Captain Zhao

Nobody present wished to be here, I could already tell. Except perhaps for the man who had demanded this meeting in the first place. I had, yet again, somehow managed to underestimate Captain Sazuh's stupidity, but sure enough, he had gone ahead and demanded an audience with General Shu, to which I had been ordered to attend.

It was a deliberate effort I was making to hide my contempt for the man. On any other circumstance, I wouldn't have held back, but seeing as I was in the presence of a high-ranking official upon whom any slight would have entailed career suicide, I held my tongue.

It's far too early to this, I thought to myself, noting the time: 0930. I had only managed to secure around 5 hours of sleep before receiving the summons. I had no doubt that Sazuh had cast aside all sleep for the mere rage-induced effort to file the proper forms as quickly as possible and get them to Shu as early as could be. Indeed, to my right, the captain looked rather sleep-deprived, fueled by this rivalry he had committed himself fully to in the last few hours.

I had to admit, there was something almost admirable about his dedication if it wasn't so foolhardy and misplaced.

The general's time and patience were thin as they were. Ever since Operation Red Moon had been conceived, each day had been more hectic than the last, the burden falling on every man present in the Western Armada, but more than anyone else, falling upon the shoulders of the general. It was clear he wished for this distraction to be cast aside as quickly as possible, and so he asked, turning to Sazuh who he knew had been the one to bring this "issue" to attention, "What appears to be the problem, Captain Sazuh?"

The captain rose from his chair and immediately saluted with the submissive yet enthusiastic call of, "General Shu, sir!" So that's how he intends to play this? The perfect lap dog, ready to shove his nose as far up the general's ass as possible. My eyes trailed from Sazuh, still standing, to the captain who seemed in no parts amused.

I'd done my research on Sazuh. I had, after all, been curious how a captain could be so unacquainted with the style of the general he was serving under, but upon learning more of his naval career, the pieces fit together. He was a transfer from the Mainland Defense Fleet. I knew its commander, by reputation more than personal experience—Admiral Izureh, a man who prized complete and total loyalty above results—a luxury that I suppose was able to be granted far away from the front, hundreds of miles from where the nearest engagement with an actual enemy would ever feasibly occur.

Captain Sazuh thus had yet to adjust, brought in only recently to participate in the Nip Sea Campaign. The reasoning behind his transfer was shrouded behind black ink, but knowing the man, it wouldn't surprise me if Izureh and simply grown tired of him and decided that he'd rather see him die on the front than continue to serve under him. I wasn't far from thinking General Shu was considering something similar as his face settled into a forced neutrality, shrouding what I believed to be no shortage of annoyance.

"At ease," he grumbled, prompting Sazuh to return to his seat and continue. "As you know, general," the captain out of his element continued, "at 0200, Fire Nation forces under my command, as per your orders, attacked Earth Kingdom forces stationed at the military fortress Xiahu. By 0245, Earth Kingdom forces had been routed, the fortress had been secured, and the stage of Operation Red Moon, codenamed Shepherd, had been completed. However, in the closing stages of the battle, newly promoted Captain Zhao, seated to my left, in opposition to my orders to hold fire on any fleeing Earth Kingdom vessels, chose to do just that, sinking a fleeing vessel."

General Shu waited a few moments after Sazuh's flurry of words had ceased, ensuring that he was not about to be hit with a second wave before he cleared his throat to speak. He turned to me now, something in his eyes almost begging that I keep this brief, the stacks of paper on his desk proclaiming that he didn't have the time for a second preachy rant. "Captain Zhao," he said towards me with a nod, sparking something of guilt within me that so soon after my promotion to captain, I was already back in his office for less than favorable purposes. I had to be sure this went my way. A stain like this on my career so soon after a promotion could very easily reverse everything I'd worked towards.

I picked up on his cue for me to speak, and did so, choosing my words carefully as I said, "Captain Sazuh is not incorrect. I did disobey his orders and fired upon a fleeing Earth Kingdom vessel." I stopped there, taking a chance, praying my gambit would pay off. To my right, Sazuh demonstrated a brief look of shock before allowing his face to settle into something of a hideous smirk. Was he this stupid? I found myself wondering. Did he actually take what I was saying as a confession of guilt?

