For Your Eyes Only
Sergeant Johnson
Why do women
have to be so complicated? You just don’t get it.
Even now, she’s
in the bathroom. She’s been in there an hour, and you know she’ll be in there an
hour more. Surely that counts as 2 wasted hours in one of your few days away
from the barracks. As you ponder that fact, the phone rings. “Is that Sergeant
Johnson?”, the voice on the other end asks.
“Yeah.”
“Sorry to have
called you so early.”
“It’s nothing, I
was already up anyway.”
“It’s Corporal
Jackson from the barracks here, you’ve had a letter come in. Looks important –
it’s got an official seal on it.”
This could be
what you’ve been waiting for. You’ve been bored with regular assignments
recently. Generally armed guard work, there’s been nothing with even a hint of
excitement to it. So you’ve been applying for overseas work, frontline stuff.
They need men out in the peacekeeping areas to make sure jerry behaves himself.
If you’re truthful about it, you’re probably keen to get away from Jane too.
She’s a lovely girl, but she’s become clingy. She doesn’t realise that the Army
is your first love and always will be. You’re almost scared that she’ll want to
get married - tie you down. Can you imagine that? You – scared of a woman! But
there’s times when you’d gladly take on a battalion of German soldiers rather
than have to tell her that you’re leaving.
You’re woken
from your thoughts by the voice on the phone.
“Sir? Are you
still there?”
“Yeah, I’m
here.”
“What do you
want me to do with this letter? I can forward it onto you?”
“No, keep it
there – I’ll come to get it.”
“Okay Sir. Will
do.”
This is good
news. It’ll give you a chance to get away. Give Jane a chance to re-evaluate
your relationship. That’s right, it’ll be good for her. You’re sure of that. But
how to break the news to her? You can’t stand it when she goes all soft and
crying. Which she will do as soon as you tell her. You can’t do that. A letter.
That’ll do the trick – by the time she reads it, you’ll be gone. Best for
everyone. You write a quick note to let her know what’s going on. Obviously you
can’t disclose any details, but your Country needs you.
You get out of
bed and get dressed. 5 minutes later you’re on your motorcycle on the way to the
barracks. Jane’s probably not even out of the bath yet.
Once you reach
the barracks, you run to the postmaster’s hut. You don’t know why, but you’re
very excited about this letter. It could be the start of something big. Corporal
Jackson sits behind the desk, and once he has verified your ID, he hands you the
brown manila envelope. The front has your name and serial number on. Strangely,
there is also an insignia – a Pegasus. With trembling hands, you rip open the
envelope and read the letter within.
Major Frederick Adams
Pegasus Division
Sergeant Johnson,
You have been selected for a specialist mission. Effective immediately, you have
been transferred to Pegasus Division. Report to the duty Lieutenant at
Ullesthorpe airfield immediately for briefing and training. Do not reveal the
contents of this letter to anyone. Do not inform anyone of your destination.
Your direct superiors have been informed of your transfer. That is all.
Maj. F Adams
You re-read the
letter. Now this sounds more like it! A specialist mission, very hush-hush.
Sounds like just what the doctor ordered. You manage to clear out your locker in
the dormitory in about 30 seconds flat. Everything goes in your kit bag, which
you throw into the motorcycle’s side-car. A quick look at the map for
Ullesthorpe, and you’re away, the wind in your hair.
As you arrive at
the barracks in Ullesthorpe, you notice the high security surrounding the place.
Dog patrols pace their way about the perimeter, and 2 tall observation towers
look down upon you. Approaching the entrance, a heavy iron beam bars your
progress. An armed Military Policeman walks up to you. “Papers.”, he says
abruptly. You hand over your documents, and he casts his eyes over them. “Good
afternoon, Sergeant Johnson, we’ve been expecting you. Please report to
Lieutenant Savage – P dormitory. Third on the left”. With that, he salutes and
raises the barrier.
The next few
days are tough – just like basic training all over. For the most part you direct
the men through their paces, but you willingly join in the forced marches with
gusto, urging your troops on. In fact, you’re starting to wonder if this whole
thing is going to be any more than wet-nursing a bunch of Privates when Lt.
Savage calls you into his office.
“It’s time”, he
says. “The big one.
“They’re all
fine soldiers”, you reply “But if I had to choose one, it would be Jones.”
“Jones – really?
I hear he has a problem with authority.”
“Don’t worry
sir; I’ll make sure he follows orders.”
“Very well. 1500
hours in the briefing room. Tell Jones.”
