The Drop Zone
Markus executed his chartered flight with white-knuckle proficiency, navigating the fierce Patagonian winds. The modified transport plane made a violent landing on the abandoned, ice-scarred airstrip near the Riesling Outcrop.
The drop was harsh and immediate. They were miles from the ice-breaker, The Chimera, which was now anchored in the inlet, its massive drilling platform already deployed onto the glacier.
"Their perimeter is tight," Alex confirmed, scanning the immense drilling site with thermal optics. "They've got a minimum of eight personnel and seismic sensors ringing the drilling zone. They're looking for movement, not heat."
"Lena and I will be the distraction," Markus stated, pulling on a bright orange research parka. "We'll approach from the south, acting like lost, very loud Greenpeace activists. That buys Elias and Alex thirty minutes to get inside."
"Thirty minutes is all we get," Elias agreed. "Our target is the Main Comms Unit inside the rig's command module. That's where the drilling logs and the final seismic data are stored. That's the proof we need to prove environmental negligence."
As Markus and Lena began their long, conspicuous trek across the ice, Elias and Alex, cloaked in white camouflage, began their silent infiltration, moving along the treacherous crevasses near the outcrop.
The Seismic Blind Spot
The ice beneath them creaked and groaned—a constant, terrifying reminder of the instability they were risking. Alex, however, moved with an almost psychic confidence.
"Chen's team relies on seismic vibration sensors," Alex whispered, pointing to barely visible metallic spikes buried in the ice. "If you step near them, they'll pick up your boots, even through the snow."
"You know too much about their gear, Alex," Elias observed, stepping carefully over a deep fissure.
Alex paused, looking genuinely conflicted. "That's why you keep me close, Vance. I wasn't just tracking Chen; I was studying her defense systems for five years, waiting for the gap. The sensors have a blind spot—a narrow frequency where the sound of the drilling itself masks our footfall. We move now, directly beneath the drilling platform. But it's unstable ice."
Elias realized this was a true test. He had to trust Alex with their lives, betting on the strength of his personal revenge rather than his former competitive greed.
"Lead the way," Elias said, his voice flat.
They navigated a frightening path directly under the massive drilling rig. The rhythmic thump-thump-thump of the drill was deafening, vibrating through their bones. The unstable ice groaned louder, and Elias saw a spiderweb of cracks forming near the rig's support struts.
The Infiltration and The Real Risk
They successfully breached the platform and slipped inside the warm, brightly lit command module. The room was dominated by blinking monitors and a giant seismic readout map. A single technician sat at the console, monitoring the logs.
As Elias neutralized the technician, securing him with specialized ties, Alex moved straight for the main server rack. He wasn't hesitant; he was surgically efficient.
"I'm installing Lena's extraction tool now," Alex reported, plugging a specialized drive into the server. "It's pulling the environmental impact logs, the geological surveys, and the core sample manifest. This is everything."
Just as the extraction started, a shrill, digital warning flashed across the seismic monitor.
WARNING: STRUCTURAL FAILURE IMMINENT. ACTIVE SEISMIC EVENT DETECTED.
"It's not us," Elias realized, looking at the ice map. "It's the drill. They hit the unstable layer too quickly!"
Chen's greed had pushed her team past the safety margins. The high-speed drilling had started a cascade failure in the already stressed glacial ice.
The True Purpose of Alex
The comms unit crackled to life. It wasn't the technician's radio; it was a secure, encrypted line from The Chimera.
"Command Module, report! Seismic activity increasing rapidly! Abort procedure initiated!" The voice was high-pitched and frantic.
Elias stared at Alex, who wasn't reacting to the alarm; he was still watching the download progress bar.
"Alex, the glacier is collapsing! Get the drive and let's go!" Elias shouted.
"Not yet," Alex replied, his face illuminated by the screen. "I need the last five percent of the data. It contains the off-world transfer codes for the lithium. I need to prove she's selling the core sample to a third party before extraction is even complete."
Suddenly, the encrypted comms line clicked again.
"Alex. You have what you came for. The download is complete. Abort the asset."
The voice was synthesized, cold, and utterly familiar. Y.A. Chen's voice.
Elias's blood turned to ice. "What was that, Alex? Who were you talking to?"
Alex unplugged the drive, secured it, and turned, his face devoid of emotion. "It was the final confirmation. And now, the true mission begins."
He pulled a small, high-tech device from his pocket—not a weapon, but a remote-controlled lock. He pressed a button, and the heavy, reinforced door to the command module slammed shut and locked with a metallic thunk.
"I am not Chen's competitor, Elias," Alex stated, finally revealing the truth. "I am her contingency plan. I've been tasked with neutralizing the threat since the moment you left Singapore. Chen knew a direct assault would fail, and she couldn't risk the Master Key in a legal battle. So she sent me: a disposable asset with a convincing motive, designed to gain your trust, lead you to the proof, and then seal you inside the asset."
Icebound
Alex walked to the comms terminal and typed quickly, initiating the rig's full Emergency Abandonment Protocol.
"The drilling team is evacuating now," Alex explained, picking up a heavy bag. "The Chimera is pulling away. In five minutes, the rig will detach from the ice and be swallowed by the fissure. You have the evidence, Elias. But you don't have a way off the glacier."
Elias was trapped, betrayal burning colder than the ice outside. He looked at the window; the lights of the command module were the last beacon on a darkening, collapsing field of ice.
"The environmental proof—the logs! You're leaving that too?" Elias demanded.
"It's irrelevant to the goal," Alex said, slinging the bag over his shoulder. "Chen gets her lithium. I get my status. And you get your quiet retirement, permanently sealed inside the glacier."
Alex opened the emergency exit hatch leading to the roof. "Goodbye, Vance. Tell Lena and Markus their protest was noted."
Elias threw himself against the reinforced door, but it held fast. He was trapped, sinking with the evidence, sacrificed for the sake of a contingency plan.
Outside the window, The Chimera's lights were already receding, leaving the drilling rig and Elias to the mercy of the collapsing Patagonian ice. The cold war for global resources had just turned fatally hot.