The rest of the day, Potter walked around with a faint red mark on his forehead where he had promptly leaned down and whacked his head on his desk.
/But that's ok.../ He thought, walking towards his tent that evening. /The paperwork's done, the orders are given, and there's still some time for a little Zane Grey before I turn in./
Just as he rounded the corner by the Nurse's showers, dutifully noting that Pierce was not attending his usual post - at the hole in the canvas - he saw why Hawkeye was not there. Instead, Hawkeye was walking back and forth in front of Potter's tent, wearing his soldier helmet and carrying... get this... a gun. Immediately suspicious and extremely worried, Potter held up his hands and asked in a warning tone
"Now Hawkeye, son... what'n the hell're you doin' with that gun?"
Everybody knew that Hawkeye hated to even look at any type of weapon, so his carrying one could only mean that something was seriously wrong. Hawkeye turned around and looked at the Colonel, before his face broke into a grin.
"Oh, don't worry, it's not loaded. It's just to scare them away."
"Scare who away, son?" Potter dropped his arms to his sides in disbelief, fearing the answer. Various personnel were peeking out of their tents, and BJ was quickly jogging up to the scene. Everyone heard Hawkeye speak as his words punctuated the warm night air.
"Why, the aliens, of course!"
And resumed his pacing back and forth in front of Potter's tent. As Radar peeked out from behind him, Colonel Potter turned around and said to the young Corporal
"Get on the horn and-"
"On the horn and find Dr. Freedman. Got it, sir."