Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs

Introduction

He was an Earth Kingdom Soldier fighting to defend his home…

She was a noblewoman-turned circus performer recruited by the Princess Azula to hunt the Avatar…

Around them the world was in chaos, in a state of unending war. Only the Avatar could restore the balance that had been lost. One side fights to protect him and looks to him for hope; the other seeks to destroy him. In the end, only one could be victorious…

Chapter One

Ba Sing Se, Earth Kingdom

The Earth King's Palace was pristine and peaceful- a stark contrast to the world outside the city's great walls. The Dei Li strove mightily to maintain this illusion and many within the walls pretended that the war didn't exist… others truly did not know.

This fact never ceased to astonish and anger Han Jinn every time he entered the capitol city. As Earth Kingdom officer, he knew that hundreds of brave Earth Kingdom soldiers died everyday to defend this city from the Fire Nation, whose sacrifices were ignored, unknown, and ultimately unappreciated. The Royal Palace, whose steps he now mounted, was the very pinnacle of this ignorance; it was previously rumored that the Earth King himself didn't even know of the war's existence, that he had only recently been enlightened of its existence by the Avatar himself.

The Council of Five had summoned Jinn to the War Room for a debriefing, as he and his battalion had recently returned from the frontlines, now dangerously close to the City of Walls. Realizing his dark musings had cost him time, he ran up the last few dozen stairs, unwilling to miss an appointment with the five highest ranking generals in the Kingdom.

At length, in the Palace atrium, Han heard the soft clatter of footfalls echoing through the high-vaulted hall. Around one of the massive pillars, Han was relieved to see General Sung, apparently making his way to the War Room at a leisurely pace.

Han was about turn away from the bleary-eyed general, confident he would not be tardy, when he noted what he had previously thought to be shadows shifting in the darkness-shrouded area near the top of the hall's massive pillars. Before he could get a closer look, from the darkness he heard the brief clatter of chains before a set four shackles hurled themselves toward the unsuspecting Earth Kingdom leader. The restraints clamped upon the man's limbs before he even had the chance to react to his aggressors. Han immediately ducked back behind his pillar, not sure what to do. Enemies in the Imperial Palace was simply unheard of!

He peeked around the column as the general's assailants revealed themselves, emerging from the shadows and scurrying down pillars: Dark-cloaked Dei Li agents. Eight of them descended upon the helpless Sung, too many for Han to fight alone. Resigning himself to remaining hidden, he watched as they collected their prisoner and disappeared silently in seconds.

No sooner had they vanished from sight that Han was tearing down the corridor towards the War Room. He burst through the large double-doors to find the chamber deserted. He was too late, he realized with growing alarm: The Dei Li had arrested the entire Council, even General How. The Dei Li had betrayed them!

With a will, he choked back his rage as he stealthily made his way from the Palace grounds, doing his best not to draw attention to himself. Once in the city proper, Jinn ensured that he was not being tailed before abandoning some of his caution to quicken his pace towards his battalion's encampment.

The unit's remaining five hundred men had been designated a plot of land in the outer Agrarian Zone to keep them, and the war, segregated from the city. Ignoring the concerned comments from his men as he rushed through the camp with reckless abandon, likely appearing quite a spectacle to the casual observer, he threw himself into the headquarters tent, situated at the center of the encampment.

He was immediately accosted by his second-in-command, Major Liu Bao. "What is it, sir?" the man urgently inquired, greatly concerned already by his commanding officer's troubled expression.

"Summon all company commanders on the double!" Jinn gasped out, in lieu of an answer.

Bao nodded and the messengers left running. Han used the intervening minutes to catch his breath and gulp down a goblet of water until his officers ducked one-by-one through the tent flap. The six Captains were soon gathered around the central table, onto which Bao had tacked a map of Ba Sing Se.

"Gentlemen," he began gravely, "we have been betrayed. The Dei Li, likely under covert orders from Long Feng, have arrested the entire Council of Five in secret. With one blow, they have crippled the Earth Kingdom's entire war effort. We have the duty to our nation to take action!"

"You're sure, sir?" Bao asked, the first to speak, while the other officers stood silently absorbing the enormous implications of what he had just said.

"Yes." Jinn said simply.

The officers all found their voices at once, their comments and opinions mixing into an unintelligible chatter until one man's voice grew dominant over his fellows'.

"What can we do, sir?" the officer asked, "The Dei Li control Ba Sing Se. Whether out of fear or misplaced loyalty, no one will believe us over the Dei Li."

Coming to a similar conclusion, Jinn's hand pounded onto the table in irritation, "You're probably right, damn it all. But we can't just stand by and watch this happen: We have a duty to the people and our King to try. Now, I have a plan, but it's risky. No man who doesn't wish to take part in it will be forced to do so."

Not one officer moved.

"Alright, here's what we'll do: Major Bao will take a platoon of soldiers to secure the South Agrarian Gate, but do it quietly: I don't want the traitors to realize we're up to something. Meanwhile, I want the rest of you to prepare the rest of the battalion for combat. If you are forced into a fight, avoid inflicting fatalities on non-Dei Li forces. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Bao answered for the entire assemblage.

