Author's Note: I know it should be a chapter of Legend of Roku today, but this is a chapter that I've been looking forward to writing pretty much since I first came up with the idea for this story and decided which direction I wanted it to go in.
It was a hot afternoon in Himiko as the sun beat down on Suki, who was supervising as workers lifted planks into place to cover the hole caused by the Tui's ramming attack. The ship had been in harbour for 24 hours at this point, and Suki was taking full advantage.
She had sent men into the city to purchase food, rope, ammunition and medicine. She had sent Toph, along with a few other Earthbenders, to a place outside of town to fashion new balls made out of rock, that they would then throw at their enemies in battle. In an environment with so little Earth, it was important for a ship of the Earth Navy to bring its own.
Most importantly of all, she had allowed as many of her crew as could be spared to go into town and enjoy themselves for a night. From the way they had returned, stumbling and only barely avoiding falling in, Suki could guess how they had spent their evening.
By now, the hole was the last major problem that needed fixing, and the Kyoshi would be ready for departure well within the 48 hour time limit.
Suki was still unsure as to whether Toph would be on board when that time came. Suki had come to appreciate her company, and even Mingzhu had learnt to tolerate her by now. Still, they were in the Fire Nation now, where Toph had been going in the first place, and Suki had made it clear that while Toph was entirely free to go, she was also welcome to stay. The decision lay with her. She had asked her to go with the earthbenders to collect rocks, but after that Toph Beifong could do as she pleased.
"Left a bit... left a bit... left a bit... too far! Right a bit..." the continuous instructions of the crew shifting planks about were interrupted by an official hurrying towards them. Suki noted he looked a bit like an official of the Fire Navy; perhaps he helped in the running of the docks or something.
"Are you the captain of the Earth Navy vessel Kyoshi?" The man asked, once he reached them.
"Yes, my name is Suki. Pleased to make your acquaintance," Suki replied, wondering what he wanted.
The man did not give his name, but instead bowed deeply. "You have been summoned, Captain."
"Summoned? Where? And who summoned me?" Suki wanted to know at least who wanted to see her before trying to turn them down.
"You've been summoned to the Caldera, Captain. And you are to bring the girl you rescued."
The capital city of the Fire Nation? Why was she needed there? And surely while she was there her ship would be interned?
"And who summoned me?"
"The messenger hawk that came with the summons bore the authority of Firelord Zuko himself."
Two days later, Suki and Toph strode up the steps to the Royal palace, their confidence masking inner doubt and confusion.
The Firelord had asked for them personally, and had even granted the Kyoshi special privileges to remain in the Fire Nation for longer than 48 hours so the visit could be arranged.
Suki had genuinely no idea why he was taking such an interest. She was a foreign subject to him, and only one of hundreds of Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe subjects who travelled to the Fire Nation each year. That wasn't even counting Air Nomads, who tended to come and go as they pleased.
Suki showed the guards at the door the letter from the Firelord that showed they had been summoned, and they stepped aside to let them pass. The two of them stepped into a cavernous entrance hall, with beautiful gold and red tapestries, with patterns designed to evoke dancing flames, hanging down the walls. At the other end of the hall was another large doorway, which swung open as they approached. A row of pillars flanked the approach down this second hall, and on the other end was a row of orange flames. Sitting among them were two people, a man and a woman.
They had been coached on their etiquette on the way to the capital, and bowed deeply as they approached. Suki looked up as the flames died down, and she got her first good look at the Firelord and the Firelady.
The Firelord looked about her age, and had black hair tied into a topknot with a headpiece that marked him as Firelord on it. His distinguishing feature, though, was a terrible scar running along one side of his face and covering one eye. The Firelady, next to him, had no such scar, but she did look rather bored.
"Firelord," Suki began, running through her rehearsed speech. "You have sent for me, and I have come."
"Thank you, Captain. I am grateful. However, if I am to discuss matters of national, no, international importance with you, I would first know your name."
"My name is Suki, and this is Toph Beifong."
"I am honoured to make your acquaintance. My name is Zuko, obviously, and I am the Firelord."
Even attempting to sound as regal as possible, Suki noted how awkward that had sounded.
"And this is my wife, Fire Lady Mai. She is my closest confidante and I love her dearly."
A slight blush crept over Mai's cheeks, but she otherwise kept her face entirely still as she nodded to them.
Zuko got up and stepped off his throne, making his way towards them.
