“Well I’ve an idea!” Weaver forced himself to reply, seeing that nothing was going to happen, and watched Commander Craven gasp and look like he knew something about him, and he realized that even though he could know something that he was still reacting to what had happened with his damaged parachute and his way of saving himself.
“Do you think we should attack them then!” Commander Craven answered firmly.
“I’ve been monitoring them with my thermal weapon sight!” he swiftly replied. “None of them show themselves! So I reckon we could easily surprise some of them!”
“Good idea! But dangerous! You have to wade through that bloody blizzard and not be seen! Can you do it then?”
“Yes!” he answered. “Anyone want to join me? We can’t stay here all night!”
Weaver was surprised that nobody but Reeves agreed with carrying it out, and he realized that they never thought much of the idea! Yet he did see their point and that he would only be able to get one or two, and risk putting them in further danger. Yet deep down he really wanted to know who was there, and capture one and question him.
“So you’re going?” Commander Craven laughed.
“Yes!” he replied firmly, and started fixing himself up and preparing himself, and watched their blank faces examining him.
Once he and Reeves were ready he examined the region around his front and they rushed out and sneaked along regions that they would be unseen in.
He wondered why they had stopped firing anyway. Yet he realized they had probably realized that they were well armed and capable of killing them! How could they attack and beat them with them being so heavily armed? Then as he properly examined the area around where they were he realized that they were capable of attacking them at places that they were not hidden in.
He was still barely able to realize what the outcome of such a situation could be!
Reeves removed his communicator and established contact with Commander Craven and they moved on faster, and as they approached the place where the nearest of the gunmen had been he realized that he could not believe that this case could be solved easily. He just knew something would stop him getting any information from the gunmen if they captured them! This mission seemed to be going to be the worst and hardest!
He thought of the earlier battle and the death of the soldier near him and how ruthlessly they had attacked. He had never fully realized how desolate, deadly, and beyond civilization the Antarctic was, and how far from any help it was. If anything serous happened they could not get help! He wondered if a war took place there if they could handle it.
When they finally reached where the gunmen were he hid and examined the place and found it empty, and they moved in and checked for anything, and he barely found part of a footstep, which gave him no information.
They gave the information back to Commander Craven and continued to the other locations, going from one to another, checking for clues, until they had checked every hidden location, and they informed the others and they joined them.
Now all they needed to do was get to the ice station without getting shot, and they decided to use the darkness and blizzard and go sideways and move there from another direction!
Chapter 4
The Secret Ice Station
The next big surprise they discovered was that the ice station was covered over by deep snow, which they had spent many hours hunting for in the dark and heavy blizzard.
Once they found the entrance they started digging it out the snow, and Weaver was confused and bewildered again! How could they enter it, and he wondered how they managed to survive being suffocated! Surely places bringing in air would be blocked by deep snow! Yet he recalled seeing places that had melted the snow with heat, which were camouflaged and unrecognizable and looked part of the landscape, where they surely drew in air supplies. He examined one and realized it was virtual impossible to enter and it was taking in air.
It was incredible that such a place could exist in such an environment, and he spotted one of the soldiers had found something and he sensed that it was the way in! They thought only of survival and getting in!
The soldier showed them a communicator device covered in ice and snow and then large entrance doors that they uncovered.
Weaver realized that there had to be at least another entrance where they took in and kept large objects and vehicles.
Commander Craven was soon arguing with someone inside of his identity, and that they were expected, which he attempted to clarify, and Weaver realized that some of the scientists had arrived and that they sounded different, and the scientists realized the soldiers had clearly been out in the Antarctic blizzard a long time. They also sounded as though they had not had any proper communications with the outside in a long time!
They finally put a soldier in command in the ice station on and Commander Craven identified himself and they sent out some soldiers to get them.
Weaver could not blame them for being precautious after all the mysterious deaths there, and them being trapped out there, and with the gunmen being there! And he wondered if they were actually at war with each other, for some reason that they had not mentioned and that they had made it confidential?
Reeves repeatedly tapped the solid metal entrance trying to measure its thickness, and realized that it was abnormally thick, and Weaver realized that the entrance had recently been fitted and had replaced a smaller weaker entrance, and he noticed someone had been trying to gain entrance to it or the earlier entrance!
Weaver realized one main point and that the gunmen had to have a base somewhere, but he was unsure if it was faraway or nearby, and he knew that it could be a major clue to finding them!
Surely when it was light and the blizzard stopped they would leave footprints near there!
