All That Was Left: Honor

by All That Was Left

The Fire Nation has been defeated at Ba Sing Se. Lu Ten is dead, General Iroh disgraced, Fire Lord Azulon passed, and Ozai inheriting his throne. As the Earth Kingdom aggressively regains its territory and the Fire Nation attempts to assert control, a group of Fire Nation deserters seek to protect those unable to defend themselves, and punish those who abuse their power.

38. Chapter 35: Bitter Sweet Entrance Exam

Captain Zhao

Nobody present wished to be here, I could already tell. Except perhaps for the man who had demanded this meeting in the first place. I had, yet again, somehow managed to underestimate Captain Sazuh's stupidity, but sure enough, he had gone ahead and demanded an audience with General Shu, to which I had been ordered to attend.

It was a deliberate effort I was making to hide my contempt for the man. On any other circumstance, I wouldn't have held back, but seeing as I was in the presence of a high-ranking official upon whom any slight would have entailed career suicide, I held my tongue.

It's far too early to this, I thought to myself, noting the time: 0930. I had only managed to secure around 5 hours of sleep before receiving the summons. I had no doubt that Sazuh had cast aside all sleep for the mere rage-induced effort to file the proper forms as quickly as possible and get them to Shu as early as could be. Indeed, to my right, the captain looked rather sleep-deprived, fueled by this rivalry he had committed himself fully to in the last few hours.

I had to admit, there was something almost admirable about his dedication if it wasn't so foolhardy and misplaced.

The general's time and patience were thin as they were. Ever since Operation Red Moon had been conceived, each day had been more hectic than the last, the burden falling on every man present in the Western Armada, but more than anyone else, falling upon the shoulders of the general. It was clear he wished for this distraction to be cast aside as quickly as possible, and so he asked, turning to Sazuh who he knew had been the one to bring this "issue" to attention, "What appears to be the problem, Captain Sazuh?"

The captain rose from his chair and immediately saluted with the submissive yet enthusiastic call of, "General Shu, sir!" So that's how he intends to play this? The perfect lap dog, ready to shove his nose as far up the general's ass as possible. My eyes trailed from Sazuh, still standing, to the captain who seemed in no parts amused.

I'd done my research on Sazuh. I had, after all, been curious how a captain could be so unacquainted with the style of the general he was serving under, but upon learning more of his naval career, the pieces fit together. He was a transfer from the Mainland Defense Fleet. I knew its commander, by reputation more than personal experience—Admiral Izureh, a man who prized complete and total loyalty above results—a luxury that I suppose was able to be granted far away from the front, hundreds of miles from where the nearest engagement with an actual enemy would ever feasibly occur.

Captain Sazuh thus had yet to adjust, brought in only recently to participate in the Nip Sea Campaign. The reasoning behind his transfer was shrouded behind black ink, but knowing the man, it wouldn't surprise me if Izureh and simply grown tired of him and decided that he'd rather see him die on the front than continue to serve under him. I wasn't far from thinking General Shu was considering something similar as his face settled into a forced neutrality, shrouding what I believed to be no shortage of annoyance.

"At ease," he grumbled, prompting Sazuh to return to his seat and continue. "As you know, general," the captain out of his element continued, "at 0200, Fire Nation forces under my command, as per your orders, attacked Earth Kingdom forces stationed at the military fortress Xiahu. By 0245, Earth Kingdom forces had been routed, the fortress had been secured, and the stage of Operation Red Moon, codenamed Shepherd, had been completed. However, in the closing stages of the battle, newly promoted Captain Zhao, seated to my left, in opposition to my orders to hold fire on any fleeing Earth Kingdom vessels, chose to do just that, sinking a fleeing vessel."

General Shu waited a few moments after Sazuh's flurry of words had ceased, ensuring that he was not about to be hit with a second wave before he cleared his throat to speak. He turned to me now, something in his eyes almost begging that I keep this brief, the stacks of paper on his desk proclaiming that he didn't have the time for a second preachy rant. "Captain Zhao," he said towards me with a nod, sparking something of guilt within me that so soon after my promotion to captain, I was already back in his office for less than favorable purposes. I had to be sure this went my way. A stain like this on my career so soon after a promotion could very easily reverse everything I'd worked towards.

I picked up on his cue for me to speak, and did so, choosing my words carefully as I said, "Captain Sazuh is not incorrect. I did disobey his orders and fired upon a fleeing Earth Kingdom vessel." I stopped there, taking a chance, praying my gambit would pay off. To my right, Sazuh demonstrated a brief look of shock before allowing his face to settle into something of a hideous smirk. Was he this stupid? I found myself wondering. Did he actually take what I was saying as a confession of guilt?

"Explain why you did so, captain," General Shu continued, prompting a curious pair of eyes from Sazuh to head my way. Was he really so stupid so as to believe that was the end of it? What the hell kind of military career had this excuse of a naval officer practiced in the Mainland Defense Fleet?

"My observation crew was able to identify that the passing vessel contained only a single soul aboard, a helmsman, the rest of the ship entirely abandoned. The command crew and I were able to surmise that the vessel was a distraction, intended to lure us away from what was likely to be their true escape vessel. Lacking time to contact Captain Sazuh, head of Operation Shepherd, I made a judgement call and decided to fire upon the Earth Kingdom vessel." My reasoning was obvious, and I saw no need to elaborate. Had we spared the distraction, it was very likely that those who did escape may have suspected that we allowed them to do so. In "falling" for the trap, however, their escape would be made all the more feasible, and I knew General Shu was capable of seeing this.

There was nothing more to be said. "Very well," he spoke. "Then this hearing id adjourned. You are both dismissed."

But we weren't dismissed. I stood up to stand, an empty gesture. I knew we wouldn't be leaving just quite yet. My suspicions were confirmed when, now to my left, as I had turned back towards the door, "Sir? Is that it?"

That's right, dumbass. One shovelful at a time. Dig your grave.

"I said you are dismissed."

But the mainland officer, so acquainted with dogmatic naval command, would not stand down. For all intents and purposes, he was in the right. At least, he would be elsewhere, where military hierarchy was set in stone, where the armed forces was more a parade than a clash of life and death. And so he stood, but not to leave, facing down the General as he said, "Captain Zhao, my subordinate, refused to obey direct orders. This is a direct violation of Fire Navy Military Doctrine, and it is only fitting that he be punished for this!"

There was a silence that pervaded in the air as Sazuh was afforded those few tense moments to comprehend the erroneous irony of what he had just said, making demands of a superior officer. I wondered if General Shu, who I was sure noticed this, would call him out on it, but it seemed he had something very different in mind as he asked, "Who is your superior?"

With a quivering voice he was attempting to hold at bay with a masquerade of bravery, Sazuh said quietly, "You are, sir."

"No. Who is your direct superior?"

"Section commander Naisu, sir."

"And who is his direct superior?"

"You, General Shu, sir."

"And who is his direct superior?"

"High Admiral Aosalen, sir!"

"And who is his direct superior?"

"Fire Lord Ozai, First of his Name, Lord of the Fire Nation, Duke of Caldera, Count of Hari Bulkan, sir!"

"Does Fire Lord Ozai give you your orders, directly, captain?"

"I-"

"Does Fire Lord Ozai give you your orders directly, captain?" he repeated the question.

"No, sir!"

"And why doesn't he?"

And Captain Sazuh paused again. I was thankful I was facing away towards the door so my grin wouldn't be in plain sight. I allowed it to die down before slowly turning back around to face the scene as the general now spoke again, tired of Sazuh's hesitation.

"Because Fire Lord Ozai does not see what you see. Our military organization, in facilitating ranks that pass down through an organized hierarchy is not merely titular, but effective. Just as the Fire Lord does not know what transpires on this front up to every detail, I do not know what transpires at Xiahu, hence why you were put in charge. Just as I did not know what transpired at Xiahu, you were not aware of what was transpiring by Captain Zhao's vessel. Only he did, and he made a decision. One that was likely the right one. Our military allows for flexibility in order to allow military personnel, down to the individual soldier if need be, to make decisions based upon their immediate assessment of the situation. I do not know how the Mainland Defense Fleet handled their hierarchy, but you're not there anymore. You're on the front, and you need to decide what matters more—victory for your nation, or victory for yourself. This isn't politics. This is war. Now, you are dismissed." He turned to me, allowing his frustration to subside for the mere moment, a gesture I appreciated at the very least as he seemed conscious that the events that had transpired here were not of my doing. "Both of you. You will be receiving summons to a war meeting tomorrow to discuss how to continue. You will both be there. Now go. I don't want to have any more meetings like this. Understood?"

"Aye, sir!" I saluted.

Captain Sazuh was slower to do so, seemingly still locked in a shock of sorts, but upon hearing my voice and the stomp of my salute, he snapped back into reality, albeit a small bit later, saluting back with "Aye, sir!"

And with that, he nodded for us to leave, the doors opening before us by the two guards flanking the entrance, allowing us to pass through before proceeding to close them behind us.

Once out into the hallway, a reasonable distance away from the main door, both of us on our ways back to our individual skiffs to secure rides back to our vessels, he paused. I wondered what was roiling through his head just now, and took great delight in imagining the gear clanking and sputtering within, grinding to a halt. I wondered if he was working up the nerve to say something, but I decided to beat him to the punch, holding out a hand I knew he wouldn't take, asking, "No hard feelings?"

My voice, as it was back in Shu's office, was enough to snap him back into reality, albeit only momentarily as he eyed my hand, allowing his face to turn towards mine. There were no words for him to say. He merely turned, declining my arm as I'd expected he would, and marched back towards his own skiff, defeated, humiliated.

I was thankful for him turning away, as it finally allowed me the breathing room to no longer hide my smirk.

That idiot, I thought to myself. There would be no forgetting this, I knew. Whether it was his record or his memory, the scars left by this humiliation would never leave him. Everything had gone exactly as I'd expected they would, and I couldn't lie. I was by no means short on pleasure.

