Stealth Journeys with the Steam Mapper

Chapter 98: Aftermath, Science and Humor

No survivors were brought aboard either of the U.S. aircraft carriers.   No human bodies were found and only later did the story come to light as to why Kim Jong-un had come out of hiding and arrived in person to rescue the Korean "scientist" and his interpreter.   The interpreter was in fact the adopted son who was to have been Kim Jong-un's successor.    The Korean scientist was also a military officer who had been studying the many episodes of giant squid attacking Korean fishing boats, and believed that radiation and other harmful factors had combined for the mutations of abnormal growth of the monster sized squid being reported.   These two men believed it was their mission to eradicate the monsters, because Korea was culpable for the several nuclear warheads that had sank in the Pacific during their nuclear testing.

They believed their specially designed hover-craft catamarans with powerful missiles aboard could take out the monster as easily as it could take out a United States aircraft carrier or destroyer or nuclear submarine.   They had overestimated their power. They had been convinced that they would be hailed as heroes for finding the monsters and calling in their stealth ship destroyers to destroy the "Kraken" by launching the warheads.   Kim Jong-un learned of their involvement and demanded to be airlifted to one of his special destroyers.   He wanted the glory for himself and the undying gratitude of helping rescue his favored adopted son.    He thought he was invincible.

Being a scientific expedition and needing to study the specimens, gigantic nets were brought in from the USS Carl Vinson, and the gathering began.   The huge ships looked more like whaling vessels, as giant tentacles with suckers the size of truck tire inner tubes were brought onboard. Then, some of the larger chunks of body tissue and the head with the intelligent brain, needed to be preserved for study and shared worldwide for answers to this aberration of science.   The lab workers needed to catalogue the tissues brought aboard to determine how many of the creatures had been present in this region of the ocean, given evidence of body parts of three separate creatures.

Everyone was grateful for the very chilly air and fresh breezes and a swift current to carry away the putrid smells.   Sharks and sperm whales and soon arrived to avail themselves of the massive chumming in the waters.   Specimens quickly filled refrigerated spaces not just in labs but also aboard the U.S. aircraft carriers, their crews being promised that fresh food would be arriving daily, due to the unusual circumstances.

The excitement of posing with monster parts and witnesses comparing notes on what they saw before, during, and after the great battle, kept everyone abuzz with bravado of surviving the ordeal.    The research team was already designing "I survived the Kraken" t-shirts on their laptops and imagining book offers and lectures to voice their concerns about man messing with nature. The relief of surviving the brutal attack brought out some giddiness among some of the staff, who finally relaxed to the point of absurdity.

"I think my book will be titled  'A Kraken at the Edge of the World", remarked StLF.

"I think my play will be called 'The Mere Kraken'd'.   Too bad Elizabeth Taylor can't play the lead role.  Sorry,  Dame Agatha."

"Pistachios can be advertised as 'get Kraken' with a colossal squid enjoying a heap."

"We can invent a Korean dance called 'Kraken style', and flail our arms around."

"You do know that's kinda sicko, right?" commented StLF.  "Even though I'm Kraken a smile."

The Chief Scientist walked over. "You two need to stop.  You're Kraken me up.   There's lots of clean up to do, so let's get Kraken."

"Wow! Chief means business.   We best get going.  Chief will be kraken the whip!"  Both MYKA and StLF noted that the levity of Chief was witnessed for the first time on this long voyage. They had begun to wonder if Chief even had a sense of humor.

"Hey Chief!   We didn't think you could make a joke!"

"You never asked."