I laid on my cot for another half hour but was unable to find rest. Peeling myself from the sheets I left a sweat angel behind me. The long pants and long sleeves certainly didn't help in the heat. Again I made my trek to Hei Bai's tent and stepped thru the portal inside. Whatever conversation they were having stopped as they all turned to look at me.

I saw Hei Bai, Buno, and Chang's familiar faces, but was greeted by two more. A strong jawed woman with a smirk on her face, and a man next to her whose face immediately shot an arrow of contempt. They were both by the looks of them mercenaries like myself.

The man asked, "Who's the pretty boy?"

"Play nice, Peng," said Hei-Bai. "This is Hiro, the final member of our team."

Hei-Bai reached into a satchel behind him, pulled out a package, and tossed at me. I caught it.

"What is this?" I asked

Hei-Bai was bemused, "It's an MRE"

"That's not what I meant"

"It's breakfast. Take a seat and we can get started on our meeting."

I opened my package to eat and as was tradition I threw away the little candies that came with the meal. The packaged food nowadays actually wasn't too bad, though one's palette and one's guts were often in stark disagreement.

Hei Bai said "Anyway, Buno was saying…"

"Ah!" Buno spoke. "Hiro, this woman is Koko an Air Nomad of all people! The man here is Peng, an earth bender and veteran of Si Wong."

"Hey there," Koko smiled while Peng continued to say nothing.

After introducing me to the rest of the group, Buno said, "I know you all come from different places and different motivations, but here we are all brothers and sisters. What Hei Bai and I have done is to assemble a lance. A bender of each kind and even a nonbender who is skilled with his hands. When Avatar Aang and Avatar Korra needed to put the world right they had a lance like this one as well. With a team like this there is nothing we can't do."

"What about you, Buno?" Koko asked.

"Ah. I may be but another nonbender," said Buno, "But I am also a police man. Make no mistake that the troublemakers we are dealing with are criminals at the end of the day."

Indeed, Buno was policeman, patrolling up and down flats inspecting crime homestead to home stead. While his Water Tribe heritage granted him obedience from the locals, it was his adoption of the local way of life that granted him respect. His devotion to the traditional arts of his fathers made him an excellent tracker of both man and beast while being no less urbane. Sunken into his kind face were a pair of eyes that could pierce straight into the very soul of any wrongdoer.

As the meeting went on, Hei Bai and Buno both talked about their experiences and touched up on the trivialities of this blossoming war. All the superfluous and extraneous details, from the exact process of checking into camp to resupply and file paperwork, to where to find the best bowl of noodles in the closest town, to the top down order of battle and chain of command structure we would fit into. Following which, we were dismissed and sent to prep our gear so that we could be ready to go at a moment's notice.

As for myself, I of course had my 'Accelerators. The cannon had existed for a long time, but it took many advances to shrink it down small enough for a man to carry. Not quite a cannon anymore, they were officially designated as accelerators. Of course, this was a clumsy word. But the loud staccato pops reminded people in the Fire Nation of Earth Kingdom New Year's celebrations. "Gong he fat choi" had been misinterpreted as "happy new year's" for centuries by Fire Nation people, and they took the first word, Gong, and derived the name we all know today – the gun.

I picked up and loaded my rifle. Stamped on the side was "EKPDR PLAGF QBZ" or "Earth Kingdom's People's Democratic Republic's People's Liberation Army's Ground Forces – Light Automatic Rifle." The less the Earth Kingdom served the people, the longer its name became. But the battle rifle itself was a fine instrument, standard issue of the EKPDR hegemony. Semi automatic. Twenty five round capacity, 7.62x45 cartridge

There was also my scattergun, a hunter's pump action weapon. A simple and practical tool, I could load anything from slugs to fire firepills to grappling hooks thru its bore.

And on top of that there was my Fire Bending. Even if it had gone out of fashion, bending still gave you an edge. That little edge could still mean the difference between life and death.

You see, it wasn't the accelerator that changed the world, it was the machinegun. A man with a rifle could still fight honorably, but Sato industries changed all that when a single man could mow down an army from five hundred meters. The Equalists got the last laugh after all.

After changing into a cooler short sleeved shirt, I grabbed the rest of my gear and threw it on the bed. I was putting together my chest rig and sailor's gloves when Hei Bai entered, "scratch that, I want you to come take a ride with me. You've got more people to meet"

Due east we travelled, straight to Capital City, sitting like the head of a pin on the needle thin fjord that penetrated deep into the peninsula; a view of the ocean to remind the water tribe of home. As we drove farther from the FOB scrappy hills turned to brush flatlands, then to homesteads, then to the farms sown with The Five Cereals that seemed to stretch on forever. As you already know, the Earth Kingdom has been going through a record drought for the last five years. Crop production is at an all-time low. Where there was once fertile land, acre by acre it has dried up into desert. The Earth Kingdom is where most of the world gets most of its food, and there's over five billion mouths to feed.