I gave myself the moment to revel in his humiliation as I sulked away before deciding to continue down the stairway towards the skiff bay, doing so until, on my way down, I was encountered by a familiar face, one I almost found myself not recognizing.

"Harzek?" I asked after he had already passed, turning around to face the man's backside as he paused at the sound of my voice, turning around to face me. He didn't seem to have noticed me, but certainly did so now.

"Captain Zhao," he responded matter-of-factly. It wasn't cold, nor warm at that. There was an air of surprise behind his voice.

I supposed it was a surprise for him to find me here, but it should have been of no surprise for me to find him, this being his new station rather than a ship of his own, a conscious choice of his own despite his rise to the rank of captain.

Behind his voice more than anything, however, was a sadness, something still leftover from everything that had transpired over the last couple of months.

Can I blame him?

"I wasn't expecting to see you here," he admitted.

"Nor I, you. But…it's good to see you."

He nodded saying nothing in response to that as he eyed me over. "Your uniform," he commented, bringing attention to my captain garments. "It suits you well." I didn't detect any resentment behind his statement, but notwithstanding, there was something there that elicited guilt, as though the uniform I wore was crafted directly from the skins of his men who had died under our joint authority. I knew the guilt was there for him. I could never doubt that much, and I doubted he was attempting to share it. I believed that the guilt merely followed him, and every action he took, likely not by his own conscious choice.

"The General," I coughed, clearing my throat, noticing the stack of papers he held in his hands as he marched through the halls. "General Shu. He's…keeping you busy?"

"Making plans for the battles to come. Making sure it will all be worth it."

"It will be," I felt compelled to assure him. "It's almost over."

He nodded, myself unsure if he believed my words, assuming even if he did, it likely did little at the end of the day.

"There's a meeting tomorrow," I continued. "You'll be there?"

He nodded. "Putting together the last pieces," he stated. "It's like you said. It's almost over."

The words felt eerily cryptic, but I surmised that it was merely the cold emptiness in his voice that made that come across as so. He'd lost everything. Half of his unit was dead, the other half divided between separate commands. His comrades, everything, it was gone to him. All that was left was finishing this. And after that, well, I couldn't help but wonder what would be in store for Harzek at the end of everything, myself praying it wasn't the end of a noose.

I nodded. "It'll be worth it."

He nodded.

"It will be," I assured him.

"You should get back to your ship. Your crew will be waiting for you."

With that, he turned back around onto his preset route, the face that felt like it was from a different life suddenly becoming invisible to me once again. Soon enough, after one turn down the hall, he was gone from my sight, but the reminder was still there, shrouded since we had left the Si Wong Desert, but now suddenly back in the limelight. I turned back down the hall, towards where my skiff to take me back to my vessel awaited. My crew. I remembered the men I'd fought beside in the desert, the men who had been considered my 'comrades' for those months, most of them dead now.

It will be worth it, I assured myself. Then finally, I can be free from this guilt. Free from this burden.

I marched down the hall.

It will be worth it.

By month's end, the Earth Kingdom in this region will fall.

The lives of the men who died will buy us victory, will buy our Nation victory, and will buy nothing short of utter defeat for our enemies.

My face hardened at that last thought. And it will have been me who made the exchange that bought us victory.

Luke

I had actually managed to convince myself that nights like these were behind me. I guess it was that they were so few and far in between that managed to sell the illusion. One could imagine that I was the least bit comforted, then, when a familiar voice brought me out of night's dark abyss into something…something else.

"It's time to wake up."

No.

I was somehow convinced that I could actually banish her voice, her as a whole. Wanting to think that, knowing as how it was all in my head after all, I could cut it off, vast it away, be done with it.

It was an amusing thought.

One that yielded nothing of course.

"It's been a long time since we've truly spoken."

"Yeah…it's been a pleasant few months."

"Your last few months have been anything but pleasant."

"Oh? Somebody's been snooping."

"You still seem to think my presence is a joke."

"It isn't?"

There was a silence. If there was one thing I could appreciate from nights such as these, it was my chance to torment my tormentor. All I had to do was stall, waste her time, annoy her until she gave up, see how much she could take.

I sighed, groaned, as much as I could within the confines of my own head. "I said, last time you visited me, that I was done. Didn't you get the memo?"

"You were in a different place then."

"Physically or metaphorically, because yes, I was physically in a different location last time we had one of our little chats."

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, I do, but I hate to tell you, I don't care. I meant what I said last time. I don't want any part of your games. I don't know what you were trying to get out of me, but it ain't happening, or, hell," I chuckled. "Maybe it is. I'm helping Earth Kingdom terrorists now. That closer to what you wanted from me? Told me last time to leave the Fire Nation. Well, here I am. Hope you're proud. You can leave now."

"Is that what you truly want, then? For me to be gone."

"Don't fucking start another game with me. Yes, that's what I want."

"So you reject the role you have to play in restoring the balance of the world."

"Woman, fuck your balance. The world is changing, get fucking used to it. You have your own little fancy spirit world, and I have my shitty, dirty, bloody one. It may be shit, but it's our shit. It's not an excuse for you to treat us like some sort of social experiment. So let us do our thing, go back to your own world in the clouds, and, very kindly, fuck off, Raava."

She seemed to ignore what I was saying entirely, made evident as she continued to drone on, seemingly unfazed, "A time will come soon when you come to me asking for aid. When you come to me asking for something. The day comes soon, and I will embrace you with open arms. Remember this. For now, I wish you luck."

"Luck?"I scoffed. "Go fuck yourself."

"Wow," came the female voice again. "Fuck you too."

What?

It was no longer the empty black abyss that surrounded me. Rather, it was the seemingly amused face of Zare by my side, craning her head around the corner of the crate we leaned against for support over the night to observe me where I rested.

A moment of panic dominated my mind for a brief moment until the characteristic amused grin on her face, in spite of the grim circumstances around us, informed me that she hadn't taken the insults as directed toward her, and so I responded, "Wasn't talking to you, but now that you're here…"

She released an airy guffaw, no noise emitting from her parted lips as she mock laughed at my comment.

Sitting up elicited a grunt from me as I suddenly found myself coming to terms with the built-up soreness of a night spent running and fighting for my dear life. I did, in time, however, manage to sit up straight against the crate to my back, asking, "I was talking in my sleep, then?", suddenly nervous of what may have slipped.

"Mhmm," she confirmed.

"Anything coherent?" I pressed, now conscious of what just my dream had entailed, praying that nothing had slipped.

She shrugged. "Just was cursing out somebody. Was either a nightmare, or a really fucked up sex dream by the sound of it."

I chuckled at her remark, relieved that nothing important had slipped by the look of it. With that concern dealt with, I attempted to put the memory of the night aside.

It was around then that I became aware of just what it was that had woken me, reminded by the loud clattering around me, the grinding of machinery, and the blowing of a horn. Zare seemed to have caught the look of confusion in my eyes, and clarified the situation in stating, "We're docking. Looks like we made it to Jingping."

Great, I thought. More Earth Kingdom.

I suppose I shouldn't have been complaining. With my current affiliations being Earth Kingdom nationalist, separatists, and terrorists, it was very likely that I was better off here than in Fire Nation custody where I'd very likely be executed on sight.

Then again, my being a firebender was just the justification needed to tie a noose around my neck and lynch me from a tree. The more time that went by, the more I was beginning to realize just how little safety there was for me in this world.

Should've stayed with the Fire Nation, damnit.

There was no time, however, for regrets, especially as Gordez and Zek appeared from what seemed to be above decks, working their ways through the sparse assortment of Earth Kingdom soldiers.

The scene around us was by no means pleasant. We were surrounded by the injured and exhausted, the losses that had been inflicted far more taxing for them than they could have possibly been for us, half of their comrades left in the ruins of the place they'd called home for years now. This was defeat in its purest form, and that reminder was not going anywhere. There was something in addition to that loss, however, something that supplemented, reworked it-a desire for revenge. And so for every soldier that was licking his wounds, trying to snatch as much sleep as he could, there was another that was sharpening his blade, counting his arrows, etching the names of his fallen comrades into his helm as a reminder of why he fought, and why he would take the life of the next Fire Nation soldier he confronted without hesitation and without mercy.

There was something that thus concerned me about these present conditions. I'd seen this level of anger and hate and desire for revenge before, and I'd seen what had erupted from it. Had myself been a part of it.

While I was loathe to wish harm upon the soldiers of my country, I found myself praying that this unrestrained anger and fervor would emerge on the battlefield through martial conflict rather than where it would be civilians who would face the brunt of this onslaught.

The last thing I wanted was to witness another Stone's Edge. Much less be a part of it.

"Come on," Gordez said. "We're docking. Cholla wants us on deck, armed and ready for anything."

It was while Gordez was in the midst of his statement that I noticed Ka'lira was not among the duo. Zek himself seemed rather worse for ware, his spirits seemingly as low as they had been the day prior. I wanted to think it was merely the shock of the Fire Nation assault that had stirred him so, but when I also took Ka'lira into account, or, rather, the lack of her, it wasn't hard to connect the dots and see something was occurring between them.

My pondering of their love life was interrupted then by the conclusion of Gordez's statement regarding our preparation for the worst. "We expecting combat?"

Gordez made no deliberate answer, myself not sure if it was out of secrecy or himself not knowing. I assumed the latter as I had no doubt in my mind that Gordez would share any concerns of danger with us as soon as he'd learn of it. "Just, get up, get your gear, and get ready to disembark. I don't know what Cholla has in mind, but whatever it is, it pays to be prepared. Got it?"

"Got it," I replied.

Gordez wasted no time after my reply to march back up to the main deck, Zek stalking slowly behind him, not a word to be spoken in his usual cheery demeanor.

"What's up with him?" came Zare's voice from behind me as I set about grabbing my bag from where I'd set it down before dozing off into sleep. I wondered what time it was, figuring somewhere in the mid-morning.

"Zek?" I asked.

"The quiet one, yeah," she replied, likely still acquainting herself with our names.

