Luke

"Well." Lu Ten spoke. "I say it's a damn good time to get going. Artillery sent the Earth Kingdom hiding into the mountains, but it won't last. The rumbling in the ground of artillery will stop, they'll notice before even the gunners know, and we'll be in one hell of a predicament."

I looked to Gi Gu who was still staring intently at his injuries and then at Gan, who at first had seemed fine. Now, however, when he made an attempt to stand, he fell right back to the ground, grumbling curses. His leg was broken. Must've gotten busted dup in the crash. GI Gu and I were good to walk, but I couldn't say the same for Gan.

I looked back to our savior, the battalion leader, Lu Ten, who stood in front of us and asked, "You have any way to carry him?", motioning to Gan. "Don't think he's good to walk."

"I can call a truck up here to carry him."

"So you have trucks?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Think you can tow our tank? Our commander would be pissed if we left it behind."

Lu Ten looked past me towards the tank that Gan was leaning against for support. The look on his face was of hesitation, so I made an additional claim. "Don't want the Earth Kingdom getting their hands on our tech, right? Even if we do burn the hell out of it to prevent recovery, that's a good Fire Nation tank gone to history."

"I wouldn't call it good in the condition it's in. Right treads are completely busted."

"It's repairable. If you're willing to call a truck to pick up our buddy, then surely you could tow a vehicle far more worth than any of us."

Lu Ten gave me a look that I couldn't decipher as good or bad until he smiled and laughed, saying "Well, when you put it like that, how could I possibly refuse? We'll tow your tank. Just get the hook on your tank ready to attach."

"Yeah. About that. We kind of used it."

"Then use the reserve."

"We kinda used that one too. Navigating these mountains isn't as easy as it seems."

"Yeah." He said softly, looking behind me to the far range of mountains now finally behind us. "I bet. No worries. We'll get a hook for you. Just hold tight and I'll have a tank up here in 5 minutes."

5 minutes went by quickly and soon enough, an automobile of the likes of which I've never seen before was backing up in front of our tank as two soldiers attached a hook from the rear of the truck onto the bow of the tank. The truck, an uncovered flatbed, lurched forward, giving the chain a tug to check its security, and was satisfied enough to carry on.

Lu Ten climbed onto the back of the truck, motioning for me and Gi Gu to follow as he pulled Gan up by the arm, accepting thanks from the crippled soldier who promptly sat down on one of the seats on the trucks bed with only a small 3-foot-high wall acting as a barrier, preventing both people and supplies form falling over.

Lu Ten walked to the front of the bed, took a whistle out of his pouch and blew, soon after yelling "Crimson Battalion! Back to the Dragon's Camp! Move out!" He knocked on the driver's canopy of the truck and along with the rest of the men and vehicles of the "Crimson" battalion, the truck began moving forward. And just like that, we were on our way, leaving those god forsaken mountains behind us. If anything, that experience made me all the more dedicated to making sure we took that listening post out. Because there was no way in hell I was going through the mountains again.

We drove for a while, passing by the field of war. Gi Gu and Gan were asleep, bleeding wounds having sealed as well as mine. Me, I didn't sleep despite the exhaustion that was prevailing. I hadn't slept in over a day but doubted I would be able to get any rest until we were back at camp. So instead, I looked at the field of war around us. You could tell that some areas of the Earth Kingdom still hadn't been touched by the fighting as much as others. Particularly those mountains. I suspected that artillery bombardment we just went through was the first of its kind. As we drove, however, going further south, the decay of the land from untouched to war torn became ever apparent. Craters showed up, burnt out woods that had been touched by Fire and Fire Nation alike showed up. Lu Ten must've seen the look I was giving the lands as he said, "I guess this area's been a lot more hit than wherever you're camped."

"Or at least the Earth did a better job of hiding our handiwork than here. We found an entire division buried underneath the ground as we dug our trenches."

"Damn. You know what division?"

"106th I think. Have friends there? Or, had friends there?"

"No. Still. When we lost contact with the 15th, we were positive the siege would be over. For the siege to work, we need men on the Southwestern and Northeastern front. And constant communication between the two. Maybe now that we know your corps is in position, I can convince my father to launch an attack on the listening post and restore communication."

"Who's your father?"

"General Iroh. Or, the Dragon of the West. Which ether you prefer."

"Oh shit." I tried standing up to salute, or bow, or something, but the motion of the tank just sent me back onto the ground of the truck.

"What?" Lu Ten asked.

