For Your Eyes Only

Dr. Giles Lewis-Stempnel

Working for Pegasus Division has certainly been interesting and illuminating. After signing the official secrets act you have been kept busy in a variety of work, despite the division having a much larger medical staff than usual. As the newest doctor on staff your main duties involve giving full medical examinations to all incoming personnel as well as all soldiers returning from missions.

Nothing has really been explained to you - your clearance not being high enough yet, but it is obvious that there is something very different about Pegasus Division. The excessive medical department for a start, the large research facilities available with state of the art equipment and the very serious nature of the personnel. Over the year that you have worked for Pegasus, you have been aware of teams of soldiers going on missions all the time, often returning shortly with no problems at all or coming home in bags. For a country at peace something is wrong with the state of alert of this place.

And then there are the injuries you’ve treated. You’ve seen every type of injury and wound its possible to do to the human body, things that would make most men lose their lunch, but what you’ve seen here is frankly amazing. You’ve had to repair what can only be described as claw-marks, remove giant barbs and amputate the strangest growths, all without ever being able to ask questions until finally your chance has come for some answers.

Some weeks ago there seemed to be a large mission in the offing and a large proportion of Pegasus personnel including most of the medical corp. were sent to Peru.  In the last few days the bureaucracy of Pegasus has been in a flap and you’ve had to give medicals to quite a few soldiers new to the base. Then yesterday Major Adams, the operational head calls you in.

“Ah, Captain Giles-Stempnel - come in.”

“You asked to see me, Sir?”

“Yes. How long have you been with us here, Captain?”

“Almost a year, Sir.”

“And I imagine that you have seen some things that would be described as… Strange?”

“Yes, Sir. Very strange.”

“And this doesn’t bother you?”

“Not at all, Sir. I’m glad to be working at the forefront of it all. The only frustrating thing is….”

“Yes, Captain”

“The only frustrating thing is not knowing what’s going on.”

“Ah yes. But you must appreciate that information is only given on a need to know basis. In fact, I wish there were times when I didn’t know everything. Ignorance as they say, is bliss.” The Major looks uneasy for a moment, and you recall the prescriptions for sleeping remedies that you have had to prescribe for him. He then continues “Actually, I called you in because you are the most experienced medical practitioner on the base at the moment. There’s something I’d like you to take a look at.” And then, almost as an afterthought, he adds “I do hope you have a strong stomach.”

The Major leads you to isolation laboratory B. “It’s best that we follow full contagion procedures, Captain. I wish you to perform an autopsy. The subject was shot at around 2230 last night by one of the teams in Wales.”

You both suit up into the protective gear hanging by the laboratory door, and you enter followed by the Major. Lying on the slab in front of you is a heavily wounded man, approximately 6 feet tall and aged about 30. He has a particularly gruesome head wound, from initial observation caused by a 9mm bullet. The reek of decay is overpowering – unusual for a new cadaver.

“Can you tell me what killed him?” asks the Major.

You look incredulously at the him. Is this some sort of test, normally reserved for first year medical students?

“Well Sir, he appears to have been shot!”

“Come now Captain. Look beyond the obvious…”

You take a closer look at the subject. There is something strange about the coagulation of the wounds on his body. You would have expected a greater deal of bleeding from bullet wounds like this.

“Was the subject shot after he was dead, sir?”

“That’s what I would like you to tell me Captain”

You inspect the body further. The only wound that shows any sign of normal bleeding patterns is on the right lower arm. Some sort of animal bite by the looks of it. But this alone would not be enough to kill him, even with severe blood-loss.

“I’m at a loss Major. Without full internal autopsy I cannot determine the cause of death of this man.”

“Unfortunately, Captain, we do not have time for that. I’m assembling a squad - at quite short notice, I’m afraid. You are being assigned and I am authorising an increase in your clearance level. Please assemble a field medical kit and report to the briefing room tomorrow at 1500 hours” He beckons to an orderly “I want this corpse incinerated immediately!”

You leave the lab slightly dazed but excited, a field mission! You hurry off to prepare your kit for the briefing.

The next day you enter the 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” The Major 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 Northern France intercepted a message. This message was heavily encrypted, but was decoded by our Intelligence and Logistics department. Ladies and gentlemen, the contents of this message are very worrying. You can find the letter in the first page of your dossier.”

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 Northern France? These are the questions that I want you to answer for me. Therefore, I am sending you to the Ardennes region on a reconnaissance mission. The mission will be under the command of Lieutenant Savage. I want you to liaise with our operative – Captain Mason-Wickes, and find out what the hell the Germans are up to.”

“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 France that you are going to is an Alpha Sensitive area. This means that you should treat it as being behind enemy lines. I have been informed by Central Command that we will maintain a stance of plausible deniability if you are discovered or captured. We will not be sending reinforcements should this happen.” These last sentences send a shiver down your spine as you grasp the enormity of this statement.

“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.

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. Sergeant Johnson makes sure that everyone is strapped in tightly before heading to the cockpit. As he returns and fastens his 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 Sergeant Johnson sets about releasing everyone else. Before you rise out of your seat, he clips you onto a guy-line that runs towards the door. Once everyone is safely attached to the line, he pulls the door handle, and opens 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 the first in line on the shoulder, and one by one they all throw themselves out of the plane. You feel a tap on your shoulder, and look out of the door at the horizon. The sun is already beginning to set. You jump out into the cold unknown…