Ice Rift (9 page)

Jack ignored the man. His teeth were beginning to chatter. He wasn't dressed for prolonged exposure to the Antarctic weather like the other two. He stamped his feet and clapped his hands together to force the blood to circulate and hold off frostbite. “Is it much farther, Eli?”

“I don't think so. It should be around here somewhere.” Eli led them a few steps further along the rift.

Each of them looked at the Sno-Cat perched precariously above them when they passed beneath.

Ropes leading down the side of the rift flapped in the wind. Two ropes fastened to spikes anchored into the ice stretched a few yards before disappearing into a small hole.

Eli turned to face the two men. “We're here.”

The three men peered into the hole.

“It's an underground cavern,” Eli explained. “The others are down there exploring.”

“I'll go down first,” said Jack's passenger, bumping Jack with his blue bag when he turned to choose a rope.

Jack teetered forward, almost falling into the hole before he regained his balance.

“We could throw him in,” suggested Eli. “Say he slipped.”

Jack glared at the man who pulled on a climbing harness and attached it to one of the ropes, oblivious or unconcerned with what he'd just done. “I'm tempted, Eli, soooo tempted.”

The man moved to the hole and sat with his legs dangling into the void. “Once I'm down, pull up the rope and send down my bag. I'll leave the harness attached so you two can use it.” Without waiting for a reply the man slipped into the hole.

Max opened the storage container holding the flashlights and handed them out until they all had one. Henry had suggested they all switch them on at the same time so they could all share in what the brighter lights revealed.

“Okay,” said Henry. “I suggest we all face in the same direction before we switch them on.”

“Let's point them at the lake first,” said Lucy. “I want to see how big it is.”

Henry counted down. “Three, two, one, on!”

Five light beams banished the darkness previously shrouding the expanse of water. The moment was too astonishing to spoil with words. Their eyes took in all the newly revealed details. The lake stretched out for about fifty yards until it reached an ice wall about ten yards high that sloped up to the cavern roof. Stalagmites formed of ice grew out of the far shore and reached for the stalactites directly above them. Some had already met to form a forest of thick ice columns. Their wet gleaming surfaces glinted in the lights moving over them. Two drips of water splashed into the pool, sending out twin ripples of luminous blue light that reflected off the ice formations and the faces of those staring at the wondrous event.

“I don't believe I've ever seen a more amazing sight than that which my eyes behold at this very moment,” said Henry.

Jane placed a hand on Henry's arm. “It truly is wonderful.”

“And we're the only people ever to have seen it,” said Lucy, her excitement hard to miss.

Max moved his light off to the side of the lake that didn't butt against the cavern wall. The beam highlighted a tunnel trough ice. “The cavern seems to go further in that direction.”

“It's difficult to know where to start,” said Theo. “I know of nothing like this that's been explored under the ice before.”

“But how was it formed?” asked Lucy.

“It's difficult to say without more information,” said Jane, “but perhaps a thermal vent is responsible.”

“I suggest we explore the area first, to determine its true size and what's down here, and then we can divide into teams and start taking samples, measuring, documenting and recording everything with photographs and on film.”

“It's a lot to do in five days,” said Max.

“And we still have to find the cause of NASA's anomaly,” reminded Jane.

“Then we'd better get a move on,” said Henry. “Max, lead us down the tunnel to see what new wonders await us.”

They walked along the front of the lake to the ice tunnel until voices brought them to a halt. They turned to see someone wearing a blue thermal snow suit rappel down the rope.

“Who's that?” asked Henry. “None of us has a blue suit.”

When the man slipped out of the harness, it was pulled up and a blue bag lowered down a few moments later. The blue suited figure detached the bag from the rope and placed it to one side before walking over to them. He slid his hood back, removed his goggles and grinned. “Hello, Jane.”

Jane was stunned. “Richard!”

“In the flesh.” He smiled. “You didn't think I'd let you have all the fun?”

Henry looked at Jane. “You know him?”

Jane sighed. “Yes, unfortunately, we work together.”

Richard held out his hand to Henry. “Richard Whorley.”

Henry shook the man's hand. “Henry Sandberg. But why are you here? We already have a full team.”

Richard glanced around the cavern. “From the look of this discovery, you need all the help you can get.”

Jane groaned. Richard was sure to try and claim some discovery or other as his own to make a name for himself and, if possible, a profit. “This is a team effort, Richard. We all share the discoveries equally.”

“Of course, Jane, I'm surprised you felt the need to mention that. You know I'm a team player.”

Jane knew he was not and was just about to voice that fact when Max spoke.

“Someone else is coming down.”

Richard glanced at the man sliding down the rope. “That's the pilot, though how he got his flying license is a mystery. He crashed the damn plane and nearly killed me.”

