Thursday January 25th 1996
French Military Installation
Vanavana Atoll, French Polynesia
South Pacific
Lieutenant Pierre Guille looked out of the window, just as he had done every morning since accepting this post twelve years ago. The bugler hadn�t yet sounded Reveille and the base was in ethereal silence. The only movement being the sun as it poked its golden face over the far horizon and cautiously pulled itself higher into the clear blue sky.
It was this early morning ritual that the Lieutenant would miss the most. The sun rising on yet another perfect day in military paradise, he wasn't sure if he would be able to make the adjustment of moving back to mother France. This small remote island in the middle of the South Pacific had become the center of his life. It was as much a part of him as his own soul. In actual fact he hadn't left its sandy shores in ten years. For the first two years of his service he would return home to Calais for the Christmas break, Bastille Day and a handful of other holidays but all too quickly the bleak gray surroundings of his childhood home and the dismal weather would loose its attraction and he would hear the atoll calling his name.
He adopted the island as his home and the island adopted him as a son. It was only a matter of time now until he unwillingly became an orphan. One final test and it would be all over. Effectively his post would be completed and he would be required to return to active service somewhere in mainland France. Of course he wouldn't be leaving immediately after the test; there would be a short period of time where he would be required to administrate the dismantling of the base. This small period of extended stay was of no consolation to him. His one and only love was to be ripped from his life and there was nothing that he could do to stop it.
The bugle sounded Reveille, its tinny melody resounding off the buildings and shattering the tranquil morning. Soldiers leapt from their cots and donned their fatigues and boots. Within moments the base was a hive of activity as soldiers hastily went about their daily duties.
The Lieutenant, who had already been dressed for well over an hour, moved to the officer's mess to consume his breakfast. He sat in the company of his peers, all of whom to some extent had also fostered a love for the island. Conversation was minimal as it had been since the Colonel had dropped the life-changing bombshell two days ago. Up until that time, life on the base was fairly mundane, there was a routine and every soldier knew exactly what the next day would bring. The habitual comfort was now gone and everything was in turmoil, not one soldier on the base knew where their next posting would be. Tension was rising and the division between non-commissioned officers and commissioned officers was swelling with hatred. The ranks felt as if the officers had known all along of the decommissioning of the base and had only made the facts known to them in the eleventh hour, but in actual fact the decision to call a cease to nuclear testing, made by the French Parliament thousands of miles away in Paris, had taken them all totally by surprise.
They moved from the mess hall to the briefing room, it was at one of these daily briefings that the Colonel had announced the news of the cease to nuclear testing and the decommissioning of the base. There was an air of uncertainty in the room as the Colonel moved to his usual position at the front of the assembly. He had an uncharacteristic stern look on his deeply furrowed face, the same look that he had worn two days earlier. On seeing this stern look the whole room in unison took a deep breath and awaited further bad news.
The Colonel cleared his throat with a coarse cough; it doubled as a sign that he also wanted silence and the total attention of all personnel in the room. All eyes were on him. He fidgeted with a pile of papers in his hands until he found the one that he was looking for. He lifted his head and looked towards the mass, trying not to make eye contact with anyone in particular.
�The scheduled date for the final test has been moved forward by a week,� announced the Colonel. Murmurs erupted in the throng. The Colonel raised his voice, �Effectively that makes zero hour at nineteen hundred hours the day after tomorrow.�
The murmurs became louder as officers discussed the ramifications of this earlier detonation time between themselves.
Major Roux stood to address the Colonel, �If I may speak frankly Sir?�
"Go ahead Major."
�We are already two days behind schedule with the drilling operations, moving the detonation forward by a week is physically impossible, the containment hole will not be deep enough.�
�I don�t want excuses, Major. President Chirac will be announcing to the world media that he has passed a mandate to cease all nuclear testing in the South Pacific. So the day after tomorrow it is. You will ensure that the drilling is complete so that the test can go ahead at the new zero hour. Is that understood?�
�Yes Sir.�
�I will hold you personally responsible to see that this is done. Use whatever manpower you need to get the task completed.�
�Yes Sir.�
�Remember, I don�t want any excuses. That goes for every soldier in the room and on the base. This test will go ahead and it will be on time.�
The room fell into a hush.
�Okay that�s all I have for today and I do believe that you all have some work ahead of you. So I�m not going to keep you any longer. Just remember that zero hour is at nineteen hundred hours on Saturday.�
The whole room noisily rose from their seats. The room erupted into a melting pot of desperation as officers discussed the ramifications of this latest news. Within moments, as the Colonel followed the last of the soldiers through the door, the briefing room fell into silence. It would be this wraithlike silence that would haunt the base for some time to come.