Friday - March 21, 1952

Kimpo Air Base, Seoul, South Korea

She knew that as soon as she set foot in the Officers' Club, the disapproving glances would start. Nellie was no stranger to judgement. Being one of the extremely few female surgeons in the United States invited rude glances. Here in Kimpo, as long as she kept her profession under wraps, she could pass as a nurse. That would help some.

The sun had just risen about an hour ago, the same time she stepped off her flight from Tokyo. As she left the cool, breezy outdoors and stepped into the small, dark "O" Club, she stood still. A gentle korean voice hummed over the radio. To her left, the clinking of glasses signaled the bartender preparing for the day.

"One scotch." Nellie slid onto a bar stool. As the bartender reached for her drink, she looked around. Three other officers sat around the bar. Two shared a table in the corner, and another sat at the other end of the bar.

With a quick glance at her watch, she figured she had time for just this drink. Her ride to the 4077th was arriving in ten minutes. The scotch burned ever so slightly as it went down and she smiled. Nothing quite like the bite of scotch.

Nellie continued to sip on her drink as the minutes passed. The Officers' Club remained quiet, with the hum of the radio in the background the only real noise. Over at the other end of the bar, the colonel that Nellie had seen was now watching her carefully. She ventured a glance at him, raised her glass to her lips, and drank while turning away. She had no interest in catching his interest.

The watch on her wrist read 7:30. Nellie quickly paid her tab and made her way out into the air base compound. She held a suitcase in each hand. A few jeeps drove to and fro. Only two weeks into her stay in the East and she was already beginning to tire of olive drab.

As she stood looking around for nothing in particular, a jeep drove up in front of the Officers' Club. The man in the jeep looked around her before finally venturing his question when he seemed to notice her Major's clusters. "You wouldn't happen to be Major O'Hara would you?"

"That's me. Major Nellie O'Hara, surgeon." After a moment she smiled. "You seem to be expecting someone else."

He saluted. "Pardon me, Major, but you're a lot prettier than we were expecting. I don't think I've ever heard of a woman surgeon in the Army." He hopped out of the jeep. Rounding the front, he held out a hand to take her bags. "Corporal Max Klinger, MASH 4077th Company Clerk."

Nellie handed Klinger one of her two bags. "Pleasure to meet you," she said. Together they put her suitcases in the back of the jeep. "So, company clerk eh? Any inside information you can give me about the unit before I show up?" She flashed him a smile. "I like to know what I'm getting into before I jump in."

"Ah if information is what you need, I'm your man," Klinger joked. As they both hopped into the jeep, he shook his head. "Enlisted men always know the ins and outs."

With a laugh, Nellie adjusted her long, dark brown hair so that even the wind from their drive couldn't shove the hair into her face. Her mom had always told her she had inherited the "Irish Black" hair of her father's side. Whatever the case, she had always liked how her hair went with her blue eyes. What she didn't like right then was the stiffness of the brown formal uniform skirt she had been forced into wearing. It made the jeep drive uncomfortable.

"So, what do you want to know, Major?" Klinger asked as they drove off down the road towards Uijeongbu.

She shrugged. Adjusting her hat again, Nellie took a long look at the terrain around them. Dusty roads, small clusters of trees and shrubs, and a lot of rocks made up the majority of the sight. Finally she turned back to Klinger. "Who will I be working with?"

"Colonel Potter is our C.O. He's regular army, but don't hold it against him," he added quickly. "The Colonel's a good guy! I don't know if he knows you're you. That could throw him for a loop."

"He probably doesn't," Nellie replied. "I'll have more information on my job for him when I talk to him."

Klinger looked at her briefly, turning his gaze from the road. Then he continued. "There are three other surgeons. Captain Pierce is Chief Surgeon. He's great. So is Captain Hunnicutt. But watch out of them- they like to play practical jokes on everyone. No one is safe."

She laughed. "Who's the third?"

"Major Charles Emerson Winchester the Third." Klinger's grin fell slightly. "He's an excellent surgeon."

Nellie smirked and looked away. The unspoken hint at a lack of comment on the Major's character provided all the detail she needed. As the countryside passed them by, she fell silent. It wasn't until they had almost reached camp that she spoke again. "Looks like rain," she muttered.

Klinger scowled. "I wouldn't be surprised. Let's hope it holds off for another fifteen minutes. We're almost to camp."

