Eleven
A day later, they finally sailed into port at a little seaside town to make repairs on the ship. Aang had done quite a number on it, and Maya was a little surprised that they had even made it to the town without breaking down. As Zuko, Uncle, and she all walked down the ramp onto the dock, Zuko made sure to let Uncle know that they were only stopping to make repairs, and nothing else.
Uncle mentioned the Avatar. Zuko spun around and hissed in Uncle's face, "Don't mention his name on these docks! If word gets out that he's alive, every firebender here will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in the way!"
"Getting in the way of what?" said a deep male voice.
Maya gasped and turned to see who it was. Standing there, grinning oddly, was a very muscular middle-aged man with sideburns. The look on his face was creeping her out. She took a step back, closer to Uncle.
Zuko closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again. "Captain Zhiao," he said, turning towards him. The tone of his voice suggested that this man was not a welcome visitor.
"Actually, it's Commander now," he replied, walking up to the group.
"Commander," Uncle repeated. "Congratulations."
"Thank you, General Iroh," Zhiao said.
"Retired General," Uncle reminded him.
That's right, Maya thought, surprised that she hadn't realized it by now. Uncle is a famous General, most known for his six hundred day siege on Ba Sing Se.
"And who's this?" Zhiao asked, grinning at Maya with that same creepy expression.
Maya felt Uncle grab her wrist, pulling her slightly behind him. "A new crewmember," he said quickly. "No one of consequence."
He looked her over, and Maya felt naked under his stare. She moved even closer to Uncle, taking shelter behind his back. "Hmm," he said, and, seemingly satisfied, he turned back to Zuko. "So," he began, "What brings you here of all places?"
"We're not stopping for long," Zuko replied. "We just need to make repairs on our ship."
Zhiao looked over Zuko's head at the ship. The front part of it had massive damage. There was a large gaping hole blasted into the prow.
Maya turned to inspect the prow more closely, even though she'd already seen the damage. The ice avalanche could not have possibly caused that sort of damage. What did Aang do before I came up on deck? she thought to herself.
"Wow," Zhiao said. "What in the world caused that much damage?"
"Well…" Zuko began hesitantly. "It's quite a story, actually… Uncle! Tell Commander Zhiao what happened!"
Uncle looked surprised. "Yes," he said. "Well, you see…" He stopped, and then leaned close to Zuko and said, none too quietly, "What, did we crash or something?"
"Yes!" Zuko replied, too loudly. "Right into… an Earth Kingdom ship!"
Maya put her face into her hands. If I had known they were such terrible liars, I would have come up with something myself, she thought miserably. They completely just gave us away!
"Really?" Commander Zhiao said. "Well, you'll have regale me with all the thrilling details!" He leaned in close to Zuko. "Join me for a drink?"
Zuko looked into Zhiao's eyes for a moment. And then he turned and began to walk away, saying, "Sorry, but we have to go."
At first, Maya thought they'd be off the hook, and she started following Zuko. But Uncle, of course, had other plans. He took hold of their shoulders and pulled them back. "Prince Zuko, Maya, show Commander Zhiao your respect!"
Sighing inwardly, Maya turned around.
Uncle said, "We'd love to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favorite."