Polar Quest

by Alex Archer

  “I’m not convinced of anything except this entire dig site seems weird. And it’s filled with some odd characters, and this whole continent might just be ripe for the loony bin for all I know. I’d like some answers. Preferably honest ones.”

  Dave pointed at her plate. “You finished with that?”

  “I was going to get some cake.”

  “Get it to go,” Dave said. “We need to bring something back for old Zach anyway.”

  “Fair enough.” Annja headed up to the counter and asked for some food to go. She watched the assistants put some together for her, thanked them and then turned and saw Dave standing by the door, ready to head back out.

  Outside, the wind blew across the open area. Dave leaned forward into the wind. “I was trained as a geologist,” he said.

  “Was?” Annja asked.

  He nodded. “Yeah, but rocks never did much for me. I worked for the oil companies. I did some conservation work. I was bored.”

  “So what happened?”

  “I met someone.”

  Annja glanced at him. “Who?”

  “His name’s not important. He recruited me to come and work with him on a project he guaranteed would excite me like nothing else.”

  Annja bent into the wind, struggling to hear what Dave said. “Go on.”

  “Turns out it was a project examining rocks taken from one of the Moon missions back in the 1970s.”

  “Moon rocks? What was the big deal about that?”

  “The rocks were found on the Moon,” Dave said. “But they didn’t come from the Moon. Originally.”

  “Yeah, but aren’t there meteorites slamming into it all the time? They could have come from clear across the galaxy for all you know. I’m still not seeing the connection.”

  Dave shrugged. “We’re back. Let’s continue this conversation tomorrow. Okay?”

  Annja frowned. “All right. Whatever.” She knew there was no point pressing the issue. She headed inside and found Zach just starting to wake up.

  “Hey, how was dinner?” Zach asked.

  “Fantastic,” Dave said. “Ham and mac and cheese. Delicious. We scored you some chocolate cake, as well. The cook delivered tonight. He really did.”

  Annja handed Zach the food and sat down on her bed. She leaned back and ran a hand over her ribs. They felt fine and she could even prod them without any pain.

  Dave noticed. “How are they?”

  “They seem fine.”

  “Cool.”

  Annja removed her boots. As each one came off, she wriggled her toes and rotated her ankles, relishing the release. “Oh, that’s nice.”

  Dave slid his boots off, as well. “You aren’t kidding. I think I forgot how my toes feel.”

  Zach tore into his meal with a lot of moaning and groaning. “Damn, this is good stuff.”

  “Told you,” Dave said. He leaned back on his bunk. “Anyone up for some cards?”

  Annja shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m actually pretty exhausted from the day. I think it’s lights-out for me.”

  Zach nodded. “I’m with Annja. I think I’m still feeling a little light-headed from earlier. This food is fantastic, though. But seriously, we should grab some sleep. Get ready for the morning. I expect we’ll be quite busy tomorrow.”

  “Fair enough,” Dave said.

  “Did you see any of the rest of the team at dinner?” Zach asked, yawning.

  “A couple of them were seated close by,” Annja said. “But Dave suggested we hold off on the intros until tomorrow. They looked pretty tired anyway.”

  “Yeah, it’s no picnic down there. But it will be fascinating.”

  Annja leaned back and took her snow pants off. She’d sleep in her thermal underwear. The blankets on the bed felt extremely lightweight but warm. She got up, pulled them back and slid under the covers.

  “Don’t forget your hat,” Dave said.

  Annja looked at him. “Really?”

  “If the heat goes out, you’ll lose a lot through your head and be well on your way to hypothermia before you even realize what’s going on.”

  “Good advice.” Annja grabbed her hat and slid it back onto her head. “I’m going to have an outrageous do tomorrow,” she said with a laugh.

  “Comes with the territory,” Zach said. He crumpled up the aluminum foil and tossed it into a waste can near the door. “Thanks for dinner, guys. That hit the spot.”

