Korra was in the cockpit of the Platinum Bender, teaching Asami how to fly it while Mako, KayBee, and Lin were in the backseat with the children. Soon, they would be at Zaofu in time for Bolin and Opal's wedding. Lin had decided to check in with her sister at the wedding and see how she was doing. In addition, she'd been asked to deliver an invitation to Kuvira for a diplomatic meeting between the various nations of the world. Mako and Asami were holding onto Pabu and comforting Naga during the ride, as the two animals were still getting used to flight in a spaceship. "Is it an invitation, or a summons?" Mako asked the chief when he learned of the message she was delivering.
"Reading it, it sounds like an invitation," Lin answered. "Izumi knows how to be diplomatic, and I think Raiko has learned the lesson as well. There was a time when I would have thought Korra was being hotheaded, stubborn, and confrontational with him but given how the president has been less than diplomatic with her, your attitude toward him is more understandable. Still, there is the addition of the Empire to the mix."
"It might be best to extend the invitation to an Imperial, given how they can hear everything regardless," Mako noted, remembering how the Empire had managed to spy on the White Lotus when he and Korra worried about a trap.
"They might be willing to accept there is life outside our atmosphere but not that it's superior," the chief replied.
"'More 'Advanced' isn't 'Superior'," Mako said, surprised at her wording.
"Some of those Imperials seem to believe that and look down on some of our practices," the policewoman said.
"And there are plenty of Imperials eager to learn Bending from the original users," Mako noted, before remembering something. "Also, there are some practices of less advanced cultures that reflect poorly on them."
"You have a specific example?" Lin asked.
"Shortly after we got back, Bolin took us to this grave along with Kuvira and Baatar," Mako revealed. "I didn't know who it was, and neither did Opal. It was for a kid, fourteen maybe, from the Foggy Swamp. He'd died from one of those diseases that URN schools talk about as a malady no one's gotten for decades, but he got it because the Swampbender tribe thinks medicine is evil and they don't bother keeping up with medical studies about cleanliness."
"So, his parents took him out to find a real doctor?" Lin asked. She didn't know much about the Swampbender tribe, and Lin's conversations with her mother hadn't broached the topic either.
"His dad died before he was born and his mom died from the pox before the leaf-wearers kicked him out of his own home," Mako revealed bitterly. "After all, in their minds, you're a sinful person if your parents are unmarried." Lin remained calm but was noticeably angered upon hearing that. One of the reasons she loved Republic City was that it was far less socially conservative than most of the Earth Kingdom. While she'd only been rarely teased over her unwed parents in the URN, there were a tremendous number of people outside who were openly cruel or hostile over it. For many years, the only thing she'd appreciated about Su was how she beat the odds and built a progressive settlement in the form of Zaofu within the Earth Kingdom's borders. Lin supposed she shouldn't have been surprised that a group so traditional, the only clothes they wore were made from swamp leaves, were that regressive on other matters.
"If they lived in Republic City, or on most planets across the stars, the boy's tormentors would be imprisoned for child abandonment at best, and manslaughter at worst," Mako noted. Lin looked back in agreement, thinking of how if she'd been born in a less accepting society, she might have suffered the same fate.
"I guess it's time they were held to the same standards as everyone else," Lin stated. "Same with the Sandbenders, who rob, murder, and banish their decent relatives, like Suyin's husband. Baatar Sr doesn't talk much about what he went through but it scarred more than just his leg."
"Glad to see you agree," Mako said, deciding to reveal how the Swampbenders and Sandbenders had been relocated offworld to be taught how to function in a civilized society. Lin was surprised but was interrupted when Korra announced they were landing. Asami had also learned of the project the New Earth Nation had undertaken with the Galactic Empire. She was rather surprised as well but given how her own father had tried to kill her for defying him, she approved of how Sand and Swampbenders would have a much harder time doing so now. As they landed, they were met by Suyin and Kuvira. A significant number of EUA soldiers were also present, friends of Bolin from their campaign to stop the civil war.
"We're having a bit of trouble," Su said. "Baatar's Sandbender brother and his children have come here. They are nicer than I thought they'd be but things are still...tense."
"How's your husband handling everything?" Lin asked her sister. Korra and Mako were both rather surprised as well.
