Chapter 4
As they all rose and started towards the dance floor, Lladcaro came running up with a huge smile on his face. "Lee would you by any chance have any of your human beer with you?"
Lee shook his head no and laughed as did the others. "No, sorry Lladcaro we aren't packing any beer. Since this was supposed to be a survival training mission we were only carrying the bare necessities."
"Could you get us some?" he asked, a mischievous glint lighting his eyes.
"I don't see how. The closest store is in Fairbanks and given the snow storm and lack of transportation there's no way we could get there."
Lladcaro looked at Graalll, Takeetna, and Malakata and said something to them in their language. Graalll shook his head no in response which drew an obviously pleading reply from Lladcaro. After a moment Graalll's stern expression crumbled and a devilish smile spread across his face as he nodded in agreement.
"Lee, if we can transport you to Fairbanks, would you be willing to get us some of your excellent beer?" Graalll asked.
Lee and Chip exchanged surprised looks at the request. "And just how would you do that?"
"We have a small air vehicle we bring with us for emergencies and the sort. It is fitted with what is essentially a cloaking system that makes it invisible, both visually and to electronic detection equipment. We can take you in, you get the beer, and we all come back and really kick this party into high gear." Lladcaro explained.
Lee regarded their hosts and then his XO. Chip gave him a vague shrug with a smile, letting him know it was his decision and that's why he made the big bucks. He made another quick scan of the dance floor and other sections of the cave gauging how the Ka Wookeeni were behaving and looking for any indications of aggression or duplicity. Feeling no niggling tingle of warning from his sixth sense, he made his decision. "You aren't mean drunks are you?" Lee asked in mock seriousness.
"No, no, we get very mellow and happy," Lladcaro responded quickly, then caught on to Lee's joke and began to laugh.
"I think we can do that for you," Lee replied with a smile. "We'll need to bring Chip and Ski with us because Alaska liquor laws are a bit quirky regarding how much can be purchased by one person at any one time and I'm sure we'll need more than one keg. I also have to talk with the rest of my crew before we leave."
"Sweet! Thanks Lee, this Break is going to be epic all because of you and your men," Lladcaro exclaimed as he nearly vibrated in excitement. "I'll go round up your crew for you," he said and literally scampered off to collect the visitors.
"How is it you're so well acquainted with our beers?" Chip asked.
"As we told you, your people have two reactions when they meet one of us; fight or flight. When they're runners, they tend to leave everything at their campsite as they hightail it back to their vehicles. Well we've liberated any number of cases of beer or kegs as booty," Graalll said laughingly. "I'm partial to the ales and lagers, Malakata likes the stouts, and Takeetna here really enjoys the fruit beers and ciders. When we grab their beer we do usually leave a footprint in exchange." They all laughed at that.
As they walked towards the dance floor they were quickly joined by Bobby and the others. "What's up, Skipper?" Bobby asked.
"Bob, at the request of our hosts here, we are going to make a beer run to Fairbanks," Lee replied and enjoyed the startled looks on his men's faces.
"Seriously?!" Patterson asked a bit loudly. Realizing his faux pas, he smiled sheepishly at his CO. "Sorry Skipper, that came out a little too loud."
"Yes Pat, seriously. Mr. Morton, Kowalski and I will be flown in to Fairbanks by Graalll and pick up the beer. If you're comfortable staying here, you, Mr. O'Brien and Riley will remain and are ordered to have fun and continue partying."
"That's more than okay with me," Riley said, a wide smile across his face.
"No problem with me, sir," Bobby echoed.
"How about you Pat?" Lee asked.
"I'm good with it too. These guys are party animals."
"Very well, then it's settled. Have fun but don't let it get out of hand and no fights," Lee said with a wink. "Okay Graalll, let's get going so we can kick this party to the next level."
(olooo
Graalll and Malakata escorted Lee, Chip and Ski to their hanger located in a smaller chamber off the party room. Their transport bore a striking resemblance to the shuttle craft depicted in the Star Trek television series, only larger to accommodate the Ka Wookeeni. The Seaview men just smiled and shook their heads in amusement.
Once inside, there were several seats located on the sides of the craft, leaving a cargo area open in the center behind the pilots. Graalll and Malakata quickly worked through their preflight checklists and fired up the engines. As the engines warmed, Malakata hit another switch and two sliding doors located in the wall in front of them parted revealing the raging snow storm outside the mountain.
