Before anything else, I own nothing but the original characters, and content therein related to them. Avatar: The Last Airbender is owned by Nickelodeon, and any mentioned creator's work belongs to them, and them alone.
Posting this before the holidays start kicking off.
Chapter 3 In the Favor of The Fire Lord.
Another week had passed. Thankfully Connor's understanding of the common language had improved, in large part thanks to Azula's grammar lessons, and to a lesser degree Connor's own motivation to learn.
They were about to go over the finer intricacies of Connor's status as technical nobility in his world, (Likely a bluff or embellishment, but Azula would entertain the idea if only due to her limited knowledge of the other world's politics,) before two separate Imperial Guard entered the room, giving a bow to Azula as she turned to face them. "Your highness, we received messenger hawks at dawn. The guards you sent to investigate the prisoner's actions have reported that the boy who was injured lied to the town guard. Apparently this…" The guard slightly leaned to look at Connor. "Odd man did in fact put his sword away before he was attacked, according to the boy's friend. The guard captain that died attacked him first as well, and the garrison lied to Governor Hochi to avoid getting into trouble on behalf of their captain."
Azula looked over at Connor, before she turned back to the Imperial Guard. "And what of the other messenger hawk?" She asked.
"It's from the Palace, your highness… The Firelord has requested your return to the capital. War Minister Qin believes he has learned all Lord Ozai has requested, and more from his own investigation of the ship and it's contents. The prisoner is no longer of any consequence." The guard said.
"But… Father, requested me personally to investigate this matter." Azula said mostly to herself, narrowing her eyes before she looked at Connor again, then turned to face him. She stood looking down on him as he sat in his seat. He looked up at her inquisitively. "All you know. An entire world to gain the knowledge of…" Azula muttered.
Connor cleared his throat. "I hear I did no wrong." He said, holding his shackled wrists out to Azula. "I'll serve, for my freedom still."
Azula looked down at his bound hands, and she raised an eyebrow. This was actually the perfect opportunity for both her and Connor. War minister Qin, the pesky arrogant low born sycophant, was not going to upstage her, princess of the Fire Nation, with some paltry offer to her father of… Whatever it was he had… No, Azula was given that task, not him, and she was blessed with the most reliable source of information regarding all the contents of the ship, sitting right in front of her. And Connor, so willing to answer every question he knew how to, so eager to learn, to understand all he could, was offering her everything she could ask of a loyal subject. Subservience, knowledge, as he put it "blood, sweat and tears," for his liberation from the jail he likely could have escaped from by now.
Azula finally spoke to him. "Connor, it has come to my attention that your imprisonment was done while the full details of the death of one guard captain, and the injury of a peasant boy remained unknown. Therefore, I, under Fire Lord Ozai's authority, am releasing you from your incarceration here effective immediately… And with the unusual circumstances presented, offer you a place under my command…" Azula watched as Connor's eyebrows rose. "Swear to me your loyalty, offer me all you know, and I shall see to it you will be rewarded greatly for your service in the betterment of the Fire Nation. Be warned, if you refuse this offer, I can not make any guarantee that you will prosper in our land without the status as a citizen, and may very well be banished."
Connor drew a breath, before he stood, and gave a smile. "Ay princess, ye' had me at rewarded greatly." Connor said, extending his hands, his left closed, and his right held open.
"What is this?" Azula asked.
"Hand shake. To seal deals, or to greet people. An open hand holds no weapon." Connor said, his hand still extended. Azula looked at Connor's hands, and mimicked him, putting her right hand in his, before he squeezed firmly and pulled it up then down once. Once released, Azula flexed her fingers, realizing how uncomfortable strong Connor's grip was. His hands were those of a commoner, covered in calluses from hard work.
"Well then… If that's that, let's get you out of those chains and rags. We've a few days' journey ahead of us." Azula said with a smirk. She turned to the guard once more. "Send a letter to the Fire Lord. I'll be presenting my findings on the stranger to him early."