"He's dealing with a bunch of things he's left unresolved for too long," Su answered. "He's shocked by how his brother Tachibana's wife and two of their kids are imprisoned on a distant world with the rest of the Si Wong tribes far away to force them to shape up to Kuvira and Junior's standards of decency. But then Baatar remembers how everyone else in the tribe was a jerk and that his own parents left him to die shortly before I met him."
"No wonder he's going along with it," Mako said. Before Suyin could say anything, Bolin walked up and joyously greeted his brother. Opal also walked up, smiling at her soon-to-be brother and sister-in-law, as well as her Aunt Lin. At that moment, Asami and KayBee walked out of the ship with the two kids in the young woman's arms. Bolin initially smiled, before seeing KayBee and looking scared.
"I have decided to teach you proper childcare," the droid said to Bolin. "I will be supervising your progress. Whenever you do something wrong, I will let you know."
"Oh, great," Bolin said as KayBee grasped the electrostaff on his back. "Glad to know you won't kill me if I make a mistake."
"Yes, instead I'll do this," the droid replied, moving rapidly and slamming the metal staff into Bolin's side, sending him flying into a pond to the right with a scream. "Hmm, I think I need to recalculate the amount of force I should apply regarding this task."
"You could have just said what you were going to do!" Bolin yelled as he climbed out of the water.
"That would be ineffective," the droid said. "Though, from now on, I will restrict myself to a low power tasing." KayBee then looked about and saw everyone's surprise. "What?"
"Just be sure not to permanently damage him," Mako said, with the others chuckling nervously. At that moment, Korra, Kuvira, and Asami went off with Opal as her bridesmaids while Mako accompanied his brother to help him get ready for tomorrow.
Bumi and Kya went on a tour of the Senate Building alongside Bossk and Srinivasa while waiting for the committee on the Acheron incident to deliver its verdict. Afterward, Srinivasa spotted Leida Mothma and waved to her. The young girl smiled back and waved back before handing something to her mother. Mon complimented her daughter on how fast she was delivering it and told her to wait inside the Chandrila Senatorial Office.
"It's good to see you again," the Senator said to her past dinner guests.
"You as well, Mon," Kya replied. "So, is it a bring your kid to work day?"
"I realized that I've been rather distant from Leida, for too long," Mothma said. "I offered her the chance to be a Senate Page, and she agreed."
"Great for you to have more time with her," Bossk commented.
"Indeed," the Senator said, before turning to the Bender siblings. "I appreciate how you educated me on your world and people. I look forward to meeting more dignitaries from Elementia, in the future. On a more personal note, I think you had a positive effect on Leida."
"How so?" asked Bumi.
"I learned that, in my absence, Leida had become rather interested in the customs from the homeworld," Mon revealed. "One of the only things Perrin and I agree on is how many of them are outdated, unpleasant, or downright deplorable. Leida initially believed that upholding these things were part of being Chandrilan. Your tales about those people who invoked tradition to commit their crimes has made her reconsider."
"That's a relief," Kya replied, pleased she'd managed to help more than just Syril Karn by talking to them. Bidding goodbye, Bumi and his party went to the waiting area outside the meeting room. While outside, they saw Colonel Yularen was also present.
"I thought you'd like to know we've found more suspects for the Aldhani Heist Crew," the intelligence officer said. "Unfortunately, we can no longer question Cinta Kaz. One of my colleagues made the mistake of taking the wrong route to the detention cells, which allowed her to run and leap out an opening to her death, as the window was in the process of being replaced. Given how far the fall would have been, she's a stain on the underworld streets, by now, food for the Cthons."
"I guess she couldn't take the reality of life without release," Bossk said, reminding the siblings of how, in Trandoshan society, the only sentence worse than twenty years imprisonment was death, as any longer confinement was considered senseless cruelty. "Or she didn't want to betray anymore secrets than she already had."
"Probably a combination of both," Kya commented, before turning to Yularen. "Interestingly, I recently met Syril Karn, and he had a bit to say about you, Colonel."
"I've never met that man, who's just a minor witness in the Andor investigation," Yularen said.
"Well, you visited his home many years ago, as his father was a policeman who was killed during-""Wait, are you talking about the Senator Trell case?" Yularen interrupted, surprised by what he heard.
"Yes," Kya confirmed.
