May 3, 2023 2:33 am
Mission Briefing & Goals
On a cold February morning, your agents are contacted, told to gather whatever personal effects they may need for a trip abroad, collected by car and driven, at speed, to Biggen Hill airfield where they are met by an anxiouslooking Archibald Strang, Hunter, the team’s handler. Hunter invites the team into a small, dilapidated hanger on the outskirts of the airfield. The hanger is full of crates, spare aeroplane parts and other junk but an area has been cleared to contain a table, chairs and two large noticeboards containing maps of Europe, marked with many pins and notes.
After offering the agents a nice cup of tea, Hunter apologises for the urgency of the summons before handing around photographs showing a large airship in various stages of launch and one of a burning wreck crashing to the ground.
"Zeppelins," he says in his soft Edinburgh brogue. "According to some people they were going to be the future of air travel. Massive great balloons that could sail through the skies, taking people across oceans and continents in luxury. However, when the Hindenburg, went down in a great ball of flame in ’37 those in charge rather lost their taste for them and the remaining vessels were scrapped. Or so we thought. I received this yesterday from a trusted source."
Hunter produces another photograph. Blurry, taken in poor light, showing a Zeppelin silhouetted against a dark sky. Details are difficult to make out but there are several glows studding the length of the balloon and a faint web of blue lines around and along it.
"We now believe that the Nachtwölfe have got their hands on the scrapped Zeppelins and are using them for goodness knows what. But the odd thing is where the picture was taken."
He turns and makes a stabbing motion with his pipe at a map on the board behind him.
"Romania." He continues. "The last reliable report we have is that it was somewhere in the foothills of the Mures mountains in Transylvania, near the village of Zaltan. Now, we do know that the Germans have forces in Romania but, as far as I’m aware, they are mostly around the borders building airfields. Anyway, the terrain in the mountains is entirely unsuitable for an airfield and too far from anywhere to be a useful base for land forces. It’s about as close to the middle of nowhere as you can get."
He turns back to the team with a sly smile and a twinkle in his eye.
"So we’re sending ye on a wee holiday to see what ye can see. The old man would be delighted to see some photographs of your trip but I’m thinking you can do a bit better than that. Have a poke around in that mine and see what they are up down there, talk to the locals, speak to any indentured workers, gather every bit of intelligence you can. Then get aboard that Zeppelin find out what they’re doing up to, disable it, destroy it, or best case, commandeer it and bring it back to us. I leave that to your discretion."
Hunter will go on to explain that there is a plane waiting on the tarmac to take the team to Belgrade, in Yugoslavia, via Greece. They will be met at the airport by Georgi, a smuggler working for Section M, who will help get them across the border and into Romania. Relations have become diplomatically difficult with Romania, so the team are advised to remain covert. Equipment and papers are waiting for them on the plane, and they should use the flight to familiarise themselves with them. If there is anything else they feel they need they should ask Georgi once they arrive.
Finally, he will say, "I know it’s short notice and I know you’ll be on your own out there, but we need to know what this thing can do and what the Nachtwölfe are doing with it. Wheels up in twenty minutes, so you’ve time to finish your tea at least. Good luck."
A long bit of exposition to set the scene and the mission. Tell the rest of us of your agent. What intrigue or adventure were they amidst or what were they doing before getting called to Biggen Hill, what crazy shenanigans are they known for, what do they look like, and how do they ready to this scheme of Section M
On a cold February morning, your agents are contacted, told to gather whatever personal effects they may need for a trip abroad, collected by car and driven, at speed, to Biggen Hill airfield where they are met by an anxiouslooking Archibald Strang, Hunter, the team’s handler. Hunter invites the team into a small, dilapidated hanger on the outskirts of the airfield. The hanger is full of crates, spare aeroplane parts and other junk but an area has been cleared to contain a table, chairs and two large noticeboards containing maps of Europe, marked with many pins and notes.
After offering the agents a nice cup of tea, Hunter apologises for the urgency of the summons before handing around photographs showing a large airship in various stages of launch and one of a burning wreck crashing to the ground.
"Zeppelins," he says in his soft Edinburgh brogue. "According to some people they were going to be the future of air travel. Massive great balloons that could sail through the skies, taking people across oceans and continents in luxury. However, when the Hindenburg, went down in a great ball of flame in ’37 those in charge rather lost their taste for them and the remaining vessels were scrapped. Or so we thought. I received this yesterday from a trusted source."
Hunter produces another photograph. Blurry, taken in poor light, showing a Zeppelin silhouetted against a dark sky. Details are difficult to make out but there are several glows studding the length of the balloon and a faint web of blue lines around and along it.
"We now believe that the Nachtwölfe have got their hands on the scrapped Zeppelins and are using them for goodness knows what. But the odd thing is where the picture was taken."
He turns and makes a stabbing motion with his pipe at a map on the board behind him.
"Romania." He continues. "The last reliable report we have is that it was somewhere in the foothills of the Mures mountains in Transylvania, near the village of Zaltan. Now, we do know that the Germans have forces in Romania but, as far as I’m aware, they are mostly around the borders building airfields. Anyway, the terrain in the mountains is entirely unsuitable for an airfield and too far from anywhere to be a useful base for land forces. It’s about as close to the middle of nowhere as you can get."
He turns back to the team with a sly smile and a twinkle in his eye.
"So we’re sending ye on a wee holiday to see what ye can see. The old man would be delighted to see some photographs of your trip but I’m thinking you can do a bit better than that. Have a poke around in that mine and see what they are up down there, talk to the locals, speak to any indentured workers, gather every bit of intelligence you can. Then get aboard that Zeppelin find out what they’re doing up to, disable it, destroy it, or best case, commandeer it and bring it back to us. I leave that to your discretion."
Hunter will go on to explain that there is a plane waiting on the tarmac to take the team to Belgrade, in Yugoslavia, via Greece. They will be met at the airport by Georgi, a smuggler working for Section M, who will help get them across the border and into Romania. Relations have become diplomatically difficult with Romania, so the team are advised to remain covert. Equipment and papers are waiting for them on the plane, and they should use the flight to familiarise themselves with them. If there is anything else they feel they need they should ask Georgi once they arrive.
Finally, he will say, "I know it’s short notice and I know you’ll be on your own out there, but we need to know what this thing can do and what the Nachtwölfe are doing with it. Wheels up in twenty minutes, so you’ve time to finish your tea at least. Good luck."
A long bit of exposition to set the scene and the mission. Tell the rest of us of your agent. What intrigue or adventure were they amidst or what were they doing before getting called to Biggen Hill, what crazy shenanigans are they known for, what do they look like, and how do they ready to this scheme of Section M
