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Chap. 3

It took a full day to finish investigating the makeshift village that had sprung up around the self-styled Bandit King Boshi's camp, but neither the Earth Kingdom Mustered Soldiery (whose gossip machine was second to none, in Lin's experience, though he never really participated much himself) nor the Kyoshi Warriors had anything significant to report. All told, they had captured nine bandits, killed thirty-seven, and estimated nine or ten at most had escaped between their pickets. Thirty one civilians had been captured as well, either camp followers- whores- who serviced Boshi's men, or the desperate blacksmiths, chirurgeons, or cooks that kept a less-organized military force operating. Those fifty-three prisoners were, unfortunately, part of Lin's responsibility. As a Sergeant, field-commissioned or no, he and his squad were given the task of standing watch over them two nights and one day per week while they marched back to Qiquan Fortress, which was a few li outside of the city of the same name.

The western provinces of the Earth Kingdom were, by and large, some of the most productive, arable land in the entire world. The rice fields of Xinfang, the tea that was grown from Beining, Huxi, and Hudong provinces, and the grapes of Dongliu Province in the northern half of the region were the larger portion of its production and exports. The southern areas, especially around Yuanxi, Jinnan, Shilin, and Wushui Pronvinces, were more known for wheats, corns, and barleys that fed the great distilleries in Jinbei and Huhe. The central provinces were... less productive, at least as far as food production went. It only made sense, the arid, high mountains simply didn't get the rainfall necessary to support large-scale crop farming.

But Xueling, the largest of those central Provinces and home to the western end of the great Xueling Mountain Range, was famous for the high quality of its iron ore, which had been exported all across the great kingdom for centuries. The hills of Zhangguan, to the southeast were equally laden with copper and silver. Yingjiang and Quanbei, on the eastern leg of the Xueling Mountains, had more iron mines and even gold.

Jiuquan Province, south of the mountains and between Zhangguan and Yingjiang, had... well, not much, in Lin's estimation. His own farming village was in the southeast side of the Province, in some of the only truly arable land, and his town's only real export was hardy sheep's wool and beets or onions. It was one of many reasons why he, and so many of his peers, had joined the Army. There was a future there, if you liked farming, but their little village was always going to be just that: a small, no-name village in a backward part of a relatively desolate Province surrounded by greater powers.

In fact, the seat of authority in Juiquan, the city they were going to, had less than nine thousand residents at any time. It was barely a city at all, though from experience Lin knew it was the largest settlement for a great many days' march in any direction. It was also the only city with a jail, and the only fort with an actual garrison.

His garrison, in fact, where he and all of the soldiers in their current Company were from, where they were stationed, under General Quon.

Speaking of scary women... Lin had never met the woman. No, he was nobody, from a nobody family in a nowhere village with no name. Even now, as a Sergeant, it was highly unlikely he would ever speak so much as a single word with the General who commanded their base Fortress. He didn't want to, the woman was as intimidating as any he had ever seen. Built like two bears, with the whiskers to match and a gruff disposition that, for some reason, a great many of the older soldiers admired. The ones from before, that remembered active duty in The War.

That was where she, General Quon, earned her place after all. While ostensibly as uniform as any other nation in terms of gender equality, the Earth Kingdom Army was notorious for being sexist, especially in the higher ranks. Yes, that was changing. Yes, Quon was part of that. Yes, he knew and believed the stories that she'd single-handedly fought off an entire platoon of Fire Nation soldiers in the war- twice. But she, an accomplished tactician and strategist, a very skilled fighter and Earth Bender, was relegated to a back-water Fortress, out of the way, limited to hunting down bandits as her primary concern.

Lin, personally, was fine with that. It meant the person in charge of his own welfare was at least competent.

It still wasn't fair, but it was the way it was. The Kyoshi Warriors were about the only all-female unit he knew of, and their renown was, as proven by the last few weeks, questionable. Most of Birdfox Company still thought they were a joke, even with all the stories circulating. A circus act there to entertain the men.
Which, of course, they did. A great many of the Kyoshi Warriors were, thanks to Ty Lee's instruction, skilled at acrobatics as well as combat. And they had no- or little- issue with entertaining the rank and file while they marched, ignoring the dust kicked up by the trudging soldiers and prisoners to cavort, tumble, flip, and bend suggestively.