"Explain why you did so, captain," General Shu continued, prompting a curious pair of eyes from Sazuh to head my way. Was he really so stupid so as to believe that was the end of it? What the hell kind of military career had this excuse of a naval officer practiced in the Mainland Defense Fleet?

"My observation crew was able to identify that the passing vessel contained only a single soul aboard, a helmsman, the rest of the ship entirely abandoned. The command crew and I were able to surmise that the vessel was a distraction, intended to lure us away from what was likely to be their true escape vessel. Lacking time to contact Captain Sazuh, head of Operation Shepherd, I made a judgement call and decided to fire upon the Earth Kingdom vessel." My reasoning was obvious, and I saw no need to elaborate. Had we spared the distraction, it was very likely that those who did escape may have suspected that we allowed them to do so. In "falling" for the trap, however, their escape would be made all the more feasible, and I knew General Shu was capable of seeing this.

There was nothing more to be said. "Very well," he spoke. "Then this hearing id adjourned. You are both dismissed."

But we weren't dismissed. I stood up to stand, an empty gesture. I knew we wouldn't be leaving just quite yet. My suspicions were confirmed when, now to my left, as I had turned back towards the door, "Sir? Is that it?"

That's right, dumbass. One shovelful at a time. Dig your grave.

"I said you are dismissed."

But the mainland officer, so acquainted with dogmatic naval command, would not stand down. For all intents and purposes, he was in the right. At least, he would be elsewhere, where military hierarchy was set in stone, where the armed forces was more a parade than a clash of life and death. And so he stood, but not to leave, facing down the General as he said, "Captain Zhao, my subordinate, refused to obey direct orders. This is a direct violation of Fire Navy Military Doctrine, and it is only fitting that he be punished for this!"

There was a silence that pervaded in the air as Sazuh was afforded those few tense moments to comprehend the erroneous irony of what he had just said, making demands of a superior officer. I wondered if General Shu, who I was sure noticed this, would call him out on it, but it seemed he had something very different in mind as he asked, "Who is your superior?"

With a quivering voice he was attempting to hold at bay with a masquerade of bravery, Sazuh said quietly, "You are, sir."

"No. Who is your direct superior?"

"Section commander Naisu, sir."

"And who is his direct superior?"

"You, General Shu, sir."

"And who is his direct superior?"

"High Admiral Aosalen, sir!"

"And who is his direct superior?"

"Fire Lord Ozai, First of his Name, Lord of the Fire Nation, Duke of Caldera, Count of Hari Bulkan, sir!"

"Does Fire Lord Ozai give you your orders, directly, captain?"

"I-"

"Does Fire Lord Ozai give you your orders directly, captain?" he repeated the question.

"No, sir!"

"And why doesn't he?"

And Captain Sazuh paused again. I was thankful I was facing away towards the door so my grin wouldn't be in plain sight. I allowed it to die down before slowly turning back around to face the scene as the general now spoke again, tired of Sazuh's hesitation.

"Because Fire Lord Ozai does not see what you see. Our military organization, in facilitating ranks that pass down through an organized hierarchy is not merely titular, but effective. Just as the Fire Lord does not know what transpires on this front up to every detail, I do not know what transpires at Xiahu, hence why you were put in charge. Just as I did not know what transpired at Xiahu, you were not aware of what was transpiring by Captain Zhao's vessel. Only he did, and he made a decision. One that was likely the right one. Our military allows for flexibility in order to allow military personnel, down to the individual soldier if need be, to make decisions based upon their immediate assessment of the situation. I do not know how the Mainland Defense Fleet handled their hierarchy, but you're not there anymore. You're on the front, and you need to decide what matters more—victory for your nation, or victory for yourself. This isn't politics. This is war. Now, you are dismissed." He turned to me, allowing his frustration to subside for the mere moment, a gesture I appreciated at the very least as he seemed conscious that the events that had transpired here were not of my doing. "Both of you. You will be receiving summons to a war meeting tomorrow to discuss how to continue. You will both be there. Now go. I don't want to have any more meetings like this. Understood?"

"Aye, sir!" I saluted.

Captain Sazuh was slower to do so, seemingly still locked in a shock of sorts, but upon hearing my voice and the stomp of my salute, he snapped back into reality, albeit a small bit later, saluting back with "Aye, sir!"

And with that, he nodded for us to leave, the doors opening before us by the two guards flanking the entrance, allowing us to pass through before proceeding to close them behind us.

