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| Illustration for "ANTARCTICA." Created by the author. Copyright © 2011-2025 Stephen J. Williams. |
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| Episode may contain the following warnings: |
“All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical figures, are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are entirely fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the entirely fictional nature of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
[1] A little extra warning: This episode contains mild descriptions of violence, death and supernatural/paranormal activities.
[2] The original Title for this episode was: ‘THE ICE GHOSTS.’
[3] A ‘Temporal Detectives’ original story.
[4] There is No 'ALEXANDRA' series adult extended version available currently.
[5] "ANTARCTICA.” This episode, was conceived and written by the author. Copyright © 2011-2025 Stephen Williams. No reproduction of any part without written permission. The episode illustration is an original drawing created by the author. It is copyright ©2011 - 2025 Stephen Williams. No reproduction of any part without written permission.
[6] For background information regarding Antarctica please check out the 'WIKIPEDIA' entry HERE.
Episode details:
Concept date: 5th June 2025.
First published: Not available
Status: IN DEVELOPMENT & UNPUBLISHED.
Location: BOOK SERIES 0 – EPISODE 0.
Revisions: 0 [last revised unknown.]
Version: Working Draft Copy
Published Episode No. 00
Previous episode: NONE
Next episode: NONE
Age recommendation: 15+
Average reading time: Approximately 60 Minutes.
Angel-in-charge: Margret
Team Assigned: Team 74
Mission: 0 - 801549 - 6 – 1975
Episode Preview:
1. “SHACKLETON RESEARCH STATIION, ANTARCTICA” Saturday 5th July 1975. [Part 1]
Big Steve leaned forward and stared hard at his screen, then cussed which drew Rose’s attention back to him. “What is it? Discovered that bloody ‘Instant Ramen’ or whatever it’s bloody called, really is crap?” The young woman chuckled, nibbling on a cheese and ham sandwich that the chief sent up from the kitchen before closing for the night. Her feet were up on the counter; the white socks quite bright. Ms Rose McGovern was the station’s junior Geologist but tonight she had drawn Control Room duty with ‘Big’ Steve Cullman whose real job at the station was being the Biologist. He placed down his bowel of instant noodles that he had splashed with ‘Lea & Perrin’s sauce’, leaving the small spoon in and shook his head; “That bloody weather forecaster couldn’t predict a dump in the middle of a dysentery outbreak!” He stared hard at his screen: it was obvious that a big storm was moving in from the Southern Sea. Steve gestured to the screen; “How the fuck could he miss that building up!” and leaned back; a little surprised and somewhat disappointed in the stations new forecaster.
Rose sighed – and then somewhat sarcastically – replied; “Didn’t you get the secret memo? You know the one saying that the new forecaster was working under an alias and is actually a secret agent from Military Intelligence, to prevent our secrets being stolen by the bloody Russians or is it the sodding Chinese this week!” Now Steve had to smile; it was obvious that the new weather forecaster couldn’t tell a storm front from the front of a bus. The rumour was that he was here undercover, ready to foil any plots dreamed up the pesky Russians or inscrutable Chinese! What – exactly – those plots could be was anyone’s guess: Antarctica was subject to one of the few ratified international agreements that had actually worked. It appeared that countries were holding to their obligations under the Antarctic Treaty.
[Note: The Antarctic Treaty is an agreement that applies to the entire region south of 60° South Latitude. It reserves the entire continent for peaceful purposes and scientific research, and effectively stops nations from making territorial claims or from exploiting Antarctic resources. The treaty was negotiated by 12 countries in 1959: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, UK, USA and USSR. The treaty also declares the continent as the world’s first nuclear weapon-free zone and deals with the issue of territorial claims in an innovative manner. It is the only continent never to have a war fought on it!]
