Chapter 73: Cowards, Family, and Betrayal

A/N: Chapters in advance in Patreòn

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(20+ chapters in advance)

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Chapter 73: Cowards, Family, and Betrayal

***

Sokka could feel the what he would jokingly call in his first life, the "Courting Death", it revered through energy through the room. These old, one foot in the grave, elderly men were peering at him as if it was an honor to even me to stand here with them. 

'You incompetent fucks, you haven't had a war in at least a hundred years, there is no one here who even knows anything about war. You're isolated as hell and have no idea how the enemy acts. So don't stand here as if you are some experienced old men when you know nothing about war.' 

Sokka's thoughts on the matter were clear, but he still kept a rational gaze and made sure to not show any hostility outwardly, he didn't want the people here knowing just how low he thought of them. 

"Chieftain, we need to wait and see how things play out. We can't just go out there and counter-attack," suggested one of the elders.

"Yes, I agree with this," added another elder in support. "Fighting against them head-on would be too reckless."

Most of the elders agreed, though there were the ones like Pakku, who seemed to be against such a move, the Military Leaders ended up silently agreeing on waiting to see what would happen. 

"That's a genius ploy, they won't do another attack like this since we have taken care of the first initial problem," claimed one of the military elders with a long beard.

When he heard that, Sokka turned towards the aforementioned elder and frowned.

'What did he mean by we? I was the one who took care of it. Are you sure you want to play with me like this old man? Read the room old bastard…'

Sokka glanced back towards the table, which had a map of the North Pole and the seas around it. Some red Pai Sho game pieces were put down to show where the Fire Nation was. 

During the initial attack, many of the leadership personel had died, and Sokka couldn't help but wonder if any competent military officer who at least somewhat knew basic war tactics was still alive.

He clenched his teeth but held in the annoyance that had started bubbling inside of him. 

Chieftain Arnook was waiting for anyone to give any ideas or say something, and Sokka saw this as a chance, standing up and looking each elder in the eye. "Wait? So that's your grand plan?"

Some of the elders stared at him with narrowed eyes. Clearly showing contempt for a youngster to dare speak to them like this, with no respect in his voice.

"Sit down, you don't belong here. The elders are talking."

"As Elder Song said, sit down, outsider. We won't take advice from someone like you. What could someone your age even offer?"

"Then how long are we going to wait? Until the Full Moon is gone? That's what the enemy wants," Sokka took a breath, and didn't let anyone else talk as he continued. "Are you too scared to act? Did fighting against a competent enemy scare you? …Cowards. All of you are cowards."

Why bother to hide your contempt for incompetence? Also, it wasn't like backing down here would offer any benefits. Instead, they would just pawn even more.

The elders fumed in anger, their gazes were blazing with fury. But Sokka didn't stop and insulted everyone. His stare didn't waver either, there wasn't a trace of fear in his eyes. 

"You don't understand how things work brat, you are young and think yourself to be invincible. But things aren't that simple," this time it was surprisingly Pakku who spoke, and unlike the other elders here, he was one of the fearless ones. 

"Pakku, the young man is right, waiting here will do nothing for us," some of the Elders, the minority, argued in Sokka's favor. They could see the logic in his words. 

"I would like to apologize," Sokka's eyes settled on the waterbending master, "to anyone I have not yet offended. Please be patient, I will get to you shortly."

His words made some of the elders get up. They were clearly about to do something, though his words angered everyone here, what he said wasn't wrong and it seemed to make the elders even angrier.

The enemy was just waiting. But they were afraid to go against an unending sea of Fire Nation ships. Since as leaders, they would have to lead, and that meant death. Fighting against a scarily competent enemy is scary, especially when they outnumber you, yet they are still cautious and give it their all against them.

They were thinking at the moment, while Sokka knew that Azula was most likely waiting for the New Moon and she would attack with her full might then. 

But by the atmosphere in the room, Sokka couldn't help but wonder if, by the time she attacked, the cowardly elders might hand it to her on a plate. That was when he came to a realization.

