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his mind on Brunei.’

      ‘Brunei doesn’t need a fleet of fighter jets. Or Megafortresses, for that matter,’ said Dog.

      ‘The president isn’t going to reverse the Megafortress decision, Colonel. Not even for you. The two other planes are to go to Brunei as soon as they’re ready.’

      ‘With Flighthawks?’

      The Flighthawks, or U/MF-3s, were among Dreamland’s most prized possessions. ‘U/MF’ stood for ‘unmanned fighters.’ The Flighthawks were highly capable interceptors, typically launched from the wings of the Megafortress and used for a variety of tasks, from defending the big plane to attacking ground targets. About the size of a Miata sports car, they could go nearly the speed of sound and could be controlled up to twenty miles from the mother ship.

      ‘That’s still to be decided,’ said Jed.

      ‘We have to protect our technology, Jed.’

      ‘I don’t disagree. But it’s not my call.’

      ‘You’re not in favor of any of this, are you? Rewarding their cooperation in dealing with China is one thing, but giving our technology away to countries that don’t need it and have their own agendas – ’

      ‘They are allies.’

      ‘For now.’

      ‘It’s not my call,’ said Jed. ‘I think we’ll hold the line on the Flighthawks. And probably the F-15s. But they do have a legitimate need for surveillance aircraft, and for more modern fighters. And they’ll buy from the Russians if not us.’

      ‘Did you try pushing LADS?’ asked Dog. ‘They could buy that system with the money they’ll spend on jet fuel for one Megafortress over the course of a year.’

      ‘I did. State did, too. Very hard.’

      ‘That’s what they need. It’s low-cost, and we could work with them. It’d be useful to us as well. Let them keep the one Megafortress for sea patrols, and use LADS to guard the kingdom’s borders.’

      ‘Blimps aren’t sexy,’ said Jed. ‘However much they make sense.’

      Dog frowned, but he couldn’t argue. LADS stood for Lighter-than-Air Defensive Surveillance system, and at its heart it was simply a blimp – or more accurately, a network of blimps. Outfitted with millimeter and phased array radar as well as infrared and optical sensors, the small airships could be posted over the ocean and kept on station for weeks for about the cost of a Megafortress sortie. The system was scaleable – in other words, blimps could be added almost indefinitely, increasing the area to be covered without overly taxing the system. (The theoretical limit of inputs for the present system was 164°, far above the practical limitations that would be imposed by the coverage area itself.) The blimps could be pre-positioned to cordon off a patrol area several hundred miles wide, or deployed ahead of a mission team.

      While LADS had several Dreamland-style features that made it unique, including technology that made its vehicles nearly invisible to the naked eye, it was only one of a number of lighter-than-air systems being developed by the U.S. military and defense contractors. Airships could handle tasks from cargo transport to geostationary surveillance. Relatively inexpensive and extremely dependable, the old technology had a bright future, except for one thing: blimps weren’t sexy.

      ‘I was thinking I might suggest F/A-18s if we turn down the F-15s,’ added Jed. ‘A package similar to Malaysia’s.’

      ‘It’s still overkill for their needs. What about selling them more A-37s?’ asked Dog. ‘Very versatile and reliable aircraft. Perfect for their needs.’

      ‘They’re pushing hard, and they have friends in Congress,’ said Jed. ‘Assuming we can stop the F-15s and the Flighthawks, do you think F/A-18s are too much?’

      ‘A dozen F/A-18s, along with three Megafortresses, would make them a pretty potent power,’ said Dog. ‘They could threaten Malaysia and Indonesia.’

      ‘Malaysia has F/A-18s and MiG-29s already,’ said Jed.

      ‘But they’re on the peninsula, more than a thousand miles away. Indonesia’s forces are also too far to threaten Brunei. Besides, they’re all allies.’

      ‘We want a counterbalance to the Chinese, and we have to reward the sultan,’ said Jed. ‘Those are the real issues.’

      ‘That sounds a lot like your boss talking, Jed.’

      Jed glanced up, then held his coffee cup out for a refill as the waitress approached. Dog, sensing it was going to be a long morning, slid his over for a refill as well.

      ‘Tecumseh, get in here!’

      The walls practically shook with the president’s loud greeting. Dog followed Jed and NSC advisor Freeman into the Oval Office, doing his best to guard against the schoolboy awe he inevitably felt upon meeting the president. He’d met Kevin Martindale twice since he’d been elected, and talked to him on average at least three times a month. But this did nothing to lessen the slightly giddy sensation he felt in the presence of the President of the United States.

      Call it a by-product of military training, old-fashioned patriotism, or a side effect of his deep appreciation of the country’s history, but Dog still felt honored – deeply honored – to shake the president’s hand. He even blushed slightly as the president praised him in front of Arthur Chastain, the secretary of defense, and National Security Advisor Freeman.

      ‘What you did in China makes you a hero ten times over,’ said President Martindale. ‘And everyone in the world knows it. A million people are alive today because of you, Tecumseh. We won’t forget it.’

      ‘Yes, sir.’

      ‘I have some good news. The Pentagon has worked things out with the bean counters. The Megafortress program, the Unmanned Bomber Program, and the airborne laser arrays will all be funded. As will the next generation Flighthawk program.’

      ‘That is good news,’ said Dog, who hadn’t expected all of the programs to survive.

      ‘You’ll have to nip and tuck here and there,’ added the president, ‘but Arthur will help you on that. Won’t you, Mr Secretary?’

      ‘Yes, sir, of course.’ The defense secretary smiled at him for the first time ever.

      ‘You’re here to tell me Brunei shouldn’t have Megafortresses and F-15s,’ said Martindale. ‘You’re mad about it, and you wanted to talk to me in person before the deal is finalized.’

      ‘Mad would be not the right word, sir,’ said Dog.

      ‘But you don’t approve.’

      ‘I just feel that giving Brunei – giving anyone – our technology, is a problem.’

      ‘Let’s stop right there,’ said Freeman, the national security advisor. ‘Because number one, we’re not giving them anything. They’re paying for the privilege. And that payment is going to help us develop the next generation of weapons and aircraft at Dreamland. It’s one reason we can go ahead with your work there.’

      ‘A small reason,’ objected Defense Secretary Chastain.

      ‘We’re not giving them our most advanced technology,’ said Freeman. ‘The basic structure of the EB-52 is older than I am.’

      ‘But sir, with respect, that’s like saying the basic structure of a newborn is older than its mother,’ said Dog. ‘The Megafortresses have been completely rebuilt. Their wings are different, the fuselage is more streamlined and stealthy, the engines, the control surfaces – a B-52 would never have made it that far into China.’

      ‘The Old Dog made it into Russia,’ said President Martindale. Years before Dog had joined Dreamland, a B-52 had helped avert war with the Soviet Union with a daring – and officially unauthorized – mission

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