  Dave was already under his covers. Annja heard a light snore start coming from his mouth. “Is he loud?” she asked.

  “Depends on how much beer he’s had to drink,” Zach replied.

  “He didn’t have any that I saw.”

  “Then we should be okay.”

  “Good.” Annja settled back down into her bed. “Good night.”

  Zach flipped off the lights. “Sleep well.”

  Silence seemed to settle over the camp. Annja could hear muffled bits of noise from outside, but by and large the sound of the howling wind seemed distant. The outside lights stayed on, silhouetting various shapes against the exterior of their shell.

  Annja closed her eyes and thought about the long trip she’d undertaken. The monotonous crawl of the Sno-Cats seemed long ago, and it wasn’t something Annja would look forward to repeating anytime soon.

  She dreamed about digging into the mountain. Rocks and soil surrounded her and then in the center of a spot, she saw something gleaming in the dark soil. Her hands reached for it, withdrawing it from its earthly tomb.

  Three metallic snakes looked up at her, their skin covered in scales that gleamed different colors as the light from Annja’s headlamp hit them.

  And in an instant, they came to life, wriggling and wrapping themselves around her hands as their tongues flicked out, tasting the air.

  They headed right for Annja.

  Annja woke up gasping for air.

  Across the shelter, Dave’s snores flittered about the air in some discordant rhythm. Zach’s deep inhalations continued uninterrupted.

  She realized it was just a dream.

  Annja lay down, taking a moment to calm herself by breathing deeply. She hadn’t even been down to the dig yet and she was already having nightmares about it. She wondered if Antarctica was getting to her already.

  She turned onto her side and was surprised at how little pain she felt. She was healing well and quickly. She thought about her sword for a moment. Could it have helped the process?

  Outside, the lights shifted every once in a while as the wind blew them little by little. She thought she could hear them creaking, but knew the walls of the shelter would inhibit that noise from reaching her ears.

  She saw movement, though. A vague shape started near the bottom edge of the shelter.

  And grew.

  The shadow approached, silhouetted by the outside lights. Annja recognized the shape of a man. He stood right outside their shelter and seemed unsure of whether he was going to knock or go away.

  Was he there to greet them?

  Or was this something else?

  Annja felt uneasy. She rolled herself out of bed. She closed her eyes and saw the sword hanging in the opaque mist, ready if she needed it.

  Annja stole over to the door, careful not to make any noise. There was no time to put on her coat or boots. If this was trouble, she wanted to handle it immediately. She wanted to know who was stalking her shelter.

  The shadow showed no signs of moving.

  Annja reached for the door handle, took several deep breaths and steeled herself for the waiting wind outside.

  She jerked the door open and ran outside.

  As soon as the wind touched her exposed skin, she gasped. But she looked around the shelter, searching for the shadow.

  It was gone.

  15

  Dave was out of the shelter before Zach. The pistol he held in his hand stood out in the light. The look on his face was harder than anything she’d seen before. He saw Annja and came right over.

 
“What the hell happened?”

  “I saw someone standing out here.”

  “So you came to investigate without putting on any boots or even your coat?” Dave shook his head. “Get inside, for crying out loud, before the whole camp wakes up.”

  Annja walked back inside and instantly the heat of the shelter started warming her. She stood by one of the space heaters and felt the waves rolling over her. Dave shook his head.

  “You should be okay, but that really isn’t something I’d recommend doing again. You can get frostbite very quickly. And I’m sure losing fingers or toes isn’t on your list of things you want to do.”

  “Not really,” Annja said.

  Zach wiped the sleep from his eyes. “What happened?”

  “Annja saw someone outside,” Dave said.

  “So?”

  Dave smiled. “Good point.”

  Annja shook her head. “You don’t understand. He was outside. Just standing there. It wasn’t like he was on his way to someplace else. He just stood there. It was weird.”

  “And apparently, common sense got sacrificed in the name of finding out who it was,” Dave said to Zach. “She ran outside without her gear on.”

