The Antarctic Discovery (Novelette) by V Bertolaccini Page B

translated what the Russian gunmen said and they
started questioning them, and Weaver noticed that he was holding a
hidden conversation with them as he asked their questions and gave
their replies.
    “ Where
and when will the airplane land?” Commander Craven asked them, and
the Russian translated what he said and replied.
    “ It is
not going to land until they ask it to! They cancelled it landing
until the alien sphere was found!”
    “ What
does he mean by that?” Commander Craven replied.
    “ After
their battle with the people at this ice station the person that
had it was killed and someone took it, and nobody saw who or what
he did with it!”
    Weaver listened
confused! How can someone lose an alien artifact? Then he
considered what size it was!
    “ How what
size was it?” Commander Craven asked, amazed, wondering what the
hell it was.
    “ He does
not know!”
    “ How did
you see anyone carrying it?”
    “ No! It
was in one of the dead men’s pockets!”
    It was clear
that the people that saw it were now all dead, except the person
that took it!
    Commander
Craven was staggered, and clearly wondered how they could they
possibly have an ultimate weapon capable of destroying the world in
someone’s pocket?
    Someone there
took it so they searched all their pockets and belongings,
including the bodies, and they found nothing and decided to stay
the night!
     

Chapter 20
     
    The Battle
     
    They had been at the Russian ice station two
days searching everything and had not found the slightest clue to
its whereabouts, while they curiously watched the Russian soldiers
with them!
    There clearly were soldiers amongst them that
thought they could get hold of the alien sphere and sell it!
    Their mission was a disaster, even though
they had killed or captured the remaining renegades!
    The ice station, huts, and buildings were
small and cold and he had never slept in anywhere so cold, which
was exaggerated by the coming winter! He could see now why the
people that stayed in such places and conditions were rugged and
hardy.
    The Russian food supplies were feeble and
left them longing to get out of the place, and to find the alien
sphere!
    Who the hell took it? What had they done with
it? Where had it ended up? And what the hell was it? Its size made
everyone gasp! What if they got its technology and increased its
size?
    People were now investigating each other, and
he had been watched by just about everyone, and he himself had
listened in on others and followed their movements!
    He noticed some of the places in the
structures were dirtier and in many he had to sweep away webs and
he realized that the place was not being searched as much as they
were making out, and he eventually put it down to them
concentrating in the main areas! So he started looking in the areas
that they missed and looked for signs that someone had visited
there and hid it.
    Reeves joined him searching an old hut with a
rusted discarded snow vehicle in it, and they rummage through the
junk!
    “ Well, ” Reeves announced, breaking his
silence with him. “ We now know that the guy that took it has not
been here!”
    The place looked as though it had been
untouched for decades and he examined different things to see what
they were, and their uses, and if they had been recently used.
    “ Look at this monster!” Reeves
announced, jumping into the worn seat of the vehicle.
    “ Any fuel?” he replied, wondering if it
could be used.
    “ What’s that!” he spoke, looking
closely at the controls. “Someone has recently checked it! The fuel
meter has been cleaned recently!”
    Weaver checked it to see the petrol in it and
saw it had been checked, and realized the person had been planning
to use the thing and checked it and the mess that it was in! There
was so much rust and dirt over it that it looked unusable.
    It was like being at an ice station on
another world with the strange sun and snow, and appalling
coldness. He recalled a story that he had