It was amusing, but also worrisome hearing Zek being referred to as "the quiet one", that title having used to belong to Gordez who now found himself in the leadership position, beginning to sound more and more like Boss with every passing day.

"Don't know," I answered truthfully, the two of us now both stood up, our minimal gear equipped as we began following in the wake that Gordez and Zek had left behind them.

Other soldiers were rising as well, the message to gather on deck seemingly having been relayed across the Earth Kingdom ranks.

Soon enough, we found ourselves in the open air, a gentle sea breeze almost compelling us to forget about the blood stains lining the deck or that the men around us stood strangely armed for soldiers entering friendly territory.

The docking ramp was already lowered by the time we ascended, a number of soldiers already down below along with Gordez and Zek. A simple nod between Zare and I was all it took for us to agree to head down as well, trying not to be too set at unease by the fact that Earth Kingdom archers were remaining on the deck of the ship with a perfect view of the scene unfolding below.

"Absolutely not," was the first statement I heard as we descended, uttered by an aged man with a thinning head of gray hair. "Supplies are scarce as is, and besides, I am not about to harbor refugees of a recent Fire Nation attack. We'd only be asking for trouble to take you in!"

"Governor Xinhai," Cholla responded calmy, thankfully now providing me with the name of his opponent in this conversation. "The Fire Nation is beginning to make its move in clearing the Earth Kingdom from the coast. Xiahu was first, and Jingping will be next."

"The Fire Nation has left us alone this long in spite of our proximity to the blockade. They haven't attacked us before, and there is no reason to believe they will now!"

"Look in front of you, governor! The men standing behind me, they also hadn't been attacked by the Fire Nation for as long as you had. First it was Heigou, then Xiahu, and you're next."

The elder man simply shook his men, exasperated by what he seemed to take as the insolence as an inferior. "Where is your commander? Hanief. I would much rather speak with him. I know we've seen eye to eye on more than one occasion."

"Commander Hanief is dead, governor. Slain by the Rough Rhinos."

"The Rough Rhinos?" the governor scoffed, seemingly unfazed by the news of Hanief's death, almost taking this as some form of practical joke by the sound of it. "Now I know you're making things up, Captain."

"It's Commander now, governor. Hanief is dead, his rank falling to me, now commander of Earth Kingdom forces in this region. If you won't listen to reason, then I will be forced to pull rank on you. As a civilian interfering in a military operation, this being the defense of the Southern Nip Coast, you will be charged with military interference if you do not step down now."

"Military inter- Look around you, boy! Do you see any fancy smancy Earth Kingdom courthouse here? You are in my town, threatening me with my troops. Who the hell do you think you are?!" He turned to face his entourage of Earth Kingdom, no, Jingping troops, ordering them in saying, "Soldiers! Escort Captain Cholla and his compatriots back aboard their vessel and see them off!"

And such was why we had been told to come armed and ready. It was Cholla who raised his weapon first, a simple sword, tip directly at Governor Xinhai's neck, the unsheathing of sounds screeching all around us as Xiahu soldiers prepared to fight for survival, bows nocking back on the deck of our ship, and before I knew it, my own sword raised, Zare's bow likewise right by my side.

My eyes turned to her, and hers met mine for a brief moment that informed us both that neither of us had any grasp on the situation at hand, only understanding the half of it. The important half of it at that-that the people in front of us were threatening our lives, and we had to defend ourselves.

That's all there was to it.

So far as we could see at least.

"You may want to reconsider that," Cholla said, his stance unmoving, his sword arm unwavering in where it held Xinhai's life in the balance. "These soldiers have already gone through a night of hell, fighting for their lives against the brutality of the Fire Nation's worst. When was the last time your men had seen combat? Much less even considered combat as a possibility? My men are fighting for their survival and they, we, will do whatever it takes. Can you say the same?"

It took me a moment to realize he wasn't asking Xinhai. He was directing this question straight towards the soldiers who were still struggling for the weapons hanging limply at their sides.

A silence then ensued, one occupied by the feeble guard of Xinhai exchanging glances, the tension interrupted by the shouting of the man as he exclaimed, "How dare yo-"

"Quiet!" Cholla snapped, his eyes immediately darting back from the pathetic man to the soldiers once again. "So what will it be?"

A last salvo of worrisome looks was exchanged between the entourage before they could be seen standing down. Some, however, did not stand down, but rather, turned their blades on their governor.

"Your traitorous sons of-"

"Governor Xinhai. I, Commander Cholla of the Earth Kingdom armed forces, is hereby relieving you of your authority and placing the town of Jingping under martial law in response to the threat of Fire Nation aggression. You will be placed under house arrest and any further efforts to disrupt Earth Kingdom operations will result in dire consequences."

All it took was a nod to his men for two to dart forward and quickly apprehend of powerless ex-governor. And he was not handled gently, tenderness one of the last things present in these soldiers now. The governor went about his protests, cursing, spitting, yelling, none of it worthwhile as he was invariably hauled away, his troops making no move to interfere, perfectly capable of seeing who held the power, an observation that the governor had failed to make.

There was still a heavy air of confusion around us, especially between me, Zare, Gordez, and Zek, the 4 of us looking between one another to try and comprehend what had just transpired.

There wasn't much to understand. Cholla was doing what he had to do. No courts, no trials, no formalities, just a simple exchange of authority by means of strength.

Such was the way of Earth Kingdom diplomacy.

Boss

I couldn't let myself become distracted.

It was a constant, uphill battle, but one I needed to maintain control of.

It was hard, accepting the changes in priority. Hell, it was hard even allowing those priorities to change.

But they had to.

For years, I'd known what, rather, who my family was. We'd stuck by each other, fought for each other, killed for each other, and one some occasions, even died for each other. We'd gotten through years that way, and while not all of us had made it, those who had emerged, we'd become family.

But that family was bigger now.

I watched them continue to spar, train, beat the hell out of one another to become faster, stronger, smarter, to become better soldiers.

It was midafternoon, and we had only just now received news from the other side of the sea.

The survivors of Xiahu had regrouped at Jingping. The report read little more than that. It was simply a statement of position. Something the Fire Nation would undoubtedly already know. It was too much a risk to say any more than that, I understood. But nonetheless, I couldn't help but worry.

Don't.

They're fine.

I sighed.

Jadoh was running them through the same war games. More of the same. The shipboard drills went by. The edge still mostly fell to the defenders.

The enemy.

It was the attackers I needed to learn how to win.

Each time, they got closer and closer, but it was never quite enough. More than a few separatists had gotten injured during the exercises.

They would have to learn one way or another.

I realized then that my concern was for them as much are for Gordez and the others.

It almost made me feel guilty to realize that, as though I was betraying my family.

Was I?

I found I didn't have an answer.

As well as that, I also found myself wondering again if the others would have an answer where I didn't. It'd been nearly 2 months since we'd last seen each other. Since then, our senses of belonging had changed significantly. I no longer was the outsider I had been when all of this began. The people who had been keen to kill me at the slightest insult now considered me one of their own. They respected me, looked up to me.

And the others? Where had their sense of belonging fallen. I prayed between one another. The last thing we needed was for them to splinter. I prayed that they had managed to hold themselves together, to not let anything tear them apart.

We were family.

I looked over the field at the separatists in training.

Albeit a slightly larger family now.

But the fact remained.

United, we would stand.

Divided, we were sure to fall.

Luke

It was midafternoon, and Cholla was wasting no time. In a matter of minutes, the town of Jingping had fallen completely under his control. Most of the garrison had willingly surrendered themselves over to the Captain, or, rather, Commander's authority. Some, however, much like their foolish commandant, had held out, and now found themselves jailed.

I wish it was something as simple as a play for power, expanding his control or something along those lines, but it wasn't nearly so simple as that. Cholla's primary intention was, beyond any doubt, to retaliate. In order to do so, however, he needed the means, he needed the centralization of military power. And that was not something he was going to achieve by going through the disgraced governor Xinhai.

Those who had resisted Cholla were already in custody, and now, Xiahu soldiers were already rounding up the civilian populace, taking a headcount. Cholla was planning on arming them down to the last man possible, regardless of age.

He had already given us the go ahead to board wherever we pleased under his authority. All around us, civilians would be returning home from having had their number taken to find some soldier or another having claimed their bedroom for their own.

This is war, I remembered.

These are the people who suffer first and are rewarded last.

This is what I was supposed to be fighting against. What we were supposed to be fighting against. Now we were no more than mercenaries, dipping our toes into conflicts where we didn't belong, taking sides we were supposed to be fighting against.

I grimaced.

Ahead of me, men were separated from the women, husbands from wives, sons from mothers, children as young as 10 being handed weapons they had no reason to wield.

Damnit all.

I didn't know where the others were. Gordez was already being tasked with arranging defenses for the town, fortifying the coast and the like, doing so only after asking Zare to check on Ka'lira, wherever the hell she was. And Zek. He had stalked off somewhere or other.

I tried thinking of the last time I had talked with Zek, that having been back in Xiahu, before everything went as it did. We'd been talking over dinner, I remembered. What we were talking about, however, I found myself hard pressed to recall.

It was only last night.

I shook my head, forcing myself to return to the present.

I was the only one here right now, watching from the sidelines as I saw children handed spears that stood twice as tall as they did.

The air fell thick around us, at least for those of us who were aware of the threat coming. The vast majority of people in this small town, not so small, I supposed, by comparison with the rugged half-manned 'fortress' that was Xiahu, didn't seem to realize the breadth of the issue at hand.

I wasn't even sure I did at that. All I knew was that the Fire Nation would be here eventually. Cholla seemed aware of that as well, hence the fortifications, the child soldiers, the mass conscription. We were getting ready for the worst.

"Can feel it in the air, huh?"

I shouldn't have been surprised to have been met with Zare's voice.

In the last few weeks since I'd met it, it's felt as though It's been her I'd been spending the most time with as opposed to the others.

Was it surprising?

