Titles by Dale Brown

DALE BROWN’S DREAMLAND: ARMAGEDDON

(with Jim DeFelice)

DALE BROWN’S DREAMLAND: PIRANHA

(with Jim DeFelice)

DALE BROWN’S DREAMLAND: NERVE CENTER

(with Jim DeFelice)

DALE BROWN’S DREAMLAND

(with Jim DeFelice)

FLIGHT OF THE OLD DOG

SILVER TOWER

DAY OF THE CHEETAH

HAMMERHEADS

SKY MASTERS

NIGHT OF THE HAWK

CHAINS OF COMMAND

STORMING HEAVEN

SHADOWS OF STEEL

FATAL TERRAIN

BATTLE BORN

THE TIN MAN

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either

are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously,

and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business

establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

DALE BROWN’S DREAMLAND: ARMAGEDDON

A Jove Book / published by arrangement with the authors

PRINTING HISTORY

Jove edition / August 2004

Copyright © 2004 by Dale Brown

Cover art and design by Steven Ferlauto

All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without

permission. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via

the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher

is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized

electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy

of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is

appreciated. For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

New York, New York 10014.

ISBN: 0-515-13791-X

A JOVE BOOK®

Jove Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

JOVE and the “J” design

are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

DREAMLAND

DUTY ROSTER

LIEUTENANT COLONEL TECUMSEH “DOG” BASTIAN

Dreamland’s commander has been mellowed by the demands of his new command—but he’s still got the meanest bark in the West, and his bite is even worse.

MAJOR JEFFREY “ZEN” STOCKARD

A top fighter pilot until a near-fatal crash at Dreamland left him a paraplegic, Zen runs the Flighthawk program and has now accumulated more air-to-air kills than any other active pilot in the air force. But he’s got a grudge bigger than the wheelchair life has confined him to.

CAPTAIN BREANNA “RAP” STOCKARD

Zen’s wife has seen him through his injury and rehabilitation. But can she balance her love for her husband with the demands of her career … and ambitions?

MAJOR MACK “THE KNIFE” SMITH

Mack Smith is the best pilot in the world—and he’ll tell you so himself. He left Dreamland to reshape the Brunei air force in his own egotistical image.

CAPTAIN DANNY FREAH

Danny commands “Whiplash”—the ground attack team that works with the cutting-edge Dreamland aircraft and high-tech gear. Freah’s wife and friends want him to run for Congress. The war hero would be a shoo-in—but does he want to give up the excitement of Dreamland?

JENNIFER GLEASON

Computer specialist Jennifer Gleason is one of the creative geniuses at Dreamland, responsible for the multi-mode combat computer that helps control the Flighthawks. She’s also

Dog’s lover—but her emotional and intellectual sides don’t always get along.

JED BARCLAY

The young deputy to the national security advisor is Dreamland’s link to the president. Barely old enough to shave, the former science whiz kid now struggles to master the intricacies of world politics. Zen Stockard is his cousin—and Zen still can’t figure out how the skinny kid who used to follow him around on a tricycle grew up and got a real job.

LIEUTENANT KIRK “STARSHIP” ANDREWS

Starship flew through flight school and was on the fast track to a career flying the air force’s frontline interceptors, like the F-15 and F-22. But family commitments made him change his plans. Now he has a post at Dreamland flying the U/MF-3 Flighthawk robot planes, where he’s finding that no amount of training can prepare him for real combat.

AND IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC …

PRINCE PEHIN BIN AWG

The nephew of the sultan of Brunei and the unofficial protector of the air force, bin Awg has an enviable collection of Cold War aircraft—and a well-earned reputation as a partier. Can he mature in time to save his uncle’s realm … and his own neck?

CAT MCKENNA

A one time Royal Canadian pilot, McKenna has found work plying the skies for a shadowy Russian arms dealer. But when her paycheck bounces, she looks for a new job—and ends up locking horns with Mack Smith.

CAPTAIN DAZHOU TI

Years ago, Dazhou’s Chinese grandfather was disinherited by the sultan of Brunei. Now he wants revenge—and has a secret Malaysian warship to insure that he gets it.

SAHURAH NIU

A devout believer, Sahurah is convinced that he has a place in Paradise—and is willing to kill thousands to reach it.

I

P ARADISE

Malay, Negara Brunei Darussalam (State of Brunei, Abode of Peace)

6 October 1997, (local) 1302

BREANNA STOCKARD TOSSED HER BACKPACK TO THE GROUND, put her hands on her hips, and took a deep breath. The Pacific Ocean spread out before her, a blanket of azure silk. A few white clouds wandered casually in the distance, drifting across the sky like a pair of vacationers easing across a solitary beach. Civilization might lay in the distance-there were oil derricks somewhere offshore, and merchant ships did a brisk trade at the nearby harbor—but from where she stood Breanna had no hint that she and her husband Jeff “Zen” Stockard weren’t the only people in the world.