After a day's ride on the backs of komodo-rhinos, which Connor seemed to be slightly apprehensive about mounting, calling them "the biggest lizard he'd ever seen," the procession reached the small port that the Royal Sloop was docked at. Connor's reaction to the ship was nearly priceless. His world seemed to have not yet developed ironclad ships, nor steam powered vessels of such size. Once aboard, Azula smirked as Connor followed her through the ship. He was no longer bound, but his own child-like mystification with the ship's metal walls and lack of sails captivated him all the same. He was taken to a spare room below deck, as Azula ascended to her room near the top of the tower. Before she retired for the rest of the trip back to the capital, she turned to the guard posted there. "Have a set of clothes ready for my newest servant by morning… I have a case to present to the Fire Lord, and I can't allow one of my servants to appear in prison rags." Azula said, before the guardsman saluted, and walked away to do her bidding.
Connor looked around the mostly empty room, and huffed to himself. It had a mattress on the floor, a fire nation banner on the wall, and a few candles, but otherwise, was no better than his cell. "Ahright, fuck this, I'm gettin' a real dinner for once, and a stiff drink." He said, before stepping back out the open door of the room, and wandering down the hall.
Azula sat in her nightgown, removing the makeup from her face, before she prepared to go to bed. As she sat the wet cloth down, there was a knock at the door. "Enter." She said, not turning to face the door, still able to see who had disturbed her with the mirror on the wall before her. It was the guard she'd tasked with clothing Connor.
"You're highness… Um… Your newest servant is gone from his room."
"WHAT?!" Azula roared, as she stood, the candles in the room booming into a blue fire.
Hastily dressing in a more appropriate day robe, though not applying any makeup, Azula marched her way down to the spare room Connor should have been in with the guard, and gazed with rage at the empty room's doorway.
"Who left Connor unguarded?" She asked.
"There was no order to guard him, your highness. He is a servant under you is he not?" The sole Imperial guard asked, before Azula stomped off down the hall.
"Tear this ship apart. I want him found, and I want to know why he's so readily decided to abandon his place." Azula said, as she quickly walked past the door to the crew mess, where there were sounds of excitement, and instruments being played. Azula made it about three steps past the door before realizing that one of the voices sounded familiar. Turning, and walking back to the door, Azula looked inside to find the entirety of the mess hall in a state of merriment, song and dance, with Connor standing on a barrel in the center of the room, with a glass in hand, tilted bottom up, the crew chanting him on.
"DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!" Connor had finished off the glass, and held it over his head. "YEAH!" The crew shouted, as Connor squatted on the barrel, as another fresh glass of what looked like honey beer was passed to him. He raised it high, and gave a shout. "Slainte!" He said, earning another cheer from the crew in the hall, before he seemed to spot Azula in the doorway, and stepped off the barrel, receiving pats on the back from the crew as he walked over to Azula, sipping on his glass mug as he walked.
Azula looked at him with both confusion and silent fury. "Azula!" Connor said, arms outstretched. "Come to join the party?" He asked, before Azula moved so fast her hand was a blur. The sound of the smack could be heard throughout the mess hall, silencing all other noise. Before Connor could even begin to rub his face where her nails had stung him, Azula grabbed Connor by the ear, and began to drag him down the hall. Despite the sounds of pain Connor elicited, he never seemed to lose control over his mug as he stumbled half hunched over after Azula.
Azula pulled Connor back into the room he was given, and let go of his ear, which he rubbed. "What do you think you're doing?" Azula asked, narrowing her eyes.
Connor looked down at the mug of beer, in his hand, and shrugged. "Just getting a drink, and dinner." He said, before going to take another sip from the mug, before Azula slapped it out of his grip, spilling the beer all over the floor, and shattering the glass.
"You are a servant of the Royal Family. You have no place slumming it with the workers in earnest." Azula said.
"Ay, come on, Princess, I'm a free man, I can drink with who I like." Connor said. "What's so wrong?"
Azula drew a breath to calm herself. "Do you know anything about etiquette?" She asked.
"No." Connor shook his head. "I was a smith's apprentice, and a paper boy before I got into the arms trade."
Azula nearly groaned. "Do you at least understand how to bow or kneel before royalty?"
"Aaaaha… Maybe?" Connor said. Azula drew a breath, and Connor flinched a little. "Don't burn me."
