Chapter Text
Men go out into the void spaces of the world for various reasons. Some are actuated simply by a love of adventure, some have a keen thirst for scientific knowledge, and others are drawn away from the trodden paths by the "lur of little voices," the mysterious fascination of the unknown. - Ernest Shackleton, The Heart of the Antarctic
Part One - Southbound
PIERS
March 5th, 3:47 pm
Piers leaned his temple against the frigid glass of the airplane window. His eyes were locked on the small tendrils of ice creeping their way between the layers of insulated glass, a testament to just how cold the air outside really was. He felt his eyes drifting closed, his exhaustion evident after their long day of travels, but he had no concept of time anymore. All he saw was a sliver of sunlight on the horizon, and it had been like that for hours.
He often questioned his life choices, wondered how he got himself into these types of situations, and this one might have been the most baffling of all.
He stretched the muscles in his back, stiff from being sat in the same position too long, and it prompted Chris to look up at him from the seat across and raise an eyebrow.
"You good?"
Piers laughed as he leaned his head against the window again. "That's a loaded question with a complicated answer."
Nothing in Piers' life was simple, and this current excursion was no exception.
On the tenth of January, communication with the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station had been lost. The radio silence between the station and mission control was deafening, as if they'd all just vanished. It took mere days for an investigation to be launched and a team arrived on site for a welfare check, but instead of getting answers what they found only left them with more questions.
Infected. Everyone.
This was flagged as a major risk from the BSAA, because how did an unknown virus make it's way to the South Pole and infect one of the most isolated labs in the world?
They sent in the military to clean up, the corpses of those infected were stored in the underground facility beneath the station. Because frankly? They were in over their heads.
They had no idea what they were dealing with. A T virus? C virus? Something else entirely? They had strict instructions that no corpses were to leave the continent, let alone the station, or it risked a global outbreak on an unprecedented scale.
That's where Piers came in.
A biomedical scientist with field experience working with the BSAA? He should have expected he would be receiving a call.
"We're putting together a small team," a nameless higher up had explained to him over the phone. "Highly trained individuals with their own special skill sets to contribute to the research of the disease that compromised the station at the South Pole. We want you there by the beginning of March, and we want you out as quickly as it can be managed, but the latest we are looking at is the start of May, before the polar night sets in."
Piers pursed his lips at that, but he didn't respond.
"Can we count on you, Dr. Nivans?"
He would have been a fool to say no. The opportunity to conduct research at the South Pole was once in a lifetime, and the boost it could give his career was nothing to stick his nose up at. But there were risks, a lot of them. And he had to be sure that it's worth it.
"I have questions," he said matter-of-factly.
"Of course."
"This team that you are putting together, I want to know who is on it. I don't want maybes, I want to know for sure who I would be spending the next eight weeks with in the most isolated place in the world."
"Like we said, we want to keep the team small. Elite. Five would have been the perfect number, but you are our fifth and final phone call. Only three others agreed."
That piqued Piers' interest. "And who are the other three?"
There was a slight pause, and he could hear the rustling of papers on the other side of the line. "The three other members are as follows: Chris Redfield, BSAA operative; Jake Muller, an epidemiologist with strong ties to the BSAA; and Leon Kennedy, DSO Agent."
Piers wanted to laugh, he'd never heard of a more ridiculous lineup of people in his life.
"This is going to be a disaster-" But he stopped himself before continuing. Oh, he was certainly familiar with the other three operatives, probably too familiar, but they didn't need to know that. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "All alphas too? Was that one on purpose?"
"Yes, it was."
"Fuck me," he muttered under his breath.
"Listen, Dr. Nivans-" The person on the other side of the line was either getting impatient, or worried about Piers' incoming refusal. "The higher ups wouldn't have considered this group if they weren't sure that we would get results. And you would be rewarded handsomely for your time."
That made Piers pause.
No, he wasn't a greedy man, he was more than happy with what he had, but he would be lying that being compensated by the BSAA didn't sound appealing.
"What kind of compensation are we talking?"