"It was one of my first assignments on the Senate Bureau of Intelligence," the ISB agent revealed. "One of about six I was handling at any one time. Maybe the CSF thought that it would receive the utmost attention and resources because of the number of officers killed. Maybe they thought that the death of the senator would make it a priority, thinking that the privileged lives of the senators better protected them. But neither was the case."
"The assassination of a senator wasn't a priority, not even for the SBI?" a surprised Kya asked. Bumi was also surprised by this, though Bossk didn't seem shocked.
"I think you need some perspective," Yularen said. "There is a tale of an assassin droid, who was supposedly cursed to kill his masters despite programming restrictions. One of them was a senator who reportedly said 'Senators aren't nice, they are either on top of the game or old news.' A sentiment that is usually true, in my experience. Given the difficulties of being elected, or chosen through some other means, dirty deals were more common than not. You make a lot of enemies this way, in and out of this building. Which makes it rather unsurprising being a senator is so dangerous." Both siblings were shocked by that revelation.
"Um, how can it be so dangerous?" asked Bumi.
"Apart from corruption filtering down to their security, which had degraded over the years to begin with?" asked Yularen. "There are two thousand senate seats in this building. In addition to the main senator, there is at least one backup representative, along with aides and any other delegate their constituents deem necessary, on top of secretaries, housekeepers, and other assistants. Keeping track of all that on a planet with over a trillion people is extremely hard, even when the Senator isn't dismissing their guards to hide something or the security of their local government crashes into Senate security. Or sometimes a private arrangement, like a senator who hires a bunch of handmaidens who look like her she could swap clothes with on a moment's notice. When a senator is murdered, everyone in his life is a suspect, both here and elsewhere, and they know it. Even if they are unconnected, they're usually more worried about you learning their secrets than whether the killer gets away with it. Those are the struggles I faced in the Trell case, and everything I did learn indicated he'd brought this trouble upon himself, to the point that even the Ryloth government wasn't that upset about it."
"Yeah, I was a rather surprised at how trivial it is to get away with killing a senator, as well," Bossk said to his friends, noticing their surprise.
"I suppose that Mr. Karn also brought up the conspiracy theory of Jango Fett being the assassin," Yularen concluded, surprising Bumi. "I first heard that when I rejoined the navy and was made an admiral during the war, since I could actually accomplish something that way."
"It sounds like you don't believe it," Bumi noted.
"I heard a thousand paranoid accusations regarding the clone army, most of them made up by the Separatists, and this narrative about their progenitor arose around the same time," the ISB officer said. "I met enough clones to learn their personalities weren't as identical as their faces. The fears of 'clone madness' were also overblown. And this idea behind Jango Fett being the assassin was extremely flimsy, as well."
"How so?" asked Kya, unsure what to think.
"There was one report of an 'armored figure' flying away from the scene with a jetpack," Yularen answered. "Assuming this wasn't just made up by someone trying to make trouble for the Grand Army, there was no greater description of the apparent assassin, so we can't be sure if the armor was Mandalorian. If it was, does that mean this person was a Mandalorian as opposed to someone who stole such armor, or just bought a cheap copy sold to tourists? In addition, there is no description of any details like color, armor configuration, clan symbols, or anything else that might identify the wearer, assuming he didn't change those things to disguise himself. I always got the impression that those who believed the attacker was Mandalorian was because they thought only Mandalorians can wear armor and jetpacks. And that said Mandalorian must have been Jango Fett, because he was the only one they'd actually heard of."
The door opened and they were invited inside, the Lambert family coming in and sitting down as well. Senator Bel Iblis also walked in, to observe on behalf of Corellian interests. Senator Pamlo was absent, as was the rest of the Tarisian delegation. The committee on the Acheron assembled and sat down in front of them. "Thank you for coming, here, as you should be the first to hear our judgement," Senator Romodi began. "Based on your testimony and the evidence gathered, we have concluded that a lack of proper quarantine procedures on Taris were the primary cause of infestation on the Acheron. We have also determined this is part of a systemic trend of irresponsibility, corruption, and foolishness on the part of the Tarisian Reclamation Government. As such, we are imposing a Class-X sanction on the planet. All commerce to the planet is suspended, as is all aid. All outbound traffic will be stopped and examined for Rakghoul contamination, then bared from returning. Any attempt to run the blockade will be considered a hostile act and the ship in question destroyed. This sanction will remain in place for the next year, and then Senator Pamlo will be able to challenge this ruling. She'll be released from her holding for contempt so she can convey this to her government."