The pilots edged the small craft carefully forward, then once clear of the hangar initiated a high velocity climb straight up above the storm. Their three passengers hung on for dear life as the G force slammed them deep into their seats. Reaching the desired altitude, Graalll leveled the craft out and made a beeline north towards Fairbanks. Fifteen minutes later, they found themselves circling the town.
"Where to Lee?" Graalll asked.
"Let me pull out my cell phone and see if I can find some liquor stores." Lee powered on his phone and then conducted a quick internet search locating four different stores where they could purchase kegs of beer. He quickly relayed their locations to the pilot and were soon hovering several hundred feet above the first.
"Okay, we're going to land over there in the empty lot by the building. You go get the beer then signal us and we'll open up and get everything loaded," Graalll instructed.
"And no one is going to notice your ship at all?" Ski asked.
"Nope, as soon as you get out you won't be able to see us either," Malakata confirmed.
"All right, let's get to this," Lee said, as he zipped up his parka. "We'll go buy as many kegs as they'll let us have and then haul them out to the side of the building. You then get them aboard. If we need more we can hit one or two more stores depending on how much you think you'll need."
Graalll and Malakata smiled. "I would think six should hold us," Graall answered. "We've got some of your money." He handed over just under $500. He smiled sheepishly and shrugged as he revealed more of the booty they had gathered from abandoned campsites.
"Thanks, we'll pick up the rest," Lee replied as he looked at Chip and got an affirming nod. "If you could stash the kegs somewhere here in Fairbanks where we can find them, I would like to get my deposit back." He smiled and winked.
"That is too kind. Thank you Lee. We'll make sure you get your money back," Malakata responded.
Lee, Chip, and Ski quickly exited the shuttle craft and hurried over to the Oaken Keg to purchase the beer. The clerk could only sell each man one keg, so they picked three different beers. Figuring it better to pay cash than risk being tracked down by a credit card transaction, Lee pulled out his wallet as did Chip, and they ponied up the money. As Lee finished with the transaction, Chip and Ski rolled the kegs outside and to the side of the store to await pick up. Once Lee finished paying he picked up the taps and headed out to join them.
Right after Lee had left the store, the clerk noticed he'd only grabbed two of the three taps. He picked up the third one and hurried out to give it to him before he drove off. As he came around the corner he froze in place, stunned at the sight that greeted him. He watched in amazement as the last keg was hefted into a lit doorway three feet off the ground by what he swore was a bigfoot. There was no vehicle that he could see, just a doorway. "What the hell…" he said aloud drawing the attention of Lee and the sasquatch passing up the keg.
Before the man could turn and run in terror, Malakata produced what looked like a laser pointer and depressed a button. A bright red beam shot out from the device and enveloped the man, freezing him in place. He walked quickly over to the man and whispered something in his ear, then snapped off the beam. The man blinked incomprehensibly at the large furry being in front of him, then shook his head, blinked a couple more times and went back into his store.
"What the hell just happened?" Lee inquired, asking the question that Chip and Ski also had on their minds.
Malakata regarded the humans noticing the glint of suspicion and wariness in their eyes following that display. "Please don't worry. I merely adjusted his memory just a tad. The beam erases short term memory and then we replace it with another so there is no discernable gap and our presence remains undetected."
"Oh shit, like a neuralizer in the movie Men in Black, right?!" Ski exclaimed.
Malakata smiled sheepishly and nodded. "If you want to verify the man is unharmed, go back inside and check on him."
"Nothing personal, but I think I'll do that," Lee replied, and returned to the store.
As he entered the clerk looked up at him and smiled. "Glad you came back in, you forgot to take the tap for the third keg," he said as he passed the device across the counter.
"Thanks," Lee said, then smiled as he accepted the tap.
"Sure thing. Enjoy your evening, with that much beer it must be one hell of a party."
"Yeah it is. It's really going to be outta this world," Lee answered and laughed as he exited and walked back to the shuttle. Ski and Chip stared at him as he climbed in and took his seat.
"Well?" Chip asked.
"Just like in the movie," Lee answered with a chuckle. "He just passed me the tap and wished us a good evening. Okay Graalll let's get moving, we have one more liquor store to hit and then back to the party." Lee flipped on his phone and located the next store.
(olooo
They moved next to the Brown Jug and repeated their purchases. As Ski was wheeling his keg out the door he literally ran into LT James as he entered. Ski looked up to make his apologies and just froze. "Mr. James, what are you doing here, sir?"
"Ski?! I could ask you the same question," the young officer replied, stunned to see a man supposedly stranded in a snow cave in the frigid wilds of Alaska.
