S9: “This must be it! One of Lake’s find.”

Jeff/Dr. Robert Cope was absent

20 Nov, morning: This was just a cleanup at the Lexington camp. No rescue other than distancing from the growing argument between Acacia and James in her tent. Back and forth name calling. “Deranged.” “Incompetent.” The polar guides from each team (Haakon Tuvinen with Lexington and Peter Sykes from Starkweather) had grown weary. Haakon confessed, “I’m thinking the seaman who jumped overboard had the right idea. Batshit crazy he was. You’d have to talk to our Radio Operator Mr. Tony Hopewell to learn more. The two of them were sharing a bottle before the man just up and jumped so I heard.” Oskar nudged Wilbur, “Did you hear that? You go speak with Tony and I’ll ask Dr. Anthony for his notes on the matter.”

Dr. Anthony had little to add, “He was seaman Bicks. The ship crew was already mad at our expedition team, so the ship doctor handled the case.” Oskar suggested, “Did your radioman have any symptoms? I heard they shared a bottle before the man jumped. Our crew had a hidden moonshine still; yours probably did too. Bad hooch?” Dr. Anthony confessed, “I hadn’t thought of that. But no, Hopewell never reported to sickbay. And it’s not like we could have done bloodwork on the seaman. What with him never found.” The two doctors compared similar sailing experiences of sabotage and food spoilage. Anthony noted, “You found your saboteur and freezer damage. We weren’t so lucky. Best guess is someone ‘accidently’ left the freezer off then turned it back on. But off long enough for the food to spoil.”

Wilbur found Tony working beside the engineer Charly Sachs, tinkering on a generator. “Forget it, it’s fried!” They looked up at Wilbur expecting his analysis. [Mech Repair-000] “Don’t look at me; I’m just a photographer and chemist. Sounds like you’ve had a string of bad luck.” Wrong thing to say as they launched into blaming Starkweather for all their woes. “Both generators, one camp stove missing, most of our food spoiled. What else did your illustrious leader sabotage?” Wilbur rebuffed, “Accusations will get you nowhere. We blamed Acacia for all our sabotage. Till we caught the saboteur himself. The man worked for a 3^rd party who had written a note threatening ANYONE trying to sail to Antarctica. So, look harder within your own ranks. But don’t blame us as we came here to lend aid. I can’t promise anything but give me a list of what you desperately need, and I’ll check with my boss.”

At least now the air settled from hostilities. And Tony opened up about the sailing incident, “Bicks and I were friends. Comparing our times in good ole Virginia and in France during the Great War. Two days from Australia, sharing a bottle and conversation. Sharing our plans on this expedition. When suddenly, he ups and gives that ‘500-yard stare’ like you’d see soldiers in the war give when they’d lost it. Bicks turns a 360 left then 360 right, screams at the top of his voice, looked at me in horror, more looking thru me as if I wasn’t even there, then climbs the rail and is gone. Shit my pants I did. Gave up drinking…till we sailed from Australia.”

By now it was obvious to Oskar and Wilbur and the few Lexington camp members they’d spoken with that neither expedition had a chance to continue alone. “You’ve got the fuel and plane we need; we have the food and generators and equipment you need. If only we could convince those two shouting at each other to join teams for one expedition. But we can’t succeed if anyone holds a grudge against the other team. It only takes one man to sow chaos to doom us all. Evident by those 2 men who shot up your camp.” And that’s when all heard the final shouts, “Incompetent! I ought to take you over my knee.” Starkweather stormed out of Acacia’s hut, “Back to camp men. She They don’t want our help.” Tony spoke to no-one in particular, “Join forces. Ha. Wishful thinking. Might as well wish for palm trees and sunny beaches.”

Sykes stayed behind to help, “Take my sled too; I’ll be along on snowshoes in a few days.” For Wilbur and Oskar, it was a crestfallen mush back to camp. Thankful the freezing air forced silence from Starkweather.

