"'You should see this as an opportunity,' she said," Spigot grumbled under his breath as he stormed down the hallway towards the main doors out of the Mother Tree. "'A chance to mend some broken bridges.' Well, that worked out just dandy now, didn't it?"
He wagged his finger in front of him. "I knew this was doomed. No good deed goes unpunished."
"What an enchanted world you live in," Axe said in response.
"Shove it, Axe!" Spigot snapped.
Milro and Sophie walked alongside him, why he was particularly slow so they could keep up. Ichele, Julia, and Saya were with them.
"I'm so sorry this happened to you," Ichele said to the two shrunken princesses. "I never thought the Mother Tree would curse you."
"We don't blame you," Sophie replied. "Milro's usually so inoffensive, she's the last person you would think could anger the Mother Tree."
Milro only sighed in response.
"I'll try to find anything we can do to lift the curse," Julia said.
"Thank you, Julia," Milro replied.
"And, if all else fails," Saya piped up, "I can get you started on new wardrobes."
"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that," Milro said.
The doors ahead of them opened for the raw sogginess outside to assault their senses. The rain sent conflicting ripples through the water standing on top of the ground. Spigot looked down to Milro who wrung her hands at the sight of it.
Spigot took in a breath and heaved a sigh. "You can ride in my pocket." Really, he should have done it sooner so he had to spend as little time in this accursed mass of wood and leaves as possible.
He swept his hand gently behind Milro, using his fingers to support her legs while collapsing her hoopskirt. He held open the waist pocket of his jacket and let her slide in. He then did the same for Sophie. "How is it in there?"
By standing, they could just poke their heads out the top. They braced themselves so their armpits rested on the pocket's lip. "Nice and roomy," Sophie said. "Though, a bit deep."
They're not that deep, Spigot thought, you're just that small.
Axe followed Spigot out into the rain. "Well, Spigot, have a safe trip home."
"In all the years I've know you, Axe, you've never once wished me well," Spigot stated as he turned to his adversary. "Why start now?"
"Well, we can't deprive the universe of you explaining this to Queen Yamul." Axe motioned to his pocket containing the princesses. "I only wish I could be a fly on the wall for the carnage."
Axe chuckled as he turned back to the doors. "See you around Spigot, or not." He burst into full laughter as the doors closed behind him.
Spigot growled under his breath. "And you have just the loveliest day too—" he gave Axe the finger through the door, "—you needle-nosed dick."
"Dick?" Sophie asked. "Thought you said his name was Ulysses."
Spigot exhaled a groan.
Nicole watched Otto and Alex play gin rummy as Bonnie brushed her hair after subjecting it to the humidity outside.
Alex stroked his goatee as Otto took a card from the deck to slip into his hand. He took another card from his hand and slapped it face down on the discard pile. "Gin, Alex." Otto spread his hand out in front of them.
Alex glowered at his cards and dropped them on the table. "Always one card off."
"Then why don't you knock?" Bonnie asked.
"So he can knock down my score by playing off my runs?" Alex asked rhetorically.
"Which is worse than losing outright?" Bonnie asked anyway.
Alex just groaned in response as he gathered up the cards and started shuffling.
Nicole looked out the window at the Mother Tree. She was still contemplating the snub at its doors. "They kept me out, Bonnie. How am I supposed to attend to Princess Sophie if they literally slam the door in my face?"
Bonnie continued to run the brush through her hair. "It's been about two decades since a Windmill Kingdom princess had a lady-in-waiting, M'lady. The other kingdoms just need a chance to get used to it."
Nicole watched the trunk. The doors opened and Spigot and that disagreeable Molmo from before stepped out. The Molmo turned back and entered the tree while Spigot made an obscene gesture at him as the doors closed.
"The Master Chief just came outside," Nicole said, getting the attention of the others, "but I don't see Princess Sophie or Princess Milro."
"Maybe they're still inside haggling with the king," Alex suggested.
"He seems irritated about something," Nicole said as Spigot trudged towards them.
"Wouldn't hurt to see how things are going." Bonnie set down the brush and picked up Nicole's ribbon to wrap it around her hair and tie it in a bow to secure her ponytail. Nicole picked up her bonnet and placed it on her head.
All four of them left the stern lounge for the door out onto the gangplank wing. Spigot stood at the bottom of the wing as they came out and made their way down. He slapped his hand onto his face and shook his head as he approached. "Oh, God, it had to be all of them," Nicole heard him grumble.
