Zuko's ship



Zuko's Ship is a relatively small vessel with a small crew. Basically it is an antiquated Fire Nation warship, with little in the way of special modifications for the Prince's convenience. Zuko used this ship to travel around the world, searching for the Avatar. It is a small and light ship fast enough to be able to pursue a Flying Bison. The ship was destroyed when Zhao paid a group of pirates to blow it up.

Initially, Zuko was banished without either a ship nor a crew to help him in his search, and his attempts at recruiting all met with failure. Eventually, Zuko was forced to request help from Azula, who suprisingly agreed to help him, albeit with a warning that there would be a price to pay. Ozai granted his son a ship, with the condition that he take his Uncle Iroh along with him, who had become a nuisance at the Imperial Court. Iroh, who was more than happy to accompany his nephew, then proceeded to assemble a crew comprised of former subordinates from his days as a general.

History
After Zuko acquired this ship upon his banishment, it became his primary means of transportation across the world. In his relentless search for the Avatar, Zuko scoured the entire world on the ship desperately seeking out his trophy so that he may present him to his father and reclaim his right to the throne. Three years after his banishment, Zuko finally found the Avatar in the Southern Water Tribe, and assaulted the defenseless tribe until the Avatar agreed to surrender if Zuko spared the inhabitants. Zuko almost escaped with Aang but his new friends Katara and Sokka rescued him and the three left the ship frozen in the icebergs. Zuko sailed the ship to a Fire Nation shipyard in "The Southern Air Temple" in order to repair his damaged vessel. He continued to use this ship to hunt down his arch-nemesis. In one incident, he sailed this vessel in close proximity to the Crescent Island within Fire Nation waters, as the Avatar was seeking counsel from Avatar Roku at the Fire Temple. This was a blatant violation of the terms for Zuko's banishment, but he ultimately escaped capture. In "The Storm", the vessel is almost sunk in a massive storm when Zuko attempts to chase the Avatar without regard for the safety of himself or his crew. He pulls the ship into port when he finally decides that the safety of his crew should come first.

During "The Waterbending Master", Zuko docks this ship in a Fire Nation port, where he meets his rival Admiral Zhao once again. Zhao announces his intention to attack the Northern Water Tribe. While on Zuko's ship, Zhao notices two broadswords in his cabin. They were the same ones used by Zuko's alter-ego, the Blue Spirit, who had freed the Avatar in an earlier engagement. Zhao instantly recognized them and secretly deducted that the Blue Spirit was Zuko. He then ordered that Zuko's entire crew join him in the invasion (including the cook, much to Iroh's sadness). With Zuko alone on the ship, Zhao hires the band of pirates from "The Waterbending Scroll" to assassinate Zuko, and they attempted to do so by rigging the vessel with explosives. Zuko's Ship was completely destroyed in the explosion, but Zuko survived the blast by firebending the explosion around him and traveled to the North incognito. Due to the explosion, Zuko suffers several cuts and severe facial bruising (the bruising is often mistaken as burns as they are drawn in the same manner as his scar except for the coloring).

The loss of this vessel and his ultimately labeling as a traitor by his father forced Zuko to return to the Earth Kingdom on a makeshift raft and wander the enormous country on land.

Design
The ship is a steam-powered warship that is either a support or scout vessel in the Fire Navy, or much older than the models that are currently standard in the Fire Nation Navy (which would seem to be more likely given its almost identical appearance to the nearly century-old Shipwreck of the South Pole). It is much smaller than the "normal" warships, and boasts only a single catapult, as opposed to the three to five (larger) trebuchets other warships have. The size difference between Zuko's ship and a regular Fire Navy Ship can be seen when Zuko docks his ship in the Fire Nation Harbor ("The Southern Air Temple") next to the much larger ships of Zhao's fleet (the other ships seem to be the Fire Navy cruisers predominant throughout the series). The ship is very fast though, able to even keep pace with Appa for extended periods of time.

The ship's general appearance is very similar to that of the mainline Fire Navy ships, with a raised spiked bow that can be used as a ram (i.e. a rostrum as this device was called on ancient Roman ships in our world) that can be lowered to form a loading ramp (also suitable for breaching and invading shoreline fortifications). The entire ship is made out of metal and is a uniform dark gray color. It is approximately fifty meters long. The front section of the main deck is featureless except for a stair leading below decks and the hatch through which the catapult is deployed. The stern of the ship is rectangular, much like that of a real-world ferry. It may be opened to form a ferry-like rear ramp, through which the riverboat may be deployed. Below the stern the propellers are placed.

