Root had been called into the office on his final day of vacation. He
wondered what this could be about, but he didn't let it stop him from
coming. He was willing to do anything to keep himself from being at home or
wandering the streets of the Haven anymore.
"What is it, Vinyaya?" he asked, sitting before her.
"Commander, the Council has been discussing this at length and we feel it would be best for everyone involved if you took your retirement."
Root's eyes nearly left their sockets and his face turned beet red. "WHAT!?" He should have been expecting this after the call he'd gotten from Trouble and Foaly last night. They'd called and said that LEP was making job changes and Holly had been forced to retake her LEP training and test. "You listen here, Vinyaya, and you listen good. I'm as fit as any member of LEP and I've served well for over 500 years. I-"
"You do sound quite like Captain Short, Commander," Vinyaya said coolly.
"What's Holly got to do with anything?" he asked sharply.
"We had her in here less than two weeks ago and suggested she find another job."
"You fired Short without consulting me!"
"No, she redid her training and then we instead reassigned her. She's working Disneyland Paris. We suggested she become a commercial shuttle pilot. Julius, we think it best you retire. Or at least take yourself off active assignment. Otherwise we will."
It was at that moment that Foaly chose to walk in the door. "Councilwoman, I couldn't help overhearing, but it seems to me you want to get rid of Julius? I must say I find him quite useful. I've even tested some of my gear on him, like those masks."
"We can get any fairy to test your latest inventions, Foaly," she said impatiently.
"Are you sure? This one is supposed to drain a fairy's powers, temporarily of course, would you care to test it?" He asked. He held up a small blue vial.
"No."
"Julius is an excellent commander. Really. If he left I might be depressed enough to leave too. Really hope you stay, Julius. But if you must go.then I suppose I can follow you." Foaly added the last part cheerfully. "I must go now. Lot's of work to do. After all, who knows how long I'll be here?" He trotted out of the meeting room.
Root gave a satisfied grin, "I'll be staying and I'll be reinstating Captain Short."
"She's a troublemaker, Commander."
"She's gotten out of some tight spots."
"Ones that she shouldn't have been in the first place."
"It wasn't my idea to have that undercover goblin, Vinyaya. And it wasn't my idea not to tell Holly about it. She got shot in the bargain but she still did what was right. Above and beyond the call of duty. Remember that. I'll be reinstating her back to Recon next week. You can be sure of it." He put out his fungus cigar in the ashtray and walked away.
Councilwoman Vinyaya was rather miffed. She wished the other council- members hadn't decided she would have to break the news to Root and Short or try to get Kelp on their side. Now she'd have to break the news to the council that everything was staying the way it was.
* * ! * * ! * * ! * * ! * * ! * *
I hope this chapter explained that Vinyaya isn't really the bad guy or evil in this. She's kind of being pushed around by the other Council-members. You know, obviously she didn't push back enough against them but still she's not completely at fault here. Just thought you should know.
"What is it, Vinyaya?" he asked, sitting before her.
"Commander, the Council has been discussing this at length and we feel it would be best for everyone involved if you took your retirement."
Root's eyes nearly left their sockets and his face turned beet red. "WHAT!?" He should have been expecting this after the call he'd gotten from Trouble and Foaly last night. They'd called and said that LEP was making job changes and Holly had been forced to retake her LEP training and test. "You listen here, Vinyaya, and you listen good. I'm as fit as any member of LEP and I've served well for over 500 years. I-"
"You do sound quite like Captain Short, Commander," Vinyaya said coolly.
"What's Holly got to do with anything?" he asked sharply.
"We had her in here less than two weeks ago and suggested she find another job."
"You fired Short without consulting me!"
"No, she redid her training and then we instead reassigned her. She's working Disneyland Paris. We suggested she become a commercial shuttle pilot. Julius, we think it best you retire. Or at least take yourself off active assignment. Otherwise we will."
It was at that moment that Foaly chose to walk in the door. "Councilwoman, I couldn't help overhearing, but it seems to me you want to get rid of Julius? I must say I find him quite useful. I've even tested some of my gear on him, like those masks."
"We can get any fairy to test your latest inventions, Foaly," she said impatiently.
"Are you sure? This one is supposed to drain a fairy's powers, temporarily of course, would you care to test it?" He asked. He held up a small blue vial.
"No."
"Julius is an excellent commander. Really. If he left I might be depressed enough to leave too. Really hope you stay, Julius. But if you must go.then I suppose I can follow you." Foaly added the last part cheerfully. "I must go now. Lot's of work to do. After all, who knows how long I'll be here?" He trotted out of the meeting room.
Root gave a satisfied grin, "I'll be staying and I'll be reinstating Captain Short."
"She's a troublemaker, Commander."
"She's gotten out of some tight spots."
"Ones that she shouldn't have been in the first place."
"It wasn't my idea to have that undercover goblin, Vinyaya. And it wasn't my idea not to tell Holly about it. She got shot in the bargain but she still did what was right. Above and beyond the call of duty. Remember that. I'll be reinstating her back to Recon next week. You can be sure of it." He put out his fungus cigar in the ashtray and walked away.
Councilwoman Vinyaya was rather miffed. She wished the other council- members hadn't decided she would have to break the news to Root and Short or try to get Kelp on their side. Now she'd have to break the news to the council that everything was staying the way it was.
* * ! * * ! * * ! * * ! * * ! * *
I hope this chapter explained that Vinyaya isn't really the bad guy or evil in this. She's kind of being pushed around by the other Council-members. You know, obviously she didn't push back enough against them but still she's not completely at fault here. Just thought you should know.