A.N. : Here comes finally chapter 6. Sorry for the delay, but I wanted to finish my other story "Odyssey Dawn" before coming back to Codename Excalibur, as the end of that story shows you how Tom, Alex and Squadron Leader Alexander have met.
In this chapter, Blunt has a near-cardiac arrest and Alex shows his true valour as a fighter pilot... If you don't understand spanish, don't worry. I'll have the translations in the end notes...
Thanks again for your review, Albany. If there is any problem with my spanish, just feel free to let me know of it, and I'll correct immediately.
Well, time for the Disclaimer. I do not Own Alex Rider nor Blunt, Sab or Tom, they're Anthony Horrowitz's. The other OC's and the plot, however, are mine...
Chapter 6 : Ballad of Hawks and Eagles
When Alex landed back in Stanley, the evacuation was already in full swing. The two Airbus had already left with most of the families of the RAF Personnel and a few key persons from the Station. The rest would board the Boeing, the soldiers and other personnel boarding the C-130's fleet. As he rolled closer to the 757, he saw Sab and Jack standing there, looking towards his fighter. As soon as he had cut the engines and got out of his Typhoon, they rushed towards him, Sab nearly knocking him down when she launched herself in his arms…
"God, Al, I've been so scared… What's goin' on ? Is it Scorpia again ?"
"Partly, Love. That's the Argies who are comin' again like back in '82… but don't worry, we'll get you out of here and we'll prepare ourselves in Ascension to strike them back hard !"
"Please, Promise me you'll be careful, OK ? I don't want to loose you now…"
"I promise, Love, I'll always get back to you, no matter what !"
At that moment, the air raid horn sounded on the station, and the personnel got in a frenzy to load the last Sidewinders and finish to refuel his fighter…
"Bollocks ! Sab, Jack, get in that 757, I'll cover your evacuation and then I'll join you back in Ascension ! Love you, Sweetheart !", he then told her.
"OK… Love you, Al !", Sab answered. They kissed one last time, and she followed Jack to the liner as he rushed back to his fighter where he was joined by his CO.
"I'll go, McKittrick. Get in that bloody aircraft with your wife !", said Squadron Leader Merril.
"Negative, Sir. It's my job, and I'll do it ! They'll need you in Wideawake to brief the guys about the situation, so I'll cover you !"
"Damn It, I order you…"
"No, and that's definitive, Sir. You can get me court-marshalled later if you want, but for now get your sorry arse in that Hercules and get the Hell out of here !"
Alex left his CO standing there, flabbergasted, and jumped in his Typhoon, quickly starting the engines, not even waiting for the canopy to be totally closed to roll to the runway.
"Stanley, Typhoon One, request Take-Off clearance !"
"Typhoon One, Scramble, bandits sixty miles west and closing fast !"
"Copy, Stanley", Alex answered, pushing the throttle to full military power, "Typhoon One taking off !"
Sao Paulo aircraft Carrier, OPS Room.
Colonel Esteban was once again in the OPS room, following the progress of the strike force flying to Stanley. Suddenly, a call came from the leader of the escort.
"Sao Paulo, Aguila Lider, I have multiple contacts over the target, two big ones, transport aircraft it seems, flying eastbound ; three or four smaller ones, apparently helicopters, flying to the bay ; and a last one flying fast towards us, apparently a lone fighter. Request instructions !"
"Well", told Blunt to Esteban, "It seems you've found that lone fighter back…"
"Si, it seems so… Teniente", Esteban then turned to the communication officer, "order our fighters to intercept that fighter. The other aircrafts and helicopters are not to be shot at, they're certainly evacuating civilians to ships or to Ascension Island."
"Si, Coronel !"
"Well, I'd be you, I'd shoot those down too, you know…"
"And end up having all the international press and the UN breathing down our necks ? Eres tan estupide como un perro !"
"Huh ?"
"Oh, Nothing…", Esteban answered, glad for once that Blunt wasn't fluent in Spanish…
"Well… I'ts still better than having them striking back, isn't it ? "
"No ! Sorry, Senhor Blunt, but I won't give that order !", Esteban retorted, getting quite angry with Blunt now.
"As you wish, Colonel", Blunt answered, clearly unhappy with the Argentinian officer's choice.
