Captain Zhao

Shibi burned.

The town, it had been lost. It had been an outcome of such destruction, of such devastation, that not even we had planned accordingly.

The fires raged across the city, we saw as we approached, just now entering the bay, the red moon above providing us the reassurance that we would not end up like the lifeless husks of the vessels that now sat at the bottom of the sea.

In so short a time, only around 3 hours, they had done so much. The town lay in ruins, we could see, the smoke that filled the air informing us that there was nothing left.

They'd done it, I realized, frankly and honestly horrified at the sight of the devastation that was present. In just a few short hours, their force of only a couple thousand had exceeded every expectation we had set for them, and reduced Shibi, a town we had spent the last month fortifying in preparation for such an attack, to complete and absolute rubble.

We had only been able to hold steady from afar as desperate reports came in begging for assistance, for reinforcements. The last report had come in only after an hour since the fighting had begun, and it read only one thing:

Garrison wiped out. Shibi in flames. Send reinforcements now.

And that had been the extent of it. From where we were, we had no visual of the actual state of Shibi. There was only the faint orange glow in the distance that told us that, whatever it may be that Shibi was facing, it was far from good.

And now, on the edge of the bay as we were, one Earth Kingdom vessel still beached in flames, we readied our artillery once again as the second vessel finished loading and began setting out to sea. They saw us there, I knew, our task force of 3 battleships, what would ordinarily be a trivial matter for their spearhead, had the full moon still been on their side.

But as the moon's red glow reflected off of the Nip and into the sky, it was abundantly clear to all that such was no longer the case.

If only it had come earlier, I wondered. How much damage could have been avoided? How many lives could have been saved? They only retreated now as they had no other option. Their relentless onslaught had cost them their one and only chance—holding out in the city they had claimed, but they had left nothing behind, burning all they had come across.

And with the other half of Shibi's garrison force, waiting encamped to the North of the town, ready to strike on my command, finally moving in, the invading Earth Kingdom force had no other choice but to retreat South. And so they did.

Aboard my ship, hundreds of men and women sat horrified of what they observed. No shortage of them had family in Shibi, I knew, or at least, used to have family in Shibi.

As hard as it was to do so, I wanted them to look. Wanted them to observe what Shibi had become. Its capital building a hollow shell, its shops pillaged, its homes in flames, its people massacred, we stood witness to what it was that we were fighting—lawlessness, chaos, disorder. This was what we fought, and I needed my allies to know their enemy, to face it down, look it in the eyes, and let their hatred of their enemy fuel them.

I know I did. And as the minutes went by, my crew anxiously awaiting orders after having destroyed the first docked Earth Kingdom vessel, I knew they did too.

Sat where we were, in range, hidden by the night, they couldn't see the task force I was a part of, waiting just out of their sight, able to see then as their limited force scaled and descended the walls, only a fraction of what they had gone inside with.

Our men cut them down significantly. We put up a hell of a fight, didn't we? It was little solace, of course, but I had to allow it to amount of something. If I didn't then how else would I be able to get through the rest of the night? How else would I be able to rest easy once all was said and done?

A messenger hawk arrived at the command deck of my vessel, the instantaneous communication between tightly packed vessels a skill that we had mastered in preparation for this day, a message capable of being written and transmitted to a nearby vessel in just under 2 minutes.

No time at all was lost in the orders being relayed to me, Naizo announcing as soon as he had read the message, "The FNS Cyrus is to break off and ensure the beach is clear, the FNS Arbutus is to…" he paused. "is to engage the screen vessels."

What? No shortage of surprise was shared among the command crew at the relaying of the orders. The command vessel is not taking on the lead enemy ship? Naizo read over it once more, then twice again after, ensuring he had not misinterpreted anything, but he then continued with, "And the FNS Zodiac" is to engage the Earth Kingdom transport.

Nd there it was. So, I do have friends and not only enemies in high places after al, I smiled to myself. Murmurs of confusion resounded, but I had no intentions of entertaining any of them.

"You heard the orders," I announced to my crew, stifling any indecision reigning there. "Prize fish is our for the catching. Let's not mess this up. Lieutenant Zeera," I began, turning towards the woman who had once been my equal once upon a time, a never-ending competition between us of who would rise to the top first, a game I had won, and she had accepted, earning her the position she now held. "I want all artillery aimed starboard."

