In the heat of the Egyptian desert, L Detachment were engaged in a war of nighttime raids and stealth missions. Four remarkable individuals had recently joined them in their efforts. Mademoiselle Mimi Dubois, La Résistance fighter and mistress of skills; Miss Madeline Forsyth, SOE operative and a living shadow; Sven Hyse, Norwegian Resistance soldier and shapeshifter; and Doctor Jackal, timid physician with his less than timid friend Mister Hades.

Qareti, Egypt, July 1942
The morning after our intelligence-gathering mission Captain Stirling called all the teams in for a briefing. He was very pleased with the success of the incursion, with only one team experiencing any problems. Moreover, that was only due to them encountering a far larger force than was expected. They had almost completed their reconnoitre when they were discovered, and they had fought a rapid retreat and evaded capture.

Captain Stirling goes on to say that due to additional intelligence discovered by one of the teams, he gives a slight nod towards us, the timetable for the sabotage runs has been moved forwards by twenty four hours. We will be returning tomorrow night with the intention of laying low during the day and then sneaking in under the cover of darkness to disable any artillery or armour at our designated target locations. The briefing breaks up and each team begins to focus on getting their kit and vehicles ready.

I remember noticing that every team had a mechanic who was maintaining their vehicles, I decided to slide under one of the jeeps next to one of the soldiers whose hands were deeply ingrained with engine oil. I asked him to talk me through the basics of maintaining a vehicle in the desert and obviously he obliged, as he was pointing at some piece of equipment I gently touched his arm for a moment. I then knew that he was pointing at the jeep’s leaf springs, and that they needed to be checked over before each mission as a suspension failure in the middle of the desert could prove fatal. I thanked him and headed for our own vehicle to carry out checks of my own with my freshly ‘borrowed’ skill.

Later that afternoon we received a visit from Stirling, he told us that our mission would be slightly different to the other teams. Our primary objective was to secure the information with regards to the German troop movements, if we were successful then we should prosecute our secondary objective of destroying any artillery and armour at the target site. To enable us to destroy the artillery that we had already spotted, Captain Stirling tells us that we will be issued with two explosive charges and four pencil timers.

He asks if there is any other equipment that we require, both Sven and Madeline request silencers for their pistols and Captain Stirling says that his Lieutenant will source them for us. He tells us to be prepped and ready to roll at dusk and then heads off to talk to the next team. A couple of hours later Lieutenant Wiseman returns with the silencers and the explosives.

By twenty two hundred, six vehicles travelling in convoy disappear into the desert night.

As soon as we are clear of the camp I closed my eyes and gently placed my hand on Madeline's arm and, with her permission, 'borrowed' her ability to see in the dark. While Madeline and I had trialed this before, this would be the first time that we had done it under mission conditions. The first time that I had mimicked another's power for use in the field. It felt like a momentous occasion, and when I opened my eyes I could see as if it was a bright sunlit day. Seeing my face, Madeline smiled at me and said;

Good! Isn't it!

The downside of mimicking someone else's power is that it takes it out of you, and I was very glad that all I had to do for the next hour was sit in the back of the jeep while Sven was at the wheel and Henry navigated. By the time that we reached the rendezvous point I was feeling myself once more. As with the scouting mission, Captain Stirling had a quick word with each team and then we all went our separate ways heading for our individual targets.

As soon as we set off I 'borrowed' Madeline's power to turn into shadow. We were now ready to attempt our plan. Sven slowed to a stop when Henry said that we were about two miles from our target, he hopped out of the jeep and changed into his special suit. He then changed again, but this time into a desert bird. He soared off into the night sky towards Qareti. I remember sitting in the dark awaiting his return, I had never realised how alive the desert becomes at night and how tense you can become waiting before a mission. After about thirty minutes a bird lands on the front of the jeep, then hops down onto the sand and transforms into Sven.

We may have a problem!

Sven tells us that our hiding place from our last incursion seems undiscovered and safe, however there is now a German tank in the center of the village. He briefly describes it and Madeline says that it sounds like a Panzer IV. All I know is that our mission just got a lot more dangerous.

I jump into the driving seat and slowly manoeuvre us back into our previous hiding spot where we can overlook the village. As I am doing that Sven heads back in to try and gather more information about the tank. Henry settles back into his watching position with Madeline alongside him while I go about the job of camouflaging the jeep and our watch position. At one point, Henry swears blind that he saw the bird Sven land on top of the tank and hop about in front of the drivers viewport.

