Part 2: "An Encounter"

In the dead of night, the lieutenant stands inside her tent, weapon in hand, facing off against these bizarre intruders.
She can't afford to lower her guard just because her opponents are a squirrel in an odd outfit and three penguins.
Buddy Fairchild: Whoa now! Easy there, missy. Mind pointin' that popgun o' yers, well, at any other place than at me? Round where I'm from, it ain't seen as good manners.
Buddy Fairchild: Also—though I ain't accusin'—the shootin' of these here defenseless penguins would be a vi-o-lation of animal welfare law!
Moldir allows the barrel to drop but keeps a firm grip.
Moldir: I appreciate your attempt to defuse the situation.
Moldir: But I don't take species into consideration when it comes to assessing threats.
Moldir: So you have one minute to explain who you are and what you're doing here.
Buddy Fairchild: Come on now. We ain't fixin' to do ya no harm!
Moldir doesn't budge. Her eyes flick to her watch.
Penguins: Wawk wawk wawk!
Buddy Fairchild: I know, I know, Jake. Keep yer britches on. I'm handlin' it!
Buddy Fairchild: So, uh, what was it ya wanted? Name and purpose? No trouble at all.
The squirrel raises a paw and points to each penguin in turn.
Buddy Fairchild: Ya got Fluffy Duke there, then we got Scarlet Titan, and ya already met Brother Jake. Just hopped off a plane from Miami, believe it or not—back in the ol' homeland ya see.
Then he points to himself with a tiny paw.
Buddy Fairchild: Oh, and I'm Buddy. Buddy Fairchild, if yer bein' proper. Squirrel arcanist from Florida in the good ol' US of A, and somethin' of what ya might call an "animal rights activist"!
Moldir tilts her head, trying to make sense of the bizarre situation.
Moldir: An animal rights activist ... So, what—you're here to protect the penguins?
Buddy Fairchild: Sure as grits is groceries. Someone's gotta look out for these fellas. So, whaddya say? Will ya do me a kindness and put that boomstick away?
Buddy Fairchild: Though, a word to the wise. There's a whole mess o' creeps prowlin' round out there in the snow.
Buddy Fairchild: All masked up and greasy as a fried egg. You caught us attemptin' to "exfiltrate the sit-chu-ation" as they say in the manuals.
Buddy Fairchild: Now, I was raised with manners, so I do apologize for bargin' in on ya. But time's almost up, and I said my piece. Ya still fixin' on sendin' us to our maker?
Moldir: Last question. How did you manage to sneak into my camp without making a sound?
Buddy Fairchild: Oh, it weren't no real trouble, seein' as we're just a handful o' penguins and a squirrel.
Buddy Fairchild: Not to put too much mustard on it, but … humans're always underestimatin' us animals. There's a whole lotta places you folks wouldn't think to look on this big ol' ice cube.
Buddy Fairchild: Cracks in the glaciers, hollow snow pockets, volcano vents ... that sorta thing. Give us a little wiggle room, and we can squeeze in juuust about anywhere.
Penguins: Wawk wawk!
Buddy Fairchild: Yeah, I hear ya, Jake. You'll have to pardon my pal's anxiety, missy. He ain't all that used to havin' a gun trained on him.
Buddy Fairchild: Oww, and now this ol' headache is poundin' somethin' fierce. Now where in the heck did that come from?
The lieutenant studies the snow where the creatures had emerged. Faint, narrow holes beneath the surface hint that the squirrel is telling the truth.
At last, she eases up and stows her weapon.
Moldir: Those "masked creeps" you mentioned you were evading, do you know if they're operating close to this area?
Buddy Fairchild: Hard to say.
Buddy Fairchild: What with all the shortcuts we been takin', I couldn't say for certain where we last caught sight of 'em.
Penguins: Wawk wawk wawk!
Buddy Fairchild: Pree-cisely, Duke. Now, we just came down off them glaciers over yonder, and climbin' 'em was a nightmare and a half. But if you can navigate the volcanic vents, I'd say ya could make it there in under half an hour.
The lieutenant looks over to the military map beside her. A few quick calculations are enough to pin down the area the squirrel is describing.
Moldir: If that's the place you mean ...
Buddy Fairchild: Hey, missy, I gotta say—
Moldir: Lieutenant. Lieutenant Moldir.
Buddy Fairchild: Heavens to Betsy, o' course! Shoulda known a lady o' yer caliber'd be an officer.
Buddy Fairchild: And a lieutenant, no less! Hah! I salute you! Now, uh ... I hate to interrupt whatever it is we're interruptin', but we could use a teeny-tiny bit o' help.
The squirrel clutches his head with both paws and gives it a shake.
Buddy Fairchild: Like maybe somethin' to fix this goshdarn headache o' mine?
Moldir: We don't carry veterinary meds in our field supplies.
Buddy Fairchild: Hey!
Moldir: Your body's too small. A human dose could be dangerous.
Buddy Fairchild: Oh.
Buddy Fairchild: I beg yer pardon, Lieutenant. Didn't mean to take ya for the uncharitable type.
The squirrel shifts awkwardly, suddenly embarrassed by the turn of events.
Moldir: Come with me. My team is resting, so please keep quiet.
Buddy Fairchild: Where we goin'?
Before he can wrap his head around things, the squirrel finds himself trailing behind the lieutenant, penguin friends in tow.
Moldir: Let me do a basic checkup. I've had some emergency medical training.
Buddy Fairchild: Why, that'd be mighty kind o' ya, Lieutenant. Ya know, yer the only halfway-decent human I met since settin' paw in Antarctica.
Moldir: I appreciate the compliment ... Have you run into many other humans out here?
Buddy Fairchild: Just those oily, masked-up whackadoos!
Moldir: ... You really shouldn't have come here.
Buddy Fairchild: Yer tellin' me! This place is colder 'n the look ya gave me when I barged in this place! Heh, sorry again 'bout that. But ... well, look at 'em—
He points a paw toward the Adélie penguins waddling behind him.
Buddy Fairchild: I can't abide cruelty, and keepin' these cute lil fellas locked up under the Miami sun? Well, that's cruelty in its purest form!
Buddy Fairchild: I tried askin' nice, but them folks at the Foundation'd just wag their chins and say, "We're aware," then sit on their bee-hinds and do squat all about it.
Buddy Fairchild: Well, fine, I guess they don't care, but I do! So, I did somethin' about it.
Moldir's steps slow, the crunching snow suddenly feeling heavy underfoot.
Moldir: Miami, the Foundation, a zoo, and a squirrel ...
Moldir: I feel like I've heard of you before.
Buddy Fairchild: I sure hope so! I didn't get my mug plastered on wanted posters in every zoo from Pensacola to Key Largo by flyin' under the radar.
Buddy Fairchild: Big ol' red X right through my face. Classy, ain't it?
The lieutenant can't help but smile at the vivid description.
But her expression changes when she notices the squirrel has stopped walking. His beady black eyes lock onto her, and an all-too-human panic creeps across his fuzzy little face.
Buddy Fairchild: Oh my stars! Lieutenant, yer face ... why's it leakin' black goo?!
Moldir freezes. Her hand instinctively moves toward her backup sidearm—the one she chambered a round in the moment she stepped onto Antarctic soil.