It kept morale up, at least, including his own.

... It was strange. There were, perhaps, four women in his village that Lin would have considered attractive, potential mates. Some even might have been called beautiful. Yet, these women were... just... more.

All of them, each and every one, made the best-looking girl in his village look like a frog. Or pig-frog, which was worse. The most plain among them was gorgeous. And he was looking, oh yes he was. He tried not to, tried to be respectful, but it was hard with Ty Lee and her many students flaunting themselves, even while teasing the soldiers about how they weren't respected for their combat skills.

The dichotomy- not that he knew the word- was infuriating.

But then, Lin mused as the scant walls around Qiquan came into view beyond several more hills, that was probably how the Kyoshi Warriors liked it. Their opponents were even less dangerous if they were underestimated.

... That, and the acrobatics they performed while marching looked fun, too. If they had the energy to burn, why not use it?

Qiquan took a full two days for their Company to pass around before entering the fort itself, and to their credit, the marching soldiers had raised an alarm at once in the Fortress. Only Captain Taijin's timely issuance of an order to raise their Company flags along with the coded signal for 'mission success' had kept them from being fired upon.

Even years after The War- almost always said with emphasis, due to the sheer scope of the conflict- tensions were high, and if the bandits had somehow prevailed or the soldiers had turned traitor to their commanding officers, precautions had to be taken. General Quon was not one to skimp out on following the rules and regulations, either. She couldn't afford to be, if she wanted to keep even this post.

Eventually, though, Lin was finished with the arduous task of seeing their prisoners to the proper holding cells, and his own men safely situated back in their barracks. Then it was time to meet Captain Taijin personally, so the noble soldier could finalize his report for the General.

It was nerve-wracking. He had been nervous just speaking with Lieutenant Jo Gai. He was terrified of messing up, giving the wrong orders or having his own platoon- men he knew- judge him unworthy. Why in the ancestor's beautiful world would they respect him as a leader?

Why should the Captain respect his report? He was no one. Taijin was a renowned soldier in his own right, veteran of no fewer than four battles against the Fire Nation. He had once served in Gaoling, the city where one of the Avatar's own companions had been from, on the front lines of that city's defense, on the Earth Kingdom's southern coast. Taijin was world-traveled, and somewhat famous.

Yet he, Lin, from nowhere, was expected to give a report to the man?

It was preposterous.

And yet, Jo Gai's orders had been clear.

Lin sighed, as he packed away the satchel with the scrolls Ty Lee and Mai had given him in his personal footlocker. It was hardly secure, but it was the most secure place he had access to. At the very least, as an officer, his new quarters had a room with an actual lock unlike the shared barracks of the other men. He looked around. The room was spartan, small... larger than his family's home.

It contained one rather nice cot (in fact it was about as nice as his parents' bed, which was only marginally worse than his grandmother's), a small closet for his clothing, and the locker for his personal effects along with one small desk and a chair. It was on that desk that his half-finished report sat.

He had one more shi- an hour- to finish the report and deliver it, in person, so that he could answer any questions the Captain had. Perhaps he shouldn't have taken the time for a bath, but it was too late now. If he had known he was receiving a new room, he would've saved more time, but it was too late now.

With another aggrieved sigh, feeling the beginnings of a truly massive headache, Li sat down at the desk, dipped the ink-pen in the pot, and smoothed out the parchment. Maybe he could leave out some key details, such as what the Kyoshi Warriors had told him after the battle.

Maybe he should.

Slowly, agonizingly- because he could write, but Lin was not terribly good at it- the pen began to scratch across the page. A week and a half as a Sergeant, and he already hated the paperwork.