There was silence on the other end of the line, and Piers thought maybe he had overstepped, but his mobile phone pinged from where it sat on the desk in front of him. A message from an unknown number.
He opened it and he made a small sound in the back oh his throat. "This a serious offer?"
"Dead serious, orders from on high themselves."
Ten million, each, if they were able to get to the bottom of the virus in the south pole.
Piers laughed to himself, rubbing his thumb and forefinger against his eyes as he sank down in his seat, landline phone still held to his ear.
"Do we have a deal, Dr. Nivans?"
He gnawed on his thumbnail, a bad habit that he couldn't seem to shake, but he exhaled and straightened up in his chair.
Eight weeks in the most remote place on earth, with three people that he had severely complex relationships with. What could possibly go wrong?
"Dr. Nivans?"
He coughed slightly, shoving away the bad feeling that stuck in his gut.
"So when do we leave?"
—
The landing at Amundsen-Scott Station was smoother than Piers had imagined it. They touched down on the ice and immediately suited up into their gear: down coats and balaclavas that wrapped around their faces, goggles to shield their eyes from the blistering cold snow.
"What's the temperature out there?" Leon asked as he zipped up his black coat, the fur-rimmed hood flopping over his eyes as he pulled it up.
"Negative fifty? Thereabouts," Chris muttered as he made his way to the exit door.
"Christ."
Jake pushed forward to follow behind Chris who was working the door handle. "Well, lets not stick around outside long enough to feel it, yeah?"
There was no ground crew waiting for them when they landed, so everything they had brought with them they were going to have to get to the station themselves. It wasn't far, the building was within sight even with the darkness that was settling over the land, but that didn't change the fact that they had too many supplies to move by hand.
Chris jumped from the open door to the snowy ground, his boots crunching on the ice beneath his feet.
"Where are the tunnels?" Chris asked to no one in particular.
Piers left the aircraft next, landing behind Chris as he took in what he could from the scenery around them. He remembered the map that he had been studying on the way here, and they were going to have to make an educated guess. He pointed to just to the right of the station silhouette in front of them. "It should be somewhere in that direction, if the map I was given was accurate."
Chris only nodded before calling over his shoulder. "Leon! Grab the rest of your gear. We're going on a little adventure."
Jake and Piers were here as scientists trying to eradicate a deadly outbreak before it started, and doing that meant that they were going to need protection in the event that anything went wrong; it didn't matter that the two of them were highly trained soldiers, they were here to study the virus, that was all. And that is where Chris and Leon fit into the equation.
Leon tossed Chris his rifle and he caught it with ease. He studied it in his gloved hands for a few moments before slinging it over his shoulder. "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Leon sighed as he followed Chris' lead.
"We'll wait here with the plane for you guys to get back," Piers said to the two of them. "Hopefully finding some working machinery in this place wont be too much trouble."
"Yeah, if it even runs," Jake snickered under his breath from where he was hanging halfway out of the airplane door. He was right, unfortunately. Most of the machinery had been left out here in the cold for weeks with no maintenance, if they couldn't get it working they were going to have to carry everything by hand.
The two of them set off for the abandoned station and Piers watched them leave with baited breath. They disappeared into the darkness and he turned to look at the horizon which was still faintly illuminated by the light of the sun. He took in the view, and God it was spectacular. Even though they were stuck in a permanent twilight, he imagined that it was one of the most breathtaking sights he'd ever seen.
Jake made a sound from behind him as he moved to sit down in the doorway of the aircraft, his long legs dangling below.
"And now we wait."
CHRIS
March 5th, 4:24 pm
If someone would have told Chris that he would find himself the furthest most South that you could go in the world three weeks ago, he would have said that they were fucking crazy.
Yet here he was.
It didn't really even cross his mind to refuse the summons, even though he technically could have. There was a job that needed to be done, and who better for it?
It also didn't hurt to know that Leon was coming, he definitely didn't happen to stumble onto that very confidential information ahead of time.
Oh well, none of that mattered now.
