With this chapter, I am hereby modifying the rating of the story from T to M for mentions of Alcohol use and other things that will probably become more common as I progress forward. This is the military, and if I'm any indication stuff like this is fairly common. Whiskey is introduced in this chapter because, honestly, I have no idea how Sake affects the body. Whiskey is more common knowledge with me, so there you go. I promise that none of my characters will become raging alcoholics. This will be the last chapter I'm uploading today, but the next one is mostly done, I just need to polish it off and clean it up.

Standard Issue disclaimer: Surprise! I don't own it still. You will never find CP1172 in the credits of the show. Believe me, I've looked.


Chapter 15

Lee opened his eyes slowly, taking in a blinding white light. He could hear the familiar hiss of steam traveling through pipes and the distant clank of main machinery. He wondered what place in the Spirit World he could have ended up in to be able to hear the sounds of shipboard machinery, but a dull throbbing pain in his arm gave him pause. Nothing he could remember ever pointed to being able to feel pain in the Spirit World.
As his eyes adjusted to the light and the familiar maze of piping came into focus, he slowly came to the realization that he had somehow regained consciousness in the sick bay of a ship.
"Ah, someone has finally decided to return to the living," a voice said from off to one side. Lee tried to sit up, but his body still didn't seem to be keen in following orders. He settled for turning his head in the direction of the voice. It had come from Lieutenant Shen, meaning that he had somehow made it back to the Independence.
"Sawbones," Lee said, shocked at how hoarse and weak he sounded.
"That's right. Take it easy, Lee. You've sustained injuries that should have killed you."
Lee ignored the use of his first name by the doctor. In the sick bay, Shen was in command.
"So why am I not dead?" Lee asked, allowing the doctor to help him into a sitting position.
"By rights, you should be. Fortunately for you, a waterbender with healing abilities was on hand to keep you in the physical world."
Shen nodded towards something on the other side of the bed, and Lee turned to see. The waterbender in question was none other than the man that had been trying to kill him.
"Silver Wolf?"
"That's right. Silver wolf worked nonstop for twelve hours to save your life. Never told us why he did it either, but I won't complain. You shouldn't either. Given how close you were to death, there was little more I could have done than just make sure you passed as easily as possible. Speaking of..."
Shen turned away and grabbed a glass bottle off of a surgical cart. A strange brown liquid sloshed around inside. Shen poured a small amount of the liquid into a tea cup and swirled it around for a few seconds. It had a bitter smell to it, subtle next to the smell Lee recognized as alcohol.
"A physician on the island gave me a bottle of this stuff. Says it works great both as an anesthetic and a disinfectant. The natives distill it from fermented grain. Fascinating process."
Shen handed the cup to Lee, indicating that he should drink it. He looked at it doubtfully before raising the cup to his lips and downing it. The liquor burned, and even before he swallowed it he noted that the alcohol content was much higher than the sake he was used to. The warmth spread across his chest and seemed to seep into every corner of his body as he swallowed it, leaving behind a pleasant feeling.
"What in the four nations is that?" Lee asked with a grimace, handing the cup back to Shen.
"The locals call it whiskey, I believe. Good, isn't it? Half the crew was still drunk on it when we got underway."
Lee nodded, then shuddered as he tried to clear the aftertaste from his mouth.
"The ship is underway?"
"Yeah, it is. As soon as the Captain was informed that your healer over there had stabilized your condition, he gave the order for the fleet to set sail. In fact," he said, standing up and moving the surgical cart to where Lee could reach it, "I'm under orders to report directly to him as soon as you regained consciousness and seemed coherent. So try not to drink too much of that whiskey before I return with him, would you?"
Before Lee could reply, Shen turned on his heel and walked out of the sick bay. With a sigh, he turned to look at Silver Wolf again.
"Silver Wolf. Are you awake?"
"Yes," the waterbender replied, turning his head so it aimed in Lee's general direction.
"Why did you save my life?"
"You spared Silver Wolf's."
"So? You were hired to kill me."
The waterbender chuckled.
"Silver Wolf does not fight for money. He did it because he loves to fight. You defeated Silver Wolf."
