Responses to Reviews:
RonaldM40197867: No, I would not say that I do.
As Always, Please Review!
The sails rippled in the wind as the two ice ships ploughed through the waves, their bows rising and falling gently. Surrounding them were ten wooden sailing vessels, smaller than the ice ships but now adorned with improvised coatings of metal armour. These new "Ironclads" surrounded the big ice ships in a protective formation, forming a screen against any attack.
The final two ships in the formation were a pair of captured Fire Nation Cruisers, their hulls painted with a pair of horizontal blue stripes to distinguish them.
On the deck of the lead ice ship, leaning against the railing with her friends and a large sky-bison, Avatar Yue watched the objective of this small Water Tribe task force sliding into view gradually over the horizon.
A thin cloud of ash hung over one side of Kyoshi Island, and Yue guessed that this was where the remnants of the Fire Nation fleet were sheltering.
It had been a few weeks since the Fire Nation, full of confidence, had set out to conquer the Southern Water Tribe. Except their confidence had been misplaced. They had lost, their commander had been killed, and many of their crews had been taken prisoner. A lot of their ships had either been sunk or captured, and were now being pressed back into service to defend the South against their former owners.
This was their first action since that day. The goals, Sokka had assured them, were simple; Liberate Kyoshi Island, keep a promise he had made there, and with any luck sweep the Fire Nation out of the Southern Sea entirely. The crews had even tied mops to the front of their ships.
The island drew closer, and as it did the atmosphere on the deck became tense. Artillery crews, all veterans of the Battle of the South Pole, stood quietly by their ballistas. A silence fell, punctuated only by the distant sounds of the Cruisers' steam engines, the lapping of waves, and the creaking of ropes.
Yue closed her eyes and readied herself, taking deep breaths, in and out. She could do this, she told herself. She was no longer the non-bender Princess of the North, but the Avatar, who had trained for weeks under the tutelage of one of the finest masters the Water Tribes had to offer, and who had experienced plenty of battle. There was a long way to go, but she had come a long way too. She felt a moment of pride in herself and her friends.
There was a shout from above her, and Yue opened her eyes. Around her, the formation of wooden ships was shifting, transitioning from a ring surrounding the ice ships into a long line either side of them. A moment later, the drums behind Yue began to strike up, and the sail was pulled upwards towards the yardarm, being tied in place by sailors who then untied the ropes holding up the mast. A moment later, it sank into the deck, the sailors neatly stepping off it as it sank into the ice.
Sunlight streamed onto Yue's face, having previously been blocked by the canvas, and she had to cover her eyes with her hand. The ice-ship was now operating on waterbending-power alone, and so was fully ready for battle.
Sokka noticed her squinting.
"Are you alright?" He asked, concerned.
"Fine," Yue replied tersely. "Just didn't expect the sun to be in my eyes."
Sokka nodded, and went back to staring straight ahead. Katara, meanwhile, stood stock still, resolutely keeping her gaze fixed on the horizon. She was clutching one of the water-skins hanging at her waist, waiting like a coiled spring for the moment to strike. Yue reached down and felt her own water-skins, and felt a little safer as she checked that they were securely attached.
None of them felt in the mood for a conversation. Not with battle so close.
They were getting very close to the island now, and Yue could clearly see the houses of the village standing on their stilts close to the shore. As they drew yet closer, Yue could even see the statue of Kyoshi, standing tall in the main square. It was holding a Fire Nation flag.
Yue's eyes narrowed at the sight.
Below the statue, figures in red were rushing through the town, trying to form up into improvised battle formations a short distance from the shore. The grey shapes of the surviving ships of the Fire Navy were scattered through the bay, a few even having been pulled ashore. None of them went to move as they saw the Water Tribe fleet approaching. A few sailors jumped into the sea at the sight of them. A moment later, there was a bright flash. Something fiery rose up from behind one of the buildings and flew towards them, landing in the sea with a splash a short distance away from the other ice-ship.
There was a moment of calm as the Fire Nation reloaded their catapult, and then it fired again, landing a little closer this time.
"The Fire Nation know how to welcome a guest, don't they?" Sokka muttered.
"I think it's probably time I left," Rinzen tapped Yue on the shoulder.
"Good luck," he told her, and then he was scrambling on to Gembul's back. The sky-bison grunted and took off, causing the stern of the ship to very noticeably lift out of the water. He soared up into the air, to take a position safely above the fleet, far away from any fighting.
A moment later, there was a great thwanging noise as the ballistas mounted on the front of the ice ship unleashed their first salvo. To minimise the destruction of the town, it had been decided to fall back on stink-bombs. They rained down on the ranks of Fire Nation soldiers on the shore, cracking open as they hit the shore and depositing their stinking cargoes on the beach.
Yue pulled the familiar mask up over her mouth and nose, and breathed in the sweet smell of the spices it contained as the fleet entered the bay and swung around to head directly for the shore. The captain nodded at Yue and Katara, and they stepped down and began walking towards the front of the ship.
"Ready?" Katara asked, looking nervous.
"No," Yue confessed. They stopped for a moment, hesitated, looking at each other. Then something changed in Katara's eyes, and the southern princess nodded determinedly. The northern princess returned the nod, although she was not hiding her fear as well as Katara clearly was.
And then they broke into a run, jumping off the front of the ship and plunging towards the waters of the bay below.