The command tower is placed about halfway down the deck, with the engine's steam boiler directly behind it. One large and one small smoke stack rise from the engine section. The tower is several stores high. The ground store serves likely as a galley. The stores above contain officers' quarters (Zuko's cabin is about midway up the tower). These cabins have the narrow, rectangular, red-tinted windows signature of Fire Navy ships. The topmost deck of the tower is the bridge, a rectangular room with panoramic windows and a small open platform which protrudes from the tower outside and serves as an observation deck. The tower also features a service ladder on the outside. On the very top of the tower is mounted the Fire Nation pennant.

The inside of the ship is mostly made up of dark and narrow, metal-walled corridors and is dimly lit with red lamps, evoking the feel of real-world diesel submarines. Like on submarines, most doors on Zuko's ship are made of heavy metal plating and are closed shut using large cogwheels, presumably to serve as bulkheads in case of a hull breach. The ship also has a cargo bay large enough to hold the riverboat and several Komodo Rhinos. This is likely where the crew can be seen meeting to complain about Zuko in "The Storm" (see crew picture below).

Crew and Equipment
The ship has a small crew compared to other Fire Navy ships. Zuko clearly is in command of the ship, along with Iroh. Neither of them holds any formal rank (apart from Iroh being a high general in retirement, which he doesn't use) and it is unclear whose orders have precedence. Likely, the two "share command".

The ship's captain is Lieutenant Jee, a middle-aged Firebender who, like most of the crew, had previously served under General Iroh. Captain here being his function, not rank, as in naval tradition whoever directly commands a ship is called a captain, regardless of actual rank. Zuko and Iroh have the same position as flag officers have on their vessels: they give the orders, but the ship and its crew is commanded for them by a captain. Other crew includes:
 * a helmsman, an elderly sailor whom Zuko and Jee work together to save from the ruined command tower during a storm ("The Storm")
 * engine-room operators - unknown if one or more, the only one seen is an old sailor
 * a cook, who is, apparently, Iroh's favorite crew member
 * seven Firebenders (including Lieutenant Jee)
 * several non-Firebending soldiers

In all the ship's crew numbers approximately thirty souls, as seen in "The Waterbending Master" when what is likely the entire crew assembles to bid farewell to Iroh.

Zuko's ship is stocked with a moderate supply of weapons and four Komodo Rhinos and has one catapult, of smaller caliber than those used on Fire Navy cruisers, which is deployed from below decks through a hatch at the front of the main deck. The ship contains a small, steam-powered riverboat. This boat was used by Zuko to try to capture Aang, and get past Zhao's ship through a smoke cloud in "Winter Solstice Part 2: Avatar Roku". It was later destroyed when it was commandeered by pirates and fell down a waterfall in "The Waterbending Scroll".

At a certain time, there was a peculiar monkey statue perched in the galley. It was bought by Iroh on a whim from the selfsame pirates who later bombed the ship.

Activities aboard
Iroh seems to be in charge of the ship's pastime activities, showing his concern for the crew. It seems to fit well into his character - Iroh makes his life of an outcast worthwhile by trying to improve the lives of those around him.

Music night
Founded by Iroh for the crew's entertainment, this event takes place regularly. Various crew members from the cook to Lieutenant Jee participate. Whoever wishes to may sing and whoever can play an instrument is free to do so. Iroh sings and plays the Tsungi horn, Lieutenant Jee sings and plays the pipa. Zuko, while apparently able to play the Tsungi horn, deems it below himself to attend. In good weather, music night takes place on the main deck, otherwise presumably in the galley. Some of the songs sung are "Four Seasons" and a love song Lieutenant Jee can sing well.

Pai Sho open tournament and lessons
Though an informal and irregular event, anyone who wishes may challenge Iroh to a game of Pai Sho any time, or just ask to play for practice. Pai Sho is one of Iroh's greatest passions, so he is always ready for a game. Mostly, it's Iroh who's on the lookout for a second player though, as he would play all the time if it were up to him. Iroh is very good at Pai Sho, possibly among the best in the world considering his position in the Order of the White Lotus, and therefore the crew gets beaten sorrily every time. They do not give up though, often playing Iroh in teams instead of one-on-one, and according to Iroh they are all improving. Zuko has little concern for Pai Sho and doesn't play.

Firebending training and sparring matches
The only activity organized and attended by Zuko, who is driven to improve his originally mediocre skills to be able to stand up to the Avatar. Iroh is Zuko's Firebending teacher, but doesn't spar, presumably because no one on the ship (or the entire crew together for that matter) would stand a chance against him. In addition to being one of the world's most powerful firebenders, Iroh also does not endorse unnecessary violence anymore, and has little interest in even sparing matches. Instead, Lieutenant Jee serves as a more even opponent for Zuko, sometimes along with some of the other firebenders aboard as Zuko progresses in his lessons.