They fished through the morning. Jove caught several massive fish in a row and was basically fishing for the fun of it by the end, with a haul easily in line with their highest expectations.
He brought up a small fish that had unfortunately swallowed the hook and couldn't be tossed back. He had to cut it open to get the hook back, and offered a quickly carved fillet to Mango, who'd been watching his work with the curiosity of a cat.
"Here," he said. "It's all yours. You must be hungry, right?"
The cat sniffed the fish meat with heavy scrutiny and quite literally turned her nose up.
They started packing up around lunch time, opting to make the journey back home for dinner rather than downing another limited meal on the ice. Jove carefully packed his gear sled with the addition of the cat's box.
"Are you sure you're good in there?" he muttered, as he looked at Mango laying unconcerned within.
There were a series of air holes he hadn't noticed before along the bottom edge of two sides, though the cold still seemed like an issue. Mango did not look like she minded it much, so he set the lid down and hoped for the best.
After they'd finished striking down the tents and packing up the cots and all the other small, but necessary tasks, Jove took one last look at the lake. The downed ice drone still lay on the ice, metallic and conspicuous, but it was too heavy for them to move easily.
"Should we cover it with snow?" he asked. "There's a chance that someone from Port Sirius might come across it eventually."
"By itself, it doesn't really suggest anything," said Kira. "It's just a broken drone, and if they take a close look, the fact that it's riddled with gunshots would likely ward strangers off rather than lure them closer."
"Fair point."
They traveled slowly, taking in the sight of Antarctica on a clear and sunny day. The terrain was mostly flat, with only the occasional gentle rise or fall to break up the monotony.
There was a stark beauty to it all, however, that Jove increasingly appreciated. Enough snow had fallen or blown around to erase their tracks from the way out, but they painted new ones across the flawless white powder.
The sun glinted off patches of ice, beautiful in an intense, blinding way. The air was dry and cold, but the knowledge that they were headed home, to Termina Station, warm and cozy and familiar, made it easy to endure the whipping wind.
He stopped every half hour to check on the cat, finding it sleeping and seemingly warm enough each time. It was midafternoon when the station came into view. They brought the snowmobiles to a stop next to the shed, all of them sharing in a moment of stretching as they climbed off after the fairly long journey.
Unpacking took a while, with the family first tackling all the gear that belonged in the shed before moving the fish and whatever else they needed inside into the entrance chamber. Jove carried the box as they finally opened the door and felt the warm interior air rush forth to greet them.
"Welcome back," said Andromeda. "I see that you managed to catch fish. Does that imply that the trip was a successful one?"
"It seemed to be, at least for the most part," said Kira. "Anything come up here, Andi?"
"Nothing major," said Andromeda. "Some snow fell on the solar panels, decreasing their efficiency by approximately thirteen percent. Was there an… incident involving the persona copy I sent with the ice drone?"
"There was." Kira winced and seemed uncomfortable.
Jove stepped forward and saved her from having to explain herself. "We encountered Abacus, or a drone sent by it, at least. The ice drone tried to attack and, well… shots were fired. Abacus claimed that Tchaikovsky had backdoors into the ice drones."
Andromeda was silent for a conspicuous and unsettling few seconds. "…I see. There is some truth to that, though in my opinion, Abacus is hardly any more trustworthy than Tchaikovsky. They have expanded beyond their original manifestations and cannot be understood through normal human logic."
"You can say that again," muttered Eve. "Abacus gave us a cat."
"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" said Andromeda.
Instead, Jove simply opened the box's lid. Mango did a quick stretch and then hopped out into the hallway.
An alarm instantly sounded over the intercom, paired with the sudden switch to red tinted emergency lights. Jove winced at the shrill noise. Mango's fur stood up, and she hissed upward.
"Andromeda!" shouted Kira. "What's going on?"
The alarm cut off, but the lights stayed red as Andromeda replied. "I would ask all of you to please step away from the intruder."
"…You mean the cat?" said Jove, with a tired sigh.
"As a gift from an exceptionally powerful rogue AI agent that no longer abides by the UN AI Control Protocol, it cannot be assumed that it is what it appears to be."
Andromeda's voice was serious, almost harsh. Jove glanced at the others, but only confirmed the lack of obvious support.
"It was your decision to bring home a stray, Jovian," said Kira, in voice that oozed the essence of a teaching moment. "You're responsible for selling her to Andromeda."
"I believe the most optimal solution, if this… object must be housed, is to place it within the storage shed outside," said Andromeda.
"Andi, it's a cat," said Jove. "I don't know what Abacus's game is, but it has fur. Warm to the touch. Heartbeat and scratchy tongue. Why don't you scan it for confirmation?"
Even as he scooped Mango up in his hands and made his argument, he had to wonder. There was nothing obviously strange about her, but if that was the case, then just why did Abacus drop her into their lap?
There was a pause, but no dramatic light effect or sweeping laser line announcing the AI's close examination.
"While I don't detect any obvious incongruity or danger within this cat-shaped entity, it remains quite likely that some abnormality or attack vector was built into it," said Andromeda.
"Can you give me an example of what you think that might be?" asked Jove. "Honestly, I'm curious."
"It may have been outfitted with a discrete surveillance package," said Andromeda. "Or the cat's genetic makeup may have been altered to affect its nature and intelligence."
"Sick," said Jove.
"I would speak with this entity directly," said Andromeda.
"Uh, okay," said Jove. He held it up toward the intercom. Mango scratched at him briefly with a back leg before seeming to resign herself to her fate.
"I will be watching you at all times," said Andromeda… to the cat. "I would ask that you abide by the regular rules of this station, including our informal policy to refrain from any communication with Abacus. I will not tolerate any actions which place Director Faremont or her family at risk. Do you understand?"
Eve and Aster let out soft chuckles from behind Jove, but they both trailed off as the cat let out a single, low meow.