Chapter 27 – The Battle of Western Earth Base, Part 2
-He Leads the Charge-
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – The Last Airbender
"Be careful", Jiang reminded again for what seemed to be the millionth times.
"Yes, Dad", Lin replied patiently, smiling reassuringly as he let his father set his armor straight here and there.
"Take this sword", Jiang shoved a short sword to Lin. The sword might be short for an adult but for Lin, it was perfectly balanced.
"Okay", Lin took the sword and strapped it behind his back.
"And this crossbow", Jiang shoved a loaded crossbow and a quiver of bolts.
"Yes, Dad", Lin obediently took the weapon and hung it on Birdie's saddle. The ostrich horse had been fitted with black leather armor. The black layers of protection covered its face like a masked helmet, its neck like segments of scales, and its two legs like shin guards. Though it provided less protection than metal armor, the leather armor could suppress a certain amount of blows without sacrificing much of the steed's mobility, a perfect choice according to Lin.
"And—", Jiang was about to hand over a halberd, but…
"Dad", Lin cut in, casting an unsure look on the polearm. "That's too big."
"Oh", Jiang realized his mistake. He then just threw the weapon away over his shoulder clumsily (which almost cleaved an innocent soldier behind him in two) and cast a confused look around him, as if he was trying to find anything, any weapon he could equip his son with. "Well, then… aaah… I-I'll just have to…"
"Dad", Lin spoke a bit louder.
"Yes, son?" Jiang turned to him, he looked a bit pale and clearly worried and anxious.
"I'll be fine", Lin said, softer this time.
It had taken him a while to convince his father to accept his proposal in the strategy meeting. After a heated argument in front of the other officers, who all seemed to be a bit uncomfortable being in the middle of the family quarrel, Jiang had finally relented to his son's idea, to the second part of the strategy.
The second part of the strategy involved Jiang joining up with the rest of his men in Yu Guo, which had been captured without any significant resistance like Senlin, and waiting for General Fong to attack them. They would have to stand their ground, to keep General Fong and his main army busy while a small team of ten, eleven plus the leader, covertly sailed with one of the Western Fleet's ships to attack the Western Earth Base by tearing down the gate, taking down its sentry guards, and claiming its central command tower. That way, General Fong would be surrounded from two sides and forced to surrender. A perfect plan, yes. But, the problem was Lin proposed that he should lead the assault team himself! Needless to say, Jiang refused and hence the argument.
"NO!"
"But, Dad…!"
"No buts!" Jiang spat. "I will not allow you to do this!"
"So, who will lead the team?!" Lin asked angrily.
"W— Your Uncle Masa or Uncle Kang—"
"They can't! They're famous like you! If General Fong didn't see them with your battalion, he will suspect something!"
"W-well", Jiang frantically searched the room for another officer who could lead the team. "Admiral Liang—"
"He can't!" Lin snapped. "He must stay here to secure our flank."
"W-well", Jiang heaved, his face red with anger and desperation. "Then take some more men! Ten is—"
"—the most we can afford", Lin cut in, finishing the sentence. He, too, was heaving. He knew that his father would disagree with him but he just didn't see any other option. "We can't take many men from your battalion, it will be too suspicious. And Admiral Liang must keep most of his men here. Ten is the most we can afford."
"B-but…" Jiang frantically tried to reason but he knew that his son was right.
"It'll be fine, Dad", Lin spoke again, softer and full of determination, his fists tightly clenched at his sides.
"I'll be fine", Lin repeated, hugging his father. Jiang looked like he was about to break down but he mustn't, not in front of his army.
"Take this", Jiang pulled out a Lin Family traditional beaded bracelet from his pocket and put it on his son's left wrist. "I-it's… I mean, I noticed that you lost yours a-and… and t-this is the one I used to wear, so… so…"
But Lin understood. He embraced his father again, muttering his thank you while Jiang finally shed his tears. He didn't want to let his son go but he knew that he didn't have any other choice. Though he refused to admit it, he knew that his son was the only one capable enough to lead the assault team. Spirits, he chuckled, kneeling down so that his face could be on the same level with the boy. He is as stubborn as his mother.
