"Which would force them to infiltrate the city for sabotage and supply raids. And that's where we can arrange a warm welcome."
"Something like that." Iroh nodded. "Though for clearing the hideouts, I would recommend using tanks. Their mobility gives them a broad range of applications, and their armor will improve troop survivability if things go wrong."
"Reasonable."
With that, we parted ways.
The general still had a great deal of work ahead of him fortifying the oasis, while I needed to "persuade" at least a few fishheads to contribute to the cause of the Fire Nation.
That said, I had no doubt volunteers would eventually appear. There had always been, and always would be, people dissatisfied with the existing order of things—usually with their own place in that order, no matter what they claimed. And among them there would always be those willing to cooperate with a new order in exchange for certain privileges.
The only real questions were how long the "persuasion" would take and what sort of people it would attract.
Something told me the first to come forward would be the sort of people best described as society's scum—the least capable and most resentful hunters, clumsy waterbenders, and other assorted misanthropes.
Hm… No, I probably couldn't handle that on my own.
All right then, let's put Zhao's adjutants to work. A paranoid careerist like him had to have specialists from military intelligence, state security, or something similar. I simply refused to believe otherwise.
After all, even I'd managed to acquire a few useful contacts and the right specialists over the course of my own not particularly long career. Not without my father's help, admittedly, but still...
***
Some time later.
The specialists did, in fact, exist, and they knew their work well.
The first day was spent observing the prisoners and compiling a list of potential "collaborators." The second was devoted to the beginning of the "medical examinations" and the creation of a "registry of professions," during which carefully chosen questions were asked and the answers closely monitored. But any sort of reliable "cooperation" was still a long way off, so I had to resort to other methods—through Tandao's colleagues from his... second profession.
Officially, according to the paperwork, one of the barges had been designated as an interrogation facility. In practice, if one preferred to call things by their proper names, it was a torture ship. Not as large as the floating prison, but more than sufficient for our purposes.
The operation was overseen by Captain Renshu. To all appearances, he was a kindly old grandfather. In reality, he was a professional executioner. Tandao had learned the fundamentals of the trade from him back when he was nothing more than a petty officer. Rumor had it that the old man's questionable art had only improved with age.
"Oh, Herald Chan!" the elderly captain smiled. "A pleasure to see you aboard the Retribution. Are you here for an inspection or on official business?"
"Greetings, Captain Renshu." I offered a polite bow. "No inspection is necessary. I have complete confidence in your competence. However, I do have an official matter to discuss. I need information regarding Water Tribe bases, supply depots, and, if any exist, arsenals located outside the city. It would also be useful to learn how their saboteurs typically operate. Ideally, I'd like movement routes and attack patterns. And I need the information quickly."
"Hm, I understand." The captain twirled his mustache. "I believe that can be arranged. Though I fear what remains of the prisoners after questioning may no longer be particularly useful for future work."
"I don't care if you turn them inside out. I need that information yesterday."
"A curious expression." The captain nodded. "Understood, Herald. You have my word—the information will be in your hands within four hours at the latest. Would you care to observe an interrogation?"
A memory surfaced unbidden: a tiny, stifling room and a man strapped to a table, writhing in agony.
I shuddered.
"No. Thank you, but no." Who in their right mind would willingly watch something like that? "I still have other matters to attend to."
"As you wish, sir. In that case, I'll send a courier with the reports."
"My thanks."
With the conversation concluded, I wasted no time leaving the ship's hospitable confines behind. No, perhaps Renshu was a good man in his own way, but... to hell with acquaintances like that. Far better to return to headquarters. There was certainly no shortage of work waiting for me there.
Meanwhile, Zuko, whom I had assigned to inventorying the arsenal, was slowly but steadily climbing the walls and growing increasingly feral. The prince's active nature clearly desired something more exciting than sorting through piles of weapons and cataloging loo… trophies.
Of course, I could have put him in charge of overseeing the installation of the wall-mounted nets and alarm systems, but I feared that might end in an Agni Kai. The boy was not in the best of moods, as he was quick to demonstrate the moment I returned to headquarters.
"Prince? Is something wrong with the arsenal?" What else was I supposed to think upon seeing the royal heir pacing back and forth like a caged animal?
"No! I mean, yes! Herald, I'm a warrior, not some paper-pusher!"
I see.
Bureaucracy: 1. Zuko: 0.
"And someone who can't even wield a sword can fill out forms and count how many spears are on a shelf!"
Mm-hm.
More like 2–0. Possibly even 3–0.
"I see."