"Why are you out here, Master Chief?" Bonnie asked.
"And where are the Princesses?" Otto added.
"They're in my waist pocket," Spigot stated.
As if on cue, Sophie and Milro popped their tiny heads out of his pocket. Sophie looked up and waved. "Hi, Nicole. How's the weather up there?"
Nicole stood there for a second, maybe two, as her brain tried to process the signals from her retinas initiated by contact with the light entering her eyes that had reflected off what all them told her was an eight-centimeter-tall Sophie as well as Milro in Spigot's pocket. She blinked a couple times, perhaps to clear what had to be some kind of trick or error. Yet, there they were, as big—or rather, as small—as life. "P-princess Sophie?"
"Yeah," Sophie said. "Milro got on the Mother Tree's bad side, and she did this to us."
Milro looked down and gripped the lip of Spigot's pocket in response.
Otto looked to Spigot while pointing to the two diminished princesses. "You're going to fix this, right?"
"Of course, I'm going to fix this," Spigot snapped before glancing away and murmuring "somehow" in addition.
"Then what's your first move?" Alex asked.
"First, I want to put as much distance between me and that—" Spigot pointed back to the Mother Tree with his thumb "—as possible." Spigot climbed onto the gangplank. "So, don't just stand there getting soaked, prep for takeoff."
Safely out of the weather, Milro and Sophie left Spigot's maw of a pocket before it completely swallowed them. Being on the floor and among objects meant for Humans and other races of their size allowed Milro to really get a sense of how much they had shrunk.
They entered the lounge which seemed as big a hangar that would hold the King Barbardo rather than a single room within its hull. The couches and tables—which were on the low side—towered high above them.
The carpet, which Milro had given little thought and was rather shallow was now so deep that she would fall in at least to her knees. While it supported her weight, it shifted under her feet so she had to keep her balance.
"Want a lift?" Bonnie held her hands down for them to climb on. Milro climbed into her right hand and Sophie climbed into her left. She carried them up to table which would be much more solid ground and closer to everyone.
Sophie skipped a few steps and twirled around, giggling. "I had always wondered what it was like for the Seed Princesses standing on tables. It's amazing."
Bonnie smiled and clasped her hands together. "I have to admit, it is kinda cute to have you at this size."
"Report to the engine room, Miss Hofer," Otto's voice came over the speaker.
Bonnie lowered her brows and bent her mouth into a sharp frown. "Fine, Otto," she exhaled. "Killjoy."
Bonnie spread her long ears straight out like a pair of wings and leapt into the air to fly about a meter off the ground to the door. She grabbed the knob on her way past and pulled it closed behind her.
Nicole plopped down on the couch while Spigot glared out the window holding his hands behind his back.
Milro would not describe their situation as "amazing" or "cute." Her attention was focused on taking in this strange—no, uncanny—new world. All the fixtures were familiar, the couches, the table, the other objects in the lounge were where they had been and yet it all seemed alien at this scale. Turned about, walking backwards, she was not paying attention to where her feet were going. So, she did not realize her skirt was pushing forward until her feet backed into something and sent her falling backwards.
Sophie ran to her. "Are you okay?" She offered her hand.
Milro winced and rubbed her backside, grunting softly in pain. Whatever she had landed on was hard. She pulled her skirt off to her side to see what it was and saw the giant curled raindrop of sapphire in a gold disk and realized it was her mother's watch.
She took Sophie's hand to help her up and looked to the watch. It was fairly small as a typical lady's pocket watch. Yet, it was now almost half as big across as she was tall.
"Wow!" Sophie gasped. "Think of how tiny we must be if your little watch is that huge compared to us."
Milro looked at the small pocket in her skirt it had easily fit in at normal size. She was glad she had left the priceless family heirloom behind so it did not shrink with them. Though, that reminded her the ruby brooch at the base of her collar that had been worn by Drop Kingdom princesses for generations had shrunk.
Going back to comparing the watch to its old resting place, Milro felt her chill go down her spine. "If my mother's watch is this big, what are the rest of our kingdoms going to be like?"
Sophie held her finger to her chin and stroked her ear as she stared off into space with an amused grin. "You're right. They're now veritable lands of giants, aren't they?" She turned to Milro, broadening her grin and clapping her hands together gently. "But think of all the little hidden places we can now find."
"Sophie, how can you be so calm about this?" Milro asked, trying to keep her mix of panic and frustration from her voice.
