Armageddon

Someone shouted as he flew through the door. He turned left and right, firing from his hip and not stopping, never stopping as he ran for the road. As he reached it he heard the pop-pop-pop of an assault rifle behind him; the next second he fell nearly straight down. He threw his hands out, realizing he’d slipped onto an embankment, but there was nothing to grip, and he tumbled wildly down a deep ravine, sliding past a thin strip of vegetation to dirt and stone and then mud. He crashed into a wide, deep stream, flailing in the water that bit at him and pushed him wildly backward in its current. At first Mack was content just to get away. Then he realized the rushing water represented a danger all its own. He tried to grab something, anything, and stop himself from being carried away. Finally, at least a mile if not more from where he had gone in, Mack crashed into a log and managed to hold on.

Water rushed all around. He spit and coughed as he worked himself up the log toward the stream’s bank. He kicked against something solid; thinking he could stand he tried to get his feet under him, only to lose his balance and nearly his grip on the log.

When Mack finally got to the side, he crawled up over a small, narrow bed of sand into the bushes. There, exhausted, he lost consciousness.

Dreamland command trailer, Malaysian air base

1220

Zen had just finished showing Starship how to work the communications board in the command trailer when Da

“We have movement at the airport near the Megafortress,” said Da

“Okay, do it.”

Da

“At the airport?”

“There’s apparently a section owned by a prince that has older aircraft, which could be used.”

“We’re talking about Prince bin Awg?”

“Yeah. We’ve examined the airport with the LADS blimps. There are no forces in that section, and we can cut off their access pretty easily once we disable the Megafortress”

“I’d say go for it. Just don’t take any u

“Yeah. Dog’s not around?”

“Went to pay a courtesy call on the locals. He’s due back any minute. I’ll have him get a hold of you when he’s back if you want.”

“All right. I’m going to move ahead”

“I’ll have him get in touch, one way or another,” said Zen.

A peal of thunder rumbled in the distance as Zen signed off. Zen looked over at Starship, who glanced toward the nearby window. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

A second clap came so close that the trailer vibrated up and down.

“Was that thunder?” asked Starship.

The door to the trailer jerked open. “Incoming!” yelled Major Merce Alou. “We’re being shelled!”

“Shit. The planes,” said Zen, wheeling back. “We have to get the Megafortresses up. They’re sitting ducks.”

“Right,” shouted Alou, disappearing back outside.

“We’ll never get off the ground,” said Brea

“We have to,” said Zen, pushing his wheelchair for the door.

Off the coast of Brunei

1228

Je

It had been a while since Je

“Dreamland command trailer, this is Whiplash base,” she said. “Looking for an update on the new units. What’s their situation?”

There was no answer. Je

“Dreamland command trailer—are you receiving me?” she asked.

“We’re under attack,” blurted Starship over the radio. “We’re taking mortar fire.”

“Mortar fire, copy,” she said. “Do you need assistance?”

There was no answer. Je

“Do you need assistance?” she asked again, but there was still no answer.

“Dreamland command, this is Whiplash base,” said Je

“Copy. We’re working on getting some local support,” responded Major Catsman, who was on duty in the center.

“Okay,” said Je

What could she do? Sending one of the LADS units there seemed like a futile gesture; even at maximum speed it would take the blimp close to four hours to arrive.

But she had to do something. She selected the control screen for unit eight and cursored into the target area, setting the course. Then she enabled the unit’s auto-pilot; the blimp would fly its course on its own without needing to be checked, and then politely buzz its minders when it was within ten minutes of its destination.

“Whiplash Leader, are you hearing me?” she asked Da

“Roger base. We have the Megafortress in sight on the ground at Brunei International Airport. We’re preparing to disable it via TOW missiles.”

“Dreamland team is under fire at their site,” she told him.

Da

“I’m sending a blimp for observation,” she added. “They’ve called local support”

“Understood,” said Da

“Roger that.”

Malaysian air base

1232

Zen cursed the wheelchair, cursed the Brunei kingdom, cursed the Malaysians, cursed the Islamic madmen, and cursed his no-good legs as he pushed himself along the cement as fast as he could go toward the EB-52, determined to help get it in the air. The short field—and certainly the situation—demanded that the Flighthawks be used as boosters, helping the plane rocket off the runway.

The ground shook as a shell landed about a hundred yards away.

Shit, he thought to himself. This is crazy. But he pushed harder, determined to get the big planes off the ground.

And then launch the Flighthawks to pound the daylights out of whoever was firing at them.

Zen felt the veins in his face and chest straining as he wheeled onto the roadway. A geyser burst somewhere behind him, close enough to throw dust against the back of his head.

Something grabbed the back of his wheelchair and he felt himself jetting forward.

“Hey, Major, figured you wouldn’t mind a push,” yelled Starship in his ear.

“I’m in Pe