               To Tom Doherty
  A faithful friend is the medicine of life

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this
book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real people or events is purely
coincidental.
PEACEKEEPERS
Copyright @ 1988 by Ben Bova
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions
thereof in-any form.
A TOR Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, Inc.
49 West 24 Street
New York, NY 10010
Cover design by Carol Russo
ISBN: 0-812-50238-8      Can. ISBN: 0-812-50241-8
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 87-51399
First edition: August 1988
First mass market edition: September 1989
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

shall beat their swords into
and their spears into pruninghooks:
@n6tion shall not lift up sword against nation,
:neither shall they learn war any more.
                                   -Isaiah, 2:4
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
                                   -juvenal
How the past perishes is how the future
becomes.
                    -Alfred North Whitehead


Oki.-


                                                                 A
j!1




                                                       IGENS:
                                                       Year 12
                                             THEYVE appointed me the archivist. My task
                                   is to write the official history of the International Peace-
                                   keeping Force. I'm doing that, but what happened this
                                   morning                                                   n this
                                             convinced me that I should also put dow
                                   unofficial narrative, these personal recollections, these
                                   tales and anecdotes that are the story behind the
                                   Peacekeepers.
                                        of something as important as the
                                   doesn't start at one single point. It can't. It's
                                   to say, "The history begins here and not there. "
                                   when the account involves so many people, so
                                   as do the origins of the Peacekeepers. Literally
                                   strands of individual lives are woven together


2 Ben Bova
under the hand of fate to form an intricate, del'
                    icate
tapestry. (I like that! "Woven together under the hand of
fate." I'll have to work that into the official history some-
how.) Anyway, it's literally impossible to select a definite,
specific time and place for the origin of the IPF. Easier to
pinpoint the fall of the first drop of rain in a summer
storm, or the exact moment when a youth becomes a man.
     There- were many origins for the Peacekeepers, and how
I'm going to select a starting point for the official history is
a problem that I'll be tussling with for some time to come.
But I know where to start this unofficial chronicle: with this
morning's events.



                     12
                                   ......    tigues with full webbing and helmets, grumbling and
                                             muttering as the slanting golden rays of the morning sun
                                             filtered through the trees. I watched them from the window
                                             of the office that the local commandant had loaned me.
                                             They were so young! Twenty-four men and women, hardly
                                             out of their teens, each of them bearing replicas of the bgs
                                             of their nations on the left shoulders of their fatigues. No
                                             two Rags were alike.
                                             None of the youngsters out there on the parade ground
                                             knew it, but the reason for this morning's exercise was me.
                                             We were all going to take a little hike into the mountains
                                             . ADF the edification of the official IPF archivist.
                                                                 .3


4 Ben Bova
     it was no earlier than they usually
                                        assembled for field
training, or so I was told. But this morning they all seemed
to know that something special was in the air. No one had
told them, but like soldiers of every age, they sensed that
today would be different.
     The master sergeant, face of granite and
                                             eyes of flint,
snarled them to attention. Twenty-four men and women
snapped to. The sergeant inspected them briefly but thor-
oughly, his normal ferocious scowl even darker than usual.
Satisfied that his charges met his uncompromising stan-
dards, he saluted to the shavetail lieutenant,and reported
the squad ready for duty.
     The shavetail marched stiflly to the geodesic dome of the
administration building, where I stood by my window
watching.Tbr long minutes the squad stood in rigid silence
while the sun climbed above the lofty shade trees and
began broiling the parade ground. The monkeys chattered
and jeered at the cadets from the safety of their leafy
perches
     A sing'le knock on the flimsy door of the office. I turned
as the shavetail opened it and said crisply, "Sir, Director-
General Hazard is ready to inspect the squad."
     I nodded and reached for my cap with my prosthetic
hand. The
          Shavetail stated at it for a moment, realized
what he was @ doing and turned hi
                                   s eyes away. The hand
works fine, @ and I have even grown accustomed to its feel.
Marvelous how they were able to link its electronic circuits
to what's left of the nerves in MY arm.
     I had met Hazard twice before, and he greeted me
                  indicatio
kindly, shaking my hand without the slightest                   n
that it bothered him. But he seemed preoccupied, his mind
elsewhere, his eyes clouded with apprehension. I realized               J
that his thoughts were projecting simultaneously forward
into the future and back into the past: to the destination of
this day's little trek and to the reason for its existence. I felt
sorry for Hazard-, this would be a difficult day for the man.
                                                    5
                                   PE,4CEKEEPERS
of us officers, in our dress uniforms of sky-blue with
assembled in the administration building's
took the plunge into the jungle heat
into a natural formation: Hazard and the
of this training base in front, two captains
and the shavetail and I bringing up the rear.
grown a beard since I'd last seen him:
cut almost as severely as the military crop on
couldn't help musing that he kept the beard
so that everyone could see @ the diamond-
ia of the IPF directorgeneral on his high
               the squad casually-, none of the fierce
          the master sergeant. His bearded face looked
          benign. Then he took up a position pre-
          front center of the squad and ordered them to
          I was already sweating, and I saw that the faces
          were glistening.
          C               dates of the International Peacekeeping
          addressed them. His vo- ice was rough
          someone who has a bad cold or worse. It made
          about the condition of his health. "It is my
          announce that you have been selected for a rare
          members of the first graduating class of the
          will be allowed, this day, to view the crater
          nuclear bomb exploded."
     mm and woman of the squad squirmed
unhappily. I could feel them struggling to suppress moans
Of MisM. The crater was a sacred place for old men like
Directoi-General Hazard. To the cadets it meant only
a
101Wbard climb in sweltering tropical heat and the distinct
PmWbility of a radiation dose.


You see, an event of crucial importance to
the world had taken place near the city of
Valledupar about four Years earlier, the kind
of event that was supremely influential in
the development -of the Peacekeepers, but
win
     never find its way into the official
history. (Except maybe as a brief footnote.)
I wasfit there to participate, of course. I
was on a ship in the Arabian Sea where I
                   court"
                India anydof
     the story
each site in
one. If you'll
me a li     imagination, what
happened must have been very much like
this. . .
SENORA
Miseficordia Year 8
1AATH smells worst in the tropics.
     Cole Alexander wrinkled his nose at the stench of
decaying bodies. They lay everywhere: men, women, in-
fants.'@@Sloating in the fetid sun, sprawled in the gutted
miserable hovels, swarms of flies black
wounds, beetles already digging into
sun hung high in the pate sky, steaming
tropical forest that surrounded the dead
Alexander, felt his own body juices baking out of
                         7


          8 Ben Bova
          him, the damp beat soaking him like a chunk of meat
          thrown into a boiling pot. -
     Our Lady of Mercy, Alexander thought, hot bile burning
in his throat. What a name for the town.
"You see how they slaughtermy people." Sebastiano
Miguel de Castanada made it a statement, not a question.
Mi sericordia had been a tiny nothing of a village
                                             I                stuck in
     the jungle at the base of the mountains, an hour's hard
     drive up the rutted, twisting road from the city of
     Valledupar. Now it was a burned-out ruin,, the shacks that
     had once been houses blackened and smashed the inhabi-
     I
     tants machine-gunned down to babies in their mothers
0    arms.
     "Why did they do it?" Alexander asked.
     Castanada pointed to where his soldiers had spread a few
     armloads of trinkets on an aluminum camp table. Other
     soldiers were still searching the village, stepping over
i
     grotesque corpses with staring eyes an-d silently screaming
.T   mouths to hunt for the villages hidden treasures. The
III  soldiers wore crisp khaki uniforms. They all carried auto-
:.]
     matic rifles slung over their shoulders. But they seemed
                                                                  r ,
     unconcerned. The dead bodies did not bother them. Nei-
     ther, thought Alexander, did they seem worried about
          being attacked.
               Castanada led Alexander to the table. It was covered
          almost completely with slim glass knives, miniature quartz
          statues, decorated ceramic vases and other dusty artifacts.
               "The villagers lived on grave robbing," he said. "The
          men went up into the mountains, where the old Inca graves
          must be. When the drug dealers made their headquarters
          up there, they did not want these villagers bothering them.
          So three days ago they came down from the mountains and
          wiped out the village."
               Alexander studied Castanada's face. -He showed no sign
          of anger, no hint of fear or remorse or grief. Castanada was
          a handsome man in his early forties, broad brow, strong
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 9
mooth tanned skin. His jet-black: hair was brushed
it back; his eyes were the color of his native soil when
ons first turn it over for tilling after the winter rains.
-ras turning to fat, his slight body becoming round
his skin getting that waxy look that comes from
He wore an off -white silk suit, light for the
conservatively cut, precisely tailored, ex-
ive. As befits the man who is not only
defense but the eldest son o el presidents.
heat, Cole Alexander wore a rumpled suede,
his open-necked olive-green sport shirt, stained
of perspiration. A broad-brimmed cowboy
at a slight angle on his head. He was much
Castanada, and may have been slightly older
minister or slightly younger.. It was
to tell from his face. His hair was curly and thick,
youthfidly handsome, but it
cruel jester's smile. A sneer,
seemed to look out at the world
          and contempt at the antics of
     fellow human beings
     You I ve got a serious problem, all right," Alexander
said. "But I don't think I can help          with it."
                     YOU
     "I quite understand, Sefior Alexander," said Castanada,
Sounding oily and at the same time slightly irritating.
have Wmdy told my father that I would not be surprised if
You ieffised to help us."
     "Your father is beset by many problems," Alexander
rV144 choosing his words carefully.  His voice matched
his         expression: not quite harsh yet certainly
                                        not
norteame?1cano tenor with a hint of sharp
     my best to help him, but ... " Castanada
arms in the gesture of a man resigned to
inhuman odds.
looked around at what was left of the village


10   Ben Bova
as the soldiers continued to search it. The drug dealers had
done a thorough job. Not even a dog,was left to whimper.
The table where they stood was upwind, at least. The smell
wasn't so bad here.
     "They have created an army of their own, up in those
mountains," Castanada said, his voice trembling slightly.
"An empire within our borders!"
     "Let me try to explain," said Alexander, "why this kind
of problem is not in my usual line of operations."
     "It is too dangerous for mercenaries, I understand."
     Alexander smiled a crooked smile. "You must enjoy
fishing in these mountain streams.,,,
     Castanada smiled blandly back at him.
     41MY people work sort of like the Peacekeepers," Alexan-
der said, "We're basically a defensive operation. We
                                                            pro-
tect, -we do not attack."
     1.
     Please do not fence with words, Seftor Alexander.
Your. . ." Castanada groped for a word.           Your orgam . -
zation is a mercenary force. You fight for pay.
     "We fight for Pay," Alexander agreed. "But only for
those who are under attack. Only for those who can't
defend themselves."
     "But we are under attack! Look aroun you! The drug
dealers have assassinated members of the government! We
are at war! A life-and-death struggle!,,
          "But surely your Army. .
     -1kiddled with corruption." Castanada lowered his
voice. "I am ashamed to admit it, but it's true.-
"Then You should call in the Peacekeepers.
     "We have tried, seflor. They are sympathetic but unwill-
ing to help us. They will only intervene if there is an overt
attack across an international border. They exist to prevent
wars, not to act as police."
Alexander nodded slowly.
     "We have nowhere else to turn, I fear for my father's life.
For the lives of my wife and children.-
                    *-PEACEKEEPERS 11
     But it's still not the kind of operation that,
can undertake."
     money you are concerned about.
raised one hand. "No I'm sure we could come
terms. It's just not the kind of operation we
     turned and took a few paces away from
his chubby hands clasped behind his back. As if
the empty air, he said, "You know that Jabal
th them now, up in those mountains.
muttered, "Shamar.-
back to face the norteamericano, Castanada
to our intelligence, he has taken charge
operations."
     the nuclear bombs?"
certain, but I 9 reatly fear that he has brought
soil."
Alexander repeated in a barely audiblewhis-
     Yanqui, Castanada saidto himself. I do indeed
mountain -streams. 1, know very well how to
and how to reel in even the most cunning
ly bland and


Yet even that thread Of a: beginning had" its
own beginning, on the final day of what has
come to be called (optirnisticafty) the
                                                  Final




]T
ji

          JERUSALEM.-
          Year Zero
                         HE sky was unnaturally black. Not even the
          high desert sun could bum through the sooty clouds. The
          streets of the city were empty. Not a car, not a bus, not even'
          a dog moved as the hot winds seared alike the ancient
          stones of the Western Wall, the domes and minarets of
          medieval churches and mosques, the steel and glass towers
          of the modem city.
               In the middle of the dark afternoon a limousine, a
          Rolls-Royce at that, careened through the city's bare streets
          like a black mouse racing through a maze, losing its way
          and doubling back again, searching, searching, searching.
          Finally the limo sniffed out the American embassy and
          stopped at its barricaded gate.
                                12
I MI
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 13
out: Cole Alexander-dressed in a Summer-
business suit stained dark with sweat and
only thirty-six hours of travel can do. His
               pul                                                     ne. His
               led loose several shirt buttons undo
               brown, almost black, his face set in a
               of anxiety.
               on the buzzer at the gate, ducked back into the
               the keys from the ignition, then banged o
                                                       n
               again. He squinted up at the dark sky, then
               urn
               th    b against the buzzer and left it there until
               voice finally scratched from the intercom
               the buzzer. Alexander spoke Proudly and
               in 'two minutes a Marine guard, his own
               un iform almost as sweaty and rumpled as
               suit, dashed out o f the building and unlocked
               gate-
               and the young Marine sprinted up the drive-
               the main entrance to the building. At a
               ust inside the entryway, an additional pair of
               Of them a sergeant, examined his passport
               explained:
               are here. I've got a private plane at the
               ng to evacuate them."
     'A private plane?" The sergeant, a tough-looking black,
     Alexander an incredulous stare.
     4%01,e
          'y talks, Sergeant," said Alexander. "Even in the
middle of a war.,,
                     sai
     He' driving a Rolls, Sarge," id the Marine who had
lopene6 the, gate, with awe in his voice.
     The Sergeant shook his head. The expression on his face
said, You're crazy, man. But he told the other private to
@e@txander to his mother, who was among the
the embassy's basement.
                              metal detector built into the
                                  It screeched angrily.
                                   hauled a compact .38


14 Ben Bova
                                             ------
automatic from the waistband of his trousers. "Bought it in
New York just before I bought the jet. It's registered, all
nice and legal."
     The sergeant hefted the shiny pistol in his big hand. "You
ever fired it?" he asked Alexander.
     "Haven't had the tim6."
     "I'll hold it for you here." He placed the gun carefully in
a drawer of his desk.
     The basement was bia and dimly lit; only a -few of the
overhead fluorescent lights were on, casting almost ghastly
bluish light on the people crowded together there. They
were mostly women and small, children, Alexander saw.
Some old men. Cramped together. Sitting on a weird
assortment of chairs scavenged from the floors above,
huddled on cots, makeshift curtains draped here and there
for privacy, staring at the ceiling, whispering to one anoth-
er,, babies crying, old men coughing, worried faces looking
blankly at nothing. The basement was jammed with peo-
ple. Their voices made a constant background murmur of
anxiety and tension. The place was hot and stank of sweat
and cigarette smoke and cooking oil. And fear.
     The waiting room, to hell, Cole Alexander thought.
     Amanda Alexander was small, a slim little girl with a
sweet smile who had grown to a petite white-haired woman
who could always charm any man she met. Seeing her in
that crowded basement shelter, with the stench of hun-
dreds of bodies pressed too close together, Cole realized
with a shock that his mother was old: her face was webbed
with tiny. wrinkles, there were dark lines under her eyes,
she seemed haggard and worn-out.
     "Don't look so shocked," she said after he had kissed her
cheek. "You haven't seen me without makeup for years."
Then she smiled and he felt all right again.
"I've come to take you and Dad out of here," Cole said.
"That's not necessary. I'm fine right here."
"I've got a jet sitting at the airport . .
                              PEACEKEEPERS 15
bother seemed genuinely surprised. "How did
                                             YOU
          "Sold the business to Palmerson; he's been
     year now. Spent a chunk of it on the plane.
     a pilot on such short notice so I flew it,
     come on, before somebody steals it."
     s not -here," she said. "They sent him to Tel
          State Department," Cole muttered.
     fly to Tel Aviv and pick him up there. Pho I ne
     first."
     just go, " his mother said, "simply because his
     wants him to. He's got a job to do. He's got
     throwing nuclear bombs around, MOM! Y611
     got to get out of here, to where it's safe!"
     bomb Jerusalem. General Shamar has given
     Moslems revere the city just as much as the
     forced down his temper. This was his mother
     with. "Mom, they've already nuked Haifa
     The fallout ... 11
     leaving, Cole. Your father can't leave, and I
          him."
          the black Marine sergeant picked his way
     overcrowded basement toward them.
          r," he said, so softly that Cole could
     against the background murmurs. "'Fraid
     news, ma'am. We just got word, Tel Aviv got
          der stared at the sergeant as if she could
     his words.
     strike?" Cole asked, his voice choking-
     sergeant nodded.
          .11
          reached out and touched the Marine



16 Pen Boma
sergeant's arm. ','That  that doesn't mean that- eve I ry-  i
0                                                           A.
ne ... everyone in the city's been ... killed doe& it?"          %
No," the black man admitted. -'We don't know how
bad the damage is or how many casualties.
                                             Bound to be
plenty, though. Thousands. Tens of thousands, at least."
     Cole grasped his mother's wrist. "We're getting out.
Now.$'
     "NO!" She.pulled her arm free with surprising strength.
                     may
"Your father       be all right. Or he may be hurt. I'm not
leaving. Not until I know."
     "But that's. .
     "I'm not leaving, Cole."
     So he stayed with her in the basement of the U.
embassy building in Jerusalem.
     It had started as another round of the eternal Middle
East wars between Israel and its neighbors. In three days it
escalated into a nuclear exchange. By the time four ancient
cities had been blown into mushroom clouds, the two great
superpowers decided to intervene. For the, first time in
more than fifty Years, the Soviet Union and the United
States acted in harmony to end the brief, brutal confl a-
agr
tion that is now called the Final War.
     The Americans and Soviets imposed a cease-fire and
ringed Syria, Israel and Lebanon with enough troops, ships
and
     planes to make it clear they would brook no resistance.
The U. Navy moved in force into the Persian Gulf while
Russian divisions massed on Iran's northern border. With
Damascus and Tehran both reduced to radioactive rubble,
with Haifa and Tel Aviv similarly demolished, the fighting
stopped.
     That was when General Jabal Shamar, supreme com-
mander of the Pan-Arab Armed Forces, sent a special
squadron of cargo planes to Jerusalem. The lumbering
four-engined aircraft circled over the city at an altitude of
                                   PEACEKEEPERS        1
          meters, cruising I azily through a sky
to turn blue again after three days of darkness.
women cautiously came out into the streets,
the brightening sky and the glinting silvery
gently above. They were obviously not
not the sleek angry1falcons painted in camou-
and browns that hurled deadly eggs at the
were fat clumsy cargo carriers, their
num gleaming cheerfully against the clear-
          er that the Planes spewed from their cargo
          SO radioactive that every crewman in the
          on died within two weeks. S
                                        o did most of the living
          res@ in Jerusalem: men, women, children, pets, rats,
          trees curled                ir
          the' brown leaves and died.
Jew alike bled at the pores and died in
Citizens of the city, refugees who had
safety, tourists trapped by the war, news
ng iii the hotels, foreigners on duty in
they all died. Two and a half million of them.
cease-fire had been declared.
into the city by the Americans
few. Cole Alexander was
He was young,enough and
a terrible ordeal of radiation
although it left his hair dead white and triggered a
leukemia that the doctors said could be "con-
Wled" but never cured. It also left him sterile.
:.His mother did not survive. Cole watched her die, inch
W4=uciating inch, over the next seven
                                        weeks. She finally
-P" -UP the, fight when the news came that her husband,
-7 lWes father, had been vaporized in the nuclear bombing
@7*Tel Aviv. The American consulate there had been
*01'CaUy at ground zero.


     The Final War led to the Athens Peace
     Conference, and that's where I suppose I'll
     of the
     figure of







ATHENS.-
90@ Year I
          HE was a very large man, very grave, and so
respected in his own land that not even the ultraconserva-
tives ever had the nerve to make jokes about his name.
     Harold Red Eagle was considerably over two meters tall.
in his young manhood, when he had made a national
reputation for himself as a lineman for the Los Angeles
Raiders, he had weighed nearly 130 kilos. Even so ' he
could chase down the fleetest of running backs. And once
Red Eagle got his hands on a ball carrier, the man went
down. No one broke his tackles.
     The Raiders had been known to be a hell-raising team of
undisciplined egotists. Red Eagle changed that. He spoke
barely a word, and he certainly gave no speeches. He
                    18
PEACEKEEPERS 19
                              antics. He merely set an
     9* exhorted. his teammates to self-sacrifice nor be.
     them for their macho
     00@ off the field and especially on it, that no man
     kaore or resist. He made the Raiders not only into
     P@*s, but hallowed heroes.
     was merely a means,to an end for Harold Red
of
an impoverished son         the proud Comanche
college football was the key to an education.
al football paid for law school and provided the
that established him in a lucrative practice m' his
Oklahoma.
     Whe retired ftoffi his athletic career,,the governor of
date appointed him to the bench. (A rather neat pun
you think?) A few years later he became the
judge ever to serve that district. A canny,
nated him to the U. Supreme Court, and
enate confirmation hearings not a word was
this Amerind, whose massive dignity could
talk-show hosts into reverent awe.
Eagle was appointed by the next President (a
Of the previous one),to be part of the
to the Affiens Peace Conference. It
the first step toward the International
Force was made.                   ves
.The moment was dramatic. Representati              of Israel,
all demanded reparations for the damage to
other Moslem figures warned of the need to
for the Palestinian refugees. The Western
Americans, terrified of renewed nuclear
that the belligerent nations be disarmed
for an indeterminate time by an internation-
would enforce the peace. The Soviets and
suggested the conference be enlarged to
every nation's nuclear arsenal.
patching together a peace in the Middle East,
was threatening to tear itself asun-


20 Ben Bova
der over the old Cold war issues separating East and West.
  That was when Red Eagle rose to his feet.
     All talk around the wide green-baize@o circular
table ceased. The Comanche loomed over the6ther dele-
gates, his deep brown face solemn with the racial memories
of innumerable wars and slaughters.
"It is time,- he said slowly, "that we end this Cold War.
Nothing of peace%can be accomplished until we do."
It was as if he had trained a powerful: n on them all.
The delegates-politicians and @ diploin gu
                                        ats, for the most
part-sat in silent awe as Red Eagle calmly enunciated the
Plan that he had been shaping in his mind over the many
weeks of the conference's fruitless wrangling.
     His Plan was simple and breathtakingly daring. East and
West were at that time both deploying heavily armed
satellites in space, each claiming th
                                   em to be purely defen-
sive in nature. Let a true international peacekeeping force
be;created, said Red Eagle, to operate both systems of
satellites "-one and protect every nation on Earth against
attack by any nation.
     Further, let this peacekeeping force be em
                                        powered to act
immediately against any kind of aggression across any
international frontier. Give it the weapons
stop wars as soon as they are started.   and authority to
Impossible! countered the delegates.  But over the next
several weeks they listened to Red Eagle and a         host
growing
Of technical and military experts. Yes it would be possible
to Observe military buildups from surveillance satellites i
                      n
Orbit. Yes, defensive technologies could produce highly
automated systems that are cheaper and more effective
than massive offensive weaponry.
     But who would control such an international force? the
delegates asked. How could it be -prevented from turning
into a world dictatorship?
     "The problem is war," Red Eagle told them. "Create a
Peacekeeping force that will prevent war. No nation need
                              PEACEKEEPERS 21
     if it does not care to do' so. Whatever goes on
a nation's borders will be of no concern to the
mpers. The peacekeepers will acquire no nucim
no weapons of mass destruction of any kind.
c function will be to prevent attacks-nuclear or
--across international borders.
     of Red Eagle's- personality greatly multiplied
     of his ideas, Slowly, grudgingly, the
     delegates came to accept the notion that an
     peacekeeping force could be created. It might
          command of the force to Red Eagle,'of
     as naturally, he politely refused. (The man they
          n                                          cal
     comma d to, unfortunately, was a politi
     a nonentity who ignored the warning sips
     desperately unprepared for the -revolt that
     the IPF. But I'm getting ahead of myself.)
     months of deliberations the Athens Peace
     concluded with the signing of the Middle East
     important, a week later the nations met on
     is, before the ancient splendor of the ftrmthe-
     the document that created the International
     Force.
          ended on a public note of optimism and
     of cynicism. Perhaps this was the way to
     from nuclear holocaust, the delegates told
     But none of them truly believed it. It was a
     No one expected peace to last in the
     No one expected the newly created IPF to
     scourge of war.
     tried to take a step in the proper direction.
     media reporters seemed impressed.
     of them offered a word of criticism or men,
     that General Jabal Shamar, the man respon-
     Jerusalem Genocide, had not yet been


I joined the IPF the first day of its
existence, I'm proud to say. At first, they
put me in an intelligence billet. That
experience will serve me well now that I'm
an, archivist; I have had access to electronic
intercepts and other forms of snooping that                              COW)
would have made J. Fklgar Hoover tremble
with joy. Most of these snippets can't be
used in the official history    the IPF, where
every source must have its own footnote.
But I cm use them here. Happily.
                                   HE General Secretary eased his tired body
                                   tub. His valet made cer-
                                   safely settled in the steaming
                                   that started the whirlpool
                                        .-.The General Secretary leaned back and sighed. It had
                                   A@@ a Ion& difficult meeting. He saw that his valet was
                                   rivers running down his face, dark stains
                                   shirtfront.
                              your shirt, Yuri," he said, over the
                         gurgling of the agitated water. "It's all
                    you, sir," replied Yuri. But he made no move to
                     23


24 Ben Bova
  Always the ProPrietiesthought the General Secretary. if
I asked Yuri to dash Out into the snow and into
                                             the path of
an OncOmin ,g tank he would do it without hesitation. But
he will never willingly bare his chest in my presence.
     The steaming hot water bubbled and frothed, relaxing
the tensed muscles Of the General Secretary's back and
legs, rm getting old, he thought. The Kremlin ages a man.
The responsibilities ...
     He leaned his'head back against the soft padding and
smiled up at his valet.@ Yuri looks ten years younger than I.
Still has his hair, and it's still as dark as it was twenty years
ago. No- responsibilities. No worries.
     -Yuri, my old friend, what do you think of this Interna-
tional Pbac@keepin glForcer'
          "You signed the treaty in Athens." The valet had to raise
     voice to be heard over the whirlpool.
     6SYM.
          It was quite a moment, wasn't it? The Parthenon is
one Of the most beautiful buildings in the world."
     "Too delicate for me. I Prefer something more solid, like
St. Basil's..."
"I don't intend to argue architecture with you! What do
You think of this Peacekeeping Force?"
"MY son wants to join it."
The General Secretary felt his brows rise. "Little
GregDr?"
     "He is almost twenty-five, sir," said Yuri with some
gentleness. "A lieutenant in the Guards."
     Twenty-five, thought the General Secretary. The length
of time of a generation.
     "Will it be Possible for him to join the international
forcer' asked Yuri. 'fit won't be a mark against him on his
record, will it?" 11


"Of course not, the General Secretary replied almost
     absently- "Wewant loyal Russians in the IPF. It is neces-
sary.st
                         PEACEKEEPERS 25
will'disband the Red Army?"
     Secretary felt astonished. "Whatever gave
     people say ... there are so many rumors,
of them are the same."
     agreed to reduce the size of our armed
according to a fixed timetable. We will also
nuclear weapons; again, in keeping with a
The Americans and Chinese an I d all the
same. There will be teams of internation-
                   ,Yuri.
          will be on the inspection teams,"
     Secretary. "Our own people will watch
dismantle their bombs."
trust them?"
     smile, "Yes, of course. As much as they trust
     Secretary grew serious again. "My old
have been many changes in the Soviet Union
your Gregor on my knee."
          Yuri agreed.
     lived through turbulent times."
been a great leader, sir. The Soviet Union-
people-are richer and stronger because of
     to flattery, the General Secretary asked,
happier?"
     answer was so swift and certain that the
knew his valet believed it to be the truth.
lower in the bubbling water until it was up
He could feel the knots in his neck and
     the tub, silent, stoic, as enduring as the


26 Ben Bova
endless steppes and the birch forests. Finally he asked,
Once we have taken apart all our hydrogen bombs. .
what will we do with the pieces?"
The General Secretary smiled lazily. "Why, put them
                                   thi
back together again, Of course. You don't nk that I would
leave the nation defenseless, do you?-
to some embellishments in the
account, although each word
to the two Russians comes
out of the Security Agency's
I can't use such dramatic
in the official history, it's got to be
and nonthreatening. Twenty
s will sit in judgment before. it
see the light of publication. I
to think that my name might be on
it.'
     What follows is another (slightly
embellished) transcript, this one from a
videotape. As I said, being in IPF
intelligence was a good experience for me,
although, at the time, I fought and argued
and famed through the system until they
transferred me to an active unit. Which is
ho* I lost my,hand, of course. Young men
want glory. They never think about the
price.


                 WASHINGTON
                   Year, I
          wouldn't trust those Commie sumbitches if
Jesus Christ himself came down from heaven and pleaded
their case!"
"But
     that's the beauty of the system: we don't have to
trust them. We don't have to give up anything unless they
do."
     The three men sat at one end of a long polished table in a
conference room in the Old Executive Building, that
rambling pile of Victorian stonework that, stands next to
the White House. The conference room had old-fashioned
luxury built into it: high cofferwork ceiling, Oak parquet
floor, gracious long windows, the kind of spaciousness that
modern office buildings are too efficient to afford.
                    29
                              PEACEKEEPERS 29
Zachary, chairman of the Foreign Relations
chewed on his tongue for a moment, a habit he
ifted when his first heart attack ended his smoking-
oxworth, the committee's minority leader, silent-
:Zachary would bite the damned tongue off and
it.
is B. Zachary was rake thin, his brittle-looking
led with liver spots, his wispy white hair hanging
7,,Oead down to the collar of his baggy suit. He had@
heavier before each of his heart attacks; lost
each one, only to gradually fatten up and have,
     He was only a month out of the hospital
     A waddling dewlap of grayish skin hung
     For a dozen years now he had chaired the
     Committee, wielding as much power
     policy as most Presidents did.
     knew that only death would remove this
     stubborn old fool from his powerful
     Louisiana political machine would reelect
     for as long as he lived. As far as Foxworth
     that had already been about one decade too
          was known to be the best poker player on
     His face never betrayed him. He smiled
     when he was angry or fearful or making
     to drive the knife into an oppo-
          build of the health-food athlete:
     the middle, but otherwise taut and fit.
     swimming. Horseback riding back home in
     man in the conference room, seated between
     wore the blue uniform and four stars of
     general. A former fighter pilot, former astro-
     first black man to be appointed chief of staff,
     held degrees in engineering, management


30 Ben. Aova
               ions. Of all the braidland decorations
and commu



heape       nicati
     d upon him, though, he treasured most highly the
two kills he had made against Nicaraguan MiGs during the
Central American War.
     "Lemme ask you, General," said Senator Zachary, his
dewlap quivering with emotion, 'Vy'all trust the Russkies
to, live up to this treaty they signedr,
     ,We signed it tool'@ Foxworth snapped-
     "But @ we ain't @ ratified it, Senator"' Zachary leveled a
forefinger at the younger man.
     Foxworth turned to General Madison, smiling with his
lips only.
     "I don't trust the Russians, no, sir        said the general.
"And I certainly don't trust this international committee
that's supposed to protect us against nuclear attack. I don't
like the idea of turning our SDI satellites over to them. I
don9t like it one bit."
     'Zachary bobbed his head and sneered at Foxworth.
     At that moment the corridor door opened and the
ponderous figure of Harold Red Eagle filled the door
frame. He wore a business suit of dark blue with a maroon
tie knotted precisely.
     "Forgive me, gentlemen, Red Eagle said in his deep,
slow voice. It was like the rumble of distant thunder, or the
suppressed grow] of a restless volcano. "I was delayed at
the Court. The computer was down for about an hour."
     From the size of him, Foxworth thought, he may have
broken the computer merely by laying his hamhock paws
on it.
     Red Eagle pulled a chair out and sat carefully on it, as if
testing to see if it could hold his weight. Suddenly the head
of the table was where he sat, and the three others turned to
face him.
"I understand that you have grave doubts about the
                              PEACEKEEPERS 31
     @Peqcekeeping Force I have come here to
                                        fe
     questions, if I can, and relieve your    'ars.9%
        Zachary said.
          his sad brown eyes to the senator from
     @j can        he acknowledged.i Zachary uncon-
                   ittle.
@s argument was simple: The United
one of its def enses. The Strategic
already under NATO control; by
new International Peacekeeping Force' to
they lost very little and gained the entire
SDI satellites, as well.
          be no disarmament, no dismantling of
          no shrinkage of the armed services that
          the Soviets-gun for gun, bomb for
     leaves the Russians with three times the
     forcer, that we have," said General Madison.
     admitted Red Eagle. "And three times the
               Western Europe.
          Peacekeeping Force will stop them.'9
     possible."
     said Red Eagle, gazing at the black man, "it
     is even inevitable, if you serve the IPF with
     and intelligence that you now devote to the
     United States."
     here," Zachary fumed.
     him by raising one enormous hand.
he said, "the ways of peace are difficult
to men accustomed to war. My
were a nation of warriors. We drove
the desert. we defeated the U. Army
yet war ultimately destroyed us. Do not
destroy your nation."


32 Ben Bova
     FbXworth cleared his throat. Otherwise the conference
room was quiet.
     Red Eagle went on, "The ancient Athenians in all their
glory could not conceive of a political loyalty higher than
that which they gave to their city. There was no concept of
Greece in those days. There was only Athens, or Sparta, or
Thebes, Corinth and other city-states, constantly at war
with one another. That civilization perished.
     "TOdaY You men give your highest political loyalty to
your nation- Yet I Say to YOU that unless you have the
greatness of soul to see a higher loyalty, a loyalty to planet
Earth, to the human race in its greatness and entirety, this
civilization will soon perish. And there will be none to
follow. None! The human race will die."
          three men glanced uneasily at one another.
     "A small war has utterly destroyed four of the ancient
cities Of the Middle East. Seventeen million men, women,
and children perished in less than a week. What will the
next war bringr'
     Zachary, his voice trembling slightly, said, "Nobody
wants another war."
  4.ThLM Support the Peacekeepers who will make wars
impossible."
     "But how do we know it'll work?" General Madison
asked.
     "You must make it work."
The general shook his head.
     "I understand. There are many, many unknowns. We are
striking out into uncharted territory. There is much to
fear." Then Red Eagle added, "Including the fact that the
Pressure to drastically reduce the defense budget will
become enormous."
     For once in his life, Foxworth let his self-control slip. He
threw his head back and guffawed.
     General Madison made a sour face, let out a pained sigh
and loosened the tie of his blue uniform.
jo@ point out several things at this
ptjUvo uses of the same word too close
ether; I know. Necessary, though.)
     these events led-rather indirectly,
     the cataclysm at Valledupar.
     we in IPF intelligence were getting
     constant hints that,a cabal was
     among some of the line
     Our warnings to the political
     who headed the Force went
     alas. Third, the nations of the
     had not the slightest intention of
     as a means to achieve their
     slightest.


OTTAWA
      YeU          2
          SHE was a tiny figure, skating alone in the
darkness. Dow's Lake was firmly frozen this late in Decem-
her. Earlier in the evening the ice had been covered with
skaters in their holiday finery, the pavilion crammed with
Couples dancing to the heavy beat of rock music.
     But this close to midnight, Kelly skated alone, bundled
against the cold with a thickly quilted jacket that made her
look almost like one of those ragamuffin toy dolls the stores
were selling that year.
     The wind keened through the empty night. The only light
on the ice came from the nearly full Moon grinning
                                                  4
lopsidedly at Kelly as she spun and spiraled in time to the
music in her head.
                     34
                         PF,4CEKEEPERS 35
          playing in her stereo earplugs, the same
     skated to when she failed to make t he
     The music's dark passion, its sense of
     Kelly's mood exactly. She skated alone,
     without judges. Without anyone. Her
     @six months ago, leaving her alone except
     who had not even bothered to give her his
     she told herself. It's better alone. I don't
     itisi starting a double axel when the beep from
     interrupted the music, startling her so
     faltered and went sprawling on her backside.
     on the-ice, Kelly thumbed the
     at her belt and heard.
          this is Robbie. We've got a crisis. All hands
     Reply at once."
     the nickname. Her mother had christened
     but she had grown up to be a feisty,
     @*eckled little redhead, more the neighbor-
     roughneck than an angelic little star. At ten
     up@ any boy in school; at thirteen she had
     black belt. But she could not gain a place
     skating team. And she could not make
     quick with her reflexes and her wits. Her
nonexistent, a nearly straight drop from her
her hips.
          d not make friends, even after three months
     here in Ottawa.
     up from the ice, Kelly pulled off her right
yanked the pinhead mike from the communica-
in wire whirring faintly.
     I'm on my way. Seems like a damned
a crisis, if you ask me."
voice was dead serious. "We don't make 'em,


     36 Ben Bova
we just stop 'em from blowing UP. Get your little butt down
here, sweetie, double quick."
     Kelly skated to the dark and empty pavilion, grumbling
to herself all the way. @ My twenty-second birthday tomor-
row, she groused silently. Think they know? Think they
care But underneath, the cynical veneer she hoped desper.
ately that they' did know and did care. Especially Robert.
     The base was less than a mile from the pavilion, a clump
of low buildings on the site of the old experimental farm.
Kelly rode her electric bike along the bumpy road, tnan-tall
banks of snow on either side, the towers of Ottawa glisten-
ing and winking in the distance, brilliant with their holiday
decorations.
     Past the wire fence of the perimeter and directly into the
big open doors of the main entrance she rode, paying scant
attention to the motto engraved above it. Locking the bike
in the rack just inside the entrance, she nodded hello to the
two guards lounging by the electric heater inside their
booth, -perfunctorily waved her identification badge at
thern, then clumped in her winter boots down the ramp
toward the underground monitoring center.
     Ift
     here's a friggin' crisis, she thought, the dumb guards
sure don't show it,
     In the locker room Kelly stripped off her bulging coat
and the boots. She wore the sky-blue uniform of the
Peacekeepers beneath it. The silver bars on her shoulders
proclaimed her to be a junior lieutenant. A silver stylized
T, shaped like an extended, almost mechanical hand, was
clipped to her high collar-, it identified her as a teleoperator.
     Helluva night to make me come in to work, she com@
plained to herself as she changed into her blue-gray duty
fatigues. There are plenty of others who could fill in this
shift. Why do they always pick on me? And whytan't they
make this damned cave warm enough to work in?@
But then two more operators clumped in, silent and
grim-faced. The men nodded to Kelly; she nodded back.
                                                            index--;,
                                   @PEACEKEEPERS           37
                                 er into the. monitoring'
                    against the dampehill, Kelly briefly
               deeidiheragaiantstwifthAsh she Pushed the door to
                another three people in fatigues were
                                                  hurry-
          Aown the cold concrete corridor toward the
           women and a man. One of the women was still
            cuffs as she rushed by. x-three Adonis with a
          was outwardly cheerful: a si
     meit tungsten steel. His uniforms, even his
fitted him like a second skin. He wore the
inted star of a captain on his shoulders.,
to roust you, @ tonight of all inghts," he said,
to his smile. "We've got a bit of a mess shaping
          called her anything but her last name,
bristled. But she let handsome Robert get away with
_Jhis pet name for her.
     "What's going on?" she asked.
     kat all ten monitoring consoles were occupied
king, ten men and women sitting in deeply Padded
chairs, headsets clamped over their ears, eyes riveted to the
banks of display screens curving around them, fingers
playing ceaselessly over the keyboards in front of them.
Tension sizzled in the air. The room felt hot and crowded,
sweaty. images from the display screens Provided the Only
light, flickering like flames from a fireplace, throwing
nervous, jittering shadows against the bare concrete walls
Several of the pilots were lounging in the chairs off to on e
side, trying to look relaxed even though they knew t hey
might be called to action at any moment. Robert was in
charge of this shift, sitting in the commun icatoes high
chair above and behind the monitors. Standing her tallest,
Kelly was virtually at eye level with him.
     "What isnt going on?" Robbie replied. "You'd think
tonight of all nights everybody'd be at home with their
families."


     38 Den Boy;
          waved a hand toward the
                                   screens as the displays, on
     them blinked back and forth, showing scenes
                                                  rom d . ozens
of k)cati
          Ions around the world.
     "Got a family Of mountain climbers trapped on Mt.
Burgess up in the Yukon TerritOrY.'Satellite P         up their
             gnal                               nag
emergency si     ." Kelly saw, an infrared ii      e of rugged
mountainous country Over the shoulder of Jan Van der
Meer, one of the few monitors he knew by name.
..And
          some loony terrorists,7' Robbie went on, pointing
to another consoledOwn the linei "tried to hijack one of
the nuclear submarines being decommissioned by the U.
Navy in Connecticu
          Kelly saw the submarine tied to a pier from a ground-
     hel
level view- Military Police in polished steel . mets were
leading a raWed gaggle of men and women, their faces
Smeared with camouflage Paint, up the gangway and into a             19
Waiting polict.- van.
     "But the crisis is Eritrea," said Robert.
     64NOt againi -Kelly grumbled. "They've been farting
around there for more than a year.,,
     Nodding tightly, Robert touched a button in the arrurest
of his high chair and pulled the pin mike of his               J`
                   headset
down before his lips. "Jan, Pick up the Eritrea situation,
     Van der Meer, a languid, laconic Dutchman whose
uniform always seemed too big for him, looked over his
Shoulder almost shyly and nodded. With his deep-set eyes,
hollow cheeks and bony face, he looked like a death's head
beckoning. He tapped his keypad with a long shin
and his display screens showed gh                      finger,
taken from a reconnaissance satelostly images in infrai-ed.
                                   lite gliding in orbit 0 -
East Africa.                                              -ver
     It took Kelly a moment to identif y the vague shapes and
shadows. Tanks. And behind them, self-propelled artiRerv
pieces. Threading their way in predawn darkness through
the mountains along the border of Eritrea.
                                        PEACEKEEPERS 39
                    going to attack?" Kelly asked, her voice
               and squeaky, like a frightened little girl's.
                     answered Robbie, quite serious now.
                    know we1l throw everything we have at
               his brows, making his, smooth young
               slightly. "I guess they think@ they can get
               Maybe they think we won't be able to react
               or their friends in -the African Bloc Will
               from acting at all. We've never had to stop
               war-, not yet."'
               re bluffing," Kelly heard her voice saying.
               back down . .
     'Priority One from Geneva!" called Bailey, the black
@',@,Imman working station three. She was an American, from
Olos Angeles, tall and leggy and graceful enough to make
Kelly ache with jealousy over her good looks and smooth
Cocoa-butter skin. She had almond-shaped eyes, too, dark
and exotic. Kelly's eyes were plain dumb brown.
     Robert clamped a hand to his earphone. His eyes
narrowed, then shifted to lock onto Kelly's.
     Nodding and whispering a response, he pushed the mike
up and away, then said, "This is it, kid. Everybody up!
     Kelly felt a surge of electricity bum through her part
fear, part excitement. The other pilots stirred, too.
          "I'm on my way," she said.
     But Robert had already shifted his mike down again and
was calling through the station's intercom, "Pilots, man
your planes All pilots, man your planes."
     As Kelly 'dashed through the monitoring center's doors
and out into the long central corridor, she thought she
certain.
heard Robbie wishing her good luck. But she wasnt
     Doesn't matter, she told herself, knowing it was a lie.
     The technicians backed away as Kelly slid into the
cockpit and cast a swift professional glance at the instru-


40 Ben Bova
Ments. On the. screen in front of her she saw the little
plane's snub nose, painted dead black, glinting in the
predawn starlight.
     I She clamped her conim set over her chopped-short 7 red
hair and listened to her mission briefing. There was no
Preflight checkout', the technicians did that and punche it
into the flight computer. She swung the opaque canopy
down and locked it shut, then took Of into the darkness,
getting her mission profile briefing from Geneva as she
new.
  Dozens of planes were being sent against th
P,16,@ from every available Peacekeepers,        e aggressors,
                                             station were in
their cockpits, hands on their flight controls. There were
the usual delay&and mix-ups, but Kelly suddenly felt free
and1appy, alone at the controls of an agile little flying
machine, her every movement answered by a movement@of
the plane,her nerves melding with the machine's circuitry,
the two of them mated more intimately than a man and a
woman could ever be.
     The plane was as small as it could be made and still do its
job. Using the latest in stealth technology, it flew in virtual
silence, it
     ,0j s, quiet Stirling engine turning the six paddle
blades the Propeller so gently that they barely made a
sound.  But the plane was slow, painfully slow.  Built of
wood and plastic, for the most part, it was designed to
avoid detection by radar and infrared heat-seekers, not to
outrun any opposition that might find her.
     TO make it hard to find visually, Kelly was trained to fly
close to the ground, hugging the hills and treetops, flirting
with sudden downdrafts that could slam the fragile little,
plane into the ground.
     She thought of herself as a hunting owl, cruising silently
through the night, seeking her prey. Everything she needed
to know-rather, everyth
                         ing that Geneva could tell her-
had been fed to her through her radio earphones. Now, as
she flew silently through the dark and treacherous moun-
                                   PEACEKEEPERS           41
           on the border of E           she maintained radio
     Misses
     m ag owl, Kelly told herself, a hunting owl. But there
     hawks in the air, and the hunter must not allow
     If to become the hunted. A modem jet fighter armed
     missiles or machine cannon that fired
     of rounds per minute could destroy her
     moments of sighting her. And the second or two
     uilt into her control system bothered her; a cou-
     could be the difference between life and
--But they've got to, see me first, Kelly told herself. Be
     Be invisible.
     Despite the cold, she was perspiring now. Not from fear,
U was the good kind of sweat that comes from a workout,
from preparation for the kind of action that your mind and
body have trained for over long grueling months.
     Virtually all the plane's systems were tied to buttons on
the control column's head. With the flick of her thumb
Kelly could make the plane loop or roll or angle steeply UP
into the dark sky. Like a figure skater, she thought. You and
me, machine, we'll show them some Olympic style before
we're through.
     She was picking up aggressor radio transmissions in her
earphones now: she could not understand the language, so
she flicked the rocker switch on the control board to her left
that activated the language computer. It was too slow to be
of much help, but it got a few words:
". . . tank column A ... jump-off line. . . deploy. . .
With her left hand she tapped out a sequence on the
ECM board, just by her elbow, then activated the sequence
-int
with the barest touch of a finger on the black button set        0
the gray control column head.
     Thousands of tiny metallic slivers poured out of a hatch
just behind the cockpit, scattering into the dark night air
like sparkling crystals of snow. But these dipoles, mono-


42 Ben Bova
molecular thin, floated lightly in the calm predawn air.
They would hover and drift for hours, wafting
stray air
                                   along on any
current that happened by, jamming radio commu-
nications up and down thousands of megahertz of the
frequency scale.
     The Law of the Peacekeepers was: Destroy the weapons
of war.
     One of the prime weapons of modem war was electronic
communications. So the first rule of Peacekeeper tactics
was: Screw up their comm system and you screw up
attacL                                                   their
     Leaving a long cloud ofjamming chaff behind her,.Kelly
swooped down a rugged tree-covered valley so low that she
almost felt leaves brushing the plane's underside. A river
glinted in the faint light. Kelly switched her display screen
to infrared and, sure enough, there was a column of tanks
snaking along the road that hugged the riverbapk. Gray
ugly bulks with long cannon pok, ou
         ing , t like erect penises.
     Have full with Your radios, fellas, she called to them
silently.
     If the tanks reached the border and actually crossed into
Sudanese territory, they would be guilty of aggression and
small, smart missiles launched from VCZ;@;@per
c6mmand-and-control planes would &eet them. But until'
they crossed the border, their crews were not to be endan-
gered.
     ,Second rule of Peacekeeper tactics: You can't counterat-
tack . until the aggressor attacks. Show enough force to
convince -the aggressor that his attack   . 11 be stopped, but
                     wl
launch no weapon until aggression actually takes place
Corollary No. 1: It makes no difference why an attack is
launched, of by whom. The Peacekeepers, mission . I
is to
prevent the attack from succeeding. we are police
judges                                                    not
     Kelly had seen what those smart missiles could do.
Barely an arm's length in size, their warheads were- nonex-
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 43
               of spent uranium, so dense that they sliced
                     millimeters of armor like a bullet goes
               said to destroy the weapons, not the men. But
                  the weapons., Men carried them or rode
     armory, filled with highly flammable
ammunition. Hit it with a hypervelocity
and it 'will burst into flame or blow
volcano. The men inside have no chance to
-missile, small as it is, is directed by a
computer chip that- will guide it @ to its
dogged accuracy of a M ach IO assassin.
Banking slightly for a better look at the slowly moving
@,bolumn of tanks, Kelly found herself wishing that her chaff
I" @fouled their communications so thoroughly that they had
to : stop short of the border. Otherwise, most of those
@'milfion-dollar tanks would be destroyed by thousand-
dollar missiles. And the men in them would die. Young
men foolish enough to believe that their nation had a right
to invade its neighbor. Or serious enough to believe that
they must obey their orders, no matter what. Young men
who looked forward to life, to marriage, to families and
honored old age where they would tell their grandchildren
stories about their famous battles and noble heroism.
     They would-die ingloriously, roasted inside their tanks,
screaming with their last breath as the flames seared their
lungs.
          But she had other work to do.
     Third rule of Peacekeeper tactics- A mechanized army
needs fuel and ammunition. Cut off those supplies and you
stop the army just as effectively as if you had killed all its
troops.
     Kelly% plane was a scout, not a missile platform. It was
unarmed. If she was a hunting owl, she hunted for infornia-
tion, not victims. Somewhere in this treacherous maze of


44 Ben Bova
deeply scoured river valleys and and tablelands there were
supply dumps, fuel depots, ammunition magazines that
provided @the blood and sinew of the attacking army-
Kelly's task wa& to find them. Quickly.
     If it had been an easy assignment, she would not have
gotten it. If, the dumps could have been found by satellite
reconnaissance they would already be targeted for attack.
But the Eritreans had worked long and patiently for this
invasion of their neighbor. They@ had dug their supply
dumps, deeply underground, as Protection against both the
Prying satellite eyes of the Peacekeepers and the inevitable
pounding of missiles and long-range artillery, once the
dumps had been, located.
     Kelly and her owilike aircraft had to fly through those
tortuous valleys hunting, seeking, scanning up and down
the spectrum with sensors that could detect heat, light,
magnetic fields, even odors. And she had to find the dumps
before the sun got high enough to, fin those valleys with
light- In daylight, her little unarmed craft would be spotted,
inevitably.' And once found, it would be swiftly, and
mercilessly destroyed.
     All her sensors were alive and scanning now, as Kelly
gently, deftly flew the tiny plane down one@twisting valley
after another. She felt tense, 'yet strangely at peace. She
knew the stakes, and the danger, yet as long as she was at
the controls of her agile little craft she was happy. Like
being alone out on the ice: nothing in the world mattered
except your own actions. There
                              was no audience here, no
judges. Kelly felt happy and free. And alone.
     But the eastern sky was brightening, and her time was
growing short.
     The sensors were picking up data now, Target clumps of
metal buried here, unmistakable beat radiationSemanating
from there, molecules of human sweat and Machine oil and
plastic explosive wafting up -from that mound of freshly
turned earth. She squirted the- data in highly compressed
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 45
     0                       waiting satellite, hoping that the
     tlzrn                        sophisticated comm equipment
     d to detect such transmissions and home in on her
     we were many such planes flitting across the honey-
     of valleys, each pilot hoping that the Eritreans did
     itch its transmissions, did not find it before it had
47--@_--ed its task and flown safely home.
all stuff, Kelly realized as she scanned the data her
displayed. None of the dumps she had found were
".Wens
A"bly important. Local depots for the reserves. Where
1IMS the big stuff, the major ammo and fuel -supplies for the
forces? It couldn't be farther back, deeper inside the
                     min
--vountry, she reasoned. They must have'dug it in some-
where closer to the border.
     The sky was bright enough now to make the stars fade,
idthough the ground below her was still cloaked in shadow.
Kelly debated asking Geneva- for permission to turn
-around, rather than continue her route deeper into the
Eritrean territory.
     "Fuck it," she muttered to herself "By the time they
make up their minds it'll be broad daylight out here.,,
     She banked the little plane on its left wingtip and started
to retrace her path. Climbing above the crest of the valley,
she began a weaving flight path that took her back and
forth across the four major valley chains of her assigned
territory.
     There's got to be a major dump around here somewhere,
she insisted to herself. There's got to be.
     If there was not, she knew, she was in trouble. If the main
supply dump was deeper inside Eritrea and she had missed
it because she had failed to carry out her full assignment,
she would be risking the lives not only of Eritreans and
Sudanese, but Peacekeepers as well. She would be risking
her own career, her own future, too.
     The plane's sensors faithfully picked up all the small


46   Ben Bova
dumps she had found on her flight in. Even this high-up,
they were detectable.
     But where's the biggie? Kelly worried.
     She felt a jolt of panic when she noticed the shadow of
her plane racing along the ground ahead of her. The sun
was up over the horizon now, and she was high enough to
be easily visible to anyone who happened to look up.
     Chitting her teeth, she kept stubbornly to her plan,
crisscrossing the valleys,. back and forth, weaving a path to
the frontier. She could see columns of tanks and trucks
below her, some of them moving sluggishly forward, others
stopped. Long ugly artillery pieces were finng now, sending
shells whistling across the border into the Sudan.
          The attack had begun.
     They've actually started a war, Kelly said to herself,
feeling shock and anger flooding through her. Can we stop
ia Can we?
     Far ahead, she saw columns of smoke rising black and
oily into the brightening sky. Men were dying there.
     Quickly she flicked her fingers across the display con-
trols. 1 Forward and mu observation scopes' no other
aircraft in sight. So far so good, she thought. I haven't been
found. Yet.
     The infrared scanner showed an anomaly off to her left: a
hot spot along the face of a steep rocky slope that plunged
down to the riverbed. Kelly banked slightly and watched
the sensor displays hopefully.
     It was a cave in the face of the deeply scoured hillside.
Ages of sudden rainstorms had seamed the slope like
rumpled gray corduroy.
     "Just a friggin cave,    Kelly muttered, disappointed.
Until she noticed that a fairly broad road'had been built up
in-a series of switchbacks from the valley floor to the lip of
the cave's entrance. It was a dirt road, rough, dangerous if
it rained. But this wasthe dry season, and a single truck
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 47
o that road at a fairly high rate of speed,
x tail of dust from its rear tires.
her plane lower, below the crest of the hills
valley. Hidden down among the scruffy
atlino the riverbank was a column of trucks, their
@itmning, judging from the heat emissions.
hing her comm keypad furiously, Kelly sang into
vophone, "I've found it! Major supply dump, not
MD ten klicks from the frontier!" She -squirted the
6. the commsat without taking ithe time to vode or
     knew that the monitors in Geneva-and Ottawa, for
     natter-would home in on her transmission. So
     the Eritreans, most likely.
     was not Robbies voice that replied, an agonizing ten
     wds later, "It might be a supply dump, but how can YOU
     urer
     rhe truck@convoy, dammit!" Kelly shouted back, an-
     ed. "They're starting up the road!"
were. The trucks seemed empty. They were
steep road to the cavern, where they would be
the fuel and ammunition necessary to contin-
f you are right came the voice from Geneva-
Norse accent in it-"we have no means to
dump. It is too well protected."
d nothing. She knew what would come next.
to your base of operations. Your mission is
          it her lip in frustration. Then a warning screech
on her instrument panel told her that she was being
scanned by a radar beam. Ordinarily that would not have
bothered her. But in morning's brightening light, with a
few hundred enemy soldiers below her, she knew she was
in trouble.


          49 Ben Bova
               By reflex, she craned her head to look above, then
          checked the display screens. A couple of contrails way up
          'there. If she tried to climb out of this valley, those two jet
          fighters would be on her like stooping hawks.
               Kelly took a deep breath and weighed her options.
          Blowing her breath out through puffed cheeks, she said
          aloud, "Might as well find out for sure if I'm right-11
               She pushed the throttle forward and angled the little
          plane directly toward the mouth of the cave.
               Tracers sizzled past her forward screen, and her acoustic
          sensors picked up the sounds of many shots: small-arms
          fire, for the most part. The troops down there were using
          her for target practice. They're lousy shots, Kelly told
          herself. Then she added, Thank God.
               Kelly dove at maximum speed, nearly as fast as a
          modern sports car, through a fusilade of rifle and, machine-
          gun fire, and flew directly at the yawning cavern. It was
          dark inside but the plane's sensors immediately displayed
                         I
          the forward view in false-color infrared.
               It's their main dump, all right, Kelly told herself. She s'aw
          it all as if in freeze-frame, a bare fraction of a second, yet
          she made out every detail:
               Dozens of trucks were already inside the mammoth cave,
          in the process of being loaded by troops suddenly startled
          to find an airplane buzzing straight at them. Some men
          :stood frozen with wide-eyed frightstaring directly at her,
          while others were scattering, ducking under the trucks or
          racing for the cave's entrance.
               The cave was crammed with stacks of fuel drums, cases
          of ammunition. Be nice to know who they bought all this
          craP from, Kelly thought. For- the briefest flash of an
          instant she considered trying to pull up and eluding the
          rioters waiting for her. Maybe the cameras have pi                 d
                   cke up
          valuable information on who's supplying this war, she
          thought.
     'But she knew that was idle fancy. This mission was
life
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 49
nate& Not by Geneva, but by the gunners who would
Jhq@plane to pieces once she tried"to make it to the
     she did not pull up. She leaned on the throttle,
ing1the plane directly into the cave's mouth and a
Ive stack of ftiel drams. She neither heard nor felt the
Nion.
     long seconds Kelly sat in the contoured chair of the
it, staring at the darkened screen. Her hand& were
ling, too badly to even try to unlatch tht canopy. A
ician lifted it open and@stareddown at her. Usually
:hs were grinning and cracki jokes after a mission.
ng
ut this one looked solemn.
."You okay?" she asked.
Kelly managed a nod. Sure, she answered silently. For a
lot who's just kamikazed, I'm fine.
     Another tech, a swarthy male, appeared on the other side
J-bf the cockpit and helped Kelly to her feet. She stepped
-tarefuliv over the control banks and onto the concrete floor
@.-',4 the6ttawa station's teleoperations chamber. Two other
Aeleo rator cockpits were tightly closed, with teams of
pe
     huddled over the consoles grouped around
fourth cockpit was open and empty.
     n in charge of the station's teleoperations unit
his desk toward Kelly, his face grim. He was a
stocky Asian with a vaguely menacing mus-
tache, all formality and spit and polish.
     "We lost one RPV due to ground fire," he said in a
furious whisper, "and one deliberately destroyed by its
operator."
     "But I . .
     "There is no need for you to defend yourself, Lieutenant
Kelly. A board of review will examine the tapes of your
mission and make its recommendations. Dismissed."
     He turned on his polished heel and strode back to his
desk.


