Isaruq POV:
We have been at sea for the weeks now. We have crossed the archipelago that used to belong to Southern Air Temple and has been in Mo Ce Sea for the last few days. The weather kept getting warmer and warmer as we went northwards.
Isaruq was sleeping after completing his night shift and it was now afternoon when he woke upto the sound of the horn signaling enemy ship. He quickly got up and got ready in the Fire Nation armor with his weapon strapped and ran to the deck at once. He looked in the distance and could see a Fire Nation cruiser coming in their direction.
'How did they find us?' Isaruq asked himself.
Isaruq stood on the deck of their captured Fire Nation frigate, the wind tugging at his hair, the salt of the sea biting at my cheeks. Around me, the Southern Water Tribe warriors moved like shadows, dressed in the exact uniforms of their enemy, their faces hard with anticipation. Only a few of the highest-ranking fighters had been called to the deck. Their expressions mirrored the tension coiling through him. On the horizon, the unmistakable silhouette of a Fire Nation cruiser cut through the sea.
"Hakoda wanted them to find us," Bato's voice came from beside me, calm but sharp. "We've been hugging the coastline, leaving traces. All he had to do was drop anchor, send a flare into the air, and wait."
I frowned, trying to piece it together. "Why?"
Bato smirked faintly, a hint of exasperation in his eyes. "Hakoda was too eager for blood, for battle. He also needed information. While we gained a lot of information from the engineer you captured, that information has been months old. These men, these cruisers, we need them for the more recent information. We need to know their numbers, patrol patterns, the routes they take for supplies and the Fire Nation's next moves. That's information worth more than any victory at sea."
I considered this. Information, warfare's quiet lifeblood, was what Hakoda hunted now, carefully masked by his thirst for vengeance. I hadn't expected the war to reach us so soon.
I wanted to ask more, but a harsh, flashing light from the approaching cruiser stole my attention. The enemy's signaling lamp sent three bursts into the gray sky. They were stopping to see our response.
Hakoda moved with swift, deliberate precision. On the bridge, flanked by Vikkok and four other elite warriors, he prepared to weave deception from fire and shadow. The smoke rising from the cruiser's stack softened as they slowed to hover near our frigate.
"They're trying to communicate," I muttered, squinting at the signal bursts. Panic whispered through our deck for a heartbeat. Yes, we learnt the signal from that engineer but we are not sure whether he told us the truth or not. And now we all are going to risk everything on it.
But Hakoda had planned for that. A dual flash of red light returned from our ship. Immediately, the cruiser adjusted its course. Within minutes, it drifted alongside us, its size dwarfing our frigate, its deck rising high, a towering monument of metal and fire.
"The maneuverability," I said, awed despite myself. "It's… remarkable."
Bato's eyes followed mine, keen. "There's a reason why we didn't bring any other ships and filled this ship with as many men as we could. We've captured one, now we will use it against them. Watch and learn."
On the cruiser's deck, a commanding officer stepped forward, flanked by guards. His stance demanded respect, the insignia of captain glinting on his sleeves. He scanned our deck, narrowed his eyes.
"Where is your captain?" he barked.
Hakoda strode forward, his blood simmering with the memory of loss, yet every step calculated. "Captain Zan," he called, "my first lieutenant, Lee, commands here. Our furnace is damaged beyond repair. We cannot make harbor without assistance. Do you have an engineer on board?"
The enemy captain's eyes flicked with suspicion. "And where is your captain?"
Hakoda's reply was instant, convincing. "Casualty of our last skirmish. The Southern Water Tribe put up more resistance than expected."
The cruiser hesitated, then Hakoda offered tea, a small gesture that disarmed suspicion. The captain's rigid posture softened, they were primed to believe a ruse meticulously tailored.
I watched as soldiers prepared to board. The platform between our ships was set. Hakoda gestured toward me.
"Hold the bridge. Attack the moment we step across."
My body coiled with anticipation. I inhaled, feeling the ocean beneath me, the currents thrumming like a living thing. With subtle motions, I drew two streams of water up the sides of the enemy ship, crawling along the metal deck as silent sentinels.
Hakoda's boots hit their deck, and the dance of war erupted. He moved like a storm contained in human form, targeting the enemy captain directly. Two guards blocked his path; he dispatched one with a bloodied knife and used the other as a shield against fire. I followed, streams of water sweeping the remaining guards from the deck, dragging them overboard.
Footsteps sounded behind me, our warriors had joined. Three firebenders leaped to intercept me. I bent water to form shields and counterattacks, waves and ice spikes colliding with fire in a cascade of hissing steam. One man dove to the side but before he could rise a tribe warrior put a spear through him, another was carried off by a rushing column of water.
The remaining firebender struck at me with a roundhouse of flames. I mirrored the arc with water, extinguishing his fire and knocking him back. He tried to split and strike again, but I drew the sea up beneath him, lifting him before gravity could save him, then let him fall into the cold embrace of the ocean.
Hakoda's voice cut across the chaos. "Drop your weapons and surrender!"
The enemy captain froze, his hands raised. Hakoda's knife rested against his jugular, unwavering, his eyes betraying nothing of the fury that had driven him across the deck. Blood for blood, yet tempered by calculation.
Our warriors secured the deck, herding prisoners to the hold. While I went around the ship, killing all the firebender who fell in the sea while bringing the non benders up in the ship to be taken prisoner. We didn't take firebenders as prisoner other than the captain and he was bound in tough iron chains we found on our ship. The cruiser was ours, intact, the enemy's engines and supplies now resources for our villages.
As we sailed back toward the South Pole, the wind seemed to celebrate our victory. Isaruq, whispered among the warriors, was no longer a name but a symbol, first in the charge, the breaker of fire, the ice in the enemy's veins.
Hakoda stood on the bridge beside me, silent. I saw his jaw tighten, a flicker of grief, the echo of his wife's memory behind his gaze. Yet the fire in him did not consume reason. He had learned, adapted, survived. And now, so had we.
Our fleet returned in triumph. Ships once foreign and deadly now bristled with supplies, knowledge, and prisoners. Villagers cheered as we docked, the South Pole had gained more than tools, it had gained legends.
Bato clapped my shoulder, grinning despite the blood and sweat. "Not bad for your first battle at sea, little wolf."
I let myself smile, though the ocean behind me whispered reminders of the dead, the cold, the consequences of war. Still, we had the element of surprise, strategy, and the fury of those who had been wronged. And with Hakoda, we would ride the tide of vengeance, careful, deliberate, unstoppable.
The wolves of the sea had claimed their first kill. And they would not stop.