Jane, well aware how selfish and annoying Richard could be, briefly wondered if the pilot had intentionally crashed the plane. If so, it was like Richard to survive.

“What do you mean, he crashed the plane,” asked Lucy.

Noticing Lucy for the first time, Richard flashed an appreciative smile while his lecherous eyes tried to discern the exquisite body he pictured hidden beneath the layers of thick clothing. “Hello, pretty, I didn't see you there.”

Jane rolled her eyes. “Richard, you're engaged. Making lustful advances at every pretty woman you see isn't fair to your bride to be, God help her.”

Richard glared at Jane. “What I do to whom and when I do it is no concern of yours. You're just jealous I don't pay you the same attention.”

“That's enough,
pal
,” said Max, stepping forward to confront the new arrival.

“What the hell is happening here?” said Henry. “You, Richard, have only been here a few minutes and already you're upsetting the group.”

“You try being stuck on a plane with him, and then you'll know the true meaning of torment.”

They all looked at the grinning pilot.

Jane flashed him a smile. Though she'd hoped to see Jack again, she had imagined different circumstances.

“The comedian arrives,” quipped Richard.

Henry glared at Richard. “Another person you've upset.”

Richard shrugged and looked at Jane. “At least I didn't have someone drugged so I could steal their place on the team like Miss Goody Two-Shoes there did to me.”

“That's a lie and you damn well know it,” said Jane.

“That's enough of this bickering,” said Henry. “I've only just met you and I feel like slipping you something to shut you up.”

“That's right, all gang up on me.”

Eli joined them. “The blizzard's arrived and it's raging fiercely. I had no time to make it back to base camp, so I thought I'd give you lot a hand.”

“You're welcome, Eli.” Henry refocused on Richard. “No one is ganging up on you Richard. You've brought this on yourself.” He took a deep breath to calm his rising anger. “For the sake of the expedition, I think it would be best if we start again. Forget about everything that has happened before this point. You are here now and we have no alternative other than to put up with you. If you're willing to become an integral part of the team you can join us in exploring this amazing place. If not, you can wait here until the blizzard passes and head back to base camp until transport can be arranged to take you home. The choice is yours.”

“I would like to join the team,” Richard said, sheepishly.

“Good. We don't have enough flashlights for everyone, so you'll have to tag along and make do.” Henry turned his back on the man. “Okay, let's go and explore.”

Max led the group along the right side of the lake.

Theo handed Richard his headlight. “It's better than nothing.”

Richard tagged along at the end. Seething with anger at his recent humiliation, for which he held Jane fully responsible, he was determined to get one over on her and the team. Something in this unique environment had his name on it. When he found it the discovery would not be shared. It would be his alone and the chance for him to make a name for himself. He smiled as he pictured his handsome face on the front of Times magazine.

Jane gave Jack her headlight. “I didn't think I'd see you again so soon.”

Jack slipped the light onto his head. “Keep the ladies guessing, that's my motto,' he said, adding a grin.

Henry glanced back. “Keep up, Richard. We don't want to lose you.”

“Speak for yourself,” quipped Jane.

Richard glared at the back of her head.

*****

Scott sat in the communication room with a worried frown on his face. He'd just received an updated weather report from the McMurdo ice station. It wasn't good news for the team out on the ice. He'd tried to contact them to let them know, but with the combination of the raging blizzard and the team in the cavern below the ice, he'd failed to get through to them. Another worry was he had also failed to make contact with Eli and Byrd Station had contacted him to see if Jack had arrived safely.

Pike popped his head into the room. “Any luck?”

Scott shook his head. “Eli must have joined the others in the rift or he would've been here by now.”

“They'll be okay. At least in the cavern they're sheltered from the storm, and they have enough food and drink to last a while.”

“McMurdo says the storm's going to increase in strength and could last a few days or possibly a week or more.”

“Oh shit!” said Pike. “They could be stuck down there when another tremor hits. The cavern could collapse.”

UNAWARE OF THE WORSENING storm raging above them, the team's flashlights reflected off the tunnel of glistening ice they passed through. When Max led them around a bend, they arrived at ground that inclined down into darkness. Though its angle was steep, it wasn't too sheer to prevent them from progressing safely.

“It's getting warmer,” said Max, wondering why.

“Could be coming from a thermal vent,” Jane suggested. She couldn't think of anything else that would cause the heat.

After travalling along the slanting passage for a few minutes, it levelled out and turned to the left. What they encountered around the bend stunned them all.

It was Max who broke the hush that had fallen over the group of astonished onlookers. “What the hell is that?”

They all stared at the large opening with rounded edges fashioned from metal. It had the effect of staring into a skull's empty eye socket.

Max shone his flashlight into the long tube that veered down at a steep angle and noticed something at the furthest reach of the beam. “I think I see the bottom.”

