Chapter 43: Siege of the North, Part 5

Medical Station

Fire Nation Embassy

Agna Q'ela

"Are you sure you don't need morphine, erm, your highness?"

"Just ma'am will do. And yes, I say save the morphine for the rest of the team."

"If that's the case, here's a rag."

"What for?"

"So you don't bite your tongue off."

"Right."

"Now hold still." the nurse ordered. Gripping the sides of the bunk, Ursa bit on the rag and grit her teeth while the nurse sewed her wounds. As he finished wrapping her wounds up, the ambassador burst into the room, took one look at the fully occupied medical facility and shook his head, before muttering "This is a Spirits-damned mess." Looking at Ursa, he breathed out a heavy sigh and asked "Could I have a word with you?"

"You can do it right here."

"Please tell me how do I explain this to Arnook?"

"I did what needed to be done. If you have children, you'll understand."

"You say like I don't understand what is at stake here. I damn well do. Hell, I was going to give you permission anyways but you had to go off on your own and what do I hear? A Agni-damned shootout in the middle of the street, a blown up building and NWT personnel dead and dying. And let's not forget that asshole Pakku's men got shwacked as well. Spirits I can deal with the Interior Directorate heads but fuck me to tears when it comes to Pakku and his fucking White Lotus bitches."

"You done ranting yet?"

"I hope you can live with yourself. Your operation got my only grandchild killed. You think I don't know what it's like, to watch your children go off to war knowing that the next time you see them it might be in a body bag? Know this, that your daughter's life was bought with the blood of my grandson."

"You think just because I run a criminal organization means I am incapable of understanding the value of a life? You think I don't feel the same way as you do? I have personnel on life support fighting your dirty wars in the streets of the Southwestern Earth Kingdom. My children were damn near shot to hell extracting a high level individual from the Northern Earth Kingdom, only to see their efforts go up in a funeral pyre because of traitors in your outfit. So yes, I know what the costs are and I will gladly sacrifice the whole world in exchange for my children's safety. You of all people should understand. Your grandson was a good soldier."

"Saying all this cannot and will not bring him back. How am I supposed to tell my child that their kid was blown to kingdom come on a raid in the heart of the Northern Water Tribe? That they aren't even allowed the luxury of looking at their kid one last time because of how fucked up his face is. When this is all over, I don't ever want to see your face in Agna Q'ela or Caldera ever again. Royal status be damned, next time I see you it better be from behind bars or hanging from the gallows." he fumed, before turning to head back out.

"Tell me colonel, did you ever act this way when you were in the Golden Division?" Ursa asked, just as he was about to exit the room completely.

"That was different."

"Not from where I'm sitting. Unconventional warfare does not distinguish between peacetime and wartime. Correct me if I am wrong, but the Golden Division was raised as an unconventional warfare unit, was it not? With officers like this, I'm surprised you lived long enough to make colonel."

"Your point?"

"These soldiers risked their lives on this operation, knowing full well the consequences. I will not let you belittle or talk down what they have accomplished tonight in spite of their casualty. Ask yourself, is this what your grandson would have wanted, watching gramps tear apart his fireteam for doing the right thing? Come and find me when you've come up with a proper answer." she replied, before letting the ambassador walk away in a huff.

Just then, she heard a soft whimper coming from Kiyi, whose face was tightly wound up in anguish and was tossing and turning in her bunk. Pulling her close, she embraced her in a hug, as her whimpering turned into soft sobs of apologies. Rubbing her back, Ursa repeated "It's okay sweetie, mama's here."

Looking up with wet bloodshot eyes, Kiyi stammered "But-but I failed, and and I let myself be captured and, and and he-he-if only I was as strong as Azzie-"

"Shhh, it's okay. I'm not angry at you. I'm just happy you're alive and well."

"But-he, he-he did all these things to me, and-and-I feel so dirty and used and a failure and-and-"

"Just because you feel like you're worthless doesn't mean you are to me. You'll always be my precious, no matter what. I will still always be here for you and I still love you, even when you don't, even when it's hard. A mother's love should be unwavering, and I will not repeat the same mistakes I did with your brother and sister."

"Really?"

"Really. Now rest sweetie, mommy's got some business to attend to."