Gordez was busy keeping all of us alive, everyday trying to be the leader that Boss was, or, I thought he was, that qualification of leadership having become blurred in the time away from him. At the very least, Gordez was certainly putting his all into living up to the example of leadership he viewed Boss as. Whether it was building ties with the locals we encountered, be it the Revanchist Water Tribe, the locals of Heigou, the nuns, or now, the Earth Kingdom garrison of Xiahu, well, Jingping now.

Zek, well, he wasn't Zek right now. That much was clear. Zek was the Zek that had been travelling alongside me for over a year now up until yesterday. Whatever it was that transpired between him and Ka'lira, assuming the issue even was between them, though I guessed it was, he had been thrown completely away from his former self, myself only able to hope that he snapped out of it soon enough.

And, I guess, then, that me and Zare simply had the most talking to do, whether it was getting to know each other, or being the closest in terms of age, myself now wondering if her birthday was before or after mine, finding myself praying that I had finally found an escape from being our band's youngest. I suppose that pretty much summed it up, much the same way as getting to know the others of Squad Iron Fire had gone, the beginning being the peak of conversation only to mellow down later into rock solid camaraderie.

I didn't see things playing out too differently with Zare for as long as she decided to stay. I had to remind myself occasionally that her appointment here was only temporary, her likely to return to the nuns once this conflict was resolved, if ever it was.

I snapped myself out of the daze to return to the present reality of Zare rather than the future possibilities. "Mhmm," I answered. "Gearing up for war for real now."

"Was it like this for you before?" she asked as she sat down, adding, "At Ba Sing Se," leaving enough of a pause for my heart to cramp in my chest until remembering the false narrative I'd established of having been an Earth Kingdom soldier at that selfsame site, defending rather than besieging.

"Wasn't too different," I said, not seeking to lie. "Situation gets desperate enough, you stop caring how old somebody is, only if they can hold a bow or spear. Doesn't matter if you're under 5 feet or have a pair of tits."

I paused for a moment, wondering if my latter comment had come off as too crass, but Zare's sincere chuckle quickly put me at ease as she seemed to find genuine comedy in my statement. "Really?" she asked. "Chicks too? Didn't think the Earth Kingdom would ever get desperate enough for that."

I then found myself strained to remember if I had ever encountered a female soldier at Ba Sing Se. The Fire Nation had more than its fair share of women amongst its ranks. The Earth Kingdom on the other hand…The only women I'd faced at Ba Sing Se were civilians.

Not that it had protected them from me at the end there…

I shuddered at the memory, trying to set it aside, to not swell on it.

It wasn't enough. I found myself slipping into it, that same rabbit hole, all of-

Suddenly, the deep dive was halted, something taking me out of it. Her voice. Something I found myself thankful for in that moment more than I ever would have thought.

"Hmm?" I asked, having not caught her statement, praying she'd repeat herself rather than cast aside her statement, threatening to send me back into the realm of shadowed memories.

Luckily, her purposes were far from malevolent, and she seemed to feel no sleight at me having not heard what she'd said. So she repeated nonchalantly, "you know they actually want me serving as support here?"

"Don't want you fighting?"

"Pfft," she scoffed. "Hell no. If there's one thing I can ever rely on the Earth Kingdom for, it's for them to remain grounded in tradition even if it comes at their own expense.

I remembered her telling me, albeit briefly, of her father, the bounty hunter he'd been, and her own training in the same martial arts. "I imagine it's quite different from what you grew up with?"

She scoffed, looking off into the Nip Sea where it rested to our North. "Oh, no shit."

"Father being a bounty hunter and all. Teaching you the same stuff. Not exactly the most traditional Earth Kingdom family."

"Mmm? Oh, yeah. Of course."

There was something off in the way she'd responded.

Had I struck a sensitive subject?

I remembered the way in which she'd brought it up to me only this morning. It certainly hadn't been a detail she'd been keen on sharing. Perhaps it was a subject best omitted.

A terse silence ensued, one that only lasted a few seconds, but, at least for me, and I assumed her as well, seemed to last marginally longer.

I was thus surprised then when she, with seemingly no discomfort or awkwardness, broke the silence in asking, "Hey, Luke. There's something I need to ask. And feel free to say 'no'. It's pretty damn stupid."

"Well," I said, forcing myself to break out of the awkwardness, seeing as how she had done so too. "With an engrossing introduction such as that, how could I say, 'no' to hearing you out. What's up?"

The casualness of my statement elicited a slight smile from her. One that quickly faded as she proceeded to say just what it was that seemed to be on her mind. "'member how Cholla mention yesterday how he sent word to the nuns? About the way to Xiahu being clear?"

That subject of the conversations of last night finally cleared itself, remembering quite well for the most part the exchange that had occurred. "Yeah, I remember, but why-" Then it struck me. There was no Xiahu for them to go to, and no clear way for them to take. What the hell are they walking themselves into? "Oh," I said, now realizing. "Oh shit."

"Yeah. 'Oh shit'. I asked Cholla to send word to Heigou. Said it wouldn't matter, that the people there likely would have already left. I know he's right. They would have gone the moment they got the word. Besides, Fire Nation probably is watching for birds. Won't let any get through."

"Could try the Nip? Get word through the waterbenders?"

She shook her head. "Fire Nation holds the seas here. Anything would get intercepted."

"So…what did you have in mind? And…where do I play in, exactly?"

"I need you to help me get out. I need to get to Heigou, try to find them before anyth-"

"Woah woah woah" There was no thought to precipitate my interruption of her 'plan', if one could even call it that. "You want to what now?"

"I want to go to Heigou. I'll be travelling alone so I'll move faster, and I can probably find them easily. I'm pretty good at tracking, and-"

"Okay, stop again. You want to go out alone? You just said that the Fire Nation will be holding the area to stop communication between here and Heigou. You said yourself that they'll shoot down any bird between here and Heigou. If they can spot and shoot a bird, they sure as fuck can do the same to you. You actually considering this?"

"They'll die otherwise!"

"You'll die if you try to pull of this stupid ass stunt. You don't even know if they're still alive. Fire Nation could have already gotten to them. You saw what the Rhinos did. You really think…" I stopped myself short, realizing the insensitivity of what I was saying. She didn't seem fazed by it, however. If anything, she seemed all the more intent.

I knew what she meant. I knew what she had to do. From a logical standpoint, there could be no justifying it. But from a human side of things, I knew she believed it was what she had to do. She had to believe they could still be saved.

Can they?

"Look," she objected, her voice far harder now as she continued with, "I'm going either way. So you going to cover for me, or aren't you?"

"Fuck no. If you're doing this, I'm going with you." I said the words before I could think them through. What the hell did I just volunteer for?

"No. You have no idea what you're volunteering for."

Fuck, she's right.

"Oh, and you do?"

"I thought this through more than you have."

"All of 5 minutes more? Sorry, Zare, but this is a half-assed and stupid plan at that." Her face was no descending into a scowl. Who could blame her? I was desperate to try and change her mind. In which direction, I couldn't say. Towards staying, or going and taking me along, it didn't matter. So long as it wasn't her dumbass idea to go at this alone. "I can help."

"My father trained me for this kind of thing. Believe me, you'd only slow me down."

"And I spent my entire childhood dodging gangs, evading security forces, and surviving by staying unnoticed. I can handle myself."

"No," was all she had to say. I was making no progress. I was no forced to play a card I hadn't desired to draw.

"Look. You either go with me, or you're not going at all."

"That a threat?"

"Damn right it is. I'll tell Cholla. You know he wouldn't want the chance of information leaking to the Fire Nation if you were to get caught. He'd lock you up, and then you'd never reach your friends." Did I feel guilty for needing to play it this way? Sure. Did I have any other option? Maybe. Was I willing to wait to find those options rather than settling this as soon as possible? No.

"I'd get out."

"You really want to play it this way. You saw me get away from the Rhinos last night."

"You got lucky."

"Oh, so you're the only one who's just an expert at everything you do? Get off your high horse."

"I'm not-" she growled in frustration, an animalistic sound that may have sounded cute in another circumstance. "I just don't want anyone else putting themselves in harm's way."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'd follow you anyway. So keeping me out of risk is out of the picture. Now it's just a matter of whether we'll be doing this together or I'll have to follow from a distance."

"For fuck's sake," she scowled, albeit in a manner that felt almost softer than before. "You always this persistent?"

"Only on Tuesdays."

"It's Saturday."

"Oh, is it? Whoops."

She rolled her eyes, a gesture I could appreciate, marking that some state of levity had been reached at least.

"So is that a 'yes'?" I asked.

I was met with a look somewhere between amusement and annoyance. "You saying you'll help me get out then?"

"I'll help us get out."

"Then 'yes'."

I nodded. "Good."

It was then that Zare sighed, and I could detect already the makings of a sense of defeat as she proceeding to ask, "Think the others would come along too?"

I scoffed. "I think Gordez would be willing to throw us in the brig just to stop us from doing something so stupid. Zek, and Ka'lira, I could see it, but I don't know, I think there's something going on there."

"Not Ka'lira," Zare shook her head. "Gordez wanted me to check up on her. She's not doing too well."

"You actually found her?"

Zare nodded. "Holed up with an Earth Kingdom family. She's…she's not doing too well."

"She say what's up?"

"What do you think?"

"Hmm, I'll take that as a 'no' then."

"Think we should take along Zek then?"

"Might be reluctant to leave Ka'lira here alone, but, shit, might be good for him. Get his mind off of things."

"He bad too?"

"By the looks of it, yeah."

"Mmm. Alright then. But nobody else. We should keep it small. Not draw too much attention. How do you think we should go about getting out?"

"Oh we can just walk out," I answered with a shrug. Most of the soldiers are rounding up the civvies anyway. They won't be looking for us."

"It's-it's that easy?"

"Mhmm. Sure is."

"So, why did I come to you for help?"

"You tell me, but hey, you already asked, I already said, 'yes', so let's get Zek and get a move on."

"I think I fucking hate you, ya know that?"

"Oh, and you hardly even know me. There'll be plenty more room for you to hate me even more as we get to know each other even better."