Once Sven arrives back he confirms that he did indeed land on the tank, and that it was occupied by two German troopers. It looks like the enemy has set a watch, all be it only over the tank, this time. Madeline suggests that we should head in and get the job done, and I agreed with her. Doctor Jackal, however, put on his best Captain Stirling impression and repeated word for word what Stirling had said. We were to lay low during the day and then sneak in under the cover of darkness to deal with the artillery and armour.

Madeline looked at me and then at Henry.

We can at least go in and retrieve the information about the troop movements.

And so we agreed. Madeline and I would go in as shadows with Sven providing watch in bird form, we would grab the information and return it to Henry as quickly as possible. Henry would then commit it all to his remarkable memory and we would return the information the same way that we took it in the hope that it’s theft would never be noticed. By this time it was three o’clock in the morning, or oh three hundred hours as Stirling would say. We slipped over the edge of the sand dune and crawled into the shadows at the bottom of it, I then followed Madeline’s lead as we both slowly became part of the shadows that we were hiding in.

It was the oddest sensation that I have ever felt, it was definitely the thinnest that I have ever felt. The feeling of being two dimensional, of sliding along the ground and up walls. The ability to slip through the smallest of holes or under the edges of doors, it really gave you a different perspective on the world around you. We moved from shadow to shadow around the southern edge of the oasis and eventually slid under the door of the building housing the radio room. Inside there were several camp beds, most of which were occupied. We continued on into the radio room where again we found two more occupied beds.

Madeline flowed up onto the table and after a long moment to memorise the position of everything, gathered up all of the radio transcriptions and maps, and as she touched them they turned to shadow like her. She then moved towards the radio, she later explained that she was making a mental note of the frequency that the Germans were using, before heading out of the room and back towards our watch post. I followed.

Madeline hands Henry all of the documentation and he settles in under the jeeps camouflage netting to scan through it all. Thinking that it will take him a while to commit all of that to memory we settle down to watch the village. However, after only a matter of six or seven minutes Henry reappears and says that he is done. We look a little surprised, but head back in and retrace our journey to return the papers and maps. Dawn’s first light is just beginning to show by the time we make it back to the watch post.

The village wakes up and we watch it go about it’s routine, worshipers attend to their prayers, farmers attend to the flocks, and the Nazis attend to their guns. Mid-morning and the three German tank  troopers and their officer climb into their tank and close the hatches. There is a tremendous roar as the tank’s engine turns over and then the tank trundles out of the village and begins to loop around to the west. I remember the tension that fell across our hiding place as we wondered if we had been spotted, and we all breathed a sigh of relief when after twenty minutes the tank reappeared and once more took up it’s position in the centre of the square.

Once more during the afternoon the tank went for a short patrol, Sven believed that it was making sure that it was completely operational by running for a short while. We waited out the daylight hours, rotating watches and grabbing sleep where we could. The sun disappeared behind the dunes and the village began to quieten down. By twenty two forty five hours we had decided on our plan and began to head in.

Sven once more donned the guise of a bird and flapped up into the night sky, he was to watch from the centre of the village and raise the alarm should trouble show it’s Nazi face. I slipped over the edge of the sand dune and using the power borrowed from Madeline, merged with the shadows and began making my way towards the artillery pieces. Madeline, however, had the hardest task. She had to deal with the tank. She slid over the lip of the sand dune and slid into shadow, in her hands she carried two grenades.

I slide out of the shadows under the artillery pieces camouflage netting, solidifying under the cover that they provide me. By twenty three thirty hours both guns are rigged with the explosives given to me by Lieutenant Wiseman and I crimp the tops of four pencil timers, two for each device as a precaution. I then change back into a shadow and move as fast as possible back towards the watch point.

While I am busy engaged in sabotage Madeline is sliding all over the tank. She probes gaps and weak spots looking for the best way to disable the tank with the equipment that she has. She eventually finds herself inside the tanks engine compartment. At that moment the peace of the desert night is shattered.

It is twenty three thirty nine and the darkness of the night is split apart by two bright flashes. The silence is sundered by two overlapping thunderclaps. The Germans in the tank are startled into action. The engine starts up and the turret rotates towards the enclosure, and the beacons that are the burning guns. There is a sudden explosion inside the tank’s engine compartment and fire begins to emit from it’s armoured engine compartment.

