Zion's Deliverance: Remnant Rescue, #4

By Michael Vetter

Zion's Deliverance continues the brave adventures of the Remnant Rescue team during the last half of the seven-year Tribulation. The Principe of Rome, revealed as the Antichrist controlled by Satan, is slaughtering Jews and Christians at a staggering rate. He sends his elite undercover agents to find and destroy the last Remnant Rescue hiding sites. The Antichrist's sinister deputy launches an atomic attack at a suspected hideout and thousands die in a fireball that mushroom over the Judean Desert.

 

More nuclear attacks break out around the world as the Principe attacks Russian and Chinese troops preparing to invade Israel. In spite of their hatred for the maniacal Principe, Russia and China agree to join forces with him in a final battle to destroy Jerusalem. Their reward—the massive oil and gas reserves near Be'er Shiva. Their gathering point—Armageddon!

 

Jake and Angie Cohen command the last remaining Remnant Rescue sites as the Great Tribulation period draws to a close. A desperate remnant looks to Heaven for Jesus their Messiah to deliver what's left of Zion. Rescue teams enter the underground ghettos of Jerusalem in a last attempt to encourage survivors to trust in Messiah for their salvation before it's too late. How many will be alive when the King of Kings comes to their rescue?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Vetter
• Release date: Nov 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393038634

Michael Vetter

Michael Vetter is a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer with degrees in Mechanical Engineering from UMass Lowell and Ocean Engineering from MIT. The Tapez Scroll—Remnant Rescue Series | Book 1 is his fifth book of fictional adventure that melds speculative technologies with Biblical themes. Michael and his wife Mary live in Salem, New Hampshire. Contact him at [e-mail]

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Prologue

Israel, Jerusalem— Mea She’arim Neighborhood, Hagai Street

The Imperium secret police timed their arrival to coincide with sundown and the beginning of Shabbat services. They counted on Heradi Jews being inside their homes lighting candles and praying. The Heradi of Hagai Street were typical of the sect that inhabited a twenty-block neighborhood of dilapidated two-story buildings in northern Jerusalem. They shopped in each other’s first-floor stores and lived in cramped second-floor apartments. They left the Mea She’arim neighborhood to worship in the Third Temple when their rabbi, Yaakov Yisrael, said it was safe. Now that the Temple had been desecrated by the unholy monster that the prophet Daniel called the Prince, the fifty or so observant Jews on Hagai Street kept to themselves and prayed that the pagan authorities would leave them alone.

Two armored SUVs pulled up at the end of the street that abutted the Yoel Street intersection. Four masked soldiers emerged from each vehicle and moved systematically door-to-door forcing apartment occupants into the street. A tractor trailer blocked the other end of the street. A shot rang out and a man who resisted fell wounded to the ground. His wife and children dragged him toward where soldiers pushed everyone into a cluster in the street, clubbed them with rubber truncheons, and left them sobbing on the pavement. Within minutes, the residents of Hagai Street were huddled in a circle in the middle of the street.

What’s happening, Papa? a boy asked his father who embraced the boy’s mother and held his son and daughter in a tight grip.

I don’t know, son. We should pray to the Almighty for His protection. He sang a familiar psalm asking God for His swift deliverance.

Brilliant floodlights on the tractor trailer that blocked the far intersection suddenly illuminated the length of the street. Men, women, and children sheltered their eyes from the glare. A voice in Hebrew blared over a loudspeaker:

STAY WHERE YOU ARE! REPEAT, STAY WHERE YOU ARE!

The petrified residents didn’t notice that the eight guards had returned to the safety of their SUVs. A silver laser-reflective coating on the windows would protect them from what was about to happen next.

It’s the Machine! someone screamed. The crowd looked for somewhere to run. If rumors about the Machine were true, they had only minutes to live. The mysterious instrument of mass execution was the invention of the supreme ruler of the revived Roman Empire called the Principe. Those who knew the Bible recognized him as the Antichrist.

STAY WHERE YOU ARE OR YOU WILL BE SHOT!