"Your mother…" Jiang whispered, wiping the bangs off his son's face so that he could see the boy's face clearly. "…would be so proud of you, son. So would your grandmother…"
"Thanks, Dad", Lin hugged his father's tightly, feeling his own eyes filled with tears. "I'll make you proud, too. I promise…"
"Just come back safely, son", Jiang pat his son's back, still not letting him go. "Remember your basic. Chi—"
"— inner fire, breathe, unleash fire, form chi, and control. I remember, Dad", Lin smiled, releasing himself.
"Yes, and— hey…" Jiang chuckled, realizing that he had been had again.
"Gotcha", Lin laughed, before he pulled his father into another embrace.
"General, Young Master", Captain Chey saluted them; he was a part of the assault team. "It's time."
"Yes, Captain", Jiang nodded, raising up and wiping his eyes. "I know this is very selfish of me, but please… please keep an eye on my son, Captain."
"I know this isn't much, sir", Captain Chey saluted again, he sounded determined. "But, I'll keep both my eyes on the Young Master. Nobody will touch him without facing me first, sir. I swear it."
"Thank you, Captain", Jiang gave the man a deep Fire Nation bow pleadingly. Captain Chey looked stunned at Jiang's gesture and quickly returned the bow. Jiang outranked him by that much and still, Jiang displayed such humility to him. Chey assured the general again before he led Lin and Birdie to the ship that they would be sailing with. Jiang stayed there, watching as the ship disappeared into the morning horizon. But, he couldn't stay for long. In order for the plan to be successful timing was the key. Jiang had to rejoin Kang and Masa before midday and he couldn't waste anymore time. If he arrived too late, Kang and Masa would be pulverized by General Fong's battalion. And so, with a heavy heart and praying to the spirits to protect his one and only son, General Jiang set out to the south.
—CRACKED—
Ursa let out a startled gasp as the tea cup cracked in her hand. She set the cup down and felt really anxious for some reason, like something wasn't right, something was missing… something bad would happen.
"Mom?" Zuko asked. "What's wrong?"
"Hmm?" Ursa turned to him, still dumbfounded. "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all, honey."
"See", Azula chided in, sitting beside his brother at the breakfast table. "You worry too much, Zuzu."
"Don't call me that", Zuko snapped.
"Zu~zu", Azula impishly teased in sing-song tone.
"Stop. That!" Zuko seethed, anger etched every syllables.
"Zuzu", Azula attacked again, grinning mischievously. Zuko tried to ignore her.
"Zuzu", Azula teased again, drawing a murderous glare from his brother. "Zu— MOOOOOOMIEEEE!!!!"
"Kids", Ursa called but, too late… Azula had burst out of the room chased by Zuko. Ursa simply smiled brightly at them. It had been a while since the simple happiness such as this filled her life. And since a certain Fire Prince would be back tomorrow, today could be the last for Ursa to enjoy the company of both her children. And so, she intended to enjoy it as much as she could. After all she had been through, she deserved it…
"Alright, kids", Ursa chuckled, getting up from her seat and approached the two struggling kids at the end of the corridor. It seemed like Zuko caught Azula.
"Alright, now", Ursa said again, laughing as she got closer to her children. "Okay! Azula, stop pulling your brother's ponytail!"
She really did deserve the peaceful moments with both her children…
"Young Master?" Chit Sang asked full of concern. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, Sergeant", Lin nodded. "I'm fine."
In the ship sailing towards the western shore of the Western Earth Base, Lin and ten other men, among them Captain Chey and Sergeant Chit Sang, were standing on the deck right behind the ship's bow. The ship's bow was actually designed to be some sort of a releasable platform to allow the passengers to charge out right after it touched the land. And so, Lin and his assault team were standing behind it, all anxiously waiting to get off the ship. Behind them, Captain Chey and his four men from the elite demolition team were preparing fuses on five blasting jelly barrels that were arranged on a small cart.
The battle plan was: while General Jiang and General Fong fought, they would begin their operation by tearing down the base's gate using the blasting jelly. It could be risky since they only had one shot. After reading some updates last night, Lin realized that the gate of the Western Earth Base had been reinforced with metal frame.
After consulting Captain Chey, he was told that it shouldn't be a problem as long as all five barrels exploded at once in one concentrated spot. And hence, Chey had proposed the use of cart and fuses. The plan would be, as soon as they arrived, Chey would personally push the cart to the gate and light the fuse. The explosion should tear the gate down and in the ensuing confusion; Lin would lead the whole team inside to take down any soldiers left in the base. He had predicted that the most they would encounter there would be fifty. General Fong would want to bring as many men as he could. He was fighting Jiang, after all. Both generals were legendary in their respective nations and often compared with each other, mostly because when they were both still captains, they had achieved a similar feat: capturing the Western Earth Base with only a handful of men.