50 Ben Bova
     Anger replaced Kelly's emotional exhaustion. RPV, she
fumed to herself Operator. They're planes, dammit. And
I'm a pilot!
     But she knew it was not so. They we
                                   re remotely piloted
vehicles, just as the captain had said. And expensive
enough so that deliberately crashing one was cause for a
review board to be convened. Then Kelly remembered that
she had also tossed away her prescribed flight plan. The
review board would not go gently, she realized.
          She dragged herself tiredly down the rridor toward the
     co
locker room, longing now@fbr her bunk and the oblivion of
sleep'.
     Halfway there, Robbie popped out of the monitoring
center, his smile dazzling.
     "Hi there, Angel Star! Good job!"
     Kelly forced the comers of her mouth upward a notch.
From behind Robbie's tall, broad-shouldered form she saw
Most of the other monitors pushing through the doors and
spilling out into the corridor. It can't be a shift change, she
thought. Nobody else has gone in.
     Robbie caught the puzzlement on her face.
     s all over," he said brightly. "The Eritreans called it
quits a few minutes ago
     "They stopped the invas
     "We beat them back. Clobbered the tanks in their first
wave and demolished most of their supply dumps-
-The rest of the monitor team headed down the corridor
toward the locker room, chattering like schoolkids sudden-
ly let loose.
     "Somebody," Robbie added archly, "even knocked out
their main amino dump."
     "That was me," Kelly said weakly.
     Throwing an arm around her slim shoulders, Robbie
laughed. "I know! We saw it on the screens. The explosion
shook down half the mountain."
     "Must have killed a lot of men," she heard herself say.
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 51
a&many as a ftill-fledged war would have taken."
knew the truth of it, but it was scant comfort.
          y started it," Robbie said more softly. "It's not your
     K
     I my responsibility. So was the plane."
     bie I broke out his dazzling grin again. "Worried
     a review board? Don't be. They'll end up pinning a
     on YOU."
     chow Kelly could not visua4ze that.
     me on, Angel Star," Robbie, said ith a one,-armed
                                   WI
     Wt be glum, chum. We're going out to celebrate."
          Christmas, isn't it? You didn't see a big sleigh pulled
     indeer while you were flinging around out there, did
     lly grinned. "No, I don't think so."
     th his arm still around her shoulders, Robbie started
     tw locker room. "I'm throwing a party in my quarters.
     re invited."
     Dily let him half drag her to the locker room, Van der
     r and Bailey were already there, pulling on their heavy
     er coats.
          there, little sister,   Bailey called to her. "Nice
          group trudged up the sloping corridor and,
          who still sat close to the electric heater in
          booth. If they were aware that a war had just
          and stopped within the span of the past hour
          gave no indication of it.
          quite a flier," Robbie said to her. "You'll have to
          I'd love to learn how to fly."
          and swallowed, glad that it was too dark for
     the reddening that burned her face. I've never
     plane, up in the air, she wanted to confess.
     Only simulators and teleoperations. But she kept silent, too
     a*Wd of cracking the crystal beauty of this moment.


52 Ben Bova
     The sky was still dark and sprinkled with @stars, the air
bitingly cold. As she followed along beside Robbie and the
,others, snow crunching under their boots-, Kelly dug her
fists in her coat pockets and glanced over her shoulder at
the sign carved above the base's entrance,
               INTERNAMNAL PEACEIM"m FORCE
     NAnoN SHALL Nor LIFr Up SwORD AGAINsT NAnoN
     We stopped a war, she said to herself. it cost some lives,
but we Protected the peace. Then she remembered, It
might also cost me my job,
     "Don't look so down, giri," Bailey assured her. "The
review board ain't gonna go hard on you.
     "I hope," said Kelly.
     "Don7t worry about it," Bailey insisted.
     Kelly trudged along, heading for the bachelor officers'
quarters across the road from the underground nerve
center of the base.
     Should I tell them? she asked herself. They wouldn't
care. Or maybe they'd think I was just trying to call
attention to myself
     But she heard herself saying, "You know, this is MY
birthday. Today. Christmas Day.,,
     "RealIY9" said Van der Meer.
     Happy birthday, little sister," Bailey said.
     Robbie pushed his coat sleeve back and peered at his
wristwatch. "Not just yet, Angel Star. Got another few
ticks to go . .
     Then they heard, far off in the distance, the sound of
voices singing.
     "Your watch must be slow," said Bailey. "The midnight
chorale's already started."
"Their clock must be fast," Robbie countered.
     The whole group of them stopped in the starry night air
and listened to the children's voices, coming as if from
               PEACEKEEPERS 53
stood between tall Robert and beauti-
felt as if they were singing especially

t night...
     all is bright. . .


The IPF proved itself that Christmas Eve in
East Africa. The world was stunned with
surprise. But a hard-fine cadre of officers
high up in the Peacekeepers' chain of
command was still laying its plans for a
coup. They knew that if they succeeded,
their nations would accept their fait
accompli. If they failed, their nations would
disavow themselves of any knowledge of the
cabal. Being military men, they were
accustomed to such treatment by the
politicians. What the politicians didn't
realize was that if the coup were successful,
the military officers planned to overpower
their political leaders and set up their own
version of a world government, with
themselves as the chiefs.
     If Red Eagle was aware of this plot, lie
gave no indication of it. He concerned
himself with another worry. The matter of
the missing nuclear bombs.
                    (Moll
                   Year 3
YOU certainly picked a conspicuous way of
here, Mr. Alexander," said Red Eagle.
Cole Alexander shrugged at the massive Amerind. "The            Y
               home now. A houseboat with wings. Subsoil-
          enough to suit me."
               caused quite a stir when you landed on
          plain sight," Alexander said. "Sometimes that's
'*e best way."
     Red Eagle held the lace curtains aside and. stared out the
Villa's long window down to the lake below. Aiexandees
avept-wing jet seaplane was moored down among the
                         55


5.6 Ben Bova
Powerboats and miling Yachts, like a sleek dark panther
among fat little sheep.
     Alexander stood slightly behind the Amerind, feeling a
bit like a child in the shadow of Red Eagle's huge form.
stray memory of boyhood flitted through his mind, of
holding his father's hand as they walked along the Minne-
tonka. lakeside promenade together. Then the surge of
sorrow. He would never walk with his father again. Or his
mother. He could never walk unprotected in the sunshine
again. Too much of a risk of cancer now.
     "Hide in plain sight," said Red Eagle, chuckling' The
sound was like a freight train rumbling in the distance.
"You- certainly picked an interesting place for it."
     Lake Corno was abuzz with pleasure boats churning up
the water, hydrofoil ferries speeding past float planes from
the CDmo Aero Club landing and taking off. A knot of
gawkers stood at the club's ramp admiring the jet seaplane
anchored gut among the boats. An endless stream of cars
and tour buses and motor scooters growled and hissed and
honked along the road that twisted around the lake's steep
wooded mountains. Even from this high above the water,
in this crumbling, dusty old villa, the two men could hear
people singing and shouting at each other down along the
Lakeside where they were fishing or sunbathing.
     The city, off in the distance, was a-cluster of roofs and
towers. The gray-white granite monument to Alessandro
Milta rose amidst the greenery of a waterside park.
     44It would have been more secure," Red Eagle said,
letting the curtain drop, "to meet me on the Swiss side of
the lake. I had to go through the border station. My passage
will be noted."
     Alexander ran a hand through his dead-white hair. "Can
you imagine the Swiss letting me land that plane on their
side of the lake? It'd take six months just to fill out the
forms!"
Red Eagle admitted, "The Italians are somewhat easier
                                                       -S
                                   PEACEKEEPER          57
     Their border police did not even look at my
drove through."
          v worried about security?"
     y?" Alexander asked. "What's this all about? Why
     a ask to see meT'
                    away from th e window. He seemed
     Eagle stepped
          us in the setting: a huge man of powerful dignity,
     UO
                              tailored dark business suit,
          in a conservatively
for a safe place to sit in a room filled with delicate
The villa that Alexander had rented was
furniture.
     dthtime and neglecL once the home of a wealthy
     se factory owner, it now was let for rentals to
     ers, who came for Lake Como's scenic beauty. The
     f was there, all right, but it was buried beneath
     of tourists and Milanese weekenders who f0uled4he
     and littered the roads and belched filth from their
     ies into the air.
d Eagle selected an ornate couch of striped fabric and
twork legs. Sitting on it carefully, tentatively, he sank
its overplush cushions.
     exander putted up a slim gilt-covered chair to the side
     from the window and the sunshine.
     -.,-"We're okay in here," he said. "My people checked the
     thismorning. No bugs."
     nodded slowly. Still, he looked around the
he could detect electronic listening devices by
of concentration. It was a large room, with a
decorated with faded frescoes of plump cher-
saints floating on pinkish clouds. Dust
through the sunlight lancing in from the long
     the shutters if you like," Alexander offered
     said Red Eagle. "it may sound paranoid, but
     know that I am watched constantly. Probably someone is
     listening to this conversation."


59 Ben Bova
     "I don't see how.-
     "Neither do 1, but the eavesdroppers are ingenious, and
the technology of surveillance is quite advanced."
     "What's so secret, anyhowr' Alexander asked.
     "I have no secrets," said'the Amerind, "but I am
concerned about your safety, Mr Alexander
                    miner
     Re-d Eagle nodded again, just
                              once, A Ponderous move-
ment of his head. "You have made no secret of
                                                  the fact that
you are attempting to locate Jabal
                  Shainar."
     Alexandet's face went taut. '@He killed my Parents. And a
couple of million other people."
     "So you want to kill him."
     "Danined right," he replied tensely. Then, with an
obvious effort to be lighter, -Oh, I'm willing to brin -g him
to the World Courtl if I can. But I want him, dead or alive.,,
"That is a very dangerous pastime."
     Alexander made a crooked grin and leaned back in his
chair.
     'You have given up your career, sold your business, used
your money to buy that airplane and a crew.
     'And I've hired detectives spies, informers-anybody
who can give me ' formation on Shamaes whereabouts."
in
     'Can you afford to hire a team of mercenary soldiers?"
     Aiexandees smile vanished like a light snapped off.
     Drawing in a deep breath
                              Red Eagle said, "What I
Propose to tell you @could place you in great danger, greater
than you have ever been in before.,,
     The, sardonic smile twisted Alexandees lips again. "I
lived through Jerusalem. I can deal with risk."
Red Eagle said- nothing for a long moment
                                             - He merely
gazed at Alexander, as if trying to
                                   make the final decision
on whether to speak or not -
                              - At last, he let out another long,
painful breath and said:
     "Mr. Alexander, the International Peacekeeping Force
has impounded all the remaining nuclear weapons of the
                              PEACEkEEPERS          59
               of the Final War.  Six of them are
                     said, "I don't understand.
         has checkedthe inventories very carefully, and
             with all the military, technical and politi-
          involved. Apparently when Shamar disap-
      he took six nuclear weapons with him."
     -nukesr'
mparatively small ones, in the one-hundred-kiloton
Five times more powerful than the bombs that
)yed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but quite small and
act. Suitcase-sized, according to the technical ex-
Bus Christ' Shamaes got six nukes?"
                                             heavy
P. -The nuclear powers-the United States, Soviet
is worse than that," Red Eagle said, his voice
Idoe
nia and the others-have suspended their own nuclear
armament programs."
                              "They're not going to
'of course," Alexander said.                              get
of their bombs as long as Shaniaes running loose with a
f dozen of his own."
     This is an extremely serious situation, Mr.
The path to real peace will be blocked as long as
are in Shamar's hands.
by come to me? This is a problem for the
     Red Eagle, with a Ponderous shake of his'
international Peacekeeping F6rce cannot inter-
is problem. The IPF must not even attempt to
          hell not?"
     hands on his massive thighs
faded glories of the ceiling.
Mr. Alexander," he said, looking
has been created for one reason
nations from attacking one


60  Ben Bom
another. The only situation 'in Which the IPF can act is
when a nation launches an armed attack UVOSS an interna-
tional border. The only duty of the Pe
                                   acekeepers is-to keep
the peace-to prevent war."
     But if Shamaes got nuclear
                              weapons, hes going to use
them sooner or later."
     "Think, Mr. Alexander. Think. Many of the nations
                                                       of
the world do not trust the IPF very much. They fear that
the Peacekeepers will turn into a world dictatorship They
refine to disarm, for fear of leaving themselves defenseless
against the IPF. Do YOU think they will allow IPIzverson-
nel to hunt for Shamar inside their own borders? Do you
think that they will support the lPFs searching for Shamar
in other countries?"
     Alexander felt a slight wave of giddiness wash through
him as he realized whatthe Amerind was after. "You want
me to get Shamar for you."
     Red Eagle lowered his gaze and fixed his deep brown eyes
on Alexander. "Thisis very painful for me, Mr. Alexander.
I am a man of the law. -I do not approve; of vigilantes or
assassins.
     "But you have to nail Shamar, and damned fast, and you
can't use the IPF to do the job."
          "That is the truth of it," Red Eagle admitted.
     .4% you want me to do the job for you."
     Red Eagle said, "Through the Peacekeepers I have
access to certain forms of intelligence that are unavailable
to
     YOU.
     Tingling with sudden excitement, Alexander grinned
and said, "You've got a deal!"
     "He mug be brought tojustice, if possible," insisted Red
Eagle. "I will not be party to an assassination.
     Alexander countered, "Listen, you just think of this as
an old-time sheriff hiring a deputy-or recruiting a posse."
     "Not the most fortunate of analogies for a Comanche,"
Red Eagle replied dourly.
                              PEACEKEEPERS         61
                    said, "Yeah,. 1 suppose not. But I'll
          *04@ Just like I said, dead or alive."
          nuclear weapons. They must be recovered.
          t more important than Shamar himself."
          se. Sure.` But Alexander thought to himself,
               to you, maybe, but not to me.
               to his feet. It reminded Alexander of a
               outpf the ocean.
               this has been extremely difficult for me.
          your cooperat ion."
                   Shaman"
               nuclear bombs."
          headed toward the door, Alexander beside
          to keep pace with Red Eagles
          the elaborately tiled floor.
          Eagle stopped, "You have not asked about
          For what?"
               an armed force to take Shamar. That will
          smiled crookedly. "What will those suspi-
          governments say if they find that the IPF is
          d channel the money through a Swiss bank,"
     Red Eagle.
          last words."
                              "Then 'how ...
          nd frowned slightly.
          broke yet," Alexander said. "If and when I need
          let you know. For now, all I want from you is
          about Shamar's whereabouts."
          it to YOU."
          hands at the door, Alexander's Pate white
          in the Amerind's huge dark Paw.
Alexander watched from the shaded shelter of the villa's


62 Ben -Bova
front gate as Red Eagle squeezed his bulk into the back seat
of a BMW sedan. The car sank on its suspension noticea-
bly.
     As the sedan pulled away and into the honking streams
of, everlasting traffic along the roadway, Alexander almost
jumped into the air with glee.
     I.
     going to get Sharnar! I'm going to get the bastard and
kill him with my own two hands!
     In the back seat of the BMW, Red Eagle was thinking, It
is a dangerous thing to sidestep the law. Yet what else can
be done?
     He looked down at the hand that had shaken Alexander's
as if it were already dripping with blood.
bd Eagle knew that we-and others-were
itching Jiis every move and listening to as
uch of his conversation as we could. He
Id himself that, like Marcus Brutus, he
as armed so strong in honesty that it
dn't matter. But it did, and what he had
do bothered him immensely. No one was
er able to trace the Meissner assassination
.to him, but it seemed terribly convenient to
e that would-be Hitler killed before he
..Could bring East and West to the brink of
war over a reunited Germany.
     While the Peacekeepers stopped the
Mongolian Crisis from erupting into war
before a single shot was fired, we were
getting unmistakable signals that the
officees, coup was under way. Still the
sluggaids. in Geneva did nothing. And Red
Eagle was not officially part of the
Peacekeepers; he was mainly concerned
during those troubled months with feeding
information to Cole Alexander. Discreetly.
He thought.


                  INDONESIA
                   Year 4
          STRETCHED out prone on the damp grass at
the edge of the trees, Alexander peered through his binocu-
I'm at the village in the clearing. He swept his gaze across
the cinder-block huts, then focused beyond them to the six
helicopters resting beneath camouflage netting at the Vil-
lage's farther side.
     "Those're Shamaes choppersr' he asked the man lying
beside him. He kept his voice low, almost a whisper. No
telling who might be prowling through these woods.
     The man nodded. "One of them is. The others belong to
the rebel leaders and some of the government men who are
A         in with them. If the word we picked UP from Surabaya is
                                        64
N
                              PEACEKEEPERS         65
iar and the rebels will be taking off tonight to
*ith the guerrillas over in Vogelkop."
     `gDVernme nt men go back to Jakarta."
     @@said the man. "Bloody traitors."
     's name was McPherson, a lifelong professional
     th he and Alexander wore green-mottled jungle
     d floppy Digger hats that broke up the outline of
     ad against the heavy foliage of this sweltering
     Test. Safer than tin helmets, McPherson claimed.
     tic armor vests'were also jungle green; they felt
     hot in the sweltering humidity, no matter what
     004durer claimed for their lightness and comfort.
     taken almost a,year for Alexander to remit his
     Oy force. It was small, but elite. McPherson had
     cheaply. Almost every penny Alexan-
     tt=had spent on McPherson and his band
     essionals. Their arms and training were first-rate.
     at little money he had left Alexander had used to
     down the elusive Jabal Shamar. The mass murderer
     also turned mercenary, using his skills and cunning in
     hing from terrorism to rebellion, all around the
     from Ankara to Quebec. But he made certain to
     the reach of the Peacekeepers. He never
     an attack that the IPF would consider to be
ds he killed died in civil wars, rebellions,
ments, terrorist demonstrations. But they
same, cut down by machine-gun fire or blown
pieces by car bombs. They died and Shamar
devising elaborate schemes of murder for pay.
had the ultimate insurance policy, of course.
he had cached six nuclear weapons, six bombs
destroying six cities. As long as no one knew
were, Shamar could range the world and
would allow him untroubled passage.


06 Ben Bova
Was there @a nuclear weapon
                              submerged in a Bangkok
canal? Thailand turned a blind eye to sha afs
                                             in      passage





                     eir
through th   terriiory. Is a nuclear bomb hidden in a slum
basement in Sao Paulo? Why should Brazil risk triggering
it by trying to arrest Shamar?
     But Alexander hunted him. He recruit ed McPherson
and, through, hi
               in, a mercenary force whose only task was
to find Sharnar so that Alexander could execute him.
     Now Alexander and McPherson lay on a ridge at the
edge of a steaming forest,
                         raucous with birds and monkeys,
stinking of tropical rot, crawling
                              with insects. The humid
heat Pressed on them like a
                              sopping sponge, drenching
their fatigues with sweat.
     McPherson spoke qui
                         lady into a Palm-sized radio, order-
ing the other men to take
                         up Positions ringing the village.
He was a tall, rawboned New Zealander, ruddy of face,
with hair and b
               rows so blond he almost looked albino. He
had come to Alexander highly reco
                              mmended, having seen
action in the Katangan Secession, the overthrow of the
Diaz government in Chile and the bloody shambles of
South Africa.
     Alexander had agreed that McPherson would be in
tactical command ' since he himself had never been in
action before.
     "You stay closeby me, Cole. Check your weapons now.11
     With sweaty hands Alexander examined the grenades
hooked to the web belts
                         across his shoulders, memorizing
the different types: concussion, frag, smoke. Then he took
the Pistol from the holster at his waist Loaded clip in
Place, safety off. More clips in the belt
                                   Pouches. Finally he
slid the action of his stubby submachine gun back and
forth. Satisfied that it was ready, he slapped a banana-
curved magazine into place.
"Now we wait," McPherson sai
                                   d.
"How long?"
"Until dusk. Let them get their dinner fires sta
                                                  rted."
          felt his                   `Suppose they have
                  guts fluttarin&
     but, around herer'
          McPherson replied with@a deprecating little
     tit'they won7t find my men. I promise                 thaL"
                     YOU
     I @ you make me check weapons now if...
     rson laid a hand on - Alexandees shoulder.
     it do to be caught unready to fight, just in case
     does stumble on us."
     you said
I said, Cole. But it's always best to be
contingency. Remember that."
student facing a fatherly schoolmaster
soldier gaffing ready to attack,
lapsed into silence.
     his exposure to sunlight; solar ultravi.
uld trigger skin cancers, or worse. His leukemia was
control as long as he took the pills, but Alexaoder
on the sun as an enemy. Shamak's gift to me, he
it angrily. Something else he's taken away from me.
if we nail him here it won't matter. The UV dose will
to pay for killing the son of a bitch.
     scanned the village with his binoculars,
electro-optical gain to its highest, until he
the faces of the people. Hard to tell the
the guerrillas, he realized. Except for the
uniforms they wore, there was no real
Fence among the brown-skinned men. Some of the
en were in dirty mottled uniforms, too, with assault
slung over their slim shoulders. The village women
long colorful batik sknU and Western-style loose
shabby and tattered.
          a rich village. The paddies out on the other
          helicopters were tudden seemed
                                             Pitifully
               Even the few water buffklo Alexander
                 emaciated.
             here, when he's being paid to organize
is


68 Bert &va
the rebel guerrillas in West Irian? Cole wondered. Is he
actually here, or i s this a ruse-or worse yet, a trapO
And then his heart leaped. He saw Jabal Sham
                   ar. The
man calmly step
               ped out of one of the larger cinder-block
buildings in the center of the village, squinting at the
lowering sun and raising his hand to shield his eyes. It was
him, all right! Alexander knew that face, even though he
had never met Shamar.
     Seeing him live, instead of a picture, brought surprises.
Shamar was shockingly young for a general, a youthful
forty at most. Practically my age, Alexander realized. He
wore desert tan fatigues, unadorned by insignia or any
mark of rank. Vigorous, brisk movements. As he spoke he
gestured vividly; his hands were never still. Yet he was
much; smaller than Alexander had expected, a stunted
marionette of a man, slim and hard-faced, with a trim dark
mustache and a livid white scar that ran from the bottom
of his right ear along the jawline almost to the point of his
chin.
     "The murdering son of a bitch is there," he muttered,
passing the binoculars to McPherson.
     The Kiwi took the I in for a moment          handed them
back with nothing more than a grunt of acknowledgement.
     The largest building, in the center of the village, was
obviously where the meeting was taking place. Alexander
clicked on the subminiaturized video camera built into the
bhiocuim 4s he watched the men gathering around
Shamar, bowing to him or shaking his hand. They all
seemed so subservient to this mass murderer. The men
ftom Jakarta wore lightweight, 4ght-colored Westernized
business suits; bureaucrats through and through, dressed
almost identically to their brethren around the world. The
guerrillas wore rags and tatters of old army uniforms they
had decorated with bright head scarves and arinbands.
     Alexander videoed it all as he watched, waiting impa-
tiently for sunset.
                              PEACEKEEPERS (it
     hengthened. Spires of smoke began to rise
     oles in several of the cinder-bibck huts
     village. Alexander could smell vegetables boiling
     fish sizzling on the fire.
     checked by radio with his men. NO sign Of
     No hint that they had been detected
     in council with the rebel leaders and the
     the government who were in league wiA the
          Alexander on the shoulder. Cole jerked as if
     had seared his skin.
          McPherson said.
          nodded, his lips pressed to a bloodless tight
tOkay," he said, with a firmness he did not feel. "Let's
4one.
Pherson thumbed his palm-sized rad io again. "All
_@-attack!"
     were up and running toward the village It was
     it was nothing more than a roughly circular
     the cinder block buildings, none of them
     A single story high. Alexander heldhis subma-
     in both hands, felt the weight of the grenades on
     the pistol flopping in its holster at his hip, the
     pressing against the small Of
     sides of them other men in jungle green and
     guns held level, were -racing across the clearing
     forest and the outer ring of huts.
          sprinted a few steps ahead of Alexander and
     between the two nearest huts. No one else was in
          his own mercenary sOldiem
     a bunt of gunfire off to his right. Alexander saw
     skid to a stop on the dusty bare ground and
     along a cinder-block wall. He did the same.
     in a dirt-caked steel helmet popped out of a
     and squirted a burst of semiautomatic -fire at


70 Ben Bova
them. McPherson threw himself to the ground anO tired
back in One motion. The soldier screamed and fell back
into the hut.
     "Come on!" McPherson yelled. Alexander followed him
on leg suddenly gone rubbery as the New Zealander raced
to the hut and threw a grenade into the doorway.,
     It exploded almost immediately. @ Smoke and screams
billowed out the doorway.
     "Squirt 'em!" McPherson commanded, already heading
for the next hut.
     Alexander ducked, into the smoky doorway, coughing as
he Pointed his gun inside the hut. Squinting, he saw a
tangle Of bodies huddled next toa small table splintered by
the grenade's blast. He knew what he was supposed to do:
spray the bodies with bullets, make certain no one would
stagger Out Of that hut to shoot them in the back.
     His finger froze on the trigger. Theyre all dead. Have to
be.
     One of the bodies moaned and writhed in pain. A
'Woman, her COIOrftd skirt smeared with blood.
     Alexander doubled over, fighting down the bile that was
surging into his mouth ' He backed out of the doorway, took
a gulp of fresh air, and saw that he was alone.
     Gunfire deeper in the village. The crump of a grenade.
Men's deep voices shouting and rsing. Screams, high-
cu
Pitched with terror and agony.
     He ran down the crooked lane between huts and saw
several of the green-clad mercenaries blazing away at the
rOOftOPs- Chunks of cinder block flew in all directions, but
no One seemed to be up there. Then the black oval shape of
a grenade arced against the flaming sunset sky and ex-
ploded between the men. Their bodies were flung like rag
dolK smashed against the cinder blocks.
     A ftagment caught Alexander, nicked his shoulder and
spun him halfway around.
     He saw three men with assault rifles coming _up toward
                                   PEACEKEEPERS @.71
*6 men and a woman. Ragged clothes, but the
kod polished and new.
     ld@n7ot fire at them. He knew he had to kill them or
     'id kill him. He commanded his finger to squeeze
     He silently raged at his hand to do what it had
     Wfhis finger would not move a millimeter.
     @w@man shot him, a single round, straight at his
     Alelarider felt a tremendous hammer blow slam him
     fto the ground. The bloodred sky went dark. The
     dng@ he heard was a man's voice bellowing angrily
     Ae sound of more gunfire. It sounded like
     awn.
                  s voice.
               to allow me to evacuate my wounded and
               men," the Kiwi was saying.
               professional soldier," replied a harsh,
               heavily accented English. "You expect all
               professional conduct to be extended
               to open his eyes. They seemed glued
               us," McPherson said, his voice sounding
               than fearful. "What more do you want?"
     I allow you to go? You might come against
some other day. Why not kill you all now and be
it?"
     silence that followed, Alexander tried to rub the
rriness out of his eyes. His chest flared with pain.
Awn rib, he knew. More than one, most likely. The
aor vest stopped the bullet, but not its impact.
ie focused on the shadowy ceiling, then carefully turned
head toward the voices he had heard.
"@,Ne was lying on a straw pallet on the floor of a tiny room.
'be only light came from the doorway from which the
Oices emanated. The room stank of blood and excrement.


72 Ben Bova
Flies buzzed annoyingly, but Atexandees chest hurt too
much to try to wave them away. Two other bodies were
stretched out next to him. They both were unmoving, eyes
-staring-the flies and other insects were crawling over
them.
     Alexander barely held down his gorge. He looked past
then4 toward the lighted doorway.
     "As you said, I'm a professional soldier," McPherson
replied at Wt. "If you allow us to leave here, I'll give you
my word that neither I nor my men will ever hire on against
you. Never, no matter who approaches us or what he
Offbrs.91
     Another long silence. Then the other voice-it had to be
Shamar's, Alexander reasoned-finally said, "Ah, you
English and your honor. Very well, I will allow you to go."
     "I'm New Zealand, said McPherson stiffly. "But I
thank you anyways."
     "All but your employer," said Shamar.
     "Hold on now. .
     "That man will remain here. He is my enemy and I have
no intention of allowing him to go free."
     He's talking about me! Alexander realized with a pang of
shock.
     can't allow that," said McPherson.
     Shamar laughed, a mocking grating sound. "If you wish
to stay with him and share his fate, I will accommodate
you." His voice suddenly went iron-hard. "You, and what's,
left of your men."
          "That's not fair," McPherson whispered.
     Shamar laughed again. "I thought you English had a
     'ARs fair in love'and war.'"
     .Hes just a silly rich mam"
     "A stupid rich in=," Shamar corrected, "who swal-
lowed the information that my people sold to him. An
ignorant Yankee who led you and your men into this trap
like a Judas goat leading sheep.-
461still can't..."
                                   PE,4CEKEEPEP.S 73
                         men and leave while you can."
                         cold. The discussion was at an
     wmn said, "I'm doing this only for the sake of MY
61W. And don't trouble yourself about this AMC-171-
i4e, isn't worth troubling your conscience over.
Wet                                      MP
    heard McPherson's booted feet clu           across
den floorboards.  A door - squeaked open, then
but. -
     fault, he realized. I led McPherson and his men
is mess. I let Shamar bait the trap and I walked@ right
couldn't even fight, when the chips were down.
a fool. I'm a coward. A gutless coward who
          a trigger even to save his own life'
               burned him with a searing pain worse
     wound. I'm a coward. A coward.
          Indonesian voice, in tones almost like a flute,
     "Is it wise to allow the mercenaries to go freer'
     mar made a coughing, almost barking sound that
     have been a single burst of laughter. "NO, it is not
     And they win not leave this village alive.-
          told him..,."
          I told that Englishman I said to make him and his
          to handle. They will be marched black toward
          toward the vans that carried them here from the
          they reach the vans they will be shot. All Of
4thout consciously willing it, Alexander struggled UP
sitting position. The Pain made his head swim, but he
heard Shamaes grating voice.
In a few weeks' time the jungle will have obliterated
r bodies. There will be no trace of them."
J can't let him murder Mac and his men. I've killed
him slaughter the rest.
agony. Alexander checked his
everything: vest, webbing,


74 Ben Bova
weapons, even his boots. Nothing remained except his
fatigues, and the pockets
        had been thoroughly emptied.
     61ancing at the corpses lying next to him, he saw that
they had been similarly strippe&
     He crawled Painfully, slithering along the splintery
boards on the side that hurt-less, toward the lighted
                                                  to
doorway. Itlook all @his willpower not to cry out f in the
pain, Staying back in the shadows, flat on his stomach and
flaming chest, Alexander surveyed the other room.
Shamar was sitting at a warped, swaybacked table,
packing wads Of paper money into an aluminum case.
There was a stack of bills on the table, neatly bundled in,
bank wrappers- Two Of the men fi-OM Jakarta,.in their
lily-white business suits, stood with their backs to Alexan-
der, watching their money disappear into Shamaes case.
     Also On the@ table were some of Alexander's belongings:
he recognized his electronic binoculars, his never-used
automatic Pistol, and the six grenades he
                                             had carried into
the battle.
     There was a guerrilla soldier at the door that
                led outside,
standing nonchalantly with a Kalishnikov assault rifle
slung Over One shoulder, smoking a crooked brown ciga-
rette, staring at more money than he and his ancestors had
ever seen in their combined lifetimes
     Biting his lips to keep from wimperi       Alexander slowly
                     ng,
clawed up the wall and inched to his feet. He stood there
for a long dizzying moment, swaying, forcing hi
                                             inself to
remain conscious and not give in to the.,soft yielding
darkness that tempted him.
Leaning his back against the flimsy walL listening to
Shamar and the Jakarta traitors bantering about money
and taxpayers and bank accounts in Singapore, Alexander
felt the sweat Pouring from every inch of his body. It was
not merely the heat, not only the pain that made him
perspire.
     It was fear- He knew what he had to do. He knew that he
had to do it now. Ten seconds from now might be too late.
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 75
                    head.
                                        going to kill
                                                    YOU
the wall, barged
the two Indone-
p       on      table.
          His face showed surprise, but his
swiftly and surely. He dropped, the wad of
been holding, even as the Indonesians
Alexander and the young guerrilla by
way --opped his cigarette in shock.
iar swept up the pistol in his right hand and with
xi smo6thness brought       his left to slide the action
                         UP
d cock it.
did so, Alexander did the only thing he could think
grabbed one of the fragmentation grenades and
a its pin out.
distinctly heard the pin clatter on the tabletop, and
the sound was gone, the snick-clack of the pistol's
     two Indonesians started to babble and the guerrilla
     his rifle from his shoulder.
     bellowed, holding out his left hand to-
guerrilla.
          the pistol at Alexander's         But he did not
                     gut
held the grenade tightly in his right hand,
agony that his effort had caused, sagging
the cinder-block wall.
go," he said, his voice thick with pain, "this
off. We'll all die."
could see Shamar's eyes, pate blue and calculating.
a three-second fuse," Alexander added. "For house-
-house fighting. You won't have time to pick it up and
Dow it away-
     ar eased his tensed body. He even smiled slightly.
     gun staved pointed at Alexander.
     are more resourceful than I thought."


76 Ben Bova
     "And You,$' Alexander panted, gasping from the Pain of
talkin& "are just as much a murdering son of a bitch as I
thought-"
     The Indonesians seemed Petrified with fear. The young-
ster had;lowered his rifle, but kept his hand on the pistol
grip; he could swing the muzzle up and fire in an instant.
     "We have a stalemate," Sham
                              ar said.,The scar along his
jaw seemed unusually white, almost pulsating.
     "Give the order to bring McPherson and his men back
here."
     "The mercenaries?"
     "Bring them back here," Alexander repeated. "Un-
harmed."
     With a shrug that was half amused, half contemptuous,
Shamar reached into a chest pocket of his fatigues and
brought out a small black radio, the same miniature size
that McPherson had used. He spoke into it in Arabic.
     "They will be back here in ten minutes," he said to
Alexander.
     "Tell lem to make it faster. My hand I s getting sweaty. I
might drop this egg."
     Shamar spoke into the radio again. Alexander knew that
they were waiting for him to pass out, to slump down into
unconsciousness from the 'pain. He'll try to -grab the
grenade before, it goes off, it's his only chance. I've got to
stay awake. Alert. Got to!
     He looked into Shamar's pale blue eyes again. Watching,
waiting, calculating, staring at me like a snake stares at a
bird. Odd that they should be so light. Wonder who got into
whose harem?
     A wave of dizziness washed over him and Alexander
shook his head to clear it. The movement cost him pain,
and a surge of nausea in his guts.
     He snapped his eyes open when he realized they had
been closed. Shamar had tensed slightly, but he smiled and
                         PEACEKEEPERS 77
7@.
               None of the others in the room had
Wthave been out long, Alexander said to himself.
DO take long for him to move
rod again at the face of Jabal Shamar, his enemy.
who had killed his parents and millions of others.'
in Jerusalem," Alexander muttered.
Lr lifted an eyebrow slightly. "And you survived."
mother didn't. Neither did my father. He was in Tel
@@.Iien, you nuked it."
did not strike first with nuclear weapons.
     You struck last. After the cease.-fire had been
ed.
iuld you like a chairr' Shamar asked, almost solici-
He even let the pistol down slightly. Only slightly.
stay on my feet," replied Alexander.
r how long?"
ng enough."
sound of boots scuffling on the dry ground outside
id Alexandees ears. Someone rapped on the door
said a single word-and an older guerrilla, a
cartridges hanging from his shoulder, stepped
     I want McPherson," said Alexander.
                     SO.
     New Zealander took in the situation at a glance.
     standoff, eh?"
          get out of this village unless I allow it," said
asked McPherson, "Mac, can you fly one of
out there?"
can Alfie or Rodriguez."
        Turning back to Shamar, he said, "Let's go."
     helicopters?"


78   Ben Bova
     "If I refuser'
     Without thinking, Alexander tried to take a deep breath.
The pain flared, and he felt his knees turn watery. Bile
surged up his throat. He put out his free hand to steady
himself against the table
     "Listen to me," he said to Shamar. "If you don't do
exactly as I say, I'llopen my hand and blow all of us to
shrtds. Understand? Now, move."
                                                                 r
     Wordlessly Shamar headed for the door. McPherson
pushed past him and wrapped an arm around Alexander's
shoulders. Tenderly.
     "Ribs?" he asked.
     "Yeah. Broken, I think."
     "Come on, mate. Maybe you ought to give the pineapple
to me.,,
     Alexander shook his head. "I'll hold it."
     Turning to Shamar, McPherson wordlessly took the
pistol from his hand.
     Outside it was night. In the dim shadows, Alexander
made out only eight men in jungle fatigues, and three of
them wore bloodied bandages. Eight out of twenty-nine. It
was a shambles, all right, he accused himself.
     Slowly they made their way toward the helicopters, a
strange procession with Alexander supported by
McPherson, Shamar walking beside him, and the two
Indonesian government officials two -paces in front. The
surviving mercenaries trudged on either side. They were
completely disarmed; the only weapons in the entire group
were the pistol McPherson now ' held and the grenade
Alexander clutched in his cramped, sweaty hand.
     But out in the shadows they were escorted by a ghostly
convoy of guerrilla men and women, armed and waiting
for a chance, a word, a stumble that might allow them to
spring. Shamar kept up a steady flow of words, mostly in
English, warning them to keep their distance and remain
calm.
                                        PE.4CEKEEPERS 79
665ift want to die, Alexander realized. He's no
vpared to die than I was to kill.
sensed the terrifying presence of dozens of guns
.n the darkness to cut him down. If he felt back in
ike-a bird being hypnotized by a snake, now it was
riall herd of antelope being stalked by a pack of
i wolves.
reached the helicopters. Under McPherson's direc-
C mercenaries dismantled the engines on all but one
a. Rodriguez, his white teeth flashing in the dark-
ambered up into the cockpit of the largest chopper
Lrted up its engine. It whined to life, and the big
lade began revolving slowly.
sorted by one of the unwounded mercenaries, Alex-
nade a feeble gesture toward the helicopter.
you go," he said to Shamar.
man shook his head.
     ato the chopper," Alexander insisted.
     40.
     (lou'll go or else."
     )r else you'll release the grenade? Go ahead and do it .
     the dim flashing red of the helicopters safety light,
          's face looked coppery, lurid like a devil's lit by the
     of- hell. He was no longer sneering, no longer contemp-
     is.
     rou want to take me to your kind of justice, to put me
     jail cell and put me on trial before the world and
     ute me as a criminal."
Damned right! Murderer. Genocidal bastard."
Shamar shook his head. "Then kill me here and now. Let
Ile grenade go."
Alexander was trembling with a mixture of rage and fear.
You better get the fuck up that ladder.
4. "No.  And if you try to force me, the guerrillas will open
Are and kill you all."
McPherson came out of the shadows to Alexander's side.


So Ben Bova
"Let him   go,   he said oveu the rising thunder of the
helicopter's engine.
     "I won't! I want him dead!"
     "Then kill me," Shamar shouted, his face grim, his voice
flat and hard.;
     "You'll, get us all killed," said McPherson.
     Alexander said nothing. He could not move, could not
speak, could not act.
     Come on, boss. Into the heli. Be glad we're getting away
with our lives. Thars the important thing.-
     Gently McPherson coaxed him up the metal ladder and
into the helicopter. Shamar stood rooted out on the dusty
blowing ground, the flashing red light outlining him against
the night.
     Over the whining roar of the chopper's engine, Shamar
shouted, "We will meet@ again, Yankee! We will meet
again!"
     Alexander tried to turn and answer, but McPherson had
him wrapped in his strong arms. "Nevermind him. He's
just putting on a show for the wogs.
     He sat Alexander down on the bench at the rear of the
chopper's passenger compartment. "Better let me have it
now," McPherson said. "Wouldn't want it loose in here."
     Alexander felt his strong fingers prying the grenade from
his hand.
     The other men filed in and slumped onto the remaining
seats. McPherson gave a command and the engine roared
louder. The helicopter jerked free of the ground and lifted
into the darkness.
     McPherson went to the batch, opened it, and tossed the
grenade away. Its explosion was barely noticeable. The big
New Zealander came back and sat beside Alexander once
again.
     couldn't do it," Alexander sa ' id, fighting back sobs. "I
couldn't kill the son of a bitch. I had the chance and I
couldn't do it."
                         PEACEKEEPERS 81,
                    pointed out. "That's some-
          a trap. I couldn't even fire a shot.
           meant for combat. It's ust not in
     anything," Alexander groaned. "Ug_d
fucking useless coward."
silent for a moment. Then, "Well, at the
video in here"-he unhitched the
from his belt-"to blow away the
government."
                   that?"
table in the hut back there," said the New
the video stuff would look good on
     pain still flaring in his chest, Alexander
     "We can expose Shamar's connection
          who're selling out their own govern-
     him. It'll force him to get out of Indonesia
     day's work, all things considered," said
     don't always have to kill a man to defeat
     leaned his head back against the padded
     have killed him. He'll just pop up again
     cause more trouble. Kill more people.
     shook his head. "You're not the
Cole. These men of mine-they can kill. But
It isn't in you."
a helluva mercenary, don't IT'
nned at him. "Oh, I dunno. You're learning.
than one way to skin a rat."
          closed his eyes. The Peacekeepers have
     he realized. Destroy the weapons, not the


82 Ben Bova
soldiers. Maybe I can do that, too Work where the
                             Alexander recovered from his wounds.
Peacekeepers can't go. Use smarts instead of guns. Maybe
                                                                                     ic trauma, the injury to his
it can work like that. It's worth a try.
                                                                                     and self-esteem, took longer to
It's wor th a try.
                                                                      Strangely it was his only child who
McPherson got up and went forward to check with the
                                                                                the therapeutic process-quite
pilot. He came back to report that Surabaya was less than
                                                                           realizing what she was doing.
an hour away, and a medical team would be waiting for
                                                                                of a conversation between them,
them.
                              as they strolled along the grounds
But Alexander was stretched out on the bench, sound facility in Ottawa, where he
asleep, a crooked grin on his grimy, sweaty face.
                                             nighte r, S. A. Kelly.
                                             pod to see you again, Daddy.
                                                  You sounded pretty damned
                                   -rdserable on the phone. What's the matter?
                              I shouldn't bother you with it. It's
                   Kelly.
                     :My
                  problem.
          I,;           Alexander Listen, kid, I may not be much
                                        bf a father, but I do care about you, you
                                   V. Itnow.
                         Kelly: I know.
                                   And I don't have much of
                                   Alexander,
                                   anything else to do right now. At least let
                                   me act like a father, give you some sage
                                   advice and all that crap.
                                        Kelly (laughing a little). Oh, I've just got a
                                   heart problem.
                                        Alexander (alarmed). Heart?
                                        Kelly. Not medical! Romantic. I fell for a
                                   guy and I thought he fell for me. But now
                                   he's getting married to somebody else.
                                   Alexander. The son of a bitch.
                                        Kelly. No, he's not. He's a very fine man.
                                   It was my mistake.
                                        Alexander (slowly). We all make mistakes,
                                   little lady.  I backed off from marrying your
                                   mother .                                        that was the worst mistake of
                                   my life.
                                                                 83


84 Ben Bova
          Kelly.- She really loved you. Her last
     words were about you.
     Alexander (a
                    .fter along pause) Listen, kid,
     why don't you chuck this Peacekeeper job
     and come with me?
            Kelly: Leave the IPF?
          Alexander. Why not? You've been stuck in
     'the same grade for two years now. They
     should have Promoted You for what you did
     in Eritrea.
           Kelly The review board
          Alexander Screw the review board! Come
     with      me I'm doing things that the JPF can,t
     do.
          Kelly What do you mean?
          Alexander (lowering his voice): Not here.
     Come into town with me tonight. well have
     dinner together and I'll lay it all out for you.
          Kelly soon did resign from the
     Peacekeevers to help her father build the
     tightly "it mercenary force that eventually
     brought him to the massacred village of
     Misericordia and his confrontation shortly
     afterward with Jabal Shamar.
          In the meantime, however, the cabal of
     officers from several nations sprang their
     coup to take over the International
     Peacekeeping Force-@ To understand what
     happened ix;'orbit, where the main struggle
     took place, it is instructive to cite two
     twentieth century strategic thinkers who
     strongly disagreed with one another.
          Ashton Carter We should avoid a
     dependence on satellites for wartime
     purposes that is out of proportion to our
     ability to Protect them. If we make
                         PEACEKEEPERS       85
view dependent upon vulnerable
xaft for military support, we will have
wAchilles' heel into our forces.
xwell W Hunter H The key issue then
ies, is our defense capable of
     itself ... ?
I said, they strongly disagreed with
       Yet both of them were right.


               BATTLE STATION
                   HUNTER
                   Year 5
          THE first laser beam caught them unaware,
slicing through the station's thin aluminum skin exactly
where the main power trunk and air lines fed into the
bridge.
     A sputtering fizz of sparks, a moment of heart-wrenching
darkness, and then the emergency dims came on. The
electronics consoles switched to their internal batteries
with barely a microsecond's hesitation, but the air fans
sighed to a stop and fell silent. The four men and two
women on duty in the bridge had about a second to realize
they were under attack. Enough time for the breath to catch
               96
                             PEACExEEPERS         97
Mr, 4hroat, for the sudden terror to hollow out your
     and laser hit was a high-energy pulse deliberately
     it the bridges observation port. It cracked the
     tsistant plastic as easily as a hammer smashes an
     air pressure inside the bridge blew the port open.
     men and women became six exploding bodies
     was not even time enough to
     blood. There                                scream.
station was named Hunter, although only three of its
knew why.  It was not one of the missile-kilfing
Ms, nor one of the sensor-laden observation birds.  It
VOMM                     station, manned by a crew of
orbiting some one thousand kilometers high, just
the densest radiation zone of the inner Van Mien
It circled the Earth in about 105 minutes. By deliber-
pidesign, the station was not hardened against laser
ck. "e attackers knew this perfectly well.
*.nimaiider Hazard was almost asleep when the bridge
destroyed. He had just finished his daily inspection of
attle station. Satisfied that the youngsters of his crew
reasonably sharp, he had returned to his coffin-sized
anal cabin and wormed out of his sweaty fatigues. He
UWY with himself.
o months, aboard the station and he still felt the
unease of space adaptation syndrome. It was
of an ocean vessel having seasickness all
Hazard fumed inwardly as he stuck another
medication plaster on his neck, slightly be-
ear. The old one had fallen off. Not that they
good. His neck was faintly spotted with the rings
medication patches. Still, his stomach felt
palms slippery with perspiration.
grimly to a handgrip, he pushed his weightless
the iniffored sink, to the mesh sleep cocoon
the opposite wall of his cubicle. He zipped
the bag and slipped the terry-cloth restraint


     BenBova
across his forehead. Hazard war. a bulky, dour man with
IrOnVW hair still cropped Academy close , a weather-
beaten squarish face built around a thrusting spadelike
11M. a thin slash of a mouth that seldom smiled and eyes
the color of a stormy gm Those eyes seemed...
                suspicious of
e"eryone and everything PrObing, inquisitory. A closer
look showed that th--YWeM weary, disappointed with the
world and t
          he people in it. Disappointed most of all with
himself,
     He was just dozing off when the emergency klaxon
started hooting. For a,disoriented moment he thought he
wwback in a submarine and something had gone wrong
with a dive. He felt his arms pinned by the mesh sleeping
b"'& as if he had been bound by unknown enemies..He
ah=st Panicked as he heard hatches slamming automati-
cally and the terrifying wail Of the alarms. The communi-
cations un't On the wall added its urgent shrill to the
clamor.
     The comm, unit's piercing whistle snapped him to full
awareness- He stopped struggling against the mesh and
mizippered it with a single swift motion, sliPPing out of the
head restraint at the same time.
     Hazard slapped at the wall comm's switch. "Command-
er hereto hesnapped. 4-Report.11
     "Varshni, sir. CIC. The bridge is out. Apparently
                                                       de-
stroyed."
     "Destroyed?"
     "All life-support functions down. Air pressure zero. No
communications," replied the Indian in a rush. His slightly
singsong  ord accent was trembling with fear. "It ex-
ploded, sir.  They are all dead in there."
  Hazard f6t the old terror clutching at his heart, the
Physical Weakness, the giddiness of sudden fear. Forcing
his voice to remain steady. he oomamded, "FU alert
status. Ask Mr- Feeney and Miss Yang to meet me at the
CIC at once. I'll be down there In sixty seconds 01, less.,,
                                   PEACEKEEPERS
     4OW was one of nine orbiting battle stations that
     ip@tbe command-and-control function of the newly
     A international Peacekeeping Force s strategic de
     network. In lower orbits, 135 unmanned ABM
es I armed with multimegawatt lasers and
ocity missiles crisscrossed the Earth's surface. In
hose satellites could destroy thousands of ballistic
within five minutes of their launch, no matter
I Earth they rose from.
     b i ry, each battle station controlled fifteen of the
     sattUites, but never the same fifteen for very long.
     attle @ station's higher orbits were deliberately picked
     1 the unmanned satellites passed through their field
     W as they hurried by in their lower orbits. At the
     ace of the fearful politicians of a hundred nations;
     M satellites were under the permanent control of any
     irticular battle station.
     heory, each battle station patrolled one ninth of the
     s surface as it circled the globe. The sworn duty of its
     fly chosen international crew was to make certain
     any missiles launched from that part of the Earth
     Ad be swiftly and efficiently destroyed.
     In theory.
     The IPF was new, its defensive satellite system untried
     pept for computerized simulations and war games. The
     weekeepers had the power and the authority to prevent a
     -ear strike from reaching its targets, no matter who
"I               hed the attack. Their authority extended completely
          Earth, even to the superpowers themselves.
          in fresh fatigues, Hazard pulled aside the priva-
          of his cubicle and launched himself down the
                  with a push of his meaty hands ailing
     cool metal of the bulkheads. His stomach lurched at the
sudden motion and he squeezed his eyes shut for a
moment.


     90 Ben Bova
     The Combat Information Center was buried deep in the
middle of the
working          station' Protected by four levels Of living and
     areas plus 'the station's storage           agazines for
water, food, air, fuel for the maneuvering thrusters, power
generators and other equipment.
     Hazard fought down the queasy fluttering of his stomach
as he glided along the Passageway toward the CIC At least
he did not suftr the claustrophobia that afgicted
the                                               some of
station's younger crew members. Tb a man who had
spent most Of his career aboard nuclear submarines, the
station was
            roomy, almost luxuri
                    (US.
                                   hatches along the short
way-                                 behind him.
     Al
                              lit Combat Infor-
Center. It was a tiny, womblike circular chamber,
its walls studded with display screens that glowed a sickly
green in the otherwise darkened compartment. No desks or
chairs in zero gravity, the CICs work surfaceswere chest-
,high consoles, most of them covered with keyboards.
                   woman,
     Vsrshni and the Norwegian             Stromsen, were on
duty- The little Indian, shm and dark, was wide -eyed w,
                                                       th
anxiety. His 'am shone with Perspiration and his fatigues
Wem (lark at the armpits and between his shoulders. In the
greenish glow from the display -11en', he looked positively
ill. Stromsen looked tense, her strong jaw clenched, her
ice-blue eyes fastened on Hazard, waiting for him to tell
her what to do.
     "What happened?" Hazard demanded.
  "It simply blew out," said Varshni. --I had just spoken
' with Michaels and DArgencour when ... when.          His
voice choked off.
     *4ne 4creens went blank." Stromsen pointed to the
-status displays- "Everything suddenly zeroed out."
     She was controlling herself carefully, Hazard saw, every
nerve taut to the point of snapping.
                              PEACEKEEPERS         91
     bf the station?" Hazard asked
     *p6d again toward the displays. "No other
     edy on full alert?"
     sent
          Feeney ducked, through the hatch, his eyes
     Wy drawn to the row of burning red malfunction
     2 the bridge displays shou d have been.
     re
     er of Mercy, what's happened?"
          could re-ply, Susan Yang. the chief corn-
- anyone
     office pushed through 'the hatch and almost
ions      171
d into Feeney. She saw the displays and immediate-
          re under attack!"
              Varshni blurted.
their faces for a swift moment. They all
only Yang had the guts to say it
d cool and in control of herself. Oriental
wondered. He knew she was third-
ian. Feeney's pinched, narrow-eyed face
the fear that they all felt, but the Irishman
and returned Hazard's gaze without a
sound in the CIC was the hum of the electrical
and the soft sighing of the air fans. Hazard felt
ly warm with the five of them crowding the
ittle chamber. Perspiration trickled down hi&
were all staring at him, waiting for him to, tell
must be done, to bring order out of the numbing
and uncertainty that swirled around them.' Four
ngsters from four different nations, each of them
ring the blue-gray fatigues of the IPF with colored
hes, denoting their technical specialties on their right
Iders and the flag of their national origin on their left
     said, "We'll have to control the station from


92 Ben Bova
here. Mr. Feeney, you are now my Number one; Michaels
was on duty in the @ bridge. Mr. Varshni, get a daniage-
control party to the bridge. Full suits.-
     "No one's left alive in there,,, Varshni whispered.
     "Yes, but their bodies must be recovered. We owe them
that. And their families." He glanced toward Yang. "And
we've got to determine what caused the blowout.,,
     Varshni's face twisted unhappily at the thought of the
mangled bodies.
     want a status report Erom -each section of the station,"
Hazard went on, k nowing tha I t activity was the key to
     A beeping,sound made all five of them turn toward the
communications console. Its orange demand light blinked
for attention in time with the angry beeps. Hazard reached
for a handgrip to steady himself as he swung toward the
Comm console- He noted how easily the youngsters han-
dled themselves in zero gee. To him it still took a con-
scious, gut-wrenching effort.
     Stroinsen touched the keyboard with a slender finger. A
man's unsmiling face appeared on the screen: light brown
hair clipped as close as Hazard's gray, lips pressed together
in an uncompromising line. He wore the blue-gray of the
JPF with a commander's silver comet on his collar.
     "This is Buckbee, commander of station Graham. I want
to spea k to Commander Hazard."
     Sliding, in front of the screen, Hazard gras ed the
                      p
console's edge with both white-knuckled hands. He knew
Buckbee Only by reputation, a former U. Air Force
colonel, from the Space Command until it had been
disbanded, but before that he had put in a dozen years with
                     SAC
 This is Hazard."
Buckbee's lips moved slightly in what might have been a
smile, but his eyes remained cold. "Hazard, you've just lost
your bridge.,@
                                   -_@.PEACEKEEPERS 93
                                                            lives."
Buckbee continued as, if reading from a
"We offer you a chance to save the lives of
of your crew. Surrender the Hunter to us."
                                   Lbee nodded, a small economi                                            movement. "We
                                   ing order and greatness out of this farce called the
                                   ave of loathing so intense that it almost made him
                                   through Hazard. He realized that:he had
                                   wept
                    all along, with a certainty that had not needed
                                   mte attack, not by accident.
                                   u killed six kids," he said, his voice so low that he
                                   heard it himself. It was not a whisper but a growl.
                                   W had to prove that we mean business, Hazard. Now,
                                   wonder your station or we'll blow you all to hell. Any
                                   ier deaths will be on your head, not ours."
                                   nathan Wilson Hazard, captain, U. Navy (ret-).
                                   ital status: divorced. Two children, Jonathan, Jr
                                   Ity-six; Virginia Elizabeth, twenty. Served twenty@eight
                                   's in U. Navy, mostly in submarines. Commanded
                                   t Ballistic Missile Submarines Ohio, Corpus Christi
                                   Utah. Later served as technical advisor to Joint Chiefs
                                   Staff and as naval liaison to NATO headquarters in
                                   mussels. Retired from Navy after hostage crisis in Brus-
                                   international Peacekeeping Force and ap-
                                   mander of orbital battle station Hunter.
just hand this station over to a face on a screen,
ed, stalling, desperately trying to think his way
situation. "I don't know what you're UP to,
intentions are, who you really are."
in no position to bargain, Hazard," said
his voice flat and hard. "We want control of your
maintaining Discipline. "Start with .. ous verification:, his bridge had bee destroyed by
                                                                n


     Ben Bova
@station. Either YOU give it to us Or vWll eliminate you
completely."
     "Who the hell is 'we?"
     "That doesn,t matter.
"The hell it doesn't! I want to know who you are and
what you're up to."
     Buckbee frowned slightly. His eyes shifted away slightly,
as if looking to someone standing out of range of the video
camera.
@,We don't have time to go into that now," he said at last.
Hazard recognized the crack in Buckbee's armor@ it was
no( much, but he pressed it. -Well, you goddamned well
better make time, mister. I'm not handing this station over
to you or anybody else until I know what in hell is going
on.,$
Tarning to Feeney, he ordered, "Sound general quarters.
ABM satellites on full automatic. Miss Yang, contact JPF
headquarters and give them a- full report of our situation."
"Well destroy your station before those idiots in Geneva
can decide what to do!" Buckbee snapped.
"Maybe,- said Hazard. "But that'll take time, won't it?
And we won't go down easy, I guarantee you. Maybe we'll
take you down with us."
Buckbee's face went white with fury. His eyes glared
angrily-
"Listen," Hazard said more reasonably, "you can't
expect me to just turn this station over to
                                             a face on a
screen. Six of my people have been killed. I want to k
                     now
              I won't deal unt
why, and who's behind all this.                        il I know
who I'm dealing with and what your intentions are
Buckbee growled, "You've just signed the death warrant
for yourself and your entire crew."
The comin screen went blank.
For a moment Hazard hung weightlessly before the dead
screen, struggling to keep the fear inside him from show-
ing. Putting a hand out to the edge of the console to steady
himself, he turned slowly to his young officers. Their eyes
                                                CEKEEPERS         95
                                             PEA
on him, wa iting for him to tell them what to
and death.
commanded,
                                                 from a dream.
                  as if sud
                    himself to the command console, unlatched the
mer over the general-quarters button and banged it
upward
his fist. The action sent him recoiling
with
had to put up a hand against the overhead to push
back down to the deck. The alarm, light @began
red and they could hear its hooting even through
ght hatches outside the CIC.
                                        the howl
va, Miss yang," Hazard said sternly over
arm. 'Feeney, see that the crew is at their battle
I want the satellites under ourcontrol on full
prepared to shoot down anything that moves if
7
in our precteared data bank. And Mr. Varshni, has
image-control party gotten under way yet?"
two young men rushed toward the hatch, bumping
other in their eagerness to follow their commanders
     Hazard almost smiled at the I Laurel and Hardy
of it. Lieutenant Yang pushed herself to the Comm
le and anchored her softboots on the 'VelcrO strip
led to the deck there.
iss Stromsen, you are the duty o fficer. I am depending
keep me informed of the status of all systems-
u to
                                                            Yess
                                   J;eep them busy, Hazard told himself. Make them
                                   time
                                   on doing their 'obs and they won't have
                                   !Oeentrate                    J
                                   -be frightened.
                                        Encountering interference, sir," reported Y ang, her
                                   es on the comin displays. "Switching to emergency
                                                  thought Hazard.
Comm antenna overheating,- Stromsen said. She
     at her console keyboard, then up at the
     --I think they,r-e attacking the antennas with


     % Ben Bova
     lasers, sit. Main antenna out. Secondaries.;.
     shrugged and gestured                                        she
                         toward@ the baleful red lights strung
     across her keyboard. "They're all out, sit.,,
          up a L'Wr link," Hazard commanded. 47hey can't
     )am that. VWve got to let Geneva know what,s happening.
       4
       '$ir,"saidYang."Genevawillnot@bewithinourborizon
     for another forty-six minutest,
     Try signaling the commsats. Topmost priority.-
     'Yes sit.
          Got to let Geneva know, Hazard repeated to himself. if
     anybody can help us, they can. If Buckbee's pals haven't
     Put one of their own people into the comm. center down
     there. Or staged a coup
                              Or already knocked out the
     c0mmsats- They've been planning this for a long time.
     They've got it all timed down to the m-                d.
                  icrosecon
          He remembered the dinner two months earlier, the night
     before he, left to take command of e Hunter. I,ve known
     abo                               th
                                       himself. Known about it
     but
                                           about it and done
     not]
                                       those six kids. I should
     havo
                                   strike without warning.
     It had been in
                    the equatorial city of Belem, where the
     Brazilians had set
                         UP their space launching facility. The
     IPF was obligated to spread its launches among all its
     sPace-capable member nations, so Hazard had
                                                            been or-
     dered to assemble his crew at Belem for their lift into orbit.
     The .. ght before they left, Hazard had been invited to
dirmer by an old Navy acquaintance who had already put
in a three month hitch in orbit with the Peacekeepers
and
was now on Earthside duty.
          His name was Cardillo. Hazard had known him, some
     what distantly, as a fellow submariner, commander of
     attack boats rather than the missile carriers Hazard himself
     had captained Vince Cardillo had a reputation f or being a
     hard nose who ran an efficient boat, if not a particularly
     happy
     one- He had never been really Close to Hazard. their
                                   PEACEKEEPERS          07
rids were tooAfferent. But this specific sweltering
in a poorly air-conditioned restaurant in down-
d6m, Cardillo acted as -if they shared some old
i 9 I octet between them.
d,   wo Is bad m h' IPF summer-weight unifo M. pale
11gold insignia bordered by space black.  Cardillo
casual civil= slacks and a beautifully tailored
first part of the
ilk jacket. Througk drinks and the
     their conversation was light, inconsequential. Most-
     tiniscences by two gray-haired submariners about
     iey had known, women they had chased, sea tales
        ith each retelling. But then:
                    ew w,
     mn shame," Cardillo muttered halfway through his
     of grilled eel.
     re staurant, one of the hundreds that had sprung up
     ,m since the Brazilians had made the city their major
     ort, was on the waterfront. Outside the floor-to-
     windows, the muddy Parii River widened into the
     _ay that eventually fed into the Atlantic;- Hazard had
     L his last day on Earth touring around the tropical
     riverboat. The makeshift shanties that stood on
     e on a
     along the twisting mud-brown creeks were giving way
     idustrial parks and cinder-block housing develop-
     ts. Air-conditioning was transforming the region from
     information services.
     )er plantations to computerized
smell of cement dust blotted out the fragrance of
icai flowers. Bulldozers clattered in raw clearings
ied from the forest where stark steel frameworks 0
buildings rose above the jungle growth. Children who
enlashed naked in the brown jungle streams were being
ZMunded up and sent to air-conditioned schools.
     "Wh at's a shame?" Hazard asked. "Seems to me these
 r-people are start' ing to do all right for the first time in their
       The space business is making a lot of jobs around
     Cardillo took a forkful of eel from his plate. It never
                                                       got
-to his mouth.


