Artemis Fowl: A Call for Help

Chapter 11

Lower Elements

"Got it?" Foaly asked.
"Yeah." Holly and Trouble said, nodding.
"Good. Commander Root will be waiting at the shuttle port. If I were you I would get down there."
"Thanks Foaly." Holly said.
"No problem, good luck."
Trouble and Holly left, heading toward the shuttle port.
"This is going to be a fun one." Trouble said. "Chasing some mutated troll around Ireland with no idea what it can do."
Holly laughed. "Yep. Have you ever noticed that it's always the two of us that get sent on these crazy missions?"
"Yeah. We must be Root's favorites." Trouble said, grinning.
"Sure." Holly said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
By then, they had reached the shuttle port. The conversation ceased when they saw Commander Root.
"There you are. What took you so long?" Root yelled.
"Sorry sir, getting the information took awhile." Holly answered.
"That Foaly. He always takes forever to say anything." Root muttered. He quickly recovered. "We're wasting time. Come with me."
They followed Root into a medium sized shuttle. There were a few LEP suits and helmets. There was a rack on the wall, holding two guns. One Neutrino 3000 and one Neutrino 2000. Root handed Holly the 2000, then gave the 3000 to Trouble. After putting on the suits, Holly and Trouble strapped their weapons into their holsters.
"Ready to go?" Root asked.
Trouble and Holly nodded in unison, trying not to look nervous. This was the craziest assingment either of them had ever had.
Holly remembered the time she had faced a troll. It can't be much worse, can it? Holly wondered. I sure hope not.
"This is just a simple recon. We want you to go see what is up there, what it's doing, where it is. Most importantly what it is." For the next sentence he looked directly at Holly. "Don't do anything unnecessary or unorthodox. I don't want anybody or anything to get hurt."
Holly inwardly grimaced. She did have a history of rule breaking, but she didn't need to be constantly reminded. But instead of protesting, she gave a simple reply.
"Yes sir."
"Good. Captain Short, it is your job to fly the shuttle."
Trouble began to protest, but Root effectively cut him off.
"I beleive Holly's skill set will be more appropriate for this task."
"Yes sir." Trouble said, defeatedly. They needed to get there fast, and there was no doubt about who flew the fastest.
"You'll have constant connection with Foaly, so if you need to know anything he'll be right there. Good luck. Get going now." Root said, gesturing towards the cockpit.
Holly strapped into the pilots seat. She flexed her fingers, then grabbed the joysticks. Foaly's voice sounded in her ear.
"I'll give you a launch countdown. On three. One... Two... Three..."
The shuttle took off, speeding through the chute. Holly easily navigated the various bends and turns, going at a ridiculous speed. Trouble sat in the co-pilot seat looking slightly nervous. Holly is going to kill us. She's going so fast she'll probably send us crashing into the chute wall. He thought anxiously. Trouble wasn't usually nervous about anything. Something about the way Holly flew made him anxious. Maybe it was the fact that she always came really close to the walls before she would steer the shuttle away from the wall. She's constantly flirting with death. I don't get it.
They were above ground in no time, ready to start their mission.
"Ready to go?" Holly asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Trouble grunted.
And with that, they set off to investigate the strangest case anyone had seen for a long time.