Lights come on around the village and troopers rush out into the open, pulling on items of kit and jackets. They are however, all armed. Most of them rush towards the compound fire, the tank commander walks towards the tank and starts shouting at the crew. He does not appear to be overly impressed with their observation skills.

I arrive back at the watch point to find that Henry has uncovered the jeep and packed up all of our kit ready to roll. I jump into the drivers seat and Doctor Jackal climbs in beside me ready to navigate us out. Minutes later Madeline reforms out of the shadows next to us. As she climbs into the rear seat she lets the grenade pin drop from her grip. Just before midnight a large bird alights on the back of the jeep. I start the engine and get us out of there while Sven changes back into human form.

El Imayid, Egypt, July 1942
All six vehicles arrive back at the base camp around oh four hundred hours. As everyone is heading off towards their tents, Henry catches up with Captain Stirling and asks if he can get pens and paper before everyone retires for the night. With a somewhat bemused look on his face, Captain Stirling gets one of his men to provide Doctor Jackal with what he requires. Henry heads for the central tented area where there is light and begins to draw.

Henry draws for the rest of the night and into the morning, he finishes just before we are summoned for a debriefing with Captain Stirling. Once again, Madeline gives an accurate account of our mission and Captain Stirling is surprised when she tells him that we have copies of the troop movement notes. He is even more surprised when she tells him that we are sure that the Nazis know nothing of the theft of the notes. His surprise reaches whole new levels when Henry hands him the copies that he has made.

He looks at Henry and passes comment that he only provided the paper last night. He is astounded at the level of detail that Henry has got into his maps, and the fact that he has annotated them with the English translations. For a moment he almost asks how Henry has done such a thing, but once again he stops short of actually asking the question. Captain Stirling thanks us for our work and he and his lieutenant leave us, as they walk away it is obvious that Stirling is still shaking his head at the accuracy of the documents that Doctor Jackal has provided him.

That evening the camp celebrates the success of the six missions. I dance. I drink. I sing. Even Henry has a good time. Several days pass in camp, during which Henry and I play some chess. I actually beat him. It was pure luck, I didn’t even ‘borrow’ anyone’s skill, I just lucked out. But it made an impression on some of the men in camp, especially on those that won money betting on me.

And then one day Captain Stirling approached us. He told us that we had exceeded his expectations on our first mission, despite the fact that we had been given the smallest target, and that he believed that he had something that we could assist him with. He went on to explain that a local tribesman had spotted a single vehicle and a dozen men searching a canyon in neutral territory. The canyon is in the middle of nowhere, one hundred and twenty miles south of our current location and about twenty miles north of the closest village in that area.

Stirling has no idea if the information is accurate, or if it means anything. But he is also a man who believes in checking every lead to be on the safe side. We agree to go, and Captain Stirling tells us that he believes it will take us about twelve hours to get to the target site and suggests that we travel by day and avoid villages. We leap into action and by fifteen hundred hours the four of us are in the jeep heading south with Sven at the wheel.

In the summer of 1942, something was happening in the heart of Buckinghamshire that would subtlety change the course of the war. Mademoiselle Mimi Dubois, La Résistance fighter and mistress of skills; Miss Madeline Forsyth, SOE operative and a living shadow; Sven Hyse, Norwegian Resistance soldier and shapeshifter; and Doctor Jackal, timid physician with his less than timid friend Mister Hades are just completing basic training…

Hanslope Park, July 1942
At the start of our second week of training, Sergeant McKay takes Doctor Jackal back out to the assault course to see if he can pass this time. I remember feeling sorry for him and feeling a little bit of a cheat using my powers to pass the course, so I join them and ask Sergeant McKay to assess me again. Doctor Jackal does much better second time around, but he still cannot manage the climb section of the course. I pass this time using my own skills, and not those 'borrowed' from Sergeant McKay.

During the second week, Doctor Jackal works hard trying to improve his time around the course, and by the end of the week when the Sergeant tests him again he passes with flying colours. We all celebrate with the good Doctor and I believe that I even saw Sergeant McKay raise a smile of pride in Henry’s achievement.

Doctor Jackal is also taken back to the shooting range to once again try to pass the final test. He successfully shoots two of the three immobile targets, but he utterly fails to hit the moving targets. Sergeant McKay marks his scorecard with a large, red 'X' and then informs Henry that he has failed basic training. The Doctor looks quite proud of that fact.