     94 Ben Bova
     "I d on't mean t
     Shame about us.- hem' Johnny, I mean U& It's a damn
      Hazard had
                   never liked being called Johnny. His family
     had addressed him as Jon. His Navy associates knew him      il
     as Hazard and nothing else. A few very close friends used
     J.
               do you mean?" he asked. His own plate was
     already wiped clean. The fish and its dark spicy sauce had
     been           So
                     , had the CrisP-crusted bread.
     "Don't you feel nervous about this whole IpF
                   thing?"
Cardillo asked, trying to look earnest. "I mean, I can see
     like your boats in
too. But the attack subs?
weapons systems? Leave
     Hazard had not been
                              in command of a missile subma-
     rine in More than three years. He had
                                        been allowed, even
     encouraged, to resign his
                              commission after the hostage
     men in Brussels.
     "If You're not in favor of wh-
                              at the American government
     is doing, then
                    why did YOU agree to serve in the
     Peacekeepers?"
          Cardillo shrugged and smiled slightly. It was not a
     Pleasant smile. He had a thin, almost triangular face with a
     low, creased brow tapering down to a Pointed chin. His
     Once-dark hair, now Pe
                         ppered with gray, was thick and
     wavy- He had allowed it to
          grow down to his collar. His
were always narrowed, crafty, focused so
to be trying
                                   to penetrate through you.
     There was no joy in his f ace, even though he was smiling,
     no pleasure. It was the smile of a gambler, a
                                                       con artist, a
     usckl-car salesman.
          "Wellm-l,- he said slowly, Putting his fork back down on
the Plate and leaning back in his chair, "You know the old
saying, 'If You can't beat 'em, join 'em
Hazard nodded, although he felt
                                   Puzzled. He groped for
                                   PF-4CEKEEPERS 99
s meaning. "Yeah, I guess playing space cadet up
I be better than rusting away on the beach."
               Cardillo's dark brows: rose slightly. "We're
          Johnny. We're in this for keeps."
          nean to imply that I dont take my duty to the
          y," Hazard answered.
     stant Cardillo seemed stunned with surprise.
he threw- his head back and burst into laughter.
                      I
     Christ, Johnny," he gasped. "Vbu're so
it's hysterical."
kid frowned but i nothing Cardillo guiTawed and
said
     the table with one hand Some of the diners glanced
     to be mostly Americans or
     fay. They seemed
ans, a few Asians Some Brazilians, too, Hazard
as he waited for Cardillo's amusement to subside
ly from the capital or Rio.
t me in on the joke," Hazard said at last.
4illo wiped at his eyes. Then, leaning forward across
ble, his grin fading into an intense, penetrati  stare,
                                                  ing
tispered slyly, "I already told you, Johnny. If we can't
being members of the IPF-if; Washington's so
ng weak that we've got to disband practically all our
nses-then what we've got to do is take over the
keepers ourselves."
Take over the Peacekeepers?" Hazard felt stunned at
thought of it.
Damn right! Men like you and me, Johnny. It's our duty
our country-,,
                         rem         ml "has decided to
2
"Our country," Hazard ' inded hi
the International Peacekeeping Force and has encour-
d its military officers to obtain commissions in the - -
'ardillo shook his head. "That's our stupid gDddamn
vernment, Johnny. Not the country. Not the people who
eally want to defend America instead of selling her out to a
ch of fucking foreigners."


100 Ben Bova
     "That government," Hazard reminded him, "won a big
majority last November.,,
     Cardillo
          made a sour face. "Ahh, the people. What the
fuck do they know?"
     Hazard said nothing.
     "I'm telling you, Johnny, the only way to do it is to take
over the IPF.11
                                                                      3
     "That's crazv.,,
     'You mean if and when the time comes you, won't go
along with us?"
     "I mean," Hazard said, forcing his voice to remain calm,
"that I took an oath to be loyal Wthe IPF@So did you."
     Yeah, yeah, sure. And what about the oath we took way
back when---the one to preserve
                              and protect the United
States of America?"
     "The United States of America wants us to serve in the
Peacekeepers," Hazard insisted.
Cardillo shook his head again mournfully. Not a trace
                     ,of
anger. Not even disappointment. As if he had expected this
reaction from Hazard. His expression was that of a sales-
man who could not convince his stubborn customer of the
bargain he was offering.
     Your son doesn't feel the same way you do," Cardillo
said.
     Hazard immediately clamped down on the rush of
emotions that surged through him. Instead of reaching
across
     the table and dragging Cardillo to his feet and
punching in his smirking face, Hazard forced a thin smile
and kept his fists clenched on his lap.
     "'Jon Jr. is a grown man. He has the right to make his
own decisions."
     "He's serving under me, you know." Cardillo's eyes
searched Hazard's face intently probing for weakness.
"Yes," Hazard said tightly' 11@e told me."
Which was an outright lie.
                                             PF,4CEKEEPERS 101
          approaching, sid"
is tense warning snapped Hazard out of hit
riveted his attention to the main CIC display
angry red dots were worming their way from the
of the screen toward the center, which marked
          of the Hunter.
     P we'll see if the ABM satellites are working or not,
muttered.                                           an
2s @ with the ABM sats are still good, gir," Y 9
J from her station, a shoulders width away from
n. "The integral antennas weren't knocked out
ey hit the comm dishes."
     -d gave her a nod of acknowledgment. The two
     omen could not have looked more different-, Yang
     gl, wiry, dark, her straight black hair cut like a
     was willowy yet broad inthe
     -yhelmet; Stromsen
     and deep in the bosom, as blond as butter-
     Lqers on 124 and 125 autofiring," the Norwegian
     ted.
     saw the display lights. On the main screen the six
zard
dots flickered orange momentarily, then winked out
     ther.
                                                        s
     Voinsen pecked at her keyboard. Alphanumeric
on a side screen. "Got them all while they were
ng up
                                                  smiled
                    They'11 never reach us." She
in first-stage burn.
1 relief. ,They,re tumbling into the atmosphere. Bum-
within seven minutes."
                              grin. "Don't break out
hazard allowed himself a small
     champagne yet. That's just their first salvo. They're
to see if we actually have control of the lasers."
     ing                                                    much
rs all a question of time, Hazard knew- But how
                                                  start
e? What are they planning? How long before they
     ng us up with laser beams? We don't have the shielding
protect against lasers-The stupid politicians wouldn't
to armor these stations. We're like a sitting duck


     102 Ben Bova
       'What are they trying to accomplish, Sir?" asked Yang.
     "Why are they doing this?"
       "They want to take over the whole defense network.
     They want to
     seize control of the entire IPF.11
                  blurted.
           to do that," Yang said.
                     4T
th I e                                  of the IPF will stop
     41   Maybe," said Hazard. -m
       aYbe." He felt a slight hint of
nausea rippling in his stomach. Reaching up, he touched
the slippery. Plastic of the -medicine patch behind his ear.
     "Do you think they could succeed?" Stromsen asked.
     "What's important is, do they think they can succeed?
There are still thousands of ballistic missiles on Earth'
Tens of thousands of hydrogen-bomb warheads. Buckbee
and his cohorts apparently believe that if they can take
control of a portion of the ABM network, they can threaten
a nuclear strike against the nations that won't go along with
them.,'
     "But the other nations will strike back and order their
                                             kes'l,
people in the IPF not to intercept '
                                   their stri      said Yang.
     "It will be nuclear war," stromsen said. "Just as if the
IPF never existed."
     "Worse," Yang Pointed out, "because first there'll be a
shoot-out on each one of these battle stations."
     "That's madness!" said Stromsen.
     "That's what we've got to prevent," Hazard said grimly.
     An orange light began to blink on the comm console.
Yang snapped her attention to it. "Incoming message from
the Graham, sir."
Hazard nodded. "Put it on the main screen."
Cardillo's crafty features appeared on the screen. He
should have been on duty back on Earth, but instead he
was smiling crookedly at Hazard.
     "Well, Johnny, I guess by now you've figured out that we
mean business."
     "And so do we. Give it up, Vince. it's not going to work."
                                        PEACEKEEPERS 103
                                           answered, `Ws
                                        the Russian battle
                                             The Chinks and
          are holding out but the European station is going
                    'So you've got six of the nine stations.11
                    't really need Hunter. You can leave us
niz his lips for a moment, Cardillo replied, "I'm
i@@sn't work that way, Johnny We want Hunter.
il afford to have you rolling around like a loose
                     us
          You're either with us or against
               with you," Hazard said flatly.
    theatrically. "John, there are twenty
                     11
crew on your station ...
Hazard corrected.
you ought to give them a chance to
their own lives?"
himself, Hazard broke into a malicious grm.
                                                                 J
                    you straight, Vince? You're asking the
               a vessel to take a vote?"
                    at him, Cardillo admitted, "I guess that
               dumb. But you do have their lives in your
               .11
                    knuckling under, Vince. And you've got
               lives aboard the Graham, you know. Includ-
               Better think about that."
                    have, Johnny. one of those lives is'Jonathan
               He's right here on the bridge with me. A fine
               You should be proud of him."
                         realized. They're using Jay-Jay as a
                    to talk with him?" 'Cardillo asked.
               out of view and a younger man's face
ilippeared on the screen. Jon Jr. looked tense, strained. This
7_


@104 Ben Bova
isn't any easier for him than it is for meHazard thought.
He studied his son's face. Youthful, clear-eyed, a square-
jawed honest face. Hazard was startled to realize that he
had seen that face before, in his own Academy graduation
photo.
     "How are you, son?,,
     "I'm fine, Elad. And you?"
     "Are we really on opposite sides of this?"
     Jon, Jr.s eyes flicked away for a moment, then turned
@b4ck to look squarely at his father's. "I'm afraid so, Dad.,
     "But why"" Hazard felt -genuinely bewildered that his
son did not see things theway he did.
     "The IPF is dangerous," Jon Jr. said. "It's the first step
toward a world government. The Third world nations
want to bleed the industrialized nations dry. They want to
grab all Our wealth for themselves. The first step is to
disarm us, under the Pretense Of Preventing nuclear war.
Then, once we're disarmed, they're going to take over
everything-using the IPF as their armed forces.-'
     "That's what they've told you," Hazard said.
     "That's what I know, Dad. It's true. I know it is."
     44
     And your answer is to take over the IPF and use it as
your armed force to control the rest of the world, is that
itri
          "Better us than them."
     Hazard 'shook his head. "They're using you, son.
Cardillo and Buckbee and the rest of those maniacs-, you're
in with a bunch of would-be-Napoleons."
     Jon Jr. smiled Pityingly at his father. "I knew You'd say
something like that."
     Hazard put up a beefy hand. "I don't want to argue with
YOU, Son. But I can't go along with you.,,
"You're going to force us to attack your station.
"I'll fight back."
     His son's smile turned vicious. "Like you did in Brus-
sels?"
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 1e5
          it like a punch in his gut' He grunted with the
     Wordlessly he reached out and clicked off the
     iscreen.
     thought it was just another one of those endless
     demonstrations. A peace march. The
     the Nuclear Winter freaks, the Neutralists,
     @of one stripe or another. Swarms of little old
     [Reir Easter frockslimping old war veterans, kids
     Teenagers, lots of them. In bluejeans and denim
     )ung women in shorts and tight T-shirts
     guards in front of NATO's headquarters complex
     Io particular note of the older youths and women
     in with the teens. They failed to detect the hard,
     itting eyes and the snub-nosed guns and grenades
     a under jackets and sweaters.
          the peaceful parade dissolved into a mass of
     wild people. The guards were cut down merci-
     and the cadre of terrorists fought their way into the
     building of NATO headquarters. They forced dozens
     acefid marchers to go in with them, as shields and
     ges-
Aptain J. W. Hazard, U., was not on duty that
day, but he was in his office, nevertheless attending, to
ie paperwork that he wanted out of the way before the
t of business on Monday morning. Unarmed, he was
Ily captured by the terrorists, biaten bloody for the fun
it, and then locked in a toilet. When the terrorists
lized that he was the highest-ranking officer in the
ailding, Hazard was dragged out and commanded to open
ic security vault where the most sensitive NATO docu-
Rents were stored.
Hazard refused. The terrorists began shooting hostages
Aer the second murder Hazard opened the vault for
in. Top-secret battle plans, maps showing locations of


                                                            A
106 Den Bova
nuclear weapons and hundreds. of other documents were
taken by; the terrorists and never found, even after a
Fk*nch-led strike force retook the building in a bloody
battle that killed all but four of the hostages.
     Hazard stood before the blank comm screen for a
moment, his softbooted feet not quite touching thedeck,
his 'mind racing.
     They've even figured that angle, he said td himself, They
know I caved in at Brussels and they expect meto cave in
here. Some son, of A bitch has grabbed my psych records
and          'the conclus'
     come to               ion @that I'll react the same way
now as I did then, Some son of a bitch.. And they got MY
son to stick the knife in me
     The sound of the hatch clattering open stirred Hazard.
Feeney floated through the hatch and grabbed an overhead
handgrip-
     "The crew's at battle stations, sir," he said, slightly
breathless. "Standing by for further orders."
     It struck Hazard that only a few minutes had passed
since he himself had entered the CIC.
     64
     Very good, Mr. Feeney," he said. "With the bridge out,
we're going to have to control the station from here.
Feeney, take the con. Miss Stromsen, how much time
before we can make direct contact with Geneva?"
     "Forty minutes, sir," she sang out, then corrected,
"Actually, thirty-nine fifty.,,
     Feeney was worming his softboots against the Velcro
strip mi front of the propulsion and control console.
"Take her down, Mr. Feeney."
  The Irishman's eyes widened with surprise. "Down,
sir9"
     Hazard made himself smile. "Down. To the altitude of
the ABM satellites. Now."
  41Y1M , sir." Feeney began carefully pecking out corn-
mands on the keyboard before him.
                    -PEACEKEEPERS         107
just react    like an old submariner," Hazard
ing
     young, officers. "I want to get us to a lower
we woret be such a good target for so many of
Shrink our horizon. We're a sitting duck
UP
  back at him. "I didn't think you expected
             a laser beam, sir.
wecan take ourselves out of range of most of
                but not all.
               you set up a s imulation for me? I
know how many unfriendly satellites can attack us
us altitudes, and what their positions would be
@d to our own. I want a solution that tells me where
sdest.19
ftt away, sir," Stromsen -said. "What minimum
e, shall I plug in?"
right down to the deck," Hazard said. "Low enough
the paint off."
station isn't built for reentry into the atmosphere,
know. But see how low we can get."
0 old submariner's instinct: run silent, run deep. So
astards think I'll fold up, just like I did at Brussels,
inwardly. Two big differences, Cardillo and
ve?y big differences. In Brussels the hostages
     not military men. and women. And in                   ?
didn't have any weapons to fight back with.
          the micropuffs of thrust from the maneuvering
     hardly strong enough to be felt, yet Hazard's
     and heaved suddenly.
     retro bum," Feeney said. "Altitude decreas-
stomach's more sensitive than his instru
          to himself.
        from Graham, sir," said Y"g.


148 Ben Bova
     -'Ignore it."
     "Sir," Yang said,
                    turning slightly toward him, "I ve been
thinking about the minimum altitude we can achieve.
Although the station is not equipped for atmospheric
reentry, we do carry the four emergency evacuation space-
craft and they do have heat shields."
          "Are you suggesting we abandon the station?"
     Oh, no, sir! But perhaps we could move the spacecraft
to@ a @ position where they would be between us and the
atmosphere. Let their heat shields protect us-sort of like
riding a@ surfboard.-
     Feeney laughed. "Trust a Hawaiian girl to come up with
a solution like that!"
     "It might be a workable idea," Hazard said. "I'll keep it
in mind."
     We're being illuminated by a laser beam,$' Stromsen
said tensely. "Low power-so far-
          "They're tracking us.,,
     Hazard ordered, "Yang, take over the simulation prob-
leln. StrOmsen, give me a wide radar sweep. I want to see if
they're moving any of their ABM satellites to counter our
limeuver."
     "I have been sweeping, sir. No satellite activity yec,
     Hazard grunted. Yet. She knows that all they have to do
is maneuver a few of their satellites to higher orbits and
they'll have us in their sights.
     To Yang he called, "Any response from the commsats?"
     "No, Sir," she replied immediately. "Either their laser
receptors are not functioning or the satellites themselves
are inoperative."
     They couldn't have knocked out the cominsats altogeth-
er, Hazard told himself. How would they communicate
with one another? Cardillo claims the Wood and two of the
Soviet stations are on their side. And the Europeans. He
put a finger to his lips unconsciously, trying to remember
Cardillo's exact words. The Europeans are going along with
                              PEACEKEEPERS          109
said. Maybe they're not actively in-
they're, playing a wait-and-see game,.
alone. They've got four, maybe five out
We can't contact the Chinese or
know which Russian satellite hasn't
It'll be more than a half hour before
                    and even then, what the hell can
                                                            A
                    won't be for the first time. Submariners
               being on their own.
     Yang reported, "the Wood is still t!ying to reach
t urgent. they're saying."
them I'm not available but you will record their
and personally give it to me." Turning to the
an lieutenant, "Miss Stromsen, I want all crew
s in their pressure suits. And levels one and two of
on are to be abandoned No one above level three
ie damage-control team. Were going to take some
I want everyone protected as much as possible.,,
     glanced at the others. All three of them
not afraid. The fear was there, of course,
they were in control of themselves. Their
their hands steady.
                    the air pumped out of levels one and
               cleared of personnel'
     Hazard said. "Let them outgas when they're hit.
fool the bastards into thinking they're doing more
je than they really are."
-ney smiled weakly. "Sounds like the PrizeAghter who
tened to bleed all over his opponent."
zird glared at him. Stromsen took up the headset
1er console and began issuing orders into the pin-
microphone.
             simulation is finished, sir," said Yang.
     on my screen here."
          the graphics for a moment, sensing Feeney


lie Ben Amu                                         ....
peering over his shoulder. Their safest altitude was the
lowest, where only six ABM satellites could "see" them.
The fifteen laser-armed satellites under their own control
would surround them like a cavalry escort.
     There it is, Mr. Feeney. Plug that into your navigation
program. ThaVs where we want to be."
     '.Aye ir.11
          9 s
     The CIC shuddered. The screens dimmed for a moment,
then came back to their full brightness.
     "We've been hit!" Stromsen called out.
              "Where? How bad?"
     "Just aft of the main power generator. Outer hull rup-
tured. Storage area eight-medical, dental and food sup-
plement,supplies."
     'So they got the Band-Aids and vitamin pills," Yang
joked shakily.
     "But they're going after the power generator," -said
Hazard. "Any casualties?"
     "No, sir," reported Stromsen. "No personnel stationed
there during general quarters.,,
     He grasped Feeney's thin shoulder. "Turn us over, man.
Get that generator away from their beams!"
     Feeney nodded hurriedly and flicked his stubby fingers
across his keyboard. Hazard knew it was all in his imagina-
tion, but his stomach rolled sickeningly as the station
rotated.
     Hanging grimly to a hAndgrip, he said, "I want each of
you to get into your pressure suits, starting with you, Miss
Stromsen. Yang, take over her console until she . .
The chamber shook again. Another hit.
"Can't we strike back at themT' Stromsen cried.
Hazard asked, "How many satellites are firing at us?,,
She glanced at her display screens. "It seems to be only
one-so far."
"Hit it."
Her lips curled slightly in a Valkyrie's smile. She tapped
                         .......... PEACEKEEPERS 1-11
     on her console and then leanedbn the final
enough to lift her boots off the Velcro.
':him!" Stromsen exulted. 'That's one laser that
other us again."
and Feeney were grinning. Hazard asked the corn-
tions officer, "Let me hear what the Graham has
     s voice on the tape. "Hazard, you are not
to change your orbitaL@altitude. If you dont
your original altitude immediately, we will fire on
     they know by now that we're not paying attention
     Hazard said to his three young officers. if I
     they're -going to take a few- minutes to think
     especially now that we've shown them we're
     hit back. Stromsen, get into your suit. Feeney,
     , then Yang. Move!"
fifteen minutes before the three of them were
CIC inside@the bulky space suits, flexing gloved
about from inside the helmets. They all
visors up, and Hazard said nothing about it.
cult enough to work inside the damned suits, he
ght. They can snap the visors down fast enough if it
es to that.
          CIC became even more crowded. Despite
ie cramped
     of research and development, the space suits still
,ed nearly twice as large as an unsuited person.
iddenly Hazard felt an overpowering urge to get away
i the CIC, away from the tension he saw in their young
s, away from the sweaty odor of fear, away from the
onsibility for their lives.
611 In going for my suit," he said, "and then a fast
ion tour of the station. Think you three can handle
mgs on your own for a few minutes?"
                                       ets. Three voices
Three heads bobbed inside their helm
torused, "Yes, sir."


112 Ben Bova
     "Fire on any satellite that fires at us," he commanded.
"Tape all incoming niess'Vs- If there's any change in their
tune, call me on the intercom.-
     "Yes, sir."
      Feeney, how long until we reach our final altitude?"
     41more
            than an hour, sir,"
     "NO way to move her faster?"
"I could get outside and push, I suppose. 11
'HaZard grinned at him.,"That won't be necessary, Mr.
Feeney." Not Yet, he added silently.
Squeezing through the hatch into the
                                        passageway, Haz-
ard saw that there was
                    one Pressure suit hanging on its rack
in the locker just outside the CIC hatch. He passed it and
went to his Personal locker and his own suit. It,s good to
leave them on their own for a while, he told himself. Build
up their confidence. But he knew that he had to get away
from them, even if only for a few minutes,
     His, personal space suit smelled of untainted plastic and
filesh rubber like a new car. As Hazard squirmed into it, its
j0ints@felt stiff-Or maybe it's me, he thought. The helmet
slipped from his gloved hands and went spinning away
from him, floating off like a severed head. Hazard retrieved
it
     and pulled it on. Like the youngsters, he kept the visor
open.
     His first stop was the bridge. Varshni was hovering in the
companionway just Outside the airtight hatch that sealed
Off the devastated area. Two other space-suited men were
zippering-an unrecognizably mangled body into a long
black plastic bag. Three Other bags floated alongside them,
already filled and sealed.
     Even inside a pressure suit,
                              the Indian seemed small,
frail, like a skinny child. He was huddled next to the body
bags, bent over almost into a f etal position. There were
tire in his eyes. "These are all we could find. The two
others must have been blown
                              out of the station com-
pletely."
                                   PEACEKEEPERS         113
          0'o
          d put a gloved hand on the shoulder of his suit.
          were my friends," Varshni said.
          at have been painless," Hazard heard himself say.
          c&stupid.
          I could believe that."
          s more damage to inspect, over by the power
          area. Is your team nearl y finished here?"
               few minutes, I think. We must make certain
          the wiring and air lines have been properly sealed
     y can handle that themselves. Come on, you and I
     eck it out together."
          sir.' Varshni spoke to his crew briefly, then
               up and tried to smile. "I am ready, sir."
     men glided up a passageway that led to the
     level of the station, Hazard wondering what
     ppen if a laser attack hit the area while they were
     Takes a second or two to slice the hull open, he
     ght. Enough time to flip your visor down and'grab
     something before the air blowout sucks you out of the
     )n. Still, he slid his visor down and ordered Varshni to
     Me same. He was only mildly surprised when the Indian
     Red that he already had.
     Vish the station were shielded. Wish they had designed
     withstand attack. Then he grumbled inwardly, Wishes
     for losers; winners use what they have. But the thought
     ged at him. What genius put the power generator next
     he unarmored hull? Damned politicians wouldn't allow
     Iding; they wanted the stations to be vulnerabTl@. A sign
          dwill, as far as they're concerned. They thought
     900
0obody would attack an unshielded station because the
-*ttacker's station is also unshielded. We're all in this
-together. try to hurt me and I'll hurt you. A hangover from
1-he old mutual-destruction kind of dogma. Absolute bull-
-fibit.
     There ought to be some way to protect ourselves from


114 Ben Bom
lasers. They shouldn't put people up here like sacrifi cial
lambs.
     Hazard glanced at Varshni, whose face was hidden
behind his helmet visor. He thought of his son. Shiela had
ten years to poison his mind against me. Ten years. He
wanted to hate her for that, but he found that he could not.
He had been a poor husband and a worse father. Jon Jr.
had every right to loathe his father. But darninit, this is
more important than-family arguments! Why can't the boy
see what's at stake here? Just because he's sore at his father
doesn't mean he has to take total leave of his senses.
     They approached a hatch where the red warning light
was blinking balefully. They checked the hatch behind
them, made certain it was airtight, then 'used the wall-
mounted keyboard to start the pumps that would evacuate
that section of the passageway, turning it into an elongated
air lock.
     Finally they could open the farther hatch and glide into
the wrecked storage magazine.
     Hazard grabbed a handhold. "Better use tethers here,
he said.
     Vaithni had already unwound the tether from his waist
and clipped it to a cleat set into the bulkhead.
     it was a small magazine, little more than a closet. In the
light from their helmet lamps, they saw cartons of pharma-
ceuticals securely anchored to the shelves with toothed
plastic straps. A gash had been torn in the hull, and through
it Hazard could see the darkness of space. The laser beam
had penetrated into the cartons and shelving, slicing a neat
burned-edge slash through everything it touched.
     Varshni floated upward toward the rent. It was as smooth
as a surgeon's incision and curled back slightly where the
air pressure had pushed the thin metal outward in its rush
to escape to vacuum.
"No wiring here," Varshni's voice said in Hazard's
     viarph6nes. 'No plumbing either. We were fortu-
     y vere aiming for the power generator." Hazard.
     Indian pushed himself back down toward
     -was hidden behind the visor. "Ahl yes, that is an
     ant target. We were very fortunate that: they
          try again," Hazard said.
          course."
                        Yang's voice sounded
               HaZard!t
                                        ' fro              (fmhanr
          should hear the latest message                   in
               unconsciously -inside, his helmet, Hazard said,
          through.
     a click, then Buckbe-es voice- "Hazard, we've
patient with you. we,re finished playing games.
rmal altitude and
;bring the Hunter back to its no
bader the station to us or we'll slice you to pieces.
Ve got five minutes to answer."
ic voice shut off so abruptly that Hazard could picture
cbee slamming his fist against the Off key.
ow long ago did this come through?"
                                                  said
ransmission terminated thirty seconds ago, sir,'
zard looked down at varshni's slight form. He knew
Varshni had heard the ultimatum just as he had. He
     not see the Indian's face, but the slump Of his
     Iders told him how Varshni felt.
     ng asked, "Sir, do you want me to set up a link with
                    am?"
-No," said Hazard.
-1 dont think they intend to Call again, sir," Yang said.
Aney expect you to call them."
          he said . He turned to the wavering f orm
     yet,"
     him. --Better straighten up, Mr. Varshni. There's


116 Ben Bova
going to be a lot of work for you and your damage-control
team to do. We're in for a rough time.-
Ordering Varshni back to his team at the rtfins of the
bridge, Hazard made his,way toward the CIC. He spoke
into his helmet mike as he pulled himself along the
passageways as fast as he could go:
     "Mr. Feeney, You are to fire at any satellites that fire on
us. And any ABM satellites that begin maneuvering to gain
altitude so they can look down on us. Understand?"
     "Understood.- sid" ,
     Miss Stromsen, lbdieve the fire@control panel is part of
Your responsibility. You will take your orders from Mr.
Feeney."
     "Miss
     .   Yang, I want that simulation of our position and
altitude updated to show exactly which ABM satellites
under hostile control are in a position to fire upon US.
     "I already have that in the program, sir.-
     "Good. I want our four lifeboats detached from the
station and placed in positions where their heat shields can
intercept incoming laser beams.
     For the first time, Yang's voice sounded uncertain "I'm
not sure I understand what You mean, sir."
     Hazard was sweating and panting with the exertion of
hauling himself along the passageway
                                   This suit won't@smell
new anymore, he thought.
     To Yang he explained, "You got me thinking about those
heat shields. We, can use the lifeboats as armor
                                             to absorb or
deflect incoming laser beam& Not just shielding, but active
armor. We can move the boats to protect the most likely
areas for laser beams to come from.-
  "Like the goalie in a soccer gamel" Feeney chirped.
"Cutting down the angles."
"Exactly."
By the time he reached the CIC they were already
                              PEACEKEEPERS 117
te problems. Hazard saw that Stromsen had the
prk load: #11 the station systems status displays,
I for the laser-armed ABM satellites and control
boats -now hovering a few dozen meters away
station.
     8trornsen, please transfer the fire-control respon-
     p Mr. Feeney."
     xpression on her strong-jawed face, half hidden
     er helmet, was pure stubborn indignation.
     Xg a gloved thumb toward the lightning-slashinsig-
     the shoulder of Feeney's suit, Hazard said, "He is a
     is specialist, after all."
     usen's lips twitched slightly and she tapped at the
     rd to her left; the fire-control displays disappeared
     ie screens above it, to spring up on screens in front
     WS position.
     rd nodded as he lifted his own visor. "Okay, now.
     you're the offense. Stromsen, you're the defense.
     Ag, yourjob is to keep Miss Stromsen continuously
     as to where the best placement of the lifeboats will
dark eyes sparkling with the challenge.
expect us to predictall. the possible
take and get a lifeboat's heat shield in
                      e
               -as Lord Nelson once said-each of you to do
          Now get Buckbee or Cardillo or whoever on the
          ready to talk to them."
a few moments for the communications laser to
the distant &aham, but when Buckbee's fhce
d on the screen, he was smiling--@--almost
You've still got a minute and a half, Hazard. I'm glad
've come to your senses before we had to open fire on


118 Ben Bova
     I'm only calling to warn you: any satellite that fires on
us will be destroyed. Any satellite that maneuvers to put its
lasers in a better position to hit us will also be destroyed.-
jaw dropped open. His eyes widened
!,@V=s fifteen ABM satellites under my control,"
Hazard continued, "and'I'm going to use them."
     "You can't threaten-us!" Buckbee sputtered. "We'll wipe
       Out!I9
YOU
     "Maybe. Maybe noL I intend to fight until the very last
breath."
     4.youl
             re crazy, Hazard!"
     "Am I? Your game is to take over the whole defense
system and threaten a nuclear missile strike against any
nation that doesn't go along with you. well, if your
satellites are exhausted or destroyed, you won't be much of
a threat to anybody, will you? Try impressing the Chinese
with a beat-up network. They've got enough missiles to
Wipe out Europe and North America, and they'll use them.
If you don't have enough left to stop those missiles, then
who's threatening whomT,
          "You can't. .
     "Listen!" Hazard snapped., "How many of your satellites
will, be left by the time you Overcome us? How much of a
hole will we rip in your plans? Geneva will be able to blow
you out of the sky with ground-launched missiles by the
time you're finished with us."
          "They'd never do such a thing-
     "Are you sureT'
     Buckbee looked away from Hazard, toward someone
Off-camera. He moved off, and Cardillo slid into view. He
was no longer smiling.
"Nice try, Job
               1111Y, but You're bluffing and we both know
it. Give up now or we're going to have to wip you out.,*
44YOU can try, Vince. But you won't win." e
   we 90, Your Son goes with us," Cardillo said.
                              PEACEKEEPERS          10
                       re voice to main level. "T herf"s noth-
                  He's a grown man. He's made his
                    a long, impatient sigh. "All right,
               knowing yo%                                         @0
               Another lie, he thought. The man
     categorically unable to speak the truth.
     Dmm screen blanked.
     he lifeboats in place?" he asked.
     ood as we can get them," Yang said her voice
     U1.
     too far from the station," Hazard warned. "I don
hem to show up as separate blips on their radar
ps, sir, we know."
                              he thought., Ready to
nodded at them. Good kids,
t out on my say-so. How far will they go before, they
How much damage can we take before they scream
p waited. Not a sound in the womb-shaped chambe
for the hum of the electrical equipment and the
r of air circulation. Hazard glided to a position
behind the two women. Feeney can handle the
erattack, he said to himself That's simple enough.
defense that's going to win or lose for us.
n the display screens he saw the positions of the stati on
the hostile ABM satellites. Eleven of them in range.
,en lines straight as laser beams converged on the
n.   Small orange blips representing the four lifeboats
     the central pulsing yellow dot that repre-
ion. The orange blips blocked nine of the
Two others passed between the lifeboat
reached the station itself.
               " Hazard said softly.
     e     as if a live electrical wire had touched her


120 Ben Bova
                     -my
now," Hazard said. "All I want to tell you is that
you should be prepared to move the lifeboats t '
                                                  o intercept
any beams that are getting through.,,
     "Yes, Sir, I know.-
     Speaking as soothingly as he could, Hazard went on, "I
doubt that they'll fire all eleven lasers at us at once. And as
our altitude decreases, there will be fewer and fewer of
their satellites in range of us. We have a good chance of
getting through this without too much damage."
     Stromsen turned her whole sPace-suited body so that she
could look at him from inside her hel
                                        met. "It's good of you
to say so, Sir. I know you're trying ta cheer us up, and I'm
certain we all appreciate it. But you are taking my attention
awayfrOm the screens."
     Yang giggled, whether out of tension or actual humor at
Stromsen's reto'
         rt, Hazard could not tell.
                      y
     Feene sang Out "I've got a satellite climbing on us!"
     Before Hazard could speak, Feeney's hands were moving
on his console keyboard. "Our beasties, are now pro-
grammed for automatic, but, I'm tapping in a backup
manually, just in-ah! Got her! Scratch one enemy.
     Smiles all around. But behind his grin, Hazard won-
dered, Can they gin up decoys? Something that gives t
     e                                                           he
Sam radar signature as an ABM satellite but really isn't? I
don't think so-but I don't know fo
     "Laser beam ... two of them ,        r sure.
              called Stromsen.
     Hazard saw the display screen light UP. Both beams were
hitti
     ng the same lifeboat. Then a third beam from the
opposite direction lanced out.
     The station shuddered momentarily as Stromsen's fin-
gers flew Over her keyboard and one of the orange dots
shifted slightly to block the third beam.
     "Where'd it hit?" he asked the Norwegian as the beams
winked off.
"Just aft of the emergency oxygen tanks, Sir.
                                   PEACEKEEPERS          121
               thought       they hit the tanks, enough
                                                                 I ]@
          blow out of here to start us spinning like a top.
     it   emergency oxygen."
          Sir?"
     isen pecked angrily at the keyboard to her left.
     si@ Sir."
     '@7wi   nt that pressurized gas sp rting out and
          wa                                u
like a rocket thruster," Hazard explained to her
-Besides, it's an old submariner's trick to let the
erlhink he's caused real damage by jettisoning

iy  them had reservations about getting rid oftheir
-ncy oxygen, they kept them quiet.
re@ was plenty of junk to jettison, over the next
r of an hour. Laser beams struck the station repeat-
although Stromsen was able to block most of the
with the heat-shielded lifeboats. Still, despite the
--e shields, the station was being slashed apart, bit by
-Chunks of the outer hull ripped away, clouds of air
onng out of the upper level to form a brief fog around
station before dissipating into the vacuum of space.
-tons ofsupplies, pieces of equi pment, even spare space
iraling out, pushed by air pressure as th
;s went sp                                                  e
     rtments in which they had been housed were ripped
rt by the probing incessant beams of energy.
--.ey struck back at the ABM satellites, but for every
he hit, another maneuvered into range to replace it.
'I'm running low on fuel for the lasers," he reported.
'So must they," said Hazard, trying to sound confident
4Aye, but they've got a few more than fifteen to play
Stay with it, Mr. Feeney. You're doing fine." Hazard
Stromsen s status displays, he saw rows of red lights
the shoulder of the Irishman's bulky suit.  Glancing


122 Ben Bova
glowering like
               accusing eyes., They're taking the station
@apart, piece by piece. It's only a matter of time before we,re
finished-.
     Aloud, he announced, "I'm going to check with the
damage-control party. Call me if anythi
     11 I                                     ing unusual hap-
pens.
     Yang quipped, "How do you define 'unusual,' sir?"
     Stromsen and Feeney laughed.
                              Hazard wished he could,
too. He made a grin for the Chinese-American thinking,
At least their morale hasn't cracked. Not yet. '
The damage-control party was working o
                                             n level three,
reconnecting a secondary power line that ran along the
Overhead through the main passageway. A laser beam had
burned through the deck of the second level and severed
the line, cutting power to the station's main computer. A
shaft Of brilliant sunlight lanced down from the outer hull
through two levels of the station and onto the deck of level
three.'
     ,One space-suitbd figure was dangling upside down half-
way through the hole in the overhead, splicing cable                   k
careful
   lY with gloved hands, while a second ho
                                             vered near-
by with a small welding torch. Two more were working
farther down the passageway where a larger hole had been
burned halfway down the b@lkhead.
     Through that jagged rip Hazard could see clear out to
space and the rim of the Earth, glaring bright with swirls of
white clouds.
     He recognized Varshni by his small size even before he
could see the Indian flag on his shoulder or read the name
stenciled on his suit's chest.
     "Mr. Varshni, I want you and your crew to leave level
three. It's getting too dangerous here."
     "But, sir," Varshini protested, "our duty is to repair
damage."
"There'll be damage on level four soon enough."
"But the computer requires Power.,,
                         PE,4C -FKEEPERS 123
i run on, its internal batteries."
orhow long?"
          said Hazard grimly.
          to be placated. "I am not risking lives
          were.                                                  j
          operating on sound -principles," the Indian in-
          as required in the book of regulations."
          faulting you, man. You and
     L    n                                      Your crew have
         fine job."
          -                                                               I @j'l
                    d their work. They were watching
     others had stoppe
          between their superior and the station com-
     Dr.
     ave operated on the p rinciple that lightning does not
     twice in the same place. I believe that in old-
     ned naval parlance this is referred to as 'chasing
,,rd stared at the diminutive Indian. Even inside the
ed space suit Varshni appeared stiff with anger. Chas-
a1vos--that's what a little ship doeswhen it's under
shells
k by a bigger ship, run to where the last
     hed, because it's pretty certain that the next salvo
     t hit there. I've, insulted his abilities, Hazard realized.
     in front of his team. Damned fool!
Wr. Varshni," Hazard explained slowly, "this battle
be decided, one way or the other, in the next twenty
utes or so. You and your team have done an excellent
of keeping damage to a minimum. Without you, we
ild have been forced to surrender."
arshni seemed to relax a little. Hazard could sense his
in rising a notch inside his helmet.
"But the battle is entering a new phase," Hazard went
1. "Level three is now vulnerable to direct laser damage. I
n't afford to lose you and your team at this critical stage.
     e the computer and the rest of the most sensitive
0 v r,
u Ipmen are on level four and in the Combat Informa-


     124 Bm Bova
     tion Center. Those are the areas th
           at need our Protection
     and those are the areas where I want: you to Operate. Is that  7.
     understood?"
     A heartbeat's hesitation Then Varshni said, "Yes, of
course, sir.  I underst
                         and- Thank you for explaining it to
     "Okay.  Now, finish your work here and then ge
level four.-                                          t down to
'Yes, Sir."
     Shaking his head. inside his helmet, Hazard turned and
pushed himself , towdrd the ladderway that led down to
level four and'the CIC.@
     A blinding glare lit the Passageway and he heard
                                                  screams
of agony. Blinking agai
                         nst the burning afterimage Hazard
turned to see Varshni's figure almost sliced in half.
                   A dark
bum line slashed diagonally
                              across the torso of his space
suit- Tiny globules of blood floated out from it. The metal
overhead was blackened and curled now. A woman was
screaming. She was up by the overhead, thrashing wildly
with pain, her backpack sputte ing whit             chunks of
                                   ri         e-hot
-metal- The Other technician was nowhere to be seen.
  Hazard rushed to the Indian while -the other two mem-
bers of the damage control team raced to their partner and
sprayed extinguisher foam on her backpack.
     Over the woman's screams he heard Varshni's gargling
whisper. "It's no use, sir ... no use.
     "You did fine, son." Hazard held the little man in his
arms. "You did fine.,,
     He felt the life slip away. Lightni
                                   ng does strike in the
same Place, Hazard thought. youve chased your
                                                       last salvo,
son.
     Both the man and the woman who had been working on
the Power cable had been wounded by the laser beam. The
man's right arm had been
                         sliced Off at the elbow, the
woman s back badly burned when her life-support pack
              PF,4CEKEEPERS 125
     and the two rem n              damage-
 them to the sick bay, where the
was already working over three other
on the third level. Hazard realized ho w
He made his way down to the CIC, at
n, knowing that it was protected not
etal but by human flesh, as well. The
I roc           and Hazard heard the ominous groan-
tortured metal as he pushed weightlessly along the
way.
     relt bone-weary as he opened the hatch and floated
     ie CIC. One look at the haggard faces of his three
     officers told him that they were on the edge of defeat
     611, Stromsen's status display board was studded with
     tring red lights.
     This station is starting to resemble a piece of Swiss
     se," Hazard quipped lamely as he lifted the visor of his
     iet.
     one laughed. Or even smiled.
'Varshni bought it," he said, taking up his post between
                                                                A
       and Feeney.
Me heard it," said Yang.
Hazard looked around the CIC. It felt stifling hot, dank
@@I@ trhe smell of fear.
Feeney," he said, "discontinue all offensive opera-
US.
"Sir?" The Irishman's voice squeaked with surprise.
'@'Don't fire back at the sons of bitches," Hazard snapped.
I
s    that clear enough?"
'Feeney raised his hands up above his shoulders, like a
toupier showing that he was not influencing the roulette
@,heel.
     "Miss Stromsen, when the next laser bearriis fired at us,
but down the main power generator. Miss Yang, issue


     @126 Ben Bova
                             t                personnel are to
     instructions Over the in ercom that all
place themselves on level four-except for the sick bay. No
one is to use the intercom. That is an order."
     StIo
          msen asked, "The power generator .. T'
     "We'll run on the backup fuel cells and batteries. They
don't, make so much heat."
     Then@ were more questions in Stromsen's eyes, but she
turned back to her consoles silently.
     Hazard explained, "We are going to run silent. Buckbee,
Cardillo, and company have been pounding the hell out of
us for about half an hour. They have inflicted considerable
damage. I don't think they know that @@e've been able to
shield ourselves w@
                    ith the lifeboats. They probably, think
they've hurt us much more than they actually have."
     "You want them to think that they've finished us off,
then?" asked, Feeney.
     "That s right. But, Mr. Feene
                                   y, let me ask you a hypo,
thetical question . .
     The chamber shook again andthe screens dimmed, then
came back to their normal brightness.
     Stromsen punched a key on her console. "Main genera-
tor off, sir."
     Hazard knew it was his imagination, but the screens
seemed to become slightly dimmer.
     "Miss Yang?" he asked.
     "All personnel have been instructed to move down to
level four and stay off the intercom."
     Hazard nodded, satisfied. Turning back to Feeney, he
resumed, "Suppose, Mr, Feeney, that you are in command
of Graham. How would you know that you've knocked out
Hunter?"
     Feeney absently started to stroke his chin and bumped
his fingertips against the rim of his helmet instead. "I
suppose ... if Hunter stopped shooting back, and I
couldn't detect any radio emissions from her. . .
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 27
                                                       1
          d inftared!" Yang added- "With the Power generator
          infrared signature goes way down."
          appear to be dead in the waterill said Stromsen.
          what does it gain us?" Yang asked-
          e.11 answered Stromsen. "In another eight minutes
          -111 be within contact range I of Geneva.
          rd patted the top of her helmet. "Exactly. But more
     that. We get them to stop shooting at us. We save the
     . ded up in the, sick bay."
          rselves," said Feeney.
     W OU                        ourselves."

     t%l' Hazard admitted. "And
     long moments they hung weightlessly, silent wa t-
     oping.
     ir, 11 said Yang, "a query from Graham, asking if we
     rider.'
               Hazard ordered. -Maintain complete Si-
     'O reply,'
     he minutes stretched. Hazard glided to Yang!s Comm
                                   neva                Ag
     Ole and taped a message for Ge      swiftly out"n'
     t had happened.
     : want that tape compressed into a couple of n-tiffisec-
          and burped down to 'Geneva by the tightest laser
     n we have."
                                                  a low-
          nodded. "I suppose the energy surge for
                         laser won,t be enough for them to
not, but it's a chance we'll have to take, Beam
intervals as long as Geneva is in view-"
          sir.
     I                                            detached
     -Sir!" Feenev called out- "Looks like Graham's
k4ifeboat."
                 analysis?"
                  at his navigation console. "Heading for


128 Ben Bova
     Hazard felt his lips pull back in a feral grin. "T
                   hey're
coming over to make sure. Cardillo's an old submariner; he
knows all about running silent. They're sending over an
armed Party to make sure we're finished."
     ,And to take control of our satellites," Yang suggested.
     Hazard brightened. "Right! There's only two ways to
control the ABM satellites-either from the stati
                    on on
patrol or from Geneva." He spread his arms happily.
"That means they're not in control of Geneva! We've got a
good chance to pull their cork!"
     But there was no response from Geneva when they
beamed their data-compressed message to IPF headquar-
ters. I Hunter glided past in its unusually low orbit, a
tattered wreck desperately calling for help. No, answer
reached them.
     And the lifeboat from Graham moved inexorably closer.
     The gloom in the CIC was thick enough to choke on as
Geneva disappeared over the horizon and the boat from
Graham came toward them. Hazard watched the boat on
one of Stronisen's screens: it was bright and shining in the
sunlight, not blackened by scorching laser beams or stained
by splashes of human blood.
     We could zap it into dust, he thought. One -word from me
and Feeney could focus half a dozen lasers on it. The men
aboard her must be volunteers, willing to risk their necks to
make certain that we're finished. He felt a grim admiration
for them. Then he wondered, Is Jon, Jr. aboard with them?
     "Mr. Feeney, what kind of weapons do you think they're
carrying?"
     Feeney's brows rose toward his scalp. "Weapons, sir?
You mean, like sidearms?"
Hazard nodded.
     "Personal weapons are not allowed aboard station, sir.
Regulations forbid it."
     "And rain makes applesauce. What do you bet they ve
got pistols, at least. Maybe submAchine guns."
          06.                               PEACEKEEPERS         129
                   dangerous stuff for a space station," said
          nmed
               aj I @& smiled tightly at the Irishman. "Are you, afraid
          P put a few more holes in our hull?"
                    saw what he was driving at. "Sir, there are no
               a aboard Hunter-unless you want to count @kitch-
               es."
               y'll. be coming aboard with guns, just to make sure,"
                                                  use them as
Y11            said. "I want to capture them alive and
               s.               Thats our last remaining card. If we can't do
          weve got to surrender."
          hey'll be in full suits," said Stromsen. "Each on their
          -individual life-support systems."
          jow can we capture them? Or even fight them?" Yang
          tiered aloud.
                              hint of defeat in their voices. The
          azard detected no                        I now. A -new

          wir of a half hour earlier was gone
          tement had hold of them. He was holding a glimmer of
          for them, and they were reaching for it-
          There can't be more than six of them aboard that boat,
           ney mused.
          @1 wonder if Cardillo has the guts to lead the boarding
          o!rty in person, Hazard. asked himself.
           .-We don,t have any useful weapons," said Yang.
          ',@,,`But we have some tools," Stromsen pointed out.
                         lifeboat engines use for propellant?"
          OF,," Feeney replied, looking puzzled-
          Sen, which of our supply
          7@ Hazard nodded. "Miss Strom
          agazines are still intact-if anyr'
          It took them several minutes to understand what he was
          iving at, but when they finally saw the light, the three
          )Ung officers, went, speedily to work. Together with the
                                                  repared a
          @ur unwoun ded members of the crew, they P
          lcome for the boarders from Graham-
I F7


130 Ben Bova
     Finally, Hazard watched On Stromsen's display screens
as the boat sniffed around the battered station. Strict
silence was in force aboard,Hunter. Even in the CIC, deep
at the heart of the
                    battJe station, they Spoke in tense
whispers
     "I hope the bastards Ii
                         ke, what they see," Hazard mut-
tered.
     "They know that we used the lifeboats for shields," said
Yang.                                                                     t
     "Active
                                                                  e
          armOr," Hazard said. "Did yow know the idea
was invented by the man this station,sna ed aft
in       er?"
     "They're looking for a docki
out.                            1119 Port," Stromsen pointed
4@Only o
          ne left," said Feeney.
     They could hang their boat almost anywhere and walk in
through the holes they've put in us, Hazard said to himself.
But they won't, They'll go by the book and find an          @14
                                                    intact  -
docking
     Port- They've got to! Everything depends on    that.
lie felt his palms getting slippe
                              ry with nervous perspira-
tion as the lifeboat-siowt7y, slowly moved around Hunter
toward the Earth-facing side, where the only usable port
was located. Hazard had seen to it that all the other ports
had been disabled.
"They're buying it!,, St
                         rOmsen's whisper held a note of
triumph.
     "Sii4,, Yang hissed urgently. "A message just came
in-law beam, ultracOmpressed."
         she replied, her snub-nosed
          ration. "Coming up on my
     Hazard slid over toward her. The words on the screen
read:
"From where?"
     _omp
          uter's decrypting,,,
face wrinkled with co ncent
center screen, sir."


From: IPF Regional HQ, Lagos.                                   0
TO: Commander, battle station Hunter.
                         PEACEKEEPERS, 131
,Message begins. Coup attempt in Geneva a failure,
4hanks in large part to your refusal to surrender your
Situat on still unclear, however.
command
Imperative you retain control of Hunter,! at all costs.
Message ends.
     read it aloud, in a guttural whisper, so that Feeney
     itromsen understood what was at stake.
     -'re not alone," Hazard told them. "They know
     appening, and help is on the way."
     Lt was -stretching the facts, he knew. And he knew they
     But it was reassuring to think that someone, some-                            J
     was preparing to help them.
     them grinning to one another. In his
kept repeating the phrase "Imperative
of Hunter, at all costs."
Hazard said to himself, closing his eyes
Varshni dying in his arms and the others
med. At       costs.
he bastards, Hazard seethed inwardly. The dirty,
Per-grabbing, murdering bastards. Once they set foot
de my station I'll kill them like the poisonous snakes
are. I'll squash them flat. I'll cut them open just like
've slashed my kids ...
@,;He stopped abruptly and forced himself to take a deep
"at     eah, sure. Go for per
     h.     Y                          -sonar revenge. That'll make
se world a better place to live in, won't it?
"Sir, are you all right?"
'Hazard opened his eyes and saw Stromsen staring at
1111. Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."
"They've docked, sir," whispered the Norwegian.
The 're debarking and coming up passageway C, just as
y
ou planned."
@@Pking past her to the screens, Hazard saw that there
pre six of them, all in space suits, visors down. And
istols in their gloved hands.