Lin waited patiently while five of the seven other Sergeants and both surviving Lieutenants gave their reports to the Captain. He had learned a few more details of the attack, and why they had lost more men than he had expected, or known about at first. Lieutenant Mini Dong had taken the Iron Bass Platoon to the eastern flank of the camp, to act as a distraction. One which had worked: Boshi's men had charged, and there had been fierce fighting. While that had made access to the Bandit King himself easier, it had cost more Earth Kingdom Mustered Soldiery lives on the other side of the camp than Lin himself had been aware of.

Finally, there was just him and Sergeant Pochin left, even more freshly promoted than Lin himself, since his previous commanding officer had been brought low by an infected wound obtained during the battle.

Taijin's stern, hawk-like red-brown eyes turned to him expectantly, then flashed to Jo Gai. Lin's Lieutenant stood up a little straighter, "This is Sergeant Dukashi Lin, sir. Field promotion during the battle, since Jūnshì Dan Yu died at Hibonyi Valley."

"Ah. Carry on Sergeant Lin," Captain Taijin said.
With his words, the lump of fear in Lin's throat grew, and the trembling in his hands grew more noticeable. Taijin's gaze was steady, heavy, as if the mighty Earth Bender carried the weight of a mountain on him, and did not feel the need to bow under its weight. His own meager skill was a hair on a great, mythical Sky Bison's back in comparison, and the felt the weight of that difference as existential dread.

But he had called him Sergeant.

Sergeant Lin.

Captain Taijin, had... had acknowledged Lieutenant Jo Gai's field promotion. Which... which meant it was legitimate.

He forced down the urge to sigh. Perhaps to cry. There was no going back now.

"Sir," he began, forcing himself to draw a breath, "I have little to add to the report of the others, except that the warriors from Kyoshi Island that the National Council sent to assist us was invaluable. Their scouting was above reproach, and during the battle, Boshi the Bandit was slaying many men. He even proved trouble for Lieutenant Jo Gai, even if it was largely bcause of a run of bad luck on the Lieutenant's part. I-"

He fell quiet as Captain Taijin lifted a hand, "Sergeant, I'm going to save you some work and all of our time. Lieutenant Jo Gai is not prone to exaggeration, and he told me the truth of his battle- that one of the Kyoshi Warriors saved his own life. You do not need to make him look good. Stick with the truth. Both I, and General Quon, appreciate that more than sucking up."

"S- Sir! I... I apologize," he hurried to reply, "I meant no disrespect."
That was the last thing he wanted, the Captain to think he was sucking up for no reason, or wasting his time!

"Carry on, Sergeant," Taijin waved a hand, amused, as he made a note on his own scroll, and his scribe assistant made a longer addition to his version.

"Yes, S-Sir. I- After the Kyoshi Warrior, Mai I think she goes by, knocked Boshi over and disarmed him, she said, 'you can have him,' or words to that effect, and looked- well, in my direction, sir. Lieutenant Jo Gai then ordered me to- to strike the killing blow. Boshi's last words were, "A whelp like you?,' followed by an expletive that is... impossible to do. Sir."

Taijin snorted, and he looked to his right at the scribe, "Make sure the official report reads, 'Boshi asked for a last chance to go fuck himself,' for the General."

"Sir," the scribe replied with a smirk, and started writing faster.

"Go on, Sergeant."

Lin nodded again, and stood up a little straighter, somewhat more confident now. The Captain, despite his fears, at least seemed to have a sense of humor. Maybe Lin had caught him on a good day. "Once he was dead, Sandseal and I finished securing the center of the camp, including a log of weapons and prisoners taken, which Lieutenant Jo Gai has delivered already. Erm... t- That's all, Sir."

Taijin nodded, made another small note, one of many, and waited for his Scribe to catch up a little before he turned his attention to Sergeant Pochin, who gave a similarly brief summary of capturing most of the camp followers without a real fight.

Finally, the Captain stood up from his own desk and sprinkled some dust over his own report to dry the ink, then picked it up and, with a wave of his hand, transformed the remainder back into the small marble it had probably once been on his desk. "Very well, thank you, gentlemen. Lieutenants, well done. Sergeants- the veterans- well done as well. And to the newly-promoted, I offer congratulations. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go make my report to the General. Dismissed."