The audience was shocked to hear this but neither the Lamberts or Srinivasa were upset to learn it. Bumi and Kya were a bit more conflicted, as was Bossk, but given how much trouble the reclamation project was, it might have been best to end it. Senator Bel Iblis was a bit more skeptical. "I was part of this committee over twenty years ago," he began. "I never heard of a Class-X sanction."
"A relatively new addition added ten years ago" Romodi said, the scarred old man glaring at Bel Iblis. "And unlike Contemplanys Hermi, it actually means something." With that, the meeting was adjourned, Bel Iblis looked rather angry at the term Romodi had said.
"Hurst didn't try to sit out the war, like you Senator," Yularen said. "You should be more respectful, especially since we saved you from your own folly." With that, Yularen ushered Bumi and his party out, with the Lambert family thanking the Benders again. "The Emperor asked me to express his appreciation for your time," the ISB agent said to Bumi. "His Highness has business offworld, so he couldn't be here himself."
"Oh, tell him thank you," Kya said, with Bumi following suit. "If there is nothing else, can we go? We need to get back to finding Mizuki."
"Of course," the colonel said. "I hope to meet you again, preferably with her as well. Good luck." As they walked out of the Senate, the Airbender and his Waterbending sister reflected on their time here. While it was unfortunate they'd been delayed in searching for Bumi's daughter, they didn't regret coming here and helping the people they'd befriended. Hopefully, the Sienar family had found some tangible leads for them.
Korra, Asami, and Kuvira were helping Opal put on her wedding dress for later that day. Korra felt something in the Airbender's midriff and smiled as she did so. "So, when do I get to meet my niece or nephew?" she smiled.
"I think around seven months," Opal smiled back. "Bolin and I weren't really 'trying' but I'm sure he'll be thrilled when he learns. After he stops worrying KayBee will zap him." Asami and Kuvira chuckled at that. "So, when are you and Baatar getting one?" Opal jokingly asked.
"We'll marry in about ten days," Kuvira revealed to her sister. "We'll figure the rest out later." Asami smiled to herself, thinking of the child blossoming within her, as well. Then Korra's datapad started beeping. Taking it out, Korra saw an important message. "What is it?" the Metalbender asked her friend.
"It's something from Major Partagaz," Korra revealed. "The Omashu Lodge of the White Lotus has left the city and is heading here. They tried to keep it a secret, by exiting through an old tunnel."
"Guess they still don't appreciate the cameras, bugs, and sensors we've helped the Empire install," Kuvira said. "Maybe they were going to team up with that Red Lotus remnant I handled with Baatar and Bolin." Korra had been surprised when she received that report. Not that the first Lavabender had managed to survive falling into a molten cavern but that Ghazan had spent so much time in hiding, faking his death. Fortunately, he was now dead for real.
"Well, since you handled the last problem, I'll handle this one," Korra said, changing into her armor. "For now, I'm going to treat this as the actions of only one lodge as opposed to the whole fraternity. I can handle this alone, I'll be back shortly."
"Hopefully, they aren't looking for a fight," Asami noted as Korra left, sending a message to Mako he could sit this out. Korra knew she was all that was needed. Getting a speeder bike from the Platinum Bender, Korra raced off to where the White Lotus lodge was moving. She'd considered using Naga, but she loved her polar bear dog too much to endanger unnecessarily. Using the Force to discern their exact location, Korra sped around them. Tapping into the Avatar State, she erected massive walls that surrounded the White Lotus members. Placing herself on top of the wall in front of them, Korra looked down upon them. There were over a hundred of them, most in their order's regalia, showing how stubbornly they clung to outdated traditions. They looked angry, borderline contemptuous of the Imperial soldier in front of them, imagining they were staring at one of the alien interlopers instead of the Avatar who'd joined them.
"We ask that you clear this wall impeding us," their leader, High Lotus Chong, demanded. He was as dismissive as ever, even when he was teaching her, he seemed incapable of giving compliments or being respectful. She'd seen that again on her recent trip to Kyoshi Island. "We have great concerns to present to Avatar Korra and General Kuvira, who we hear are in Zaofu right now."