Theo slipped off a glove and felt the air. “Whatever this thing is, it's producing a small current of warm air.”

“It must be what formed the cavern,” said Jane.

“And the melted runoff created the lake,” added Lucy.

Eli, who had moved around the side of the bizarre object, called out, “Come and take a look at this! You're not going to believe it.”

Eli's excitement drew the others to him. They moved around the strange metal opening and stared at the second unexpected sight before them. The curved edge of something protruded from the glacier.

When Eli tapped it with his ice pick, a hollow sound rang out. “It's metal.”

Henry moved forward and with a brush of his gloved hand cleared off a patch of thin ice to reveal the object's smooth, shiny, black surface. “It's obviously man made.” He stepped back to roam his eyes over the unexpected discovery. “What's not so obvious is what it is and how it came to be buried so deep in the ice.”

“To be entombed this deep it must have arrived here about eight to ten thousand years ago,” said Jane, confused by the strange object.

“If that's the case, it wasn't built by humans,” said Theo.

Deep in thought, Max studied the strange construction. “In my mind there can only be two possible explanations for this thing to be here.”

He had captured the others attention and all turned to face him.

Max continued. “Either someone tunnelled under the ice to build this thing, or it was here before the ice claimed it.”

“Maybe it's part of the secret underground base the Nazis were rumoured to have constructed in Antarctica during the Second World War?” suggested Eli.

“Wasn't that supposed to be in the Queen Maud region?” questioned Theo. “That's nowhere near here.”

“Perhaps that was a ruse so no one would find the real location?” said Eli.

Max shared his thoughts. “Though it's possible someone might have built this― whatever this is― the Germans, as an example, certainly had the incentive, manpower and resources, but I think it highly improbable. I don't even believe it was built by humans. It's a spaceship!” He pointed his light at the tip of the fluted cylinder construction whose opening they'd first encountered. “Look at that and what do you see?”

Jack glanced at the tube. “It could be some type of exhaust.”

“Exactly!” said Max. “And I believe if it wasn't entombed in the ice there would be a matching one on the other side.”

The stunned team fell to silence as each considered the possibility they were looking at something built by a species from another planet.

Max noticed their skeptical expressions. “I think at the bottom of the exhaust there'll be something to prove it's not of this world. The warm current of air must be coming from somewhere, and I think that somewhere is the spaceship, but I need someone to lower me down.”

Theo and Jack volunteered.

Max was soon wearing a harness attached to a rope held by Theo and Jack, and was slowly lowered down the tube.

Max examined the smooth tube surrounding him. It was free of any carbon build up or signs it had been affected by heat, causing him to wonder if it was an exhaust, what type of propulsion system powered the ship. He soon emerged from the bottom of the ragged edged tube onto level ground. A short passage through the ice led to the metal hull of the spaceship he guessed he would find, kept frost free by the warm current of air escaping from the remaining part of the exhaust still attached to the hull. He slipped out of the harness and glanced up through the tube at the faces gathered around the opening. “It's like I said, a spaceship. There might be a way inside. I'm going to take a look.”

“Be careful,” called out Henry, as he attempted to digest what Max had just said.

Max approached the dark patch in the side of the hull he had noticed. A metal support strut fixed to a torn back piece of two inch thick metal, connected to the part of the exhaust still fixed to the hull. Filled with excited anticipation, he poked his head through the breach and roamed his flashlight around the interior. Nothing stood out to cause him any immediate danger. Careful not to snag his clothing on the sharp-edged metal of the ripped hull, he climbed through the gap and savoured the moment of being the first human to set foot aboard an alien spaceship, which he had no doubts it was. His excited breaths formed small white gusts that drifted slowly toward the opening, through which the faint voices of the others, funnelled down the exhaust tube, could be heard speculating on what the strange discovery might be. Content to prolong his lone presence aboard the strange vessel a few moments longer, his eyes scanned the gloomy interior of what seemed to be the engine room, if indeed the strange apparatus covered in tubes and other unidentifiable machinery that hung from the ceiling was what powered the ship. His footsteps crunched on the thin layer of ice covering the floor as he crossed to the middle of the room.

The large machine filled the center of the vast chamber, stretching from the ceiling almost to touch the floor. Though there was no obvious sign the engine was operational― no moving parts or lights― the low hum it emitted was evidence it was active and the probable cause of the heat flowing up the exhaust tube. Max's eyes followed the light he moved over the incredible piece of machinery. It was covered with protruding parts that seemed to have been added at random with no thought to its aesthetic appearance. The engine was broader at the top, and in a rough manner, thinned to give the appearance of an upside-down pyramid formed of a mishmash of machine parts. An assortment of various sized tubes, thick and thin cables, and ducting linked to other sections of surrounding machinery.