"You're the captain of the Kyoshi, aren't you?"
"I am."
"I have ears in a great many places, Suki of the Kyoshi, and one of them overheard something very interesting in a pub in Himiko. According to the messenger hawk he sent, he overheard some Earth navy sailors talking very loudly about a ship with red sails."
"Is that why I'm here?"
"Yes. I want you to tell me what you know, but not yet. Not everyone has arrived yet."
"Will you tell us what you know afterwards?" Toph asked.
"That seems fair. You've got to go to sea again and deal with it," Mai replied.
"So you are going to let us go to sea again?"
"Of course. I'm not going to let a ship get interned just because its captain was here."
Suki was grateful, but she did have a question.
"Surely that might be considered a breach of neutrality by the Water Tribes?"
"It's international law. It's not like I'm getting the Fire Nation actively involved. Besides, I don't think they'll mind too much."
They heard the groaning of the mighty red doors to the throne room behind them, and turned around to greet their new visitors.
Suki felt her heart speed up.
Walking through the double doors were Sokka and Katara. Katara was being heavily supported by Sokka, and her face contorted in pain every time she took a step, but otherwise she seemed largely fine. Despite herself, Suki decided that she was glad the arrow had not been fatal.
"Who is it?" Toph asked, not being able to see them.
She went unanswered as Sokka noticed her, and both their hands immediately flew to their weapons. "What are they doing here?" Two indignant voices said at the same time.
"Oh," the Firelord said, as if remembering for the first time. "The Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes are at war, aren't they?"
"Yeah, and I have orders to hunt this man down from my admiralty."
"Forget your orders, at least for now. You stand on neutral ground. Besides, your war is stupid. What are you even fighting over? No Earth Subject or water tribesman that I have spoken to, and I have spoken to a lot, seems to know what you are fighting over. If there was ever a reason it was forgotten long ago. I've tried to broker peace, Agni knows I have, but your governments are too prideful. Even Avatar Aang himself has tried and failed. But if I can't have peace between the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes out there, then I will have it in my own throne room. Take your hands of your weapons and talk to one another."
Both Sokka and Suki complied.
"Now, you're the captain of the Water Tribe vessel Tui, are you not?" Firelord Zuko asked Sokka.
"I am."
The Firelord proceeded to give a similar speech to them, about how he had ears in many places and one of these ears had caught water tribe sailors discussing a sighting of a ship with red sails."
"What are your names? So we can be formally introduced?" Zuko enquired.
"My name is Sokka, and this is my sister Katara, my right hand and the waterbender on the Tui."
"Excellent. I'm pleased to meet you all, but I'm afraid it's not under happy circumstances. You both had encounters with a ship with red sails; that ship is important to me and I need to know the details. Don't worry, I won't ask you to divulge military secrets in front of your "enemies, but I need to know about that ship."
"We had just managed to barely beat off an attack from the Tui," Suki began, as Sokka scoffed next to her. "We were badly damaged, much of our crew was wounded, and we were reduced to a fraction of our normal speed. We were pursued by the ship with the red sails. It looked big, like a full battleship, but it turned away and gave up the chase once we came within sight of land. That was four days ago."
"I see," Zuko's good eye looked at her searchingly. "And you're right. It looked like a battleship because it was a battleship- my battleship, until recently. The Pride of the Fire Navy, a symbol of Fire Nation power and prestige, the Firelord Zuko," he sighed dreamily. He then snapped out of it, saw them all looking at him and guessed what they were thinking.
"What? I don't decide the names of ships."
"What about you two?" Firelady Mai drawled, clearly hoping to change the subject."
"Well, after my sister got shot in the back by one of her archers," Sokka said pointedly, "we began making our way back to the Fire Nation to find a healer. Ordinarily Katara does the healing, but that wasn't going to happen this time. We made our way north, and as we approached the Fire Nation we spotted red sails on the horizon. We swung closer to investigate, saw how big it was, it turned in towards us and looked like it wanted to fight. I didn't though, so we kept going. This must have been a day, maybe, before they saw it."
"Thank you, both, for your input," the Firelord said. "At least now I have a vague idea of where that ship is. I'll deploy the Fire Navy to bring it down."
"Now it's your turn," Sokka demanded. "Why do you care about a pirate so much?"
"It's not just any pirate. They have my flagship, and their leader is, well, she's my sister."
"Your sister? Why?" Suki looked up, startled.
