The navy captain realized right away that something was wrong. The radio antenna was 12 meters high but no one caught a glimpse of it before the weather station itself came into view. There was no smoke coming from the chimney, the windows were completely fogged over, and the front door was half open.
"I fear the worst," he thought.
He raised his hand and stopped the group. He went over to the soldiers and gave them orders.
"...meanwhile, you two wait here until I give you the order.
"What's going on, captain? the professor asked.
"That is what I'm about to find out. You stay here with your people and don't get in the way. Understood?"
"Understood", the professor grumbled.
The worried members of his expedition watched as the captain and the soldiers readied themselves to carry out a full-scale assault. They split up in three groups and surrounded the station, which occupied about 100 square meters. The soldiers took up positions by the front door, the entrance to the garage they found in back and on one side where there was a large window. They tried to look inside, but saw nothing. The captain, pistol in hand, peeked inside the open door, and quickly pulled his head back. He signaled to the soldiers to get behind him so they could cover him, opened the door all the way and promptly slipped, his back grazing the wall.
His heart pounded and his breathing sped up.
"Forward," he whispered.
The two soldiers went in and positioned themselves to one side of a desk next to an overturned chair. The station appeared to be abandoned.
He ordered them to advance with his hand.
"Carefully," he whispered again.
Meanwhile, the other soldiers came in through the rear and began to search the bedrooms.
"My God," they exclaimed while they moved forward.
"All clear!" the captain announced.
"You have to see what we found in the bedrooms," one of the soldiers said.
"I don't think it'll be necessary. I suspect it will be very much like what we found in the lab and radio room. Go outside and tell everyone they can come in but warn them they must keep still and not touch anything. Or at least not until we clear up what happened here, anyway.”