Winding Legacies: A 'The Legend of Korra' Rewrite

The Three Year Gap, Month Twenty-Nine: Bolin

It had been a year and a half of climbing through the ranks of the Earth Kingdom's army, but Bolin and Kisuta were finally close enough to the top that they had begun to learn about some of the more delicate information circulating. Apparently, Warrant Officer Iye was not doing good and Kuvira was picking up a lot of her slack. Still in the shadows, of course, but that just meant they had more time to collect evidence.

Varrick, in the few times they had crossed paths, had built Bolin a portable recorder that he could slip under his uniform. It was made mostly out of metal-alternatives to the point that if anyone even noticed the few metal parts, they would think it was just the detailing on his sleeves. Or possibly the tall metal shoulder pads they were all forced to wear.

One more promotion would mean that Bolin would be taken onto Varrick's team and able to gain information on what Kuvira had them working on but for the past few months, him and Kisuta have been stuck. Almost as if someone was keeping them from going any further despite their fervent dedication to the cause.

It made his skin crawl, but he had gone above and beyond in doing whatever was asked of him so he really didn't see what the hold up was. Especially since Kuvira knew him and Varrick had vouched for his loyalty. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have mattered much, but he wanted something good to share with his friends. He and Kisuta were going into a small village in the south of the nation and he had a pretty good chance of being able to slip away and write a letter without anyone knowing.

He wasn't sure it mattered, though. Kisuta had heard no word from Opal even despite the spiritual witchy-woo stuff they had agreed upon and Bolin was growing nervous that no one was actually reading his warnings. "What are we doing here again?" Bolin whispered to his right as he and Kisuta filed behind a pair of very uptight soldiers.

"Looking for deserters," she whispered back.

They had come up with a shorthand, a way to know what kind of evidence they were after without anyone overhearing and snitching on them. Deserters meant possible Red Lotus members who could corroborate working for Kuvira. Though she wouldn't exactly elaborate much on it, Kisuta knew a few of their common hideouts, and coincidently enough, Kuvira would send a team of soldiers in those directions every once in a while. Sometimes it would be to look for people that had deserted the ranks of the military or had run off from her reducation camps. Other times, they were recruitment missions in states and provinces that she had recently taken under Warrant Officer Iye's name.

Though, you ask any normal person around and they would say that Kuvira was the one leading the Earth Kingdom, not the warrant officer. Kuvira would always correct them, though. She couldn't exactly have word of that getting back to anyone of importance.

There were only a handful of houses scattered around two or three shops, one of which was a small restaurant the soldiers stopped in for a quiet meal. On the outskirts of the village, there were large farms and a few scattered houses, but nothing crazy. It was an ideal hiding place, but for some reason Bolin expected the Red Lotus to have stuffy hideout expectations. Maybe it was because the only Red Lotus person he had any sort of interaction with besides being attacked by was Aiwei and he seemed pretty pleased with his high-status hiding place.

The two other soldiers they were with were a step below Kuvira which meant they knew the real reason why they were there, not just the cover up. Bolin's head hurt just listening to them talk themselves in circles and he wondered how Varrick dealt with having to answer to people like that. "You two, do a walk around town adn then one of you will take first watch."

Kisuta muttered something about the fact that they were definitely being tested and Bolin got the feeling she was right. But he didn't know what that test could possibly be. Their round was normal until one of the farm houses in the distance caught Bolin's eye. He shifted around the recorder in his sleeve and debated if it was worth it to check. Then he remembered the test, and he wondered if the lights in the house had been left on all day to see if they would notice it.