The Antarctic landscape stretched out before them, an untouched canvas of white broken only by the occasional rocky outcropping or distant mountain peak. The weather was surprisingly pleasant, with temperatures below freezing but not by as much as Jove had previously endured. A light snow fell from the gray sky, the flakes dancing in the gentle breeze.
He continued trading off the lead with Eve, feeling far more annoyed each time she passed him back than the situation called for. Ahead of them, the ice drone suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
Jove and Eve slowed their snowmobiles, exchanging curious glances as they approached the stationary machine. The drone's midriff turned across a 180-degree angle with silent focus, its sensors scanning the surrounding area. Kira and Aster caught up a minute later.
"What's going on, Andromeda?" asked Kira.
"A trio of ice drones will intercept our route if we continue on our current trajectory," said Andromeda.
Jove pulled down his scarf. "Can we wait them out?"
"Not in our current position. Were we to turn back, we could avoid them, but it is likely that they would still discover our tracks."
"What options do we have?" asked Kira.
"I could attempt to disable them on my own, but it's unlikely I would succeed without the element of surprise," said Andromeda. "A better approach might be to send them fabricated weather and terrain data to trick them into believing they've already surveyed our position."
"Will that work?" asked Aster.
"It has the highest probability of working, but I cannot say for sure," said Andromeda.
"That's an interesting way of phrasing it," muttered Eve. "How about you tell us the exact probability?"
"I anticipate a forty-seven percent chance of success," said Andromeda.
Nobody said anything for a few cold and quiet seconds.
"What happens if we fight?" asked Jove. "Our odds have to be better than that."
"It's possible that the ice drones once more have access to a satellite network, given our own connection has been restored," said Andromeda. "The true risk is in one of the drones informing the greater whole of their number of our existence and location."
"We wouldn't be able to destroy them fast enough," said Kira. "It looks like we don't have much choice here. Andromeda, send the false—"
"Hold on a second," said Aster. "I thought we all agreed that you weren't calling the shots like a dictator anymore, Kira."
"It's pronounced, director, actually." Kira folded her arms and eyed her children instead of Aster. "Feel free to take a vote if you'd like to waste the limited time we have before those drones show up and turn hostile."
"I think Andromeda's plan is the best one we're liable to come up with," said Jove. "Let's do it."
"Agreed," said Eve.
Jove shifted his weight on the snowmobile, trying to ignore the prickling sensation of sweat gathering beneath his layers. He glanced at his mother, her expression clouded and uneasy. Aster fidgeted with her gloves, while Eve sat unnaturally still, her gaze fixed on the horizon.
"The drones have accepted the false data," said Andromeda, her voice crackling through their headsets. "However, they are still proceeding in our direction."
"What does that mean?" asked Eve. "What are we supposed to do now?"
"Given that this area has already been surveyed, they may not use their HD cameras to verify the terrain," said Andromeda. "It is possible that we could hide from them in the snow."
"Possible?" Kira let out a sigh, sounding at the end of her patience. "Will this work, Andromeda?"
"It is the path forward with the highest probability of allowing us to remain undiscovered," said Andromeda. "I suggest hiding under the snow in that nearby drift."
She shifted at the waist and raised her drone arm to gesture to a nearby pile of snow. Kira led the way on her snowmobile, and they set about doing what they had to.
It was neither a quick nor comfortable process. The snow drift itself was quite large, but they needed all of it to help hide the snowmobiles and sleds, and even then, the cover wasn't as uniform as what would have been ideal.
Jove helped cover Aster while his mother helped Eve. It was akin to burying someone in the sand, though with far more gasping and wincing when the snow managed to sneak its way onto bare skin.
"Get all of me, darling," said Aster. She was flat on her back and smirked at the way her breasts rose above the layer of snow he'd already piled on.
"I don't plan on missing these." He glanced at his mother to make sure the coast was clear before stealing an indulgent grope of her breasts. "They'd give us away in an instant."
"Hey."
"That was a compliment, auntie dearest."
She quirked her mouth sideways as though still annoyed and leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on her mouth. Shoveling more snow, he buried all of her but her face, which wouldn't be visible unless the ice drones got close enough to see through the ruse anyway.
Kira had finished covering Eve, and Andromeda had already curled up in the snow bank. As the last two, they were stuck with the obvious problem of who buried whom.
"Lay down, Mom," he said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'll dig a hole in the snow next to you and just drop into it after and try to collapse it over myself."
