You don't seem to be that disapproving of it," Tachibana noted.
"Suyin and I did disagree with them when they expressed a desire to bring the Earth Nation under control after Korra's disappearance and the civil war which had erupted," the bespectacled engineer said. "We said the wrong thing, and they ran away. Then, alongside Opal and various EUA soldiers, including Bolin, alien gangsters abducted them both for profit and amusement. Korra and Vader rescued them, leading to them embracing the Empire. In addition, Kuvira's parents were just as cruel to her as ours were, only they were more open about it. This caused a lot of problems my wife and I neglected to notice until it was almost too late to fix them. Similarly, we alienated our own son and only now have I really come to appreciate how he feels."
"And what about that hatred of OUR PEOPLE, Baatar?" Tachibana emphasized. "Am I supposed to think that they developed that attitude on their own? They seemed to think you'd agree with them."
"Honestly, Tachi, while I'm disappointed they believe that about Sandbenders, I'm not surprised," Baatar Sr answered, before gesturing to his surgical scars. "There were plenty of times where I was drunk to numb this pain, saying a bunch of things I shouldn't have. On top of that, Kuvira's claim that the outside world sees Si Wong tribes as a homogenous band of murderers and thieves, it's not an unfounded claim. Most people just say 'Sandbender Tribe' and have never heard of the Hami, Yulduz, Zardoz, or the names of any other tribe."
"So you've internalized the Greenlanders hatred of us," Tachibana grumbled.
"Our parents made me hate the lifestyle we led," Baatar reminded him, before standing up. "I'm going to speak with Kuvira and my son and see what I can do for you. You and your children are welcome as my guests as long as you wish."
"But I take it you won't be going to fight the Empire or EUA," Tachibana stated, thinking of the times that his tribe had fought off others which had feuded with them.
"What good would that do?" his brother asked. "Your wife, son, and daughter are all offworld. The EUA and the Empire have crushed all resistance, Sandbender or otherwise, in the Earth Nation. My wife and the other remaining governors of the Earth Nation have delivered their oaths to Kuvira accepting the Empire. The Avatar has sided with them. Even the Airbenders have accepted the Empire. Fighting them is impossible." Noticing Tachibana's distress, Baatar Sr promised him that he'd get his family back as soon as possible. As he walked out, he saw Kuvira looking at her datapad, and then Baatar Jr came back as a shuttle flew off into space.
"How'd you get Ashla to fly off into the unknown?" Huan asked her accusingly.
"I got her to admit she wanted more than just the lousy life her father allowed her," Kuvira stated, though Suyin looked suspicious.
"Really?" she asked. "I saw Baatar outright mind-control several people on Nar Shaddaa, using the Force. I almost felt reminded of that."
"I didn't 'charm' her that way," Kuvira claimed. "Speaking of which, I'm looking forward to seeing how you've progressed with the Holocron."
"Maybe that can happen later," Baatar Sr told his daughter. "Right now, I'm a bit...concerned that you and Jr took my rantings about the Si Wong tribes so seriously."
"We looked over them, ourselves, Dad," Baatar Jr said as Kuvira looked at her datapad. "They really didn't do much to challenge your claims. Or your assumption that they'd only give up their thievery by force. Besides, many of those people, and their contemporaries in the Swampbender Tribe, have come to appreciate what the new world is offering them: regular food, better medicine, less danger from wildlife. They were simply too afraid of their clan leaders to pursue it on their own, like Ashla was with her own father until now."
"But tell you what, when you come along on my inspection of the education facility, we can take Ashla and the other two back if they are truly unhappy," Kuvira said, at which point her datapad beeped with a new message. Opening it, Kuvira saw a report on Adham and Fa, the son and wife of Tachibana. "Well, it looks like Fa is adjusting rather well," Kuvira said, pulling up a recording of her learning the alphabet and how to type.
"What about Adham?" asked Wing. After a moment, Kuvira saw a recording of the Sandbender learning how to use a wrench. Then, he and another Sandbender man kissed each other. "Ooh, I don't think Uncle Sandy would like that," Baatar Jr quipped. Baatar Sr said nothing, knowing that his son was right, and that being gay was very much frowned upon in Sandbender society. Wei had been rather wary around the Sandbenders, himself, as a result.
