Tea for my Uncle inbetween game conversations
Without futher adue, a discussion between Oma and Sozu on the trip trip to Omashu,
it's short, but in the interests of a complete record, I post it here.
Oma approaches Sozu soon after she has sent out all her messages. "So, I have some ideas as to how we could approach this, but they all depend on what kind of support we get. I'm sure the Fire Nation is just as eager to deal with these lunatics as I am to protect Omashu. Any ideas on what we might see from the Fire Nation? Or ideas on tactics?" She looks less like Bumi right now, more serious. You can make a bit of a guess as to what her mother must have looked like from her concerned expression.
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Sozu looks tense, and preoccupied with worry; problems that she cannot act upon do by sit well with her, it seems. She has an ink stain or two on her fingers, from her own letter-writing.
"The Fire Lord will undoubtedly send support; to not would... Well, make him look complicit. Probably naval, if it can reach the Earth Kingdom in time. I really don't know if it would be possible to refit any airships for military use," she says, and stops, biting her lip.
"But for troop movement, they would suffice. Tactically, we would need to know what Zhang plans to do before we can make any real plans. And I cannot see that Zhang would attack Omashu from that point, with that force, unless he either is a phenomenal idiot or the most brilliant tactician the world has seen since Sozin."
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Or if he thinks he is the most brilliant tactician the world has seen since Sozin, and everyone else are phenomenal idiots. Is he arrogant enough for that? Forgive my saying so, but ranking Fire Nation officials, present company and Ambassador Iroh excluded, do seem to have a tendency of thinking very highly of themselves."
"I don't know what kind of support will come from Ba Sing Se, if any, it is pretty far. My idea was to put them all in big earth boxes once the troops get on land and hold them for the Fire Lord... but that would take a lot of earth benders... and the ability to surround them without being fried... Unless they don't intend to all come ashore. That's a long time to spend on ships without setting foot on solid ground though..."
"I worry because I don't know if my grandfather will send help... I'm not as patient as him... I think that comes with being old... or the Avatar... I'm not either of those things. I don't want to kill them, but I think it would be a good idea to do what we can to contain them since we know where a large number of them will be. That seems like too rare a chance to pass up."
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"Would King Bumi really not dispatch his standing army immediately?" The Fire Nation Princess seems deeply baffled by this idea; patience? What is patience? Firebenders do not engage in such strange practices. "We need to do something, and I can't see but that your grandfather would agree. You said it. The opportunity is too good and the price for not acting too high."
Then, in regards to Oma's first comment, Sozu shakes her head a little. "For one thing, I'm not an official. And if he believes he's a great enough tactician to pull this off, and he isn't, then he still falls into the 'phenomenal idiot' category." She seems a little prickly after the comment about Fire Nation officials, but doesn't say anything further about it. "And, if they're Naval troops, they're used to spending extended periods of time aboard ship. It likely won't bother them." Sozu points out; "And, when dealing with Earthbenders, it's what I'd do. Stay away from dry land. If there were any coastal targets in the area, they'd be in trouble. I'd expect bombardment from sea."