96 AG
The tension in the village square had grown quickly and sharply. Zhou stood just behind his captain, flanked by two sergeants who had arrived moments later, their expressions tight with confusion.
The scene ahead still held its shape, a woman shielding her son, the two garrison troopers who had restrained him now standing uncertainly, and the firebender officer at the center, his flame finally extinguished.
Captain Lin had not raised her voice once; her words were clear, giving no room for debate or argument.
"You have insulted a superior officer, corporal." she repeated. "Under Fire Nation military doctrine the superior officer can issue the punishment as they see fit. You may accept an Agni Kai or die where you stand."
Zhou knew the garrison officer hadn't recognized her. He had probably seen a young woman in worn clothes and thought nothing of it. In the hierarchy of military perception, she had not looked the part. Her most distinguishable trait, her metal limbs, were not really visible as they were covered in coal.
The man's stance faltered as her words settled over him like frost. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Lin had already stepped forward ordering the other two soldiers to step away. The Red Company soldiers who had begun to gather understood what was happening right away.
Zhou exhaled slowly, arms folded behind his back, watching the crowd thicken. He did not like this; Internal duels within the army, whether sanctioned or spontaneous, always felt like wasted strength to him.
Men and women, trained for war, pitted against each other over honor or protocol or wounded pride. Yet, there was no room for him to question here. The offense had been clear, and the challenge had been issued. The law was on her side, and Zhou was sure the captain would not be bested.
Even if he wanted to argue restraint, he would be overstepping her authority, the rules of their institution sanctioned violence as a form of justice.
Still, Zhou felt a bitter taste at the back of his tongue as the square cleared in response to Lin's quiet order. The duel would take place beyond the village perimeter, near a patch of hard-packed earth beyond the last crop terrace.
He gave the instructions himself to avoid delay, guiding the formation outward as the garrison troops fell back, wide-eyed and suddenly unsure of what authority still remained theirs. The villagers, sensing that something larger was happening, slipped into their homes or gathered along fence lines to watch from a distance.
By the time they reached the open field, the circle had already begun to form. Officers and enlisted soldiers of the Red Company stood in silent arcs, their uniforms dark against the afternoon sky, their eyes staring at the captain
Zhou took his place just outside the ring and turned toward the garrison officer, who was now removing his boots with a kind of numb obedience.
Captain Lin stood still and then, without ceremony, she removed her stained clothes. She folded them smoothly alongside her coat, and placed them in the arms of a nearby aide. Her undershirt was sleeveless, black, and simple, clinging lightly to her frame from heat and exertion.
She then took off her boots and for the first time in front of the Lieutenant, her modified body was fully visible. No longer obscured by high collars or pauldron-mounted seals, her metal arms and legs gleamed with use.
The metal vents at her back hissed faintly, shimmering in the afternoon light. Augmented plates ran down the length of her spine and across her shoulder blades, shaped like machine-linked musculature.
The garrison officer visibly flinched at the sight, and Zhou couldn't blame him. Rumors had always circulated among the crew. They said the captain used her chi not just to fight but simply to exist.
They said that every movement she made required the use of her inner flame, that her limbs could run hotter than most metals, and that her control over that fire was so complete it had become an extension of her body.
Now, seeing her like this, it was quite believable that many parts of her body could only function with chi. The officer hesitated. His hands moved slowly, clumsily, as he unstrapped the plates across his chest and the bindings along his arms.
He removed them with the reluctance of someone who had accepted a challenge only because he had no choice. His eyes flicked across the circle of soldiers, looking for reprieve or a signal that this could still be undone, yet he found none.
They bowed to each other, then she drew her right foot back into a stance, her weight shifting, her knees soft and chin slightly lowered. It was a stance different from usual fire techniques. The captain was infamous for using the most effective kata combinations, without any of the flare or showmanship.
The garrison officer swallowed hard, then bent to unfasten his greaves. It took him longer than it should have. When he finally straightened, his hands trembled faintly at his sides.
