The morning passed in a blur for Diego. First, they skipped the morning physical training session to immediately begin packing. They were rushed through breakfast. Then sent forced to empty their duffel bags in formation and hold up each item on the packing list as it was called out by Sergeant Erica Spencer. When someone in the group didn't have that item (a frequent occurence), an effort would then be made to either find or replace the item. Afterwards, they repacked their bags and loaded them into a large plastic tote, which was sealed with ratchet straps.

Before ten in the morning, they were ready to depart. Centurion Dombroski made a farewell tour, trading jokes with everyone. Diego eavesdropped on the various interactions. Ski presented a takeout menu to Srinivas, calling it a memento of better food options. The Indian man's mannerism, deflated since the events of the previous day, improved momentarily as he quipped back that when he was in charge, he made sure his subordinate received quality food for lunch every day. Diego didn't quite know what to make out of the insinuation that Ski used to work for Srinivas before the EDA. He had trouble imagining the large and in-charge Centurion being anything less than a superpowered commando.

To Fred Whittaker, Ski commented about the wisdom of coming out of retirement for an extended deployment to the arctic. Fred had laughed and said he would go absolutely anywhere and do absolutely anything to stay away from his wife, which started a round of bantering that drew in a bunch of other people. When that started to die down, Ski had called over to Sean McGreary that if he was worried about being lonely, they could send Greg Smith along with the training team. That led to Sean sarcastically pretending he would miss Greg, pointing out all of the man's annoyances as if they were part of his charm.

The whole time, Diego wondered what the Centurion would say to him. Hopefully not a strip club joke. Diego hated that everyone acted as though going there had been his idea. He made one lousey comment about how he hadn't seen a woman for months and the guys had come up with the idea for the field trip so fast Diego suspected he was just an excuse to go out. As Ski caught his eye, he smiled. "Diego, I hope the North Pole is an improvement over the Angelship and the detention facility. Everyone has noticed that you've been shaping up into a good soldier. Take advantage of the isolation to hone your skills and you will come out of this situation set for life." Diego felt his cheeks go red as everyone looked towards him, some giving him nods of approval.

Then Ski disappeared to chat with Sam and the Imperator for fifteen minutes while the rest of the troops mingled. Diego spent most of that time watching Jess try to engage Srinivas in a conversation that the man obviously didn't feel like having. When the leaders returned, Imperator Cassandane had everyone stand around the cargo tote and then they lifted into the air. They started moving northeast and soon the city dwindled and vanished from view. The roar of the wind was loud enough to prevent conversation, so the trip passed mostly in boredom, once he had become inured to the excitement of their rapid pace. He used his corona to shield his face from the wind and warm his extremities while watching the ground zip past beneath them.

He finished his entire emergency ration kit before they reached their destination, which was probably for the best. Upon arrival, things became rushed and confused.

First, it was cold. Not 'maybe I should put on a jacket cold', more like 'I think I might lose a few toes' cold. Diego's teeth chattered so roughly he began to worry they might chip. His major concern very quickly became finding a way to be warm again. After their arrival, however, all the kinetics were too busy setting up their new home to warm up their coworkers. Sean McGreary and Srinivas Hariyani were in a similar condition as him.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Second, no one knew how to assemble the big tents. Fred Whittaker confidently exclaimed what needed to happen next every ten minutes or so, only to change his mind and mumble incoherently in confusion. When asked for a time estimate, he would only say 'soon' and explain that he hadn't needed to set up a military camp in several years. There were some aphorisms about riding a bike that Diego ignored.

Third, big boss lady Imperator Stateira Cassandane had decided to build a wall at the high and low ends of the valley and dig trenches for water drainage. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that the soldiers under her command were possibly freezing to death.

Fourth, Samantha wasn't doing a damn thing other than squatting on top of a rock to watch everyone else attempt to set up camp.

Finally, Diego stomped over to confront her. "Hey, Samantha, aren't you supposed to be the Ski of this group or something?"

The girl blinked at him a few times. "Do I look like I catch buildings and slaughter terrorists?"

"You're a centurion, right? You can take charge and make decisions and stuff. Right?"

She huffed. "Sure. What do you want?"

"To not die of hypothermia."

"You're a paragon, Diego. Warm yourself up."

The combination of cold-induced numbness and anger caused him to accidentally bite his tongue. "I've had super powers for like two weeks. If I try to warm myself up I'll probably microwave my innards." He pointed towards where a group of desperate soldiers attempted to assemble canvas and poles and ropes into a coherent whole. "Srinivas and Sean don't have the kinetic talent at all."

Samantha sighed. "So we all crowd into one of the plastic igloos and warm up for fifteen minutes?"

"That would be great. Like, the alternative is literally letting people freeze to death. I'm not exaggerating."

Looking annoyed, Samantha called the work detail back into one of the shelters and had Fred warm the place up. Very rapidly, Diego's exposed skin went from numb to pins-and-needles painful. He grit his teeth and tried to tell himself sensation was a good thing.

Sean was the first to speak. "What the hell are we doing in the arctic? This idea sounded stupid the first time I heard it, and it only gets worse over time."

No one seemed to want to respond, so Diego nodded at the old soldier to his side. "Fred, don't you usually disagree with anything Sean says?"

"Usually," Fred said.

"Please don't mutiny. I would feel terrible if Cassandane slaughtered everyone," Samantha muttered.

Silence blanketed the group for a time. Finally, Fred began to put his gloves back on. "We need to get camp set up. I've got plenty of natural insulation and I can warm myself up with the telotic talent. Sam, you should figure out work details for the others that keep them out of the weather."

Samantha sighed. "Srinivas, you're working food prep. Diego, you're the heat source for cooking. Sean will help Fred set up the tent while I try to keep him warm. Welcome to the north pole, everyone."