The flexible side of the long trailer facing the street rolled up to reveal a complex maze of glistening pipes, valves, tanks, wires, and control panels. A black object resembling a large telescope was mounted on a rotating pedestal in the center of the trailer. The tube slowly swiveled until it pointed at the cowering crowd. When it stopped moving, an electrical generator somewhere in the shadows came to life with a growl like a living animal and its roar filled the quiet neighborhood. Two masked operators exited the cab of the truck and climbed into seats on either side of device that was the heart of the Machine. They adjusted their seats and gripped control handles with both hands.

STAY WHERE YOU ARE OR YOU WILL BE SHOT!

Save us! Save us! Cries for help rose into the night sky.

The howl of the generator grew louder until it resounded throughout the neighborhood. A dazzling blue-light laser inside the telescope came to life. The operator in the left seat reached for a dial on the panel in front of him to ramp the laser’s energy to its peak intensity. The other operator turned the pedestal slightly to focus the laser at the crowd. The laser’s sharp beam would easily cut through flesh in a fraction of a second and slice everyone in the street to pieces.

Before the instrument reached its maximum power, the generator suddenly cut out. An automatic brake on the generator’s flywheel filled the street with a high-pitched whine. Hagai Street plunged into darkness.

The terrified residents drew closer to comfort one another. They turned to their leader. Rabbi, what happened? What do we do now?

We will wait and see what God has for us. It may be that He has seen fit to work a miracle in answer to our prayers, Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael replied. He was not someone who actually expected miracles to happen during these dreadful days. Maybe this would be a first.

Look! Someone is coming! a child exclaimed.

The group cringed as a man and a woman with flashlights approached.

Are you Rabbi Yisrael? the man asked. The woman shined her flashlight on the one she thought was the group’s leader.

I am, he answered warily. It made no sense to pretend otherwise.

We are friends. My name is David Fischer and this is my wife Nadia. We have a bus waiting to take all of you to safety. Come with us. We must hurry. He motioned in the direction of the trailer. The two operators lay in the street in front of the silent Machine.

Why should we come with you? This could be a trick! someone in the crowd objected. The group moved tighter together.

David faced them. "You were observing Shabbat when those goyim pulled you from your homes. Those farbrecher—criminals—will bother you no more. David looked at his watch. The Machine will explode in a few minutes. You must come with us now."

Nadia phrased their option more bluntly, Look, you were minutes away from being killed before we sabotaged their generator. For the moment, you’re still alive. We’re offering medical care for your wounded friend and a way to escape alive and remain together. You’ll die if you stay here. Come with us!

David and Nadia turned and walk quickly away toward a bus waiting behind the trailer. What she said made sense, so the crowd followed her in an orderly line. As they walked, the Heradi synagogue administrator quietly reminded Rabbi Yisrael that it was the Sabbath and they shouldn’t be riding in a bus.

Relax, my friend. I think God will make an exception for this one Sabbath to preserve life.

When the bus pulled away with the fifty residents of Hagai Street, a child asked the driver, Are you an angel sent by God?

The bus driver laughed. No, little one. I’m no angel.

An adult voice came out of the dark, Who are you and where are you taking us?

David Fischer stood in the aisle at the front of the bus. We’re from a group called the Remnant Rescue sworn to saving God’s people from extermination by the vilest man in the world. Hitler was nothing compared to this man and I’m sure you realize that now. You are God’s remnant and we will take care of you.

A loud explosion in the distance brought a smile to David’s face as the bus lumbered through Jerusalem’s deserted streets at a steady pace.

As to our destination, David continued, we’re going to Masada.

Masada? Rabbi Yisrael sounded alarmed. For many, Masada represented Israel’s heroic resistance against the Roman oppression. To others, like the conservative rabbi, it was a shameful place of mass suicide under the Maccabees. Is that what awaited them?

Nadia explained, Our organization converted the Masada fortress to a place of refuge where Jews can escape the horrors of the new Roman Empire.

The passengers murmured in wonder. Nadia continued, Now, because it will take six hours to reach your new home, I brought candles and enough grape juice and challah bread for all of us to observe Shabbat together. Would you like that?

To cries of joy and tears of relief, Hagai Street’s tiny congregation, led by Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael, sang the blessing hymn in the most memorable Shabbat of their lives:

May God bless you and protect you.

May God shine upon you and be gracious to you.

May God always be with you and grant you peace.

