The Shield: a novel Read Free Page A

quiet alert. Body armor and combat positions. Alert the company HQ, tell them about my alert orders. Also tell them that I will call from the tower.”
    Uri nodded and went to carry out the order. He always marveled at No am’s ability to wake up when something was going on. He was not surprised to find his commanding officer seemingly wide awake. He had heard him snore only a couple of minutes earlier, but after eleven years together there were few surprises. Uri also trusted his commander’s instincts - they had saved lives in the past. If Noam thought that a full quiet alert was warranted, Uri was sure that it was necessary even though some of the platoon’s soldiers went to sleep less then an hour ago.
    ***
    The Hatzerim airbase near Beersheba, Israel, was busy. For the first time in many years F4 Phantom jets, bought from the U.S. in the late 1960s, were taken out of mothballs and prepped for combat. These were expected to be ready in a couple of days.  In the meantime, Kfirs, Israeli-made jets from the seventies that were used for training, were being equipped with weapons and under-the-wing fuel tanks . Other mothballed jets were being prepped along with the old Phantoms.  The decision to use old jets had been taken only a couple of hours earlier, at seven in the morning. At that time the Shield had been re-activated, placing Israel back in the real world. The situation was baffling and complex and caution was to be exercised in everything. So said the Prime Minister, and he was not to be trifled with.
    It was still June 20, but it was Friday, June 20, 1941. Or so the radio stations coming from outside Israel claimed. Astronomical observation confirmed the displacement. Scientists were still puzzling over how it happened. Arye Kidron had some ideas, which Professor Wisotzky predictably rejected, but there was nothing to be done about it, at least for now.
    An announcement to the public had been made through media that could not be readily intercepted by current technology outside of Israel: low power FM radio, TV, Cell phones and the Internet. The announcement was bland and only stated the bare fact of time displacement and the current date.
    Am os Nir expected to have to answer questions both in the full cabinet meeting he had called for later in the day and before the legislature at the special session scheduled in the evening and called just for the purpose of questioning him. He had already initiated contacts with opposition leaders in order to set up a national unity government and had charged the Finance and Infrastructure ministers with developing a plan to extend as long as possible the existing fuel and food supplies.
    At a Defense Cabinet meeting earlier, Nir decided to take several immediate steps without waiting for the full government to assemble. The scientists didn’t know if or when they would have an explanation for what happened and could not promise a reversal of the time travel incident. For now, the Defense Cabinet had to base its decisions on the assumption that the country was permanently stuck in the past. It was up to the General Staff to execute most of the Cabinet’s immediate orders, with the Security Services and the Police responsible for some.
    ***
    It was three in the afternoon and Gad Yaari was asleep. His secretary had persuaded him that if he did not catch a couple of hours of sleep he would be too tired to make rational decisions.
    “You don’t want to end up like Rabin in ‘67 - collapsing from exhaustion and needing to be hospitalized, do you?” Liat asked.
    “ No, and I will not collapse. Don’t worry.”
    “ I am not worried, but I can see that you’ll be out soon anyway. So go sleep for a while. I can take care of simple stuff and will wake you up if necessary.”
    In his heart he knew she was right and did not argue any more. In less than five minutes he was asleep on the bed in his office.  This was a long day and it was not over yet, but at the moment the Chief