Azula exhaled, then returned her expression to that of neutrality. "Then you still have a lot to learn… Tomorrow I will be presenting you to The Fire Lord, in the hopes that he will see all you have to offer, and grant you a position in which you can share your knowledge with the army so that we might prevail in the war. Until that time, you are nothing more than an attendant to me, and as such, will not be seen interacting with any of the common rabble, lest your actions then be associated with me." Azula said, making her position clear.
Connor held his hands up. "Ay ay, princess… Kreɪzi bɪʧ." He said the last part in a mutter, and Azula wasn't quite sure it was anything other than an insult, but let it go all the same.
"Stay in your room until you are requested to leave once we make port. And wash yourself before then. I'll have a basin and a brush sent in." Azula said, as she left the room and closed the door behind her.
Connor flinched as the steel baneged loudly, then sighed. "So much for being free."
The next morning, Azula stood on the deck of the Royal Sloop, as the ship finally docked at the Capital Port just beyond the city proper.
"aɪ fiːl laɪk ə ˈmʌŋki ɪn ə ˈkɒstjuːm." Azula turned to see Connor walking out onto the deck, pulling at the flowing short front half of the long sleeved dark red tunic he wore, brown pants overflowing from his boots. "It's not a tail coat, but it will do." He said. "ˈtraʊzəz are loose."
Azula couldn't understand the word, but assumed he was talking about his pants. "There will be plenty of time for you to play dress up after you've been introduced to The Fire Lord, and your position made clear." Azula said, as the ship was moored to the dock.
"I have a bad feeling. Fire Lord will not like me." Connor said, tugging at the sleeve of his tunic.
"That's fine. He doesn't need to like you. Chances are he already doesn't. You could appear as a wild man from another world, covered in animal skins like the Snow Savages, and it won't make one bit of difference, because he already expects that. You being dressed up is just to show my father you can be civilized. I'm going to be the one doing the talking. You're simply here to provide your knowledge, and… Well, prove what you know and can do will be useful to The Fire Nation." Azula said, as she turned once more to face the dock.
"You get credit for it." Connor said. Azula caught him looking at her sternly in the corner of her eye.
"Oh don't be so dramatic." Azula scoffed. "Of course I'm going to be getting credit for doing what was asked of me. The Fire Lord is looking for ways to end the war sooner rather than later, and the weapons on your ship were of interest along with how you managed to come to The Fire Nation. Father asked me to learn all I could about why you're here, and I have. The will of the spirits, provided The Fire Nation with a way to end the war. I know he'll be pleased that I've done his bidding. And I know he'll see reason enough to accept your offer of labor in exchange… You're still going to need to bow or otherwise show a proper sign of respect though. It's not hard." She said, before turning to see Connor shrug.
"Can do." Connor said. Azula rolled her eyes, as the komodo rhinos were brought up from the hold, and the Imperial guards prepared a formation, as the palanquin arrived.
All throughout the ride to and through the city, Azula could spot Connor marveling at his surroundings from atop his mount. The architecture seemed to captivate him the most once they'd reached the Capitol proper, the urban sprawl laying in the center of a long since inactive volcano's crater. Once outside the palace, the two dismounted, and began their long walk to the throne room. Finally inside and separated from the guard, Azula spoke to Connor. "Though I don't expect you to be very active in this meeting, do not speak unless spoken to, and address my father only by his title of Fire Lord. There's a chance other members of the government or nobility will be present, please behave yourself, and don't take anything they say personally."
Connor shrugged. "How bad could it go?" He said.
Azula knocked on the throne room door, and the servant on the other side opened it announcing the two's presence. "Princess Azula, and her servant from afar, Cahnor Cambill." The servant struggled with his pronunciation of Connor's name.
Azula entered first, Connor shortly following to her left. Not 4 steps out of the shadows and into the firelight did conversation between several of the men seated around a central map table in the room break out.
"Bright red hair?"
"The stranger?"
"Big savage from the South, I'll bet."
"I see the Princess put clothes on the animal."
All words spoken as if Connor could not understand.
Azula knelt before her father, then glanced with only her eyes to see if Connor had done the same. Though she could not see, there was a rustling of fabric. Connor had mimicked Azula as best he could.