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Please stay with me. The nightmares, I keep seeing them everytime I close my eyes. If-if you need to go, that's fine. I-I need to be strong like-like Azzie or Zuzu." she replied with a quiver in her lip.

"Oh Kiyi, you don't have to say that. I will stay here with you for as long as you need."

"You will?"

"For you, I will do anything." Ursa answered, clasping her hands over Kiyi's.

"Thank you." Kiyi whispered, before falling back on to the bunk. Soon she was fast asleep, her body getting the rest it desperately needed, a small smile gracing her face after the trauma of the past few days.

Outskirts of Agna Q'ela

With their snowtruck all repaired and fueled up, they made for all haste to the capital as by now, they were sure that Arnook was probably a teensy bit apoplectic that his daughter and future son-in-law were out and about in the field for quite a while with little to no radio communication and for all they knew, Agna Q'ela would be a smoking, melted ruin when they got back.

Of course, they weren't privy to the betrayal of the Wolves themselves at the hands of the dragons, as it were. Granted, it was going to take a while for news to filter through to the lower ranks, who were already antsy about working with the Agni Kais in the first place. Between two heavily armed groups that threatened to wipe each other out wholesale, both of them had a score to settle with the current administration of Arnook, one for purely business reasons and the other for ideological and political reasons. In addition, there was the off chance that the other political figures in the capital might engage in power plays and force Bulan out of office on some asinine charges, of which Arnook would be forced to concede to, lest the realm be torn apart by civil war.

Regardless, the sooner they got back, the better. In the front row, sat Zuko, Miska and Aang, while the couples were relegated to the rear of the vehicle. "What does your brother think I am? Some sort of sex addicted pervert?" Sokka grumbled.

"Judging by how you act whenever we're alone, I'm inclined to think so." Azula replied, her head resting on Sokka's lap as she pawed and swatted at the drawstrings of his hood.

"I'm inclined to agree. Then again, I've only walked in on you guys one time."

"Hahn could you educate your little peasant here on the usage of doors? It seems like she has no concept of such things."

"Why must you get me in trouble?" Hahn whined.

"Life would be so much more boring if I didn't. Besides, getting in trouble is how we met in the first place." Bulan replied, fiddling with the safety selector on her weapon.

"Could you stop that? You could cause a ND, you know?"

"Relax, the chamber's empty. Unless of course, your's isn't, which is why you're concerned about it."

"Why are you the way that you are?"

"I didn't hear you complain the last time we had sex."

"Spirits, you have him well and truly whipped, haven't you?"

"Being the chief's kid affords you a lot of leeway. You're a princess, you should know this."

"I-well, no actually. It was always 'Azula stop this, Azula sit still, Azula this, Azula that.' with Ursa. Besides, it's not like you don't know who my father is. I mean, who trains their kid to be an unstoppable killing machine for the state? So no, it wasn't as privileged as you think. Thanks a lot for dredging up the past, asshole." Azula snapped.

"Sorry to-"

"I don't need your pity. The past is the past. He can rot in that hole."

"Right." was all Bulan said, as an awkward silence descended. A tapping on the window broke the awkward tension and Miska's head popped out "Get your weapons ready, there's what looks like a checkpoint set up ahead. We might need your clout to get us through, so Zuko's going to stop here so Aang and Chief Hahn can switch places."

"If you can see the checkpoint, there's no point in stopping unless you want us to get shot. I'll pull the flaps up so they can see me."

"You got a point. But just keep your guard up, I have a feeling shit's going to hit the fan." he replied, before closing the window. As they drew near, the hairs on Azula's and Bulan's neck stood on end, as if a sixth sense alerting them something was definitely up. As they drew closer, the checkpoint came into view, with a rudimentary command post, barriers and an assortment of men in White Lotus and NWT police uniforms. While the absence of the military was a good thing, out here it was not good news as while Agna Q'ela could be handily covered by the police units with some White Lotus support, out in the larger Northern Water Tribe territory they would be stretched thin, which was where the military came in.