10am: Back at camp and some warmth inside the tents sharing a bottle of Scotch with Prof Moore. And their realization both teams needed to join ranks. Moore spoke up, “You may be onto something. The rank and file love James. He’s capable. Acacia now, she’s the wild card. Leave the logistics to me to figure out a combined expedition. Meanwhile, we’ll be setting up another camp closer to Lake’s ’31 expedition site. I’ll need you on that flight for the initial excavation and investigation. You begin making necessary preparations while I figure out how to convince James…AFTER he calms down. Acacia does know how to rile the man. Not that it takes much. I’ve an idea how to keep James out of our hair for awhile.”

It was closer to suppertime before Moore discussed the matter with Starkweather. Argued. But soon Moore was on the phone to Acacia.

22 Nov: A dogsled team had left for the Lexington camp yesterday with supplies. Today Sykes returned with Ms. Lexington, guide Tuvinen, and filmmaker Priestly. A timely arrival considering Starkweather had departed by sled hours earlier on a little side-quest arranged by Professor Moore. Albert Priestly was already panning his hands framing the camp in anticipation of his filming, “I’ve never been here before. You’ve definitely come prepared. Impressive. We are a smaller crew only setup for a documentary. Yes, yes. This will work nicely.” If he had eyes on the back of his head, he would have seen Acacia rolling her eyes in anger. The implication SHE didn’t prepare adequately.

Moore leaned into Oskar and Wilbur, “If we can keep Acacia and James apart, this will work. Acacia will use the next camp as her documentary site. The ultimate understanding is, when we fly over the Miskatonic Mountains, she will be with us. She has agreed to let me be the one to tell James of the arrangement. God help us then.”

24 Nov: Thanksgiving. A combined feast as a gesture of good will. Ham, bacon, coffee, powdered eggs, pemican, and of course booze to wash it down. Good cheer, songs and music as the harmonicas and squeezeboxes came out. But of course, work still to be done. The Lexington crew, fuel, and supplies had already been transported. But another berm was needed to protect their plane the Bell. The next days kept the doctors busy dealing with frostbite, backaches, and smashed fingers. Opportunities for Dr. Anthony (under the guidance of Dr. Orendorf as the psychologist) to offhandedly psych-eval the members of the Lexington crew. At least the tension between the teams was low.

26 Nov: The weatherman Pierce Albemarle plotted his forecast, “Clear. No winds. The next 24-48 hours should be ideal for the next airlift.” The evening meal included an announcement from James, “Gentlemen and ladies, tomorrow I’m taking Fiscarson and his dogsled out to explore. Man against the elements. I’ll catch up with you in a few days. Till then, I understand Professor Moore has assigned a team to fly to the ’31 Miskatonic site to investigate. I wish you well and God speed.”

Wilbur crawled into his tent using the lantern to write his daily notes, “I’d forgotten the cold and frost. Such as trying to write… as soon as I breath, the paper is covered in a film of ice thru which the pencil will not bite. I have to defrost the paper first. Finally, we will be off accomplishing part of our planned expedition. Hopefully with success that makes all these days/weeks/months of labor worthwhile.” As he turned out the light, he now dealt with the dread of trying to crawl into his sleeping bag already hard as a board.

27 Nov, 3am: The steady winds helped drown out the roar of the Enderby (piloted by Ms. Maskill) as the plane slid down the icy runway with Starkweather, Sykes and his dogs and sled aboard. Destination: the Transantarctic Ridge for “a historic broadcast to the world.” Moore sat up in his tent with the self-satisfied look of his planted idea to keep James busy. I wonder if anyone felt poorly for the maintenance crew that had to get up at midnight to prep the plane?

10am: Wilbur woke to great relief…the temp was only -35 degrees. Two planes were readied for their exploration of the Lake camp. The Weddell (piloted by Doug Halperin) carried Moore, Oskar and Wilbur, Lopez and Packard. While the Bell (piloted by Kyle Williams) carried Acacia, Tuvinen, and Priestly along with his filming equipment. The initial investigative and documenting teams. Once the Enderby returned to camp, it would be loaded with the drilling equipment and flown to join them at the Lake camp.

