The Freedom Fighter ➵ Sokka

The Spy

The Fire Nation emblem covered the entire naval base. Everywhere Nara looked, she could see it. What had once been a symbol of life and passion was now a synonym for death and destruction. She tried not to look at it for too long as she carried the tray of food, keeping her head ducked low and not meeting anyone's gaze. The serving staff here were nervous and quiet, and if Nara didn't want to stand out she had to watch herself. Too many curious gazes would have her discovered.

The naval base was quiet as the day drew to a close and the sun began to fall. The darker it became, the fewer guards paced the boundaries of the camp. Most bore weapons, and those that didn't were all the more dangerous because of it. The black and red army of the Fire Nation soldiers reflected ominously in the torchlight they huddled near as they lost interest in the dull task of guarding the camp against attackers that never seemed to come. Nara couldn't help but smirk as she watched their attentiveness fade. Unlike the guards in the camp below the ridge she waited on, Nara was as alert as she had been when the night began. The discipline had been beaten into her since she entered this war, and she knew too well what could go wrong if she let her attention slip for even the shortest of moments. Her hands tightened around the daggers concealed under her dark cloth to make sure they were still there waiting—an assassin's weapon.

Nara had only been at the base for a fortnight after transferring from the serving staff on one of the warships. It had been a long process to get here, and now that she was finally close to Commander Zhou she wouldn't mess this up. Too much was relying upon it.

She counted the steps through the camp, measuring the distance she travelled out of habit, though she already had the layout committed to memory. The base was quiet as the day drew to a close. Troops were finishing for the day, while others were waking for their night shifts. That was what brought Nara to the barracks. When one of the officers had called for food she had volunteered to take it to their tent. The officers often share with another of their rank, and tended to talk when they were hungry.

The room of Officer Ganzo was at the end of the row, and Nara found it without too much trouble. There was a distant hum of voices coming from inside the room, and Nara couldn't help a smug smile. Wiping it off her face, she entered the door. "Excuse me?"

"What is it?" A cranky voice asked, pulling the door open fully. An older woman stood before Nara, glowering with insane ferocity, but the expression quickly disappeared at the sight of what Nara carried. "Oh, food, excellent. Bring it in girl." Nara bowed her head in submission and moved into the room.

The two officers largely ignored her as she bustled about the tent, making a great fuss on how she placed the tray. Nara only had to wait a minute before they began talking again. "So what were you saying about the prince?" The other officer said, pitching his voice low.

"The banished prince, you mean," Officer Ganzo said with a cruel laugh. "What a joke. Well, his ship came into port while you were sleeping. Tried to say it was damaged by an Earth Kingdom ship." Nara had seen this happen, seen young Prince Zuko walk off his ship full of anger and spite. He had been banished, for reasons that had never become known, and was on a quest for redemption. He didn't seem like someone she'd want to be friends with. "I'm sure Zhou gave him the royal treatment?"

Ganzo snorted. "Not quite. While the prince and his uncle were being entertained, we questioned the crew. Learned something very interesting."

At this, there was a long pause and Nara sensed that her continued presence would not be welcomed. So she withdrew from the tent, murmuring her respects, and made a great show of walking away. Then, when she felt like the two officers would trust she was gone, Nara crept back closer to the opening of the tent. Nara had known that the crew were going to be questioned, likely through nefarious means. It was no secret that Commander Zhou had little respect for Prince Zuko, and she wanted to discover what it was that he was so interested in. The commander was important to the Fire Nation, and a close confidante to the Fire Lord. Nara had worked to get close to him all this time in order to find some way to take him down, but so far had been unsuccessful in discovering more than his favourite meal.