Not that the law enforcement units of the NWT were incapable, as Hahn and Bulan had seen to it that their standards were drastically raised when they took over, but there weren't enough people in the units to fully cover the territories in a scenario like this. In any case, Zuko and Miska readied their weapons of choice, which were a handful of throwing knives that could be turned into flaming darts and a pistol respectively. Wisely, Aang crawled into the backseat and tossed a blanket over himself, hoping that if the polar bear dog diarrhea swamped the ventilation systems he would be relatively safe from the maelstrom.

In the rear, Azula, Sokka and Bulan readied their weapons and laid flat on the bed, anticipating them to rake the sides of the truck bed if things went south. Meanwhile, Hahn made sure he had his armour plate on before peeling back some of the tarp covering the rear, intending to expose as little of himself while making sure that there was no mistaking him should it be a false alarm.

Then again, it wouldn't be a Blue Spirit operation if things didn't immediately escalate out of control, the first sign of which was a waterbender that raised up a wall of snow and ice that would most likely break their vehicle if Zuko tried to ram it. The next was the sudden flurry of activity as the checkpoint was suddenly swarming with activity, as white and blue uniforms suddenly materialized out of the vehicles.

"This doesn't look good." Miska muttered glumly.

"Just another day on the job." Zuko responded drily.

"What do you mean 'just another day on the job?'" Miska asked.

"Stick around with us for a few assignments and you'll see."

Back in the rear, Hahn called out "This is Interior Directorate Chief Hahn, stand down."

"How do we know it's actually you? More to the point, how do we know you aren't being coerced by Agni Kai members hidden in the truck bed? Not that we don't trust you, but you have a known Agni Kai affiliate in the driver seat. " A middle aged man called out.

"He's with us."

"Since when do we work with ashmakers?"

"That's classified and above your paygrade. As your superior, I am ordering you to stand down and let us through."

"I am afraid we cannot do that, chief." was his response. Growing a little irate, Hahn asked "Who gave you that order ?"

"High Chief Arnook."

"Bullshit, show me proof."

"If you would step out of the truck I can show you proof."

"Not happening."

"Then I must regretfully turn to this course of action." he replied in a tired tone. Raising his hand in a signal, multiple icicles now surrounded the vehicle, each a foot in diameter and three feet long. In his estimation, there would be more than sufficient power and length to run the whole driver side through after ripping a nice big hole in the thin skin of the snowtruck. Seeing no choice but to play his cards boldly, Hahn slapped the roof of the cab. Immediately the ladies in the flat bed popped up like badgermoles and cut loose in a hail of raking automatic fire while Sokka engaged the rear as Hahn tumbled ungracefully to the floor, where he cocked his pistol and started blasting away for all the good that it would do.

In the front cab, Zuko gunned the engine in reverse upon hearing Hahn hit the roof, and sped backwards while Miska shot at the patrol through the window. When his pistol ran empty, he grabbed his carbine off the floor and blasted away, tearing large chunks of glass out of the truck and giving all a bad case of tinnitus. Those on the sides were immediately cut down while up front, a lance narrowly passed over Aang's face, hovering just centimeters above his nose as it sliced through the thin skin. As Zuko backed away, he could see that at least one lance speared one of their own, the tip staining the ice and the surrounding snow crimson.

Ripping off the now perforated tarp, Zuko spun the vehicle sideways and the rear cut loose with another flurry of bullets and fireballs. Predictably, there were more icicles that were hurled at them now that the initial shock of Zuko's evasive action and the rapid follow up by Miska, Azula and Bulan wore off. As clicking sounds replaced the staccato beat of metal on metal, a silence came rushing back to fill the void, before giving way to the groans and cries of the wounded and dying.

Each section sounded off their own roll calls, making sure they were all accounted for. Popping the window, Miska checked with Hahn that all was good, before all of them dismounted, muscles tensed and ready to strike if any of them so much as breathed out of sync. Assessing the carnage, they methodically checked the dead bodies for any scraps of intelligence, before turning their attention to the wounded. Amongst the dead, were men who were clearly waterbenders as evidenced by their lack of weapons and their waterskins slung in an easy to reach position but had the green eyes of an Earth Kingdom national, or at least had Earth Kingdom parentage.

