Fluke
The state of the fortress remained a subjective topic. From where I was now, I could see the fortress we had just captured, looking at it from a makeshift campsite that'd been set up for the 59th battalion, it still stood, and was now in our custody, our flag flying high above. We were only a short trek from the now dormant fortress, and as they were the unit I'd been temporarily attached too, I was with the 114th for the meantime, which was more than fine by me, though I knew the arrangement would not be a permanent one.
"Huge fucking shitshow that was," I heard a woman's voice behind me say. I turned to see Mykezia, helmet now off, hair a frazzled mess from the sweat of the battle, as she took a seat next to me with a ration of what seemed to be dried jerky in her hand. She offered me a piece, and I accepted it. Danev wasn't here for the moment. He'd been summoned to the 59th's battalion command as part of a debriefing that, as the sole remaining officer of Dragon platoon, he was logically a part of. That left me for the moment with the standard soldiery of the 114th which, though I may not have known much of them, were people I found myself able to blend in with without a moment's thought. "But I gotta say," Mykezia added. "That was some good fucking firebending, 'specially at the end there."
"'But still not as good as yours?'" I said for her, more than accustomed to the way she'd deliver it following any compliment she gave me, her own special way of delivering praise.
But not today it seemed. She shook her head. "Not even," she said, mouth full of jerky. "Don't think I got half as many as you did." The way she talked about it, so casual. I could feel them beginning to creep at me-their faces before I'd killed them-those of the men I killed. I pushed them aside. There would be time for it later. Time when it wouldn't be intruding on the others. "Still, she said, that was impressive. You're learning quickly."
Even now, there still was that consistency with the mentorship of me that'd been cast upon her by Jeong Jeong back when we were mere cadets. While I would have preferred a perspective that was that of equals, at least in terms of hierarchy, I understood that couldn't be the case, and while I knew there was a part of me that would have liked for her to stop looking at me like the kid I was when thrust upon her, I supposed that the respect now at least was better than nothing.
I nodded, grateful.
"Damn good shit there, Fluke," Shozi agreed, playfully punching my shoulder. "Sent those dirt eaters running back to their walls." While I knew it was meant as an insult to the enemy only, I was glad that Mano wasn't around to overhear, having been pulled back to a medical tent to get his wounds looked at.
I chewed on my piece of jerky, wondering just how much longer the battalion debriefing would last until I finally caught sight of Danev, Rulaan, and Lu Ten who'd been observing the debriefing, on their return alongside the other remaining officers of the company.
"So what's the damage?" Mykezia asked, standing from where she'd been seated behind me.
"Fifty-three casualties," Lieutenant Rulaan said. "Thirty-two mortalities, most of them from Ant Platoon." It made sense. From what I'd heard, it was them that'd been caught in the trap that the Earth Kingdom had set up for both of our flanks. Comparatively, Lu Ten's forces had certainly fared better. "122nd company was sent to clear the terrain for any more traps and the 112th Battalion was sent into the fortress to clear any hideaways and see how much of the tunnels haven't been caved in."
"'Bout fucking time they send someone that aint us," Mahung sighed, sitting down on the dirt, clearly relieved to know it wouldn't be the 114th thrown into hell once again.
The comment clearly attracted some attention from Lu Ten, who was now divorced from his guardsmen, the need for them likely assuaged now that he was in friendly territory. "Just how often is the 59th deployed?"
"About four out of every five times," Danev answered.
"Because you're the most combat capable?"
Danev scoffed. "If by that you mean we've seen the most combat, yeah, I guess so, thanks to Deming. If you mean the most healthy personnel, fuck no."
The language was a clear breach of military professional standards, but I think now, after having just barely survived what was their most daring assignment yet, it was rather excusable.
Lu Ten's face twisted subtly in clear discomfort, less so initiated, I imagined, by the language as much as by the reality of what these slumdog soldiers were being thrown into. "Colonel Deming is riding here to begin strategy talks of who will assume control of this fortress and possible personnel reassignment."
Personnel reassignment? My eyes widened and my attention turned all the more towards him.
Lu Ten's eyes scanned over us, certain not to miss me either, quite possibly his first introduction to this very special unit of scum-born Fire Nation soldiers. "The colonel doesn't deserve men like you. I hope that I'll have the pleasure of fighting alongside you again in the future." With that, he saluted, the first to do so. It should have been left for us to do first, and the breach in standards did not go unnoticed.
LIeutenant Rulaan followed suit, and so too did Danev, then the other others, then each and every man of the 114th including myself who, before the rest of the brigade could find me, was still temporarily attached to them. Things stayed that way for seconds that felt to me like minutes until the Colonel lowered his arms, nodded one last time, and so turned to leave, back towards his camp on the other side of the fortress, and the other side of this entire siege effort.
"Now that's a commander I can get behind," Danev sighed, sitting down next to me where Mykezia had been only a few moments ago.
"Really think we could be part of the troop reassignment?" I asked, already internally praying to myself.
Danev shrugged. "There's a chance. I mean, Deming sure as fuck doesn't give a shit about us even if Eemusan does. I doubt he cares about us enough to keep us around, but still, having soldiers whose deaths he won't be held accountable for…"
"So it's fifty/fifty," I finished for him.
