Luke

Something woke me up, and all I saw was black. The color black. I made the motions of trying to open my eyes, but nothing seemed to change. I wondered if my eyes were even opening or just felt as though they were. Going through the same motions yielded no results. Black was the only thing I could see, except for…except for a haze. A haze of light. Orange, yellow, colors dancing in a small shade, a layer of darkness between us. Cloth. I had a hood around my head. I could feel its material. Was I blindfolded, or hooded? In a rather juvenile move, I stuck my tongue out, but when it touched more fabric, I knew I had a hood around my head.

Then I felt an impact against my head. Something told me it wasn't the first time. I think I'd deciphered how I'd been woken up. "I said wake up, fucker!"

"I'm up, damnit!" I muttered, not allowing myself to show the fear I was certainly feeling. I'd been in situations like this before, in Citadel, but back then, I'd known who had me captive. That's how it worked there. No need for secrecy, espionage, they wanted you to know who had the power to nab you off the streets with impunity. But not this time. And that's what scared me. I had no idea who I was talking to. No image to work off of. So I had to make my own.

I was kneeling, my legs were tied at the ankles and at my wrists behind my back. Rope. Not cuffs. I'm not under arrest. At least not by Fire Nation. They like their cuffs. Or maybe I am, but I'm just not in any formal institution, which could very well mean more bad news for me. No overlooking eye, not conventions of war that weren't exactly followed anyway, but served as some comfort in time such as these. I didn't have enough to work off of, but I did have the creaking beneath my feet. Wood. And it was unsupported. No dirt beneath us. We were on a platform. A second story? "About damn time" the voice said again.

Young voice. Some boy trying to sound older than he was. Not like I'm one to talk. I'm no different. A small tree trying to give off a large shadow. "Can you hear me?"

"I can't see anything right now." I know he asked not if I could see, but if I could hear, but I wanted to think that if I made it seem as though sight was the issue at stake, they'd at least give me some wiggle room in that regard.

They didn't.

"I didn't ask if you could see. I asked if you could fucking hear me."

"In that case, I can hear you just fine." Damn.

"And you can talk too. Good. So I'm going to answer some questions. And you're going to give me some answers. First and foremost. What's your name? And don't try lying to me. We already asked your lady friend and she told us what we want to know."

And now multiple new possibilities arose. Some worse than others. The first possibility, the least likely of them all. He was telling the truth. He interrogated Ka'lira, and learned everything he needed to know from her, and I was just here to confirm what they already knew. But as I said, that was the least likely possibility. There were 2 ways he slipped up, but the way in which he slipped up opens the question of whether he was making mistakes accidentally, or with a purpose. For one, he started off by saying he already knew the truth, and just wanted to hear it from me. Normally, one would let the captive say his part first without knowing his partner had already spoken, so the interrogator could try to catch him in a lie and get a better sense of who he was questioning. But then came in the second slip-up. He didn't use Ka'lira's name, which begged the question, did he really get any information out of her, or a worse question, was she even alive? I had multiple options now. I could tell the truth, which wasn't going to happen. I could lie my ass off and see where it got me, or, I could play him the way he was playing me. I was trying to make my own image after all.

"Katia" I asked, thinking of some name that sounded Earth Kingdom off the bat. "Where is she?"

He paused. The pause could have meant 3 things, he was trying to figure out who I meant, he was taking a moment to remember the name to act like he knew I meant the girl, or he knew I was full of shit, but his next answer allowed me to eliminate the latter at the very least. "She's okay." Of course, that in itself was no assurance. She could be dead for all I know.

"I want to see her. Make sure she's alive."

"I can make her scream if you want."

"How 'bout I make you?" And I meant it. I was allowing the flame to build up in my hands, ready to burn through the rope regardless of the potential nationalistic sympathies of my captors. A similar fire grew in my breath in a technique I'd only heard about, but had been trying to learn on my own, but I wanted to think I had enough in me to be a dragon in this moment, both metaphorically, and literally. I heard him stand from where he was sitting, accompanied by the unsheathing of a blade, an overreaction on normal occasions, but this wasn't a normal occasion.

Then a door opened. To the right. Wood. Rickety. The entire structure was wood. "Jet!" I heard a new voice call. "We finished interrogating the girl." I then heard the boy, Jet, sheathe his blade again as he said, in his surprise from the sudden visit, "Kai, I wasn't expecting you yet." I let the flames in me die down. You got lucky, kid.