The entrance was slowly opened by two scientists and two soldiers from inside and Weaver gasped at the warm comforting air and the effect it had as it caressed his body, and he immediately rushed in with the other soldiers, and marched in through a long corridor going downwards, wondering what it would be like staying in such an ice station.
As he moved in at the front of the others he saw that there was better lighting further in and he felt delighted that he would soon be able to rest and be inside and away from the severe cold and blizzard, and be actually exploring an ancient ice station and doing his job that he was there for.
He wondered what the real people and conditions there were mainly like and if they were peculiar with being in such a place, as he had seen elsewhere. Yet the other places were old places and people living in harsh environments without any proper heating or comforts. He realized more than ever how much he had enjoyed exploring hidden secrets and places, and basically the unknown and unexplored, and he examined long corridors, untouched rooms, looking for evidence of anything.
He wondered what being on another world like it would be like, like being on the moon wearing spacesuits and what it would be like to be the first humans to visit another world! What would it actually be like? What would the surprises be? Could they grow food and create and find all their needs?
What magnificent wonders would exist there? Would people eventually start changing and altering to the environment?
At one floor below the ground long corridors went out to a incredible distance that astounded them, as the size was at least quarter of a mile in length with corridors and rooms all along them, with spiral stairs going downwards to the other floors, and their group explored them as they went along.
Weaver realized immediately that the place would be hard to explore and there may be far more people there than they had estimated, and he realized that the plans that he had seen of it had been wrong for some reason!
He sensed other things of danger and mysteries existed there from the scientists they met and the confirmations from the soldiers there! The soldiers were far different from them, and normal soldiers! He could not tell if they were carefree from being there or from having avoided
doing anything and being confronted with any action. But they were glad to see them and have help arrive, and they did believe that they could be killed there!
They were taken along a corridor to a long line of sleeping accommodations to stay in with toilets and other needs, and Weaver took a room next to Commander Craven, and Reeves took a room next to him, and they started moving into their accommodations and unpacking their stuff, and Weaver examined his room and was glad to see that it had electricity and heating and other needs, and could be locked and had a key.
Their presence seemed to cause confusion amongst many of the scientists, who could not believe that they had arrived, and they came along the corridor to see and check them out in their rooms.
Some of the scientists started arguing with each other about things he could not grasp, and they stopped themselves mentioning things that were confidential!
The things that started to confuse him were what they were all actually working on there! What were they doing out there in such a large expensive place? There were no indications of anything!
He had expected there to be less of everything, and them just occupying a more normal structure! He wondered if they were funding vast amounts of useless and expensive science research, and if the place should have been closed?
Perhaps they were monitoring the environment for things like global warming? Could they be supplying much needed information about vast amounts of things, as well as looking after the military ice station? Though they could be working on highly confidential research that the military wished to be more hidden!
Chapter 5
The Extraordinary Encounter
Weaver was ecstatic with getting a good meal in the dinner room, with all the others there, resting into comfortable seats, with the scientists and soldiers from there giving them information everywhere, and things were looking up and he realized that his mission there could be a success.
“I know most of this place like the back of my hand!” one of the scientists claimed, and Weaver realized that he was working his way up to asking them what they knew about the place, and found on their trip there.
Suddenly a scientist leaped up knocking the whole table over, making soup fly over Weaver, and his heart leapt when he saw a figure entering the room in a form of spacesuit, which shifted out from the darkness outside the door, and one of the soldiers that had arrived with Weaver reached for his gun and kept his hand there and ready!
The scientists out of the way from the figure as it shifted slowly and strangely in, like in slow motion, and some rushed out the door behind it, and they all stared at the spacesuit figure and Weaver wondered what the hell they were taking about! It was as though the scientists there believed that it was supernatural or something, which he could not ever recall hearing before! What could possibly make such scientists react in such a way?
They all watched the strange figure move in engrossed at what the outcome would be! It shifted around lifelessly and he watched it pick up a seat and sit opposite him, and he watched shocked faces of the remaining scientists! Their reactions were incredible to him, and he still could not explain anything!
There was something strange going on and as though he was missing something! Something that he could not grasp, and he watched Commander Craven and his shocked reactions! It was like there was something there that should not be there!
He could not place it and he realized that they needed more rest and sleep, and to get use to the strange environment.
Weaver studied the spacesuit faceplate and could not see through the darkness inside, and the figure never reacted and just sat, like a robot, and he examined the suit it was wearing with amazement as he had not seen anything like it! It was far more advanced than he had seen before! It looked like something from the future!
