Chapter 17

The Avatar was a young boy. He was short with a thin, acrobatic frame, which added together with his bald head and childishly round face made him seem naturally innocent. But Tanya was not fooled for a second. She knew better than anyone that looks could be deceiving.

"Avatar…" She whispered to herself as the bison soared just a few feet above her head, kicking up a squall of wind in its wake that buffeted her golden hair into a wild mess. "This isn't over."

...

In just a few seconds the bison had cleared the blockade and began to shrink into the empty blue sky of the Fire Nation. Tanya grit her teeth, and resisted the urge to stomp her foot like a petulant child.

It had been so long now that she'd almost forgotten the frustration of failing a mission. The fact that it hadn't been because of anything she'd done wrong didn't make it any less vexing.

Tanya was broken out of her thoughts by a large hand grasping her shoulder, and looked up at the remarkably calm face of Zhao. Strange, she would have thought he of all people would be more upset.

"There's no time Captain." He stated curtly. "Do you have your emergency supplies kit prepared?"

"Yes." Tanya replied without hesitation. It was a habit she'd picked up in her second life. You never could know when an enemy invasion might suddenly force you to evacuate your current base of operations, and there was nothing worse than a lack of supplies when fleeing for your life.

Tanya kept a small backpack of dried food, water and a few other useful survival supplies ready in her office so that, in the event of an unforeseen emergency, she wouldn't have to waste vital time packing before she fled.

"Get it." Zhao commanded, his tone making it clear that time was of the essence. In a flash Tanya was running, pushing fully grown soldiers out in her way and clearing stairs two steps at a time in her haste.

When she returned a minute later, backpack in hand, there was an acrid smell across the deck that stung at the corners of her eyes. It wasn't hard to spot the source. Zuko's ship had been hit by one of the projectiles they'd been flinging at The Avatar, and was now bleeding thick black smoke as it slipped narrowly between the blockade of ships.

Strange; she'd been sure the blockade could have caught a ship like Zuko's, and Zhao would have loved to arrest the banished prince for breaking the terms of his exile.

Unless…

When Zhao approached, wearing the satisfied smile he usually wore when explaining a tactical scheme, Tanya had a pretty good idea of what he was about to say. "We may not know where The Avatar is heading," Zhao began, "but we can trust Zuko more than anything to doggedly pursue them until his dying breath.

That smoke signal he's leaving behind will allow the main fleet to track him." His smile faltered for a moment.

"But with a wily ex-general like Iroh on board I wouldn't put it past them to try some form of trickery. I want you to board Zuko's ship, stay hidden, and keep an eye on him. If something goes wrong I trust you to make the right judgement as to what to do."

"Sir, yes sir." Tanya snapped into a salute, then turned crisply on her heel and sprinted towards the railing. As she passed one of the engineers her hand shot out and pinched the welding goggles right off his head, ignoring his surprised shriek of protest, and fixed them across her eyes.

Once she reached the railings she vaulted over them in one huge leap, and for a few seconds enjoyed the thrilling sensation of gravity taking hold of her and pulling her down towards the ocean.

Then jets of flame sparked to life beneath her hands and feet as she triggered her propulsion technique, and like a rocket she raced across the sea towards Zuko's ship.

There weren't many circumstances where the jet propulsion technique could be used stealthily, but the dense cloud of soot and smoke that trailed along behind Zuko's injured ship like a tail provided the perfect cover.

Tanya held her breath as she dove into the black cloud, her eyes thankfully protected by the pilfered goggles.

Even an old warship like this one would probably be based off of the same original designs as their modern predecessors, and that meant that there should be at least one door right at the back that would lead below decks.

Once her feet felt the touch of solid metal beneath them she fumbled forward, eventually finding a metal wall and feeling her way along it until she reached the curved indentation of a doorway.

The moment she was inside and had the door firmly slammed behind her, Tanya gasped for air and allowed herself to let out a hacking cough. Ugh, smoke was disgusting!