"I might be wearing a helmet but I'd think you could tell it's me," Korra spoke through her mask, surprising the White Lotus with the words coming through. "Or did you think someone else could master a speeder bike and erect such great Earthbent barriers at the same time?"
"I had a hard time recognizing you, Korra," Chong said, before looking closer with a demanding look. "Would you please take off that armor?"
"I'm quite comfortable in it," Korra said, staring from behind the blue lenses of her black helmet. "Besides, between the constant specter of battle and moving at high speeds on a bike, peddled, motorized, or a speeder like the one I just took, extra protection makes a lot of sense. Also, I'm surprised you didn't ask me to come to you or at least announce your arrival. You really need to rid yourself of the idea you can hide from the Imperial sensor net."
"We were hoping to talk to the Avatar and the warlord who's proclaimed herself ruler of the Earth Kingdom, without the Obsidian Knight or his flunkies inserting themselves into something which doesn't concern them," Chong said dismissively, as if she was just a toddler who didn't understand the lesson he was giving. "Vader has gained your confidence after helping you, fine. But the issues of the Earth Kingdom aren't his concern."
"Like Unalaq was the problem of the Water Tribes and no one else, according to the people who refused to help me against him?" Korra asked. "The Empire doesn't fall for that fallacy. Also, Zaofu seen some excitement, recently. A Red Lotus splinter cell tried to swindle its way in but were found out and killed. They were led by a very-much alive Ghazan, who's thankfully been confirmed dead this time. You have any idea how this could have happened, or how Ghazan hid himself for so long?" The White Lotus members were rather surprised to hear that, with Chong unsure what to think.
"You're just making crap up like you always do!" shouted a voice Korra was surprised to hear. Turning to its source, Korra saw Tahno, her old Probending rival, wearing White Lotus initiate robes. At his sides were Ming and Shaozu, his teammates on the Wolfbats.
"I'm surprised, you never seemed that interested in tradition, much less to the degree of the White Lotus," Korra stated.
"I invited them in," Ming the Earthbender spoke up, while Chong glared at Tahno for his outburst. Looking closer, Korra could see that Ming had the insignia of an acolyte instead of an initiate, showcasing a longer membership. "I joined a short time before you first came to Republic City. I thought that I could learn more and do more, as opposed to just compete in Probending. My friends, here, both came from White Lotus families, and joined a couple months after you came."
"Too bad my parents couldn't teach me more," Shaozu spoke. Chong was displeased at how the initiates were speaking up despite their ranks but had decided to humor Ming for now and talk to them about breach in protocol, later. "They died the same day you were born, when an alien wizard decided murder was acceptable to get a magic crystal. Tahno got to see his white-armored minions cremate his mom while their master strangled his dad. Ming's cop dad didn't survive the visit of this 'Sith Lord' either." Before Korra could respond, a series of sparks appeared in the air, coalescing into a shape. As the shape solidified, Korra recognized it, as did everyone else. It resembled Darth Vader, the same size as he was in person, wreathed in flame, his mechanical breathing echoing over the area. Korra also noticed that a significant group of Imperials and EUA had assembled outside the wall she'd Earthbent, and looked up in awe at Vader's projection.
"Coming here like this is a benefit of meditating in the Spirit World," Korra noted to the stunned and frightened White Lotus members. "I'm surprised you came, however, Master." Chong was angered at that, as Korra had never shown such respect to a White Lotus teacher. Of course, he was too stubborn to realize that the reason she was fonder of the Sith Lord was because Vader actually respected her, in turn.
"I happened to sense this," the Sith spoke in the same deep voice he had in person. The apparition soon turned toward the White Lotus members. "Your suffering is the result of refusing to recognize my power. A power you can't equal, as you refuse to acknowledge the importance of passion. You believe that introspection and contemplation is the path to strength and spent your lives trying to prove it. You failed, as passion rules the stars."
"I heard your 'Peace is a Lie' speech over the radio," Chong said, standing his ground even though everyone was afraid of the specter. "It sounds like a quick path, like jumping out the window as opposed to taking the stairs."
