Luke

Nobody in armored, or hell, the entire Crimson Army would stop talking about that wall falling. And hell, who could blame them? Because, damn was it something to see.

From the top of the wall, it felt as though you were trapped in the middle of the world's largest Earthquake. Everything around you shaking. Cracks opening in the floor. Watchtowers crumbling all around you. Everyone backing up from that one growing crack you know will soon swallow the world.

And eventually, the world underneath us opened, taking in whatever it could, and like that, a chunk our world, that damn wall, fell into oblivion. And then it was over. We won.

Now, though, only a few days later, maybe 3, hell, I couldn't remember, the story of the wall falling felt like just that, a story. Something we told ourselves to feel good and remind each other that we could win, but now, we were trapped in trenches going through the Earth, being bombarded by artillery, and I found myself doubting if all of our built-up momentum, advanced by 2 months of waiting, had come to a sudden end.

I wanted to believe that wasn't the case but living in a current state where I couldn't raise my head too high for fear of having it blow off, well, it fostered that kind of belief in me.

The armored had been told to leave our vehicles behind back at camp, far out of artillery range, which I guess was understandable, but not exactly pleasant being that far from our domain. I could see they felt the same. 'They' as in the rest of my squad. And despite my best efforts to distance myself from them, well, I was part of them. For better or worse.

"Luke?" called Boss from behind me, snapping me back to reality.

"Yeah?"

"What do you see?"

"What?" I then remembered I had been looking through a periscope attached to the side of the trench wall. I had somehow been completely lost in thought I had forgotten where I even was to some extent. "Oh. Right.

I looked ahead. It was midday. The haze of the artillery hadn't faded in the slightest. It remained completely impossible to see the sky, but at the very least, the Earth ahead was visible. Barely. Raava forbid the nights when you couldn't see the man 5 feet in front of you. All the same, I moved the periscope right to left, scanning their trench line, or what little was visible of it. I relayed my findings.

"As far as I can see, a mile and a half of trench lines, forming a box at the edges to prevent ambushes from the sides. They got barbed wire surrounding the trench lines. At least 3 layers. Tanks should go over it nicely, but judging by the fires in no man's land, I'd say their artillery would tear us to shreds in a matter of seconds."

"How effective would an infantry charge be?"

"Not much more. Armored would be preferable. They have no anti-tank artillery rounds. At least that we know of, but their trebuchets and catapults would tear our ground guys to shreds."

"Fuck. I miss my tank."

"Same here, Boss. Same here."

"Hey. Luke?"

"Yeah, man?"

"Just wanted to say sorry for how I greeted you when you first joined up with us."

Oh shit. Here we go. The talk. "Yeah, man. Don't worry about it."

"It's just that, when we attacked the wall the first time around. The time that failed. I lost my gunner."

"Oh."

"Anyway, my gunner. He was enthusiastic. Really. Young too. Maybe 15. When we were going up the wall, he said he could almost see the top through the slit in his tank view. Anyway, we were at the vanguard, and the little shit got so excited that he opened his hatch, saying 'He wanted to be the first Firebender to see over the wall."

"He was a firebender?"

"Yeah. Good too. Not great, but good. He saved my ass on many an occasion. Anyway, he opened his hatch to get a look. And not a second later was his head taken clean off by an Earth Bender disk. I lost my gunner that day, and not a few weeks later, you come, another young bastard, all set to replace him, and I just saw the same thing happening to you."

"I won't make the same mistake."

"And I see that now. You're younger than he was, but I can tell you've been through more. A lot more. You know about survival. You know how to stay alive when the odds are turned against you. And in our line of work, survival is tough, but you need to understand, that our squad, that's what we're about. Survival. Not just of ourselves, but of each other. And you're one of us now."

"Thanks."

"I'm just asking you to keep your crew safe. Your actions will be responsible for whether they live or die out there. I'm just hoping you know what that means."

I thought back to Gan and Gi Gu at that moment. Gi Gu's sudden silence when he was killed and Gan's last yell before our tank went crashing down, killed because I thought I might at least be able to save myself.

"I've already failed one crew. I don't plan on doing it again."

"Good. Then here's your orders."

I took my eyes away from the periscope to see what he was holding in his hands, a small paper, with a map attached.

I took it, and read what was in front of me

"Patrol routes?" I looked to Boss. When? Finally. A chance to get back out there.

"Tonight. With Zek. Looks like Iroh doesn't plan on sticking around here any longer than he has to. He's looking for ways to get to their trenches quietly."

"You have a map of our mine placements here and a list of what exactly you're looking for. Take notes and give them to me when you get back. Now you may want to get some sleep now. It's going to be a long night."

"Yes, sir."

He turned to leave.

"And sir?" I asked.

"Yes, Luke?"

"Thank you."

"Your welcome. Just be safe."

And with that, he left. I barely slept that night. I was just ready to get back out there.