Wandering Firebender
Sixty Five: Who You Can Trust
"Captain Elio! We're making our approach for Ba Sing Se. You're needed up front." A voice came over the P.A. system inside of the airship.
Elio, who was sitting in his quarters, writing at his desk, lifted his head in surprise. He wasn't sure if it was against regulations, but he didn't have time anyways. He stepped out wearing only his black pants, boots, and the red short-sleeve shirt of his uniform.
He hurried from one side of the floor to the other, opening up the door into the steering bay and stepping inside. The pilot crew inside all turned to face him, doing a quick salute as he entered.
"Captain. We're awaiting orders on where to land." One of them said.
"Where to land?" Elio repeated. He made his way to the front window and looked down. He was able to see the huge city of Ba Sing Se below. It was still some distance away, but they were getting close enough to where he could see all the way across to the furthest border wall.
"Fire Lord Zuko sent a letter ahead of us, but it wouldn't be smart to assume that they know we're coming." Another pilot said. Elio nodded in understanding, taking a breath.
"Alright. Then we should land outside of the walls, near the main path. We don't want to prompt them to attack. We'll land, and I'll step out and try to flag down security." Elio decided.
"Yes, sir. We'll park right along this side of the wall here." One of the other pilots pointed. Elio nodded in approval.
"Alright. Keep a little distance. Let's not set off any alarms." He said with a little chuckle.
Elio took a few steps back and stood by the door, watching as the crew got to work. They announced the landing over the P.A. system. Then they guided the giant airship down for a slow, smooth landing. Once it was on the ground, Elio got ready to make his exit.
"I need like 5 guys with me when I step out. Can you put an announcement out so they can meet me at the loading dock?"
"Yes, captain. 'Attention. All foot soldiers report to the loading dock immediately for departure'."
"Thanks." Elio nodded appreciatively. He was about to step out of the steering room when one of the pilots called out to him.
"Sir. What should the rest of us do?" He asked.
"Uhh...establish a few guard posts around the-the ship so that way no one can try to attack us...rotate through every so often. I'm not sure how long we'll be here." He decided.
"Yes, captain." They all nodded. Elio stood there awkwardly for a moment, trying to think of anything else to say. He couldn't, so he finally just left the room.
He went back to his quarters, got into his full uniform and grabbed his staff before making his way down to the loading dock, where 6 Fire Nation soldiers were lined up and waiting for him. They were all in full armor with their helmets and face coverings on. Elio walked in front of them and looked them over before speaking.
"Does anyone know how to open the door?" He asked cluelessly, glancing at the large door that he had entered through when he boarded the ship. One the soldiers immediately moved forward, using a wheel and lever to open up the door.
"Right here, captain." He said. Elio didn't know who the soldier was right away due to his face covering, but he did recognize the voice.
"Thanks...that you under there, Delun?" Elio asked as the door opened up.
"Yep!" Delun nodded.
"Alright. Great. Let's get going then. Come on now." Elio said, gesturing for the soldiers to follow him out.
With his staff in hand, Elio led the soldiers down the walkway and onto Earth Kingdom soil. Elio looked to the side at the outer wall of Ba Sing Se in the distance. He took in a deep breath, surveying the area. Strangely, there was no one approaching them yet.
"Captain, permission to speak?" One of the soldiers spoke up.
"Yeah, of course." Elio replied.
"What should we do if we're attacked?" He asked.
"Don't be too eager to get in a fight now." Elio warned him.
"I'm not. I'm just asking what the protocol is now." He clarified.
"Hmm...well, I don't know about protocol, but if you want my orders, then I say don't attack unless we are attacked first. If it comes down to that, do what you gotta do, but our priority is clearing the area, not winning. We're representing a peace mission after all; it won't look good if we hurt or kill anyone." Elio joked dryly.
Sure enough, as if right on cue, the ground started to rumble. The soldiers all got in defensive positions. Elio turned towards the wall and watched as a few earthbenders started coming towards them using a land-surfing technique. Elio stepped in front of the other soldiers, holding his hand out towards them.
"Steady, guys. Don't show any signs of attack." He said to them. He could sense that they were all nervous and weary, but none of them moved anymore than they needed to. 3 Dai Li agents approached the airship and stopped right in front of Elio and his crew.
There was a few moments of tense silence between the two groups. No one spoke. It seemed as if they were both waiting for the other to do something. Elio took in a deep breath and finally mustered up the courage to speak first.
"Uh...hello! My name is Elio! I'm here to speak with the Earth King!" He introduced himself.