"It must run in the family," Kuvira said, turning to Baatar Sr. "I certainly felt Ashla's admiration for my arms and chest when we were talking. If they were discovered in Sandbender tribes, what do you think would happen, Dad?"
"Nothing good, even if Tachi didn't punish them personally," the patriarch agreed, before making a suggestion. "We should invite Dr. Raylen to dinner, tonight. Tachibana and his children need to meet an Imperial in a neutral setting." At that moment, a call came through on the datapad. Kuvira saw the indicator it was a conference call, and that it was originating from offworld. What could it be?
As Darth Vader emerged from the healing baths, he could see his own face. Most of the burns had largely healed, thanks to the Spirit Water applied by Korra and later her parents. Even his hair was beginning to grow back. His friendship with the Southern Waterbender couple was paying off. He still needed breathing assistance, but he was looking into options to fix that. "Oh, err, wow," a voice said as his armor was placed back on. Vader looked to the side, seeing Dr. Chelli Aphra, the archeologist who adored the Empire and had been doing his private errands for some time. She'd done well as an Airbender in addition to his agent. Vader noticed that she'd been staring at his increasingly impressive form for a few seconds longer than normal. "So, uh, Leia will be heading to Naboo in a little under two months," she explained. "I've been looking into the venue, and how to reach and extract her."
"Excellent," Vader replied. "Soon, I will retrieve my daughter, and free her from the lies Organa and his kind have forced down her throat. Have you found a way to extract her?"
"I'll, err, get right on that," Aphra said, looking for an excuse to leave. He had sensed her admiration for him since they first met. He admitted to himself she'd caught his eye for more than just her work. But for a long time, he'd dwelt on Padme for too long to have considered a similar relationship. With both his body healing, however, and soon his spirit with the reclamation of his daughter, perhaps he could finally move on.
"Well, I wonder how Leia would adjust to a stepmom around her own age," Senna noted after Aphra left. Vader thanked Senna for her help in the healing bath as his armor was fastened on.
"I understand that Aphra found the venue your daughter will be attending," the Southern Water Chieftain told the Sith Lord. "I was wondering how I could help."
"You've yet to leave your homeworld," Vader said.
"I can be gone for the time necessary to help you," Tonraq insisted. "Besides, I've been thinking about this, recently."
"How?" Vader asked.
"I realized that you're in the position I'd be if the Red Lotus succeeded in taking Korra," Tonraq said. "You're trying to reclaim a daughter and son who don't know you, who think that the people who raised them are their family. But in truth, they are disposable weapons to their abductors. The only way to save them, is to retrieve them and get through before it's too late. I swore an oath of brotherhood to you, and I will help you get your kids back, Vader."
"I appreciate your loyalty," the Sith Lord replied. "I will look for a way for you to attend on this diplomatic mission." As Vader got up, he thanked Tonraq and Senna for their work in healing him and headed for his training dojo. Before he could, however, a messenger charged up to him.
"My lord, Hunter Fett has something to report," the officer said, before looking at Tonraq. "He's requesting a conference call and for Chief Tonraq to be present." Tonraq was surprised but followed Vader to the communication room.
Korra awoke early that morning, with Mako next to her and Asami on the opposite side of him. Korra leaned over and kissed first her girlfriend and then her husband as the three of them got up. As Korra got dressed, she saw Asami cuddling holding their daughter Saria while Mako held little Harou. The Avatar smiled at the sight, wondering how Asami would look with their next child blossoming inside her. Maybe they should get some pregnancy tests before long.
After Korra and Asami left for the space engineering project, this day Korra was teaching Asami and the other engineers how to read Aurabesh, Mako and Lin listened to KayBee showing them the devices that the Imperials had dropped off after the failed burglary. "See these two dots?" the droid asked, showing Mako and the police chief what he was holding. Each of them were tiny devices, half the size of a palm, that were easily attached to doorframes.
"Yeah, what exactly are we supposed to do with them?" Lin asked. The droid led them inside Asami's house and took out a knife. Cutting a hole in the door frame, he inserted one of the devices into the hole.
"Carve one into another on the opposite side," the droid commanded, to which Mako complied. Lin muttered about how she wasn't used to vandalism but stood back. After Mako finished doing so, the droid pushed a button on his datapad.