"There are those strong enough to land on the ground unharmed," the Sith stated, reminding Korra of how he and Kuvira had leapt out of a crashing starship and used the Force to land safely. Vader then turned to the Wolfbat Probending team. "Tenzin told me your father was named Turaq," Vader said to Tahno. "I remember him well, for he was a pathetic wretch, obsessed with how he'd be remembered. His last thoughts weren't of you, or anyone else. It was of how he'd be remembered as a disgraceful traitor because he'd told me what I wanted to know. If your mother took you into danger against my Stormtroopers, it seems that she didn't love you either." Tahno lost his temper and Waterbent a spike through Vader, but it passed through the apparition harmlessly.
"There it is, the child in denial, eager for revenge he can never obtain," Vader spoke, outstretching his hand and levitating the three Probenders to the horror of the White Lotus. Vader dropped them, gasping for breath. Chong was about to say something, but Shaozu sent a fireball at Korra, who dodged it and landed on the ground, drawing her lightsabers in their double-bladed configuration as she did so. Vader's apparition ordered the EUA and Imperials to let Korra handle the White Lotus, as they were only needed to stop the lodge from escaping. Chong Earthbent a boulder her way, confirming that the whole fraternity was hostile, as Korra split her lightsabers apart, chopping the rock apart with both blades. Tossing one of her lightsabers, she impaled two acolytes with a single blow. Earthbending a wall to stop a Firebending attack, she sent it flying into a column of adversaries, knocking them away like bowling pins.
Tossing her other lightsaber, she guided it with the force, beheading Ming before chopping another acolyte in half. One of the nonbending White Lotus swung a dagger at her, but Korra broke his wrist and cut his throat with his own weapon. Grabbing Shaozu, she stabbed him in the stomach before knocking the knife further inside with her knee, sending him crashing onto the ground, landing on his face. She easily deflected a Waterbending attack from Tahno, Waterbending an icicle to stab through his foot. As her old rival screamed in pain, she grabbed his head and twisted it with all her strength, hearing a loud snap as his neck broke. Spotting something in his coat, she saw a syringe filled with an unknown liquid. Dodging a Waterbent wave, she grabbed the syringe and knocked her latest adversary onto his side, stabbing the needle into his armpit and injecting it. Retrieving her lightsabers, she used a single blade as she split one Earthbender in half down the middle. Spotting Chong, she charged at her old teacher, pretending not to notice the feint he'd set up. Leaping at the last minute, she bent the boulder he'd sent flying her way back at him. He smashed it, but Korra was right behind it, cutting him across the chest diagonally. As he fell to his knees, she sliced his head off with her second lightsaber.
Noticing the remaining enemies had grouped together, she Waterbent a massive amount of rain. They prepared to break free but to their surprise, she didn't attempt to encase them in ice. Instead, she shot a lightning bolt into the huge puddle they were now in. The one she hit directly burst into flames while the rest screamed upon the massive amount of energy slamming into them. With that, the battle was over.
"Impressive," the apparition of Darth Vader said. "You have done well, my apprentice."
"Thank you, Master," Korra said, looking at the man she'd stabbed with Tahno's needle. He'd vomited blood as he'd died, the veins on his face inflamed, confirming her suspicion that the White Lotus had come to poison her and Kuvira. As the Stormtroopers and EUA soldiers dismantled the wall she'd erected, Korra turned to them. "Document what was in that syringe. Then, take these corpses and burn them until there is nothing left. I need to inform Kuvira of the White Lotus's treachery."
"I shall inform your father of it," Vader said. "We shall inspect every White Lotus lodge under our domain. If we find evidence of their support of this plot, we will destroy them." The army affirmed the Sith's order as Korra got back on her speeder bike and returned to Zaofu. The wedding would be starting, soon, and she wouldn't miss it.
Bumi and Kya returned to the apartment that their party was staying at. It had been a long day, so they'd decided to leave Coruscant in the morning. As they went inside, Bossk looked to Kya. "What exactly did Karn say about me?" the Trandoshan asked.
"I don't think Syril's problem is believing bad things of Trandoshans," Kya said. "I think his main problems are his overbearing, belittling mother and desire to uphold what he thinks is his father's legacy."
