The year is 1942. Tensions run high in the world as the Second World War rages on. The Battle of Midway has just concluded and now Operation: Harpoon is underway.

Meanwhile, Nazi scientists have been experimenting with an unstable energy source which if harnessed correctly could shift the tide of war. After multiple tests on an uncharted island hidden in the Pacific, decimating the islands ecosystems, they uncovered something unlike anything before. An egg belonging to some massive unknown organism.

Chapter 1

The rattling of guns echoed through the air above the Northern Sea of England. Explosions littered the sky; either by downed planes or the shots of the anti-aircraft cannons. The word chaotic would not even explain it. A thunderous explosion from an anti-aircraft cannon went off about five meters from Chris Broad’s Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1. Expertly he dodged and opened fire on the destroyer. The plane’s machine guns rattled, spitting fire towards the ship. Eventually, he got one of the anti-aircraft cannons, blowing it up, but before he could fix onto the next, shots fired past his plane. A Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-4 flew up behind him and opened fire. Thinking quick, Chris pulled up, narrowly avoiding the destroyer, and gained altitude. The Messerschmitt followed him, still firing.

“I see how it is.” Chris muttered. His plane climbed higher, to where all the blasts were going off. Another Messerschmitt flew for him but he quickly evened out and opened fire, shooting off its wing. The plane went into a death spiral and crashed into the ocean. Chris turned to face the Messerschmitt chasing him and opened fire.

The two planes evaded each other’s attacks and flew past each other. They circled back, the Messerschmitt firing and hitting Chris’s left wing. He dived as it nearly shot his engine. The Messerschmitt continued to pursue as Chris flew closer to the destroyers. He immediately began to curve as he approached it, the anti-aircraft cannons firing on him.

“Follow me through this.” He muttered, expertly dodging each explosion. The Messerschmitt swerved away, instead flying above the ship. Chris broke away from the destroyer and began to climb again. He circled back and opened fire on the Messerschmitt, which soon took notice of him.

The Messerschmitt climbed and turned, trying to get behind Chris. He noticed this and immediately changed trajectory. He was so focused on his new opponent that he almost collided with an incoming torpedo bomber. Chris quickly ascended after glancing the bomber, which was almost immediately shot by an anti-aircraft cannon. The bomber exploded and the wreckage went hurtling down, into the destroyer. The Messerschmitt rose into the sky again and fired on Chris, striking the plane’s left wing again. “Dammit.” Chris muttered, forcing the plane into a barrel roll. As it righted, he turned and fired, damaging the Messerschmitt’s rudder.

Both planes ascended once more, above the raging battle. Chris was one of the best pilots there was, but this adversary was nothing like he had ever seen. Another torpedo bomber flew past, heading for a destroyer. The Messerschmitt immediately broke away and shot off the tail of the bomber, sending it into the ocean.

Chris took the opportunity to get behind the Messerschmitt and fire on it, damaging its right wing. The Messerschmitt turned and fired, but Chris was already diving. The destroyer below them opened fire with its anti-aircraft cannons, Chris avoiding each blast. This time the Messerschmitt followed Chris, still firing.

As they approached the destroyer, the entire ship shook, a loud grinding noise coming from under it. It began to take on water, slowly toppling over.

“One of them is down!” One of the pilots yelled over the radio. But something felt off. Chris’s Spitfire was the only plane close enough to attack the destroyer, but he never fired. Besides the sound came from beneath, but no torpedo’s had been launched. Out of the corner of his eye, Chris glanced something moving beneath the waves. It was hard to tell what it was, but it was too big to be a submarine.

As the destroyer capsized it continued firing. Regaining his focus, Chris swerved away from a shot from the anti-aircraft cannons. The Messerschmitt attempted to do the same, but the blast blew the tail off the plane. It flew out of control towards another destroyer. Realising he could not regain control, the pilot bailed out, leaving his plane to out of control ram the destroyer. The Messerschmitt went up in flames.

Chris regained altitude, taking out another Messerschmitt on his way up. Something was not sitting right with him. Of all the time he spent staring death in the face on these aerial battles, never had he felt like this. It was not his encounter with the Messerschmitt, or nearly being blown up by the destroyer, it was whatever took that destroyer out. It was not Axis, that was a fact, but it was not Allied either.