"Please, unlock the door," the droid asked. Lin suspected something but complied. As soon as the door lock was turned, a massive alarm started blaring loudly, causing Mako to cover his ears before KayBee pressed the same button. Hearing his children crying at the loud noise, Mako rushed over to calm them down.
"What the hell just happened?" asked the police chief.
"Those dots created a circuit, which was activated via the push of this button," the droid explained. "When the lock is turned, or the door otherwise opened while the circuit is active, that alarm is set off. We can install these dots in the other doors and windows. In addition, we can hook up this alarm both to the Republic City Emergency Hotline, or to an Imperial response team, if you wish."
"Not sure I can convince the government to let the Empire tap our lines, even if they can do so regardless," Lin said. "But hopefully, this will be the last time some fool tries to rob this place." The police chief then looked at Mako. "I've investigated the stiffs your robot left behind," Lin said.
"I'm not a robot, a robot is a simple machine with simple programs to do simple tasks," KayBee interjected. "A droid has true intelligence. That's why I'm so funny."
"Thanks for the clarification," Lin muttered. "Maybe next time, you can avoid killing every attacker or at least leave their faces intact by not punching them so much. Regardless, I managed to identify them. They really were a bunch of punks who thought they could get rich by ripping off this place. There wasn't a conspiracy to go after you or your kids."
"Thanks for confirming that," Mako breathed a sigh of relief.
"In addition, I have another thing to offer," the droid intruded, holding a small bracelet. "If we attach this to Hiroshi's leg, you won't have to assign people to guard him during his house arrest. It will track him no matter where he goes, and if we push this button on the control here," KayBee pointed to the function on the datapad, "it will zap him to ensure he remains there until he can be retrieved. Side effects might include unconsciousness, wetting himself, second degree burns on his leg, vomiting, and the likelihood of heart trouble within the year." Before Lin or Mako could say anything, a call came in on Mako's comlink. Mako saw the symbol for a conference call in the upper right corner of communicator, while the ID said it was from Boba Fett. He wondered what it was about as he switched it on.
"I was born on the world of Naboo, in the Chommel sector," the emperor explained to Kya and Bumi, images appearing from the holoprojector in front of them. "It was a somewhat obscure world in my youth. A peaceful, temperate world where the amphibious Gungans and the Human population, having emigrated two thousand years earlier, hadn't fought each other in over a century. Or at least, that is how it looked, to those who couldn't see the stagnation of our society and the games of intrigue of the noble houses. People like my father were more representative of the true Naboo of my youth."
"What was your dad like?" asked Kya.
"In private, he was a scheming fool lacking the brains or ambition to achieve the position he desired," Palpatine said. "To compensate, he tried to intimidate those below him, and he hated me for never being impressed by him. As I grew up, I felt increasingly like my world was the stage for an elaborate theater production, with its ornate buildings and how everyone wore formal clothes within the city limits. I started looking for new, unfamiliar things. Pranks on my neighbors, my teachers, I even took up street racing for a while. Still, nothing changed much until my father's political rivals found something."
"Um, what, your majesty?" Bumi asked.
"An endless source of stable plasma," Palpatine revealed. "A vast energy resource that could bring great wealth and prestige to our planet. I saw a chance for true change, and I took it, informing a wealthy businessman, Hego Damask of Mygeeto, so he'd enter into a deal with those that wanted to end Naboo's isolation. I befriended Damask himself and continued helping him."
"I doubt your father liked that," Bumi remarked.
"He wouldn't have, had he learned of it," the shriveled man replied. "But fate kept him from learning. I was on Chandrila, the very world Senator Mothma represents, during a class trip with all the other young civil servants at my school. My father was heading there in the family star yacht, with my siblings and mother. I never learned why he made that trip, but they never arrived."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Bumi said sympathetically. "What happened to them?"
"I believe the commission's report said the most likely scenario was 'hyperspace impact' but not so much as a piece of the ship was ever found," the emperor said in a tone that sounded vaguely conceited but was dismissed as just an effect of his raspy voice by the siblings. "I ultimately became the junior representative of my sector in the Senate, under my friend from school, Vidar Kim. Still, I served as a consultant to Damask on several matters, even after the plasma extraction deal went ahead. That is when I learned a hard lesson about the dangers of pursuing rumors."
