The dark ships loomed on the horizon. There were eight in total, 3 heavy dreadnoughts, 3 scout barges, and 2 supply ships. As the helmsman noticed their Fire Nation insignia he alerted the officers.

"Fire nation fleet sighted! Bearing two leagues West by northwest. Commander, it's the supply fleet."

"Excellent job helmsman. Officers on deck!" ordered Zhang.

"At last we've caught up with them" said General Sheng as he walked onto the deck.

"So what's the plan Commander how do we proceed?" asked Tsao.

"The plan is simple. Colonel Su, you'll move in from the rear and flank them. General Sheng you and your elite fire benders will take out the enemy catapults. Remember the objective is not to sink their ships, we need those supplies intact."

Colonel Su bowed to Zhang and boarded his airship. The other Generals moved to their own stations.

"Commander why don't we capture the dreadnoughts and add them to our fleet?" asked General Sheng. "We could use some extra firepower. Not to mention the fact that our own ships need repairs."

"General we're thin spread as it is. Besides those dreadnoughts are older models and are therefore very slow."

Suddenly a barrage of fireballs hissed through the air and collided with their ship. They hit the engine room, exploding on contact, and the vessel immediately grinded to a halt.

"Damage report!" screamed Zhang.

"Sir, they've hit our main engines. The whole back of the ship is on fire!" replied a soldier. The helmsman saw to his horror a second fleet.

"Commander, four more ships approaching rapidly from the southeast! Sir it's an ambush!"

The "supply ships" veered around and their camouflage decks scuttled to reveal hundreds of fire nation troops. Immediately they began to rain death on Zhang's fleet peppering it with ballista bolts and fire. At the same time the four other ships fired their catapults.

"General Tsao, deploy the smoke screen!" screamed Zhang in between coughs. Suddenly a second barrage battered the decks. The whole ship shuddered violently as if it were alive and then reared sharply to the left.

"Sir, we're taking on water fast!" yelled an officer "Crew report that the lower decks are flooded!"

"Abandon ship. Get aboard the other vessels quickly." ordered General Tsao.

"General Sheng, give them a volley!" ordered General Zhang.

The elite fire benders used their powers to bend six giant fireballs and sent them hurtling at the nearest ship. They hit their mark and the vessel exploded in a rain of scrap metal.

"Fire the catapults!"

The catapult crews heaved the giant boulders into the catapults. The fire crews then lit them up and launched the burning missiles at the camouflage ships. The enemy fleet was stopped dead in its tracks with most of their ships sinking or listing to the side. The second fleet, however, continued its merciless barrage and began to outmaneuver their rear guard. The frigate behind them burst into flames and scores of men jumped into the water.

"Commander, they're flanking us!"

The heavy dreadnoughts were suddenly beset by Colonel Su's airships. Seeing an opening Zhang decided to retreat.

"General Sheng, let's fall back. We can't last much longer under this fire." said Zhang.

"Alright. All men fall back to the other ships! You fire benders give them a parting gift." said Sheng with a cruel half-smile.

With all their strength the remaining fire benders put their fire into one single blast and hurtled it at the enemy flagship. The huge fireball tore off the ship's tower and sent it plummeting to the bottom of the sea.

"Common General, before it's to late!" yelled Zhang as the main deck began to submerge.

"Okay everybody follow me!" ordered General Sheng.

With everybody aboard the remaining ships Zhang stared at his flagship. The huge bloated monster was gradually devoured whole by the ocean. With one last foreboding glance Zhang saw its pointed peak slip beneath the waves. He had lost two ships but he knew that he was lucky. A smile played on Zhang's lips. With the enemy fleet so badly damaged the base would be completely undefended! In the end everything had worked to his advantage…

At the Fire Lord's Palace

"He did what?" screamed Zuko.

"My lord they outmaneuvered us. We tried our best!" pleaded the Admiral.

"I gave you twelve ships! Commander Zhang only had four ships! Three of which have been in service for over six years!"

"But my lord-"

"Silence! He sank three ships, damaged four beyond repair, and killed more than a thousand men. How much worse can it get?"

A messenger suddenly burst through the door with a message in his hands.

"Urgent news your highness, it seems Zhang has taken advantage of this chaos and has raided our base on Dragon's tooth island. He has also captured one of our newest super-heavy dreadnoughts."

The look on Zuko's face was the very image of hell unraveled. To his horror the messenger saw the fires around him soar to a huge level. Zuko's face looked like it was about to burst.

"Get. Out." said Zuko through clenched teeth and the two men hastily bowed and scurried away,

"Ahhhhhh!" Zuko blazed the whole room, instantly incinerating anything not made of metal. "I'll kill Zhang with my own two hands!"

"Common Zuko, don't be such a drama queen." said Mai as she walked into the room.

"Mai." said Zuko icily, "What do you want?"

"I only want to help. Listen Zuko, if you want to get this guy you have to be crafty." said Mai. "He's obviously no idiot and his troops are experienced veterans."

"Uh! Fine we'll do it this your way. But this had better work."

"Oh trust me Zuko. It will"

Back on Zhang's Ship

The officers sat in the conference room drinking tea. The battle had been short and swift. In less than an hour he had refueled his ships and boarded the new flagship. As he sat at the hand carved table, Zhang stared musingly at his cup as if he could find an answer in its dark liquid.

"With this new ship we can easily take on any fire nation navy." said General Tsao.

"But we still need new recruits. We were undermanned before but now we'll need at least four hundred more to use this ship to its full capabilities." voiced General Sheng.

"Yes I agree with General Sheng, we are in need of manpower. Besides the usual sailors we'll also need some fire benders and a few weapon smiths." said Zhang.

"I think I know where we can get more men." offered Colonel Su.

"Really, where?" asked Zhang.

"At the fire nation naval academy."

A/N: Another chapter all done. Please review.