"You get anywhere with him yet?" So she's alive and he's an idiot, or she's possibly dead or alive and he's a genius, using casual conversation to make me think their guard is down so I'd believe what they're saying.

"I'm getting close. I swear he's about to break."

I decided to fuck with the kid. I already knew their names. Let's see if they can break before I do. "You kidding me? Your boy, Jet doesn't even know my name yet."

"Shut up!"

"Sit down, Jet." Kai said. "Let the pros handle this."

"Handle away." I said, smirking, though he couldn't see it. That was then the fist came, knocking me down backwards from where I was kneeling, and I finally felt the pull of something else, something new around my neck. A rope. I was being hung up from somewhere. The ceiling? And the wood beneath me. I was on a trapdoor. And things suddenly became a lot more serious.

"By now, I want to think you've noticed the noose around you're neck. You're kneeling on wooden trapdoor hundreds of feet in the air. You do something stupid like that, you become our new favorite decoration to warn other Fire Nation assholes like you that these are our forests."

"I'm not Fire Nation." I would have added 'dipshit', but a new awareness of my surroundings prevented me from doing so.

"I don't believe you, but we'll get to that later. First. I want to know your name. What is it? And no making shit up. We talked to Ka'lira."

Fuck. At least she's alive. Or was.

"Luke."

"Now that just sounds like a made-up name."

"That's because it is." Did Ka'lira lie for me? Or was he playing games?

"Then what's your real goddamn name?" Yeah. She lied for me. I smiled beneath the hood, but I was building trust here. So I'd tell the convenient truths, but make them sound like lies, because a good liar knew how to make his truths sound like deceit, so his lies sounded all the more honest.

"Don't have one. Or at least I don't remember it."

"You an anchor baby or some shit?"

An anchor baby, a nice little slang for babies born to pirates, traders, or passing sailors in the navy. A good guess for where we were geographically.

"Close enough. I was born in a slum."

"Where?"

"To the east of here." Northeast to be precise. The vaguer your truths, the more you can get away with when it comes time to lie.

"How did you get here?"

"We drove. I believe you knew that part already."

"You really want to get smart with me?"

"Shipwreck. We're marooned."

"And what kind of ship is it?" Could you be any more obvious? He wants to catch me in a lie so damn badly. He's probably here just for the fun of being able to make some grand spiel about how he knows I'm lying because A, B, C. He's overly cocky. So I'll let him have his fun.

An old Earth Kingdom carrack we found a few years back. Then there was a pause. Oh boy. Here we go. I'm willing to bet anything he ahs this cocky grin on his face, and he's about to walk up real close to me and say- "Here's how I know you're lying," He whispered into my ears. Called it.

"Your girlfriend, Ka'lira, she tried lying to us too." I bet he has such a huge stupid fucking smirk on his face. "She told us you came here on frigate that you hitched a ride on, but I knew better than that. Because, as clever as you are, and pretty clever, I'll give you that, you're not clever enough for me." I was trying so damn hard not to laugh my ass off behind that hood. I was even biting on my lip to suppress it. "We had scouts who've had our eyes on you from the moment you came ashore in that little lagoon you're all beached in-that Fire Nation ship of yours. These woods are ours, and there's nowhere you can hide where we won't see you, and we proved just as much. We counted the lot of you. 6 of you. Small crew for a small ship, but nothing we can't handle. Especially now that we have two of you here for ourselves, and your tank. I commend your effort to defend your Fire Nation comrades though, but it won't be enough. The girl will be upset to hear you made the same slip as her." He was so damn proud of himself. Have your victory moment yet? Good. Laugh it up, asshole. I learned more from this 'slip up' of mine than you did. Chief among them, Ka'lira is alive. I've seen victory highs like his, and he was in no state for bluffs.

"Still not Fire Nation"

"Enough!" He took a moment to regain his cool. "So," he said, returning to the business at hand. "I'm going to ask you. One. More. Time. Who. Are. You? And what are your crew? Spies, assassins, got lost from your blockade?"

"Well first you're going to have to accept that we're not Fire Nation."

"Liars!" So Ka'lira defended us too. Good. "I see your armor. Your tank. Your Fire Nation!"

