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  ‘Activating HoverVest now,’ said Skin. ‘Plus Boot Boosters with Level 10 Turbo.’

  ‘Level 10?’ Napoleon shrieked. ‘But that’s . . . WWOOOOOOO!’

  He shot up into the sky, taking the hologram with him.

  Everyone on the ground gasped as the Christmas image filled the sky.

  ‘We’ve sure got their attention, Skin,’ Napoleon laughed as he flew across the battlefield. The generals were staring at the sky, dumbfounded. ‘What now?’

  ‘Several possibilities are available. I suggest the Battle Edit Kit.’

  ‘The BEK?’ Napoleon thought about that for a moment while Skin directed his eyes to the cannons. ‘Of course. We take out the big blasters?’

  ‘Correct. But we do need to work quickly. Activating Epsilon Phase now.’

  Everything suddenly stopped. All action paused. Hovering above the trenches, Napoleon rubbed his palms together and brought up the Helping Hand LCD screens. With the cropping tool he outlined the cannons.

  ‘I’ll take out the machine gunners and riflemen too,’ he said, and pressed

  ENTER

  An Options Box dropped down. He selected:

  TRANSFER TO ANOTHER PLACE

  ‘How far away will I send them, Skin? Is twenty kilometres far enough?’

  ‘Negative. At least 50 kilometres is recommended.’

  Napoleon punched in 100 kilometres and hit the PROCESS button. A large hole appeared in the scene below as the cannons and machine guns and riflemen disappeared. Napoleon felt only a slight jolt as the data was transferred because it was being relocated within the same Battle Book.

  A moment later there was a mighty wind as a mass of land and trees was sucked in to fill the hole.

  ‘Too easy,’ Napoleon shouted. ‘And now for the generals.’

  ‘Speed is needed, BB. We will have to exit the Battle Book soon. Omega Phase is near.’

  Napoleon quickly outlined the three generals with the cropping tool. He thought about hitting the DELETE button, and getting rid of them completely. But that would make the prof super mad. He nearly transferred them to the same place as the cannons, but then had an even better idea.

  ‘I think I’ll DRAG & DROP them a bit closer to home.’

  He picked up the generals, took them across to no-man’s-land and put them down in the middle of all the soldiers.

  ‘I can’t wait to see the look on their faces when you restart the action, Skin. Take it away!’

  ‘Activating Kappa Phase now.’

  In an instant the action restarted. Soldiers were still pointing at the Christmas spectacle in the sky. But then one of them saw that the cannons had gone. They also realised the generals were standing among them.

  ‘The Brass Hats have joined us for Christmas,’ they shouted, and hoisted them onto their shoulders. ‘Let’s hear it for the Brass Hats!’

  Round after round of cheers echoed across the battlefield.

  The generals were forced to join in the celebrations.

  The laughter of the soldiers engulfed Napoleon. He peered down and could just make out Colonel Smythe standing on a tree stump. He was searching through the crowd.

  ‘I think he’s looking for me,’ Napoleon said. ‘I didn’t even get to say goodbye, or tell him my name.’

  ‘There is not enough time, BB,’ Skin warned. ‘Omega Phase is only seconds away and the Exit Beam is waiting. Professor Perdu activated it some time ago.’

  Oh no, thought Napoleon. The prof! She was going to be so cranky. He headed for the shaft of light.

  As Santa Claus disappeared from the sky too, the soldiers cheered once again and the real celebrations began.

  ‘Excellent, BB005.’

  As Napoleon touched down, he heard Professor Perdu’s voice on the Tome Tower speaker, and frowned. Something was wrong. She sounded far too chirpy.

  ‘What did you say, Prof?’ He was sure he hadn’t heard her correctly.

  ‘I said most excellent work, BB,’ she said, when he entered the main chamber. She was smiling at him.

  Napoleon stared at her.

  Now he was really worried. The prof was never like this after a mission. It had to be a mistake. Or she was playing some kind of trick. (But it was Christmas. Not April Fool’s Day.)

  ‘True, the mission didn’t quite go as planned, but the outcome was achieved.’ She paused. ‘Eventually. And now I have exactly what I need to move forward in one of my key projects.’

  ‘But I disobeyed orders,’ Napoleon said. ‘I cut all communication with you and interfered with the action of the Battle Book.’

  ‘You behaved just as I expected you to behave, BB,’ she said.

  ‘What?’ Napoleon couldn’t believe her words. ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘This was a special mission, BB005. Among other things, you were being tested. I had to know for certain how you would react when you met your great-grandfather.’

  ‘You mean you knew he was in that Battle Book beforehand?’

  ‘Of course I did.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘Because it wouldn’t have been a test, then. I wanted to see if you had the same steely strength of character, and quick wits, as your great-grandfather. And I can now say without a shred of doubt that you do. Well done, BB005. You have just taken a giant step in your career as a Battle Boy.’

  To Napoleon’s total surprise, the professor held out her hand and shook his hand firmly. He blushed. She had never done that before.

  ‘I had no idea Great-grandfather Ulysses did all that on Christmas Day in 1914,’ he said.

  ‘Of course you didn’t. Your father didn’t know either, or your grandfather. Indeed, until now I was the only person privy to that remarkable fact. It has been one of the better kept secrets of military history. And, naturally, that is how it must remain.’

  ‘But can’t I tell —?’

  ‘You know the rules, BB005. Everything that happens here is top secret. Everything!’ She rested her hand on his shoulder. ‘Besides, how could you tell your family without letting them know what you’ve been up to all this time?’

  She was right, of course, Napoleon knew. At least it was a wonderful secret to have, he told himself, a discovery that would stay with him forever.

  ‘Think of it as a kind of Christmas present,’ the professor added. ‘Which reminds me. I have another present for you.’

  Napoleon’s eyes brightened. ‘You do?’

  ‘I’ve just captured a number of new Battle Energy Bundles.’

  She pointed through the Tome Tower window. Lined up on a separate shelf were five or six new Battle Books. Napoleon couldn’t quite see their numbers, but their fresh titanium-iridium caskets sparkled with promise.

  ‘They’re much bigger than normal,’ he said.

  ‘Oh, yes. They’re a special breed of Battle Book – Marque II. You’ll find them much more challenging. But after today’s mission, I think you’ve got what it takes to handle their demands.’

  ‘Which battles are in them?’

  ‘You’ll find out,’ she said. ‘I have a few more tests to run on them, but let’s just say that you can look forward to some very interesting missions soon. These books will launch us on a whole new stage of Operation Battle Boy.’

  Napoleon thought about the new Battle Books as he rode home though the misty dawn. He hoped that at least one would come on the boil before too long.

  But he had something else to think about as well – the very best Christmas present he’d ever had. It was safely tucked away in his pocket. He couldn’t wait to open it.

  When he reached home, Napoleon sneaked through the still sleeping house. He stopped in front of his great grandfather’s portrait. For a moment, it felt as if the old man was smiling down at him.

  Napoleon saluted Colonel Ulysses Augustus Smythe, crept into his room and climbed into bed.

  Clutched in his hand was the letter his great-grandfather had written.

  It’s too late to
deliver it now, he thought sadly.

  He pulled the blankets over his head, slid the letter from its envelope, and by the light of his Battle Watch began to read.

  Professor Perdu scraped some skin tissue from her right hand carefully and placed the cells in a petri dish.

  At last, she thought. The missing DNA. Battle Boy has served me well.

  She smiled and looked at her watch.

  It would soon be time.