In occupied northern France MI6s Enhanced Unit have just made contact with La Résistance as part of their locate and rescue mission. The team consists of 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.

Forêt de Massonge, France, September 1942

September 7th 1942, I remember that day as if it were just yesterday. That was the day that we first encountered the enemies enhanced. Le guerrier tête de loup.

The mission had started well and we had made contact with La Résistance at the Fortefan farm. Jean Fortefan had offered us some refreshments after our long journey and then suggested that we probably would like to rest. He offered us the loft in his farmhouse, but as it only had a single point of entry and no way of us being able to keep watch we politely refused and asked if we could make use of one of his barns. He was happy for us to hunker down there, and even though the family were up early and going about their business they kept the noise to a minimum so as not to disturb us.

We set watches and remained alert for trouble. By early afternoon we had all managed to get a good rest and so we took the opportunity to talk to the Fortefans. They were more than happy to show us around their small farm, and seemed particularly proud of their pigs. Jean told us that they are a cross bred of the local wild boar and a Duroc pig. It was at that point that yet again Doctor Jackal surprised us all, this time by announcing that he is a fully qualified veterinarian as well as a doctor. He gave the pigs a quick once over and declared them very fit and healthy.

I take the opportunity while we are spending time with the Fortefan family to reach out with my senses and see if any of them are enhanced. I strongly believe that they are not, it is still difficult to tell as I have not sensed any other enhanced apart from my own unit. Jean Fortefan informs us that Le Blaireau will be with us by late afternoon, he also shows us their arms cache under a loose floorboard in one of their barns. It is made up of few rifles and a MAB pistol, Madeline and Sven give it the once over but decide that it is of no use to us on our current mission.

A little after fifteen hundred hours a man in his early fifties rode into the farmyard on a bicycle. He dismounted and was introduced to us as Monsieur Julle Bretland, so this was Le Blaireau. We all went through into the farmhouse kitchen and sat down with coffee to discuss the situation. Only Jean Fortefan joined us, while the rest of his family went about their chores. Julle informs us that they have been able to confirm the Duplix is definitely being held at Le Chateau De Bourgoine, and he produces a rough map of the area.

Le chateau was built in the sixteenth century, but has not been used as a dwelling for years as it was kept as a museum. When the war broke out and France was occupied a German signals unit under the command of Major Offenhamp took control of le chateau. As well as the major the unit consists of two lieutenants, six signals engineers and six guardsmen.

About a month ago, a second unit moved in and seem to have taken overall charge. This second unit is a scientific/technical unit under the command of a Colonel Hund. The Colonel is always escorted by a lieutenant who appears to act as a bodyguard, and the unit is made up of twenty guardsmen. The unit are easy to identify from the signals unit by their unique insignia, that of a wolfshead.

Since the arrival of the new unit La Résistance have been encountering a number of problems with their operations. A hidden radio station in an abandoned farmhouse was discovered and destroyed, a couple of missions have had to be called off at the last minute as the number of enemy troops assigned to the chosen targets were increased at the last minute. Madeline points out that La Résistance may well have a double agent.

Julle goes on to confirm that he believes that Duplix was transported to Le Château De Bourgoine three days ago. Madeline and Sven question Le Blaireau about le chateau, troop movements, vehicles, and locals who work at the base. Julle confirms that la chateau has a significant basement and wine cellar, access to which is via a rear staff corridor, and informs us that if we require more detailed floor plans it will take him at least three days to get them without raising suspicion. Madeline tells him not to bother as we wish to move quickly given that Duplix has already been there for three days.

While the others question Le Blaireau, I close my eyes and once again reach out with my senses to see if Julle Bretland is all that he says he is. But once again the only enhanced that I can sense are my comrades.

Sven asks if they can provide us with a car for this evening. Julle says that he can but that he will have to move quickly to do so. He bids us farewell and cycles away. We return to our barn and discuss this new information. We all agree that it is going to be tricky to rescue Duplix, but Doctor Jackal insists that we try. I make sure that my suicide pill is readily available just in case I need to pass it to Duplix.

At nineteen thirty hours we hear the sound of a car approaching. We are all instantly on guard as a small, slightly battered Citroën drives into the farmyard. The driver gets out and says something to the Fortefan boys before walking back out of the yard and up the road. We come out of hiding and I check the car out, it is a little lived in but serviceable. Madeline climbs into the driver's seat, I get into the passengers side and Doctor Jackal climbs into the back. Out of sight Sven transforms into a raven and with him out front scouting we head off.