"We're salvagers. We salvage shit." I was risking it all on this lie. The last lie, the one I let fail, that was in my control, but this lie was out of it. I had no idea what he knew now and what he didn't. How much Ka'lira said or didn't say. If I got caught here, things could go horribly, but if he slipped up, I would be in a great position. And sure enough…

"That's funny. Ka'lira said you were traders." Idiot. Even if that's what she said, you've left me in the perfect position to play off of what she said. You should have said that she admitted what you believed us to be: Fire Nation agents, mercenaries working for them, anything, but instead…traders? You're an idiot, Kai.

"Well I don't know where she got that idea from," I said. "We don't do trading, just salvaging." I wished I didn't have the hood on just to be able to see the heat that was so obviously emitting from his face, but in continued all the same, confident that if I felt the door move beneath me, I could burn through the ropes around my hands and neck in time, assuming the fall didn't break my neck. "We just like to gather scrap metal, spare parts, hammers, rusty nails, and put them in a big pile for us to jump in and make scrap angels. Of course we're also traitors, you dumbass."

Then just like Jet, I felt the footsteps come close to me. Here we go again. But they stopped when the door opened for a second time, and the attention suddenly shifted from me to-

"Commander, sir!" The two voices said at the same time, spinning on their feels to face him. Military ranks. But certainly not military. Militarized, but not military. Resistance, likely.

More than one pair of feet entered the room. Two? Three? More? "At ease." He didn't say their names. He was smarter than that. And his voice, quiet, but not wispy, still strong, not as youthful, lower by a lot, but never weak. "Having some trouble here? I heard quite an awful amount of yelling."

"He's being stubborn, but I'm almost there."

"That's what the last one said before he got replaced." I commented. I was here to test the new man entering the room. And unless he was a complete psychopath, which his voice didn't convey to me, I didn't think the comment would result in me becoming a ceiling decoration any time soon. In fact, I believe I heard a chuckle from the man. Something that could've been a bad sign as much as a good one.

"Why is there a bag on his head?"

"We hooded him, so he didn't see the way here in case he woke up," Kai said.

"We're already here, are we not? So why is it still over his head?"

"Yes sir." I let the smile on my face die before the hood was removed, so as to ensure I didn't cause any more trouble then than I had to. Then the light of the room came to life. We were in a wooden hut. I saw the support beams. We were attached to a tree, likely multiple connected with a series of catwalks, judging by how easily the visitors walked in. And the supports seemed strong by how easygoing they seemed with 6 people in one room of a treehouse. There were 5 men in the room. The one closest to me, Kai, who was now walking back, was probably around 14 to 15 years old. He had spiky brown hair, and a thick set stature. To the back left of the room was the face I associated with the name Jet. His skin tan. His hair brown. His eyes black. The same age as me by the looks of him. What is that even? 12. What is it? Spring yet? 13? Who the hell knows anymore? Then there was the only real man in the room. His hair was gray and cut short. His beard was short too, only long enough to cover his cheeks, chin, and upper mouth. He had striking blue eyes as well that contrasted his pale white skin. He was flanked by two more boys, older than the rest, but no older than 16 or 17.

He moved to where Jet was sitting on a small chair, asking, "May I? My back isn't as good as it used to be." Jet shot up as though it was his highest honor to surrender his seat to the man, carrying the chair to where I sat, and seating it in front, so the old man could sit. "Thank you."

He settled down in his chair, adjusting to the point that he was comfortable where he was seated, which took around the whole of a minute until he found himself in a good enough position. I was unsure if the time he was taking was designed to make me more anxious, because it was working. I can deal with young, stupid, unpredictable, but this was different, this was wise, experienced, something I more than lacked.

He was looking at me now, investigating me, up and down, left and right, until he said, "I'm sorry if my followers treated you harshly. They are youthful and still have much to learn in the way of hospitality. I'm afraid their eagerness gets ahead of them sometimes. They may be young, but the fire of passion in them burns strong.

"I've dealt with worse."

"I do not doubt that. I can see it in your eyes. You have seen much of the world. More than a mere salvager or trader, yes?"

"You have good ears, don't you?"

"When you live, nature all around you, and nothing but your senses to survive, you learn to use them to your advantage at all times. I also know your name is Luke. Made that up, did you?"

"It's a whole story." I thought of Mini at that moment and for some reason, felt sad about it all over again.