"Rise. Take your seat, Princess." Lord Ozai said. The two stood, and Azula took her cushioned seat on the floor by the end of the table. As Connor stood to her left, in between her and Admiral Chan of the eastern fleet.
The Admiral looked up at Connor, and then down at the table. "That's some dumb brute you found Princess."
Azula's rebuttal was swift. "I would say he's far from dumb, Admiral. Connor can communicate perfectly well. In fact, so well, that the reason he is here with me today as a servant to myself and by extension the Fire Lord, is because he has communicated to me that he was sent to our world from his own by the spirits."
There was a short chuckle from most of the men in the room until Lord Ozai raised his hand, silencing them. "Princess Azula, pray tell, what led you to believe such a claim?" He asked his daughter.
Azula smirked, as she pulled three scrolls from her waist. "My Lord, these are notes Connor and I have taken. He's detailed to me his language, his numbers, the nations of his world, their leaders, and history." Azula passed the scrolls to the table for their viewing.
"Farcities concocted to escape imprisonment. Such lies can not be proven." War Minister Qin said.
"But what if something else could?" Azula asked rhetorically. "Tell me, has anyone ever seen such a young man as he? Fire for hair, and a long thin face, white like a silk sheet?"
"So he's a freak. He's got blue eyes like the southern savages, perhaps their inbreeding caught up to them." One of the generals said.
"A freak he may be, but with noble intentions. Connor has sworn his loyalty to the Fire Nation, and has offered all the knowledge he has of his world. Whether you believe he was sent by the spirits to deliver it is of little concern." Azula said.
"What could he possibly provide that has not already been provided by my inventor, and the contents of the ghost ship this man arrived on? His hand cannons? The mechanism by which they work is simple. A spark rock against iron sets off powder, the same used in fireworks, which ignites a primary charge through a hole. A lead ball is thrown by the explosion and punctures to kill it's target. It's merely a more complicated system of something that has already been tried, and may I remind you, has failed before. The only thing worth mentioning from what was taken off the ship is the durability of the swords." War minister Qin said.
Azula narrowed her eyes as a thought struck her. Qin, the lousy scoundrel, didn't actually know anything beyond the basics of the gun. His entire career depended on the development of weapons, and if he couldn't make one work, or didn't know how to make more, discrediting anyone who could, or even discredit the weapon itself, was his only way to stay above water.
"I've just had a thought, War Minister. Wouldn't a seafaring vessel of it's size have navigation equipment on board? Maps and such? Did none of the men going through the ship realize that the maps looked strange?" Azula asked.
"Unfortunately there were no maps found aboard the ship, and if there were any found, water damage had made them unrecognizable." Minister Qin said smugly.
"Then perhaps a log book kept in a chest? Something which might enlighten us if we were to say, read it?" Azula suggested, looking to her father. "I can read the texts of Connor's language well enough, and if all else fails, Connor can interpret for us."
"A wise suggestion, Princess Azula." Lord Ozai said. Begrudgingly, Minister Qin snapped at the servant behind him, who hurried off.
"While we wait for the servant's return. Connor does have something to say about his hand cannons, that might just make you change your mind about their worth, alien or not… Connor, if you will." Azula said, looking up to the red head.
Connor looked around the room, and then cleared his throat. "I can make hand cannon kill a man at a… A… Azula, what is word for distance, many Bu?" Connor asked.
"Li." Azula said shortly.
"A Li." Connor finished. The room nearly erupted, as the men in the room either laughed, or nearly stood as they shouted questions in surprise.
"Silence you fools!" Fire Lord Ozai said, quieting the room, as flames rose higher from the partition separating his seat from the rest of the room. "War Minister Qin, you've studied these weapons, and know of their history. Is the stranger's claim at all possible?"
Qin nearly scoffed. "My lord, no manner of weapon carried by a man has the ability to obtain mechanical accuracy and precision at such distances. It would take years of training with a war bow to reach anything close to similar results."
Azula looked up to Connor, and spoke to him. "juː pruːv hɪm rɒŋ?" She asked crudely in his language.