"Yeah," Danev agreed, echoing my words as he added, "'fifty/fifty." He breathed out, removing his helmet to set it on the ground beside him. He was exhausted, but still the image of the man I'd known for over a year now that'd stood with me from my worst days in Citadel until now. It was because of him that I was alive. Even if we weren't transferred, forced to stay with Deming, there were worse fates. So long as he was around, I knew things would find a way to work out. We were strong together. History had worked that way this long, and there was no reason that it would stop now. The 62nd was gone. I could try pulling some strings, get me, Gan, and Gunji in the 114th with them. Spirits' knew they needed the reinforcements. "You saw the Dragon's Host," Danev said, continuing the conversation. "How was it over there?"
Paradise, I wanted to say. The organization, the respect, the food, the sleep, the discipline and considerate commanders who didn't treat their men like chattel…I wanted to say it all, but in the incident we not get transferred, well, it would have been a cruelty to divulge that information. I scoffed. "You don't want to know."
"That good, huh?"
I nodded. "Oh, yeah."
Danev leaned back. "Spirits; what I wouldn't give for that transfer."
"Always a chance," I said.
He nodded, eager to change the subject though, and so said, "So, your grand tale of how you made it to the Dragon's Host?"
I remembered then that I'd promised to divulge the details once the battle was said and done. "So you really want the nitty gritty?" I asked.
"Nittiest and grittiest," he smirked.
I didn't hold back then as I told him all the details I could remember. Of our initial deployment, us being the only ones to make it as far as the first checkpoint, us deciphering the message illegally, our decision to proceed, the navy screwing us over, the chase in the mountains, everything. Danev's attention was on me the whole way through, unflinching but for a single moment at the very end when a visitor approached. When we turned to face him, it was clear that by the way the firebending soldier was approaching us, he knew who we were, though I couldn't say the same about him, masked as he was.
It would have remained a mystery to me until the time it was that he spoke. "Danev?" he said.
"Yeah?" Danev asked, clearly still not recognizing the man. By that point, I still didn't either, though something about his stature certainly rang familiar.
"Found something when clearing the minefield and I…I think this belongs to you." The soldier reached for his belt, and about now, I was beginning to find the familiarity in his voice. From his belt, he pulled a knife, but not just an ordinary dagger–it was Riu's. Danev's.
Danev's eyes shifted towards the blade immediately, his lack of recognition for the masked soldier still apparent. The voice was a lot more timid, lacking the same edge and hatred it'd held when I'd heard it any time before, but it was his voice all the same. I knew that much. "Match?" I asked.
His helmet turned to me, though he said nothing, not before Danev could ask as he took the blade, seemingly amazed by its discovery, "Where did you find it?"
Match seemed eager, at least in terms of how quickly his helmet turned back to Danev, to no longer have to look at me, and so answered, "It was on your lieutenant's body. What was left of it, at least. I knew that…the blade was Riu's, so I thought-"
Danev looked up. Match didn't need to say any more. "Thank you."
Match nodded, and said nothing more before giving me one last curt acknowledgement, and so left. Danev's eyes turned to look at me in amazement at the fortune, and I couldn't help but share in the spectacle. Just as somebody had come seeking Danev, however, people soon came seeking me as well, only I recognized them this time around, namely on account of the massive fucking tank they drove, pulling over right beside me.
"There you fucking are!" Gunji yelled, poking his head out from the gunner's bay. "Been looking for you ever since you ran off!"
It was good to see them alive. I'd been worried for some time that they may have come after me into the fortress, but seeing them still in one piece now was a breath of fresh air. But all the same, I was going to have a bit of fun. "And so you two didn't think to check here until now?!"
"Had to get the fucking tank fixed, smartass!
Danev chuckled at the interaction, and so turned to me to say, "You should go."
I knew full well that he was right. I stood, grabbing my helmet from where I left it on the ground. "So when you think we'll be hearing about any decision."
Danev shrugged. "Depends on how long it takes Deming to get here and swallow his pride."
"So it'll be a while again."
"A very good while."
I scoffed, and looked back towards my tank and its crew. Much as I liked being here, my place was with Gan and Gunji for the time being. Maybe in a few days' time, that would no longer be the case. Maybe in a few days' time, we would all be soldiers of the Dragon's Host or, worst case scenario, all within the 114th. One way or another, things would work out.
Colonel Lu Ten, Prince of the Fire Nation
It took colonel Deming of the 64th Division a full day to leave his encampment and make his way here. By all merit, I should have been considered in the right if I'd chosen to seize the fortress for myself, and continue these negotiations free of his interference. My father wasn't here after all and so I was acting on his behalf. If the commander of my division is not present, why should theirs be? Of course, that was the commander side of me talking. Then there was the prince, the politician, and someday in the future, the Fire Lord in me that was telling me to heed the diplomatic solution. But even with that in mind, I would need to be assertive with the man to ensure my father's desires were met, and the fortress was passed to his divisions' ownership.
As such, we wasted a day in wait for Deming to arrive. I wondered just what the reason was this time around for him, if it was a matter of the lazy bastard needing this long to pack his camp and set out, if there was a paranoid suspicion that the area still wasn't properly cleared of hostels, or if he was simply trying to establish his dominance in whatever way he could over me, and, by extension, my father.
The ire Major General Deming held towards my father was hardly a secret. It originated mostly out of envy, but honestly, what else could the man have expected? His rival was the Prince of the Fire Nation. Short of capturing Ba Sing Se on dragonback single-handedly, there was little he would ever be capable of doing to match the Dragon of the West.
Notwithstanding, however, the man was finally here, stood across from me with a war table between us, a map of our siege lines lying atop. It'd already been updated to account for our capture of the Aikou mountain range as well as the Earth Kingdom fortress that'd divided our lines. With the Navy to the north of us too, Ba Sing Se was, now completely and totally, encircled. They weren't getting in supplies before, but now they would also have little to no avenue of getting troops outside of their walls to harass our lines.
