That "someone" looked thoroughly battered. His head was wrapped in bandages, and fresh teardrop-shaped burns were visible on his face. Judging by their appearance, either an incendiary shell had exploded nearby, or the man had chosen a remarkably unfortunate moment to look up while one flew overhead. His age was difficult to determine. Clearly over fifty, but by how much? One final detail: judging by the way he had been bound and the restraining cuffs fixed to his wrists, the old man was a waterbender.
"Well then, gentlemen, let's begin. First item on the agenda: our losses. Captain Lee, you have the floor." Yes... another Lee. At this point, however, I no longer had either the strength or the desire to react to it.
"The numbers are still coming in, sir. Preliminary estimates are four thousand dead and five and a half thousand wounded of varying severity."
A quarter of the army. A lot, but considering the rampaging Avatar, the saboteurs, and the assault itself—where attackers almost always suffer heavier losses than defenders—it was acceptable, though I had hoped the waterbenders, exhausted by the nighttime attacks, would inflict less damage.
"Good. Once you're finished, compile a breakdown of the casualties. I want the cause, the time elapsed before treatment was administered, and the severity of the wounds. Identify the most common patterns and provide me with a report."
"Yes, sir!"
"Next item. The field hospital and the housing of our troops and prisoners of war. Is the processing camp ready?"
"Yes, sir," one of the officers rose to his feet... Suzaku, I think. "As ordered, we're housing the elderly separately, the children separately, and the women as well. Surveys of the population's skills are underway. A preliminary list of professions and the number of craftsmen should be completed within five to seven days."
He paused briefly.
"As for the hospital, work is progressing, but persuading the local healers to assist our troops is... difficult, though they treat their own people with the utmost diligence."
"Set the terms. One wounded Water Tribesman for one Fire Nation warrior. If they refuse to treat our wounded, they won't be allowed to treat their own. And if one of our men dies during treatment despite not having critical injuries, execute three Water Tribe warriors for every such death. It should encourage diligence."
"It will be done!" the officer snapped a salute.
"Incidents and discipline?" I moved on to the next question. Granted, what was happening now resembled a rapid-fire briefing more than a war council, but there was nothing to be done about it—the time pressure was severe.
"Within acceptable limits," Captain Tandao replied, rising to his feet. He had been temporarily appointed Deputy for Morale and Discipline. "Those caught looting received ten lashes and twenty blows to the soles of their feet. The rapists were, as per your orders, Herald, 'hung by their balls from a post.'"
He... was he serious?
I'd meant that figuratively.
Ahem.
Yeah... I really should have learned by now that military men generally aren't inclined toward humor. At least one particular individual certainly wasn't. Then again, that particular method of expressing disapproval would undoubtedly cool a few hot heads.
"Good. Now let's move on to the inhabitants of the Pole." I turned toward the prisoner, who was boring into me with a heavy stare, and consulted my papers. "Hm. Pakku, Senior Waterbending Master..."
On the one hand, it was very fortunate that someone of such high standing had survived. If I could recruit him, the assimilation of the Water Tribe would proceed much more quickly. On the other hand, convincing such an old and seasoned waterbender—one who was clearly accustomed to giving orders—to work for me was going to be extremely difficult.
He certainly wasn't going to cooperate with someone like Zhao. His pride and sense of self-respect wouldn't allow it—that much was obvious from his eyes alone. Nor should I forget the mentality of men like him. Old-timers of that sort often become fanatics, believing in some mystical "spirit of the people" that can only be preserved through unwavering adherence to tradition. Stray from those traditions, and you've betrayed the very soul of your nation.
It wasn't hard to guess that, for people like that, dying while upholding tradition was preferable to surviving by abandoning it. And not just dying personally, but dragging everyone else down with them as well.
Unfortunately, tales like Heather Ale don't arise out of nowhere.
"I don't suppose there's any point in introducing myself?" Judging by the way the waterbender twitched, he clearly wanted to respond to that—and respond in a manner that was anything but polite—but his survival instincts won out. A good sign already. "Excellent. Then tell me, do you love your people?"
"What answer are you expecting to hear?" the prisoner rasped bitterly. It was obvious he dearly wanted to switch to a far more colorful vocabulary, but was restraining himself. "Why ask something that's already obvious? Or do you simply have too much free time on your hands?"
"On the contrary, I have very little time, and that's a problem we all share, believe me," I replied, ignoring the entirely predictable attempt at defiance. "Nevertheless, answer the question directly. My assumptions and opinions are irrelevant here. The only thing that matters is what you're willing to admit yourself."
"Yes, I love my people!" the old man snapped, lifting his chin and boring into me with a burning glare. "The people to whom you've brought death!"
The officers attending the council collectively fell silent, unwilling to make even the slightest movement and clearly waiting to see how I would react to such open insolence from a prisoner, even a high-ranking one.
"Let's not turn this conversation into a pointless argument," I said, failing to satisfy the expectations of Zhao's staff.
Not that it required any effort on my part. The accusations of a bound prisoner meant very little to me. I'd heard far more inventive ones.
(End of Chapter)
P@treon: /SadRaven
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