Gan walked in, throwing his helmet to the ground and crashing onto his cot, lifting his leg into it in a maneuver that had become the norm with him. At least we had cots now and not just sleeping rolls. Guess those were the only perks that came with promotion now that we weren't even officially promoted in the eyes of the 5th Corps. Didn't matter anyway. Was probably for the best too. It would mean we'd see less action.
"We're leading the Van during the siege." I heard Gan say on his cot.
"Wha-What?"
"When the battle for the wall comes, Zahckrael's putting us in the Van. We're leading it. By over a half mile's head start."
"You're fucking with me. What did you say to him?!"
"I told him to fuck himself."
"You what?! Are you trying to get us killed?"
Gan walked in at that moment, chewing on what was likely a part of his dinner that only he had decided to partake in. The food was getting worse here anyway and I wasn't hungry, so I rarely partook anymore. Lunch was generally all I ate anymore, and it wasn't much at that. "Somebody trying to get us killed?" he asked, completely oblivious as to just how fucked we were.
"We're leading the Van during the assault on the city." I said, before Gan could.
Gi Gu chuckled, saying "That's funny. Goodnight, guys."
"Zahckrael assigned us to the Van." Gan verified. "And we're leading it."
Gan swallowed whatever he was eating, not yet fully comprehending the situation we were in. "In the van? Leading it?"
"Yep."
"Why, might I ask?"
"I may have told the CO to fuck himself."
"You what?! Are you trying to get us killed?"
"That's exactly what I said." I commented. "Fucked minds think alike."
"What the hell are you doing? Why?" Gi Gu asked again.
"Because I was tired of his bullshit and I know you were too."
"Well, yeah, no shit we're tired of it, but you don't tell the CO to fuck himself!"
"It felt like a natural response to me."
"Is this funny to you?"
"Gu, nothing's funny to me anymore. I've killed more men than I can count without seeing their faces blend together and I'm tired of it. Figured I'd make it quick for myself."
"Except its not just yourself, dumbass. Guess who's in that tank with you!"
"Gan's kinda got a point." I responded, considering the events that had unfolded in the last month."
"You're taking his side?"
"Yeah. So what if he just got us killed? I'm just pissed that I wasn't with Gan to see the CO's face. Was it good, Gan?"
"Pretty good."
"There you go."
"I don't know about you." Started Gi Gu. "But I don't necessarily want to die with you assholes in that crammed tank when it comes to it. Know what I'm saying?"
"Then don't come." Suggested Gan
"What?"
"It's a tank. Who'll know you aren't in it? Look. I didn't go in there planning to get you idiots involved in this, but it just so turned out that way. Zahckrael wants us dead. That much is obvious and he's not going to stop. If we live on the climb, and through the assault, do you think he'll stop with us? He already threatened to have me executed. The first moment he finds in that battle, assuming we survive the climb, he'll have us killed by our own men. There's no surviving anymore."
"That's a dim view." I said.
"I thought you were with his side, Luke." Said Gi Gu, obviously annoyed by the speech Gan had just made.
"I'm on his side in that I understand his outburst, but that doesn't mean we have to die."
"Luke." Started Gan. "It's over for us. We're dead men walking. We'll be dead by month's end whether be it on those walls, past them, or in front of a firing squad. We're dead men. It can be avoided though."
"Really?!" exclaimed Gan, with a not-so-subtle hint of sarcasm. "How do we do this exactly?"
"We leave. Or at least you two do. I'm going up that wall but you two don't have to."
"Defect?" asked Gi Gu. "Are you insane? Go where? The Earth Kingdom. We'll be paste on the floor before we even get the chance to knock on their big ass wall and ask for a handout and I don't plan on swimming to the North Pole."
"Earth Kingdom's a big place. You two will be fine."
"No." this time, it was me that spoke. And I certainly had their attention. I was tired of this. Not of the war anymore. I was tired of this kind of talk. Giving up. We don't do that here.
"I don't care what you two do, but I'm not leaving. If you want to be traitors, go for it, but I'm staying."
"They'll kill us, Luke." Said Gan. "Don't do this."
"There's no discussing this. Rest your leg. Gu, if you're going to leave, get it over with and don't come back or I'll deal with you how a soldier should deal with deserters."
"I'm not leaving either."
"Good. Then get some sleep. Tomorrow, we start getting ready for the assault."
I turned off the light, still heated. Desertion? What are they thinking? We chose to fight here, and they'd just leave? After all we've already done? Is that how man is supposed to act? T betray everything they've been fighting for, they've been killing for at the first sign of struggle?