132  BM Bova
     "Nothing bigger than pistols?"
     "No, sir. Not that we can see, at least"I
     Turning to Feeney', "Ready with the aerosols?"
     "Yes, air."
     "All crew members eva@uated from the area?"
     "They're all back on level four, except for the sick bay."
     Hazard never took his eyes from the screens. The, six
sPace-suited boarders were floating down the passageway
that led to the lower levels of the station that were still
pressurized and held breathable air. They stopped at the
air lock, saw that it was functional. The leader of their
group- started working the wall unit that controlled the
lock.
     "Can we hear them?" he asked
                    Yang.
     Wordlessly she touched a stud on her keyboard.
     ... use the next section of the passageway as an air
lock," some-one was saying. "Standard procedure. Then
we'll (pump the air back into it once we're inside."
     "But we stay in the suits until we check out the whole
station. That's an order," said another voice
     Buckbee? Hazard's spirits soared. Buckbee will             a
                    make
nice hostage, he thought. Not as good as Cardillo, but good
enough.
     Just as he had hoped4 @he six boarders went through the
airtight hatch, closed it behind them, and started thepump
that filled the next section of passageway with air once
again.
     "Something funny here, sir," said one of the space-suited
figures.
"Yeah, the air's kind of misty."
     "Never saw anything like this before. Christ, it's like
Mexico City -air."
     "Stay in your suits!" It was Buckbee's voice, Hazard was
certain of it. "Their life-support systems must have been
damaged in our bombardment. They're probably all
dead."
                                        PEACEKEEPERS 133
                   rd thought. To Feene , he commanded,
               Haza                        y
     y pecked at a button onhis, console.,
-the next one."
eady done, sir."
J11JEWard waited, watching Stromsen's main screen as the
shuffled weightlessly to the next hatch and
it would not respond to the control unit on the
               We'll have to double back and find another
                     ...
Js& Yang, I am ready to hold converse with our
i," said Hazard.
flashed a brilliant smile and touched the appropriate
then pointed a surprisingly-manicured finger at him.
you are on the air!"
     'Buckbee, this is Hazard."
     All six of the boarders froze where they were for an
     stant, then spun weightlessly in midair, trying to locate
     a source of the new voice.
     "'You are , trapped in that section of corridor," Hazard
     id. "The hatches fore and aft of you are sealed shut. The
     *list in the air that you see is oxygen difluoride from our
     Iftboat propellant tanks. Very volatile stuff. Don't strike
     'any matches."
     "What the hell are you saying, Hazard?",
       "You're locked in that passageway, Buckbee. If you try to
     Ire those popguns you're carrying, you'll blow yourselves
          pieces."
          "And you, too!"
          "We're already dead, you prick. Taking you with us is the
     'only joy I'm going to get out of this."
     "You're blurring!"
          Hazard snapped, "Then show me how brave you are,
     buckbee. Take a shot at the hatch."
          The six boarders hovered in the misty passageway like


     134 Ben Bova
     figures in  surrealistic painting. Seconds ticked by, each
     one stretching excruciatingly. Hazard felt a pain in his jaws
     and realized he was clenching his teeth hard enough to chip
     thern.
          He took his eyes from the screen momentarily to glance
     at his three youngsters. They were
                                        sweating, just as tense as
     he wa& They knew how long the odds of their gamble were.
     The Passageway was filled with nothing more than aerosol
     mists from e@ery spray can the
supply magazines.                 crew could locate in the
"What do you want, Hazardl" Buckbee said at last, his
     voice sullen, like a spoiled little boy who had been denied a
     cookie.
          Hazard let out his breath. Then, as cheerfully as he could
     manage,
do     "I've got what I want 'Six hostages. How much air
your suits carry? Twelve hours?"
     "What do You mean?"
     "You've got twelve hours to convince Cardillo
                                                       and the
     rest of Your pals to surrender.,,
     "Youre crazy, Hazard."
          rve had a tough day, Buckbee. I don't need you,
     insults. Call me when you're ready to deal."
     "You'll be killing your son!"
          Hazard had halt expected it, but still it hit
     blow-
        "Jay, are you there?"
     "Yes, I am, Dad."
     Hazard strained forward, Peering hard at the display
     screen, trying to determine which one of the space-suited
     figures was his son.
     "Well, this is a helluva fix, isn't it?" he said softly.
     "Dad, You don't have to wait twelve hours.,,
"Shut your mouth!" Buckbee snapped.
"Fuck You," snarled Jon Jr. 1,1,m not going
or nothing.,,
killed f                                     to get myself
   'I'll shoot You!" Hazard saw Buckbee level his gun at Jon
Jr.
                 him like a
        PEACEKEEPERS                       135
A  @,k  guts@"                             Jay
        ill yoursell? You haven't got the  S
     @'Hazard almost smiled. How many times had hi
     d that tone on him..
     d)ee's hand wavered. He let the gun slip from his
     fingers. it drifted slowly, weightlessly, away from
     ard swallowed. Hard.
     d.          in another hour or two the game will be over.
     -lo lied to you. The Russians never came in with us.
     a dozen ships full of troops are lifting off from IPF
     rs, all over the globe.
     that the truth, son?"
     i sir it is.  Our only hope was to grab control of your
          S. Once the coup attempt in Geneva flopped,
     Ho knew that if he could control three or four sets of
M satellites, he could at least force a stalemate. But all
s got is Graham and Wood. Nobody else."
'You damned little traitor!" Buckbee screeched.
Jon Jr. laughed. "Yeah, you're right. But I'm going to be a
We traitor. I'm not dying for the likes of you."
Hazard thought swiftly. Jay might defy his father, might
rgue with him, even revile him, but he had never known
we ]ad to lie to him.
"Buckbee, the game's over," he said slowly. "You'd
etter get the word to Cardillo before there's more blood-
led."
It took another six hours before it was all sorted out. A
@huttle filled with armed troops and an entire replacement
,cre w finally arrived at the battered hulk of Hunter. The
relieving commander, a stubby compactly built black from
New Jersey who had been a U. Air Force fighter pilot,
4nade a grim tour of inspection with Hazard.
I .
ir From inside his space suit he whistled in amazement at
the battle damage. "Shee-it, you don't need a new crew,
"You need a new station!"
     .It's still functional," Hazard said quietly, then added


     136 Ben Bova
     Proudly, `And So is my crew, Or what's left of them. They
     ran this station and kept control of the satellites."
          "The stuff legends are made of, my man," said the new
     commander.
          Hazard and his crew filed tiredly into the waiting shuttle,
     thirteen grimy exhausted
                              men and women in the pale blue
     fatigues of the IPF. Three of them were wrapped in mesh
     cocoons and attended by medical personnel. Two others
     were bandaged but ambulatory.
          He shook hands with each and every one of them as they
     stepped from the station's only functional air lock into the
     shuttle'spassenger compartment. Hovering there weight-
     lessly? his creased, craggy face unsmiling, to each of his
     crew members he said, "Thank you. We couldn't have
     succeeded without your effort."
          The last three through the hatch were Feeney, Stromsen
     and Yang. The Irishman looked embarrassed as Hazard
     shook his hand.
          "I'm recommending you for promotion. You were
     damhed cool under fire."
     "Frozen stiff with fear, you mean."
          To Stromsen, "You too, Miss Stromsen. You've earned a
     Promotion."
     "Thank you, sir," was all she could say.
          "And you, little lady," he said to Yang. "You were
     outstanding."
          She started to say something, then flung her arms around
     Hazard's neck and squeezed tight "I was so frightened!"
     she-whispered in his ear. "You kept me from cracking up."
          Hazard held her around the waist for a moment. As they
     disengaged he felt his face turning flame-red. He turned
     away from the hatch, not wanting to see the expressions of
     the rest of his crew members.
          Buckbee was coming through the air lock. Behind him
     were his five men, Including Jon Jr.
                              -PEACEKEEPERS 137
                    sile
)eassed Hazard in absolute    nce@, Buckbee's face
nd angry aslaasnt Antairncetic storm.
          was the                  None of the would-be
               but they all had the hangdog
was in handcuffs,
     Trisoners. All except Hazard's son.
     stopped before his father and met the older man's
     eyes were level with his fathees,
     46o Jr.'s gray
     @rvjng, unafraid.
     'made a bitter little, smile. "I still don't agree with
      he said without preamble. "I don't think the IPF is
     able
          -and its certainly not in the best interests of the
     -d States."
                                   us when it counted
     Ut 'you threw your, lot in with
     rd said.
     he hell I did!" Jon Jr. looked genuinely aggrieved.
     didn,t see any sense in dying for a lost cause."
     Really`?"
     Tardillo and Buckbee and the rest of them were a
     i1ch of idiots. if I had known how stupid they are, I
     ruefully and
     He stopped himself, grinned
shoulders. "This isn't over, you know. You
but the war's not ended yet
     I can to get them to lighten your sentence,"
          t stick, your neck out for me! I'm still dead set
                     Don
Wnst you on this."
@Hazard smiled wanly at the youngster. "And you're still
y son.                          then ducked through the
'Jon Jr. blinked, looked away,
itch and made for a seat in the shuttle.
Hazard formally turned the station over to its new
)mmander, saluted one last time, then went into the
artment. He hung there weight-
iuttle's passenger comp,
     ssly a moment as the hatch behind him was swung shut
*d sealed. Most of the seats were already filled. There was


     138 Ben Bova
an empty one beside Yang, but after their little scene at the
hatch, Hazard was hesitant about sitting next to her. He
glided down the aisle and picked a seat that'had no one
next to it. Not one of his crew. Not Jon Jr.
     There's a certain amount of lonelines
                                             s involved in
command, he told himself. It's not wise to get too
with People You h                                     familiar
               -      ave to OTder into battle.
     He felt, rather than h
                         eard, a thump as the shuttle
disengaged from the station's air lock. He sensed the
winged hypersonic spaceplane turning and angling its nose
for reentry into the atmosphere
     Back to ... Hazard real-
            'zed that home, for h
                                                  IM, was no
longer on Earth. For almost all of his adult 4ife, home had
been where his command was. Now his home was in space.
The time he spent on Earth would be merely waiting time,
     suspended animation until his new command was ready.
     "Sir, may I intruder'
     He looked up and saw Stromsen floating in the aisle by
his seat.
          "What@ is it, Miss Stromsen?"
     She pulled herself down into the seat next to him but did
not bother ti) latch the safety harness From a breast pocket
in her sweat-stained fatigues she pulled a tiny flat tin. It was
marked with a red cross and some printing, hidden by her
thumb.
     Stromsen opened the tin. "YOU lost your medication
Patch," she said. "I thought YOU might want a fresh one."
     She was smiling at him shyly, almost like a daughter
in
     Hazard reached up and felt behind his left ear. She was
right,, the patch was gone.
     "I wonder how long ago
     "It's been hours, at least," said Stromsen.
     "Never noticed."
     Her smile brightened. "Perhaps you don't need it any-
more."
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 139
Onilod back at her. "Miss Stromsen, I think you're
tely right. My stomach feels fine. I believe I have
become adapted to weightlessness.
i rather a shame that we're on our way back to Earth.
                                                            I
have to adapt all over again the next time out
ard nodded. "Somehow I don't think that's going to
ch of a problem for me anymore."
[et his head float back against the seat cushion and
his 'eyes, enjoying for the first time the exhilarating
ion of weightlessness.





                                                                 2,


                                                                 2





After such heroics it was inevitable that
Hazard would eventually head the IPF, and
once he took over, the Peacekeepers began
to shape
      @p into a reliable well-disciplin
                     ed
 organization. But neither 'Hazard nor-, Red
       Eagle could track down the in'
               issing nuclear
    weapons until Shamar showed up in So
                    uth                     ALLEDUPAR,
     e
AIM rica. and Cole Alexander went after
him.
                                                       Year 8
                                        AJEXANDER looked up from the lighted
                                   lapuble at the faces of his closest aides.
                                   "That's what Castanada told me. I know it's tricky," he
                                   ITnitted, "and damned dangerous. Trouble is, either we
                                   in and get Shamar up there in the mountains or he takes
                                   damned country."
                                        two women huddled over the computer-
                                   Its lighted display threw eerie shadows up
                                   and across their faces. They sat bunched
                                   in the wardroom of the jet seaplane that
                                   Alexander's flying home, office and head-
                                   for more than five years.
                                                                 141


     142 Ben Bova
                                                       PEACEKEEPERS 143
          Three of the people were a generation younger than
     Alexander. Barker, the English pilot who wore motorized
     braces on his lower legs, was Alexander@s own age. -So was
     Steiner, the blond logistics specialist. In any other group of
     mercenaries, one would assume that the willowy Austrian
     was Alexander's bed partner. The idea had never even been
     hinted at aboard the seaplane.,
          The younger woman was the former IPF teleoperator,
     Kelly, a pert freckled little redhead. She looked almost like
     a child except when she was in front of a computer. Any
     /C mputer. Any software. Plain of face and figure, reserved
     and shy with people, she became a radiant little princess
     when her fingertips-touched an activated computer pro-
     gram.
          Sitting next to her, shoulders hunched and leaning on his
     elbows, was another ex-Peacekeeper, Jonathan Hazard, Jr.
     The years since the abortive military coup had matured
     him. The baby fat was gone: his face was lean now, the
     same spadelike nose and stormy blue-gray eyes that his
     illustrious father bore. Jay, as he called himself, had the
     kind of cowboy good looks and quiet charm that made him
     virtually irresistible to women. Especially when he smiled.
     But he smiled very little.
          Pavel Zhakarov was the youngest of the group, a. small,
     slightly built Russian with dark hair, intensely deep dark
     eyes, and a ballet dancer's lean ascetic face. lie openly
     admitted to being an agent of the KGB. No one knew
     where his true loyalties lay; especially Pavel himself. But
     everyone took great pains to avoid placing him in a
     situation where his conflicting loyalties could cause disas-
     ter.
          The seaplane rocked gently at its mooring in the Cesar
     River, an hour's drive downstream from VaRedupar and
     the handsome hacienda of Sebastiano Miguel de
     Castanada. From this site Alexander co ' uld take off and be
     out of Colombian airspace in half an hour, if necessary. He
                    -lines
            d his         of retreat before starting
     prepare                                               esia.
     Jon. Always, since his first experience in Indont
     sees @Shamar'doing mixed up with Latin American
     "ers?ll                                                most bored
          asked Barker in his languid, al
     nd accent-
     gives him a firm base of operations," Steiner gnessed.
     xander grinned crookedly. "The way I read it, theres
     of nasty qttid pro quo going on between Sharnar and
     rnment can,t attack the
     mug guys. The official gove
     -.dealers because Shamaes nukes threaten their cities
     even other c ities@in other countries's
     ike Miami," Pavel muttered.
     Leningrad, Red," countered Alexander. He wentlon,
     be getting a hefty cut Of the drug
     Shamar must
     ney in return."                              -What's in it for
     But what does he want?" Kelly asked-
                     O.
     A s I said," replied Steiner, "a base of Operations-'
                       Alexander said.
     A whole country,"
;ay shook his head. "He can't possibly expect to take
                  nation."
     Alexander-shot back. "How do You think
     family got to be the el SuPremOs?"
               stared blankly at him.
                      work down here for the past fifty years
     SC) is this: The drug dealers start operating in the hills
     id sooner or later take over the whole damned govern-
     itimate. Then some other
     ent and make themselves leg
     arts cooking up cocaine for themselves and selling it
mg St
Itside the official government channels
          d, "But cocaine and all the other hard
     ecte
               n illegal since
have," snapped Alexander. "That's what
so profitable. Why do you think the
cutting into
Ctastanadas are so pissed at these guys? They're
the Castanada family's personal drug trade!"


     144 Ben Bova
     661)NMpicable,     ,11carov hissed.
     "Damn right it is.-
     "And that
               town they wiped outr Hazard asked.
     "Castanada told me they did it to keep the grave robbers
                      h
away from t 11 mountains," said Alexander, his smile
                    . "W
     turning malicious      ay 1 see it, though, is this: the
villagers                                     Th
the hill grow coca for the Castanada family.  e guys in
46TIMS eliminated some competition."'
       whole villW?vs Steiner's
                                 voice was    anuncompre-
                               it?"
         answered, "They're a bunch
     g after Pushovers."
go i2kled frown, Kelly
a f
               we're going to help the
to       tht drug trade to themsWVes?-
                       said with   aggerated patience.
'IYe're going after Shamar and hi ex
     Barker objected, "But ifS        s nukes.
                         hanlar can threaten to wipe out
B0g0td and God-k
               nPws What else ifthe government attacks
him, why doesn't that threat also apply to
himr,                                      Our attacking
     "Because Shamar doesn know we're working for the
Castanadas. As far as he's
                         concerned, this is a personal
vendetta between him and me," Alexander said, then
added, "Which it sure as hell really is.-
     "I don't like it," said Zhakarov. 'How do we know we
can trust Castanada and hi family?"
                      r
     Alexander laughed. "The KGB man worries about
trust?'I
     That's not fair," said Kelly.,
.'Nor constructive," added Steiner.
     So he's won both your hearts," Alexander noted. He
scratched briefly at his chin. "Okay, I admit that we can't
trust the Castanada clan. But we've got to get Shainar."
"And the bombs," Barker insisted.
"And something else, too," Alexander said.
PEACEKEEPERS        145
be drug dealers-all of them. The ones in the moun-
@an&the ones in the capitolio.
e others stared at him.                                       2
aning forward over,the lighted table display screen
the shadows across his face loomed like the mask of
-rie devil, Alexander, said slowly, "We are going to
it impossible for anybody-including the thugs who
he government here-to manufacture cocaine. Ever
rtowr' asked Jay.
The mikesII' replied Alexander. "We're going to wipe            @r
the fields where they grow the coca plants with the
out from one of Shamar's nuclear bombs."
          'That's insane!"'                     @4
@@Vls it?" The light from the tabletop cast a strange glint in
     s eyes. "Once we get our hands on those nukes
ng to use them. We're going to scrub the world
a lot of vermin."
                    stared at him in stunned silence.

I realize that I ve jumped
myself once more.
woman Kelly and I
join forms V@rith
While I'm at it, I
Pavel Zhakarov, too.
                  ahead of
                   how the
                     to
                mercenaries.
             as well tell about





                 MOSCOW AND
LIBYA                                                           0
                   YeU 6-

                    PAVEL
                    did not notice them until almost too
late.
He had heard of
               i       muggers and hooligans in other, more
re'nOte (utsk As Of Moscow, but never near the university,
so close to the heart of the city
Yet
     there were three Young toughs definitely follow-
ing him as he walked along the river Promenade
                                             through
the darkening evening, his fencing bag slung
                              PEACEKEEPM             147
           had come for solitude, for a chance to think
     Pavel
he had been given. Was it truly an oppor7,
for his country? Orl,was it a scheme by the
get him out of the way. for a while, perhaps
  rap? he had been wondering as he strolled
                                                  4
cold of early evening. An opportunity or.
               the three young men -in their Western,
               and zany hairdos. Up to no good,
          was the Lenin Arena and the big sports
e complex. Hundreds of athletes were rehearsing for
$oveniber parades. But here on the riverside prome-
no one except Pavel Mikhailovich Zhakarov and
youn hoodlums.
el began walking a little more briskly. Sure enough,
'trio behind him quickened their pace.
hey there, wait up a minute," one of them called.
pere was no sense running. They would overtake him
before he got to an area where there were some people
king about. Of course, he could drop his fencing bag
id leave the gear inside to them. It wasn't worth much.
it I'll be damned if I give it up to three punks, Pavel said
himself.
So, instead of making a break for it, he turned and
ailed at theapproaching trio
They were trying their best to look ferocious: leather
*ets covered with metal studs. Wide leather belts and
avy, ornate buckles. Wild hair and faces painted like
ck stars. Two of them were big almost two meters M11
shoulder.                                               Over one ..,id solid muscle from neck to toes. Pavel smiled. Probably
No  *01id muscle between the ears, as well. The third one, in the
    one else in sight. The towers of the universi
brilliantly lit, tho  ty were                                   ' -jaoiddle, was short and stocky, with an ugly squashed-nose
                                                                "(be
                      usands of students bustling among the  3  C.
many buildings. But here along the -riverside all was           A "What are you grinning at, little man?" he asked.
                           146


148 Ben Bova
     Pavel was not exactly little. True, he was' barely         165
centimeters in height, and almo
                              st as slim as a girl. His face
was delicately handsome, with dark eyes and brows,
sculpted cheekbones and a graceful jawline. His hair was
dark and naturally curly.
     Pretty man," sneered the big fellow on Pavel's left. The
other large oaf giggled.
     Pavel said nothing. He simply stoold his ground
                                                            left
hand with its thumb hooked around the shoudler st              of
rap
:the fencing bag, right hand relaxed at his side. They did not
notice that he was up on the balls of his feet, read
                                                  y to move
in any directi
                On circumstances dictated.
     "What's in the bag?" the ugly little le
               ader demanded.
     Pavel shrugged carelessly. "Junk. It's worthless."
     "Yeah?" The leader flicked a knife from the sl
                                                  eeve of his
jacket and snapped it open. The slim blade glinted in the
-light of a distant streetlamp.
     "Hand it over."
     "Not to the likes of
                         You, my friend," said Pavel.
     The Other two pulled knives.
     "It's worthless junk, I tell you," Pavel insisted.
even a balalaika."                                       'Not
"Open up the bag."
     "But .
     "Open it up or we'll open you up.-
     Pavel sank to one knee, slung the bag off his shoulder and

unzipped it. Opening it wide so that they could see  it was
fencing gear and nothing more, he grasped one        of the
sabers and got to his feet.
The two oafs stepped back a pace, but their          leader
laughed. "It's not sharp, it's for a game. Look."            I
They grinned and moved toward Pavel.
                                                             Al
"I'm warning You," Pavel. said, his voice low,       as h
                                                     e
retreated slowly, "what happens next is something you will
regret.
                         PEACEKEEPERS 149
lader laughed again. "One against three? One toy
three real knives." His laughter stopped.
rAnst
im. up!"
     darted to his right, away from the promenade
where there was more room for maneuver. The first
swung toward him and Pavel made a
His blunted saber,-thin and flexible as
at the oaf's hand and sent the @ knife
          cement of the walkway.
     in sudden pain. His companion hesi-
and Pavel gave him the same treatment,
                  fingers.
leader had circled around, trying to get
Pavel danced backward a few steps and
lumberingly slow jab then riposted with
       a      c       He screamed and I backed away.
     te first one had recovered his knife, only to have Pavel
m him again and whack him wickedly on the@upper
shoulder and back'. three blows delivered so fast they
                                                                 4
     1 not follow them with their eyes. Then it was back to
     leader again.
fle faced Pavel with blood running from his cut cheek
                    with hatred.
               for this," he snarled.
     his arm and pointed the blunted tip of
his face. "I'll blind you with this," he said,
asking for a pack of cigarettes. "I'll take
     your eyes, one by one."
The little hoodlum glanced over at his two accomplices.
of the thugs was sucking on his bleeding knuckles. The
er was wringi ng his painracked arm. The light faded
     the ugly one's eyes. He backed away from Pavel.
     king
     lessly the three of them turned and started wal
@back the way they had come.
  "Jackals!" Pavel called after them.


     150 Ben Bova
He retrieved his bagand zipped it up But he kept the
saber out and held it firmly in his right hand as he strode
the rest of the
               way to his dormitory room.
TwO@ days later Pavel was in a luxurious Aeroflot jet
 winging southward, away from wintry Moscow
andtOward the sun and warmth of the Mediterranean.
He still felt uneasy
"It is a mission of utmost importance,"' the bureau
director had said, "and of the ut
              most delicacy.,,,
     Pavel had sat On the straightbacked chair, directly in
front Of the director's desk. The director himself had called
for him, a call that meant either high honor or deepest
disaster; all other chores were handled by underlings.
Hewas a slim, bald manwith a neat little goatee almost
like that of Lenin in the gilt-framed Portrait hanging on the
wall behind his desL But there the resembla
                 nce ended.
Pavel imagined Lenin as a vigorous, flashing-eyed man of
action- The director, with his soft little hands, his mani-
cured nails and tailor-'de Hungarian suits, looked more
Mm a dandy than a leader of
              men. His most v'
               1gOrOUS action
was shuffling papers.
     To the director, Pavel looked
                                   like a cat tensed to spring.
A striki                e young man, not quite twenty-three,
     ngly handsom
yet he
comes stalking into MY Office like a cat on the prowl,
all his senses alert, his eyes looking everywhere. That is
good, the director thought. He has been trained w
                                                  ell.
atop the director's desk. The screen was turcomputer screen
  Pavel's life history was displayed on the
                                             ned so that only
the director himself could see it. Only child; mother killed
at Chernobyl; f ather "retired" from his duties as Party
chairman Of Kursk due to alcoholism. There is nothing i n
his dossier to indicate romantic entanglements. Best grades
in his clan, a natural athlete.
     For long moments the director leaned back in his big
                                   PEACEKEEPERS            151
                         ied the -young man before him. Pavel
               gaze without flinchin& The director smiled
               of the eternal game of chess that was
               be the man we need: -not a pawn,
               a knight. One can sacrifice a knight in a
               the game.
               the lengthening silence. "Could you
               you mean?"
               nked rapidly several times as if awaking
                    course. We can't expect to send you on
                    mission blindfolded, can we. He.
               'polite sin le. "As you know sir, I had
                    i
               emotional Peacekeeping Force
               gestured toward his computer' display
                                                                 J@
               course. A good choice for you. And YOU
               it."
After you have completed this mission-successfully."
director leaned back in his chair again and tilted his
d back to gaze at the ceiling. "In a way, you know, this
he IPF."
sion is s
                     h my nerves, Pavel realized. To We
          omewhat like being with t
le is trying to stretc
far I can go before I lose my self-control. Very casually,
inquired, "In what way, may I ark?"
                         although he has not set foot in the
lexander       American,
         anp, at the ceiling, "There is a certain Mr. Cole
Still starin        more
hited States in           than six years."
         d nothing. He glanced upward, too. The ce iling
I Pav
@s nicely plastered, but there was nothing much of
el sai
terest in it, except for the tiny spi derweb the cleaning
had missed off in the comer by the window
     es.
     director snapped his attention to Pavel. "This


     152 Ben Bova

Alexander is a Mercenary soldier, the leader of a band of
mercenaries.
     "Mercenaries?" Despite himself, Pavel could not hide
his surprise.
     "Yes. Oh, he claims to be hunting for the infamous Jabal
Shamar, the man responsible for the Jerusalem Genocide.
But he spends most of his time hiring out his services to the
rich and Powerful, helping them to oppress the people."
     Pavel had heard rumors about Shamar.
'Is it true,that Shamar took a number of small nuclear
weapons with him when he disappeared from Syria?" he
asked.
     The director's brows rose. -,W
                              here did you hear of that?"
he snapped.
     Pavel made a vague gesture. "Rumor .. talk here and
there.@I
     Tugging,nervously at his goatee, the director said, "We
fiave heard such rumors also. Until they are clarified, all
nuclear disarmament has been suspended. But your ruis-
Sion does not involve Jabal Shamar and rumored nuclear
weapons caches."
     understand, Sir."
     "YOU will join Alexander's band of cutth
                                                  rOats," the
director continued. "You will infiltrate their capitalistic
organization and reach Alexander himself And, if neCes-
sary, assassinate him.,,
     The airliner landed at Palma, and Pavel rented a tiny,
underpowered Volkswagen at the airport. He did not look
like the usual tourist: a smallish, athletically slim young
man, alone, unsmiling, studying everything around him
like a hunting cat, dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt
open at the neck and a n equally somber pair of 'slacks,
carrying nothing but a soft black travel bag.
Using the map computer in the car's dashboard, he
                                   PEACEKEEPERS          153
the island of Mallorca, heading for
employed by the Soviet consulate
a Representative of the mercenaries.
     farmlands he drove, seeing but not
much note of the fertile beauty of this
land: the green farms, the red poppies
f The roads the terraced hillsides and tenderly culti-
vineyards. But he noticed the steep hairpin turns that
I Ihe Sierra de Tramunta as he sweated and cursed m
-angry whisper while the VW's whining little electric
46 struggled to get up the grades. A tourist bus
@ed by in the other direction, nearly blowing him
the edge of the narrow road and down the rugged
e.
ben he finally got to the crest of the range, the read
aned out, although it still twisted like a writhing snake.
then he had to inch his way down an even steeper,
ower road to the tiny fishing village where he was
-sed to meet the mercenaries.
     'Pavel was drenched with sweat and hollow-gutted with
     taustion by the time he eased the little car out onto the
     fitary stone pier that jutted into the incredibly blue water
     'the cove. He turned off the engine and just sat there for
     few moments, recuperating from the harrowing drive.
     he smell of burned insulation hung in the air. Or was it
                                                                                A
     tarried brake lining?.
     @'He got out on shaky legs and let the warm su nshine start
po ease some of the tension out of him. The village looked
Even the cantina at the foot


@4top one another authe
     He took his black overnight bag from the car and slung it
over his shoulder, then paced the pier from one end to the
      its whitewashed cement
     a single boat. in the water
     bri         red dories pile@
of the pier.
     ght-colo


     154 Ben Bovo
     other. He looked at his watch
                                   The time for the meeting
     had come, and gone tenminutes ago,
     He heard a faint buzzing sound.
                                        At first he thought it was
     some insect, but within a few moments he realized it was a
     motor. And it was getting louder
      A black rubb
                    er boat came into view from around th-
     mountains that Plunged into the sea, a compact little petrol
     'motor Pushing it through the water, splashing out a spume
     Of foam every time the blunt bow hit a swell. A single man
     was in it, his hand on -the, motor's stick control. He wore a
     slick Yellow Poncho with the hood pulled up over his head.
          Pavel watched him expertly maneuver the boat into the
     cove and up to the pier. He looped a line around the cleat
     set into the floating wooden Platform at the end of the pier.
          "N"at's Your name, stranger?- the man called in En-
     glish.
     "Pavel.,,
     "That's good. And your lag name?"
     "Krahsnii-" It was a false name, of
they had exchanged were code word course, and the lines
to one another.                     s that identified them
     'Pavel the Red," said the man in the boat, grinning
Crookedly. "Fine. Come on aboard.-
     So he understands a bit of Russian Pavel thought
     t                                                    as he
tr0t ed down the stone steps onto t@e bobbing platform
and stepped lightly into the rubber boat.
     "That's all You've got?" The man pointed at Pavel's bag.
     .,It's all
          I need," Pavel said as he sat in the middle of the
boat. "For now."
     "Want a poncho? The sun's pre
anot                           ttY strong here." He lifted
her yellow
             slicker from a metal box at his feet.
Pavel shook his head.
              "I like the sun."
"You could get skin cancer You know," he said as he
unlooped the line
           and revved the motor. I
                   'Damned
ultraviolet-ozone layer's been shot to hell by Pollution.
     I    n, Pavel shouted overthe motor's noise, "Lef
     jk:  day of sunshine, at least. In Moscow we don't
     sun  from September to May."
     man grinned back. "Suit yourself, Red."
          ey. bounced along the waves Pavel thought he was
     -indanger of drowning than sunstroke. The spray
     -the@ bow drenched him thoroughly. His shirfand
     rwere soaked within minutes. Pavel sat there asmute
     ainted martyr, enduring it without a word.
     ave heard of new agents receiving baptisms of fire,
     @-saW to himself. This is more like the baptism of an
     "t Christian.
     ut I'm not an assassin," Pavel had blurted.
     e director had smiled like a patient teacher upon
     ing an obvious mistake from a prize pupil.
          are " he corrected, "whatever we need you to be.
     have been trained to perfection in all the martial arts.
     skills are excellent. Is your motivation lacking?"
     avel suddenly saw an enormous pit yawning before
     I am a faithful son of the Soviet Unionland the Russian
     black and bottomless.
     le," he repeated the rote line.
     good     said the director. "And if the Soviet
d the Russian people require you to assassinate
of the people, what will you do?"
without mercy," Pavel said automatically.
s smile broadened. "Of course."
"But .      The young in
                       an hesitated.        Why?"
The director sighed heavily.  "We are in a time of great
pheavals, my youni friend. Enormous upheavals, every-
&ere in the world. Even within the Soviet Union, changes
@_ coming faster than they have since the glorious days of
Revolution."
     Pavel had been taught all that in his political indoctrina-


                 M Ben Bova
     tion classes. And the fact that'his father was allowed to
     refire Peacefully and seek therapy for his-addi
                                             Ction, instead
of being sent to some provincial, Outpost in disgrace, was a
more concrete
the nation.   Proof of the changes sweeping the Party and
"The Soviet Union helped
                         to create the IPF and has led
the way toward true disarmament
                                        said the director
almost wistfWly. Th
       en he added "But this does not
                  oresworn
that we have entirely f                                 mean
                                   the use of force. There re
situations where force is the only solution.,,
     "And this Amen-can represents one of those situations?"
     "AU that it is neces
                    sary for you to know
to                                        will be explained
YOU in your detailed mission briefings. For now, let me
tell You that this Capitalist warmonger Alexander is work-
ing some sort of scheme to undermine the regime
                                                in Libya.
We are the friend and Protector of the Libyan regime. We
wilLprotect our friend by getting rid of his enemy. Is that
clear?"
     "Yes, sir."
     The man in the ponch
                              0 cut the motor. The
suddenly became silent; the drenching spray           world
                ceased. Pavel
unconsciously ran a hand through his soaked hair.
  1yo
u don't get seasick, do You?" the man asked.
     Shrugging; "I dont know. I've never been closer to the
sea than one thousand kilonicAers."
The'man laughed. "Hadn't thought of that."
With the water-slicked Yellow Poncho on him, there was
not much of him that Pavel could see except for his face.
Hunched over as he was, it was difficult to tell what his true
size was. He seemed rather broad in the shoulder. His face
was square, with an almost sad, ironic smile that was
nearly crooked enough to be CaIW twisted. His eyes were
gray, cold, yet they sparkled with what could only be a
bitter kind of am
                    usement. Altogether; his face was not
                              PEACEKEEPERS         157
     but not truly handsome, either. He seemed
close to two meters in height. Not a cowardly
kept the poncho over him, claiming to be
r ultraviolet. A man of contradictions.
               stopped?" Pavel said. His English was Of
               ariety, as accentless as the typical Yankee
          the man. "Out here we're safe from
5so listen to what we say."
          be carrying recording equipment."
     It shrugged. 'You might. But you're in my boat,
     'you're go' to work for me, you'll be on my turf for
     ing,
     1ime to come.10
                      e
mom nt Pavel was speechless with surprise. "You
                     J-
     Die Alexander." He extended his right hand. "Pleased
     mt you Pavel."
--Xander's grip was strong. Pavel said slowly, "I didn't
t you to meet me personally." He was thinking, I
d cnish his windpipe and push him overboard. The job
Id be done. But in the bobbing little boat he was not
ain of his leverage or his footing.
k1ou present a problem to me, Pavel," Cole Alexan(er
saying. "My Russian contacts made it quite clear that
@r government wants you on my team. Otherwise I'll
real trouble with the Russkies. I figure that at the very
kst you're a spy who's supposed to tell the Kremlin what
in going to do in Libya. At the most, you've been sent out
We to murder me."
Pavel kept his face rigid, trying to hide his emotions.
Alexander grinned his crooked grin again. "If you're an
!sassin, this would be a good place to give it a try. Think
)u can take me?"
.*You are makiig a joke."
Alexander shrugged. "You're damned near twenty-fivt


158 Ben Bow
Years younger than 1. That's a lot of time; a lot of booze and
women. On the other hand, I
                              'in bigger than you. What do
you weigh?"
     "Sixty-eight kilos."
     "I'm about ninety; kilos."
     "I am faster than you," Pavel said.
"in a footrace, sure. What about your hand speed?"
     Pavelcocked his head to one side. It would not be wise to
boast.
     Alexander dug a hand inside the poncho and
                                                  came out
with a silver coin. "An American half-dollar. Worth about
three cents these days.
     He motioned Pavel to move back to the bow of the tiny
Zodiac, then placed the coin on the midships bench where
Pavel had been sitting.
     "Hands on knees." Alexander
"I'll count to three. First     demonstrated as he spoke.
                         one to reach the coin keeps it.-
     Pavel put his hands on his k
                              nees and listened to the
American count. This is ridiculous, he thought. A typical
American macho contest. It's a wonder he didn't challenge
me to a duel with six
                        -shooters.
     "Three!
     Pavel felt Alexandees hand atop his the instant his own
fingers closed around the coin.
     'Damn!" Alexander exclaimed "You are fast. First time
anybody s ever taken money off me that way.,,
     Pavel
     . offered the coin back to him, but Alexander
laughingly insisted he keep it. Holding it in his palm,
watching the sunlight glitter off it, Pavel began to wonder if
Alexander had deliberately allowed him to win. He is a
very clever man, Pavel thought. Even by losing he makes
me respectful of him
   - No wonder the director fears him so.
     "Now then," Alexander resumed, "about my problem. If
I don't take you in,
                    I suppose your government will try to
blow me out of the water and make it look like an accid-
                                                       ent.
So you're in. But don't think you,re getti
                                        ng out until we've
                              PEACEKEEPERS 159
ejo we're on now. And don't think you can get
to Moscow about what we're doing. You'll be
          carefully."
                    ement but to show that he
dded, not to show agre
j the, situation. What Alexanderdid not know
it was not necessary for Pavel to make contact
Alexander does
or anyone at all. And what
     W, Pavel thought, could eventually kill him.
     4n extremely delicate situation," the chief briefing
     iad told Pavel.
     had been meeting eachday for more than a week,
     information and indoctrination into Pavel's aching
     he regular working hours of the day were spent
                      T
                                             briefing
     the offices and conference rooms Of the
               on his physical training and
had to carry alone in the gymnasium in the
d exercises at night,
               inistry building. He slept little, and the
kent of the in
W as beginning to make him edgy.
     chief briefing officer was wise enough to recognize
I
s growing t      ss, She had invited him to dinner at
                   ensene
it was a large and luxurious flat in one of
apartment blocks: a beautiful living ro Om
oriental carpets and precious works of art, a
kitchen, and a frilly but comfortable
a large bed covered by a tiger skin.
     I on imitation," the chief briefing officer had told
when she showed him through the place. "But it keeps
Warm and cozy."
er father was a high Party official, a "Young Twk"
n C3,orbachev had taken over the Kremlin; one of the
rately clinging to his power now. She
rgeneration despe
s at least . ten years Pavel's senior, but she was still
a bit stocky,
ractive in his eyes. Almost his own height
bosom seemed to st in at her red blouse. Her face had
               rai
ightly oriental cast to it that made her seem exotic in the


     160   Ben Bova
     light of the artificial fire glowing electrically in the artificial
     fireplace-
          Over dinner she explained that, since the Soviet Union.
     was one of the founding members of the International
     Peacekeeping Force, it was impossible for the USSR to
     overtly support Libya-
          "When Colonel Oaddafi was finally assassinated, every-
     one thought that Libya would return to being a quiet
     country that produced oil,instead of terrorists."
          Pavel sipped his hot borscht and listened, trying to keep
his eyes off her red blouse. One of the buttons had come
undone'and it
                  gapped invitingly.
     - "But Rayyid is more rabi
know fro                       d than Qaddafi ever was, as you
m your brief Ings. He is not the kind of man we
would have chosen for an ally, but the inexorable forces of I
h1i ry
 sto have thrown us into the same bed-sO to speak.
The
          refore, any attempt to undermine him must be stopped
     by us, with force if necessary.",
     "But quietly,- Pavel added,
                                   so that the world does not
     know the Soviet Union has supported a madman.,,
     'She smiled at him
feel                  - "Only the madman will know, and
more dependent On us. And, of course.- we will
realize that the So viet Union
discreetly inform certain others who must be made to
the kind of stup-               Protects its friends-without
 id Publicity that the Americans go in for."
               it is desirabl
                 can see why
                                        e to crush a band of
     mercenary soldiers," Pavel said, "but I still don,t see why
     we support a nation that sends terrorists around the world.
     Wasn't Rayyid responsible for blowing up that Czech
     airliner last year?
                Two hundred People were killedr,
The chief briefing officer smiled again at pave,.
tII_ And regrettable                                  "Yes, it is
                    - But international politic's is very
complicated. Sometimes it i
                                                       get
                              s necessary, as I said, to
into bed with someone You do not love.,,
Pavel thought of the word whore, but did
                                          not speak it.
                                                  161
She spent the rest of
d hethaellyowed her to,
     g to           an                            were both
                              -not wanting to
     in the imitation tiger skin

iiider' started the motor again and the little boat
across the waves once more. just as the sun was
to dry me out, Pavel thought sourly, squinting i nto
     urided a cliff that tumbled from the wooded ridge
above straight down into the blue sea. Pavel saw a
e tucked into the cove formed by a niche in the line
intains.
me sweet home," shouted Alexander over the drone
motor.
s as beautiful a piece of work as anything Pavel had
graceful lines of a racing yacht wedded
wings of a jet airplane. Big engine
the wings met the plane's body. The
back at rakish angle The plane was
a
               although the underside of the wings were
     ter hue, the
               color of the sky, Pavel saw as they
roached.
batch popped open halfway between the wings and
and two men tossed out a rope ladder. Alexander
the Zodiac to the ladder and hooked a line to
Pavel into the plane, then clambered up the
                    him.
where I live," he told Pavel. "This is home,
ers, and transportation all wrapped up in one.
                                                                 OL
)ping a -forefinger against Pavel's chest, he added, "Let
u a piece of advice, friend: never stay in one
give yo
ce long enough for the tax collectors to find you!"
Pavel saw that they were in a utilitarian work area, bare

162 Ben Bova
metal walls curving over a scuffed and worn metal flooring.
It wag tall enough for Alexander to stand erect. He was just
under two -meters, Pavel estimated. The two other men
were deflating the Zodiac and bringing it aboard for
stowage.
     My car. . ." he suddenly remembered.
     "All taken care of, don't worry," Alexander said as he
wormed out of his yellow slicker. He was wearing a
turtleneck shirt and jeans. The uniform of a, burglar, Pavel
thought. His hair was youthfully thick and full, yet dead
white. Another contradiction.
     Crooking a finger for Pavel to follow him, Alexander
strode to the forward hatch and went through. The next
cabin almost took Pavel's breath away. limas what he had
'imagined, as a child, that a plutocrat's yacht would look
like.@'Brass and polished wood. Comfortable cushioned
-armchairs-with lap belts. Round portholes. Small tables
bolted to the'deck, which was covered with a thick carpet
of royal blue.
     "I've got to 90 forward for a minute and talk to the
pilot," said Alexander as Pavel took in all the'luxury.
"Your bunk is the first hatch on the right, forward of this
cabin. You might want to get into some dry clothes before
we take off."
     Even his "bunk" was a well-appointed private compart-
ment, small as a telephone booth yet comfortable, with a
foldout desk and a display screen built into the foot,of the
bed. I should be able to tap into his computer files, Pavel
told himself, given a bit of time.
     As he dropped his bag on the bunk and unzipped it, the
plane's engines roared to life. The compartment shud-
dered. Through the porthole Pavel could see that they were
turning seaward.
     "All personnel, please take seats and strap in. Takeoff in
three minutes."
     Pavel tucked his bag in the drawer beneath the bunk, lay
All I
till daylights
          PEACEKEEPERS 163
                 his middle and
safety strap across
     plane lifted off the water.
        awoke. Pavel showered and
                   ng that he had
     he
               the coffin-sized bathroom5 marveli
                                        ssed in his spare outfit,
               ities. all to himself. He dre
                                 and Western jeans, not unlike
               ting maroon shirt
                         He had only one pair of sneakers:
          I     xatider wore
              Client
                                              counted eight
               out into the passageway and
                                                 e plahe's             41
          compartnients. From his memory of th
               -    that there was another big comPart-
               he judged                                     through
                         deck. He went
-tward, before the control
                     the wardroom where he had
Dn hatch and back into
@n Alexander.
                    pulled in the boat were sitting
two men who had
               with sandwiches and coffee cups- The
it a table laden
woman sitting with them noticed Pavel.
r and have some chow-@
Sht as well come ove
was  small, rather plain-looking, with re(i hair cut
                         d face with a small stub Of
     st boyishly- A freckle

almo                ous as Pavel

       face looked  somewhat suspici
   Her              her brown eyes watched him



   ed; he saw that
Uy.
          a Kelly," she said, getting up and offering her hand
                                                            r.
               s     making himself smile at he
vel Kx6lisnii," he aid               Chris Barker and
id these two chow hounds are
Mavroulis."                             from their seats.
          led greetings without rising
hey mumb
                    them.
          said Kelly "Briefing in ten
you can,
                                                  I have gone
         ine minutes these guys wil
                    in n
                sandwiches."
     chair next to Kelly and reached for one Of
. He noticed that the table was covered with
san
W cloth spread.
          ,t the faintest idea of what's going On here," he
11 haven
          6.   11 just arrived."
               ve
A         d.


     164 Ben Bova
     "We know. The boss is wo
                              rried that you're a spy from
the Kr@
     injin, He thinks the best way to prevent you from
doing us any
we keep a clodamage is to Put You to work right away while
          se eye on you."
     Pavel took a bite of the
                         sandwich, tasting nothing as he
assessed the situation. Six eyes were staring at him, none of
them friendly.
     "The three Of You will"-he tried to recall the phrase
exactlY---kee a close eye on me?"
                      P
"Mostly me," Kelly said. "These guys have plenty of
other work to do. The boss doesn't let anybody have much
C_e time."
     "The boss is Alexander?"
     "You better believe it!" answered Kelly.
     Deciding to disarm them with a measured amount of
candor, Pavel munched thoughtfully on his sandwich for a
few moments more then said, "The boss is perfectly
correct. I am a sp, "MY government ii concerned about






                     Y.
your activities and I have been sent to observe what you are
doing firsthand."
     "I knew it," said Mavroulis. He was dark and hairy, with
thick ringlets almost down to his eyebrows and a day's
growth of black stubble on his chin. Heavy in the shoulders
and chest, like a wrestler. He glared at Pavel.
     The other one, Barker, looked English. Light brown hair,
almost blond, with calm blue eyes and a faint smile. The
kind who could slit your throat while apologizing for it.
     "Why does Moscow have any interest in our litt e
operation?" he asked in a high nasal voice. "We don't
threaten the superpowers in any way."
     Pavel made a small shrug. "Perhaps they fear that'you
threaten one of our friends."
"Libya," said Kelly. it was a flat statement, toneless.
"Is that where we are going?" Pavel asked.
     "We'll find out," she replied, glancing at her wrist, "in
eight minutes."
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 165
         another bite of his sandwich
     forced a smile. "Coffee or @tea?" she asked, as
     ly as a child
     -der himself conducted the briefing, wh ich con-
             s mind that his band of mercenaries was
     -in Paver
     quit e small. Peihaps every one of them is aboard
     LWe, he thought. perhaps an accident could wipe
     11 out of existence.
                                   from the table when
     . cleared the foo d and cups
     der came into the wardroom each person taking his
'.40" dirty dishes to a slot set into the aft bulkhead.
d. By the time he
Kelly and did what she di
followed
          Alexander had removed the cloth table
I around,
     revealing that the tabletop was actually a large
     screen.
     is Libya," said Kelly, studying the map shown On the
     as she sat down again.
     is Libya," Alexan der confirmed.
vel sat next to Kelly. He noticed that this time
oulis sat on his other side,
uniar at-Rayyld is one of the world's leading pains n
                    e touched a keypad set into the
is," said Alexander. H
's edge and a photo of the Libyan strong man aP-
A in the upper corner of the map, a sun-browned face
hidden by dark glasses and a military Cap heavy with
- braid.
is neighbors, who shall remain nameless"-
at pavel-"have hired us to get rid of
                money for it
               assassinate him," Pavel said.
               surprised, almost shocked- Mavroulis gave
               ,The Russians-first thing they think of
          Si
     felt sudden anger, flushing his cheeks.
   iling his crooked smile, Alexander said, "No, MY
W-faced friend, we are not assassins. We are not even


166 Ben Bova
mercenary soldiers, in the old sense. Like the
Peacekeepers, we deal in minimum violence.-
     Out of the comer of his eye Pavel saw Kelly flinch slightly
at the word "Peacekeepers." Why? I must find out.
     Aloud, he said, "Minimum violence? Such as bombing
Tripoli while Rayyid is making a speech there9"
     "And killing everybody in the crowd?" Alexander shook
his head. "What good would that do? Rayyid would
P robably be in a blastproof shelter by the time the first
bomb fell. And besides we want to destroy his power, not
make a martyr out of him."
     "Thep what .. T' Pavel gestured at the electronic map.
     Alexander spelled it out. For more than ten years the
Libyan government had been working on a grand project to
tap the vast aquifer deep beneath the Sahara and bring the
water to the coast, where it would provide irrigation for
farming.
     "Qaddafi talked about doing it," Alexander said.
'RaYyid is making it happen.
     Barker arched his brows in a very English way. "What of
it? It's entirely an internal Libyan operation. That's no
"Isn't it?" Alexander scratched lazily at his jaw.-
                     My
sainted old Uncle, Max was a dedicated Greenpeacer. Got
himself arrested by the Russkies once, trying to save whales
from their hunting fleets. He al
                              ways told me, 'Son, it just
am 't smart to tamper with Mother Nature.",
"You are against the Libyan project for ecological
                                                  rea-
sons?" Paval could not believe it.
     Alexander considered him for a long moment, locking
his wi
     Intry-gray eyes on Pavel. Finally he answered, "Of
course. Why else? If it's not good ecologically, then it's bad
Politically, as far as I'm concerned."
     Pavel said nothing, but he thought to himself, This
Alexander is either a liar or a fool.
threat to any other nation.-
                              PEACEKEEPERS         167
     aquifer beneath the Sahara had been created more
     w hundred thousand years ago, Alexander ex-
     when glaciers covered Europe and northern Africa
     ntile grassland teeming with game and the earliest
     if human hunting tribes.
     just don't know what the ecological effects of
     g off that water will be," he went on. "Certainly the
     along the Sahel region don't want their under-
     water sources tam pered with. It could wipe them
     attl@ land people both.
     Libyans would use up the unde rgroun d water in a
cades," Kelly added. "It would be entirely gone:
hat took a thousand centuries to accumulate could
in less than one generation.
          the water is gone?" Barker asked.
will die," said Mavroulis angrily. "Maybe tens,
all across the Sahel, Algeria, Libya itself
they're using that water," Alexander said,
-a's economic and political power will grow enor-
ly. Libya will become the leading nation of the
i-for a. while. Long enough to make her neighbors
nely uncomfortable at the prospect."
                                                                 V
'hich is why they've hired us," said Barker.
Light."
@vel shook his head. "You are going to kill this man
water. Water that legally he has a right to."
exander regarded him with a pitying smile. "You keep
ng about killing. We don't kill we cure."
izzlcd, Pavel asked, "What do you mean?'
exander's cold gray eyes shifted away from Pavel.
I
re working on a plan that will op the aquifer project.
                     St
N our goal and that's what we're going to do. I have no
ntion of harming a hair on Rayyid's armpits."
arker leaned back and said to no one in particular,
ie man has the Mediterranean at his doorstep. Why


168 Ben Bova
doesn't he buy fusion generators and desalt the seawater?
Fusion May be new, but it works well and it would be
cheaper than this aquifer scheme. And less damaging
ecologically."
     Alexander smiled his cynical smile. "That's what you
     Uld
WO do, Chris. It's what I would do, or Kelly or Nicco or'
even our Russian friend, here- But Rayyid wants something
big, something impressive, something that's never been
done before,"
He's not looking for the best way to help his people,"
said Kelly. "He's looking for headlines for himself.-
power," added Alexander. "Power is always at -he
     Of it
root
     For the next week Pavel and all the others were kept quite
busy- The Plane landed in Naples' beautiful harbor, then
new up briefly to Marseille and after that. spent two days
anchored in an unnamed inlet on the west coast of Corsica.
     Pavel began to understand that this plane and the eight
men And one woman aboard it were only a part of
Alexandees Operation. How large a part, he had no inkling.
Obviously the man had tentacles that extended far.
     None of them left the Plane for very long. Alexander
stayed aboard constantly. Pavel was allowed to walk the
length of the dock in Marseille, but no farther.
                                                       Kelly
watched him from the hatch, and Mavroulis or one of the
Others was always at the end of the pier. Each night they
slept aboard the plane, which always taxied far out fro.
the shore before anchoring. It was like sleeping on a yacht.
Pavel enjoyed it, even though he felt somewhat confined.
     Now and again the name of Jabal Shamar popped up in
conversations. Pavel asked indirect questions, spoke littl
and listened a lot. Apparently Alexander had a personal
hatred for the elusive former leader of the Pan-Arab
armies. His Parents had been killed in the nuclear ex-
change of the Final War.
                              PEACEKEEPERS          169
          true that Shamar has his own nuclear. bombs?"
     Bkod Mavroulis one afternoon, while they worked
     aide loading crates of foodstuffs into the plane's
     ated cargo bay.
                                   you think Alexander
     3reek nodded sourly. "Why do
     6 this Libyan job? Shamar might be there, under
     s, protection."
     i@the bombs?"
     pulis grunted as he heaved a crate marked as
     ""He doesn't care about the bombs. He wants
     loscow must care about the bombs, Pavel thought.
iey wan@ Ravyid ta have access to nuclear weapons?
shed he could contact the director for clarification.
erever he went, the Kelly woman stayed beside him.
fas cool, friendly-up to a point-and extremely
sent. Pavel saw that she could program computers
e other electronic gear with impressive facility.
second morning at Corsica she approached Pavel in
rdroom shortly after breakfast and asked, "Uh you
0 go for a swim?" She seemed somewhat reluctant,
)et troubled, as if someone had forced her to ask him.
ivel was too surprised to be wary. Kelly provided him
a pair of abbreviated trunks, then ducked into I her
com artment, to change.
a bathing suit sherevealid what Pavel had guessed
Dr her figure was practically nonexistent. Yet her@
d, plain face had a kind of prettiness to it. She was not
tiful, by any means. But that did not matter so much.
prospect of pumping information from her in bed
i to seem not merely possible, but attractive. Yet,
ugh Kelly smiled at him, her brown eyes were always
ous. Pavel thought there was something very sad in
yes, something that he should strive to find out.
ney used the plane's main cargo hatch as a diving


               170  -Oen Bova
               platform and plunged into the sun-w?Lrmed wate Pavel
                                                                 rs@
had swum only in Moscow-pools; he was surprised at the
lack-of chlorine in the water, and its saltiness.
     After nearly an hour, they climbed up onto the wing and
stretched out on giant towels to let the sun dry them. The
sky arching overhead was brilliant blue, cloudless and
achingly bright. Pavel squeezed his eyes shut, ut st the
glow. of the fierce Mediterranean sun blazed against his
closed eyelids.
     "You swim ve ry well," Kelly said. There was real admir-
ation in her voice. The earlier reluctance had washed away.
He opened his eyes and turned toward her.
     "Not as well as You," he replied, noticing how the
sunlight granted off the water droplets in her hair. It was a
bright Irish red, the kind of coloring that the Vikings had
the long rivers of Russia to
                  its name'
                              he found out. Gently leading
her on to tell her life story, Pavel learned that she had been
a skater but had faded to make Canada's Olympic team.
     "The competition must have been very strong in a
nation like Canada," he sympathized.
H
     She still seemed saddened by that failure. Th6 she had
joined the International Peacekeeping Force, and had
served for almost a year as a teleoperator. She had been
involved in stopping the abortive war between Eritrea and
the Sudan.
                         "Why did you leave the Peacekeepers?" he asked.
     Kelly's freckled face almost pouted. "I had some trouble
with my superiors. Not following orders exactly. Exceeding
my mission goals."
     "But exceeding one's goals is a good thing!" Pavel felt
truly surprised.
                    "Maybe for you. For me, it just got me in trouble."
                    "And because of that you were cashiered from the IPFT'
                    "I wasn't thrown out. I quit."
                                                  171
                              PEACEKEEPERS
     -,614 that?"
                         hat helped, but it wasn't the
     ally," she said. ,T
     n.
                    why?"
                    look at him, lying beside her.
     -ned her head to
pain and anger in her eyes. And something else,
uneasy with h e-r
g he could not identify. Suddenly
          to him, he Jay back again and closed his eyes
     IC Sun.
                              he was in love with me. I
     a," she said. "I thought
     I    was in love with
         you?"
     ess I was         she said, almost in a whisper. "But he
     ildn't you have transferred to another part of the
                    shoulders. "Maybe. But Cole
shrugged her bare
!Ader 'asked me to join his group."
tiander offered you better pay?
-heard Kelly chuckle. -I wish. You don't know him
MmIl yet."
-don't understand."
                              d me to. Cole
joined his group because he aske
Ifnder is my father."
                         ur father? But your name is
          stunned. "Yo
ivel felt
                                             that he now
     Re stopped short, suddenly realizing
                      tive, dangerous ground.
treading on very sensi
                              Kelly said matter-of-
le never married my mother
Y.
Ud she ...
                    day she died. And so will I
She loved him 'til the
i.-
They left Corsica, after Alexander had a top secret
rters just aft of the flight deck
acting in his private qua
th six men who wore expensive suits and dark glasses.
r a few hours the
arrived in six different yachtsi and fo


172 Ben Bova
                                             coas
lonely unnamed inlet on the rugged Corsican @ t looked
like a holiday playground for millionaires.
     He serves the rich, Pavel remembered the director's
words. He helps them to oppress the poor.
     The yachts departed and the seaplane took off, landed
and refueled at Gibraltar, then flew out over the Atlantic
and 4own the curving bulk of the African coast. Pavel slept
poorly that night. The, plane flew steadily, with hardly a
noticeable vibration. The sound of the engines was muffled
to a background purr. But still something in that deepest
part of his brain that was always alert kept warning him
that he was in danger, that he was surrounded by enemies,
and that there was nothing between him and a screaming
fall to his death except several miles of thin air.
     He breakfasted with Kelly and the others, then was
summoned on the plane's intercom to the flight deck. Kelly
accompanied him along the passageway that led through
the sleeping compartments and her fatness private quar-
ters.
     "His bedroom is on this side"-she gestured to an
unmarked door in the passageway-"and his office is here
on the starboard side."
A flight of three steps marked the end of the passageway.
"Flight deck's up there," Kelly said.
            "You are not coming?"
"I haven't been invited. He wants to see you. Alone."
     She seemed more guarded than ever this morning, as if
she regretted having revealed so much about herself. Pavel
went up the metal steps and rapped on the door with the
back of his knuckles. Nothing happened. He glanced back
at Kelly, who motioned for him to open the doojr and
                                                       90
through. With a shrug, he did.
     Strong sunlight poured through the wide windows of the
flight deck. Pavel winced and, squinting, saw that the
stations for the navigator and electronics operator were
                       -PEACEKEEPERS 173
                              though the display
          chairs empty,even
     consoles glowed with data. He had ex-
     from the engines to be louder up here, but
     noise
     was'so marginal that Pavel could dismm no real
     fr*m the rest of the plane.
          here, Red,,, came Alexandees voice. From
     on UP
     seat.                       ied crew stations, Pavel
     his way Past the unOccuP
                         pilot,   the plane. He was
     Alexander was indeed               ing g aviatoes pola-
     @pjjy in the pilot's seat, wearing
     area tinted a light blue.
     ook so surprised, kid," Alexander said, grinning
     of the fun of
     lying this beautiful lady is most
          tit down, make yourself comfortable,"
     slid into the Copilot 's chair.
     it to try the controls?
                                   ishment. despite
     new he was wide-eyed with aston
                                        I could reply
                              All that Pave
;Wts to rein in his emotions
                         and a vigorous bobbing of his
     half-strangled "Yes"
ke 'em!" Alexander removed his hands from the
                    plane ploughed along steadily.
ped control Yoke. The -                 him and felt the
I gripped the yoke in front of
               of this huge plane. Alexander began
plous solidity
ling the instruments on the bewildering panels that
imeter, air
Pavers chair on three sides: alt
nded
                              ties, trim tabs, radar display,
     indicator, radios, throt
     ad-bank indicator, artificial horizon, compass, fuel
                                           that could be
               were hundreds of displays
      ... there
     up through the plane's flight- computer.
               seconds we have to make a twelve-degree
     about ten
                         left. Ready?"
southward. That's to our
     Pavel heard his voice squeak excitedly.
                      his hands on the controls, aren't
     re the man with