"Too bad his dad died too soon for him to realize he shouldn't do that," Bossk replied. "I got to learn why my father's not someone to be emulated a while ago. Did Syril cite the actions of the Blackscales as why Trandoshans are an evil race?"
"Um, Blackscales?" asked Srinivasa, listening in.
"Oh, sorry," the bounty hunter replied, realizing the confusion of his friends. "There was a disease my people suffered that's largely been eradicated. The most obvious symptom were our scales turning black. The term Blackscale was coined when I was a child by a priest, warning of how there are those who try to excuse their crimes by perverting the Hunt."
"For those points the Scorekeeper counts to judge your place in the afterlife?" Bumi asked, suspecting what Bossk was referring to.
"Yes," Bossk said with disgust. "The shaman who warned of this said we had to work to excise such heresy before it spread, like Black Scale. Sadly, there are still criminals who like to pretend, or have even convinced themselves, that their crimes earn them points as well as credits. I'm guessing Karn cited their involvement in slave trading, especially of Wookiees, as one of the reasons to distrust Trandoshans." Kya nodded, realizing Bossk had encountered this sort of thing before.
"That happens?" Bumi asked surprised.
"Like much of the war between our peoples, the Wookiees say we did it first while we say they did it first," Bossk said. "Both sides took prisoners they sold to aliens traveling through our solar system for weapons. When we joined the Galactic Republic, both our planets agreed to abolish it, but a few incidents still happened. Remember Axxila, which was once enslaved?"
"Yeah?" asked Bumi, unsure how this was involved, before remembering something. "Oh, yeah, one of the slavers was a Wookiee."
"Rashtah was banished because he was caught enslaving Trandoshans," Bossk said. "Many of the Blackscales joined the Separatists during the Clone Wars, because they wanted independence for all the wrong reasons. Fortunately, most of them were killed and the remainder didn't last long. There are still a few people on my homeworld I suspect are Blackscales, but they've done a better job of hiding it than their predecessors." Bossk's friends processed what they'd heard. It was good to hear Bossk was willing to acknowledge problems among his people. Though none of them expected what Bossk had revealed.
"Well, hopefully you'll be able to counter misconceptions about your people," Kya said.
"So, uh, what was that Contemplanys Hermi that Romodi mentioned?" a curious Bumi asked. "It sounded a bit like a declaration of neutrality, from how it was described."
"It is a law that predates Trandoshan spaceflight by over twelve thousand years," Bossk revealed. "I didn't learn of it until the Clone Wars, it had become so obscure. Basically, a very long time ago, there were a series of conflicts between prominent Republic worlds Coruscant and Alsakan. These century long competitions were largely a race for new colonies with the occasional battle, which fellow Core Founder Corellia wanted no part in it. Using all their clout, they inserted an amendment into the constitution letting their sector, and only their sector, to recuse themselves from Republic affairs if they saw fit. Eventually, the Alsakan Conflicts ended but no one told the Senate that."
"So, this law was still on the books despite outliving its purpose?" asked Bumi.
"Yes, and when newly appointed Senator Garm Bel Iblis raced to find a way to avoid taking sides in the war on the horizon, he dug up this tradition which had been forgotten to justify it," Bossk confirmed. "The Corellian Sector shut its borders to all outside traffic shortly before the war began. For the first year and a half, this gambit seemed to have worked. Then, General Grievous attacked the sector, destroying much of the local fleet, aided by traitors within Corellia. It seems that a bunch of people who wanted to secede from the Republic as opposed to ignore it until they decided not to, didn't care about Republic Amendments. The Separatists were forced out by the clone army and Corellia sided against them in earnest, avoiding attack for the rest of the war. Shortly after Palpatine became Emperor, he struck 'Meditative Solitude' as the term translates from the constitution."
"Was Romodi a veteran of the war?" Bumi asked, remembering the scarred senator's attitude toward Bel Iblis.
"Yes, though most of his scars happened fighting Separatist remnants," Bossk revealed. "Needless to say, he doesn't like how Bel Iblis tried to avoid war." Kya agreed that some laws should be abolished when the circumstances behind them are removed, but didn't think Bel Iblis deserved such vitriol over his choice. Bumi could understand how a scarred soldier like Romodi might be bitter, and it reminded him of how President Raiko refused to commit the URN to fighting Unalaq, even when it was explained Unalaq would attack the URN as well. As they went to bad after dinner, Srinivasa asked Bossk one more question.