"All, sir?" she asked, questioning the admittedly unusual order.

"All," I confirmed. "We'll catch them in two passes, one via their starboard, and the other via their stern.

She nodded, and with that, she was gone, down to the main deck to organized our weaponry accordingly

I would be a tough maneuver to pull off, but if we could hit them once by their starboard, and properly reload our offensive emplacements in time to deal another critical blow to their stern, I had no doubt we would come out of this on top.

"Helmsman," I called next. "Bring us within 100 yards of them. We'll being relying on a close path. Be sure to signal the engine room to get ready for a sharp turn."

The helmsman did just that, talking inaudibly into the speaker tube by his side that would transmit across his voice across the entire vessel as required. All around the deck as well, others manned their stations, ready for the up-and-coming encounter.

"Naizo," I said, turning to the man. "Return the message to the FNS Arbutus saying that the orders were received."

"Aye, Captain!" he saluted, before heading off to do just that.

Orders were dispatched, and the Earth Kingdom vessel was swiftly approaching. I made my way to the observation deck, from where I would observe the battle, and endeavor to provide for my men the proper leadership befitting a Captain. Off to our port side, the Cyrus broke off from our formation, and made a direct B-line for the beach, ready to ensure that no others would be making it off that beach, and the Arbutus remained close, pushing only a small bit further ahead, ready to intercept the Revanchist Tribe vessels, rendered practically defenseless with their moon no longer blessing them with its boon.

They were dead in the water, and they didn't even know it.

Nobody makes it out. Not after what they've done.

And as the enemy vessel neared, that same fervor and zeal grew all the more intense. I would see that ship burn. In only a few minutes, it would sit at the bottom of its bay with the drowned bodies of its crew still trapped below decks. That was this coming ship's fate, and I prayed they welcomed it, because there was no other way this was ending.

The Arbutus was the first engage. The Revanchist caravels as small as they were, artillery was not relied upon, but rather, onboard firebenders and archers were utilized, targeting the vessels one at a time to ensure maximum efficiency. And so seemed to be the case when two of their vessels burst into flames within the first 10 seconds.

So effective, was their assault, that the Earth Kingdom vessel diverted all attention towards staving it off, launching a catapult barrage of their own. And it was pathetic. The boulders hadn't even been lit ablaze, and two clashed harmlessly against the Arbutus' superstructure while a third went wide.

Do they not even see us? I wondered. Do they not even see their approaching death?

As the distance between our two vessels was reduced to almost nothing, however, the Earth kingdom vessel seemed to become instantly aware of our presence, and they fired with all they had left.

Only one catapult fired, but a series of earth disks composed of onboard supplies were hurled towards us, though to little avail, no friendlies having lost their lives and no structural damage having been taken.

What did we expect? The Zodiac dwarfed their pathetic vessel on a scale of five to one. They didn't a chance in hell.

And so, it was our turn. Our starboards faced one another, and I knew it was time.

"Fire!" I ordered, loud enough for those below to be heard, and not a second later had a resounding boom filled the air, numerous clouds of smoke rising as well from our deck, but not nearly as much as theirs.

Looking over, they had taken a hell of a beating. Already, their crew was battling flames, their structure compromised, and already taking in water.

Too easy, I thought to myself, yelling below then, "Reload!"

Let's end this trifle.

It was in one final pathetic ventured that the crippled Earth Kingdom vessel made a harsh turn, directly headed towards us, hoping to deal what damage they could. They were quick, but we were quicker.

The crew had been waiting for just the order to shift the engines and put everything towards making that turn, and so they did when I declared, "Hard to starboard!"

And the entire ship shifted, nearly hurling me aside from the sudden shift in directions. And, just like that, the Earth Kingdom ship's trajectory was off of our own, and they had only provided an ever more appealing shot at their deck once again.

Close as they were to us, it seemed they wish to hide from us in our own shadow. Were we an older Fire Nation vessel, perhaps that cheap trick would have worked, but not anymore.