"I can imagine. You'll have to tell me one of these days. I'd like to, at the very least, get off to a good start with you. I know your name, mine is Kiu. That's Jet, Kai, and my two bodyguards are Kanji and Tonik." I saw what he was doing. False sense of security. Making me feel welcome, like I was a guest, not a prisoner.

"I know what you're thinking. That no matter how nice I talk, at the end of the day, you're still a prisoner here." Smart man. I didn't verify nor refute his claim.

"No matter, but you are no salvager. I know that much. So what are you then, lad?"

I wasn't going to get away with the same outright lies that worked on the others. Half-truths and half lies would have to suffice for now. I could make up fake details and stay consistent if I had to, but I'd rather avoid that as long as possible. "We're mercenaries."

"You and your crew?"

"They're not my crew, but yes."

"And you're the ones with the Fire Nation ship out there?"

"Yeah. A destroyer."

"Those were out phased."

"Well I'm sorry that we're not up to date on the latest naval fashion trends."

"What was your last job?"

I knew better than to talk about the job at Jianghe, so instead I went back further, saying, "We helped a small fishing village fight off some sea raiders."

"How noble of you. You ever take work from the Fire Nation?"

"Back in the day, maybe, but that would've been months to a year ago." I didn't dare bring up anything that implied actions against the Earth Kingdom, so I settled by saying, "Mostly serving as security in the colonies. It was easy work then. Fighting off bandits and raiders who wanted easy pickings, but then the Fire Nation stepped up their advance with the Siege, and after that, wanted us to cover their retreat, scorched earth, all that stuff. Didn't sit right with us."

"We heard about an incident a few weeks back. Some Fire Nation mercenaries stopped the Earth Kingdom from occupying Jianghe. Bloody battle, that business."

"Don't know anything about that. We cut off our work with the Fire Nation long ago. Must've been one of those other mercenary bands. The Bleeding Suns, Dragonborn, -"

"The Rough Rhinos" interjected Jet, and a cold silence fell over the room as none spoke, and a few pairs of eyes turned to him where he leaned against the wall, seething by the looks of him. Either they've had run ins with the Rough Rhinos before, or it's a very clear part of that kid's life. I didn't know much about the Rough Rhinos, only enough to tell me how their depictions changed. In the Fire Nation, they were heroes of legends, with their own books, plays, toys, festival costumes, you name it. They were the source of festivities and joy. In the Earth Kingdom on the other hand, they were the thing of nightmares, the stories parents told their kids to get them to behave well and go to bed on time. During festivals, they weren't the subject of costumes to scare the monsters away. They were the monsters.

"Them too," the old man said, almost apologetically.

"One of them," I finished. "But not us. We don't work with killers like them. Not anymore. Fighting a war is one thing. Targeting the innocent, that's another."

"A moral mercenary, eh? But you do still work for the pay, do you not?"

"Indeed we do. Something we have in common; I imagine."

Kai spoke up now, heated, yelling, "How dare you!" until he was silenced by Kiu with an upraised hand so as to tell him, "It's okay."

He then returned his attention to me, saying, "We do not fight for profit or glory. We fight to restore this land's proper leadership: The Earth Kingdom, to the people here who have been oppressed by Fire Nation occupation for long enough."

"But I don't imagine you just walk away without receiving some compensation for your efforts."

"We receive aid to help us in our fight, be it food, water,-"

"Weapons, armor, coin, same as us."

"Weapons, armor, and coin from fishermen?"

"You asked what our last job was. I never said it was our most glorious. We've taken jobs for the Earth Kingdom too. The materiel comes from them. The fishing village. Well. They mostly just gave us fish."

Kiu chuckled. It seemed lighthearted, but for some reason, it unnerved me, and that was probably due to what he said next. "I think we might just get along. I think we're going to get along just nicely. Jet, get the girl. Kai, put the hood back on him. We're going for a walk. And so the darkness returned, and that's just what it was: one color. Black. But the hood meant something else in addition to the darkness. It meant that I wasn't dead. Not yet.

Zek

Tending to the ship was nothing short of pain staking work. The work itself was enough to make a man sweat, but below decks, in the engine room, it didn't help. We were making the most of what little tools and material we have on board, but the truth was, we weren't going to be going anywhere until Luke and Ka'lira came back with what we needed. And really, while the tools might be possible to obtain from a nearby settlement, the parts we needed, the scrap metal, none of us really had much faith in finding that at a local vendor.

