I never really made a habit of speaking to people in armored divisions, Luke being the exception of course, but I've come to find that on an organizational standpoint, we're pretty much polar opposites. The infantry, that I find myself being an active member of, is meant to be a slow, but immovable force. We move forward foot by foot, and don't allow ourselves to be pushed back. The armored, well, they're the immovable force meant to destroy people like us, trampling over barricades, trenches, fortifications, everything. We're lucky they're on our side and not the enemy's.
I'm not familiar to the politics of the Fire Nation, nor do I wish to become so, so I'm not certain if it's qualified as treasonous to say so, but if the Fire nation didn't have the advantage of technological might, we'd be screwed. We'd have lost this war years, if not decades ago. What the Earth Kingdom lacks in technology and organization, they make up for in pure determination and stubbornness, which, I guess, is the essential trait of the Earth Kingdom. The Fire Nation is powered by fanatic zeal and undying loyalty, yes, but what we lack in spirit, the Earth Kingdom makes up for in full.
Maybe it's the fact that they're fighting on their own soil, bleeding for every inch of land that, in all fairness, is theirs. These aren't the words that one speaks before defecting, because look, I'm not a defector. I'm just looing at the reality of this war. I've chosen my side. I chose the Fire Nation. I'm the one that made the first deal between the Hornets and the Fire Nation. I chose my allegiance years ago, even if they were allegiances made out of desperation and lack of any other real options, but that's what survival is about. And here I am, still surviving, but with thousands more at my side, with the exact same goals as me. To survive.
But all the same, the armored, I tried to avoid them in mass, but here I was, walking through their camp because I happened to know one particular new addition to it. Damn. Maybe I should've just gotten him a position in infantry. Could've had him be a driver or some shit, I don't know. Anything to avoid this.
If I hadn't made it clear enough, the armored didn't exactly like the infantry too much either. I've overheard them once or twice and could hear the same things now. I was by no means a ranking officer, but I was a commander in the slightest sense now, a staff sergeant. There were men under me, which, in the eyes of others, made me a part of the problem. The armored saw the infantry as slow, lazy, and far too defensive. Which, I suppose, compared to the lightning fast attacks of the armored, was a valid complaint, but it all was relative
I found my may to the camp of the squad where Luke had been assigned and was met with a young man by the front whose features or name I didn't bother to remember when we spoke, and I asked, "Where's the newbie?" and he pointed to the tent behind him.
So I nodded to him, walked to said tent, opening the flaps to find him unpacking his gear, laying out his armor nicely alongside his weapons in a spot he already had claimed as his own. He didn't seem to notice me until I spoke, motioning him to jump at the voice of the intruder, spinning around to see me as I asked, "All settled in?"
"In the 30 minutes I've been here? Not quite. You're early."
"Figured we'd get a head start. Arm feeling good?"
"If you mean the broken one, then it's not really feeling much, but I'll be fine. Let's go."
So we got up to leave and as we left the camp, he made no moves to tell anyone where he was going or to say any goodbyes which maybe it was just me expecting too much comraderies for a 12-year-old. "What?" I asked, more mocking than not. "Not gonna say goodbye to any of your new friends?"
"No friends to say goodbye to. It's just temporary. I just need to get back out there."
"Yeah. That may take longer than you hope."
"Lu Ten's back? He say anything?"
"No. And thank Raava."
"Why's that?"
"Still haven't found a way into the city, past those damn walls."
"We're not going to brute force it again?"
"Not enough manpower. We got Lu Ten's report 2 weeks ago and Chan's fleet is in position, but after the 5th fucked everything up, we don't have enough men to take those walls the good ol' way. Lu Ten wants me to try and find a way to take those walls some other way."
"Some other way? Like what?"
"That's the problem. I have no fucking idea and he's back by this evening and I won't have shit to tell him."
We were now at the normal spot where Luke and I would spar, so I took the swords out of my sheathes, and threw one to Luke which he managed to catch cleanly by the hilt with his offhand, which, little by little, was becoming less "off".
So we began training, starting slowly to allow him to adjust, slowly picking up the pace and testing his resolve and reactions, becoming, gradually, in the time we've been training, less and less disappointed. When his right arm did eventually recover, he'd come out of this, at the very least, that much more capable a fighter, capable of fighting with even his offhand if it came down to that.
So while we fought, taking care to find a balance between making things too easy for him, and kicking his ass to a point he was learning nothing except to hate me more than he already did, he continued to ask questions regarding this "special assignment" of mine.
"So he chose you for this?"
"The hell's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. I'm just surprised he trusts you so much. You're closer than I thought."
"I'm a likeable guy. Trustworthy too. Just not sure if this is exactly what I was hoping to gain out of this trust."
"Aww. Danev doesn't want to disappoint his new best friend."
For that, I swung my sword at his legs, particularly fast, evading his ill-timed block, knocking him off his feet, and promptly helping him up as he grunted, muttering "Yeah. I deserved that."
"Oh yeah. You really did."
"Look. You're worrying too much. What is it he asked from you? To find some grandiose way to blow up that wall without attracting attention. He's just fucking with you."
"Not to blow it up, dumbass. He just wants me to find some way to get inside the walls. He'll take care of the rest, but shit, I mean. How would I even go about getting inside? It's the most secure city in the world. It's not like they just have a secret tunnel going to the city."
So as I got a new grip on my blade to strike at Luke, I had to hold it back for a second when I realized that he was just standing there. I considered going through with it and hitting him across the face to remind him we were training, but something about his look said he was thinking. Thinking about something I didn't want to interrupt him from. I lowered my blade, then he spoke.
"You said you just need a way of getting inside?"
"Yeah. What? Did you suddenly remember some magic tunnel that goes underneath the city that we can easily get to?"
He paused for a second, realizing I had just struck a nerve, until he said "Yes. Exactly that."