"I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I'm going to do it anyway. My sister always thought that she was better than me. She was the prodigy, and she was father's favourite. However, I was older, so when father died I assumed the throne. Azula did not like that. She plotted a coup against me and it might have worked had one of her friends not come to me in the middle of the night and told me what she was planning."
He looked at Mai as he said this.
"When Azula turned up with her forces to attempt the coup, she found three loyal regiments of the Fire Army waiting for her. In the ensuing battle she gave me this," he pointed to his scar, "but failed and was forced to flee. On her way out she stole my flagship clean out of Caldera Harbour and has been using it to play at being a Pirate Queen ever since."
A silence fell over the hall, interrupted by the quiet crackling of flames as they all took in what the Firelord had told them.
"I would be surprised if Azula doesn't have some higher plan, but I don't know what it is," Mai added. "She never discussed any type of plan B with me."
"I think I do actually remember hearing about a battle in the Caldera," Suki mused.
"So do I," Sokka said.
"I'm surprised you paid attention to foreign news," Katara told him.
"I paid attention!"
"Anyway, thank you for what you have told me. Make sure to keep an eye out for my sister while you wage your pointless war; don't fight her, she's good, and she's the Fire Nation's responsibility, not yours, but tell me at your earliest convenience. "
"We will," Suki replied.
"When you return to the Fire Nation you will find an ally in me," Zuko bade them farewell, "but until then I believe you have ships to get back to, and I have a nation to run."
The four of them bowed, and made their way out, Suki and Toph making sure to rush ahead of the others. However, they heard movement to the side of them and suddenly Sokka was alongside them.
Suki put her hand on her weapon again. "You're awfully bold for someone this close to me."
Sokka only laughed. "You won't kill me."
"How do you know?"
"Because we're on neutral ground, as the Firelord said. And because I have a proposition."
Suki knew that this would probably be considered fraternising with the enemy, and that by even listening she was coming uncomfortably close to treason, but she couldn't help it. "Go on..."
"Look, I don't want to fight you," Sokka began. "I have nothing against the Earth Kingdom. None of us do. What we do hate, though, are pirates, so I'm going after that ship with the red sails once I return to the Tui."
"And what does that have to do with me?"
"Well, we'll have a lot more success with two ships than one..."
Suki realized what he was proposing, and stopped in her tracks.
"No! No."
"Why not?"
"We're at war! For me to help you would be treason! I have orders to hunt you down!"
"And what's more important? Waging a pointless war or doing some good by ridding the world of some pirates?" Sokka asked angrily. "And who told you that we even had to be enemies in the first place?"
"I don't think my crew would even follow me if I told them to help you! They would mutiny, lock me in my own brig and take me back to the Earth Kingdom for a court martial, and they would be right to do it."
Sokka sighed, knowing that he was unlikely to get through.
"You know what, fine. Have it your way. But I'll offer you a deal at least. While we're hunting for these pirates, I promise we'll leave Earth Kingdom merchant shipping alone, and in return, you'll leave us alone until it's done. Then you fulfil your orders, and we'll fulfil ours."
Suki considered. Technically this deal didn't contradict her orders, as she would be able to resume the hunt eventually, and it would be a decent way of getting the Tui to stop raiding merchant shipping for at least a while. Besides, maybe Azula would do her job for her- although again, Suki found herself not relishing that possibility.
"Fine. I accept. Do what you have to do."
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry that we can't do it together," Sokka replied. "But thank you."
Suddenly, Suki remembered something. "Wait! Before you go, can you do something for me?"
"What?" Sokka asked, intrigued.
"Can you tell me that you were not responsible for the massacre on the Longma."
"This again?" The water tribesman sounded indignant.
"Please?"
Sokka looked into her eyes, and then sighed again. "Fine. I did not kill the crew of the Longma, nor did I order anybody else to."
The effect was immediate.
"He's telling the truth," Toph said.
"What?"
"My friend here can detect when someone is lying," Suki explained.
"Oh," Sokka said, looking at her. "Sounds useful. Thanks for finally believing me, I guess?"
He offered one last smile to Suki, and with that he left them, to go back to his sister. Suki watched him go, and then turned to look at Toph.
The Earthbender was giving her a knowing expression, which worried Suki.
"What?"
Together, they descended the steps of the Fire Nation palace and prepared to make their way back to Himiko, and the Kyoshi.