Corporal Danev

I sat at the table in the platoon barracks, cards facing me and me only. Across the table from me was a young Private Zurang, a fellow recruit from Citadel, as full of shit now as he was then. "I call."

I placed my cards on the table. A straight Fire Flush. I heard the cheers around me as they as well as I knew that the game had already been won. Zurang's smile on his face thinned as he receives sympathetic pats on the back from those behind him who had been following the game from his side.

I eyed the jackpot in the center of the table, paying particular attention to a nice ornamented dagger that Private Zurang had received for his 14th birthday. I reached forward for it first until I heard the slam on the table and saw his hand. No.

"Royal Flush, Danev." He said, smile back on his face. "Better luck next time.

No. My pay for this month. I had to get out of this. Think, Danev. Think.

"You're under arrest, Private Zurang."

"What?"

"For illegal gambling of Fire Nation salary and equipment."

"You were the one who asked me to!"

"This was a sting operation. And you walked right into it." The fellow soldiers of the 31st platoon were laughing around me as they witnessed my feeble attempt to pull rank on an inferior.

"You can't pull rank on me like this! You're a- "

"Corporal, as of yesterday if you recall. If you wish to avoid imprisonment for unlawful activities, then you will return all gambled possessions back to their rightful owners."

Private Zurang shook his head, but realized he was beat. He pushed my half of the jackpot back towards me and said, "Fuck you."

"Excuse me!"

"Fuck you, sir!"

"That's better. I may be your superior, but that doesn't make me entirely honest. I'll also take a bribe."

That sent the mess hall into a roar of laughter and sarcastic applause as Zurang sent a portion of his pay towards my pile. So maybe I got something out of today after all.

"That'll be all, private." I'll get that dagger another day.

"Attention!" I heard from a soldier in the hall near the entrance. "Major General on Deck!"

I grabbed my pouch and shoveled my" gamblings" into my bag as quickly as I could and saluted the Major General who had somehow missed my "illicit" activities.

"At ease." He said. He walked to the table where Zurang's money still sat sloppily on the table and said, "Who's money is this?"

Nobody answered.

"Fine then. Suit yourself. If you won't claim the money on the table then It'll just be returned to the Fire Nation treasury from whence it came."

I waited to see if Zurang's greed would overcome him, but it overcame Private Zom'aik first who exclaimed "It's mine, sir!"

The money was already gone at that point, anybody could see it. So as Major General Zor'ak pushed through the crowd to get to Zom'aik, I swiped the dagger from the pile and handed it to Private Zurang who, with a surprised look on his face, quickly realized that my pulling rank on him wasn't personal, and accepted his personal dagger with a nod that said "Thank you"

I nodded back and returned to where I was standing before, hearing the last bits of Zom'aik's humiliation before admitting the money wasn't his. I pitied Zurang for the money he would lose today. I'd give him back the "bribe" he had given me in hopes it would pull him over.

I was a Corporal now, promoted yesterday for "heroic behavior" in the latest raid of an Earth Kingdom homestead. I didn't pass up the promotion and the pay increase despite the bullshit reasoning behind it. I commanded no men, but I could order those under me around and force them to salute me when I wished, so, all in all, it was pretty good.

"Now!" Major General Zor'ak announced. "If there will be no further interruptions, may I ask why none of you are in uniform?"

"Because we're not awaiting order, sir!" I exclaimed. It wasn't talking back. It was a proper answer. The commander of the division wasn't always aware of the working of the smaller platoons. They sometimes required direct answers from the men themselves. Sometimes, however, it was rhetorical.

"Well you do now!" You an all of the 107th Company will be deployed tomorrow morning to head west. It is unlikely that Zand and his scouts for the 15th Armored will have survived." That made me wince. "But we will survive, and we will succeed where they failed, but we will not waste time roaming through the mountains. We will take the listening post, restore communication, and bring this siege back up to speed. Am I understood?!"

"Sir yes sir!" we replied in one voice.

"Good. Then get some rest. We leave at midnight."

And with that, he was gone. "Sounds like another off-the-books engagement" I heard Zurang say from behind me. "It was small at first, just small households and farms, but this, the listening post?" exclaimed the voice of Dazni. "He's getting eager."

"It doesn't matter." Another voice, Zihe, said. "I'm looking forward to a good fight, anyway."

