Ben Hammott - Ice Rift

If the others were still alive, they were now trapped on the floating ice. There was nothing Scott could do for them now, except try to get back to base and see when the help he had called would arrive—if they came at all. Like Pike, they’d also found it hard to believe a monster existed. Not even the photo Scott had taken of it convinced them it was real and not some sort of hoax. He glanced up at the towering ice wall; he had a lot of difficult climbing to do.

Haax had set the controls to keep the scout ship in a stationary hover between the floor and roof of the hangar when the ice tipped and rolled the ship. All aboard felt the sudden fall and rise when it broke away and slowly settled when the freed ice reached its level of buoyancy.

Jane confirmed what they all had assumed. “The ice is free.”

“I wish we were,” moaned Richard.

Jane looked at Lucy, who had remained strangely silent. “Are you okay?”

Lucy nodded and flashed a smile. “I’m fine. I just want to be off this ship, that’s all.”

“As do we all,” said Richard. He glanced at Haax, wondering how the alien planned to get them off.

Haax spun the craft to face the hangar door. He pointed to the red and green buttons on the console between the two pilot chairs. “Jack, press the red button.”

Jack stretched a hand toward the console. “What does it do?”

“Open the hangar door, I hope.”

Jack gazed at the door and pressed the button. Nothing happened. “It’s probably frozen in place.”

Haax steered the ship over to the door and turned it to the side. He gently rested one edge of the ship’s nose against a raised reinforcing bar on the door and gently applied some power to the engine. “Press it again.”

Jack did as ordered.

The ship slid off with no effect to the door, but did add another scratch to the scout ship. Haax repositioned the ship and tried again. Jack pressed the button. The door shuddered open an inch. Haax applied more power. The door slid open with a screech of protesting metal. The exit was blocked solid with ice.

Jack looked at Haax.

Haax smiled. “Did you notice where I stowed the weapon in the cargo hold?”

Jack nodded.

“Do you think you will be able to fire it?”

Jack released his seat harness. “I’ll give it a go.”

“To switch it on, turn the black dial until it clicks. When it powers up, turn the red dial to maximum. I’ll turn the ship around and open the rear door. Aim the weapon at the ice and create a rectangle of holes close together and large enough for this ship to fit through. That should weaken the ice enough for me to push the section out.”

Jack smiled at the others when he rushed past. Theo and Richard looked at him enviously.

Haax spun the ship around. A press of a button brought the image seen from the back of the ship onto the view screen. The small pilot lined the view up with the door.

The rear door opened when Jack entered the small cargo bay. He crossed to the cupboard where he’d seen Haax stow the weapon. There was more than one inside. Believing any would do, he grabbed one at random and powered it up. He positioned himself in the opening and turned the red dial until it would turn no more. He raised the weapon to his shoulder and eyed along the barrel until it was aimed near the top left corner a couple of yards away from each edge of the door frame. He pulled the trigger. A small ball of bright red light shot out and quickly grew until it was a yard wide. The gun didn’t buck or vibrate and was completely silent. The ball struck the ice where he’d aimed it. The ice vaporized on contact with the light ball as it cut a perfectly round hole through it until it disappeared. Jack readjusted his aim and fired another beside it on the right. Another blast of light penetrated the ice. He continued until he’d formed a line of holes slightly wider than the ship. He then made a line of holes down the left and right hand sides. A line of holes along the bottom completed his task. Only a few thin strips of ice, where the holes he’d cut didn’t quite meet, held it in place. A mischievous look appeared in Jack’s eyes. He fired a few more times and grinned at his handiwork. He closed the rear door, switched off the weapon, stowed it in its compartment and returned to the cockpit.

When the sensor on the console indicated the rear door was closed, Haax switched off the rear view and turned the ship to face the holed ice.

“That weapon is amazing,” said Jack, on entering the cockpit. “And great fun to fire.”

Jane looked at the smiley face Jack had formed in the ice. “Yes, we noticed.”

Jack resumed his seat next to the pilot. “I can punch some more holes if you think it’s necessary,” he told Haax, hopefully.

“I’m sure that will be enough.” Haax coaxed the ship forward until its nose nudged the ice in the center of the holes and just below the smiley face Jack had made. He applied power to the engine and steadily increased thrust.

All eyes stared at the block of ice barring their escape.

A crack echoed through the hangar bay. The thin columns of ice holding the block in place cracked under the strain. The block dropped until it met ice again, and slowly the powerful engine pushed it back. The shuttle passed through the hangar doorway and into the ice tunnel. The large block gained momentum, moving faster and faster. The ice surrounding the ship sped by. Suddenly, the ice dropped from view and daylight flooded the tunnel. As the ice block splashed into the sea the shuttle shot out of the hole and soared into the sky. Windborne ice and snow battered the windscreen.

Finally, they were free.

All except Haax cheered.

Jack gazed at the ice shelf the impossibly large berg had broken away from. The remaining side of the ice rift was now a high cliff of ice stretching for miles in both directions. Eventually it would also be pushed farther out into the ocean and break off, and in time melt and disappear as if it had never existed. When the craft grew nearer to the cliff, Jack noticed something—a small blot of red. He pointed it out to Haax. “I think someone’s on the ice.”

Haax swooped in for a closer look and pressed a button on the console. An image of the red-clad figure appeared on part of the screen in close up.

“It’s Scott,” called out Jane. “He’s stuck on the ice.”

Jack turned to the pilot. “What do you think, Haax? Can we rescue him?”

Haax nodded. “All I seem to do is rescue you humans. Someone needs to go in the back and help him aboard.”

“I’ll go,” volunteered Theo. He unbuckled his harness and left the cockpit.

Haax swept the scout ship over to the shore, and in a smooth motion, turned the ship so the back faced the cliff. He switched on the rear monitor and used it to line the rear door up with the climber. He opened the back door, extended the ramp and moved nearer to the ice cliff until the ramp was directly below Scott.

Theo was buffeted by the wind when he stepped through the opening. He cupped hands to his mouth and shouted. “Scott, are you okay?”

Scott gripped the ice to prevent the gusting wind from dragging him off. He glanced up at the sheer cliff. He still had over halfway to go and doubted he’d be able to make the climb in this wind. He was more than a little surprised to hear someone call out his name. Though he thought he must have imagined the voice, he twisted his head. He was even more surprised to see a space ship hovering in the air and Theo leaning casually against the door frame, grinning.

Theo waved. “Hi, Scott, you’ve not chosen the best weather to go climbing,” he shouted.

Too astonished to talk, Scott nodded dumbly.

“Well, are you coming aboard?” Theo stepped forward with one hand gripping the door frame and the other extended out to his friend.