Chapter 86: Piracy Voyage
Shout-out to Bobby Wazelle!
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*Bang*
*Bang*
Two volleys of rocks lit on fire went flying towards two wooden ships with a circular blue flag waving over their crow's nest. A thick cloud of mist surrounded the two ships as if they were a mirage. A figment of the minds of the attackers.
A giant tide grew higher and intercepted the attack while multiple waves of interference could be felt as if drilling within the ocean and quickly moving towards the battleship!
*Swish*
*Splash*
Breaking through the surface of the ocean were many drenched figures.
"Attack—"
"Please! Don't!" The figures shouted, coughing and gasping for air. "We were attacked by pirates! We are on your side!" One of the men quickly recollected himself and explained. All the men fully drenched were on their knees while soldiers protected the installed heavy-duty double trebuchets on the deck.
"You have one chance to explain yourself or else!" The leading member remarked but his signal only meant for his men to surround the individuals.
"It's a trap! The wooden ships are the prison and they've got a Cruiser themselves! The pirates robbed them off of us!" The men shouted and the captain's gaze constricted. He hurriedly pulled back and looked around cautiously before punching out a blast of fire that flew high into the sky. Another signal of his and the ship began to pick pace. It moved away from the mist that covered the two wooden ships and called out, "Lock them and begin the interrogation. I want to know what's going on—"
The captain, along with others, suddenly felt weightless.
Their footing was lost in a moment and all of them plunged into the sea.
*Splash*
Dozens of men plunged into the sea alongside tens of Komodo Rhinos!
"Prioritize the Komodo Rhinos," a cold shout was barely heard by those struggling to keep themselves afloat with all that armor and the sheer offense that cold ocean would prove to be to their bodies.
From the mist cleared out a Fire Nation Cruiser as a straight path of ice was formed in the middle of the ocean where the fire nation soldiers were drowning. They gripped on it hurriedly, pulling themselves up while thick pillars of ice rose from under the Komodo Rhinos that finally stopped them from drowning.
*Snort*
"Hey, I'm sorry about that," Nik waved his hand and dried himself and all the Komodo Rhinos, making them feel calmer once again.
"Surrender or find the end of your life in the embrace of the Ocean!" Heroically standing on the bow of the cruiser was Yoki. His dreadlocks flowed to the wind while the cruiser slowly moved through.
*Fwish*
*Crackle*
The firebenders and other personnel of the ship who stood on the icy path suddenly had their bodies covered in the ice below their necks as one of the guys who was thrown on board screamed.
"Hey! We held our deal! You promised us better conditions!"
"What?"
"Traitors!"
The other men and women glared at the men thrown over before. Now they realized that this group alongside the two wooden ships were a distraction but...
How did their cruiser suddenly disappear?
"Did I now?" Yoki narrowed his eyes, "Fine, your group will get better conditions while your brothers and sisters who you all betrayed and will be living next to you will... hmm, how should I put it? They ain't gonna be happy with you."
'There's really no good or bad when it comes to battles after all... just the side you decide to stay with,' Nik observed the situation while petting the head of the purring Komodo Rhino. It has been days since they began their training and turned to part-time piracy. And the tactics Yoki used were morally questionable. The men and women on the ship didn't provoke them yet Yoki and others hit them where it hurt.
But Nik realized something else in this situation. He came to admire Yoki because he didn't wait to get attacked. He sent out scouts regularly and provided for the group including Nik which gave Nik an insight into the basics of leadership.
It's simply the ability to stand in the front and provide for those who are being led.
The captured party soon gave up. While the non-benders were sent into the wooden ships, the firebenders were caged within the prisons built into the cruiser itself. It needs to be noted that these items came to be manufactured during war and a proper space for imprisonment was only natural. Not to mention the deep freezing tactics Yoki placed for any troublemaking firebender.
Aside from this, a cruiser also held a herd of Komodo Rhinos and tanks. Just one cruiser ship meant gaining access to all of that!
And now they had two.