"Uh, how so?" asked Bumi.
"Vidar's family died in a crash, as well, a few years into his tenure as senator," Palpatine revealed. "He'd given his oldest son, Ronhar, away to the Jedi, believing the same fantasy of it being a great honor that so many had been raised to think. Vidar's father had obsessively drilled the idea of continuing the family line into his son, which now left Vidar in a predicament, as Ronhar was his only child left but was unlikely to father any children himself, at least legitimate ones. As such, Vidar was torn between the honor he'd been raised to believe, and the duty he thought was his purpose in life. Perhaps that is why Vidar embraced a baseless rumor he heard from a drunk on the street."
"What was the rumor?" asked Kya.
"That his political enemies engineered his family's death," Palpatine revealed, surprising them. "To intimidate him into stepping down, or to bring Vidar down a peg. I reminded him it was a senseless tragedy which could happen to anyone, but he didn't hear it. He started stirring up trouble wherever he went, angering all manner of people, trying to convince Ronhar to leave the Jedi. Finally, an assassin killed him. Then she stabbed herself with a poisoned needle when it was clear she'd be captured."
"It sounds like he might have been onto something," Kya remarked.
"The investigation went on for years before it was given up," Palpatine revealed. "Every lead led to a different maze. I know, as I looked over it a few times. There was nothing in the original accident report on his family to indicate sabotage, either. Vidar treaded on the wrong person's toes. Whoever was behind it will remain unknown. I had to accept this so I wouldn't charge down the same maze to nowhere."
"Something like that happened on our world as well," Bumi admitted. "When Hiroshi Sato's wife died in a burglary, he couldn't accept it was just another robbery, and he became a terrorist who thought he was avenging his wife." Palpatine paused, before remembering the information Korra and Mako had related about their world and its recent history.
"Shortly afterward, I rose to become Senator of Naboo," Palpatine continued. "That is when Hego was attacked. The assassins were sent by a self-important senator, Pax Teem, who was angry at Naboo's greater prominence coming at the expense of the Gran Protectorate he represented. Damask fought off many but was severely injured, before I could rescue him, and exact justice on Teem."
"Um, I thought Damask was a banker, like most Muuns," Kya said, recognizing Damask's species from the pictures they'd been shown.
"He was, but that's not all he was," Palpatine revealed. "I suppose I forgot to mention another thing: Hego Damask was also Darth Plagueis, Lord of the Sith. Just as I am not only Sheev Palpatine but also Darth Sidious." The Bender siblings were shocked, but then so much made sense. They'd heard a few basic things about the Sith, such as how they took on new names with the title of Darth in front of them to signify how they'd become more than who they were. In addition, if the second most powerful figure in the Empire Darth Vader, was a Sith Lord, it stood to reason that the Emperor was also a Sith. Finally, it explained how he didn't consider his guards strictly necessary.
"Yes, I can use the Force," Palpatine said, outstretching his hand and summoning a glass of water into it. "It is also why Lord Vader calls me Master, for he is my apprentice."
"I heard how, for most of recorded history, it was illegal to be Sith," Bumi noted.
"Sith Tradition fell under the laws protecting religious practice, but the Jedi didn't care, and did whatever they could to destroy us," Sidious revealed. "Since the last war where most Sith practitioners were massacred, my order hid in secret. On many occasions of the millennia in hiding, there were only two full-fledged Sith Lords, the need for secrecy was so great. Damask, or rather Plagueis, had been working to promote greater understanding of our ways, in the hopes that we could step out of the shadows. I did the same, as a senator, hoping that the Jedi would be willing to reconsider their prejudices. While dealing with Pax Teem's conspiracy was basically vigilantism, I hoped to do more legally than extralegally. But that was hard when, outside a few friends like Wilhuff Tarkin, Mas Amedda, and Kinman Doriana, no one could be trusted with my Sith identity."
"So, Vader became your apprentice after your master's death," Kya asked.
"That's a bit far off," Palpatine replied. "At the time of Plagueis's injury, I had adopted an orphan, who would become my first apprentice. It was so satisfying to be the father that my own never was, encouraging and nurturing him while he developed. I'll...never forget that feeling of when the Jedi took him from me, as I felt him in great pain through our Master-Apprentice bond in the Force, and then nothing."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Kya and Bumi both said.