"Are you in charge of this...ship?" One of the agents asked.
"Yes, sir, I am." He answered.
"And what was your business again?"
"I was sent by Fire Lord Zuko to speak with the Earth King. He sent a letter ahead of me. We also have relief supplies for you." Elio added.
"Relief supplies? Are you joking?" One of the other agents suddenly raised his voice, "You're the reason we need supplies in the first place! It's all your fault, and now you wanna come here and act like you're good now?!"
"Hey!" The agent standing in the middle suddenly shouted at his partner. "That's enough of that. Why don't you go back to the palace and confirm with the king whether or not he's received a letter from the Fire Lord?" He forcefully suggested.
"But-"
"Go!" He interrupted, pointing towards the wall. The disgruntled Dai Li agent pressed his lips together, his face scrunching up a little in anger before he turned away and went back towards the city.
"Please forgive him...he lost a brother in combat when Sozin's Comet passed." One of the other Dai Li agents excused his partner. Elio nodded somberly.
"I see...I'm sorry. I can't imagine how this all must feel to each of you. But rest assured, we're just here to help." Elio said, doing his best to be genuine and reassuring.
"I hope so. I think we're all tired of the fighting." The agent who had told off his partner said.
"Yeah." Elio rolled his eyes and sighed.
"We'll see about getting you sorted out if you don't mind waiting patiently."
"Not at all. This is all we're here for," Elio said before turning around and addressing his men again. "Looks like we're gonna be here for awhile. I think I'll only need like 2 of you with me, so if the rest of you want to go back in for now, that's fine." He said.
"I'll stay." Delun volunteered.
"I'll stay as well, captain." The soldier next to Delun, evidently a lady, also spoke up. Elio nodded.
"Oh alright. Great. Thanks. The rest of you are dismissed then. What's your name?" He asked the lady as the remaining 4 soldiers went back into the airship.
"Mila, captain." She answered.
"Mila. Mila. Alright. Delun, Mila, we're gonna be here a while, but hopefully whenever the Dai Li agents return, we'll be cleared to go into the Earth Kingdom palace. You'll stick with me unless the Earth King directs otherwise. But in the meantime, how about we wait in the shade?" He offered with a chuckle.
"I have no complaints there, captain." Mila responded with a chuckle. Elio chuckled too as they all sat down in the shade...
They did have to wait a while, but finally some Dai Li agents returned. Elio and the others stood up and waited for news. Finally, they were given clearance to go into the city; they would be escorted the entire way to the palace.
Elio and his two guards followed the Dai Li agents into the city, going through the outer wall first and then the inner wall. Once they had entered the Lower Ring, they were escorted to the nearest train station, where they were transported straight to the Upper Ring.
"Wow. I can't believe we're in Ba Sing Se. The city looks gigantic!" Mila exclaimed.
"Yeah it's big, but this place looks like a dump." Delun commented honestly, leaning towards the window and staring outside.
"That's because we're in the Lower Ring. See, Ba Sing Se is divided into sections. As we get in deeper and go through the Middle Ring and the Upper Ring, you'll see the houses and roads get nicer and nicer." Elio explained.
"Oh, really? I guess that makes sense...wait, how do you know that?" Delun asked, turning back towards him.
"I used to live here." Elio answered simply. Both Mila and Delun gave him a weird look.
"You lived here?" Mila repeated.
"Yeah, for like a month. I was a refugee. It's a long story, I'll tell you about it later." Elio said, waving it off...
Before long, they were in the Upper Ring, where they were promptly escorted to the palace via carriage. They made their way up the stairs and, upon reaching the top, were brought into the palace through the main doors.
"This is kinda similar to the Fire Lord's palace." Mila commented as she looked around.
"Really? You think so?" Delun asked.
"Kinda sorta not really, yeah." Mila answered.
Finally, Elio reached his destination: the doors to the Earth King's throne room. Two Dai Li agents were posted at the doors. Elio and the others felt a lot of eyes on them as they stopped before the main doors.
"The king will see you, captain. He demands that you enter alone." One of the agents at the door said.
"What are we supposed to do? Just leave our captain?" Mila spoke up.
"No no, that's fine. Just wait out here then." Elio agreed.
The doors were opened, and the agent closest to Elio motioned for him to enter the throne room. Elio nodded and nervously proceeded to enter the room alone. The throne room, much like the Fire Lord's throne room, was a huge room with a long carpet leading up to the actual throne against the opposite wall.
A man dressed in royal robes with a strange hat and glasses sat on top of the throne. Resting next to him was a large brown bear. Elio eyed the bear oddly as he approached the first step at the foot of the throne and knelt down respectfully.
