Chapitre 18: A New Voyage Part 1
It is a moderately sunny day, but some clouds flow through the sky. Dozens of citizens cheer as the Prompt Adjudicator (PA) leaves the harbor. Eyre watches in the distance with Yosari on his right and Zyger on his left. Umma is left of Zyger. They watch in the distance from the balcony of a building on the beach.
A few feet from them is Ozai, who personally watches Macai's departure. Eyre: "The boy has a bright future."
Ozai: "We'll see, Eyre. We'll see, but his skills seem promising." Ozai turns his head and smirks.
As the PA moves across the rough waters, the crew starts getting accustomed to their new ship. Dade and Kanna visit their friend Kett at his new office. Kett is sitting at his desk which is a large light brown desk. Kanna is standing in the middle of the room and Dade is leaning on the left wall. The walls of the room are light grey, the ceiling is dark blue, and the floor is light grey.
Dade: "How does it feel to be a first lieutenant?"
Kett: "Honestly, it's a bit stressful. I can only imagine how Macai feels. You all can tell people what to do, but don't get the kind of pressure that I do. I am constantly planning things. Macai has meetings with his top officers. Which includes me, Aiya, and Hazo. As well as a couple of other people who are first lieutenants."
Dade: "Pros and cons to everything I suppose. But the standard and older members are more likely to buck at us. I ordered my troops to carry out a drill and one of them was murmuring under his breath."
Kanna: "I think I had two soldiers who were slacking off recently."
Kett: "I've had some issues but, I think they listen to me a little more. I am responsible."
Kanna: "I guess you're a little older than us. So they tolerate you a bit more."
Kett: "When we get to see some action, that can either make or break our relationship with them."
Dade: "Yes and no. One victory alone won't earn their trust. Especially not if it's an average mission. On the other hand, we could bounce back from an early defeat but it would take some time."
Kett: "Well, let's do everything we can to avoid a defeat. Macai has a lot riding on this."
Dade: "I still feel like a defeat could be swept to the side this early in his career. It hurts more to work your way up and get a big opportunity then mess up."
Kanna: "Like Iroh?"
Kett:" Yep."
Dade: "Sad story with Iroh though. That would be difficult to deal with."
Kanna nods her head, "I agree. I heard he's really nice and wise."
Kett: "I wonder if Macai will do whatever it takes to win."
Dade: "I'm not sure. I think he will. That would be a question to ask Rosh since he knew him for so long."
Kanna: "I'm glad I'm not the one who has to make those kinds of decisions. That would be tough for me."
Dade: "Same."
Kett: "You never know. We all may have big decisions and have to make hard decisions like that one day."
Kanna; "Possibly, but I don't know if I'd ever want to be a commander or admiral."
Kett: "What about a captain?"
Kanna shakes her head, "I don't know. Maybe, no time soon though."
Meanwhile, Macai is planning with Hazo and Aiya in the briefing room. It has light brown walls, a dark red ceiling, and a dark grey marble floor. Hazo is standing in the center of the room while Macai is sitting in a seat on the right side of the room and Aiya is sitting on the left side with a cup of tea.
Hazo: "Our next target is a newly discovered Island. One that is not present on our maps but has always existed. It seems the Earth Kingdom has used it for years, but they found ways to navigate their naval routes to avoid its detection. They call this Island, Feltfort. It's named after Felfort station."
Aiya: "What is Felfort Station?"
Hazo: "Felfort Station is an Earth Kingdom fuel depot. Where enemies transport supplies to at least two different Earth Kingdom bases in the area. It is located on Felfort Island, which is an important strategic location. Some of our spies recently located the Island. Taking it down could make our military operations in the Wazani region more successful which could be vital to gaining momentum as we move to crush the Earth Kingdom by the end of this century."
Macai nods his head, "Since it's a new location, we won't know much about its defenses."
Hazo: "That is largely true but, our spies managed to give us a general idea of their defenses. They have ships that often travel through the area to pick up supplies, but we don't expect them to have any ships in their port this weekend which is when we will attack. The station has some stationary catapults located on the Island which will be a minor threat to the ship. That means you will have naval support to cover you as you hit the harbor."
Macai: "Is that it?"
