Arsha and Marshii were briefed on the situation with the Ralandren government and what parts were needed to fix the Realmgate. They met with Aldarval and Norvorok. \u201cThe way I see it,\u201d mused Arsha, \u201cwe have two methods of attack for this situation. First off, we DO have the supplies needed to fix the Realmgate. Second, well, that depends on Marshii.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got the medical staff we need to help,\u201d replied Marshii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPerfect. Then Marshii and her staff will help with the petrification virus while Thangred and his team can sort out the Realmgate repairs. We\u2019ll have security teams round the clock for any saboteurs. Any sighted crooks, the security officer that catches them is to immediately teleport the perp into a brig cell and tell me about it so I can personally question them. Aldarval, is there a timetable attached to this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would like to have Heenda unpetrified in three days,\u201d answered Aldarval. \u201cThe Council\u2019s about to meet again and they would prefer all members to be in attendance. He can call for a second vote on keeping the Realmgates closed, and we should be able to reconnect the Realms without any interruptions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can try and free him in that amount of time, but I can\u2019t guarantee anything,\u201d remarked Marshii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo what you can,\u201d directed Aldarval. \u201cNow, unless there\u2019s anything more, I\u2019d call this meeting adjourned.\u201d No one said anything as they got up. When they rounded a corner, Marshii DID say something to Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCaptain, can you send someone to investigate your parents\u2019 quarters?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d asked Arsha. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been a funny smell emanating from there the past few days.\u201d Arsha arched her eyebrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll\u2026see what\u2019s up personally.\u201d She left Marshii and made her way to her parents\u2019 quarters. The instant she reached for the door, she smelt the smell. As she sniffed, she sighed and thought of Rokanth, Foresna\u2019s home. Mainly Halfling inhabited, there was always the scent of tobacco in the air\u2026tobacco\u2026Arsha then realized that the \u201cfunny smell\u201d was tobacco smoke! She rang the door chime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCome in,\u201d called her dad. She opened the door and found Elgrad and Hanako each smoking a tobacco pipe!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMAMA! DADDY!\u201d she cried. \u201cWHAT\u2019S ALL THIS?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cArsha, what\u2019s wrong?\u201d asked Elgrad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?! When did you two start smoking?! You know what, forget it! You can explain this to Marshii!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cArsha-\u201d began Hanako.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t wanna hear it! You! Me! Sick Bay! Now!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReally?!\u201d snapped Marshii when she heard the story. Arsha simply stayed silent, glaring at her parents, and having transferred her hairpiece to her waist. \u201cReally, you two?! Three days?! You started smoking the instant Arsha retook command of the ship three days ago?! That\u2019s really all it takes for a land-dweller to start smoking?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s well within our authority to do so,\u201d rumbled Elgrad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t talk to me about authority!\u201d grunted the old mermaid. \u201cEven if we forget every single risk associated with smoking, do you realize how much it costs?! It\u2019s 100 golds per tobacco pouch right now! Higher for Rokanth-grown tobacco! Talking to me about authority?! You know, I have the authority to quarantine your asses from the rest of the crew!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026We\u2019re well-aware, Doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMarshii, is there precedence for this?\u201d asked Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot within their families, no,\u201d replied Marshii. \u201cNo Royana has smoked since Mortak took control of the Mid-realm and the Rotanos haven\u2019t smoked since the First Age. This is new territory for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre we in any immediate danger?\u201d asked Hanako. Marshii bit her tongue before she went off. It was time for information gathering, not a tirade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat happens if you don\u2019t puff on your pipe for, say, a half-hour?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh sweet Ones!\u201d groaned Arsha as she put her head to the wall. This wasn\u2019t a headache she expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYesterday,\u201d explained Elgrad, \u201cI was stuck in one of the elevators for ten minutes due to a power fluctuation during maintenance. I didn\u2019t have my pipe on me, and I started shaking. I couldn\u2019t stop until I smoked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, medical analysis (and a little bit of common sense) says that if you two keep it up, it\u2019s only gonna get worse,\u201d remarked Marshii. \u201cWorse case and the likeliest scenario at this rate, you won\u2019t be able to go ten seconds without a puff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCan\u2019t you just give them a potion to get them to kick the habit?\u201d asked Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose kinds of potions have to match their biology. In this specific scenario, your parents are Patients One and Zero. Given that they came from really healthy families, it\u2019s gonna take a while to whip one up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow long\u2019s that gonna take?\u201d asked Elgrad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHours, days maybe. Nurse Raltin\u2019s good at whipping up potions. He might offer a better estimate than me. Until then, we need a cleaning crew to get rid of the tobacco smell in their quarters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll assign one right away,\u201d declared Arsha. \u201cI won\u2019t have people become second-hand smokers. Mom, Dad, you can stay in mine while that\u2019s going on. You\u2019ll return to your own once they\u2019re clean. And while you\u2019re crashing in mine, I\u2019m gonna lay down a ground-rule here: you two need to support each other through this. No smoking in my quarters or anywhere on my ship!\u201d Just then, Dalengor\u2019s voice came through the comms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBrig to Arsha,\u201d she called. Arsha took the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGo ahead,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a saboteur in a brig cell. You\u2019re not gonna believe this, but it\u2019s Admiral Conso.\u201d Arsha\u2019s eyes went wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cConso?! Sabotage?!\u201d asked Marshii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOn my way!\u201d declared Arsha. She then turned to Marshii. \u201cCan Nurse Raltin work on the smoker potion without you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEasily. He can mix potions in his sleep, not that he should.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHave him keep me abreast on progress. I\u2019m heading to the brig. Oh, and Mom? Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, sweetie?\u201d asked Hanako.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMalnar and Lardeth\u2019s parents are gonna hear about this as well as my lovers.\u201d She then left Sick Bay and made her way to the brig.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arsha and Marshii were briefed on the situation with the Ralandren government and what parts were needed to fix the Realmgate. They met with Aldarval and Norvorok. \u201cThe way I see it,\u201d mused Arsha, \u201cwe have two methods of attack for this situation. First off, we DO have the supplies needed to fix the Realmgate. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,238],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-4932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-three-realms","category-the-three-realms-book-5-the-final-fight","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4933,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4932\/revisions\/4933"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}