Samantha touched a hand to his arm. “I’m sorry, Lance. No one told me, either.”
“Sorry to be so angry, but I never got to say goodbye.”
“None of us did. I need to go.” Samantha walked on, leaving Lance behind.
Then Lance spotted Thor and seemed to put two and two together. He grabbed Samantha’s arm, turned her to face him. “You’re not going with them, are you?”
“Yes. The NSF asked me to do this.”
“That’s crazy. Do you know how dangerous this is?”
“I don’t have a choice, Lance.”
“Bullshit!” Lance turned his anger on Thor, Jones, and Segal, stomping over to them. “If you soldier boys want to risk your lives over a satellite, fine. But you’re not taking Samantha on that plane. She’s a scientist, not a tool of the military.”
Thor ignored him, met Samantha’s gaze. “Are you ready?”
But Lance didn’t back down. He strode up to Thor, pointed a finger in Thor’s face. He was a good six inches shorter than Thor, but, oh, he was angry. “You arenottaking her out on that plane. You have no idea what it’s like out there.”
“Is that so?” Thor understood the man’s rage but didn’t like his attitude.
Samantha stepped between them. “He knows, Lance. He’s got a lot more experience surviving in these conditions than you or I.”
“What do you mean by that?”
But Hardin must have heard the shouting. He came down the stairs from the administrative offices. “Back off, Lance. Sam is in good hands.”
Lance got in his face. “Why did you send Patty’s body back without letting me say goodbye?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Hardin looked genuinely surprised. “I didn’t authorize that. Are you sure?”
From outside the station came the sound of a small plane landing.
“Let’s move out.” Thor shouldered his gear.
“Samantha, stop! Nothing on that satellite is worth your life!”
“We’ll bring her back.” Thor and the others put on their masks, goggles, hats, and gloves, grabbed the duffle bags, and left the shelter of the station.
It was sixty-eight below, cold enough to suck the breath from Thor’s lungs even with the mask. They walked quickly over the ice to the waiting Twin Otter, its propellers still running as a team of fuelies worked fast to get it in the air again.
Samantha fell in beside Thor. “I’m sorry about Lance. He’s upset about Patty’s death. We all are.”
“You don’t need to apologize for him. He doesn’t bother me. We were told not to expect a warm welcome.”
“Son of a bitch,” Jones muttered from behind his mask. “This cold is unreal.”
Thor chuckled. “It’s colder where we’re going.”
The pilot, who’d been watching for them, opened the door. “Let’s move, people! As soon as we’ve refueled, we take off.”
Thor let the others go first, and then helped the pilot retract the stairs and lock the door. He and the others took off their gloves and masks and stowed their gear. All but two sets of seats had been removed to make room for the ferry tank, which would fuel the plane when its main fuel tanks ran out.
“The plane isn’t pressurized. I’ll activate the oxygen system when we pass twelve thousand feet.” The pilot checked to make sure they had stowed their gear properly. “We’ll be flying into a stiff headwind, so the flight out will take close to three hours. It should be faster on the way back.”
The pilot made his way to the cockpit, calling back to them over his shoulder. “Strap in. This will be a rough ride.”
They buckled their safety belts, Samantha in the window seat, Thor in the aisle seat where he could stretch his legs. Then the plane began to move.