“Okay, as soon as we’re away I want you to pull back until you’re over the horizon. If we need fast evac, Gomez can come get us in the chopper. But until I know what we’re dealing with I don’t want the Oregon exposed to anyone onshore.”

A private smile passed Linda’s lips. Oh yeah, this was her command.

“Roger that,” Eric said. “We’ll be just another chunk of ice floating out to sea.”

“Okay, guys, let’s saddle up.” Linda vaulted into the Corporation’s spare RHIB.

A hydraulic ram could launch the boat out of the Oregon like a dragster if necessary, but they opted for a smooth descent into the frigid water. Linda fired the big outboards as soon as they were submerged. They had already been brought up to temperature in the garage, so she eased the throttles, and the RHIB’s bow began to lift. They were five miles from shore, but in the bay where the Wilson/George Station was located was a sea of drifting bergs. She had to cut right and left to find a path through the ice. Most of them were not much larger than the RHIB, but several were mountain-sized behemoths that towered into the darkling sky.

Linda was dutifully impressed by the stark beauty of the earth’s most isolated continent.

Off to the side of the boat, a disturbance in the water revealed itself to be the canine snout of a seal. It eyed them for a moment, then disappeared under the waves.

It took them twenty minutes to reach the coast. Rather than run up onto the beach, Linda steered them to a low cliff overhanging the water. It would hide the RHIB from casual observation and made it so they didn’t have to wade ashore. Linc was the first one up. He tied off the boat’s line around a stone outcrop and used his immense strength to hoist the other two out of the boat.

The beach was as forlorn as any Linda had ever seen. It was covered with a light snow, a remnant of the storm. A sudden gust knocked her into the immovable form of Franklin Lincoln.

“We need to put some meat on those bones, girl.”

“Or keep me out of Antarctica,” Linda rejoined. “The station is about a mile inland.”

They had discussed the possibilities ad nauseam and would make their approach assuming the base had been taken by hostile forces. It took an hour to make their cautious approach. They found a low ridge overlooking the station and studied it through binoculars.