You both salute,
and you go to tell Private Jones the news…
You enter a
room designated as ‘BRIEFING’ with some trepidation and take a seat. Hushed
whispers are being exchanged by some of the assembled people here, but these are
quickly ended as an authoritative voice booms behind you, “For those of you that
don’t know me, my name is Major Frederick Adams” A tall, well-built man strides
towards the front of the room and takes his place behind a lectern. “Most of you
won’t know why you are here. I will now explain why it has been necessary to
take extreme measures to bring you here.”
“Lights” The
Major orders to a man at the back of the room. A second later, the lights are
dimmed, and your attention is drawn towards a screen to the side of the Major.
Another officer hands you a dossier, and switches on a small reading light in
front of you.
“Recently, one
of our operatives in
Mein Fuhrer,
The first results of Project Uber-Mensch are very encouraging. We have conducted
a number of field tests, and save for a few difficulties that we must iron out,
I believe that we are nearing successful completion of the project. It will
bring to the end seven years of effort – seven years well spent when you
consider the superiority it will give us over anyone who stands in our way. I
will of course keep you informed of any progress.
Glory to the Fatherland.
“For a
while, we have suspected that the Germans have been up to something. And now we
know. Or rather we don’t know. For those of you who don’t speak German,
‘Uber-Mensch’ translates as ‘Super-soldier’. What is ‘Project Super-Soldier’?
Why are the Germans in
“Given the
time critical nature of this mission, you will be flying out at 1100 hours. We
would have preferred to go at night, but there is a scheduled civilian flight
over the area which we will take the place of in order to not raise suspicion.
If you read the second document in your dossier, you will see that the area of
“A note to
the civilians amongst you - you are expected to follow the orders of the officer
in charge at all times and obey the chain of command. You have of course, all
signed the Official Secrets Act prior to this briefing, so I do not need to
remind you that everything you witness during the course of this mission is NOT
to be disclosed to anyone outside Pegasus Division on penalty of the harshest
consequences. One final thing – due to the nature of the situation, Central
Command has designated this as a ‘Damocles Imperative’ mission - that is a
mission which could have worldwide ramifications.”
“That is
all, ladies and gentlemen. Good luck and God Speed. God save the King.”
The lights
go back on, and you are led out of the room to a bunkhouse.
You’re not
sure about having civilians on-board for this one. Most of them look half scared
to death, and keep to themselves. Personally, you can’t wait to go. You can feel
the adrenaline working its way through your body, taking your body to optimum
alertness. Much of dinner is spent in hushed conversation with Lieutenant
Savage, as he outlines the official briefing and tells you what he expects of
you. There is something about his manner as he describes the drop-zone that
fills you with confidence – this is a man who knows what he is doing, and you
are sure that he will do everything in his power to make sure you all come back
home safe.
After the
meal, you ensure that your kit is all present and functioning correctly – you
don’t want to let the Lieutenant down, and more importantly you don’t want to be
the weak link in the unit. You lead a brief training session for the civilians
in how to parachute. Although time constraints mean that the talk is basically
limited to jump and hope for the best!
The rest of
the evening is your own, and you decide that your time will be best spent
getting a bit of sleep. In truth though, the events of the past 24 hours make it
almost impossible. However, it seems as if your head has barely touched the
pillow before you are woken by a private with a nice hot cup of tea. You dress
quickly – the air is cold this morning and makes the hairs on the back of your
neck stand on end. The morning consists of a final briefing on the ‘theatre of
operations’, and then the call comes in that the mission is ‘GO’. Once everyone
is ready, you are lead out onto the airstrip where a twin-engined plane is
warming up on the runway. Major Adams stands by the door, and gives each of you
a sturdy handshake and a “Good Luck” as you board the plane. You make sure that
everyone is strapped in tightly before heading to the cockpit to give the
all-clear to the pilot. As you return and fasten your own seatbelt, the low hum
of the engines increases in pitch and you feel the aircraft begin to edge
forward. The plane speeds up and then suddenly you feel the ground drop away as
you become airborne. You glance around you – your comrades seem to be either
deep in contemplation, sleeping or praying. The hours pass, and you find the
drone of the engines strangely hypnotic and relaxing.
You are
woken from your reverie by a harsh buzz, and a red light illuminates above the
aircraft door. The army personnel unstrap themselves, and then you set about
releasing everyone else. Before they rise out of their seats, you clip them onto
a guy-line that runs towards the door. Once everyone is safely attached to the
line, you pull the door handle, and open the cabin to the cold rushing air
outside. Your breath is taken away by the conditions outside, as the Lieutenant
performs one last check. The buzz sounds again, and the light turns to green.
“This is
it chaps. Good luck!” He pats you on the shoulder – your signal to jump, and
look out of the door at the horizon. The sun is already beginning to set. You
jump out into the cold unknown…