Azulon

The sound of hissing steam and grinding metal fill the air around the ship as the trebuchets were raised out of their storage holds under the surface of the main deck. Back in the bridge, officers were rushing everywhere, preparing for the battle about to happen. A flagship of the Fire Nation Navy verses a Pirate Ship.
“Beat to quarters, and increase our speed. Navigator get us in front of that ship” , ordered Tze calmly; his hand brushing his chin, sitting in his command chair.

“Message Hawk approaching sir!” , shouted the lookout through the intercom pipe. Tze nodded to Captain Chou. The XO immediately left the bridge to retrieve the message.

A loud siren wailed throughout every room in the ship. Hundreds of soldiers prepared for battle, and filed onto the deck; many manning the trebuchets.
Back on the bridge, the Chief of the boat yelled back and forth with the engine room. “Sir we are running at 110%, we can’t go any faster. , reported the Chief of the boast over the loud noise of the Bridge. Tze glanced over to the Chief of the Boat. “Get me 120%” , ordered Tze softly. The Chief of the Boat nodded and went back to yelling at the engine room through the intercom pipe.
“We need more weight to fire the trebuchets. Ballast Control, pump more water into the Azulon. We need that weight to counter the launches of the trebuchets! , ordered the Master at arms.
“Steering control, come left to bearing 270! , ordered the Navigator to the steering crew. The ship violently turned left, washing up water onto the deck. “Current course 270, next turn in 10 minutes to bearing 267” , informed the Navigator to the XO.
“Very good, maintain current course and speed” , ordered the XO as he entered the bridge with the message and took his stance right beside Tze.

Chou handed the message to Tze and stood at attention. Tze glanced over the message and laughed to himself. Chou looked at Tze with a puzzled look as Tze handed him back the message to read. Chou quickly scanned the message and franticly looked towards Tze.
“He’s only bringing 2/5 of the armada?! , questioned Chou, as he was franticly trying to understand the logic behind only sending part of an Armada. A small grin appeared on Tze face.
“General Li is a very intelligent man, and an even greater strategist. There are several reason why he would only send part of the fleet. But I think the fiasco with the first message probably installed doubt in him. Why send the whole fleet on a possible wild chickengoose chase? , replied Tze with a level tone.
“But why would he ignore the orders from command?” , asked Chou, still trying to make sense of the situation. Tze could only shrug. “We’ll just have to ask him when he arrives” , replied Tze as he returned his attention to the noisy bridge.
“Trebuchets are locked on deck and crews have been summoned” , informed the Master at arms as he turned off the siren.
“Very good, Master at Arms, show me to the deck. XO you have the bridge” , ordered Tze as he followed the Master at Arms out of the bridge.

On deck, there was havoc. Soldiers were running back and forth, priming the trebuchets and readying the boarding equipment. In a matter of minutes all the boarding equipment was in position, and the trebuchets loaded and waiting to be lit and fired. Not five seconds later, the Azulon turned, her port side facing the oncoming pirate ship. “All crews prepare for a broadside attack!, yelled the Master at Arms. One by one, the 10 trebuchets lit up, as their payload was ignited.
The master at arms turned to Tze and awaited his final order to launch. Tze squinted hi eyes, seeing the ship come into view. “Master at Arms, give them a broadside across their bow. Theres a member of a noble family being held hostage on that ship” , ordered Tze calmly, maintaining his composure. The Master at Arms nodded and turned to face the trebuchets.
“LET FLY!!!” , roared the master at arms. Within seconds each trebuchet launched their deadly payload. The sound of clanking metal and rubbing ropes filled the air as 10 massive fireballs flew in the sky towards the pirate ship.

The Orleander
Kaito smiled as he heard Tao call that a ship was tracking them. He wanted to have some fun today, and he knew it would happen sooner or later.

Okimi said that there might be people on it, and Kaito chukkled. "Of course there'll be people on it, and I won't hurt them. Their too far away for them to be a real treat, even their fire catapults can't reach us. I'll speed up our ship. And just incase--" Kaito bended the water on a radius around them, making waves that surged powerfully towards the Fire Nation ship, pushing it back as the Orleander moved forward. He continuesly did this until the ship was far enough to not be seen. He dropped to the floor of the deck panting and drenched in sweat. The Fire Nation ship was strong, and it was difficult to push it back.

Kaito slowly stood up and walked to the wheel. He stirred it toawrds a current. It was known as the Mountain Current. It would lead their ship out of the Fire Nation in about a day, and they wouldn't encounter any other ships. And if they did, the ship would either be far ahead of them (on the current) or far behind them (on the current.) The current would lead them straight to the Earth Kingdom Waters, and their first stop Gaoling.