While Cabbage Corps products have been cutting edge and go everywhere from home appliances to military hardware, they have never forgotten their humble agricultural roots. Agricultural government contracts actually make up at least 40% of their revenue, and takes up a least 20% of their R&D budget. The desertification of the Earth Kingdom has been partly stalled in thanks to fertilizers developed and sold by Cabbage Corps. This was not without side-effects, however. During the days that it ever does rain, run-off from the fertilizers would get carried downstream and into the local water supply. The phosphates in the fertilizer would feed the algae in the water, causing red-tides that would kill all the fish and poison anyone who drank the water.

Not so in Jia. Here, where once was dessert, was now farmland. And without the use of nitrogen-phosphate fertilizer, either. With the skill of the Water Benders alone, a forgotten and arid peninsula had been turned into one of the largest bread baskets on the continent.

Eventually we passed thru a checkpoint with barb wire and dragons' teeth that, too, stretched as far as the eye could see. In the distance were fortifications punctuating the landscape just as the kopjes in the brush do, each one covered in machinegun and flak cannon complete and redundant overlap. The Wolf's Teeth. Paid for with Fire Nation purse, it was no coincidence for Chancellor Du Lin to wait till construction was over to seize control of her country.

The next few kilometers were empty scorched. No farms here. Hei Bai stopped the satomobile, got out and began to piss. After he finished writing his name in the dirt he said, "You see this empty land here, Hiro? This is what it's all about. This is the future."

"What are you talking about? It's empty nothing as far as the eye can see."

"we're going to have a new kind of farm." He cast his arms skyward, arched his face to the heavens and spun around, "Solar fields! It's the future. This is what this war is all about."

"I thought it was about farmers"

"Indeed it is, but what do you think we emancipated the farms for, Hiro? The world bank won't deal with a bunch of no-good unegalitarian water benders. But the money we make off the farms we invest in building the solar fields. Capital City's growing and we don't have the coal we need for power or industry. With solar power, we will be a truly independent and modernized Water Tribe nation. Electricity for the people even out in the farmstead, and also for arc welding and other industries. That's our vision here, and that's why they attack the farmers."

Maybe what he said was true. Maybe not. Dear reader, I'm sorry if this is a lot to take in right now, but it is all an important piece in the puzzle of war. They say the first casualty in war is truth, as they also say that war is based on deception. This story you read is another version of the truth, and I hope that you make up your own understanding of it in time.

Finally the Capital City came into view on horizon, a grove of buildings defiantly jutting from the desert. A truly modern city, the sky cloudless blue sky reflected off the glass of the many skyscrapers and office building, making the whole city appear as an oasis. As we drove down the asphalt roads past the small concrete buildings, everywhere there were there were signs of order. At the city entrance were a pair of tanks, and inside the city full armed fire-teams of soldiers were patrolling up and down the streets. Don't worry people of Jia; everything was safe, everything was under control. If that was the intent, it only served to remind me that Jia was on the cusp of war.

In the streets was the animated commotion of celebration and daily commerce. Venders, customers, performers, and policemen all going about their innumerable paths that intersected at this particular moment in time. An air of celebration still gripped the people, and deep-seated societal cleavages and the uncertainty of country's future was not enough to sully their revolutionary spirit. Naturally, traffic moved slower than a koala-turtle. Hei bai threw money at a street vender whilst leaning out the side of our satomobile to grab a handful of gao dian from her as he feathered the break and idled passed them.

Finally parking in front of the Capitol building Hei Bai and I disembarked. This building stood apart from the others for its traditional aesthetics of tiled angled roofs and stone facade. Chen Wi dragons adorned the gutters and workers labored to scrape away Fire Nation insignia and repaint the blue symbols of the Water Tribe. I could faintly smell the Water Tribes beloved sea from here in the here in the heart of the city, and I could even hear the call of seagulls. I followed Hei Bai up the steps and past the huge oak doors into the Capitol building. I was given a pat down and then Hei Bai and I were escorted by armed guards through the rotunda and down a rather large corridor.

The first thing you'll notice if you were talk down this corridor is a very large portrait immediately to your right. The portrait is a painting of a dignified and majestic, though aging, woman. The woman's eyes burned with purpose; her face radiated a stern air of authority. This was the only portrait hanging from the wall, though there was room for dozens more. A bronze plaque beneath the portrait read "First High Chancellor of Jia, Du Lin."

As we reached the end of the hallway, the ornate doors opened up into an office with a large desk. Sitting behind it was an old water tribe woman.

The same as the one in the portrait

"Good morning, Hei Bai," she said

The same as the one I talked with on the phone. "Ah, crap," I thought. This was gonna hurt.

Hei Bai replied, "likewise, ma'am"

"Thank you. If you don't mind, I'd like to speak with Hiro alone."

"Yes, ma'am," Hei Bai said as he turned and departed from the executive office.

Du Lin turned to me, "Good morning, Hiro."

"Good morning, Chancellor."

"Do you know why I asked to see you?"

