Capítulo 67: Chapter 67
In the Fire Lord's throne room, a pensive silence kept the bowed audience from moving. General Tachi had his eyes bowed, though he glanced sideways to his peers beside him. Admiral Gao Ning, Admiral Daeyang and Colonel Hwa were similarly abased before the throne as they finally got the chance to report personally to the Fire Lord.
Beyond them, the Fire Lord's inner council were there as well, though standing in the sidelines with thoughtful looks. Prince Iroh stood closest to the throne, as his title allowed him to, and like the others he awaited the Fire Lord's answer.
Not masked by the curtain of flames, Fire Lord Ozai's words were clearly heard by Tachi. "This is…disturbing to say the least. Perhaps we were too generous in accepting Zhao's bold claims."
"Bold and deceitful," High General Bujing amended, making sure to highlight the crime. "This sets a bad precedent for us to be wary of…"
Tachi could hear Prince Iroh's sagely nod as he spoke. "Indeed. If people find out what really happened, it might give our enemies the same idea." He paused for dramatic effect. "Imagine if some desperate earthbender thought to kill the sun just to stop firebending!"
"Quite so," the Fire Lord replied slowly, almost reluctantly. "But the fact remains we are left with a humiliating defeat." Tachi winced at that, and judging from the shuffling around him, he wasn't alone. "Morale will suffer across the Fire Nation, and the Earth Kingdom might get ideas. Is there no better way to twist the news and soften its effects?"
Silence returned for a few seconds before High General Wulong dared to answer. "With the rumors already spread by the returning fleet, anything other than the false defeat or the dangerous truth would be hard to accept by the public."
"We sustained significant overt losses in men and materiel in just a short amount of days," General Shinu added bluntly. "If not for Zhao's careless treatment of the fleet, even if the invasion was doomed to failure we could have withdrawn with far more palatable excuses like strained supply lines or enemy ploys."
General Bujing cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, Colonel Xing's fabrication is best suited to at least salvage some honor for the survivors."
The throne room became hotter at the mention of the colonel's name, though the high generals either didn't notice it or they simply dared to continue as due to their position in the inner council.
"We were all fooled by Zhao, and he in turn made a greater fool of himself," General Shinu said with a thoughtful hum, and then sighed. "For better or worse, it would be easy to sell that. My own dealings with the late admiral had been questionable at best."
"And his discourtesy in his duel against Zuko was also well noted," Prince Iroh added, almost happily, Tachi thought.
The Fire Lord gave an audible sigh. "Who sponsored Zhao's promotion?"
Admiral Gao Ning fidgeted beside Tachi, as General Wulong answered. "Several commanders from both the Navy and Army recommended his name. Perhaps their eagerness should have been the first clue that something was amiss. Admiral Gao Ning? What convinced you and your peers to sponsor Zhao?"
"Uh, um… My… Admiral Kwai had presented Zhao's merits to me, and sought my support, F-Fire Lord."
The poor bastard, Tachi thought even as he not so subtly shuffled himself away from Gao Ning.
General Wulong's thoughtful hum felt then like a blade being sharpened. "Indeed, the records seem to state that much. And it also states that you've met with Zhao personally?"
This was a set up. Everyone in the invading fleet had met with Zhao to some degree. He had sought them out to persuade them to his cause, after all. Even Tachi had a few minutes of listening to his pitch. The late admiral might have been deluded, but he knew how to sell his idea to have Tachi raring to join him. It must have been the same for the others.
"Y-Yes, High General. I…I admit my error in not vetting him more thoroughly before approving his sponsorship."
With a swish of robes, Fire Lord Ozai extended an arm towards the stammering admiral. "Admiral Gao Ning. For your part in allowing for Zhao's rise, you are hereby demoted to ensign, effective immediately. Admiral Daeyang, you shall gain command of whatever is left of his fleet."
Credit to the man, Gao Ning only sputtered for a few seconds before his dropped his head to the ground and accepted his fate. "Yes, Fire Lord."
"Get out of my sight. High Generals Bujing and Shinu, see to it that the other commanders responsible also experience a similar fate."
"Assuming they're alive," Prince Iroh muttered boldly as now-Ensign Gao NIng rose to quickly drag himself out of the throne room.
His brother's words became harder with barely restrained wrath. "Even then. A posthumous demotion with all that entails should send a fitting message to any who threatened this throne's reputation."
"As you will, your majesty," the high generals complied.
"And as for Colonel Xing…"
Tachi flinched at the contempt in the Fire Lord's tone. Surely he wasn't going to focus his wrath onto the young colonel for this?