“We’ll have to check it!” Reeves stated to him, after many minutes of intense silence, to unsaid questions.
It surprised him that he, such a logical soldier, and after all that he had been through over the past days could refer to it in the way he had, and he wondered what he thought it actually was!
“Who could it be?” one of the other soldiers asked loudly, confused.
“He’s not one of us!” another finally stated.
“That’s a good one!” Weaver replied, considered a way to get them to give their fantasies. “Who or what could it be?”
“He must have something to say if he traveled here!” one of the scientists quickly replied, confusing him further.
“It might be one of the killers of your scientists and soldiers here?” Reeves stated firmly.
Weaver watched them all become aware of the further danger, and start to think of ways of protecting themselves.
“What does it want?” the scientist replied first. “That’s the question! Why does it want to meet us here? It could easily have kept itself hidden!”
Weaver had a shudder rush up his spine!
“What actually are we talking about?” one of the silent soldiers asked, who had sat out of the way, and he moved over to it, getting ready to do something, and was immediately stopped by Commander Craven.
Weaver studied the figure and realized that it had not moved or done anything since it had sat down.
“What do you want?” the soldier asked it, confused.
Weaver knew there would be no reply and that someone might do something, and might do something stupid and fire their gun there, and he rushed over before anyone could and slowly lifted the faceplate of the spacesuit, and stood back shocked!
It was the soldier that had been killed when the gunmen had attacked them, and they stood staggered, and the others that could not see its face rushed over see there.
The dead soldier was lifelessly dead and sat without moving in its seat, and they examined him in every detail and saw that his clothes were identical, and they wondered how it had moved!
“We cannot leave this!” Commander Craven finally moaned out loudly, showing his annoyance. “Great! How am I going to explain this in my report?”
While most of them sat down confused, trying to explain how the body had moved there, they watched it fade away and vanish!
Chapter 6
The Hauntings
The events were staggering afterwards! Some of the soldiers seemed to get crazy thoughts about what occurred and they gave accounts of there being something supernatural!
Weaver thought it was something to do with the scientists!
Scientists openly talked about their work researching it at the dinner table, and about mysterious occurrences in the corridors at night. They actually warned them about them, claiming that they regularly occurred in my regions of the ice station.
The way some of the soldiers there talked about it and warned them left them as unexplained deadly occurrences.
Yet the deaths there were worse and major scientists, as well as solders, had been found dead all over the ice station, but the vast majority were outside.
They gave detailed accounts of a group of scientists whose bodies were found scattered throughout a lower corridor, where nobody usually went, and now avoided after the incident.
Weaver was confused more than ever! Would the professional gunmen that attacked them carry out such an attack? Yet he had not heard anything like it! He was not sure if he believed that they had even entered the ice station! He and the others seemed to be protected from them there! Though there was a chance that they could enter by a hidden entrance! Yet they had not seen them or had one clue as to what they were like! Any manic could be given a gun and carry out what they did!
They could be trying to cover their identity, which they had done and he had proven it, and they could have panicked when they had seen their team of highly advanced soldiers coming down from the plane, and had attempted to annihilate the threat against them. But just what the hell was their motive? Maniacs never attacked military ice stations out in places like the Antarctic!
It also surprised him to hear that
many of the scientists had been chased by swift-moving lights that had been seen shifting through metal walls, which they never had any knowledge of being possible.
Eventually Commander Craven took the soldiers out to get the dead soldier’s body and to check it, and prove it had not risen from death or whatever they had claimed.
It was far easier in sunlight and out of the blizzard, and they had men surround the area with guns and communicators ready to inform them of any attack, and Weaver wondered why they were not contacting the outside world of the occurrences as they had a form of communications to a satellite at least! Then he discovered that they had to put up a large antenna over the top of the ice station, which was folded away so the station remained strictly hidden away, which they only used when they gave out their communications and for extra supplies to be brought.
The soldiers eventually found the body under snow and soon realized that it had not been moved since the soldier had been killed, and they took it back to the ice station.
Chapter 7
The Scientists
He was glad that their investigation of outside for the gunmen had never revealed anything, as he knew it would have ended in many deaths by them, as they were not equipped to carry out such an operation, and he was sure that it would still have done so!
It had amazed him that they could not find any traces of them anywhere and that they just concluded that their base was miles away, and perhaps buried away underground.
The Alien Star Chamber (Part One) Page 3