At that, I noticed through the corner of my eyes, a small smirk that rose to the edge of her mouth as she answered, casually, "I'll be looking forward to that, then."

And with that, there was little more to say or do than find Zek and be on our merry way.

Zek

I am a damned idiot.

That's all that had been on my head last night.

What is wrong with me?

Even when fire was raining around us, when Earth Kingdom soldiers were being slaughtered by the dozen, all my mind could truly focus on was how badly I had messed up.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Hundreds dying around me, and I froze up.

I still couldn't forget how Luke and Zare had found me, just standing there, in front of Ka'lira's room, like a deer cat frozen in torchlight.

When the fighting had begun, it was the first place I'd gone. Of course, naturally, she'd refused to let me get a word in edge wise. She'd locked herself in her room, barricaded herself in, and I had made the conscious decision that I'd sooner die there than leave her to her fate.

I was willing to let myself die there.

Why?

Because I love her, damnit.

Not that it changed anything. Even now, I knew there was no way I'd be able to talk to her. I'd tried on the Earth Kingdom ship, and, of course, it had yielded no results.

Can I blame her?

No, of course I can't.

I deserve it, the cold shoulder. Hell, I deserved significantly worse than that.

I'd been an idiot to think there were some things I could really leave behind for good. Things as horrible as that. Even what Luke had done, was that any worse? Worse than what I did.

Damnit, Zek.

I couldn't help but wonder if maybe it was for the best. If, maybe, this was better for her. I knew she'd get over it. In time. She was resilient like that. She'd move past me, she'd be fine, likely find somebody with a past leagues less fucked up than mine own.

But is my own suffering really worth the chance of her finding something better?

Yes. Yes, it is.

It was no question. If it was one, then it was one immediately shot down by a quick and decisive answer. There was no need to dwell on it. I knew precisely what the proper answer was.

Why am I thinking like this? Why am I so ready to let go?

I'm not, damnit.

And such was the internal contradiction of asking questions and answering them with responses that only elicited more questions. It was a tragic loop that had no end, and only overlapped over itself again and again and again.

My head had been stuck in this state endlessly since last night. It didn't matter how much I tried to snap out of it. I was stuck there.

I wasn't sure to be thankful or aggravated at the sight of Luke and Zare approaching me. I found myself surprised at first that they'd managed to find me until realizing that I wasn't particularly hidden where I was near the edge of town, looking out into the dense forest surrounding Jingping. I supposed that more of the surprise originated from the fact that they'd gone looking for me in the first place. If, in fact, it was me they were looking for. It was just as likely they were merely passing by or seeking me for directions to somewhere or someone else. I wouldn't have been surprised if such were the case. I wouldn't exactly be eager to talk to me were I in their shoes.

It turned out, however, for some unimaginable reason, it was me they were seeking, made apparent by Luke being the one to speak first, stating, "Zek. There's something we gotta do without Gordez or anybody else knowing. You in?"

I hadn't needed to ask for details for Zare to chime in. Hell, I hadn't even had time to really become aware of their presence, much less actually come up with a response. "We're going to try to find the nuns and the others before the Fire Nation can find them. We'll be gone for a few days, but it'll be quicker than last time with just us travelling."

I didn't require any more details. I needed to get out of here, needed to clear my head, simply do something, damnit.

I found my arm wrapping around the strap of my rucksack to my side before I could even think of what I was signing up for. It didn't matter.

There was something selfish about it, doing this for my own sake rather than for the essential value of being able to help these people, though that certainly was part of it. However, I wasn't afraid to admit to myself that I needed the time and space to clear my head, even if that need blinded me to the absurdity of what we were about to do.

It didn't matter.

"I'm in."

And that's all there was to it.

Captain Zhao

The war room aboard the FNS Ajax was not meant to be impressive. It was not constructed to mimic the war room of the Grand Admiral or the Fire Lord at that. It was not constructed to cement some sense of authority, no. It was simply a room. It was those in the room that set the room apart from anything else. Every Captain of the Western Armada all in the same location, and the General himself at the head of it all.

It was the first time that such a council had been assembled to discuss the stage of the campaign that had been dominating every logistics report, every troop reassignment, and ever degree of espionage we could muster. Operation 'Red Moon.' Such was the title that was stamped on the cover page of the stack of papers in front of every one of us, dozens of identical copies lining around the room, mine just one of many.

But it's different, I thought, looking around me, trying to ignore my less that heightened position alongside Captain Yukai of the FNS Stalwart and Captain Raikan of the FNS Ascension. This isn't their brainchild. This isn't the product of over a month spent in the desert, hunting for answers, losing nearly everything to bring it back to the Fire Nation. That was the work of only one person in this room.

As if on cue, my periphery caught sight of Harzek, still bearing the same grim look on his face, facing completely opposite of me as though he were attempting to avoid my gaze.

Well. Two people in this room.

I wondered how he was faring. I still had our ominous encounter from yesterday at the forefront of my mind, wondering just what it was he had meant.

Perhaps I was reading too deep into things. He'd lost half of his men and was stationed away from the other half at that. I'd checked his record. Those had been his same men for over a year. I didn't need to imagine what that would do for a commander. I wouldn't presume to know. I considered my own crew then. Growing attached to one's subordinates had its advantages as well as its risks. Harzek's case was a blatant demonstration of the risks involved, of what transpired when personal feelings were allowed to override rationality

On the other hand, there were the clear positives, having also been demonstrated by the selfsame man throughout the execution of our work together. His men, while doubtful of the mission, had remained entire loyal to their commanding officer, never doubting his motives nor his intentions. They had trusted him with their lives, as any proper soldier would to their CO. And as a proper CO would also do, Harzek made it his foremost goal to preserve their lives, only second to the objective itself. When the time had come to make sacrifices, it had been his own men who had to go before the objective. That was simply how it was, and Lieutenant Harzek, now Captain Harzek, had not failed his nation. And for that reason, we were all sitting here, capable of now deliberating the most effective strategy to rid this region of the Earth Kingdom.

"I'd like to first thank you all for coming," started General Shu. "I know we've been operating in this theater of war for a while now, and many of us are desperate to bring this fighting to an end. As of late, this fighting has seen to become all the more prolonged with increased Separatist activities to the North and emerging Water Tribe complications to the East. That is why we are gathered today, as I'm sure you all know. In front of you is a series of documents for an operation many of you had likely heard hearsay or rumors of. Today, it will no longer be a mystery to you. This operation is code named "Red Moon." These documents are not to leave this room. If they do, or if any of the contents are missing, we will know who is responsible and whoever is the culprit will be tracked down, court martialed, and executed.

"Now then, that aside, I will ask you to turn to the first page of the document in front of you."

A chorus of pages turning as dozens of pairs of eyes settled on the contents before us. Research documents pertaining to that of a lunar eclipse. I recognized the foot notes and the formatting. These documents had originated from the Royal University of Caldera. Others, however, I recognized as direct copies of the documents that Harzek and I had acquired from Wan Shi Tong's library. The documents spanned a number of pages, covering details I had already done my own research in and knew the near extent of. For those less informed, however, General Shu ran through a brief synopsis, outlining the heavenly movements, the rotation of the bodies, and trapping of the moon in the shadow of Earth as created by the sun, and, most importantly, the connotations of such an astronomical event.

"Numerous historical documents have verified the information garnered by two present in this room, Captain Zhao and Captain Harzek. It was their efforts that gave us access to this information, and the information that will come to follow. Many of you are now likely questioning the importance of what is being said. The effect of lunar eclipses has already been known to the Fire Nation for decades now. However, this has always remained something we were unable to take advantage of, having no means of predicting when the next would come. Up until today, that is.

"Captains Harzek and Zhao, in their expedition into the Si Wong Desert, managed to uncover a planetarium in a hidden library that informed us of an upcoming lunar eclipse, one at the end of this month."

There was a silence that filled the room, a series of whispered chattering around the room, some of it likely even questioning the validity of what Harzek and I had uncovered.

These doubts, however, would not be acknowledged by Shu, and, frankly, that would be enough. If he believed it, then so would the others, and so he continued, placing his faith entirely on what we had uncovered, stating, "There will be no full moon at the end of this month. Rather, there will be a lunar eclipse, one that will see the Water Tribe stripped of their abilities. Our war council today is to discuss how best to take advantage of the opportunity provided, and such is the content of Operation Red Moon if you will turn to page 34 of the file in front of you.

"You all have likely heard, by now, of the successful assault against Xiahu yesterday. Minimal Fire Nation casualties were sustained, the Earth Kingdom fortress of Xiahu was demolished, and surviving belligerents have fled to Jingping."

"They should have been wiped out!" exclaimed a rather fiery officer to my right. A number of heads turned towards him, some nodding in agreement, others hesitantly cocking their head, gauging where the advantage in the room leaned before choosing their sides. So short-sighted, all of them.

General Shu's face remained hard, unfazed by the outburst, acknowledging it, however, with, "And such is Operation Red Moon's intent. As you can now see if you turn towards your documents, the purpose of document Red Moon is to coerce combined Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe, and Separatist forces into a single final encounter, one that will leave them devastated. The assault of Xiahu yesterday was the first phase of this operation, narrowing down the Earth Kingdom south of the Nip Sea to a single defensible location—Jingping.

"As it stands, all Earth Kingdom forces, numbering approximately at 1,100 fighters, are gathered at the town of Jingping. We estimate that, by tonight, these numbers will be at around 3,300 as their current commander, Cholla, most likely, will be desperately conscripting civilian populaces into his ranks."

"Then their priority is defense," chimed in another Captain, this one less accusatory, merely concerned.

"We won't be able to wipe them out in such a fashion. We need to draw them out."