'These guys have had their spirits broken by the destruction of the tower. The enemy not only outnumbered but outsmarted them too. They no longer want to fight against Azula, instead, they are planning what to do after the invasion.'

Sokka peered at them, his eyes were like an x-ray, the elders felt like he could see straight through them. 

He sighed and sat back down on his seat with a tired look, the Elders' spirits were crushed, there was no use in saying anything anymore. The initial attack on the main tower had had more adverse effects than he thought. This wasn't just a matter of the elders wanting to be safe for themselves, but they wanted to keep their families safe too. Almost all of them saw a reason to fight anymore, it would just be preventing the inevitable. 

**

The Elders continued to argue, each bringing up their points. Some say that the Fire Nation wouldn't be able to hold a fleet and such a big army for long here as it would be too costly. Normally that would have been a good reason, as even Generals are human and can make miscalculations. Sokka knew that as it had been done in his previous world countless times too. 

But this was Azula, not some incompetent commander, she knew what she was doing, and came here early for a reason. To put the fear of God in these people and have them surrender by themselves. 

Sokka didn't say anything about it, and continued listening for the rest of the meeting, not even uttering a word to anyone. But his stare seemed to unnerve a lot of people, he seemed angrier than anyone in here. "My suggestion is that we attack them, a sneak attack during the full moon, with darkness as our cloak of invisibility. The attack doesn't have to be big, just enough to startle the enemy at least."

The elders seemed to think, and they agreed. Though they didn't like Sokka, and most of them made it pretty clear during the meeting, the old men could see this sneak attack as a way to regain honor. 

Sokka's influence was quite high, and if they didn't take any action during, the people who had seen his actions while the other ruling body was trapped under the tower. He was a Hero, the dangerous kind of Hero with a lot of influence, who wouldn't listen to what the higher-ups told him to do. 

"I volunteer to be the one to go and lead the attack," Sokka raised his hand. He seemed to have calmed down, but everyone in the room assumed that he was still angry.

This sneak attack mission was an easy one, as an 'attack' could mean a lot of things. Not necessarily the dangerous kind of attack. Sokka's offer to volunteer himself had opened a dam, and one by one, all of the elders raised their hands, offering themselves too, most planning to just make a small detour and come back.

"We agree too, though the plan will have to be changed. We can't leave such a thing to a young and inexperienced man like him."

"Yes, yes, sometimes the bravery of youth can get in the way."

Though their words sounded like compliments, they were backhanded insults calling him a reckless brat. 

Sokka only closed his eyes for a second, and opened them, they were emotionless, showing nothing of what he might be thinking.

Everyone focused on the Chieftain, waiting for his decision, as he was the one who had the final call. 

Arnook had a contemplative look on his face as he glanced at the old faces on the table, he had known these men for so long and even grew up with some of them. But still, it made him wonder what would happen if he went against their wishes. Would they revolt? That was the last thing he needed in the middle of a war, to have a Civil War. 

If he had his pick on who to lead the mission, it would be either Sokka or Pakku, they were the most competent people. But if they went out there, these unsatisfied elders might decide to revolt.

"I…" Arnook paused, not knowing what to say. It felt like only wrong choices were presented to him, as no matter what he did, it would have a bad ending. This made the Chieftain feel like he was about to throw up, and cold sweat prickled his skin as he tried to act calm. His daughter came to mind amidst all this, since the incident Yue hadn't eaten anything or even gotten out of bed. Though she wasn't hurt physically, Yue's mind on the other hand… "This decision will be postponed until tomorrow. I will think about it tonight."

Sokka was the first one to get up, he didn't bow politely, nor say anything and he just stormed off. Arnook sighed but didn't say anything to the young man. 

"Tch, what a disrespectful brat!"

"In the end, he didn't even say anything."

"What did you expect from a southern brat?"

As soon as Sokka had walked out of the meeting, some of the Elders started talking bad about him, behind his back.

********

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