A Core from Summer

[SFX: Ice drill. Plastic bag crinkle]

NARRATOR: Kira analyzed shards from the bloody floor. Air bubbles inside contained modern exhaust, proving the core had formed recently near the station generator. Someone froze surface water in a mold, painted it with Pavel's blood, and used it to contaminate the room.

JONAH REE: Pavel donated blood for medical tests yesterday. One vial is missing.

MATEO RUSK: Medical storage is Jonah's responsibility.

JONAH REE: Your master key opens it.

NARRATOR: Vik recovered the sled route from motor memory. Before the crevasse, it had stopped at the atmospheric tower. Beneath that tower they found Pavel's broken glasses and a recorder sealed in snow.

[SFX: Recorder click. Microphone wind]

PAVEL'S RECORDING: The core is from summer melt. Mateo knows. If sample B-19 reaches review, Borealis closes.

NARRATOR: The recording ended with a door alarm, not wind. Pavel had spoken indoors, and someone later placed the recorder outside.

KIRA SOL: Every exterior door logs pressure loss. None opened when this was recorded.

EDA LIN: Then the alarm came from cold storage.