I could hear the gears of the artillery emplacements below already shifting as our guns' barrels redirected themselves facing downwards, directly targeting their primary deck. They were square in our sights, and so, there was nothing left to do but declare "fire!", and so the air was pierced by that same unanimous series of explosions once more.

And off to our starboard side, I could see that brilliant explosion of yellow, red, and orange light the moonless night.

The Zodiac completed its 180-degree turn, and what was left of Earth Kingdom vessel sat to our starboard once again, but we now rested to their port.

From the observation deck, I was afforded the optimal view available of the remains of their warship as it floated there helplessly, aflame, already sinking below the waves, its surviving crew clinging desperately for life onto whatever wreckage they could.

Behind me, Naizo, ever attentive, asked me, "Should I send a skiff out to pick them off?"

"No," I answered. "Send our firebenders to our starboard side. Burn the enemy alive. It's what they deserve."

The man nodded, seemingly satisfied with the orders I had given, and so he relayed them gladly to the crew.

Accordingly, we came to a hard stop, right beside their burning wreck where the helpless earthbenders swam, and most, out of their elements, drowned. As satisfying as it would be to watch them all die of drowning, I was afraid my crew was in the mood for something more…satisfying.

And the sea…it was set ablaze.

A chorus of screams rose from below as we watched on from above, uncaring, reveling in the fate they oh-so deserved.

Soon enough, I ordered the ceasefire, and the flames stopped. Nothing was left. No scream, no whimper, nothing. We got them. We got those bastards.

My eyes were locked onto the wreckage, onto the bodies that floated helplessly, burned to ash. I could have looked on for hours. I only wish there were some still alive. It wasn't over. It couldn't have been over so soon. I wasn't ready yet. They deserved more. They deserved worse, damnit!

But no, that was it from them. There they lay, dead at sea, and that was that.

I gulped, returning my attention to the present. "Half speed ahead," I ordered, and I looked on one last time at the ruin we left behind before our handiwork was then shrouded from my line of sight.

It's over, Zhao. We got them.

The crew was settling down, the adrenaline of the encounter having passed.

And so simple it was, I thought to myself, wondering what our comrades in Shibi had faced. What countless horrors they had endeavored as they'd tried to defend their homes.

I wonder what the reinforcements would be finding now as they stormed and retook the city. What is even left to be found?

There was a sense of dissatisfaction among my crew, I knew to be true. I turned my attention towards the other vessels of our task force, wondering if they felt the same, until, suddenly, the other two seemed to already be in motion, headed towards my position. What's going on? I wondered. Did we have new orders?

And to answer that exact question, the characteristic call of a messenger hawk could be heard, immediately perching on my left shoulder, presenting the canister on its back to me as Naizo rushed forward to retrieve the message, responding with surprise to see that I had taken it in his stead.

As an officer, it should have been below my station to do so, but here it already was, the scroll already being unraveled in my hands. "Captain!" Naizo objected, "You shouldn't-"

"It's fine, Naizo. At ease." At ease. Damn did it feel good to be the one putting others at ease.

I turned my attention to the message in hand, unravelling it to probe the contents it contained:

Fire Nation forces have retaken Shibi.

Task Force has been reassigned.

New Target: Revanchist Tribe

Objective: Retaliatory Extermination.

And so there it was. Of course, I thought to myself with a smile as I closed the message and sent it back to the Arbutus to confirm it had been received.

The hawk left my shoulder with a resounding cry as it flew off into the night sky towards from whence it had been sent.

The Red Moon yet reigns. The night isn't over. Far from it.

The enemy, they'd gotten their chance, and they'd taken it. They'd burned down all in their sights, taken that which was in front of them and reduced it to nothing but ash.

And now, now it was our turn. Their moon turned against them, their spirits themselves having forsaken them. They had wasted their manpower here, intent on burning everything we had to the ground, and now we would return the favor against all they had left—their home, left exposed, defenseless, not even the terrain able to save them now.

The enemy wanted a scorched earth? They were going to get one.

"We have new orders," I turned to my crew, all those present facing me, ready to hear what came next. "We're not done just yet. Set heading Eastwards."

I turned back ahead as our new course was set and a chorus of new questions was raised behind me.

They would find out soon enough.

We weren't done here. Not by a long shot.