Hello. This is about the third time I have rewritten this story. I haven't been happy with it, so it keeps getting trashed. Hopefully, this one turns out better. Anyway, this story will be told in first person by at least two characters. The first is my original character, Private Araiya Cho, and the second will be Sergeant Lu Ten. The story is about the year or so leading up to General Iroh's siege at Ba Sing Se.

I really wanted to write a story that humanizes the Fire Nation soldiers. I also wanted to write a story about Lu Ten, because so little is known about him, so this is the result: a soldier who falls in love with Lu Ten. I try not to fuss with canon too much, so the Aang gang will make few, if any, appearances. There will be Zuko, however, but most of the story is about the soldiers and the events surrounding the siege on Ba Sing Se.

Please take the time to review if you can. I very much appreciate critique, and I like incorporating suggestions into stories if I am able to. Also, please correct any improper usages of military terminology if you find them. Thanks much.

Also, I don't own Avatar blah blah

Rated T for occasional language

Chapter 1: The Breathing Forest

I looked over the rail of the riverboat wearily. The last stretch on the way to the Fire Nation colony of Jiagu was said to be the most dangerous. The banks of the river were thickly forested, perfect for hiding attackers. Staring into the woods, I could see slight movements, swift and acute like a stalking animal, but deathly silent. The weather was calm, and there was no wind, but the trees seemed to breathe and reach toward our boat. The earth on the side of the river was sharp, and the water itself was murky and sluggish. It was clear to me that we were not wanted here.

I tried to be objective, however, and assess for realistic threats. The water was probably shallow, and the river was not wide enough to protect us from land-based earthbending attacks. If we were to get stuck, we would be at the mercy of even a single earthbender. I had never seen an earthbender in the wild before; the only time I had seen one at all had been during training. He was a massive man with wild eyes, a prisoner of war brought back to the Fire Nation to expose new cadets to earthbending. I didn't actually fight against him, but I wouldn't have wanted to. Despite being chained and heavily guarded, he was able to knock out the drill sergeant and a few cadets. My friend and guard duty partner Fai was one of them. His arm had been badly broken by a falling rock. The doctors said he was lucky to be able to use it, let alone return to the army as a firebender. He recovered, and is still a seriously talented firebender, but he was unmistakably nervous as he looked towards the banks of the river. His arms were crossed defiantly, but his eyebrows were furrowed in agitation.

"You're thinking about that monster from training, aren't you?" I asked him.

"I can't help it. It would be so easy for him to sink this ship and kill us all," he replied.

"Not every earthbender can possibly be as strong as he was," I added, trying to make him feel better. "And he was probably driven mad by being a prisoner, forced to perform for soldiers that were going to be sent to invade his homeland."

"Imagine how that would feel. I think I would go mad too."

"Enough empathy for the enemy. We'll be to the colony soon. When we join the Sergeant Lu Ten and the other platoons, we will be more than a match for the earthbending resistance," I said. The incident at training had been horrifying for many of us, especially Fai, but dwelling on our fear would not help us survive our first deployment.

Fai nodded, and we returned to our silent vigil, but he was still very tense. I couldn't help but be nervous too. He was easily the best firebender in the platoon, probably better than many officers too, but I was pretty near the bottom, even though he had been tutoring me. My skills in hand to hand combat are good; I'm fairly quick and agile, but that wouldn't help me much against an earthbender who could literally take the ground out from under me and crush me with it. Fortunately, we didn't have much time left to muse about our enemy or the unwelcoming environment. The crew started hollering directions for docking, and when I looked over the bow of the ship, I could see the Fire Nation flags flickering on the tents in the camp.

I nudged Fai, who was still zoning out, and we headed down below where our commanding officer Sergeant Han was instructing us to get in formation to prepare for arrival.

"Soldiers, I understand that you have been traveling for a long while to reach the colony, and some of you are anxious, but the commanding officer at the camp, Lieutenant Kohzo, does not put up with insubordination or other forms of general naughtiness. Act out, and you will be probably be discharged," Sergeant Han had warned. For an officer, he was patient, almost brotherly at times, and most of us felt as though he had our best interests at heart.

We lined up in formation. Fai was at the front, I was toward the back, but I saw his shoulders tense when the boat crashed to a halt. We could hear the crew shouting through the hull, an eerie ringing noise, when they opened the hatch. Sergeant Han strode down the ramp, and we followed, marching in unison. He stopped several paces away from where the two resident officers were waiting in front of another group of soldiers. The ranks looked sparse. I wondered if it was because Lieutenant Kohzo discharged half of his soldiers or if they'd been smashed.

Sergeant Han bowed to the two officers. The other sergeant returned the bow. Lieutenant Kohzo acknowledged him with a nod. I could tell already that this officer was an asshole, probably more so than Sergeant Han had let on. He was short and wide, like a grandfather, but his face was scrunched into the most severe scowl I'd ever seen, completely humorless, and his stance wide and rigid. I fixated on his deeply furrowed eyebrows as he began to address us.

