The Gamer: Battle Of The Ten Kings

Battle Of The Ten Kings

6th April, 2015

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Arthur Wilkins was seated at a computer in the operations room at the McMurdo Station. Besides him sat his new friend and radio technician, Jacobs. Arthur and Jacobs were part of the skeleton crew left behind for the Antarctican winter in America's main ice station.

The residents of the station had decided upon a specific time to try and establish communications with the 'outside world'. It had been ninety days since last contact with their superiors in the US. Radio communications, satellite communications, internet, everything was down. Everyday Arthur would sneak in an email to his sister Julia when trying to connect to the internet. Like always, the mail would never be sent though.

"Come in. Come in. This is McMurdo. Over." Jacobs spoke into the microphone.

"Broadcasting over a range of 1000 Khz frequency band. Anyone out there? I repeat. This is McMurdo station. Over."

All that came back was static.

"Sigh. We should shut this down. We are running out of fuel for the generators. We'll die from Hypothermia first before we die from hunger. I am going outside for a smoke. See if that foolish boy Zach has come back from the 'OB hill' with any news. Come find me if you get anything." Arthur said as he pushed his chair and went out.

On 'Day Zero', Zach had sighted a falling star from the 350 meters tall Observation Hill, OB hill for short, that stood towering over the McMurdo station. Since that day, he would go everyday to the top of the hill to observe the surrounding area of the continent in hopes of rescue from Antarctica, the cold prison that it was now.

The McMurdo station could house a staff of nearly 1200 residents, but it's current staff was about 250 people. Nearly all of whom were supposed to be changed in March before they were imprisoned by God himself. Residents of the nearby New Zealand station, 'Scott Base', were in the same situation as the residents of the McMurdo station. Trekkers from Arthur's station had taken many exploratory expeditions as far as they could.

Antarctica wasn't a bad prison. The twilight that they experienced in Antarctica was truly an invaluable and pleasurable experience, except for the cold. Antarctica experienced three kinds of twilight. Civil twilight that lasted from 31st March to about 5th April, Nautical twilight that lasted the longest for about 15 days and Astronomical twilight that lasted for another five days.

The Nautical twilight was just starting and the flag lines were already in place days ago. The flag lines are used to navigate outside the station during times of very low visibility. People couldn't communicate with the outside world and hence their work had been cut by half. Things like setting up flag lines, rationing of food, fuel, computer time, and repeatedly observing the climate and the sky had become the hobbies of people present. They did have their regular jobs to do of course, but they wouldn't be able to publish their findings in scientific journals unless they got out of Antarctica, which seemed very improbable to Arthur.

Arthur's job had changed from observing Animal life to being a therapist at the station. He knew everyone here. Zach was someone Arthur had taken under his wing whom he at that moment saw running  towards him as fast as he could in the wind and the snow along the flag lines.

"Arthur! Arthur! Three submarines just docked at the harbour!" Zach said running past Arthur towards the snowmobiles, binoculars dangling from his neck.