Lee was forced to laugh at the thought, but the action doubled him over in pain.
"I didn't exactly win honorably," he said once he composed himself.
"Before he became a man, Silver Wolf's father taught him that a victory is a victory, whether it was honorable or not. The goal of a fight is to win, not to worry about whether you win honorably. Only one man remains alive at the end of a fight, and in that moment you hold his life in your hands. Silver Wolf held your life in his hands, Lieutenant Lee, but he was not strong enough to hold onto it. A few moments later, you held Silver Wolf's life in your hands and ordered him to live."
Lee shifted uncomfortably, not liking where the conversation was heading.
"Tribal custom says that any man who loses a fight and is spared by his opponent is sworn to serve the man that defeated him. This is how it has been since the beginning. Silver Wolf is yours to command, Lieutenant Lee."
"And I suppose I don't have any say in this?"
"You made your choice when you spared Silver Wolf's life."
Great, Lee thought, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the cool steel bulkhead.

The awkward silence was still in full effect when Captain Yuan stepped into the sick bay. As always, the old man was a model of composure and self control. Lee felt self conscious after looking himself over and realizing how battered and broken down he looked. He was still dressed in his beat up uniform, with several holes, tears, and scorch marks around the areas where skin showed through the cloth and metal.
"I came down as soon as I could after the chief medical officer informed me that you had regained consciousness," Yuan said, a hint of fatherly concern in his voice. "Are you well after your ordeal, Lieutenant?"
"As well as I can be sir," Lee replied, looking sadly down at himself again, "all things considered. Rest assured, sir, I'll be back on duty as soon as I am able."
The Captain dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand.
"Nonsense, Lieutenant. You will rest as long as you need to. Once Lieutenant Shen informs me that you have recovered sufficiently, you will be permitted to resume all your duties. For right now, however, consider yourself officially on convalescent leave."
"The Independence needs her First Lieutenant, sir."
"The ship will muddle along without you, Lee. I need you in full fighting form for your return to duty."
"When will that be, sir?"
Shen seemed to take the question as his cue to cut in, and he stepped up to the end of the bed.
"Ordinarily, you'd be looking at months of recovery time from the injuries you sustained." Noticing Lee's crestfallen expression, the doctor quickly pressed on. "However, thanks to Silver Wolf's efforts, your timetable for convalescence has been thrown forward drastically. If you focus your energies on recovery, I have little doubt in my mind that you'll be back on duty in a week or so."
Lee nodded in silence, vowing to make his return in less time than the doctor gave him. Yuan stroked his chin thoughtfully before walking around so he stood in between Lee and Silver Wolf's beds.
"Details are remarkably sparse about the circumstances leading up to you being dropped off in here, Lieutenant. If you're up to it, I would greatly appreciate a report on your fight with this man over here."
Lee nodded, and after a pause to accept more whiskey from Shen, he launched into the best account he could give of his fight. Starting with the assault by the dock workers, he told every detail he could remember, no matter how fuzzy it was in his mind. Yuan said nothing during the entire retelling of the story, merely stroking his chin every now and again. When Lee capped the tale with his recollection of telling Silver Wolf to live before losing consciousness, another uncomfortable silence fell over the sick bay. Captain Yuan stared off into space for a few moments before turning to the bed where the waterbender lay.
"Silver Wolf, I am Captain Yuan, chief of North Sea Naval operations and commanding officer of the Independence, the ship you are on right now."
"Silver Wolf is honored to meet you, Captain Yuan, and is glad to hear that he was not the only one to fail at what he was hired to do."
"Ah, yes. I'm assuming you refer to the men that attempted to infiltrate my ship and assassinate me. Am I to assume that they were hired by Shin, as you were?"
"You are correct."
"Tell me, Silver Wolf. Why are you glad to hear that the plot against my life was foiled?"
"Silver Wolf's tribe is no friend of the Fire Nation. For generations Silver Wolf's people were raped and oppressed by the men sent by the Fire Lord to colonize our lands. The tribe stands behind the rebels, in hopes of forever banishing the rule of the Fire Nation's royal family from the North Sea islands."
