Hard Line - Pamela Clare Page 0,3
act as independent swarms after launch, giving them the ability to respond to and overwhelm enemy air defenses—and making it possible for an operator to change their trajectory to new targets.”
Jones grinned. “I like it.”
Segal’s gaze was on the screen. “That’s game-changing technology.”
Thor saw where this was going. “Someone wants to steal it.”
Tower nodded. “That’s the Pentagon’s theory. Our job is to get to the crash site and retrieve sensitive components. But we’ve got serious obstacles to overcome if we’re going to succeed. Isaksen, I’m placing you in command of operations on this one. You’re the only one of us with experience in this kind of environment. I’m counting on you to help us prepare.”
“Understood.” Thor had anticipated this.
Tower fixed his gaze on Jones and Segal. “Will either of you have problems following orders from Isaksen?”
They had been with the company longer than Thor, and both had more straight-up combat experience.
“No, sir.”
“Hell, no.”
Tower went over the plan. “When a weather window opens, you’ll fly to Amundsen-Scott Station on a specially equipped aircraft. It will be a rough flight. If the pilot is able to land, you’ll have to disembark quickly. He has to keep the plane running during refueling, or the propellers and fuel will freeze.”
“That’s how it was in Greenland, too.” Except then, Thor hadn’t just offloaded himself and his gear, but also eleven dogs, the sled, and hundreds of kilos of supplies.
“If the weather holds, you’ll take a Twin Otter with a ferry tank to the crash site, retrieve the package, re-board the plane, and head back to the station. Then it’s just a matter of waiting for a window for your ride back. Due to altitude and consistently cold temperatures, weather at the Pole itself is fairly stable. But the continent overall has the harshest winds and coldest temps on the planet. Getting you safely there and back entails looking at the forecast along your entire flight path, not just local conditions.”
That made sense to Thor.
“I’ll remain in Christchurch, working as the go-between for our operation and the government of New Zealand. We’ll check in via a laptop equipped with satellite VPN.”
“Why retrieve the technology? Why can’t we just blow it up?” Segal asked.
“Plastic explosives are unreliable in that kind of cold,” Tower explained. “Also, by treaty, nations are required to remove all waste. Someone will have to fly out to the crash site in austral summer to remove the wreckage. If we blow it up, that would make their job close to impossible, wouldn’t it?”
Tower and Thor spent the next few hours breaking down each step of the operation, trouble-shooting the entire mission from beginning to end.
“What happens if we get hit by a storm while we’re out there?” Jones asked.
Thor didn’t mince words. “We freeze to death.”
Tower’s lips pressed into a frown. “You’ll take survival gear—enough to hold out several days on the ice, if necessary.”
Thor glanced at his smartphone. “It’s minus fifty-seven Celcius there right now—minus eighty-two with the wind chill. Antarctic storms can bring katabatic winds that are equivalent to a Category Four hurricane. But, sure, let’s take a tent and maybe some hot cocoa with marshmallows, too.”
Segal snorted. “Smartass.”
Jones looked worried. “How about a snow cave or sheltering on the plane?”
Thor shook his head. “It’s not snow. It’s ice. You don’t dig. You drill. The plane’s fuel will quickly turn to unusable slush, and then we freeze.”
Segal looked at satellite photos of the crash site. “How do we know the components we need to remove are accessible? What if they’re buried in the ice?”
Tower answered. “The Pentagon has a scientist at the station who will handle that part of the operation, someone who has experience with space tech. It’s our job to get that person to the site and keep them safe.”
“Are we expecting polar bears?” Segal asked.
“There is no life inland in Antarctica.” Tower pointed toward a black dot on the map. “But Vostok Station—the year-round Russian base—is four-hundred fifty miles from the crash site. The Russians have kindly offered to help our salvage efforts, but Washington has declined.”
“Intelligence believes the Russians are behind the hack?” Segal asked.
“It’s all speculation at this point. It could be the Russians. It could be the Chinese. Both have bases within striking distance of the crash site, though Kunlun, the Chinese station, isn’t staffed during the winter.”
“If it’s the Russians, the team at Vostok might have known about it ahead of time.” Thor was just stating the obvious. “In the time it takes us to