Hello people. This is my first fanfic so please be nice! Sorry if this chapter sucks, but I'm rubbish at starting off stories!

Will get better!

Captain Holly Short's office, Haven

Captain Holly Short was perched on the edge of her seat, fighting herself to stay awake. Lately, life in the LEP had become extremely tiresome. Commander Root had not given her an assignment since the Fowl mind wipe, seven months ago. She had been given piles off paperwork to sort through, and the only time she had had above ground had been when she went to complete the ritual.

Holly sighed deeply as she signed the last of the papers in relation to a runaway goblin. Life wasn't worth living this way. She had tried to protest to Root, but the more she did, the angrier he became.

She threw her pen onto her desk and marched to the door. She wasn't going to stand for this. Root was going to get it whether he liked it or not. But first, she would go to see Foaly the centaur, for some of his useful advice.

Holly stormed down the corridors, deep in thought, and nearly jumped to the ceiling in fright when a certain college came up behind her, and slapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey there Short," Trouble Kelp, exclaimed cheerily. "How's life treatin' you?"

Holly scowled and continued down the corridor, towards Foaly's office.

Trouble jogged up to her side. "Root still not given you a mission? Don't worry, that's old Beetroot for you. He did that to me one time."

"For seven months?" Holly asked through gritted teeth.

Trouble's eyes widened in disbelief. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, no, but; well, like I said, that's Beetroot for you. Bet he gives you something by the end of the month."

Holly was getting thoroughly annoyed now. "Yeah, thanks, Trouble. Now, if you don't mind…"

Commander Root's voice erupted through the speakers. "Trouble Kelp, get your sorry self in my office now. Important mission for you."

Trouble turned to look at Holly and swallowed at the threatening look in her eyes. "Looks like I'll be off then." And with those last words, he was gone.

Holly's hands curled into fists. Sometimes she wanted nothing more then to punch that elf's lights out.

Five minutes later, Holly was facing the large steel door, which was the entrance to Foaly's office. She hit the communicator button and spoke loudly through the speaker. "Foaly, you pony, let me in."

The familiar voice answered. "I would, but you just hurt my feelings. I am much more than just a pony; I'll have you know. I am a-"

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry. Now can I just come in."?

"Hmmm. Let me think. I suppose… But on one condition."

"And what's that?"

"Don't ever call me pony."

"Foaly…" Holly put on an if-you-don't-let-me-in-now-then-I'll-kick-your-sorry-behind-out-of-Haven voice.

"Tut tut, Captain Short. You do need to learn some manners. You can't be going around calling people names now, can you? Especially to the commander."

Holly gritted her teeth so hard that it would not have been surprising if the whole lot were to fall out right there and then. "Fine, no carrots for you, then."

"Carrots? Oh, well, you're more than welcome to come in."

The large steel doors slid apart and allowed Holly to walk passed into Foaly's amazing office. There wasn't one bit of bare wall left, as it had all been taken up by computers and various other gadgets. Holly, who was usually rather intrigued by it, was now heading towards Foaly, eyes flashing with fury. The centaur was sat in his black swivel chair, (don't ask how you would sit in a chair with four legs; I do not know) with an amused look pasted on his face.

"Hold it, Captain. You don't want to be hurting anyone, do you? Now, where are my carrots?"

"Haven't got any. I can't believe you fell for that."

Holly could have sworn she saw Foaly blush. "Yes, well, you know, all this work is getting to me. I can't keep my eye on everything at the same time."

"Yeah, whatever. Listen; do you have any idea why Root isn't giving me any assignments? Because he's given Trouble Kelp all of the ones that I could easily have handled, so now Trouble's overloaded with stuff, and I haven't got anything."

Foaly shook his head. "Nope. Sorry Short, but like I said a couple of weeks ago, Root does this to everyone at some point."

Holly threw herself into another one of Foaly's swivel chairs and glared furiously in his direction. "That's what Trouble said."

"And that just shows that everyone knows about Root's old tricks. Now, if you don't mind, I've got a lot of work to be getting on with and, unless you want to help, I would be extremely grateful if you left."

Holly was about to answer when someone buzzed in. Trouble Kelp's face had been magnified and was being shown on Foaly's largest computer screen.

"What do you want, Kelp?" Foaly asked the elf.

"I was just wondering if Holly was in there."

"And why do you want Holly?"

"Because Root's given her an assignment."

Holly jumped up from her seat and squeaked down the microphone in excitement. "Are you serious, Trouble?"

"Deadly serious. It's something to do with Artemis Fowl, nothing big, but I persuaded Root that you were the best one for it. It took a while, but you've got it."

Holly slapped the large red button on the wall that opened the steel doors, allowing her to exit, and tore down the corridor, totally ignoring Trouble. Finally, an assignment, and with Artemis Fowl. This probably meant that he had got his memories back, remembered the LEP, and Holly. Holly's grin stretched from ear to ear. Life was sweet.

She burst into Commander Root's office without even knocking.

"Short! What have told you about privacy?"

Holly caught her breath. "Sorry, sir. Trouble said you wanted to see me, sir."

Root cleared his throat "Er… yes. I do. I think it's about time we go and check on little old Mudboy, you know just in case."

Holly's heart sank. It wasn't a big deal. Artemis didn't even have his memory back. It was just a boring check-up. With Artemis gone, it was almost like a curse, wishing her to have an uneventful life for as long as she lived. Life wasn't so sweet.

Root continued with his instructions. "Go to Fowl Manor, and if he isn't there, check that school of his. Bartleby's of whatever it was. I would ask Foaly to do a scan for Mudboy, but he's got too much on his hands at the moment. Anyway, it's as easy as that. Just keep an eye on him for a couple of hours. Can you do that?"

"Can a dwarf blow a hole in his pants?" said Holly weakly, her voice dripping with disappointment.

"Good, but whatever you do, do not let yourself be seen. By Fowl or anyone else. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, off you go then. The pod for Tara should be leaving in about half an hour."

Holly nodded and walked out of the room. With life being as boring as it was now, Holly sometimes wondered if it was worth giving Artemis back his memories personally…

So, what do you think? It will get better, I promise you.

Please R&R! First fanfic.

Will get better when romantic bit comes. Couple of chapters until then.