Kowalski squirmed under the lieutenant's scrutiny until Lee walked up behind them. "What's the holdup Ski? We need to be getting back," Lee asked anxious to get the kegs loaded and on their way. As he looked over Ski's shoulder he spotted the reason why. "Hi Mike," he said nonchalantly. "What are you doing here?"
"Uh…hi… sir. Uh... the admiral had me and Frank bring FS-1 up because he was concerned that it had gotten so cold and they couldn't reach you on the Sat phone, sir," James replied. "I thought you were out in the woods completing survival training."
"And we were, are," Lee started, just as Chip walked up behind him.
"Whoa," Chip said, screeching to a halt with his keg. "Hey Mike, fancy meeting you here."
"You too Mr. Morton," the befuddled LT replied. "Does the admiral know you're all back?"
"No, we haven't been able to get in touch with him either. We just popped in to pick up some beer for the party and are heading back," Lee answered. He was enjoying the young LT's confusion while he mentally resolved what to do next.
"Back sir? Back to where, if I may ask?"
"Back to the party of course," Chip chimed in with a laugh. "Where else would we go with this much beer. Make yourself useful and open the door for us would you?"
James nodded numbly then stepped back and held the door open as Ski, Lee, and Chip trolleyed their kegs out of the store and over to the side of the building. He followed them over and just kept shaking his head trying to make some sort of sense out of this whole encounter. He was pretty sure the admiral was going to flay the captain alive as soon as he found out they were holed up in Fairbanks instead of some igloo out in the woods.
Sure that no one was watching them, Lee gave the okay signal to Graalll and the door to the shuttle opened spilling light out into the dark empty lot. Malakata climbed out and quickly picked up a keg and headed back in.
James stood there mouth agape, eyes wide at the size of the furry creature that came ambling out of the invisible craft. "Uh Skipper what's going on? Who is that and what are they riding in?" he asked quietly out of the side of his mouth, as the thing came back out and grabbed another keg.
"That Mr. James is a Ka Wookeeni aka sasquatch. We tracked them down to their party lair up in the mountains and have been asked to party with them until they have to go. They've got this bitchin' ship that they can make invisible, so it was perfect for the beer run," Lee explained. With all the kegs loaded Lee looked up at Malakata motioning him to use his pen. Malakata smiled and nodded as he picked up on what Lee wanted. "Do you want to see something really cool?"
"Ah sure…sir," James answered hesitantly.
"Great. Come over here and meet Malakata. He's got this really neat pen he wants to show you."
Malakata ambled over to Lee, Chip, and Mike. James looked up in awe as Malakata towered over them.
"Here, watch this," Malakata said and then activated his device and James' expression went blank. Malakata mumbled something in his ear about buying a couple of beers and then heading back to the hotel. James just nodded.
"All right everyone back inside, we're wasting time. He won't remember a thing about your encounter so everything should be good go," Graalll called out from the shuttle door. They all nodded and quickly got aboard and disappeared before the numbing effects of the neuralizer wore off and they had to zap James again.
(olooo
Thirty minutes later, Graalll deftly returned the shuttle back to their mountain party cave and powered down the engines. As soon as the bay doors were shut, a group of Ka Wookeeni emerged through the doors to collect the beer. Walking back into the party room, a loud roar of approval greeted them as did O'Brien, Riley and Patterson.
"Good to see you back, sir," O'Brien said in greeting, his relief obvious.
"Problems Bobby?" Lee inquired as he took in his second officer's expression.
"No sir, just nice having you back," Bobby answered with a bit of an embarrassed grin.
Lee, Chip, and Ski chuckled knowingly. Having to deal with an alien or other spectral entity as the team lead could be a little trying, which is exactly why Lee left Bobby behind to get the experience. "I hate to tell you this Bobby, but you'll get used to it on Seaview."
Bobby laughed. "I know what you mean sir. Funny that wasn't in the job description."
"Come on Lee, Chip, Ski, we've been too long without a drink and thanks to you the party will last a lot longer," Malakata said as he gestured the trio to follow him over to the bar. They all nodded and smiled fully agreeing with his observation.
As they made their way to the bar, the music stopped and there was the sound of someone thumping a microphone. Everyone stopped talking and turned their attention towards the stage and the DJ. "All right you party animals it's that time when we bring the wannabe performers up and let them serenade us. We have all the tunes loaded on the machine and we just need our first volunteer," she said.