It would have been all too convenient if the matter could have been simply settled there, but things were rarely that simple. There had to be conflicts of interest, possession, prestige, the whole like. I knew what I was ready to barter with, and how to stay my hand until the time was needed, and so I would play it accordingly.
"General Deming," I said, being the first one expected to speak to set the events of the war meet in motion. "I appreciate you joining us."
"Wouldn't miss it," the major general huffed, as though he hadn't taken his sweet time getting here. But of course he wouldn't miss it, to when there was a war chest such as the fortress that he could lay claim to, but he would find it not a simple matter. "But I notice I don't see your father here—the esteemed Dragon of the West."
He had known ahead of time that my father wouldn't be here, but sought to make a matter of it regardless. I wouldn't be goaded into saying that though, and so simple answered as one should, "He has appointed me to represent The Fire Nation's interests at this meeting." The Fire Nation's, he had told me to say. Not his own. That was, after all, the key thing that separated him and Deming. "We should begin," I resumed, "in discussing the order of the battle that befell us yesterday."
"Gladly," colonel Eemusan said. While his superior hadn't been present, the good colonel had, still making an effort to lead the soldiers of his brigade into battle and being present for the conflict. Likewise, colonel Zendria of the 92nd Brigade was here as well, having been instrumental in the success of the operation. So too were other senior officers present, namely those of the other brigades that'd been involved in the fight, but we all knew that when it came down to decision-making, they were observers more than anything else.
"First of all. We should discuss the fact of the matter that the Earth Kingdom's ambushing tactics are evolving. When first this siege began, they resorted to mounted skirmishes who we ran off rather easily, but soon began resorted to subterranean attacks."
"I can speak to that," colonel Eemusan said. "It's been no different with the 29th Brigade. Ever since arriving, they've been harassing our lines and patrols, eliminating our units by the dozens."
"What Colonel Eemusan means to say," Deming interrupted, "Is that we noticed this as well by probing their defenses."
"So you deliberately sent out patrols to discover ambushing patterns?"
"In a matter of speaking."
"And what did these probing attacks reveal?" Anything that we didn't already know?
"What their ambushing strategies were and key places to find them." At the cost of nearly all of the 62nd. My eyes settled on Eemusan, who know that better than any man here. It was clear he would have liked to say something, but with Deming in the room, wouldn't. I knew we should have started without him.
"Moving on," I said. "The Earth Kingdom has also shown a tendency to rely on new weapons and strategies in order to catch us unaware. We are already knowledgeable about Earth Kingdom forces using our own artillery against us to bombard our lines, but yesterday too, they deployed booby traps, using against both my forces, and, to my knowledge, yours, Fire Nation tanks armed with explosives to weaken our forces and kill our men."
"As we know," Deming said, already preparing the defense, knowing full well where this was going, "Earth Kingdom partisans have, in the past, used such methods and captured equipment against our forces. Just look at continued guerilla fighting in the Nip Sea region for reference."
"Recovered salvage was recovered and analyzed yesterday, indicating via serial number that the tanks used belonged to the 29th Brigade. Are you implying that these vehicles were captured?" Analyses that were only concluded late yesterday. You might have wanted to come sooner Deming before we could find that bit out.
"They very well could have been," Deming said. "As I said, we've lost armored units before to the Earth Kingdom. That they would use them for such petty traps only speaks further to their desperation."
"So you sent armored patrols northwest then, away from your assigned area?"
"I cannot speak to the 29th's patrol movements with consistency," Deming said, attempting to remove himself from the matter.
As such, I restated the question, now directed at Colonel Eemusan. "Did you order either the 62nd or 240th armored to patrol inside of Earth Kingdom territory to the northwest?"
"No, sir," he answered. "Only to the North and Northeast as instructed."
"The tanks could have been captured there and transported to the fortress for rearmament," Deming said. Chose not to mention how such would mean that his reconnaissance had completely and totally failed to notice the transport of armored units from the wall and into enemy territory, but approached a separate suspicion of my own.
"Eyewitnesses reported that the tanks they found were undamaged, showing no signs of having been damaged or hijacked by Earth Kingdom forces."
"What are you implying, colonel?" He practically spat the last word, desperate to try and remind me that from a sheer military perspective, he outranked me. It made little difference.
"This wouldn't be the first time the question has been raised as to how the Earth Kingdom has acquired our weaponry in seeming perfect condition. Be them by capture or through other means, the Earth Kingdom has directly been obtaining weaponry from your division. Artillery lost prior was not from the 29th either and so it will not suffice to say the problem is isolated to them."
"If you have an accusation,-"
"There is no accusation," I said. There was totally an accusation, but there wasn't enough to incriminate, only threaten. "Just an observance that if supplies continue to be lost at the rate it has been so far, there will be more questions, and the solution will expand beyond your division's internal affairs.
The look on Major Deming's face was as far from satisfaction as could be obtained in the moment. All I needed was that spark of fear in him. Either our supplies would stop leaking to the Earth Kingdom, or I would have definitive proof of the fact that he was selling our equipment to the enemy, and if not to them directly, then to them by some proxy.
"But be them by traps or other tactics, just yesterday, the Earth Kingdom sought not only to ambush us by bringing men up from the ground, but entire fortified structures as well. This indicates a severe underestimation on our part of not only the Earth Kings' remaining earth bender strength, but their capabilities as well."