"To add another injury to this loss, the moment I lost my apprentice, the breathing device my own master was dependent on after the assassination attempt short-circuited while he slept, killing him," Sidious revealed. "I was alone, until I met...the boy who would be Vader." Kya and Bumi were a bit surprised Palpatine didn't reveal his original name, to which he said that he was honoring Vader's request not to reveal it. "Vader became my son before he became my apprentice," Palpatine said. "Just in time for me to become chancellor."
"I heard it was something to do with an evil company invading your homeworld," Kya said. "They must have been after that Plasma you mentioned."
"Yes," Palpatine confirmed. "The current chancellor was crippled by excess regulations, representatives who hated him, and bureaucrats accepting bribes. While Queen Amidala negotiated an alliance with the Gungans to defeat the Trade Federation army, I was propelled to the chancellor's office by the scandal of the occupation." He briefly explained how he'd begun to make progress in the senate during his early reign, before arriving to the Clone Wars.
"When we first heard of the clone army, I was a bit creeped out by it," Kya revealed.
"Hego and I knew that war was on the horizon," Sidious began. "With the greedy, the unhappy, and the vengeful all eyeing secession, we needed an army that the Senate would never approve of in time. Fortunately, he'd done deals with the Kaminoans about reviving rare animals, so the idea of cloning an army fell into place. I was supremely aware of the problems that went with it. There was even a clone who lost his mind and tried to kill me, at one point. As soon as the war was won, I started working on helping them find new lives outside of war, while downscaling cloning for military use."
"It must have been pretty hard to wage war while the Jedi were increasingly close to you," Kya said.
"Some Jedi began to move past their teachings about hating the Sith, though I couldn't risk revealing myself to them," the Emperor answered. "Sadly, many of them, including my old friend Ronhar Kim, were killed in the war. Another, however, learned the truth about me and accepted me."
"Was he the one who'd become Darth Vader?" asked Bumi. Palpatine's silent stare confirmed his suspicion for him.
"He gradually accepted the truth about the Jedi which he'd always known," Palpatine continued. "He attempted to warn me that the others had learned of my secret but they got to my original office before I heard the message. I noted how there was no law against a Sith Lord being Supreme Chancellor or holding a position of power, or even of practicing Sith religion. Mace Windu ignored this truth and tried to kill me. Fortunately, I had my lightsaber with me and killed his three companions. Windu used a cheap trick, however, and inflicted the first of the injuries you see before you." The emperor gestured to his own face. "Fortunately, I was saved by my friend, who killed Windu. He accepted how the Jedi Order would never change, as did I, and eliminated the Jedi present at this temple, while I informed soldiers across the stars of the Order's treason. The newly anointed Darth Vader went to where I'd learned the last Separatists leaders were, and killed them, uploading a code which shut down most of the battle droids left. I also understood that the time to transform the Republic was now and proclaimed the Empire. I have been guiding the galaxy into this new age of prosperity and progress, ever since."
Bumi and Kya were in awe of the Emperor. In many ways, he reminded them of that story about a fish who beat the river's current, becoming a dragon in the process. They could sympathize with his reluctance to reveal his past to most people, only revealing it to them as they weren't raised in a galaxy where the Sith's enemies controlled the narrative for so long. Bumi thanked the Emperor for his hospitality, promising to speak well of Palpatine to his wife and brother.
"Our family knows a bit about persecution before rising to the top," the Airbender said. "If you deal with Tenzin and Izumi honestly, I'm sure they'll be receptive to you. Izumi's own dad has a messed-up face, thanks to his nasty father, so they'll look past your scars. Thank you for this meeting, your highness, but it's getting a bit late, and we need to prepare for that testimony about the Acheron, tomorrow."
"Of course," Sidious said, summoning his guards to take them back to their apartment. Before they left, he looked to them again. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't repeat everything we discussed, at least to the general galactic citizen. Even today, being a Sith is rather controversial, and while I will reveal myself as one in time, I want to do so on my terms, where I can mitigate any fallout from it."
