Operation London (short story)

Operation London, also called Contact: London and prefixed as Operations Board: Operation London on the story's page, was the
eighth short story and twelfth release published exclusively on the U.N.I.T. website on 22 April 2005Operations Board on unit.org.uk via the Wayback Machine by the BBC webteam to coincide with the broadcast of Aliens of London. Operation London was the second release in the Operations Board series of in-universe chat logs between UNIT personnel, although it be later ordered before the first, Operation Mannequin.
== Plot ==
During the London UFO crash on 28 June 2006, Major Jenny Maguire submits an initial assessment about the "damn craft" that left the Big Ben in ruins, which is now lying in the Thames - she adds that the government is being "less than helpful". She concludes by saying that containment is pointless. However, Staff Sergeant Annie Frederick is more cautious, suggesting it may be better to hold back in case if the crash is a hoax.
About an hour later, Corporal J Frinkstein tells Maguire and Frederick that UNIT is liaising with the "regular Army", mentioning that the craft has now been opened, and something has been found. Maguire asks for Frinkstein to report on what was found, and he explains that he's rather taken aback, as a they found what appears to be a pig. Frinkstein admits that he finds it rather sweet, the being that he calls the "space pig", though Maguire warns him to treat it with caution, as it may still be hostile. Frinkstein tells them that the corpse has now been taken to be studied by xenobiologists at the Albion Hospital, and he shares images of the interior of the craft, but is doubtful any of it will be of use.
Lieutenant David Judd agrees, stating that there is nothing of use - nor are there any "proper telecommunications" - and he asks for permission to pull his men out of the situation. Maguire grants it, and sarcastically mentions that a space pig is all they need, and that they should defrost a "squiddy thing" and see how the press enjoy that. Frederick announces that a press conference is being arranged, though UNIT's involvement is being restrained at "[that] stage", however a working team is being assembled, though Frederick is tempted to suggest that herself and her coworkers don't attend and just leave the team to it.
Later that day, Maguire airs her annoyances at the government, who she believes either doesn't care about the situation or don't want to contain the situation, however they had asked for UNIT to assemble a team of experts to be sent to Number Ten. Maguire also mentions that Frost's Team is coming over from Geneva. About an hour later, Frederick, in astonishment, tells her co-workers that that "he" has arrived...
== Characters ==
* Major Jenny Maguire
* Staff Sergeant Annie Frederick
* Corporal J Frinkstein
* Lieutenant David Judd
=== Referenced only ===
* Space pig
* "Him"
* Frost
== Worldbuilding ==
* Maguire mentions that the "damn craft" had been caught on fifty-seven traffic cams. She jokes that when something emerges from it, the first thing that will happen is that it will be issued a Congestion Charge.
* As part of her joke about releasing a defrosted "squiddy thing" on the press, Maguire mentions the stores.
* Maguire sarcastically mentions that "he" should wear asbestos pants.
* Frederick mentions that Number Ten has already created a pass for "him". A team in Swindon had leapt into action like a group of excited monkeys.
== Notes ==
* The date of 26 March 2005 is placed next to the title of the story - not unlike Operation Mannequin - however, this appears to be an error as it is presumably the date the story was released.
* Due to limitations on the early Internet, image files had to be compressed, leaving many images from these stories in low-res formats. However, James Goss, by 13 November 2022, has found at least one of the uncompressed images, that of the Ninth Doctor's ID card.
== Continuity ==
* The destruction of Big Ben was first mentioned in PROSE: Have You Seen This Man?.
* The story is set during TV: Aliens of London.
* The team of experts are later killed by the Slitheen. (TV: World War Three)
* Maguire mentions Frost and her team. (COMIC: The Mark of Mandragora, TV: Aliens of London)
== External links ==
== Footnotes ==
Category:Operations Board short stories
Category:Sources set in 2006