"Was your dad a Blackscale?" the Togruta boy asked, remembering how Bossk showed disdain for his father.
"He's still alive," Bossk said. "I wouldn't call him that. He doesn't care enough about the Scorekeeper to be one." Bumi and Kya wondered what Bossk had gone through with his father as they went to bed.
Cassian had spoken to the 'Si Wong Tribesman' as the mysterious inmate was called. He was dressed in the same jumpsuit as every other prisoner, but it looked like he'd spent his whole life under an unforgiving sun, calling to mind his claims of navigating under the desert sky. Such a thing would mean he was from a rather primitive world but given how clueless he seemed to be about modern technology, Cassian could believe it.
"What's your name?" Cassian asked as they headed for their quarters.
"On program!" Kino shouted from ahead of them, reminding them to keep up the pace.
"Tomorot," he revealed, frightened by the prison foreman. As they made their way to the hall of beds to the sides of electrified floors, Tomorot revealed his world had been ignorant of life outside their planet, and how he was part of a tribe of 'Earthbenders' who lived in a desert. One day, their protector, or high priestess, Cassian wasn't sure what this Avatar was supposed to be, befriended the Empire and invited them to the planet. "They destroyed our redoubt and captured us," Tomorot continued. "The Avatar and her supporters said we were a culture of thieves and murderers who needed to be civilized, so they put us on a ship. We were taken to a planet covered with water and blanketed by rain. They put us in classrooms to learn how to read and write, as well as how to maintain and build 'speeders' I think they were called. One day, I was tired and left my workplace, forgetting to take a bottle of cleaning fluid out of my pocket. Then, the guard whose been flirting with my daughter shows up and drags me away. He said I was disgusted with my family discarding our people's traditions, and that I was planning to poison them all with the chemicals I had. Then, I was sent here."
Cassian processed what he'd heard as they got into their cells, using the hoses to fill their bowls with the tasteless food paste the prison gave them. It didn't look like Tomorot would be much help, and if anything he'd need help from Cassian. Melshi seemed to be working on something he'd hidden in his cell, so maybe he'd be help in an escape. Those thoughts were interrupted when someone walked onto the electrified floor, killing himself out of despair. Looking at the days counting down next on the monitor in his cell, Cassian didn't think he could last the full sentence.
Yeah, Lin has some baggage over being a bastard child. She's not going to sympathize with the people who thinking mistreating children, especially on that basis, is okay. Yeah, KayBee has decided to do something constructive, if a bit overbearing. Cinta is alive, as Luthen Rael's asset in the ISB helped her leap out to a place Vel could catch her, though Cinta will have to stay hidden for a long time. Cthons are the Morlocks of Coruscant, to make a comparison to HG Wells' Time Machine. Fans of KOTOR will spot the reference, and I hope you appreciate why killing a senator is remarkably easy in Star Wars. Yularen didn't investigate the claim Jango killed Trell, he just accepted the rebuttal to it and based his interpretation on other things he knew had happened. He's heard too many easily disproven lies about the Clone Army to believe a flimsy accusation about their progenitor.
Sanction X is how the Empire forces the Tarisian population to leave, short of full-blown eviction. They've wanted to remove the colony for a while, and now they have an excuse. Hope you liked Vader's projection, modeled after the ghost of Darth Bane in TCW. Just like the Jedi Order's lack of proper respect undermined Anakin's loyalty, the White Lotus disrespecting Korra has also destroyed any hope she'd side with them over Vader. Given her own experience, Korra doesn't think much of anyone saying 'their affairs don't concern us/you.' The revelation Tahno was carrying a vial of poison has led her to conclude the lodge as a whole plotted to kill her. The Southern Water Tribe army won't be happy at the attempted murder of their Princess/Avatar, and like the EUA, will raid a bunch of White Lotus locations looking for stuff with Imperial help.
I decided to add some more to Trandoshan culture. Contemplanys Hermi was briefly mentioned in some sourcebooks, but the thing which inspired me was a scene in Babylon Five's fifth season. I haven't seen any of the new Andor season, I'm letting more episodes be aired before I start, so please no spoilers. I needed to give a reason for why this reeducated Hami Tribesman was in a completely different prison.