Dragon At Heart

Chapter 33

33. An Inside Job

"How do you feel about the position of an admiral?"Zuko finished his explanation and glanced to the side to see if anyone had heard them, despite knowing that it wasn't actually possible for anyone to eavesdrop on his words when they were communicated through a mind link.

It had taken Zuko most of the morning to track down Nakki. He had finally found the river spirit touring the street vendors, once again in the guise of Taro. The Prince had dragged Nakki only a little distance from the main square, and now it was close to midday, so the area was buzzing with people. Zuko had wanted to relocate somewhere less exposed, but Nakki had pointed out that skulking around was far more suspicious than hiding in plain sight, and the Prince had to agree to the spirit's logic. A dragon could not easily go unnoticed wherever he went in the icy city.

Nakki looked thoughtful as he leaned against an ice fence. Zuko did not urge him. The Prince was aware that he had not necessarily done the greatest job of articulating his plan to his would-be accomplice, mostly due to the fact that Zuko was in his dragon form again. The Prince had never had difficulties talking to Tuli with the Power of Dragons, but it turned out that not all spirits were immune to the problems that came with forming a mind link.

Zuko found that although he could communicate to Nakki in this from, he was unable to see into the water spirit's thoughts and memories, so he didn't get any feedback on whether he had been understood or not. Zuko did not know how different spirits truly were from humans, but he feared that they were different enough that thoughts could be lost in translation.

"There is no part of this plan that I object to, but", Nakki spoke up in a quiet voice, so that only Zuko could hear him, "I hope you realize that I will most likely not be able to take Admiral Zhao on in a fight."

Zuko nodded and communicated: "Don't worry about it. Uncle will take care of that part."

"Also, 'taking care of things' must not involve an epic firebending duel across the flagship's deck. I know you firebenders like your honor and straightforward strategies, but being able to defeat the Admiral is meaningless if it cannot be done without raising alarm."

Zuko nodded again.

Nakki continued: "We also cannot, at any point, have two Zhaos running around, or no one will follow orders from either without hesitation. If it comes down to proving who is who, I will loose. The fake Admiral will only stand superficial scrutiny, since, alikeness and my considerable acting talents aside, there is only so much I can bluff without Zhao's knowledge, memories or bending."

Zuko understood how awkward the transition would be if Iroh's part in the treason was found out, or Zhao's change of heart was too unbelievable. "I am aware of the risks, and have no intention of being stupid about this."

Nakki's face brightened: "Then you can count me in. When do we start?"

A small wave of relief washed over Zuko. There were still many details that needed to be hammered out and a myriad of things that could go wrong, but Nakki agreeing effortlessly was a start. Now Zuko had an accomplice, which meant he didn't have to solve all his problems by himself.

"Before we can do anything to Zhao, I need to explain this plan to Uncle, since his participation is crucial. However, I am not sure how to reach him before the fleet gets here. I could fly south and hope I run into the fleet, but that would not be subtle, and stopping to communicate could raise suspicions."

"I doubt reaching General Iroh before the fleet arrives at the Northern Water Tribe would give us much of a head start, anyway. To us, the sooner the fleet changes its direction the better, but we also need to give the Admiral a plausible reason for his sudden change of heart. There is a risk in waiting, but personally, I find it more believable that Zhao would call off the invasion at the sight of the Water Tribe's great walls, or after some initial battles have not gone as smoothly as was hoped, rather than somewhere halfway between here and the Earth Kingdom."