The rain didn't hold off. The clouds opened a few minutes later. Klinger apologized for not having anything for her to cover her clothes with. She brushed him off.

"It's just a little rain," she assured him. Nellie looked up and saw a wooden sign over the road. It read 'MASH 4077th Best Care Anywhere'. She smiled.

Because of the rain, she only caught sight of a few people. A few men ran across the compound to a massive tent. She guessed it was the Mess Tent. Klinger pulled in front of a large building. Unlike everything else, this had walls and was not made of canvas. She hurried out of the jeep, Klinger close behind with her bags.

She breathed a sigh of relief when they stepped inside what she guessed to be the clerical office. A bed took up one corner, and a desk with cabinets and machinery lined the rest of the room. Two rooms branched off, both with swiveling double doors. Klinger placed her bags near the door to the outside and turned to her.

"I'll go tell the Colonel that you're here. They're all probably inside," he said. Then he ducked through the closer double doors.

Nellie could hear chatter in the next room. Her breathing began to heighten and her palms started to sweat. In her mind she went over and over all possible insults that could be thrown her way. Nothing would catch her off guard.

Klinger reappeared. He nodded and gestured for her to enter. She plastered a smile on her face and straightened her uniform. If she was going to be forced to wear this stupid dress uniform, the least she could do was make it look fantastic.

She walked through the door, resolute, chin held high. To her right near the windowed wall sat two men. In chairs before her were two more men and a blonde woman. Klinger took up a spot to the left. But behind the desk sat the older man with the Colonel's eagle on his uniform.

"Major Nellie O'Hara reporting as ordered, sir," she said with a quick salute. She could feel all eyes on her. Inwardly she cursed her dripping wet hair that fell down her back and sides to below her bra line. She feared she looked a mess.

He saluted back. "At ease, Major. Klinger wasn't lying when he said we'd be surprised!" He glanced sidelong at his smirking company clerk. "I'm Colonel Potter. You'll have to excuse the looks around the room. It isn't exactly common for a woman surgeon to be in a MASH unit."

Nellie laughed before she caught herself. "Apologies, Colonel. What you really mean to say is what the hell am I doing here, and how did they let me into the army?" She reached into her chest pocket and pulled out folded papers. "You'll find enclosed a summary of the Athena Project. I hope you're not too disappointed to find out I'm a woman. I assure you I won't disappoint."

"Trust me we aren't disappointed," said a dark haired man sitting on some boxes.

At his comment, the Colonel looked up from the missive Nellie had handed him. "Ah, let me introduce the crew. Here we have our chief surgeon, Captain Pierce," said Colonel Potter. He gestured to the man who had just spoken.

"Hawkeye."

After she shook his hand, Colonel Potter turned to a blonde haired man with a funny bushy mustache next to Hawkeye. "This is Captain Hunnicutt-"

"BJ."

Again she shook hands. After that, she met Major Charles Winchester, Captain Father Francis Mulcahy, and finally Major Margaret Houlihan. Nellie grinned when she shook Margaret's hand.

"So, Colonel, what's in the papers?" Hawkeye prompted.

He shrugged. "I haven't gotten through it. But it seems I'm permitted to share it with my staff. Major, would you like to explain?" He looked up at Nellie.

"Of course." After a pause she nodded. "It's certainly no secret that the army is desperate for surgeons. They'll take anyone. Any man, at least. About a year ago after peace talks broke down, a project was introduced called Athena. Athena being the Greek goddess of battle and strategy."

"Charming," Charles commented.

She looked around before continuing, ignoring his comment. "The Athena Project asked five women surgeons if they would enlist in the army and be sent here to the Korean war. There aren't many of us as it is, but it was an honor to be invited to represent us who are both surgeon and woman."

"Not to honor your country," quipped Hawkeye.

She dignified that with a hard look. "My opinions on this war aren't up for discussion at the current time." She sent him a fake smile and turned back to Colonel Potter. "From what I've been able to see, there are two opinions on the Athena Project in the army higher ups. The ones who introduced the decision are hopeful that they can tap into small but useful sect of women doctors. The other group is hoping we'll fail and bar women doctors from serving for as long as possible. I insisted on going to a MASH unit."

"And they sent you here?" Margaret asked. "There are other units more pressed for surgeons."

She looked around. "They chose the 4077th because you have the best record. They're hoping I'll make your record drop as proof of our unfitness to serve. I intend to prove them wrong."