Kyle nodded. “Yes, RATO.
“Why do you need the rockets?” Zahra asked.
Kyle glanced at her. “Takeoffs are not always easy here. These give us the necessary
Yana snorted. “That was terrible. I can tell that dad jokes are not your thing.”
Kyle’s minute playfulness ended with Yana’s comment. “Come on. We’re wasting time.” He stormed off, leaving the others in the dust.
Zahra gave Yana a hard stare before hurrying after him. “Kyle!”
She caught up, then kept pace next to him. “Please, excuse Ana. She’s a bit rough around the edges.”
Kyle didn’t physically react. “I’ve been around worse.”
“But…” That got him to stop. The taller man looked down at her and waited for her to continue. “Team building is essential to success, especially with this crew.”
“From what I’ve seen, you’re not like her.”
Zahra grinned. “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
Kyle almost smiled. “Good to know.” He turned his head as Yana and Hammet closed in. “I hope none of you get airsick.”
“That rough?” Zahra asked.
Kyle winked. “Yes,
“Wonderful,” Yana said. She elbowed Hammet in the arm. “Hope you packed your vomit bag.”
Hammet patted his jacket pockets. “I did not.”
Even though the moment was light and merry, Zahra could plainly tell that neither Yana nor Hammet looked happy with what Kyle had said.
The American pilot led the others up the rear ramp and into the warmer cargo hold of the LC-130. They skirted around two 5-seat Tucker Sno-cats. The vehicles resembled tractors in every way except for having tank tread instead of tires. These things were built for the surrounding terrain.
“What kind of distance are we talking?” Zahra asked.
“We’re landing at Troll Station to refuel, so…” he mentally calculated the distance, “1,600 miles, give or take.”
Yana cursed under her breath. “This just keeps getting better.”
Kyle shrugged. “Antarctica is a big place. Nothing happens quickly here.”
“Except hypothermia,” Yana poked.
Kyle didn’t respond to Yana’s
“Once we’re fueled up, we’ll continue to our destination. We believe there’s a usable stretch of land ten miles south of our sub.”
“How far is the flight from Troll to the next LZ?” Hammet asked.
Kyle stopped and looked at the group. “About 275 miles.”
“What kind of name is Troll?” Zahra asked.
“It comes from the mountains surrounding the station. The founders thought they resembled the trolls from Norse mythology.”
“Norse? It’s a Norwegian facility?” Yana asked. She glanced at Hammet. “I figured Troll would be under German control, all things considered.”
The team was admittedly unfamiliar with all things Antarctica. It was the main reason Kyle was as involved with the operation as he was.
“Common misconception,” Kyle explained. “Queen Maud Land has always been a Norwegian territory. The Nazis disputed the claim in the thirties after they sent their own expedition. They eventually lost the claim after the war ended.”
“I wonder if that has anything to do with our U-boat,” Zahra said, looking at Hammet.
“I’m sure it does, but we won’t know for sure until we arrive.”
“Speaking of which…” Kyle said. “We need to prep for takeoff. Take your seats.”
He swept his hand out over the forward section of the cargo hold. It held a dozen seats sitting atop a “transport pallet.” Zahra recognized them from her army days. The pre-built, moveable segment of seating allowed its user to transport it on and off the aircraft at will. They did as Kyle said and found their seats. Zahra sat between Yana and Hammet but kept an empty seat between each of them. Their packs went into those seats.
“How long will this take?” Yana asked.
“No idea,” Zahra replied. “Depends on airspeed.”
The Russian leaned forward and looked at Hammet. “What about you? Any idea?”
He could only shrug.
Yana sighed. “I guess it’s a ‘we get there when we get there’ kind of trip.”
The two Sno-Cats came to a stop a hundred yards from the coast. This was the end of the line for them. The last leg of the trek would have to be done on foot. Zahra, Yana, Hammet, and Kyle climbed down from their transport, as did their driver, Ethan. The fifth man had logged in nearly as many hours driving around Antarctica as Kyle had flying over it. Zahra’s team was in very good hands. There was a lot of experience riding along with them.
The second Sno-Cat disgorged four of its own explorers. One of them was a woman who was a climatologist studying the continent’s coastal environment. It seemed that Zahra’s operation had been combined with another. She guessed it made sense since traversing all this way wasn’t easy, nor something that would have been done all that often.
Zahra stared at the second team.
“Don’t be concerned,” Kyle said, stepping up next to her. “They’ve all signed NDAs. Your being here will remain a secret.”