"Thank you for agreeing to see me, sir." Elio said formally.
"I have to admit, I was surprised to see that letter from Fire Lord Zuko. But the only reason I've allowed you to come in here is because I know that your Fire Lord is personal friends with the Avatar, who I do trust." The Earth King said frankly.
"I understand. I've met Avatar Aang personally. He saved my life once a year ago." Elio commented.
"Really? And he trusts you?" The Earth King asked, curiously raising an eyebrow.
"He does," Elio answered with a nod. "I was speaking with him about the mission a few days ago before I left; it was him: Aang, and his friend Katara." He said. He was hoping that mentioning them by name put the Earth King much more at ease.
"Oh! Okay then. How are they doing?" The Earth King asked more casually.
"Doing well. They're taking a very short break. Or at least, they want to take a short break," Elio said with a chuckle. "But there is still a lot of work to be done, obviously. But they seem to be taking it in stride, at least from the little bit that I saw."
"Yes. When the Fire Nation took over the city before, they were the ones that helped me and Bosco evacuate," The Earth King revealed, gesturing to his pet bear. "Unfortunately, a lot of what happened then was a result of my own being naive.
"I need to be far less trusting and far more involved in what's going on in my kingdom. More often than not, you will find that will mean I need to confer for long periods with my trusted advisors before I make any large decisions. You can relay that message to your Fire Lord." The Earth King informed him.
"Of course, you do what you have to do so you don't get caught unawares like that again. We understand," Elio reassured him. "The Fire Lord's number one priority now is establishing a lasting peace between our nations. The war is over, and we will be acting accordingly.
"That's why he sent me here. I personally chose to avoid getting involved in the war for a long time. And I lived here for a brief period, like a month. I actually did food deliveries for you once or twice." Elio pointed out.
"Really? You wouldn't happen to be one of the ones involved in overthrowing me, would you?"
"No, sir. The Fire Nation considered me an enemy back then, same as you." Elio answered.
"Really? Why's that?"
"Because I ran away from the war before. I stayed away from becoming a soldier for as long as I could, choosing to live as a refugee instead. But when the time came, I had to get involved, so I fought against the Fire Nation when they attempted a siege on the North Pole." Elio explained.
"Oh...so what you're saying is you've always been on our side." The Earth King summarized slowly.
"I'm on the side of peace. I think that being here is the best way for me to help achieve that right now." Elio replied. The Earth King nodded contemplatively.
"I see...what sort of relief supplies do you have for us?" The Earth King asked.
"Everything is in the cargo hold of our airship. If you want, you can have your Dai Li agents inspect everything before it's taken into the city." Elio offered.
"That would be perfect, yes. In the meantime, I'll have my Dai Li agents watch over your airship until the exchange is finished. I'll have a formal letter prepared for you to deliver to your Fire Lord upon your return. It'll lay out my open terms for establishing this peace deal." The Earth King said.
"Great! Great, thank you," Elio nodded. "I appreciate it."
"You're welcome. Will that be all then?"
"Yes...no! Actually, I have a couple other things." Elio said.
"Okay. Go ahead."
"Firstly, I have a letter to deliver to a man named Iroh. I believe he runs a tea shop here in the Upper Ring. It's called the...the..." Elio struggled to remember.
"The Jasmine Dragon, right?"
"Yeah...yes! That's the one!" Elio exclaimed when he finally remembered.
"I recently had a conversation with Iroh. He's very wise. And I hear good things about his tea. I'd like to speak with him again soon."
"Yeah, me too. So if you don't mind, I'd like to bring the letter to him myself."
"That's fine. As long as you have an escort."
"Understood. And another thing...when I was living here, I had a couple friends: their names were Alger and Sri. I'd like to know if they're still here." Elio brought up.
"Alger and Sri...I'll have my men look into it." The Earth King promised.
"Thank you so much. Alger has a house here in the Upper Ring. That should narrow it down." Elio informed him.
"Oh, does he? Then it probably won't take long for us to help you find your friends." The Earth King said with a nod.
"Thank you again for your time, sir. Would you rather me and my men stay in the airship outside of the city walls?" He asked.
"Yes. No offense, but I think anything else would make my citizens uncomfortable. I'm sure you understand."
"I do. We'll stay out there. Please, keep me posted whenever you have any updates. I'd like this process to be smooth and quick so I can return my crew home safely." Elio said.
"We'll be in touch. Until then...what was your name again? I'm not sure I got it."
