“Welcome to Antarctica, Jane.” Henry slipped off a glove and held out a hand, which Jane shook.
“Hello, Henry. It’s good to finally meet you.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you also.” He turned to Max and shook his hand. “Welcome, Max.”
“Thank you, Henry.”
“Grab your bags and we’ll get a coffee. and then I’ll introduce you to the rest of the rabble.” He turned to two men by the garage busy filling the tank of a Ski-Doo with fuel. “Eli, Theo, can you unload the supplies from the plane and pack them away?”
One of the men waved an acknowledgement.
“Hi, Henry.”
Henry turned to speak to the pilot leaning out of the plane’s doorway. “Hello, Jack. Are you staying for a brew?”
Jack glanced at the distant grey clouds gathering. “Not this time. It looks like the weather might turn at any moment. I’ll unload, top up the fuel tanks and leave. If I don’t go now, I might be stuck here for a while.”
“Okay, have a good flight.” Henry turned to the new arrivals. “Okay, you two, follow me.”
Jane smiled at the handsome pilot. I wouldn’t mind being stuck here with him for a few days. She blushed when the thought popped into her head. “Thanks for the lift, Jack.”
“You’re welcome, and I hope you enjoy your stay.”
“Thanks, I’m sure I will.” She followed Henry and Max to the main hut.
Henry glanced back at her. “Is this your first visit to Antarctica, Jane?”
Though she couldn’t see Max’s face, she knew it wore a smirk. She was about to answer when one of the men unloading the plane interrupted.
“Henry, do you want this stuff in the garage or the storeroom?”
Henry shouted his answer. “The storeroom, Theo. It’s the extra climbing gear and flashlights and stuff I requested to check out NASA’s anomaly.”
Theo acknowledged with a wave of a hand.
Henry turned back to the new arrivals. “Now, where were we?”
“Coffee,” Jane blurted.
“Ah, yes, coffee. Follow me.”
Max flashed Jane a smile and whispered, “That was close.”
“Welcome to your temporary home.” Henry opened the door and they followed him inside.
To prevent the cold from entering the main building, a double door system was used in the entrance. The inner door, which resembled that normally seen on a commercial freezer, was only opened when the outside door was closed. A wave of warmth swept over them when Henry opened the inner door. A long corridor with small triple-glazed windows along the left wall and a series of doors set in the right side stretched the length of the hut.
“It’s warmer in here than I expected,” said Jane, closing the inner door behind her.
“That’s due to the three feet of insulation in the outer walls, floor and ceiling,” Henry informed her. “It keeps the cold out and the warmth locked inside.” He pointed to a rack of coats on the side wall. “Hang your cold weather gear there and while you are doing that, I’ll pour us all some coffee.”
Jane and Max slipped off their coats, hung them on empty hooks and went through the door Henry had taken. They glanced around. A large table surrounded by ten chairs was positioned at one end of the room. Comfortable looking chairs and a matching sofa had been set out to create a relaxation area. Two men with wind burnt faces were engrossed with watching The Thing movie playing on a large flat screen TV on the back wall. A small area to the right of the large table housed coffee and tea making facilities and was currently occupied by Henry. A worktop that almost stretched the full width of the room sectioned off the kitchen area. A large pan bubbled away on the stove to fill the room with the appetizing aroma of something cooking. Jane thought she detected a hint of chili in the air.
Henry turned to the new arrivals. “Milk and sugar?”
“Milk, no sugar,” said Max.
“Lots of milk and two sugars, please, Henry.”
“Okay, grab a seat, and I’ll bring them over.”
Jane and Max sat at the table.
Jane sensed a friendly comfortable atmosphere. Her excitement at being here reminded her of a school trip she went on to France with her friends. Then, as now, everything was strange, new, and exciting.
Henry placed their hot drinks in front of them before choosing a seat opposite. “In a minute I’ll give you a tour of the place and show you where you’ll be sleeping.” He looked at Jane. “You’ll be glad to hear you’re not the only female here. Lucy Jones is doing her doctorate in biology. She specializes in micro organisms, which she hopes to find evidence of trapped in the ice in the lowest parts of the rift now it seems we’re set to explore it. She contacted me to ask if she could join us. Her enthusiasm persuaded me to say yes, and we did have the spare bunk in your room. She arrived yesterday.”
“Okay, good,” said Jane. “Is everyone here now?”
“Yes, all eight.” He nodded over at the two men watching TV. “You probably recognize them from the info packs I sent out but I’ll recap, Pike, our maintenance man, is also our cook and a very good one at that.”
Pike paused the movie. “Did I just hear you praise my cooking, Henry?”
The two men crossed the room and greeted the new arrivals.
“Just because you heard the words, it doesn’t mean I meant them.” Henry indicated the second man, muscular and broad-shouldered. “And this is Scott, our mechanic. Not a big talker, but he can fix anything and is an invaluable member of the team, as are you all.”
Pike and Scott shook hands with Jane and Max.
“Pike’s an unusual name,” said Max when he shook the man’s hand.
“It’s my family name. I was christened Jesse, but prefer Pike.”
Scott playfully rubbed Pike’s hair with a large hand. “He thinks it sounds less feminine.”
Pike knocked his hand away and changed the subject. “Henry moans about my cooking and yet he always eats every last bit,” said Pike, smiling.
Henry rolled his eyes.
“Catch up with you two later.” said Pike.
The two men headed back to the TV to watch the remainder of the movie.
Henry shook his head. “We’ve only been here two weeks, but I’m sure it’s the third time they’ve watched that movie.”
Pike looked back. “He’s exaggerating. We’ve only watched it twice. The one we’re watching now is The Thing, made in 2011, a prequel to John Carpenter’s original 1982 version.”
“Well they both seem the same to me.” Henry turned to Jane and Max. “Okay, if you’ve finished your coffee, I’ll take you on the tour and introduce you to the rest of the team.”
Jane and Max gulped down the remains of their warm drinks and followed Henry from the room.
CHAPTER 3
Descent
THE EIGHT TEAM MEMBERS sat around the table with Henry at his usual chair at one end. They’d all just enjoyed a meal of chili-con-carnie and baked potatoes with apple pie and custard for dessert.
“As you all know, we’ve been planning this expedition for two years. The Pine Island Glacier is one of the largest ice streams in Antarctica, which drains much of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and because it’s grounded in ever deeper sea water, it’s vulnerable to melting at its base. Satellite measurements have shown the Pine Island Glacier Basin has a greater net contribution of ice to the sea than any other ice drainage basin in the world and this has increased due to recent speeding up of the ice stream. One criterion of our mission is to attempt to discover the reason behind the ice stream’s sudden acceleration and to ascertain if it will continue to increase over time.