The Arctic Incident (Disney) by Eoin Colfer

Author:Eoin Colfer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2018-09-19T00:00:00+00:00

Arctic Shuttleport

Artemis and his fellow travelers took shelter in the shuttleport. Holly made the journey slung over Butler’s shoulder. She protested loudly for several minutes, until the commander ordered her to shut up.

“You’ve just had major magical surgery,” he pointed out. “So just stay quiet and do your exercises.” It was vital that Holly manipulate her finger constantly for the next hour or so, to ensure the right tendons got reconnected. It’s very important to move the index finger the way you intend to move it, especially if you’re firing a weapon.

They huddled around a glow cube in the deserted departures lounge.

“Any water?” asked Holly. “I feel dehydrated after that healing.”

Root winked, something that didn’t happen very often. “Here’s a little trick I learned in the field.” He popped a flat-nosed shell from a clip in his belt. It was transparent and filled with clear liquid.

“You won’t get much of a drink from that,” commented Butler.

“More than you’d think. This is a hydrosion shell. A miniature fire extinguisher. The water is compressed into a tiny space. You fire it into the heart of a fire and the impact reverses the compressor. Half a gallon of water is blasted at the flames. More effective than a hundred gallons poured. We call them fizzers.”

“Very good,” said Artemis dryly. “If you could use your weapons.”

“Don’t need ’em,” said Root, drawing a large knife. “Manual works just as well.”

He pointed the shell’s flat tip at the mouth of a canteen, and popped the lid. A fizzing spray jetted into the container.

“There you are, Captain. Never let it be said that I don’t look after my officers.”

“Clever,” admitted Artemis.

“And the best thing is,” said the commander, pocketing the empty fizzer, “these things are completely reusable: all I have to do is stick it in a pile of snow and the compressor will do the rest, so I won’t even have Foaly on my case for wasting equipment.”

Holly took a long drink, and soon the color surged back to her cheeks. “So we were ambushed by a B’wa Kell hit team,” she mused. “What does that mean?”

“It means you have a leak,” said Artemis holding his hands close to the cube’s warmth. “It was my impression that this mission was top secret. Not even your Council was informed. The only person who isn’t here is that centaur.”

Holly jumped to her feet. “Foaly? It can’t be.”

Artemis raised his palms. “Logic. That’s all it is.”

“This is all very well,” interjected the commander. “But it’s conjecture. We need to assess our situation. What have we got, and what do we know for sure?”

Butler nodded. The commander was a being after his own heart. A soldier.

Root answered his own question. “We’ve still got the shuttle, provided it’s not wired. There’s a locker full of provisions. Atlantean food mostly, so get used to fish and squid.”

“And what do we know?”

Artemis took over. “We know that the goblins have a source in the LEP. We also know if they tried to take out the LEP’s head, Commander Root, then they must be after the body.

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