Ba Sing Se. The last and greatest obstacle to the Fire Nation's ultimate victory over the Earth Kingdom. Her capture eluded many of the Fire Nation's most skilled general, including even the legendary Dragon of the West, Prince Iroh. Her walls were simply too thick and too high to scale or storm, her garrisons too numerous to subdue, and her size simply too massive to besiege effectively.

War Minister Qin, however, was determined to disprove the invincibility of Ba Sing Se. What could not be overcome with a century of military strategy, Qin believed could be overcome instead by the sheer destructive potential of technology.

The drill was a product of over two years of intense development and construction. While initial designs were from that traitorous Earth Kingdom mechanist from the Northern Air Temple, Qin felt great pride in both himself and his engineers for completing this massive project. Its size and metallic shell would render any attempt to halt or damage it useless, essentially giving the Fire Nation a permanent avenue inside the city. It was the final piece to secure the Earth Kingdom capital.

And with the prestige of capturing Ba Sing Se, Qin could see his plans slowly coming together.

"War Minister." A young voice suddenly called out from beside him.

Looking to his left, Qin saw the young general Senzin Zhou standing beside him, gazing outside towards Ba Sing Se as well.

The young commander was one of the few things Qin was proud of that didn't pertain to technological breakthroughs. Qin had heard of the Zhou Conspiracy, where a father was executed for treason against Fire Lord Ozai and a son was banished to the frontlines to essentially die. Qin personally thought it was cruel but otherwise didn't give much attention to court politics so divorced from the war effort. But when Qin started hearing reports of his successes on the battlefield, Qin knew the boy would be an asset.

Qin knew the extremely high risk of betting on a man such a Senzin, one tainted with treason even if only indirectly, but Qin didn't earn his ministry by incompetence and playing it safe. Qin put his reputation on the line by taking an interest in Senzin, and that interest netted him a good amount of respect from amongst the military leadership and officials for his skillful eye for talent.

However, Qin knew that Senzin was more than just skillful military commander. He had the potential to be a great ally for Qin in the grander scheme of the world if he were to be placed in a more appropriate position. And so, to further expand his pool of allies within the military, he petitioned for the promotion of Senzin to general to the Fire Lord. And now here he was, a general and Conqueror of Omashu, all because of Qin.

"General Zhou. Have you had a change of heart regarding this plan?" Qin asked, observing the young general's face for his reaction.

One thing, however, that slightly irked Qin about Senzin was his stance on the drill. Ever since Qin shared the plans for the drill a year ago, the then-colonel voiced his disapproval of the project. Senzin didn't see the practicality of the weapon and believed it to be a drain on military resources.

While officially, the then-colonel's opinion was disregarded for such a high-level project, amongst Qin's faction in the military, Senzin attracted similarly minded commanders and generals. And while Senzin consistently remained undefiant to Qin's final decisions regarding the matter, Qin was slightly unnerved at the support crystallizing behind Senzin.

That's why Ba Sing Se needs to be a victory. If ever Senzin or any of the contrarian commanders behind Senzin held more dissenting thoughts, Qin's conquest of Ba Sing Se would cement his position and secure his influence both within his own faction and the military in general. Even if officially, the credit goes to Princess Azula for the conquest, those in the military will know who the architect of the final victory was.

"Unfortunately, no." Senzin replied without any actual regret or remorse in his tone.

"I am still of the opinion that this drill was a waste of resources." Senzin said, his gaze remaining outside the window.

"Oh? Tell me again why exactly?" Qin couldn't help but ask in a slightly smug voice, wanting to hear the arguments against his project one last time before it proves them all wrong.

Qin saw Senzin's eye quickly shift towards him with a questioning look before going back to staring outside.

"As I have said before, breaching the wall isn't the problem. General Iroh breached the wall five years ago without the machine. The problem is the city itself. Everything, from its size, garrisons and walls, works against us. Our forces can't reinforce fast and safely enough through a single breach to effectively consolidate a foothold inside the city." Senzin began explaining.

"Even before General Iroh ordered a retreat, we were already beset on all sides by the Earth Kingdom. It felt like we were the ones besieged rather than the other way around." Senzin continued, his tone becoming more immersed as he recalled his experience.