Jiang of the Fire Nation and Fong of the Earth Kingdom… the clash between the two generals, it would no doubt be monumental. That was why Lin proposed this strategy, because he knew Fong would think the same thing, that the battle between the two was fated or something and it would be told in history for centuries to come. And Lin would exploit that fact to the fullest extent, he would turn Fong's ego against him.
"It has started, Young Master", Chit Sang said, pointing at the smokes rising from the shore line distance away. Must be caused by the catapults…
"Sergeant", Lin asked. "Do you have a family?"
"Nah…" the man chuckled. "But, I do have a girlfriend."
"Oh", Lin laughed, elbowing the sergeant. "That's nice."
"Yeah", Chit Sang grinned, casting a dreamy gaze on the shore, lost in his own thought about his girlfriend.
"What about you, soldier?" Lin asked another soldier.
"Both parents and two little kid brothers, Young Master", the soldier chuckled. He then, too, had a similar daydreaming expression on his face.
"You?" Lin turned to yet another soldier.
"A beautiful wife and a beautiful baby inside her, Young Master", a muffled voice came from behind his mask. The soldier was wearing his helmet with his mask on, but Lin knew he was having the same dreaming expression as his thought drifted back to the motherland, to his wife and unborn baby.
"Cool", Lin smiled. "A boy or a girl?"
"Hopefully a boy, Young Master", the soldier chuckled.
"Good luck, then", Lin chuckled too, turning to another soldier. "And you?"
"Just my brother, Young Master."
And it went on until Lin reached the last man, Captain Chey.
"No one really, Young Master", Chey laughed, pointing at Chit Sang. "No one but that big cow hippo of a distant cousin there."
And the whole deck burst with laughter. His men were just as nervous as he was, Lin realized this. Therefore, to ease his and his men's anxiety Lin brought up this conversation. And so, all the ten men there suddenly started a lively conversation on their own regarding their families, all were laughing.
"We're about to hit the land!" the ship's captain shouted from the steer room. "Prepared to descend!"
The men abruptly stopped chattering. They all quickly assumed their marching position: Chey and his cart in the front, Lin, mounting on Birdie, and the rest of his men at the back with another kart filled with hay dummies wearing Fire Nation armors and full face helmets. Just a few minutes before they hit land. The team had assumed their seriousness again but they looked different somehow. They looked lees anxious now, more determined. And Lin, marching in the middle of the blasting jelly cart and the men on Birdie, delivered a speech.
"You all have families waiting for you at home!" he yelled. Just five more meters to the shore…
"Remember them well as you marched to the enemy's base",
Four more meters…
"But, if for some reason you suddenly found yourself marching in a mysterious place filled with strange odd things…"
Three more meters…
"… well, don't worry, friends. That would mean you're dead and marching through the spirit world!" the men laughed at the joke.
Two more meters…
"But! As long as you don't see all those odd thing and odd place, you must keep on charging for you are still alive! You are not dead yet!" Lin readied his steed.
One more meters…
"And until we take the base, no one…" the ship hit the shore, the platform was released. "…absolutely no one is allowed to die!! CHARGE!!!!!" Lin spurred his steed past Chey and his cart, riding past his men who were running behind, screaming a thunderous battle cry.
Lin rode diagonally forward toward a spot few meters away from the gate. He must wait there to picked Chey up just in case something went wrong with the ignition process. Chey, yelling his battle cry, pushed the cart with all his might. He ran ten meters away from the ship before the front of the cart crashed the gate, harder than expected. The cart's wooden axle cracked due to the weight of the barrels and the collision with the gate but Chey didn't notice this. He quickly took out a pair spark rock from his pocket and ignited the fuse. But, as he ran away from the cart, filled with barrels of blasting jelly with lit fuses, to a safe distance, the axle finally gave up, snapping and causing the cart to collapse and one of the barrels to roll away from the cart.
"No!!" Lin quickly raced Birdie forward to Chey who went back to roll the heavy barrel back to the gate all by himself. Lin knew something like this would happen. That was why he rode ahead and secured a spot a safe distance away from the gate but close enough to pick Chey up should he trip or something after he ignited the fuse. Chey barely managed to roll the barrel back closer to the kart before Lin rode pass him. He caught the boy's extended hand, the boy pulled him up to the steed and they rode away to safety.
