Antarctic Base



The Antarctic Research Facility, also known as the Antarctic Transport Terminal, was an Umbrella facility built in the Antarctic, intended as a side-route for crates on the way to their respective destinations. It was originally operated by Alexander Ashford, the son of Umbrella co-founder Edward Ashford.

As befitting the hostile nature of the Antarctic, the facility was built mostly underground, with at least six subterranean stories being built by December 1998.

History
The transport facility was designed in February 1969 to support Umbrella's growing business, also including a laboratory to supplement his Code: Veronica project. The project itself was successfully completed in 1971, with Alexia and Alfred Ashford being born as a result of it.

In 1982, the Ashford twins abducted their father upon discovering how they were created. Infecting him with the experimental T-Veronica virus, Alexander became a mindless monster, failing the twins' expectations as a guinea pig as well as a father. The following year, Alexia would then infect herself with the virus and place herself into a newly-constructed cryogenic suspension chamber, intent on being revived fifteen years later in December 1998.

Alfred then inherited the facility, though his administration of the terminal was minor, choosing instead to police Rockfort Island, which housed a Military facility and a concentration camp-styled prison complex.

In December 1998, the Host/Hive Capture Force, a special forces unit led by the believed-dead Albert Wesker, attacked the island in their search for the T-Veronica virus, quickly defeating the island's defence force, and unintentionally releasing the T-virus in the attack. A number of infected survivors fled on C-130 Herculeses, spreading the virus to the aircrafts' auto-navigational system's pre-set destination: the Antarctic Base.

By the time late-leavers Claire Redfield and Steve Burnside crash-landed just outside the outpost, breaching the outer-wall, the other excapees had spread the virus to the entire facility: zombies, infected dobermans, and giant moths were rampant throughout. In her search, Claire briefly encountered Alexander through a vertical hatchway.

She and Steve looked through equipment lying around to power a drilling machine, using it to make their way through a wall of ice and back outside. At this point, Alfred unsuccessfully attempted to ambush them, but was instead shot by Steve and fell into a deep pit, seemingly to his doom. Continuing on, Claire and Steve reached the heliport, where they were attacked by the newly-released Alexander - Claire, however, soon defeated him with his son's own rifle.

Meanwhile, a fatally-injured Alfred made his way to the cryogenics laboratory to bring Alexia back to life as initially planned fifteen years prior. She would avenge her brother by destroying the snowmobile in which his presumed killers were attempting to escape.

Claire's brother Chris would later arrive by Harrier to the facility in search for Claire, finding her stuck to a wall in the residence connecting to the terminal. After Chris released her, Claire soon discovered Steve in the prison area, but too late - Alexia had already infected him with T-Veronica, and, not long after Claire discovered him, killed him when he successfully resisted the virus-induced madness to save Claire's life.

Claire would activate the facility's self-destruct system to destroy the base, escaping with Chris moments before its detonation.