Prince Iroh stepped in for the defense. "Brother, please, if not for Xing's intervention we might not be here at all."
"Colonel Hwa."
Tachi was quietly impressed that he didn't feel even a lick of apprehension from the woman beside him. "Yes, Fire Lord."
"You did not report the colonel's plan to your superiors."
The Frostfire did not hesitate in her response. "His claim was outlandish, but with his record so far I felt like I owed it to the colonel to give him a chance, Fire Lord."
"It is hard to believe when someone tells you that he knows a man planning to kill the moon," Prince Iroh offered. "Colonel Hwa should be commended that she trusted Xing, but not so much as to take his whole regiment over."
Silence followed, with nobody daring to speak for or against the Young Dragon. As much as Tachi disliked the boy, he wasn't going to go out of his way to undermine Xing as some of his colleagues tried to. The colonel was a reckless commander espousing all the wrong ideals, but he wasn't some great enemy coming to tear apart the Fire Nation's military structure.
But as much as he was grateful for Xing's uncovering Zhao's madness, Tachi wasn't that grateful as to risk drawing the Fire Lord's wrath.
"So it seems." The swish of robes this time was not as sharp. "Colonel Hwa, considering your merits and the…service you've given us, and the spate of vacancies… You are hereby promoted to General of the East."
That was good and bad; Promotion to general was definitely good, but being assigned to the east, in the almost literal quagmire that was the slow crawl towards Ba Sing Se? Hwa might likely find herself stagnating like her predecessor, General Masa, who struggled to gain notable merits and acclaim against the stubborn defenders of the Impenetrable City.
Still, it was better than a promotion into the War Council, where she'd be stuck filing papers.
"Thank you, Fire Lord."
"Now, onto other relevant matters," the Fire Lord said, anger returning to his voice again. "Tell me, Iroh, how did Zuko end up in the North Pole after his supposed death?"
That was a curious question, Tachi had to admit, and he shared glances from the edges of his sight with Daeyang and Hwa about it.
"Well, it seems that your son-" Was it just him, or did Tachi feel a flare of annoyance from the Fire Lord at that emphasis? "-not only survived the attempt on his life, but managed to fool all of us and somehow ferry himself to the North Pole."
"High General Wulong, tell me again what the investigation on Zhao's flagship found?"
The high general coughed once before answering. "There were signs of a stowaway living within the storage holds, with discarded bandages and bowls. It was also noted that a dinghy was missing from the ship on the night before the invasion."
The Fire Lord almost growled his next question. "And you have no idea about that, brother?"
"None at all," Iroh answered immediately, and Tachi dared glance up to see the prince lifting his hands up helplessly as he shook his head. "It seems that your son is more resourceful and stubborn than everyone gives him credit for."
Why was the Fire Lord displeased at the mention of his son?
"He must have taken the dinghy to shore and somehow found the Avatar."
There was a disturbing undercurrent of spite from Fire Lord Ozai's reply. "And yet he was found defeated and unconscious, a prisoner of the Avatar."
"There is at least one waterbender among the Avatar's companions. Zuko was fighting in enemy territory, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he lost. You should be proud that they respected him enough to take him prisoner, instead of tossing him to freeze to death in the cold wasteland."
"Quite. Admiral Daeyang, General Tachi, General Hwa… You are all certain that Prince Zuko was recovered with severe wounds?"
Tachi took the moment to speak up now, when it was relatively safe, before the others did the talking. He would not be accused of being too passive, nor would his presence be completely overlooked. "Yes, Fire Lord. He was barely conscious when we got to him. Most of his wounds are old, probably from surviving the failed assassination attempt."
Which, if anything, made the prince's journey into captivity even more impressive, Tachi did not say aloud.
"Hm. The point still stands that he failed once more in his quest."
"A reasonable failure," Prince Iroh argued, though it was a futile attempt. Something must have happened for Prince Zuko to be viewed with such disdain by his father…
"A failure gone on for long enough," the Fire Lord stated with finality. "My decree remains. Zuko will be relieved of his quest, and the new terms of his exile unchanged."
Poor boy, hopefully he'd be able to use the six years to rebuild himself, though considering the recent circumstances…
"Then at least allow him to be parted with the 11th Regiment, to let him find his own path."
…being stuck in a regiment, however vaunted, as a frontline soldier did not offer much opportunity for a prince.
The general heard his liege's smirk as he replied. "Azula had made it clear. You have made it clear. Zuko insulted her colonel, and by extension herself, and so she made him pay the consequences."
