Iroh

By 0800 that selfsame morning, it was hard to tell a battle had even come to pass. New trenches were already being dug. The bodies of the Earth Benders had been piled and burned in their old trench lines to prevent the spread of disease and promptly reburied, and our own forces along with our artillery now dominated this old Earth Kingdom campsite. We were moving and moving quickly.

And now, at exactly 0800, I sat in my tent with my son at my side and his up and coming protegee by the looks of it, seated in front of us.

I could tell Lu Ten liked him. He saw a lot in him, and I couldn't blame him. Danev was a good soldier. Smart, resilient, and possessing a keen grasp on survival. It was his old friend Luke, however, that truly interested me. An Air Nomad in my very camp, in my army, and from what he's demonstrated, totally loyal to the Fire Nation. It was an odd thing.

I had already convinced myself that Zar'un had been wrong about the kid. That he was imagining things and Luke was just a normal Fire Nation soldier, not to imply he was normal in any way, but I pushed Luke out of my head. This debriefing wasn't about him. It was about his older counterpart, seated directly in front of me.

"Congratulations on your success, Staff Sergeant." I started.

"Thank you, sir."

But I wasn't done. I wanted to see how he responded to praise. "You single handedly infiltrated Earth Kingdom lines, blew a hole in the largest wall known to human history, incited a friendly fire incident between hostile forces, and sabotaged enemy artillery." Lu Ten was giving me a questioning look. He knew some of what I said hadn't been true. He didn't understand, though. He knew Danev, the man in front of me more than I did. I desired an opinion of my own. A take on the man in front of me as I would have to make a decision by the end of this meeting as whether or not to move this soldier higher up the chain of command, or not. I finished with "Do you have anything to say?"

"Well. Yes, sir. None of it was single handed. I had squad blackfyre with me for the entire thing. I hardly blew up the wall on my own. There was an entire army above and beyond that would attest to that. And everything else I did at the camp, I also did with private Za'ik and corporal Zonda. Za'ik got you the message to tell you to attack and Zonda infiltrated the second artillery camp. And. I was meaning to ask. Where is he? I haven't seen him since the battle ended."

Humility. Truthfulness. Respect. And concern for his men under him. I had what I needed. I, decided, however, to let Lu Ten deliver the news, and conveyed this with a nod in his direction.

I'm sorry, Danev." He started. "Corporal Zonda was found dead at the second artillery camp. It looks like he had been killed by Earth Kingdom forces while trying to defend a cache of blasting jelly he had lit. He was successful at the very least."

"Oh." He said, the expression on his face changing from one that had just received overwhelming praise to one that had learned of a comrade's death. "Okay. Thank you for telling me."

I continued now, knowing for sure, beyond all shadow of a doubt what my verdict would be. I could now see what my son had seen. He really did have an eye for talent. "Your squad completed its mission to perfection despite heavy casualties to your squad. Your mission, however, was one in the heart of enemy territory and your success speaks for your talents on the field of war. Before your assignment to squad Blackfyre, you served under Captain Ze'lak in the 31st platoon?"

"Yes sir. Will I be reassigned there?"

"In a way. Captain Zean'in died in the infantry charge of the trenches last night and we have seen fit to have you fill his place as you know the men previously under his command, some of them originating from Citadel as well."

I had hoped to allow Danev to fill the rest, but the look on his face was enough to tell both my son and me that he would need some help. I allowed my son to finish, having already had the displeasure of delivering the bad news. "Congratulations, Captain Danev. You've been promoted to the commander of the 31st platoon." He said, handing Danev the rank patch and pauldron he had already stashed on his lap in expectation of my approval.

Danev took the items out of muscle memory alone as he still struggled to come to the point of speaking words until he managed to get out "I-uh. I. Thank you, sir. SIRS!" He nodded to both of us and backed out of the tent until stopping himself and pointing outside as though asking whether or not he was dismissed to which I confirmed "You're dismissed, Captain."

And when I turned to face my son, he was smiling, knowing he was right. I couldn't force myself to not smile back. He was right. He had found a good soldier. A diamond in the rough.

He stood up now, sitting across from me where his companion had just previously been seated, asking "So what now, father?"

"Now, we wait. We cannot afford to storm their next camp just yet. We've captured on the council of 5 and killed another."

"Sorry about that."

"It's not your fault. War is confusing. Things like this tend to happen, but with 3 members left, General How will send Generals Sung and Sodhru to face us. They'll play the defensive, hoping to wait us out. They will be reduced to catapult artillery which will be far more dangerous to our infantry. Their camps will be far harder to infiltrate now, and we will also be facing hostile citizenry the closer we get to the inner wall. We are currently over farmland, but the closer we get to the wall, the more towns and villages we'll encounter. These will be prime spots for ambushes and enemy camps. We should attempt to avoid them until completely necessary."

"So we have these threats ahead of us, but how do we take the next camp?"

"That, my son, is what I intend to find out with your help right now." I smiled to him. "Let us begin."