Artemis sat at his office chair. He was tapping at his laptop, looking at the grim news in front of him. Incoming reports from hundreds of places where the technology had failed catastrophically. Some reports were even coming by telegram, for goodness sake.
There was a lot he could do to help. But he had to focus on the areas where only he could help. He had faith that humanity's best and brightest could mop up the rest.
However, he was also distracted.
Thankfully, Artemis didn't need to agonize for much longer as Holly swept into the room. She looked mildly aggrieved. The elf's hair was damp and her sleeves were rolled up, exposing muscular forearms.
"Urgh," she grunted out as a greeting, "bathing a person is a lot harder than I thought it'd be." She glanced at Artemis's desk. "Ooh, is that one of Butler's vegetable spring rolls? Mine."
The captain snatched Artemis's untouched food and hopped into a worn armchair beside him. Artemis had moved it there earlier, knowing it was the one the elf usually lazed around while in the manor. He hadn't even asked Butler to do it.
Granted, that was mostly because Butler would know exactly what he was moving it there for, but still.
Artemis closed his laptop and glanced at the elf beside him. She was sinking deeper and deeper into the depths of the armchair and he was faintly afraid that she'd disappear into it. The diminutive captain was inhaling the food and likely getting detritus on the chair. At least she looked comfy.
Holly caught his glance mid-chew.
"What?" she demanded around a mouthful of veggies. "Never seen a fairy eat before?"
"Heavens no," he replied easily. "Just never a fairy eating like that without unhinging their jaw beforehand."
"Shut up, Fowl. I'm hungry, sue me."
"I'll be in contact with my lawyers."
Holly let out what could have been a snort or a choke. Whichever it was, it soon turned into a choke and the elf had to slap a fist to her chest repeatedly. Artemis offered her a cup of tea, which she gratefully took and swallowed.
"Bleh, cold," she said, making a face. Holly handed the cup back into Artemis's waiting hand, who in turn replaced it into the saucer. It made a nice click.
"So, what were you working on?" she asked, indicating towards his closed laptop.
"Assessing the damage worldwide. In addition, I am currently forming a tentative plan for a rescue attempt on the ISS."
Holly winced, sucking some air through her teeth.
"Ooh. How bad is it up there?"
"Grave. I've read through the emergency manuals and they do not cover multiple simultaneous total module failures due to the remote chances of such an occurrence. Whatever the extent of the current damage, time is of the essence. Even under normal circumstances getting any spacecraft into orbit and docking to the vessel would not be able to reach them in time."
Artemis stared at the ceiling, doing some mental simulations.
"Optimistically, the astronauts managed to take shelter in some of the older modules. The water and oxygen reclamation systems in the Zvezda module should still be operational as it's too old for it to be affected by Opal. However, taking into account the various failures in the newer modules, we could be looking at anywhere from two days to three weeks."
Holly whistled, considering it. Even the People would have a tough time getting up there in time. It's not like you can just drop a time stop in space. Then she realized something.
"D'arvit. N°1."
Now it was Artemis's turn to grimace. The ISS was a triumph of human ingenuity and bravery, but the little demon warlock meant a great deal to Artemis personally. The fact that he was currently on the moon was more than a little concerning.
Artemis leaned back in his chair, eyes closed. This was not going to be a restful several weeks. Holly looked him up and down. Still, this seemed like a more placid conversation than what he had expected. Perhaps Holly had forgotten to make good on her promise and would bring up the Nopal situation at a later date-
"You're more keyed up than usual, Arty," she observed. "What's going through that massive noggin of yours?"
Ah, thought too soon.
"Rocket science, mostly," he murmured.
"Not just that. You don't have that math look about you. It's about Nopal, isn't it?"
Artemis's eyes snapped open and he turned to Holly.
"Don't lie to me, mud-boy. Elf-intuition," she said, answering his unspoken question. "Frond, you haven't had that look on your face since I punched you in it."
Artemis brought a hand up to his face, rubbing at a phantom pain. It was the first time anybody had seriously hit him. It left an impression.
"I see you're still somewhat upset over it," he said, a vain attempt at deflection.
"Well, we can talk about the trust issues we've got with each other later. We've got… a lot of time to spend with each other."
Artemis felt himself flush at that admission. It was unfortunate that his atoms would not keep their integrity through another time travel jaunt. Skipping forward several weeks of restarting fairy and human technology, not to mention being honest about feelings, the teenager saw a very, very good thing developing. Surely there was a catch.
"You're not going back to Haven yet? I'd imagine they need you down there."
Holly grimaced, but shook her head.
"They probably need every pair of pointed ears they can get down there. But for one, I'm stuck up here until they can get a shuttle running. And if they can do that, there are probably better uses for it than to pick up a single elf. And two, I'm not going to leave possibly-Opal up on the surface with just you and Butler."
"So I suppose you will be living in the mansion for the time being," he said, hiding the pleasure in his tone with some difficulty.
"Looks like it, mud boy," Holly said, not bothering to hide hers. Then she schooled her face, giving him the serious-business look. "But, with this whole Atlantian-freak-show going up on the surface and you needing to go to space, you should probably rely on Nopal."
Ah, right to the point, thought Artemis. Why is she always so lovely when she is twisting my arm?
"It seems risky," he said in the tone that one responds in when scolded by their mother about getting along with the other children.
"You gave her the truth drug—which, by the way, I hope to Frond better be the last time I ever see it—yourself. What more confirmation do you need that Nopal isn't the same as that pixie psycho?"
"She may have had contingency measures."
"Arty, listen to yourself. Do you really think Opal of all people had a plan for being dead?"
"...no, likely not."
Holly nodded.
"I don't think she could imagine herself losing at a game of chess," she continued. "Even your plan for cheating death was made on the fly."
"I had some hours to plan it," Artemis shrugged. Holly groaned and rolled her eyes.
"You know what I mean. Can't you make up with her at least? You saw her. She was crushed at the thought of you hating her."
Artemis sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Apologies. Ever his forte.
"I'll make no promises," he said finally. "But I wouldn't wish for her to suffer unduly."
He interrupted Holly's congratulatory punch-to-the-shoulder.
"But I'll still hold my suspicions."
"Whatever, mud-boy. I'm sure you, Nopal, and Foaly, whenever you figure out how to contact him, will be able to get N°1 back safe and sound."
Artemis frowned.
"Are we to disclose Nopal's identity to the People?"
Holly gave him the side-eye.
"Yes…? Why wouldn't we?"
"Seeing as she is the reason that half of the electronics on the planet are now in flames, I doubt that the rest of the world will take kindly to Nopal's continued existence, much less trust our word that she is who she says she is."
"One problem at a time, mud-boy," Holly commanded, getting up and pushing Artemis out of his chair. "Go tell Nopal you're sorry."
"Aye-aye, captain," Artemis replied drily. He let himself be pushed. Definitely.