You are looking out of the window of the Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions Ilyushin IL-76 TD. You are looking at what will be your home for the next six months. Even though you are from Canada you are impressed by the black smudges that make McMurdo station. At least you got to jump seat with the navigator. The plane floats lazily to the ground but at the last minute the plane shudders as the pilot guides it on the ice. A painful minute later it has come to a complete stop. You have never understood why people will sit in planes longer than an hour.

"благодарю вас," You thank the pilot with the extent of your Russian. You get up. You can feel your joints complaining. You quickly shake the stiffness out.

"Any time," He responds in the thickest Russian accent. At least you can practice for when you meet up with the Russian scientists that will be joining you at the research base later. You head out to see how the unloading of supplies is going. You take the clipboard from the load master. You double check that you have everything.

"Excuse me are you Doctor Jay Borman?" A woman with a distinct north English accent calls out. She strolls up to you.

"Yes what can I do for you?" You pass the clipboard back to the load master. You close the gap between you two.

"My name is Tracy Donovan and I'm here to take you to the Scotts research base," She responds. The fact that someone was going to meet you completely escaped your mind.

"I'm just going to help unload the supplies then I will be there," You say as you watch one of the men unload something fragile. You can see the crate teeter in one of the Russian's arms. It is nearly impossible to watch.

"Данг," He curses as the crate falls out of his hands. Luckily you are quick enough to catch it before any damage is done. Thirty minutes later the plane is fully unloaded and you join Tracy in one of the over snow vehicles. The nightmare continues

"So Jay where are you from?" Tracy has obviously decided to go for small talk. The one thing you have never liked.

"Canada," You respond.

"So that's why you didn't comment on the weather because our new recruits normally complain about the weather. I trust the Russians treated you well?" She moves on to the next topic. You start to wonder what the next twenty minutes will be like. You also add your thoughts about the people at the Scotts research base to the mix.

"Yea they did but that plane is old and cramped," You respond upon reflection it could have been worse. You get the feeling that that trip was a good way to extend your knowledge of Russian. The vehicle comes to a jarring stop.

"Sorry I think something is jammed," Tracy pulls her hoodie on and she skilfully leaves the vehicle. A minute later you feel the engine rumble to life. Tracy joins you again.

"It was one of the parts that was jammed," She is a little annoyed.

"Don't worry about it," You respond. After all, Antarctic logistics are a pain in the best circumstances. Tracy gets the journey underway again. Twenty eight minutes later you have made it to the base. You are greeted by an over enthusiastic Estonian.

"Tere tulemast, Welcome," He obviously realises that you don't know much in the way of Estonian. He is still enthusiastic about the new arrival. It is clear to you that there hasn't been new arrivals for a while. He is a little puppy dog with a new toy.

"Rasmus, This is Jay Borman, Jay this is Rasmus," Tracy gets the introductions out of the way.

"And Rasmus is probably the only loud Estonian that you will ever meet,"

"Oi Other Estonians can be loud," He retorts. You understand where he is coming from.

"Anyway it is nice to meet you Jay,"

"Nice to meet you too, Rasmus," You reply. You can feel a slight smile creep up on your face. However it doesn't last long. You hear some other chatter. It's about you. Three other scientists enter the area.

"Oh the lad's here," A Scottish man remarks. You can tell that his surprise is due to the fact that you managed to arrive early.

"Leo," He offers his hand for a shake. You take it and give it a firm shake.

"Jay," You respond. You get the feeling that you two might get along. He puts the equipment from his other hand on to the desk. You can't wait to start work properly even though the shifts will be longer than the hours you worked at Nunavut.

"My name is Pierre," Another Canadian. This time he puts his pack on the floor. After he dumps his stuff he gets to work on writing some notes. The last person to enter places her stuff on the floor next to Pierre's stuff.

"Anna," The girl responds taking note of the new arrival. She can't be older than twenty five. You get the feeling that she may be Swedish.

"Jay," You respond. At least you decided to go by your nickname, not your full name. You wouldn't hear the end of it.

"I wonder what the newbie brought?" Leo remarks.

"Well let's unload the supply vehicles and find out," Anna suggests. Yup she is definity Swedish. You all head out to the supply vehicles. The drivers are itching to deliver the other supplies. The team quickly offloads the supplies. You can't wait to get to work on the experiments. It has been a day since you joined the team and you are conducting a survey with Rasmus.

"Jay can you make sure the core sampler is ready to go?" Rasmus gives you an order.

You head to the over snow vehicle but before you get far your foot catches on something.

"Dang," You utter as you fall into the snow. Rasmus comes to help you. He pulls you up.

"Thank you," You respond to his help. He glances at what you tripped over. He starts furiously digging and you do the same.

"What do you think it could be?" Rasmus asks as he clears some snow.

"A submarine?" You are stumped. It's bothering you. After thirty seconds of digging you and Rasmus have cleared enough snow to reveal a hatch that has been propped open by the snow. You and Rasmus wrestle to get it open all of the way. Once it's open Rasmus gives you a look.

"I'll go first," You respond. You kick some of the loose snow away. You Jump in. It's not a long jump but you still hit the floor hard. You get up and brush some of the snow off of your jacket. You get the tiniest feeling that your submarine theory may be wrong.

"Jay are you ready for me to come down?" You hear Rasmus ask.

"Go for it," You call back. Thirty seconds later Rasmus has joined you. He has jumped with a rope so you can get back up.Your doubt about it being a submarine grows the more you take in your surroundings. Rasmus has gone exploring

"Neetud," Rasmus curses in panicked Estonian. You run over to him to find out what he is panicked about.

"Well there goes my submarine theory," You are looking at the mangled remains of what could be an Alien. Hopefully it's not.

"Tulnukas," Rasmus starts uttering. You are both in over your heads. You place a hand and Rasmus' shoulder. He jumps which is the standard reaction to something unknown.

"Let's go," You remark as you pull him away. You are feeling creeped out just being here. A minute later you have both made it out. Even though you have made it out Rasmus is still shaken. You snatch the portable radio from the over snow vehicle.

"Leo can you let Tracy know we need some help," You radio in. You know it would be a better idea if you had back up.

"What kind of help?" Comes the reply. You glance at Rasmus.

"We need medical aid and more excavation equipment," You respond.

"Aye I'll let her know," Leo responds. You put the radio back and you join Rasmus who is trying to make some food. He is not doing too well because his hands have started shaking like a twig.

"Sorry but I can't stop thinking of those horror movies," He hangs his head in shame but you get his thinking. You take the food from him and you start to cook it. You shoot him a reassuring glance. You send a silent pray that this all blows over soon.