"After the amount our men killed yesterday, however," brought up colonel Noroh of the 42nd brigade, "it is reasonable to say that the Earth Kingdom's bender reserve has been considerably dulled."
"We can no longer make that assumption, colonel," I countered. "We held that same belief after our initial open-field engagements with the Earth Kingdom just about a year ago, and it seems they still have more than an operational reserve."
"But it must be dwindling," Deming said.
"Doubtless," I affirmed. "Our recent victories have indeed cost them their fighting energy, but so long as they maintain the outer ring for agriculture to supply their army if not their people, we cannot make any estimates about the enemy's strength, which is why this victory has provided a key opportunity for us."
"Which brings up the elephant mandrill in the room," Deming said. "What to do with the captured Earth Kingdom fortress."
That's the matter you want to focus on? I wanted to ask. We were in the midst of discussing plans for how to successfully resume our siege against the Earth Kingdom, not how to properly dole out rewards. That was the cost, however, of working alongside men whose prestige relied on battlefield performance. While this fortress was an unnamed keep, now history to it, it was the center stone of what was no doubt a pivotal victory. Whoever held this fortress would be the one credited with victory over the Earth Kingdom here. Such was what made it an object of desire if nothing else.
"Very well," I said, figuring that plans for the siege could wait until a resolution had been reached. "We will table the discussion about Siege preparations and introduce a new matter-that of the captured Earth Kingdom fortress."
"Agreed," Deming said, self-satisfied.
"I would also have us introduce a new subject—that of troop reassignment."
Deming looked towards me, confused as to where I was going with this. There was a silence in the room that remained dependent on him. He didn't know what I had in mind, and while he certainly was suspicious, he was well aware that simply denying such a motion without even an understanding of the matter would reflect poorly on him. "Fine," he said, moving his hand to shift his forces as displayed on the war map by small tokens towards the position we'd just captured. "So the matter of the Earth Kingdom's fortress,-"
"It will not be handed to the 64th." I could not have phrased the matter any more clearly as I pushed the tokens representing my father's men towards the spot on the map marking the position we'd just captured, and the certainty of that took the major general by surprise.
I expected an outbreak from him, some angered exclamation, but he contained himself. Instead, his eyes narrowed, into anticipation for him to ask plainly, "Why?"
"The 64th's ranks are overextended as they are. Any expansion of your lines is required northwards, not westwards." These were my father's direct orders. There was a danger here, I knew, in angering the man, and to do so was making a gamble—a gamble I prayed would pay off.
"Your forces have already captured the Aikou range to the North. You aren't trying to tell me your forces are any less extended."
"We have twice the manpower of your division," I reminded him. "They aren't."
"So you reap the benefits as the sole inheritors of a victory that was half the effort of my division, that my men died for."
Suddenly you care about your men-when it's a number to throw against me.
"Men who died needlessly. You walked your troops into a trap; you made no move to pull back your men when they were faced with overwhelming odds; you did nothing to clear the battlements before ordering your men to storm the fortress. The losses you suffered yesterday, and ever since arriving here, have been a fault of your own, in particular with certain units whose value you see to be as simple cannon fodder. This brings us to our secondary matter-troop reallocation."
"We aren't done discussing-"
"We are!" I knew he sought to fight more on the fortress, but nothing would change. The choice had been made, and there were other, more pressing matters to discuss, at least as far as I was concerned. I forced myself to calm down, noticing how my voice had raised. If I was going to approach this topic, as much as it may have pushed me to the edge of my calmness to do so, I had to do things right. I breathed out. "It has come to my attention that select units within the 64th division, namely the 114th, 122nd, and 62nd, have been wasted needlessly."
Deming's expression shifted into one of curiosity, wondering, no doubt, just why I was bringing this up. He crossed his arms, and asked, "What of it?"
'What of it?' The fact that he would ask such a thing, that he saw no issue in sacrificing the lives of his men needlessly, and all because there would be no accountability, no families of high standing to complain, nobody from back home to raise issue…it dared to push me to the edge of my tolerance. I, however, would not let that happen. I would make my demands, and end it there. I looked at the map, and the small icons used to demonstrate the different units of the siege. I found the one representing the 59th battalion, and so shifted it across the war map towards my father's side of the siege. "I will be taking your Citadel-born soldiers with me to my camp."
Deming's face turned towards the map, his prior expression of curiosity now one of confusion, hardened shortly thereafter into resolve. I was making a claim past my station, we both knew, and he would use that against me. "I'm afraid I cannot part with them," he said, looking back up to me.
"Surely they aren't worth much to you," I countered. "You will be compensated. Name your price."
"I'm not looking to sell," he said. So you'll sell equipment to the enemy, but not soldiers to your own allies. I knew why he was doing it…simply because he could.
"I'm prepared to offer sixty gold pieces per man." And for roughly the four-hundred plus that still remained, the small fortune Deming would acquire would not be one to shy away from.
"Not for a thousand each, prince," he said, spitting that last word at me. I knew that was a lie, however. If I made that offer, he doubtless would have accepted it, but simply knew that the demand was ridiculous enough that he could make a show of digging his feet in the ground in front of his fellow commanders. "Take your soldiers and return to your father's camp. These men are my property and will remain here."
My fist clenched beneath the table. "Do not make an issue of this, Deming."
"'Do not make an issue of this?'" he echoed. "Are you threatening me, colonel? End this here. It's obvious that there's nothing more between us. You've already stolen the renown of this victory from me, and if you now intend to steal my property as well, I'll have every justification in revoking my support from your father's siege."
