The United Forces Chapter 1
The end of the Hundred Year War had been the biggest celebration seen for… well… a century. People had been so excited that their nations were not at war that the petty arguments which had plagued the world were forgotten temporarily. Soldiers went home to their families, prisoners of war were released and animosity was temporarily forgotten. The group responsible for the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai enjoyed a year of rest and recuperation. With no disputes to resolve, their lives were peaceful.
A year after the coming of Sozin's Comet, the peace which had cost so many lives was brought into jeopardy by the inability of the new Fire Lord Zuko and Earth King Kuei to reach a decision over the fate of Fire Nation colonies on the Earth continent. Only after intervention of the Avatar and listening to the views of the populous was peace finally restored. After this, problems began to appear all over the globe and the Gaang went their separate ways to solve them. Aang and Katara travelled together resolving disputes whilst founding the New Air Nation. Firelord Zuko remained in the Fire Nation to govern his nation through this time of change, Toph left for the Earth Kingdom to found her Metal-Bending academy. Sokka however, had no positions of responsibility and spent his time travelling from friend to friend and freeloading off his fame as a war hero. Azula escaped from the Asylum and fled into oblivion, never found despite numerous efforts to hunt her down.
Sokka was shown into the regal office of The Fire Lord, Zuko sat behind the desk and gestured for him to take a seat. Sokka had received summons from the Fire Lord early that morning and wondered what exactly this meeting was about, he tried to think if he had done anything bad recently. There had been that one bar fight he and Toph had started last week when she can to visit him, but he was pretty certain they had managed to escape before soldiers arrived who might report them to the Fire Lord. "What can I do for you this fine day, Zuko?" asked Sokka in an innocent way. Zuko looked suspiciously at Sokka before replying.
"Don't worry, this isn't about the bar fight you started last week"
"Shit"
"Language"
"Sorry Mr Fire Lord"
"Now, down to business. One of the clauses on the peace agreement I signed to end the Hundred Year War was that the armed forces of the Fire Nation were to be reduced in size to prevent the possibility of another all-out invasion similar to the one Sozin used to start the war. Unfortunately, this means that I can no longer spare the regiments currently defending Fire Nation citizens in the colonies, especially with all these coup attempts coming at me left, right and centre. The Earth King is facing similar problems and so we have decided to create a military force charged with the defence of the United Republic."
"Is that a good idea?" asked Sokka "I mean, setting up a whole new armed forces is no mean feat."
"That's why we've decided to appoint someone we both trust to oversee this project" Zuko said looking into Sokka's eyes.
"Who?" Zuko just kept starring at Sokka until his confused expression gave way to one of understanding.
"Me?" said Sokka aghast, as though Zuko has just told him that he would be abdicating his throne to Appa.
"We needed someone who had the interests of the people in mind rather than his own personal advancement. Since you haven't been doing anything productive recently, I figured you would wouldn't have any other pressing responsibilities?
"I don't know, it's a big responsibility and I'm not sure…"
"And of course I did have to make special arrangements for the charges against you for disturbing the peace during that bar fight were dropped. And all the criminal damage…"
"Where do I sign?"
"I'm glad you see it my way."
Sokka lay on his bed in the airship currently on its way to the new central command base of the United Forces. It was on an island in the bay of Republic City and had previously been a fire nation naval base but had long been abandoned. The rest of the meeting had been a bit of a blur, Zuko had given him a commissioning scroll which gave him the rank of Field Marshall of The United Forces and a blank cheque to cover all the cost incurred. The title had a nice ring to it but he soon realised that at the moment he was Field Marshall of precisely bugger-all and Zuko made it quite clear what would happen if he abused the funds set aside for this project.
He had originally thought it would be simply a matter of recruiting as many people as possible but soon realised that it would not be that simple. Who would train them? He could easily train the non-bender himself as he was a sword master in his own right and had learn chi blocking and knife throwing from Ty Lee and Mai before they had both left the Capital City. But he knew nothing about Earthbending or Firebending except that they hurt. The first thing he needed to do was find a master Earthbender and Firbender to help train the new recruits, and he had a certain Master Earthbender in mind…
"You want me to do WHAT Snoozles?" shouted Toph.
"Well I just thought that the recruits deserved the best Earthbender in the World to train them, but if you're not interested…" Sokka said smoothly, knowning that the young earthbender could not resist compliments."
"Keep talking."
"Well it would be a well-paid job, and you would have to stay in Republic City for the foreseeable future. You'd be a long, long way from your parents so they probably wouldn't visit very often… And General Bei Fong does have a nice ring to it…"
"Fine, I'll do it"
"Yes! Now all I need is a master firebender. Any ideas?"
"I suppose Zuko and Aang are both out of the question. Iroh?"
"I've already asked him and he says that he is quite content in his tea shop and claims to be too old, too lazy maybe?" Sokka grumbled this last part sarcastically.
"Perhaps we should hold interviews or something?" suggested Toph and then recoiled as though the concept of something as formal as an interview physically repulsed her.
"That's… actually not a bad idea."
She looked at the newspaper advert, 'Firebending Master required for well payed training post'. She smirked, raising one eyebrow. She did need a job now she was living in Republic City, bills didn't pay themselves. She had almost used up all of the money she had stored in various banks across the continent in case she had to make a run for it. Her golden eyes narrowed as she memorised the time and place of the interviews.