"no, ma'am."

"For one, I'm honestly surprised you took the contract," she paused for a second "I didn't think you would take it, and I actually didn't want to extend the contract to you after your… interview, but Hei Bai insisted. He hand-picked you, too. Did he tell you that?"

I understood that lances were supposed to be in direct contact with their military's commander in chief, but I had no idea that it was Hei-Bai that had chosen me. I tried to hide my astonishment. Spec-ops or not, could a mere Army captain have that much influence over the High Chancellor of Jia?

"No," I said, "I never asked."

"And how do you feel about him? Can you work with a Water Tribe member as your commanding officer? Can you stomach the idea of fighting for a nation led by a member of the Water Tribe?"

"I don't care about ethnicities or leaders. I go where the money is."

"Well you certainly didn't care about things like that when you went on your last job. Getting paid to shoot starving water benders, hmm? I know how much you said you enjoyed it. Enough that you even kept memorabilia."

My black sailors' gloves – I was wearing them right now. My first job after quitting the military had been to act as private security on the deck of a Fire Nation freighter. Nine long months I lived inside the inescapable prison-like confines of that ship. I grew quite close to the crew, the majority of which were Water tribe themselves, and they had given me a fine pair of gloves as a token of camaraderie. Of course, my job was to protect that crew from pirates, the most desperate of which were also Water Tribe members themselves.

It was good pay, I needed some time away from the rest of the world, and if I had to kill people, it wasn't exactly a load on my conscience if I was killing the scum of the earth.

She continued, "Don't deny it, Hiro; Jian intelligence is thorough."

I smirked.

"What are you going to say?"

"Nothing, ma'am."

"Don't be so vain to assume I'm singling you out. I've already given the same treatment to every member of the Hei Bai's lance. When you are in my office, you speak freely."

There was a deafening silence between us in few seconds before I spoke, "Perhaps Jian intelligence wasn't quite so thorough."

Of course that's always how it is. Even though soldiers depended on their Intelligence agencies, intel spooks were never to be trusted. First off, even if they didn't give incorrect intel, they often never told you the whole truth. Whenever one was around, you knew that things were either not going to go as planned, or you were about to used – they always had an ulterior motive. It was bad enough that they were civilians sticking their noses into the world of the military, but how could we trust them when they refused to trust their own soldiers?

She asked, "What do you mean?"

"Did you or intel know about the drug addict problem in your military? Just this morning I saw addicts shooting up behind the barracks. They weren't even trying to hide it! You're trying to secure order to your country with an Army filled with the same scum living in ghettos. It's completely unprofessional."

Her eyes suddenly grew cold with anger. I had only seen one other woman with that same kind of cold hate in their eyes before, back when I had served the Earth Kingdom

"You think intel wouldn't catch something like that? You think I didn't know about it? Of course we did. And what would you have me do, Hiro? I am trying to build a nation-state. Was I supposed to just start with the reforms before being able to carry them out? I need an Army. These people come from everywhere. Yes, Hiro, it is unprofessional, but I don't have another choice. A good portion of them probably wouldn't even pass selection if they didn't have a little extra kick. What difference does it make anyway? They're all noncombatant jobs, those people.

So my choice is either to have a military with two thousand drug addicts or have a military with two thousand twitchy withdrawal patients. Exactly what are my options, Hiro? You hypocrite! You can say anything you want about my people, but you will never be able to hide those scars."

I glanced down at my left arm – forgot I wasn't wearing long sleeves. Yes, recruits of the Earth Kingdom Army were rife with hazing, abuse, and narcotics use. And yes, when I joined the Earth Kingdom Army I was… low. I gave in. I used. But I quit! They had no excuse.

"…I've had enough of you for today," she said. "You're dismissed."

I gave a salute and walked out the door.

The drive back was an awkward one. I was left in a foul mood but Hei Bai was as nonplussed as usual. I hadn't spoke a word to him in over two hours, and I wish I could have just but my tongue during the meeting instead. Finally punctuating the constant silence of the drive back I said, "Well, I think I'm fired now."

Hei Bai began to laugh. "No she loves you," he giggled. "I can tell!" silently we headed onward, chasing the sun to the FOB, as far as such time that it was hanging right above the horizon not as an intangible source of light but a warm and corporeal pit of fire, such that you felt like you could slip off the surface of the Earth at any moment and fall headlong into it.

I went to the head late that night brush my teeth. I was about halfway through and then,

"Good evening!"

I startled, fell to the floor in a whirling dervish of expletives. It was Buno. walked right up to sink next to mine to brush his teeth without making a sound.

"Good evening," I said.

He grinned at my sheepish response as he began brushing. In spite of his hulking size, every one of Buno's movements was graceful like a dancer's – even in brushing his teeth.

"Where have you been today?" I said

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

I was about to open my mouth to ask a question when he said, "Down in Qin, spear-fishing Unagi." He flashed a foamy, toothpasted grin.

To this very day, I still don't know if he was joking.