Connor smirked. "aɪ kæn."
"Well then War Minister, what if Connor could provide a demonstration. We would need only a Li of clear land, a target, and whatever supplies would be needed to make the weapon work." Azula said, eyebrow raised.
Qin narrowed his eyes at Azula from across the table. "I suppose we could conduct a few tests to prove or disprove the notion that the hand cannons are worth developing. Tomorrow perhaps?" He asked.
"Tomorrow will do." Azula said. "I do wonder what is taking the servant so long to retrieve those books?" She pondered, before the same servant that had ran to fetch the ship's logs burst through the throne room door, a scroll in hand.
"Did you retrieve the books?" Qin asked, before the servant bowed to Fire Lord Ozai.
"My lord, this is a matter of great importance. The Avatar has returned." The servant said, still prostate.
"What?!" Ozai nearly roared, the flames separating him from the room growing in their intensity once more.
"This message I have just received was sent to the palace by a hawk two days ago. At Avatar Roku's temple on Crescent Island, the statue of Roku, it's eyes began to glow, before becoming a bright blue light." The servant said, passing the letter to the nearest member of the meeting.
"The servant speaks the truth My lord, The message is marked with the temple's seal." Admiral Chan said, as he inspected the scroll.
Ozai sat for only a second in thought, before he addressed the room. "The Avatar has returned after one hundred years. Either the last airbender has died, and a new Avatar has been born a water bender, or after all this time he has come back from the spirit world." Ozai looked down at Azula and the freak standing next to her. "Be it the Avatar is a newborn or a master of all four elements, we can not allow him to undo all our empire has achieved. Send word immediately to all Fire Nation Units, The Avatar must be captured." Ozai said, before the servant stood and left the room.
"Princess Azula…" Ozai's words caught her attention, and she suppressed a smirk. "It seems that the Fire Nation needs to gain an immediate edge in the war once more… The weapons demonstration will take place this afternoon. If this stranger in your service's claim is true, it will matter little whether or not the spirits have sent him unto us. We shall gather next, after lunch, at the storehouse in which the contents of the stranger's ship are being kept. This meeting is adjourned."
Those seated at the table stood, and turned to face Ozai, bowing to him, before exiting the room. Connor did his best to mimic the others, then followed Azula out of the throne room, and left down a hall the rest had avoided. "Your dad scares me." Connor said blankly.
"As he rightfully should. He is the most powerful firebender in the world after all." Azula said. She shifted her eyes to see Connor in the corner of her vision. "You're certain of your ability to make a gun kill at a Li?" Azula asked. Connor made a noise that sounded like uncertainty. "Because it would be quite unfortunate if you were to fail to deliver on your promises, especially when I gave you my support."
"aɪ kʊd hæv meɪd ə ˈraɪfl ˈbærəl ɪn əˈbaʊt twɛlv ˈaʊəz ɪf aɪ ˈniːdɪd tuː fɔː təˈmɒrəʊ, bʌt ˈdædi ˈdɪərɪst wɛnt ænd sɛd ðɪs ˈɑːftə nuːn." Connor said, far too quickly for Azula to keep up, even with the words that she did catch.
"Slow down, and put that into words I can understand." Azula said, rolling her eyes.
"The hand cannons on the ship, all are ˈmʌskɪts. They can not kill at a Li. Not precise. A ˈraɪfl can kill at a Li. I can not make a ˈraɪfl in two hours." Connor said.
Azula stopped in the hallway, then checked to see if there was anyone within earshot, Connor turned to face her. "Ok, clearly I'm missing something here. Are these two things you're saying the same thing?" Azula asked.
"No. Both are a gun. Two types." Connor said.
"What's the difference, and why can one do what you've promised, but the other can not?" Azula continued, as she started walking down the hall again, heading for the palace gardens.
Connor groaned, then started following her again. "It is ˈbʊlɪt that can do what promised. Lead thrown from gun. Smooth lead. Perfect ball. ˈmʌskɪt has smooth wall, throw lead, lead not go straight out gun all times." Connor explained.
"Ok, obviously, that was part of the reason our hand cannons never really went anywhere." Azula said.