For another moment, Yuan was silent. Lee wished he could see the man's face, so he could have a chance of knowing what he was thinking, but the only person in the room in position to see was the blind waterbender.
"Tell me, Silver Wolf, was First Lieutenant Lee's retelling of your battle accurate?"
"Yes."
"Lieutenant Shen has also informed me that your life has been sworn to the First Lieutenant. Is this true?"
"Yes. Silver Wolf's life belongs to Lieutenant Lee."
"Very well. Lieutenant," Yuan turned to face Lee again, "as you're well aware, Silver Wolf has assaulted a naval officer. As he is not in the service of the North Sea Navy, I have no authority to level charges against him, nor do I have the authority to exact punishment against him. That responsibility lies with Governor Qiao, since it was in her territory that the attempt on your life was made. I took the liberty of informing her of the circumstances of your predicament, and actually received her reply by messenger hawk an hour ago."
Lee's heart sank. He had been hoping that she would never find out, and had even started trying to come up with a story behind his new scars, if she had ever asked the question.
"The governor seemed quite upset," Yuan continued, oblivious to what was going on in Lee's head, "judging by the tone of her reply. She insisted on meeting the ship so that she could be by your side in your time of need, which I will be forced to inform her is impossible. However, she also said that the disposition of your assailant was entirely up to you. If you wish, Qiao will pursue every punishment it is in her power to levy against Silver Wolf."
Lee didn't say anything at first. Looking over at Silver Wolf, he could not find any animosity in his heart towards the wild waterbender. True, if it wasn't for the waterbender he wouldn't be laying in the sick bay of the ship he was suppose to be helping to command. At the same time, if it weren't for the man's actions after the fact, he wouldn't be alive to consider what to do.
"I believe Silver Wolf has suffered enough for his assault on me," he said at last. "I do not wish for him to suffer further."
Captain Yuan nodded, almost as if that was what he had expected his lieutenant to say.
"Very well, Lieutenant. I will inform Governor Qiao of your decision, however I must also advise you to send a hawk to her as soon as you are able, to let her know that you are well on the way to a full recovery. Now, one final order of business to attend to.
"Lieutenant Shen informs me that he already made the necessary inquiries. It seems that Seaman Kuruk, our waterbender from the Northern Tribe, has limited experience in healing. Silver Wolf has refused Kuruk's services, insisting that you give the go ahead for him to receive healing."
"I see. Silver Wolf, you will accept the healing services of Seaman Kuruk. I insist that you be given every chance of life that I was."
Silver Wolf nodded, his reaction to the order unreadable.
"As you wish, Lieutenant Lee."
"Right," Shen said. "With your blessing, Captain, I'll make the necessary arrangements for Seaman Kuruk to be temporarily assigned as an orderly here so that Mr. Silver Wolf's wounds can be treated properly."
"You have my permission, Lieutenant. I also expect daily reports on the First Lieutenant's progress towards recovery."
"Of course, sir."
"Very well. I must return to my duties on the bridge. I look forward to seeing you back at work, Lieutenant."

Commander Long was enraged, if the seared paint and scorched bulkheads of his quarters on board the Fire Navy cruiser Victory were any indication. The captain of the Victory stood silently in the doorway to the fleet commander's stateroom, wishing wholeheartedly that he could be anywhere on the ship, anywhere in the world, other than where he was standing.
A messenger hawk had arrived from the North Sea Islands after Long's task force had cleared Fire Nation waters. The message detailed how efforts to locate and kill Captain Yuan and Lieutenant Lee had failed. Not only that, earlier reports that the Independence had proceeded to the shipyard on North Island for repairs the battle damage, greatly exaggerated, were false. Independence was, in fact, leading the North Sea fleet west to engage the Fire Navy task force.
To add insult to injury, Captain Yuan himself had sent a message that had arrived only hours before. The message simply gave a set of map coordinates located in the heart of the Burning Sea and a date, one week from the day the message was sent. To Commander Long, the meaning behind the simple piece of parchment was clear enough. The die had been cast. Captain Yuan was challenging him to a fight.