Zhou watched it all in silence.
He knew how this would end. The soldiers knew. Perhaps even the villagers watching from the rise knew. Still, the formality would be respected. He turned to face the ring, lifting his voice just enough for the front row to hear.
"Begin."
With that word, the final moment before violence passed like a breath through dry grass.
----0000----
The field chosen for the duel lay just beyond the village's last row of houses, a patch of hardened earth, scarred from old carts and unused for planting. It was far enough to avoid damaging homes, wide enough for movement, and quiet enough to hear the crackle of flames.
By the time the Red Company had assembled, the perimeter was already marked out by two corporals dragging bootheels in a wide circle. The other garrison officers were also present, although they looked uncomfortable and miserable.
Lieutenant Kaida stood with the other officers just beyond the edge. The village children had been sent away, while the adults remained hidden behind doorways and shuttered windows. The soldiers stood in full formation, four platoons circled tightly, their armor dull with coal dust.
Captain Lin stood without her usual outfitted armor and clothes. She could see that Lin's black undershirt was custom-made to fit her body modifications; her boots were caked from the shaft floor, and the metal lines running along her spine still emitted the occasional venting hiss as they regulated her internal temperature.
Her shoulders were squared, her stance relaxed yet firm, and not a single ounce of tension radiated from her limbs. Her face remained expressionless, with no smugness or cruel smirk present. She moved quietly to the center of the circle and waited.
Kaida watched closely, eyes narrowing at the way Lin shifted her weight slightly over her left foot, a precise angle that allowed for an immediate pivot or lunge if needed. Her stance was one she recognized from having fought by her side.
It was a stance better suited for fighting, one that allowed a quick switch to offense while avoiding boulders at the same time. She had trained them in it, as it was better suited to fight the Earth Kingdom benders with, focused on close combat.
The man across from her did not mirror her clarity. His hands twitched once, then again, as if unsure where to rest. He adjusted his footing twice over the span of a few breaths. His expression, now devoid of the bluster he had shown earlier in the village, revealed that the realization that he was not going to survive this had not yet entered his mind, but Kaida knew better.
She glanced at her fellow officers, seeing the same understanding reflected in most of their eyes. Some stood with arms crossed, others with hands clasped behind their backs. All of them had trained under Lin for months.
They had witnessed her control in drills, her speed in close-quarters exercises and her ability to analyze their flaws and exploit their weaknesses. Kaida had seen death before, of course, but she just hoped this wouldn't turn into a mere execution.
What lingered at the edges of her thoughts now was not the brutality of what was coming, but the sheer contrast. That a girl younger than most of the company's senior officers could stand in the center of a silent circle, surrounded by soldiers and smoke, ready to kill without hesitation just to teach a lesson.
When Zhou raised his arm to give the signal, Kaida's hands settled gently on her belt. Captain Lin moved first; the ground beneath her boots did not scatter with the usual stomp of a firebender preparing to launch. Instead, she surged forward with no warning flame, closing the space between them faster than the man could prepare for.
Her arm swept upward, intercepting his initial spark before it left his hand. The heat burst into the air, uncontrolled and unfocused, and her palm struck his chest with enough force to knock him a full step backward.
He attempted to recover, launching a wall of flame that veered too far. She stepped through the edge of it, absorbing the heat with barely a twitch, then drove her shoulder into his midsection, knocking the breath from his lungs.
Kaida tracked every motion, focused on learning from this duel. She was sure she wouldn't make a mistake that could ever lead to a duel with their Captain, but one could never be so sure. Besides, learning was always encouraged from her either way.
Lin's posture flowed with each strike, her footing never shifting without purpose. The man flailed once, attempting a high arc of fire toward her head, but she ducked beneath it and responded with a straight punch to the center of his torso, her metal knuckles glowing faintly from residual heat.