He would dare go that far? Over this? Over men he viewed as nothing more than cannon fodder to be wasted on a whim? He would dare to leave this siege, the Fire Nation's best chance to end this war now with as few lives lost as possible, over these men? No, it wasn't in consideration of the soldiers. Not at all. He was driven by spite alone now, rendering him all the more dangerous. Dealing with him had just become especially dangerous. He was out to make a point, regardless of what prestige it may cost him in this room, so long as there was a chance he could gain something more. I wouldn't get these men, not like this. It would take a lot more than the right thing, than obligation to convince him.
I knew what had to be done.
I placed my hand to cover the tokens representing my father's men where they were, placed atop, and so drew them away from the fortress's position.
"For the 59th," I said.
The room was still. The other officers present clearly had their thoughts, and even those from my own side moved to say something, but I silenced them. I knew what I was doing, and I knew that it violated my father's purpose in having me act as his representative in these negotiations, but it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission with him. I would take responsibility, and in time, he would understand.
"What?" Deming asked, shocked.
"The sole renown and honor of this victory as well as the strategic position in exchange for your slum-born soldiers. All of them. The 114th, the 122nd, and the 62nd."
"The 62nd doesn't exist any longer," Deming said, albeit not in a hostile manner, realizing now what he had to gain. "They've been reassigned to the 240th."
Damnit. I could hardly ask for the 29th's last remaining armored unit. I thought on the boy I knew from there, Fluke was his name, as well as the others, Gan and Gunji I believed, but I couldn't risk the others for them. Not now. Another time perhaps if they made it that far, but the others, the hundreds of them came first.
"Then the 114th and 122nd," I asserted, my face hardening from the partial defeat I'd already suffered. "Not one of them left here. They become my father's men to fight in honest battle, never to be wasted needlessly by you again. In exchange, you get the sword, and the victory of yesterday."
"The victory was pivotal," Deming observed, still locked in a haze from the shock. "You would sacrifice this fortress, the acclaim of this battle that has turned the tide of the war? For a few broken men?"
"With men such as these, I could win a hundred battles more just like this. Now, do we have a deal?"
My eyes narrowed at Deming as he searched around the tent, as though searching for some sign that he was being cheated, lied to, made a fool out of. The shock on the faces of every other commander present, however, was enough to tell him that my offer was not only ridiculous to him, but all others as well.
His face softened for a moment, but then hardened the moment after to put on a courageous face as he said, "Take the scum-born filth." So the offer was accepted.
I breathed a silent sigh of relief to myself, but knew that the victory was only partial. I hadn't gotten them all, but those of the 59th infantry battalion minus the 54th ranged would have to do for now, and the hundreds of men that they represented. They would have a fighting chance now, thanks to this. That had to be worth something. I would come back for Fluke and the others another day, but for now, this victory had been won. So, I moved the token representing the 59th away from Deming's line, and towards my father's where it sat on the map.
"They're worthless you know," Deming said with a smirk. "Your father will hear of this, you know? This will be remembered as one of the most ridiculous decisions ever made by a prince of the Fire Nation."
Perhaps in the moment it would, I knew, imagining already that my father would be the first to see things that way. But I already knew that in time, he would understand. He would see the same things in these soldiers that I had seen, and that, sure enough, it would be viewed as one of our nation's most ridiculous decisions, but it wouldn't have been mine.
There would be more matters to settle after that, of course, namely the plan for the siege, but after the hours of it had finally passed, the meeting was over, and we were gone to our separate campsites, Deming knowing full well that for the time being, he was going nowhere. The fortress was his. He'd gotten what he came for, and I left with something far more valuable.
While ordinarily, it would have been left up to Eemusan and/or Deming to deliver the news to the 59th for them to reassign themselves, I wanted to leave nothing to chance. It wasn't so much that I expected Deming to so blatantly go back on his words and withhold these troops from me as much as that I had my own way of wanting to do this.
The 59th's camp was a ways away from where the war meet had been held, a small bit north of the fortress between the encampments of our two divisions lest there be an implication of "favoritism." All the same, however, I found my way there soon enough where the men were getting what semblance of relaxation they could before being ordered to move out. Enjoy it while you can, I thought to myself as I searched across the camp for the people of interest I would need to reach, namely Rulaan of the 114th and Amala of the 122nd. The 114th's camp closer, I settled on bringing the news to them first.
Captain Yuzeh having died in the battle, and in consideration of the plans I had for the company, Rulaan was the natural man to talk to. The only issue seemed to be, however, that I couldn't find him. Most others seemed present, save the injured, and he was the only other exception. That left me then with a different man I did see, the same staff sergeant I'd accompanied into the fortress's labyrinths-Danev, I believe.
He noticed me before I came to the fully conscious decision to approach him,but his acknowledgement of where I was removed that final boundary. I figured there was no harm in asking him where Rulaan was.
"Staff sergeant Danev," I said, approaching him as he saluted before I could have the chance to wave a dismissive hand for him to stand at ease. "Is Lieutenant Rulaan about somewhere?"
"No, sir," Danev said, now standing at ease. "He's duking it out with logistics for a resupply. Making sure we're not stuck with half rations again."
Of course he's fighting for them, I thought with a subtle smile. It was small wonder Danev seemed to have considerable respect for the man. It would make all of this go over well, I knew, especially as I came to the decision that there was no harm in delivering the news right now, and letting Danev be the one to tell Rulaan later.