The planes maintained about 2,000ft above the ground as they flew toward the documented camp location. Across the bumpy foothills as they slowly climbed per rise in terrain below. The pilots saw the mountains ahead rise like cones in the distance. To a non-flyer, almost at arm’s length. In actuality, they were still hours away. The planes climbed higher as they neared the mountains when the pilots turned for a broadside view for the passengers. “They’re almost slate black. Like they absorb all sunlight. I remember the expedition notes suspected volcanism present. That would explain the blackness.” And still they were another hour away.

A strange phenomenon appeared across the landscape. Fog that seemed to swallow the foothills making the mountains standout even more. They were enormous. “Lake’s expedition notes estimated them over 35,000 feet. Higher than Mount Everest.” By now the pilots noticed their compasses spinning, “We’ll have to fly by the sun.” As they reached the foothills, they began a zigzag search pattern looking for manmade angles. The Bell was the first to radio sighting. Landing approach encountered sudden strong crosswinds that slammed Wilbur against the bulkhead (CONsave-000). Once the planes came to a stop, Moore directed the unloading, “Gents, you know why we’re here. Let’s go find our boys.”

As Wilbur exited, he missed the last step and stumbled upon the snow. Tunnel-vision and lightheadedness. Oskar was quickly at his side, “You’ve got a nasty gash on your forehead. I thought I heard a loud bang before landing. Hold still as I shine my light. Follow my finger. How many am I holding up? Luckily no concussion but you’ll need stitches.”

With Sykes in charge, the teams quickly setup the tents using the supply crates as wind blocks. And with the first tent secured, Oskar stitched his patient and gave a shot while offering another shot of scotch. “Medicinal. Now get back to work.” Said with a smile.

The wind constantly swept down from the mountains carrying icy crystals that blanketed everything. Moore directed the search, “Lake’s camp should be south over there a few hundred yards. We’re looking for a plane, tents, huts and especially a lab, and regrettably bodies. Be professional out there.”

They trudged south about 300 yards toward the sighting by Acacia’s plane. Metal monoliths stood out from the snow. Black like the mountains they’d seen from the air. Till Oskar recognized, “Those are airplane wings! Different size and shapes so I’d guess 2 different planes.” Moore confirmed Lake actually had 5 planes for his expedition so reasonable at least 2 here. As they got closer, they realized the planes were in a long shallow grave. Tuvinen surmised, “I’d guess they dug for a lower fountain for their aircraft hangers. Better protection but a LOT of labor.” They saw small mounds in front and east of the hangers. And more mounds beyond.

They walked between the ‘hangers’ and began to recognize more mounts, “Look more like hummocks. Those must be their tents clustered together. But why that long string of hummocks? Tuvinen referenced his compass, “They seem to align true east toward the South Magnetic Pole. Maybe they tried to create a sundial or magnetic dial for those days when the compasses failed. Such as on our flight. Notice the teardrop shapes? Wind effect shapes the mounds. The ‘Lee’ side, or downwind side, will be lighter snow. The ‘windward’, or upwind side, will be ice.”

Oskar directed construction of their own tent first, “Medical needs. Remember we need to limit exposure time outside. Cycle on 2-man shifts.” Moore proudly stepped to the middle of the camp to plant the S&M Expedition flag. Except he gagged at a disgusting new smell. So, he moved the flag without repeat of the smell.  Later, per his own Winter-Survival skills, Wilbur pointed to the clustered mounds, “Sleeping tents arranged to provide wind protection for some. Let’s start at the northeast corner and work from there.” Oskar added, “We need to take precautions in case it is a contaminated site. Could have been biological.” Moore excused himself, “I’ll organize the next team. Be back in a few hours. Or call me sooner if you find anything.”