"Azula overreached with her authority!" the prince exclaimed. "She has no right to conscript a prince!"
This seemed to amuse his brother, who replied in a bit of a drawl. "Bear in mind that I had rescinded all royal privileges from Zuko, which includes the protection from conscription."
"You'll let him languish as a mere footsoldier? Please, Ozai, Zuko is your son."
"And I've been more than tolerant enough with his failures up until now. If my more competent daughter thinks that she can make something of her brother by dragging him to the front lines, then so be it.
Prince Iroh's voice hardened to a similar tone as the Fire Lord. "So you're content to leave Zuko in the hands of her regiment?"
Something made Tachi glance up from his bowed position again, and he caught the malicious grin on the Fire Lord's features. "No, brother. I'm more than happy to give Zuko over to Colonel Xing and his regiment. For all intents and purposes, until his exile is over, Zuko is nothing more than a soldier of the 11th Royal Regiment."
"And all that comes with it?" Iroh asked, rightfully offended. To have the prince endure and forced to adopt the same dishonorable tactics of the Scorpion Dragon did not sit well with Tachi.
Fire Lord Ozai snarled. "Especially all that comes with it. There will be no privilege to hide behind, no special soft treatment. Until Azula says otherwise, Zuko is nothing more than a member of her regiment."
The prince reeled for a moment before reluctantly nodding. "As the Fire Lord wills it," he relented with no small amount of disappointment, and the general sympathized for him and his nephew. Hopefully Colonel Xing would not be so malicious as to send the disgraced prince into suicide missions. Or worse, have the prince perpetually stuck to guard duty, unable to find any meaningful feats for himself.
This was an unfortunate situation, though Tachi had no right to comment about the affairs and harsh discipline of the royal family.
Yet, why was it when the private court was dismissed, did Tachi find Prince Iroh smirking with satisfaction as he practically skipped out of the palace?
*****
"Really, don't worry about me, Aang."
The ancient king's grin was still maniacal enough to lighten the atmosphere despite the grim environment. King Bumi had been kept in a cell completely made of metal suspended high in the air, with only the barest minimum of comforts afforded to him as a royal.
"But Bumi…"
"No buts," the king said with a firm shake of his head behind the bars, and then his features softened. "I'm sorry, Aang, but you'll have to find another master to teach you earthbending. Your teacher will be someone who has mastered neutral jing. You need to find someone who waits and listens before striking."
Aang lifted himself back up to the top of the cell, the cushion of air more than enough to mute his landing on the metal surface. He snuck out the same way he snuck in, using a gust of air to launch himself towards a massive window in the converted hall.
Appa awaited his return with a soft growl, and Katara and Sokka gave questioning looks.
"He's not coming," Aang said, unable to hide his disappointment as he climbed onto Appa's saddle. "Bumi said that he has to stay in Omashu."
Katara gave a comforting pat on the back, but it was Sokka who spoke. "Don't worry Aang. We'll find you another earthbending master. I'm sure Bumi has some plan in mind that requires him being a prisoner."
"You really think so?"
The other boy shrugged. "I mean, we all know that he met with the crazy Scorpion psycho with well thought out plans in case he lost - which he did, no disrespect to him. And the people of Omashu were evacuated so smoothly that this city still feels like a ghost town despite the Fire Nation occupying it. So who's to say that him being captured isn't part of some other plan?"
Aang thought about it for a moment, and then nodded his agreement. "Yeah, you're right, Sokka. Maybe he's waiting for the right time."
"For all you know," Katara chimed in, "it has something to do with the other states gathering their armies."
And if the rumors were true, Bumi surrendering was also to keep the Fire Nation busy guarding Omashu. Aang wasn't versed in military tactics to know whether that theory held any water, but he could imagine that Bumi probably had something cooked up involving Omashu as a trap.
It was a consolation he had to settle with as he directed Appa up into the night sky. The airbender took a last look at the quiet husk of Omashu, and then promised himself that the next time he returned it'd either be to liberate it, or partake in the celebration of its liberation.
"So, where are we headed?"
"Bumi said to go east, in the cities that are less affected by the war. We're looking for someone called Beifong. Or is it Bei Fong?"
Sokka didn't hesitate to throw a skeptical look. "And how'd he know that? Is that a friend of his?"
Aang smiled as he shook his head, more than happy to relay the good news. "The spirits told him!" After what happened in Agna Qel'a, it was great knowing that the spirits were getting involved in this war. Maybe some of them finally saw the dangers of the Fire Nation winning.
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