Max walked around the engine and came upon a forest of transparent containers, three yards tall and one yard wide, fixed to the floor. Though some were empty and others contained a varying amount of turquoise liquid, many were full. His torch beam followed one of the single tubes that fed into the top of each cylinder. All connected to a slightly larger tube that ran along the ceiling to the central apparatus.
It must be the fuel that powers the engine.

Startled when an air bubble gurgled to the surface of the glutinous fluid in the nearest cylinder, he realized how nervous he'd become. The craft had the atmosphere of a secluded, abandoned house rumoured to be haunted.

Henry's muffled voice drifted into the room. “What have you found, Max, and is it safe?”

Max crossed to the hole, climbed out and called out a reply. “It's safe and one hundred percent alien. Come and have a look.” He noticed the harness had already been pulled back up the tube. He waited by the opening for the others to arrive.

Lucy came down first, excitement plastered across her face. “What's it like?”

Max smiled. “It's fantastic, but after watching that Alien movie last night, creepy, damn creepy.”

Lucy smiled and poked her head into the ship. Even though her flashlight failed to reveal more than a small section of the gloom shrouded room, she sensed its vastness.

“I think it's the engine room,” Max told her, and then glanced at Henry who had just been ejected from the end of the exhaust to slide a little way across the ice. “Are you okay, old man?”

Henry climbed to his feet and detached the harness, which was immediately pulled back up the tube for the next person. “I'm fine. It's just like sliding down one of those chutes in water parks I should imagine, though obviously lacking the water or the soft landing.” He glanced at the opening Lucy's head was currently peering through. “Did you see anything interesting inside, Max?”

“I did. It definitely wasn't built by humans. The gap leads to the engine room and, incredibly, it seems to still be functioning, although perhaps in a standby state.”

Henry glanced at the small area of structure free from the ice, becoming more convinced of its unearthly origins. “If it's been down here for thousands of years, it's astounding that it's still functioning.” He glanced at the side of the black hull, slightly distorted around the hole. “What condition is the ship in, structurally?”

“I'm no expert, but it seems fine.” Max pointed at the opening. “That's the only damage I've seen. I think when the ship landed here the exhaust was torn off and the strut pulled away a piece of the hull plating.”

The others soon arrived and all eager to explore, they climbed inside.

The insect-size creature perched atop one of the many pipes and too small to be noticed by those below, studied the life-form with interest. Over the many years since the ship had landed on this planet, others of its kind had taken turns to act as sentry and warn of any changes that could affect them. The presence of these new life-forms was such an event. When more of them entered, it scampered along the pipe, up the wall and into an air vent. Its six tiny clawed feet barely made a sound on the metal from its hurried rush through the long tunnel. It turned a corner, headed toward the grill at the end and crawled out. It leapt onto the floor and crossed the small dark room. It climbed up onto a small control panel beside the bed chamber and jumped on a button. A door with a small window slid back to reveal the sleeping creature within. It clambered onto the creatures head and morphed into the form others of its kind had taken during its hibernation, and sent out an alert to wake the Mimic.

The team spent thirty minutes exploring the engine room. All were now convinced they were aboard an alien vessel, and they all marvelled at the engines design and the incredible power that would be necessary to lift the heavy ship.

After exploring the cavernous room, Jane said, “I guess we've found the cause of NASA's anomaly.” She glared at Richard. “And it's not a meteorite!”

Unconcerned he'd been proved wrong, Richard shrugged. In this instance he was glad to have been mistaken. He couldn't believe his luck. Alien spaceship or not, he knew this discovery would capture the attention of the public far more than a meteorite. Even the subterranean cavern, the lake and any new life-forms found living in it were of more interest to the scientific community than the general public. This, whatever it is, would be front page news around the world. He imagined the headlines.
Alien Spaceship discovered in Antarctica?
or something similar. And to think he almost didn't come. He'd make certain he received his fair share― or more― of recognition as one of its discoverers.

“The spaceship must be giving off some sort of shielding to affect NASA'S scan and to prevent it from detecting something metal lying buried in the ice,” said Max.

“A force-field?” said Theo.

Max shrugged. “Or a cloaking device.”

“I'm not sure about force-fields or cloaking devices, but though I was skeptical at first, everything in here looks alien to me,” said Lucy. “I know the Germans made many technological advances during the war, but nothing like this. If they had, surely they would rule the world by now.”

“Or even the universe,” added Eli, jokingly.

“I agree with Lucy,” said Max. “This thing is far more advanced than anything we're capable of building today, and, unlike the Germans at that time, man has been into space. None of the rockets used have looked anything like this or on such a grand scale. I cannot even imagine the power required to lift this thing off the ground, let alone provide it with enough thrust to leave a planet's atmosphere. Unquestionably, it has to be alien technology.”