Sophie's grin faded, but she just shrugged. "What's done is done. Fretting about it won't make us any bigger, so why not enjoy it?"
"That's easy for you to say." Milro sat on her watch, tall enough to be a low cushion if a hard one. "This is all my fault."
"Don't say that," Sophie responded.
"It's true." Milro looked up to Sophie, her cheeks hot and her eyes burning with tears. A lump was starting to form in her throat. She had been putting on a brave face, but she finally could not hold it back. "'Aid offers are Diplomacy One Oh One,' you said it yourself. And your mother called this a glorified milk run. Yet I blew it!"
She sniffed as her nose felt like it could start running. "My mother would've never let things get out of control in there. She would've let everyone know who's boss. Yet, when I tried, this was the result."
She wrapped her arms around her knees to bring them in and rest her chin between them. "It's fitting the Mother Tree shrank me. I've always felt like an insignificant speck compared to her, and now I literally am."
She looked to Sophie. "And you were shrunk too. Oh, Sophie, I'm so sorry this happened?"
Sophie knelt in front of Milro to take her hands into hers. "You don't need to apologize. I'm glad I shrank with you, so you don't have to deal with it alone." She patted Milro's hand. "We're the Teeny Tiny Club, and I'm here for you no matter what."
Milro felt a little better hearing this. "Sophie."
"This wasn't your fault, Princess Milro," Spigot said, still staring out the window. "This should've been simple, but the Seed Kingdom insists that nothing is ever simple—especially for the Drop Kingdom."
"But things were going so well." Sophie stood up. "Then, all of sudden, they just…weren't."
Spigot nodded. "Indeed. Just like how walking out on thin ice goes well until you suddenly fall in."
"But why were they so hostile?" Milro asked.
Spigot heaved a heavy and long sigh. He stared at the rain running down the glass. "To understand that, we have to go back to the Crisis of the Sunny Kingdom—when it was a lack of rain plaguing this kingdom."
"The global drought," Nicole said. "The Blessing of the Sun failing caused power failures and breakdowns in your cloud towers. But, it wreaked havoc on every kingdom's environmental control equipment."
"But ours was most conspicuous, and the Seed Kingdom got hit the hardest," Spigot said, holding the bridge of his muzzle. "Though, they hid just how badly it impacted them."
He returned his attention to the window again. "Their farming system is built on consistent rain, ripping the soil open every year to plant very thirsty crops. When no rain came, it only took a couple months for the country to desiccate. This fortunately started after the snow season on the Meridian Mountains pretty much finished, so the major rivers were fed by the meltwater. However, much more than a kilometer from them might as well have been the deserts of the Moon Kingdom."
"Yeah," Nicole thought out loud, holding her chin. "Much of the western side of the continent was entering its dry season when the Blessing of the Sun started to weaken, so we did not notice as much at first."
"But, everyone was angry over the drought," Milro said. "We tried everything we could think of to produce more clouds. Why is the Seed Kingdom different?"
Spigot turned to them. "Because they tried to do something about it, just like they have with their levee system. With no water coming from the sky, they turned to the ground. However, like with their levee system, they approached it without the needed expertise to do it right. Thus, they created a whole new set of problems.
"Aermotor windmills popped up like mushrooms over the richer farms, drawing up water from deep underground," Spigot explained. "However, not well-versed in water conservation, they allowed it to just flow out onto their fields, not realizing so much was being lost to evaporation into the moisture-starved atmosphere. Their aggressive wells also dropped the local water table, leaving the shallower wells of their poorer neighbors literally high and dry."
Spigot again turned to the window. "Pulling that much water out of the ground had other consequences. Much of the Seed Kingdom sits over karst terrain—caverns—that had been filled with water. As the water was drawn out, it was replaced by air. Without the water pressure to support them, many collapsed, working their way to the surface as sinkholes. More than a few opened up in population centers, swallowing people and buildings in a few violent seconds."
"That's tragic, but that sounds like it was all self-inflicted," Nicole said. "Why would the blame you?"
Spigot massaged his muzzle. "Truth be told, it was a way for the rich and powerful who were actually responsible to escape the ire of the general public. When they caused problems, they could always point north and say it wouldn't have happened if we did our job right.