"ˈraɪfl has… Cut in wall. Call ˈraɪflɪŋ. It spins lead when thrown. Lead will go straight all times." Connor said, explaining to the best of his ability without any visual aids.
"And you had no… ˈraɪfl on your ship?" Azula asked. Connor shook his head. "I take it that you intended to make one of these before there was to be any testing done?" Azula asked, rhetorically more than anything. "Perhaps there might have been one or two of these other guns tucked away on the ship? If that's the case they should be in the store house we're to meet at anyways." Azula said, as she took a detour back towards the main entrance.
Connor sighed. "əʊ gɒd hɛlp miː."
After Azula and Connor mounted the palanquin and komodo-rhino respectively, they arrived at the store house within the hour. Once Azula ordered the guard posted there to stand down, Connor had full run of the place. 10 minutes of searching over the guns that were all logged by the store house's manager yielded little. In truth Azula was rather impressed at the size Connor's hand cannons seemed to reach. She couldn't imagine what reason they'd need to be so long for, but the effort a sail age people would need to go through to make that much steel was impressive all the same.
"No good. All ˈmʌskɪts." Connor said, as he set the last one back in it's box.
"This is only what Qin was able to catalog… What about the boxes he left closed?" Azula asked. Connor raised an eyebrow, as Azula held out the manager's inventory sheet. "The last few boxes were locked, and apparently Qin didn't want to break them open." She said, as Connor started to go down the rows of crates in the store house, until he found the first one he was looking for.
"ˈhəʊli ˈmʌðə." Connor said. Azula recognized it as an exclamation about someone's mother, as Connor grabbed a pry bar, and came back to the crate. He wedged the metal bar into the crack in the wood, where the lid and the wall of the crate met, and shoved all his weight onto it, snapping the hinge holding the pad lock in place. He flipped the wooden lid open, and Azula's eyes went wide.
Connor gave a laugh at the sight of the giant iron beast sitting in the crate, near as long as Connor was tall. "That is a cannon." Connor said with a grin.
"Oh…" Azula was at a loss for words. When someone said "cannon" the image of a half Bu long bronze tube from historic literature came to mind, not the monster of black metal before her. "Well… I think that if all else fails you'll be able to sell these as practical weapons to the Army and Navy." Azula commented.
"Hold thought." Connor said, as he looked back at the opened crates of guns down on the other end of the storehouse. "Azula, I do not need to make a gun kill at Li. I just need to sell what I have. Knowledge." Connor tapped his head.
"What are you talking about now?" Azula asked.
"Gun that kills at Li makes no difference if a man does not know how to use it. Gun that kill at fifty Bu is good, if man knows how to use a hand cannon. Many, together, make the distance not worth it." Connor's speech, broken in his excitement, was just understandable.
"Guns at a distance or… Just the guns up close… Are you trying to make a strength in numbers argument?" Azula asked. Connor nodded his head. "Would the numbers not benefit from the ranges and precision you claim they could potentially reach?"
"Speed or precision. ˈmʌskɪts are fast, ˈraɪfls are precise." Connor said with a shoulder shrug. "Men can learn to shoot in line together in a few weeks. A man learns to shoot good on his own, takes months."
Azula dug her thumb nail under her index nail, and thought about why a ˈraɪfl would be so much harder to use while being slower. "If a bunch of simpletons are all shooting at once, their aim doesn't matter, but a hand cannon that requires aim, requires far more training. And the soft lead ball that a ˈraɪfl shoots has to touch the cuts in the gun to spin, so it's a tighter fit. It would take more effort to ram down the barrel… Could you not cut into the soft lead with a knife to mimic the cuts in the barrel so that it could be used with the smooth barrel cannons? Make the lead spin on it's own like curved fletching on an arrow?" Azula asked.
Connor's face sort of scrunched up in thought, before shrugging. "Sounds right." He didn't actually know if that would work, but if the fit of lead to barrel was tight it just might give him a better chance of at least approaching a rifle's accuracy.
"Your people have been using hand cannons for how long, and not one person thought of that?" Azula asked in a deadpan, nearly mimicking an old friend.
"So we trick your father?" Connor asked.