"I just realized, I forgot to salute a senior officer, but no, you're royalty. Do I salute royalty or do I-?"

"Relax. I'm not like the other hoity toity officers. It's nice not being recognized for a change."

"Really?" I asked, sitting back down on the bench, across from the Prince of the Fire Nation. "If I were you, I'd feel kind of pissed if somebody didn't recognize me."

"It makes more sense when you're in a position of power, I guess. After so long getting talked to as a superior rather than an equal, it gets boring. So thank for those few minutes of equality. I expect it'll get back to normal now."

"If it makes you feel better, the other guys in my crew don't know who you are. You can go through the same exact thing with them twice over."

He chuckled. "Good. I feel so much better now." There was a pause. "What did you say your name was?"

"Luke."

"Luke? Weird name. Don't hear that very often. Who were parents?"

"I'd tell you if I knew."

"An orphan?"

"Straight out of Citadel."

"Damn. Not a fun place to be raised."

"No it is not."

There was a pause. "So tell me, what was your plan?"

"Sorry?"

"Your plan. There was only one tank going through those damn mountains. Were there more of you before or-?"

"Actually. It was just us. Our commander thought it'd be safer that way and we didn't know the mountains were occupied."

"Military intelligence, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm starting to get accustomed to the stereotype."

"Sorry to say, but it only gets worse. Here's some advice, if you hear that an area is clear, just tell yourself that it means its heavily mined or prepped for ambush. That way, you never walk into a situation you can't get out of."

"Good to know. Maybe if we had enough equipment or men to prepare for what we just went through, we would've done that."

"Yeah, well. Think of it this way. You and your crew single handedly navigated those mountains and saved this siege. You have one or two promotions coming your ways. That means new equipment and maybe even an assignment. Have to say, you'd probably be the youngest person to lead soldiers of the Fire Nation."

"That's a nice thought, but it wasn't me who got us through those mountains. That was my driver, Gan over there. The one with the broken leg."

"Gotta say then, he's one hell of a driver."

"And then some. He's already gotten us out of some tight spots in the past. Wouldn't want to lose him. You got good doctors back at camp?"

"I wouldn't call them good. Or doctors for that matter, but we'll get him patched up."

"Thanks."

"Don't sweat it."

"So, why the artillery?"

"In the mountains?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's just say we had the same job. We were to bombard the mountains for a while, send the earth benders into their holes, and send over 50 messengers through the mountains once the artillery stopped to make it to your camp. Thank to you, however, they don't have to put their lives at risk for that. Sorry for nearly killing you with that artillery, though."

"It's no problem. I've been through worse."

"Have you now?"

"Yep. And I fully expect to go through worse as this war goes on. So you think my coming will get the Dragon of the West to launch an attack on the listening camp?"

"I know so. My dad suspected you were in position but had no such proof. He refused to risk lives to opening a line of communications to an army that may or may not have even been there."

"Well. You could say we're not really there. We arrive a bit north of where we intended. That may also be a reason for shitty communication."

"I see. Well, we'll just have you explain it to the General when we get back to camp."

"How long have you been here?"

"Over a year now. We've already cut off food shipments into the city from all avenues expect the north, but from what I hear, the north pole isn't all that fertile, so the only food coming in is fish, and by no means enough to feed that entire city. So, they're starving. Slowly, but still starving."

"Got any expectation for the siege?"

"Well. Now that we know the 5th Corps is in position, we can make the first real move and reclaim that blasted listening post. We'll set up small camps ranging from here to your camp and we'll be in a much better position to bring this city down."

"How about with those walls? Any thoughts on those?"

"We've tried a lot of things from firebending to newer artillery. We're leaving our marks, but the benders always manage to repair them the second we stop firing. What we need is more men, which we finally have now that the 5th Corps has entered the fray. We can have nonstop artillery rain fire on the wall and beyond, opening up time for tanks to scale the walls, plants explosives, and bring it down."

"You think that'll work?"

"I really have no idea. I'm just saying what we haven't tried yet. Whether it'll work or not is up to the spirits at this point. Hey. When was the last time you slept?"

"Why-Why do you ask?"

"Your eyes are closed so either I'm boring the hell out of you, or you haven't slept in days."

I hadn't even realized my eyes were closed and I had just been listening to him talk. "Unfortunately", I said, "it's the latter."

"Then get some shut eye. It's around a 5-hour march back to camp and you'll need your energy when you talk to the General of the Fire Nation army."

I didn't have the energy to consider what that meant for me. I just put it aside and closed my eyes."