Hazo: "Not completely, Commander Kenshin wants you to keep the facility intact and take their leader Captain Onazi captive. He will likely have some important information regarding two of the key Earth Kingdom bases that it supplies and on enemy plans. We also believe it is a listening post, so it would be preferable if we attack them quickly when their guard is down, and they are not likely to call for help."
Macai: "We should attack at night when they are off-guard. They won't expect it because we are strongest during daytime and many Fire Nation leaders don't try these tactics."
Hazo: "Do you think your team is ready for such a mission?"
Macai: "I trained my unit in drills during nighttime. People complained, but they will see why it's useful in due time."
Hazo: "Remember to limit how much bombardment your ships put on the harbor. You do not want to reduce everything to rubble because they may have some useful information and things for us to salvage. Here is a map that will help you visualize the island."
Hazo shows Macai a map of the Island and puts his finger on the map, "We will move in here on the West flank of the Island where its defenses seem to be the weakest. The harbor is located on the Southern side of the Island. It is not a large Island, so it won't take a lot of time to close the distance and engage the local defense forces."
Macai: "I will have the Prompt Adjudicator bombard them from the distance and take out key targets. While my forces move in, I will send three squads in during the mission. Our teams will punch a hole through the enemies and capture the captain."
Hazo: "Great, now tell your crew and infantry unit."
Macai meets with the naval crew in the Assembly Room. There are hundreds of crew members in the room of various ages from fifteen to fifty. The walls are dark red, the ceiling is dark grey, and the floor is white in the room. Cosal and Ronin stand beside Macai while he is on a stage at the back of the room. Cosal and Ronin are wearing their masks and serve as Macai's guards during his speeches.
Macai: "Our time has come, to finally see some action. Whether or not you like me as an officer, remember that how our unit performs is a reflection of yourself. It determines how well your family lives at home. Remember that."
Macai continues, "We practiced the drills over and over again. You know how to fire your guns and you know what to do in emergency situations. We practiced using the fire torpedoes on the side of the ship and launching the catapults. My standards may be different, but we had above-average accurate ratings in our catapult training." One of the male crew members yawns.
Macai pumps his right fist, "But this mission is still dangerous. Our enemies have catapults and guns that can harm our crew members. It can kill you. I don't know about you all, but I'm not going without a fight! We are the toughest, smartest, and most powerful nation in this world. So, when you get out there, I want you to show them what we are made of and more importantly show them that WE are the 31st Company!" The crewmen and women cheer.
Macai meets with twenty-five of his marines in the battle briefing room. The room has bright red walls, a light grey floor, and a dark red ceiling. Macai: "I called you all here because you are my best marines with the best stats. We will split into three teams. My team will take point and move down the center position. Each team will consist of eight marines. Kanna, you will lead the right team and Dade, you'll be on the left team."
Macai continues, "Asad will lead the left team, due to his experience. However, Dade will be second in command. Gamal will be second-in-command of Kanna's team since he is a first class private who earned his title with experience."
Kett: "What about me?"
Macai: "You will command this ship and bombard the enemies from afar. But you won't be leading alone, you will be working closely with Aiya and Hazo can give you both advice if necessary."
Kett: "But the final word is mine?"
Macai: "No, it's Aiya's. Since she is more experienced."
Kett: "Fine."
Macai looks at Cosal and Ronin, "You both like to stand with me as guards. So you both will be in my personal squad. Each squad will have one archer, three benders, and four warriors. That will keep them fairly balanced. Remember to move quickly, silently, and smoothly. Code purple."
Macai made a list of color codes to describe the actions of the squad. Code purple means the marines must use more recon tactics and they practice different drills for each code. Macai looks at his archer, a girl named Sonna. She has medium-length dark brown hair, round brown eyes, light skin, medium lips, and thin eyebrows.
Macai: "You impressed me during the practice drills." Macai has a brief flashback. Macai is standing in the beachhead during a drill. There are several archers firing arrows at their targets and Sonna is in the middle of them. The targets are thirty meters away from the archers.
Macai: "Ready, fire!" The archers open fire and most of the arrows only manage to hit the edge of their targets. Whereas Sonna immediately nails her target at its center. Macai's eyes widen and his mouth extends, "Try it again. Reload!" The archers pound another arrow.
Macai: "Fire!" This time most of the archers land closer toward the target but are still a decent distance from the center. However, Sonna hits the center of her target a second time. Macai singles out Sonna, "You are a great archer! How did you learn how to shoot like that?"