"The Sunny Kingdom didn't help either. For reasons that made sense to them, they kept the minor detail that the source of light and energy for the planet was dying to themselves. All the Seed Kingdom knew was we make the clouds and rain and we weren't producing enough of them. If we did, they wouldn't need to dig their wells, the water table wouldn't have dropped, and the sinkholes wouldn't have happened.
"Again, they hid just how deeply they hated us from the general public. The one advantage of being a reclusive kingdom and technological black hole, I suppose: the media doesn't want to put too much effort into prying. However, they made it clear to any engineers who had the misfortune of traveling here. It wasn't until the Blessing of the Sun was restored and the regular rains returned that it appeared they finally buried the hatchet," Spigot said. "However, it seems they buried it handle side up for the next hydrological disaster."
"Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" Milro asked.
"To be fair, your mother didn't tell us either when she gave us instructions," Sophie said.
Spigot massaged the bridge his muzzle. "With all due respect to Queen Yamul, she might have experience with King Rex for days, but she's never faced the general public of the Seed Kingdom. And I did try to warn both her and you when we were in her office. However, I was shot down."
He stared out the window again, but his glare softened to a sorrowful gaze. "Then, once we were underway, a little part of me also hoped that I was wrong. Maybe things had improved after five years, or at least things would be more civil towards two princesses. I didn't want to unduly prejudice you going in." He pointed to Milro and Sophie. "And it never occurred to me this would happen!"
Nicole sat back on the sofa. "Well, it did happen. So, what do we do about it?"
"And we have to do something about it!" Sophie took Milro's hands. "Think of all those poor flowers that won't be born if the Mother Tree doesn't make their seeds. They need our help."
Sophie would of course see that as their primary call to action. "I can't argue with that," Milro replied. "But, what can we do?"
Sophie stroked her ear as she thought. "Maybe we can get Fine and Rein to help," Sophie suggested.
Spigot had been turning back to the window, but spun back around with a start. "No! Oh no!" He pointed at Milro and Sophie. "There's no way in hell I'm letting the most unprincess-like princesses in the history of the Wonder Planet anywhere near something as delicate and dangerous as the weather!"
At that moment, somewhere in the Sunny Kingdom, Fine and Rein sneezed.
"Then what do you suggest?" Nicole asked.
Spigot rubbed his chin in thought. "No matter how much the Mother Tree demands, just stopping the rain and clouds is impossible. However, the pattern is bound to shift on its own at some point. We just need her to calm down and lift this damn curse as we wait for things to blow over. An explanation for this weather pattern might get her to understand, and I just so happen to know of plans towards that end."
Emily glared at the main screen of the of the chief's station. A map of the Drop Kingdom with three hundred green dots studding the coast of the hand-shaped peninsula made clear there was nothing out of the ordinary with the cloud towers each dot represented. There were repairs and maintenance happening as there always were, but nothing affecting normal operations.
"You know something, Frank," Emily said to Franklin Santiago typing away at the station next to her, "I almost wish things were going haywire."
Franklin stopped typing and turned to her. He put the two halves of his glasses together and balanced them on his muzzle in front of his eyes. "Who are you, and what have you done to Emily?"
Emily gave the "slender" lesser Beaver man a dark look. "I mean, that the Seed Kingdom drowning while most of the rest of the Wonder Planet can't buy a drop would be more straightforward if it was a problem without equipment."
She turned back to the display. "Whatever the reason, it's out there somewhere, and not knowing bugs me."
"Control what you can, don't sweat what you can't," Franklin said.
Emily turned back to the room. Without Spigot around, things were quiet as the workweek wound down. Conversations were turning towards weekend plans among the few engineers still at their stations.
She turned to Franklin. "Any plans for the weekend?"
"Actually, I'm really not going to have a weekend," Franklin answered. "I've been rented out to the Agency of Regulated Materials."
Emily furrowed her brow at hearing this. "What would ARM want with you?"
"There was another silver theft in the Jewelry Kingdom this morning?" Franklin answered.
"Hog Hell again?" Emily only needed to hear "silver theft" to know what Franklin meant. "That's what, the third this month?"
"Fourth," Franklin corrected. He took his glasses apart to let them hang from their strap over his chest and return to typing. "It was the same as the others. They stole twenty-five kilos of silver bullion; left the gold, platinum, and precious jewels next to it."
"Even crime is weird in the Jewelry Kingdom," Emily said. "But, what does that have to do with regulated materials here?"
