Skywatch

  Moonlight flickering through the clouds reflected on the wings of the small plane as it skimmed almost silently over the tree tops.  Inside the plane the pilot knew that soon there would be no moonlight where they were going.  This was a strange and dangerous mission and the moon shining bright as day would not be helpful.  Checking his instruments he glanced at the young woman sitting next to him in the cockpit.  He knew he had only been told part of her mission but it was enough to make him wonder why a young, beautiful woman would parachute into the darkness below.  Shaking his head he said,
  "We'll be over the area in about an hour Miss.  The supplies will be dropped first."
  "Thank you Captain," the young woman replied as she turned back to the window.
An hour she thought -- an hour to change my mind!  Tell them I have regained my sanity and I have no intention of jumping out of this airplane.  She knew she would not but it made her relax for a few minutes.  The General had kept reminding her that after the jump it was too late to change her mind.  She smiled as she remembered the General briskly explaining all the last minute instructions, all the while trying to hide his concern.  It was hard to believe that this had all began such a short time ago.As secretary to General Wentworth she had been aware of the many facets of the war in Europe and the growing concern with the Japanese but certainly not to the extent she had learned this fall of 1941.  She remembered the day the General had called her into his office to dictate the details of Operation Skywatch.  Operation Skywatch was his idea and he was very proud of it.
The Japanese were using the ice flow areas off the coast of Canada and Alaska to move ships and planes.  Where they were going was the mystery because they seemed to vanish into thin air.  The Aleuts living in the area told of seeing funny looking boats but when questioned later they were strangely unfriendly and refused to talk.  It was obvious that the ships moved under cover of darkness and the ice floes and were keeping their whereabouts a secret for some reason but no traces could be found.  The various native tribes along the coast of Alaska had made mention of "foreign devils" before refusing to talk further.  The location and purpose of this base was the main target of Operation Skywatch.  The military personnel had been unable to spot anything because their movements were limited without detection.  The General had decided the only way was to send someone into the area to establish a secret coast watch.  Because of the unusual unfriendliness of the Aleuts, it was decided to keep the operation entirely secret.  The Aleuts were normally friendly, happy people but something had made them very uncommunicative.
  Until further information was available even the Army base would be limited in knowledge, only the Colonel in charge and his few carefully selected people would be aware of Operation Skywatch.  Secrecy would be very important and the fewer people involved the better.
  A volunteer was needed to be trained in radio, survival and defense techniques as soon as possible.  The coast could be a very wet environment at all times but especially getting toward the winter.  The mountains and heavy forest would furnish some cover but getting someone into the area undetected would be tricky.  There were numerous caves along the coast that would be ideal or watching but could not be used as the home base.  If there were foreigners in the area the home base needed to be protected so the individual would have to establish a home base and find a cave along the coast to use as a watching post.
  Kathy was particularly interested in the operation because her brother, Jim was the Colonel in charge of the Army base.
  As the General was dictating, Kathy's mind was racing as a wild idea began taking form.  She desperately wanted to be that volunteer!  Oh, it wasn't possible, the General would never hear of it.
  When the General finished his dictation and dismissed Kathy, she rose and moved toward the door.  As she reached the door Kathy stopped and turned.
  "General, is this affecting the Army base dangerously?"
  "I'll be honest Kathy.  Things don't look good.  There is something going on in that area and we don't know what.  We haven't been able to move people around to find out which could indicate a leak in security," replied the General.  "It's as though they know when the base sends out a scouting party and everything appears to be normal."
  "Have you found a volunteer yet?" Kathy asked.
  The General shook his head and sighed, "No, that's where the holdup will be.  It's hard to ask for a volunteer when we want to maintain top security and not tell anyone what we want them for until we're sure they are qualified.  They will need some special training anyway."
  "Why couldn't I be your volunteer?" asked Kathy.
  "That would be great.  Keep it in the family so to speak," laughed the General.
