II – Encounters
Disclaimer: I don't own AvP or any of the characters. I do however own this story.
A.N.: Not much to say about this chapter, but in case anybody wonders why some of the scenes from this chapter are not in the movie: I took some from script (to be found on avp galaxy . net). The script features some nice scenes that really give more depth to the characters. Oh, and thanks to The Oracle Dragon for the first review
By the time we arrived at the ice breaker, all traces that I carried of the jungle were gone. I had awoken nothing more than twenty minutes from the ship as my growling stomach reminded me that I still hadn't eaten anything but a few slices of the melon fruit since I had gotten up in the morning. As I had sat in the chopper, quickly cutting up the rest of the fruit and finishing my "meal", I was reminded of my first trip to an ice-covered region.
I had not been working for Charles then. It was the fourth expedition that I had joined after taking my first job as security personnel. I also remembered that the guide they had hired for us had been nothing short of a complete disappointment. Luckily, I didn't remember the bastard's name. Two of the scientists with us hadn't survived the trip to the northernmost tip of Alaska, one of them dying in the cold, one in a crevice at the edge of the shelf. One of my colleagues had caught frostbite on both legs and had shot himself a month later out of despair. Wincing at the memory, I rolled up the right leg of my trousers to see the long, nasty scar that stretched all over the side of my shin. Oh yes, the bastard was really lucky I couldn't recall his name.
The landing was rougher than usual, due to the storm that was slowly gathering around us and I pitied the ones Maxwell would send after us. The weather would hit them full force. As I finally felt the solid ground of the ice breaker beneath my feet, I let out a deep sigh. As much as I loved flying, turbulences always freaked me out. From the edge of the platform, a familiar figure waved his hand, motioning me to join him. A smile on my lips, I walked over and extended my hand. "Mark…"
"Welcome at the end of the world, Adele." My colleague answered with a grin that I quickly returned. The wind got stronger and I could feel the snow flakes starting to nest in my hair. Noticing my discomfort, he led me down the platform and into the ship. I stopped once we reached the hallways, grateful for the warmth, even though the grey halls dampened my mood. I hated those plain, grey walls.
"Any idea why we were called here?" I questioned, but all I got in response was a shake of his head. Brushing the snow out of my spiky hair, I joined him as he walked down the hall.
Mark Verheiden had always been a man of few words. Most on the team described him as moody, grumpy, cold-hearted and even inhuman, but only few knew him for the person that he really was. When the team was reduced to its core – Mark, Maxwell, Joe and I - the icy attitude around him would melt. The four of us were a small team of our own and the respect between each of us amazed me daily. What even surprised me more were the faces that I saw when work was over. For Max it never was, but Joe, Mark and I would often go for a drink after work was done, enjoying a beer together in the nearest pub, talking about the adventures that we had already been on and of course poking fun at the naïve scientists we constantly had to protect. It was those blissful hours when Mark Verheiden could be seen for the person that he was – a friend who would never let his people down, a father and husband who loved his wife and son more than anything else in the world and a man who was just as dedicated to the job as the rest of us, which meant dedication up to the point of total submission. He was a man of the absolute, someone who would not be content with anything but a hundred percent, both from other people and from himself. I admired and respected him for that.
Eventually, we reached the end of the hallway and I flicked a glance at the door that had my last name on it. I had expected Charles to summon us and immediately send us out for whatever we had to do, but it seemed I was wrong. Slightly confused and awkwardly tired all of a sudden, I turned to look at Mark. "We are not being briefed yet?"
"Hell, no." He gave a short snort and I knew immediately that he was more than displeased with this assignment. Something was different about this expedition. "He wouldn't let any details out. You know Charles… always making a big deal out of it… mysterious and all that crap. He said they were still calling the rest of the scientists. Apparently, we will have three teams this time: Scientist, drillers, security."
Again, the urge to smash something manifested inside me, but I forced my fists to my side and tried to stay calm. TWO beginner teams this time? What the hell did he think he was doing? "Whom has he hired for the lead?"
"Some ice fall climber called Alexa Woods."
I nodded shortly, and the anger left my body again. Frowning one last, time, I gave him another nod. "When's the briefing?"