"Good," Han nodded. "While you are organizing, I want each of you to send me a hand-picked man from each of your respective companies. He should be an Earthbender proficient in hand-to-hand combat. Absolutely loyal. They will accompany me to the Palace."

These seemed to alarm and confuse some of his Captains:

"To the Palace, Commander?" one asked.

"You said it yourself: The Dei Li have taken over; the Palace will surely be crawling with them. What good can it do?" another urgently added.

Jinn raised his hands for silence, "Captain Ling is correct when he states that the people will never take the word of a few Army officers over that of the Dei Li. Only the Earth King himself could convince them otherwise."

The point seemed to emerge from the murk to a few of his officers, comprehension dawning on their faces. "You intend to make the Earth King hear you," one said. Not asked; for it was not a question.

"Yes," Han said simply. "It is the only way the Dei Li may not be able to taint the King's judgment. Questions or comments, gentlemen?"

One man in the back was shaking his head incredulously, "Sir, with due respect, if the Earth King does not believe you, our actions may be construed as treasonous and all of us will be treated as such."

Han met his gaze levelly, "I understand that, Captain Shun, but I see no other alternative as a loyal soldier of the Earth Kingdom. If you have another plan, I'm all ears."

The man was silent a long moment, brain almost visibly working within his head, before he nodded in defeat and stepped back amongst his peers.

"Very well then. And I thank you for your concern, Captain. I am convinced of what I saw, and if I am not believed, well…in a little while it won't matter anymore. Either I convince the King and we save Ba Sing Se, or the city will fall within the week," he said gravely, voice dropping an octave to further convey his conviction.

The six captains were now absolutely silent and Han knew they were behind him. "Thank you. Rouse your commands and begin deployment, gentlemen. May the Gods go with you and favor our cause."

"And with you, Commander," the officers echoed solemnly before filing out of the tent. While he waited, Jinn took a seat at his field desk, situated in a corner of the tent, to pen a half dozen brief letters to fellow army officers posted elsewhere in the city that he would trust with his own life, deciding that they must at least be warned.

When he had finished the dispatches to his satisfaction, he summoned his battalion's cadre of messengers who, upon securing their charges, whipped off on their ostrich-horses to deliver them.

Like clockwork after the riders left, the six men he had requested filed in, led by the aging, but still-able, Sergeant Takeza Shu. Shu was indeed a man Jinn trusted; the man had served in the army longer than Han had walked the earth and also fought under Han's own father in the Northern Campaign, some twenty years before, when Han was just a baby. In fact, Shu had saved his father's life in the Battle of Switchback Mountain and had ever since, he had been considered "one of the family."

Jinn walked over to the NCO and, after exchanging the appropriate military formality required before the rank-and-file, affectionately pumped his "uncle's" hand. "We've got a tough job ahead of us, Takeza."

"Well, stouter men you'll find nowhere in the whole of the world…but you best tell us what you've got in mind," Shu prodded gently.

Jinn nodded before stepping back to review the entire group. "Men, we are about to undertake perhaps the most important operation in the history of the Earth Kingdom." Seeing that he had their attention, he pressed on, "With my own eyes, I witnessed the arrest of one of the Five Generals by Dei Li agents. Executed in secret and with no warrant, I have come to believe that the Dei Li, still loyal to the known traitor Long Feng, are moving to seize absolute control over Ba Sing Se.

"The Earth is the only man who can thwart this coup and win the support of the people; but the King, befitting his status, is heavily guarded and ever under the eyes of the Dei Li. If our country is to survive, we must make the Earth King hear us."

A swift glance down the line revealed uncertainty in the eyes of some of the men that Jinn had no power at his disposal to dispel.

"That is our mission. Any man who wants no part in this and wishes to leave can and should do so now."

The men deliberated silently, eyes glancing about in great rapidity, with only Shu maintaining a neutral expression. Han stood silently as one minute, then two ticked by, the soldiers seeming little closer to reaching a consensus.

Shu, having taken the measure of the situation mutely stepped forward to stand by Jinn, to illustrate his long-chosen course. Seeing the respected soldier's actions, the troopers' uncertainties seemed to wash away and, one by one, all five stepped forward.

The Sergeant stepped back into line and stood at attention, "Special Operations detachment at your service, Commander." He looked at Han with a hint of…pride?

Jinn well understood the magnitude of the decision they had made and treated it accordingly, offering a slow salute, "Thank you, men."

The six returned his gesture with a few mumbled "sirs" and a few, less-military, "We got your back, sirs".

Jinn led them over to the table in the center of the tent containing the map of Ba Sing Se, "Alright, men, here's the plan…"

Author's Note: Well, that's Chapter One. I put you into the action of the story pretty quickly, I know, but I think it served the appropriately. We'll see the Commander's plan put into action next chapter. When that will be posted, I don't know, as I am working on other stories and this story's inspiration just struck me.

Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Beyond that, I always welcome constructive criticism. If you hunger for more, I love that review button and it MIGHT make me work faster!

Thanks for reading,

-The CAG