"Captain Saizo is correct," affirmed General Shu. "At that, attacking Jingping would see us only dealing a blow at the Earth Kingdom, potentially removing them as a threat, leaving the Water Tribe and Separatists as a remaining guerilla threat. Wiping Jingping off the map, while it may accomplish removing organized resistance, will still see Fire Nation activities in the region hindered by partisan fighting. Such is where it becomes essential to coerce the combined enemy forces of the region into attacking us. As you will see in front of is a suggested plan of assault on Jingping, likely the source of Captain Saizo's concerns. Much as how we allowed Earth Kingdom forces to flee Xiahu, a following attack on Jingping will not be a finishing blow, but rather, enough to force our enemy into one final ultimatum. The final objective of Operation Red Moon, to be clear, is to force enemy forces into a final assault against one of our coastal positions along the northern shore of the Nip Sea on the day of the Red Moon.

"So," continued Captain Saizo, "We plan on raiding Jingping to draw them out?"

"In a matter of speaking."

Now it was Captain Yukai to speak up, asking, "How do we pan on hitting Jingping believably enough that us pulling out will be considered believable?"

"The planned attack on Jingping will be on the new moon, 6 days from now. Such is when defending forces will be expecting an attack, giving them time to prepare. We expect that Water Tribe forces will be present for the combined defense. These waterbenders, however, as we all know, will be at a disadvantage on this day and thus, the most believable thing we can do is to attack on that day. We will be attacking with the same force that hit Xiahu, merely a probing task force. We have determined that a proper rationale for our defeat will need to be provided. Such is why Captain Sazuh has volunteered for his vessel, the FNS Protea to be sacrificed during the operation."

Sazuh? My head craned ahead of where the captains at my side sat, still sifting through documents, to try to find Sazuh's likeness in the sea of identically adorned seamen. He volunteered? No, that couldn't be it. I saw him then, where he sat, head faced down at the desk in front of him, seeming even more weary and defeated than he had this morning. No. This wasn't by choice. This was the consequence.

I wasn't sure whether to feel giddy or unnerved by just how quickly things had turned for him. Shu had wasted no time in finding a flaw in his command, and dealing with it in the most effective way possible, by cutting it entirely. This was it. Sazuh's vessel was on death row, to sink in precisely 6 days along with his career. Was this it? Was this his retirement plan? What happened after 6 days? How had this happened so quicky?

I was snapped back into reality by another question from the assortment of captains in the room. "You speak, then, of allowing the Earth Kingdom to push us back, claiming the battle as a victory. Why then, if they still hold Jingping, will they feel compelled to attack?"

"Because we will leave them with nothing." I had thought the words to have come from General Shu's mouth only to find when I looked up, that the eyes of everybody around the room were on me, coming then to realize that the spoken words had been my own.

I had been the one to talk.

I sat there, frozen, wondering how to proceed until General Shu took the initiative, stating, "Captain Zhao is correct. Our attack on Jingping will have no other purpose than to leave the enemy no other choice than to commit all of their resources towards a last-ditch attack."

"How do we plan on accomplishing this effect?" Saizo asked.

I already knew.

Absolute and- "Total devastation" General Shu finished my thought. "Precisely the same as at Xiahu, the reports of which are among your files, a primary naval bombardment will be conducted. Following such, a combined force of infantry deployed via warship and cavalry already on site, will attack the town. Their mission, however, will be different from Xiahu. It will not be their objective to force the enemy to flee as there will be nowhere to flee. Their instructions are to devastate Jingping. They will burn every home in their wake, destroy every ounce of infrastructure, reduce their defensive capability to nothing. They will slaughter every non-combatant they come across, woman and child alike, anybody incapable of fighting, leaving the soldiers of this town with nothing to defend, with no reason to stay behind. Our forces will leave Jingping a heap of corpses and ruins.

"It is an ugly job, but the ends justify the means. The enemy will have nothing left to defend, and thus, they will have no choice but to dedicate every last resource in a final attack on a day where they expect to have every advantage. On the 'full moon.'"

"They know we have the capacity to predict a full moon as well as they do," retorted the fiery captain. "What if they choose to forego attacking on a day when we'll be expecting them to, advantage of the 'full moon' aside?"

"Because they will have no choice. They are surrounded. They cannot flee south. They have no food. They cannot hold out. They cannot flee into the swamps as such would surrender their only and best chance of dealing a killing blow before we can cement our control over the Nip. They will attack, and we will make them attack. In 6 days, Jingping will be attacked, and the Earth Kingdom will be left with nothing. Then, on the day of the red moon, they will attack, and they will be crushed. Are there any objections?"

Not a word was spoken. I believed that those in the room were just as terrified at what General Shu had said as the Earth Kingdom would be 6 days from today, and, after that, 2 more weeks from then. Their end was coming. This month would be marked by bloodshed the likes of which this war hasn't seen since the closing days of the Siege of Ba Sing Se. This time, however, things would go differently. This time, the Fire Nation would emerge victorious, and history would know that it was me who had heralded it.

In just a few more weeks, the result of my labors would be seen, and the Earth Kingdom in the Nip Sea would be crushed.

Luke

We had only been travelling for a single day, but, already, I could tell that we had covered more ground than the 5 of us had together when walking from Heigou to Xiahu.

2 locations that no longer existed on the map, reduced to rubble by the Fire Nation in the span of just a few weeks.

That was war for you.

It was the second day of our travelling now, and the first had proceeded in relative silence. I would pin that silence down to it having still been rather difficult to ascertain just what we were doing. Even as we'd settled down for the night, split it into 3 separate watches, it still hadn't seemed real. It was upon waking, however, finding ourselves separate from the others, and thus begun our trek once again, that the circumstances finally came to our realization.

"Think they notice we're gone by now?" Zare asked.

"Pretty sure Gordez noticed we were gone less than an hour after we left," I commented. Would be a miracle if we don't turn around right now to find him hot on our tails."

Both Zare and I turned around simultaneously as part of the joke, eliciting a small chuckle from one another over the over-dramatized act.

Even Zek seemed rather amused by the exchange, though not overtly. It was easy to tell that his mind was still elsewhere, made especially apparent yesterday as we'd settled to sleep, and he had promptly volunteered to take first watch. He hadn't slept the night before, while we had been in transit from Xiahu to Jingping, and he had seemed intent on maintaining that trend of sleeplessness.

My watch had followed, and it had taken a great deal of effort to convince him to settle down for the night and for me to take his place.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I had asked.

He'd shaken his head, but I hadn't been so eager to end the discussion there. I had known this man for over a year. I wasn't so keen on forgetting everything he'd done for me, bringing me into the fold of Squad Iron Fire, making me one of them, saving my life on more than one occasion, treating me as his family, what I owed him. Not him personally, not because of any one favor or because he had done anything in particular for me, but because he was family. It went no further than that. "And so I asked again, "you told her. Didn't you?"

He only nodded.

I sighed to myself, quietly, not enough that he could hear. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't imagine putting myself in his shoes, telling somebody I loved of the things I'd done. Hell, it was hard enough to imagine loving somebody the way he loved her. How the hell could I even begin to comprehend.

"I thought I was ready for it," he whispered. "I thought I was ready for her to cut things off, but, it actually happening…" he shook his head.

I was at a loss for words, not because of some overwhelming emotional force keeping me from forming a response, but simply for lack of knowledge on the subject, but seeing him like this now, my closest, oldest friend, who I now was realizing I'd known almost as long as I'd known Danev, I tried anyway.

"She'll come around."

He shook his head. "She shouldn't. I deserve this. She…she doesn't deserve somebody like me. She deserves…fuck. She deserves much better. Not some psycho, killer rapist."

"Zek, for fuck's sake, man. Stop. You're not a…you know you're not that."

"But I did those things."

"We had this conversation before, Zek. We've both done horrible things, things we both want to leave behind. Yes, they did happen, and we did do those things, but we won't do them again."

"So it's that simple?! We get to do these things, renounce them, and then it's just completely fine? All is forgotten?"

"Of course it's not. We'll see their faces until the days we die. That's our curse. We're cursed with the memories of what we did, but we don't have to be cursed to repeat it. That, we can change, and that's what we're doing. She'll see that. She just…she just needs time."

He shook his head, breathing out. "Damnit. I shouldn't have told her."

"You would have had to eventually. You love her."

"I know, but,…"

"And she loves you."

"I'm not so sure of that anymore."

"She wouldn't have reacted the way she did if she didn't. She still loves you. She just needs…time…I guess."

There was a faint scoff. "Wow. Really have a way with words, huh, Luke?"

I shrugged. "I'm a romantic at heart, what can I say?"

He sighed, looking back out into the distance. "Sure you're good taking watch. I can stay up a bit longer."

"I'm good," I answered. "You on the other hand, get some sleep. You need it."

He nodded, getting up to leave, in the midst of doing so before saying, "Hey, remember some lines of those. That kinda stuff will just swoop Zare right off her feet."

I was gladdened then by it being the pitch black of night for what were obvious reasons. I turned to face him, relying on the shroud of 0200 to shroud any giveaway as I hardened my voice, still allowing a tint of humor to remain behind it, and responded with, "I said go to sleep, Zek. You can kindly fuck off now."

And so he had, kindly fucking off, leaving me to my own devices. I was thankful for the note things had ended on, yet still found myself wondering if I had taken the best approach. Seeing as how he had actually managed to secure sleep that night, I wanted to think I had done the right thing.

The day following, however, today, at that, he seemed in better spirits. At the very least, he seemed to be agonizing less over Ka'lira, and that was a marked improvement to say the least.

Time, and the conservation of it, had been a priority.

We didn't stop for meals, eating as we went, limiting what we consumed at that to ensure less time was spent "evacuating." We limited our sleeping to 6 hours, ensuring no more than 7 hours a night was spent immobile. We were efficient, to say the least, managing that first night to have set up camp within 15 minutes, repacking in only 10 the morning after.

Travelling itself, proved to be just as efficient, if not more. We were making good time, that itself being observable alone in that second day, our high spirits, Zek's included at that. Both Zare and I had been then surprised at the sound of his voice to our side as he spoke, seemingly directed towards me, "Damn. I really wish Shanzi was here right now."

I now was compelled to try and suppress the grin rising to my face. I was rather sure I had a good idea of where he was going with this,

"Who's Shanzi?" Zare asked, naturally, a curious eye turning towards Zek and then to me where her eyes lingered.