  Zach sat up. “You nuts or what?”

  Annja frowned. “I thought it was weird. And I wanted to know who it was. It’s my fault I ran out without the gear. I just figured there was no time.”

  Dave led her back to her bed and then wrapped her in the blankets. “I’ll get some dry socks.”

  “Better make it two pairs,” Zach said. “She’ll be lucky if she doesn’t lose a toe or something.”

  “Thanks for that cheerful prognosis,” Annja said.

  “Hey, I wasn’t the one running around in the freezing snow.”

  “Touché.”

  Dave got a couple of pairs of socks, and Annja slid them onto her feet. Her feet tingled from the freezing conditions outside, but she didn’t think there’d be any lasting damage.

  “I’ll be okay,” she said stubbornly.

  Dave looked at her. “The way you gasped, I thought someone had taken you.”

  “Thanks for coming to my rescue.” She eyed the pistol lying on the blanket. “Interesting bedmate you’ve got yourself there.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, well, you weren’t actually supposed to see that. But then again…”

  “It’s all right,” Annja said. “I understand that you’ve got some secrets you may not want to share with the rest of us.”

  Zach flopped back down on his pillow. “Can we get back to sleep now? I’m really wasted.”

  Dave eyed Annja carefully. “You sure you’ll be okay?”

  “Yeah,” she said.

  “Okay, then. Good night.” He patted her leg and then walked back to his bed with the pistol.

  Annja watched him go. Does he sleep with that thing under his pillow? she wondered. She tucked herself back under the blankets and closed her eyes.

  Who had been standing outside her shelter? And why were they just standing there? Was it the same person who’d tried to kill her back in McMurdo? Or was she now in danger from an entirely different person here in this camp?

  Annja was troubled by the prospect of not knowing who was after her and why. She didn’t like not knowing who her enemies were. She always got along best when she was able to determine who meant her harm and who was a friend.

  Maybe in the morning she’d be able to figure it out better.

  “YOU AWAKE?”

  Annja cracked open one of her eyes. The lighting hadn’t changed all that much. It was still dark in her shelter and bright outside from the electrical light system. Annja groaned and rolled over. “Wake me in another five hours, please.”

  “It’s 0600. Time to rise and shine.”

  She turned back. Dave stood there smiling at her. “C’mon, sleepyhead. Up and at ’em.”

  Annja frowned and glanced at her watch. “How is it possible for so much time to go by? I feel like I just closed my eyes and now I’m getting up again.”

  “Brings back memories of high school, doesn’t it?”

  Annja frowned again. “I hated high school. Those are memories better left relegated to the past, thank you very much.”

  Zach slid out of his bed, oozing to the floor. Dave glanced at him. “You okay?”

  “I feel like I’ve been drinking heavily. I’m still worn-out.”

  Annja pointed at the necklace. “Maybe you ought to try taking that thing off. It’s probably weighing you down anyway,” she said with a grin.

  “Funny,” Zach said. But he lifted the necklace over his head and let it rest on his bed. “Still, it’s not a bad idea. I’ll hand this back in as soon as we’re ready to get some breakfast.”

  Zach went to use the bathroom. Dave looked at Annja. “You feel okay today? All your limbs intact after your field trip last night?”

  “They seem to be fine, yes. Thanks.”

  “Good.”

  Zach came out of the bathroom, and Annja used it to freshen up as best she could. When she emerged, Zach and Dave were already zipping themselves into their gear.

  “Jeez, guys, I was just in there for two minutes. How about waiting for me before you go running off to explore the mountain?”

  “It’s breakfast time,” Dave said. “Rumor is the cook’s making pancakes this morning.”

  “How’d you know that?” Annja asked.

  Dave pointed at his nose. “The schnoz has a gift.”

  Zach laughed. “Guy’s like a shark and blood. Food doesn’t stand a chance around this man.”