And the truth was, the work would have been far more bearable had Ka'lira been here as well. Being able to get lost in conversation with her while working away on whatever I had too, hours could turn into seconds, and a day's work could become a few minutes of good conversation. The time always just seemed to speed ahead where she was involved. And right now, it would've been nice to have her around. Those two should be getting back soon now, right? Obviously, a part of me wasn't the most enthused about having her go out on something like this was Luke. Not to any discredit of Luke. It could have been any guy, but it was just that irrational jealousy over somebody who wasn't even mine to be jealous over. But I can't be the only one who feels that way? Right. I swear I can see the way she looks at me. Or maybe it's just my own reflection I see.

I pushed the thoughts aside. I had to stay focused on my own work right now. I didn't have the time to get carried away by pointless thoughts like these. I was in the engine deck, stripping off metal panels that seemed to have sustained damage, and to investigate the machinery between the panels to ensure the damage didn't extend there as well. It was painstaking work. Lots of heavy lifting, but I wasn't a stranger to work. Much less was Gordez. He'd been working since morning and hadn't even stopped for lunch, and dinner was quickly approaching, but something told me that food for him would be waiting until his work here was done, which would be days, but I couldn't bring myself to doubt his resolve in that regard. This ship was his baby. And he'd give his life for her. I could say that much with complete certainty. I smiled to myself. I had the feeling Gordez would make a great boyfriend, and eventual husband and father, assuming he was capable of transferring his affection of machinery to his own family. Which was a big "if".

I got up from where I was kneeling, wiping the sweat off my brow, begging for a cool breeze to come in, except I'd be getting none down here. I looked around, begging to see the skies, the rustling trees, but nothing. I was going stir crazy. I needed to go outside.

"Gordez," I said. I'm going to take a break. That alright?"

"Go ahead. Not like I can stop you."

"I'll be right back. Thanks"

As I turned to leave, I heard Kosah, or was it Zadok, asking, "Can we go too?"

"No."

"You let Zek go!" said the other, whoever they were.

"Zek's not my subordinate. You two are. So get back to work. I'll release you once you do your job right?"

I grinned, glad that my days being under Gordez were gone. As long as I'd known him, Gordez had always been Boss's right-hand man. The two of them were Navy men, so there was some inherent bond between them that you couldn't explain with words. Plus, they were the closest in age. Boss was 19. Gordez, though he'd never said his age, I'd put him at 18, already sporting whiskers that threatened to become a bear any day now. When I'd first been put in Iron Fire, Boss had put me under Gordez's direct command. Gordez was never social, he wasn't loud, harsh, mean, or anything along those lines, but he was stubborn, and expected the same dedication he put into something, which was a lot. I'd been kept up nights at a time to try to make repairs to damage to his tank, not the Shanzi, that he claimed was my fault to begin with. Hizo, by sheer happenstance, happened to be officially transferred to Iron Fire. By that time, Boss had decided I didn't need Gordez anymore, and he assigned me my own tank with Chez and Haz. A few months later, and Hizo threatened that he'd rather jump off of the walls of Ba Sing Se than take another order from Gordez, we all laughed, and Hizo was assigned to my tank. And that was the day I told him that the tank's name was Shanzi and he'd threatened to rip my throat out to defend the honor of his Yu Dao girlfriend who'd slept with, and I'd counted, 5 other men, begging for forgiveness, and promptly being forgiven by Hizo just as many times. I smiled back on the memories as I walked out on the deck, trying not to remember how my relationship with him had met its end. Maybe one of these days I'd get back to Yu Dao, see Shanzi, and give her the note that Hizo had had for her in his pocket the day he died in Citadel.

On the deck as well was Boss and Jadoh, leaning over the rail, crossbows in hand, watching the treeline for either our returning comrades, or something that required the use of such weapons to deal with. "Fresh air?" Boss asked.

"Fresh air," I confirmed.

"Then take a seat and get a load off." Jadoh said. "We're the ones with the easy jobs here. You sure Gordez doesn't want the extra help?"

"Gordez isn't fond of leaving our rears unattended. Besides. I think he's enjoying having Kosah and Zadok for himself to torment."

"Oh they'll be fine. They just have to wait until somebody new joins or merry band of mercenaries, then they'll be favorites just like I am."