He stumbled, coughing while his arms were already faltering. But Lin didn't press further. She waited for him to lift his gaze. When he did, she advanced again, this time with flames on her hands.
The final blow landed as he bent instinctively to protect his core from the flames. Her leg swept up in a tight arc, the steel-plated limb connecting with his temple. He collapsed immediately, knocked unconscious, his limbs slack and unmoving.
For a few seconds, silence reigned. Lin stood above the body, her breathing controlled, her frame motionless. Then she formed a ball of compressed fire on her left hand. She kept feeding chi to it until her hand glowed orange, then released it at the downed garrison officer.
The sound of flames exploding outwards was deafening, like a roar of thunder. If dragons weren't extinct, Kaida imagined, they would sound just like that. It muted any sound for that moment. When she was finished, only a charred black figure remained.
Kaida exhaled through her nose, barely audible, then shifted her gaze to the soldiers around her. Some nodded in quiet recognition, while others averted their gaze. Some of the garrison officers had emptied their stomachs right there, and there were no cheers.
She was awed by the sheer power she commanded. Their captain was truly deserving of her position. Kaida hoped she could reach her level someday. Months ago, she thought she had no chance of being in this position, but Lin had promoted her in the end. Now she wanted to have that power to command, to demand respect.
Kaida's thoughts drifted only briefly before settling again on the woman who now turned from the center of the circle, retrieving her clothes but not yet dressing, then faced the circle of soldiers.
"Back to work people, I need two men to clean this up; the rest of you focus on loading the ship. Move it!"
Kaida stepped forward to begin organizing the dispersal, while their Captain walked towards the other garrison officers. She was certain no one would be foolish enough to disrespect her again.
----0000----
Lieutenant Aiku remained at the edge of the dispersing formation, arms folded across his chest, eyes fixed on the smoking ruin at the center of the dueling ring. The scent of scorched flesh still clung faintly to the air, layered atop the acrid undertones of coal and the ever-present haze of the southern wind.
The body, or what remained of it, had already begun to cool, the fire having done its work quickly and without elegance.
He did not flinch at the violence; there was nothing in it that surprised him. If anything, it confirmed once more what he already knew: their captain was precisely the kind of leader this company required.
Uncompromising. On top of that, she had not made a spectacle of it. There had been no flourish in her movements, no pause for theatrics or unnecessary drama. No words were exchanged and she delivered judgment swiftly and mercilessly. Aiku respected that more than he could ever express.
Captain Lin did not operate within the soft expectations that plagued so much of the Fire Nation's senior command. She demanded performance, discipline, and absolute unity. And when challenged, even indirectly, she responded with clarity and force.
He had seen too many officers fall into posturing and half-measures. Too many were hesitant to act, fearful of the paperwork or the whispers that would follow a decisive command. But Lin… Lin never hesitated or shied away from doing additional work for the sake of eliminating a problem, rooting out future conflicts.
From the moment the garrison officer stepped into the ring, Aiku knew he was not leaving it out alive unless she wanted him to. The man had no strength, discipline or training that could match hers.
Aiku's gaze drifted across the soldiers still standing nearby. A few looked a bit shaken but nothing they hadn't seen before. The junior ranks, particularly those who had joined only in the past three months, were still adjusting to what it meant to serve in Red Company.
"They will learn eventually." he said to no one in particular.
Zhou approached from the left, arms folded and his expression unreadable. He said nothing at first and Aiku waited.
"I don't like it." Zhou said quietly. "I never have."
Aiku's gaze didn't leave the field. "Then you should be glad it's over quickly."
Zhou shifted his weight, boots grinding lightly on the dust-hardened road. "Doesn't change the fact that we have an officer down. Even if he was trash, he still knew the logistics of this village better than anyone else here."
"He also threatened a civilian with open flame." Aiku replied. "Insulted our captain in front of our entire company."
"Then strip him of rank. Send him back to the mainland."
