Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Claiming to do so would open me up to litigation.

Note: I don't claim to be a history expert, far from it. I also never have served in the armed forces, so all the information I use in this work is secondhand. If I've made any kind of mistake that you see, please notify me by comment or private message, and I'll see what I can do to rectify the matter.

0837 Hours, Grid Square 16WVC324521

Six miles northwest of Kyoshi Island

The destroyer USS Langley slid southeast through the waves at twenty knots, making for the hilly island that had appeared on the horizon just a little more than a quarter of an hour before and was slowly growing larger through the windows of the bridge. Two men stood in the bridge. Both of them had binoculars to their eyes.

"You sure this place has people, Colonel?" asked the destroyer's commander, Captain Peter Henning. He was a lanky man with straw-blond hair and sharp features, dressed in the dark blue of a US Navy officer. "Beach looks deserted. Don't see any fishing boats docked in the bay."

"No people on this side of the island, maybe," replied his companion. He was shorter, though not much stockier than the captain, in an olive-green field uniform rather than naval livery. "But the island is inhabited." He pointed through the bridge window, gesturing at the island's highest point, a peak of about a thousand feet over the ground. "Look, there, on top that hill. There's a position up there. Someone's dug in on that hilltop. They've put some logs and leaves over the place to help it blend in, but if you look hard and squint, you can just see the top of some kind of structure, probably an outpost."

"Damn," muttered the captain, adjusting his binoculars. The outpost atop the hill was visible, barely, but he could still make out what looked to be a wooden support beam propping up a log roof through the foliage. "How'd you spot it?"

The colonel put away his binoculars before replying. "The highest point is an obvious place to put a lookout post, Captain. A good vantage point, but obvious. If that was an enemy emplacement, we could've taken it out with your five-inchers, am I right?"

"It's well within range, Colonel." The naval officer smiled, still surveying the hilltop. "You know, my men are just itching for some gunnery practice..."

"Ours is supposed to be a peaceful mission," the colonel replied. "Speaking of which, I should really start to prepare. Nice talking with you, Captain."

Toshi Hill, Kyoshi Island

The outpost atop the highest hill on Kyoshi Island had only been completely restored ten days ago. For three hundred and seventy years, ever since the island's founding, it had stood there, manned by the watchful Kyoshi Warriors, to warn its people of impending attack. It had helped the islanders fend off everything from vengeful sea spirits to pirate raids.

However, in the last ninety years, it had been neglected. The island had declared neutrality in the War, and the Fire Nation had never wanted it. The island had no strategic position or any kind of natural resource in abundance. As for the other threats, the vengeful spirits had been driven off by Avatar Roku a century and a half ago, while even the most desperate of pirates had realized that Kyoshi was never really worth it, anyway.

So, the outpost had remained abandoned for almost a century. Several generations of Kyoshi Warrior commanders never used it, preferring foot patrols in the lower hills and northern forest to secure that side of the island, where the warriors could return to their villages at night and wouldn't have to pack much more than a few bites of lunch to go along with their regular gear, while using the outpost meant having to constantly supply four-person teams for two days up on Toshi Hill.

It was the recent Fire Nation incursion that changed the Kyoshi Warriors' minds. Six firebenders, including the exiled Crown Prince Zuko, had stormed the island in search of the Avatar. In the ensuing fight they had almost burned down Keum Village, the island's main settlement, which was only saved through Aang's timely intervention. The war which had left Kyoshi alone could now reach its shores.

The artisans and builders of the island had worked day and night to restore the outpost to its former glory, and it was well made. Dug partway into the crest of the hill, it was a sturdy structure, made of sturdy wooden beams anchored to the earth. Nothing but the strongest storm could destroy it, and it was well hidden. It could support a team of seven warriors, and its position gave it a good vantage point to see for miles to the north, the most likely point of attack.

Suki sat inside the outpost, gazing through a viewing slit to look at the deep blue ocean, laid out for miles and miles as far as the eye could see. It was a great view, and on a clear day, such as this morning, she could see the tip of the Earth Kingdom peninsula in the distance. She had already been up for the three hours since sunrise.

The auburn-haired commander Kyoshi Warrior commanders signed and stretched, working out a kink that had developed in her neck. Of course, outpost duty was important. Kyoshi was now at war, and there was no telling if or when the Fire Nation might return. They needed to be prepared. They had been taken by surprise once, and Keum Village had suffered from it.

Suki stood up, stretching out the cramp in her legs. The job was important, but it sure was dull. One of the warriors had the foresight to stock the post with books and playing cards, but those wouldn't do much to alleviate the feeling of being cooped-up. Suki much preferred training than being stuck inside with a book. Even walking foot patrols gave her the chance to move around and breathe in the fresh air.

"It'll be good to get out of here," she said. "It does get boring, once you get tired of the view."

The warrior who sat to her right grunted in agreement. Her name was Akiko, seven years older than Suki, making her the oldest warrior on the island. She was tall, with broad shoulders and jet-black hair beneath the headdress. "I think I need some training after this. Get the blood pumping."

"Good idea. Let's meet at the dojo in Keum an hour before sundown later," Suki replied. "We should work on our swords. With this war, I have a feeling we'll be needing them more than in the past. Koharu should be here in a few hours with her relief team, then we can go down."

Suki turned back to the viewing slit for another look of the deep, empty sea, then stopped. There was a large object headed their way. She ran for the telescope mounted to her right and brought it around to focus on it.

It was a ship. Gray, larger than the Fire Nation ship which had showed up two weeks ago. It was long, about four hundred feet, with strange large characters painted in white low on the front port side. Exhaust came from the smokestack located behind the bridge, though not the thick black coal smoke of a typical Fire Nation ship. The flag flying from the mainmast was unfamiliar, a striped blue, red, and white design with stars on the top left corner. There was no doubt. It was headed right for Kyoshi.

Suki turned away from the telescope. "There's an unidentified ship coming to us! Akiko, Tsuya! Ring the danger gong and light the torches. Rena, come with me. We have to get to Keum and tell them what's out there."

The other three warriors snapped to action. Akiko and Tsuya, who had started a hand of cards, jumped to their feet and ran for the brass gong hanging outside. The last one, who had been sitting in the corner reading, dropped her book with a clatter and stumbled towards Suki.

The commander caught her as she tripped. "Careful, Rena. Come on, let's go!"

As they sprinted out of the outpost, neither of them noticed the white wake ripping through the water towards the ship.

USS Langley, three miles northwest of Kyoshi Island

A voice crackled through the intercom of the bridge. "Conn, sonar."

Captain Henning picked up the interphone. "Conn, aye."

"We have a sonar contact, bearing one-zero-five , distance, one-three-zero-zero yards. Probable large marine animal. Designate contact Alpha One."

Henning thought for a moment. A sea animal. It was large enough to be detected on sonar. In Henning's experience, that meant the animal was a whale or a large shark. But all that experience has been learned in another world, with different marine life."

" Sonar, conn. What direction is Alpha One headed?"

The sonarman took a second before replying. "It's headed right for us. Speed, fifteen knots. Distance, eight-zero-zero yards.

"That's no whale," Henning muttered to himself. He reached over and punched the button for the alarm. The electrically-powered bell blared throughout the ship. "General quarters! General quarters! This is not a drill. All men, battlestations!"

Off to the port side, just over half a mile away, the unagi burst up from the sea with a deafening shriek.