"There's some news you may want to hear," I said, prompting Danev to now look at me expectantly, wondering just what it was. A part of me was struggling to hold back a smile, see how long I could keep him waiting, but that would be cruel. I would say it straight. "The 114th and 122nd have been reassigned," I said. "You're being transferred to the 21st battalion, 91st brigade." My brigade.
And all at once, the man's eyes widened, and he stared at me, as though wondering if I was simply yanking his chain. I wasn't, but he didn't yet know that fully. "S-sir?" he asked, quite clearly at a loss for words. Once again, I was tempted to leave him like that a while and watch him stumble around to find himself, but my aversion to unneeded cruelty would be the only thing holding me out as I spoke up again to say, "the 114th and 122nd companies are no longer under the command of the 29th. You will be expected to break camp and report to me by 0800 tomorrow. This also will entail a reorganization of the company's command structure."
That caused pause in Danev for a moment as he asked, "What kind of reorganization?"
I realized only after how it must have sounded, as though I was preparing to introduce foreign commanders to this unit of city-born slumdogs. That was not my intention, and I didn't think Danev believed it was either, but he was concerned nonetheless, as a proper leader should be.
"With the deaths of Captain Yuzeh and lieutenant Aozon," I clarified, "new commanders will need to be chosen. How would you feel about becoming lieutenant of Dragon Platoon?"
If his eyes were wide before, then they were daring to break free of his sockets now. "Sir, I…I-"
"Spirits," I laughed. "From the way your men treat you, you practically already are. Would finally just be making it official. Can I trust you to keep doing what you're doing then but with a better ranking patch now?"
"Of course, sir," Danev said, smiling. "And for the company then?"
"I was thinking that lieutenant Rulaan proved himself admirably yesterday. Would you disagree?"
"Not at all, sir," Danev said, still beaming. "I could think of no better man."
I possibly could, but not yet. It was still too early to tell. I would give him more time, and then we would see. I nodded.
I wondered if it would be me who would need to bring up the next subject, and I was prepared to ask for clarification of the man's relationship with the soldiers of the 62nd before he did it for me, myself clearly having underestimated the bond there.
"And Fluke, sir?" he asked. "The…the tank crew from the 62nd? What about them?"
I closed my eyes for the moment it took for me to figure how to say this. I always hated delivering bad news.
Fluke
Forty-two, I thought as I made that final etching on my helmet. I forced myself to try to remember his face. It was easy to remember those who'd came before, at least, to an extent. There were the soldiers I'd killed near the beginning of it all, then even when the battle had intensified, moved into the fortress's tunnels, there was the fighting then-the earthbenders who'd tried to kill Lu Ten, but then after that was where things had become a haze.
I knew there'd been more. Many more. I remembered how few of them had put up the fight, those that I'd torched alive as they fled, the one pulling a knife on me. I remembered the other who'd tried to run to escape, all of them, but I couldn't see their faces. Hell, I could barely remember how many it'd been. I was stuck on that forty-second etching for what must have been a quarter of an hour before I became confident that it was indeed the last of those I'd killed that day.
Twenty-two people, I thought to myself, the idea of it not particularly easy to swallow. I hadn't killed half as many people before yesterday.
But there was no other way, I still tried to convince myself. I had to believe it. I had to believe that at every point of that battle, it'd been a matter of my life or their's, because if it wasn't, then what the hell was it all for.
I would have welcomed whatever distraction from those thoughts that could've been provided for me. Gan and Gunji weren't here for the moment, off getting lunch. I ordinarily would've gone with them, but paying my remembrances for those fallen by my hand had taken precedence. I should've gone with them, I determined from where I saw now with my back to our tank, having now earned its ninth battle won. 'Survived' might be a better word for it, I considered.
All the same, nothing good was coming of me sitting alone mulling over the lives I'd taken, and so it was a relief to me the moment I saw him approaching on the horizon–Danev.
Thank Spirits, I thought to myself as I set my helmet down by my side and nodded his way in acknowledgement of his approach.
He nodded in response, stopping shortly in front of where I stood.
"Well, hello to you," I said in greeting, knowing that if he was here, it had to have been because there was news. "So meeting's adjourned?"
"Looks like it," Danev said, still standing in front of me. I'd have expected him to sit down, but there was always the chance that the time spent here wouldn't be long. After all, I could have gone for some lunch around then, and so him sitting down too would've been pointless. It was clear he had something to say. The look on his face was one I'd become well acquainted with over the last few years knowing him. He had something to say.
"So," I said. "Come on. Spit it about. Clearly you know a thing or two about it."
Danev's face remained unshifting for the moment, but finally, he chose to talk, saying, "Lu Ten came to earlier today when the meeting ended. And…he had some news."
"Well don't keep me in suspense," I said, scanning his face. There was news there, some of it not good. We didn't get the transfer, did we?
"Well," he started. "We've got some promotions coming our way. I hear you and your crew are set to go all the way up to corporals. Rulaan, on the other hand, is now captain of the 114th, and I'm lieutenant of Dragon Platoon. All thanks to Lu Ten."
"Fuckin' hell!" I exclaimed, almost getting up to stand. "Bout fucking time! You're serious?!" I couldn't have given a shit about my own rank. Being a corporal meant close to nothing but for a slight increase in pay which, out here, was just about as useful as the dirt we camped on. To hear about the reorganization of the 114th, however, and how Rulaan was now in command with Danev as a close second, that sure as hell was a step in the right direction if I'd ever heard of one. And…if it was on account of Lu Ten… "So wait wait," I said, trying to put the details in order. "If Lu Ten reassigned the 114th that way, because Spirits know Deming would never do such a thing, then…that means…" My eyes widened. "The transfer went through!"