That evening we have a meal to celebrate completing, or in the case of Henry not completing, basic training. We are visited by Colonel Lambert who tells us that as of oh six hundred hours tomorrow we will no longer be under his command and that we are being transferred to a Major Hoffman who will be arriving tomorrow afternoon. Colonel Lambert thanks us for our efforts at Hanslope Park, and apologises for the nature and conditions of our stay. Finally, he tells us that we have free reign to circulate with others at the house, but that we must remember that we have signed the Official Secrets Act and that we should not discuss anything to do with our training or powers.

The following afternoon, while we whiled away our time sitting in the sun, two military men arrive. Based on the number of pips on his shoulders the younger of the two is a Captain, the older is a Major sporting a magnificent moustache.

The moustached man introduces himself as Major Hoffman and his companion as Captain Ledman. He suggests that we go inside to talk for security reasons. Major Hoffman tells us that he is Head of Counter Sciences for MI6, and that his section's role is to discover, comprehend, prevent and replicate the super soldier research of the Axis powers. We will be operating as part of his section and will report only to Captain Ledman or him unless otherwise instructed.

Before the Major leaves to meet with Colonel Lambert, he tells us all that we will be given the rank of Lieutenant. When Madeline questions the fact that people will be surprised at two female officers, the Major points out that it is easier to explain away than two civilian females working with the military. He then leaves us with Captain Ledman who begins our mission briefing.

Captain Ledman began by laying down the ground rules, I remember him being straight laced and matter of fact, I also remember that all of us paid close attention. Despite our lack of military training at the time, we took to the military process like ducks to water.

Ledman walks around the room placing a small pill box in front of each one of us, as he is doing this he tells us that we must wear our uniforms at all times when we are in the field. If we a captured by the enemy out of uniform then we can be shot as spies. But it is imperative that we are not captured at all, he then indicates the small boxes on the table in front of us. I open the box and find that it contains a single tablet. Captain Ledman tells us that it is a suicide pill, and that we should take it as a last resort.

Yet again, we are told that we must keep our abilities secret. Even from our commanding officers in the field. Only senior members of MI6 Counter Sciences will know of us and what we can do. Captain Ledman then informs us that we are being deployed to Africa on an initial two month posting to test how we perform in the theatre of war. Our reporting officer will be Captain Stirling, L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade.

Captain Ledman informs us that we will be flying out in 48 hours at thirteen hundred, and that before that we should make sure that we visit the Quartermaster where we will be issued with our uniforms and kit as well as being able to collect our weapons. I remember the smile that spread across my face when I first handled my trusty FN Browning Hi-Power and in particular my Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife.

Having completed his briefing, Captain Ledman asked Doctor Chapman to join us. Chapman was carrying two briefcases, one larger than the other. He opened the smaller of the two and produced four syringes containing a blue liquid. He informed us that they would allow our bodies to regenerate damaged tissue, they were very experimental and so far we were the only people that they had worked on.

The Doctor then asked Sven to join him in a separate room, Sven later informed us that Chapman had opened the larger of the suitcases and produced a rough sewn jacket and asked him to try it on. Once Sven was wearing it he was then asked to shapeshift, when he did the jacket actually changed with him. And when he changed back, so did the jacket. After this test Doctor Chapman informed us that they had enough material to make all of us one suit of clothes. I decided to go with a travelling outfit with trousers.

El Imayid, Egypt, July 1942
We were met at the landing strip by a young Private called Lloyd, he checked our names and then escorted us to a waiting jeep. The heat was almost a concussive force, it was not something that I had experienced before. The skies were a deep, clear blue and there was not a drop of moisture in the air but it was the heat of the day that struck you.

An hours drive southwest from the airstrip and we were approaching a large, temporary camp in the middle of the desert. It was a jumble of old buildings and large tents, and was a hive of activity. Private Lloyd drove us around the edge of the encampment and towards a smaller collection of tents that had been set up in the shadow of the larger camp. The Private showed us to one of the tents and gestured us to enter.

Inside were a number of soldiers stood around a map table discussing something, it was difficult to tell who was in charge as uniform code did not seem to be high on the agenda. One of the men turned towards us and introduced himself as Captain Stirling, we all threw up a crisp salute which Stirling half heartedly returned. He told us to go and get settled in and that there would be a briefing later. Private Lloyd showed us to a couple of tents and told us that this is where we would be billeted.

