Ice Hunt

James Rollins Ice Hunt

Map

Ice Station Grendel

Personnel

CIVILIAN

(1) Matthew Pike, an Alaska Fish and Game warden

(2) Jennifer Aratuk, sheriff for the Nunamiut and Inupiat tribes

(3) Junaquaat (John) Aratuk, retired

(4) Craig Teague, reporter for the Seattle Times

(5) Bennie and Belinda Haydon, owners of an ultralight sight-seeing company

(6) Bane, retired search-and-rescue dog, wolf/malamute cross

OMEGA RESEARCHERS

(1) Dr. Amanda Reynolds, an American engineer

(2) Dr. Oskar Willig, a Swedish oceanographer

(3) Dr. Henry Ogden, an American biologist

(4) Dr. Lee Bentley, a NASA researcher in material sciences

(5) Dr. Connor MacFerran, a Scottish geologist

(6) Dr. Erik Gustof, a Canadian meteorologist

(7) Lacy Devlin, a geology postgrad

(8) Magdalene, Antony, and Zane, biology postgrads

UNITED STATES MILITARY

(1) Gregory Perry, captain of the Polar Sentinel

(2) Roberto Bratt, lieutenant commander and XO of the Polar Sentinel

(3) Kent Reynolds, admiral and commander of the Pacific Fleet

(4) Paul Sewell, lieutenant commander and head of base security for Omega

(5) Serina Washburn, lieutenant

(6) Mitchell Greer, lieutenant

(7) Frank O’Donnell, petty officer

(8) Tom Pomautuk, ensign

(9) Joe Kowalski, seaman

(10) Doug Pearlson, seaman

(11) Ted Kanter, master sergeant, Delta Forces

(12) Edwin Wilson, command sergeant major, Delta Forces

RUSSIAN MILITARY

(1) Viktor Petkov, admiral and commander of the Russian Northern Fleet

(2) Anton Mikovsky, captain first rank of the Drakon

(3) Gregor Yanovich, diving officer and XO of the Drakon

(4) Stefan Yurgen, member of Leopard ops

Eskimo Village Vanishes!

ARCHIVED RECORD:

THE TORONTO DAILY STAR,

NOVEMBER 23, 1937

ESKIMO VILLAGE VANISHES!

RCMP Confirms Trapper’s Story

Special to the Star,

Lake Territory, November 23. The inspector for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police returned today to confirm the disappearance of an Eskimo village in the Northern Lakes region. Ten days ago, fur trapper Joe LaBelle contacted the RCMP to report a chilling discovery. While running a trapline, LaBelle snowshoed out to an isolated Eskimo village on the shores of Lake Anjikuni only to discover every inhabitant — man, woman, and child — had vanished from their huts and storehouses. “It was as if every one of them poor folk up and took off with no more than the shirts on their backs.”

Inspector Pierre Menard of the RCMP returned with his team’s findings today and confirmed the trapper’s story. The village had indeed been found abandoned under most strange circumstances. “In our search, we discovered undisturbed foodstuff, gear, and provisions but no sign of the villagers. Not a single footprint or track.” Even the Eskimos’ sled dogs were found buried under the snow, starved to death. But the most disturbing discovery of all was reported at the end: the Eskimos’ ancestral graves were found excavated and emptied.

The RCMP promises to continue the search, but for now the fate of the villagers remains a mystery.

Prologue

FEBRUARY 6, 11:58 A.M.

538 KILOMETERS NORTH OF ARCTIC CIRCLE

FORTY FATHOMS UNDER THE POLAR ICE CAP

The USS Polar Sentinel was gliding through the dark ocean. The sub’s twin bronze screws churned silently, propelling the Navy’s newest research submarine under the roof of ice. The warning bells of the proximity alarms echoed down the length of the vessel.

“Sweet mother, what a monster,” the diving officer mumbled from his post, bent over a small video monitor.

Captain Gregory Perry didn’t argue with Commander Bratt’s assessment. He stood atop the control room’s periscope stand. His eyes were fixed to the scope’s optical piece as he studied the ocean beyond the sub’s double hull of titanium and plate-carbon steel. Though it was midday, it was still winter in the Arctic. It had been months since anyone had seen the sun. Around them the waters remained dark. The plane of ice overhead stretched black