I smiled. Jadoh was growing on me ever since Jianghe. He now knew enough to understand that he had much to learn and no long was the same cocky brat we'd picked up in that nameless fishing village, where I'm sure he'd been the best swordfighter among their old men and starving women. "I'd hardly call you a favorite, Jadoh," I said, smiling so he knew I was joking. Not like I had to. He'd been making a lot of progress in abandoning that short fuse of him.

"Not yet, you mean. You'll find in due time just how charming I am."

"Oh, I'm sure." I leaned against the railing next to where Jadoh was seated, stretching, letting the cool late winter or early spring breeze wash over me, the smell of the sea intoxicating, liberating.

"Hey, alter today," Jadoh started. "Want to get some more sparring done? I think I've made some progress these last few days."

"Oh you think, do you?" I smirked. "We'll see about that. You're on."

"It's a date then, but don't tell Ka'lira. I don't want her to get jealous of what we have between us."

"It'll be our little secret then." It was good to be able to have more people to joke with. One thing I'd noticed on this ship, everybody was lighthearted, humorous, except maybe for Boss and Gordez. Which I supposed was needed. We needed that balance, the ones to make sure we never lost ourselves to a good laugh. The ones to keep us in the here and now, just like Boss did when he said, "Machinery ahead. They're coming back."

I heard the noise now. The sputtering of the engine as it tugged along. He stood up, bow in hand. He knew he'd said they were coming back, but there was no such thing as overly cautious. Jadoh got up from where he was sitting, leaving one hand on the bow as he leaned over the railing, looking ahead to try to catch that first glimpse of Shanzi emerging from the forest.

And there it was, emerging from the forest, just as it should have, but instead of driving forward, to the lowered ramp, it stopped in place, about 100 feet away from our deck so they weren't in our shadow. What are they doing?

And where I expected the head of either Luke or Ka'lira to poke out of the tank, it was a face I didn't recognize, a young kid, and after him an older man, white hair and beard, the two of them armored in leather. We didn't know what to think yet. We were just pausing, not doing anything, still not sure what the hell we were observing. Was it another tank? No. That was Shanzi, alright. And we knew as much when a third man exited the vehicle, another young man, and the two of them went behind the tank, escorting two bound prisoners: Luke and Ka'lira. And now there was no questioning what we were looking at. Boss and Jadoh aimed there bows while I shambled backwards to where we kept our weapons and archery targets for practice, grabbing the nearest crossbow and nocking a bolt, running back to join Boss's defensive line as he yelled out to them, "Who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing?"

The man didn't speak, and I wondered if we were about to start shooting. They weren't too far off. I could take out the old man, but getting the two hostage takers while keeping our own unharmed, that was different, especially when the 10, 20, 30, no, more figures began emerging from the forests, armed in swords, spears, crossbows, all manner of weaponry. "It may be in both of our best interests that nobody here starts shooting!" The old man called out. "Or there will be very negative outcomes for both of us." At that moment, the rustling of leaves could be heard, drawing our attention to the trees as hooded archers emerged from the leaves, balanced on branches, bows aimed at us, one in the middle, likely their leader, wearing a circular straw hat, a bow with three arrows aimed directly at us, provoking Boss's aim to be trained on him now.

"That would be Longshot, our archer. You can aim at him all you want. You wouldn't be able to hit him, but he'd most definitely be able to hit you."

Boss could see just how outnumbered we were, and that a single shot fired would mean the death of us all, but he wasn't about to surrender the only advantage he had: a killing shot at their leader, something we all prayed this new threat wouldn't be willing to risk. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"We came here to ask the exact same question, but we cannot productively do that with our weapons drawn on one another like we're in some sort of definite standoff."

"Lower yours then we lower ours!" Boss called. Then man nodded, turning to his men on the ground who lowered their weapons, and promptly to his snipers in the trees, who shortly did the same. Boss nodded his head at us to do the same. Building trust. A battle meant death. Every second until then had to be used the best way possible. The only way possible.

"We just want to talk," the old man called. "My name is Kiu. The two young men holding your friends are Jet and Kai. They've been instructed by me not to harm my friends, and they follow my orders, just as I'm sure your men follow yours."