The Heradi Jews sang more songs, prayed, and shared wine and challah in an unusual Shabbat service while their bus took them to the ancient fortress of Masada. That night they became part of the Remnant Rescue family. Plucked from the jaws of death, their lives would grow more difficult in the coming years. Only God knew how many more Shabbats the small congregation would have together.

Chapter 1

Israel, Masada Fortress—Masada Operations Center (MOC)

Ruins of the ancient Masada fortress that dated back to the Roman occupation of Israel stood sentry on a high mountain plateau that overlooked the Judean Desert on one side and the Red Sea on the other. The popular Israeli tourist attraction appeared deserted except for a few lizards and a lethargic mole viper warming itself in the bright sunshine. Twenty-two centuries ago, the Roman garrison of Masada was first overrun by Israeli zealots who later made their last stand before the might of the Roman army finally crushed the rebellion and destroyed Jerusalem. The fort’s isolation and defensible heights still made it a formidable refuge against attack. Now, on the brink of unimaginable persecution by the Antichrist, it was a hiding place for thousands of Jews and Christians.

Soon after the global disappearance of Christians known as the Rapture, the richest man in the world read in the Bible about a future time of unprecedented divine judgment that would result in billions of deaths and the relentless persecution of Jews and Christians. Enzo Cherubini, an Italian industrialist and multi-billionaire, was moved by faith to organize like-minded believers into a secret organization known as the Remnant Rescue. Its mission: save as many as possible from extermination during the Great Tribulation. His plan included building fortified refuge centers in remote locations where those fleeing from the Antichrist would be safe until the Lord’s second coming. Besides building places of safety for those marked for extermination by the one-world Imperium, Enzo trained teams of courageous rescuers to pluck Jews and Christians from danger. Enzo foresaw a time when refusal to worship the Antichrist would mean certain death.

***

A small group of onlookers watched the cloudless sky for a first glimpse of General Ari Ben-Judah’s plane. The stealth aircraft, able to land and take off vertically, was coated with a nanotechnology film that mimicked the colors of its surroundings like the skin of a chameleon. When seen from the ground, it blended perfectly with the sky and clouds. From above, its top surface took on the shifting earth hues of the desert.

The aircraft was virtually invisible except for a shimmer in the air that could be mistaken for a thermal mirage hovering over the hot desert sand. The first sign of the airplane was a whistle and sharp gust of wind above an open courtyard on top of the Masada fortress. Clouds of dust from turbofan engines outlined a sleek metallic aircraft that fit between two rock outcroppings. Before the whistling of the engines stopped and the dust settled, a door opened in the side of the fuselage revealing a luxurious interior. A stocky man dressed in tan shorts and an open-neck white shirt stepped to the ground and hurried toward the three people waiting in the shade of an overhang. Even though he spent most of his time in an underground bunker, his face and arms were dark from decades with an Israeli tank battalion defending his native Israel from enemies on all sides.

Welcome, Ari, a man dressed in identical clothing shook his hand and gestured for them to walk inside before the plane took off and kicked up another dust cloud. Danny Dyan, a grandson of Israel’s legendary General Moshe Dyan, was a decorated hero in Israel’s clandestine services. Now, he commanded rescue teams from the underground Masada Operations Center.

Ari looked over his shoulder through tinted sunglass at swirling dust and heard a loud whine as the plane took off. The forty-minute flight from his headquarters in the Sinai to Masada was faster than the twenty-hour drive by Range Rover that left his body aching for a week. He no longer had the physique that he had when he rode and lived in a tank for weeks at a time.

It’s good to see you, Ari. Angie Cohen, the only woman in the greeting party, hugged him and thought of her father, Enzo, who had entrusted her care to the crusty general years ago. Ari had walked Angie down the aisle when she married Dr. Jake Cohen and the two of them had become as close as his own children. That made it more difficult to deliver his decision today.

Jake Cohen shook his hand without a word and his smile told Ari that he was also glad to see him. The four stepped into an elevator to take them into the depths of Masada.

"How’d you like flying in the Camille? Jake asked him about the stealth plane that he’d used in past rescue missions. I thought you’d rather ride a camel than fly in an airplane?"

Terrible! It has no windows which makes it doubly terrifying.

