War, Tanya mused, was a heck of a lot less stressful when your side was winning.
Now at the age of 14, Tanya had served in the navy for over a year. And what a good year it had been. There had been a couple of naval battles, but Tanya's assumption that the Earth Kingdom would not focus its efforts so much upon maintaining a strong navy had proven correct.
The only combat she saw was attacks on lone ships and the occasional raid on seaside settlements, which was less of a battle and more akin to piracy. Child's play to the battlefields she'd seen in her second life.
Most of the time their missions were to escort supply ships. With a number of achievements under her belt and a commander like Zhao, who was more than eager to report back to command how instrumental Tanya had been to their victories, she'd quickly found herself bumped up to the rank of captain.
Technically speaking she now commanded Azulon's Revenge, although since Zhao chose to maintain it as his flagship she did not have the ultimate authority to control its destination or troops that she'd have liked.
Their current assignment was her personal favourite: guard duty. Henge Harbour was a port town in the southwestern Earth Kingdom that had been captured by the Fire Nation fairly early on into the war, and had quickly been converted into a major military base.
Its close proximity to Southern Water Tribe territory had made it ideally placed to channel fresh troops and supplies against two enemy nations, and it had been subjected to such rapid development over the years that now little but a shadow remained of the original Earth Kingdom architecture.
Commander Zhao had all the ships under his command harboured here for protection while a formidable army nearby was preparing itself to march in conquest towards Omashu.
It was as Tanya was enjoying this rare moment of peace, feet up on her desk as she lazily signed off stacks of paperwork, that a sharp knock on the door caught her attention.
"Enter."
The door opened to reveal one of the dockside clerks, who quickly snapped into a salute. "Captain, there's a vessel pulling into harbour."
"And?" Tanya raised a questioning eyebrow. The arrival of one ship wasn't something that needed to be brought to her attention.
"Well, Captain, it's a very outdated model. From the early years of the war if I'm not mistaken. And badly damaged at that."
Okay, admittedly that was unusual. Tanya was never one to advocate wasting resources, but even so she hadn't been aware that there was such an outdated ship even serving in the navy.
There was a possibility that this was part of some trick, but if so Tanya couldn't fathom what its purpose would be. This was worth investigating. "Very well, I'll head over."
"Commander Zhao had already been informed. He is en route now."
With a nod of acknowledgement, Tanya fixed her cap on her head and set out to the harbour. Wherever she went soldiers snapped to attention and saluted her. Before long she arrived at the harbour, just in time to catch three familiar figures in a tense conversation.
"... That's quite a bit of damage." Commander Zhao drawled, eyeing the newly arrived ship warily. Understatement of the year.
The ship, which was indeed of the smaller and less threatening models used nearly a hundred years ago, was littered with dents and deep gashes: as if it had gone toe-to-toe with a sea monster and lost.
"Yes, you wouldn't believe what happened." Replied a gruff teenage voice in an attempt at a sincere tone that just screamed lying. He always had been the most atrocious liar. "Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened."
Prince Zuko, for that was indeed who the mystery ship seemed to belong to, had grown up during his two years in exile. And not just in the sense that he was taller. Time at sea had stolen away the softness from his body, leaving him with sharper features and a leaner build.
There was a hardness to his stance now too: an aggression that she'd never seen during his younger years, and a wariness in his eyes that spoke of the difficult trials he'd no doubt faced. The most noticeable difference however was, without a shadow of a doubt, the scar.
Tanya had not been witness to that infamous Agni Kai, or the events that preceded it, but Azula had explained what happened to her. Three years ago Zuko had decided to sit in one of the firelord's war councils.
Whatever strategies had been discussed there had to be kept top secret, but apparently Zuko had insulted the honour of the Fire nation army by implying that they were weak and should retreat from an enemy force they clearly outnumbered. As tradition dictated, Firelord Ozai had no choice but to challenge his son to an Agni Kai.