"Well, it's suspected Hog Hell is using their ill-gotten silver to buy weapons and other contraband here in the Drop Kingdom to smuggle back across the border," Franklin said. "As to why they're using silver and not more valuable metals or gems, I guess it's what the vendor demands. Maybe they're counterfeiters or want to corner the market on silverware.
"Anyway, ARM is bringing in white hats from across the government to monitor the dark web for news of the fence. It should go down some time this weekend." Franklin turned to Emily. "What about you?"
"I really don't have any plans," Emily said. "Want a companion on your watch?"
Franklin smiled. "You know, Emily, I would appreciate that."
Emily felt a vibration from her waist pocket as her phone rang. She took it out and flipped it open. On the screen was a notification of an audio only call from Spigot was coming in. "The Master Chief is calling." She pushed the "accept" button and held her phone to the side of her head so it had access to both her ear and mouth. "Cloud Generation Service: if you have a parade, we'll rain on it."
"Please don't tell me you answer third party calls like that," Spigot's voice said from her phone.
"Then I won't say anything," Emily said. "But why are you on audio only?"
Spigot thought fast. There was the obvious reason, but he could not say it to her not knowing who else could hear. "We're still in the Seed Kingdom and I'm trying to save bandwidth." That should sound reasonable enough.
"Ah," Emily replied, apparently buying it. "So, how was your little visit to the 'lilliputian luddites'."
Spigot turned to Milro and Sophie standing on the table, as small as ever. "Could've gone better."
"Read: it was a total disaster," Emily said. "Want to share the gory details?"
Spigot rolled his eyes. "Not really. Anyone else with you?"
There was a pause. "Just Franklin," Emily answered.
Spigot was hoping for "no one" but Franklin was actually a bit of serendipity. "Find somewhere private. What I'm about to tell you two is for your ears only."
Things were silent for a few minutes. A part of Spigot was worried Emily would announce this. However, despite her attitude and choice of hairstyle, she was serious and professional when needed. Finally, she answered, "What is it, Master Chief?"
"Remember how you told me there were weather observers had a proposal to investigate the atmosphere over the Seed Kingdom?" Spigot asked.
"The proposal you called a 'hard no'?" Emily asked. "I remember it."
Spigot grimaced at the blunt description of how he treated the request, made worse by it being accurate. "Well, I've changed my mind. I'm giving them the greenlight for their investigation and even going to lead it."
"Really?" Emily asked. "They'll be over the moon. I'll tell the whole weather team to be ready for first thing on Monday."
"I was actually thinking of making this a weekend project," Spigot said. "In fact, more along the lines of immediately, if not sooner."
There was a pause. "Master Chief, as your adjutant, it is my duty to remind you that Section Four Part Three Paragraph One of the current C.G.S. Collective Bargaining Agreement specifically states off hours projects must be approved at least ten calendar days in advance except for critical emergencies," Emily stated.
"I forgot about the union contract," Spigot grumbled. This was a critical emergency, the most critical of critical emergencies. However, he was not ready to reveal it. Fortunately, there were other ways to get around it. "This pays overtime."
There was another pause. "Of course, the C.B.A. says nothing about volunteering for an impromptu project," Emily said. "However, we would get overtime anyway. I was thinking more along the lines of double overtime."
"DOUBLE?!" Spigot turned to Milro and Sophie again. As much as he hated to admit it, Emily had him right where she wanted him and both knew it. "Alright, you weasel in Beaver's clothing, double overtime," he growled into the phone.
"We'll get right on it," Emily said.
"But I'm looking for a small team, for budgetary reasons if nothing else," he made that aside. "Just two weather observers and a remote sensing specialist along with you two," Spigot stated. "Get them to our experimental airfield in the Bonneville Strip. I'll meet you there with further instructions."
"You got it, Master Chief," Emily replied.
"And be discrete about it," Spigot said. "I want you to get out of the castle without Queen Yamul finding out. Comprendés?"
"Sí, Jefe," Emily replied.
Spigot closed his phone to end the call and shoved it in his pocket. "Double overtime." He massaged his temples. "I can't believe I'm that desperate."
"Why don't you want my mother to know about this?" Milro asked.
Spigot turned to Milro standing on the table. "You have to ask? If Queen Yamul found out I let this happen to you, she'd kill me."
He then realized there were worst fates than death she could visit on him. "Or, worse, fire me."
"My mother would never do something that rash," Milro said.
"Regardless, I want to do this without her breathing down my neck," Spigot said. "Just trust the plan and you'll be big again before she's ever the wiser."
