Chapter 12

The Dragonhawk anchored off a small island with a single fishing village named Eohang on it. Taking the Village wasn't exactly hard, they only had a single, square, watchtower which was garrisoned with just one group of sixty Non-Benders led by a one-eyed Firebender. Said Firebender was easily dispatched by General Iroh, who had insisted on striking first blood against the Pirates as a way to avenge the honor of the Royal Family of the Fire Nation that had been sullied by the attack on Prince Zuko.

Most of the Non-Bending Troops surrendered after that, revealing themselves to be locals from Eohang who had been conscripted by the Waegu Pirates to serve as Garrison Troops for the Watchtower, given looted weapons and armor and drilled minimally by the Firebender, a man named Baki the Thunderer, primarily for his loud shouting rather than any facility with Lightningbending.

General Iroh accepted their surrender and offered them the chance to return to their village. Around forty of the sixty conscripted villagers accepted the opportunity, leaving only twenty of the Conscripts willing to man the watchtower, now that their Island was under new, non-Pirate, management. With that, the first blow to the Waegu Pirates was struck and General Iroh had done it all by himself.

With Eohang as a rallying point, General Iroh sent word to his contacts to gather there. The battalion of fighting men that were promised arrived in drips and drabs over the course of the next few days, though Bikki didn't think much of them. They were a motley collection of Underworld Enforcers, Street Toughs, and Mercenaries with equipment that varied depending on the area and Organization they had come from.

At the same time, various ships of different types also rallied to Eohang. From Earth Kingdom-style Junks to Water Tribe-style Cutter Ships, and even stranger things, such as pre-steam power Fire Nation Kobune or Waegu Island Panokseon with their oars as well as sails.

It was the companies of Warriors from Tamna Island who had come in on a Waegu Panokseon that were equipped the most familiarly to Bikki. A Company of Sixty warriors that had come from Geng-I City on Tamna Island, the third largest urban center in the Waegu Islands and one of the three Towns that could even be considered to be called cities in the Islands.

The Tamna Island Warriors had been raised by the head of the Tamna Island Black Market, a man named Kil-Un, and sent as his contribution to the invasion. Unfortunately, when he had done so, he did not want to buy and pay for an established group of Mercenaries. Instead, Kil-Un had hired on the remnants of three separate, destroyed, mercenary groups from Tamna Island who had been whittled down to around twenty men each from fighting on the mainland in the War. Fortunately, they were all from the same martial tradition and thus equipped and trained with the same weapons and armor.

They were equipped with spears, bows, and single-edged, one-handed, swords that were called Hwandudaedo, or ring pommel blades because of the round, ringed, pommels that the weapons had. They also wore familiar armor, boiled leather stiffened with lacquer, which was something that the Yonbanjin also made use of, though Bikki's people tended to import steel ingots from the Fire Nation to forge lamellar armor these days. In times past, however, or if a warrior was not wealthy enough or did not have a patron to provide, lacquered boiled leather and fur was still the go-to armor for many of Bikki's countrymen.

It was perhaps, unsurprising when, upon seeing Bikki's Familiarity with the equipment in use by the Tamna Island Warriors, and realizing that the Tamna Island Warriors required a Captain for the upcoming battle, General Iroh appointed Bikki the new Captain of the Tamna Island Warriors. It seems their current Captain, a Man named Song Sawman, had fallen gravely ill from eating poorly prepared Bogeo and had been badly poisoned. As Song Sawman had been a lieutenant of Kil-Un's put in place to keep an eye on the Tamna Island Warriors, it was likely a good thing the man was out of the picture, however.

Bikki set to his new task with Gusto, drilling the Tamna Island Warriors and seeing to their upkeep. They were surprisingly good sports about it and Bikki helped them turn from a collection of smaller groups of hired mercenaries into a fully-fledged unit over the course of the week that they waited at Eohang for everyone to arrive at the rally point. In that time, he got to know the officers of the Tamna Island Warriors fairly well.

Lieutenant Suk-Jong was Bikki's second in command, a decently accomplished swordsman and the son of a prosperous Tamna Island Pearl Merchant, his finely embroidered silks and oiled beard belied a shrewd nature and an almost infectious, gregarious, confidence in his abilities as a strategist and swordsman that would carry him far.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Dal-Sam was more understated, preferring plain black cotton, his sole concession to fashion, a silk headband, also had a practical purpose, which was to keep his long hair out of his eyes when using his bow. Dal-Sam was a good archer and a decent spearman, but his swordsmanship needed work. However, where Lieutenant Suk-Jong was a boisterous man, Lieutenant Dal-Sam was quiet and more aloof, though no less confident in his abilities.