V`

174 Ben Bova
     His mouth suddenly dry, Pavel swallowed once, then
nodded. "I am ready."
     160kay      now."
     Both of them watched the compass as Pavel started to
turn the yoke leftward.
     "Rudder!" Alexander yelled. "The pedal beneath your
left foot. Easy!"
     The plane responded smoothly, although Pavel
overcontrdlled and had to turn slightly back toward the
right before the compass heading satisfied Alexander. He
was sweating by the time he-took his hands off the yoke and
let Alexander resume control.
     "Not bad for the first time," Alexander said, smiling his
sardonic smile. Pavel could not tell if he was being honest
or sarcastic.
     Alexander flicked his fingers across a few buttons, then
let go of the controls.
          "Okay, she's on autopilot now until we reach Cape Verde
     11
airspapp-
     Wiping his palms on his jeans, Pavel said, "I have never
flown an airplane before."
     "Uh-huh." Alexander studied his face for a moment,
then asked, "Okay, Red, what have you learned about us so
     Pavel searched for the older man's eyes, saw only the
blue-tinted glasses. "You mean, what will I report back to
Moscow?" he asked, stalling for time to think.
     Alexander nodded. His grin was gone. He was complete-
ly serious now.
     "You are planning to attack Libya, a nation that has
friendly ties to the Soviet Union. Your plan involves
-destroying the Libyan aquifer project, a project that could
bring precious water to farmers and herders along - the
Mediterranean coast-water that legally belongs to Libya,
since, it now lies under Libyan soil."
                              PEACEKEEPEPS 175
     @re conducting this attack for money paid to, you
     ri,!@Alexander said.
                         card this plane in Corsica.
     six men who came ab
                              ptiaw, two of them were
     -em I recognized as an Egy
presumably from Chad and Niger, two neighbo rs
any
Wm Libya, has been at war, off and on, for m
               --The other three were from
Alexander said.
     I
     k3limisia and France."
     tce?"
     Frogs have,had their troubles with Libyan terror-
     :r the years."
                        to get rid of Rayyid."
     hey are paying you
     exactly."
           d. "Not exactly? Come, now."
     snorte
     rider laughed. .,Ali, the righteous defender of the
                                          't
     is it not so?,, Pavel shot back. "Aren You taking
I
from the rich? Won,t your schemes hurt the poor
i and herdsmen Of Libya?"
ing a finger against his lips for a moment, Alexander
much he should tell. Finally he
to be debating how
                    t poorer than Libya. And the
:"Chad is a helluva lo
                    little conference represen ted
Dan you saw at Our
                              -They're damned worried
al nations of the Sahel area.
t Libya draining that aquifer-"                 11
'hen let them dig their own irrigation systems.
Vith what? They don't have oil money. They don't
any money."
@xcept a few millions to pay You."
                         My money's not coming
hey're paying me nothing-
the Sahel. And what I am getting for this caper is
y enough to pull it off and keep us from starving- I'm
rich man, Red. This plane and the people in it are my


176 Ben Bova
     Pavel did not believe that for        ins
                                   an ' tant. But he said 4
nothing.
     Besides, my egalitarian friend, Libya is'much richer
than most of its neighbors."
          "That's not true . .
     "Yes, it is. Check with the World Bank if you doubt it.,,
Alexander's crooked smile returned. "Oh, the people of
Libya are shit poor. Those farmers and herdsmen you talk
about are on the ragged edge of starvation, sure enough.
But there's plenty of,gold in Tripoli- Rayyid's rolling in
money. He could buy fusion desalting pla
                                             nts and string
them along his coastline, if he wanted to. Instead, he's
using
     part of his gold to build this monster irrigation
project. The rest goes into terrorism."
          So you say."
     "Listen, kid"-Alexander pointed a forefinger like a
pistol-"a helluva lot of Libyan oil money goes straight to
Moscow to buy the guns and explosives that Rayyid
terrorist squads use in Paris, Rome, London and Washing-
ton.
     Pavel leaned back, away from that accusing finger. "So it
is all the fault of the Soviet Union, is it?"
     "Did I say that?" Alexander put on a look
                                                  of pained
innocence falsely accused. "It's the fault of Quinar al-
Rayyid, and we're going to take steps, to stop him."
          "By destroying his aquifer project."
     "Damned right. And letting his own people see that he's
been spending their hard-earned money on projects that
bring him prestige and leave them penniless."
     "Very clever," Pavel admitted. "You stir up his own
people against him, so that when they tear him to pieces
you can say that you did not assassinate him."
     "What the Libyan people-or, more likely, what the
Libyan military do to Rayyid is their problem, not mine.
My problem is to see to it that the bastard doesn't drain
                              PEACEKEEPERS 177
                             g1cal disaster that'll kill
     ,rj4q an&cause an ecolo
     r people over the next generation."
     ruin your plans," Pavel said.
            d an eyebrow.
     ei arche
     escape from you and tell all this to the nearest
          sulate. Once they knew that Algeria and France
     ng you            Pavel- let the sentence dangle.
          jer grinned at him. -First you have to escape."
     bowed his head in acknowledgement.
     Wly, it wouldn't be too tough for a man of your
     1.          leaning back in his. chair.
     Alexander said,
          sitt' on an ejection seat, you know.
     ing
          ?,,@
     ly.
               If into the harness and hit the red
     -strap yourse
                         St and whoosh!" Alexander
     on the end of the armre
     .4 with both hands, "Off Y01110, through the over-
     tch and into the wild blue yonder. Parachute opens
     beeps a dis-
     tically. Flotation gear inflates. Radio
     [I. You'd be picked up before you got your feet wet,
                                d at the red button.
     said nothing. But he glance
                                             is fingertips he
     was a protective guard over it. With h
                                   locked; Alexander was
     it and found that it was not
     the truth.
                                   -if you're really
..hat's more," the man was saying,
                                             Give me a
     -to knock me off, now's the time for it.
          in the head or something, knock me unconscious Or
     e outright. ,in sure they taught you how to do that,
     theyT
               smiling cynically, Pavel saw, but his tone
     lips were
     eadly serious-
                    rottles, and the yoke hard forward, Put
     nen slam the th                                floating off
               0 a power dive and eject. You 90
     plane int
                   rips off its wings and hits the water at
     and the plane              ivors, and it looks like an
;hundred knots. No surv

     178, Ben Bova
                 ----------
accident. You'd get a Hero of the Soviet Union medal f0e,
that, wouldn't you?"
     "You are joking," Pavel said.
     Alexander went on, "You'd kill me and everybody else
on board. Wipe out all of us."
     Pavel could not flithom Alexander's motives. Is this a
test of some sort? he asked himself. A trap? Or is the man
absolutely mad?
     "You could knock me out, couldn't you? After all, I'm an
old man. Old enough to be your father."
     Is he actually challenging me to a fight? Pavel wondered.
Here? In the cockpit of this plane?
     "She told you I'm her father, didn't she?" Alexander
asked.
     The sudden shift in subject almost bewildered Pavel. He
felt as'if he were thrashing around in deep water, unable to
catch his breath
     -Kelly's
MY daughter. She told you that, didn't she?"
     There was real concern written on the man's face, Pavel
saw. And suddenly he realized that all this talk of assassi-
nation and destroying the airplane h
                                      ad been a test, after all.
     "Yes, she did tell me
                he admitted.
     "I think the world, of her," Alexander said. "She's the
only child I've got.
                  The only
            one I'll ever have."
     "She loves you very much," Pavel said.
       f you kill me here and now, you'd be killing her, too.
     "Yes, that is true."
For many long, nerve -twisting moments they -sat side by
side in silence, staring at each other, trying to determine
what was going on behind the masks they held up to one
.anot
     her, while the plane droned on high above the glitter-
ing gray ocean.
     "When you go into Libya on
                              this mission," Alexander
said,
     "Kelly will be with you. She has a tough assignment, a
key assignment."
A@
                                                  179
  deep breath, let it out slowly in a sigh
    it. "Tin asking you to watch out for
      t care what your government wants
  take care of myself. But my little girl,
      on this job. I'm asking you to be
     thought. Asking me to'protect the
     ed to watch me. His own daughter.
     itely mad ... or far more clever than even the
     in suspects. Yes, devious and extremely clever. He
     ing the two of us together. Now he places
     en watch
     fety in my hands. Extremely clever. And therefore
     ely dangerous.
          y, took," Alexander exclaimed, pointing past Pavel's
     der. "The Madeira Islands."
          I glanced out the window to his right and saw a large
     44, green and brown against the steel-gray of the ocean,
     of whitish clouds building up on its windw ard side.
     to Id see no other islands, but puffy clouds dotted the
     u
     gn and may have been hiding them.
     there's an example of ecological catastrophe turning
                              er said, as ch
     something good," Alexand                          ipper and
Oasant as if they had never spoken of death.
Pavel gave up trying to figure out this strange, many-
ooded man. He is too subtle for me, he concluded.
@'Madeira is the Portuguese word for wood," Alexander
explaining. "The early Spanish and Portuguese explor-
working their way down the coast of Africa, looking for
way around to the Indies, they stopped at the islands to
it down trees for lumber and fuel. Masts, too. Cut down
much of it they totally denuded the islands in just about
'century."
"A tragedy," Pavel said.
"Yeah. But somebody got the brilliant idea of planting


180 Ben Bova
grapevines where the forests used to be. Now the islands
produce one of the world's greatest wines. Madeira was a
favorite of Thomas Jefferson's, did you know that?"
     Pavel shook his head.
     Alexander tilted his head back and began singing in a
thin, wavering voice that was slightly off-key: "Have some
     His mind whirling, Pavel excused himself and left the
flight deck.
     For two days the Plane stayed anchored in the harbor of
SAO Vicente, in the Cape Verde
                                   Islands. Alexander re-
mained aboard, constantly locked in his office, speaking by
coded ti  beams to co
          ght              ntacts over half the world. He must
have his own private network of communications satellites,
Pavel thought. Then he realized, Of course! He must have
free access to coninisats owned by half do
                                   a zen nations and
private capitalist corporations.
     The rest of the crew apparently had nothing to do except
guard the plane and replenish its stores. Pavel watched
closely, but saw no weapons brought aboard.
     There was no way for Pavel to make contact with
Moscow. He was watched every moment, and each night
the plane was moored far from land.
     On the second day, though, Alexander insisted that Pavel
take Kelly into the town foT an afternoon of relaxation.
     "Do you both good to get out and away from here for a
few hours," he said
     Pavel wondered 'what Alexander had planned for the
afternoon, that he wanted Pavel out of the way-escorted
by his watchdog. Or does he want his daughter to have a
free afternoon, escorted by her watchdog? It was too
devious for Pavelto unravel.
     Kelly had stayed distant from Pavel since the day they
had swum together. But now the two of them took one of
the inflatable Zodiac boats to the port and spent an
                                             PEACEKEEPERS 191
                                        like any ordin y couple.
                         Dn gawking at the town,                    ar
                                   spicuous cutoff jeans and T-shirts-and
                         ore mcon
                         Is t6verings of sun-blOck oil over their bare arms
                         passenger liner was tied to the main pier, and they
                         hi
                         with the brightly dressed tourists, watc ing the
                                                                 16
                     ng
                                                       Islands and
                              -.the; waters between the Cape Verde
                         nearly a thousand kilometers eastward. Then they'
                         the volcanic rocks to the crumbling old Moorish
                         that had flown the red and green flag of Portugal for
                         -mi llennium.
                                   stood on the bare hilltop with Kelly beside him and
                                   A                                    back at the harbor, the ships anchored along the
                                   rn concrete quay, a rusting hulk half sunk next to a
                                   - old pier, the seaplane riding the gentle swells out by
                                   rial sun was baking its heat into
                                   kwater. The equato
                         nes, yet the trade wind was cool and refreshing.
                         beautiful, isn't it?" Kelly said, smiling out at the
s gaze to her. "You are beautiful, too," he
ssed her, wonderin just how much he
s, his actions. Kelly clung to him for a
away-
                              slightly, she said, "Don't play games
                                                  -h me, Pavel."
                                                  'I'm not playing games."
                                                  'Not much."
                                                  Kelly, honestly
                                                  'Let's see the town." She turned away from him, and
                                                  rted down the steep path that led back to the port.
                                                  11avel followed her down the sloping path. They reached
                                                  quiet, sun-drenched streets where the stucco fronts of
                                                  buildings were painted brilliant hues of blue, yellow,
                                                  en and white. Children in school uniforms sat up on the
                                                  of a single-story building, intently reading. The out-
Madeira my dear, You really lhave@-nothing to fear .. uned islanders unloadi bananas from boats that


182 Den Bova
door market was noisier, the tang of spices filling the air
while women in colorful dresses bargained noisily on both
sides of the stalls over freshly caught fish and teeming bins
Of vegetables.  Clouds of flies buzzed over the fish and red
meats-,       waved at them annoyedly, ineffectively.
     Finally he took Kelly by the wrist and led her away from
the stalls.
     They found a tiny caf6 with a patio that looked out on
the municipal square. The food was good, the wine even
better. Pavel began to fantasize about spending' the rest of
the afternoon in a romantic hotel room, but he knew that
Kelly would never agree.
     Yet she suggested, "Let's go back up thp.hill and find a
quiet spot where we can take a nap.
     His thoughts churning, Pavel brought her back to the
abandoned Moorish castle. She has almost as many contra-
dictions about her as her father, he said to himself. It's
almost as if she is fighting within her own soul.
     But another voice in his mind warned, Her loyalty is to
her father; always remember that. Your loyalty is to the
Soviet Union and its people. Her loyalty is to her father.
     They climbed solid stone stairs to the topmost turret,
stretched out in the sun and almost immediately fell
asleep, more like brother and sister than prospective lovers.
     Pavefwoke shivering. The sun had dropped toward the
horizon, leaving him in the shade of the turret's parapet. It
was cold I lying on the stones. Kelly was nowhere in sight.
     He sat bolt upright, then quickly got to his feet. Ali, there
she is! Kelly was leaning on the weathered stone parapet,
off at the other side of the turret, gazing down at the town
and the harbor. Pavel felt an immense flood of relief. She
had not deserted him. She had not been abducted.
     Wondering which reason was the stronger within his own
mind, Pavel walked over to her side.
"You were snoring," she said.
     mpossible. I never snore."
                              PEACEKEEPERS          183
                   know?"
     told you that in the Soviet Union,
all the time? if I snored, there would
recording of I it, and my superiors would have
          to cease such bourgeois affectations."
     laughed. -,Snoring isn't allowed in the USSRT'
     not," Paveljoked, surprised at how happy her
     Murse
          him feel. "We are striving to create the truly
     man. Snoring ' is definitely not modern.
     *0ed and joked their way down the mountain-
     wid back into the town. The sun was setting, so they
          i back to the pier and the Zodiac they had left tied
     they had
     Kelly inspected the boat carefully once
          d into it, even taking a small electronic beeper from
     it and passing it back and forth over its length twice.
     )Wt want to bring any bugs back to the plane with
     3he said. -or bombs."
     vel sat beside her as she started the motor. "Your
     @r has enemies."
     es, he does," she replied. Then, staring hard into his
     she asked, "Aren't you one of them?"
     had no answer. They rode back to the seaplane
hout further words. Pavel felt grateful that the roar of
boat,s motor made intimate conversation impossible.
3iom Sao Vicente they flew to Dakar, on the bulge Of
ica's Senegalese coast. Again, Alexander suggested to
I  when Kelly said
I that he take Kelly into the city. But
a wanted to go dancing, both men were dubious.
-1 don't like the idea of you two out in the wild-life
strict at night," Alexander said grimly "Dakar isn't a
urist 9s city; it's a rough, grungY town at night- It can be
ingerous."
     Kell  y shook her head stubbornly. "We@won't go into the
Od-light district, for God's sake! We'll stay with the
buntry club crowd."

184 Ben Bova
     Pavel had a more serious objection. "I don't know how
to dance," he confessed.
     She grinned at him, her fathees sardonic, superior
semi-stieer. "I'll have to teach you, then."
     So Pavel escorted Kelly on a tour of the city's nightlife,
sampling capitalistic delights such as dancing in private
clubs that boasted I
                    ive musicians and dining in posh
restaurants, all the while wondering when-if ever-
Alexander was going to get his Libyan mission under way.
     It was obvious that Alexander wanted Pavel away from
the plane f or long hours at a time, But under constant
-observation, nonetheless. Pavel wondered also about his
relationship with Kelly. She is Alexandees daughter, he
kept telling himself. She is intelligent, charming, lovely in
her own way- -but she is Alexander's daughter, and her
first loyalty is -to her father.
     Pavel found himself wishing it were not so.
     "This is our last night of fun," Kelly said over the din of
a torrid Senegalese rock band.
     "WhatT' Pavel had heard,her words. With a shock, he
realized that he did not want things to change.
     Kelly leaned forward over their minuscule table. Two
plastic coconut shells half filled with poisonously delicious
rum drinks tottered slightly between them. The nightclub
was lit by strobing projectors flashing holograms of video
stars that sang, played their electronic instruments and
even
     danced" with the customers. Couples gyrated wildly
to -the throbbing, drum-heaVY music, casting weird shad-
ows across Kelly's snub-nosed face. She waswearing a
sleeveless frock, its color impossible to determine in the
flashing strobe lights.            11
     "Tomorrow the real work starts," she shouted into
Pavel's ear.
     He took her by the wrist and led- her across the edge of
the dance floor, threading through bluish clouds of smoke
and past the wildly thrashing couples, even directly
                               PEACEKEEPERS
     77
                    oblivi         holos. Once the thickly
     overal of the               ous
                      e
     main door of th club closed behind them, the@
     e stars glittere d
     lj@outside was blessedly quiet.Th
                                        uds. The air
                         -scudding gray clo
     aks between low
     Dre
                              ed odors of flowers and oil
     np and heavy with mingl
                                   ist life?- Kelly teased.
     I enough of the rich capital
          d our mission begins tomorrow?"
     Sai
                                   s," she said. "The
     i mg work starts. tomorrow, ye
     ming for the mission is still a secret."
     yJd will officially open the irrigation system next
     head-
     Pavel pointed out. "The news is in all the
                                        the rows of
     nodded@ began walking slowly toward
     cars.
                   began.
                                  e lit by the garish
                    him, her fac                     glow
                                        to be waiting
          animated sip, she seemed
              the right words.
                                       of your fathees
             you said I was one
                  is true.
           wish to be your enemy."
                         head. "Can't be his enemy
                  shook her
                   Pavel."
                    I am a loyal Soviet citizen. He knew
it when h accepted me."
                          him, "Pavel-i don't make
Kelly took a step toward
ends easily. I've always be I en a loner ...
"Me, too," he admitted.
                         ing, changed her mind. Pavel
5he started to say someth
@uld sense the emotions battling within her.
@@'-Mayj)e we'd better leave it that way, she said at last
might've been good between us, but-.
                             I's shoulder blades like a
:A blow struck between Pave                            S
ulder smashing him- He went down face-first, heard hi


               186 Ben Bova
nose crunch on the asphalt of the parking lot. 'Kelly
screamed.
               There was no pain. Not yet. Pavel half rolled
                                             over, and a
massive black man loomed over him, a thick length of pipe
in his upraised hand. Beyond him, Pavel could see two
others grabbing at Kelly, twisting her arms painfully and
laughing,, as they, tore at her dress.
     Without thinking consciously, Pavel blocked the down-
ward swing of the pipe-wielder's. arm and kicked his legs
out from under him. He went down with a surprised grunt
and a thwack as Pavel scrambled to his feet.
     Kelly smashed the heel of her shoe into one of her
assailant's ifisteps, wrenched her arm free from him as he
yowled in sudden pain then drove her cupped palm into
the nose of the other man holding her. His head snapped
back.
     Pavel took out the man hopping on one foot with a swift
stiff-fingered shot in the throat, then whirled to face the
other one. But Kelly smashed lightning-fast chops at his
solar plexus, kidney and groin. He hit the asphalt like a
dead man.
               'The big one who had struck
                              Pavel was climbing to his
feet. Feeling utter fury boiling within him, Pavel launched
a flying dropkick at his head, knocking him to his k
nees.
Pavel landed catlike on the balls of his feet and wrenched
the pipe from the man's hand. With every ounce of his
strength he swung the pipe into the big man's ribs and felt
them give way. Then backhanded across the face
                   and he
went down heavily. Then a two-handed swing across his
back.
     "Stop it! Stop it!" Kelly hissed, grabbing Pavel's shoul-
der. "Do you want to kill him?"
     "Yes!" Pavel snarled. But he stopped. He was trembling
with rage, and he knew that it was only in part from the
shock of being unprovokedly attacked. They had tried to
hurt Kelly.
M IM1111 I
                                                  187
                              PEACEKEEPERS
          to the two who had, grabbed her@ stretched Out
     uman bastards 'he muttered-
     d on," Kelly said, "let$s get to the plane."
                                           waiting in
     @6& one of the battered ancient taxicabs
                                       d toward the
     the club's entrance. As it jounce
                          pavel,s face in the dim light Of
          Kelly peered at
     asional. streetlamps-
          is bleeding."@
     r AM
     I tore your dresser'
     broken?"
      don,t think so. There's a bruise on your ShOul-
                        about your back?"
     lat's nothing- What
     "s numb."
     sure lucky no bones are broken."
     here did you learn to fight like that?"
     Om when I was a kid. Then training at the IPF. My
     r's people have taught me a few new tricks; too."
     Menly they were laughing together- Bruised, bleeding,
     and
     ions of fear
     ing, trembling with delayed react
     -they laughed almost uncontrollably all the way to
     aterfront.
     fine pair of warriors we are,,, Kelly said as they
     "We mint
     the armed guard at the pier's entrance.
Vwful."
                    than they do," Pavel reminded her.
.111ut we look better
                                     the plane, with
wasn!t until they were halfway back to
          drenching him and throbbing Pain starting in
     spray
                                        ask himself, Were
     )ack and face, that Pavel began to
                    Or were they sent by someone'
     merely muggers?
                            S? Or could Alexander
nies of Alexander's, PerhaP
                          some kind of test of my ability
     If have sent them, as                          nough for
protect his daughter? The man is devious e
*t-
Alexander was strangely silent as Kelly explained what


188 Ben Bova
ha& happened. Pavel stood beside   her in the softly lit
wardroom, his back blazing'with        pain, his nose still
trickling blood, and watched Alexander. No one else was
present.
     The man listened grimly to, his daughter and replied
only, "I told you it was a dangerous town.-
     "When you're right, you're right," Kelly admitted.
     "Well,       Alexander let out a sigh that was almost a
SnOrt- "You're both Okay. NO Permanent damage. That's
the important thing."
     "Pavel needs treatment for his back."
     Turning his steel-gray gaze to Pavel,- Alexander said,
"Yeah, I guess so. Come with me."
     Without another word to his daughter, he led Pavel from
the wardroom and down the passageway to his private
quarters.; His bathroom was as large as Pavel's whole
COMPartmeM and wedged between the shower stall and
the toilet was a narrow deep tub.
     My one luxury," Alexander muttered. "Whirlpool
bath." He touched a button on the tub's control box and
steaming hot water started filling it.
Pavel caught a glimpse of himself in the miffor above the
sink. His upper lip was caked with blood; his cheek was
muffed raw. His back was so stiff now that he knew he
could not raise his arms, even to defend himself.
Alexander placed himself squarely in front of Pavel.
     "I asked You to protect my daughter, and you damn near
get her raped and murdered
"I got her. . .,, Pavel felt shocked at the accusation.
     "Don't you have any goddarnned sense? Where the hell
did you take her, to some goddamned junk bar or what?"
"It was a Private club that she selected."
"You're supposed to protect her," Alexander snarled.
"You're supposed to be on the alert, have some common
sense in that thick Russian skull of yours."
     Anger flamed through Pavel. "So it's the fault of the
-PEACEKEEPERS 189
s infest
an that muggers and hoodlum
near got her killed!"
J*ells anger dissolved as quickly as it had aP-
@There was real fear in Alexander's eyes, real
,in his voice.
                     L I
        I he said his voice low. "I love her, too-"
     WI
@n*, mouth opened but no words came Out. He
               I
oooniess speechless. Then he gestured toward the
*Wng tub. Through the steam, Pavel saw that there
Set of three steps built into-its side. In silence,
@&r helped him into the tub, turned on the whirlpool
alone.
and then left Pavel
     two days of rest and whirlpool treatments to hed
back The hot swirling water eased the pain and
Pavel felt only a twinge when he
41to the point where                            days he
ojawms above his head. During those two
exander only when he knocked for admission to the
OM.
y, seemed cheerful an d friendly, but nothing more.
told her of
desperately that her father       -not
61' ission.
          ng of the third day after the attack Alexan-
.the eveni
                              sion     e        Pavel,
abruptly called for a final mis        bri fing
             avroulis gathered around the display
Barker and M
in the wardroom. A detaile d map of the Libyan
1:r facility glowed in the otherwise unlit compartment,
ving deep shadows across their faces.
          asked each of the       to recite their assip!-
xander                      In
          about flying from Dakar and landing in the
kerspoke
L pointing to a spot marked on the map some twenty
eters from the Libyan facility.
          over. -We meet Hassan and his men
vroulis took
-he tapped the tabletop display screen-"and pro-


190 Ben -Bova
     ceed to the aquifer facility. We get past the guards and take
over the facility."
     "Timing?" Alexander asked.
     Mavroulis rattled off a series of hoursand minutes that
meant nothing to Pavel. Obviously they had rehearsed this
Sequence of actions many times. They all knew exactl
                                                       y
what they were supposed to do. All of them, except Pavel.
          "KeHy?" her,father asked. "Let's hear your story.,,
     "Once we're inside the control building I proceed to the
main computer center and reprogram the machine. Repro-
gramining tapes are in my kit."
     Alexander gave her a long, serious look. "You're the key
to this whole operation, young lady. Everything we're
doing, all the risks we're taking, are so that you can get into
their computer.-
          She nodded, equally serious. "I understand."
     Mavroulis then told how they would retreat to the spot
where Barker was waiting with their aircraft. Barker said
he would fly out of Libyan airspace to a rendezvous with a
fighter escort waiting for them in Chad.
     Alexander looked at each of them in turn, his lips
pressed into a tight, tense line, his gray eyes cold as
Scalpels. "Okay, sounds like you know your jobs."
     "What about me?" Pavel blurted. "I'm going, too, am I
not?"
     Looking almost surprised, Alexander said, "Sure you're
going, Red. Your job is very simple. You're Kelly's protecl-
tion. Stay with her wherever she goes. If the operation
blows up, you're to get her out and back to me. Don't come
back without her. Pahnyeemahyo?-
     His Russian was execrable. "I understand," Pavel an-
sWered in letter-perfect English.
     Pavel could not overcome the feeling that they were
being watched. And followed.
Four would-be tourists: an American woman, an Eng-
                     ME
                              PEACEKEEPERS         191
                    a Russian. From Alexander's sea-
     a Greek, and
     rchored out in the harbor they went to the water-
     of two, Pavel and
     Dakar in two separate groups
     mg, then Barker and Mavroulis. All dressed in
     slacks and sport shirts, with overnight bags slung
                                      taxis they went to
          shoulders. In two separate
     their
                                             tickets for
     port where they bought four separate
     onca, Tunis, Cairo and Malta.
          t of them started for the gates where their respective
     0
     em handed their tickets t
     Each of th
     were waiting
                    themselves as part of Alexander's
     s who identified
                              d the planes while the four
     )n., The strangers boarde
                         mergency exit (conveniently
     1 ducked through an e
ocked thanks to a small bribe) and into an empty
parked there.
carrier that just happened to be
     drove the-electrically powered van into a hangar on
                              ort.
     side of the sprawling airp                        han-
Swivel-engined hoveriet Sat alone in the echoing
It looked old and hard-used. paint worn and chipped,
ear where the name of the
- for a fresh-looking sm
s p I revious owner had been whited over. The only
inber, back
tification on the craft was its registration nu
                                   ds, out at the ends of the
     e tail. The bulky engine po
                                  -dirt. Pavel began to
by wings, were black with oil and
                                           ay to their
kder if this machine would make it all the w
camp in the desert. And back again.
                                                       ane
     rdlessly the four of them climbed into it. The pl
Iled sourly of oil and tobacco smoke and old human
                  pilot's seat, Kelly the copilot's-tO
t. Barker took the                        - h MavrOulis
I's surprise. He sat behind them, wit
le him, glowering like a dark volcano at Pavel as they
ved on their safety harnesses.
ley taxied out onto the ramp, Barker chatting with the
                                       English of the
ric controllers in the clipped, professional to a vertical
ays. Pavel watched as they rolled out
                                     low circles. The
     area marked by wide red and yel


               192 Ben@ Bova
plane's two turboprop engines-tilted slowly backward, their
big propeller blades scything the air until th
                                             ey became an
invisible blur. The engines roared with full power, sha
king
the cabin so furiously that Pavel began: to worry that the
plane might fall apart
               With a lurch they lifted
                         off the ground and rattled up
and away, banking so precariousl
                                   y that when Pavel looked
out the window on his side he was staring stra
                ight down at
the looming roof of a hangar and the bird nests and
               droppings that covered it. It looked terrifyingly, close.
               The plane climbed steadily,
                              though, and soon enough the
engines slid back to their horizontal posiitions and they
surged ahead, wi                        fo
               1191119 across greenly rested mountains
with the sun at their backs.
     For days Pavel had searched for a way to warn Moscow,
to get out the word of what Alexander was planning to do
and                                         n       ance. He
how hewould do it. But there had bee no ch
was always watched, never alone. And now h
                                             e rode with
three of the mercenaries on their mission of destruction,
not entirely sure that he wanted
                              to stop them. That would
mean placing Kelly in unbearable danger, possibly getting
Yl@                her killed.
               Miserably confused,
                         Pavel sat in the swive1jet and did
nothing.  There seemed to be nothing he could do.
     The landscape changed slowly, subtly, but by the time
the- long shadows of twilight were reaching across the
               ground, Pavel was watching low, gently                      Of
              undulating hills
bare rock with Patches of pitifully thin grass here and
there. Dark circles of water holes appeared every few
kilometers; most of them seemed to be wells dug by men
rather than natural springs. The grass was worn away
around the waterholes, leaving only bare gray dry4ooking
soil that wafted away in long dusty streamers with each
passing gust of wind.
     Just at sunset Pavel saw a tiny herd of emaciated cattle
                              pEAcEKEEPERS          193
     Slowly toward, one of those waterhOles. 'Three
     in persons in gray      dust-covered rob es walked be-
     Lem. From this altitude Pavel could not tell if they
     en or Women.
     as well past sundown when they landed, coming
     kness; not a light
     vertically in a sea of absolute blac
     re except for the stars strewn across the dark bowl
     ng his eyes, Pavel saw briefly a flicker
     But, straini
     apfire down there; it looked very small and lonely-
     i Barker's and Kelly's shoulders, Pavel could see a
     fe
     di ay on the radar panel. Yet he did not feet sa
     SPI
     ie plane thumped onto solid ground.
      t 900 d to stretch his legs again. Pavel tried lifting his
                                                                  4
          ing his spine, carefully. A twinge, nothing
4nd stretch
     He was ready for action.
rker became their team, leader. He strode across the
spoke with a trio of men
jo the tiny campfire, and
     ied in desert robes and burnooses who were waiting
     Then he beckoned to Pavel and the others.
                                   nou    d it shed-
verything's on schedule." Barker pro        nce
                                             with us here
     "Hassan and his people will rendezvous
     rrow morning."
hey spent the next two hours dragging out camouflage
and radar dispersers to hide the plane from aerial
aped tent for,
then pitching a tan igloo-sh
nselves to sleep in, while the three robed strangers
in the flickering light of their
ched in unmoving silence
          was surprisingly cold on the desert, although Pavel
     t warm by working hard. He did not want his back to
     on him. They ate a quick meal from metal-fbil
     :kages that heated themselves when their tops were
     Ied off.
     'Sleep now," Barker said. "Big show tomorrow."
     @avel asked, "No one stands guard?"


          194 Ben Bova.
     Barker nodded toward the three bedouins by the fire.
"They're @Our guards."
"You trust them?"
"They're in on this with us."
"I think we should have a guard of our own."
"Now see here . .
Mavroulis's voice came out of the dimness like a distant
roll of thunder. "For once I agree with the Russian para-
noid."
Pavel grinned. "I will stand watch until midnight."
"Hokay," said Mavroulis. "I will take midnight to two."
Kelly offered to take the next two hours and, reluctantly,
Barker, agreed to the final two.
AU, four of them crawled into the round tent. Pavel
z            strapped a battery-powered heating pad to his back, then
     pulled a thermal jacket over it.
     "Take this, if you're going to be our guardian," said
Barker. He pushed a slim flat pistol into Pavel's hand. "It's
a Beretta nine-millimeter automatic. Do you know how to
use
     Pavel flicked off the safety with his thumb and cocked the
pistol.
     "For heaven's sake, don't fire the thing unless it's abso-
hitely necessary!" Barker warned.
     Good night," said Pavel, calmly returning the gun to its
safe condition.
     The others muttered good night and crawled into their
sleeping bags. Pavel ached for Kelly to say something more,
but soon all he heard was the gentle breathing of his
companions. Mavroulis began to snore.
     He tucked the pistol into his belt, its weight solid and
comforting. It was warm and drowsy inside the tent. And
there was utterly nothing to do. Pavel decided to duck
outside. At least I can count the stars, he told himself
A,wind had come up. Not enough to stir the desert sand,
will
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 105
                    nd the tent to the leeward, then sat
                         He could not see the campfire
-and that bothered him somewhat.-
                              ng
     Joe spectaulu Of the heavens was so overwhelmi
          almost forgot everything else. The stars were
     bright in the desert night; so brilliant that he
bly
@fdft he could reach out and take them in his fingers.
                                                  'a
          like an hour Pavel studied the heavens, s
At seemed
                                   planetarium.
I as he had been at his first visit to a
                                                  le
enewed his acquaintance with the Great and Litt
                                             azed briefly
               e Hunter. A meteor bl
,,the Princess, th
                                                  n
4he sky, silent and cold despite its fire. The Moo
6where in sight. The arching beauty of the Milky Way
alluringly, much brighter than he had ever seen it
fte street s of Kursk or Moscow. And there was Mars,
                    Russians are there, living and
4 red on the horizon.
*g on another world, Pavel thought with a surge of
vel tore his gaze away and looked at the glowing digits
jj@wristwatch. Hardly half an hour had elapsed. He got
ifeet and slowly paced around the tent, hunching his
insi the cold wind and pushing his fists deep
Iders aga
the jacket's pockets.
                         few pitiful embers. The men
le campfire was down to a
          sleeping beside it , on the bare ground-
     n there!
A here were only two me
                                            pockets; his
     vel tensed. His hands came out of the
-held the pistol. He cocked it; in the dark night the
gig noise sounded like the heavens cracking asunder.
!byarish. " It was a whisper.
         I turned his head. A shadow' form stood
Dwly Pave                                    y
                                        gun leveled at the
- the tent behind him. He whirled, the
     uin's waist.
     Tovarish! I am friend!" the man said in a mixture of
          and English.
ran


1%    Ben Bova
     "Who are you?" Pavel whispered.
     "A friend. To help you."
     "Help meT
     "I was told a Russian would be among the infidels who
came to this camp, and he would be a friend to us. I was
told to make myself known to the Russian.
     In the dim light of the stars Pavel could not make out the
man's face, deeply shadowed by the hood of his burnoose.
          "Who told you this?"
     "Hassan's men. The faithful of God," replied the bedou-
in. "Hassan himself will be here in the morning. He will
remain here while you go to the water machinery. He and
the faithful will be waiting for you when you return.,,
          "And then?"
     "You will be spared," the man whispered. "Hassan
knows who th true friends of God are. You will be
spared."
     A burning tendril of red-hot fear crawled along F@aveils
gut and clutched at his heart.
     "And the others?" he asked in an urgent whisper.
     "God knows,"
     "What do you mean?'
     "They are infidels, are they not? What does it matter?"
     A thousand questions boiled up in Pavel's mind, but he
clamped his lips shut so tightly that his teeth hurt. This
bedouin is only a messenger, he told himself. He knows
very little. And the more questions I ask, the more suspi-
cious he will become.
     "Go with God," said the bedouin, tapping his right hand
to his chest.
     Pavel grunted and nodded, thinking that it was an
unlikely alliance: a Moslem fundamentalist and a Soviet
atheist.
     The bedouin went as silently as a wraith back toward the
embers of the campfire.. Pavel stayed on his feet, wide
                              PEACEKEEPERS          197
     aid forgot the stars that hung above. Even after
     is@came out and took the gun from him, Pavel went
     d out in his sleeping bag but
     ie tent and stretche
     hat he could not keep his eyes@ closed.
     as a hunted mountain lion, eyes burning from lack
     Pavel rolled out of his sleeping bag with the first
     1    'dawn. He had spent the night debating where his


     lay: assassinating Alexander did not mean that he
          d aside d let these desert savages slaughter his
     St"           an
     s.   He could not let them harm Kelly.  N
     lion                                            ever.
          d make hisassignment more difficult
     it woul                                held hostage.
     ad the others were killed-or even
          is this Hassan? What game is. he playing? Is
     dees plan already known and countered? Are we
     r in a trap, our necks in nooses?
     V and the others gave no sign of apprehension. They
     a quick breakfast of yogurt and honey with the three
     ris, who smilingly assured them that Hassan would
     rive. Pavel tried to identify which of the three had
     to him during the night. He could not.
     ly broke out tubes of dark cream makeup. 'We've got
     bk more like Arabs," she said.
     red-haired Arab," Mavroulis joked, taking a tube
     het
     won't be red-haired for long," Kelly shot back,
     Ing
     ?el took the tube she handed him.
     our
       re already a lot darker than you were when you first
     to us," she said. "Your skin is almost golden, like
Tartar blood," Pavel said.
And those beautiful dark eyes," Kelly added. "You
ft need contacts to disguise them."
'ayel felt himself blush.


198 Ben Bova
     By the time Hassan and his men arrived, in a pair of
armored,   wide-
                    tracked     personnel     carriers,     Kelly,
                                                       I
Mavroulis and Pavel had
                         daubed their skin as dark as their
bedouin companions. Barker had declined to disguise
himself.
     "I am to remain here      ith the plane and, stay out of the
          w
sa
sun," he id with an almost smug air of English self-
satisfaction.
     Hassan turned out t
                         o be a colonel in the Libyan Army.
He jumped down from the turret of the lea
                                             ding sand-
colored crawler, @ a handsome ene
                                   rgetic man in his late
forties, wearing a crisply creased green and gold uniform
with his cap cocked at ajaunty angle and a pair,of mirrored
sungla'   hat hid his eyes very effectively.
     sses t
     Helooked over the four mercenaries, up and down, as he
casually took a flat gold case from his tunic chest pocket
and put a slim brown
                    cigar to his lips Pavel noticed that he
Sported a Pencil-thin mustache.
     One of his aides, dressed in sand-colored battle fatigues,
leaped forward to light the colonel's cigar. Hassan blew out
a thin cloud of smoke, then nodded as if satisfied.
     "Y
     , ou will do ' I suppose." Without turning his head back
t6' the vehicle, he raised one hand and snapped his fingers.
"Uniforms!"
     Within five minutes Kelly, Mavroulis and Pavel were
decked in the green and gold uniforms of the Libyan Army.
Pavel thought them overly gaudy: uniforms meant for
show, not for fighting. They did not fit terribly well; Kelly's
in particular sagged on her diminutive frame.
     Hassan disdained to speak to them, but looked them
over like a drill sergeant inspecting a trio of recruits, his lip
curled slightly in distaste. Kelly had tucked her dyed hair
inside her cap. Otherwise she looked properly boyish.
     "That APV will take you to the water facility," Hassan                    so
said in British-accented English. "The crew is instructed to
               PEACEKEEPERS 1"
     :-you until precisely 1510 hours. Then they will
     ore@ with you or without you. Is that clear?"
     -ulis said 'The timetable is understood.
               I                                                           @Y
     ...  took the cigar from his lips and gestured to the
          carrier. The three of them climbed up the metal
                         in through the hatch. Two soldiers
          he ladder and
          idy inside, d          khaki fatigues and wearing
                    ressed in                           hinly


     in well-oiled black holsters, sitting on the t
               Ich that lined one side of the metal compart-,
          Ipte three mercenaries sat along the bench on the
          side. The metal bulkhead felt hot against Pavel's
          t-           as good as the heating pad, he thought.
     Ds
          h the forward hatch inthe compartment, Pavel
          two more men in the driver's cab, one of them an
                                                  shaki
          lith a roar of diesel engines and a bone                     ing
          personnel carrier started off across the desert.
          rhe armored vehicle was like an oven in the desert
          Sweat oozed from every pore of Pavel's'body.
          of their bo esbecame almost nauseating as the
          -rched and swayed. Their uniforms turned dark with
          ration, under the armpits, across the back, every-
          t believe in air-conditioning,- Kelly said, her
          with misery.
               soldiers wordlessly climbed up into the top
          ,popped its hatch open. A hot breeze like the
          a furnace blew in. Mavroulis grunted and swore
          under his breath. Pavel wondered if the soldiers
%tood English.
t1i me about this aquifer facility. How does it work?"
more to forget the heat and cover his
said to Kelly,
@ng tension than any desire to learn.
Any seemed glad of the diversion. She was nervous,
@ Pavel realized. She recited facts and figures for the
tender of the jouncing trip across the desert. The only


200 Ben Bova
thing that stuck in Pavel's mind was that the great under.
grou nd aquif er was almost three thousand meters deep;
nearly, three kilometers below the desert sa
                    nds.
          C Id the Libyans actually
                     OU
                              use up a that water in a
single generation? There must be millions of tons of it
beneath the Sahara, Pavel realized. Surely Alexander was
spouting propaganda. But then he remembe red how the
vast virgin lands in Siberia had been Polluted beyond belief
in only a few decades. Exaggerated or not, Alexander was
right sooner or. later the aquifer would be drained. Water
that had been stored f6r a hundred thousand years would
be sucked away and depleted in the blink of an eye. Kelly
believes it, Pavel told himself, and she has no reason to lie
-to me. she is almost painfully honest.
"There it isl" announced the soldier.up in the turret.
One by one the three mercenaries climbed up to look.
Pavel saw an imme
                    nse building made of poured con-
crete, gray and low against the gray-brown rocks and sand
ofthe desert. Squat towers; stood at each comer. CO(Iing
towers for the gigantic pumps housed inside the building,
Kelly told him. But they looked like good defensive posts to
Pavel, where a few troops could hold off a small
                   army of
attackers. AU around the building were smaller concrete
complexes of pillboxes, missile launchers, and barracks.
     The place is a fortress, he realized. And it is defended by
Rayyid's best troops.
     They drove past an outer fence of electrified wire and
along a smooth road flanke
                         @d by gun emplacements and
dozens of similar armored tracked vehicles, all in sandy
gray desert camouflage. Pavel heard the thrumming whine
of a helicopter. The inner perimeter was a concrete wall
lined with troops. They drove past and up to the main gate
of the building itself.
     The driver stayed behind the wheel, but the officer who
had sat next to him, a captain, ducked into the main
                              PEACEKEEPERS              201
     ere to break out automatic, rifles for the three
     cnt of the APV and in Arabic directed the two
     es. Then he led all five uniformed figures out' the
     1, past several sets of guards, and finally up a
     ncrete stairway to the roof of the main building.
     te morning sun poured down on them like molten
     a breath of breeze, even up on the roof. The
     emed to cower away from the blazing sunlight and
     ter in whatever shade they could find. Pavel had
     n a sky so cloudless, the sun so powerful' , it turned
     nis, into an inverted bowl of hammere.d brass. He,
     out across the desert, shimmering in the heat
     a tree or a blade of grass as far as the eye could
     the distant wavering gleam of a mirage, a cruel
     is utterly barren wasteland.
     of water in th
ds lounged in the scant slices of shade offered by the
)ling towers. A @ pair of helicopters roared by:
)8, Pavel saw, manufactured in Soviet Russia.
in the middle of the Libyan Army, he told himself
ung goes wrong with our operation, we'll never'get
live. Then he recalled 4hat even-if they got back to
waiting there
base camp, Hassan and his zealots were
sharpened knives.
vroulis spoke briefly with the captain, then turned to
and Pavel.
ey've done their task," he said in a low gruff rumble.
here. Now it's up to us. They will wait up here until
hours. The APV will wait ten minutes more."
'hen let's get moving," Kelly said firmly.
Me thing," said Mayroulis, patting the rifle, slung over
boulder. "These guns are empty- They don't trust us
live ammunition."
ly glanced at Pavel, then said, "Just as well. We're not
to kill anybody."
el thought, Kill or be killed.


202 Ben, Bom
     They strode out across the roof to a stainless-steel do
one of many glittering in the high sun,
     "According to the plans, this shaft will lead you to
computer center," said Mavroulis.
     Kelly nodded. No hint of nervousness now. She was all
business and anxious to get started
          "Good luck,' said the Greek.
     They both glanced around. No guards could see them.
Kelly bent over and wormed her lithe body through the gap
between the steel dome and the concrete lip on which it
was based. Pavel started after her, touched his hand against
the metal and flinched with pain.
     'Idiot!" Mavroulis growled. "'the metal's been sitting in
the sun all morning."
     Wr I inging his hand, Pavel ducked through the air space
and hesitated a mome
                         nt to let his eyes adjust to the cool
shadows. Kelly was Already a dozen rungs downthe metal
ladder set into the shaft's walls. He hurried after her, the
useless rifle slapping against his hip with every move he
made I
     They reached a horizontal shaft, all cool metal, barely
big enough for each of them to crawl through. Mavroulis
would never have made it, Pavel thought.
     The shaft widened enough for Pavel to slink up beside
Kelly.
     "These guns are in the way," he whispered. "Let's leave
them here and pick them up on our way back."
     She nodded and wriggled the rifle off her shoulder. Pavel
did the same. Then Kelly took a slim sheet of what looked
like microfilm from her tunic pocket. From the other
pocket she brought out a miniaturized reader and put it to
her eye-
     "Okay," she whispered, tucking them back into the
tunic, "we're in the main air-conditioning shaft. Two
cross-shafts, and then we take the next left fork."
               PEACEKEEPERS 203
          at her darkened face. "I thought the
     in air-conditioning."
          "This isix t for their people; it's
         and Pavel had to slide back
                          than himself
            no one bigger
realized that
                         They inched@
     use these air shafts.
     in a tunnel. Pavel fbit blind and
     and motioned with the Wiggle Of
to come forward. He had to climb Over
his face next to hers: not altogether
                    ded.
     in front of their faces was a mesh
set high in the wall of a large room filled
                         I                 and wom-
bumm.                 conso es. Several men
                                           i-
t. civilian clothes were sitting at consoles. Two techn         t
I in coveralls had the back of one console off and were
                              f them looked Asian.
lling new circuit boards. All o                                 P
linolta J-300s," Kelly muttered, so low Pavel knew
was talking to herself. 'IC models. Damn! They told us
Od have A models."
     @Ils that a problem?" he whispered into her ear.
     Maybe. Maybe not."
     .,,IKelly wormed a hand down toward her right boot -and
     me with her left
     1gled out a slim rod. Then she did the sa
     Opt.
     @'You, too," she whispered to Pavel.
ugh                     so carried a pair of concealed
     his boots Al
ickness, of normal electrical wire and not
centimeters long-
d, "move back."                          side


They inched along in reverse to a spbt where a small
laft branched away from the shaft they were in. Wordless-
Kelly took Pavel's two rods anA wormed herself into the
F


204 Ben Bova
shaft. It was barely big enough for her shoulders to squeeze,
into. Pavel watch;d her slowly disappear into the tunnel,
like a creature being swallowed by a snake, until only her
booted feet remained outside.
     After Several minutes she started wiggling her feet. Pavel
grabbed at her ankles and pulled her free.
     Kelly was gasping. "Thanks. I got stuck in there.
Damned plans said it was wide enough-but just barely."
-Those rods. .
     "]Knockout gas. it's circulating through the air-condi-
tioning vents now Give it a couple of minutes."
     "But won't we ...
     She shook her head. "It's a nerve gas. Dissipates before it
reaches us." Then, with a hard krin, "At least, that's what
the specs claim."
     They made their. way to the grille again and saw that the
People tending the computer had slumped over, uncon-
scions. It took a few more minutes to remove the grille, but
finally Pavel swung it open and lowered himsel
                                             f gingerly to
the floor of the computer room.
     He took a deep, testing breath then reached up to help
Kelly down.
     "How long will they remain unconsciousT' he asked.
     HeadiAR strai ght for the cen tral console, Kelly said,
"Until we spray them with the antidote."
     She sat at the console, pulled a hand-sized computer
from ter waistband, and placed it on the desktop beside
the keyboard. Unconsciously, Kelly flexed her fingers, like
a virtuoso confronting a new piano for the first time.
     Pavel looked around at the- bodies strewn across the
floor, and the single featureless door that apparently was
the only way into or out of this computer center-except
for the air shaft they had come through
     There were no surveillance cameras. Libyan security was
concentrating on preventing anyone from penetrating from
the outside; they did not think to observe what was going
                                   PEACEKEEPERS M5
     e their fortress. In the Soviet Union such laxness
     ever be tolerated.-
     what if someone tries to come in here?" he asked.
     out. looking up from the display screen in front of
     ly said "That's why         're; here: to discourage
                     YOU
     iptions."
     ixuated.
     Y'S fingers were rapidly tapping across the computer
     ird. "Don't worry, Pavel," she said absently, her
     already absorbed on her task. "According to the
     --tion Hassan's people gave us, the routine arowd-
     very strict. The soldiers don't bother the computer
     -ians Actually, they're a little afraid of them."
          again. Pavel paced the floor nervously, steppi ng
     ;an
                              d dead. Totally unmoving,
     i the bodies. They seeme
     y were breathing, it was very hard to detect. He
     about trying the pulse On one of them, but could
     ring himself to touch any of the inert bodies.  What if
                         fault. What if Hassan's fanatics              t
- are dead? It's not my
these mercenaries? Kelly and Mavroulis and Barker,
               at the camp.
ng for us back
          fferent matter. Pavel could not pass that off
hat was a di
@easily. Or at all.
     'I see your reflection in the screen here every time you
     y,11 Kelly complained. "Go find a console and sit.
     tz b
                     11
put some TV on the screen for YOU.
                                                       an
     ighing with impatience and frustration, Pavel took
     Pty chair at one of the many consoles flanking the
     tral position where Kelly was working. The main screen
     enly lit up with an outdoor scene in some city where
     sun blazed down on whitewashed houses and low flat
     glittered off towers of glass and steel, danced across
     of the sea far in the background.
"That's Tripoli," Kelly called to him. "You can watch
ayyid and the ceremonies for the opening of the aquifer
Wility."


