DOUBLE DIGITS!
I am reading the AI graphic novel. When they're about to go into the crack in the chute wall to get into Koboi Labs, it shows the dashboard display. I just realized: not only is everything in English, the engine status is apparently "overhating." Yes, if I was that engine, I would hate Holly too much as well…
0o0o0o0o0
"I could tell you," Holly admitted, "but you're not going to like it."
"Tell me, Captain. That's an order."
Artemis listened attentively from the copilots seat as Holly quickly outlined her plan. She was quite clever, it was clear, and resourceful when she needed to be. Not only a loyal friend, but a useful ally.
He studied her for the hundredth time. There always seemed to be something new to see, some novel facet of her being that was only just coming into play. He could see why Foaly loved her so much.
0o0o0o0o0
Holly leaned over Root's shattered ribs, trying not to hurt him as her blue sparks caressed the broken skin, dipping inside and sealing the cracks in the bone. Artemis watched the process, fascinated. What he could do with magic…
As he imagined the possibilities, Holly was busying herself with a medi-pac. Shoving it into his hands, she ordered him to hold it to Root's chest for ten minutes, then left with a sweep of her head that told him she was trying to draw attention away from the fact that she was upset.
Butler followed her out, leaving Artemis alone with an unconscious Root. He tried to plan, but when that failed, he opted for simply sinking into a chair, holding the ice and magic to the commander's injured chest, and not thinking (read: thinking) about Holly. Which Greek god? Not Artemis, she was Holly's great-great-grand aunt. He tried to conjure up an image of all the gods. Unfortunately, the humans had bent the warlocks' original appearances all out of shape, so he was reduced to estimating with the common denominators. Aphrodite, strawberry blonde, blue eyes, beautiful; Apollo, dirty blonde hair, brown eyes; Ares, dark hair, dark eyes; Athena, brown hair, grey eyes…
And then it's always likely that Holly didnt inherit her looks from them, but from one of their descendants…
Artemis shot bolt upright.
One of their descendants. Holly was part human. He ran through another mental list, cross-referenced his theory with actual data, and decided he had an eighty-five percent chance of being correct.
He checked his watch. It had only been three minutes.
"Go," Root rasped.
Artemis started; he hadn't noticed the Commander awakening. "I'm sorry?"
He gestured weakly. "Go talk to her. I can tell you want to. I can hold it on myself." His hand moved to cup he medi-pac.
The human boy wavered, unsure. Only when the elf choked out a fierce "Go!" did he follow orders.
He left the medical bay, walking resolutely past Butler, who gave him an odd look, but said nothing. He knew the look on Artemis's face well-he was determined that nothing would stop him. If the bodyguard had ventured to pass a remark, it would either have been ignored or blown off.
Artemis paused at the door to the cockpit, calming down and forming his mood into a blank slate, ready to be whatever fit Holly's affectation at the moment.
He gently pushed open the door and entered, letting it swing slowly closed behind him. He sat in the copilots seat and strapped himself in, not wanting a repeat of the earlier mini-earthquake incident.
They sat in companionable silence for a time.
"Is it Cupid?" Artemis asked at last.
Holly's head snapped toward him and she gaped at him for a second, eyes popping, then, unable to look at him for very long, turned her shellshocked gaze to the dashboard. Slowly, she closed her eyes. "Why the hell," she asked, "do you have to be a genius?"
He smirked. "I take it that I am correct?"
"D'Arvit you" was the only reply he got.
"I'll take that as a yes, then."
She almost scowled, but smiled at the last second. "How'd you figure it out?"
He smirked intelligently, tapping his forehead.
She groaned. "Don't do that. Riley does that."
"And Mr. Poole and I are nothing alike, of course…"
"Hey!"
He chuckled, and they lapsed back into quiet, Artemis staring out the window as the chute flew by. "This has to be dangerous," he murmured at length.
"Only in pods, really," she replied. "Shuttles are only flown when there aren't any hotshots-flares, I mean. And Foaly's technology has a .05% uncertainty margin when it comes to predicting hotsh-flares."
"And pods...?"
"We ride the magma itself. Much more dangerous, as to can imagine. But we've only had one fatality in the last fifty years," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper and her ears drooping at the tail end of the statement.
Artemis waited.
Eventually, she realized he wasn't going to back down in his quest for answers. "Recon and Retrieval like to core dive-see how far you can drop before hitting the flaps and rising. And when Bom died-" she dropped her head back, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. Don't cry, she told herself, don't cry, "he was chasing my flight record."
Artemis thought hard, choosing his words carefully. This was a touchy moment. "That doesn't make it your fault. If it ha been Trouble Kelp's record, would you blame him?"
She blinked. "No, I… I guess not."
He nodded, satisfied.
Holly looked at him. This boy could go from cold and emotionless to warm and fuzzy in the space of two seconds. Who was this human? And why the hell did she get saddled with him?
Why is it always me?
But then, do I really regret it?
0o0o0o0o0
When Artemis made it back down to the underground parking lot, he found Mulch Diggums handcuffed to Holly and chatting amiably. Apparently, they were, as it was called in the criminal world, "old friends," known to regular folk as, "old adversaries on friendly speaking terms because they've gone at each other so many times they're sick of being nasty."
"She's a feisty one, Julius," the dwarf said brightly as they hauled him back to the shuttle. "I can see why you hired her."
"I just bet you can. Don't call me Julius."
"Yessir, your Worship. Would you prefer Jules? Jojo? Julie-poo?"
Holly tried to conceal a snort, and Mulch glanced over at her. "Uh-oh, she's smiling, Commander! Insubordination!"
Holly made a fair attempt at turning a giggle into a sneeze.
"I'd advise you to not to bait her," Root said. "You've been on the tail end of a few of her temper tantrums, I dare say."
The convict glanced sideways, then tried to shuffle away from the elf. "Yeeeeeeeah, good point. You know, you've made quite a name for yourself in criminal circles, Holl."
"Oh, really?" she sounded interested despite her efforts not to.
"Yep. One guy 'bout to go rob some Mud Man place said 'if I get arrested, I just hope it's by that Short.' You're really quite popular. There are even some catchphrases... Lemme see. 'Never try to hide on a street full of short people, you won't see her coming.' I liked that one. Oh-'if a Retrieval officer points a gun at you, start to run. If Holly Short points a gun at you, start to pray.' I told him not to bother praying, just try to look pitiful."
"That would be pitiable," she corrected him.
"Oh, and you should never get in a vehicle with her if its just you two and she doesn't like you..."
"You learned that one from experience, didn't you?"
Mulch shuddered. "Never again. I'm glad there's innocent bystanders on that shuttle," he said earnestly, nodding at Root.
She shrugged. "If you piss me off…again…they're just collateral damage."
Artemis, who had been smirking up until then, swallowed hard.
0o0o0o0o0
Dun dun dun DUNNNNN…
Up next: the "do I look like a flyboy to you?" scene from Holly's point of view.