Most had blue or gold eyes, which given the sizable Fire Nation diaspora was not uncommon. But the presence of green eyes troubled Bulan and Hahn. Shouts of "We've got a live'un here!" soon grabbed their attention. A brief glance over told them the man was not going to live long enough to see the next sunrise, which was hardly surprising given the wounds sustained. A large scorch mark tattooed his left flank, where the parka had burned into his body and multiple gunshot wounds in his right, which was building a small maroon puddle in the snow.

"Here, take this. It'll help ease the pain. Just tell us what you know" Hahn offered.

"Pfft, why should I?" the man spat back, before coughing up some blood. "We have our orders, same as you. I'd rather die than live under the rule of someone like you dirtying up the blood line."

"Say that one more time and I'll-"

"You will what? Kill me? If it isn't clear, I'm already kicking down the door to hell. See you there, you half breed mutt." he calmly replied, before hacking out more of his sanguine lifeforce.

"Then let me make your journey as painful as possible." Bulan countered, before snatching one of Zuko's knives and plunging it deep into his thigh, twisting it almost glacially.

"I might not be a firebender or a waterbender, but I can make your last moments in this world a living hell." she whispered, her bare hand channeling heat into the blade. Soon the sound and smell of flesh being burned wafted through the air, as gold met gold in a staring contest. Despite his earlier bravado, the man soon broke in a scream.

"I hear that Agni will not accept those who are not cremated whole. Shall we find out?" she grinned, before pulling the knife out and hacking off the man's thumb.

"Agni almighty she can give Mai a run for her sadism." Azula nudged her brother.

"If Mai is sadistic, she's on a whole 'nother level."

"Are you guys not going to stop her?"

"Hmm….no. Not since you insulted my fiancée." Hahn pretended to ponder, before answering.

"I'll talk, I'll talk! Just make this crazy bitch stop!"

"This crazy bitch won't stop till you properly apologize." she shot back, now turning the blade counterclockwise in his palm. Seeing this side of his superior, Miska wondered to himself if the accusations that a suspect had died under her questioning was not some fabricated charge but an uncomfortable truth swept under the bearskins due to her status. Seeing that she was damn near levitating off the proverbial rails, Hahn looped his arms under hers and restrained her, pulling her off his body.

"That's enough."

"Fuck you Hahn, he fucking insulted me and he must learn his lesson."

"What kind of lesson is a dead man walking going to learn ? This is not the first time you lost your shit on duty, next time I will have your father remove you from public service entirely."

"Let me go!" she squirmed, but Hahn merely tightened his hold.

"No! That's an order as your direct superior."

"Fuck your orders, I am the chief's daughter and my word is law."

While they bickered and argued, Miska took the chance and stuck a morphine syrette into him, and asked "Tell us what you know, please."

With his dying breath, he wheezed "D-Don't t-trust any-anyone. H-he's pl-pl-playing a double game, can't trust-him."

"Can't trust who?"

"Someone in the highest positions of power. Th-that's all I know." he mumbled, as his breathing began to slow down.

"Any idea?"

Suddenly, the man's eyes widened and he hollered "Agni they-they're coming. Spirits this is a suicide charge!" scrabbling for a grenade on his vest.

"Who's they? Stay with me!"

But Miska never got his answer as a round blasted the man's nose in and severed the brain stem, ceasing his movements instantly. On a hunch, Zuko began to strip the man's clothes, searching for a tattoo to the surprise of everyone. Flipping the corpse on its stomach, he found what he was looking for, a cherry blossom in full bloom, its petals fluttering on the winds on his shoulder blade.

"No wonder he sounded familiar. I'm sorry comrade, that it had to end this way." Zuko uttered to himself, as he closed the man's eyes.

"Comrade?"

"Ever heard of the Divine Wind Division?"

"Name sounds familiar, only ever heard it from some old geezer who served in the Earth Kingdom's Foreign Legion."

"I served in it. Every man had the tattoo on his left shoulder blade. The petals on the wind was an image of us carried on the divine winds to victory."

"It was a suicide division right?"

"That's right. He thought it was a fitting punishment, given how much I cared for the men on the frontlines. 'Since you care about them so much, why don't you join them? After all, every prince had not shied away from military service.', was what he said. Put me in a suicide division right after he burned my face."

"Your dad is all kinds of fucked up."

"Welcome to the Fire Nation royal family." Azula drily remarked. "Now let's get a move on, we don't got all day."

"Right."