She continued, “We were hoping to test it on the island here and see if we could discern any boulders or terrestrial matter inside.”
“And did you find something?” He still could not take his eyes off the slowly turning cliff of ice.
Amanda stepped to the side, toward a pair of men hunched over equipment. “Our first couple passes failed to reveal anything, but it’s like peeling an onion. We had to be careful. The sonar waves of the DeepEye cause minute vibrations in the ice. They actually heat it up slightly. So we had to proceed one layer at a time as we scanned the island. Slow, meticulous work. Then we discovered—”
Perry still stood under the eye of Cyclops. He was the first to see the danger as the sub edged around a thick ridge of ice. Ahead, boulder-sized chunks of ice floated and bounced up the cliff face, an avalanche in reverse. But ahead, a large dark crack skittered across the face of the ice. A monstrous section of cliff face suddenly leaned toward the slow-moving ship, toppling out toward them. They were going to collide with it.
With a gasp, he dove for the intercom. “Captain to the bridge!” he yelled.
“On it, Captain,” Commander Bratt answered, tense. “Flooding negative.”
Instantly Perry felt the familiar tug on the sub as thousands of pounds of water drowned the emergency tanks.
The sub dropped, diving at a steep angle.
Perry stared out of Cyclops, unblinking, unsure if they would avoid a collision as the wall of ice dropped from the cliff like a blue ax. It was now a race between the buoyancy of the falling ice and the weight of their own emergency ballast. The submarine canted nose first. Hand-holds were grabbed. A notebook slid down the slanted floor.
Small cries echoed, but Perry ignored them. He watched, powerless. A collision here would be disastrous. There was nowhere to surface for miles around. Though the Polar Sentinel had been built to handle the rigors of the Arctic, there were limits.
The toppling wall of ice filled the world ahead of them. The sub continued to dive. Seams popped and groaned from the sudden increase in pressure as the sub plunged into the frigid depths.
Then open water appeared ahead, just under the slowly falling slab of ice. The submarine dove toward it.
The section of cliff face slid past overhead — no more than inches. Perry craned his neck, following it past the arch of Lexan above his head. He could read the pictographic lines of algae across the ice’s surface. He held his breath, ready for the screech of metal, ready to hear the emergency klaxons blare. But the continual low hiss of the oxygen generators persisted.
After a long half minute, Perry let out a deep breath and turned to the intercom. “Captain to the bridge,” he said. “Good job up there, men.”
Commander Bratt answered, relief and pride in his voice, “Shutting the flood. Venting negative.” The sub began to level. After a moment, Bratt added, “Let’s not do that again.”
“Aye to that,” Perry agreed. “But let’s do a slow circle back around and inspect the area — from a safe distance. I wager that breakaway may have been triggered by the DeepEye sonar.” He glanced to Amanda, remembering her concern about the new sonar’s vibration signature and heating effect. “We should get some pictures since we’re testing the darned thing.”
Commander Bratt acknowledged and ordered his bridge crew, “Helmsman, left full rudder. Ahead slow. Take us around.”
The submarine eased away from the ice mountain in a slow circle. Perry crossed to the bank of video monitors. “Can we get a close-up of the fracture zone?”
One of the technicians nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Amanda spoke, her words slightly slurred, her enunciation slipping with her anxiety. “We should’ve anticipated such a fracturing.”
He patted her hand. “That’s why we call this a shakedown cruise. If you’re not shook up a time or two, then you’re not doing your job.”
Despite his poor attempt at humor, her face remained tight.
Then again, his own heart still pounded from the close call. He bent closer to the screen as the technician manipulated a toggle to bring the exterior cameras into focus on the fractured area. The shattered chunk of cliff shimmered into clarity.
“What’s that?” Amanda asked. She pointed to a dark blemish on the screen. It was in the center of the fracture zone. “Can you zoom in?”
The technician nodded and twisted a dial. The section of cliff swelled. The blemish grew in detail and depth. It was not ice or rock, but something unusual. As the sub turned, the Polar Sentinel’s spotlights illuminated it. It was black, angular. Man-made.
As they swung closer, Perry knew what he was seeing: the stern end of another sub, frozen like a stick in a Popsicle. He crossed over to the canopy of Lexan glass and stared out. He could just make out the sub poking from the ice. It was old, ancient.
The Polar Sentinel glided past at a safe distance.
“Is that what I think it is?” Dr. Willig asked, his voice weak.
“A sub,” Perry answered with a nod. He could recognize any submarine from just a casual glance. “I’d say a World War Two — era sub. Russian I series.”
Amanda, her face less pale now, spoke from where she now stood with two researchers. “This supports our earlier discovery. The reason I called you down here.”
Perry turned to her. “What are you talking about?”
She pointed to a different monitor. “We mapped and taped this earlier from the DeepEye.” The screen displayed a three-dimensional image of the ice island. The resolution was amazing, but Perry didn’t see anything significant.
“Show him,” Amanda continued, placing a hand on one of the technician’s shoulders.
He tapped a few keys, and the image of the ice island dissolved from solid to ghostly. Within the interior of the island, passages and distinct tiers sectioned the iceberg, rising up layer by layer toward the top.
“What is it?” Perry asked.
The technician answered, “We think it’s an abandoned ice base built inside the berg.” He tapped a few keys and the image swelled to concentrate on one tier. There appeared to be rooms and corridors. It was definitely not a natural formation.
“A Russian ice base if you’re right about that sub,” Amanda added, lifting an eyebrow toward Perry. “The vessel is docked at the lowest level.”
He pointed to several darker objects scattered here and there on the display. “Are those what I think they are?”
The technician overlaid a cursor atop one of them and tapped a key, zooming in on it. The shape of the form was unquestionable.
“Bodies, Captain,” he answered. “Dead bodies.”
A flicker of movement drew Perry’s attention to the edge of the screen — then it vanished. He frowned and glanced to the others. “Did anyone else see that?”
Amanda’s eyes widened. “Rewind the tape.”
The technician shuttled the recording backward and zoomed slightly outward. He forwarded to the blurred movement on the screen. He slowed it down. On the lowest tier of the station something stirred, then disappeared into the deeper depths of the ice mountain, retreating beyond the reach of the sonar. Though visible only for a moment, there was no doubt.
Amanda whispered, “Something’s alive in there…”
Act One
Snow Flight
1. Blood Lure