The Orleander smoothly shot into the current, and it was already a league or two into the current when they reached mountains. The Mountain Current travelled between two gigantic mountains in a smooth path (hence the name Mountain Current.) Kaito sighed in relief.

~~The Orleander~~

Okimi sighed in relief as Kaito told him that he wasn't going to harm anyone on the ship. Though as each wave hit the ship behind them she winced. The waves soon faded and she turned to Kaito who was exausted from bending so much water. She went to go help him up but he slowly stood up and walked towards the weel. He turned the wheel so they were in a current. She walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "You should sit down." She said looking at him with concern, "Your tired out."

The Orleander

"Yeah, your right." he said as Okimi put a hand on his shoulder.
He dropped to the ground, sitting comfortably. He gave Okimi a sheepish smile. "I kinda heard you singing earlier, you have a nice voice."

~~The Orleander~~

Okimi sat down next to him when he dropped to the ground. Then he mentioned her singing before, "Oh... my bro... someone taught it to me when I was younger." Okimi said her face not completly facing him. She didn't like talking about her brother. She was always afraid he had fallen in war or had been taken prisoner or worse being tourcherd. And if she didn't talk about him she wouldn't have to face to the awful truth of that happening to him.

The Orleander

"Oh..." he said, noticing she was about to say something else before she used the word someone instead. He looked at her. "Okimi, you shouldn't avoid things. But hell, who am I to tell you want to do." he said in a flat tone. "So will you miss anything back home? You must have left something behind when you joined my crew."

~~The Orleander~~

Okimi nodded to what he said and her head dropped, she wasn't avoiding things... Well she was but it wasn't as if she was keeping things from Kaito... okay so she hadn't mentioned him but he hadn't asked. Okimi's head shot up and she tilted it as he asked her if she had left anything. Okimi shook her head, "The only thing I left was a city to wander" Which was true with her brother gone she had no ties to her home town. Her mother technically was there, but she never was a mother.

The Orleander

Kaito looked at the open sea as they moved through the swift current. He then looked at Okimi and admired her beauty. Her long raven hair shimmered in the light, but he shook his head before his face filled with blush. "I didn't leave anything when I left either. I never met my father, and my mother died when I was young, even though I still am young."

OOC: wow, a 14 year old waterbender who can push away a 1000 foot long capital ship that weighs several hundred tons and displaces twice its weight in water. {sarcasm}Amazing {/sarcasm} *cough* godmod*cough* but I’ll play along =P

IC:

Azulon

The ship lurched back against the rising current. A loud alarm filled the air around the deck. Tze watched as the distance between the Azulon and the pirate ship opened. Tze narrowed his eyes, while the crew frantically fought to keep the long range trebuchets balanced.
“Master at arms, secure the trebuchets and get the men below before they fall overboard” , yelled Tze over the loud noise of the deck. The master at arms nodded and ran to help the men secure the equipment on deck. Tze quickly made his way to the bridge.

The bridge was louder than the deck. Officers were running and yelling at each other as Tze walked in. He quietly sat down in his command chair, and watched the fiasco unfold.
“I want full damage report from all compartments! Navigator mark our bearing and position. Lookouts, I want a full report on the location of the pirate ship, as well as General Li’s armada” roared the XO over the loud commotion of the deck.
“Lookout station to bridge, no sign of the pirate ship or General Li’s ships.”, reported the lookout over intercom pipe.
“New bearing 315, position marked and logged. We are 1 mile from the edge of our waters”, informed the Navigator, as he quickly wrote down notes in his log.
“Ballast Control to bridge, we’re taking on water. Repairs are currently underway” [/i], came a voice from one of the intercom pipes.
“Engineering to Bridge, 2 trebuchets were thrown off balance from the attack, repairs are currently underway [/i], came another voice over a different pipe.
Tze rubbed his temples as thought about what happened. The XO came over to Tze and stood at attention.
“General Li’s armada should be here soon. Launch an emergency flare immediately” , ordered Tze, still focusing on what just happened. The Xo nodded and walked to the wall. He pulled a red lever and a red glow appeared outside as the flare was launched off into the air.
After the initial confusion and panic had passed, the bridge returned to normal. Tze shook off the shame of defeat and pulled his book out and started to read; waiting for General Li to arrive.