Agni Kais were a tricky custom. They were considered fights of honour, and though there was no legal set of rules governing them, traditionally an Agni Kai was only won when one opponent burnt the other.
It was also acceptable to spare your opponent or duel them to the death, but most of the nation regarded these outcomes as too soft and too cruel respectively. It was well known that when his Agni Kai had begun, Zuko had immediately dropped to his knees and begged his father for forgiveness.
Azula claimed that Zuko's courage had simply deserted him once it had sunk in just how much danger he'd put himself in, though Tanya suspected there was more to it than that. There were few people for whom the idea of attacking their own family would sit well.
Yet Ozai had not challenged his son in a personal capacity, for it was not his personal honour that had been insulted. It was the honour of the Fire Nation military that Zuko had insulted, and as the ultimate head of the military Ozai had to act in a way befitting the Firelord.
To have accepted his son's forfeit with a slap of the wrist would have set a precedent that it was okay to dishonour the military, and would have had the people up in arms at such a blatant show of familial favouritism.
For the sake of upholding the traditions of the nation Ozai had no choice but to settle the Agni Kai in the customary way: by burning his opponent.
It had not been an act of cruelty, but of duty. Politics had tied Ozai's hands.
Back in the homeland, with Zuko not around and Azula there to explain it to her, Tanya had swallowed that explanation easily enough. Now though, seeing the result of that fateful day forever painted across the face of a childhood friend, something about it just didn't sit right.
Did Ozai really have to burn him quite so badly? It was a miracle that Zuko could see out of that eye at all.
By Zuko's side stood former-general Iroh, who's face passed through a myriad of comical expressions as his nephew put him on the spot to explain the state of their ship. "Yes! I will do that! It was incredible!" The elderly man exclaimed, before leaning closer to Zuko and not-so-subtly muttering. "What, did we crash or something?"
"Yes!" Zuko continued. "Right into an Earth Kingdom ship."
"Really?" Zhao, unsurprisingly, sounded sceptical. "You must regale me with all the thrilling details. Join me for a drink?"
Zuko glared at him and made to leave. "Sorry, but we have to go."
"Zuko. Show Commander Zhao your respect." Iroh admonished, stopping his ward with a hand on the shoulder. "We would be honoured to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favourite."
"Then please, allow me to escort you."
All eyes turned her way as Tanya made her presence known. It was interesting to see the different reactions from the three men: delight from Zhao, shock from Zuko, and a blend of surprise and concern from Iroh.
"Hello Zuko. You've grown."
"T- Tanya?! What are you doing here?" Zuko gasped. Really? Did the uniform not make it obvious?
"Captain Tanya has been serving under my command for a year now." Zhao answered smugly.
"Captain! That's quite the achievement for one so young." Iroh said, bowing his head to her politely. "It is a pleasure to see you again Tanya."
"Likewise." Tanya replied, her tone curt and her bow a little stiffer.
If Iroh picked up on her distaste for him, he did an excellent job of hiding it. "You know I've heard rumours of a young lady with golden hair serving in the navy. One who they call The Fairy. That wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"
Tanya grimaced. "Unfortunately so." Of all the nicknames that could have followed her from her previous life, why did it have to be that one? Argent had sounded so much better.
"Of course, I hear they have a different name for you in the Earth Kingdom." Iroh continued, his eyes narrowing for a fraction of a second. "The Devil of the South Sea."
They did? That was news to her. Was it too much to ask for an epithet that didn't refer to some form of supernatural creature? Or better yet, one that didn't have anything to do with war whatsoever? She'd much rather be famed for her exceptional personnel management skills.
"You're very knowledgeable about Earth Kingdom rumours." Tanya shot back.
Iroh shrugged. "We've heard things here and there during our travels."
"Yes, I'm sure the pair of you have had quite a few adventures over the years." Tanya replied suspiciously. Suddenly she turned on her heel and began walking away. "Come, the officer's quarters are this way. I'd love to hear all about your journey."
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