"1700 tomorrow. You'd better get some rest, Adele. This is going to be one hell of a trip."
On that, I could only agree. Whispering a short "see you later then", I opened the door and roamed the room quickly. There was a phone. Good. Throwing my bag on the bed, I stepped in and closed the door behind me. Time to make a few calls and find out just who the hell Alexa Woods was.
-x-x-
I awoke to the sound of fists knocking on my door and a rough voice calling my name. Rubbing my eyes, I got up from where I had fallen asleep sitting at the desk of my room, the telephone next to me. What was I doing here? Oh, right, Charles had called me back from India to send me a few thousand miles farther into the south. And apparently, I had missed to switch on the alarm on my watch. I glanced at my left wrist and grimaced.16.50. Had I really done nothing but sleeping for the last twelve hours?
"Rousseau, briefing starts in ten minutes!" The voice that I now recognised as Mark's exclaimed again and I put a finger to my aching forehead. This was really getting better. Forcing fatigue and exhaustion out of my mind, I stood up and walked over to the door. The expression on my face must have been priceless, because it prompted Mark to give me a short grin. Most people would probably have missed it, but I knew him too well. Straightening up and forcing my eyes to stay open, I tried to make my voice sound as awake as possible. "I'm up. I'm up. Would hate to miss the geeks they are sending with us this time."
Another short smile and we started walking down the hall. As I tried to get my thoughts back into order, I ran a hand through my hair swiftly. Not that it would matter. I never needed to do my hair. It was good, short and spiky as it was and at least it would never give away the state of alert I was in. I could not mess with my hair and my hair could not mess with me. And for a moment I desperately wished the rest of my head would have been like that.
We reached the hall Charles had chosen as our briefing room after only a few minutes and as I descended the stairs I gave a short look around to find out where we were. The Weyland logo was painted on the middle of the floor, a number of chairs lined up for the ones being briefed. To the left, I caught a quick glance of a few men fumbling around with huge machinery. The drilling team, I reminded myself, and the huge equipment they had brought with them. Sighing, I took my seat in the last row. There were only few persons in the room that I knew. Mark, Joe, Max and – in the middle row before me – Alexa Woods.
I remembered the talk on the phone that I had had before I fell asleep. I had been gathering information, phoning all the contacts I had just to find out who the hell the woman was, whom we were supposed to follow on this trip. At first, I had been relieved to hear that she was considered an expert in her field, her father having been an expert, too. Reliable, smart, brave and consequent were the adjectives that most of my informants had used. I couldn't have been more pleased.
Until I heard just whom she was working for. Environmentalists. The alarm bells immediately rang in my head. Weyland Industries was not exactly the most loved among the tree huggers and I remembered more than one incident when members of Greenpeace or other similar groups had tried to hinder our process. I wondered how he had lured her here, but knowing that the group she worked for had been sued by Weyland industries two times already, I could only figure that he was paying her an awful lot of money.
I made myself comfortable as Max started his speech, trying to ignore the two babbling scientist next to me. Not having much luck, at least I caught from their conversation that they were archaeologists of some kind and I wondered dearly why Charles had called them. Usually, our scientific teams only consisted of geologists or chemical experts, maybe one language expert, like in India, but never archaeologists. Weyland was hunting for mineral deposits, oil and gas, but not for Atlantis.
My trail of thought was interrupted as the lights went out and I heard the clicking of boots on metal above our heads. Immediately, everyone in the room turned. I knew he would choose one of those dramatic entrances, though I wasn't sure whether it was the power-hungry business man or the playing child inside him that prompted him to act like he did. Whichever it was, he couldn't surprise me with it anymore. But what he showed us then, made me catch my breath in an instant.
It was definitely the outlines of a pyramid that were projected on the wall, so much I could tell. Knowing that the science geeks would probably answer all my questions before I had even put them into words, I simply leaned back and listened. My assumptions were proven right as the scientists went on speculating about the age and the builders of the pyramid in a place as weird as this.