The others suppressed laughs at the rugged combat veteran who was afraid of flying.

Especially if it has no pilot and is flown by a computer, Angie reminded him. She loved Ari Ben-Judah dearly as did everyone in Remnant Rescue.

He responded with a hearty laugh. He enjoyed making himself the source of self-deprecating humor. His fear of flying was a light-hearted distraction for someone who lived with the haunting memory of sending thousands of Israeli men and women to their deaths during wartime. In the Great Tribulation he had already seen more death than he thought imaginable.

When the elevator opened on a deep sub-level, he stepped into the Masada Operations Center (MOC) where they would meet in a side conference room. The MOC was almost a duplicate of Ari’s headquarters under the St. Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai. A semi-circle of computers with multiple displays were arranged on three tiers of risers so everyone in the room could see floor-to-ceiling computer displays on the far wall. It was the nerve center from which Remnant Rescue leaders could securely communicate with rescue teams around the world, monitor the output of dozens of reconnaissance satellites, and eavesdrop on the Imperium’s communications and computer networks.

Go ahead and I’ll catch up with you in a minute, Ari said. While Danny and Angie turned lights on in the conference room and Jake left them to power up the espresso machine, Ari walked around the room personally greeting each of the military analysts and equipment operators sitting in front of their displays. Some were young enough to be his grandchildren. He knew that he might one day ask them to give their lives for their sacred mission and he wanted them to know how much he appreciated their sacrifices.

After Jake gave Danny a small decaf coffee, he made himself a large foamed latte with a triple shot of espresso and Angie made Ari a cup of tea.

Jake and Angie Cohen had inspired a new breed of recruits with their daring rescue missions into Caliphate-controlled areas to rescue believers. Their missions to Teheran, Mecca, and the Najaf Data Center outside the city of Babylon were unconventional yet amazingly successful. Only a few days earlier they and Danny had managed to gain entry to Israel’s Negev Nuclear Research Center—called KAMAG after its Hebrew acronym—where they loaded as many atomic weapons as they could carry in freight trucks and permanently disabled the rest. Israel’s entire inventory of nuclear weapons was now either under direct Remnant Rescue control or rendered unusable. Jake and Angie were heroes in Remnant Rescue folklore and their lives were about to change in another direction. Imaginative rescue missions were not on Danny’s mind as he sipped his cup of coffee and watched the great General Ben-Judah mingle with his troops on the operations center floor. Ari was here to give his two best rescue operatives a new mission and Danny knew they wouldn’t like it.

Chapter 2

Masada Operations Center (MOC)

The warm handshakes and embraces from intelligence analysts and communications specialists in the MOC had left Ari Ben-Judah visibly moved when he sat at the conference table in front of the cup of tea that Angie placed before him.

Thanks for speaking to them, Ari. You know that every one of them would give their lives for you. And thanks for making the trip here to see us, Danny said.

Ari’s emotions were strangely touched after personally thanking those who worked for Danny Dyan in the MOC. I must be getting sentimental in my old age, he thought to himself.

Enough of that, he exclaimed with a huff. Let’s get to the reason for my coming here today to meet with you. The plane will be back in three hours and I want a complete tour of the facility before it returns. It’s been a couple of years since I was here and I want to see how it’s operating at near-full capacity. Danny and I have already spoken, so this meeting is for the benefit of you two, Ari said nodding to Jake and Angie.

Jake and Angie were at Masada only because they had recently ridden in a truck carrying nuclear weapons from the KAMAG facility. Their normal duty station was in Jerusalem or at the St. Catherine’s headquarters. When they heard that Ari would be at Masada today they assumed it had something to do with either safeguarding or deploying the special weapons.

I have a new mission for both of you and wanted to explain it face-to-face. You are very special to me. From the moment you told me that you were getting married and wanted to jointly lead rescue missions you know I was against it.

We know, Angie laughed. It ran against your promise to my father to protect me.

Yet you agreed, Jake laughed.

Yes. I agreed.

Why? Jake asked.

Because Enzo Cherubini’s daughter would have gone ahead and lead a rescue team with or without my consent. I figured it best that you two be properly trained to experience the physical stress and danger for yourselves. Then, after you got that out of your systems, I figured you’d ask me for a safer administrative assignment which I would gladly give you.