I closed my eyes but sleep never came. Not when the Earth was still, and not when it began to shake. I opened my eyes and saw it. The subtlest hint of it. Dust filling the room. Rocks shaking on the ground. The smallest of earthquakes, no, not earthquakes. We've seen too many ambushes to make that mistake again. "Ambush"
That woke them up, or at least got them to head start before the battle broke out. By the time the yelling outside started, I already had my boots on and had grabbed my helmet. I opened the tent flap and ran outside to see the situation. And it wasn't good. Tents were afire, mounts were stampeding, the camp was in chaos. I saw the soldiers running. Running south. Into the slight wood cover they could find. I guess all ambushers think alike. I thought to myself with a smile, remembering what Danev had told me of his own similar maneuver.
By the time I had it figured out, I was joined by Gan and Gi Gu who had barely assembled armor on them and were sloppily holding their weapons. It would do. The ambushers wouldn't expect resistance from us, but we, no, I knew their plan and we were going to be their when they tried.
"The soldiers are going south!" Gi Gu said. "Let's join them!" I put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.
"Yes. That's where the distraction is, but not where the target is."
"What do you mean?"
"The Earth Kingdom could've done this week ago, but now, the siege is about to begin, we have our artillery in place, and they've become desperate."
"So?" asked Gan.
"Gan." I said. "You're leg's busted. Grab your bow and stay in the tent. Gu, you're with me. I want to check out the artillery?"
"The artillery?"
"Trust me. Gan, you heard me?"
He nodded, seemingly annoyed with me being the one giving him orders, but he submitted, saying "I'll stay in the tent."
I nodded at him, and then to Gi Gu and we set off. The artillery was to the East, at the rear of the camp, protected by a series of trenches and sentried, but the Earth Kingdom skirmishers, assuming they had done their job properly, would have lured them elsewhere. The Earth Kingdom, more likely than not, was here to destroy our artillery and cripple this flank to focus on Iroh when he made his attack. That wouldn't happen.
We made our way up the hill atop which the artillery was positioned and saw them. The Earth Kingdom ambushers, barrels of blasting jelly in tow, with likely un-patriotic intent. The closest soldiers had come out from the forest cover and we no less than 200 feet away. It'd be a close one, but a good way to get the jump on them. I chose the target, carried between two soldiers and fired.
The wood of the barrel was lit aflame and it took the soldiers a second to realize the danger they were in. A second too long. The barrel exploded, lighting the radius in a brilliant light and fire swept over the grass and chunks of burning wood flew in the air. Then, Gi Gu and I made our attack.
We came upon the disorganized soldier, or at least what was left of them.
It was over as soon as it began and in the blink of an eye. The soldiers were dead. I didn't even remember killing them. I just saw the bodies afterwards, sprawled across the field, and Gi Gu clutching his arm.
I walked up to him and motioned for him to show me the wound. He was fine. Just some bleeding. He'd put on a bandage and sleep it off.
The camp was silent. The attackers were dead, and the distraction would be routed soon enough. I didn't intend on staying by my handiwork. I sheathed my own blade, grabbed Gi Gu, and left, going back through the camp to our own tent.
The look on my face alone after I took off my helmet must've been enough to get Gan to lower his crossbow which he had had pointed at the entrance. I went over to the wash bucket and wiped the blood off of my face that had somewhere made its way through the gaps in my helmet and I took off the armor, ready to finally get some sleep.
I sat down on my cot, and saw the two of them, just, staring at me. They looked like they had a million things to say, but they would say none of it. I would.
"We're not defecting. Not me, not you, or you. We joined this army. Maybe not out of patriotism or a love for our nation, but we signed up for this and we're going through with it. We'll climb that wall. We'll kill every last Earth Kingdom soldier in our way and we won't be stopped. We'll get over that wall and we'll keep on killing until there's no doubting our intentions. I doubt Zahckrael will ever look on us with kind eyes, but he won't have to. Our actions will speak for us. We're going to scale that wall and we're going to be the soldiers we've been for the last month. We're fighters. And there's no stopping us. So no more talk about deserting. We're going to fight when the time comes and we're going to win. We've stuck together for the last few months now. We're a team and we don't part until we're all dead. We're in this war now and after the things we've done, nobody will accept us. Not the Earth Kingdom, not the Water Tribe, not even the Air Nomads if we were still alive. The people back in the capital may even look at us like we're monsters for the things we've done. Just look at us. I don't even remember killing a single soldier out there just a few minutes ago. I practically slept right through it. We're not normal people. Not anymore, but we'll fight, and we'll win."
I didn't wait for a response. I killed the flame lighting the tent without so much as looking at it and got some sleep, finally.
And of course, the next morning began as Zahckrael had promise it would. We woke to the sounds of catapults, trebuchets, scorpions, ballistas, and cannons firing and knew, that finally, after months of waiting, the Assault on Ba Sing Se, had begun.