  "General Wentworth, I'm serious about this.  You know it concerns me because of Jim and if this is affecting him in some way I want to help.  I could be trained the same as anyone else and be ready as quickly for the assignment.  I already have some training in survival and radio  techniques as part of the home front assignments that everyone volunteered for when things began to get worse with Germany.  Won't you consider it," pleaded Kathy.  “You know my family background.  From the time Jim and I were big enough to walk we’ve spent summers camping, hiking and doing survival training in the wilderness with our parents.  Father always believed in having fun but being prepared for anything.  I grew up holding my own with Jim”.
             "Kathy, it could be a very dangerous assignment.  That's why we have specified volunteer.  I couldn't be responsible for sending a woman out there alone," the General said shaking his head.
  "Please think about it, General.  It would certainly help keep security and eliminate looking for someone else.  Besides there might be advantages to sending a woman," suggested Kathy.
  The General reluctantly agreed to think it over and Kathy returned to her desk.  All afternoon she kept thinking of her brother and Operation Skywatch.  The General just had to let her go!
  The General's thoughts kept returning to the talk with Kathy.  A woman in the area wouldn't be as suspicious as it had first seemed.  Particularly when that woman had a brother stationed in the area.  She could be dropped under cover of darkness and if discovered could be passed off as the scatterbrain sister trying to see her brother.  Kathy was anything but scatterbrained but the General was certain she could carry it off if necessary.  It just might work!  Colonel Williams would never forgive him if anything happened to Kathy but then he would never forgive himself either.  The Colonel would be notified of Operation Skywatch under top security and be prepared to receive radio transmissions, but he wouldn't know it was Kathy sending them until it was all over.  At least it wouldn't hurt to start her on the training and keep looking for someone else.
  The next several days were spent going over details between the General and Kathy.  He was still apprehensive about sending her in alone but as they discussed the mission he became convinced that she could do the job.  Kathy was so impatient to get going that she could hardly sit still.  She knew the details were important so Kathy controlled her impatience and listened closely.
The next few weeks passed as a blur through her mind with all the lessons and training she had to absorb.  The first week was the hardest when her body protested the unaccustomed exercise.  She could hardly drag herself out of bed each morning but gradually found it easier even though the instructors kept coming up with new tortures to try.  The radio techniques came back to her with practice and she soon learned the code.  She felt more comfortable that she would have no problem especially after the instructors gave her a duress test.  Parachute jumping was the hardest for her to master because she had never cared for heights but Kathy soon overcame her fear and became proficient.  She felt it was something she had to do but would never really like it.  The days settled into a routine of endurance tests, radio techniques and survival training.  Kathy felt into bed each night exhausted but her thoughts still twirling.
  After a few weeks General Wentworth sent for her.  As Kathy entered his office she caught of look of surprise on his face.
  "You look different, Kathy" he stated.
  "It's amazing what exercise and fresh air will do for a person", she laughed.  "I thought I was pretty fit but that first week soon told me otherwise."
  "Are you sure you want to go through with this?  You, Jim and your parents have been very close to me and I can tell you I've been having second thoughts about letting you go," the General stated.
"Yes, I'm sure," Kathy said.
"Well, okay," the General sighed.  "If I had anyone else to send I would.  I know you've had good training and the instructors all give you high marks but they don't know the situation.  Be careful and don't take any unnecessary risks.  You'll have to avoid any contact for security reasons but if you have any trouble call it off and contact the base.  We'll have someone trained to relieve you as soon as possible if we haven't gotten the information we need by then.  Are you clear on the procedure we'll use to get them in and you out?"
"Don't worry sir.  I know the mission and the procedure to get out.  I also know I can call for help if needed but I'm hoping it won't be necessary," she said trying to reassure him.
  Breaking protocol the General kissed her goodbye and Kathy realized he was really very concerned about sending her in alone.  She gave him a hug and said, "I know you're going to worry but I promise I'll be extra careful and I will get the job done."