—BOOM!!!!!!—
An earsplitting explosion rang all way through the shore as the five barrels exploded simultaneously. The surrounding area soon was covered by thick smoke. And as the smoke subsided, the assault team let out a disappointed gasp because the explosion wasn't enough to tear down the gate. The gate was heavily damaged, though. It was cracked and almost blasted off its hinges but it still stood still, ten meters high, solid and strong enough to hold the assault team outside.
"No…" Chey gasped, sliding down from Birdie. "No… No, no!"
"Stand back", Lin ordered, shifting Birdie so that the ostrich horse stood sideways and Lin could face the gate without the steed's head protruding in front of him. Lin took a deep breath and sent a strong fire blast at the gate. The fire hit the gate, leaving a smoking burnt mark… and that was it. The gate didn't budge at all. Lin cursed under his breath and he noticed that fear had swept through his men. The explosion had no doubt attracted General Fong's attention and it meant that there could be a risk of him coming back anytime. Lin could withdraw but that would mean his father would have to fight General Fong's larger army to the end, many Fire Nation soldiers could die… his father could die… No! There was no turning back. Lin desperately raked his brain for plan, for ideas, for anything, anything that could be used to break down the wretched gate.
"Young Master", one of the soldiers' shout snapped Lin of his desperate thought. "The earthbenders will be here soon, Young Master. We must do something!"
Earthbenders! Of course. Lin thought. This was the only hope. He didn't know if he could do this or not, but he must try, he had no choice: fire compression! If he could produce a thicker fire blast, he could tear down the gate. Calming his mind, Lin conjured a fire ball on his palm. The fire ball was as big as a kuai ball. He then concentrated his chi on the fire, trying to alter its shape, to compress it, to make the fire tighter, thicker, stronger… and poof, the fire disappeared.
"At least it didn't blow up on my face", Lin muttered, summoning another fireball. He then did the same thing… and received the same result.
"Young Master—" Chey tried to ask but Lin shushed him.
"Just a moment, Captain", Lin muttered, summoning another fire ball. Okay, he breathed calmly. Relax, no emotion.
"…controlling fire is like balancing a ball on a finger", Jeong Jeong balanced a small ball on his finger in front of his ten grandchildren, eight year old Lin was among them. "It is fun when you managed to do it but one small mistake (the ball dramatically fell from his finger) and the ball will fall."
"Remember", Jeong Jeong continued, conjuring a small fire ball on his palm. "Firebending requires control above anything else. Without control…" Jeong Jeong let the fire disappeared. "…your fire will be no more."
Control, yes, Lin knew. It is imperative in producing and maintaining fire. But what about fire alteration? What about changing its shape, its mass, multiplying its power? It was possible, Lin knew. It was the principal of 'charged fire blast'. But unlike Lin's idea of fire compression, 'charged fire blast' didn't change the structure of the fire itself. It only pumped more chi into the fire, making the impact more profound, like a balloon: the fire as the balloon and chi as the air. He had done it to a certain extent but fire compression, alteration of the structure of the fire itself… it meant that Lin had to mess with the delicate control over fire. The key is concentration, Lin concluded. He breathed the crisp autumn air and focused his mind on his fire ball, slowly pulling the fire inward into its core center with his chi. The fire flickered dangerously, threatening to either go off or explode.
"…waterbender must learn humility and respect for the water. Only than the water will accept her as its master."
Respect? For some reason Lin remembered the lecture Snowflake gave Hothead in his dream. Respect, unity… Lin knew that he had never showed such thing with his firebending. It was always about commanding fire, controlling it. He was a firebender, thus a master of fire, never one with fire. Respect for one's element… humility… unity with one's element… it actually made sense to Lin. All he ever did was enforcing his will on his fire by using his chi; the bigger the fire, the stronger the chi he used. He must always keep superiority over his fire, be the master. If he respected his element, be one with his fire, to unite with it, he could know when to force the fire to pull together, when to stop, to give it a rest. In a way, he became one with his fire, he would no longer be enforcing his will on the fire whether the fire liked it or not, he would take the fire's will into consideration. Be its equal not its superior. Unity… Yes, he must try…
"Help me… Mom, Grandma…" he prayed, closing his eyes and focusing his chi even deeper into his fire. Yes! He could feel it. He could feel his fire flickered, the core beating like a small heart, feel his fire alive. It's ready, he used his chi to pull the fire to the core, to pull them together… and stop! He felt that the beating grew faster, threatening to break down. He waited for the beating to stabilize before he compressed it again. And stop! Phew, almost mess it there. Okay, wait… the beating is stabilizing… wait… Now!
