Still, he would never have become commander of the Eastern Fleet if brute force had been the only tool in his arsenal. There were always other currents to follow, other routes around an obstacle.
Unfortunately, he could do very little to influence Chan directly. Eliminating the obstacle was certainly possible, but far too risky, and truthfully he would rather not take matters that far. Besides, there was someone else involved. There was Suki. From everything he had seen, she was far more impressionable and far easier to influence than his son, and if guided properly...
After all, becoming the concubine of one of the highest-ranking aristocrats in the Fire Nation was already more than a fisherman's daughter from a forgotten island on the far side of the world could ever have dreamed of. It would take some effort and require the assistance of certain people, but that was hardly unfamiliar territory.
"First he'll go to Yu Dao, and from there he'll head north, but..." the admiral murmured thoughtfully. "Will he take the warriors with him? Not necessarily. But it's possible. Which means there's no time to waste. Falko!"
"Kurrk?"
The hawk, who had been peacefully dozing on his perch in the admiral's office, lifted his head and gave his wingless pet a questioning look. The creature wanted something from him again. Honestly, when were these beings born to crawl finally going to learn how to solve their own problems?
"I have a task for you."
"Kurrk?!" Be specific. Much more specific.
"You'll need to fly east to Yu Dao and deliver several letters to their recipients..."
In response, the hawk merely sighed.
Honestly, all of this was such a hassle.
***
Taking command of the squadron and loading everything aboard the ships passed in a blur of routine. Along the way, I ran into the captain of the galleon that Lao had provided for us. He had already sold everything he wanted to sell, purchased everything he needed, and was ready to depart. The sailor also handed me a letter from Beifong. Let's see what we've got here...
Uh-huh.
The man was less than thrilled about his beloved daughter's escape and sincerely thanked the Herald for looking after such a delicate and defenseless creature...
I glanced over at Toph, who at that very moment was arguing with the quartermaster and demanding that she be allowed to bring her wonderful three hundred kilograms of granite aboard. According to her, a young lady felt terribly sad and lonely without it. And when she felt sad and lonely, she developed an overwhelming urge to show someone affection by introducing something heavy to their skull—and the quartermaster, she assured him, was an excellent candidate.
Yeah...
And, if I were being honest, she'd expressed herself in far more... specific terms.
Truly a delicate and defenseless creature...
All right, what else do we have here? Oh, he's decided to personally retrieve his wayward daughter and intends to arrive in Yu Dao for that purpose. Hmm, not bad. Judging by the date, he should already be there.
I'd better warn the squirt that I'm planning to hand her directly back into her beloved father's care, so she'd better start preparing an escape plan.
Though honestly, taking her to the North Pole wasn't the best idea. Nor was I particularly eager to involve the Kyoshi Warriors. One thing was cutting down pirates—that was useful, honorable, and could easily be justified. Quite another was participating in a full-scale military campaign of conquest, complete with occupying a city and all the unpleasantness that entailed… There was no need to put their morals and loyalties through unnecessary strain.
Not that I doubted them. I trusted them completely. But achieving the best results meant putting the right people in the right place. And the warriors, for all their training and hard-earned experience, would simply be out of place in the north. Actually… They could spend their time "helping" Lao Beifong search for his runaway daughter.
After all, Suki and the others absolutely hated being treated as nothing more than girls.
Toph greeted the prospect of the coming Great Escape with enthusiasm. No matter how fiercely she tried to project independence, nearly a month of adventures had left her missing her parents more than she cared to admit. At the same time, she didn't want to part ways with our crew, so the chance to have the best of both worlds suited her perfectly.
Amid all the routine, the delivery of my dragon-scale armor somehow passed almost unnoticed.
Granted, it had sparked something very close to a war in the Capital. In the end, an entire manufactory had assembled to work on the project, drawing together some of the finest leatherworkers in the Fire Nation. That much was obvious from the results. In the span of just three days, they had produced not only the armor itself, but reinforced trousers and even a cloak.
The amount of screaming about how "working without a fitting is the same as marrying the first woman you meet" had been absolutely incredible. An entire flock of hawks had been worked nearly to death carrying messages back and forth, while the poor craftsman on Ember Island had nearly gone gray. The unfortunate man had been promised a slow death by fire if the measurements he had provided turned out to be off by so much as a millimeter.
Fortunately, everything worked out.
The armor fit like a second skin. The cloak didn't restrict movement, and the trousers went on without the slightest difficulty.
That said, I had no intention of wearing such an outfit every day. The vivid scarlet ensemble looked far too theatrical and self-important. For ceremonial occasions or for battle (without the cloak, obviously), it was another matter entirely.
Once I had confirmed that everything fit properly and that nothing rubbed, pinched, or got in the way, I sent a letter to the craftsmen expressing my gratitude. As for payment, they hadn't taken so much as a single copper from me.
Prestige. What else was there to say?
(End of Chapter)
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