OOC: *Gasp!* Yi Feng, I thought that was an NPC ship that Tao made, not your ship, or a ship that someone else is RPing. Im sorry. And he didn't do anything too advanced, he made strong and big waves, then let the natural ways take course. Since he is young, making strong waves took alot of his energy. If he wanted to move the ship back using water bending straight forward, he would probably be dead, or had failed. Sorry again.

The Orleander

Kaito's eyes widened, not from the hug she gave him, but from what she said. He looked at his feet not knowing what to say. Then after a few minutes of thinking he just looked at her and flatly said, "I hope he's okay. If you like him, and say he's okay, he's probably not like the rest of the Fire Nation." He said what he said flatly because he didn't how to say it. He looked away into the sky. He wasn't fond of the Fire Nation, or anyone for that matter, since he was wanted everywhere. And he usually didn't give his opinion about Global Affairs, since he really didn't care, but for Okimi he would give his opinion.

OOC: it’s ok ^_^, little miscommunication. They happen alot sadly >.<, nothing to worry about. It will give ya time to get your crew, and allow me to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet, but then you better watch out.

IC:

Azulon

Tze was lost in his book. He was amazed how everything always has a happy ending; except for a few great tragedies which Tze also enjoys. Tze was happy to now be finished with his book. Part of Tze wished his life would be like that in one of his books. Start out rough in the beginning, but have a happy ending. How Tze hated the modern days. Tze closed his book and gazed out over the ocean, marveling at the beautiful view. It was a shame that Tze couldn’t experience the full beauty of the ocean with his pitiful vision. He let out a small sigh and turned to face the XO who was standing beside him.
“Report?” , asked Tze sternly. Captain Chou shuttered a little; afraid to tell Tze the bad news.
“Our engines are still off line, they took quite a beating. Ballast Control reports the all flooding has been contained. Engineering was unable to repair one of the trebuchets, leaving us with nine functional long range trebuchets, and there is still no sight of either the pirate ship or General Li’s fleet” , replied Chou meekly as he waited for some kind of recourse.

Tze let out a sigh and looked at Chou, his face remaining emotionless. “Very well. Continue your repairs, making sure to get the engines back on line ASAP” , replied Tze as a young officer approached carrying a scroll, and handed it to the XO. The XO quickly opened the scroll and his face went pale.
“It’s from command… They want a status report on the pursuit of the pirates” , informed the XO, trying to read the emotionless expression on Tze’s face. Tze felt a wave of fear run down his back. For the first time since he was nine, Tze was actually afraid. His upper lip trembled slightly as he took the scroll and glanced over it. Tze’s hand shook slightly as he stood up and turned to Chou. “Ill inform command of the failure. I will take full responsibility for the outcome, and I alone will deal with the consequences” , replied Tze softly as he left the bridge and walked down the hall to his room.

Azulon

As Tze walked down the hallway towards his room, he heard a pleasant sounding melody coming from a nearby room. It sounded sad and sweet, like something out of one of his books. He had to find that player. He quickly poked his head in and out of the room lining the hallway. After a quick search, he found the source; a lone man sitting in his room, playing a Morin Khur. Tze stood unnoticed in the doorway, listening to the man play the music. Some time passed before the man noticed Tze. He quickly stopped playing and stood at attention. Tze smiled and nodded to the man.
“You’re quiet good at playing that” , commented Tze as he straightened up.
“Thank you Sir, I’m sorry if I disturbed you sir”, apologized the man, hoping that Tze wouldn’t take the instrument from him. Tze chuckled quietly and look back at the sailor. “Actually, it’s quite the contrary. I enjoyed your playing a lot, and I would like you to play for me in my state room. I have some work I need to get done, and I would appreciate some fine music” , replied Tze as he waited for the sailors answer.
The man nodded back to Tze. “I’ll be ready in two minutes” , replied the man accepting the offer. Tze nodded and walked down the hall to his room, closely followed by the man and his instrument. Tze sat behind his desk and pulled out a piece of scroll; the man sat across the room and set up his instrument. “Any requests sir?” , asked the man as he readied his instrument.
Tze looked up from his desk and looked at the man. “Something slow, like a nice adagio. You know, something bittersweet” , requested Tze as he pulled out a pot of. Seconds later, a slow bittersweet song echoed through the room. Tze smiled and prepared to write the bad news.

