At the Rat Patrol's base, Moffit, Hitch, and Tully were discussing about what to get for Troy's birthday.
"What should we get him, Sarge?" asked Tully and Hitch.
"Don't call me 'Sarge,'" Moffit replied absently. "I don't know. Troy doesn't seem to really crave anything special. We can't get much here in the desert. Mother can barely find proper tea back in London."
They immediately stopped talking when they saw Troy approaching.
"What were you discussing so earnestly?"
"Nothing much," they replied.
"Care to share?"
"Not really."
Troy laughed. "Okay then. I have a rather strange mission for us. It seems our good captain would like to meet with us. He promised safe conduct to and from his base in his letter."
They stared at Troy in shock. "How did he manage to send a letter to us?"
Troy smiled, "It seems the Captain is more resourceful than we thought. He gave it to one of the Arabs, who in turn gave it to us."
"Did Captain Boggs think it was a good idea?" Moffit asked.
"Surprisingly, yes. He hopes the Captain will have some information for us."
"Did you tell him it wasn't bloody likely?"
"Not in quite those terms, but I told him something to that effect. He still insists we go."
"We do we leave?" asked Tully.
"Tomorrow morning."
"But that's your birthday!" Hitch objected.
"So? I don't have anything else to do. We better get some sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."