A smile creeped onto Danev's face, and he nodded. Now, I had to stand. I did so in an instant, immediately placing my hands on Danev's chest to push him back out of elation. The news was that kind-nothing where the value of could be understatement. It was a transfer! Lu Ten had done it! Gotten us away from the 64th, from Deming! I hadn't quite thought it possible, but there it was! I must have looked like a fool, mouth still wide from amazement, but I didn't care.
I don't know why it took me so long to see that there was something wrong. I was supposed to be better at reading people, but for some reason, it was only after I had allowed myself to really fully believe that I was free of Deming that I started to see in Danev's eyes that something was wrong.
"What?" I asked, pulling away. "Something's wrong, isn't it."
There was hesitation in Danev's actions. He was holding something back. I wasn't blind to it. There was something he wasn't saying. Something serious. "Lu Ten," he started before reconsidering as though he didn't want to assign blame. "They…they weren't able to get a transfer through for the 62nd."
And there it is.
The news didn't quite fully reach me when it was first spoken. Whether there were blank spots in my consciousness that didn't allow the realization to go through, or if it was all just being repressed even as I was hearing it, something didn't quite make its way through. I couldn't have imagined what it was like for Danev there. Saying it once had already been hard enough, but to say it again…
"Your transfer to the 240th armored had already gone through and…the brigade couldn't lose its only tank unit left, so…you couldn't be transferred. Fluke, I'm…I'm sorry."
It was then that it began to sink in. That Danev had been given the chance to transfer, but I hadn't, and so then, there was only one thing I could really ask: "So what happens now?"
"I don't know."
And one thing I could hope for.
Don't go.
"He's offering the chance to get away from Deming," Danev said. He wants to go. "Not just for me, but…for the entire company." Please don't go. "But…I can't just…I can't leave you behind, right?" Please don't go. "He made the offer and…he doesn't…he doesn't need me as platoon lieutenant." Please don't go. "The men know me, sure, but…I'm sure there are plenty of other good candidates." He wants to go. Please don't. "I just…I don't know, I…"
Please don't go, I thought to myself.
Danev had the chance to get away from Deming and his cannon fodder charged.
Please don't go, I prayed to the spirits.
Danev had the chance to give his men the leadership they'd lacked for so long.
Please don't go, I silently begged Danev.
But even I knew that there was only one thing to say.
Please don't go.
"You should go."
He looked at me, his eyes wide as if he wasn't sure I was really saying that. I myself wasn't completely sure I had either.
"You…what?"
"You should go," I repeated myself, this time even harder than the last."
Please don't go. I begged him silently not to leave me here. Not to leave me with Deming. I'd only made it this far because I'd known that he was here with me, that only a small trek away, he and others from Citadel were still here. I'd known that, worst case scenario, I had somebody to go to, be it for help, protection, anything. He was there with me. He'd been there for me in Citadel's streets, in the Academy, and on the field, and so I prayed he wouldn't leave. Not now. Not at any time. Not ever. Please don't go.
"You're sure?" he asked.
Please don't go.
I nodded my head. "Hell," I said. "I'd do the exact same if I were in your shoes."
"You're…you're going to be fine on your own?"
Please don't leave me.
I scoffed. "Come on," I said, feigning amusement. "Still think I can't handle myself by now?"
There was a pause. It wasn't one of doubt, not in my words at least, but in himself more than anything. The decision was being made at that moment, inside his head. Please stay.
Finally, he moved forward, and I wasn't sure if it was to hug me, or, something else, but instead, he stopped himself, and reached an arm forward, for me to take and shake. The decision was made. I looked at his extended hand, knowing full well what it meant. Please don't.
Danev never was a good actor. Not like I was. He hadn't survived in Citadel by saying one thing and meaning a complete other. I had. He wasn't that. He was a soldier, now and always, and a damn good one too, but he was shit at hiding how he felt, at least as far as I could see. He was conflicted, as damn close to despair as I'd ever seen him. I took his hand, and shook. Please don't go. And I put on a smile. The best one I could. "To be honest," I said. "I feel bad for you."
His eyes widened a small bit to look at me in confusion, wondering just what I meant by that.
It was everything I could do to keep it all in. "You won't be around when our tanks are the first to make it to the other side."
Danev let himself give off a small smile, the most he could muster. He was glad to see me accepting the news with a smile and a joke, and I was glad to put one on for him for however long I could.
He scoffed. "Don't fool yourself," he said. "Chances are just as good Deming accidentally attacks his own country before he gets to the other side of the wall. You bet your ass we'll be first."
I let myself scoff as much back as I could. Please don't go. I let go of his hand, and we stood there looking at each other for a while longer. I couldn't tell just how long it was. All I knew was that at the end of that moment however, he'd turned to look away, north, towards Lu Ten's camp, and the Dragon's Host. Please stay.
But he didn't.
Before too long, he was gone, off to his new division, his new camp, his new commander, his men. The comrades that mattered to him most-those directly under his command. And I was still here. It took me some time to turn back too, to pick my helmet off the ground, and look at the forty-two lines that marked it–the men I'd killed for this. The men whose deaths I'd told myself were for something greater-to survive, to keep myself safe, to work towards something better, to perhaps be in a position where I wouldn't be thrown into hell where it was a matter of my life or theirs from one second to the next.
But I was still here, and the only other man I trusted to understand how I felt…he was gone.
I looked at my helmet one last time, feeling the tears well up in my eyes as I no longer felt any reason to maintain the facade any longer with Danev finally gone, and threw it.