"Oh," I stated. "Just a friend of ours."

"Oh, more than a friend," Zek added, not keen on dropping the ball and affirming Shanzi's existence as a behemoth of treads and steel. "Needless to say, she has a keen way of making the time pass by all the quicker when she's around."

"What do you mean?" Zare asked now, a tint of suspicion in her question.

Zek nodded towards me, allowing me to be the one to continue. I couldn't help but feel some strange sense of guilt in making Zare the butt of the joke, but seeing Zek's spirits finally being lifted, well, certain sacrifices had to be made. I was sure that, once Zare inevitably learned of Shanzi's existence, she'd find some form of payback or other against me.

"Well. She keeps us company in the darkest of times. In her embrace, well, what can we say, we all instantly feel safer."

Zek was suppressing a grin of his own. "Mhmm. Needless to say, she's enough woman for all of us."

"We do take turns of course. Even she has her limits. Zek himself is quite the afficionado when it comes to her."

Zare had stopped now, and so had we, us no longer having the mental capacity to focus on walking and our string of jokes at the same time. Her look had shifted from curiosity to a state of confused disgust, unsure of just what she was hearing.

"Oh, Luke sells himself short. Nobody knows how to handle her quite as well as he does."

"What can I say?" I added. "I know what the ladies like."

"What-the fuck?" was all Zare could muster. She was more than capable of realizing she was being messed with in some shape or form. Such was, of course, the intention, to allow her enough leeway to know she was being played, but not quite enough to know how. Just enough confusion in her was what Zek and I required to amuse ourselves. And exactly that had been accomplished as Zare quickly pivoted on her heel to resume marching deeper into the woods while Zek and I took the moment to let loose stifled chuckles. To say the least, the morning had been a good one, myself by no means unhappy for the chance to see Zek restored to at least a semblance of his former self.

More time had passed, and by mid-afternoon, we were already able to observe that we were approaching the general region that Xiahu was located in. We had known this by the presence of an Earth Kingdom soldier's strewn out corpse along the trail. We would have found ourselves more on guard if the blood had been fresh, but, fortunately, the body was aged, certainly from shortly after Xiahu had been lost the day prior, likely having run this far in an effort to flee the pursuing enemy.

His desperate effort to make it to Jingping, however, as indicated by his body being here, had only resulted in failure. Zare was quick to identify that the man had fallen where he was struck, no blood trail behind him to indicate his wounds had been sustained elsewhere but here. We were unable to ascertain, however, if his body had been left here out of negligence or as a warning.

We had come across no Fire Nation forces thus far and wanted to believe that trend would persist. Our state of alert, however, had not dissipated, but at least waned enough to allow us to enjoy some levity to the otherwise grim circumstances.

There was something I found myself coming to notice about Zare. I was fully capable of observing the worry and concern she held for the nuns and the others, my knack for observation a skill that hadn't waned one bit since my days in Citadel. She, however, in spite of these fears, had a unique ability of shrouding it, of not allowing it to slow her down.

There was a military-like discipline behind it, myself now wondering just how much of an invisible burden she may have been bearing on her shoulder, unobservable to the outsider's naked eye. She kept the worry at bay, however, maintaining a stoic image of unfazing calmness. But there was a hesitation behind it, as though she was afraid to allow herself to grow too unwary, not for the risk of being caught by watching forces mid-laughter, but rather, a risk of allowing such levity to precede immediately finding the strewn-out corpses of her old allies.

Such was now a possibility she was certainly considering, especially after the discovery of the soldier's corpse from earlier. Tried as she might to hide it, there were obvious tells, the most obvious of which was the determined strides she had come to take, forcing Zek and I to focus all the more on maintaining pace with her. The dedicated stride of hers was not the remnant of her storming off in the wake of me and Zek's shenanigans, but rather, a newfound desire to find her allies as quickly as humanly possible.

By noon, we had reached Xiahu, or, rather, what was left of it. We had recognized we were nearing it by the surrounding terrain alone, the curvature of the shore to our North beginning to feel familiar to what we had observed in our brief stay there.

Thus, the only rational approach had been to slow down, to shroud our movements, to stick to the thick brush of the forest, taking deliberate caution with every step.

We could smell the smoke before we could see the walls. What was left of them, at least. It wasn't much.

They had been torn down, we realized upon reaching the edge of the forest, any tree between this point and the walls having been chopped down to create a clear line of sight on any invaders, not that it had done Xiahu's defenders any good. Such was observable by the fact that the walls no longer existed, nor a fortress at that. It was all rubble. It seemed the Fire Nation's efforts hadn't concluded with running us off. The fortress had fallen victim next, all of it, the smoke still billowing, the fires only recently having burned out.

"Think they're still around?" I asked to nobody in particular.

Surprisingly, it was Zek who answered first. Or, rather, unsurprisingly given the newfound worry that seemed to be enveloping Zare. "It's possible," he said, "But unlikely. Looks like they just wanted to torch the place, not occupy it. No reason they'd stick around."

"Might be trying to catch anybody coming back?" I shrugged.

"Unlikely," he answered. "Would be best to just go around. You see any bodies anywhere?"

"Only Earth Kingdom," I answered. I shook my head. "Nobody else."

"Hmm. Might still be in luck then. Let's get going."

I nodded, following him, suddenly back in the spirit of things as he proceeded along. A few paces for me were all it took to realize there was no movement behind me. Zare was still watching the scene, her eyes focused on it, the billowing smoke, the torched bodies, black and mangled beyond all recognition if it wasn't for the armor they bore, melded to their flesh.

I was capable of understanding the look. That of trying to reassure herself that the bodies of her colleagues were not among the others.

"Hey. Zare," I called out in a whisper to her, prompting Zek behind me to stop as indicated by the cessation of the shuffling of brush in front of me. "You good?"

No answer. Her eyes remained dead set ahead, the breaths barely escaping from her mouth, her face seemingly frozen with intent eyes, only fazing at the last second to indicate she had heard me. She turned towards me, confused, apparently having not heard what I'd said and so I stated, "They're not there. Let's move on. Might still find them if we move fast enough."

She nodded, realizing the wasted time that was being spent seated where she was. "Yeah," she said, the first statement not affirmation enough, at least by her own standards, prompting her to repeat again, "Yeah. Sounds good. Let's go."

We pressed on then, past Xiahu, maintaining pace. We were now travelling over familiar terrain, having already traversed these paths only 2 days ago, but heading in the opposite direction. We were a small enough group not to grab attention, and while we travelled along the main room, we were sure to remain light on our feet, responding to more than one scare by quickly abandoning the trail and taking cover in the heavy shrubbery.

Ever time, of course, it had turned out to be a false alarm. This land was dead, as were the people who may have inhabited it by the look of things. Save for the forest itself, there was hardly any life around us at that, hardly any animals to be heard save for the unceasing chirping of insects.

Soon enough, the day came to its end, despite Zare's seeming intention to not slow pace. It had been necessary to take a firm hand in persuading her to settle down for the night—an order she was very clearly displeased with.

Notwithstanding, however, she did so. Zek, thankfully aware of the sleep he had missed out on as of late on part due to circumstances he had thankfully forgotten about for the meanwhile, decided to sleep, leaving Zare with first watch on her own accord. A part of me had been somewhat concerned of her attempting to sneak off in the middle of the night and continue her search, but luckily, such had not proved the case, and she was still sitting right where she had been 4 hours ago when I woke up in time for my shift.

"You didn't wake me," I commented as I took a seat beside her, having stalked to her side from where my bedroll had rested on the soil beneath.

"Mmm. You woke anyway. No harm, no foul."

Joking words but with no life behind them, eerily mechanical, just reflex, no heart nor soul.

I didn't respond immediately to her comment, settling into at least a semi comfortable sitting position by her side, looking into the expanse of darkness ahead of us. We were deep in the forest now, far off from the trail, no fire to mark our positions, unnecessary it being the midst of summer, the natural warmth of the season enough to keep up alive. "Should get some sleep. I'll take watch now."

"Not tired." Of course she was going to say that.

"Doesn't change the fact you should get some sleep. You'll need energy for tomorrow."

"I have plenty of energy." She paused, deliberating what to say next, seemingly concerned she may have offended me with the tone in which she had spoken. She had not, but notwithstanding, that concern was there, added to an already overflowing list of worries. "Besides," she added, not intent on letting the list grow any more. "Don't think I'll be able to sleep until I know what happened to them."

"We'll find them tomorrow," I said, knowing that one way or another, we'd make it to Heigou. We were close enough as it was, and it had already been somewhat concerned that we hadn't yet stumbled upon them, no sign of them anywhere. Perhaps it was a good sign, but, on the other hand…I pushed the idea aside, feeling no need to dwell on it, especially lest I accidentally let my notion slip. "Staying up won't make it come any quicker. Just try to get some sleep."

She had seemed to ignore my request, instead only asking, "Do you think they're alive?"

Damnit, Zare. Don't make me lie to you any more than I already have.

She spoke before I could answer, myself wanting to think she'd forgotten the question as she continued with, "We didn't find them today. We should have found them. We're almost at Heigou, and still…" the last word drifted into silence, lost in the light Nip breeze, flowing away into the leaves, ruffling them in their wake, escaping into the night sky, the sentence never to be completed. She had not, however, as I had hoped, forgotten the question, and so asked again, "I asked you a question. Do you think they're alive?"

"I-I don't know," I answered truthfully and shamefully. The more bitter truth would have been to simply tell her that I believed them dead, but it was still an honest truth to say I didn't know. That wasn't lying. It was…simply…better this way. "I don't think we should count them out just yet," I added. "There's no way to know if they're alive or-

"I think they're dead," she interrupted, not keen on allowing me to finish what I was saying. What? My eyes drifted to hers. She was hugging her knees to her chest, chin rested upon them, looking off into the sky. "You saw what they did to Heigou. If…if they knew the job at Heigou hadn't been finished, they'd have gone back, made sure it was."