"It's not tricking him if we're demonstrating one of a few techniques used to make a hand cannon kill at a Li." Azula said. "Now then. You get to work on making that happen, while I'll cook up some fanciful presentation for you. Your audience should be here soon, so I'd hurry if I were you."
Azula stepped outside, and surveyed the area. The most industrialized portion of the capitol was devoid of people for the most part. There was plenty of clear land and solid backings for Connor to fire a hand cannon into. Looking for a suitable target, Azula found an empty barrel outside of the storehouse, and rolled it out to what felt like a Li's distance, the thick stone wall of a building acting as a backstop.
Azula set the barrel upright, and spotted a bucket to her right. She set the bucket on top of the barrel, and stepped back. It looked vaguely man shaped. Walking back to the storehouse entrance, Azula found Connor sitting against the wall with a hand cannon propped against it. He was carving into what must have been the lead fired from his hand cannon, using a short and thick sword to do so. His fingers looked to have been rubbed in gray soot, and beside him sat several instruments of which Azula assumed were integral to the weapon's function.
"Is it ready?" Azula asked.
"Got three balls. Called ˈbʊlɪt." Connor said, holding up three of the squished looking lead shots, each with cuts in the side.
Connor stood, as a formation of Imperial Guard marched down the street towards the two. To the left flank of the group were several of the members that sat in the war meeting, and in the middle of the formation on the Fire Lord's Palanquin was Ozai himself.
Once the moving throne was seated, the guard formation turned inward to create a channel for Lord Ozai to walk through, as the ministers, generals and admirals congregated around Azula, Connor and the open bay door of the storehouse. Azula gave the group, and her father, a half smile as they approached. "Fire Lord Ozai, Gentlemen of the War Council, allow me to introduce you to the future of the Fire Nation Military…" Azula said, holding her hand out in gesture to the gun now in Connor's left hand. "First, an explanation of proper terminology to avoid future confusion." Azula took the gun from Connor who looked irritated by her handling of it, before he went back into the storehouse to get another.
"This is a gun, hand cannon or firearm. All three terms are likely known from historical readings, and are roughly interchangeable. There is however a difference between what is called, and I'm using loan words from Connor here, "musket," and "rifle," The musket, of which I am holding, has a much longer barrel than traditional hand cannons, and that barrel is a smooth tube throughout. Rifles, however, have cuts on the inside of the barrel which cause the lead projectiles, called a "bullet," it fires to spin, like bent fletching on an arrow, to stabilize the lead bullet and make it more precise. The rifle however is slower to load as the lead must be an exact fit to the barrel." Connor returned with a new musket. "Now I must clear up an error in communication. Connor does not have any of these rifles with him, however he can make them, and for this occasion show you their potential through one of the improvised methods used to mimic a rifle, as he intends to show you the potential of the musket as well… Connor, please slowly show us how to use the musket, and then when ordered, shoot at that target." Azula said, pointing at the barrel and bucket on the other side of the yard.
Connor began the process of loading. "Pull stone half back." He half cocked the hammer back. "Powder in a pan." He dumped a small amount of black gunpowder into the pan of the musket from some brass container. "Close. Safe leather on metal." He closed the pan and a strip of leather was put over the frizzen. "Powder in barrel." Connor dropped the butt of the gun onto his toe, and then poured a measure of powder into the muzzle. "Ball." Connor placed the special made oblong bullet onto the muzzle. "Ram stick." He pulled the rod from its under barrel housing, and began to beat the bullet into the bore, before finally tapping it into place at the bottom of the barrel. Connor put the stick back, and pulled the gun up to his shoulder. "Pull." He set the hammer to full cock. "Point…" Connor aimed at the barrel on the other side of the yard, raising the muzzle about two heads worth over the top of the bucket to compensate for the drop of the round. "Fire." He said, before pulling the trigger.
There was a flash of priming powder, before a bang shortly following. Admiral Chan jumped in place, as did War Minister Qin, and a few of the imperial guard. All heads turned to look at the barrel down range, though it looked undisturbed, the bucket had fallen off.