My helmet collided against the side of the tank with a loud clang, and my legs gave out beneath me. I dropped to the ground on my butt, sitting with my back to the tank I'd just assaulted, and though I struggled to hold the tears back, they came anyway. And why shouldn't they have?
I lost.
Lu Ten
We reached the campsite of my father's host the following day's evening. I had never had the displeasure of witnessing the conditions of Deming's own campsite, but if the looks on the faces of those of the 114th and 122nd were any indication, then for all intents and purposes, they had reached the afterlife.
Their eyes went wide when they saw the vast stretches of tents, palisades, and trenches that were laid out before them, in organized rows, ordered accordingly, constantly attended to with flowing supply lines and reliable rotations. Walking through our ranks to reach where they would be stationed, they oohed and ahed as though passing through the Gates of Azulon from back home, but this was nothing even close. It was a siege camp. A fairly standard one too if not for its size, but to them, after whatever the hell Deming had put them through, it seemed like paradise.
Not a face amongst them wasn't filled with wondrous joy.
Except for Danev's.
There was no mistaking precisely what was on his mind. His was the face of one who, though seeing the value of what was around them, refused to feel joy from it. He was guilty, I knew, fully aware of the comrade he'd left behind.
I pulled him aside as I showed the 114th and 122nd their positions and they enthusiastically marched ahead to lay claim to their territory, already laying out grand plans for trench systems they would no doubt put Mano to work in creating. I didn't worry much how the rest of my men would take to the earthbenders. We had enough colonials amongst us to have grown used to them by now.
Danev now mine exclusively, I spoke to him before allowing him to move on with the rest of his men. "He's going to be fine," I told him, knowing precisely what his mind was dwelling on.
"Will he?" he asked.
"He made it this long with Deming, hasn't he?"
"And a lot more before that too," Danev added. So there was more to their past together than I knew, one extending, I imagined, well before the Fire Nation became a factor for them. "But still, if something happens and…I'm not around to help…"
"We'll work something out," I assured him. "There was only so much I could do there, but my father has more influence than I do. He'll make Deming an offer he can't refuse."
"I still don't get it," Danev said. "Why us? You gave up a fortress for two companies of slumdogs?" A part of me regretted having told the men about what had been exchanged for their freedom. I hadn't meant it as a way to put pressure on them as much as I wanted there to be transparency on just why they were being released. I should have lied, I thought. Made up some story about how Deming was done with them. They'd have believed that. "You could've gotten more!" Danev still protested. "Better, stronger soldiers! Why us?"
Because I know the value of a real man when I see one, I thought to myself as an old phrase from my father came back to me. It might just prove helpful when I confront him later, I pondered, and so tested it out now on Danev. "My father once told me," I started, "that the value of a good soldier is measured not just by their strength, but by their ability to inspire others and bring hope to those who need it most."
Danev was silent for a moment, no doubt considering my words, or rather, those of my father.
"He's the only reason I'm here, you know," he finally said after the silence had passed. "Fluke. 'Inspiring,' 'Giving hope,' that's him."
"We'll get him back." I was making a promise that I had no idea how to keep. I would be meeting with my father in only a matter of minutes to tell him that I'd sacrificed a fortress for shy north of four-hundred men. I had no idea yet how I would convince him to go out of his way to save three more while also putting together plans to rid the world's greatest city of its outer wall, but I would find a way.
Danev saluted me, and I returned it. From there, he was off back to his men. If Fluke was even half the man that I believed Danev to be so far, then he was a soldier worth saving.
Fluke
It was only a matter of time.
We'd all known that for a while.
Three weeks had passed since Danev left.
The 29th Brigade was not chosen of those who'd fought in the battle to hold custody of the fortress that we'd bled for. Instead, Deming was back to playing politics, handing the fortress to one of his levies he knew he valued the loyalty of more than any sense of "justice." Such a thing didn't exist here, I knew. Not in this division. It existed miles more to the northeast, where the prince of the Fire Nation oversaw what would be this war's final battle. Here, we sang to the tune of a titled warlord who saw this war not as his Nation's, but as his own attempt to rise in the ranks. Spirits knew what measures he would resort to in order to secure his position once the Earth Kingdom fell, but I imagined it wouldn't be pretty.
Better than sending his men to the slaughter, I wanted to think. I just had to last long enough to see the war end first. And by the looks of it, the end was coming.
Every man in the 64th division had come to an understanding of what was coming. And now, finally, on a day when an early Winter's snow fell from the sky, the news was made official by a messenger from the 29th Brigade's signal unit as he read for all men present to hear the news that'd come from the Fire Nation island themselves.
"Preparations for festivities begin in Royal Caldera City in anticipation for the new year!' the crier proclaimed as I shoved my way through ranks of similarly-garbed soldiers to get a better view. "Grand firework displays are anticipated to appear from all corners of the Fire Nation: the sprawling metropolis of the capital, the sandy shores of Ember Island, the churning factories of Yu Dao, and the walls of Ba Sing Se!"
And there it was–The Walls of Ba Sing Se–a proclamation if ever there was one. The Fire Lord wished for our mark beyond the walls before year's end. We were to attack Ba Sing Se before then, and either this siege and war would come a large step closer to finally being over, or we would all die trying.
But I wasn't planning on dying, not yet. Not because of a man like helmet tucked beneath my arm, I turned around, and made my way back towards where Gunji and Gan were camped and waiting for me to come back with the crier's news. We had a battle to prepare for.