"You don't know that," I responded defensively, now finding myself, still in opposition to her, but now defending the life of those she had already seemed to be counting out. "We've seen no troops. The Fire Nation came just to destroy Xiahu and left. They wouldn't have the motive nor means to go back to Heigou."

"The Rhinos," she answered simply, seeing the name of the infamous band as all the answer she needed. "They would do that. They tried it before. They're not the type to leave a job half finished." She spoke of them as though she knew them, had seen them in action before. I suppose, however, she had, in Heigou for starters. But, to speak of them in this light, it felt as though there was more. She didn't however, elaborate, and I didn't prompt her to. There would be room to do so another time.

She let out a soft exhale, repeating herself as she said, "I think they're dead."

I didn't know what to say. On one hand, perhaps there was some solace. Should the worse come to worst, at least she would have been somewhat prepared for it. Still, however, seeing her like this now, it was by no means comforting nor enjoyable to watch. "We'll see tomorrow," I said.

"Hmm."

"But, really, please, get some sleep. I got watch from here."

She only nodded. She didn't want a fight. I think, right then, she only wanted to not have to think about it. She stood up and crept over to where her bag lay, and promptly set herself down within it. She went quiet, but, though I was unsure just how, I seemed to know she was not asleep. Perhaps she had tried, only to be awakened by a nightmare, but sleep had not come to her one way or another. \

My eyes settled on the darkness lurking behind the gaps in the trees, wondering what lay beyond there, to the east. I wasn't sure I wanted to know. I wanted them to be alive. How could I not? I wanted them to be alive for the mere fact that they were decent people, and I had no intention of wishing such horrible death upon others, but mostly, I wanted them alive for her sake. It wasn't affection, wasn't some base emotion that Zek and Ka'lira would have made jabbing remarks in relation to. Or maybe it was, and I was just incapable of recognizing it. Damnit, Luke. Focus. I sighed.

On the other hand, if they were alive, then would that mean Zare had reached the end of the road with us? It had been her intention to help us get to Xiahu and nothing more. If that was over, and she was back with the nuns, then what? Was that it? I felt guilty upon thinking it, for even nearing the outskirts of attempting to seek some bright side of a worst-case scenario. It was a despicable train of thought, one I was dedicated to stopping in its tracks, but the shadow of the line of self-questioning remained, though I wished it hadn't.

I knew what I was praying for however, base emotions aside or otherwise. I wanted them to be alive, prayed they were alive. For her sake especially. Raava, I pondered. I don't know how this works, but if you do care, if you are listening, please, help them.

Less than a half day later, we were up again, and at Heigou. My prayers, my pleads, whatever they had been, they had gone unanswered. The town was dead, even more so than when we'd left it. The survivors, those we had worked to save, to pull out of the rubble, to nurse back to health, guide them through an epidemic, fight back rogues to protect them, all of it, all in vain.

They'd been slaughtered, down to the last man, woman, child, the tracks of Komodo rhinos still visible in the mud, the blood painting the hidden city square, where the wounded had been sheltered, already dried, the event days passed. They'd been dead for a while.

Had anybody made it?

Gehor's body, or, the parts that had used to compose it, lay motionless at the entrance of the square, where he had made his first and final stand by the look of it. He had been cut from the right shoulder down to the midsection, barely held together by a loose thread of what was left of his body, what was left of him already mid decay.

Miyang, the young acolyte we had first encountered, she lay face down on the pavement, her head stuck to the ground by a pool of dried blood. Her britches had been pulled down below her waist and it didn't take a genius detective to have discerned what occurred. When we had turned her over, there was hardly anything left of her face, msot of it still stuck to the stone floor beneath.

Kala, she had escaped easily, at least relatively. She was only burned from head to waist, her mouth locked in a twisted agonized scream, her final view that of flames dancing before her eyes, twisting in brilliant patterns as they slowly consumed her being around her. There was something sickeningly beautiful at the thought.

And everybody else, their fates had been no different. It hadn't mattered who they were, none had escaped. Some had tried to put up fights, none had succeeded. Only the faintest signs of struggle existed, indicated by the scattered array of weapons across the plaza, no Fire Nation bodies to points towards any value of their efforts.

They had fought. That was enough.

Zare just stood there, taking in the sight she had seen in her nightmares over the last few nights, the fate she had seemed to known awaited her comrades, myself wishing that the reality before us was a false one, that perhaps this was a nightmare for myself, or even that I wasn't real, that I was just trapped in her own nightmare, that she would wake up, and find Heigou still breathing, still alive.

But the blood that stuck to my boots, the smell of copper that failed the air, the stench of rotting decay around me, of burnt flesh, that was all real. There would be no waking up.

And she saw this. It was hard to tell just what was there. Sorrow, obviously, but she was refusing to let it overtake her. I wasn't sure if it was an active struggle, or less of one as she had already seemed capable of knowing what fate had awaited them, the sight she witnessed before her now merely a confirmation of what she'd already suspected.

Zek was securing the perimeter, ensuring no lingering threats remained. It was just us there, and after a few moments, she turned her head towards m, likely having heard me nearing. I wanted to say something, though I wasn't sure what. I wanted to apologize, I think, but I was uncertain as to just what I was apologizing for. For her loss, or for trying to give her hope?

"I-"

"It's alright," she said. She looked down. There would be no time to bury the bodies, to give them their last rites, to honor their remains, to pursue their murders, to find justice. This was the way it was. We had our answer, and a bitter one at that, but as Zare's eyes looked into mine, it wasn't a look of one about to break. There was sorrow in her gaze, that was unmistakable, but the eyes that faced me were those that had seen death. She, much like myself, had prayed she would be able to avoid it this time around, but the result was not one she was unprepared for, but rather, a scene she had observed many times before.

And there was that sense of familiarity again. Of something that we both shared even if neither of us knew it, though I believed I was beginning to narrow it down. We both knew what this world was, had lost our childhood because of it. There was more to it than that, I was sure, but such was the simplest essence of it, and I think it was for that reason that her eyes lingered on mine more than they perhaps would have for somebody else. The death in her eyes same in contact with the death in mind, and they understood one another.

It's alright.

The words were spoken, requiring no words to accompany the shared thought.

It's not the first, and it won't be the last.

I nodded.

It's alright.

We left Heigou shortly after. It had been a quiet rest of the day. Zek had tried to comfort her, but had recognized the look on her face the same as I had. He was not too different from us. We were all children at the end of the day. We were children that had had our childhoods torn from us and replaced with only war. We settled down that night in roughly the same location we had spent the night prior. This night, Zare did sleep. I supposed there was some comfort in knowing. At the very least, that had to count for something.

The time went by the day after coming soon enough, and around the latter half of that day, words began to be exchanged once again.

Just small comments on the surrounding nature, on what we though would happen next in Jingping, simple matters along those lines. Over our evening meal before calling it a night, it had been more, and she had been the first then to speak sincerely.

"I…I don't know if it's too much to ask, but I was…hoping that, if it's not too much trouble, I can stick around with you guys. I know…that…I'm not one of you, but I just don't have anywhere else to go…and even if it's only temp-"

"You're in."

"You're in."

There had been no deliberation. No need to think on it. In the last week alone, she had become one of us, whether she knew it or not. Whether we knew it or not. We were in this together, that was apparent now. We were family now, and family didn't leave each other behind.

There was a moment of silence that followed then, her just facing us both, unsure, almost, that it had really been that easy.

It had. Why wouldn't it have been?

The silence lingered, and she looked as if she were mustering a response through the blubbering, yet also relieved expression on her face.

I decided to fix that the only way I knew how.

"There is," I added, "one question however."

Her eyes followed me curiously, as did Zek's.

"What is it?" she asked, almost with a hint of concern that she wasn't out of the woods yet.

"What month of the year were you born in?"

I needed my answer, and as did Zek too, apparently, as his head darted quickly to her, awaiting the response. I knew where his hopes lay—n the solution that would bring me humiliation.

Zare seemed dumbstruck for a whole second or two before shaking her head to release herself from the daze, and answering, "third month, why?"

Son of a bitch!

"For fuck's sake!" I cursed, throwing my canteen of water I had been drinking from onto the ground, not a care for the spilling contents.

Zare still bore an expression of confusion on her face while Zek's face bore no misunderstanding.

"Oh get that stupid ass smile off your face!" I cursed at him, pushing him over onto his side from where he sat next to me.

The assault hadn't disrupted his revelry, however, as he merely continued on mocking my existence as still the teams youngest.

I knew then, however, that I had witnessed a soft smile rise to her face as she watched the scene unfold before her.

Yeah, I could imagine her thinking with sarcastic regret past that sincere smile of hers, finally allowing the events of the day prior to wash over her. So this is my family, huh?

Yes, I answered with my eyes as I myself reached to retrieve my canteen from where I'd tossed it. Yes, it is.

But behind that smile of hers, also a fear, one she wished not to think on, but one that still remained of us turning out like her last family. It was a fear she didn't wish to dwell on, but one that existed all the same.

More than I had in a long time, especially ever since the concept of 'what I fought for' had become so blurred in recent months, I found myself finding something new. A reason to keep on fighting, to live, at that. No, not for her, not necessarily. She was only part of the equation, but as was the man to my right, still chuckling his ass off. So was Gordez, in Jingping, likely still worrying his ass off as to where we were, and Boss with the Separatists along with Jadoh, putting together the pieces for us to all come together once again, one way or another, and perhaps even Zadok and Kosah, though that remained to be seen. This, however, this was family, and I was glad to finally be able to see her as part of it.

So as Zek lay on the ground, his chuckles finally waning, and Zare still sat there, a soft, sad smile on her face, I righted myself, wiping some loose droplets of water from my shirt as I turned to her, outstretched my arms in a theatric show of welcoming and explained, every intent of joking irony behind it, "Welcome aboard!"

It could have been a time for celebrations, but as we let ourselves settle in for the night, my eyes turned to the sky to be met with the waning moon, a message that only told me one was coming.