Madeline and myself settled into our tent and prepared ourselves for the briefing, it seemed that the small camp of Captain Stirling was very relaxed so we too, relaxed the uniform code so as to make the heat more manageable. Early in the afternoon we were called back to the briefing tent by Private Lloyd. We joined Sven and Henry in a tent full of soldiers sat around in a relaxed manner, the men seemed to be split roughly into five groups with us making up the sixth.

Each group was a four man team, except for one that only seemed to have three members. Captain Stirling calmly brought the group to order and began his briefing. We would be proceeding through enemy lines in convoy under the cover of darkness to a designated rendezvous point, there we would split with each team having it’s own designated target. The primary mission was to identify strength of armour and artillery at the target location, secondary to this was the gathering of any intelligence. It was paramount that we were not discovered or spotted.

Details of the targets would be shared once we had reached the rendezvous, and the convoy would be departing at dusk, that’s twenty two hundred hours he added for those just arrived. Captain Stirling then dismissed the others but kept us behind. He looks us over properly for the first time, two young ladies, a young man who belongs more in a library than in the desert and a proper soldier. I give him his due, Captain Stirling didn’t show any surprise or disdain, he just asked us straight if there was any extra information that we required?

Now let me tell you something! Men in general, no matter their standing or nationality, are suckers when it comes to a beautiful woman. And if that woman knows how to make the most of her situation, well let’s just say that we are constantly underestimated and overlooked as a threat. From what I had observed of Madeline, she was no stranger to playing the game, and nor was I.

When Captain Stirling asked if there was anything that we needed to know I leaned forward a little, placed my hand gently on his arm and asked him how he survived in the harsh conditions of the desert. As he discussed hydration and avoiding the heat of the day I ‘borrowed’ his knowledge of desert survival. Within a matter of seconds I was as gifted at surviving in the desert as he was. Like I say, constantly underestimated. With the exception of Sven and Henry, who seem to have accepted us for who we are. It may be due to the fact that we have trained together for so long, or just because they are more open minded.

Captain Stirling suggests that we get some practice driving the jeeps in desert conditions, Sven spends a while working with one of the Captain’s best drivers and he very quickly gets the hang of driving in the heavy sand. Madeline then has a go, by this time we are getting quite a crowd and I target the Captain’s driver whilst he is watching Madeline. Madeline does very well and when she stops I hop in and with the ‘borrowed’ skill of the detachment’s best I put the jeep through it’s paces.

Finally, before we leave camp, I ‘borrow’ one of the soldiers knowledge of desert camouflage just in case in might come in handy. By twenty two hundred hours we are all settled into our jeep in the middle of the six vehicle convoy headed southwest. Doctor Jackal and I both navigate our journey to acclimatise ourselves with desert navigation, we travel relatively quick and straight for ten miles at which point the convoy drops to a slow pace and winds it’s way between towering sand dunes, always staying below the lip of the dunes so as not to provide a silhouette against the night sky.

After an hour of travel the convoy grinds to a halt and we all group around the lead vehicle. Captain Stirling handed out a hand drawn map to each team and then spoke briefly to each group of men. When he got to us he gave us a bearing and told us to travel on it for five miles. That would put us one mile west of our target, the village of Qareti. By that time it was oh one hundred hours and Captain Stirling said that we needed to report back to the rendezvous point in twenty four hours.

The Six vehicles head off into the night, all following their own specific directions. I remember that at one point during that drive myself and Henry disagreed on our bearing, I was about to argue my case but Madeline lent close to my ear and whispered;

Don’t upset the poor creature my dear!

Suddenly remembering what happened the last time Doctor Jackal got upset, I quickly changed my opinion and agreed whole heartedly with his decision. And as it turned out, he was right. After five and a half miles of travelling we nestled in under the lip of a massive sand dune and slid up to the crest on our bellies. Ahead and below us we could see the village of Qareti, all seemed quiet and with the exception of what looked like fire light in a large domed building, all was dark.

The time was just before oh two hundred hours and on the wind we could hear the sound of an ululating wail. Henry, who seems very knowledgable about many things, informed us that it was the call to prayer for the local Islamic populace. Sven slips back towards the jeep while Madeline begins to slide over the lip of the sand dune and in a low crouch starts to make her way towards the village. As I watch her move she slowly blends in with the shadows until I cannot make her out at all.

