CHAPTER TWO

THE IROH AWARD

Thirty-six hours earlier, a commemoration video played in front of a crowd of people.

It summarized Asami Sato's achievements within Future Industries, which included the butterfly mechs that worked together to destroy a metal titan over Republic City, jumpsuits designed for the Air Nomads to assist gliding, and the revolutionary vessel capable of transporting whole families in a comfortable airborne shelter between continents.

It concluded her memorial with a nod to her passing and the newspaper headline that described it.

The company had been passed to her Board of Directors including long-time friend and war hero, Mako. He had maintained the business' public affairs until Sato's only living daughter turned 21, old enough to inherit the reins.

Eyes of the world had followed Tanya Sato since she designed her first battery at eight, and her first automobile from scratch at fifteen. The video showed news clippings with photos and headlines where her younger self posed with her finished products.

She overhauled Future Industries' product lines. She invigorated Earth Kingdom factories with automated robots that replaced manned conveyor belts for craftsmanship. Together, she and Mako revised the Fire Nation air force with heat signature-targeting missiles. She outfitted the Northern and Southern Water Tribes with defense artillery.

She transformed war for mankind, all four nations, beyond their wildest dreams. In the Avatar's wake, she brought to them what they never had before.

After the video, applause erupted from all corners of the room. Men in suits, women in gowns, strangers in glittery jewels affixed to their ears and necks and fingernails, joined in a rally to celebrate her. They sat around white dining tables with plates of entrees eaten partway and tall drinks of champagne to mellow them out. Faces nodded to each other. Smiles broke. Blush rode their cheeks pink with one part drink, another part pride.

Ronda Jiggy took the stage in front of them, above them.

She wore cream and ochre-colored fabric with a manila sash to hold the ensemble around her waist. Boro beads and an Air Nomad totem hung from her neck. When she walked, she swayed. When she smiled, she glowed. Lights shined on her brown skin which reflected the accents of her lipstick, foundation, and eye shadow. She carried her hair in a frizzy bun which she had clasped and spun with gold for the occasion.

She eased the crowd with a gesture of both hands. When she spoke, her voice rang true and solid. She had the presence of glamour, that glossy tone that melted honey butter when she opened her mouth. Her voice had the closest thing to a taste as any voice ever had.

"This Spring's Iroh Award recipient is my companion and very dear mentor. You know her as Future Industries' daughter. You might also know her as the Avatar's daughter. I am proud to call her my friend. Please, join me in thanking our Most Honorable Citizen, Tanya Sato."

The crowd put their hands together in a roar of importance, of esteem among the highest nobles. Their applause thundered into every corner, into the chandeliers above, from every dining table. Their applause went on for too long. Some members of the audience turned in their seats, swiveled their heads, searching every which way for the guest of honor.

One person slowed their clapping. Three more followed their example. Holes in the applause spread as more and more guests put their hands down, lost for what to do.

Ronda fixed one person in the audience with a stare that asked for help.

Mako was clapping on and on after the people around him had stopped. His sharp eyebrows slanted in, and his disapproving frown whetted the rest of his features. He wore a double-breasted suit of brown and raven-black with red tassels on the shoulders. When he stood, he towered just past six feet of lean, acute cords and taut joints. He grabbed the head of a cane to ease his left leg.

He joined Ronda on the stage, though he struggled up the steps with a grunt before he reached her side.

He accepted the award of gold bars and masterwork decorum, a trophy shaped in fire with soft metal, gleaming under the chandeliers' light. At an angle, it caught Mako's eyes. The sight, its weight in both hands, its profound meaning to come his way, hitched his breath. He gaped with speechlessness long enough to be awkward, before he cleared his throat and drew himself as straight as possible.

"Wow. This is…wow." His voice was amplified by a microphone stuck a few inches from his face. "Then, again, I'm not Tanya Sato."

Laughter bubbled here and there from the crowd.

"If I were Miss Sato, I would say how thrilled I am to be rewarded as the Most Honorable Citizen of the Year in the name of Iroh the First. Here's the funny thing about Ms. Sato you might not know about her that I do, and Ms. Jiggy does. She's always working."