Sonna: "I'm a country girl. I started off squirrel hunting. I'm from the ancient South-Western Fire Nation village Ullon. I learned to shoot them from afar. I could do it in point-blank range as well as twenty or thirty meters away. Our region also has many hills, so I learned how to fire on them from different levels of elevation. I also hunted local leopards and deer."
Macai: "If you could hit small squirrels, then it's no wonder you are such a natural."
Sonna: "My father taught me how to hunt when I was a little girl. I started firing arrows when I was just eight. He had me shoot apples out of trees, but back then I struggled to muster the strength to fire them."
Macai: "I can relate. My father trained me when I was just six." Sonna smiles. Macai: "As you were archer." Macai's flashback ends and he nods his head at Sonna.
Macai: "You did well on the drills, but now it's time to put those skills to fruition. It's one thing to fire at animals and stationary targets. But they don't shoot back. I hope you're ready and remember to stay calm while stressed. Sonna: "Well you did prep us for that. Remember what you did last time?"
Sonna has a flashback. Sonna and two other archers are firing at targets from a hill in a nearby military range. The grass is light green and the sky is light blue with no clouds. Macai: "Looks like you all have been improving, keep firing." As Sonna prepares to aim, she hears a loud sound, and her aim is thrown off. Her concentration is broken and she fires her arrow 10 meters in the other direction. The other archers are also taken aback and one of them stumbles.
Sonna turns around and notices two Fire Nation marines blowing trumpets. Macai smiles, "You must learn how to operate with distractions." Macai lifts his arm to get the trumpet players to stop. Macai: "Try again." Sonna and the other archers aim again. Macai lifts his hand and the trumpet players blow again.
The archers fire and Sonna nails her target. Macai smiles then turns and walks away. Sonna's flashback ends and she smirks.
Macai: "Oh, yes, I did. I learned a lot of useful things in the Capital academy and from my father. But it will be useful to see how much my crazy drills actually help in battle. We will see soon enough."
Night Run
The sky is dark blue, and the sun has set. The waters are dark, and two Earth Kingdom troopers walk in their light green and tan armor. The Earth Kingdom soldiers wear flat green helmets that don't cover their faces. Unlike Fire Nation helmets, they are only made for protection, rather than to instill fear.
One Earth Kingdom trooper has tan skin and is in his mid-forties. The other has pale skin and is in his early twenties. The older soldier is on the right side and the younger one is on his left. The tan soldier has a lantern to help him navigate the dark terrain."
Older trooper: "I just bought another vase for my wife. I think she really liked it."
Younger trooper: "That's nice. Women like decorations, especially once they hit thirty. Or so I hear."
Older trooper: "Do you have a wife?"
Younger trooper: "Nope."
Older trooper: "Well, you still have time. No rush."
Younger trooper: "Don't you have a son as well?"
Older trooper (smiles): "Yeah, he's seven. When I get back home, I'm going to give him one of my military magnets. It's dark green with gold stripes and I think he'll really like it."
Younger trooper: "It'll at least give him something to think about and a reason to remember you." The older trooper hears a faint distant noise and turns around.
Older trooper: "Wait!" The older trooper slowly walks forward and uses his lantern to scan the area.
Younger trooper: "Do you see something?!"
Older trooper: "No, must have been a small animal. Come on." The troopers proceed and walk through a pathway toward a nearby friendly position.
There are another four Earth Kingdom troopers in visual sight about fifteen feet from their position. Two of them are sitting and the other two are standing. The position is near a bronze bell that can be rung to alert the rest of the camp of any incoming enemies. There is also an archer tower about fifteen feet west of their position that stands about twenty feet in the air. Of course, it has an Earth Kingdom archer in it.
As the two troopers move closer toward their allies, a fire nation soldier sprints behind them. Both of the troopers quickly turn around and the Fire Nation soldier throws a knife in the younger soldier's stomach. Younger Trooper: "Gah!" The Older Trooper gets in his battle stance, but another Fire Nation soldier sprints behind him and snaps his neck.
The Earth Kingdom archer turns around to monitor the area and an arrow flies directly into his back. The archer falls backward and collapses in his tower. The remaining four guards don't notice any of it. Sonna moves forward and fires an arrow into the chest of the standing guard on the left. Then she fires a second arrow through the nose of one of the sitting Earth Kingdom troopers.