Oskar and Wilbur swung their shovels on the windward side and hit solid ice barely inches beneath the snow. Which got them to their knees chiseling. Priestly stood over them filming, “Faster going if you had a chainsaw or flamethrower.” Oskar made the snide remark first, “Brilliant. Why don’t you go find one?” It was a slow, methodical chore as they alternated from kneeling to overhead standing-swing. Grateful the wind at their backs so their faces and facial hair didn’t freeze. Soon they recognized the dark canvass shape of a tent. As they peeled off enough ice, the tent actually began to rise. [The weight of the snow and ice had held it down for years.] While Wilbur wanted to cut thru the canvass, Oskar reasoned, “You’ll expose the insides to the wind. Remember, could be biological. Let’s just crawl thru the flap.”

Flashlights in hand, they quickly surmised this the larder tent. Smashed boxes and cans either crushed or ripped open; some with puncture holes. And dozens of kitchen matchboxes scattered across the floor but no matchsticks. Strange! Wilbur spoke up, “Possible madman rampaged. Or animal. Not that I know of anything other than seals and penguins. Never heard of a polar bear sighting. I’ll check the cans to see if any tuffs of hair or flesh snagged on the jagged holes or edges.” Oskar made his own observations, “Notice all the contents just dumped? The canned meat left alone, the sugar and flour dumped? Like a mindless effort. Where’s the salt? Match heads are made of saltpeter. Maybe whatever did this craved salt.”

8pm: The roar of the plane engines on takeoff roll reminded them much lie ahead. It was late and getting later. It had been a long day as they drug back into camp. Knees frozen from kneeling on the ice. Hands numb from chiseling hours on end. A quick dinner then off to bed. Struggling getting into their frozen sleeping bags. Soon they were fast asleep and snoring. Loud enough to match the winds outside.

28 Nov: They awoke for breakfast learning another team had found Lake’s bore cave. And the planes were to arrive soon with the drilling equipment. Wilbur had dreamed of Lake’s site and his notes displayed at the Miskatonic University museum. Notes he had copies of. And began reading. “I was wrong. On Jan 26^th, 1932, Dyer made notes how his crew buried the bodies of Lake’s team. We won’t find them inside the tents. Makes more sense they buried them in a line like we saw aligned to the magnetic pole. Maybe as tribute to their South Pole efforts. If only Dyer were around to ask.”

Once more the investigative team trudged to the Lake camp. With Priestly filming, they all pitched in to dig up the western most mound of the line. Soon their metal shovels struck stone. And more stone. Moore stepped forward, “Stop! See the arrangement, a cairn. Get the body bags ready.” They all paused and made the sign-of-the-cross before individually removing the stones one-by-one. Starting with the centerpiece made of limestone. Strange how the limestone cap had a star-shaped pattern in its center.

Instead of a horizontal grave, this was a vertical shaft with a shape inside that seemed to be standing. Moore disappointed till he realized, “This must be it! One of Lake’s find.” They erected a tripod over the hole with rope to hoist the thing up. Excitement filled their thoughts and remarks. Priestly moved around to get the best camera-shot. His eyepiece too restricting to recognize the form. Screams of fright from others around him forced him to lift his eye to view for himself. He dropped his camera as he too added to the howling. [Sanity loss]

Acacia Lexington	Oskar Orendorf
Specimen	Manta Ray

Moore had steeled himself for the find as he had read the expedition records. A barrel-shaped body over 6ft in height, with membranous folded wings, eyeballs on the ends of…trunks? Three arms that looked more like tree roots. Five triangular footpads. Moore was transfixed with excitement of the find. He did not realize…Acacia was bent over puking her guts out alternating between gasping for breath and screaming with fright. Oskar too [failed Sanity: 5-point loss] was frozen in fear as his volume the loudest. But there beside the professor stood Wilbur, “I heard of giant manta rays captured in fishing nets. But this ain’t no manta! Why did Dr. Lake name these things the ‘elder ones’?”

Next episode: https://rigglebmm.blogspot.com/2020/12/s10-uncovering-cots-and-plots.html