"Teniente, Tell our fighters to strike military targets only. The transports and helicopters, as the ships in the bay, are to be left unharmed, they're apparently evacuating civilians."
"Si, Coronel !"
Somewhere above Stanley Airfield…
Alex was already airborne, and he was climbing fast to twenty thousand feet, circling around Stanley airfield. He saw the Boeing and the last C-130 taking-off and climbing slowly en-route to Georgetown, Ascension Island. He then received a call from Stanley.
"Typhoon One, Stanley, we're signin' off. Evacuating on the HMS Protector with your last Sea-King. Protector will take over from here, switch on frequency 135.25"
"Roger that, Stanley, I'm covering you as long as I can then I'll set course to Ascension and join the last Hercules for the refuelling pattern."
"Copy that, Typhoon One. Good luck and Godspeed, chap. Stanley signing out !"
"Thanks, Stanley, Typhoon One, Out ! "
Alex then got between the airfield and the Protector to cover them and started to fly a CAP pattern between that position and Fitzroy. Soon enough, he got a contact on his radar, around thirty jets coming towards them, yet still at around fifty miles from Fitzroy. He called the Protector to signal them the threat.
"Protector, Typhoon One, I'm above Fitzroy and have contact with twenty five plus bandits, fifty miles east, closing fast towards Stanley. I'll slow them a bit, so you can get the Hell out of there !"
"Copy, Typhoon One. We'll sail flank speed to the east. The Sea-King has just landed, and we'll get him in readiness would the need arise."
"Thanks, Protector, Bandits now 40 miles from Fitzroy, still closing fast. Stay on frequency…"
"Roger that, we're with you, lad !"
He then selected the sidewinder missiles and got ready to fight hard for his life. A minute later, the first elements were around fifteen miles in front of him. He fired two of his sidewinders and then got his fighter into a flurry of evasive manoeuvres. He got somewhat lucky as one of the Argies, while they broke formation, just launched himself in front of the first of his two missiles…
"Typhoon One, Two Fox Two… Yeah, Splash one ! Damn, those are Super-Etendards", he called and, coming closer to them, "F*** Off… Look Out, Protector, they got Exocet missiles under their wings…"
"Blast It ! Kill those bastards, they're far more a threat than the Skyhawks…"
"Wilco, Protector… Here we go… Got the tune… Fox Two ! Yeah, another one down", he yelled, a second SEM bursting into a ball of fire and debris after his missile struck him right in the exhaust pipe. "The two remaining ones are trying to evade… Oh no, you bastard, you won't get out that easy… Switching for guns…" He then fired a two second burst of my Mauser 23 mm gun… "Yeah, Guns kill… I got that one. Only one of 'em remaining"
4-element SEM's leader cockpit…
"Maldito sea ! Sao Paulo, Aguila four has been shot down ! Mierda, Here he's comin' back… ! "
"Aguila Lider, Sao Paulo, come in !"
"Aguila Tres, Aguila lider and Aguila quatro has been shot down… Wait… Que coño es… Tonta ! "
"Aguila Tres, come in… Aguila Tres ? Ah Cabron !", then cussed the young officer, turning to Colonel Esteban, "Senhor Coronel, we've lost contact with Aguila squadron… Their last transmission said they were engaged by a lone fighter. I had confirmation that Aguila Lider and Quatro had been shot down, then nothing more… "
"Joder ! Send word to Buitre squadron to intercept that pendejo… He's alone, he should be an easy prey for them, that boluto"
"Si, Coronel !"
Typhoon One, twenty thousand feet above Stanley…
"Protector, Typhoon One, got three bandits down, one damaged and fleeing. I'm back to Stanley now…"
"Roger, Typhoon One. Good show, pal ! We got contact on another 4-aircraft formation heading towards you, they're over Lively Island as for now."
"Copy, Protector, intercepting the bandits ! I still have four missiles and half my ammo left, what's your position, over ?"
"Twenty miles east of Volunteer point, Over ! "
"Copy that. Bandits now twenty miles, I'm engaging them ! "
"Good luck, Typhoon One. Protector, Out ! "
Alex, as the first time, came head on on them, and as soon as he was in range, he fired two of his remaining sidewinders on the bandits.