The other standing Earth Kingdom Soldier shouts, "Ring the bell!" A Fire Nation bender leaps in front of them and fires two flames into the soldiers. Another Fire Bender moves in behind him with gold markings on his armor, "Well, done Ronin. Kett and Kanna should be taking down two other listening posts as we speak. Which means that we can hit their main facility soon."
Another soldier with a sword moves behind Macai, "What about our naval support?"
Macai: "I've given Kett a specific timeline to strike. We have about fifteen minutes to soften up their forces, then the main base and facility will be bombarded. After that, we need to make haste and crumble their forces."
Ronin: "What if Kanna or Asad's team messes up?"
Macai: "Then we'll know because bells will go off. Which will cause our enemies to mobilize. If that happens, then Kett can send backup, but it would take a while and we would have to fight a lot of them off. For now, let's stick to our current plan. I have faith in them."
Meanwhile, the Earth Kingdom Captain Onazi is in his command room with his first lieutenant Dongo. Onazi has light brown wavy hair, thin eyebrows, tan skin, big ears, and deep green eyes. Lieutenant Dongo has black hair, brown eyes, pale skin, and small ears. Lieutenant Dongo also wears glasses.
Lieutenant Dongo: "One of our units went dark. They were supposed to report to us thirty minutes ago."
Captain Onazi: "This is why you woke me up?! They probably just forgot to report."
Lieutenant Dongo: "Are you sure you don't want to sweep the area and find out if that's certain?"
Captain Onazi: "You know many of our men are overworked. Normally I would say give them a break but, because we have gotten more heat recently from the Fire Nation, I'll allow it. Have a sweep and alert several of our forces. But we probably don't need to alert the entire facility just yet, so send a couple of squads to scout it out."
Lieutenant Dongo: "Got it. Anything else?"
Captain Onazi: "Have the catapults on standby as always."
Macai talks with his squad, "Looks like we cleared their exterior outer forces. Kanna and Asad should be finished around now. Kett's team will attack soon.
Meanwhile, Kanna and her team are standing outside of an Earth Kingdom patrol area. She has Gamal on her left side and another warrior named Basin. Basin has black wavy hair, thin eyebrows, a long nose, yellow skin, and dark brown eyes. He also has a long sword. There is also an archer with a ponytail named Kedo.
Kedo has a light-brown ponytail, light skin, hazel eyes, and two daggers strapped on his belt. There are several Earth Kingdom trooper corpses scattered throughout the area. One of the Earth Kingdom corpses has an arrow inside of his right arm, that was fired to keep him from pulling the alarm. Gamal asks Kanna, "So, we just hold out until the Prompt Adjudicator bombards the main depot. Which is only about twenty meters from our position."
Kanna responds, "Not exactly, Macai wants to leave the depot intact so the Fire Nation can claim it. However, their leader and several of their forces are located about 10 meters from our position and the depot. That position will get hit the ship first then it will pick off the defense catapults which are within the depot. But only a few shots will be fired to take those out and not destroy the area. Macai practiced precision shots a lot so hopefully, it'll pay off."
Kedo: "Looks, like we've got company."
Kanna looks ahead and notices a squad of eight Earth Kingdom troopers moving in from the right flank. A fire nation soldier on the left flank shouts, "We've got another squad moving up on the left flank!"
Kanna: "Get into your defensive positions! Kedo, take point on the left flank and Gammal help him. I'll focus on the right. Get ready guys." Kedo immediately moves behind the soldiers on the left flank. Kedo is unique because he is a weak fire bender and a gifted archer. Most benders are not good swordsmen or archers. This makes him stand out as a warrior.
The sergeant of the unit charges ahead. Earth Kingdom sergeant: "Charge!" Kedo ignites his arrow and fires it into the face of the sergeant in the center of the left flank. The unit is paralyzed with fear as they notice his scorched face. They briefly pause and a second arrow is fired in the neck of another soldier.
Earth Kingdom corporal: "What are you waiting for, charge!" Kedo launches an inflamed arrow into the corporal's stomach. Corporal: "Nooo!" The corporal gallops ahead as the flames engulf him. One of the Earth Kingdom troopers charges with a sword and horizontally lunges forward a Fire Nation soldier with a right swing.