She nodded, practical enough not to argue the small details. Jove repeated the same process he had with Aster and ran into the same problem, with his mother's endowments refusing to be easily concealed.
"Let me just give these a quick dusting with snow." He was a gentleman about it as he sprinkled powder onto her chest.
"That… might not be enough," she said, seeming embarrassed, but smiling with good humor.
"It's the material of your jacket. The snow won't stick."
He might have had another option other than placing his hands directly on her, but his evil mind refused to let him think of it. He didn't grope her outright, instead making increasing contact as he started piling the snow intentionally.
His fingers had to grip at one point to make sure the snow was sticking. The sensation of feeling her breasts, even through her jacket and the sweater she had underneath, was far too compelling for comfort. The little noise his mother made intrigued him beyond words, a quick breath like she was walking out into a cold lake.
"There we go," he said, softly. "Is that good?"
"Perfect." Kira gave him an embarrassed smile, cheeks flushed from the cold, or perhaps something else. "Quick. You still have to get next to me."
He did, and it wasn't hard to cover most of himself, though trying to bury his last arm using that same arm felt like trying to wash one hand without the other. He leaned his head back and could feel his mother next to him as the sound of the ice drone's treads slowly grew louder.
He felt a brush of movement by his hand and responded to it with a small flick of his own. It was his mother's hand, her pinky against his, perhaps trying to signal or maybe just reassure him.
She did it again, and he responded back, rubbing pinkies with her under the snow. Strange how much closer he felt to her in that instant. A little secret, a hidden bit of communication, the simple acknowledgment that they were there for each other, close to each other.
The ice drones came even closer, almost threatening to roll right over them. He let his pinky curl completely around hers, and she responded in kind. The ice drones slowed, but ultimately continued past, the sound of their treads on the ice fading into the distance.
"I think we're good now," said Kira, still holding his finger.
"Should be," said Jove. "Want me to unbury you?"
She chuckled and pulled him closer by the finger. "I think I can manage that on my own."
Her expression took on a devious edge, and she suddenly yanked his scarf open and snuck a bit of snow down onto bare skin. Jove gasped and shot her a mock glare before wrapping his arms around her and trying to wrestle her down for retaliation.
Snow slipped between the layers of Jove's clothing as he and his mom rolled in the icy expanse, each trying to outdo the other with a playful shove or a mock pin. His heart pounded in his chest, not just from the exertion but from the proximity to his mother.
The cold had a way of sharpening sensations, and as Jove wrestled with Kira in the snow, he couldn't help but feel a rush of heat that had nothing to do with his physical exertions.
Her laughter was musical, ringing clear against the silence, but as their movements became less about play and more about proximity, the sound took on a different tone.
They rolled, a tangle of limbs and heavy winter gear, and every accidental brush of her body against his sent a jolt through him. His scarf had come loose in the scuffle, and he felt her breath against his neck, hot and quick.
Jove pinned her arms above her head, hovering above her as they both caught their breath. Their eyes locked, and he could see the faintest hint of surprise in her gaze. His own breathing grew heavier, a primal part of him responding to their closeness.
"Gotcha," he whispered, a smirk playing on his lips.
Kira's chest rose and fell rapidly beneath him, her eyes sparkling with a mix of defiance and something he couldn't quite place. It was then that he became aware of how their bodies were aligned, the curve of her hips pressed against his own. The snow around them was no longer cold as heat flared within him.
He felt her legs wrap around his waist in what could have been an attempt to unseat him but felt more like an invitation.
"Jove," Kira said softly, her cheeks flushed from more than just the cold. She was close enough that he could see a bit of ice on one of her eyelashes.
"Mom..."
The word was barely a whisper, but it carried the weight of all the things left unsaid between them. Their gazes locked, and for a fleeting second, Jove wondered if she could hear his heart thundering in his chest.
He kissed her, feeling like he had to, like it was perfect and inevitable. His mother's hands slid out of his grip and found their way to his face, cradling it gently as if she too recognized the line they were teetering on.
Their lips moved together, the kiss lingering for too long, not long enough. Just as Jove was starting to explore with his hands, the outside world reared its unwelcome head.
"Are the two of you quite all right?" asked Aster, with an edge of something sharp in her tone.
Jove rolled sideways, hearing his mother clear her throat.
"We're fine," he said. "Just getting some… revenge. She attacked first."
"Yes…" said Kira, in an odd voice. "I definitely started it."
"Can you both finish it?" asked Eve. "We should keep moving."