Sven changes into his clothes made out of the special material provided by Doctor Chapman and then his form slowly begins to shrink in on itself. His nose and jaw bone elongate and harden, and black feathers begin to sprout from his flesh. After a few seconds, Sven is gone and he is replaced by a large black raven who with a quick flap of his wings soars up into the night sky and is lost to our sight in the darkness.

With Madeline and Sven out scouting, and Henry on watch from the top of the dune I make sure that the jeep is well camouflaged and then set up a hide at the lip of the dune to give us a shady spot to watch from. Once completed, I leave Doctor Jackal on watch and curl up under the jeep to try and get some much needed sleep.

I awake to find that dawn has broken and that Madeline and Sven have returned. They relay what they discovered in the village while we tuck into some cold provisions for breakfast. Sven circled the village from on high and spent a lot of time hoping from fig tree to fig tree and roof to roof. There is clearly a general population of locals and at least three troop trucks and jeep. He also spotted what looked like two field guns hidden under camouflage netting.

Madeline concurred with Sven, but also went on to say that she had seen possibly eighteen German troops and at least one officer in the radio room asleep, by the look of his shoulder insignia a Leutnant. The troops were all asleep with no sign of a patrol, which means that they are very confident that they are secure far behind the lines. While she was in the radio room she also discovered recent radio transcriptions detailing troop movements in this area of the front line planned for five days time.

As Madeline and Sven settle down under the jeep to get some sleep, I slide in next to Henry and we keep a watch on the village below us. Nothing out of the ordinary occurs. The locals go about their business as you would expect, and the Germans carry out the basic chores of all troops in camp regardless of their nationality. At one point the officer leaves the building with the radio room and climbs into his car, he is driven to the site of the artillery and carries out an inspection and finally returns back to his building.

We take it in turns to watch the village from the shelter of our hide, two on watch and two sleeping. We also make sure that all of the information is repeated to Doctor Jackal, he has a remarkable memory and can repeat back perfectly anything that he has been told. This means that we do not have to risk writing anything down, no chance of any of our findings falling into the wrong hands. That night Madeline returned back to the radio room to confirm her memory of the troop movements. Once she had returned we quietly pulled out.

On our journey back I recall being thrilled with our success, but in particular surprised by how well Doctor Jackal had coped. He was not the powder keg hinderance that I had feared he might be. He was knowledgeable, sharp eyed, a memory like a steel trap and surprisingly calm throughout it all.

We meet up at the rendezvous point with Captain Stirling and the other five jeeps. It is obvious that one of them has had a fire fight of some kind, but it is also obvious that no one is asking for any details. Just the camaraderie of soldiers making sure that their friends are uninjured. We retrace our steps in convoy and once we are back in camp we all retire to get some sleep. It is just approaching dawn and the heat is rising, it is difficult to sleep in the heat but thanks to Madeline and her talents we have a lovely cool tent.

I remember that we were called for just after midday to attend a debrief with Captain Stirling. Madeline, with Henry making small corrections where required, gave Stirling all of the information that we had gathered. Including the detailed information on the troop movements taking place in four days. There is a moment during the debrief where I thought that Captain Stirling was going to ask how we had come by the information, but he caught himself and was contemplatively silent for a moment.

He congratulates us on our efforts, and tells us that in two days time we will be returning to our targets to deal with the artillery. I quietly hoped that we would be dealing with the Nazis too.

Extracts from ‘Memories of a Mockingbird’. Written by the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Michelle Wein. It is a beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about how the ‘enhanced’ entered the devastation of World War II.

London, April 1942

How did I end up here? How is it that I am standing on the platform at Euston Station waiting for a train to Scotland to complete my training with Churchill’s Secret Army? I started out as a singer in the bars and nightclubs of Paris, but my talent for languages and my passion for a free France brought me to the attention of La Résistance. They got me to England and to the Special Operations Executive.

And so I stand in the cold London rain, smoking a cigarette, and waiting for the train to arrive. My name is Mimi Dubois, and I am not prepared for how my life is about to change.