And we'd get one. Because tonight, we left for our first real battle. And if Citadel taught me anything, that wasn't something to look forward to. I looked around the mess hall and observed the men of the 31st platoon. A Company of 200 men to take a listening post untouched for months. I looked around one last time before heading off to my bunk for some now needed rest and wondered how many of them would be back here this time tomorrow.

Prince Iroh, Heir Apparent of the Fire Nation

I hovered over the map for what felt like the 5th hour today, in reality, just waiting for Lu Ten to come through the tent flaps. And eventually he did, and I was forced to hide my relief, and act the General. "Did you send the messengers?" I asked, waiting for the "Yes" I knew I would get. He was the model soldier. Never failed a single assignment in his career. Until today, apparently.

"No, father."

"What?"

"We didn't send the messengers. The messengers came to us. Men from the 5th Corps, 15th armored."

"So they've arrived."

"Yes. And they're here to make sure we take out that listening post and get the siege together."

I sighed. Ever since we learned of the listening post having been taken, it was all Lu Ten would talk about. Now the smile on his face was obvious. He was about to get his wish and I would have no choice but to send him to do the job."

"Very well. Send him in."

And in he came, but not the messenger my son spoke of. My mind went to the description I had read in the messenger hawk's letter. Brown of hair and gray of eye, approximately 12 years of age. The alleged spy that Zar'un had spoken of, and he had come right to me. I prepared to call for security to apprehend the child, but then saw that my son wasn't giving me a spy. He wasn't handing me a leak. Did my son know? Did he realize what he had? Or was I wrong? Was it the faith in my son's eyes that discouraged me from taking that drastic step or was it the look in the child's light gray eyes that did it. I didn't know what it was, but something told me not to call for security and to listen to what he had to say.

"Thank you, Lu Ten." I said. "You may go."

"Yes father." He bowed and left.

Once my son left, the gray eyes boy seemed lost, mid-way between a salute and a bow, or was it a kneel? In time, he made up his mind, and kneeled. His guess was right. Somehow, he knew the formality of greeting Fire Nation royalty, despite some lack of confidence in his movements. Nonetheless, it wasn't something I expected of an Air Nomad spy.

"Rise." I said. "This is a military base, not a throne room."

He rose, nodding, still seemingly unsure of where he was or why. In some ways, I pitied him for the uncomfortable situation he found himself in. I couldn't let that pity grow, however. If this was the scout my son promised, he had information I needed to know, and if he was the spy Zar'un promised, he was a threat to the Fire Nation. Who did I trust more?

"I presume you're the scout sent by the 15th then?" I asked.

"Yes, sir, your grace."

I smiled, empathizing with hm more and more with each passing minute. He already reminded me of my son when he was his age. No. I can't let that get in the way.

"Report, then."

"Uh. Yeah. Okay. So. The 15th Corps is here. Well, not here here, but north of here. Northeast. A bit more north than where we're supposed to be."

"You're saying you aren't where you're supposed to be stationed?"

"Yes sir."

I sighed. Yeah. That was Zahckrael, all right. "How many of you are there?"

"5000. 1000 armored, 4000 infantry."

Not even half the size of what they should be at. They were grossly outnumbered.

"And why were you sent here?"

"The listening post between you and us is occupied by the enemy. We've already lost a good amount of men trying to retake it. They sent us north of here, between the city and the coast and through the mountains to get a message to you saying, well, we're here."

He got through the mountains?

"How many of you were sent?"

"Just one tank sir. We're all fine though we took some hits."

And just one tank.

"And what does Lieutenant General Zahckrael want then?"

"Well sir, he wants to get this siege going, but for that, we need to take that listening post."

"Your words or his?"

"Anyone with sense to realize if we don't organize our men, we're going to be here a lot longer, and a warning sign to the next army that comes to replace us."

I smiled, trying to prevent myself from laughing, but failed. Soon, I was laughing. This kid was older than he seemed, at least in terms of his mind. "Very well then, messenger. Your mission was a success. We'll take that listening post."

"That's great! When?"

"Tomorrow morning. Get your wounds patched up and get some rest. The real siege for Ba Sing Se begins tomorrow."

I didn't know how, but somewhere between him coming through that tent flap and him leaving, I'd made a decision to take a risk I never would have. Was Zar'un wrong? He had to be. That kid couldn't be a spy. And, well, if he was, he was darn good at hiding it. There was a mistake, obviously. There can't be only one child in this world with brown hair and gray eyes, right? This couldn't be who I thought he was. If he was, well, if he was, then I was a darned fool.