Chris Broad, born in November 1910 in London, had joined the war right at the beginning and had faced many adversaries in the sky. To be honest, he preferred to be in the sky more then on the ground. His father was a soldier during the first the Great War and the gruelling reality of the trenches is what made Chris decide to take to the skies instead. He was one of the best, able to fly along enemy ships whilst they were firing on him with anti-aircraft cannons, or take five fighters all on his own. He hated the fighting part, but the thrill of flying through the air at high speeds is what he lived for. There was only one reason that brough Chris back to the ground, other than the fact that his plane would eventually run out of fuel. That reason was Emma Schödder, who he met one year before the war started.

His Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1 flew towards the runway of the airbase. The plane’s body now had a couple of bullet holes in it from the battle and the fuel was running low. The left wing was almost covered in holes after his dogfight with the Messerschmitt, a few more shots and he would have fallen out of the sky. The plane gracefully lowered towards the ground, the landing gear opening. Gentilly, the wheels touched down on the tarmac of the runway and the plane’s engine began to slow. The plane wheeled towards the hanger before finally coming to a halt.

Chris opened the cockpit and climbed out as the maintenance teams arrived to get to work. He wore the standard brown flight suit with a brown leather jacket, designed to keep the pilots warm whilst flying at high altitudes. He stood about 1,73 meters tall, had brown eyes and dark brown hair which was cut very short. There was a hint of a growing moustache forming on his upper lip. He left the hanger and headed towards the main base. The area was a simple base, two hangers, one main base, a runway and at least six barge balloons, that were currently lowered to the ground. This was only whilst the pilots landed or took off, they did not want any of their planes accidentally getting shredded by their cables.

As Chris entered the base, he was met by his commanding officer, Captain Tom Clark. Captain Clark stood roughly 1,75 meters tall, had light brown eyes and black hair. He wore a grey commander’s uniform, with several badges.

“Chris, I believe you single handedly took down a destroyer out there. I never thought a light weight Spitfire like yours could do that.” He said.

“Sir, there is something I need to speak to you about, regarding the destroyer.” Chris said, standing at attention. “I believe it could be important.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

“I did not take it down, something else did.”

“That is not possible, according to what I heard from one of the other pilots the torpedo bomber was destroyed before it could attack.”

“That is true, yet I never fired a shot and I saw something in the water.”

“You could not have; no submarines had been dispatched to the battle.”

“I know that sir, if it was a submarine, I do not think it was ours, and it would not have been German either.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“I do not know, maybe there is another nation getting involved in this war, who has not let us know, or worse is against them and us. I do not have a definite answer but I think we should be careful, just in case.”

Captain Clark sighed. “I think the stress of the battlefield is getting to you.”

“Maybe.” Chris lied. He knew something else was going on, but what, he did not know.

Hidden somewhere off the Eastern coast of Britain was a small German airbase. A group of LCT Mark 2’s had arrived along with a few rescue vessels from the previous ocean battle. The LCT’s had dropped off a platoon of Panzer III’s which had made their way to the hidden German airbase. It was one of three hidden German bases in Britain. The survivors of the oceanic battle and the Panzers arrived at the base. Despite the heavy losses, their mission was a success; draw the British away whilst their tanks arrived on their shores.

Heinrich Schödder was not very happy though. One minute he was locked in a dogfight with a Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1, the next his Messerschmitt’s tail was blown off by a sinking German Destroyer and he had to eject. Heinrich took his job as a pilot seriously. Not because he was another ‘mindless soldier’, but because he was afraid that if Germany lost the war, the country would fall to absolute ruins. He remembered what it was like after the Great War as a child, he did not want that to happen again.

Heinrich stood about 1,75 meters tall, had brown eyes and light brown, almost blond hair. A stern look was always painted across his face and his eyes seemed to always stare into your soul, and not in a good way. It was more like he was constantly staring you down, or intimidating you, but that was barely the case. He entered the small main base, quite angry. No opponent had ever made such a fool out of him before.

“Mister Schödder." A voice called from behind him. It was the captain of the base, Captain Otto Hoffmann.

“Captain Hoffmann." He replied, standing at attention, raising his hand to his forehead in salute. He refused to do the other salute, he thought it looked dumb, like you were trying to flag down a car without knowing how to do so.