There was a mixed reaction of groans and cheers from the crowd. Takeetna jumped up and waved her arms indicating she was first up for a round of karaoke. "I'm ready to rock the house," she called out and headed for the stage.
"What's going on?" Chip asked Graalll.
"It's karaoke time," he replied with a slight grimace. "It can be really good or really bad, but generally a lot of fun. One of our guys picked this up when he was touring with a group in Asia. We have nothing like this back home."
Lee and Chip chuckled. "Ah karaoke; Japanese for tone deaf," Lee replied, garnering a round of laughter from the group.
Takeetna selected a song from their world and sang well given the reaction from the crowd. The humans applauded politely, having not understood a word and found the aria-like song not really to their liking. Of course Lee felt that way about anything opera, so who was he to judge. As she finished there was a call for one of the Seaview men to give it a try. Riley immediately accepted the challenge, hopped up on stage and began perusing the list of songs loaded on the machine.
His face lit up and he walked over to the DJ and told her his selection. A few moments later the familiar opening riffs from the Beach Boys hit Surfin' USA blared out of the speakers and Riley delivered an excellent rendition of the classic 1960's hit, much to the delight of the crowd. While Stu sang, Lee and the others were asked to dance and each obliged.
As they moved within the gyrating sea of Ka Wookeeni, Chip worked his way over towards Lee and his partner. "Ever feel like you're standing in a hole?" Chip joked yelling above the music as he looked up at all the other dancers.
"Must be how the admiral feels at times," Lee joked back, and then noticed the look of mischievous delight on Chip's face. After a moment he quickly added, "You tell him I said that and you'll not see the outside of a bilge tank on our next ten cruises." Both men broke out laughing and continued dancing.
At one point throughout the night each of the Seaview men got up and provided a tune for the crowd. If it hadn't been for the beer, and the narval, Lee would have successfully avoided the pressure to perform but finally folded. He popped up on stage and knocked the crowd dead with his stunning rendition of Juke Box Hero by Foreigner. He was just too relaxed and having too much fun to be worried about appearances. Climbing down off the stage he was immediately surrounded by his men.
"That was incredible, Skipper. I had no idea you could sing like that," Bobby offered.
"I did," Riley threw in. "My cousin sent me a video of him as the front man of a Foreigner tribute band a couple of years ago**. You still can shred it, sir."
"Thanks, guys," Lee replied self-consciously. "Let's just keep this little bit to ourselves please, or I may have to borrow Graalll flashy-thingy." Chip and Kowalski started laughing knowing what he meant while the other three were clueless. Lee laughed as well at their perplexed expressions. "Inside joke. I'll tell you about it later."
(olooo
"Nelson," Harri said, answering the phone.
"Admiral, it's Fox here at NIMR security," Darren Fox, head of NIMR security replied.
"Yes Darren, what have you got for me?"
"Sir, we've been monitoring your area trying to pick up any GPS signals from our party's Sat phones or even personal cell phones. We just picked up Captain Crane's phone twice for a very short time located in downtown Fairbanks. It was on for about 30 seconds total, then shut off," Fox informed the admiral.
"How is that possible? I know Lee had it with him when he left, and that was from here, not Fairbanks. Have you contacted LT James to try and track it down?" Nelson inquired.
"Yes sir. He was actually in close proximity to the Skipper's phone the second time it came on-line. He said that he had headed out to buy a couple of beers at a local liquor store but didn't see anyone in the area besides the store clerk, and there was no one else in the store. The clerk told him he had sold some guys some kegs of beer, but they didn't use a phone when they were there."
"I don't understand this. I can't imagine Lee running into anyone out where they're camping, let alone them being able to get possession of his phone. And it was just Lee's?"
"Yes sir. We've not picked up any other signals and there still seems to be some serious signal disruption in the area where the skipper and his team were dropped off," Darren responded.
"Well keep a close eye on the area and let me know the minute you pick up their signals again."
"Yes sir. I'll be in touch. Good night sir."
As Harri ended the call Jamie entered the living room. "News about Lee and crew?"
"In a way," Harri replied. "Darren said they picked up the GPS signal from Lee's cell phone a couple of times in Fairbanks. The second time it happened James was virtually on top of it, and didn't see them or anyone else, just a clerk at a local liquor store."
"How could Lee be in Fairbanks? Or better question how could his cell phone be in Fairbanks? It's not like anyone would just happen to stumble upon it, unless there was foul play somehow involved," Jamie posited.