Aiku glanced at him. "That would've made him resentful, probably worse in the future if he was let go. You know how these frontier garrisons operate. Half of them only respect strength, and the other half lie in wait for weakness."
Zhou frowned. "It's still a waste."
"I see it more as a lesson." Aiku said. "And it won't need to be repeated, if the look on those officers says anything."
Zhou said nothing for a while. Behind them, a pair of corporals lifted a broken cart wheel and began moving it toward the supply tent. One of Kaida's aides crossed toward the officers with a manifest sheet, but seeing them mid-conversation, veered away silently.
"She's too young to be this feared." Zhou muttered at last.
"Young? Certainly, but she is not only feared." Aiku said. "Some look at her in awe and admiration."
Zhou's jaw tightened. "Fear isn't always control, and awe can make people cruel and merciless."
"Yes, you are right. But she also has the discipline to always act within the laws and rules of our Nation. She wouldn't allow any one to go beyond her command, for cruelty's sake."
Zhou looked toward the blackened spot where the officer had fallen. "Ugh, I will have to write a report about this."
"I hate paperwork too. But you won't even have to lie on it, so that's nice." Aiku said. "The man violated rank protocol, disrespected and threatened both a superior officer and civilians under Fire Nation protection. The duel was legal, there were many witnesses, and there is no need to hide anything."
"Certainly." Zhou answered flatly.
"And she made it as clean as it could be." Aiku allowed.
Zhou gave a low breath through his nose. "I just hope this doesn't turn into a regular sight."
Aiku looked him over. "Well… I don't know about that, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. The captain will be made infamous soon enough and no one would dare to repeat that in front of her."
Kaida passed nearby, her eyes sweeping the formation. She gave them both a quick glance and the faintest nod before returning to her task, shouting for the third platoon to pick up the pace on the upper cartloads.
"She believes in her, at least." Aiku said, watching Kaida.
"She does." Zhou replied. "Captain Lin gave her rank and a place when others wouldn't."
"Gave us all a place."
Zhou didn't argue. He simply looked back toward the trail leading down to the village, where Lin had walked alone only minutes ago.
"I just don't like the waste. I hope we don't see many more of these." he repeated.
"You don't need to." Aiku said. "You just need to follow her orders, like the rest of us."
Zhou didn't reply, concern shadowing his face, but Aiku was sure he would eventually come to terms with it.
----0000----
The village air still carried the taste of burned coal and dry wind. Lin's boots pressed into the loose dust of the main road as she made her way back from the dueling ground, a line of sweat drying beneath her shoulder seams, the venting plates along her back silent for now.
She had not redressed in full armor, only slipping her boots back on. Her black sleeveless undershirt, streaked faintly with dust from the duel, clung to her form as she moved with unhurried purpose down the hill.
She headed to the house of the woman she had defended earlier. Said woman stood just outside the doorway, her son a step behind her, clinging to the edge of the frame. She looked up as Lin approached, her expression guarded but composed.
"I owe you an apology. As the highest ranking officer in the village I should have maintained discipline better. I'm sorry." Lin said quietly.
The woman blinked. "This was happening all the time, it was nothing new. You're the one who stopped him."
"Still, I should've stopped him sooner." Lin replied. "He has been removed though, and won't be a threat to you anymore."
The woman's gaze flickered toward the ridge. "He's… gone, then?"
"Yes."
The silence stretched only a moment before the woman gave a slow nod. "I'm glad, he was quite awful, and might have turned insufferable if left unchecked."
She placed a hand on the child's shoulder, and the boy straightened slightly, though his eyes never left Lin's arms. His gaze tracked the metal seams that ran from her wrist to her elbow, lingering on the faint scars along the edge of her shoulder plate.
Surprisingly, there was no fear in his expression. Only the natural curiosity of a kid. Lin bent slightly at the waist, just enough to meet the boy's eyes.
"Protecting your mother was very noble, kid." she said.