The 600-day Siege. Qin somberly remembered. News of the breach made everyone in the Fire Nation believe, Qin included, that victory was within reach. But that excitement was soon replaced by the tragic death of the Crown Prince's son, Lu Ten. Senzin was sparse with details about his life, especially prior to his exile, but Qin knew that Senzin was close with Prince Lu Ten in their childhood. Qin recalled hearing stories from soldiers that it was Senzin who carried the corpse of the prince through the battlefield to Prince Iroh. It was a tragic event for the whole Fire Nation, but Qin could see it was more tragic for those that were there, like Senzin.

"Anyways, what I say now doesn't matter." Senzin suddenly said, his voice returning to a calm once more.

"It's long past arguing over the use of the drill. Hopefully, it proves me wrong and provides you the victory you expect." Senzin said with sincerity, but also with a subtle tone that Qin recognized as skepticism.

"By the way, how did your meeting with Shinu go? I haven't heard anything except for both your and the Fire Lord's order after I joined Princess Azula." Senzin inquired, moving his full gaze towards Qin this time.

"I actually meant to ask you before: Why did you join the princess on her mission?" Qin asked curiously, ignoring the posed question for his own.

Qin saw Senzin look back towards where the princess and her two companions were sitting before facing Qin again.

"She is the Princess of the Fire Nation. She'll also be the Fire Lord someday." Senzin simply answered, to which Qin nodded in agreement.

"So you're trying to curry favor?" Qin continued, wanting to confirm Senzin's reason.

"No. I'm curious as to what kind of Fire Lord she'll be when the time comes." Senzin explained.

"And? What did you find out?" Qin questioned in a suddenly more serious tone, though that didn't seem to startle Senzin.

Senzin seemed to consider his answer carefully, taking a quick glance towards the princess, before finally speaking.

"There's a lot of her father in her. She needs to learn to trust people instead of just their reactions." Senzin began, to which Qin also nodded in agreement.

"But, she is still young. And I can see that under her sadism, she has a persisting desire for trust. Something that her friends do give her, though she still doesn't realize it." Senzin finished with an answer that made Qin contemplate.

From his experience with the princess in the past up until now, Qin readily agreed that she was so much like her father. While he would never divulge such treasonous thoughts publicly, Qin was growing concerned about the near-perpetuity of the war and the Fire Lord's unrelenting resolve to continue to it. As War Minister, Qin saw how the war has drained the Fire Nation of its people and resources. If it persisted for even a few more years, the Fire Nation will have fully exhausted its entire viable manpower which would inevitably lead to domestic unrest or worse, a successful counterattack. And if the next Fire Lord would still be determined to continue the war despite everything, Qin could see nothing but ruin.

But, if what Senzin said was true, there was still hope to save it all. There was-

"But we digress. I asked you about Shinu." Senzin brought back politely but firmly, snapping Qin out of his thoughts.

"The meeting went better than expected. You were correct about him wanting recognition. He was quick to accept the promotion to general." Qin answered, accepting Senzin's redirection gracefully.

"From what I could tell, he seems like a man who'll remember such a gesture so he just might play a part." Qin commented, remembering the meeting with the former Pohuai commander.

"That's good to hear." Senzin simply said.

Silence reigned between the two, with only the sounds of the drill filling the air.

"Well, I think it's time for me to go back and mobilize my army. If the drill is successful, we'll be nearby to reinforce your position." Senzin suddenly stated, giving a small tilt of his head towards Qin before walking towards the princess.

"Senzin." Qin called out, making the young general stop and look back at him.

"Do you miss our Capital?" Qin asked, fully serious.

Qin saw the corner of Senzin's lips slightly turn up at the question.

"Every day." Senzin answered with a small smirk before resuming his walk towards the princess to excuse himself.

Qin looked back out of the window and towards Ba Sing Se, accepting the answer of Senzin.

Everything was coming together. Ba Sing Se will soon fall, and thus the Earth Kingdom as well. The war's end will follow. Peace will return to the Fire Nation. It must. Qin was resolved to make it so.