Steve leaned forward again and snatched up the phone and dialled 7: the number of the Station’s Acting Director; Professor John Hilliard and was muttering to himself about ‘the useless bastard’ dossed in the weather centre of Station Shackleton. Rose jumped from her chair and answered the local radio; it was from the ‘Mouse Team’ who was locking down the station for the night. She thanked Norman [tonight’s Head Mouse] and said he should bring the walkie-talkies back to the control room at his earliest connivance; they would need charging for dayshift tomorrow. She could hear Norman chuckling and she knew why; he could overhear the conversion between big Steve and the Stations acting Director! Steve placed the phone down and sighed, folding his arms like a petulant child; “I can’t believe he defended the useless bastard and now we have to sit a fucking storm out with little preparation. I mean, we have to call up the ‘Polar Queen’ and tell Mac and Ramsay what lovely surprises they are about to sodding receive!”
Rose finished her sandwich and patted his arm; “Now, now big boy, I’m sure Mac and Ramsey have enough ice-time to sit out a storm; besides the ‘Polar Queen’ is built for such weather. The buggers will sit with their feet up, eating soup from their 'Thermos' flasks and reading dirty magazines.” She jumped from her seat; “I’ll put the kettle on. A nice cup of tea will wash down that Japanese crap you’ve been stuffing in.” Steve grunted his thanks at that and eased his shabby boots onto the desk and stared at the small radar screen. He leaned forward and slapped the side of the scanner a couple of times. “Christ! Now the sodding scanner is on the blink! Look at this; it’s showing six or seven objects in the Ross Sea; who would visit here in sodding winter, popping up unannounced like that bloody storm? Rose peered over his shoulder and was about to comment when the big radio went off: it was McMurdo calling and she quickly grabbed up the phone and answered. The call was very interesting to say the least and answered the question about the objects in the Ross Sea. It also created a hundred more which the American operator didn’t answer.
Steve rubbed his chin – a little amazed – as Rose called the stations acting Director: again! “A bloody aircraft carrier! What in the name of God’s trousers is a bloody big Yank carrier doing down here? That ship is nuclear powered and shouldn’t be anywhere near bloody Antarctica! Terrific place to send it: I mean down south in the middle of winter with a big sodding storm about to roll over everything!”
Rose – waiting for the director to answer – shrugged her shoulders; “Maybe its part of some war exercises or something, you know because the Russians have been creeping around here.……I mean that skipper of the supply boat swore blind that his men kept seeing periscopes, they reckon they were being followed…..” She never finished because she was talking to John Hilliard, explaining about the American fleet popping up un-announced in the Ross Sea. That’s when Steve answered the radio; it was the ‘Sno-Cat’ Polar Queen calling. He shouted his hellos over the bad static [probably caused by the incoming storm] and suddenly fell silent as McKenzie Roberts [Big Mac] was shouting through the static. Steve stood in silence; it appears that Mac and Graham Ramsey had pulled the big ‘Sno-Cat’ up some yards from a ship wreck which had emerged from the snow and ice! Mac stated this was the same route they used a week ago to reach McMurdo Station and the bloody thing wasn’t there then! Mac further stated – his voice disappearing amongst the static upon occasion – that they could read the name: it was the ‘SS Augustus’ and according to the stern its home port was bloody Southampton. Then contact was lost and Steve cussed strongly causing a rare ‘tut-tut’ from Rose, who called the Director for a third time, muttering that the professor will be really happy about this with lots of sarcasm in her voice.
Steve tried calling up the Polar Queen a couple of more times, without success, then replaced the receiver. He didn’t look happy; “Do you know Rose my girl, that I’ve heard that name before. Yes, I think I read about a ship called the SS Augustus in one of the old books in the station library. It was wrecked or rather lost just before the bloody first war, around 1912 or 1913. No I think it was the year that the war started: 1914. The big mystery being that no bugger knew what the hell it was doing in Antarctic waters! I mean – apparently – it was under contract to an Argentinean meat company and was supposed to be on its way to the Port of Buenos Aires with a load of ice-cream and then return to England with frozen beef. It never made Buenos Aires and suddenly sent out a ‘mayday’ giving it's position in the sodding Ross Sea! Searchers found nothing: no trace of the wreck or any survivors. It was just one story amongst many about ships lost around here and it only stuck in my memory because of its name: Augustus, which was the name of the spaniel my parents had when I was a boy.” He folded his arms adding; “I loved that bleeding old dog!”
