Maybe he had surgery, said Holly. Lets get out of here.
The commander reached down, flipping Scalenes cape aside. There was a metal box strapped to the generals chest. The box was thirty centimetres square, with a small screen in the centre. There was a shadowy face on the screen, and it was talking.
Ah, Julius, it said in Scalenes voice. I knew youd come. Commander Roots famous ego would not allow him to stay out of the action. An obvious trap, and you walked straight into it.
The voice was definitely Scalenes, but there was something about the phrasing, the cadence. It was too sophisticated for a goblin. Sophisticated, and strangely familiar.
Have you figured it out yet, Captain Short? said the voice. A voice that was changing. Slipping into a higher register. The tones were no longer male, not even goblin. Thats a Jemale talking, thought Holly. A Jemale that I know.
A face appeared on the screen. A beautiful and malicious face, its eyes bright with hate. Opal Kobois face. The rest of the head was swathed in bandages, but the features were only too visible.
Holly began to speak rapidly into her helmet mike.
Foaly, we have a situation here. Opal Koboi is loose. I repeat, Koboi is loose. This whole thing is a trap. Cordon off the area, five-hundred-metre perimeter, and bring in the medical warlocks. Someone is about to get hurt.
The face on the screen laughed, tiny pixie teeth glinting like pearls.
Talk all you want, Captain Short. Foaly cant hear you. My device has blocked your transmissions as easily as I blocked your seeker-sleeper and the substance scan that I assume you ran. Your little centaur friend can see you, though. I left him his precious lenses.
Holly immediately zoomed in on Opals pixelated face. If Foaly got a shot of the pixie, he would figure out the rest.
Again Koboi laughed. Opal was genuinely enjoying herself.
Oh, very good, Captain. You were always a smart one. Relatively speaking, of course. Show Foaly my face and he will initiate an alert. Sorry to disappoint you, Holly, but this entire device is constructed from stealth ore and is practically invisible to the artificial eye. All Foaly will see is a slight shimmer of interference.
Stealth ore had been developed for space vehicles. It absorbed every form of wave or signal known to fairy or man and so was virtually invisible to everything but the naked eye. It was also incredibly expensive to manufacture. Even the small amount necessary to cover Kobois device would have cost a warehouse full of gold.
Root straightened quickly. The odds are against us here, Captain. Lets move out.
Holly didnt bother with relief. Opal Koboi wouldnt make things that easy. There was no way they were just walking out of here. If Foaly could hijack the terminals computers, then so could Koboi.
Opals laugh stretched to an almost hysterical screech.
Move out? How very tactical of you, Commander. You really need to expand your vocabulary. Whatever next? Duck and cover?
Holly peeled back a Velcro patch on her sleeve, revealing a Gnommish keyboard. She quickly accessed her helmets LEP criminal database, opening Opal Kobois file in her visor.
Opal Koboi, said Corporal Fronds voice. The LEP always used Lili Frond for voice-overs and recruitment videos. She was glamorous and elegant, with flowing blond tresses and inch-long manicured nails that were absolutely no use in the field. LEP enemy number one. Currently under guard in the J. Argon Clinic. Opal Koboi is a certified genius, scoring over three hundred on the standardized IQ test. She is also a suspected megalomaniac, with an obsessive personality. Studies indicate that Koboi may be a pathological liar and suffer from mild schizophrenia. For more detailed information please consult the LEP central library on the second floor of Police Plaza.
Holly closed the file. An obsessive genius and a pathological liar. Just what they needed. The information didnt help a lot; what it told her she pretty much already knew. Opal was loose, she wanted to kill them and she was smart enough to figure out how to do it.
Opal was still enjoying her triumph.
You dont know how long I have waited for this moment, the pixie said, then paused. Actually, you do know. After all, you were the ones who wrecked my plan. And now I have you both.
Holly was puzzled. Opal may have had serious mental issues, but that could not be confused with stupidity. Why would she prattle on? Was she trying to distract them?
The same thought occurred to Root. Holly! The doors!
Holly whirled round, to see the blast doors sliding across, their engines masked by core wind. If those doors closed, they would be completely cut off from the LEP, and at the mercy of Opal Koboi.