“At ease. What happened out there today?" Captain Hoffmann asked.

“There was this one pilot, I almost had him. He kept flying close to the anti-aircraft cannons and when the Destroyer went down, it took out my tail."

“Listen, if they want to get themselves killed, by all means let them. Just do not be stupid and follow them."

“Yes sir."

They entered the main operations room of the base. There were large tables scattered all over the room. On the centre table was a large map, showing Poland, Germany, France and Britain. Red markers had been placed on the map where other secret bases had been established as well as convoy routes. On another table was a large radio set up, which was used for long range communication with the other two bases on the Eastern shoreline. Officers were either strategizing at the map, or receiving calls off the radio. Heinrich preferred to be in the sky than this crowded place. He and the other pilots gathered around a table with a smaller map, only displaying France and Britain.

“We have an artillery train travelling through France towards our pick-up point, carrying reinforcement artillery. It will arrive at the point tomorrow afternoon. We had ships sent in to get ready for its arrival. All of them were sunk on the way there. We fear the British know of this operation. Tomorrow, you all will fly out and provide cover for them, in case the British show up. Do you understand?” Captain Hoffmann explained.

“Yes sir." They replied.

“At the same time, we will send our tank squadron into London. We will march through the city and capture it, at any cost. You all set out at first light tomorrow."

The pilots dispersed and Heinrich left the base. Before any of what was to happen the next day could happen, he had something to do.

Dark clouds hung in the sky over London as the afternoon rolled in. It was only two o’ clock in the afternoon, yet you could have sworn it was later. The weather had been threatening rain for days now, yet nothing had fallen. The airbase was not far from the city, which allowed Chris quick and easy access to it. He had made his way into the city and was heading towards a small park where he had arranged to meet with Emma. It had been a long time since he had seen her, and he could not necessarily just call and arrange to meet with her. In fact, as far as his comrades knew, they were no longer together. Chris had heard about what happened in the United States after Pearl Harbour, all the Japanese people in the country were rounded up and taken to internment camps. Chris was glad that the British were not so harsh, yet his fear was that if his comrades knew they were together, they would suspect her as a German spy. But even if they did, what could they actually do. Chris was afraid to find out.

As Chris entered the park he looked around for Emma. He slowly strolled along the paths, watching the other families, those who were innocent and were the true victims of the war.

“Flieger, there you are.” Emma’s voice broke his thoughts.

She ran over to him and embraced him affectionately.

“Long time no see. Did you miss me?” Chris asked as she released him.

“Of course, I did.”

Emma stood about 1,6 meters tall. She had long brown hair, which she kept tied back in a ponytail and light brown eyes. After the Great War, things went downhill in Germany, that is why Emma left the moment she could. She had come into Britain in 1937, at the age of 27. A year later, she met Chris and though their relationship had a rocky start, after a few months it “took flight”, as Chris would put it. Back then, Chris would always tell her about his time in the sky and his love for flying. This is why Emma gave him the nickname ‘Flieger’ which is German for ‘Airman’ or ‘Aviator’.

The two began to walk along the path, deeper into the park.

“How is it like out there? Are things getting any better?” she asked.

“I am afraid not. We are doing all we can but at this point there is no end in sight. Besides, we have no idea on what they might try and pull on us.”

They found and empty bench and sat down next to each other in silence for a bit.

“How are you holding up?” Chris asked.

“Scared. Ever since The Blitz everyone has been scared. Too scared to even sleep. I know they ended more than a year ago, but you cannot root out that fear.”

Chris remembered one of the nights right after a raid, his squadron managed to pursue a bomber squadron. Chris had overflowed with rage and recklessly took down one of the bombers, almost being shot down himself. That was the same night when the bombs fell close to where Emma stayed.

“I just hope that with the extra help we can bring a swift end to this all. To be honest, I am tired of fighting.”

Heinrich wondered into the park, changed out of his uniform and into civilian clothes. Nobody could have said he was a pilot, just another man who lived a regular life. He casually strolled through the park. From the letters his sister had sent him, he knew she usually came to the park during the afternoons. She usually expressed her fear for him, and wished he would drop out of the war. But Heinrich could not do that, even if he wanted to now. He walked along the path, carefully searching. It had been years since he had actually seen her, but he was sure he would recognise her.