Nicole looked down at Milro. "Are you okay just going along with this?"
"Thanking about it, I would prefer to not face my mother like this without knowing I've exhausted more possibilities." Milro spread her arms as if to display the state she was in. "I might as well give Master Chief Spigot a chance. It's not like he can make things any worse."
"And I bet he's getting his best engineers for something this important," Sophie added.
A beep informed Emily the call ended. Emily closed her phone and slipped it into its place in her waist pocket. She turned to Franklin with a huge grin and had to hold down a growing giggle in her throat. "They must've really did a number on the Master Chief if I could get double overtime out of him that easily."
Franklin crossed his arms and frowned. "You don't think there's something fishy about this?"
Emily held her index finger in front of Franklin. "Engineer wisdom: one does not look double overtime in the mouth."
"And what about my assignment at ARM?" Franklin asked.
"You can dredge the open sewers of the internet from anywhere," Emily said. "You got a blackwater laptop, right?"
"Yes," Franklin answered.
"Then we'll pick it up, and you can do both." She walked towards the elevator. "Come on. Let's grab those two weather observers and head out." She began humming the melody of "We're in the Money" to herself.
Much like an iceberg, a cloud tower hid most of its inner workings under the surface. There were the fields of intakes and outfalls out in the ocean, but even most of the machinery of the tower itself was deep underground. The giant cavern of a room holding the filters, pumps, and reverse-osmosis system was called the "Bowels" because the complicated network of various pipes gave the sense of intestines as they connected everything in the trip of seawater coming in and fresh water and brine going out.
That was where Lee found himself on this particular day. After getting the "hard no" from the Master Chief on investigating the atmosphere, it was poetic getting shot down would land him in just about the physically lowest job in the Service. Though, it was a job he had just about completed. He attached the last of the ten membrane cartridges and pushed them into the pressure vessel. He picked up the radio. "That's the last one, Ophelia," he said into it.
"Okay, Lee," his twin sister's voice came through.
Lee attached the nozzle of the cover to the membrane and pushed it closed, feeling the resistances from Ophelia doing the same on the other end. With a twist, it fit into place. A metal plate fit in an indent in the cover and bolts tightened with an Allen key held it in place. With that, the last pressure vessel was done. Lee put a sticker on the plate marking the current month. At least he accomplished something today.
Ophelia came around as Lee wiped his brow with his jacket sleeve. "Well, this bank is good for another four years."
"Done already?" a voice asked.
Lee and Ophelia turned to Chief Leslie standing there with a clipboard in hand. "That was fast, and it was just you two?"
"We were working with others," Ophelia answered. "However, they were called on another job after lunch, so we did the second and third stages ourselves."
Lee thought back and counted the columns they finished. He then remembered they specifically finished the first stage before heading to lunch.
"You did all that on your own in less than three hours?" Leslie gave an impressed whistle as she scanned the long collection of tubes.
"We worked from either end," Ophelia explained. "I took out the old ones while—"
"—I put the new ones in," Lee finished the thought.
"You two must be in perfect sync to pull it off this quickly," Leslie said. "Excellent job."
"Thank you, Chief," Lee said in unison with Ophelia.
Leslie's grin sank into a small frown. "Maybe a little too in sync. Don't do that finishing each other's sentences and talking at the same time thing. It creeps me out."
"Yes, Chief," Lee said in unison with Ophelia before he could think better of it.
Leslie shook her head at this.
"Can I have my apprentices back?" a voice asked.
Master Allison Hendershot walked towards them. Leslie turned to the lesser Beaver woman. "They're all yours, Alice; but if your little Weather Observation Corps goes belly up, I might have these two work down here full time."
Lee felt a pang at hearing that. Granted, they were very good at replacing the membranes, but it was not what brought him into the service.
Allison sneered at Leslie. "You can have 'em when you pry them from my cold, dead hands, Erin." She flexed her fingers as she shooed Lee and Ophelia towards the elevators.
They walked down the long corridor created by the banks of pressure vessels across the grated floor covering the pipes feeding into and out of them. While Lee was okay with being called down on a temporary basis, he could not see himself working down here all day every day.
"The Shift Chief was joking, Lee," Ophelia said. He was apparently wearing his feelings too obviously. "We're not going anywhere."
"Is she?" Lee asked. "There's a weather disaster, what we were meant for, and the Master Chief won't let us investigate. We don't know much more about what's happening than the general public."
