"Welcome home, boss." Did you enjoy your vacation?" Brittanica said as he was thrilled Santa was back. It had been a long two months since his departure.
"Got into a fight. But nothing I couldn't handle" Santa said.other then that, had a great time with the Mrs.
Brit was surprised by this statement from one of the most non-violent men on the planet. But, didn't bother to question it. Santa has taken on entire gangs and won without breaking a sweat.
"Glad to have you back, sir"
Santa smiled at his CEO. "So, do you have plans for your vacation? You're part of the next group headed out."
"Nothing yet, Sir."
Santa was concerned over this. Brit was one of most organized elves working there. With only a few days left for the next round of vacations to start, it was unusual for Brit not to have an idea of his vacation plans.
"Anything bothering you?"
Brit looked up to his boss." Ever since I saw Alan's folder last month, it's been on my mind."
"Why? Santa asked curiously.
Brit took a moment to put his thoughts together. "Everybody around here describes him as a storyteller and a generous guy. But, his file showed none of that. It's strange."
Santa looked at him with concern. "Brit, Alan's past is full of mystery that no one knows about.He's never been the talkative type and always kept to himself."
Brit thought for a moment and came up with an idea. "Santa, can I go to maine to meet him?"
Santa acted surprised" that's forbidden unless it's official business."
"I know." Brit said." It was just a thought."
Brit looked disappointed for the 1st time that Santa could remember. He looked at Brit as he started walking out.
Santa had an idea. "Brit. I've got a special project for you."
Brit stopped in his tracks. Santa had a special task force for his special projects.
"Yes?" Brit said. His curiosity peaked.
"I've been informed that Alan's folder may have discrepencies in it. I want you to study up on his records and varify them for me."
Brit knew instantly that Santa was making this up. All discrepencies were reported to him. It was his job to locate and fix them. The entire library staff reported to him and he reported to Santa. But, Brit took the subtle hint and replied. "Yes sir. I'll get right on it."
"Good. Let me know what you find."
Brit left Santa and went straight to his office. He sat down and pulled up Alan's file and started reading from where he left off.
"The high school years didn't fare much better for Alan......"
"The high school years didn't fare much better for Alan. He did two years as a freshman and dropped out early in the third attempt. His shyness along with the school work just made things unbearable.(Santa notes he promised himself he would get his GED at this time and passed it ten years later on the 1st attempt)
This leads into a three year period that Alan jokingly refers to as the exiled years. he mainly stayed home and worked with the family business
And played videogames. He had no income of his own and spent a lot of time with TV.
It was early in this period where he first took serious notice of the original Star Trek TV series. While he watched it often enough. He never gave it much concideration until a news segment appeared telling of the 20th anniversary of the show and showing scenes of the 4th movie "The Voyage Home" this peaked his curiosity to the point where he started studying every episode to figure out why it's so popular.(Santa notes its still a driving force in his life to this day and he goes back often whenever he hits a crossroads to figure out where his life should go next.)
The exile years ended in 1989 with the Batman movie debued and the realization he could no longer live off his parents limited income.
Alan looked toward the Dark Knight as a beacon of hope and got his first job as an overnight laborer at a local blueberry factory.
While Batman provided a role model for Alan to work toward what he believed in, it was Star Trek that he credits with saving his job. He chose Spocks logic to literally talk himself out of the motion sickness of the conveyor belts he worked on.
During the winter when they switched over to Christmas wreaths, Alan helped out with decorating them.(Santa notes Alan benifited from the bowmaking here for his flower making.)
During the early 90's, Alan started reading Star Trek Novels and writing poetry. It was during this time he amassed most of his Star Trek Knowledge.
He started writing poetry after discovering he had a talent for it.(Santa notes his father also wrote poetry. But never took it seriously).
He wrote several short poems on numerous subjects. No topic was forbidden and went out of his way to prove it at times. Even went to the extreme of constructing an X rated short poem at one time to see if he could do it.
Things were going good for Alan. But,he started having feelings something was missing..."
"Something missing?"Brit said out loud to himself. "What could that be?"
"What could what be?" Brit heard from behind.
Douglas had just entered the room with his cleaning supplies." Couldn't help but overhear ya. What's missing?"
"Alan's missing something." Brit confirmed.
"That's uncool. Are you going to help him find it?"
"I can't leave. My vacation doesn't start until march. Besides, the records are about his past. Not today. He's probably fine. He's happily married with only the usual problems that most people have."
Just that moment, the phone rings.
"Good list library. Brit here."
"Somethings wrong in Maine." Santa said. His voice deep with concern." I'm getting some bad feelings about Alan. I need you to pack up & go there immeadiatly to scout out the situation."
"Me? Why?"
You've been studying his files. Its all fresh in your head. You're also the best elf for the job."
"I've barely started studying it."
"You'll have to cram along the way. Dasher will be taking you. The stable's getting him ready now."
Brit was clearly nervous. He'd never been outside the North Pole Complex. Never on an actual mission.
"What will I do when I get there?"
"Just observe & take notes. Call me if you figure out anything.don't let anyone see you. Secrecy is a must."
Brit still nervous simply said " yes sir. I'll do the best I can."
"Wonderful. Now pack up enough stuff to last a couple months and take a laptop with you."
"A couple months!"
But, Santa hung up without a response. Brit gathered what he needed at the office and went home to quickly pack for a long business trip. What started as simply a chance to find out about a mysterious story writer, is turning out to be an adventure into the unknown, watching a guy whom he's never met and may even be in trouble for all he knew of the situaion.
He grabbed what belongings he could fit into his bag and headed for the stables where his ride awaits him.