We retrace our route from the previous night with the intention of sticking to minor roads and taking a circuitous route towards Le Château De Bourgoine. As we are approaching the village of Mussey we spot a German patrol checking papers, Madeline continues to drive and when we are about forty foot from the patrol a Sergeant steps out into the road and puts his hand up for us to halt. Madeline does so and the Sergeant steps up to the window and in a rather bored manner asks for our papers in French.

To his surprise, Madeline responds in perfect German and hands over the papers for a German Doctor and two nurses, one German and one french. He looks momentarily confused and asks us where our destination is, at this point Henry leans forwards and says in flawless German;

Is there a problem Sergeant?

The Sergeant says no, but we are a little off of the main road. To which Henry responds;

Women drivers!

The Sergeant laughs and waves us through. We are stopped once more on our journey in the village of Vassincourt, but Madeline turns on the charm to the German Corporal and he is far too busy staring into her eyes to even notice what is written on our papers.

We cross the main road at Saudrupt and pass through the village of Haironville before Sven locates a good place for us to hide the car just before the village of Rupt-aux-Nonains. We then head cross country the last few miles to le chateau, approaching it from the west with Madeline on point and myself leading Henry while Sven covers us from the air. We successfully make it into the edge of the woodland unseen as far as we can tell. It is now twenty two hundred hours.

Sven carries out an initial fly over in raven form, he is gone for about twenty minutes and on his return he informs us that he has spotted two guardsmen in the gatehouse, one guarding the doors at the front of the main house, and a patrol of two guardsmen moving around the perimeter fence. Doctor Jackal recalls the map that Le Blaireau showed us and suggest that we head for the smaller copse of trees directly south across the lake from the main chateau.

We move through the larger wood and make a dash low across the open ground to the smaller of the woods, Madeline and I transform into shadows and slide forwards to investigate the fence. We find that it is old and in poor repair, there are also many trees that reach over it. We bring Henry and Sven forwards and assist Henry in climbing over. We move quietly forwards to a point where Henry can see through the trees to le chateau and then camouflage him with branches. At that moment the two man patrol passes by us, but they do not detect our presence. We all breathe once more.

We allow five minutes for the patrol to pass, and then Madeline and I once more transform into shadows and slide out across the lake towards Le Château De Bourgoine, while Sven takes to the sky once more to attempt to get a look through le chateau’s windows. We agree to regroup at Doctor Jackal once we have carried out our sweeps. Crossing the water is a very odd feeling, it is like constant ripples moving through me almost as if I were suffering from mild seasickness. I feel much more comfortable once we make it to dry land on the other side of the lake.

I sign for Madeline to stay at the edge of the lake and slide quietly across the short stretch of grass to the rear doors. I close my eyes and reach out with my senses but detect nothing. I slide along to my left about twenty foot and again close my eyes and reach out with my senses. I pick up an enhanced within my range. As I know that Madeline is by the lakeside I know that it must be someone new. I reach out once more and discover that whoever it is, they are located on the first floor of le chateau.

I don’t mind admitting that I panicked a little. I dashed back to Madeline and whispered to her what I had discovered, she convinces me that we need to check the rest of the outside of the building. I agree and head back to the side of the building with Madeline, literally, shadowing me. I continue to move around the building searching with my senses. I am shocked when my senses reveal another enhanced on the first floor of the building. I don’t mind admitting that the panic started to build at that point. I had never come across any others like us, and now I had potentially found two enemy enhanced. That scared me.

Madeline and I head back to Doctor Jackal’s position and find that Sven is already there, I inform them of what we have discovered. Sven relays what he was able to see, the first floor is mostly bedrooms and he had seen two German officers in their rooms, when I identify the locations of the two enhanced he quickly heads off once more to get a closer look through their windows.

Sven reappears a short while later and tells us that in the rooms corresponding with where I believe are the two enemy enhanced he discovered a large, heavily muscled German with greying hair sat on the edge of a bed. Thrown over the back of a chair in the room is a jacket with Lieutenant markings and bearing the wolfs head insignia. In the second room his view was obscured but he did manage to catch a glimpse of a German officer in his fifties hanging up a Colonels jacket.

We decide that we need to find the basement, and Duplix. So Madeline and I once more head back in shadowform, we reach the back doors and I once more reach out with my senses to make sure that the way is clear. It is and so we both slide in under the door into a large hallway. It is twenty three fifteen hours and we have made it into Le Chateau De Bourgoine.