Chapter 4: A Plan

It had been over a week since Sokka had been away from home, the ship was nearing the Fire Nation capital. Off in the distant horizon, something started to appear, growing larger as the frigate traveled closer toward it. Then land started to appear on either side of the figure, but not directly around it. As they moved closer, he discover that it was a grand statue of a man, standing at the entrance of a bay area. As they passed beside the figure, he noticed that it towered over the ship. There were also nets attached to the man's arms that draped down into the water. As he looked to either shore, he noticed that the nets rose back up to the mouth's of dragons, precisely carved down to the grain, not unlike the statue of the man.

What purpose could that serve? Sokka questioned to himself.

Brushing the thought away, he looked for a port. When none were seen, it dawned on him that it would still be awhile before they would make landfall. Today was the day they would arrive in the Fire Nation Capital. He honestly wasn't sure what to think.

"Hey... you over there," said one a sailor behind him. Sokka turned around and noticed he was only a private. "Your presence has been requested on the bridge". Curiosity showed on his face before wiping it off to follow the private.

The man opened the door, stepping aside to let Sokka in first, then promptly announcing, "The boy is on deck now". To this, the temperamental man from the first night revealed himself by turning on his heels to face Sokka. Even from across the deck he was still visibly as angry as he had been then.

Maybe that's just how his face is all the time. He held back a small chuckle.

"Hello stow away," said the man, making it sound as dehumanizing as possible, "we will be landing in the fire nation capital today. You shall not cause any trouble while I am gone. If you do not do so, then that lieutenant will not be able to protect you. You should be thankful of me, as I was in a rather merciful mood when you came aboard, don't mess it up."

Thankful for raiding my village and then trying to get me killed for hopping on your ship... yeah, I don't think so.

With that, he was waved off. He walked the long, desolate hallway back to his room. However, a door suddenly opened right beside him and he was pulled inside quickly. Once Sokka reoriented himself, he noticed it was a supply closet, and that the Lieutenant was the person that pulled him inside.

"Why did you pull me in here without warning?" Sokka yelled.

"Shhh... Did the Commander just speak to you?" He asked in a barely audible whisper.

"Yeah, why?" He was unsure of why this was important or why they needed to whisper, but it surely must be of dire urgency.

The Lieutenant let out a long breathe, but it was not from relief. "This is not good". His tone became serious.

"What makes you say that?" He knew that speaking with the Commander could not possibly be good for him, but he failed to see why it could be problematic.

"Well, he has a tendency to act somewhat compassionate toward a person, an enemy to him, then when it is least expected, he kills them". He tried not to sound so grim about it but it came out that way nonetheless.

The weight of the world dropped onto Sokka's shoulders in that very instant. What was he to do? It's not like he could do anything about that.

"Alright, I have a plan," the Lieutenant said, sure of himself, "when we dock in the capital later today, you will get off of the ship. The only problem with this is that the only true entrance is the bow of the ship. So, you need to get to an area at the edge of the ship where no one can see you, then jump off when we get near the sea wall to swim to shore and then travel through the forest to the capital."

Sokka's face became comically skeptical. "ARE YOU CRAZY!? First, you want me to go jump off of this ship through an exploit in this ships patrol, even though the whole deck is being patrolled all day, everyday, not to mention possibly being diced up by the paddle wheels of the ship, then I need to swim to shore and walk through a forest of a place I've never been, to the capital, which I can only assume is the more secure and locked down then Ba Sing Se."

"Well now you're just being a pessimist." Sokka had a good sense of humor, but now was not the time. "I've already found the area you'll be jumping off from, it isn't that bad. You can also follow the walls and buildings of the port to get to the city, which is where I will find you."

So he did actually think this through. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Why are you doing this?" Sokka asked with genuine curiosity.

"I remember one thing from before I got amnesia. Someone, I don't remember them at all except that they told me, to solve my own problem, I may need to help someone else, or something like that" the Lieutenant said admittedly.

"Okay, I'll do it", he said with confidence instilled in his voice.