Finally some NT related material. Sorry if this chapter is unsatisfactory, I think the next chapter will be up soon, it all depends on how much I get done. Well, Enjoy!

BeKaMaJo

- Chapter One -

Eight Years Later

The Arctic Circle

The Two snow crawlers rumbled over the snow. It was about twenty below outside. In other words, Very Cold.

Kassidy watched the scenery roll by while all the time hearing Riley Poole's modified navigator beep incessantly. It was getting on her nerves.

"Hey Kass," Ian Howe asked. Kassidy scooted forward in her seat.

"Yeah, Ian?" She asked; her long blonde hair splayed over her red coat.

"You've got all of your notes?" He teased. When they had met, two years before, Kassidy was still in College (having graduated last year) and had been always frantically taking notes. Since her parents couldn't come, Ben, Ian and Riley had filled in and came to her graduation.

"Ha, ha, very funny Ian. Remember, I have those pictures of you and Susan….. And your mother's address. Nice woman….." She trailed off. Ian looked back at her with a look of shock. She smiled smugly and sat back in her seat. Riley looked at her.

"Hey Kass?"

"Yeah Riley?"

"What does this monitor say to you?"

"Beep, beep?"

"Very funny, Kassidy. Come look at it." Complying, Kassidy moved across the seat, looked at the monitor and said, "That's interesting. We're just about there."

Riley looked at me, "And this from the girl who can't read a map to save her life?"

She shot daggers at him through her eyes, "That was only in Pocatello. It's a big city."

"All right. Kassidy, get back to your end of the car please." Ben said. "Riley, about another half mile?"

"Yep. Though don't go by me. I broke a shoelace this morning." They all looked at him. "It's a bad omen."

The two men and young woman looked away, rolling their eyes.

About 5 minutes later the rapid beeping started going in for a long continuous beep. It was giving Kassidy a headache.

"Ok, we're here." Riley said. Kassidy nearly said, 'then turn it off!" But, seeing how her new year's resolution was to be nicer to Riley's instruments, she didn't.

The snow crawlers came to a stop and Kassidy leapt out of the vehicle in an attempt to get away from the beeping machine. When the noise was only a small annoyance in her ear, she sighed and looked around the frozen landscape with her hands on her hips. She saw the other members of the group pile out of their snow crawler out of the corner of her eye and she turned to face them.

"I think Riley's machine lied to us!" She called as the others observed the land as well.

"My navigator doesn't lie, Kass." Riley muttered as he stepped up beside her. A small smirk tugged at her lips as he stared out into the never ending sea of white.

"Then where is it?" She questioned. He opened his mouth to answer but was beaten by Ben as he walked up beside them.

"It is under us, I believe. We just need to find out exactly where it is." He supplied, not even looking at them. Riley and Kassidy exchanged glances with quirked eyebrows but said nothing, "I suppose we best get started." Ben added, already walking back to the vehicles. The other two shrugged and followed after him quickly.

They saw him climb up into the crawlers again and come back out a few moments later carrying a few of Riley's metal detectors they had brought along. He tossed one out of the door to Kassidy who caught it just before it could whack her in the face. She rolled her eyes at him and slung it over her shoulder, then walked away a bit to watch the others. She sat down in the hard snow and grumbled when she felt the slightest bit of water sneak its way into her heavy coat.

A chuckle escaped her lips as she watched the frustration that Riley was going through as his equipment was tossed unceremoniously to the other members of the group. The others seemed to get a kick out of it though.

"Ben? Uh, that is very expensive, you know." He informed as Ian caught his with ease, "I'd rather not-" He caught off his sentence when one of the machines crashed to the ground, unnoticed except by him, "Right." He muttered as he bit his bottom lip.

The beeping of the detectors cut the peaceful silence of the Arctic tundra, amplifying the annoying sound in Kassidy's ears. It took all she had not to trash the machines until they couldn't even think of beeping again but, once again, she remembered her resolution about the equipment.

She noticed Shaw sigh heavily as he rested his detector over his shoulder and stalk over to Riley. She kept her eyes averted from the conversation but was well aware of what was being said.

"Look, this is a waste of time." He complained, "How could a ship wind up way out here?" Riley stopped what he was doing and looked out into the distance.

"Well, I'm not expert but…it could be that the hydrothermic properties of this region produce hurricane-force ice storms that cause the ocean to freeze and then melt and then refreeze, resulting in a semisolid migrating land mass that would land a ship right around here." And he walked off, leaving a very confused Shaw behind. Kassidy chuckled quietly and then resumed her search for the Charlotte.

Well then. Satisfactory? We certainly hope so.

All the best,

BeKaMaJo