"Hey, good work," Katara jogged on the ocean with ice already forming wherever she stepped as Nik was one of the most prominent individuals when it came to taking care of the Komodo Rhinos. It was actually his division for the time being since the prisoners couldn't be trusted with many things. This also meant why the navigator of the ship was so closely guarded since he is the only one who knew how to steer the cruiser in the first place.
"Don't you look happy," Nik smiled, "Did getting the second cruiser meant that much to you?"
"Are you kidding me?" Katara scoffed, "I have to share a room with Suki but Rena and others get their personal rooms."
"So... you don't want to share rooms with Suki?" Nik titled his head as he continued to herd the Komodo Rhinos towards the metal bridge pulled down to get the beasts up on the ship.
"It's not that," Katara skipped forward with a playful smile. It was clear that learning more about waterbending had a positive feedback on her mood by a great margin, especially due to the sense of freedom it provided in the middle of an ocean.
"We don't mind living together for a while, but it's just nice to think I can finally try and steer a cruiser of my own."
"Yours?" Nik scoffed, "If anything, it's mine."
"Huh, oh yeah, technically, of course. But we know that Yoki only needs one Cruiser and the prisoners are only temporary. This leaves the Cruiser you just got completely free."
"And?" Nik narrowed his eyes.
"I just thought I'd be for us... privately. I didn't think any further yet," Katara blinked, "Maybe I should think a bit further."
Nik shook his head with a smirk, "I could just use it to travel. I already know quite a bit about waterbending so my objective is fulfilled. Maybe I will take the cruiser for an adventure."
"You? Alone?" Katara questioned.
"Suki is welcome, of course," Nik added.
"What about me?" Katara inquired while walking forward and stepping on the bridge.
"Hmm... if only you catch food. Suki and I would be busy staring down the sunset every day."
Katara rolled her eyes and walked ahead, "You're an idiot."
Nik shrugged. 'Nothing wrong with a sunset... it's what we'd be doing while under its scenic view.'
Of course, many things are left better unsaid.
Once the Komodo Rhinos were entered into the stables and guts and other leftovers of dinner filled the bucket to feed them, Nik walked up to the deck and found Hama teaching a class already.
The current distribution was remarkably different than before.
The experienced waterbenders were posted on the wooden ships so that they can keep an eye on the prisoners. One held men and the other held female prisoners. The shift would change periodically and now the three ships weren't too far apart. They moved closer.
As Katara said, Yoki only needed one Cruiser. He never thought of providing a better situation for his prisoners and the wooden ship certainly saw it made his intentions clear.
But there was a reason, according to Yoki, why they were taking prisoners and not just throwing them out on the next island itself. This has something to do with their destination and what the waterbenders intended to achieve.
There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Yoki and others wanted the Northern Water Tribe liberated and as bitter as it may have felt to some, holding prisoners would prove to be a good leverage.
"Hey, good job, Nik," Yoki grinned as he walked by, patting Nik's shoulder. He received smiles and nods from others while making his way towards Hama. His contributions were clear-cut. Even if Nik was only getting better at waterbending and lacked experience and the subsequent adaptation needed in every battle, he just did something others couldn't and this support was quite great.
They wouldn't have managed to pull off their first act of piracy if it wasn't for him taking out the ship back then, too.
"Care to join in now?" Hama scoffed sarcastically the moment Nik walked near the group. Katara was already practicing. Emphasis on the word practice.
The woman learned things at a pace that left others shocked! Katara was dubbed a prodigy by Hama and actually sparred with her now.
On the other hand, even if Nik didn't learn things that easily, he could make up for it by practicing longer which played to his advantage.
"Yes, please!" Nik smiled, not minding the sarcasm. Not that it mattered anyway. With how old Hama is, she should spend what little time she has doing things she liked— for instance, making others feel like shit.
"Hey, good job today, too," A woman close to Nik whispered with a smile. An obvious one at that. Just before he could respond, however, Nik couldn't help but stretch out his hand and stop a ball of ice almost crashing into his face.
He had already heard the exasperated snort of the 'opponent' and the shrill noise of the ice flying towards him. Seeing this, the woman sheepishly stood a bit farther away while Nik stared in Katara's direction who continued to create spikes of ice and melt them into loops of water.