Rose sighed heavily stating that the director was on his way to the control cabin and he wasn’t a happy man. That’s when the main radio went again; it was Solomon calling from McMurdo and Steve answered it whilst Rose put the kettle on as Norman appeared through he door carrying four ‘walkie-talkies’. He slapped them on the counter and pulled back his hood, grinning; “All done ladies and gentlemen! I’ve let Larry and Sir Olivier [a crew member with the name Laurence Olivier whose namesake was a huge film star!] bugger off. The place is locked down tighter than Big Steve’s wallet.” That made Rose chuckle; Steve did have a bit of a reputation for keeping money well hidden in his purse. Yes, a purse, not a wallet! And she offered Norman a cup of tea which he reluctantly refused; he was setting up the film projector in the big conference room: his brother had sent a large package of 8mm films and Norman was having a film night for his colleagues. He knew it would be well anticipated and the place would be packed; especially since half the films were Laurel & Hardy and Charlie Chaplin.
Rose placed the ‘walkie-talkies’ on charge and asked Norman if had heard about the wrecked ship: the SS Augustus. Norman nodded and basically repeated what Steve had said earlier: it appears he had read the same old bleeding book in the station library! But like Steve and Rose, he was concerned about Mac and Ramsay; stuck out on the ice in the middle of a big winter storm. He was happy that the pair was in the ‘Polar Queen’ – a modern ‘Sno-Cat’ - with excellent crew facilities and not in one of the older ‘Tractor’ units.
Their attention was drawn to Steve – cussing loudly – and they both chuckled with Rose asking ‘what’s bleeding wrong now?’ Steve didn’t smile; “Sol [Solomon] has just told me that we’re getting sodding visitors, coming in from that bloody big Yank carrier by helicopter. ETA in about half an hour; their some kind of experts – he didn’t say what bloody in – but their British, well the professor is and his assistant. The other scientist is a Yank from Boston College and here’s the best part: they have a colonel and some Navy Seals with them! Oh, they also have an Italian woman with them; some kind of doctor apparently whose a real stunner. But here’s the really incredible bit; their mission – whatever it is – was authorized by the bloody president!”
Norman looked a little confused; “What bloody president? Did he mean our Prime Minister; old Harold?” Steve shook his head, “No, he means the bloody President of the good old US of A!”
[Note: In 1975, Harold Wilson was the
British Prime Minister. He held the position from 1974 to 1976, and was
succeeded by James Callaghan. Mr. Wilson died in 1995. The current President of
the USA was Gerald R. Ford who had succeeded the ‘tainted’ Richard Nixon who
resigned after the ‘Watergate’ scandal!]
Norman sighed – he practically knew that the film show would be off now – he and Larry would have to take the ‘Polar Prince’ out to the Helicopter pad and relay the visitors back to the station. He now accepted that offer of tea from Rose who filled the tea pot and then the kettle again. Steve tried calling the ‘Polar Queen’ again but received nothing but static in reply. Norman stared at the big clock on the wall; “Well, whatever happens, the clock is ticking and that storm will not – I repeat – will not wait for us.”
The acting station director stumbled through the door, scratching his grey beard: he looked like he had just fallen out of bed and fell into his clothes. But no-one commented on his dishevelled appearance: the professor always looked like that! He asked Rose for tea and Steve ‘what the fucking hell was going on!’
That’s when the local radio came to life: it was a Yank pilot telling ‘Shackleton’ that he was inbound with seven personal for the station from the USS- Enterprise (CVN-65) currently at station in the Ross Sea with her escorts. Steve acknowledged the call and turned to Hilliard who scratched his beard and nodded at the now unsmiling Norman; saying he best get the ‘Polar Prince’ up and running. He wanted a full situation report on his crew members stuck on the ice in the Polar Queen and what the fuck was all this crap about a bloody ghost ship appearing from the ice!
End of Preview.
Copyright © 2011-2025 Stephen Williams. No reproduction of any part without permission.