Once out into the hallway, a reasonable distance away from the main door, both of us on our ways back to our individual skiffs to secure rides back to our vessels, he paused. I wondered what was roiling through his head just now, and took great delight in imagining the gear clanking and sputtering within, grinding to a halt. I wondered if he was working up the nerve to say something, but I decided to beat him to the punch, holding out a hand I knew he wouldn't take, asking, "No hard feelings?"

My voice, as it was back in Shu's office, was enough to snap him back into reality, albeit only momentarily as he eyed my hand, allowing his face to turn towards mine. There were no words for him to say. He merely turned, declining my arm as I'd expected he would, and marched back towards his own skiff, defeated, humiliated.

I was thankful for him turning away, as it finally allowed me the breathing room to no longer hide my smirk.

That idiot, I thought to myself. There would be no forgetting this, I knew. Whether it was his record or his memory, the scars left by this humiliation would never leave him. Everything had gone exactly as I'd expected they would, and I couldn't lie. I was by no means short on pleasure.

I gave myself the moment to revel in his humiliation as I sulked away before deciding to continue down the stairway towards the skiff bay, doing so until, on my way down, I was encountered by a familiar face, one I almost found myself not recognizing.

"Harzek?" I asked after he had already passed, turning around to face the man's backside as he paused at the sound of my voice, turning around to face me. He didn't seem to have noticed me, but certainly did so now.

"Captain Zhao," he responded matter-of-factly. It wasn't cold, nor warm at that. There was an air of surprise behind his voice.

I supposed it was a surprise for him to find me here, but it should have been of no surprise for me to find him, this being his new station rather than a ship of his own, a conscious choice of his own despite his rise to the rank of captain.

Behind his voice more than anything, however, was a sadness, something still leftover from everything that had transpired over the last couple of months.

Can I blame him?

"I wasn't expecting to see you here," he admitted.

"Nor I, you. But…it's good to see you."

He nodded saying nothing in response to that as he eyed me over. "Your uniform," he commented, bringing attention to my captain garments. "It suits you well." I didn't detect any resentment behind his statement, but notwithstanding, there was something there that elicited guilt, as though the uniform I wore was crafted directly from the skins of his men who had died under our joint authority. I knew the guilt was there for him. I could never doubt that much, and I doubted he was attempting to share it. I believed that the guilt merely followed him, and every action he took, likely not by his own conscious choice.

"The General," I coughed, clearing my throat, noticing the stack of papers he held in his hands as he marched through the halls. "General Shu. He's…keeping you busy?"

"Making plans for the battles to come. Making sure it will all be worth it."

"It will be," I felt compelled to assure him. "It's almost over."

He nodded, myself unsure if he believed my words, assuming even if he did, it likely did little at the end of the day.

"There's a meeting tomorrow," I continued. "You'll be there?"

He nodded. "Putting together the last pieces," he stated. "It's like you said. It's almost over."

The words felt eerily cryptic, but I surmised that it was merely the cold emptiness in his voice that made that come across as so. He'd lost everything. Half of his unit was dead, the other half divided between separate commands. His comrades, everything, it was gone to him. All that was left was finishing this. And after that, well, I couldn't help but wonder what would be in store for Harzek at the end of everything, myself praying it wasn't the end of a noose.

I nodded. "It'll be worth it."

He nodded.

"It will be," I assured him.

"You should get back to your ship. Your crew will be waiting for you."

With that, he turned back around onto his preset route, the face that felt like it was from a different life suddenly becoming invisible to me once again. Soon enough, after one turn down the hall, he was gone from my sight, but the reminder was still there, shrouded since we had left the Si Wong Desert, but now suddenly back in the limelight. I turned back down the hall, towards where my skiff to take me back to my vessel awaited. My crew. I remembered the men I'd fought beside in the desert, the men who had been considered my 'comrades' for those months, most of them dead now.

It will be worth it, I assured myself. Then finally, I can be free from this guilt. Free from this burden.

I marched down the hall.

It will be worth it.

By month's end, the Earth Kingdom in this region will fall.

The lives of the men who died will buy us victory, will buy our Nation victory, and will buy nothing short of utter defeat for our enemies.

My face hardened at that last thought. And it will have been me who made the exchange that bought us victory.