"Shall we?" Azula asked, walking down to the barrel. The War Council and Connor followed Azula down to the target she had set, and Connor gave a short chuckle once he saw his work. Though the wooden barrel was unmarked, the bucket had two large jagged holes in it, as the thin metal deformed around the point of impact. Behind the target, there was a small crater in the stone wall. The high brass began to whisper to each other, as Ozai stroked his beard.
"Luck makes a fool seem the wiser." Minister Qin said, acting unimpressed.
"Better then, to be lucky and good, Minister." Azula said, facing the group. "As I said, this is what a rifle is capable of, however the guns Connor's ship was carrying are all muskets. Not as accurate, but far faster to use, and by my estimate easier to make. If we return to the entrance, Connor could provide another demonstration for the qualities of a musket." Azula said, the group returning to the storehouse entrance. Connor along the way, made sure he had the paper cartridges ready, and in hand.
Azula cleared her throat, as Connor stood facing the target once more. "Now then… Connor if you're able to show us the capability of a musket?" Azula asked. Connor gave a nod. Before he speedily set the cock half way back, put the tail of the first paper cartridge in his mouth, pulled it off to prime the pan with a bit of powder, closed the pan, then dumped the rest of the powder along with the paper, and small lead ball into the muzzle, tail first, then with no difficulty pushed the ball down the bore with the ram rod, returned the rod to its housing, presented the muzzle to the target and fired, before repeating the whole process over again two more times. It had only taken little over a minute for Connor to demonstrate a three round volley, before he turned to face the group.
Azula smirked, before facing the War Council once more. "Now imagine that in the hands of every Fire Nation footman." Azula said.
General Hun raised his hand to about head level before he spoke. "While the weapon is impressive… Are footmen expected to carry both it, and their spears for use at close distances? Seems a bit cumbersome." He said. Connor smirked, as he pulled the socket bayonet off his belt, and stuck it onto the muzzle of the gun. The military men present all gave approving nods and sounds of awe.
Azula smirked. The Council seemed sold. Only Minister Qin was against the use of guns, and her father had yet to make any comments. It was time for the final sales pitch. "That is not all. If I might direct everyone into the storehouse." Azula said, leading the council inside, and down the rows of crates, stopping with an arm held out to the iron cannon in its box. For the first time since his arrival, Azula witnessed her father's lip curl into a thin smile. "This, if it was not obvious, is a cannon, far larger than any historic examples. Connor, if you could explain to us its many uses?" Azula asked.
"Sink ships. Break walls. Throw bombs at groups of men… Fire a swarm of angry bees." Connor said simply with a shrug.
"I think I've seen enough." Lord Ozai said, raising a hand to cut off any further talk. "War Minister, I want to see the Fire Nation begin a detailed study, and production of these weapons as soon as possible. The Navy and Army will be free to make procurement requests, doctrine, and training schedules as they see fit regarding their use." Ozai turned to Connor. "I will have the weapons from your ship purchased at three gold Ban each, and ten Ban for this cannon. The powder, paper and lead balls can be sourced domestically, however I am willing to obtain what stock you have at five silver Ban a crate for each."
Connor took a second to register the words "three gold Ban" then looked at Azula. "Ban?" He asked. Azula nearly rolled her eyes before she pulled a single long rectangular gold coin from her pocket. Connor nodded a smile on his face. "Fire Lord, juːv gɒt ə diːl." Connor said, sticking his hand out.
Ozai looked down at Connor's extended and still dirty appendage from the lead and gun soot, then turned to Azula with a near inquisitive look. "It's his people's way of confirming contracts, My lord. It is a sign of honor. A sign that he trusts you." Azula said, as Connor wiped his hand on his pant leg quickly to get rid of the soot and lead powder.
Ozai gave a smirk, before taking Connor's hand, feeling his own being gripped firmly and shaken once. After the shake, Ozai turned to Azula. "Sent by the spirits or not, your servant has proven his loyalty and worth with these contraptions. I would like you to keep him close, if ever his knowledge could be of further use."
"I am sure Connor will not disappoint you, My lord." Azula said, before the War Council left the building. Qin gave Azula a nasty look, before he too left the storehouse.
"Well that went well." Azula said with a smirk.