Following the Great Exhibition in 1851, key offices within the British Government were tasked with compiling information about state of the Empire, it's assets and more importantly it's enemies. After he withdrew from public office the former Lord President of the Council; Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch[1] had used his influence behind the scenes to ensure the completion of the Dossier for the relatively new monarch. The Buccleuch Dossier as it became known in inner circles was a top secret proposal for the protection of the British Empire first presented to Her Majesty Queen Victoria in the summer of 1853. The main body of the document detailed potential troubles that the Empire may face both at home and in the Colonies. Some of these troubles were mundane in nature; suspected native rebellions[2] for example.
Other dangers raised were much more esoteric and would subsequently become the basis of many works of fiction when some of the details of the report were leaked in the darkened rooms of gentlemen's clubs after a few too many brandies. In order to fight the threat of temporal visitors, civillizations beneath the surface of the earth and at the bottom of the oceans, otherworldy invaders and the strange dark advances in technologies and medicine which had been uncovered by the dossier, it was determined to gather a group of special individuals to act on behalf of the Crown and preserve the Empire.
The Valiant, as this group became known within the highest ranks of the British Government, were given a base of operations within Montagu House in Whitehall; Buccleuch's London home which had recently been rebuilt with this in mind. Buccleuch himself became the first controller of the group due to his drive and vision in the compilation of the dossier. Amongst the early members of the group were an oddly featured scientist named Doctor Thaddius Wolfe[3] and the tall and powerfully built gentleman adventurer Sir Nathan Greystone[4] both of whom remained active for many years. Also joining them during the early years was Mr Talon[5], the robotic aide/butler of Sir Nathan. When Mr Talon struck out on his own, his place was taken by Lady Penelope Drake[6], a prominent expert on mythology and magic. Following the death of Queen Victoria, the original incarnation of The Valiant felt they were being increasingly undermined by those in power and decided to disband and go their own ways. The Government at the time, feeling the team had been given too much autonomy over the years, were more than happy to accept their resignations.
The principal behind The Valiant was resurrected during the early years of World War II under the auspices of the War Office and the Secret Intelligence Service. Unusually for the time, Project VALIANT's commander was a woman, Captain Victoria Essex[7]. Recruited into the British Secret Service after she graduated from St. Cedd's College, Cambridge. Essex took to the espionage game with a passion, completing every challenge that was presented to her and this resulted in her being given VALIANT to run. The VALIANT roster varied depending on mission and availability of personnel, however Brigadier Steel was a mainstay of the team remaining active with them through the rest of WW2 and into the spring of 1951 when he was declared missing in action in Korea.
On a subsequent mission in the area in 1964, VALIANT were able to locate and recover the badly damaged body of their fallen comrade and return with him to their HQ. Unfortunately changes in military strategy meant it was deemed far too costly to repair the Brigadier. This treatment of their team mate did not sit well with the remaining VALIANT members and all of them including Captain Essex (now known as Madame X) and Pendragon resigned their commissions and their place on the team.
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Notes:
[1] Buccleuch
[2] The actions of the East India Company were called into question in the report, and rightly so as the Indian Rebellion of 1857 showed.
[3] Doctor Thaddius Wolfe was an alias of Doctor Woof
[4] Sir Nathan Greystone was an alias of Liath Leac-An-Teintein
[5] After meeting during their various travels Talon returned to Britain with Liath Leac-An-Teintein and briefly assisted him under the guise of a prototype robotic butler Mr Talon
[6] Pendragon has been a member of all three incarnations of VALIANT: The Valiant, Project VALIANT and VALIANT
[7] Ever the patriot, Madame X was persuaded to return approximately 25 years after the 1964 incident and again took up the position of Leader of VALIANT, this time with a more hands on remit
[8] While Howling Harry Cross has technically only had a single tour of duty with VALIANT, he did encounter the earliest incarnation of the group during an accidental trip in time to the 1870s
[9] During his short time with VALIANT, Magnus Lionheart simply went by the name Leo
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