  Annja stepped into her snow pants and then her jacket. She zipped up and followed them out of the prefab shelter. Outside, the area was still dark. Sunlight was an endangered species in the Antarctic this time of year, and Annja found it tough getting used to the idea that it would stay dark.

  “How do you deal with it, the lack of sunlight?” she asked.

  Dave shrugged. “Believe it or not, you get used to it. You should be here in the summer when it’s sunny all the time. You wouldn’t believe how fast you can get tired of that extreme, as well.”

  “It really is like being on another planet,” Zach said. “And of course, I don’t mean to influence you guys into thinking about the whole alien thing.”

  “Oh, no,” Annja said. “You’d never do that.”

  AFTER THEIR BREAKFAST of pancakes and eggs, Zach led them over to one of the command shelters. They found Colonel Thomson sitting inside at a bank of computers. Annja saw bundles of cables running out of the tent.

  “How do you guys power this station, anyway?” she asked.

  “Generators,” the colonel said. “We keep them running twenty-four hours a day. That gives us the juice we need.”

  “But all that gas…how do you have enough of it?”

  Thomson looked at her. “Gas? Who said anything about gas?”

  Annja frowned. “But if it’s not gas, then…?”

  “Nuclear power,” Thomson said. “DARPA perfected a smaller generator model some years back for use in remote outposts like this. We can generate enough kilowatts to keep everything we need going indefinitely. It’s an easy setup and teardown operation.”

  “Provided there are no accidents,” Zach said.

  Thomson smiled. “Well, that’s always a risk, but then again, no nuclear sub has ever had an accident in all the years they’ve been at sea.”

  “A setup like this must have a host of its own unique challenges,” Annja said.

  Thomson smiled. “I’d rather not get into the specifics of nuclear power right now. Suffice it to say, we believe things here are perfectly safe.”

  “They’d better be,” Zach said. “Otherwise that cover story about the environmental disaster just might come true.”

  “Indeed.” Thomson looked at him. “You have something for me? A necklace, I presume?”

  Zach nodded. “Here you go. Back safe and sound.”

  The colonel accepted it from him and
gestured for another soldier to take it. “Place in the containment area. No one handles it unless I authorize it.”

  Zach frowned. “That’s new.”

  “We started picking up readings,” Thomson said. “The day after you left. Down in the dig site, the Geiger counters started going off the scales. We couldn’t pinpoint the source. It seemed to fluctuate wildly from time to time and then it would simply disappear.”

  “You couldn’t determine the source?” Annja asked.

  “No. So we took the step of giving everyone portable rad detectors. What you’ve got on your parkas now.”

  Annja had almost forgotten about hers. She looked down and saw the strip of red across her chest.

  Thomson pointed. “If that turns blue, get the hell out of wherever you are—otherwise you’ll start to glow in the dark.”

  Zach nodded. “Understood.”

  “Good. Now, what else?”

  “We’d like to head down if that’s okay with you.”

  The colonel nodded. “Fine, fine. Just be sure to take the necessary survival gear. They’ve gone deeper than when you were last here.”

  “I’ve only been gone two days,” Zach said.

  “Yes, well, things have been stepped up. Our new orders are to thoroughly penetrate the mountain and determine whether or not the artifacts we’re uncovering are of an earthly origin or not. In the event they are not, then we are to try to determine where they come from.”

  “Well,” Annja said. “That ought to be easy enough. We’ll just search them on the Internet and see what planet pops up.”

  Thomson frowned. “That’ll be enough. This is a serious matter and the people upstairs aren’t taking any chances.”

  “Hence the armed militia,” Zach said.

  “Hence prudence,” Thomson replied. “We’re not here to turn this into a military operation. It is still primarily a scientific exploration of a possible alien environment. But we also like to be prepared.”

  “How so?” Annja asked.

  “Washington has sent down another adviser.”

  “Another scientist?”

  Thomson shook his head. “No, he’s something of a specialist on security issues. He’s to take command in the event we uncover something we can’t control.”