"Where exactly on the ice is this?" The question pulled me back into reality. It wasn't a question that a scientist would ask. Neither would one of our team and I wasn't too surprised when I noticed that it was Alexa Woods, who had spoken. As Charles explained the situation to her, I could all but feel the frustration grow inside her and my lips curved into a slight grin.
She refused to go without training us properly. She refused, even in the face of a man as rich and powerful as Charles. She was brave, I had to give her that. And as Charles said that this was worth the risk, as we all nodded or smiled in agreement, as she was the only one to stand up and leave, spitting her words at him like venom, I wondered shortly which feeling would get the better part of me – surprise and pride to have someone so clever and strong invited to lead us, or disappointment because she turned the offer down. As the briefing ended and the scientists rushed off to pack their bags, I approached Charles slowly, my lips still curved.
"She would have made a perfect guide."
"I know." He answered briskly as Max handed him a pile of papers. "But it's solely her decision."
Nodding quickly, I turned again and climbed the stairs up to the hallways. My body desperately called for fresh air unless I wanted to go back to sleep again and even though I was sure the cold would be anything but pleasant, freezing was better than dozing off. I hated the loss of awareness that came with the fatigue and I didn't need it. Not now and not in the following days. My job demanded sacrifices. One of them being constant alertness up to the point of complete exhaustion. Frowning, I opened the large door at the end of the hall.
The cold air struck me immediately and I felt my hands reaching around my body instinctively in a foolish attempt of keeping myself warm. It is not cold. It is not cold. I repeated the words in my head like a lucky chant and slowly, yet with definite success, I felt the cold drain from my body. I knew that the clothing I wore would protect me from the cold. Opening my eyes again, I started walking along the deck aimlessly.
And in that very moment, I noticed just how far away from any kind of civilisation we were.
The Antarctic night embraced the ship, blackness devouring us like a carnivore its prey. Stars glistened on the pitch black sky and if a full white moon hadn't been rising, I couldn't even have made out the horizon. The water was as just as dark as the sky and even the ice around us didn't look so shiny anymore. The lights of the Pipe Maru illuminated nothing more than our immediate surroundings and there where no other lights for miles. We were, as a matter of fact, completely alone in the most godforsaken corner of the world.
Shivering from both the cold and the dreadful realisation, I started walking along the rail to warm myself up. From the deepest jungle right into the vast nothingness of the ice. I should have known earlier that my body would protest against the sudden change of extremes, but I willed the thoughts and the unwelcome feelings quickly out of my mind. As long as I didn't think about where I was and why what transpired, I would still be able to do my job. Thus, I strode along the deck in blissful silence for countless minutes, too lost in my thoughts and the dark.
A sudden fluctuation caught my eyes then and I walked to the other side of the ship to see what it was. The aurora australis moved in consonance with the waves beneath, like a veil of green-silver dust, and I felt a smile curve my lips. It was the only beauty I saw in these remote regions of the world. That alone was worth leaving the warmth of the ship for the cold of the night.
A sudden sound startled me and as I turned to the left I saw Alexa Woods standing there marvelling at the same sight, two of the scientist from before approaching her. Miller and de Rosa, as Charles had called them. A chemical expert and one of the two archaeologists. Grimacing, I retreated back into the ship. I still had preparations to do before we left the ship and right at the moment I wasn't too eager on being pulled into any kind of conversation. As expected, the plan didn't work at all.
I was half way down the hall I had entered when Max suddenly crossed my path, his face saying more than a thousand words. He was in a hurry and – even worse – completely unnerved.
"Rousseau, have you seen Mrs Woods?"
"Yeah, why?" I answered quickly and the look in his eyes made me smile. Apparently, he had been looking for her for quite a while now. My answer must have been like a blessing to him and he strode past me, heading for one of the countless corridors. "Tell her the chopper has been refuelled and she'd better not have them wait long." He called out, the tiniest edge of anger to his voice, before he vanished around the corner. I frown, turning on my heels to head back to the deck where I had seen her last. The blood boiled in my veins and I muttered a few curses in my mother tongue as his voice replayed in my head. The way he talked about people simply made my fingers twitch with the urge to ball them into fists and smash his face.