Buitre squadron, ten miles north-east of Lively Island…
"Buitre Lider to Buitre squadron, stay close, boys. The guy we're facing is no boluto, he's downed Aguila squadron all by himself, ok ?"
"Buitre duo, si ! "
"Buitre three, copio ! "
"Buitre quatro, si mi capitan ! "
"Eso esta bien… Here they come… Que Demonios… Maldito Sea ! Break, break, he's fired missiles on us ! "
That was the last call Buitre Lider would ever make. His Super-Etendard was struck by the two missiles in a second's span and his fighter turned in a huge fireball, debris hitting Buitre two, damaging his left wing and sending him in a stall.
"Que Chingados ! Tonta ! Sao Paulo, Buitre Lider has been shot down, my aircraft's damaged ! Buitre tres and quatro engaging the bandit ! "
Aboard Sao Paulo, OPS Room.
"Ay. Dios. Mio ! ", uttered Colonel Esteban as he heard that transmission from Buitre Two.
"Exactly my thoughts", answered Blunt. "That bloody pilot's the Devil himself ! "
"Coronel, I've found the ennemy's frequency… I'm putting it on the speakers ! "
"Muy bien, let's hear it ! ", answered Esteban.
After a few second, they heard clear and loud Typhoon one calling HMS Protector…
"Protector, Typhoon One, I got two more of 'em… I'm getting out of here now, meet you back in Georgetown ! Out ! "
Hearing this voice, Blunt became as white as a sheet…
" Motherf***** ! Truly this is the Devil himself ! That pilot's voice… I know him, that's Rider ! "
"What ?", answered Esteban, "That agent you told me about earlier ? Wasn't he dead ?"
"Yes ! But it can't be someone else, I'd recognize his voice anytime… Shot that Bastard down ! "
"Estas pendejo o qué chingando ?", called Esteban back, "He has shot down five of our aircrafts, and those were not young recruits, they were all seasoned pilots… No, I'm calling back our fighters, there's no use in losing more of them, we'll need them later !"
Typhoon One, 40 miles north-east of Stanley…
After disengaging himself as the remaining Argentinian fighters fled to their carrier, Alex was finally flying back to join the Herkie. Ten minutes later, he was jolted out of his thoughts as the low fuel alarm came on on his instrument panel…
"What the… Blast, I must have been hit by one of those bastards back there", he thought, "I'm loosing fuel fast…"
He quickly checked his fuel tanks gauges, not liking at all what he saw…
"Protector, Typhoon One, I've been apparently hit by enemy fire and am loosing fuel fast. I won't be able to make it to Ascension. I'll try to join your position and then bail out, over ! "
"Copy that, Typhoon One. Our position is 40 miles east of McBride Heath, about 20 miles behind you. We're coming full speed on your heading, Rescue Two is ready to get you back. Over ! "
"Copy. I'm still at level twenty, but only have seconds of fuel left, I'm already running on fumes… I'll try to glide as close as I can to your position ! "
"Copy that, Typhoon One. Already heading towards you at flank speed. Protector, Out ! "
A.N. : And that's it, the end of Chapter 6. Hope you've enjoyed it. Just please leave me some reviews to let me know of it, Ok ?
In the next chapter, you'll see Alex being rescued by Tom's chopper and how they will get to Wideawake field on Ascension Island to prepare themselves to strike back. That'll be in Chapter 7 : Welcome to Wideawake Field !
Translations from Spanish :
Aguila = Eagle
Buitre = Vulture (he he... Vulture Squadron, does it remind you of someone ? Yep, Muttley and Dick Dastardly... Guess who's goin' to be DD ?)
Lider = Leader
Eres tan estupido como un perro ! = You're as stupid as a dog !
Maldito Sea ! = May he be damned !
Mierda ! = Sh**
Joder ! = F***
Tonta ! = Bullocks
Que coño es eso ! = What the Hell is that ?
Ah Cabron ! = Blast It, Goddamnit !
Pendejo = Moron !
Boluto = Idiot
Eso esta bien… = That's all right, Good
Que Demonios… = What the Hell...
Que Chingados ! Tonta ! = What the F*** ! Bullocks !
Estas pendejo o qué chingando ? = Are you idiot or what ? (Are you a dumbass or what's happening in your frikkin' head ?)