This concludes chapter 2. The next chapter will talk about how I met my wife(hint... it was literally love at 1st write :-)
"Got into a fight. But nothing I couldn't handle" Santa said.other then that, had a great time with the Mrs.
Brit was surprised by this statement from one of the most non-violent men on the planet. But, didn't bother to question it. Santa has taken on entire gangs and won without breaking a sweat.
"Glad to have you back, sir"
Santa smiled at his CEO. "So, do you have plans for your vacation? You're part of the next group headed out."
"Nothing yet, Sir."
Santa was concerned over this. Brit was one of most organized elves working there. With only a few days left for the next round of vacations to start, it was unusual for Brit not to have an idea of his vacation plans.
"Anything bothering you?"
Brit looked up to his boss." Ever since I saw Alan's folder last month, it's been on my mind."
"Why? Santa asked curiously.
Brit took a moment to put his thoughts together. "Everybody around here describes him as a storyteller and a generous guy. But, his file showed none of that. It's strange."
Santa looked at him with concern. "Brit, Alan's past is full of mystery that no one knows about.He's never been the talkative type and always kept to himself."
Brit thought for a moment and came up with an idea. "Santa, can I go to maine to meet him?"
Santa acted surprised" that's forbidden unless it's official business."
"I know." Brit said." It was just a thought."
Brit looked disappointed for the 1st time that Santa could remember. He looked at Brit as he started walking out.
Santa had an idea. "Brit. I've got a special project for you."
Brit stopped in his tracks. Santa had a special task force for his special projects.
"Yes?" Brit said. His curiosity peaked.
"I've been informed that Alan's folder may have discrepencies in it. I want you to study up on his records and varify them for me."
Brit knew instantly that Santa was making this up. All discrepencies were reported to him. It was his job to locate and fix them. The entire library staff reported to him and he reported to Santa. But, Brit took the subtle hint and replied. "Yes sir. I'll get right on it."
"Good. Let me know what you find."
Brit left Santa and went straight to his office. He sat down and pulled up Alan's file and started reading from where he left off.
"The high school years didn't fare much better for Alan......"
"The high school years didn't fare much better for Alan. He did two years as a freshman and dropped out early in the third attempt. His shyness along with the school work just made things unbearable.(Santa notes he promised himself he would get his GED at this time and passed it ten years later on the 1st attempt)
This leads into a three year period that Alan jokingly refers to as the exiled years. he mainly stayed home and worked with the family business
And played videogames. He had no income of his own and spent a lot of time with TV.
It was early in this period where he first took serious notice of the original Star Trek TV series. While he watched it often enough. He never gave it much concideration until a news segment appeared telling of the 20th anniversary of the show and showing scenes of the 4th movie "The Voyage Home" this peaked his curiosity to the point where he started studying every episode to figure out why it's so popular.(Santa notes its still a driving force in his life to this day and he goes back often whenever he hits a crossroads to figure out where his life should go next.)
The exile years ended in 1989 with the Batman movie debued and the realization he could no longer live off his parents limited income.
Alan looked toward the Dark Knight as a beacon of hope and got his first job as an overnight laborer at a local blueberry factory.
While Batman provided a role model for Alan to work toward what he believed in, it was Star Trek that he credits with saving his job. He chose Spocks logic to literally talk himself out of the motion sickness of the conveyor belts he worked on.
During the winter when they switched over to Christmas wreaths, Alan helped out with decorating them.(Santa notes Alan benifited from the bowmaking here for his flower making.)
During the early 90's, Alan started reading Star Trek Novels and writing poetry. It was during this time he amassed most of his Star Trek Knowledge.
He started writing poetry after discovering he had a talent for it.(Santa notes his father also wrote poetry. But never took it seriously).
He wrote several short poems on numerous subjects. No topic was forbidden and went out of his way to prove it at times. Even went to the extreme of constructing an X rated short poem at one time to see if he could do it.
Things were going good for Alan. But,he started having feelings something was missing..."
"Something missing?"Brit said out loud to himself. "What could that be?"
"What could what be?" Brit heard from behind.
Douglas had just entered the room with his cleaning supplies." Couldn't help but overhear ya. What's missing?"
"Alan's missing something." Brit confirmed.
"That's uncool. Are you going to help him find it?"
"I can't leave. My vacation doesn't start until march. Besides, the records are about his past. Not today. He's probably fine. He's happily married with only the usual problems that most people have."
Just that moment, the phone rings.
"Good list library. Brit here."
"Somethings wrong in Maine." Santa said. His voice deep with concern." I'm getting some bad feelings about Alan. I need you to pack up & go there immeadiatly to scout out the situation."
"Me? Why?"
You've been studying his files. Its all fresh in your head. You're also the best elf for the job."
"I've barely started studying it."
"You'll have to cram along the way. Dasher will be taking you. The stable's getting him ready now."
Brit was clearly nervous. He'd never been outside the North Pole Complex. Never on an actual mission.
"What will I do when I get there?"
"Just observe & take notes. Call me if you figure out anything.don't let anyone see you. Secrecy is a must."
Brit still nervous simply said " yes sir. I'll do the best I can."
"Wonderful. Now pack up enough stuff to last a couple months and take a laptop with you."
"A couple months!"
But, Santa hung up without a response. Brit gathered what he needed at the office and went home to quickly pack for a long business trip. What started as simply a chance to find out about a mysterious story writer, is turning out to be an adventure into the unknown, watching a guy whom he's never met and may even be in trouble for all he knew of the situaion.
He grabbed what belongings he could fit into his bag and headed for the stables where his ride awaits him.
This concludes chapter 2. The next chapter will talk about how I met my wife(hint... it was literally love at 1st write :-)