He had been sworn under extreme secrecy to the government: no one was to know about his upcoming mission South, and that included his boyfriend.
Piers didn't pry for information about Chris' work. Piers didn't work for the BSAA anymore, but he knew damn well how secretive they were. It wasn't uncommon for Chris to be plucked up at the drop of a hat and disappear for weeks at a time, and Piers never questioned it. But not even an hour after he got the call from BSAA he got a call from Piers.
"So, what's this I hear about you going South?"
Chris laughed under his breath at the memory, and that made Leon look back at him.
"Something funny?" Leon said as they walked in unison over the snow.
Chris couldn't get a good read on Leon, he never could. For an alpha he had absolutely no scent, so much so that Chris had asked him multiple times if he was certain he wasn't actually a beta, and that earned him the silent treatment from the other for quite some time. Chris just couldn't understand it, why would he be suppressing his scent? In their line of work it could be used for intimidation tactics in the field, or you could get scent blockers if you needed to be stealthy, but not once in their years of working together had he ever smelt Leon's pheromones, and it was always throwing him off. He didn't like not being able to tell what Leon's scent was.
Chris shook his head. "I forgot how much a hard ass you were sometimes."
"I can't believe you would ever forget."
The comment made Chris laugh even more. "So, what are we looking for?"
"These giant metal tubes sticking halfway out of the ground, best way I can describe them. They go underneath the ground but they should come out somewhere right about.." He stopped in his tracks and put his hand up in Chris' way before pointing to the dark silhouette of an archway in front of them. "Bingo."
The closer they got to the front of the large pipe the slower they moved, Leon lifted a gloved finger to his lips as he approached the shutter that was covering it. He pressed the button next to it, and nothing happened.
"Well, that's just great," Chris muttered as he looked around for another way in. There was a window above one of the doors, the glass looked thick but if they were lucky they might be able to break it.
"Can I boost you?" Chris questioned as he motioned to the window, Leon shook his head and shrugged.
"What the hell, why not?"
It was difficult with nothing for him to jump onto, so he had to get himself onto Chris' shoulders and aim the butt of his rifled for the bottom corner of the window. Chris heard the shattering of glass and watched as it fell to the ground in front of him and landed in the snow.
"You gonna be able to get in there without slicing yourself up?"
Leon didn't answer, he simply pushed himself through the window and Chris heard a faint thud on the other side. "You okay?" He shouted through the shutter, but he didn't hear a response. "Leon?"
He heard the sound of metal grinding, and the next thing he knew the shutter was being raised. Leon slowly came back into focus, pulling on the chain that controlled the door.
"Good shit," Chris smiled as he ducked beneath the shutter, desperate to get out of the harsh elements as quickly as he could. He flicked on the flashlight that he had tucked into his pocket and he gave the room a once over. It was certainly some kind of workshop, a garage maybe? All sorts of different machines were lined up inside, with the forklift that they so desperately needed parked at the front.
"What are the chances of this thing having the keys in it?" Leon said as he approached the vehicle.
"Eh," Chris shrugged, "Slim to none."
Leon opened the door and sat down in the seat, he was poking around inside for a moment before the forks on the front moved.
"I'll be damned," Chris said as he crossed his arms. "I can't believe it still works."
"We got lucky, for once," Leon said as he jumped down from the seat. "Anyway, have fun. I'm not driving."
"Why do I have to drive?"
"Do you really want me behind the wheel of that thing, Chris?"
He cocked his head to the side in silent agreement as he climbed into the seat, familiarizing himself with the controls as he looked for the route out of the tunnel.
"Hop onto the back, so you don't have to walk." Leon did so without argument, looping his fingers onto the metal frame as they started to move forward. "Don't fall off, Piers will fucking kill me if you get ran over by this thing."
Leon laughed, "I think Piers might give you a gold fucking star if you somehow manage to get me out of his hair on this mission."
Chris tried to laugh, but all that came out was a pathetic noise.
Because what Leon wasn't aware of was that Piers Nivans was in love with him. Both of them were.