Madame Askew almost collapsed on the chaise lounge, turning to look out the forward sitting room window of the RMS Dragon Fire. Outside, she could see the fleet of tea clipper dirigibles that the Dragon Fire was escorting from India to London. "The fate of the entire empire is at stake! We must act at once!" She declared as the Grand Arbiter poured a cup of tea for her. She tossed back the tea in a single shot. "Good Gods, man, there wasn't a drop of whisky in that cup! This is no time for unadulterated beverages."
The Duchess grabbed the nearest decanter and swiftly poured the Madam a stiff drink. "There you go, dear. Now tell us what's going on." Auntie Duchess had a soft spot for the Madam ever since she had pushed one of the Duchess' nephews into the Indian Ocean from 500 feet up. He had survived and the Duchess still told the story with relish.
Madam Askew visibly centered herself. "My temporal entourage and I were sent by the Queen to investigate a possible temporal rift. The Caffeinatti have been up to some pretty heinous fu-- nonsense recently, and the ether scouts noticed a disturbance around the Punjab, specifically Amritsar. We went directly to the Golden Temple, as one does, and what we found shook me to the core." The Grand Arbiter produced a fan and started to wave it over the half-prone Madam. "The Caffeinatti have created a temporal rift and have brought in sentient dinosaurs to help them with their evil plans. Their leader is called Rabrax the Unspeakable, and...he is...a dinosaur nercomancer."
...
The Duchess grabbed the nearest decanter and swiftly poured the Madam a stiff drink. "There you go, dear. Now tell us what's going on." Auntie Duchess had a soft spot for the Madam ever since she had pushed one of the Duchess' nephews into the Indian Ocean from 500 feet up. He had survived and the Duchess still told the story with relish.
Madam Askew visibly centered herself. "My temporal entourage and I were sent by the Queen to investigate a possible temporal rift. The Caffeinatti have been up to some pretty heinous fu-- nonsense recently, and the ether scouts noticed a disturbance around the Punjab, specifically Amritsar. We went directly to the Golden Temple, as one does, and what we found shook me to the core." The Grand Arbiter produced a fan and started to wave it over the half-prone Madam. "The Caffeinatti have created a temporal rift and have brought in sentient dinosaurs to help them with their evil plans. Their leader is called Rabrax the Unspeakable, and...he is...a dinosaur nercomancer."
...
Clint Austen, the Companion, regretted his question immediately, "So is he a human who brings dinosaurs back to life, or a dinosaur who brings things back to life? Also, what do you mean by sentient? Are they self-aware, or do they cheat at Bridge?" Even the Captain raised an eyebrow.
Madame Askew took a deceptively calm sip of her whisky. "My dear fellow, he is a dinosaur who brings horrible things back to life, like people who talk at the theater. Also, they are sentient enough to drink coffee, and cheat at Solitaire. Does that answer you questions?" Her tone implied that no further questions would be tolerated anyway.
The Lady stepped in, "So what are they up to, and how does it involve us?"
"Oh, my dears, it involves you intimately. We raced here from Amritsar directly to warn you that your fleet of tea clippers in the target of the Caffeinatti. They plan to raise the flying dead to take down the clippers, then destroy their precious cargo of tea with their terroir-confined dinosaurs. Your path from the tea producing regions to London will take you directly over the Punjab."
The Professor leaned forward. "The clippers don't have enough fuel to divert too far. Is there an air squadron close enough to help protect the clippers? Would that be enough against the flying dead? We're already over Nepal. We'll be in range in a few hours, if not sooner. With the current winds, we won't be able to stop and wait for help. If we set down here in Nepal, the Dutch will undoubtedly attack us."
The room was quiet. "We have no choice but to forge ahead and face the living dead...and dinosaurs...and the living dead dinosaurs...and the Caffeinatti." Clint sighed. They had faced worse situations and managed to save themselves and the Empire, but it was getting a little old.
Madame Askew took a deceptively calm sip of her whisky. "My dear fellow, he is a dinosaur who brings horrible things back to life, like people who talk at the theater. Also, they are sentient enough to drink coffee, and cheat at Solitaire. Does that answer you questions?" Her tone implied that no further questions would be tolerated anyway.
The Lady stepped in, "So what are they up to, and how does it involve us?"
"Oh, my dears, it involves you intimately. We raced here from Amritsar directly to warn you that your fleet of tea clippers in the target of the Caffeinatti. They plan to raise the flying dead to take down the clippers, then destroy their precious cargo of tea with their terroir-confined dinosaurs. Your path from the tea producing regions to London will take you directly over the Punjab."
The Professor leaned forward. "The clippers don't have enough fuel to divert too far. Is there an air squadron close enough to help protect the clippers? Would that be enough against the flying dead? We're already over Nepal. We'll be in range in a few hours, if not sooner. With the current winds, we won't be able to stop and wait for help. If we set down here in Nepal, the Dutch will undoubtedly attack us."
The room was quiet. "We have no choice but to forge ahead and face the living dead...and dinosaurs...and the living dead dinosaurs...and the Caffeinatti." Clint sighed. They had faced worse situations and managed to save themselves and the Empire, but it was getting a little old.
Check us out in March for the next episode in which Madam Askew's Temporal Entourage help the crew of the RMS Dragon Fire battle the living dead dinosaurs launched on the world by the Caffeinatti.