"Hey! I'm not a kid anymore, I'm twelve already." he huffed.
She chuckled lightly. "I'm sure your mom will appreciate it if you stay out of danger though, so get stronger first before doing that again."
The boy nodded once, tightly. His voice was soft but steady. "Thank you for stopping them."
Lin gave a short, silent incline of her head before straightening again. She turned back to the woman.
"The garrison commander relocated most of your male population and most miners to an offshore rig." she said. "But not all of them are essential to operations. I'll be visiting the platform on our return route and see if I can return some of them."
The woman looked at her sharply. "You'll bring them back?"
"I'll negotiate their return. Enough to help restore village functions, establish a cooperative system, and stabilize the coal yield without overreliance on forced labor of your elders."
The woman's face tightened, then softened, her fingers brushing absently over her son's hair.
"My husband was taken from us."
"I see." Lin said. "Taking care of a shop and your son must be exhausting. I will see if he can be returned specifically to you. I will of course have to go over the rest of the villagers to see who to prioritize but I will try my best, you have my word. Have a good day."
She turned without waiting for acknowledgement. As she moved through the square, she caught the edge of a few whispered voices from villagers watching from doorways. She would need time to talk to everyone but it would have to be taken care of.
What mattered was that they were no longer afraid of the wrong uniforms.
A runner intercepted her near the village entrance, offering a scroll bearing the updated logistics reports. Lin scanned it quickly, her eyes trailing over the numbers, weight loads, and redistribution orders.
"Good job, carry on." She said while passing the scroll back and continued walking.
The village was alive again. Red Company soldiers moved between carts, shoveling and hauling with efficient pace. Kaida's voice echoed down the rows, coordinating and keeping pace as they loaded the cargo onto the ship.
Lin took her time speaking with most villagers and made notes to give priority to those that needed the help immediately. Then, heading back, she handed said notes to Lieutenant Kaida.
Lin caught sight of Zhou near the back ranks, his expression still unreadable. He didn't approach her, but that was fine. She knew that he didn't approve of the duel, so he probably would give her the silent treatment for some time.
She returned to the forward encampment just before sundown, the sky painted in slow strokes of red and gold. Lieutenant Aiku waited nearby.
"Preparations are complete." he said. "We can depart within the hour."
"Delay departure by one more hour." Lin replied. "I want the villagers to witness our departure and the orders we will give the garrison that remains behind. They need to know we will come back soon."
Aiku gave a short nod. As he turned away, Lin glanced once more toward the horizon.
If the focus, after almost ten decades, was finally on installing colonies and improving infrastructure then they needed the people living in said colonies to progress, not the other way around. She would have to make changes to how occupation was handled.
The problem was her rank was just that of a captain and she didn't know if she would have the authority to make said changes.
"Problem for the future." she said with a sigh.
----0000----
Haru hadn't seen the duel, only heard what the other villagers said. The officer who had tormented them for the last year was now gone, burned so completely there was nothing left but smoke and ash.
It was rumored that the Fire Nation soldiers hadn't cheered, which was something that struck him. They hadn't shouted or raised their fists in celebration of their commander. They had just… moved on, as if it hadn't even happened.
He glanced toward the road, where the metal-armed girl had gone. Her presence pressed down like a full stormfront, quiet and heavy and impossible to ignore. It reminded him more of Earth-benders, like a wall of stone on the move.
Haru had grown up believing the Fire Nation only knew cruelty and oppression. But now one of their soldiers had defended his mother, spoken to them without judgement, and promised to bring their people back.
There was the problem of her having literally cooked someone to death in true Fire Nation cruel fashion which made him unsure whether he believed her. But he wanted to, which was odd for him.
He looked down at his hands, still callused from carrying buckets, and curled one into a fist. He would train harder and become stronger just as she had said. Earthbending had been his father's gift, and one day, he'd make it strong enough to protect his family.
Even against people like her.