After repeating the process for what seemed like forever, Lin felt that he couldn't compress the fire any further, it had become very thick, as solid and as packed as it possibly could. He opened his eyes and was genuinely surprised when he noticed that his fireball had barely changed in shape. He was hoping for the fire ball to at least shrink into half its original size but the size had barely changed. But Lin knew he was successful, he noticed that the fire almost didn't flicker. It was as if the thing on his palm was a solid burning ball of magma rather than a mass of fire. And the heat, spirits! Held it any longer and Lin's hand would be cooked. Lin smirked at his fire ball. It was time to end this…
With a battle cry, he threw the condensed fire ball at the gate. Upon the collision, the gate was blasted cleaned off its hinges into several large pieces, drawing a dumbfounded gape form everyone, including Lin. Well, it worked, Lin shrugged, grinning at Chey who looked back at Lin, flabbergasted.
"Men!" Lin yelled, snapping the rest of the assault's team off their gape. "Let's go! CHARGE!!!"
And with that, he spurred Birdie, leading his men who found their courage back, all yelling their renewed spirits, reflected in their battle cries, along with their Young Master. The real Battle of the Western Earth Base had finally begun…
To Be Continued…
Author's note:
Okay, first of all... sorry...
I was planning to use the title 'He Plans the Battle' for chapter 26. But, apparently I uploaded the wrong data and realized it a bit too late. So sorry... lack of sleep... T_T
I'm gonna change the tittle but don't worry, I've double checked it and there won't be any change in the story content itself. Just the title.
Okay, let's see…
The joke about 'chi, inner fire,…' is taken from chapter 3.
The lecture Jeong Jeong gave about balancing a ball was implied in chapter 3, as well.
The waterbending lecture is taken from chapter 13.
And about spark rock, it's flint. I'm not sure but I think Iroh called it spark rock in the series and so, for continuity sake, I used the term spark rock here.
Oh, and about Lin's speech before they landed, especially about the spirit world and dying part, it was inspired by a movie I watched few years ago. I'm not sure which one but it has Greek or Roman theme. It was 'Gladiator', perhaps…
And about Birdie's armor, it was based on the armor Ostrich horses wore in the series. Just picture it black and not yellow. :)
And to hpswst101, about Tokugawa Ieyasu…
He was one of the three most influential warlords in the history of Japan; the other two were Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Their personalities were often compared in this poem:
There's a bird that won't sing.
Nobunaga said, "Kill it!"
Hideyoshi said, "Make it want to sing."
Ieyasu said, "Wait."
So, yep… Oda was ruthless and decisive, Toyotomi (who was actually Oda's retainer) was calculative and a diplomatist, while Tokugawa was patient and extremely enduring.
When he was nine, Tokugawa was taken as a political hostage by a neighboring clan. When he was twenty something, Oda defeated this clan, freeing Tokugawa who reclaimed his lost power and allied himself with Oda. Years later, Oda was betrayed by one of his men and killed. And for some reason that I don't remember, Tokugawa and Toyotomi fought each other to a stalemate. Then Toyotomi died of natural cause (I think…) and Tokugawa marched to destroy those who remained loyal to Toyotomi and his successor. He then became a shogun, some sort of supreme military leader directly under the emperor.
Fun fact: the three men were all aiming to be shogun but only Tokugawa managed to do so. As the result of that and of the fact outlived all his rivals, he was often credited as the best among the three.
If you are interested, there's a Japanese novel called 'Taiko' by Eiji Yoshikawa that was heavily based on the lives of the three. I highly recommended that book if you like reading about ancient war and politics. I believe they have English version of the book. It is huge though, as big as a dictionary… You can seriously cause an excessive blunt trauma on someone's head with it (but please don't do it, it's against the law… lol).
And about Lin's flaw, he has flaws alright. Will be revealed in later chapters. :)
Enjoy the chapter!! One more coming up!!