My frustration faded away almost completely as I found both Alexa Woods and the scientist where they had been before, still marvelling at the polar lights. Good. At least I wouldn't have to go and look for her. "Mrs Woods." Immediately, the three turn around to me. "Your helicopter's refuelled. They are waiting for you."
-x-x-
"Everybody listen up! Gather round!" A huge smile stretched across my face as Alexa Woods called out to out three teams, each and every one busy in their own little world. I had known she would stay. I had known it from the very moment when she stared back at me blankly on the deck. Whatever the two scientists had said, they had convinced her.
As she explained the situation, laying down the rules for our trip to the pyramid, my smile even grew. She was definitely a professional and I felt the last twinge of dreadful suspicion fade away inside me. Thank God we did not have a bloody beginner that time. Thank God we had somebody with both the guts and the brains to lead three different teams. Thank God we had somebody who expected the unexpected. Thank God we had Alexa Woods. Muttering my quick "understood" at the end of her speech, I turn to watch Mark and the little fight he picked with her. In contrast to me, he had never been one to accept the authority of strangers and as I turned away to sit down and clean my gun, I became aware of the fact that this would probably not be the last time the two of them were going to argue.
"Seven seasons on the ice and I've never seen a gun save someone's life." I turned to look at her quickly, before finishing. I knew about her dislike of guns, as did everyone in our group. The association she was working for was strictly non-violent and guns were considered nothing more than a danger to their bearers. I knew they were partly right. For those who could not handle one, a gun could very well be the direct road to hell. I avoided using it as often as I could yet it had saved lives twice, once by killing a lion that was about to invite me for lunch and once by shooting a rebel soldier in the depths of the South American jungles when he tried to shoot down my team. I wasn't proud of what I had done, but I felt relieved to know that I COULD do it when necessary.
"I don't plan on using it."
"Then why bring it?"
"Same principle as a condom." I replied, having searched for an adequate comparison. "I'd rather have one and not need it, than need it and not have one." Yes, the comparison was apt and as a smile played on Alexa's face, I felt a grin tucking at my lips, too. "I'm Adele." I mentioned quickly, extending my hand. "Lex." With a brief nod I finish out handshake before I allow the grin to do its work. Whatever disagreements we had before were no more and I felt both pride and happiness swell inside me. We had a wonderful leader. And I was more than honoured to be able to say that. Heaven knows what bloody idiot Charles would have called upon had she really left. "I'm glad that you decided to stay."
-x-x-
We arrived at the abandoned whaling station sooner than I had thought. Crawling out of the jeep, I went to take a look at the valley in front of us. Next to me, one of the two archaeologist geeks from before bounced in excitement, smiling at me quickly when he noticed my glance. Oblivious to the danger, as they all were. Sometimes I even wondered whether their contracts were written wrong. Did they read "You are going to have a fun trip playing with penguins"? Why couldn't those people just use a minimum of their brain on thinking about where they stood in the grand design of Mother Nature?
"Hi!" The same excitement that I saw evident in his moves played in his voice and I frowned shortly before focusing on the valley again. Maybe if I ignored him… But the thought sounded like mere mockery to me. Not those geeks. "Be honest. You're a little disappointed that you didn't get the yellow jacket, aren't you?"
Oh, good mother of God. I wanted to frown, to sigh, to yell, to hit him with something sharp or simply give him a slap on the back to watch him tumble down the slope, but since I was supposed to PREVENT exactly that, I opted for the last method of despair. Psychological war. "They give the newbies the yellow jackets so that when you fall down a crevice and die, it's easier for us to spot your body." Satisfied, I watched the smile drain from his face as he nodded and walked off. It had not been a lie, but I knew I could have put it more… well, nicely. Lucky that he was gone and I finally had my peace again, I looked at the whaling station, illuminated shortly by Lex' flare. The dim light the flare gave as it died away made my muscles tense for a moment. This place was as dead as a ghost town and even though I wasn't hell-bent on spending the upcoming days 2,000 feet beneath solid ice, I preferred an ancient pyramid to this place. The prospect of spending the next week in a town that was abandoned over night for Lord only knew what reason was one of the worst I had ever had.