To: Grand Admiral Quin
C/O: The Royal Fire Nation Admiralty and High Command
From: Captain Tze Ryu: Commander of the Flagship Azulon Second fleet
Report: Pursuit of the suspect ship and pirates has failed. The pirate ship managed to evade the Azulon and cause major damage to her weapons systems and engines. Repairs are underway, though the suspects will be in Earth Kingdom Waters by the time we are able to make repairs and rendezvous with General Li.
I accept full blame and responsibility for the loss of the pirate ship. I was forced to make an on-the-spot choice, and I choose to attack too early, causing us to give away our position. The crews of the Azulon performed with the precision of surgeons and were in no way responsible for the failure that occurred. I will await your response with most diligence.
Long Live the Fire Lord, my flame burns for thee
Captain Tze Ryu, Commander of the Flagship Azulon, Second Fleet
[/i]
Tze finished writing the message and looked up at the musician who was still playing away. Tze sat back in his chair and enjoyed the music. He knew that the High Command would be displeased by his failure. He only hoped they we’re going to go lenient on him. Tze knew the best way to rid his mind of bad thoughts was to drown them away in music or a good book.
“I will be entertaining some people tonight with my officers, and I would be honored if you would play for us tonight” , asked Tze after breaking the trance he was lost in. The man smiled and nodded in acceptance. He continued on playing for Tze, who sat quietly in his chair, enjoying the slow soft sad melody of the music.

Bridge:

“OFFICER ON DECK!” , yelled the Master at Arms, as General Li walked onboard. Almost instantly, all the men on deck got in formation and stood at attention. Captain Chou quickly walked around the men standing in formation and approached General Li and his escort as they walked onto the deck from the gangplank. Captain Chou saluted General Li and stood at attention.

“Welcome to the Azulom! I am Captain Chou, second in command, and chief of operations. On behalf of Captain Ryu, I welcome you and hope your stay here will be enjoyable” , started Chou.

Azulon

Tze’s State Room:
Tze sat in his chair, tapping his fingers on his desk. Now that the letter was away, he couldn’t do anything. The only comfort Tze could find was in the beautiful music the sailor was playing. Tze let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair. A loud booming voice came over the intercom pipe, causing the man to stop playing abruptly.
“Bridge to Captain Ryu, General Li has arrived and his awaiting your presence on the deck! , reported the chief of the boat. Tze sighed and stood up, and turned to the intercom pipe.

“Very well, I’m on my way up. Infrom the cook that I will be entertaining General Li in my quarters, and to have fresh auderves (spelling), and wine ready” , ordered Tze into the pipe. He turned to the musician and smiled.
“Dinner will be in about an hour. I’d expect to see you there, and for the choice of music. Something uplifting. , requested Tze as he walked out of the room.
Tze walked down the long allway ad out to the deck, seeing that Captain Chou got to the General before he did.

Deck:

Captain Chou was caught off guard by the General’s question, he knew it would come sooner or later, but he still wasn’t ready for it. The General’s tone sent a small chill down his back.
“Captain Ryu is currently attending to important business pertaining to the Admiralty. He will be available shortly, until then; would you like a tour of the ship? , asked Chou, trying to buy Tze enough time to finish his report. Seconds later, the loud screech of a messenger hawk could be heard. The hawk zipped through the sky in the direction of the Capital. Chou could only turn to General Li and smile uneasily.

“That won’t be necessary Captain Chou” , interrupted Tze as he quickly walked beside Captain Chou and saluted.
“General Li, it’s an honor to meet you. You’re reputation precedes you. I am Captain Tze Ryu, Commander of The Fire Nation Flagship Azulon, of the second fleet” , greeted Tze , maintaining strict attention.
“If you would be so kind as to follow me to my state room, where we can discuss business and have a small bite to eat” , offered Tze, extending his hand across the deck towards the bridge

Azulon

Tze forced a smile on his face, and led the General down the hallway towards his room. Tze knew it was wrong, but he ignored the question until they were in his room. He didn’t like discussing such matters in front of the crew. Tze opened the door and led the General in; the chef was just finished setting up a small table and set platters of food. The chef bowed and left. Tze motioned for Captain Chou to enter the room, he wanted the XO to be present for any conversation.
Tze quickly sat behind his small desk and sighed. It was now or never.

“Sorry for delaying the answer to your question, I find it distasteful to discuss such matters in front of the crew, but please help yourself to some food and wine” , confessed Tze, motioning for the General to take a seat.
Tze could feel his hand shaking. “As for our choice top peruse the pirates, I felt it was justified and the right thing to do. But in hindsight, It was foolish of me to advance to quickly” , reported Tze, a touch of hesitation could be sensed in his voice. This was the first time he was ever in trouble for something he did, and to be in the presence of such a well known General made it all the worse.