"She just challenged you. Are you going to take it lying down?" Hama goaded, more than willing to view a heated match after a great victory.
"Challenge? Katara clearly missed." Nik smiled.
"What's that?" Katara stopped and looked at Nik.
"I meant, with how much Hama is training you, the least you can do is hit the intended target," Nik continued leisurely as Hama's gaze brightened.
"Katara! He just challenged you. Are you going to take it lying down?"
Katara merely rolled her eyes at the obvious attempts and crossed her arms, "I merely wanted to check if the recent victories haven't gotten to your head and test your awareness."
"Right," Nik nodded as he bobbed his head up and down a little while looking around.
*Swish*
The water Katara had dropped suddenly whipped up and latched onto Katara's feet only that she moved away quick enough.
"See?" Katara smiled, "Awareness."
However, Nik's smile widened and others looked in her direction. To be more precise, they looked behind her.
Sighing softly, Katara, too, looked behind and found a simple sphere of water. But to a waterbender, it may as well be a spike of ice almost lodged into the nape of their necks.
"How did you do that? It would have taken more time to take a bit from the ocean," Katara pondered and inquired curiously.
"That's because he did not bend water from the ocean. He bent it from moisture around you," Hama spoke up this time and looked in Nik's direction, "But I also want to know... How did you do that?"
"By this move that you taught?" Nik waved his hand as Hama and others rolled their eyes.
"I meant," Hama added, "How did you come up with the idea?"
"Because... it's water around us." Nik stated concisely. If others got it or not, it wasn't his problem but they would need to be pretty stupid to not understand it. In fact, due to the nature of their cruiser and how it needed steam to operate, the surroundings are often humid even when they are traveling to the north. This gave him more insight and the training allowed him to finally manage and bend water of the humidity.
"Hmm," Hama nodded, "Just practice on your own and if you want to try and learn the same thing, gather around. This might as well be a factor in protecting your lives later on."
As a few walked ahead, Katara, too, walked by Nik.
"Hey," Nik called out and Katara looked back at him.
"I just... want to apologize," Nik smiled and Katara's expression turned slightly better, "No, what I did was sudden, too..."
"You know what," Nik blinked, "I have an idea. How about I help you free up your room for the day?"
Katara looked confused for a moment while Nik offered innocently, "You said that you wanted a little privacy. I can persuade Suki to stay in my room for the night. I mean, it's going to be hard since the two of you are such good friends. So, that would mean you also owe me just a tiny bit."
Finally realizing the ploy, Katara glared at Nik. He never intended to apologize. It was bait to hide his real intentions.
It couldn't be clearer that Nik was learning a thing or two from Yoki but just applying the lessons elsewhere.
"Do whatever you want!" She scoffed and left.
With that Nik began to practice on his own, too. Hama had taught enough moves for Nik to practice then constantly but she also encouraged innovating the moves to better accommodate the user itself. To personalize their bending style, that is. Of course, Hama didn't expect anything groundbreaking but she made it clear that the basic and advance moves that she taught are merely the foundation on which a bender must stand and build himself or herself.
While practicing, Nik looked in the direction of the ship that held the female prisoners.
The moment the job opened up, Suki listed herself for the task to guard the prisoners. Nik couldn't really blame her either. She had been only training constantly and it had begun to frustrate her. Taking this job provided something for Suki to do and not feel like a third party when everyone around her was a waterbender.
Nik alongside a few other waterbenders soon jumped down the ship as the pace of the group naturally slowed down. It was already dusk and Nik was on the hunting group tonight.
The hunting party was divided into divers and watchers. The waterbenders would dive into the ocean while making sure that the pressure wouldn't affect their bodies, the ears, specifically, and capture schools of fish. The watchers, on the other hand, would form a mobile ice platform to stand on and collect the game while looking out and preparing to be a backup.
With his status as a novice, Nik was a watcher but he wasn't fond of diving in the first place. He would if asked to but not voluntarily. He had already done it multiple times now. Even today, he waterbent to move quickly under the surface and store the cruiser in his personal space. Despite her short temper and sadistic nature, Hama is a good teacher who had a way with waterbending that even Yoki couldn't compete with.