"That's more of a Seed Kingdom thing," Allison said. "The Master Chief has a terrible relationship with that kingdom, so his policy towards it is 'Treat it like the plague.'"
"And if worse comes to worst, working down here isn't so bad," Ophelia said. "Or we could get into maintaining the intakes. We would be around other Tritons and occasionally rented out to Environmental Maintenance again and get to eat the lionfish we catch."
"Aren't those things poisonous?" Allison asked.
"But, oh so tasty if you prepare them right." Ophelia rubbed her stomach.
They entered an elevator as its doors opened to accept them. Allison hit the up button as they turned to face the doors. The doors closed and the elevator ascended, heading into the castle proper.
"Well, don't make any plans for a career change or dinner," Allison stated. "I'm not throwing in the towel. Things might've been bleak lately, but Queen Elena is in town. The Windmill Kingdom is planning to create their own weather observation division. It's not global, but it's something."
The elevator came to a stop and they headed for the locker rooms.
"Where would you put the odds of weather stations coming on line in the Windmill Kingdom before Sinker Swamp?" Ophelia asked.
"It would've helped if we were getting readings and balloon launches from there," Lee added.
"Around the same as the Blessing of the Sun coming out of eclipse tomorrow morning," Allison replied.
They entered the locker room and headed to the lockers labeled with their PIN numbers—which was actually redundant since "N" stood for number.
"The Swamp's gotta swamp, Allison said, "and the incoming provincial government is only going to be more intransigent out of pure spite."
Lee opened his locker to put his helmet, ear muffs, glasses, and clogs in. He pulled out his loafers and tall, conical hat. The female engineers were able to wear their P.P.E. over their bandanas and flats, so they just deposited them inside. Though, Ophelia took out her pair of scallop shell–shaped earrings to put in the bottoms of her earlobes.
"But that's enough about Sinker Swamp." Allison slammed her locker shut. "That mudhole's politics gives me worse heartburn than their cooking."
The Meteorological Information Center—or M.I.C., like their other administrative facilities, was outside of the innards of the cloud tower and part of the actual castle built around it. They were like two completely different buildings built one over the other. The industrial minimalist look of the cloud tower was replaced with the prim proper aesthetics of the royal residence and seat of power. Though, three clear pipes ran along the ceiling of the hallways.
As they entered the center, an enthusiastic, "There you are!" greeted them.
Andrea Blake jumped…bounded…came to them in such a way she left the ground briefly. The half-Beaver maid with her raven black hair in twin tails wrapped her arms around Ophelia. Ophelia smiled and held Andrea's chin up as she kissed the significantly shorter woman—or perhaps Ophelia's unusual stature compared to Andrea's more average height should have more attention in the exchange—on the lips. The other observers gave them a second of attention before returning to what they were doing.
"Where were you guys?" Andrea asked once they were done.
"They had us down in the Bowels helping to replace reverse osmosis filters," Ophelia answered. "Which became just replacing reverse osmosis filters."
Andrea turned to Allison. "Oh, the Master Chief's adjutant and another engineer are waiting for you in your office, Master Hendershot."
Wilma knotted her brow and scratched at her cheek. "Wonder what they could want with me." She headed to the door leading into her office.
Lee headed to his desk. It was good to be back in his familiar setting and surrounded by his true passion of observing, recording, and studying the weather that resulted from their effort. Having a part to play in the creation of clouds was fun, but he joined the Service to observe how they behaved once out into the wilds of the atmosphere.
There was also the exercise ball in a frame he called a chair. Bouncing relaxed him and helped him to think. He kept a jogging trampoline in his apartment. Something about the motion got his neurons firing as he bounced in place. He got his computer working and pulled up his typical files and pages.
"The eighteen Z upper air data is just coming in," he said. "Nothing has probably changed like the rest of the week, but I do love a fresh dataset." Though, that Sinker Swamp shaped hole in the data gnawed at him, especially since it made up almost all of their border with the Seed Kingdom. Figures the one region of the Drop Kingdom that could give them the most data refused to play ball.
Ophelia sat down at her desk opposite his. Andrea stood behind her.
"They've pretty much picked the afternoon snack cart clean." Andrea reached into the pockets of her apron and pulled out two donuts wrapped in waxed paper. "But, I saved your favorite donuts for you."
"You're the best, Andrea." Ophelia took her glazed donut.