But we didn’t do that, did we? Jake broke a smile. Angie and I are the best rescue team leaders you have.

Ari hesitated momentarily and looked down at his hands clasped on the table. You are the best I likely will ever have. That is why what I have to say is so difficult.

Say it, Ari. Angie gripped Jake’s hand under the table and he felt her tremble.

"Allow me to finish before you ask questions. You need to listen to my reasons for this decision.

Angie, you’re expecting a child in about seven months…

Is that what this is about? she interrupted.

Please, let me continue. Before you married, I counseled both of you from the Holy Bible about your responsibilities as husband and wife. We looked at what the Scriptures say about marriage without spending much time on the subject of parenthood. That was far from your minds as you prepared to marry and almost immediately enter recruit training. Your rescues of Jews and Christians since then have exceeded my greatest expectations. Now you approach a new phase in your lives.

We know, Jake said. He squeezed Angie’s hand and looked into her eyes. We know.

"The sacred Torah says this about His Law,

‘Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.’

You, Angie, are the one who will spend the most time with your new baby. This is especially true in our present age when we hope he or she will live to enter God’s Kingdom as a child. You already know that this new life will occupy every moment for some time after birth.

I know that, Ari. I understand what you’re saying. Honestly, I won’t mind in the least not hopping on an airplane at a moment’s notice or sleeping in the desert. My concern at this moment is what Jake will do.

Let’s let Ari finish, dear. He thinks he has it all figured out.

Ari continued: "So, things are moving quickly and it doesn’t all have to do with your family, Jake. We now have nuclear weapons and with that comes responsibilities that Angie’s father probably never envisioned. We also believe that another organization has at least two of the Special Atomic Demolition Munitions, or SADMs. Those mini-nukes are small enough to fit into a backpack and pose a real threat to the Imperium. Besides those nuclear possibilities, the Antichrist has begun his murderous rampage to annihilate anyone who will not worship him. His brutality will know no bounds for the next three and one-half years. Our clandestine rescue operations are ten times more dangerous than they were when you first trained for them and so, we do not envision many large-scale rescues in the coming years.

I want you two, Jake and Angie, to remain here at Masada for the foreseeable future. Not because it’s more safe, but because I have new roles for you. Jake, I want you to be Danny’s deputy and take over his responsibilities for the Masada Operations Center. That means you’ll have your hands full for the next few months learning the day-to-day operations of being the back-up for the St. Catherine’s command center. It’s more technical than what you two were doing on rescue teams. I know you two PhDs can handle it.

That’s all? Jake asked. He was half-joking.

I’m not finished. I also want you to take over leadership of all the rescue teams in the Middle East and the periphery of the Mediterranean Sea—North Africa, the Levant, Asia Minor, Southern Europa.

"Wow! That is a surprise." Jake looked at his wife.

You can do it, Danny spoke for the first time in their meeting. The MOC and rescue teams are intertwined. You’ll have Colonel Pavchenko and Sergeant Ilya to assist you with planning and during missions. I want you selecting missions, planning, and making strategic decisions.

Colonel Uriel Pavchenko and Sergeant Ilya Vlasovich were Russians with backgrounds in Russia’s Spetsnaz or elite special forces. The Colonel was a former regimental commander with the Russian Army’s GRU or Main Intelligence Directorate. He commanded Spetsnaz companies’ special warfare activities in Chechnya, Afghanistan, Crimea and Syria. Sergeant Ilya served as a Spetsnaz Company Sergeant Major in Chechnya, Syria, Cuba, and Sudan. Both were born-again Christians and principal trainers of Remnant Rescue teams.

They trained Angie and me and I can’t think of better men to work with, Jake said.

Do I get to say anything here? Angie spoke up. I know I’m just the little lady whose preparing to deliver a baby, but I can’t sit on the sidelines through all this.

And you don’t have to, hon, Jake said. Ari, Angie and I are a team. She’ll have her hands full with the baby, but that doesn’t mean she has nothing to contribute.