"Elio, sir. My name is Elio Chinen."
"Nice to meet you, Elio. The Dai Li will take you back to the airship." The Earth King said, waving his hand.
"Thank you, sir. And, uh, nice...bear." Elio said, oddly eyeing the bear again before being escorted out of the room by two Dai Li agents. He stepped back out of the throne room, where Delun and Mila were still waiting for him.
"Captain, you're back! How'd it go?" Mila asked.
Elio shrugged and gave her two thumbs up...
Nighttime soon fell over the Earth Kingdom. The sun went down and the moon came up. That was about the time that Aang, Katara, and Cindra finally came flying in on Appa over the city of Ba Sing Se.
"Hey, Cindra! Check it out! There's Ba Sing Se!" Aang called to her. Cindra excitedly looked over, and her eyes widened in disbelief at seeing the gigantic city.
"Wow! It's humongous!" Cindra exclaimed.
"It's the biggest city in the Earth Kingdom. But that much is obvious when you look at it." Katara said with a laugh.
"Yeah it is!" Cindra said, laughing as well.
"Heheh, now we just gotta find wherever Elio is." Aang said.
"Oh man...how are we gonna find Elio in such a huge city?" Cindra wondered aloud.
"I found him!" Aang exclaimed, pointing ahead.
"Really? You did?!"
"Well, I think I did. I see a Fire Nation airship way over there by the outer wall. You see it?" Aang asked, pointing to the other side of the city. Katara and Cindra both peered across the city and were eventually able to spot it.
"Oh yeah, there it is! That looks like the one Elio was getting in when we saw him." Katara agreed.
"Those things are so big. And Elio's in there?" Cindra asked.
"We're about to find out!" Aang answered, flicking Appa's reins.
Appa flew by the Fire Nation airship and came in for a landing right by it. Aang, Katara, and Cindra all got off of the sky bison. As soon as their feet hit the floor, Appa settled onto his stomach, letting out a tired groan as he laid his head down.
"Aww, poor guy's exhausted from all the flying we've been doing the past few days. Don't worry buddy, you get a good rest tonight." Aang said, petting Appa's head.
"Aww poor Appa. Is he gonna be alright?" Cindra asked as she pulled her stuff out of the back of the saddle.
"Oh yeah, he'll be okay! He's just tired is all. He should be all good by tomorrow. Right, buddy?" Aang asked. Appa nodded a little in response, grunting as he laid his head down once again.
"Hey, we got some activity out here!" One of the firebenders guarding the airship shouted. He stepped outside cautiously and called to Aang and the others. "Hey, what are you two doing out here?" He questioned them.
"Huh? Oh hey!" Aang turned and waved to him. "My name's Aang! I have Katara and Cindra here with me. We're here to see Elio! Is he here?" He asked. Katara and Cindra looked at each other nervously.
"Oh...oh! You guys are here! Yes! Captain Elio is in his quarters right now. Come on, I'll take you to him!" He said, gesturing for them to come inside. Katara and Cindra, surprised by this, simply shrugged as they all walked into the airship.
"Yeah, Elio told me that you were coming, but he didn't say you would be here so soon." The soldier said as he led the three of them up the stairs.
"We actually got here kind of ahead of schedule." Katara said.
"Oh okay. Well my name's Delun. It's nice to meet you all." He introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you too, Delun. You called Elio 'captain', right?" Cindra asked.
"Yes. He's in the captain's quarters right now," Delun said again. They went up another set of stairs. Delun pointed down a hall to their left. "It's the door all the way at the end of the hall there." He directed them to it.
"O-Okay..." Cindra nodded, looking at the door. It was at the end of a hallway with about 5 or 6 other doors on either side. She took in a nervous breath. "I don't know why I'm so nervous." She admitted with a breathy chuckle.
"It's not like he's gonna not be excited to see you...wait...yeah!" Aang nodded after confirming that he had said what he meant to say.
"I know...okay, here I go." Cindra said, making her way down the hall.
Aang and Katara followed closely behind her as she approached the door. She took in another deep breath before finally knocking on the door. She heard Elio respond almost immediately inside, "Yep! One sec, I'm coming!"
Elio, who was in the middle of writing at his desk, got up and walked over to the door. He wasn't sure if it was against regulations or not, but he had already changed into casual pants and a shirt. He opened up the door and was absolutely shocked at who was waiting on the other side.
"What?! No way! You're here already?!" He exclaimed.
"Elio!" Cindra shouted happily, jumping a little as she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Elio laughed as he returned her enthusiastic hug...
To Be Continued...
