Mark of Odin: The Awakening

Chapter 11: The Claymore Protocol

37º 10' 69" North, 5º 36' 24" West
Morón Air Base Command Centre, Seville
20:30 GMT+1

The last thirty minutes had been frantic. When it was confirmed that the Euro Hawk 1 had been destroyed by 2012 UA, President Alonso was left no alternative. He ordered for the object to be intercepted and destroyed before it reached Seville. The command instantly led to a flurry of calls and messages. A cabinet meeting was called for 21:00 GMT +1 when a state of alert would be declared across Andalusia. Due to the scale of the threat, the government required authorisation to mobilise and direct all necessary civilian and military resources during the crisis.

During this interval, Preston had seized the chance to report back to General Giles. As he had suspected, the general had been watching the same live stream and was already up to date with the latest events. The situation was chaotic. Every military and intelligence department was working overtime to analyse everything known about 2012 UA so far. Every expert in the land was working to determine its threat level, operating capacity and origins but they still knew nothing for certain. General Giles explained to Preston that conflicting opinions were being thrown around. Some analysts believed that, if they attacked its propulsion jets, the Spanish fighter jets would easily be able to shoot the object down. Other, more extreme, factions believed that only a total mobilisation of NATO troops would be sufficient.

The latter option had so far been rejected out of hand. No one was prepared to be held responsible for such a drastic move without concrete evidence that it was absolutely necessary. The political repercussions could be dire. Apparently, the loss of a reconnaissance drone alone simply wasn't enough. Preston wound up the conversation, agreeing to report back to his superior once the Spanish F-18s had made contact with 2012 UA.

Preston glanced at his mobile phone. He had just sent a message to Chapman outlining the turn of events and telling him and the boys to be ready for anything. He hadn't ruled out the possibility that this operation could spiral out of control. Images of that massive air-borne hulk kept flashing through his mind. Something in his guts warned him that they were in serious danger. Would two fighter jets be enough to take that thing out? When he had raised his concerns with General Echevarría, he was informed that no further resources were being allocated for the time being. In fact, the general agreed with him, also suspecting that they were up against something far more serious than anyone thought. But the president wasn't yet prepared to order a large-scale mobilisation that could tip off the media. So the original plan remained in place: a rapid response unit was being sent up. Their hopes were pinned on a few missiles being enough to see 2012 UA crash and burn.

Colonel Hidalgo approached Preston and told him they would shortly be speaking to President Alonso and the defence, home office, foreign affairs and public works ministers. Several high-ranking officers from the army, air force and navy would also be joining them.

Preston joined General Echevarría and Colonel Hidalgo and waited for them to resume the videoconference. President Alonso soon reappeared on the screen, his expression grave.

"General Echevarría, I've just spoken to the government of Andalusia, NATO, the EU emergency cabinet and the president of the United States. They're all waiting for developments. Now, give me an update on the interception mission heading towards that goddamn thing," President Alonso said.

"Mr President, as we explained earlier, as soon as we were informed that 2012 UA was heading towards Spanish territory, a rapid response unit was immediately readied for action. Two F-18 fighter jets took off twenty minutes ago from Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base. Their mission is to shoot down the hostile object," General Echevarría explained. "NATO has provided us with an AWACS from Naval Station Rota to help monitor and track 2012 UA."