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.