Catching a school of Tiger Salmons was a bit hard. Not only were they a tad bigger than the usual size found closer to the shores, but this school was also more aggressive. Of course, chances of them being more delicious than ordinary were great, too. Tiger Salmons had rough scales so when cut up, they needed to have their scales peeled out too.
While the insides of the salmon would be the dinner for the Komodo Rhinos, the rest would be used up quickly enough. After all, not only did they have a hungry waterbenders to feed but also the prisoners from two ships. However, there was one thing distinct about the firebenders captured.
Yoki kept them in the line between starvation and barely full.
According to Yoki and Hama, firebenders thrived on full stomachs. They would be more vigorous, too.
Similar to how the waterbenders were kept in an extraordinarily high temperature and were kept parched so that they couldn't waterbend precious water meant to recover their thirst, the firebenders would be kept in a cold location achieved by making the temperature of the prison compartment colder and simultaneously feed the firebenders less than necessary so that their bodies don't have enough drive to firebend which will continue to sap on their motivation, too.
And what better than feeble prisoners in time of need. It was shown today itself as to how prisoners were willing to dupe their own for a better condition in imprisonment because they themselves believed that the cruiser would be dealt with quickly.
---
"You still think Yoki is wrong?" An amused chuckle broke Suki out of her period of blankness while she stared at the few women present in the ship.
The gender ratio isn't that staggering since there are plenty of female firebenders who also drafted themselves into the nation's military. But when it came to non-benders, there weren't many females that would risk exposure of such nature. This played out in the form of enough manpower in this ship but the male side was almost fully packed and if they weren't in the ocean and the guards weren't war-hardened waterbenders, there would have already been a riot there.
Suki exhaled softly. She was in her Kyoshi attire and the paint on her face made it harder for others to easily read her emotions.
"Hey, Rena," Suki greeted the woman she had come to know amongst other members.
The waterbender in question was younger than others and also frail. A lack of nutrition.
But the situation had changed and every waterbender ate their fill.
"It's not about right or wrong," Suki muttered once Rena stood close to her, "I understand. This is leverage to get your home back. But... I just hope that Yoki isn't also doing this out of personal vendetta."
"Personal vendetta?" Rena chuckled, "Is this what's been eating at you?"
"Let me tell you something... this is normal. It's not personal at all... because look at them..."
Rena gestured with her chin, "None of them have been played with."
"Played with?" Suki questioned.
"Yeah, see? This is such a beautiful ocean. Just two days back we hunted a pack of Lantern Sharks. We could have made a game out of them and any 'fortunate' prisoner could have been the bait."
Suki grew silent and Rena didn't speak any further.
"Did that... Ehm, Was this kind of thing common?" Suki whispered.
"Not with the guards who watched us. It's like that Hara said... he may be a scum be he ain't that bad. The worse came during inspections... Though, I would rather not relive that."
"Sorry," Suki sighed.
"Well, you can show me how sorry you are if you let me share a bite with your man!" Rena grinned.
"Not happening," Suki rolled her eyes, "Don't think I don't know what you girls are upto when you say sharing a bite!"
"Aw! Come on! You just bunk with Katara all the time. It's not like anyone else is warming him up... and I can certainly reward my hero~!"
Rena let out a frustrated purr with stars in her eyes that caused Suki to cringe and shove the woman away. Not minding the act, Rena merely laughed while finding her post and overlooking the prisoners. Suki, on the other hand, cast a worried glance in the direction of the main Cruiser ahead.
Soon, Suki was relieved from her duty for the day and she boarded the iceberg boat and reached the main ship. There were many such platforms being waterbent back and forth as it carried food for the prisoners and many other waterbenders that were moving towards the wooden ships to relieve others for the time being.
As she stepped on the cruiser, she found a giant metal vat set in the middle of the deck. Two waterbenders continued to boil the water within. Bone soup, Suki knew of it. The veterans onboard didn't like wasting the catch so this nutritious supper had become part of her diet but this couldn't be all of it and everyone knew it. While they can live off of fish and soup for quite some time, they needed the inclusion of other forms of food to not fall sick in this voyage.
Not only that, the fragrance of salmon filled the area already.
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