"I had to deal with that, myself," Kya said sympathetically, remembering her own past. "When I was working as a doctor and teacher in the Southern Water Tribe, bigots dug up how I loved other women. I noted how I'd broken no law, but they declared me a criminal by virtue of my existence, trying to blacklist me from everything. When my whole family and my friends stood by me, some tried to kill me, but I handled them."
"It's good to meet a fellow traveler," Palpatine complimented the Waterbender. "One who understands why I was so reluctant to reveal the truth about myself, even now. After they flew back to the apartment where they were staying, Bumi and Kya knocked on the door, and were let in by Bossk, who informed them Srinivasa was asleep and that no one had harassed them since the dinner with the Mothma family.
"Glad to hear it went well," Bossk replied upon hearing their enjoyment. "It's getting a bit late, so I think we should turn in, now." As they went to bed, Bumi saw a blinking light on Bossk's datapad. The Trandoshan wasn't concerned, however. "It can wait until tomorrow. It's time for bed, now."
Korra was instructing the engineers, including Asami and her father, on how to read Aurabesh, the most common alphabet in the galaxy. Korra preferred High Galactic, herself, but if these people were going out into space at some point, they needed to understand Aurabesh. Her class was interrupted, however, when her datapad started beeping. Excusing herself, Korra went to a private area of her ship to begin the conference call.
"I heard of that attack on Asami's house," the image of her father said. "Are you alright?"
"It was just some fools trying to get rich, and KayBee handled them," Korra answered as Mako and Lin logged on. Soon, Tenzin and Asami joined her in the room, while images of Kuvira, Baatar, and Vader all appeared. Tenzin wondered what was going on, when Boba Fett's projection appeared.
"I have made a discovery in regard to Cad Bane," the Mandalorian stated. Tenzin twitched at the reminder of the psychopathic Duros mercenary who'd become an Airbender though unknown means. Tenzin considered his encounter with the alien to be his closest brush with death since his first battle with Darth Vader. Only this time, Bane had threatened Tenzin's children, as well.
"Do you have Bane in custody?" Vader asked the bounty hunter.
"No, but I discovered some interesting information," Fett revealed, before turning to the Elementals present. "Which I why I asked you here."
"What's this info?" asked Tonraq. With that, Boba recounted how he'd questioned a smuggler who delivered weapons to a figure Bane was working for. Listening closely, it became clear this figure was a cult leader, with his title of Shaman and proclamations of power he offered to his followers.
"Who is he?" Tenzin asked.
"According to Solo, this con man was middle-aged, with tan skin, blue eyes, braided brown hair, one of them missing with a scar in place, blue and white robes, and a regal bearing that quickly turned smug if you weren't interested in what he had to say," Boba reported. Everyone thought for a moment, and then, except for Vader, turned their heads up in recognition. "Solo's partner revealed his followers called him Unalaq."
"That's impossible," Tonraq declared, shocked at the mention of his hated brother. "Korra killed Unalaq, we all saw it!"
"We saw the thing Unalaq had merged into disappear," Tenzin said in resignation. "We thought half the things Unalaq did with the spirits was impossible. After he merged with Vaatu, the normal rules no longer apply to what we know. I doubt even Unalaq understands how he ended up on another world."
"Well, this time, I'll make sure he dies for real," Korra declared. Fett promised he'd investigate other leads on finding this figure, whoever he was, with everyone else pledging to help Korra deal with it. As Korra thanked them all and left, she thought she saw something in the shadows, but upon shining a light with her Firebending, nothing was there. She was puzzled but decided to return to work, resolved to handle Unalaq.
Hope you liked my latest chapter. I wanted to explore how Palpatine would spin the events of the prequels and their tie-ins to people. Bumi and Kya wouldn't be the first people he persuaded. His scars from a couple assassinations, one from the comic Darth Vader Ghost Prison, doesn't make them inclined to distrust him. The statues I mentioned are called the Four Sages of Dwartii. Cosinga Palpatine was the swaggering bully his son made him out to be. Sheev doesn't care for ostentatious displays since his father did it all the time to hide how unimportant he was.
Yeah, I figured Aphra had a crush on Vader in the comic. Vader is starting to heal, in more ways than one, so he's not as indifferent to her affection as normal. Also, yes, that is the difference between a robot and a droid. Please read and review.