A thin sheen of black grime now clung to every inch of her, and she was probably going to smell like a barbecue for the next month. Still it was a small price to pay for a chance to capture The Avatar she supposed. Once she'd caught her breath again Tanya set off down the corridors in search of Zuko.

It was hard not to notice how… experienced Zuko's ship was. It was clear that Zuko had his crew maintain a strict cleaning routine, but cleaning could only go so far against the patches of rust and dull, flaking iron. If this was how the ship looked after it had recently been repaired then Tanya shuddered to think what it had been like before.

It was shocking that Ozai had requisitioned such a shoddy ship for his son. While a small ship like this would be fine for capturing and transporting a single person, surely a task like capturing the almighty Avatar.

Who at the time of Zuko's banishment was believed must be some ancient, experienced waterbender, should have merited the ship to be newly refurbished and reinforced? A second later Tanya shook her head, as if to cast out those borderline treacherous thoughts.

No, Ozai was a practical man, and would surely have provided his son with a more suitable ship if he was able. But every ship they had was already tied up in the war effort, and Zuko's banishment had been unplanned, unexpected and too sudden for Ozai to plan ahead.

This ship must have been the only option available, and any ship was better than no ship at the end of the day.

The distant sound of footsteps and muttering steadily growing louder informed Tanya that someone was coming this way, and she looked around for somewhere to hide. As quietly as she could she opened the nearest door and slid inside.

The room she found herself in was some sort of office. It was almost completely bare, save for a large desk of dark brown wood blanketed by a layer of messy, disorganised papers.

It made the office worker in her cringe just looking at it. The footsteps back outside the door grew closer, until eventually Tanya could discern that they belonged to not one, but two people.

"… is following the smoke, but perhaps we don't have to be where the smoke is?" That was Zuko's voice! "We know that The Avatar's bison has been travelling far and fast enough to need rest soon, but Zhao doesn't."

There was a rustling of paper. A map perhaps? "Look here. Crescent Island is the closest stop nearby. I'd be willing to bet that The Avatar would at least stop there to rest his mount, assuming that it's not his final destination altogether.

Under the cover of the smoke I could sneak off in the landing craft, while you keep the ship heading north and lead Zhao on a wild raven-goose chase."

Iroh hummed, the tone of it suggesting he disapproved but was reluctant to say so directly. Tanya didn't understand why: it was an intelligent strategy, and the only realistic chance Zuko had at succeeding.

"A clever plan, nephew. I could turn around past the next set of islands, pick you and The Avatar up from the other side just after sunset, and then escape back into Earth Kingdom waters before Zhao could catch us.

However for this to work our timing would have to be perfect. A slight delay would leave you stranded. I fear what lengths Zhao would go to if he captures you. Are you sure this is worth the risk?"

"I will risk anything to capture The Avatar and restore my honour!" Zuko replied sharply, the increasing pace of his footsteps betraying that he'd stormed off in annoyance, leaving Iroh behind. "Inform the helmsman of our course! I will prepare the landing craft."

It looked like she wasn't the only one who'd smell like barbeque today after all. Zuko seemed to have developed half a mind for cunning of his own during his exile.

Personally she'd have brought a hand picked team of elite soldiers along with her, but she couldn't fault Zuko's ability to turn the disadvantage of his damaged ship to his own benefit. It might have worked, had he not considered the possibility of a spy infiltrating his vessel. That he hadn't would spell his loss.

Once the footsteps had faded into nothingness, Tanya turned to the office desk and began rummaging through it for writing utensils. With perfectly neat penmanship she wrote a note on the back of an empty slip of paper.

The ship is a distraction. Zuko will sneak out under cover of the smoke. He thinks The Avatar will stop at Crescent Island.

Once the note was finished Tanya neatly folded it up and slipped it into her pocket. A quick trip to the garbage room should be enough to find an empty bottle, and then she could leave a message behind in the ocean for Zhao to pick up. Then it was onward to the vehicle bay.

Hopefully Zuko had room on his landing craft for a stowaway.

...

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