Boss didn't bother trying to answer that, instead saying, "You can call me Boss. These two are-"

"Zek and Jadoh" I said. "I'm Zek." I spoke up because I wasn't sure what Boss had planned. If he planned to lie on our behalf. And if he did, and if they knew our names, then all the more risk that Luke and Ka'lira would be put in. I had my eyes on her the whole time. She had a bag over her head. They both did, but I knew it was them. I recognized her, her figure, the clothes she wore when she left this morning. And I wanted her to hear my voice, hoping that might be some small solace.

Boss looked at me, and his look told me that he'd planned on lying, and I'd ruined that. I don't care. We don't know how much they know, and I'm not risking Ka'lira to protect my identity. "So they are!" Boss agreed.

"We just want to talk to you. I believe we may have a lot in common regarding this struggle on the Earth Kingdom continent. As a show of good faith, that we come in peace, we will release on of our prisoners to you, the girl."

Thank Raava.

"If you really want to come in good faith," Boss said. "You'll release them both." My stomach tightened. Please don't antagonize them. Please don't make them rescind the offer.

"And leave me with nothing? It is one think to invite a stranger into your home, but another to give him the keys. Be thankful for what I'm giving you so far." The boy that had been called Jet cut loose Ka'lira bindings and took off her hood. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw her. She seemed to be uninjured for the most part. I needed to see her closer to be sure. Jet said something to her, and she began walking towards us. More than anything, I wanted to run to her, to meet her halfway, especially when her eyes met mine from down below and she smiled at me, a sad smile. My body language must have said as much about my intentions as Boss had to look at me and shake his head so as to tell me, "Not yet."

I understood. All too well. And so I waited, excruciatingly, as silence dominated the small clearing, and Ka'lira was finally out of sight. Boss turned to me, and said silently enough so the enemy didn't hear, "Meet her halfway and get the others. Is the skill fueled?"

The skiff? "Uh-yeah. I think so."

"Good. Get her and the rest to it but tell Gordez to get up here." He turned to Jadoh. "Jadoh, when Gordez gets up here, I want you getting to the skiff as well."

"And leave you here?" I felt ashamed that I hadn't been the one to ask that obvious question, but the sad truth was, my mind was on one thing right now, and that was making sure that Ka'lira was alright.

"If things become a shootout, I want at least most of us to get away. You'll go along the coast until you find a Fire Nation ship or outpost, and you'll tell them what happened here."

"They'd execute you before they'd let the Fire Nation free you."

"We'll worry about that if it comes to it, but for now, get to the skiff, and it you hear shooting, you get out of here. Now Zek, go. Get Ka'lira and get ready to leave."

I nodded, running to the command structure, not worrying about how my haste appeared, flinging open the door, sliding down the ladder to the cargo deck where the ramp led in addition to the main deck, where she'd opted not to go, and right there, halfway through the cargo deck, was Ka'lira, who finished her home stretch with a spring as she ran into my arms. "They're Earth Kingdom. Tell Boss," she said, ever valiant, ever noble, ever loyal.

"It's fine. It's fine. We know."

"They still have Luke."

"He's going to be fine. We'll work it out. Ka'lira, you alright?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten caught. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry."

I saw the glisten of dry blood against the side of her head where she'd been hit. That wasn't the extent of her bruises. She had cuts along her arms and legs. And she had dried blood at her mouth.

"Don't apologize. It's alright." I looked at her and her eyes, glistened by droplets of water, met mine. "I'm okay. I'm okay now." And she leaned forward and touched her lips to mine and stayed there for just long enough to tell me that it was no accident. And I let Boss's orders to me wait for just those few seconds of bliss as we stood there, in the darkness of the Patriot, where the rest of the world ceased to exist for just a small moment.

Boss

"Where'd you send the boy?"

"To see if she's injured."

"There is no permanent damage, but I apologize for what was done. My soldiers here are young and eager. They say innocence comes with youth, but so does passion and ferocity."

"Then you'll understand if I say the same about my own." I didn't know how he'd take it, but I meant it as a threat. If the blood of our own had been shed, then retribution would be demanded. But the whole reason I was talking was to avoid bloodshed. And so I continued. "You mentioned we had something in common. What's that?"

"We're fighting the Fire Nation." So that's what Luke and Ka'lira had said to save their skins, and I suppose, ours too in the process. Smart.

"What of it?"

"Well. It just so happens we're on the same side. The Fire Nation hasn't been kind to us in the past, and we intend to return the favor. We've been here for the last 3 and a half years now, trying to help the Earth Kingdom south of the Nip Sea reclaim their territory here in the north.