Lin, somehow, made his salute at the exact moment his Lieutenant did: the first among the group to do so.

As was proper, Jo Gai waited until the lower-ranked Lieutenants were gone, then led his own men out into the hall. They walked together down the familiar halls of Qiquan Fortress until they neared Birdfox's assigned barracks, then a gentle hand on Lin's arm made him pause while the others went ahead.

Once they were alone, Jo Gai leaned in close and whispered, "I don't know what those girls told you, but be careful. I've heard some rumors- the Kyoshi Warriors are on a task for the Earth King himself, they say. Hunting down traitors, is what I think. If they're giving you special attention, either they are using you, or..."

Lin swallowed. "Or- or they think I'm one of them? Sir?"

Jo Gai nodded, but didn't say anything else about it. Instead, he stood back up, rubbed his ample belly, and chortled, "Alright, off with you, lad. I've got to go see to my dinner- it's been too long since I've had a proper meal, ho, ho!"

Surprised at the sudden change and boisterous tone- far more normal for Jo Gai than the last several minutes had been, Lin knew- he stammered out a quick, "Y- Yes, Sir!" and hurried on to catch up with the others.

As officers, they could eat in their quarters, but the mess hall was still the best place for gossip. And if anything, Jo Gai's warning had driven home just how dangerous this business with the Dai Li were. He could not afford to mess things up... either because it would get him killed, or get his whole family- perhaps his whole village- wiped out.

Lin had a hard time falling asleep at the best of times. In unfamiliar surroundings, with the sounds of the Fortress' nightly activity- drills in the courtyard, wood-chopping off to the side for the next day's cook fires, and chatter most of it- muted by the doors of his personal quarters, it was even stranger.

The scents were strange too, the last remnants of Dan Yu's lingering odor lingering in the freshly-laundered bedclothes, sweat and musk from the big (now deceased) man leaving a final echo to match his old journals, which a cadet- one of Lin's own men- had been ordered by the Lieutenant to clean up and package to send to his family. A small fireplace flickered with remnants of orange, occasionally popping and crackling after it had warmed the bedroom from the chilly desert night, the old cedar logs giving a final cover to...

To...

To...

Shadows moved through the space, around and about and above Lin. He could not move, his body was weak, lethargic. Oak and stone, both moist of scent, were a stark counter to the dry flesh that slid over his own. Something hard, cold, and rigid- sharp- scraped over his chest, tugging at the faint hairs there.

His body was numb, his mind slow...

Was he... drugged?

Had the night's meal made him like this, ready for... what?
An assassin?

Why would someone want to assassinate him? He was... He was...

Darkness again.

More shadows, terrifying and dark against the dark room. No light filtered into the deep stone of Qiquan Fortress, far inside where his new chamber was. Why was he in a new chamber?

Why was... shadow... darkness. Fear?

Why was he afraid?

Jealous soldiers could come and kill him, slit his throat, and no more Sergeant Lin.

The Dai Li's shadowed agents, the literal bogeymen of the entire Earth Kingdom, here with a black bag to make him blind, drugs to make him helpless and compliant, while they took him away to a room with flashing, spinning lights...

Everything was so dry, he was parched, his lips chapped from...

Lips met his, touched his mouth, his jaw, his neck. Soft flesh, warm against the cool night, whispered honeyed words he could not understand past the... the... whatever was happening to him.

Words that made him feel... strange. Good.
He was not a child, so even if Lin was innocent he knew what a man and woman- or whatever- could do together.

But his mind was slow, sluggish, confused. He was... what? Being mounted, taken, ridden...

It was amazing, but he could not move, could not hold the same soft, warm flesh, could not kiss back, or thrust, or...

Orgasm, release.

Waking to an alarm, the horns and trumpets blaring, so much louder than in the barracks.

That fucking asshole of a trumpeter was right outside, marching down the hall as he blew the horn.

Memories of pain, of fear, paralysis and pleasure mingled, and, sadly, were soon forgotten.