"There are just too many coincidences going on with that communications blackout over their camp location and now Lee's phone showing up in Fairbanks. We're heading up there come hell or high water tomorrow morning to find our men and bring them home," Harri declared. He knew this was survival training but the operative word was training and he didn't like the idea of his crew potentially in danger.
Jamie nodded and turned to head back to his room. "Where are you going?" Harri asked.
"I've got to get all my emergency equipment packed and ready to go. You know the propensity for some of your crewmen to find injury regardless of the situation," Jamie answered, then shot Harri a smile.
"Good idea. I'd say be ready to roll at first light, but since that won't happen until around noon, be ready to go by 0800," Harri responded.
"Will do. I'll let Sharkey know too. Good night Harri, I'll see you in the morning."
"Night Jamie."
Harri turned and headed to the bar to grab a shot of scotch. He then opened the deck door and strode out onto the deck. The temperature was well below zero and his breath almost turned to snow as he exhaled. The snow had stopped nearly an hour ago and all the clouds had moved on, leaving a black velvet sky adorned with tiny diamonds. He looked up at the sky and was amazed at the dance of colors as the aurora borealis ebbed and flowed across the pitch black canvas. "Where the hell are you, son?" Harri asked quietly and took a swig of his drink. It was nearly midnight and he knew he too best head off to bed if he wanted to be of value tomorrow. He finished his drink, then came back inside and headed up to his room.
(olooo
There was suddenly a loud gonging noise in the room, then the music immediately stopped and the lights came up. The partiers squinted and rubbed their eyes at the sudden brightness in the cave. Lee and crew stared at each other and then at their hosts, wondering what was happening.
"Graalll, what's wrong, what's going on?" Lee asked as he approached the Ka Wookeeni.
"Just like your Cinderella, our midnight hour has arrived. Our suppression field is about to expire and we have to get everyone loaded up and off the planet before that occurs," Graalll explained.
"Oh, well that sucks," Riley slurred a bit, as he realized the party was over.
"So what about us?" Lee asked hesitantly, wondering whether they would emerge with their memories intact or find themselves staring blankly at each other in the entryway to the cave.
Graalll smiled in response. "Don't worry my friends. We have been in contact with the mother world and we have been given permission to leave your memories of us unchanged. Given what you've said about meeting other alien cultures and maintaining that secret in the best tradition of government cover ups, we trust you to protect our privacy, as it were."
"That's fantastic," Chip replied. "I would hate to think I wouldn't remember meeting you and this great party."
"Agreed," Malakata responded. "We would love to hook up with you guys next time we're back in the neighborhood. If we can give you advance notice, maybe you can bring some more beer." They all laughed and Lee nodded in agreement.
"It's a deal. So can we hang here until we've all sobered up and can safely make our way back to our camp?" Lee asked.
"We'll give you a ride, if that's okay?" Graalll offered. He was quickly met with a sea of bobbing heads.
Lee looked at his men and laughed. "I take it that's a yes. We accept, thank you."
"Cool. Grab your gear and then we'll get loaded up and outta here."
The Seaview men moved quickly to the area where they had stashed their packs, snowshoes, and jackets, and quickly reclaimed them. As they walked back to rejoin Graalll, Malakata, and Takeetna they noticed the other revelers begin to disappear in groups of ten, in a shower of golden sparkling light. They exchanged looks of amazement at their method of transportation.
"Let me guess," Bobby offered as he got nearer to Graalll, "they beamed back up?" The three Ka Wookeeni nodded and laughed. "Sweet," the young officer remarked.
"All right gents, time to get aboard and get you back to your snow cave," Malakata said.
They all piled in, stashed their gear then grabbed a seat. As they squirmed their way into the seats, Pat looked at them all sitting there, feet dangling over the edge and just started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Ski asked.
"Why do I feel like we all need a kiddie car seat?" Pat replied, which was met with rolled eyes and a volley of snorts and laughter.
"Don't make me come back there," Graalll joked in line with the ruckus in the back, as he maneuvered the shuttle out of the bay. He then hit a sequence of buttons that secured the facility until the next time they returned.
Riley giggled out loud at the parental admonishment. "Are we there, Yeti?!" he hollered back. The remark had them all rolling with laughter.
"Hang on." The shuttle completed a tight turn and headed back towards the area where the men had constructed their quinzhee a couple of days ago. As they flew, Graalll punched another button and suddenly Lee and crew were rendered unconscious.
"What gives?" Takeetna asked. "I thought you were going to take them back, memory intact."
"Oh I am, but I think we can have a little fun with them. Go get Lee's phone," Graalll directed.
(olooo