Spring is underway and so are some new assignments for the sled dogs at the Airport. Tuska nabs a very well paying one and celebrates with her team, but will the hazardous conditions of the new season spell disaster for her and her fellow sled dogs?

Read the full chapter here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/warmth-in-arctic-17085356
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Spring had begun to come on and like every year, Tuska and the other team leaders often had to attend various meetings that delved into the safety precautions and yearly expectations for all of them. They were boring and hardly interested anyone, but they all came with a round of courses that required each to pass to be a certified sled team.

Most of the classes were written geology and climate subjects, things that every leader needed to know so that they could drive their team through hazardous conditions safely. This time of the year was very important because in the spring there came warmer weather and with warmer weather came avalanches and thin lake ice. Things only got worse as summer came around, and so it was every leader's responsibility to plan courses so that teams weren't lost or hurt.

This was also the same time that new recruits were brought on and older dogs were allowed to retire or fire their teammates. Tuska never paid these individuals any mind, she was set with her team and any new additions or alterations to the already smooth moving machine that was their group would likely prove disastrous.

No, she was happy where she was. What interested Tuska the most, however, was the influx of expected missions that were beginning to come in. The husky fought with herself to wait as the postings grew frequent on the hiring board for shipments of supplies and equipment that were needed for the deep bases that had stayed the winter in isolation. The easy ones were swiped quickly, those that paid quick and very little. She needed to wait for something a bit more treacherous, something that the other teams had left alone.

When these missions came around the companies and government agencies that backed them grew increasingly more desperate with the lack of interest and jacked up their pay out to entice a team to bite. There was a sweet spot that this price range often hit, because if the reward for completion got high enough they would suddenly begin to attract many sled teams to try their hand at completing it. Tuska had to grab these missions right when they were at the intersection of offering a great sum of money and piquing the interest of other teams.

She had been babysitting one posting in particular. In the mane lobby that branched off to various classrooms and offices, there was a bulletin board where companies would come and staple a job to the corkboard. When someone wanted the job, they would pull down the listing and contact the main office to set up a meeting with the team leader and the company or government to go over specifics. Each job posting had all relevant information such as destination, time, payment amount, and bonuses. When a company upped the payout, they would just staple a new listing over top the old one.

This particular job posting had seven sheets of paper stuck beneath it and with each new one there were obvious signs of desperation to attract a team. When Tuska was satisfied with that level, she pulled down the whole stack and went straight to the front office. She got a consultation with the company almost ten minutes later.

The husky leader was waiting patiently in an office, her backside braced against the large desk at the middle of the room. She heard the spokesmen before she saw them, their arrival marked by the sound of pounding feet. She turned her attention to the door right as they turned the corner, two middle aged snow leopards that were huffing hard from their jaunt across the airport. The woman smirked as she saw realized how desperate they were.

“Hello?” she offered. The two meandered inside and braced themselves against the walls and furniture as they struggled to breath. They weren't really out of shape individuals, but without practice a random sprint could really bring down someone who wasn't trained for such a thing. One of the suited men held up a paw in a gesture to ask the woman for a minute and eventually the two regained their composure enough to approach her.

“Ah yes, Tuska Leeman?” the taller of the two asked.

“Yes, that's me,” she giggled.

“Firstly, on behalf of ChemoCorp, we'd like to thank you for this opportunity to bring greatly needed research back from our research base. We understand this time of the year makes excursions dangerous but we are willing to compensate you substantially for the risk,” he continued and produced a beige folder from under his arm.

“Oh yeah, no problem,” she replied, “But I'd like to talk with you more about the compensation,” she added. The two big cats blinked and then shared a worried look. “Your last quote was for eighty thousand, but with the perils that my team will be facing, I think it's well within reason to ask for an additional ten.”

“T-ten?” the shorter snow leopard shouted, aghast.

“I would also like to remind you both that my team and I are one of the best the airport has to offer. We have completed two hundred and forty four missions with few notable hiccups. This mission is guaranteed to be a success with me at the helm,” she explained. The snow leopards listened to her and shared another concerned look, their gazes lingering before the taller one gave a nod and the shorter one fixed Tuska with a firm stare.

“Deal. But you understand, the bonus for completing the mission in a faster time frame will be smaller because of it,” the shorter snow leopard explained.

“Hmmm by how much?” Tuska asked as she crossed her arms under her bust.

“W-well...” the taller cat began and stroked a paw behind his neck. “The bonus was originally twenty so...it'd be ten now?”

“Hmmm, if you cut it by five we'll have ourselves a deal,” she said and smirked as she watched the fur stand on end around their shoulders and ears.

“Just do it,” the smaller cat sighed and the taller one nodded in agreement. The folder was offered to the husky and she opened it and glanced at the document hidden within. It was standard issue as far as these things went, simple signing of a contract indentured Tuska to the job at hand. She did so with a flurry of swipes from a pen and then handed it back to the tall cat.

“We've outlined a map we think will be optimal for you to follow,” the shorter snow leopard explained as he pulled from his pocket a rolled up picture that showed latitude and longitude for the region. He pointed to a few spots and continued. “Normally we would have you be going over this lake here,” he said and pointed to the paper, “but because of the thaw we don't think it's safe, so this route will go around and take you near the base of these mountains. It should be safe enough but the uneven terrain will have you skirting some dangerous avalanche zones.”
“I'm well aware of these mountains, they aren't as big of a deal as you're making them out to be,” she stated simply and took a hold of the map, rolling it up and and tucking it under her arm.

“You'll be going with a filled sled of food supplies and some medical equipment and you'll be returning with a full sled of Hard drives and computer equipment that has some very important data stored on their hard drives. It's very important that the return goes smoothly,” the taller snow leopard chimed in.

“Then I'll need you to radio their lab soon to have whatever it is that you want ready for the pick up. I intend to be back soon enough to get that bonus,” she said confidently.

“Speaking off, you're only eligible for that bonus if you're back by Friday,” the taller snow leopard explained.

“Two days? Easy as cake,” she said with a grin and stepped past the two spokesmen on her way out of the office. She turned and winked at them. “And thank you very much for the opportunity!” she called over her shoulder and then took off on her own. She zig-zagged through the airport and found her way to the upper level and eventually the crew quarters for all the sled teams. She was practically jumping around by the time she got to Arthur's door and she pounded on it as such.