"That can be mitigated through joint combat coordination drills, as well as by assigning the Kyoshi warriors to a separate detachment. But in one respect, you're right, Tandao — the potential combat benefit isn't high enough to outweigh the risks and effort involved."
"Then why bother?" the ship's medic asked. The presence of female specimens aboard the vessel seemed to give him almost more headaches than everyone else combined.
"The political benefits. Besides the fact that an entire island voluntarily joined the Fire Archipelago de facto, what matters even more is which island it is — and who was born and lived there."
"Avatar Kyoshi…" the first mate began to realize.
"Exactly. Avatar Kyoshi — a national heroine and symbol for the entire Earth Kingdom. Not as significant as Ba Sing Se, perhaps, but still immensely important. The fact that her followers have joined us will do a great deal to brighten our image in the eyes of the Earth Kingdom's population. You know better than I do what kind of rumors are spreading about our nation in recently conquered territories. 'Occupiers,' 'murderers,' and worse — those are the polite versions. We only have genuine local support in old colonies like Yu Dao. In territories captured ten or twenty years ago, the war with partisans is still ongoing. As a result, we keep tightening the screws harder and harder, which does little to make us loved and only increases sympathy for the insurgents. Of course, all-encompassing terror solves the problem… but history has shown that scorched land without a population accustomed to the local conditions brings no profit and is repopulated painfully slowly."
"And you think two dozen girls with painted faces are going to fundamentally solve those problems?" the engineer asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course not," I smirked, "but you have to start somewhere. Since they appointed me Herald, I intend to use every possible effort and resource for the good and prosperity of the Fire Nation. I'm not planning to spend my whole life chasing pirates across the seas."
That brought the discussion regarding the practical usefulness of women aboard the ship to an end, and the officers moved on to more applied matters. Reports on food supplies, water, coal, medicine, and the ship's technical condition alternated with intelligence updates from reconnaissance cutters. The information was somewhat outdated — after all, the cutters sent their reports back to base first, and only then were copies forwarded to me after my request-order, reinforced by the appropriate paperwork bearing the Fire Lord's signature and seal — but it was enough to understand the overall balance of forces.
And it promised a great deal of interesting developments.
The real pirates, having gotten thoroughly beaten, had apparently concluded that searching for prey in disputed waters or the Fire Nation's territory was profitable, sure… but far too risky. So they'd switched to easier targets — merchant and transport ships belonging to their own kingdom, for example. Destroying them would cement the Kyoshi Warriors' loyalty toward one modest fellow named Chan.
And as for me?
I didn't particularly care where I sank them.
Tomorrow off the Earth Kingdom coast, or a month from now in Fire Nation waters.
***
That evening, Suki snuck into my cabin (I almost killed her on reflex) and…
We just talked for several hours.
Well, she also needed to sign the contract, plus there was a briefing regarding rights, duties, and what to expect going forward. In short: business negotiations, seasoned with a touch of romance and a few kisses.
Nothing more than that.
Though when I offered to personally "train up" her and the girls, I honestly thought I was about to get dragged down and ravished on the spot. But no—everyone managed to restrain themselves. Regrettably enough, in my personal opinion.
Still, the proposal was received very enthusiastically.
And so began the service of the Kyoshi Warriors to the Fire Nation — and to its Herald in particular.
***
Three months later.
Another "pirate" collapsed, clutching at the throat that had been ripped open by a war fan, while Suki was already catching the next fool eager to reach her in a counterattack. Unfortunately, I wasn't given long to watch her fight—or cover her back. There were still plenty of people eager to introduce their swords to my innards. Adjusting my grip on the weapon, I stepped toward the enemy once more.
Everything after that blurred into an endless chain of strikes, jets of fire, and people throwing everything that could be thrown, theoretically could be thrown, and absolutely shouldn't have been thrown. Along with blood and screams that barely registered anymore beneath the crushing tide of exhaustion.
This time, we'd almost been caught.
We'd stumbled into a well-planned and carefully organized trap. Apparently, besides ordinary pirates, we'd also seriously inconvenienced Earth Kingdom raiders, which had greatly displeased the command of the dirt-diggers. Not enough for them to dispatch Ba Sing Se's defensive fleet after me, thankfully, but enough that the next "group of pirates" came packing four dozen earthbenders, massive granite boulders, and even stone spears.
We only realized what was happening when the projectiles punched through the hull below the waterline and wiped out the catapult crews on the starboard side. Four firebenders, skewered clean through.
Those bastards had used our own anti-superior-force tactics against us — hit us with everything they had from maximum range, then keep pressing without giving us time to regroup or catch our breath.
(End of Chapter)
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