Asami finally reached the door of the captain's quarters on the lead battleship of the United Forces fleet. Varrick's ship had docked less than a half hour before. She'd made her excuses as quickly as possible, avoiding a smug look from Mako, and headed off in the direction of the fleet. Given she was already at the docks it hadn't taken long, but she'd had to ask several people for directions as to where she might find the general. She'd also had to negotiate two separate security checks; unsurprisingly, Iroh ran a tight ship. Thank goodness Future Industries was under contract.
She'd heard nothing at all from Iroh since he'd disappeared into the Spirit World. She had expected at least something from him, even just a short cable to let her know he was okay. Korra had of course told them of the outcome of the battle, and the incident was all over the news radio, but mentions of the United Forces fleet were only in passing. To the extent it was covered at all, most of the reports focused on how much damage the ships had taken.
Asami knocked on the door, slightly out of breath, her clothes and hair dripping from the steady rain outside. She turned the knob without waiting. It opened inwards onto a large space that looked nothing like the inside of a ship. The room was painted bright white, its paneling accented in gold leaf. Round lights, also set with gold, cast soft light from the low ceiling. A rich red carpet, interwoven with intricate patterns of gold and deep blue, padded the black and white tile floor. The walls were decorated with oil paintings, most of one nautical theme or another, interspersed with what Asami assumed were portraits of previous fleet commanders. Plush, comfortable furniture was scattered throughout, culminating in an enormous mahogany desk at the far end of the room.
A man who was not Iroh sat behind the desk. He wore the bright red uniform of the United Forces and was perhaps the same age, but there the resemblance ended. About average height and build, with light tan skin and sandy hair, he wore thin wire spectacles balanced on a straight, slightly upturned nose. His lips had a pouty, almost feminine look. He appeared to be reading from the top of a stack of papers on the desk.
The man looked up at the sound of the door. "Excuse me?" he said. "This is a private residence. May I help you?"
"Oh! I… is this not the captain's quarters?" It certainly looked like it. Asami couldn't imagine a more lavish space could exist on a ship.
The man reached up and removed the spectacles. His eyes were a pale, seawater green. "It is. I'm Commander Cuzon. This is my office."
"Where is General Iroh?" Asami asked. She noted several open boxes stacked along the wall next to Cuzon's desk. If this was indeed his office, it probably hadn't been for long.
He squinted at her. "Aren't you Asami Sato? From Future Industries?"
"Yes. I'm looking for Iroh. If this isn't his office, where is it?"
Commander Cuzon frowned slightly. "General Iroh is no longer in command of this fleet," he said. "Now, may I help you with something? Any business Future Industries had with Iroh they now have with me. I typically like appointments, but since you're already here I'm willing to discuss it."
No longer in command of the fleet? Asami's heart stopped. What on earth did that mean? "No, I need General Iroh. It's… about something else. Please, do you know where he is?"
Cuzon's frown deepened. "No," he said curtly, "I don't. I haven't seen him lately. You can try his cabin if you must though. Right, then the third door on the left, I believe."
"Thank you." She turned to go.
"You're not fucking that nerd, are you?" He said it casually, the slightest emphasis on the swear, as if he was asking her if she was disappointed that it was still raining.
Asami stopped, stunned. At first she didn't think she'd heard him right. Behind her, she heard Cuzon turn a page on the stack he'd been reading.
"Well, Miss Sato, when you do want to talk business, let me know. I think the fleet and Future Industries could do a lot together. You know my office now."
Asami hurried out the door, not looking back. She blushed, angry and embarrassed all at once. Of all the vile… how could he think… She shook her head, trying to clear it. She had no idea who this Commander Cuzon was, but it was clear that he had no love for Iroh. She'd get no more help from him, and that was what mattered. And if he was in charge of the fleet now, what did that mean? Her fear ratcheted up another notch.
She heard the large door shut behind her. He was a metalbender, then. She turned right and walked as quickly as she could down the passageway.
Asami counted and arrived outside a large steel door set into the gray wall of the passage. She knocked. Nothing. "Iroh?" she said. No answer. She knocked again, then tried the lever. It turned easily. Two security checkpoints, and yet no one seemed to lock their doors.
The door opened onto a small room. Inside, the walls were the same uniform gray as the rest of the ship. A large desk sat to the immediate left of the doorway next to a wardrobe that seemed to have been converted into a neatly organized bookshelf. Asami noted a wooden chest of drawers, a closet, a single square window, and the door to what might have been a tiny bathroom. A narrow bed was pushed up against the back wall, flanked by a lamp on a nightstand. Someone had mounted a rather beautiful full-color map of the Fire Nation above the headboard. That was it.
Iroh lived… here? She was at once surprised and not. On the one hand, it hardly looked like the room of a prince or a high-ranking general. She had expected something much closer to the rich quarters where she'd found Commander Cuzon. Yet at the same time, it was very much like Iroh. Neat and clean, the room had everything he needed and nothing he didn't. She found herself smiling at that, even as her fear for him increased.
It was clear that Iroh wasn't home though. It wasn't like he could hide in a room like this. She called out just in case, but was greeted with only silence. With everything so neat, it was impossible for her to tell whether or not he had been here recently. She thought she caught a faint whiff of cologne, but that was all.
Where are you, Iroh? she thought. Oh spirits, where are you?