          206   Ben Bova
V              Pavel fidgeted in the'chair.
               14put
     On the earphones. I'll pipe you an English-language
broadcast."
     Slipping On the lightweight headset, Pavel heard a culti-
vated BBC voice describing the scene he saw on the display
screen. The voice droned on as the camera panned across
sun-drenched Tripoli and its harbor, then cut to the
Outdoor stage where Qumar al-Rayyid, the
                                             President of
Libya and Commander in Chief of its Army, would press
the button that would start the water flowing from the
aquifer, hundreds of kilometers                -to the symbolic
away
fountain in the center of the main square of Tripoli's
government center.
     "At Precisely 1500 hours," the broadcasters cultured
voice explained, "that fountain will begin to flow with
water that was put down into the ground -a hundred
thousan
                d years ago."
     Fifteen hundred hours! The words seared through
Paviers mind. That was when they were supposed to be
back on the roof, headi
                         ng for the tractor that would take
them back to the dese rt camp.
     Pavel tore the headset off an d wheeled his chair acro
the concrete floor to Kelly.
           "Pi-myid's going to start the water flowing at 1500!" Ss
          Almost annoyed at his interrupti
                                   on, she shot him a quick
glance. '41 know."
          "But that in
               eans the water must begin flowing hours
sooner, doesn't it?"
          Kelly took her hands from the keypad, flexing h
                         "The watees already er fingers
as if they had gotten stiff.
                                             filling the
underground aqueduct," she explained. "They've tested
the I system, for God's sake. When Rayyid punches the
button,
          the Pumps here start up again and begin drawing
water. The fountain spurts and everybody -in Tripoli cheers
-if YOU don't Stop getting in my way.-
                                                  -207
                                   PEACEKEEPERS
     "pushed his chair back slightly.
          a lot of time and concentration to reprogram
     mputer," Kelly said, half apologetically. "We don't
     eM to know there's been any interference. It's got to
     e they screwed it up themselves."
     I could not stand it any longer. "Hassan is a traitor,"
     ted.'
     obvious patience, Kelly replied, "We know. When
     I
          s4ater scheme collapses, Hassan will lead the coup
     that topples him. Then the French sell him fusion-
     -d desalting systems so that Libya can Convert
     andleave
     rranean water for irrigation and drinking,
                         med back to the computer.
     aifer alone." She tu
     Pavel grabbed her by the shoulders and made her
     him. "Hassan is a traitor to us! His People
     :ention to
     @igious zealots They plan to kill you all when we
     to the camp."
     By's brown eyes showed no trace of fear. 0 ly sudden
                                             n
ion. "How do you know?" she whispered.
am a Soviet agent, remember?" Pavel answered
rly. "They assured me that I would be spared."
I hen why are you telling me?"
ecause 1, don't want you killed! I love you"'
-11y's head snapped back as if she had been struck in
'face. "You ... what?"
it's a trap," Pavel insisted. "I don't know what Hassan's
e is, but he intends to kill you once we get back to the
P.
You love me?"
Yes!"
                                        half pleased.
@,elly grinned at him, half suspicious,
6111 have to talk about that later."
What are we going to-do? Hassan. .
             I
"First thing we ve got to do is finish reprogramming this
nese monster."
pa
N


208  Ben Bova
     "But. .
     "First things first," Kelly insisted. And she turned back
to the ke pad
                      y
     Pavel watched her for a,few moments, then went back to
the console where the scenes from Tripoli were showing on
the screen. But he could not sit still. He got up, -paced the @A
room. It seemed close and stuffy, despite the air-condition-
ing. He felt sweat beading his lip andbrow, trickling down
his ribs.
     He checked the bodies of the Japanese technicians. They J
were alive, breathing s16
                         regularly. What will happen to
them? he wondered. Will they be blamed for the malfunc-
tions Kelly is programming into their computer?
     Somehow Pavel found himself at the one door leading
out of the computer center. It was solid steel, like the hatch
of a weapons bunker, and locked by an electronic combina-
tion lock. 'He could not get out that way even if he wanted
to.
     Hours dragged by. More and more he watched Kelly, her
intent, utterly serious face reflected in the green-glowing
display screen her fingers flicking ac
                                        ross the keys, The
computer hummed softly as she worked it, and Kelly
herself kept up a low-key obbligato of muttered curses and
imprecations, alternating with soft crooning sounds, as if
she were trying to soothe an infant to-sleep.
     On the TV screen Pavel saw a huge crowd jamming the
square in Tripoli, Color everywhere, from the bright hues
of the throng to the long billowing draperies hung from the
public buildings, displaying the red, white and black colors
of the socialist republic of Libya. There were plenty of deep
green banners, too, the color that the desert-dwelling Arabs
love most.
     The stage where Rayyid would make his appearance was
covered against the sun with brightly striped tenting. A
slim podium, decorated with gold leaf, stood at its center,
with a conspicuous red button atop it. The fountain in the
                                        PEACEKEEPERS 209
of the square was a modernist's nightmare Of
and shining metal, all angles and thrusting arms,
@xplosion in a steel yard.
                                        in greater
cily understood that their lives were
                                             sign of it.
with every tick of the clock, she gave no
                    to work smoothly, unhurriedly, at the
                   tinued
                                                  clock set into
          Pavel glanced it the digital
tr console.
sol@: 1420. Only forty minutes to go-
                                     no answer-
i where? he asked himself There was
change in the red numbers of the clock was an
                                                  ieces,
     To keep himself-from going to pi              Pavel
agony
headset to his ear once again, and listened to that
d and his
BC voi while his guts churne
          turbable B        ce
                              ething, to move, to
kept shouting for him to do som
               himself and Kelly to safety.
xnehow to JXet
he sat, forcing himself to passivity, as Kelly plodded
d as the grandstand filled with
at her task. 'He Watche
          aries from thirty nations-including France and
          others who were paying Alexander-wearing
          of the
          coats or dashikis or modern jackets, as their native
ms required.
          rteen-forty. The crowd began to surge and even the
          announcers voice took on a keener edge as a military
          tde, led by six armored cars exactly like the One               Pavel
          his companions had ridden, madeits way'dOwn the
          d assembled, rank upon rank,
          xal area of the square an
                                   id would speak. The soldiers,
          )re the stage where RaYY
                                             more than mere
          -i armed with an assault rifle, were
                                   were both a visible Symbol Of
          orations, Pavel knew- they
                                             shielded Rayyid
          power and a Praetorian Guard that
                              strike at him.
          inst those who would
                                   of Pavel's mind reminded
          L cool voice from the back
                                     of Rome often dispatched
                    Praetorian Guard
          ri that the                                  men in their
          perors who displeased them and put new
                    ese troops loyal to Rayyid, or Hassan? Such
             Were th
                                                  nt capitalist
                             e sign of a decade
          ng for power was th
L


210 Ben Bova
society, not a true socialist repu blic. These Libyan barbari
ans sully the name of socialism Pavel thought.
                                   I
     At last the crowd roared, the assembled troops snapped
to attention, and the dignitaries rose to their feet. Rayyid
was making his entrance, preceded by a phalanx of Arabs
in rich robes and burnooses, then a squad of military
officers in green and gold uniforms.
     Finally Rayyid himself appeared, to the tumultuous
uproar of the crowd. They shouted his name, their voices
blending into one gigantic swell of sound, crashing like
waves on a rocky headland:
          'Ray-yid, Ray-yid, Ray-YEED!"
     He acknowledged their cheers with upraised hands. He
smiled at his people. He wore the heavily braided uniform
of a general, with dark glasses shielding his eyes from the
sun's glare. Pavel was shocked to realize how much he
looked like Hassan. The two could be brothers.
     The crowd silenced as if a regiment of guns had been
leveled at them. The dignitaries resumed their seats.
Rayyid stepped up to the podium. No microphone was
visible, but his amplified voice boomed across the
                   square.
     Another BBC voice began translating Rayyid's speech.
'Pavel looked down at the digital clock: 1454.
     Throwing down the headset, he went to Kelly. She was
still tapping at the computer keys.
     .4     1
     There s only six minutes!" he urged.
     Kelly smiled up at him. "Relax. Don't you want to see
what happens in Tripoli?"
     "But we've got to get out of here!"
     "We will. Lots of time."
     "But you're not finished. .
     "I finished up the main task
                              twenty minutes ago. Now
I'm planting bugs in their system that'll take them months
to find and debug. I also patched into their comm sy
stem
and sent a message to my father,- via satellite. Let him
know what you told me about Hassan."
     ,turn message," she said. -Too risky."
                      11
     i     For whom?
     sky?                    and said, "Hey, Rayyid's
     lly looked past him
                                      dn't miss this for
     push the button.  Come on, I woul
                         to the screen displaying the TV
     two of them went
     @st.@ Rayyidbad worked himself into a fine oratori-
     ; the BBC translator was having a hard time
     My        ith him:
     "UP W
     and this will prove to the world that Libyan tech-
     Libyan people are the equal of
     and the will of the
     "Ion on Earth! For we are a powerful nation, feared
     nations of the world watch with
     enemies! Let the
                                                  ies
     we enter a new era of prosperity! Let our enem
     their teeth with envy as the water of life flows-at
     mniand!"
     punched the big red button on the dais with his
     to the elaborate
     fist and the camera pulled back
     -in in the center of the square-                                  31
--er spurted from it and the crowd went Ahh! The
r. leaped high into the air, sparkled briefly in the fierce
noon sun, and then faltered and stopped,
ere
rehensively. From sOmewh
ke crowd murmured app
                                                  Pavel could
     .in the concrete building where he stood, mps laboring.
     the dull thunderous roar Of gigantic Pu
                         crowd, as if to tell them not
ayyid waved a hand at the
Porry, and smacked the red button again-
                  at the fountain's openings, where
 dribble of water
                                      to the air. Then
Hills should -have shot twenty meters in
i that stopped.
                                                  rage-
                    tton, his face contorted with
ay yid pounded the bu
 thing.
'Pavel heard the pumps whining and screeching now.
PEACEKEEPERS         211







@9      @"What did you do?" he asked.
                                             M
                      replied sweetly. "They'll bu
     @:@'Rcversed 'em," she


212 Ben Bova
themselves out in another couple of minutes. It'll take
weeks before they find the instructions in the program-
Ming. Drive 'cm nuts!" She laughed.
     The digital clock said 1501.
          "We've got to run," Pavel said.
     "Yeah. They'll be battering down that -door in another
minute or two." She pulled a tiny aerosol can from her belt
and quickly sprayed it over the unconscious'bodies of the
Japanese technicians.
     Pavel boosted her up to the ventilator screen, then stood
on a chair and hauled himself up into the shaft. It took a
few moments to place the. screen back in its mounting.
Pavel could see the technicians beginning to stir. The lights
               @s
ow the door lock keyboard were flashing; someone was
trying to get into the room.
     "Come on," Kelly said. "We've got to make tracks."
     They wormed their way through the shafts and at last
came out onto the rooftop, blazing hot in thehigh sun.
Mavroulis was there, sweating and wild-eyed with the
jitters.
          "We've only got three minutes. .
     Kelly grabbed his arm as they raced down the stairs
toward the APV. Its engine was already rumbling, sooty
diesel fumes belching from its vertical exhaust pipe-
     Soldiers were dashing everywhere. Helicopters criss-
crossed the air above. Orders were being shouted. Confu
sion ruled while the massive building seemed to vibrate as
if 6 mini-earthquake had seized it. Black smoke was
pouring from two of the four cooling towers.
They ducked inside the oven-hot vehicle and the driver
gunned the engine, slamming them into the met
                                                  al bulk-
head before they could take their places on the padded
bench. They lurched toward the gate in a spurt of sand and
diesel exhaust. The compartment stank of human sweat
and machine oil, and the fumes from the engine.
     No one said a word as they approached the gate. The
                     PEA
                                           CEKEEPERS       213
43
                                                          s at
                    with the driver waved a laminated pas
               rds                                          in the
          L;@@                 through, barely slowing
               and they shot
                              and then they
same at the outer perimeter,
               the desert, heading back for their camp.
                         Pavel asked Mavroulis.
          speak Russian?"
I                said, beetling his dark brows. "Do You speak
               II an eye on the two soldiers on the opposite benchl
               languages do you speak?"
               Mavroulis, "What
                                         and Greek."
               Jish, Frenrh, German
                                                  was afraid the
               i understood some French, but he
               soldiers did, too.
          ly pulled the pocket computer from her sweat-stained
          e
          m.           "This computer has a translator function," sh
          "it's slow, but it includes. most Indo-European lane-
          M.
          1 tapped the keys and the tiny display screen showed
          tANSLATOR BUT WE CAN TALK-
               soldiers watched them tapping on the computer
          but quickly lost interest. One of them got to his feet
               d the turret hatch. The armored compartment'
          =hot sandy desert wind.
          sing the compiIter's tiny display screen, Pavel told
                              I                 . Kelly added that
          Toulis that Hassan 8 Camp was a trap
          iad sent the information to her father. But they had no
          of knowing whether Alexander had received the trans
                                        it-if anything-
          @ion, or what he could do about
                                     rs-pecked at the keys: MUST
          avroulis's thick, blunt finge
                 ONLY HE CAN FLY HOVERJET.
          BARKER.
                    d- How?'? M
          Wly tappe
                   EApoNs, Pavel typed with one finger.
          IE NEED W
          Fine," grumbled Mavroulis. "What are You going to do,
           them?" He glanced at the- bored soldier lounging
          )osite them.
          40 VIOLENCE, Kelly typed, UNLEgs -UNAVOIDABLE'
                  k a deep breath. This was not a situation that
               too


114 Ben Bova
would be resolved by delicate sensibilities
arguments. This situation called for action.
     'It is unavoidable," he muttered.
     Kelly began typing something more, but Pav,
and stretched his arms as far as possible in the confines of
the oven-hot compartment. His back felt all right. It only
took a single step to put him in front of the soldier, who
now looked up at Pavel.
One lightning-fast chop at the boy s neck and he sagged i
back against the armor plating, uncon5pious. The soldier
up in the turret did not notice anything. Neither did the
two men up front.
Pavel quickly took the pistol from the youngster's hol-
ster. It was a nine-millimeter Skoda_manufactured in
Czechoslovakia: simple and reliable, though not very accu-
rate at farther than fifty meters. No matter. Pavel was
familiar with the gun. He felt better as he hefted it in his
right hand.
Mavroulis got to his feet as Pavel reached toward the
s6ldier standing in the turret and tapped him on the back.
He ducked down and turned face-to-face with the muzzle
Of the pistol. Pavel smashed the gun barrel against the
soldier's temple. Mavroulis caught him in his arms
The captain turned to see what the commotion was and
Pavel leveled his pistol at him.
"Stop the car," Pavel commanded.
Wide-eyed with surprise, the captain did as he was told.
Pavel had him and the driver haul the two unconscious
soldiers out onto the sandy track.
"You can't leave them out on the desert!" Kelly objected.
Pavel threw a pair of water cans to them. "They can walk
back to the camp. It's only a few kilometers now."
                     med
Kelly looked doubtful, but Mavroulis slam                the
APV's rear hatch, then hunched forward and took the
driver's seat. With a grinding of gears he lurched the
vehicle into motion. Pavel climbed up into the turret. Twin
                                   PEACEKEEPERS -215
          iftimeter machine cannon and half a dozen boxes
                 Now they could -defend themselves.
          ftition.
                                                he ducked
          fly was still shaking her head when
          the rear compartment.
                             rom anyplace safe,- she said.
          hundreds of miles f
                                             this one, plus
          has at'least one armored car like
     lows what else."
     oan fight   said Pavel.
     oWs also got Chris. And the plane. We need them
     4mharined-if we expect to get out of here
     wing she was right, Pavel replied merely "It is better
     rnied and prepared to fight than to go@ like a lamb to
     Plugliter."
     were lengthening as their vehicle
and Mavroulis shouted over the en
          jumped up from the bench and wormed into the
     and seat up front in the cab. Pavel stood at, the hatch
          he, and Mavroulis, clinging to the bak'ng-hot
     ips on either side.
     a dozen APVs were parked around the camouflage
     that covered the hoverjet. And several low black
     had been pitched some distance away, swaying in the
     reeze.                                                       is
     lassan's gathered a welcoming committee," Mavroul
     ted.
     Ve can't fight our way out of thisi" said Kel
                         lowness in his middle. His legs
     vel felt a strange hol
     bled. Fearl Something deep inside him was screaming
     away, to dig a hole and hide where none Of
     rn to run
enemies could find him. His mouth went dry, his
oat raw. He gripped the metal bars on either side of the
Fh so hard that his fingernails were cutting painfully
0 t
     he flesh of his palms-


2t6 Ben Bova
     MavrouliS slowed their vehicle, but kept moving ahead
toward the 10verjet. A phalanx of soldiers in sand-tan
fatigues fell 14 on either side of them. Each man was armed
with an assault rifle or an armor-piercing rocket launcher.
     Pavel climbed up into the turret and swiveled the guns
around. A hundred rifles and antitank launchers pointed
sh*,ht.At him.
     "You'll get us killed!" Kelly screamed at him.
     He looked down at her terrified &M. "Betterlo let them
                    ight. Better to die like soldiers t
know that we will f                                    han as
prisoners of these savages."
     MOVroulis slamnied on the brakes and killed the engine.
They were parked twenty meters from the edge of the
netting that covered the hoveiiet. From his perch in the
turret Pavel could see that the plane was undamaged.
     For agonizingly lo
                    ng moments no one moved or said a
word. The only sounds were the
                              Pinging of the diesel's hot
metal and the-distant flapping of bedouin tents in the
desert breeze.
     Colonel Hassan stepped out from behind the ranks of his
arrayed soldiers. One of the berobed Arabs was at his
elbow, pointi
               ng up toward the turret.
     "You are the Russian?" Hassan called.
     "Yes," said Pavel.
     Hassan smiled Pleasantly from. behind his mirrored
glasses. Once again Pavel thought. that he looked enough
like Rayyid to be the man's brother. It is the uniform, he
told himself. But still the resemblance was uncanny.
     14YOU
     may come down and join us now," said Hassan.
'You have done your work well. You have nothing to fear
from us."
          And the others?,, -Pavel demanded.
     Hassms smile broadened. He shrugged his epauletted
shoulders. "They will be dealt with. My bedouin brothers
have prepared a proper ritual for them."
.3

                              p-PACEKEEPERS         217
          Pavel was inching the twin guns toward
     stalled for time, trying to think'of something
     reak the stalemate in his own favor.
     t?,' he called to Hassan. "The Englishman?"
     I to escape. The bedouins had to restrain
     Wir own way.
     nel snapped his fingers and there was a stir from
     ranks of soldiers. TWo Arabs dragged a half-
     Barker forward and threw him to the ground at
     feet. The EngIishmans legs were cOVered,with
Mm face battered and swollen'
                         prisoner who tried to run
4raditional to hamstring a
Hassan said calmly,
heard a gasping sob from the APVS cab, below
                                        me out of the
     now," said Hassan impatiently, "CO
and let us treat the other two infidels to their
          the _guns a bit closer to the
training
             -What do you meanT'
                    these prisoners to
orders are to bring
                    have their own plans for them."
          hardened.      was not informed of that."
               Pavel insisted.
                   orders
          you propose to take these prisoners away

               emse          his mind,
ideas formed th         Ives in
replied,-     win provide a pilot to fly this aircraft to
                             to the Soviet embassy
Ili.  I will present the prisoners
         will know what to do with them.
The KGB
ssan snorted. ---Impossible! Tripoli is a battlefield
My brother is fighting for his life against my army
they are brothers, Pavel said to himself


218   Ben Bova
     "Then fly us to Tunis or Cairo. There are Soviet embas.
sies in both cavitals."
     Haman hesitated.
     "You may keep the hoverjet as proof that foreign agents
tampered with the aquifer system, if you like," Pavel said.
With a sudden inspiration he added, "Or destroy it so that
no one will be able to link you to the sabotage."
     "There must be no tram of these foreigners," Hassan
insisted. "No word of this operations must ever leak out."
     Pavel made himself laugh. "The only thing that leaks out
of the KGB is: the blood of capitalist dogs."                   M
"I have no pilot here," Hassan said.
     Call for a helicopter from the aquifer, complex," said
Pavel, recognizing a stalL "We will remain here."
     "You would be more comfortable outside that cramped
vehicle."
     "We will remain inside." Pavel nudged the guns the final
few millimeters so that they were pointing directly at
Haman. "And I suggest that you remain where you are,
also
     The colonel paled momentarily, whether from sudden
fear or anger, Pavel could not tell. But, then he put on his
smile again and reached inside his tunic for his gold cigar
case. This time he had to light his own cigar-, none of the
soldiers or bedouins stirred from where they stood.
-Very
          well," Hassan.said at last, exhaling thin gray
smoke, "I will send for a helicopter."
     He turned to the lieutenant nearest -him and spoke
swiftly in Arabic.
     For nearly fifteen minutes they all waited: Pavel with his
fingers on the triggers of the machine cannon; Mavroulis
and Kelly sweating down inside the APV cab; Hassan
smili     and puffing and chatting with the sycophants
Ing
around him; the Libyan soldiers grouped around the APV,
ready to fire into it at a word from their leader.
PEACEKEEPERS           219
     lay on the sand, unmoving, his legs crusted with
     s eyes swollen shut.
     in sank lower. Shadows lengthened. The desert
     3od.
     avel heard, far in the distance, the faint throbbing
     a helicopter.
     of us can fly a helicopter, he knew. Perhaps Barker
     ot he is in no condition to try We will have to let
     us to Tunis, and try to make a
     A     actually
     o - with Alexander there.
     its
pilot is actually going to fly us to Tunis, he added
ffHassan has not cooked up some deal Of his Own
in his own territory. Even if he believes my fairy
us
out Moscow, he could easily claim that our helicOP-
shed in the desert and we, were all killed. Moscow
ever question him.
helicopter materialized i n the yellow de sert sky, a
Fe ungainly metal pterodactyl hovering overhead, its
                         mining, blowing up a minia-
jes shrieking, rotors thru
sandstorm as it settled slowly on its wheels. It was
;.one of the giant heavy cargo lifters built in the Soviet
in. Pavel almost smiled at the i rony.
zok several tense minutes for them to get Barker
                                   ucket seats lined-
4 and strap themselves into the b
                                   sized cargo bay.
one wall of the helicopters bam-
                                                       d
in watched carefully, puffing his slim cigar, a satisfie
smile on his lips.
                                        as the ship lifted
re not going to Tunis, Pavel realized
he ground. Ali rve done is delayed Hassan's fun by a
de of hours.
it as the helicopter rose into the brazen sky two women
Is uniforms came down from the flight deck
bite nurse
began tending to Barker. Neither of them looked
-ic-, one was a blonde.
en Cole Alexander clambered down the metal ladder


220   Bm Bova
from the fli@ht deck, grinning his crookedsardonic grin at
them. Kelly leaped out of her seat and wrapped her arms
around her father.
"Ohinygod, am I glad to see you!" she gasped.
     "Likewise," Alexander said. "Good work, all of you.
'Specially you, Red. You used your head back there."
     Pavel was speechiess..Mavroulis leaned his head back
aud4aughed maniacally.
     "lknewit!",theGmekroared.i"lknewyouha(labackup
for uip,
Detaching himself from, Kelly Alexander squatted
                                 I
cross-legged on the cargo bays metal flooring. His daughter
sat beside him, facing Pavel and Mavroulis.
-'I knew Hassan was a doubl"ealing sumbitch," Alex-
said almost apologetically "'but he was the only
ander
sumbitch we had to work with. Like my dear Uncle Max
used to tell me, 'When they stick you with a lemon, @make
lemonade.'
"You expected him to try to kill us?"
     "'No, he surprised me there. I expected him to take you
prisoner and hold you hostage until his fight with Rayyid
was settled."
     His brother," Pavel said.
     'Yep, they're siblings." Alexander made a sour face at
the thought, then went on "The way I figured it was this:
                         I
We screw up Rayyid's aquifer project. Hassan and his army
people pull their coup dlftat while the Libyan people are
still stunned at Rayyid's flop with the water project.
Hassan holds you four as his trump card. If he wine, you 90
free. If he loses, he can offer you to Rayyid in return for his
own life."
     Kelly said, "But instead he decided to remove all
evidence of sabotage."
     "He must be damned confident he'll be at Rayyid,"
Mavroulis muttered.
                                        PEACEKEEPERS 221
               i'probabiy@ right,- Alexander said.
                                                    heless," said
    you had a backup plan for us, nevert
                    ek.,
               Ader's sardonic smile came out again. He looked
                                             - IockeA onto






    tit his daughter, then his gray eyes
I'd really been that smart," he admitted. "I did
r and a mediVac team readYI
old Russkie choppe
                                   Kelly's message-Pavers
               case. And when I got
                    -1 flew this bird as close to Hassan's
               actually
               the desert as I could."
J_                @hed good thing YOU did," Kelly said.
                                             It go flying in there
               but then I was stuck. I couldn
                                   ded by trigger-happy Moslem
               four of you surroun
                                                  come chugging
               entalists. I needed some excuse to
                                             cuse. When Hassan
               ir camp. Pavel provided the ex
                                             s to Tunis, I got my
           chopper to take YOU guy
                   d for a
          u see?,, mavroulis said, thrusting a blunt finger
                                   you to keep quiet and not
     Kelly,s nose. "I told
!xe! I was right!"
ly nodded glumly. "You
ke wanted to shoot you
n us over to the KGB
      her down."
D hold
     were right, Nicco."
when you said you were going
Mavroulis said to Pavel. "I
                     lly do that?,, Pavers voice was
)u thought I would rea
with shock. He felt betrayed.
                                             'YOU
ly blushed, even under her dark makeup.            were
ed convincing."
 had to be."
dexander interrupted, "Damned good thing you were,
1.   Otherwise my little girl here . . ." His voice choked
     He put an arm around Kelly's shoulders and hugged
                                           in that she was
     to him, as if to make absOlutelY-certa
     h him and safe.


222 Ren Bova
     "Hassan -was actually going to fly us to Tunis?               Pavel
asked.
     Those were the orders he radioed," Alexander said.
Course, they could always be countermanded once you
were in the, air."
     "Pavel," said Kelly, from the protection of her father's
embrace, "I'm sorry. You saved our lives, and I didn't trust
you. I was wrong, and I'm sorry."
     Pavel nodded, his thoughts churning; I had told her that
                         no difference to her. No difference.
     "Well     said Alexander happily, "all's well that ends
well."
     "Except for Barker," said Mavroulis.
     "He won't -be able to walk for some time," Alexander
admitted. "But he'll be okay. If I have to dona
                  te a few
tendons myself, we'll get him back on his feet."
     "What about Shamar?" Pavel asked. His voice sounded
harsh and hard, even to himself.
     The others stared at him, their self-congratulatory smiles
fading.
     "Hassan claimed Shamar left Libya weeks ago,' said
Alexander tightly.
     "With the bombs?"
     Alexander slowly shook his head. "The bombs were not
with him. He's got them stashed somewhere, but we don't
know where."
"We'll find them," Kelly said.
"We'll firid him," her father growled.
     Pavel looked into their faces. He saw smoldering hatred
in Alexander's gunmetal eyes. In Kelly's he saw gratitude,
perhaps even affection-but not love.
     "I must return to Moscow now," he said. It is better, he
told himself. I do not belong among these people.
But Alexander shook his head. "You can't do that, Red.
love@ her, but that ml
She did not believe me.
                                                            223
                                        PEACEKEEPERS
                    accomplished your mission. You're Supposed
't                  0,Mte me, remember?"
shook his head. "No jokes, please- I w
is
hell you will! You think we went thrOughall th'
               to send you back to shoveling snow?"
               understand ..
                                                       reached
          his arm from his daughter and
der took
                                                  old Uncle Max
      as Pavers shoulder. "Red, my dear
                      P
               tell in e, 'Only a foot does something for just one
               ifer mission.
               YOU could have fucked up this aqu
                                   very happy and gotten three
41                Id have made Moscow
                                       you didn't."
               ;best people killed. But
                                                  testing me. My
                              der man. "You were
               4 stared at the,ol
                                                  ng wider than
               mned right," 4Aexand er said, grinni
                              and Moscow isn't gonna be very
               '-You did okay,
               if YOU 90 home now.
                                   ilure," Pavel admitted-
          would be considered a fa
                    with your skills and
we can use a man
                         e, right? I'll bet
you to keep an eye on m
                 that Rayyi
                                                       Hassan's
                                   d's on his way Out
                                                            d those
               Besides, there's still Shamar an
r
                  of his."
                  to stay?"
"For a Russian, you're not go bad."
ly. She glanced at her fatherl
looking at Kel
                         face Pavel.
     want you to stay, 11 she said, so low it was almost a
fisper. "Like I told YOU back in the computer room-we
@Ve a lot to talk about-"
Pavel would have preferred that she fling Iferself into big
at Kelly and her father. This
ms, but he nodded slowly


224 Ben Bova
was better than nothing. Moscow would be SUSPICIOUS, he
knew. I will-be playing a very dangerous game,-practicall
                                                       y a
double agent.
     Kelly was smiling at him now. From the protection of
her father's embrace.
"Very well," Pavel heard himself say. "I will stay.
"Great," said Alexander. "Now that 'that's settled, the
next thing we tackle is these poachers in Rwanda. The
bastards have nearly wiped out the @ last remaining free-
living gorillas in the world. And Shamar was heading in
that direction, according to my information . .
     Zhakarov, nicknamed "Red," became a
     ;cnt member of Alexander's little
     UP, h is loyalties divided at least three
     Vs@among Moscow, Kelly, and a growing
     niration for Cole Alexander and his
     riL Jonathan Hazard Jr., was not
     ited until nearly a year later, and even
u it was mostly an unfortunate accident.
1 had been a member of the court-martial
the younger Hazard's trial, shortly after
officers, coup had been thwarted -by
--alazard, Sr. I still had both Irjy hands then-
ne young man refused every offer of help
that, his father made. That did not, of
11:ourse, altogether prevent the older man
from helping his son.
     J.     W. Hazard, Jr., received a much lighter
sentence than his fellow conspirators.
C ardillo and most of the others went to jail
for life. Jay Hazard was merely banished to
the Moon for ten Years-


                                             A
MOONBASE
     Year         7
    FouR minutes 'til the nuke goes olp,,
The words rasped i
                    n Jay's earphones. He knew that the
woman was nearly exhausted. Inside his pressure suit he
was soaked with sweat and bone-tired himself. The adren
line had run out hours ago. Now all they were going on          a-
was
sheer dogged determination.
And the fear of death.
     "It's got to be here someplace. " Desperation edged her
voice. Four minutes and counting.
Long mo
          nths of training guided Jay,s movements. He
halted in the midst of the weird machinery, took the last of
the antistatic pads from his leg Pouch and carefully cleared
his helmet visor of the dust that had accumulated there.
                    226
                         PEACEKEEPERS 227
               wished he hadn't.
                   figures had entered the factory
               carried a fl6chette gun in his gloved
     he could to duck behind the lumber-
belt to his right. He motioned for the woman
Same. She had seen them too, and squatted
her suit like a little kid playing hide-and-,
                     MW
          They would pick up any transmission and
on it. Actually, Jay realized, all they have to do is
Acre for another three minutes and some, then the
9:@do the rest. They don't care if they go with us.
                    they're willing to die for their
heir real strength:
woman duck walked to Jay and leaned her helmet
his.
     we do now?" she asked. Her voice, carried by
=rough the metal and padding of the helmets,
ml @muffled and muted, as if she had a bad cold.
new shrugging his shoulders inside the pressure, suit
But he did it anyway. There was nothing
Of.
     -in the midst of Moonbase's oxygen
broad plain of Mare Nubium, the Sea of
seen neither water nor air for more than
illion years. The factory was out in the open vacuum,
d1s, covered only by a honeycomb metal meteor
k so thin that it almost seemed to sway in, the
istent breeze.
ornated tractors hauled stones and powdery soil
d from the Moon's regolith and dumped their loads
belts, ignoring the human hunters and
and separators and ovens squeezed
oxygen from the rocks, then dumped
piles at the far side of the factory, where


228 Aen Bova
other automated machinery mined metals and minerals
from the tailings. Glass filament piping carried the oxygen
to huge cryogenic tanks, giant thermos bottles that kept the
gas cold enough to remain liquefied-
The conveyor belts rumbled, the crushers pounded
away, in nearly total silence. Jay could feel their throbbing
through the concrete pad that formed the base of the
factory. In the vacuum of the Moon, though, normal sound
was only an Earth-bom memory.
In all the vast complex there were no human workers.
Only robots, which actually performed better in the clean
vacuum than they did in the corrosive air needed by their
human ownem No humani set foot in the factory, except
for the two cowering behind the main conveyor feed_..@Iand
the six now spreading out to cover all the perimeter of the
factory and make certain that Jay and the woman could not
escape.
     Three minutes thirty seconds.
Jay closed his eyes. Hell of a way to end it. The nuke will
liipe out the oxygen factory, and that'll kill Moonbase. We
won't go alone, he thought grimly.
     It had started innocently.
Jay had reported for work as usual, riding the power
ladder from his quarters on level four to the main plaza. It
was Tuesday, and sure enough, there was a fresh shipload             Y
of tourists hopping and tumbling and laughing self-
consciously as they tried to adjust their clumsy Earth stride
to the one-sixth gravity of the Moon.
The tourists wore coveralls, as the Moonbase Tourist
Office advised. But while Jay's coveralls were a utilitarian
gray with Velcro fastenings, the Flatland tourists were
brilliant with garish Day-Glo oranges and reds and yellows,
stylish metal zipper pulls dangling from cuffs and collars
and chives. Just the thing to tangle in a pressure suit, Jay
thought sourly as he entered the garage office.
                                   PEACEKEEPERS, 229
     expected to spend the day driving a tour bus
kd,, Alphonsus, locked away from everyone in his
ry cab while some plastic-smiled guide pointed out
of Ranger @ and the solar-energy farms with their
libs
uded tenders and the robot Processors that sucked in
th soil at one end and deposited new solar,cells at the
The tourists would snap photographs to show the
n4em back home and, never have to leave the comfort
bus. Jay would drive the lumbering vehicle back and
across the crater floor along the well-worn track and
have to speak to anyone-
     ut the boss had given him, a red ticket, instead.
     -special job, Hazard," she had said, in that hard tone
     "Flatland VIP
     would brook no arguments.
on a crutch!" Jay fumed, lapsing back to the
had used when 'his father would punish him
-That's a six-day ride."
yours", the, boss retorted. "Got number 301
set for you. See you in si)C days."
y knew better than to complain. He snatched the red
-t from the boss's counter and stomped out
ge. Actually, he thought, a six-day trip up to Coperni-
and back might not be 80 bad. Away from the tourists
the boss and the rest of the world for nearly a week.
in the wilderness, where there isn't a blade ofgrass or a
@Vuff of air or even a sound-alone.
                some Earthside VIP. A part of Jay's mind
     Except for
@,.wondered who he @might be. Somebody I used to knows
Qrhe thought sent a wash of sudden terror through him. No.
               T-hebossiustpickedmeoutofthecompUter.
     e knows I like to be left alone- She's trying to do me a
     r.
@,*Vsotill, the thought that this VIP might be someone from
his former life, someone from his father, even, scared him
Ao much his stomach felt sick.


230  Ben Bova
When he saw who it was, he relaxe&-then tensed again.
It was a woman, a petite snub-nosed redhead who looked
too young, too tiny and almost childlike, to be a Very
Important Person. But when Jay got close enough to see her
brown eyes clearly, he recognized the kind of no-nonsense
drive and determination he had seen in others. his father,
his former commanding officer, the grim-faced men who
had 1ed him into treason and disgrace andtanishment.
She was waiting for him by the, bus, in the midstof the
noisy, clanging garage. She wore dark maroon coveralls,
almost the color of Burgundy wine. No dangling zipper
pulls. A small slate-gray duffel bag hung from one shoulder.
"Are you my driver?" she asked Jay.
     the driver."
He was nearly a foot taller than she, and he judged that
they were roughlythe same age- middle twenties. Jay had
not bothered to shave that morning, and he suddenly felt
grimy and unkempt in her level stare.' She didn't have
much of a figure. Her mouth was turned down slightly at
the corners.
"Okay, then," she said. "Drive."
He popped the hatch and stood beside it as she climbed
the metal steps slowly, uncertain of herself in the low lunar
gravity. Jay took the six rungs in one jump and ducked into
the shadowy interior of bus 301.
On the outside, 301 looked like any other heavily
                    used
tour bus: its bright yellow anodized hull had been dulled by
exposure to vacuum and the hard radiation that drenches
the lunar surface. There were dents here and there and a
crusting of dust along the wide tracks. The -crescent and
human, figure of its stylish Moonbase logo was the only
ftesh bit of color on its bodywork. Management saw to
that.
Inside, though, 301 had been fitted out for a long
excursion: the seats removed and a pair of sleeping units
installed, each with its own bathroom facilities. The galley
                                                       231,
                                                                 DM
     ward, closest to the cab, and the air lock and
     -suits at the rearby the hatch. Jay would have
     I it the other wayaround, but he had no spy in the
     f the bus or its interior layout.
     ut a word to his passenger, he pushed past her and
     t6@ the drivees seat. With one hand he -slipped the
     mm headset over his thick dark hair-, while with his other
     board keys checking out the bus's
     He got his route clearance from the
     and started up the engines.
forward slowly, the thermionic en-
efficiently. @ay felt his passenger's
behind and slightly to one side of him,
the lighted path through the busy garage
massive air locL
the right-hand seat as he went down the
the controllers. The inner air-lock hatch
them; Jay thought she tensed slightly at the,
when the massive steel doors sealed them-
es shut.
lumps whined to life, their noisy clattering diminishing
a fading train whistle as the air was sucked out of the
steel-walled chamber.
     @,"You're cleared for excursion, 301," he heard in his
     xplione.
     @'Three-oh-one, on my way," he muttered.
     The controllers voice lightened. "Have fun, Jay. Six
     ghts with a redhead, wow!" He chuckled.
     Jay said nothing, but shot a quick sidelong glance at his
     Wenger. I She could not hear the controller, thank the
     ds.
     The air lock's outer hatch slid open slowly, revealing the
     solate splendor of the Sea of Clouds. It was night, and
     )uld be for another sixty hours. But the huge blue globe
     ,tEarth hung in the sky, nearly full, shining so brilliant ly
     t      w
     there as no true darkness.


232 Ben Bova
     Mare Nubium looked like a sea that -bad been petrified.
The rocky soil undulated in waves, almost seemed to be
heaving gently, dimpled by craters and little pockmarks
and cracks of rilles that snaked across the ground like sea
serpents. The horizon was brutally near, like the edge of a
ch sharp and u
     ff,              ncompromising as the end of the world.
Beyond it the-sky was utterly black.
     ,thought we'd be able to see the stars," his passenger
said.
     "You Will," Jay replied.
     The ground they traversed was roiled and churned as a
battlefield. Treads of giant tractors, bootprints of humans,
singed and blackened spots where rockets had landed years
ago. Nothing ever changes on the Moon's surface unless
people change it, and this close to Moonbase, people and
their machines had been moving back and forth for more
than a generation.
     Jay' took 301 out past the old mass driver. The electric
catapult was so long that its far end disappeared over the
horizon.
     "Is that the original mass driver?" his passenger asked.
     He answered with a nod.
     ..I understand it's out of commission. Being repaired or
something?"
     "Right," he said.
     For the next fifteen minutes they drove in silence along
the length of the mass driver. They passed a team of
pressure-suited technicians gathered around one of the big
magnet coils.
"My name's Kelly," his passenger offered.
     -It's , on the trip sheet," Jay replied. "Kelly, S. A. From
Toronto, Canada. First time on the Moon."
     "What's your name?"
     Jay turned his head toward her. For the love of Godzilla,
don't tell me she's a Moon groupie, he said to himself.
We're going to be cooped up in this tin can for six days.
"Jay," he snapped.
                                 PEACEKEEPERS 233
               at the tourist office told me it was Jona-
          uncomfortably in the chair. "Everybody calls
     Itban, Jr."
          at her again. Really looked at her. "Who the
     d@you. My name's Kelly."
're no tourist."
you're no bus driver."
tA6 you
Mny studied his face for a moment. It seemed to Jay
jp@hc was trying to I smile, trying to put him at his ease.
     iscie6bding-
want:to know whose side you're on," she said at last.
Oe?@ What are you talking about? I'm not on any-
8 Sucking side! Leave me alone!" He kicked in the
and 301 shuddered to a stop.
     picked the wrong side once," Kelly said, her vo
a if she were reading'from a memorized dossier. "The
e who sent me here think you might have made the
mistake again."
ml taking you back to the base."
put a hand out toward him. "If you do, I'll have to
our suspicions to the Moonbase security people.
_11 lose your job. As a minimum."
          alone!'$
I could," Kelly said, her voice softening. "But
bomb on its way to Moonbase. It might
Some people think you're in on the deal."
her. Even here they had followed him. Even
dst of all this emptiness, a quarter-million
es from Earth, even here they were hounding him.
le took a deep breath, then said evenly, "Look. I'm not
311 any deal. If you want to tag me with some wild-ass
sges, think up something more believable than a nuke,
i? Just let me do my job and live in peace, okay?"


234 Ben Bova
     Kelly shook her head. -"None of us can live in peace, Jay.
A nuclear weapon is going to wipe out Moonbase unless we
can find it and the people who are behind it And damned
soon.
     "You're crazy!"
     Maybe. But we're not going to Copernicus. We're going
to @Fra Mauro."
     "The hell we are," he growled. "You're going right back
to base." He grasped the steering wheel and started to
thumb the, button that would put the tracks in gear again.
     "lfldo,"Ke.Uywamed,"youwon'tbejustworkingouta
ten-year sentence here at Moonbase, You'll spend the rest
of your life in jail."
     He glared at her.
     Kelly did not glare back. She smiled sadly. "I wouldn't
be talking with you if I thought you were part of any
                     11
terrorist group. But if YOU refuse to help me, ve got no
choice but to turn you over to the people who think you
are."
     Every muscle in Jay's body was tensed so hard,that he
ached from toe to scalp.
     Kelly leaned toward him slightly. "Look. The nuke is
     hese people intend to blow out Mooribase.
real. T                                                   Help me
find the bomb and you can make everybody back Earthside
forget about your past mistake."                                t
     He felt as helpless as he had when he was a baby and his
father would suddenly swoop down on him and toss him
terrifyingly high into the air.
     "You don't understand," Jay said slowly, miserably. "I
don't care if they remember what hap . pened back the n or
not. All I want is to be away from it all, away from all of
them. All of them. Forever."
     She made a sympathetic sound, almost like a mother
cooing at her infant. "It doesn't work that way. They've
come here. Maybe not the same people who got you into
trouble in the first place, but the same kind of people."
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 235
1@ head sank low. He closed his eyes, as if that would
he@ go away and leave him alone.
     've got to help me, Jay-"
     aid nothing; wished he were deaf.
     Vv I o     no choice."
                     got
     Ressly he put the tracks ingear and pushed the
          The lumbering bus shuddered and started
     ht, he told himself. I've got 110 choice. One
     you for the rest of your life. Tbey'll never
     Ints
     :me, no matter how far I run. Not for the rest Of
                                             his life, once
realized that the only way out was to end
br all.
drove 301 in silence, not even glancmig at the Young
along for
in sitting beside him. The vehicle Plowed a ks
     V than an hour, following the network of tr c worn
     the, powdery regolith that headed northw8rd across
     r Nubiurn in the general direction of Copernicus.
at when Jay reached for t he radio transmitter control
d his.
he dashboard, Kelly's hand quickly intercePte
-rve got to get Fra, Mauro's coordinates front the data
     II punch in the coordinates," she countered.
     pointed to the bus's guidance computer, Kelly typed
     he coordinates with smooth, practiced efficiency. Jay
     ad that her hands were tiny, her fingers as Small as a
     s doll.
                         off the heavily tracked course
     1ien the bus turned
     rd Copernicus and -started westward, jay punched in
     utopilot and took his hands from the wheel. He leaned
     in his seat and tried to relax. It was like trying to
     he vacuum.
--Are we really goi ng to Fra Mauro?" he asked.
"Close."
"What makes you think the nuke is hidden thereT'


236 Ben Bova
     We have our information sources."
     "We?" He turned in his seat to look fully at her. "Did my
father send you?"
     She said, "No. I'm not working for the Peacekeepers.
Not directly, anyway."
     "Then he does have something to do with this.
     'The Peacekeepers have no jurisdiction here. They're
only allowed to operate when an attack is launched across
an international frontier."
"So they claim.",
Kelly ignored, his   thrust.  'Moonbase isn't about to be
invaded. It's being threatened by a-gang of terrorists. We're
trying to stop them."
"Who the hell is this 'we'?"
"Private operation."
     He waited for more. When she did not offer it, Jay asked,
"And the terrorists?"
     "Professionals. Third World fanatics where against the
industrialized nations and against the Peacekeepers."
     Jay remembered a group of men and women who were
that the International
step toward a world govern-
of having their nations
d        and trust their defense to a gaggle of foreigners.
They had rebelled against the IPF and nearly won. Nearly.
Jay had been one of those rebels. His father, now director-
general of the IPF, had branded him a traitor
     "Some of the smaller nations," Kelly was saying, "don't
like the IPF in general, and hate Moonbase in particular.
Lunar ores and space factories are competing with Third
World countries. They say thatjust when they're starting to
make a success of industrialization, Moonbase is undersell-
ing them."
"So they hire a gang of professionals to nuke
Moonbase."
"That's it."
"And where do they get, their nuclear device? The IPFS
                                PEACEKEEPERS 237
     Z@=d thorough in dismantling the world's
     rally, said Kelly. "Disarmament's been more or
     standstill for the past several years. There's at least
     -dozen, nukes unaccounted for. SomebOdY named
     mm" stole them and disappeared."
     you think one of them's here?"
                         Shamar sold it for the equiva-
     i* "Or on its way
     1 hundred million dollars. In gold."
                                        he believed her
     histled with awe. Despite hiniself,
     liat's just what some of those bastards would do.
doWt care who gets killed, as-long as it isn't them.
part that he refused to believe was her insistence
no role in this operation. He knows
himself. He knows exactly where I am.
     caught his eye. Movement meant
the eons-dead surface of the Moon.
                  UP them."
    in her seat, but her body tensed like
                 she asked.
                    way-
               camera keyboard and displayed the view
     that took up the middle of the dashboard-
a smallish tractor, painted bright red, not
crawlers that tended the solar energy
it was undeniably a
us. But the bubble riding atop
-support module.
Two-man job," Jay muttered.
Have they seen us?"
'Probably. Might be from Lunagrad."
                   South?"
                     Jaysai&"They'vegotjustasmuch
                    here as anybody."


239 Den,,Bova
     "No," he had to admit. "The Russians usually stay close
to their own bases. And there's no scientific excursion out
here-that I know of."
"Turn around," Kelly said.
"What? I thought you wanted to get to Fra Mauro."
     "I do, but I want to get there alive. Turn around!"
     She was genuinely frightened, Jay saw. He gripped the
wheel and slewed,the bus almost ninety degrees, angling
Doug ly northeast.
     We can tell them we just took a side trip on our way to
Copernicus, Jay said to himself. Then he realized that he               1,
had accepted her view of the situation without thinking
consciously about it- he had accepted the idea that this
crawler was carrying two terrorists who had somehow
learned of Kelly's mission and were here to stop her.
     Kelly popped out of her seat and went back toward the
sleeping compartments. She returned with a pair of-binoc-
ulars, big and black and bulky. Jay recognized the make
and model: electronically boosted optics, capable of count-
ing the pores on your nose at a distance of ten miles.
     "They're following us." Her voice was flat, almost calm.
Only the slightest hint of an edge in it. "Two men in the
cab, both wearing pressure suits with the visors UP-
     She's been in heavy scenes before, Jay thought. Probably
a lot more than I have. In the back of his mind he
remembered the only real danger he had ever seen, the                                                                               I
battle in orbit that his side had lost. Because of me, Jay
heard his mind accuse. We lost because of me.
     "They're gaining on US,` Kelly announced, the binocs
glued to her eyes. "Can't you go faster?"
     "This tub isn't built-for speed," Jay grumbled, leaning on
the throttle. The bus lurched marginally faster.
     'There's no place to hide out here," she said.
     "It's like the ocean.' He thought that his father would
know what to do. An old salt like him, with his Annapolis
training, would be right at home on this lunar sea.
     "00                                                   239
          only got the one air W&
               "Emergency hatch, here by MY side." He
     D4@ the red release catch with, his left elbow.
                                                       @But
     e*ot to be in a suit to use it."
     Fe,',d better suit up, then And fast."
     low wait a minute
          cut him off with a dagger-sharP look. "You say you're
     h them. Okay, I'll beli - that. As long as
     I 'Wit                       eve                      YOU
     e@ like you're not in with them."
     turned away from those blazing eyes and looked out
     de window. The red crawler was gaining on them,
     ing up on their left rear.
     -Ily said, "Suits.
     ie's scared of what they'll do when they overtake us, he
     ght. Deep inside him, Jay was frightened tooAie set
     antrols back on autopilot and followed the diminutive
     head back toward th e air-lock hatch.
     took nearly fifteen minutes to worm into the suits and
     k out all the seats and systems.
     When we get outside," Kelly said through her open
     E, no radio. If we have to talk, we Put our helmets
     ther.
     T-ete-A-t&e."
     --She flashed a quick grin at him, thinking it was a pun
dher than standard lunar jargon.
Nhey clumped back to the cab, single file, in the bulky
kts. The crawler had gained appreciably on them. It was
rcely half a kilometer away.- Jay began pecking at the
aidance computer's keyboard.
     What are you doing?" Kelly demand ed. "We dont have
me ...
w"Instructing this bucket to circle around and head back
base. That way we can pick it up again later. Don't think
Wre going to walk back to Moonbase, do you?"
'-."I hadn't thought that far ahead," she admitted.
They made their way back to the air lock and squeezed


240   Ben Bova
inside together. The outer hatch was on the right side of the
bus, away from the approaching crawler. His stomach
quivering with butterflies, Jay snapped his visor down
securely and punched the button that cycled the air lock.
He had to override the safety subsystem that prevented the
lock from being used while the bus was in motion.
     It seemed like an, hour. The pumps clattered loud enough
to be heard Earthside. Finally the amber light turned to red
and the outer hatch popped slightly ajar. Jay swung it open
-the rest of the way.
     The rough landscape was rushing past,them at nearly
thirty klicks per hour. It looked very hard and solid, totally
uninviting.
     "You sure you want to do this?" he asked.
     "It's better than being killed."
     "Maybe."
     "You first," she commanded.
     Jay obeyed almost by reflex. He waited for a patch of
ground that was relatively free of rocks, then jumped from
the lip ofthe air lock. It wasn't until he was soaring through
the vacuum in the dreamlike slow motion of lunar gravity
that he realized this might all have been her ploy for getting
the bus to herself.
     He landed on his feet, staggered sideways with the
acceleration 'from the bus and fell to the ground. With
instincts honed by almost three years on the Moon, he put
out both arms, caught himself before he hit the dusty soil,
and pushed himself erect. A few staggering steps and he
was safely balanced on his feet.
     He had kicked up some dust, but not as much as he had
feared. This area's not as dusty as some, Jay thought as he
watched the powdery clouds slowly settle around him.
     Kelly jumped and tumbled when she landed, skidding                A
sideways down the slight slope of a worn ancient craterlet.
Jay dashed after her as 301 trundled off in the opposite
direction, on its own, under automatic control.
                              PEACEKEEPERS 241'
     s ly I ing on her back and waving frantically at him.
     @s @u -
          rt, Jay thought. Or her suit's ripped.
     I)ed and slid down the almost glassy slope-of the
     er and ended up on the seat of his pants, by, her
     led turned onto her stomach, lying still. Dackpack
     .-seem damaged. No obvious leaks. He leaned his
     against hors.
     YoMokay?"
     reached an arm around his neck and yanked -hard.
     wn,@' asshole!"
     Vattened out, feeling his face flame with sudden
ant those bastards to see us?" she hissed. "Why don't
ave a friggin' flaW."
          on to his swooping temper. Fbr a few moments
     de by side. Then Kelly wormed her way to the lip
     er. Jay followed.
     only far enough to see across the pockmarked
     watched 301 dwindling toward the horizon,
     red crawler still closing the distance between
t then the crawler stopped. The pod hatch opened and
)f the pressure-suited figures climbed out.
r turned his head toward Kelly. "Of all the mother-
ig dimwits, you gave yourself diarrhea over nothing.
Ire surveyors! Look, they're taking out their tools."
h yeah?"
     one man had taken an arm's-length rod from the
pack on the rear of the crawler. He hiked it up onto his
ulder, then turned and aimed it at the retreating bu. lk of
                                                                 A
iie rod flashed sudden flarne. A blaze of light streaked
@ss the airless plain and hit 301. The bus exploded. All
total silence.
lay watched, stunned, as pieces of 301 soared gently


242 Ben Bova
across the landscape. He recognized one fragment as tihng
end over end and smash'
driver's chair, tumbling slowly
apart when it finally hit the ground.
  I. 11
               Jay whispered.
          1
     "Some surveyors," Kelly, muttered.
     How in the name of St. Michael the Archangel are we
going to get back to the base? Jay asked himself. If we call
for help, those guys will hear us and come over to finish the
job.
     Kelly was pecking at the radio controls on the left *rist
of her suit. Is she going to surrender to them? Not likely, he
knew.
     She pointed to the frequency setting, then to the side of
her helmet, and finally put a finger up in front of her visor.
Jay understood her sign language. They're using this freak;
listen, don't talk.
     They iay side by side at the lip of the little crater,
watching and listening. The two terrorists drove their
crawler to the gutted wreck of 301 and started inspecting
the wreckage. They want to make sure of us, Jay realized.
     Leaning his helmet against Kelly's, he whispered, "May-
be we can grab their crawler while they're poking through
the debris."
     Her voice was muffled, but he could feel the reproach in
it. "We wouldn't get fifty meters before they spotted us.
They're professionals, Jay. We're lucky they didn't see you
dancing around when you jumped from the bus.-
     His face went red again. And he realized, that whispering
was stupid, too.
"Then what ... ?"
I.
              Lemme hear them."
     Jay could not understand the language coming through
his earphones, but apparently Kelly could. She repeated it,
like a translator.
          they could have jumped before the rocket hit
                                             PEACEKEEPERS          243
                    Merence ... I can't figure that, must be slang
               no But that means they knew who we were. i hit
                         laughing-ah! They're saying we can
               ... they're
                         If we call for help they'll home in On
          My * on foot.
                     OV9
               asmission and finish us
               Odded inside his helmet. That was the crux of the
               V bother?" Kelly resumed translating. "The, oxygen
               ill be blasted away in another twelve hour-' Theyll
               jW back in time to do anything about it-"
                                                       rim
               pounded her gloved fist on the glass-smooth ' Of
          "The oxygen factoryl That's it!"
               slid down slightly and turned on her side. Jay stayed
               the rim, watching and thinking.
               could send a warning to Moonbase, Put them'On
               But then those killers would find us And that would
               _t.
               what? he asked himself You're finished anyway.
               9           ng to leave you in peace. She told you
               re never g6i
               The only way out is death.
                    looked out across the desolate expanse of rock The
               terrorists were making their way back to the crawler
               their foreign words sounding musical yet guttural in
               'Jearphones, almost like a Wagnerian opera.
                                                  wise guy, Jay told
          It'd be easy enough to,open your visor,
     self just crack the seal and take a nice deep breat 1 0
f@@       Vum' PooP Your troubles are all finished. You wouldnot
          !he first guy to do it that way.
          lis gloved hands did not move. I don't want to die, Jay
          lized. No matter what happens, I sure as bell don't want
          die.
          suddenly -his earphones shrieked with a wild whining,
          reeching wail. He clamped his hands uselessly against his
          imet, then stabbed at the radio control on his wrist and
          ut off the skull-splitting noise-


244 Ben Bova
     _e
  H slid down beside Kelly. She was sta"9
controls
"Jammer," Jay said.
     "They're taking no chances," she agreed. "They're going
to leave us out here and jam any radio transmission we
might send."
     "That means they'll be staying with their crawler," he
said. "The jammer's only got a limited range-far as the
horizoii."
     "We can walk away from it."
     "If they don't see us.-
     "How long would it take to get back to Moonbase?,
     "Too Iong," Jay answered. "Unless . .
     'Unless what?"
     "Follow me and do what I do. Stay low as possible until
we're, out of their sight."
     They crawled on their hands and knees slowly, carefully,
across the small crater and over its farther rim. The
powdery top layer of the regolith turned to dust whetever
they touched it. Before long the dust was clinging to their
suits. Jarcould feel it grating in one of his imee joints. That
could be dangerous. Worse, it covered the visors, obscuring
vision.
     Not that there was much to see. Jay watched his gloved
hands tracking along the barren regolith. It reminded him
Of videos about evolution he had seen as a schoolchild: the
eMeWnce of life from the sea onto dry land. Never find
land drier than this, he knew.
     At last he stopped, sat upright, and took a wiper pad
from the pouch on his leg. The dust clung stubbornly to his
visor, electrostatically charged by the invisible inflow of
solar wind particles.
     He helped Kelly clear her visor. Cautiously, he rose to
his feet. The damned crawler could still be seen, which
meant the men in them still had a chance of spotting them.
     Back to crawling, like an infant, like a lizard, like a slimy
                at her wrist
                         ........... PEACEKEEPERS 245
                     DE
     Just learning to walk. We must make a weird
Wed againand looked back. Only the rooftop of
ferwas in sialit. He flicked his suit radio on for the
instant; the shriek of the jammer still burned his
ming for Kelly to stand, he leaned close to her and
They've got a tall antenna. We'reistill beingjammed,
cast we cap walk now."
cleaned their visors again, then headed off almost
     several minutes Kelly tapped Jay's shoulder. He
down to touch helmets.
     Moonbase in that direction?" She pointed roughly
estward.
     aorte& at her. "Don't try to navigate by the Stan.
con's north pole doesnt point toward Polaris."
h, but ...
     following 30 I's tracks." He pointed to the churned
if we can make it back to the main beat between
Subase and Copernicus we'll come across an emergency
Ow sooner or later. Then we . .
     rked with surprise, then swiftly pulled Kelly down
D the ground.
lessly he pointed at the crawler that was slowly
its way toward them. From the direction opposite
v er they had just left. This one was painted bright
it, too, had a life-support module atop it, and a tall
mast, visible only because of the tiny red light
ng at its end.
-.y sent a team to follow us, Jay realized. They boxed
one team from Fra Mauro, the other behind us from
ibase.
half dragged Kelly away from the track of 30 1,
g toward the Copernicus-Moonbase "road and
from the oncoming crawler. They might not be part


-246 Ben Bova

Of the terrorist gang, Jay thought. Might bp@ a coincidence
that they're here. They might even be Moonbase security
searching for us. Sure. Might be Santa Claus, too.
  For hours they walked, seemingly lost. Not the slightest
SIP of civilization. Not even a bit of litter. No trace of life.
                                                                  W
Nothing but rocks and craters and the sudden horizon with         F I
                                                                  I
the utterly black sky beyond it. And the dust that clung to       E
them, rasped aping their suits, bluffed their visors.             11
  Suits are good f or forty-eight hours, Jay kept telling
himself Oxygen, heat, water enough for forty-eight hours.
Radiation Protection. They'll even stop a micrometeor
without springing a leak. Says so in the instruction manual.
  But he wondered.
  Time and again they tried their suit radios. Still the
wailing scream of the jamming defeated them.
  -They must have planted jammers along the whole
route," Jay told Kelly
         means we'll have to get back to Moonbase itself
in'   she peered at the watch on her suit wrist--six
  No
way, he knew. Not afoot. But they kept walking.
There was nothing else to do. For hours.
     Kelly fished a wire from one of her suit pouches and they
connected their helmet intercoms, like two kids talking
through paper cups and a soaped string.
     "It's 0 a lonely kind of beauty to it," she said. "I never

thought of the Moon as beautiful before."                     I
                                                              I
  Jay nodded inside his helmet. "I wouldn't call it beauti-   J
ful. Awesome, yes. it's got
                               grandeur, all right. Like the  I @
desed in Arizona."
  61(r the tundra
                   up above the Arctic Circle."
                                                              I '
  "It'll take a long time before people screw up this place.
But they'll do it. They're already starting the job, aren't
theyrl
  Kelly was silent fbr a while, then she asked, '1@hy'd you
put in with the rebels? Against the Peacekeepers.-
                              PEACEKEEPERS 247
     )e6t@ the old anger seething in his gut. Instead:he
     almost calmly, "I fell for their
     trust its defense to a beach of
     Said Washington had sold us out to the Third
     id the Commies."
     w with the Peacekeepers.
     were? Then?"
     )re. About three years before."
     rou believe in them
y've kept the peace. The nations are disarming. Or
vivrel before they realized Shamar had made off with
you feel about I a hundred little nations
around?"
               Kelly replied.
               silence. Then Kelly spoke up again,
're lucky you didn't have to go to jail. Most of the
conspirators got long sentences."
nv, I'm lucky, all right."
3ur father must have been a big help. He's running the
now, you know."
he old anger was strangely muted, but Jay could still
the resentment smoldering inside him. Or was it
          help," he mocked. "Instead of jail he got me
     ed to the Moon. I can't set foot back on Earth for
     r seven years, not unless you get me arrested and
     t back in handcuffs."
It's better than -being in jail, though, isn't it?"
ay hesitated. "Yeah, I guess so," he had to admit.
'Your father must've twisted a lot of arms to get you off
hook. Most of 'ein got life."
     opened his mouth to answer, but he had no reply. He
     er considered the proposition before. Dad pleaded
     he court to lighten my sentence? He found that


249 Ben Bova
difficult beli
          to    leve. Especially after he had rejected the old
man's offers of help. @ It did not square with all he knew
about the stem, uncompromising man who had left his
mother so many years ago. Very difficult to beli
                    teve.
     But not impossible,
     Jay was still pondering this new thought when he
stopped and stared at a tiny red light blinking against the
dark Sky, just Over the horizon. He reached for another
cleaning pad and wiped his visor. The light did not move
or waver.
     -Hey look!" he yelled.
     He - pointed, then gestured for Kelly to follow him. An
emergency shelter. Fresh oxygen and water. His sW
                   it was
starting to smell bad, Jay realized. He hadn't admitted it to
himself until now.
     And maybe a radio with enough power to bum through
the jamming. Less than three hours left. Won't do us much
good to get to the shelter if Moonbase itself gets wiped. Just
prolong the agony.
     The shelter was a life-support module from the earliest
days, of lunar exploration, buried under several meters of
scooped-up regolith rubble. Safe as a squirrel's nest in
winter.
     711e left leg of Jay's suit was grating ominously as they
hurried the last kilometer toward the shelter. The dust was
grinding away at that knee joint. He looked over at I Kelly.
She seemed to be keeping pace with him loping along in
the dreamlike low gravity.
     They bounded down the slight slope to the shelter's
air-lock entrance. It was too small for both of them to go
through at the same time, but they squeezed into it
together anyway. Jay heard somebody laughing as the air
lock cycled, It was his own voice, cackling like a madman.
"We made it, kid," he said. "We're safe."
     For the time being," she reminded him, as the inner
batch slid open.
                              PEACEKEEPERS 249
                                        ing inside. He
     e*!i for that," said the man wait
     eedle-slim fl6chette gun in his hand.
     were two of them both dark of hair d eye, skin
     an
     ed, one not. Both
     r of desert sand. One was beard
     shelter was old and small; its inner walls curved up
     high enough to allow Jay to stand upright The
     Pent inside looked ancient, dusty. Even the bunks
     moldy with age.
     made Kelly and Jay take off their pressure                Jay
     ually glad to be out of his, yet he felt almost naked
 -rotected without it.
hat happens now?" Kelly asked,. her voice flat and
     w we wait," said the bearded one in slightly accented
     i.      "The bomb goes off in little more than two hours'
     iperiors will pick us up for transport back to Earth.
     vill decide what to do with YOU."
     other was younger, barely out of his teens, Jay saw.
     med fiercely amused. "There won't be enough room
     rd the ship for two prisoners."
     Ily's mouth dropped open. All pretense of cool Profes-
     Jism disappeared. "You mean you ... you're going to
     us here? Kill us?"
     e bearded one shrugged.
     Jh please don't!" Kelly pleaded. "Please ... I don't
     t to die. I'll do anything! Anything!"
     ie took a step closer to the bearded one. Jay felt his
     Jes chum. The little bitch. She'll offer them her body to
     herself. She doesn't give a tinker's damn about what
     to me.
     realized that both men had turned their entire
     to Kelly, who was pleading so loudly and plain-
     at it finally got through Jay's skull that this was a
?