Finally, Lieutenant O-Muel was a more rugged, older, man who had worked his way up in rank and wealth by managing a trading coster. He'd come to the Soldier's Life in his mid-thirties after he married his recently-discovered spearmanship talent with his knowledge of economics to serve as a functioning quartermaster and a decent battlefield leader. He threaded the needle between Dal-Sam and Suk-Jong, being the even-tempered one of the three without having the cool, aloofness that Dal-Sam had, and which rubbed many people the wrong way.

Together, these three formed Bikki's small Command Staff and would be his right arm in what would effectively be his first military campaign. Overall, however, General Iroh was in command of the invasion, with Prince Zuko being the General's aide-de-camp. Prince Zuko was fuming about how that effectively meant he was forced to sit back with the command group and not fight unless forced. Unfortunately, the General refused to budge on the issue, even when it was pointed out that Bikki would be fighting on the front lines.

Eventually, however, everyone who would arrive had arrived. In total, in addition to the Dragonhawk and its Marine Complement, there were five hundred fighting men of various types of quality and equipment and thirteen ships of varying types. Six-hundred-sixty Troops in eleven companies of Sixty Troops each.

The Tamna Island Warriors and their Panokseon, the Wolfporpoise weren't even the only more professional group, there were also the Red Banner Roughnecks in their Earth Kingdom Junk, the Cutting Dao, under Captain Lau, the Sons of Kiviuq and their Water Tribe Cutter Ship, the Blue Sea Courser, under Captain Aukanek, and the Sun Raiders and their Fire Nation Kobune, the Skyfire, under Captain Fukushima.

Of these Professional Forces, the Sun Raiders were equipped the best, as they had a number of ballistae they could break out in the event of a siege, while the Sons of Kiviuq were equipped the worst, in their light cloth and fur Water Tribe Armor with their Cutter Ship lacking any on-board weapons apart from the ram. All were disciplined enough with their weapons and formations to be a cut or two above the rest.

Speaking of the rest, they were a motley collection of Yakuza Men, Triad Enforcers, Black Market Thugs, and other sorts of less-than-professional forces. Likewise, their ships tended to be converted from captured merchants or smuggler ships, with a literal Pirate Cutter or Junk thrown in that looked like it had been repaired recently. Bikki didn't think that they would be of very much use outside of maybe a few skirmishes and raids. He made his frustrations known to General Iroh.

"These thugs are just as likely to break and run in a stand-up battle as they are to hold their ground. Besides which, I would hate to have them garrison a territory. They'd immediately begin turning to banditry under the guise of 'collecting taxes' or some other nonsense." Protested Bikki.

"That may be so, but we need them to equalize the numbers disparity. I am sure it has not escaped your notice that out of the entire contingent of six-hundred-sixty troops we were sent, there were only four benders. One of which, Captain Song Sawman, is currently on his deathbed from pufferfish poisoning. Meanwhile, our latest intelligence reports state that the Pirates have around twenty benders left on Seom Yosae. To say nothing of non-Bending Fighting Men, of which they still have more than two-thousand-five-hundred." Pointed out General Iroh.

"And even with our crew, we have at most ten benders and six-hundred-eighty Troops who aren't needed to run the ships. I understand that, but surely having the Dragon of the West on our side, along with an actual Cruiser, even if it is an obsolete Szeto-class, counteracts that some?" Questioned Bikki.

"If I am going to take the field, then something has gone drastically wrong with the battle. I will largely be remaining behind the front lines, coordinating the attacks on the Island of Seom Yosae. There are five Pirate Forts that need to fall, along with three main port towns before we can attack the Commodore's Citadel at Seonan City. Our forces need expert coordination if we are to succeed." Informed General Iroh.

"Which is where you will be, along with Prince Zuko." Remarked Bikki.

"Indeed. Fortunately for us, the Pirates may have over three times our numbers in Troops along with twice our number of benders, but there are a few factors that should allow us to achieve victory, if we can exploit them. For instance, they have eight points of importance they need to defend, which means splitting their troops up eight ways. It is likely that we will not be facing more than three-hundred-twenty troops and two benders at any one time." Explained General Iroh.

"What if they combine their forces?" Questioned Bikki.