"You're revolutionaries then."

"Freedom fighters."

"I've seen your kind before in all different varieties. I've seen freedom fighters who've stolen from the rich to give to the poor, and I've seen freedom fighters who've burnt villages to the ground in the name of, saving them, I suppose." The truth was, I'd never met the former kind of freedom fighter. It always begins noble, but before you know it, whether it was their plan or not, hundreds of innocents are lying dead by their feet, all in the name of freedom, but I guess that was freedom in its own ironic way.

"And I can assure you that we are not the latter. The Fire Nation's interest may be in ruling over the ashes of the Earth Kingdom, but it's our goal, our dream to liberate them before ash is all that's left."

I heard the clanging of boots behind me as Gordez arrived, Zek's crossbow on his back, immediately standing to my side, saying, "Zek sent me. What's going on?"

"It's under control. For now."

"Who's this new man you've brought?" asked Kiu.

"This is Gordez. My second in command."

"Zek, Gordez, these are all pretty Fire Nation names you have. What am I to make of that?"

"That you won't find a freedom fighter's spirit anywhere like you will in the colonies." It almost hurt to spit that out. It wasn't a total lie nor truth. Depended on the colony in play. Outlier colonies such as the Gao Bay colonies still maintained a degree of fealty to the Earth Kingdom, but the ones such as in Yu Dao, they represented a sense of real patriotism. More real than that of the Fire Nation. While the mainland celebrated its Nation for all of its deeds and misdeeds, a terrifying mix of nationalism and religious zeal, the core colonies represented a mix of Earth Kingdom culture and Fire Nation loyalty. It represented what I wish more of the Fire Nation would be like: patriotic, but not blind.

"So where does this leave us, then?" He asked.

"At the part where we make a deal."

"Agreed. I'm coming up. With two of my men and your boy, Luke. You have two of yours and I have two of mine. Seems fair."

"One of ours is leaving." I turned to Jadoh. "Go. Just in case."

"You expecting a fight?"

"I don't think so, but I don't want to risk it."

"Then I'm staying too."

"Jadoh."

"You can't stop me."

I sighed. He was definitely changing. That much was apparent, for better or worse. I turned to Kiu. "Two of yours. Two of mine. Come on up."

And a few moments later, they had taken the ramp all the way up to the main deck, and our two sides stood, facing one another. Jadoh and Gordez by my side, Jet and Kai by Kiu's, with Luke trailing behind, bag still on his head.

"So what deal do you have in mind?" I asked.

"We've been contracted by the Earth Kingdom forces down south to launch subversive activities against the Fire Nation here and pave the way for an Earth Kingdom landing force, but my men have been taking heavy casualties, and we lack the numbers to efficiently continue our operations. It seems that you have the skill, discipline, and armaments that we lack. We would like to become partners with you."

"A partnership implies we get something out of this too. Unless you plan on saying that not killing us in compensation enough."

"No. I'm not like that. I'm sorry for taking your people captive, but it's not to hold them for ransom to you."

"Then before we make a deal, how about you let him go, as another show of good will."

Kiu turned his face to Kai, nodded, and the hood was removed, and Luke's scratched, bruised, and tired head was still on his shoulders, but he never lacked for the amusement in his face. He was prodded on his back and sent over to our side the moment the bindings on his hands were cut.

I put a hand on his chest, stopping him before he could pass us, asking, "You alright?" And I swear, if the word "no" had been spoken, I was more than ready in that moment to kill the 3 men I saw in front of me. But fortunately for both of us in retrospect, Luke said, "It's but a scratch," smiling, and walking back to our side, turning to stand between Jadoh and Gordez who asked similar question soon, thereafter, inquiring as to their buddy's wellbeing.

"So what do you propose?" I ask.

"For one, we'll fix your ship. You'll have permanent allies here in the Nip Sea, and we'll get you an audience with the Earth Kingdom governors here, and plenty of access to future contracts once this is over. As for the loot we obtain from hostile forces, and the Earth Kingdom's payment of course, you'll get 10%."

"10%? Your forces are in disarray and, as you said, are undisciplined. You plan on using us as the knife's edge, and we'll do that, for half."

"Half of the payment for 6 men in comparison to my 114? You'll get 20%"

"40."

"Quarter."

"A third."

"Deal."

We extended his hand, and I shook it. And that was the moment I made a deal with the devil.