Andrea handed Lee his donut with chocolate frosting and multicolored sprinkles. "Thank you," Lee said.
"So, I heard you guys were getting other jobs to try to break up your brain block," Andrea said. "Did it work?"
Lee bounced. "It's not brain block that's the problem, it's a lack of information which has not been rectified—if it even can be given our available options. We know the general synoptic setup is driving the blocking pattern keeping the flow from our eastern cloud towers over the Seed Kingdom. However, that's common this time of year. The issue is the amount of water falling over them and them specifically. It's like the atmosphere is wringing itself out over them, and we have no way of figuring out why."
He sees Ophelia giving him the "You're talking too much" glare. She bit into her donut while maintaining it. "What?" he asked.
Ophelia swallowed. "We need to find you a girlfriend, Lee."
Lee looked to his sister and her girlfriend, Ophelia's first steady relationship. He knew where this coming from. "You're starting this again?" He bit into his donut frosting side down to have it directly on his tongue.
"Come on, doubling dating is a twin rite of passage," Ophelia pleaded.
"I don't know," Andrea chimed in, "I didn't know how much I needed three-way spooning between twins until I had it."
Lee swallowed. He decided to be cheeky. "And how do you know it would be a girl?"
It would not work with Ophelia as she dropped her mouth into an unimpressed frown. "Lee, you're so straight we could use you for a line of latitude."
"Pryor Twins, come into my office, please," Allison's voice came out of the speakers.
"I guess the adjutant wants us." Ophelia stood up, popping the last of her donut in her mouth.
"I should also get going before they miss me." Andrea gave Ophelia another peck of a kiss on the cheek and waved as she went to the snack cart to wheel it for the door.
Lee took another bite of his as he stood up and headed for Wilma's office. He took his hat off as Ophelia opened one of the few manual doors in the whole castle and decided to keep it off if he was going to be meeting the Master Chief's adjutant. He put the rest of his donut in his mouth as he crossed the threshold.
The Master's office was a cozy room off the M.I.C. Her desk was situated in front of a large map of the Drop Kingdom with a sofa under the window in the opposite wall next to the door giving view into the M.I.C. but currently obstructed by the blinds. Filing cabinets sat along the other two walls with personal effects sitting on them and awards and achievements hanging on the walls above them. Lee had thought someday this could be where he was, but for now he was just a (frequent) visitor.
Allison sat behind her desk. She looked up as they entered. "These are the two, Emily."
The two lesser Beavers in front of the desk turned back. The woman eyed them. "Them? They're children?!"
Ophelia knotted her brow and crossed her arms. "We're eighteen."
"And we'll be nineteen at the end of next month," Lee added.
Emily massaged the bridge of her muzzle. "You didn't tell me they were second year apprentices."
"Don't judge them on their age and rank," Allison replied. "They're my best weather observers. They've been on the Seed Kingdom issue like white on rice when most the others wouldn't even touch it."
"And a couple of apprentices will get less attention," Emily's male companion added.
Lee furrowed his brow. "What?"
Emily heaved a sigh. "Fine. The Master Chief changed his mind on your atmospheric investigation."
"I thought he said it was a hard no," Ophelia said.
"He also said he wouldn't be caught dead within a hundred kilometers of the Seed Kingdom," Emily said, "but Queen Yamul had other plans."
Lee could not help the grin creeping on his face and he bounced on the balls of his feet. From the lowest of lows, he was now on the highest of highs. "Really? We're getting to do it?"
Emily nodded. "Yes."
Lee picked up Ophelia by the waist and spun around with her. He laughed before Emily hushed him. He stopped and turned to her.
"Keep it down," Emily whispered. "We're trying to keep this under wraps."
Lee set Ophelia down and picked up his hat. "We'll be ready to head out first thing Monday."
Emily rubbed the back of her neck. "Actually, we're on more of a first thing right now schedule. The Master Chief wants us to meet him in the Bonneville Strip as soon as we find a remote sensing specialist."
"A weekend project?" Ophelia whined.
Emily pointed at them. "The weekend project that pays double overtime."
"Come on, Ophelia," Lee held Ophelia by the shoulders, keeping himself in check this time. "This is our big chance. We can finally do what we were recruited for and figure this out."
Ophelia sighed. "Alright, Lee."
Lee through his hands in the air. "Woo—" he started to cheer. Everyone shushed him. He gave a more muted, "Woo hoo," as he pumped his fist gently.