                                                                      7@
          250   Ben Bova
               With one lightning motion Kelly kicked the bearded one
          in the groin and simultaneously grabbed his right wrist and
          pushed the gun aside. The gun went Off and a slim steel
          116chette thudded into the metal wall of the shelter.
               With the yoar of a jungle savage, Jay launched himself at
          the Younger one, who had turned slightly away f rom him.
          He Swung back, but not fast enough. Jay snapped his wrist,
          then knocked him uncon
                              scious with a vicious chop against
          the side of his neck.
            He looked over at Kelly, bending
                                             over the prostrate body                  -J
          of the bearded one.
               "I was worried you wouldn't catch           "I
                                             on    she said, grin-
          mng.
          "I almost didn't."
          "Try the radio," she commanded, pointing.
               It was useless, Jay-saw. They had fired several fl6chettes
          into it.
               " Just about two hours now," Kelly said. "How long will
          it take us-to get back to Moonbase?"
               "'Depends," he replied, "on whether this shelter has a
          hopper in working condition.-
               They bound the two unconscious men with electricians
          tape, then worked back into their suits. Jay led the way
          through the air lock and out behind the pile of rubble
          covering the shelter.
               The spidery body of a lunar hop .Per stood out in the
          open. It looked like a small metal platform raised off the
          ground by three skinny bowed legs. An equally insubstan-
          tial railing went around three sides of the platform, with a
          Pedestal for controls and displays. Beneath the platform
          were small spherical tariks and a rocket nozzle mounted on
          a swivel.
               He inspected the hopper swiftly. "Cute. They shot up the
          oxygen tank. No oxygen, no rocket. Lazy bastards, though
          They should have dismantled this go-can more thoroughly
          than this."

till
                              PEACEKEEPERS iq
ihing@ AS he worked, My ducked back inside the
W came out with a pair ofoxygen bottles from the
. emergency supply and a set of tools. It took more
hour,'but finally he got the long green bottles
firmly enough to the line that fed the rocket's
tion chamber.
     I think it's firmly enough, he told himself.,
-Iped Kelly up onto the platform and then got up
her snapped on the safety tethers that hung from
ling, and plugged his suit radio into the hopper's
stem. Kelly followed his every motion.
     ly to try itT' he asked.
     i.   Sure." Her voice 'in his earphones sounded
          the throttle. For an eternally long moment
thing happened. Then the platform shuddered and
ftied and they were soaring up over the lunar landscape
shell.
Kelly exulted. Jay noticed that both her
gripping the railing hard enough to bend
                    he yelled back at her.
iey got high enough to see the lights of the base's
-energy farm, spread out across the shore of the Mare
ium, where automated tractors were'converting raw
lith soil into solar cells and laying them out in neat
onal patterns.
tried to steer toward the lights, but the hopper's
kal safety program decided that there was not enough
)r maneuvering a a safe landing. So they glided on,
iing the lights of the energy farm slide off to their
     eerie, flying in total silence, without a breeze,
     vibration from the platform they stood upon.
     coasting effortlessly high above the ground.
     sed the hopper's radio to send an emergency call

252 Ben Bova,                                         7
                                             .... ...
to Moonbase security. -There's a nuclear bomb planted
somewhere in the oxygen factory," she. repeated a dozen
times. There was no answer from Moonbase.
     Either we're not getting through to them or. they're not
getting through to us," she said, her voice brittle with
apprehension.
     "Maybe they think it's a nut call."
     He sensed her shaking her head. 1,Theyve'got to check it
out. They can't let a warning about a nuclear bomb go
without checking on it.11
     'Nukes are pretty small. The oxygen plant's damned
big-"
          "Unow," she answere "I know. And there isn't much
     I d.
tilue.-
     Jay realized that they were flying toward the imminent
nuclear explosion. Like charging into the mouth of the
cannon, he thought.
     He heard himself           4.you,
                    saying,        were damned good back
there. You could have taken both of them by yourself.-
"No, that's not likely," she replied absently, her mind
obviously elsewhere. "I was counting on your help and you
came through."
     A long silence. Then Kelly asked, "Will those two have
enough air in the shelter to last until their friends pick
them upT'
     4
   Probably. I only took the emergency backup bottles.
Who the hell cares about them, anyway-?-
     "No sense killing them."
     .'Why not? They'd kill us. They're trying to blow up
Moonbase and kill everybody, arefi@t they?"
     A longer silence. They were descending now. The ground
was slowly, languidly coming closer. And closer.
     "Will one nuke really be enough to wipe out the whole
baser, Kelly asked
     "Depends on its size. Probably won't vaporize the whole
base. But they're smart to put it in the oxygen factory. Like
                                   'PEACEKEEPERS 253
the heart. The blast will destroy -
ion. No 02 for life support, or
still the Moon's major export prod-
     jbw that."
     6     will kick up a helluva lot of debris, too. Like
                    bomb
     ieteor impacting. The splash will cover the solar-
     farms, I'll bet. Electricity production goes down
     zero."
     muttered something unintelligible.
     ad to admire the terrorists' planning., "They won t
     my people directly. They'll force Moonbase to shut
     Somebody'll have to evacuate a couple thousand
     back to Earth. Neat job."
     ground was coming up faster now. Automatically
     pper's computer fired its little rocket engine and they
     then landed with hardly a thump.
     must be a couple of klicks from the factory@," Jay
     '!"You stay here and keep transmitting a warning. I'll
     the factory and see what's happening there."
     11, no!" Kelly snapped. "We're both going to the






     Y1.
     iat's stupid. .
Dn't get macho on me, Yank, just when I was starting
you. Besides, you might still be one of the bad guys.
ot letting you out of my sight."
e grinned at her, knowing that she could not see it
ugh the helmet visor. "You still harbor suspicions
it me?"
)fficially, yes."
And unofficially?" he asked.
@'We're wasting time. Let's get moving."
There was less than a half hour remaining by the time
     reached the oxygen f actory
@Iftls big!" Kelly said. Their suit radios worked now-, they
outrun the jammers.


254 Den Bova
     "Theres a thousand T)Iaces they
                                   . could tuck a nuke in
here."
     "Where the hell are the Moonbase security people?"
Jay took a deep breath. Where would I place a nuke, to
do the maximum damage? Not out here at the periphery of
the factory. Deep inside, where the heavy machinery is.
The rock. crushers? No. The ovens and- electric arc separa-
tors.
     "Come on," he commanded.
They ducked under conveyor belts, dodged maintenance
robots gliding smoothly along the factory's concrete pad
with arms extended semi-menacingly at, the intruding
humans. Past the rock crushers, pounding so thunderously
that Jay c4uld feel their raw power vibrati along his
ng
bones. Past the shaker screens where the crushed rock and
sandy soil were sifted.
Up ahead was the heavy stuff, the steel complex of
electrical ovens and the shining domes protecting the
lightning-bolt arcs that extracted pure oxygen from the
lunar minerals. The area was a maze of pipes. Off at one
end of it stood the tall cryogenic tanks where the precious
oxygen was stored.
it Was dark in there. The meteor screen overhead shut
out the Earthlight, and there were only a few lamps
scattered here and there. The maintenance robots did not
need lights, and humans were discouraged from tinkering
with the automated machinery.
"It's got to be somewhere around here," Jay told Kelly.
They separated, each hunting frantically for an object
that was out of place, a foreign invading cell in this almost
living network of machinery that pulsed like a heart and
produced oxygen for its human dependents to breathe.
"Four minutes 'til the nuke goes offl-
The words rasped in Jay's earphones. He knew that Kell
                                                       y
was nearly exhausted. He was himself: soaked with sweat
and bone-tifed.
                              PEACEKEEPEM 255
     14@
          be here someplace. Desperation edged her
JV: minutes and counting.
ed in the midst of the pulsing machinery, took
)fAhe antistatic pads from his leg pouch, and
cleared his helmet visor of the dust that had
rated there.
immediately wished he hadn't.
:her pressure-suited figures had entered the factory
i.   Each of them carried a 116chette gun in his gloved
     as best as he could to duck behind the lumber-
                     wd
Weyor belt to his right. He motioned for Kelly to do
. he. She had seen them too, and squatted awkwardly
suit like a little kid playing hide-and-seek.
watched the six pressure-suited figures, his mind
Less than three minutes left! What the hell can we
'here's the base security people?
a wild instant he thought that these six might be
base security personnel. But their suits bore no
a, no Moonbase logo, no names stenciled on their
ing trapped and desperately close to death, Jay
nly yelled into his helmet microphone, "That's it! It's
     ed. We can relax now."
over to him and pressed her helmet
are you ...
away and pointed with his other hand.
gabbling at each other in their Own
them ducked under a conveyor belt and
toward the tall cryogenic storage tanks.
@onie on," Jay whispered urgently at Kelly.
iey duck walked on a path parallel to the two terrorists_
ng behind the conveyors and thick pipes, detouring
nd the massive stainless-steel domes of the electric
until they came up slightly behind the pair, at the base
the storage tanks.


256 Ben Bova
     Jay jabbed a gloved finger, gesturing. Beneath the first of
the tanks lay an oblong casel completely without markings
of any kind,
     One of the terrorists bent over it and popped open a
square panel. The other leaned over his shoulder, watch-
ing.
     "We should have brought the guns from the shelter,"
Kelly whispered as they huddled together behind a set of
smaller tanks.
     "Good time to think of it."
     Without straightening up, he launched himself across the
ten meters separating: them from the ter'
                                             rorists. Arms
outstretched, he slammed into the two of them and they
all
smashed against the curving wall of the storage tanks.
     Jay had seen men in pressure suits fight each other.
Tempers can flare beyond control even in vacuum. Most of
the time they were like the short-lived shoving matches
between football players encased in their protective pad-
ding and helmets. But now and then lunar workers had
tried to murder one another.
     He knew exactly what to do. Before either of the
terrorists could react Jay had twisted the helmet release
catch off the nearer one. He panicked and thrashed madly,
kicking and fumbling with his gloved hands to seal the
helmet again. He must have been screaming, too, but Jay
could not hear him.
     The second one had time to stagger to his knees, halfway
facing Jay. But Kelly slammed into his side, knocking him
over against the oblong crate that held the nuclear weapon.
     Jay scooped up one of the fallen flfthette guns and fired a
trio of darts into the man's chest. The suit lost its stiffness
as the air blew out of it, spewing blood through the holes.
He turned to see the other terrorist fleeing madly away, legs
flailing as he bounced and sailed in the low gravity, hands
still fumbling with his helmet seal.
"One minute!" Kelly shouted.
PEXCEKEEPERS 257
     h6d the dead body away and grabbed at-the nuke.-
               r.
     0@heavy fo
     little Moon," he grunted as he jerked the two-
     kg case off the concrete floor and hefted it to his
                         their guns. Cover me,"
     way," he said. "Take
     yan, straight up now, five meters at a stride, no
     rock
     ..Back the way they had come, toward the
          if this thing's salvage-fused we're finished, Jay
     self But the first thing they do when they decOm
     a weapon is remove-the fusing. I hope.
          -suited figure flashed in front of him, then
     ssure
     6d went down, grabbing at its chest. out of the side
     ing, to catch-Up
     visor Jay saw two more figures rac
     M.'One of them tried to jump over some-pipes
     istomed to the lunar gravity, he leaped too hard and
     d into an overhead conveyor be t'
     idn't need a watch, his pulse was thundering in his
     )unding, off the seconds. He,saw the rock-crushing
     es up ahead, felt a sting in one leg, then another in
     le.
     suit radio wasn't working. Or maybe he had shut it
     ck there somewhere, he didn't remember. His vision
     turring, everything was going shadowy. All he could
     as the big conveyor belt trundling lunar rocks up to
     nding jaws of the crusher.
nar gravity or not, the package on his shoulder
ied a ton. He staggered, he tottered, he reached the
eyor belt at'last and with the final microgram of his
the
gth he heaved the bulky package of death onto
-strewn belt and watched the crusher's ferocious steel
corroded with dirt and stained by chemicals, crunch
Wrily into the obscene oblong package of death.
knew if the bomb went off. His world turned
and oblivious.


258 Ben Bova
     The first face he saw when he opened his'
                                             eyes again was
his fathees.
     J.     W. Hazard was sitting by the hospital bed, gazing
intently at his son. For the first time Jay could remember,
his father's grim, weathered face looked softened, con-
cerned. Instead of the hard-bitten, driving man Jay had
known, Hazard seemed at a loss, almost bewildered, as he
shied down at his son.- His eyes seemed misted over. Even
his iron-gray hair seemed slightly disheveled, as if he had
been running his hands through it.
     "You're going to be okay, Jay-Jay," he whispered.
"You're going to pull through all right."
     Jay's mouth felt as if it were stuffed with cotton. He tried
to swallow.
     "Wh        He choked slightly, coughed. "What are you
doing here, DadT'
     'I came up when they told me what you'd done."
     "What did I doT'
     "You saved Moonbase, son. They damn near killed you,
but you kept the nuke from going off." There was pride in
the older man's voice.
     "The girl ... Kelly?"
     His father smiled slightly. "She's outside. Want to see
her?"
     -Swe."
     Hazard got to his feet carefully, not entirely certain of
himself in the low gravity. We're still on the Moon, Jay
realized. His father was in full uniform: sky-blue tunic and
trousers with gold piping and the diamond-cluster insignia
that identified him as director-general of the International
Peacekeeping Force.
     Kelly came buzzing into the room on an electric wheel-
chair, one leg wrapped in a plastic bandage.
     "You're hurt," Jay blurted, feeling woolly-headed, stu-
pid.
     "They didn't give up after you tossed the nuke into the
                                             259
                              PEACEKEEPERS
     she explained cheerfully. "We had a bit of a
@:_young lady," Hazard said, his gravelly---voice
                    bellow, .not
g some Of its normal                only held W four
                              at the saine time,
but managed to patch your suit
saving your life."
uttered, "Thanks. A lot."
     his hands behind his back and standing
e4egged in the middle of the hospital room, Hazard
or the conversation. "The terrorists had launched
security office itself, &-signed
on the Mo6nbase
the base security forces tied up while they planted
it and waited for it to go 6ff."
                    response from base security,'
I's why vm got no
terjected.
                         rs, operation,- Jay said to
a really was a PeacekeePe
                                   you went into
way! We just called your father when
i@             @ long have I been out?"
          SS
!e days.
ng to his father, Jay said, "You must,ve taken a
express to get here so quick-"
am                                                              A
rd's face reddened slightly. "Well," he blustered,
                   all.,,
          -e the only son I've got, after
          u    really care that much about me?
              always cared about YOU, 11 the older man said.
                            two of them.
          ly was grinning at the   for the door. "I've got to


          uptly, Hazard turned
               - Geneva. Got to get some forensics people up here
          k at the remains of that mike. Maybe we can get some
          on where it's been hidden all this time. Might help us
          the others that're missing. I'll be back later."
          okay, Dad. Thanks."
               nksr, Hazard shot him a puzzled look.
               everything."

J

          260 Ben Bova
               The old man made a sour face and pushed through the
          door.
   "You're embarrassing him." Kelly laughed and wheeled
her chair close to the bed,
   "You saved my fife," Jay said.
   "Not me. You were clinically dead when the medics
                                                                    ,r my prosthesis I was, assigned by the
reached us. They pulled you,back."                                  personnel computers to the intelligence
                                                                    lice
   He licked his dry lips, then, "You. know, for a while            once again, this time as deputy
there, I wasn't certain that I wanted to go on living. But you      ctor, with the rank of major. Hazard
made me decide. I really owe you a lot for that.                    wff pinned the hilged-planet insigna on
   Kelly beamed at him, "Welcome back to life, Jay.                 y coll".
Welcome back to the human race."                                4i  The situation I found was precarious.
                                                                    isarmament was stalled because Shamaes
                                                                    Ile nuclear arsenal gave the major powers
                                                                    !4y excuse to .-- to their own
                                                                    The
                                   tonnages of                                                        IPF had
                                   ed several snu wars and the largish
                                   between India and Pakistan, but no
                                   ruly believed that world peace could be
                                   _nUmed unless and until the big powers
                                   -,4isarmed themselves seriously. That meant
                                   finding Shamar, a task that the IPF could
                  12ot do.
                                   Which is why Red Eagle continued to
                                   -dew with Cole Alexander, despite his
                                   ng misgivings. And why I made it my
                                   growl
                                           to channel every piece of
                  business
                                   intelligence about Shamar and his nuclear
                                        to Red Eagle.
                                   weapons


               WASHINGTON D.
                   Year 8
          THE night was balmy as Coie Alexander
walked the length of the reflecting pool and started up the
granite steps of theLincoln Memorial. He felt a burning
anxiety growing within him.
     We're close, he told himself We're almost there.
Shamar's almost in our grasp- And afterward ... He trem-
bled with anticipation.
     Taking a deep calming breath of the night air, he inhaled
a flowery fimgrance. The cherry trees? he wondered. No,
more like good old magnolias.
     Out there in the darkness, he knew, were Kelly and
Pavel. Shadowing him. Protecting him. Alexander grinned
sourly. I'm more in danger from muggers around here at
this time of night than from Sharnar. But his daughter had
                    262
                              PEACEKEEPERS 263
          hermind that he must be accompanied by a
     *,When Pavel had immediately volunteered,
     doed that she go along, too.
          me against the Red? Is she still suspicious of
     Aect
          she just want to be with him? Suspiciou% he
     does
     @Strangely Alexander himself felt confident Of
     As long as we don't put him in conflict with
     Dyalty-
     WS from Moscow, the kid will be okay, he told
     Neoclassic Greek,temple of the Memorial building
     AY empty this close to midnight; only a few diehard
     around its
     and romantic couples stood scattered
aringup at the great brooding marble statue of the
:hYresident. Subdued lighting in the ceiling cast
ight-like shadows across the hollows of Lincoln's
cheeks.
                    Alexander silently. Look at that
Honest Abe, said
     You sure as hell saw your share of troubles, didn't
,xander turned to see Harold Red Eagle climbing the
slowly, with the ponderous decorum that was his
mark , Christ, he's almost as wide as the columns
89 up the roof, Alexander thought. But he's slowed
He's not just being dignified'. he's getting old.
bit stiffly, Red Eagle walked straight toward Alexander
extended his massive hand.
;e meet again, Mr. Alexander," he said in a low lion'
@ting the Amerind's hand engulf his own, Alexander
d that Red Eagle's grip was firm but not hard. The
z
Man was a true gentleman: he had the strength to crush
es, yet he withheld that strength. instead of foolish
)lays intended to frighten lesser men, Red Eagle hu&-
ded his power and used it only where and when it was
rssary.
It's been nearly six years," Alexander said.
That long? Yes, I suppose it has."


X4 Ben Bova
     "YOU picked a dramatic place to mea.11
The Amerind made a small smile. -I felt it best to be
discreet. You didn,t land your iffying boat in the Potomac,
                  did youT'
     With a chuckle, Alexander replied, "No, it's up near
flaltimore,, at the old Martin Marietta seaplane facility
Came down here on the tube train like any ordinary
citizen. Took twelve minutes, station to station."
Red Eagle glanced around at the half-dozen other,
scattered around the- shadowy floor. Two of the couples
were heading for the stairs. That left only a young Asian
f"fly, the mother-hOlding her sleeping child in her arms.
She had already placed an incredibly sensitive micro--

came into the Memorial.
  64I Joan
 found, over the years, that there are some
conversations that should not be overheard," Red Eagle
said.
     "or even remembered," Alexander added.,
     Red Eagle fixed him with a stare
                                   then admitted, "True
enough."
     Alexander began pacing slowly. Red Eagle walked beside
him like a dark glacier gliding across the marble floor.
guess You know why I need the PeacekeepeW
cooper-
ation," Alexander began.
     -If you want their help to, attack Shamar and the drug
man"Wturim center in those mountains, I'm afraid that
will be imposible.-
     "I understand that. No, what I need is some intelligence
          11
data ...
"On where the bombs arelocatedr,
6
     'No, on where the major drug manufacturing centers
are- The biggest ones, around the world,"
"What makes you think the..
"IPF surveillance satellites
                              can spot them," Alexander
                                             W._PER9 265
                              impatience. "You send reconnaissance
                                                       them out.,*
                    i     referring to the Peacekeepere routine aerial
                              that they may occasionally pick up
                      illicit drug manufacturing facilities. All such
                    is@ handed over to the national government in
                                             the facility exists."
                                   for 'Forget It,"' snapped Alexan-
                              at the little family reiding the plaque
                                        Address Red Eagle lowered
               Mr.             why you are inter-
this information?"
phone, the size of a penny, on the marble floor. It would be                ader looked up at the big Amerind and shrugged as
picked up the following Morning before the cleaning crew J                  antly as he could. "Since we've gotten 'involved
                                             ize how serious the
                    A              is problem in Colombia, I real
                              we get Shamar for you, I think well -20
                              d    centers."
                               rug
                                   for several moments. He clasped his
                              back and" paced away from Alexander,
                              figtire Of
                              floor and past the seated
                                                            the
                         Alexander thought, Theyre damned near
size, the statue and the Injun Chief.
e Asian family left, yawning. Red Eagle and Alexander
s massive marble likenes&
left alone with Lincoln
                                               the microphone.
                  @;brning
                                      Red Eagle said slowly, "Mr.
                    back to Alexander
afraid that I don't entirely believe what
11
me.
                                        thought he would. "Really?"
                                                            - he said. "We
                                   let it pass, for the moment,
                                   services. Your motivations are not my
                                   future plans are. . ."-he hesitated,
                                   -"something to consider in the future."
                                   something, and its big, Alexander realized.
                                                                      just
                                   me get away with the evasions I've


2" Ben
                                                  .....
handed him unless
                         Something much more impor-
tant at hand.
     "You wish to,                    said Red We. "We wish to
   the nuclear weapons he powesses. Time grows short.
get
The fuse is burning. Already Shamar has sold off one
                                                       of his
bombs. Last year he came
                          blose to destroying Moonbase
    it!*
with
     "He was stopped by a man who now works for me,
Alexander pointed out.
     -Hazard s son. Yes, I know.'
     "You think Shamaes, getting desperateT
     Red Eagle shook his head slowly. "I believe he wants us
to think he is b
               eooming desperate. He@ still has five nuclear
weapons. One of them is here in Washi
                                        ngton ... $'
     -W14011
     Raising A giant hand in a gesture of calm, Red Eagle said,
"It has been found and disarmed. shamae
                                             s people do not
know that. They believe it to be still intact and ready to be
used.`
     -Where was itr
     "In a private house on Pennsylvania Avenue, only a few
blocks from Capitol Hill. It is still there. Waiting."
,But why .. r,
"The Russians found another one in Moscow. A third
                         paris.'s
one was discovered in
     Alexander drew in a deep breath to calm the pulse racing
through his veins. "I get it. Shamar wants to immobilize
the nations that might go after him.
     "Precisely so," said Red E. "As far as we know, he
SO believes each Of those bombs to be armed and capable
of, being detonated when he gives the word."
6
'So he thinks he can hold Fhnce, Russia and the States
    't
captive.
"So we believe."
66 we,9
   in this caw, is whor' Alexander asked.
A look of astonishment came across Red Eagles normal-
                                        PEACEKEEPERS 267
               d@@. "Why the Peacekeepers, of course Who
                    keepers found those bombs and deactivated
               T."ce
                                                sors located the
               Eagle replied, "Peacekeeper sen
               As you yourself said earlier, Mr. Alexander, we do
               lance satellites in orbit and drone aircraft
               rveil
      most of the world's land surface.
          Iinself Alexander silently replied, And you've al-
                    out the world's major opium fields and drug
               luring centers, I'll bet.
                                   d their information with each
               Peacekeepers share
               government's top security agency. In Washington,
          'the Federal Bureau of Investigation that found and
          the KGB."
          _ed@ the nuclear weapon. In Moscow,
                         doesn't know their teeth have been
               Shamar
A
               Alexander asked.
               believe not."
          hat s three bombs. Where are the other two?"
               is in Colombia, at the site where Shamar himself is
               t in Bogoti,
               We believe he is making plans to place i
               ital."
               ces sense. And the fifthbne?"
               t is where you come into the picture, Mr. Alexan-
                                                                 rm
               need your force to get to the fifth bomb and disa
          without letting Shamar's people know that you have
          SO.
          y people? Why me?"
                    cannot possibly trust the local government
          ecause we
          nation where the bomb has been hidden."
          @y not? Where is it?"
          , Eagle fell silent again, and stood as still as the
          ing statue that loomed above them both.
                                              he said at last, "I
          Before I tell YOU that, Mr. Alexander,
     Id appreciate it if You told me why You want the
@@I,"tions of the major drug manufacturing facilities."


248 Ben Bova
                   se          around the bush, Alexander
     There's no sen     beating            "I want
told himself. Better spit it right'Out.           more than
that," he said. "I want Sharnar's bombs. All five of them.
Intact."
     "No, Mr. Alexander. That is not possible."
     Ignoring the refusal, Alexander explained, "I've spent six
years tracking down Shamar. Now that we're close to
getting him, I realize that he's not the only mass murderer
walking on God's green earth. The drug dealers are killing
millions each year.@ I'm going to wipe, them out,. one by
     11
one.
     Red Eagle's massive head drooped on his shoulders, his
chin sinking to his broad chest. His e yes closed, his
shoulders sagged. For a moment Alexander thought that
the man was undergoing a heart attack or some incredible,
unbearable pain.
     "The fault is my own," he said slowly, so softly that
Alexander barely heard him. "I knew it would come to
this."
     "I can accomplish what the Peacekeepers can't do and
the,national governments won't do," Alexander urged. "I
can destroy the drug centers ...
     "And kill how many?"
     "They're criminals! Killers!"
     .1
     Are the farmers and shepherds downwind of your
nuclear attacks also criminals?" Red Eagle asked. "You
know what fallout can do, Mr. Alexander. You, of all
people, should know."
     "The centers are in remote areas . .
     "Such as MarseilleT'
     "We'll get that one with different methods.,,
     The huge Amerind seemed on the verge of tears. "The
one thing I feared when I first contacted you six years ago
was that you would start to enjoy your work too much. I
told you then, Mr. Alexander, that I wanted no vigilantes
or assassins. I will brook none now."
                              PEACEKEEPERS 269
     hold down the furies burning within hi
     others who'll Pay me to
     :rcountered, "There are
     the dimg dealers."
                              Peacekeepers, not with
         will work against the
     YOU
     it?
                                                  r
     Oe stared at him. "I am sorry, Mr. Alexande -
     3uship is at an end."
     n to walk away.
     fast!,, Alexander called, scampering to catch up
     to nail Shamar.
     '411ve got my people ready
                     M.
         ng to change that."
     S 90i
Fage stopped and looked down at Alexander. For
him, as if his
moment he seemed to peering through
     med X rays. Alexander stood up to that gaze, his
     y eyes blazing.
                                                  so
     i Alexander who broke the deadlock- "Don't be
                                   his voice sound
     hasty,11 he said trying to make
          t Shamar, you want the nukes. We can still
     wan
      te on that."
                                             you want
     have just told me, Mr. Alexander, that
     nd the nuclear weapons."
          a                                                     han
     fing Shamar is St ill more important to me t
                                             he told
     else," Alexander said. It was even true,
@don't know that I can trust you anymore." 14SO
                                    ered,        don't
inning crookedly, Alexander count
                                   n we go in after
me. just don't get in my way whe
     11
iar.
          is still that fifth nuclear bomb," Red Eagle
     red.
     ess you,ii have to. find somebody else for that one,"
Alexander.                                           as
here is nobody else," Red Eagle admitted. "At le
one who can be called in so quickly."
It
@Then let us get it for you."


270 :Den Bova
     *.So
     that@ You can steal it and use it for your Vigilante
justicer
     Puffing out a long, defeateA@eath, Alexander lied, "No,
goddammit. I guess that was a dumb idea, after all."
     Red Eagle said nothing for several moments' He knows
I'm lying in my teeth, Alexander thought. Question is, can
he do anything else or will he have to deal with me?
     'Mr. Alexander," the Amerind said at last, "I propose a
truce.
     "A truces"
     "You disarm the fifth bomb and get Shamar. Then w
                                                            e
"I discuss ways and means of cooperating in attacking the
divg centers."
     .'You mean it?"
     Raising a giant paw, Red Eagle added, "Without nuclear
weapons. There are other possibilities. Our researchers
h ave developed nonlethal chemical weapons. And biologi-
cal agents might be used against, the crops themselves ...
His deep voice trailed off into a faint rumble, leaving the
     abilities dangli
poss             ng.
"You'vq got a deal," Alexander said, extending his hand.
     Red Eagle shook it, again taking care- not to exe rt too
much strength. But to Alexander it seemed that the Amer-
ind's handclasp somehow lacked the warmth and friend-
ship of their meeting, only minutes earlier.
     He doesn't trust me anymore, Alexander said to himself.
Maybe he never did. Question is, how far can I trust him,
now?
     Aloud he asked, "Now this fifth bomb. Just where in hell
is it that the local government can't go after it?"
     '.Barcelona."
     Alexander felt puzzled. "Barcelona? In Spain?"
     "Yes."
     "What's so touchy about the Spanish government that
you can't inform Madrid about the bomb?"
     Pacing slowly out onto the broad front portico of the
                              PEACEKEEPERS 271
     to the place where Martin Luther King spoke of
     Red Eagle explained-
     is going through another of its traumatic seizures,
     bat@has led to civil war in the past. The Basques,
     onians, even the Andalusians are demanding
     rnment of Ma-
     autonomy from the central gove
     nation of Spain may cease to exist. it may break
seven or eight independent entities, each with its
vernment its own economy, even its own Ian-
     -der nodded understandingly. "But I don't see
     --b. .
          is extremely clever," Red Eagle went on. "That
     makes him so dangerous. Barcelona is the capital of
     of the regions struggling the hardest for
     one
my. The city is about to dedicate the first nuclear
lant in Spain-a Russian fusion reactor, by the
Imanced with loans from French banks."
              bomb -is there?"
     place for it, Mr. Alexander Madrid
the fusion system; the Catalonians,
     the national government wanted to
nstead of
power plant at the capital i
clona. Imagine what would happen if the Plant ex-
ed in a nuclear fireball soon after being turned on.,
rid would blame the Catalonians for the 'accident.
Catalonians would become enraged at Madrid."
er mused, "And hydrogen fusion power would
and
-worse- than Three Mile Island
               the old fission power plants."
               nothing of destroying much of the city of
               a million or more people."
                 into an almost evil smile, Alexander
     "When did you say they're turning on the fusion
                     Ptr
'The official dedication is aweek from today."


272 Ben Bova
     "That doesn't give us much time."
     "The bomb will not be set off until the following week."
Alexandees brows shot up. -How @do you know thatr
With a heavy sigh, Red Eagle replied, "There will be an
international conference in Barcelona during that week.
MOSU of the leaders of the Peacekeepers will be there,
including Director-General Hazard and his top aides.-
"Jesus Christ!"
"With the proper timing, the bomb could decapitate the
IPF."
"That's what Shamar is after!"
Red Eagle allowed a slight smile to cross his somber face.
"I will be there also, Mr. Alexander. The bomb will also
assassinate me.. if it goes off."
     '.Eagle literally placed his life, in
     wndees hands. And Alexander had to
     pone his planned strike against Shamar
     ring hi., 1,jy people to Barcelona.






     MCELONAS
     L@Year 8
     DRESSED in a chocolate-brown leather
     open-necked sport shirt and neatly creased navy
slacks, Jay Hazard watched through the baes Open
n people seemed
way as the entire city of three millio
parading by.
e Ramblas was the heart of Barcelona. A broad
enad e lined with bars, restaurants shops and thea-
it extended from the high pillar bearing Christopher
mbus's statue down by the waterfront to the spark'
stain of canaietes, in midtown. on Sundays everyone
le city went to church, had a good dinner and a WI
                    moon stroll on the Ramblas.
then went for an afte                 As he sat by the



azard was not interested in everyone
                    glass of pate yellow Ripja wine,
s doorway, nursing a
                    273


274 Ben Bova
his blue-Way eyes sought only one man's face, a face he
            a                onal holographic picture.
seen only'in three-dimensi
Instead, he saw Kelly, sitting out across the nar
motorway at the sidewalk tables, sipping a tiny cup of
lethal local version of coffee. Hazard had never seen he
skirt before. Her legs certainly look       enough to show
a                                        good
Off, he thought, but she had always worn slacks or jeans.
Now, however, she was in a tourist's disguise: bright yellow
skirt, flowered blouse, and'a glitter-decorated sweater to
protect her against the springtime chill. She had even put a
bright ribbon in her boyishly cropped red hair.
     Kellysaw him watching her and smiled at him. Hazard
made himself smile back. She seems to like me, he thought.
Maybe too much. She's been damned helpftd testifying on
MY behalf to get me off the Moon, getting me this job with
her father's outfit. But I can't let myself get attached to her.
Not now. Not yet.
     Pavel Zhakarov was out there in the crowd somewhere,
too, trying to blend in and look inconspicuous while
staying close enough to back them up. Pavel's trained for
this kind of thing, Hazard thought, wondering in the back
Of his mind how far he could trust the Russian.
     '@He says he's in love with me," Kelly had told him one
afternoon as they studied satellite photos of Shamar's base
nearValledupar.
     "I know," Hazard had replied.
     "But I don't love him," she,had announced firmly-
"Pavel's nice, but-I don't love him.'
     She had glanced up at him as if she expected him to say
something, make some declaration. Hazard said not a
word. There was nothing for him to say.
     He forced his attention back to the job at hand. The man
they were looking for was known only as Julio. They had
nothing more than the three-dimensional photo by Which
to identify him. He was a technician at the new fusion
                              PEACEKEEPERS X75
                                               had
                              claimed
                                                  es
     v,:andthleff intelligebnocme         that he
     -piece          nuclear             b there for $hama
     to get his final payment for his work
     fact, he was -
     ly afternoon, at this'particular bar.
     ng to IPF intelligence-
     Sipped at the strong wine. It tasted of iron. He
     r, and had gotten out of
     been much of a drinke
     -entirely during his years at Moonbase. I the baes
     Iligence, he mused silently. While
     rs hammered out American pop rock and young
     and the snacks they called
     ifted in for a drink
     ard thought about the Peacekeepers and@ the
     he had thrown away-
     gives/us all the info we need, he thought, but
     get
     do the dirty work. They can't let themselves
                              workings of a country,
     terfering with the internal
                    do , if that isn't I PF interference,
     can hire us to        It-
     at the dingdong dell is it?
                    ly smart. They don't want the
     re smart, damnab
     to know that they-re taking over the whole world,
     e by, little that's just what they're, doing- While
                         prison, the Peaceke ers are
     and the others rot in                     ep
                              they'd do: building a world
     ust what the rebels said
     nent for themselves.
                                     r leader, in fact.
     My father is one of them- Thei
     shook his head as if trying to clear cobwebs from
     a damned'good world leader, he
     *ts. Dad makes
     d to himself. But Augustus was a damned good
     too. And look what followed him. Tiberius.
     -la.
                         d dead as Julio sauntered into
     thoughts were stOPPe                   ne, bum sm
     No mistaking the face: receding hairli
     -left cheek.
                                              d grab the
     ,lding back the impulse to leap UP an
mnician, Hazard watched as Julio ordered a beer at the


176 Ben Bova
bar and then took it to one of the tables toward t]
the room. He was trying to look casual about it, b
so tense that his legs seemed unable to bend at t
     Hazard could not see that far back into the cro
picked up his glass of w      and pushed through t
the crowd. Yes, there he was, with a big German-looking
guy, blond and square-jawed. Handing Julio a thick enve-
lope. The payoff, no doubt, Hazard put the wineglass to his
lips while he snapped a picture of the two men with the
minicamera built into his belt buckle.
     As if the German heard the shutter click, his head
snapped up and he stared directly at Hazard. As calmly as
he could, Jay put his glass down on the bar and made his
way toward the washroom.
     Inside, he flattened against the tiled wall just next to the
door, waiting for the German to come in after him. A
minute passed. Jay opened the door and stepped out into
the bar again. Julio and the German were gone.
     Shinola! Hazard groused to himself, diving into the
crowd, shoving his way to the front.
     Kelly's table was empty too. She s following them. But
which way' did they -go?
     The Ramblas was filled with strolling people: young
couples, families with little children, elder men and women
enjoying their Sunday afternoon outing.
     Jay saw that Kelly's coffee cup was no longer on its
saucer. It had been placed at the edge of the table, its tiny
handle pointing outward. He started off in the direction the
handle pointed, pushing, dodging around knots of people,
almost running in his haste to find Kelly and the men she
was trailing.
     His heart, pounding, he spotted her after less than a
minute.
     Pulling up alongside her, he admitted breathlessly, "The
blond guy.      he saw me and took off."
"The nervous type," Kelly said.
               PEACEKEEPERS           277
were walki briskly about half a block.
          ),,men             US
          hem.
          ?s PaveIT'
          wound somewheM don't worry," said Kelly.
          it to get away from me. If they turn around and
          pther ..
          ItIght-11
          Hazard started to move away from Kelly, the
          lid turn around. He pushed Julio in one direction,
          :ed sprinti             in the other.
                     Ing
     the blonde, Kelly shouted, taking off after Julio
I dodged around a family of half a dozen children,
ler pushing still another infant in a carriage and
the German. He was mcing up the promenades
r. He barged
I over people like a football runne
                              and sent both the man and
          nto an elderly couple
          an sprawling. Hazard ran after him, gaining as he
          over the fallen bodies.
          the German whirled, a gun in his hand.
               ground as the pistol boomed twice.
               scattered. Stone chips cut Hazard s
               smacked into the pavement, inches
                                                  -dashing
                    feet, Hazard saw the German
street where cars inched along bumper to
a
after him, cutting in front of an HisP no
                    teenagers. The driver blared his horn
                    at him. It was in Spanish but her
                                                  ran
)V a narrow alley Imcd with Shops the German
ird close behind him. This ancient part of the city, the
fic Quarter, was honeycombed with twisting alleys
had been turned into a sprawling shopping arcade, a
                                        quitous motor
of bazaar. No cars allowed, Only the ubi
ters weaved in and out among the pedestrians-
red every which way, shrieking with sudden
le scatte
. r1p


279"a@@Bex Nova                                            A
fiar and anger as the gun-waving Gernianplowe
the thrOng. The blond turned and took swift a
Hazard slammed into a doorway. Two more I
heard the flat crack of the bullets whi
                izzing past.
     Hazard stuck his head out and saw the Germal
again. The crowd that had been ambling along
window-shopping, made way for him like'the
parting before the Israelites. Hazard ran in'the 4
wake, i i on him.
          gaining
     He ducked into a side alley. Hazard ran after h
burning. He skidded to a stop before turning tb
Perfect spot for him to stop and set up a shot at
As Hazard cautiously approached the
                                        comer c the old
Stone buildi4 he heard a motor scooters raucous snarl.
People screaming- A shot, then another. The screech of I J
tires on worn paving stones. All in less than five seconds.
     He Peered around the Comer. The peder anians were
flattened against the shop windows and doorways. A motor
scooter was skidding down the alley on its side, striking
sparks, its motor racing and wheels still spi
                                        nning, the
Young woman who had been driving it tumbling over
across the
          stone pavement, her arms and legs flailing, her
leather jacket covered with bright red blood, her long hair
                                   wn
crimson with blood, half her face blo   away.
     The German was down on one knee, aiming at a second
scooter roaring straight at him, its young male driver bent
over 'his handlebars, his lips pulled back in a snarl of
vengeance.
     Hazard watched as the German tried to fire the pistol. it
was either empty or jammed. The scooter slammed into
him with'the sound of a hammer hitting a watermelon. its
driverwent flying over the handlebars, hit the pavement
with a bone-snapped thud, and rolled fi ea-d over heels to
end up almost touching his murdered girlfriend.
     Hazard rushed to the German. He was not dead yet, but
in enormous agony. Blood leaked from his mouth. His eyes
                              PEACEKEEPERS 279
               pain and shock. Every bone in his'body
               Jay thought.
               cautiously approaching the dead and
     dies. Off in the distance Hazard heard the waft of a
     ren. He backed away, edging through the t XIC en-
     d, unable to understand their murmuring Catalan,
     le his way back toward the Ramblas. His legs were
     v                                     i ghi
          omit was surging inside him, burnin is. throat.
     gopped at one of the small fountains built -into the
     . Of a building and doused his face with cold water.
     3g against the stone wall, he forced himself to take
     time
     ungfuls of air. By the            he got back to the hotel
     he, Kelly and Pavel were staying, he had himself
     some semblance of control. Barely.
     and Pavel shared one room, Kelly had the adjoining
     rooms with sturdy furniture
     Spacious, high-ceiliriged
     iad seen decades Of wear. Their windows overlooked
oisy, bustling Ramblas.
                    saw the unconscious form of
ening the door Hazard
sprawled on @i`s bed. Pavel was sitting on the edge of
)ed, Kelly over at the desk, pecking away at the
3ard to her lap computer.
        looked up as he entered.
ey both
Ily leaped to her feet and ran to Hazard. "You're
ist scratches."
e threw her arms around his neck. "I heard shots. I
so worried
               disengaged her arms. The look on Pavel's
Gently Hazard
w was awfid: he was trying to hide his jealousy and
fling miserably.
1, "You got him," Hazard said to the Russian.
Pavel blinked and squared his shoulders. "Yes, we got
we wanted." He lifted an empty
the bedside table.
             oner, Kelly asked.


2M Ben Bova
     Hazard explained what had happened.'
     "Is he dead?" asked Pavel.
     "Probably. I couldn't hang around and wait for the
police to arrive. Somebody might have told them rd been
chasing him."
     Kelly went to the door that connected to her room. "I've
got a first-aid kit in MY bag.
     Frowning at her urgency, Pavel said, "He might have told
us more about Shamar's plans."
     "He's not going to talk to anybody for a while," Hazard
countered.
     in the - quiet moonlitnight, the power plant looked
strangely small and simple to Hazard. No smokestacks, of
course. But no cooling towers, either. No huge dome of a
containment building. Just a small windowless flat-topped
concrete structure with an even smaller one-story office
building attached at one side, down at the end of the long
pier.
     They're going to generate a thousand megawatts from
something that small? Hazard asked himself Intellectual-
ly, lie knew that inside that rikodest building a @tiny man-
made star had been created, fed by nothing more than
heavy hydrogen. No moving parts. No spinning turbines or
armatures or massive machinery that looks so impressive.
The more advanced the technology, Hazard thought, the
simpler and smaller the hardware.
     The three of them were sitting in a rented Honda-Ford
sedan, dressed in black turtlenecks and slacks, wearing
noiseless black sneakers. Hazard was behind the wheel,
Pavel beside him, and Kelly in the back with the drugged
Julio sleeping peacefully.
     'Security's a snap," Kelly had told them, once she had
analyzed Julio's truth-serum ramblings back at the hotel.
Looking at the fusion power plant buildings from their
parking spot along the waterfront, Hazard had to- agree
                                   PEACEKEEPERS          281
     her. A chain link fence was all the physical security he
     I see. Of course, there were all sorts of electronic
     cards as well, but Kelly assured them that she could
     ast them with no trouble.
     ey don't expect to be attacked, Hazard realized.
     been no demonstrations against fusion power.
     have given everybody the illusion that
     4nd terrorism are a thing of the past. They're not
     ried about security.
     i's mind drifted back to the Anal I briefing they had
     agone, in Cole Alexander's jet seaplane, moored in the
     of Gibralter.
W,                   it want that nuke," Alexander had told them. Insisted
               their misgivings. Kelly had argued against it.
               and even Barker.
dangerous to bring that thing aboard this
had grumbled. "Foolish thing to do."
     gave him a parody of a smile. "Saf@ as a
Chris.- Why, in the bad old days a B- I bomber
'would carry thousands of megatons worth of bombs. No
     "I flew a NATO bomber back then," the crippled Eng-
lishman retorted, "and I always sweated."
     "The bomb comes to me," Alexander repeated, tappin g
4he glass top of the map table for emphasis. "ThAWs- the
dad. We'll land in Barcelona harbor just before dawn and
take it and you guys"-he waved a finger at Kelly, Hazard
and Pavel-"back to Valledupar."
     "I don't like it," Hazard said.
     "I don't care if you like it or not," Alexander snapped.
     "But why do you want it?" Kelly asked. "Why not
deliver it to the IPFT'
     Alexandees smile twisted slightly wider. "Shamar's got a
nuke, doesn't he? I want to be able to deal with him on
-equal terms."
     Sitting in the car, sizing up the fusion power plant,


292 Ben Bova
Hazard realized that Pavel had said nothing during the
discussion about the nuclear weapon. Not a word. It wasn't
that he had nothing to say, or that he didn't care. Hazard
knew the Russian better than that. He's got his orders from
Moscow, Jay told himself. Whatever his personal opinions
about, this might be, he'll do what Moscow has told him to
do.
     "All right," Kelly said from the shadows of the car's rear
seat. "It's time to get moving."
     "Yousurehe'sgoingtobeokay?"iHazardjerkedathumb
at Julio. The man was utterly limp, head laid back against
the seat cushions, mouth gaping open. He was breathing
deeply, evenly.
     "Nothing will wake him for at least four morehours,"
Pavel assured him.
     They left the car and walked to the gate blocking the
entrance to the pier. Kelly fiddled with a palm-sized black
box and the lock flickered its tiny red lights, then clicked
open.
..Pretty easy," Hazard muttered.
     "Opening the lock is no problem," Kelly explained.
"Opening it without its sending an alarm to the central
security program-that's the tough part."
     The three of them sprinted down the length of the pier.
This was the most vulnerable part of their mission: out in
the open, under the bright moon, with no place to hide.
Pespite all the electronic gadgetry, if some security guard
should happen to look in their direction they would be
instantly spotted.
     But the building was windowless and no one patrolled
outside. They got to the shadow of its *aII, panting slightly
from the run. Hazard leaned against the concrete. It felt
warm. From the day's sunlight, he told himself. It's not
radioactive.
     The city's lights were glittering as far as the eye could see,
far outnumbering the stars shining in the pale sky. The
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 293
of the harbor lapped gently and sparkled in the
moonlight. A romantic spot. Hazard thought,briefly.
and, Kelly were here alone, under other circum-
p to the roof,"Kelly whispered.
ml led the way. Up to the roof to a skylight and down a
leing nylon rope. In swift succession they touched down
floor. The fusion reactor was a small dome of
ess steel, barely taller than Hazard himself But he
@Ahat within that dome were several,layers of the
lest, densest alloys that human ingenuity could create,
pipes that carried liquid sodium, deuterium, and
strange fluids. And at the core of it all a minuscule
glowed fiercely, radiating hot neutrons that could fry a
cinders in less time than it would take him to fall to
were other, bulkier shapes of machines in the area.
rs and electrical conditioning equipment,
n in the reduced night lighting of the ceil
high overhead. The building was just one large
almost filled with machinery except for the
intended for human and robotic maintenance
The place hummed with power. The fusion
_Jpnerator was working, converting heavy hydrogen to
-_Oe6trical energy, cleanly, cheaply, with almost the same
efficiency as the Sun itself
     Water in, energy out, Hazard thought. But still a part of
' ,him was frightened to be this close to the raging plasma
glowering at the heart of the fusion reactor. The area was
Warm with throbbing hidden energies, the air seemed to
".cackle with electricity.
     Don't be an idiot! he told himself. There's not enough
fJoaterial in the reactor to make an explosion. He knew that.
*-ut still his insides trembled.
     Like three cat burglars, they glided silently along the
walkways until they reached the long metal-clad channel of


284 Ben Bova
the power converter. It was rectangular in shape, painted
bright blue.
     "Should be wedged in under here," Kelly whispered,
dropping to her knees for a better look.
          Pavel knelt beside,her. "Is that it?"
     A metal box the size of a very large suitcase. It had been
painted the same shade of blue as the generator channel,
but Hazard recognized the shape.
          "That's it,' he hissed.
     He and Pavel flattened themselves on the floor and
tugged the case loan while Kelly stood guard over them.
Then she used the electronics gear she carried to open the
locks.
     Hazard swung the lid back and played his penlight across
the panel. "Bingo." he said.
          "First thing we do is deactivate it," Kelly said.
     It took nearly half an hour, but finally she said, "Okay.
It's on safe now. Won't go off even if you chomp it up in an
ore grinder." She grinned at-Hazard.
     He smiled back at her.
     Then he heard himself say, "There's one more thing
we've got to do."
     "Y"at?"
     "Remove the fissionable material."
     Kelly's eyes glinted with sudden terror in the shadowy
fighting. Even Pavel looked shocked.
     "I'm not turning this device over to your father or
anybody else," Hazard said, "in a condition where it could
be used."
Pavel nodded vigorously. "I agree."
They both turned to Kelly.
     She hesitated, biting her lip. Finally she said, "It's too
dangerous. You're talking about plutonium. The risks. .
     He cupped her chin in his hand. "I have to do it, Kelly.
Nobody should have a live nuclear bomb to play with. Not
even your father."
                                   PEACEKEEPERS          285
               she whispered bleakly.
ioitI'll have to take the fissionable material out of it."
If it's so dangerous."
if you know how. I've worked with warheads
The plutonium's always protected by plenty of
ing." As he spoke, Hazard realized that this is what
Again making him jumpy, earlier. Not the fusion plant.'
known, in his subconscious, that he was going to
disarm the bomb. He had been carrying the tools for
ever sincethey had left the seaplane at Gibralter.
hat do we do?" Pavel asked.
D I t out of my way," Hazard replied. ,This is a one-
                    ob."
fiere's nothing ... T'
lo back to the doors that connect with the office
in and make sure nobody disturbs me." Silently he
J, And that'll keep you fa                   o that if I do
r enough away s
     I the plutonium, you'll have a chance to get away-
     tonium is not only fiercely radioactive; it is a deadly
     mical poison as well.
'Lel@y was almostgasping with fear. "I won't leave you!"
insisted. "I can watch the doors from here. I won't
ve you alone!"
     But Pavel took her gently by the arm and raised her to
Im feet. "Do as he says," the Russian whispered.
     Hazard nodded to him. He understands the risks.
     "Go with Pavel," he said to her. "I'll call you when I'm
finished here."
     The Russian had to drag her away. Kelly stared after
thizard as she was hauled to a safe distance'
     It was actually almost easy. Almost. Hazard had to turn
.'!be heavy suitcase over, carefully unscrew six bolts and
lift the thick lead-lined oblong that held the plutoni-
It was about a third of the volume of the entire case;
the rest of the device was electronic fusing and safeguard
systems.


286   Ben Bova
     The bomb was not booby-trapped. He pulled up the
handle that folded flush against the case's top The lead-
lined case slid out smoothly. Still, Hazard's hands were
slippery with sweat, and perspiration stung his eyes.
     Damned thing feels awfully light; he thought. If I didn't
know better, I'd swear it was empty.
     He took the hand-sized radiation meter from hi
                                                  s pocket
and ran it across the oblong box.-Hot, but not dangerously
so, he told himself.  Not if Non't hold on to it for hours on
end.
     Getting to his feet, Hazard waved Kelly and Pavel back
to him.
     "Guard patrol's due in another thirty . .      Kelly saw the
look on his face. "What's wrong?"
     Lifting the steel case by its handle, Hazard told them,
.,This thing is lined with lead, so it's heavier than it looks.
But it feels a lot fighter than it ought to be.'@
"You shouldn't be holding it," Kelly said.
Pavel picked up on Hazard's meaning. "Lighter than it
should be? You mean that it might be empty?"
Hazard nodded wordlessly.
     "Empty? No plutonium in it?" Kelly asked.
     "It should be heavier."
     "W                          Pavel.
       _e must check it," said
     "Before we get back to the plane,"' Hazard added.
     Kelly glanced at her wristwatch. "Rendezvous in one
hour and forty-eight minutes."
     "We're going to miss the rendezvous," Hazard said.
"There's an American consulate here in Barcelona. Should
have X-ray equipment.".
     "There is also a Soviet consulate," -said Pavel.
     Kelly planted her fists on her hips. "And while you guys
are re-inventing the Cold War, tell me what good an X-ray
machine will be with a lead-fined box."
So they hauled the oversized suitcase up to the roof,
                                        PEACEKEEPERS 20
ring up the dangling nylon rope first. Kelly
with the box
d@* bomb and Hazard went up last
               from a length of rope attached to his waist and the
          311 meter in his pocket clicking away.
               ve along the docks to the pie r where the fishing
                     &O
               4me in and found the wholesalers already at work in
               madhouse of
               darkness. The place was a
          y people, with the bustle and smell of cranes
          go nets loaded with fish, men and women
          ;es at each other, diesel trucks waiting with
          clattering and fumes fouling the air.
          ly found a friendly dealer who let her weigh the case
          scale used for weighing fish. Then she went to the
          sebooth at the end of the pier and plugged her portable
          touter into its access port. A few taps on her keyboard
          ;she came back to Hazard and Pavel at the car with a
          ned frown on her face.
          you,re right, Jay," she said as she got into the car. "The
          is almost exactly ten kilograms lighter than it should
          'it were loaded with fissionable material."
          tzard clenched both hands on the steering wheel.
          .n there's no plutonium in it. The bomb's a fake."
          )r someone else has already disarmed it," Pavel SUS'
     sted.
          "It's a fake," Hazard insisted. "Shamar has the plutoni-
     Om back at his base."
     J_ "The plutonium from all of the bombs?" Kelly woll-
     dered.
                                                            the
          Hazard revved the car to life and started through
     predawn darkness to their rendezvous point. he finds this
     "Y our father's going to piss himself when
     pin," Hazard said.
     Kelly said, "Maybe we should bring Sleeping Beauty
here along with us, to see how much he knows about this."
W i "Julio won't know a damned thing," Hazard shot back.


288 Ben Bova
"He's just the guy who stashed the bomb in the power
plant, a guy who took a wad of money to do his employer
dirt. He didn't even know it was a nuke."
Pavel said nothing. But his mind was raci         with the
                                        ng
pos     t
     sibili ies that this new twist had opened up. None of the
                                                                                days later, one of our ferret satellites
possibilities looked good to him. Not one of them.
                              :ed UP this series of electromagnetic
                              nations as it cruised slightly to the south
                              west of Moscow. The voices were
                                                  erized voiceprint
                                                  itlified by comput
                   aching.
                           Pavel Zhakarov. There is no plutonium
                         the bomb. We conclude that Shamar has
                                        with him, and all the bombs
                                                  Ihe plutonium
                                        discovered so far are duds.
                                        yn 'K B e:
                                                       i7thelPF.
                                                  Vol 0 v G op
                                                   we have heard th u
                                                  in Moscow is likewise empty.
                                             Theoperation against
                                             even more important,
                    then.
                                   Volynov. yes. And more difficult.
                                        Zhakarov. I am confident that we can
                                   make a success of it.
                                             once it is finished,
                                                  Volynov. Good
                                   Alexander will be too dangerous to be
                                   permitted to continue.
                                        Zhakarov (after a pause of nine
                                   seconds): You wish me to eliminate him?
                                        polynov You are ordered to do so,
                                   comrade. At the earliest possible moment.


                 VALLEDUPAR
                   -Year 8

                     TH
 E jet seaplane was moored once again in the
esar River, but this
C                      time at a spot well above the city of
Valledupar, in a branch of the river that cut through thick
tropical growth as it curved around the base of the steep
granite mountains.
     While Chris Barker worried loudly about ripping out the
hull against the shallow rocky river bottom, Alexander
urged him to nose the seaplane as close to shore as possible.
Once anchored, the whole crew spent the rest of the day
covering the broad wings and graceful fuselage with foliage          1
to hide it f rom prying eyes.
That evening after dinner they convened in the ward-
                                        11
room. To an outsider, it might have looked like half a dozen
                  290
                                   -PEACEKEEPEBS 291
Vomen taking their ease in casual conversation.
were not only
ff.@ the dynamics of who sat where
M but important.
     picked the lounge chair closest to the forward
     and the flight deck, the braces on his lower legs
     beneath his slacks. Alma Steiner, the logistics
     wore a faded gray jumpsuit cinched & the waist
     an old U. Army belt, tight enough to show off her
     curved figure. She sat close to Alexander himself Jay
     _d took a seat near the map table; Kelly automatically
     the seat beside his. Pavel was off in the comer by the
     bulkhead, looking alone and unhappy.
     I's been confirmed," Alexander said without pream-
     7Each one of those goddamned bombs is empty. Duds,
     em.
     Lit whyl" Barker asked. "Why go to the risk.. .?"
     iamaes smart," Alexander interrupted with a grim
     66
          He gets local crazies to plant fake bombs in
     ington, Moscow, Paris and Barcelona, then he makes
     that the IPF finds out about it. We spin our wheels
     ing to neutralize the bombs and find out wtat hes up
.."While he remains here in these mountains, construct-
new bombs from the plutonium," Steiner concluded.
;'A'Is that possible?" asked Barker.
"It isn't--too difficult," Kelly replied. "It's mainly     n


baronics job, and he should have access to plenty aof
ople who can do the work."
"College kids have made nuclear bombs," Hazard
)inted out. "They just didn't have the fissionable material
make them go boom."
"Shamar does     Alexander said.
"Enough to make five one-hundred-kiloton bombs,"
     murmured.
     "Which makes the task of nailing him even more impor-
tant," said Alexander.


                      x




292   Ben Bova
     Steiner took a deep breath, something she didquite well,
as far as Alexander was concerned. "The mercenary troops
win arrive over the next four days. Two separate groups,
each of them coming in. two contingents, for a total of
seventy-eight men."
     Alexander added, "They'll disperse their camps along
the river. Cold camps, no fires, so they run the minimum
risk of being detected
     @'Don't you think Sbamar has -the rivevunder surveil-
lance?" Hazard asked, his handsome face looking slightly
worried.
     "And spies in the city?"
     With a shrug, Alexander replied, "We do the best we
     Pavel finally spoke up. "We strike in four days, then?"
     "Six," corrected Alexander. "Got to give the mercs a
couple days to get settled and learn the tactical plan." With
a sardonic smile, he added, "You can tell Moscow we'll hit
Shamar six days from now.'
          Pavel did not smile back.
     The meeting broke up. The three youngsters headed for
their bunks. Alexander watched his daughter; she lingered
near Hazard and ignored Pavel, who watched them with
dark liquid eyes. Young love, Alexander said to himself
What a pain.
     Barker got to his feet and headed forward, muttering
about an engine overall that
              was long overdue.
     'After this job is finished," Alexander said, starting
forward toward his own quarters.
     When he got to the door to his quarters, the passageway
was empty of everyone else except Steiner. She was at her
own door, but she looked over her shoulder at Alexander
and smiled charmingly.
"Want a drink?" he stage-whispered.
She nodded eagerly.
     @0'1  j.
                                        PEACEKEEPERS          293
otioning her to him, Alexander opened the door and
3ed,    his bedroom.  Unlike the built-in bunks of the
la,'Sleeping compartments, his quarters contained a
double bed, a couch, and even a low bookcase that
     the entire forward bulkhead. The shelves were
Red in glass; all except one section that was fronted by
iWied teak door.
Plastic worktable, its top painted to resemble teak,
Wed the length of the Banner wall, from the door to the
bulkhead of the room. it was covered with photo-
               and strange artifacts.
          'Satellites can't see much of Sharnaes base," Alexander
          ring to the photos. "Too much foliage. 1;ocals
          Restu
it I Montesol; say it's an old Inca city. They claim it's
ited.11
emer picked up an exquisite quartz carving of a
:her, no more than six inches long, but beautifully
iled. "Did this come from there?"
                                                  the
kil this junk did," Alexander said. "The carvings
     --yer medallions the glass knives and all."
is not afraid of ghosts," she murmured,
smooth back of the panther.
the old grave robbers spread the story about
haunted to keep everybody else away."
should tell the university about this. The
I                       would be ecstatic over a lost Inca city."
                                                aniar wouldn't be
          Alexander gave her a crooked grin. "Sh
     too happy with them."
     I "Yes. Of course."
                          out the rats. Then we can tell the
          "First we clean
     anthropologists about Montesol."
          He pulled down the teak door of the cabinet to form a
                         Inside was a small bar, complete with a
     r(w of tumblers fitted snugly into wooden racks.
                                     while Hazard poured two
          Steiner sat on the couch


294 Ben Bova
brandies. She was a tall woman, almost Alexandees own
height, with long legs and a lithe figure that her faded
fatigues accented rather than concealed. Her face was
strong, a good jaw and clear blue eyes. Hair the color of
straw, always tied up neatly. A young Brunhilde, visiting in
the Ownty-first century.
     "Don't have snifters," he said almost apologetically.
          surprised that you have alcohol of,any kind
aboard,' she said, accepting the heavy tumbler with its
inch of amber liquor.
     "Rank hath its privileges," he said, tossing off the drink
in one gulp as he stood before the couch.
     Steiner's smile saddened slightly. "You didn't give me
time to offer a
     Raising one finger of his free hand, Alexander replied,
"Easily fixed." He turned back to the bar and poured
himself another.
     Sitting down next to her, he asked, "What should we
drink to?"
     "Success to our mission."
     His lips twisted into a grin. "Confusion toour enemies."
          They touched glasses and sipped.
     "You know," Steiner said, looking into his 'eye@, "I
almost feel like one of those people you see in the war
videos. The night before a mission."
     "Eat, drink and be merry," Alexander quoted,            for
tomorrow we die."
          "Yes. That sort of thing."
     Her eyes were incredibly blue, Alexander noticed. And
staring straight at him. "Are you trying to get into my
pants?" He forced a laugh.
     Steiner did not laugh. "I think making love would be a
better release for you than getting drunk, don't youT
Pursing his lips as if deep in thought, Alexander an-
swered, "Well ... there's no hangover the next morning,"
                                   PEACEKEEPERS         295
                    man.
         either, Alma. I'm sterile."
little sigh. "Ahh. I suspected as much. From
             killing me slowly.
                 impotent?"
                    a bleak smile. "No, not impotent.
                     rm afraid."
          interested?" Stei                  ish pout. On her
              ner put on a girl
          features it looked almost comical.
SGIrs got nothing to do with you, Alma," he said, looking
vay from her, staring into his glass. "It's my problem.
after we get Shamar . . ." He drifted to silence.
She took a long swallow of her brandy. "I suppose it
Oijoqld make things difficult if members of the crew began
.-fraternizing with each other."
     Alexander made a bleak smile. "Some companies have
ules against that sort of thing."
          "Yes." Steiner finished her drink swiftly and got to her
     speak to your daughter, then. If you
     mess on your hands.
     He stood up beside her. There were fires
her eyes now. Fires of anger, barely sup-
no fitry, Alexander realized.
     Aloud, he said, "Look, I'm sorry
     Steiner turned from him and put her glass down on the
bar. "As you said, it's your problem."
  "ye 'ah.11
     She went to the door, then turned. With a slow, warming
:pnile she said softly, "Maybe after we get Shamar your
k problem will be solved, eh?"
     Alexander went to her and kissed her on her lips, briefly,
                                   "Maybe then," he
chastely, almost as a brother would.
said, his voice choking slightly.
     She nodded, opened the door and left.


