Air Battle Force

prepared to die to complete our mission and fulfill our destiny. You cannot threaten us with pain or death, because we know at the end of it comes everlasting peace and happiness with God. But your children — surely they are too young to die? The oldest has just turned twenty-two, and the youngest is still in his teens — why, his whole life is still ahead of him. And your girlfriend could very well be your daughter—”

The commander punched Zarazi in the face as hard as his shaking, spasmodic muscles could manage. Zarazi only smiled. He knew by the force of the blow that the Turkmen officer was done fighting.

“You fucking bastard…” the commander murmured.

“The same fate awaits your officers’ families as well,” Zarazi said. “We targeted at least two dozen of your officers’ and senior enlisted men’s households. We will butcher them all if you do not do as I say.”

“What in hell do you want?”

“Simple: for you and your men to walk off this base, unarmed,” Zarazi said. “When I am satisfied that you and your men are far enough away and no threat to me, I will order my men to release your families.”

“How do I know that you’ll do as you say?”

“You do not know,” Zarazi said. “That is my insurance. I promise you, I will slaughter them if you do not obey me — of that you can be certain.”

“Do you seriously expect me and my men simply to walk off this base and leave it to you and your scavengers? Are you delusional?”

“I expect you to act like men,” Zarazi said. “Either execute me for daring to touch your families, and then prepare to mourn the loss of your loved ones, or obey me, evacuate this base, and save your families. Asking stupid questions is a waste of my time. You decide. You have until dawn. If my men do not hear from me by then, they will assume I have been killed and will proceed with my last instructions: kill the captives and escape.”

“You… sick… bastard. I hope you rot in hell for this.” But the commander nodded to the guard, who hauled Zarazi to his feet and removed the handcuffs.

“Do not worry about my place in the afterlife, Colonel. I believe it has been reserved for me by God,” Zarazi said. “But now I have one more request.”

“We are leaving this place so we can save our families. What more do you want?”

Zarazi looked at the guards surrounding him. As if with a silent command, one of the guards handed over his AK-74 assault rifle to Zarazi.

“What do you think you’re doing, Corporal?” the security chief asked.

“He is doing what I think most of your men assigned here will choose to do — join my regiment, rather than slink away with you,” Zarazi said. “Now, as for my one last request, Colonel, I ask that you sacrifice yourself in forgiveness for the murder of my comrade.”

“What?” The commander’s eyes were round with fear, and he looked at the others, hoping for some sign of support. He got none — not even from his security chief and certainly not from the conscripts. They seemed to be very, very pleased to watch their commanding officer die. “You fucking bastard. Kill me if you want. But if you even so much as approach any member of my family, I swear, I will arise from the grave and haunt you through eternity.” And at that, the base commander grabbed the muzzle of the rifle and steered it under his chin. “Let’s get it over with, bastard,” he growled, looking at Zarazi with quivering lips but also with pure hatred in his eyes.

“This is the first brave thing you have done, Colonel — unfortunately, it is the last, too,” Zarazi said as he pulled the trigger. Then he slung the weapon over his shoulder while the ringing of the shot, the acrid smell of gunpowder, and the sickening sound of the body hitting the floor, minus most of its head, settled. He turned to the security chief and said, “It appears you are in charge now, Major. I suggest you call the company commanders, have them assemble their troops outside the front gate, and prepare to move out.”

By the time dawn began to break over Mount Ayrybaba, the ten-thousand-foot mountain that sat on the border between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the Turkmen troops had assembled outside the gates of Kerki Air Base. To General Zarazi’s joy, more than four-fifths of the Turkmen soldiers, including a good number of pilots and officers, remained behind. The Turkmen conscripts were very unhappy with their treatment by the elitist professional soldiers; the younger professional soldiers who were not part of the new quasi-Russian regime in Turkmenistan also chose to remain.

Jalaluddin Turabi, who had met up with Zarazi shortly after the deadline passed, administered the oath via loudspeaker to almost two thousand Turkmen troops assembled in front of base headquarters. They had already organized themselves into companies, chosen new unit commanders, and torn the Turkmen patches and flags off their uniforms. Zarazi, still bloodied by his treatment at the dead commander’s hand, led the assembled force in prayer. He then ordered the men to return to their barracks and for the company commanders and senior noncommissioned officers to meet him in headquarters.

“Allah has blessed us and answered our prayers, gentlemen,” he began. “Our crusade to build a haven for warriors of Islam begins right here, right now. It is our duty to organize and secure this area, prepare to fight off any challengers to our authority, and work to spread the word of God throughout this country.”

Turabi watched the newcomers carefully and, to his great surprise, noticed that a good many of the new officers sat in rapt attention, gazing at Zarazi like he was some sort of demigod. What was wrong with these men? he wondered. Could their lives be so screwed up out here in the wilderness that they would be willing to betray their country this easily and quickly and join up with a foreigner?

Zarazi stood before a large wall map of eastern Turkmenistan. “Our first objective will be to secure the Kizyl-arvat hydroelectric dam. This dam supplies power to all of eastern Turkmenistan as well as southern Uzbekistan. Once we take this facility, we also control the Turkmen oil and natural-gas pipeline that connects to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and we also control several irrigation and freshwater pumping stations for the region. The oil facilities shall be destroyed immediately.”

“Destroyed?” Turabi asked. He said it louder than he meant. He didn’t want the men assembled before them to see any sign of confusion or disagreement in the leadership, but they hadn’t discussed this move beforehand. “Wakil, we can hold those pipelines and wells for ransom. The Turkmen or whoever built them will pay us handsomely to keep them in operation.”

Zarazi glared at Turabi as if the man had pissed on his boots. “And if they don’t, Colonel?”

“Then we destroy them,” Turabi said. “But I think they’ll pay to keep their precious oil flowing. That means more money we can send back to our clans. Let’s give it a try, at least.”

Zarazi looked as if he were going to order Turabi to be silent — he appeared angry enough even to strike him — but instead he held his anger in check and nodded. “Very well, Colonel. I shall leave that task in your hands. Make contact with the Turkmen oil minister or their Western puppet masters and tell them that if they want their oil to keep flowing, they will pay.”

“Yes, General,” Turabi said loudly, thinking that he’d better do whatever he could to show everyone that Zarazi was back in command. “I’ll make the pricks pay out their asses.”

“Our greatest threat is the infantry base at Gaurdak,” Zarazi continued after giving Turabi a final warning glare. “They have a full brigade there, do they not?”

One of the Turkmen officers shot to his feet. “Master, they are authorized to brigade strength, but they have been unable to get enough equipment and supplies to fully equip a brigade,” the man said, standing at ramrod attention. “Most have not been paid in many weeks; most of the officers, like ourselves, have not been paid in many months. They have had many desertions and crimes against the local population. Many of the soldiers have resorted to stealing from the locals to feed themselves or selling fuel and equipment to smugglers. Their overall readiness is very poor.”

“Stealing from the people we are dedicating ourselves to liberate and protect will not be tolerated in my army, is that clear?” Zarazi said sternly. “But I also hereby command that anyone who does not declare himself a true servant of God shall not be entitled to own land, property, or resources under our jurisdiction or protection. That includes the water, the oil and gas through the pipelines, the power that flows from the hydroelectric power plant — everything. If it is under our protection, then either outsiders must swear allegiance to us and our cause, or they must pay for these resources.”

Now he had all their attention, Turabi noticed. Zarazi had a good number of men here who believed that he was some sort of holy warrior, but most of them were just tired of the old commander and wanted to be paid. Zarazi was promising them a paycheck. He was definitely in business now.