"Have you read this message, Captain?" Long asked through clenched teeth, holding up the parchment. Half of it was gone, burned away during his fit of rage.
"Yes sir," the man replied, shifting his weight uncomfortably. "I took the liberty before delivering it to you."
"What did you take the meaning of it to be?"
"I believe it to be a challenge by the rebel commanders, sir. The coordinates and date being the time and place of the engagement between our forces, so to speak."
"What is your recommendation?"
"We have the resources to stand up to the rag tag fleet of enemy ships, sir. We could meet them on the day named and defeat them, but not without losses. With the incorrect reports of the damage to the Azulon, they have the twofold advantage of a heavier ship than anything at our disposal, as well as the unique weapon systems she mounts. Also, I am forced to wonder if this might be some sort of trick to lure us into running towards a fight so we may be ambushed somewhere closer to home in the Burning Sea."
Commander Long paused at the thought, wondering if that could be the case. He quickly rejected it.
"No. That isn't Yuan's style. He may be a fool for throwing in with his lost cause, but he's still a clever and honorable man. If Yuan's intent was to inform us of the time and place of battle, he will meet us in the appointed place, at the appointed hour. I intend to match him and burn his pathetic fleet around him. Inform the captains that in one week's time we will meet the enemy at the map coordinates given, and we will destroy them."

Zuko sighed and rubbed his temples as Admiral Shu departed the small study. He had lost track of how many times he had wondered why he had wanted to fill the role of Fire Lord. All he wanted to do was sit down in the Jasmine Dragon in Ba Sing Se and enjoy a cup of tea with his uncle.
Sitting on his desk was the revised intelligence report on the North Sea Navy, freshly compiled and delivered by the head of Fire Navy intelligence. The report from his agents in the North Sea Islands described in great detail how earlier reports on the status of the flagship of the rebel navy had been false. The Azulon, or the Independence, whatever the damned vessel was referred to as, was in full fighting condition and making steam towards Commander Long's task force. The report also described Long's plan to assassinate the enemy fleet commanders, as well as how it had fallen on its face.
Secretly, Zuko was pleased that it hadn't worked out. While he had given the order to bring the North Sea colonies back under control under any means necessary, the plot to assassinate the commanders of the military had seemed underhanded. In Zuko's mind, it was dishonorable, a measure that would have been employed by Azula or his father to gain the edge needed for victory. He'd be happy to have the traitor Yuan standing before him, and would happily give the order to have him executed by whatever barbaric means the Navy wished to employ, but he wanted the man to be defeated in an honorable fashion.
He sighed again as he turned around to look at the huge map of the world behind his desk. Five small islands in a vast stretch of empty ocean drew his eye, as they had a hundred times over the past weeks. Five miserable little islands. Not for the first time, he found himself having doubts about the military effort to bring them back under control. Reports from his agents, as well as from the loyal citizens that had started arriving from the islands by the shipload, indicated that the council of governors was doing a better job of running the affairs of their new country better than he had anticipated. The rebellion, which had seemed to ill conceived at first, was now starting to look as though it could last if he gave it the chance. Only time would tell the brilliance if the enemy commander had what it took to lead an inferior force to victory over the resources he had to spare.
His attention was drawn several feet, representing hundreds of miles, to the small colony of Yu Dao. Yet another threatened insurrection, as well as a source of friction between himself and the Earth King.
Will it never end? he asked himself, wishing he had the heart to go to his uncle for advice.
"Will we ever be able to bring peace and balance back to the world?" he asked aloud, his voice echoing off the walls of his study. But the walls
remained silent, as they always had, and no one was there to give him an answer to his question. Zuko sighed yet again and turned back to face his desk.
"Suki," he said to the motionless Kyoshi warrior that stood guard at the study's entrance, "who else is waiting out there?"
"General Mak is waiting to give you a report on the status of affairs in the Yu Dao colony."
"Send him in," Zuko said with a resigned wave of his hand. He gave one final thought to the rebels of the North Sea Islands, half hoping they could be brought back into line, and half hoping that they would have a chance, in victory, to see if they could make their republic work.