Chris took Emma’s hand in his.

“Listen to me, we are going to get through this. I will promise you this, whenever this war ends, I will come home and then we can take the next steps and start our life together. I promise you.” Their eyes met, and then over Chris’s shoulder, Emma saw someone. He almost looked lost, or like he was looking for someone. Not just that, but he looked familiar.

“Are you alright?” Chris asked.

“It is just that man over there.” Chris turned to see where she was looking. “He looks so familiar.”

Just then, the man turned towards them and looked over them from a distance before coming over to them. Emma stood up and then, as he got closer, she recognised him.

“Hein.” She said, going over to him. Chris got up as she left.

Heinrich smiled as he saw his younger sister, Emma, approach him and embraced her.

“I cannot believe it, is it really you?" she said.

“I missed you. Is all going well?"

“Jawohl.” she half joked with him.

Just then, Chris approached them.

“Chris, this is my brother, Heinrich. Heinrich, this is that guy I wrote about, my boyfriend Chris.” Emma introduced them.

Heinrich was immediately put off by Chris’s uniform, still he forced a smile.

“I have heard a bit about you, but I did not know you were a pilot.” Said Heinrich.

“Emma told me a bit about you as well.” Chris replied, a bit uneasy. It was not just because this was Emma’s older brother, who was slightly taller than him. Something else seemed off. After fighting in the air for almost four years, Chris could see through a facade of someone who had experienced many things on a battlefield. He could even see it in the mirror, every time he tried to hide it on his own face. He could see it in a person’s eyes, and that was exactly what he saw in Heinrich.

“Are you alright?” Heinrich asked.

“Yes, just a little shaken from today.” Chris responded.

“Why, what happened?” Emma asked.

“A Messerschmitt almost got me down. I have never faced someone with those skills, I could not shake him. I finally lured him towards a sinking destroyer, which accidently shot off his tail.”

As Chris finished, Heinrich reacted, without even thinking. He grabbed Chris by his jacket aggressively.

“Heinrich, what are you doing?” Emma asked, concern setting in.

“You almost killed me out there you English dog!” Heinrich’s entire tone changed as he remembered the aerial battle. Who knew that he would have met the very pilot he had fought earlier.

“Hein! Let him go!” Emma yelled, hearing his anger.

“You are one of them, one of their pilots. Why are you bloody here!” Chris yelled, trying to break free. Heinrich threw him back and Chris caught his balance. Heinrich turned to Emma.

"Seriously, this English mess? He almost killed me today." Heinrich said to Emma.

"Look who is talking, you swastika wearing co..."

"Chris, calm down!" Emma yelled, getting between them as Chris tried to go for him.

"This asshole almost shot me out of the sky." Said Chris.

"Well, he almost sent me hurtling into a destroyer."

"Serves you right for following a maniac clown who copied Charlie Chaplin's moustache."

Heinrich attempted to go for Chris but Emma pushed him away. Chris attempt to do the same thing but Emma too defended her brother.

"Why defend this man who is allowing innocent people to be killed?"

"Soldiers are not innocent people, nobody who fights in war is." Heinrich replied.

"What about those in those camps."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"Do not play dumb, Nazi scum."

"I am not part of them, I just follow orders and I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Concentration camps you idiot, people die there!" Heinrich did not respond and that is when Chris realized that he, and many other soldiers, may not know what actually went on in there, he himself was not even one hundred percent sure.

It was if the air around the three of them grew thick with tension. Finally, Chris spoke.

“I am sorry, I need to be alone.” He said turning away. “And you, I never want to see you here again!” he quickly turned to Heinrich before leaving. Emma and Heinrich both watched him leave, slightly shocked by what he had said. Finally, Heinrich turned to Emma.

“I came to warn you. Tomorrow we are sending under cover forces into the city. What you decide to do with this information is up to you, just please get out before they get here."

Emma just looked at him and nodded. Heinrich hugged her and she hugged him back. Then Heinrich left, leaving Emma to try to piece together everything she had just heard. Heinrich’s mind was also racing with what Chris had said. He had heard word of these camps but never bothered to pay attention. Suddenly he felt uneasy; what other cruel plans did his ‘leaders’ have that he was unaware of?