I head towards the 3^rd Class carriage towards the rear of the train. At the very rear of the train is a freight car guarded by two soldiers, I assume that it must be some kind of mail car until I walk by its open doors and spot inside more soldiers and a number of oil drums all stencilled with a white wolfs head and a serial number. However, what really draws my attention is the white swastika marking each of the drums.

It is with that troubling image in my head that I take my seat in the last compartment at the rear of the 3^rd Class carriage and light a cigarette. It is not long before I am joined by more passengers, three strangers who are destined to become my teammates in the future. And four more unlikely travelling companions you could not hope to meet.

Dr Henry Jackal is the first to take his seat. A quiet, softly spoken man of letters who spends a large amount of time with his nose in a book and looking nervously over the top of his glasses at the world around him. Next to join us is Sven Hyse, a robust Norwegian outdoorsman with strong calloused hands and a steely glare. We later discovered that he was a member of the Norwegian Resistance before being assigned to the new team, but I am getting ahead of myself.

We are finally joined by Miss Madeline Forsyth. Dressed in her ATS uniform and looking every inch the model woman at war from the recruitment posters. And with her cut glass English voice she really was the stereotypical Home Front girl doing her bit, but again we later discovered that all was not what it first seemed. Then there was me, looking like a travelling lady at first glance. But my French accent and upon closer inspection, slightly threadbare and regularly repaired dress would mark me out as not quite a lady.

It was not a routine journey out of London, the train had to stop several times due to the Luftwaffe’s bombing raids. Every time the train would go blackout dark for several minutes and we would all hear the sound of explosions in the distance. At one point the train stopped at a station that was not within the schedule, Madeline pulled down the window and had a look about and informed us all that we were at Bletchley Station. There were sounds of someone boarding the train and then we were off and on our way again.

Five minutes out of Bletchley Station the train is forced to stop once more. The lights go out and we can all hear the far off sound of propeller planes drawing closer, and then the petrifying sound of bombs falling nearby. We sit in uncomfortable silence listening helplessly to the sound of explosions getting closer, praying that it will not be the last sound that we hear. Dr Jackal, in particular, seems very affected by the tension and begins to mutter to himself.

The world turns upside down. We are thrown about like rag dolls as the carriage is blown off of the tracks, and I slam my head off of the carriages ceiling. The last thing that I see before I pass out is the remnants of the freight car and a strange, pulsing blue energy emanating from it and washing over us.

Hanslope Park, June 1942

That morning I awoke strapped to a hospital bed in a private room, in an unknown location. Slowly, memories of the accident solidified in my mind. Along with stark images of the exploded freight car and the strange blue, pulsing energy. When I focus on it I can still feel the pulsing, separate and distinct from the thumping of my heart. I become aware that there is someone else in the room with me and I open my eyes, the nurse smiles one of those bedside smiles and then dashes out of the room.

Moments later, she returns with a Doctor. He introduces himself as Dr Chapman and skips through a series of questions to ascertain how I am feeling both physically and mentally. He asks me how much I can remember of the accident and in particular the aftermath. I ask him where I am and he tells me that he is not at liberty to say. I ask him the date and again he tells me that he is not at liberty to say. He does all of this with his bedside smile fixed in place. I would ask him if he has received training in bedside smiling, but I guess that he is not a liberty to say.

A number of days pass, I am unsure of how many as I pass in and out of consciousness as my body heals itself, during which I am visited by the good Doctor and his team frequently. They take many readings from the equipment that I am connected to and ask me a number of questions repeatedly. On one of these visits, I ask Dr Chapman why I am restrained. He looks at me with his best bedside smile and says for your own safety. I imply that it is also possibly for his safety as well.

Finally something breaks the monotony of my days, I receive a visit from a Colonel Lambert. He is very polite and asks how I am feeling, but beneath the thin veneer of calm he seems uncomfortable with some of his own conversation. He asks me what specifics that I remember of boarding the train, which I thought was an interesting question and one that I hadn’t been asked so far. I told him about the oil drums and he nodded as if pleased that I had spotted them. He revealed that the drums were an unknown substance captured from a Nazi research base that had been overrun by Allied forces. He believes that they were researching some kind of Nietzschean Ubermensch, or super soldier.

He goes on to say that all of the captured substance was destroyed in bombing, he also believed that the bombing was just an unfortunate coincidence. A stray payload dumped by the Luftwaffe hit the train. What he then said chilled my blood and excited me simultaneously. He said that the Doctors believed that we had been altered by our exposure to the substance, and that we might have unknown powers as a result.