296 Ben Bova
     He stood there for several,          s
not feeling anything.
     Alexander watched the trees that hung out over
as he held the tiger of the little inflatable Zodiac. He stayed
under their shade as much as possible, not satisfied that his
bulky bush Jacket and wide-brimmed hat gave him suffi-
cient protection from the sun.
     The morning was broiling hot. The rising. sun baked
moisture from the thick forest on each side of the river;
wisps of steam rose up through the trees to waft -away on
the soft breeze.
     Kelly sat up in the prow of the dark gray rubber boat, an
Indian shawl over her head, more to hide her red hair from
prying eyes-than to keep the solar ultraviolet off her. She
wore a simple native blouse and skirt, both of them loose
enough to hide a small arsenal. If anyone saw them, they
would look like a well-to-do @ planter and his daughter out
for a trip to Valledupar. Or so Alexander hoped.
     With a twist of his wrist Alexander turned the throttle
down low. The engine's roar muted and the Zodiac's bow
settled into the water.
     'Why'd you slow down?" Kelly asked. "I was enjoying
the spray."
"Time for us to have a talk," said Alexander.
     She nodded knowingly. "So that's why you brought me
along with you."
"I want to talk with you," he said.
"Father-daughter kind- of talk?"
"You bet."
     Kelly sniffed, "That means you want to talk to me, not
with me."
"1711 listen too."
"Really?"
"Yeah. What's going on with you, kid?"
She-made a sad little smile. "Nothing very, much."
         minute damning himself for
                  the water
                                   PF,4CEKEEPERS 297
               over here." He tapp ed the bench alongside him.
          want to holler the length of the damned boat."
          fit 'Made her way down the -rocking boat, across the
               bench, to sit beside her father.
          what's happening, little lady?"
                    her head against his- shoulder, Kelly replied
               nothing much."
               like a romantic triangle to me."
          nodded.
               gawking at you like a little lost calf, and
                                                       YOU
     No to be mooning the same way over Jay."
     '4True enough," she admitted miserably.
     `So I fall for tall rugged guys. First Robbie, now Jay."
     -`Must be a father fixation," Alexander joked.
Kelly did not laugh. "I love Jay. I know Pavel thinks he Is
love with me, but I love Jay."
"And Jay?"
@-"He's so hurt and mixed up he doesn't know what he's
ing." Her words came in a rush, filled with pain and
          "He's afraid of letting down his defenses, afraid of
             dy get close to him."
.,WLLmg anybo
     -He's not the only one, Alexander told himself.
     "Pavel's nice," Kelly went on. "I mean, I like him and
te's sweet and terribly romantic but there's just no chemis-
by. there. I doW-t have the vibes with him that I get- from
Ay. He's so lonely and scared,'really, when you get right
,.4own to it. So far from home and so mixed up."
     ..Pavel?"
     .'No," she said, "Jay."
     Alexander slid an arm around his daughters slim shoul-
'ders. "So you love Jay but he doesn't love you, while Pavel
(loves you but you don't love him. Is that it?"
     "That's it." Kelly's voice was small,,almost childlike.
Alexander wondered what in hell he was supposed to do
about this. You've never been much of a father, he thought.


298 Ben Bova
You were never around when she was growing         Now's
                     UP-
your big chance to make up for all thai neglect. Come up
with some fatherly wisdom that'll set everything straight
and, make her smile.
     But not a thing came into his head.
     He heard himself say; "Sooner or later Pavel's either
going to be called back to Moscow or he's going to try to
nail me."
- Kelly pulled free of his arm. "You don't think: he's
still . .
     "Hes still on the KG13 payroll, kid. We've been helping
him to play them along, but once this Shamar business is
finished, he's going to have to make his decision: us or
them."
     "If , he chooses them, " Kelly murmured, "you think
they'll order him to assassinate you?"
     With a nod, Alexander replied, "Especially if I get the
plutonium Shamaes holding."
     "But if he chooses us, then Moscow will send somebody
to kill him!"
     Alexander made his crooked smile. "Not necessarily. I
might be able to work out a deal-maybe."
     Kelly fell silent and leaned back against her father once
more. The boat puffed quietly along the river, to the
accompaniment of raucous shrieks and chattering from the
colorful birds that lived among the thickly leafed trees. The
sun climbed higher and the heat became like a steam bath
that turned solid flesh to streams of pe    'ration, a scalding
                    rspi
towel that muffled the face so that it becamedifficult, even
to breathe.
     "N"at you're saying," Kelly spoke at last, "is that if I'm
nice to Pavel he'll decide in our favor, instead of trying to
kill you."
     Alexander shook his head, making the wide brim of his
hat wobble. "What I'm saying, little lady, is that I can deal
with Pavel one way or the other. He'll decide what he wants
                                   P&WEKEEPERS 299
     based mainly on you. But I don't want you to make
16@iim when you really are in love with Jay. That'd be
than stupid-it'd be immoral."
     actually laughed. "You? Old-fashioned morality
you?"
          why notT1 Alexander suddenly felt distinctly un-
     ailortable. "Have I been such an immoral monster all
               11
     ie@years?
     Not exactly. But you sure haven't been a perfect model
     Mristian virtues either."
     V@ho the hell has? One of St. Petees first miracles was to
     ke some poor sucker dead."
:::"And his wife."
     'I don't believe you!"
     "Look it up. Acts of the Apostles."
7-   Kelly laughed, and Alexander enjoyed the sight ant.
     nd of it. But she sobered quickly.
"'If only there was some way I could reach Jay and make
m stop being afraid of letting somebody love him.
Choosing his words carefully, Alexander said, "I pre-
Sume you have offered him the delights of your flesh."
Without a hint of hostility she replied, "He's too
,stmight-arrow for that. He doesn't think people, who work
Upther ought to get themselves into romantic entangle-
Alexander grinned his widest grin. "Well that's easily
Ited! After this Shamar business is over, I'll fire the
:bastard.
"You do, and I'll quit!"
Suits me."
"Reallyl" She seemed surprised, almost shocked.
Alexander said, "Damned right. What I've got to do next
is something you won't want to be mixed up with anyway.
Red Eagle calls it vigilante justice."
"You're going to be a one-man crusade, is that it?"


300 Ben Bova
     "It won't be just one man," Alexander countered.
6.There are plenty of people willing to fight against the drug
trade. And terrorism. Plenty. And others who are willing to
pay the bills, too.-
     "But the Peacekeepers will be against you."
     @14
     I doubt it." The river was widening now. Other boats
were chuffing along on ancient diesel engines. "They          It
won
befOr me, of course. 01' Red Eagle will fuss and fume.,but
the IPF won't actively oppose what I do."
          Kelly looked altogether unconvinced.
     Alexander nosed the little dark gray Zodiac through the
growing river traffic, always remaining as much under the
shade of the trees on the bank as possible. Abruptly the
foliage ended and stark cinder-block and concrete build-
ingstose along the river's edge. Docks poked their fingers
out into the water. Construction cranes swung high over-
head. The city of Valledupiar was growing-
     "This is what the fight is all about," Alexander said to his
daughter over the noise of machinery and motors. "The
country's getting rich on narcotics. The Castanada family
wants to keep control of the trade."
     'And you want to end it altogether."
     "That," he said firmly, "is exactly what I'm going to do."
     Alexander found the pier he was looking for, a busy
commercial wharf where work gangs were unloading boats
laden with tropical fruits from upriver. He tied his inflata-
ble boat to a stanchion set into the new-looking concrete.
An unmarked four-door sedan was waiting for them at the
end Of the Pier, its rooftop Photovoltaic cells glittering in
the sun.
     Kelly shivered slightly as they ducked into the air-
conditioned interior and the driver wordlessly started the
engine and headed out into the city. He was a thickset
unsmiling man, swarthy and grim, with a black Pancho
Villa mustache that drooped over his heavy lips. Through a
tangle of crowded narrow streets they drove, the driver
     3
                                     PEACEKEEPERS 301
          his horn at the people milling around the sidewalk
     I ust be market day," Alexander muttered.
      driver said nothing.
     here are we going?" asked Kelly.
     inal meeting with Castanada. He's supposed to fork
     the cash for the mercs.
     ie, caught the note of skepticism in his voice. "You
     't think he. .
     remember how the good burghers of Hamelin paid -off
     Pied Piper9 They offered him a thousand guilders
     re he drove out the rats."@
     -d once he'd done the job ...
     @'Alexander made a crooked grin. "'Besides, our losses
     - - made usthrifty" " he quoted. "'A thousand guilders?
     -me, take fifty!"'
          J)Iespite herself, Kelly giggled.
     'we      get the mo ney for the mercs now, " her father said.
     hose guys don't work for promises; they want to see
     h.      Our own payment can come later. Castanada can
     -p our money in his Swiss account for another week-
     more interest on it."
     The car left the narrow streets and headed into the
     -der avenues that climbed up the hills that overlooked
     city. Wide green lawns and large whitewashed houses
     M graceful colonnaded facades and red tile roofs were
     d generously along the quiet, treelined thoroughfare.
     :"This is definitely -the high-rent district," Alexander
     laid.
     "The Castanadai must live here," Kelly guessed.
     "Nope. The whole family I lives down in the presidential
     ',Wace. where the army surrounds 'em. I don't know what
     hell we're doing up here."
     He leaned forward and tapped the driver on the shoul-
der. "Where are we going?"
     The driver grunted.


302   Ben Bova
     "Ddnde vamos?- Kelly asked.
     Raising a heavy, blunt-fitigered hand, the driver pointed,
     The street @ended in a cul-de-sac with a little park of
carefully clipped bushes and a few tall trees. A second car
Was sitting along the curve- a long gray, limousine with
mirrored windows.
     don't, like this," Kelly whispered.
     Alexander looked at 'the driver, who turned off the
ignition, @fdlded his arms across his;chest, and4 sat stoically
unmoving. A rear door of the limousine opened and a
slightly built man wearing a dapper double-breasted suit
got out. His gray hair was brushed sleekly back and his
mustache was neatly trimmed.
     "It's Okay," said Alexander, withrelief in his voice. "I
know him; he's one of Castanada's flunkies.-
     Both of them got out of their car and walked over to the
limousine.
     "Setior. . ." Alexander groped for               the name.
4'.Rodriguez?1'
     "Ali, good morning, Seftor Alexander!" Rodriguez
smiled broadly, obviously pleased that his name had been
remembered.
     "Ifs good to see you again."
     64
     And you, my dear sir But please tell me, who is this
charming young lady with you?"
     "An assistant of mine,- Alexander said curtly. No one
outside the immediate "family" of his organization knew
of Kelly's relation to him.
     "Ali," said Rodriguez, his smile starting to look a bit
          411     11                                                      U
forced.     see.
Alexander said, "I believe you have a package for me.
     "St, st A rather heavy one, in fact. It is here in the car."
     He Opened the limousine's door and ducked inside it.
Alexander had just enough time to wonder why the chauf-
feur wasn't doing his usual job of opening doors. Rodriguez
                              PEACEKEEPERS 303
                    who allowed a servant to sit inside
                   yelled.
     sed submachine guns sprang out of
of motorcycles made Alexander whirl',
rhalf dozen on bikes wi@re coming up the street,
g them off.
          y-set driver of their car pushed his way out from
     leav
          the wheel, yanking a pistol @ from his shoulder
     Kelly was already on one knee, an automatic in one
     'le she slid a second one across the asphalt toward
     er.
     slammed the driver back against the
spouting blood. Kelly fired back, then
car. Alexander froze where he stood
limousine, Machine-gun fire raked the
jounce on its springs as the slugs hit it.
     into Alexandees head and he pitched
4rst onto the asphalt paving. He heard more gunfire
a scream. He tried to piih himself up, but everything
ed black and silent.
ben he came to, Rodriguez was bending over him,
babbling about the money being stolen. The
riddled-with bullet scars, but its armor and,
'Was
      I   glass had saved Rodriguez and his chauffeur.
     the other driver. He lay dead in a pool of his own
     Kelly was gone.


If we had known that Shamar was going to
strike at Alexander before he could get his
own attack started, we would have certainly
warned the man. But we did not know.
Even with the intelligence-gathering services
of the International Peacekeeping Force, we
did not know what Sharnar had planned.
Cynics claim that we set Alexander up,
sometven lay the blame for what ha@pened
next at Red Eagle's doorstep. But I was
there at Geneva. I was serving with IPF
intelligence at the time. We did not know.
How could we?
  And we certainly had no part in what
came afterward.
xONTESOLI)
Year 8

he lay prone in the high grass, studying the
          red in the hollow just below
               city that cluste                  sted bin

               s crest through electronically boo                         OC-
               ard sensed that he was no longer alone.
The morning air was crisply coot this high above the,
Kmst. The Cesar River was nothing more than a glinting
the thick greenery that
ity ribbon snaking through
retched as far as the eye could see. Up here the trees were
naller, sparser, and tall fronds of grass waved in the
                 ntain wind.
     Somewhere in the grass a man was crawling toward him-
hy could feel it in the back of his neck.
                              305


          306 Ben Bova
               Damned foolf he raged at himself. Dashing off like a
          one-man army without taking more than a handgun and
          canteen of water. What are you going to accomplish except
          getting yourself killed?
               He went absolutely still. Except for his left hand, which
          snaked down to the holster at his hip and slowly pulled the
          heavy blue-black automatic pistol.
               He lay the electro-optical binoculars on the ground
          before him and cocked the gun as quietly as he could,
          pulling the action back carefully and holding it as it sli
          forward again so that it did not make too much noise.
               Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned over onto his back so
          that he could see who was approaching. The city and the
          men in it would have to wait. Kelly was there; Shamar had
          made the ancient ruin his headquarters. But whoever was
          sneaking up on him had a more immediate prion
               He lay there in the grass, gun cocked and ready, wishing
          he had a silencer for it. Or a knife. The morning sun was
          hot despite the attitude. His shirt was already soaked with
          sweat from the long climb up here.
               "Jay, is that you?" A whisper carried by the wind.
               He said-nothing.
               "It's me, Pavel. I'm going to stand up so you can see me.
          Don't shoot."
               Sure enough, the small slim Russian rose amidst the
          waving fronds of grass. Jay felt the breath he had been
          holding back puff out of his lungs.
               Half annoyed, half relieved, he waved Pavel to him. The
          young Russian bent forward and crawled to his side,
          staggering under a backpack almost the size of his own
          torso. He flopped on the grass next to:Jay with a grunt.
               "What the hell are you doing here?'@ Jay growled.
               "Same as you: trying to find Kelly."
               'Who gave you permission to try a stunt like this?"
               "Same as you: nobody."
               Jay looked into the Russian's dark eyes, thinking, He's
.91
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 367
nothing you can do about it. And you're going to need
e help you can get.
     Ws AlexanderT'
     ill under.sedation. Steiner says he has a 'concussion,
     bly from a ricocheting bullet."
     id the mercsT'
     el started to struggle the pack off his shoulders. -,It
     W be two days before they arrive, even with our
     pency call."
          cement wait two &Ysm-:
      agree. We must get Kelly out of there now.
     my felt his jaw tighten. 1" Moscow order you to come and
     me her?"
     Moscow knows nothing of th*" Pavel snapped-
     'Men why are You hereT
     I could ask you the same question."
     'She saved my life," Jay said immediately- "When I
     when I was exiled at Moonbase, Kelly
     ght it was over,
     faith in me. She brought me back to Earth, back to
     b you love her." Pavel's voice trembled slightly-
     ove hers No! I owe her."
     _baking-his head the Russian said, "But sheloves you."
     %'That's crazy!"
     .'She does."
     His voice wasso low, his face suddenly so miserable, that
     iy finally recognized what he had not understood before.
     knd you love her."
     "Yes." The faintest of whispers.
     Jay made a coughing noise that might have been a laugh.
     lot even he could tell for sure. "Fine mess."
                                 Pavel cocked his head
     "You're certain shes thereT
     ightly in the direction of the ancient city.
                                                  pe
     "Haven't seen her, but that's Shamaes base Of ( m-
     ons, all right. Must be a couple hundred men there.
     en, too."
     rm


308 Ben Bova
     "He sent a IfieSsage to Alexander, after you left."
     "Messager'
"Lag night. By radio, over the civilian band frequency.-
"What the hell did he sayr,
.4That Kelly was alive and Unhurt and that he would
exchange her for Alexander himself."
     Jay felt a surge of emotions blaze along his veins. "So
that's his game. He wants Alexander."
     "Shamar will kill Alexander if he gets his hands on 'him."
     "He'll kill Kelly if Alexander
                                   doesn't agree."
     "T'hat is why we
                    must get her Out Of ;there,' Pavel said.
     "Right"' Jay rolled back Onto his stomach, then asked,
"What answer did you make to Shanur?"
.113arker
          took the message- He told them that Alexander
was under sedation and would be unable to reply for
twenty-four hours.91
     "And what'd Shamar sayr
     "He said that in exactly twenty-four hours Kelly would
be killed, unle Alexander agreed to surrender him
               Ss                                          self."
     "How long ... r,
"Seven hours
               ago- That is when I decided to come up
here after you.-
     Jay's thoughts
               were tumbling wildly through his mind.
"Kelly ... did they let Kelly speak?"
     "No."
"Then how do we know she's still alive?"
"We only have Sham;Ws word for iv,
46Those
          bastards could do anything to her," Jay said.
     "We must act quickly.-
     46ye 'A
          - But there's a couple hundred of them and only
two of us."
     Pavel took the binoculars that 14Y before them and
focused them on the stone structures in the hollow. it was
an ancient city that must have beewmagnificent in it day.
But now it was abandoned, crumbl-
                                   ing with age, half
tumbled down. Massive stone statues had toppled over and
                                        PEACEKEEPERS 309
on their sides. On Some of the buildings entire walls
pne, leaving their interiors gaping. Grass and shrubs
ivaded those broken buildings, making them look as
y were rotting, covering them with a green slimy
Pavel observed that the stones, were not blackened
earthquakes must have done the damage
e city had been built around a large central plaza
with gray stones. Now it was weed-grown and
W, but it served as a helicopter -landing pad. A
er stood od' at one end of the
                              square, covered with a
ififte net. Althe head of the square was an'impres-
'Imple raised on a tiered platform. A steep flight of
led to its colonnaded front entrance; most of the
ive pillars were still standing, but much of the roof
one. Several other old buildings were still intact, their
whole, although sprouting grass and flowers and even
small trees here and there. Ideal camouflage, Pavel
zed. Even satellite sensors would detect nothing much
                                        dozens of men in the
          a, most of them in militaryleeigues, assault
                                                  rifles slung
          their shoulders. Some Kalishnikovs, he noted, but,
          tly American Colts and Springfields.
          dome of the ancient buildings had new additions of
          ugated metal and even cinder blocL Always the roofs
          covered with dirt and greenery. Men in jeans and
          --irts lounged around the largest one. Pavel saw another
          in a white laboratory smock come out of a door,
     01-owed by three others-one of them a woman.
     "Their processing factory is here," he muttered.
     'Yeah," Jay replied. "But where're they keeping Kelly?"
     All through the morning, as the sun climbed higher into
     -Pale blue sky dotted with wisps of cirrus clouds, they took
     s studying the city through the binoculars.
                                                  tried to deter-
Effftine where Shamar might be holding Kelly. Not in the
Slowly, by a process of elimination, they
pt natural vegetation.
icusing tighter, he could


310 &h Bom
factory, of course. Across the square was a smaller building
where all the windows had been boarded up and a half-
dozen armed guards lounged by the only door.
     "Could that be itT' Pavel asked.
     Jay brushed an insect away from his face. "My guess is
that's the bomb-storage depot. And the building next to it,
     where tb,. truck is Parked, is probably their electronics
facility-11
     Pointing to the temple at the head of the plaza, Pavel
said, "She must be in there. None of the other buildings are
guarded. Most of them are half destroyed."
. Jay nodded agreement. "Plenty of,guys with guns hang-
ing around that entrance, too. How do we get in?"
     "Through the back. It's only a few dozen meters from the
trees to the rear of the platform. Can you, climb the
stonesT'
     "I guess, if I have to."
     Pavel reached into the pack lying beside him and pulled
out a coil of rope. "This win be helpful 11
          "Only if there's a door back there. Or a window."
     They circled around the hollow, staying low, using the
grass for cover, until they could train, the binoculars on the
rear of the temple.
     Jay saw a dark oblong shape, focused the binocs on it. it
wavered in the heat haze, then snapped into clear sight: a
window, about ten feet above the floor of the stone
Platform. Unbarred. Unguarded.
     Passing the glasses to Pavel, he murmured, "That's the
way in. 11
     The Russian nodded. "Let's go."
     It was late afternoon by the time they reached the edge of
the woods behind the temple. What had looked like a short
distance to the stone base of the platform now seemed like
a mile of terribly exposed open territory.
     Both men were studded with tools and weapons from the
pack Pavel had brought: ropes, grenades, knives, electron
                               PMCEKEEPERS          311
                     W7
                    their hips. Both men@held machine
                     long black ammo clips jutting from
               whispered. "Hurry it up."
                from his kneeling position. He had
     a                of antipersonnel mines along the
the trees, tiny gray plastic discs that
feet off or shred his legs from ten
retreat,- he whispered harshly. "It is
               right- The Russian had a lot more
               of thing than he did, Jay knew. His
               consisted of a one-week course in guerril-
               the mandatory training the Peacekeepers
               much. Would it be enough?
               was ready. Jay tossed the rope up to the
               tier of the platform. The electrochemical
               the grapnel at the end of the rope took
               stone surface. Jay tested the rope with a
               scrambling up the face of the stones.
               one wary time, then followed him up
     tiers to the platform, and then theywere
temple wall Once more Jay flung the rope
into the dark cavity of the window. They
up      rope and disappeared inside the ancient
the site of countless human sacrifices in centuries
     ast.
M at the base of the platform a hidden stone door
outward and four armed men dressed in ragged
tigues calmly walked out to the edge of the woods and
Vn picking up the small gray disc-shaped antipersonnel
ines that Pavel had so carefully scattered there to cover
     eir retreat.
Gunfire broke out from inside the temple, booming,


312 Ben Bova
echoing weirdly. The four men looked up briefly. One of
Ahem pointed a finger to his head and' made a circular
motion.
     -,Os
         gringos hay MUY loco, no?"
     His companions grinned. Then they returned to their
task.


                                   That scene was a re-creation, of course. A
                                   bit of dramatic license. We know some
                                   details of the ancient city and it temple
                                   fi-om questioning the grave robbers who had
                                   been methodically looting Montesol until
                                   the drug manufacturers chose it as their
                                   headquarters. We assume that young
                                   Hazard and the Russian Zhakarov made the
                                   best use of the resources available to them.
                                   More than that we cannot say.


                  MONTESOL,
                   Year 8
     AUXANDER stood on shaky legs as four
men in dirty fatigues searched him. They pulled his arms
out from his sides and roughly pawed his chest and
midsection, his legs and groin, both arms. They even
yanked Off the bandage wrapped around his head, revealing
a nasty wound along his left temple, a gash crusted with
dried blood and oozing slightly with medication.
     Jabal Shamar sat on a canvas camp chair some ten feet
away, smoking a cigarette, watching Alexander intently
with eyes that looked only faintly amused. Shamar wore a
one-piece jumpsuit of mottled jungle greens, the short
unbuttoned halfway down his hairy chest to reveal an
                    314
                              PEACEKEEPERS        315
     ignore box hanging by a silver chain about his neck.
     located pistol was tucked into his black leather belt,
                    DOY-
     C room wasdeep inside the Incan temple, solid-stone
     floor polished smooth even after centuries of neglect.
     iridows. Only one door. Yet natural light seemed to be
     through from some sortof hidden access up in the
     ceiling. Alexander tried to look up and see where the
     ht was coming from, but his head throbbed so hard
     made him woozy with pain.
     u Must excuse the primitive way in whichmy men
     arching you," Shamar said in his slightly guttural
     h.      "We lack modem facilities such as X-ray machines
     metal detectors."
     te four years since he had-last seen Sharnar had not
     kind to the -man. His hair was almost entirely gray
     the scar along his jaw seemed more pronounced,
     ier almost as white as the cigarette that dangled from
     hin lips. He was leaner, too, his face sculpted with
     and jutting cheekbones. Four years of
     ding have taken its toll, Alexander told
     pounding, his stomach doing nervous
nerve in his body was stretched taut. He
to pull a gun on Alma Steiner before she
iuld back away and allow him to leave the plane.
"You're mad," the blond Austrian had whispered, star-
at the pistol Alexander held in his wavering hand.
'Maybe so," he admitted. "But I'll kilt you if you don't
the fuck out of my way."
"He'll murder you!" she screamed. "He's probably al-
     y murdered Kelly."
Alexander tottered toward the helicopter @ Shamar had
mt in response to his call. "Maybe so , he shouted over
is shoulder. "But I've got to go. I've got no choice."


316 Ben Bova
Alma understood, although she could not agree. Her
                     ing
tears were as much rage and frustration as Mourri           for a
man she could have loved.
     The helicopter crew had searched him before letting him
-tome aboard, but now Shamar's personal guards were
searching him again. Very thoroughly. But will it be
thoroughly enough? Alexander asked himself. Unbidden, a
shadow of a smile touched his lips. Standing there, even on
legs rubbery from his concussion, Alexander loomed over
the diminutive Shamar on his camp chair.
     Finally they removed his boots and tossed them across
the bare little room, where thei had thrown--the miniature
radio transmitter and electrostatic stun wand he had
carried inside his belt.
     He stood on the cool stone floor, barefoot, beltless,
wearing only a pair of light den jea
                              im.    ns and a long-sleeved
sport shirt.
     The four men backed away, leaving Alexander to stare
down at the seated Sharnar, radiating hatred.
     "She is your daughter, isn't she?" Shamar asked.
     Alexander nodded. "Where is'she? I want to see her- If
YOU , ve-harmed her.          He suddenly stopped, realizing
the words were totally empty.  There was not a thing he
could do to save Kelly from whatever harm Shamar wanted
to inflict on her.
     Taking the slim cigarette from his lips, Shamar asked
calmly, "Have You learned to kill? The last time we met,
YOU could have killed me, but failed to do so."
"That was four years ago.10
     "Yes, but some men lack the ability to take a human life.
I myself have never killed a man in combat; not face-to-
face."
"You just order others to kill for you."
     "As you do," Shamar countered. "We are very much
alike."
     Alexander swayed on his feet, a wave of nausea and
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 317
     wo washing over him. "Can I have a chair? They told
     ve, -got a concussio ...
     11y"ars eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You can sit on
     or. At my feet."
     Ander did so. Shamar seemed pleased to be able to
     own at the American.
     -now what fiappens?" Alexander asked.
     11w you die."
     ot, before I seemy daughter." ,
     bu will see her, I guarantee that."
     e,          he said it sent a chill along Alexander'
     way                                              Is spine.
     -ased, his hands clenched into fists.
     ghting a fresh cigarette from the butt of the one he had
     smoking, Shamar said, "Please do not think that you
     cap up and disarm me. I -know how your mind works,
     Alexander. Remove all such romantic notions from
     thoughts.,,
     lexander said nothing.
     ngering the slim oblong black box hanging around his
     Shamar said, "Do you know what this is? I will tell
     It is a radio trigger for the nuclear bombs that MY
     rucians have assembled. It is tuned to my heartbeat. If
     range chance you should kill in , it will set off
          st                                    e
     bombs. Everyone here will die. Everyone."
Including Hazard and Zhakarov," Alexander muttered.
"Hazard?" Shamar's slim brows rose in surprise.
AThe son of the IPF's director-general."
     let a thin jet of blue-gray smoke stream from his
not realize he was Hazard's son."
Alexander felt startled.
both dead," said Sharnar. "Brave men, to try
woman. But foolish, also. They fought to the
killed more than a dozen of the drug mer-
unt's hired men. They nearly fought their way to.the very
                    t.11
)Om where your daughter is being kep .
%"Both dead." Alexander bowed his head. "Both of
hem."


318 Ben Bova
     "They would not surrender. Even after they had been
wounded repeatedly they fought on. I would have treated
them mercifully."
              Sure you would."
"I am a soldier," snapped Shamar. not a cutthroat."
     "Go tell it in Jerusalem."
     "What 1 do I do for a cause! You may not believe in my
cause, but I do. Millions do!"
     'Yowre nothing but a bloodthirsty murdering son of a
bitch." Alexander started to clamber to his feet. The four
men behind him stirred, gripped their
                    guns.
     But Shamar merely smiled and tapped the tiny box on
his chest.- "Be careful, Cole Alexander. If my heart should
stop, this entire mountaintop explodes."
     Alexander-sagged back to the floor, his head thundering.
Shamar smiled at him pityingly.
     Finally Alexander asked, "Aren't you being a little too
dramatic about this? Triggering the bombs to y6 ur heart-
beat? You've got a couple hundred people here protecting
you and you know I'm no killer."
         With a sardonic laugh Sham
                              ar tapped the electronic
medallion and replied, "This is not because of you, Cole
Alexander! I have no need of such elaborate precautions as
far as you are concerned." ,His face grew more serious.
"But I know that you have recruited a small army of
mercenaries. Professional soldiers. They could cause much
trouble. Therefore this little challenge for them. once they
know that I am willing to blow up the entire top of this
nkountain, I doubt that theywill even try to attack. They
fight for money, and they will see no reason to march into
guaranteed death. I am willing to die; they are- not,"
     Alexander had to admit to himself that Shamar was
entirely right. Once the mercenaries realized the nukes
were rigged with a dead@man's switch, they'd pack up oeir
gear and go home. Hell, he told himself, once they realize I
                              PEACEKEEPERS             319
     be around to pay them they'll call the whole opera-
     see, cole Alexander,"      said Shainar, "I am a
     A true military man, WI
     ftd, professional soldier.
          rifice my life to my cause. You are an amateur;
     sac
     -e'driven by emotion, not logic. And you value your
     0 highly to be truly effective."
     tander made no reply.
          have bungled everything," Shamar went on. "All
     efforts have led to your defeat and humiliation."
                         gone to a lot of trouble over my
     eems to me you've
     a` efforts," Alexander retorted.
     ing
     )h, you have been troubles me
                              0          . I grant you that. But'
     y I will remove your slight irritation and go forward
     Ifty plans.
          what end?" Alexandet asked, his voice hoarse,
     10
     eked. "Just what in hell are you trying to obtain?"
     Power, of course. That is the only goal worth pursuing-
     ver. Without power"a man is nothing. But with power,
     C' Shamar's smile widened to show his perfect teeth.
                                        . A man of power
     'ith power comes wealth, and respect
     go where he wishes and do what he wants."
"And your causeT' Alexander asked dryly.
     What is more vital to my cause than Power, real POweO-
'he power to bend nations to my will. The power to
xterminate the Peacekeepers.
                     11W
     Alexander made himself laugh.             -ith five little nukes?"
     "Five nuclear weapons are quite enough-for a start,"
replied Shamar. "Three of them will level Geneva." His
his voice became harsher. "I had hoped that
would believe they had located my weap-
ington and those other cities, but your prying
that plan.,, He took a deep pull on his
The acri'd smell made Alexander realize that it.
ta   more than tobacco.


320 Ben Bova,
     "However," Shamar went on, -three small planes pi-
loted by three zealots will obliterate Geneva soon enough.
The two other major Peacekeeper facilities, in Colombo
and Ottawa, will receive one nuclear kiss
                    each
     "That won't eliminate the IPF," Alexander said.
     "Of course it will! They will be blown off the face of the
Earth. Think of how many nations will welcome that
moment. Think how many will flock to me, to form a new
coalition of true power. " Shamar clenched his fist , and.held
it up before his face. The scar along his jaw seemed to glow.
"There will,be no Peacekeepers to stop us."
     "Then the world will go back to the way it was, with
every nation building all the weapons it can."
     "Yes. Including nuclear weapons. And I will lead the
nations of the southern hemisphere-my own lands of the
desert, together with most of Latin America and Africa. We
will bring the industrialized nations of the north to their
knees!" Shamar's eyes glittered with the vision of it.
     "Or blow up the world trying."
     "What of it? I am ready to die. Are you?"
"Not before I see my daughter," Alexander said.
     "Ali yes, your daughter." The gleaming light in his eyes
disappeared like a lamp being switched off.
     "You promised that shed be released if I came to you. I
want to -see her before you let her go."
     Shamar gestured to his men, and Alexander was hauled
roughly to his feet.
     "This way." Shamar ducked through the low stone
doorway. The guards hustled Alexander through after him,
into a narrow dark passageway. It was difficult to see, but
Alexander felt a dampness, a slimy dank chill seeping from
the stones. Like an old-fashioned dungeon, he thought. The
passageway sloped upward, climbing.
     "I actually had intended to seize you, not the@ young
woman," Shamar said. "If I had sent my own men they
would have done the job correctly. But these drug
==IRA:
                                   PEACEKEEPERS          321
     @s@' Alexander could sense the man shrugging. "They
     nothing but common thugs. They botched it."
W ell, I'm here now," he said to the shadowy form
king ahead of him.
Yes, that is true. For more than four years you have
ibled me, Cole Alexander. You are a fanatic, just as I
And therefore very persistent and annoying. Today I
eliminate you. Tonight I will sleep more soundly than I
e, in four years."
I'm flattered to think I've keptyou awake."
amar did not reply. They strode along the narrow
igeway. Alexander felt the grip of the guards on his
Ir arms, half helping him along, half pushing him
'his coalition of southern hemisphere nations," he
d to Shamar's back. "Won't they be at the mercy of the
ustrialized nations once the Peacekeepers are gone?
r all, it's the nations of the north that have nuclear
:apons.
Again he could sense Shamar's reaction: a self-satisfied
tie smile. "Cole Alexander, once the Peacekeepers are
ne,:how long do you think it will take Brazil or Argentina
even my own native Iraq to build nuclear weapons? We
Once the restraints of the Peacekeepers
we will build bombs within a few
     goes back to the edge of Armageddon,
to himself.
     He heard voices UP ahead, arguing loudly in Spanish.
'hey were speaking much too fast for'Alexander to catch
iore than a few words: it was an argument about money.
omething to do with a shipment of "goods"-narcotics,
e guessed.
     But one of the voices sounded vaguely familiar. Alexan
er tried to identify it as they marched along the passage-
Way-


     Ben Bova
     Light spilled out from a room up ahead. The voices were
coming from th
               ere. Shamar Passed withouteven gianc-
                                                       Ing
inside; the arguments among the drug dealers were of no
interest to him.
     But Alexander looked as the guards'half dragged him
past the open doorway set into the massive stones. It was
; Sebastiano Miguel de Castanada, son of the presidents,
Minister of defense, his face red with anger, his impeccably
tailored white suit rumpled and stained with-perspiration,
bellowing at a sallow, skinny, ragged little man who sat
behind a table snarling @ back at Castanada. -On the table
between them were piles of money, neatly stacked and
wrapped with dirty elastic bands. In that one glance into
the room Alexander recognized thatone pile was American
burrency, another French francs. There were at least a
dozen stacks on the table. The American seemed to be the
highest.
     Alexander's heart sank. The breath sagged out 'of him. So
Castanada's in with them! It's been a trap all along. This
entire operation has been nothing, more than an elaborate
snare to catch me. The Castanada family has been working
with Shamar and these drug merchants all along. There's
been no war between them; they're on the same side.
Shamar used Castanada to lure me up here. The only fight
between them is over how big a cut of the money
Castanada's entitled to!
     And I walked into it. Like a fucking lamb going to the
slaughter. I got Hazard and the Russian kid killed. And
Kelly-what have they done to Kelly?
     He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream. If his arms had
been free he might have tried to kill himself.
     It's MY fault. It's all my own stupid, blind, arrogant fault.
As they hustled him along the dark endless passageway,
Alexander knew that he had been beaten and nothing
awaited him but death.
     If I can get Kelly out of this, that's all I can hope for. To
                                             PEACEKEEPERS 323
     away from here. To see her safe. That's the most I
do. That's all I can do.
'be little procession finally stopped. Alexander peered
I
the darkness and saw that they were at a tightly bolted
en door.
)ur daughter is in here." Shamar's'voice was strangely
Jow.                             Alexandees arms. One


r guards released their grip on
= unbolted the door and swung it open. The room
-,was small, but lit by a narrow slit of a window. Late
slanted in,, blood red.
              floor, unmoving.


We know about Shamaes plan to attack
Geneva and the other IPF centers from
in BogotA
the Valledupar
that Shamar
wore around hi neck was actually
constructed by a Pakistani electronics
technician who was picked up in London on
a narcotics charge. We got the story on
Alexander from Alma Steiner and Barker,
the crippled pilot. It took months to sort
out all the details, of course.  More than a
year,    a matter of fact. We are still not
certain of exactly every point, and there is
considerable pressure from several sources
not to investigate it further. I pursue
whatever leads I can lay my hand on, for
reasons of personal curiosity and
professional pride. The complete story will
never get into the official IPF history. But I
can tell it here as completely and honestly
as I can, if you will continue to grant me a
modicum of artistic license.





                     324
          Year 8
     SHE lay on the stone floor in that awkward
iotesque sprawl of death, beyond dignity, beyond shame,
ryond help.
Alexander sqpd to his knees, bile burning in his throat.
longside Kelly's body lay jay Hazard and Pavel, riddled
ith bullets, crusted with blood. Their eyes stared Sight-
                                   t chamber. Buzzing
wly at the stone ceiling of the sunli
es and other insects crawled over them.
                              Most of her clothing
Someone had closed Kellys eyes.
        off. Welts made by men's strong fingers purpled
Ms torn
er thighs, her arms, her face-
  She's so little! Alexander sobbed to himself So tiny and
Irail. My baby ... my baby.
                         @ftz


326 Ben,Bova,
     6.1 Wanted     you to see this," Shamar,
                                        said.  Alexander
heard him as if from a long distance away.  His voice
echoed hollowly, like someone calling from far down a
narrow Stone tunnel. "This is your fault, Cole Alexander,
-not mine."
     Alexander turned his head slightly. "My fault?"
     If you had not pursued me, if you had not made
Yourself dangerous to me, this would-never have happened.
YOU killed these people.;' You caused your daughter's
death."
     Alexander said nothing. He remained on his knees
beside Kelly!s crumpled body, as if there was no strength
left in him.
     "And now you must die,         %9      said Shamar.
     Running a hand through his white hair, Alexander
muttered, "Go ahead. You've killed everyone I care for.
Killing me will be a relief."
     Shamar turned and spoke to the guards at the open
doorway. One of them nodded and left. The other re-
mained at the door, his face as cold and immobile as the
stones of the walls.
"The natives of these hills make a poison that they use in
hunting- It comes from the same plant that produces the
coagne."
     "I know," said Alexander. "It kills YOU quickly, while
the, cocaine can take years to do it.,,
     With a griM Smile, Shamar said, "It is painless
     11                                                 I I am
told.
     "That's what I've been told, too."
Alexatider brushed at his hair again. This time'he
reachedbackfortheslimglassbiadetapedtohisspinejust
below the collar ofhis shirt. Yanking it free, he lunged with
every Ounce of strength left in him at his surprised enemy.
Shamaes eyes went wide and his arm automatically went
slashed
up toblock Alexandees feeble blow. But Alexander
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 327
the glass kiiife@ and opened a cut in the I meaty part of
VS forearm, through the sleeve of his fatigues,
his other hand Shamar slapped Alexander a sting-
N on the side of the face that sent him toppling to
)r. The knife dropped and shattered against the
ato dozens of fragments of green glittering glass.
W head reeling, ears ninging, Alexander looked up to
e guard leveling his rifle at him. Shamar held his left
UP, peering at the bleeding scratch.
That was stupid, Cole Alexander. You are no fighter.
a when you work up the passion to try to kill, you botch
job."
lexander slowly, painfully sat up and clutched his
s with both arms. "Botched it, did I? How long does it
for the natives Poison to -work?"
iamar stared at him, mouth agape.
told you I knew about it. It's painless. A nerve poison.
ts at the area of the wound and works its way through
nervous system, from what the professo rs at the
piversity told me."
                    at him. "You've got about a minute to
                   less."
I" Shamar's voice was a terrified rat's
at the oblong black box hanging on the
neck. Clutched at it with his unwounded
M.
"You made a couple of serious mistakes," Alexander
dd, his smile twisting viciously. "You were so fucking
mvinced I'm a gutless coward that you didn't think I'd
y to kill you, even after you showed me what YOU did to
     daughter."
     --The bombs will explode if I die! You will be killing
        e    Shamar pawed at Alexandees shirtfront with
P urr
    e han trying to lift him to his feet. But his own legs


     Ben Bova
collapsed and he was suddenly on the floor, too,eye-to-eye
with Alexander.
"And YOU also thought," Alexander went on, ignoring his
ly
frenzied bleating, "that you and your kind are the
ones willing to die for their cause. You depended on that
little piece of ego-inflation too much, pal. Thert are plenty
of men like me who'd gladly die to rid the world of the likes
of YOU."
     "You've killed us all!" Shamar whimpered. He was
choking now, gasping for air. He ripped the electronic
medallion from his chest and stared at. it with fear-crazed
eyes-
     .1@
     YOU re aft-aid to die, after all," Alexander said
calmly. His smile was a terrible thing to see.
            64 You... madman..."
     "Think of this as I an environmental action. I'm cleaning
'up a source of pollution."
     A few hundred meters away a radio receiver lost the
signal that had been steadily beamed to it for more than
forty-eight hours. The simple electronic switch attached to
the receiver clicked, and the equally simple trigger control-
ling five nuclear weapons fired. Hemispherical shells of
plutonium were slammed together. In less than a microsec-
ond they achieved criticality and underwent five
                                                  simulta-
neous chain reactions The incredible power of the strong
nuclear force was liberated in an explosion that shook
seismographs as far away as Boston and Buenos Aires.
                                                                 1@

                                                                 :,i
Ibe explosion took off the entire top of the
mountain. The ancient Incan city was
                         particularly dirty
simply I
     vaporized. It was a
mushroom cloud- m' illions of tons of
radioactive rock and soil were lifted into the
stratosphere                        the
          and wafted across
mountainous forests where the natives eked
out their meW incomes, by cultivating the
particular species of coca bush rom W
cocaine is derived.-
With the help of the Peacekeepers most of
those poor families were evacuated and
saved from the fallout. Their crops did not
fare so well. The area is still a desert today,
and will be for many years to come. The
farmers were resettled in safer areas, under
careful supervision. Satellite sensors watch
for the signature of I                coca, and
IPF inspectors make firequer tours of areas
where it might be grown-as well as parts
of the world where the opium poppy grows.
     Cole Alexander's final act accomplished
his goal: the Peacekeepers now actively
pursue international narcotics dealers and
have the reluctant approval of the world's
national governments to strike at the source
Of the drug trade:'t ie fields where the plants
are grown. Satellites search for them;
genetically specific biological agents sprayed
from IPF planes destroy them.
     The Castanada, government, deprived of
its prune source of cash income, collapsed
within months. President Alfonso Joije de
Castanada suffered a fatal heart attack just
after he was thrown out of office. His
                    329


                      A

330  Ben Bova
     friends say the loss of his son at montesoi
     left him bereft and led to his demise; his
     enemies say it was the loss of political
     power and privilege;, cynics say it was the
     loss of money from the drug trade that
     stopped his heart.@
     Aft that happened four years ago. Which
     brings us to the morning trek up from the
     steaming jungle base of the International
     Peacekeeping Force to the glassy crater of
     what was once Montesol.

                              4ONTESOL CRATER;
                              P@ Year            12
                                        have never been to the Moon, but the crater
                              akes me think of what that airless, waterless ball of rock
                              ust look like.
                                   it was a scene of utter desolation. There was nothing
                              efore us except bare stone glazed and glittering under the
                              right cloudless sky. The wind rushed by, keening softly
                              Imost like a mourner's dirge, without a tree or a shrub or
                              ven a blade of grass to be moved by it. There was
                              bsolutely nothing on what was left of this mountaintop
                              xcept the hard lifeless rock, still so radioactive four years
                              fter the explosion that our time here was limited to one
                              tour.
                         Thirty-one of us, panting with exertion and altitude, the


332 Ben Bova
Offi
     cers' uniforms and cadets' fatigues equally darkened           4
with great pools of sweat, stood at the lip of the glass-
smooth crater and stared at whatever private demons
haunted us.
     I thought of my lost hand, and felt bitterly glad that the
Indians and Pakistanis had not attacked our little Peace-
keeping task force with nuclear weapons. I had my life, my
family, my new work as archivist. The prosthetic hand had
become almost natural to me. And new models with
imp roved sensitivity were being developed.
     Then I looked across the lip of the crater at Director-
General Hazard. The old man stood motionless, his back
stiff and shoulders squared away. The bright sun was
forcing him to squint as he stared into the crater, but the
cool mountain wind could not ruffie his short-cropped
iroh-gray hair.
     A man can sense when someone is staring at him,and I
stared hard at Hazard. He did not look up. He did not
MO ve. His son had died here, and he stoodalone amongst
the thirty of us, squinting against the sunlight and the pain.
     I heard a foreign sound carried by the softly wailing
breeze. A mechanical sound. A motor purring from some
distance away. Looking up, I saw a dark speck against the
clean blue sky. It quickly grew to recognizable size- a small
helicopter, painted in the sky-blue and gold of the IPF.
     The cadets and other officers turned their eyes skyward.
All except Hazard, who still stared blindly into the crater.
     The helicopter circled us at a respectful altitude, then
came down and settled onto the bare slope that had once
born thick tropical growth. Its whining rotor kicked up
dust as it touched the ground lightly and then sank on its
shook struts. The rotor slowed until once again the only
sound we could hear was the keening mountain wind.
     When the rotor stopped altogether, the oval hatch of the
helicopter opened and a huge man stepped stiffly onto the
dusty ground.
PEACEKEEPERS 333
d Eagle. He walked slowly toward us, age had not
nished him, but it had taken its toll of his agility. He
@a fringed tan leather jacket and faded jeans. His feet
shod in a modern variation @ of moccasins. I almost
id, despite the somber tone of the occasion. Red Eagle
going native in his latter years. I wondered what he
--beneath -his judge's robes in Washington.
a he major at Hazard's elbow leaned sh       y toward the
ghtl
dor-general and whispered briefly into his ear. Hazard
-ed, almost seemed to shake himself, as if trying to
m off an evil dream. He took a deep breath and
Plutely turned his back on the crater to march forward
extend his hand to Red Eagle.
hey spoke together for a few moments,         and then
id waved the cadets to other around           the giant
"'I don't really have to tellyou who our guest is," Hazard
d: in his rasping voice. "It is a great honor for me to
roduce to, you the Honorable Harold Red Eagle, Justice
-the United States Supreme Court and spiritual founder
the1riternational Peacekeeping Force."
If Red Eagle thought Hazard's introduction too fulsome,
not fulsome e nough, he gave no indication. He shook
mds gravely with each of the cadets and officers, includ-
me. He noticed my prosthesis, of course, and looked
9
-eply into my eyes as he engulfed it in his huge hand. He
id not a word, except to murmur my name, yet those eyes
'his told me of all the sorrow and understanding that a
uly great man can offer to one of his fellow sufferers.,-
Once he had met each individual among us, Red Eagle
ised his voice to address us all. It was as if the wind had
Dpped; his deep, majestic voice was all that we could
ar.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I did not mean to intrude on
)ur exercise, but I could not resist the temptation of
ining you here, at this special place.


334  Ben Bova
     "You are the first class to, be graduated from the Peace-
keeping Academy. The future safety ofthe world and all its
people will be in your young, strong hands-a heavy
rctsponsibility, I know. In my own lifetime I have carried a
share of that responsibility. I gladly pass the burden on to
you.*,
     He glanced at their young faces, the variations in skin
tone, in eye and hair color, in shape and bone structure. He
saw the flags that each cadet wore on his or her shoulder.
     "As Peacekeepers you have only one goal: to protect the
peace. No matter what race or nationality you may be, no
matter your religion or your politics, your task as a
-Peacekeeper is to do whatever must be. done to preserve
and protect world peace. Whatever must 6e done-."
     Red Eagle seemed to look past them for a brief moment,
toward the crater. Was he seeing Alexander's face smiling
sardonically at him?
     He returned his attention to the young cadets grouped
before him.
     "You have come from many different nations, from
many different parts of this globe. I ask you now, each and
'all of you, to stop thinking of yourselves as Koreans, or
Brazilians, or Poles, or Ugandans. I ask you to think of
yourselves as human beings, as members of the great
family of humankind, as Peacekeepers dedicated to pro-
tecting our world and our people-all of them. Each of
them.
     "The age of nationalism has passed. Nations still exist, I
know, as they will continue to exist for many generations
to come. But the idea of nationalism is fading. Inside many
nations, local ethnic or religious or geographic minorities
want autonomy. And modem technology is erasing the
very meaning of national borders. The world's economy is
an integrated, global interrelationship. The vast funds once
spent on armaments are beginning to help the less-
developed nations to feed and educate and house their
                                   PEACEKEEPERS 335
)0r., We are expanding into spacel-and bringing new
                         and energy to Earth.
          family. We will grow and thrive-if we
     peace with one another. Yours is the task of
     protecting the peace. You must make
     devastation that took place on this moun-
     repeated-never-anywhere in the
="Eagle raised both arms and gestured toward the
arren crater. The cadets slowly turned and gazed at it with
ew eyes.
     Think of this lifeless,devastation as the site of your
ome, your village or town or city. That is your responsi-
ility: to make certain that such inhuman destruction win
ot take the lives of those you hold dearest."
     I could feel the emotional response from the cadets. Red
4e was electrifying them, like a shaman of old preparing
is clan for battle.
          ask you once agam, therefore, to stop thinking of
     representatives of a single nation and begin to
     as members of the great and unified
     long moment of utter silence. Not even the
made a sound. Then one of the women cadets
reached up to the Rag of her shoulder patch and tugged at
one corner of it. It yielded slowly, reluctantly; it had been
firmly sewn into place. But with determination that gritted
Cher teeth, she ripped it free.
     One by one, and then all of them together, the cadets
removed the emblems of their nations until the entire class
of them wore nothing but their identifications as
Peacekeepers.


                      7






                REFLECTIONS,
                 0@0 Year 12
          THE last nuclear weapons on Earth were
destroyed earlier this year. The Peacekeepers have estab-
lished close ties. with the world's scientific organizations
and we keep particularly careful eyes on any work that
might lead to weapons of mass destruction-nuclear,
chemical, or biological. The system is far from foolproof,
but it seems to be working.
     The-:scourge of war is receding into history, like other
diseases. that have been conquered by advancing knowl-
edge and social consciousness.
     Would all this have happened without Red Eagle? Would
it have happened without Hazard or Cole Alexandees
dogged hunt for Jabal Shamar? Yes, I believe it would have,
                              PEACEKEEPERS M
oner or later. Perhaps it would have taken another
ticidar war. Perhaps hundreds of millions would have had
Derish before the nations accepted the fact that war had
altogether. There are no inevitabilities to
no indispensable men.
          the way I have told it. The world's
has shifted away from the problems of war, no I w
at the Peacekeepers have proved that war can be stopped.
le irony is that the stronger the Peacekeepers become, the
is likely they are to be needed.
The problems facing the world today are the ancient
tinies of humanity: poverty, hunger and ignorance. And
least one fairly new one- narcotics. Alexander was right
the sense that the narcotics trade is a global problem that
nnot be solved by individual nations. The Peacekeepers
helping to orchestrate a global solution-while
"yers point trembling fingers and warn that, the IPF is
irning into a world dictatorship.
But that's another story. Perhaps someday I will write it.'
)o. For now, I must start the official history of the
iternational Peacekeeping Force. It will be factual, enor-'
lowly detailed, and quite dull. But once it is finished I can
im to the real stories of the men and women who work to
take a reality of the prophecy of Isaiah, the motto of the
iternational Peacekeeping Force:
NAnoN SHALL Myr LiFr Up SwoRD AGAiNsT NATIoN



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VOORLOPER
he surveyed what we could see.
s
                             elp asking, for she
"No memories?" I could not h
was frowning as one might who was attempting to re-
call something which remained as only a trace at the
very edge which thought could reach.
     She shook her head instead of answering me, but
now she moved with some purpose. Shucking her back
pack she opened it -and searched among the contents to
                                             -from
bring out a skin bag which I had already seen
which she had taken the salve which had brought me
relief from the poisonous sap. She opened that and,
ipping in two finger tips, brought out a gob which she
d
     roceeded to rub over her face and then both of her
p
hands. When she had done she looked at me.
     "This will sa ve us from another accident such as you
faced in Mungo's Town-"
     Save-us? Then she expected me to accompany her
into Voor's Grove. Perhaps for a second or two I
thought of refusing, but I could not. My curiosity was
far too aroused. Would we find the same signs of a
massac re here?
     I rubbed away until those portions of my skin which
would be exposed were well covered with a film of
grease carrying an odd but not unpleasant scent. It
pain from my blisters which were fast
had drawn the
healing so they showed now only as reddish marks.
     I dropped my pack beside hers and checked my belt
equipment. There were tangler and stunner, both of
which were fresh charged, my long knife, the pouch in
which rode that enigma we had discovered in the
grass my torch-though it was still early afternoon@
and we should not be so long in there that I would use
that. Yes, all the defenses any loper could carry were
152
                ANDRE NORTON
              close to my hand.
          Relieving the gars of their burdens, we stacked that
     packed gear at a point directly opposite the remains of
     the bridge and then set out to see what might lie within
     Voor's. Illo took the lead, moving out while I steaded
     the water carriers against the other gear, before I could
     call to her to wait.
          She balanced lightly and skillfully from one stone to
     the next, twice having to jump to cross gaps in the
     masonry. The brown water swirling below had all
     oily look to it, as if it were not really water but the
     exudation of some unpleasant growth. I watched it
     carefully before I began the crossing. There was no
     movement to be sighted on the surface or under it.
     However the tumble of stones could well give good
     footing to any such monster as we had seen pull itself
     up on the wagon. So I stood there on sentry duty, my
     hand on the butt of my stunner, alert to any-move-
     ment, until Illo was across. As a healer she wore no
     weapons-had refused the other-stunner, and had only
P    the long-bladed belt knife which was a working tool for
     any traveler. That would be useless against the scaled
     and armored thing.
          Once she was across she turned a little and I was
     quick not to let her believe that I held back where she
     had led, setting foot on the first pile of stone to follow.
     Some of those stones, as I made the same jumps over
     the gaps, appeared unsteady and I wished I had had
     the foresight to bring with me the rope which had
     lashed the burdens on the gars. Linked so together, if
     one o f us tumbled into the noisome appearing water
     the other could lend a hand.
          As is mainly true when one fills the immediate
                                                       153