The soldier pivots his blade and blocks the strike. Then the soldier remembers a drill he learned with Macai and swiftly breaks the sword lock. Then the Fire Nation soldier raises his blade and swings horizontally through the trooper's neck. Earth Kingdom trooper: "Gack!" The Earth Kingdom trooper falls backward with blood rolling out of his neck.
Another Fire Nation soldier on the left flank charges and thrusts her spear through the stomach of an Earth Kingdom swordsman then he pivots as a second Earth Kingdom trooper with a sword moves toward him. The soldier pivots and thrusts her spear through the soldier's neck. She swiftly rips it out and his body falls like a sack of potatoes.
An earthbender leaps forward and launches a log into her chest. The female Fire Nation soldier flies three feet backward unconscious. Kedo fires a sweltering arrow at the bender and he swiftly lifts his arms. A large wall of stone stops the arrow then the bender shifts his right arm forward and launches the stone wall into Kedo.
Kedo falls back two feet unconscious. Gammal dives two feet right of the bender's position. Gammal glides his hands and fires a swirl of fire at the earthbender. The bender leaps in the air and shucks a massive rock at Gammal. Gammal sprints and dives right.
Gammal slides in the mud and narrowly evades the rock. The earthbender strives to finish Gammal but one of the Fire Nation soldiers rushes and throws his sword through the bender's chest. Earthbender: "Ahhhh!" Gammal gasps at the horrendous sight of a real battlefield.
On the right flank, a firebender fires a flame into the chest of an incoming Earth Kingdom swordsman. A Fire Nation soldier swings diagonally and cuts down an Earth Kingdom soldier. An earthbender takes aim at the Fire Nation swordsman, but Kanna intervenes and rapidly fires a dark orange flame into his chest.
The bender flies two feet backward and rolls in the dirt. Two earth swordsmen charge forward and Kanna shifts her hands from right to left as she rapidly shoots them down. A third Earth Kingdom warrior with a spear charges on her right flank and Kanna rotates her body and shifts both of her hands forward. A dark orange torpedo of fire hits the bender's chest and sends him flying seven feet backward into a tree.
The impact is so brutal, that the tree cracks and collapses. Another Earth Kingdom warrior with a morning star (spiked metal ball) club lunges at Kanna's face with a diagonal sweeping strike. Kanna ducks and dashes right of the attack. Then she raises her left leg and roundhouse kicks the warrior on his jaw. A loud snap is heard, and the trooper falls hard.
One final earthbender pounces toward Kanna and launches a stream of earth fragments at her. Kanna sways her hands and pushes a stream of dark orange flames into the fragments. The bender raises his arms and lifts two walls around Kanna then slams his hands together and the walls rapidly fly toward Kanna.
Kanna leaps past the attack then the earthbender swirls his arms together and uses the earth to wrap substances around Kanna's feet. Kanna takes a deep breath and inflames her feet, quickly burning away the substances that bounded her. The earthbender's eyes widen then he shifts his arms in the air.
The bender rapidly chucks a stone at Kanna. Kanna takes off and sprints past the stone. The bender shifts his hands forward and elevates himself ten feet in the air. He is now standing on a column of stone. Then he presses his hands backward and moves the stone ten feet away from Kanna. Kanna looks up at him and sprints forward.
The earthbender shifts his right hand and launches another large rock at Kanna. Kanna leaps right and evades the attack. The bender launches another rock at her and Kanna dives left. Then Kanna sprints under the column and immediately hurls a large orange flame through the center of the column.
The bender leaps off the collapsing column and lands a few feet away from her. Kanna sprints toward him and the bender rotates his body then rotates his hands. Several wooden fragments fly toward Kanna, and she leaps right. Kanna launches a rectangle of dark orange fire at the earthbender. The bender raises hands again to shield himself with a triangular barrier of stone, but Kanna's flames rapidly hit the wall and knock the earthbender four feet back.
The earthbender rolls until he catches himself then Kanna leaps just two feet away from him. The bender rapidly gets up and shoots two stones at Kanna. Kanna crouches and rolls toward the bender before quickly leaping back on her feet. The bender extends his right hand and instantly creates a stone hammer with the elements around him.
The man sprints and horizontally swipes at Kanna's head with his hammer. Kanna ducks and pivots behind the man. The man then presses on and vertically swings at the center of her body. Kanna weaves right then presses both of her hands forward and fires a brick of dark orange fire into his chest. The bender flies three feet back into a tree and is knocked unconscious.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone