Clara held one hand tight, then released the other, reaching further, needing to eventually reach the edge of the overhang. She found a hold then repeated the process. If there wasn’t a sufficient handhold, Clara would use her rock climbing claw to create one. The further she climbed, the more ice there was to contend with. This naturally made each successive grasp a more difficult proposition than the last.

Her arms burned and her fingers were going numb, but still she climbed. Finally she reached the edge of the overhang, claw embedded in ice and rock, fingers bloodied and bruised.

Clara began to scale the rock face, her body stocking, makeup, and solid contacts now a dark gray to better reflect her surroundings.

She placed her other hand higher and pushed off with one foot, finding a hold for the second higher up. Hand, foot, hand, foot, Clara methodically made her way up the face of the rock. Eventually she came to the point where the face of the rock was starting to arch further and further away the higher she went. She held her hands fast and just let go with her legs, allowing them to dangle beneath her.

Instead, Clara took her rock climbing claw from her sack, attaching it to her waist, and made her way deeper into the cavern to the base of the rock. Being sheltered from some of the elements, there was not an excessive buildup of ice on the face of the rock. This was good and would make climbing easier.

The ninja placed one handhold. The photosensitive threading in her body stocking faded to a dark gray to better match her darker surroundings. Then she placed a foothold on the same side. The makeup around her eyes also changed to dark gray.

Clara had to reach the top of the outcropping, sixty feet in the air. Going up from the outside would be significantly easier, but also potentially deadly with the aerial scans. If a scan caught her, that could be the end. No, it was safer beneath the outcropping, so she wouldn’t reveal her position until she absolutely had to.

Clara had avoided bringing most technological devices with her, at least motor driven in nature or satellite communicating, for fear of having the signal detected or intercepted. Now what she wouldn’t give for some simple device assistance. But no use complaining.

She was under the outcropping. Carefully, Clara pushed her head through the top of the snow. She was cold, obviously, but not stupid. The area was clear. Clara pushed the rest of the way through the snow, still scanning the area, wanting to make sure there were no extra surprises. There was nothing. It was clear.

Clara stood in snow over her knees, drifting in from the wind. Around her was a large, shallow cave, the outcropping sixty feet above her. Now she had to get to the top of that outcropping, to finish what needed to first be done.

Whenever Clara’s gut said to wait, she did, assuming some detector was in closer proximity. Then when she felt safe again, she assumed the scan had passed and resumed pushing forward through the snow, checking the compass occasionally to verify her location and direction. Just a little further in this snow, just a little further before she rounded the corner and was beneath the outcropping, hidden from view from above.

She pushed the pain and cold away, willing herself to not feel them, and just kept pushing forward. Finally the snow above her grew darker as she rounded the corner.

There was no telling if another plane would pass overhead or not. Her instincts could only get her so far, and now was not the time to start pressing her luck. Without the tree cover, it would be nearly impossible to get past.

There was only one course of action. Clara began to tunnel her way through the snow, making her way just below the outcropping. This was extremely slow going and extremely cold. But Clara did not hesitate; she continued to push her way through the snow, careful to avoid disturbing the snow above her as much as possible.

Clara knew the prison was just a little further up and around an outcropping ahead of her. Very soon she should see the place.

The ninja froze again. Something wasn’t right. She plunged into the snow, hiding herself below snow level. A motion sensor scanning the area. Clara lay flat, waiting for the device to sweep past. Then another sense. Another detection device, this one an unmanned aircraft above, about to pass overhead. This one could be motion or heat tracking. Clara quickly dug down and forward, hiding herself in the snow mound as the automatic miniature aircraft flew overhead.

She continued her climb toward the prison, now a patch of snow and sunlight after her body stocking’s change to better camouflage the new surroundings.

Clara’s pace eventually slowed as more and more detection devices had to be neutralized or avoided. Plodding her way through deeper and deeper snow, the evergreens were giving way to more and more barren patches.

The sun slowly arched overhead and was already on its descent.

Clara eyed the area, now completely free of trees. She verified her compass, double checking readings and comparing them to the elevation map Sprite had pulled and Clara memorized.

Clara ate more dried strips of possum and drank more water, resting her tired body. She closed her eyes, leaning back to face the slowly rising sun. There she pushed her weariness away from her, telling her body not to feel tired.

It was only a few minutes longer before Clara felt well rested and the photosensitive threading in her body stocking had turned the warm outfit from black to white. Even her face makeup had changed. And when she opened her eyes, it took only a few blinks before these two had changed from darkest black to brightest white.