"That likely will not happen quickly. Our opponents are a conglomeration of bickering pirate captains held together out of fear of their Commodore more than any real sense of camaraderie. By the time they do combine forces, it is likely that we will have already defeated a significant portion of their overall troop strength." Continued General Iroh.

"Which means we're hoping to defeat them in detail. At least enough so that when they finally do get their act together, the numbers will be more equal." Nodded Bikki.

"Just so, Lord Bikki. Just so." Grinned General Iroh.

At that, Prince Zuko entered the command tent, a scowl on his face as he did so. It was clear from the look on his face that Prince Zuko had no fewer qualms about using Criminal Forces as troops in the upcoming campaign than Bikki had. The Prince was no less shy about saying so than Bikki was, either.

"Uncle, you can't possibly be seriously considering taking these men into battle! I had to break up no less than three brawls on the way here from the supply depot you had me establish earlier in the week! They've drunk what has to be half the wine in Eohang already!" Scowled Prince Zuko.

"We need the numbers, Prince Zuko. Unlike your father, we do not have the loyalty of legions of disciplined forces at our disposal for this conquest." Placated General Iroh.

"Still, it seems like we're only one lost drunken dice game away from a major mutiny or riot!" Pressed Prince Zuko.

"Look at it this way, Prince Zuko. At the very least, if these men die to achieve our objectives, that means that there will be fewer problems in the Archipelago once we resume our hunt for the Avatar. After all, the various criminal factions will have been bled of enforcers this way. Plus, we can earn the loyalty of four, disciplined, companies of fighting men, along with their ships and the Archipelago as a whole. Surely that's worth putting up with a few brawls?" Queried Bikki.

"I suppose, but it's more likely that they'd flee the field rather than fight and die." Grumbled Prince Zuko.

"We cannot win without them, Prince Zuko. The enemy has too much strength, even with my strategy." Insisted General Iroh.

"Fine, but I still don't like it." Groused Prince Zuko.

Lieutenant Jee entered the planning tent next, nodding at Bikki and saying, "Your Lieutenants want a word. Apparently, the Tamna Island Warriors are getting restless in camp, just drilling. I think they want to know when we'll be moving out."

Bikki looked at General Iroh, who studied a map along with various reports that his contacts had sent him. The Dragon of the West frowned, chewing his mustache for a moment before looking up at Bikki.

"We sail for Seom Yosae in three days. Let your lieutenants know the Eve of Battle will soon be upon us." Intoned General Iroh.

Bikki nodded and left to rendezvous with his Lieutenants. They proved to take the news with surprising good cheer and went to let the Company know. Over the next two days, Bikki put the Tamna Island Warriors through their paces, intensifying their drill as much as was feasible before mandating a day of rest and offering an extra ration of wine to the company. He wanted them rested for the battle to come. On that last day, Bikki was presented with a magnificent piece of lacquered, leather armor in vibrant red and blue, the colors of his People, by General Iroh as a sign of command. The next day, the attack force set sail for Seom Yosae.

Their first target was the Pirate Fort of Bukda Neungbo, the Red Bastion. If they could take that, then the Port of Woncheon would be open to attack and they would have destroyed two of the eight contingents of the Pirate Army in the opening few days of the Invasion. It was a solid plan, as expected of the Dragon of the West.

And Bikki would be right at the forefront, leading the Tamna Island Warriors as part of the assault. . .

XXXX

AN: So yeah, here we see the troops, preparations, and plans that General Iroh has for the attack on Seom Yosae Island, which is essentially the Capital of the Waegu Archipelago under the Pirate Administration. There are a lot of Korean names in the Archipelago because of how I'm portraying the culture. Think the IRL Wokou Pirates if instead of being primarily Japanese, they were Primarily Korean.

As to why Bikki is getting a field command while Zuko is serving as Iroh's aide-de-camp, that's for a reason that has to do with the respective positions of either of them. I know some people might think it's unrealistic for the Crown Prince to not be given his own command, but hear me out.

Being a Captain in command of a Company of Troops is a good position, but it teaches how to lead a relatively small unit on the front line. It's a good spot for a retainer, but that retainer will have to work his way up more to get any real, army-level command experience.

Meanwhile, being the Aide-De-Camp to the General in charge of the entire invasion gives experience with leading entire armies. It also gives valuable experience and the ability to learn not just tactics, like a Captain's position would, but also grand strategy and logistics as well. Even despite the fact that it isn't Zuko's own command.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve the attack on Bukda Neungbo, the Red Bastion.

Stay tuned. . .