"You have been called to the colony to help us suppress growing resistance from the earthbenders in the area. They have largely let the civilians be, but they have been attacking our camp consistently, disrupting supply ships, trade, and intelligence. Their goal is to force us to leave, and take our settlement with us, but we will not let that happen. I understand that this is your first deployment. Therefore, you are still not considered soldiers in my eyes until you prove yourselves in battle. When you are not in battle, you will be on guard duty or else you will be quiet. Those are the only rules of this camp, and you will follow them." He paused for a few minutes, letting us soak in his brilliant motivational briefing, the continued, gesturing to the officer beside him. "This is Sergeant Lu Ten, my most trusted officer. His word is my word. Do not disobey it." The strikingly handsome sergeant smiled softly, which startled me, apparently enough so that I lurched forward slightly and bumped into the soldier in front of me. He jabbed me in the gut, and I reeled backward, crashing into the soldier behind me. I straightened myself out as quickly as possible, but the disturbance did not go unnoticed by the lieutenant. He glared straight at me, his one eyebrow slashing through his angry face.

"Get up here!" he demanded. The soldiers to my right instantly cleared a path for me. I approached the lieutenant and bowed low, hoping to mitigate his anger.

"Remove your faceplate."

I slid the white faceplate from my helmet, trying furiously to keep my gaze steady.

"I sincerely apologize for my insolence, sir. It will not-"

"Shut your mouth. You will not speak unless spoken to first. What is your name?"

"Araiya Cho, sir."

"Private Araiya Cho." He repeated my name then paused, as if to think. "I do not usually issue warnings, but since you are the daughter of a general whom I know personally, you will be granted a second chance. Do not dishonor your father or your nation with your foolishness. Do I make myself clear?"

"Absolutely, sir." I bowed again and slid my faceplate back into my helmet. As shaken as I was, I could not help but steal a glance at the sergeant. He was young, his black hair pulled tightly into the traditional topknot except for one stray lock that fell by his ear. His eyes were lovely gold, searching, like the eyes of a hawk, but warm and benevolent. He was looking at me. I could swear that he seemed concerned. Fortunately, I had my mask on or he surely would have been offended my stupid, drooling stare.

"You are dismissed," the lieutenant hollered suddenly to the platoon. I hesitated. "That means you as well, private." I bowed again and hustled after my platoon, imagining the thrashing I would give Siyama for elbowing me so hard. I had almost caught up with them when I heard someone call my name from behind.

"Private Araiya."

I froze and slowly turned around. It was Sergeant Lu Ten. I bowed quickly.

"Yes, sir?"

He smiled kindly, and I could feel my heart slamming against my breastplate. He began to walk, and nodded for me to do the same.

"I want to give you some context for the lieutenant's harshness. The earthbending resistance has grown more difficult to manage lately. They have started to attack the camp using guerilla tactics, killing soldiers in the middle of the night or when we are off guard. A sergeant was killed not long ago, and the lieutenant feels responsible. His reputation is on the line, and he is counting on the reinforcements, like your platoon, to help end this."

"I understand, sir, but you don't have to justify his actions. No offense was taken."

"I just do not want your morale to suffer on your first day. We need our soldiers strong and mentally fit, or we risk losing our hold here."

"As long as I can fight for my nation, my morale will be high."

"Very good."

I bowed once more and he left, leaving me completely speechless as I dragged myself to where my fellow soldiers were beginning to set up tents. I took my helmet off and placed it on the ground near the others and walked over to where my friend Kim was struggling to hold a support pole steady. I scanned the area for Siyama, hoping I could find him and help him have an accident, but he was nowhere in sight, so I grabbed the pole and helped Kim adjust it to the proper place.

"Thanks, Rai," she said, straining from the effort. Once we planted it in the ground and connected it to the pole at the top, we stood back to let another group of soldiers begin to lay the canvas over the frame.

"That sergeant is super sexy," Kim declared, wiping the sweaty strands of hair off of her face. "If I were you, I would have passed the hell out." I shrugged. I didn't dare tell her that I was pretty close, or I would never hear the end of it. "Did you get a good look at him?"

Although slightly inept in other areas, Kim was a fierce and capable firebender. Her position was close to the front of the formation. I would not have been surprised if she told me that she gawked at him the whole time.

"Nope," I replied. "I was too busy trying not to get my head pulled off by the lieutenant. What a tightass."

"Well hopefully he's a good leader and will keep us from getting squished."

I glanced into the surrounding forest. The sun was setting, staining the sky bright pink and casting heavy shadows among the trees. Darkness seemed to be creeping from the woods towards our camp, threatening to snuff out our fires and bury us alive. I could almost feel the breath of the guerillas hidden in the trees against the back of my neck. I shuddered.

"Cold?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, and tired. I think I'm going to claim a tent and get some rest."

"I'll be one of your tent buddies," she said. "Let's go ask Fai to join us."

She seized my arm and began pulling me towards a group of soldiers towards the center of the camp. I let her drag me without any resistance, glad to be led away from the ominous breathing of the woods.