Mark of Odin: The Awakening

Chapter 15: A voice is raised

The skies above Seville
22:00 GMT+1

Preston struggled to control his Eurofighter as the voice of the Sparrowhawk 1 communications officer rang in his ears. Slow motion images of that strange figure waving at him from the alien cockpit repeatedly ran through his mind. So those new spacecraft had destroyed the spider just before it had killed him... The radio crackled, snapping him back into the present.

"Dolphin Squadron Leader here, requesting new instructions. How should we respond to the new contacts?"

"Morón Command here. Preston, talk to us. What's going on? Preston?" Colonel Hidalgo sounded worried.

Preston was overwhelmed. His mind raced, trying to analyse the latest turn of events and what they might mean. Whatever he decided next could make the difference between life and death. The wrong choice would be fatal. He closed his eyes. It was time to let his instinct guide him. What did his heart say?

"All units, Diablo Squadron Leader here. Ceasefire! I repeat, ceasefire! Do not engage the new contacts. They're allied units. I repeat, they're allied units. From now on, we'll call them by the codename 'Hawk'," Preston ordered.

"Diablo Squadron Leader, Barracuda Squadron Leader here. What about the new mothership?"

"What new mothership?" Preston asked, perplexed.

"The one attacking 2012 UA."

"What?!"

Raising his eyes upwards, he was left speechless. 2012 UA was slowly on the move, its shields deflecting hundreds of explosions caused by plasma bolts fired from up above. Squinting, Preston sought to find out what was attacking their enemy. The answer knocked him for six. A new, even larger spaceship was descending vertically towards 2012 UA and launching a fearsome attack. At present, Preston could only see its lower side, the hull glowing red from the friction generated as it entered the atmosphere. Despite his limited view, it obviously had a very different design to 2012 UA and the spiders. By his estimate, it must measure around two miles long and a mile wide. It was rectangular in shape, like an aircraft carrier, and appeared to be made from a white or ivory-coloured metal. The front was divided into two, leaving an open space in the centre. Two large wing-like surfaces jutted out of the rear, each finishing in a prominent structure. He was eager to take a closer look but would have to wait until the new spaceship was closer to the ground. There was no way he could reach it at that altitude in his Typhoon. Preston soon noticed that it was also protected by a force field that could deflect the returning shots fired at it by 2012 UA.

"Sir, what about the other big spaceship?" Barracuda Squadron Leader repeated again.

"Same orders. Do not engage. It's an allied unit," Preston said.

"Preston, General Echevarría here," the general's voice roared down the private channel. "What the hell's going on?"

"General Echevarría, the new units are friends," Preston replied.

"What do you mean, 'friends'? How do you know?"

"Simple, General. They just saved my life by destroying one of the spiders, just when it was about to fire at me," Preston explained.

"That's unbelievable..."

"There's more. The new spacecraft are very similar to our fighter jets. They've got cockpits and... I saw one of the pilots waving at me," Preston said slowly, making sure the general understood exactly what he was saying.

"It waved at you? You mean they're human?"

"I don't know. I can only say what I saw. But if they're not human, they must be pretty similar to us."