He carried on saying something about the war effort and being the best hope of defeating the Nazis, but I had stopped listening. I had travelled to England to be trained by the SOE so that I could help in some small way to bring peace to my beloved France, but now chance had given me the opportunity to really turn the tide of Nazi oppression and reach the goal of a free France. When he asked me if I would join his project and sign the Official Secrets Act, of course I said yes!

That very afternoon we are released from our restraints and walked through what I now know to be the manor house of Hanslope Park. It is good to walk in the sunshine and smell the fresh country air, we are shown through the grounds to a quiet area behind the house to a large hut. The hut is nestled into the grounds and along with a large area of ground behind it, including a large barn, is fenced off from the rest of the country estate.

When I enter I am pleased to see that Dr Jackal, Sven and Madeline also survived the accident. I prepare us a lunch in the huts kitchen while we exchange experiences and enjoy each other’s company. That evening we are visited by Dr Chapman, he tells us that it has been almost six weeks since the accident, and that now we are within the Program we will have access to news of the outside world. This greatly pleases Sven who has been apparently asking about Norway since he came too.

Dr Chapman also tells us that as of tomorrow morning we will be put through a rigorous testing programme. This will involve strenuous physical and mental testing to see if the medical staff can ascertain what, if any, changes there have been to our abilities. The next few weeks we gain a greater appreciation for the fate of a lab rat. We are subjected to a barrage of tests, but during the days of testing I begin to realise that I can almost tell what the medical staff who are touching me are likely to do next.

On a couple of occasions, I even correct the nurses on the procedure that they are carrying out. Once this happens I begin to be questioned about my medical training, I have only ever been trained in basic first aid but I seem to have a through understanding of the advanced procedures that they are carrying out. One day of testing and questions stretches into the next, and then the one after that until it becomes an almost mundane existence. One day does stand out from the rest during that period of testing, it was the first day that Mr Hades visited.

Sergeant McKay was putting Madeline, Sven and me through our paces whilst Dr Jackal was in the barn having one of the numerous medical examinations that we all had to undergo. We all heard a nurse scream within the barn and then a most hideous creature appeared in the doorway of the barn. Clutched to the creatures chest was one of the doctors and as soon as it was out in the open it threw the doctor to the floor and ran for the tree line.

I have no idea what compelled me to follow, but I did. As I ran after the beast, for surely that was what it must be, I noticed to my horror that it was wearing similar clothes to those of Dr Jackal. I followed it at a distance and watched it enter the wood. I remained at the edge of the trees not wishing to surprise it. Minutes passed without a sound and then suddenly Dr Jackal appeared several yards away looking stunned and confused.

I helped him back towards the others, we were met halfway by two doctors and several armed soldiers. We didn’t see Dr Jackal for a couple of weeks after the incident, and when we asked Dr Chapman about him we were told that he was being monitored for his and our safety.

Hanslope Park, July 1942

After four weeks of training we have all begun to use our abilities at will. I can mimic another person’s skill if I make bodily contact with him or her first, the skill stays with me for several days and during the course of testing the duration was extending. Madeline can turn herself into a shadow and control temperatures in a localised area, while Sven is able to transform himself into animals that he has encountered. We are still none the wiser what Dr Jackal or his alter ego Mr Hades can do, and to be quite honest with you we were all a bit scared to find out.

Once Dr Jackal re-joined us, the mood seemed to be subdued for a while, he is a lovely man but I think that we were all concerned about his friend. Little did we know what the future would bring!

Colonel Lambert visited with us one lovely summers evening and told us that he was very pleased with our progress, he also told us that we would need to complete basic training before he would be willing to put us into the field.

Therefore, the following morning we met Sergeant McKay outside the hut and he began a rigorous programme of physical exercise culminating in a race around an assault course. I decided to cheat and ‘borrowed’ his skills so that I could get a good time. Madeline and Sven did very well without resorting to cheating, and poor Dr Jackal found it a struggle. Oddly enough, Sergeant McKay didn’t push him very hard.

For the rest of the week we are taught skills useful to an infiltration unit. Firearms, unarmed combat, navigation, and lots more fitness work. Doctor Jackal is excused from the hand to hand combat training, Madeline very much holds her own and impresses Sergeant McKay and Sven actually beats the Sergeant. I told you that he had strong hands and a steely glare.