Ari raised his hands in defense. Of course not! Someone has to be in charge and I’m giving Jake that official responsibility. I expect Angie to be a part of whatever you think is best. Angie, you’ve always been in your father’s place since he went into a coma and I fully expect you to have a say in everything that happens in the Remnant Rescue. I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that your duties with the organization are over.

In fact, Danny added. You two will be living here at Masada and after the baby is born I expect you to be as involved as you want to be in what goes on in the MOC, rescue teams, or special projects.

What special projects do you have in mind? Jake’s ears perked up at their mention.

Now that you will be third in command of Remnant Rescue, you will know about all of our secret special projects. Nothing will be off limits for you or Angie. I thought you’d like that, Jake.

I’m the inquisitive type, Ari.

Wait a minute! Angie’s voice cut through the air.

Did I hear you say that Jake will be third in command of the organization?

You heard that right. Why are you surprised? Ari said with a twinkle in his eye.

Nothing. I’ll talk with Jake about that later. She reached over her chair and kissed him on the cheek.

I have a feeling I’ll soon be asked to sign a requisition for babysitting services. Jake grinned.

No, I’ll only need the use of a stealth airplane for one day, she said.

Yes, so I heard. We’ll talk about that later…

"About those special projects. Danny can give you a wide-ranging briefing after I leave. One that you already know something about is called Gideon’s Sword."

The one with Andy and Linda in astronaut training? I told you I’m always inquisitive, Jake smiled.

"As we speak, one of our teams in the former United States, California to be specific, found an old Falcon 9 rocket that will send Andy, Linda, and another Remnant Rescue team member into space. We call the launch vehicle Samson."

"And what’s Gideon’s Sword?"

"Gideon’s Sword is six nuclear bombs on top of the Samson that will be ready to fire at the Imperium. Only if we need to do that in self-defense." Ari Ben-Judah’s grim determination underscored the seriousness of this news.

Wow! Angie exclaimed.

All nuclear missions will be run by Jake right here out of the MOC, Danny added.

Wow is right! Jake said under his breath. I think I need another espresso.

While Jake left to make a cup of his favorite brew, Ari turned to Angie with concern in his eyes. Your father’s not doing well I understand.

Enzo Cherubini had been in a coma at his Italian estate under the care of a special medical team. A quadriplegic after a boating accident years ago, Enzo’s condition had worsened in the past month. His chief medical attendant suggested that Angie visit him for what might be the last time.

Yes, I’d like to see him. Between his worsening condition and the dangers of these next few years I might not have another opportunity.

Of course, take one of the stealth jets and go see him. Words can’t express how much we love and respect him. Please tell him that. Ari’s voice caught as he spoke of his dearest friend. Enzo Cherubini chose Ari to lead the Remnant Rescue before the Tribulation began and Ari considered it the honor of his life to serve him. Together, they’d saved tens of thousands of lives.

Angie looked at a photograph of her father on the conference room wall. "I’ve thought recently that when Enzo leaves his mortal body to be in the presence of the Lord it won’t

be such a tragedy. His work on earth is done. He deserves his ‘promotion’ to glory."

Chapter 3

Israel, Jerusalem—Third Temple

The Sixth Seal judgment mentioned in the Book of Revelation struck the city of Jerusalem in the late afternoon. The divinely orchestrated earthquake was more than a local disturbance. Scientists on every continent were unable to locate one single epicenter. The very foundations of the planet shook for minutes from a global upheaval that measured 9.0 on the Richter seismic magnitude scale. Then the shock waves stopped as suddenly as they began.

The quake’s severity was as strong as that experienced in Jerusalem and its environs when the city was surrounded on three sides by armies and then destroyed by the hand of God exactly as predicted in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. It was reminiscent of the tremor in the city when the Two Witnesses ascended into heaven.

This time, the Third Temple was jolted with enough violence to crack foundation stones and dislodge capstones from parapets on the thick walls, sending them crashing onto the inner and outer courts. As if to register God’s anger at the desecration of His house, the incense burners, candles, demonic statues, and the Antichrist’s throne in the inner chamber were toppled. Frantic attendants quickly set the accessories aright again and pretended that nothing had happened.

No sooner had the quaking stopped, then the world went dark as God switched off the Sun. Outdoor electrical lighting around the city turned on automatically in the middle of the afternoon, sirens blared in the background, and thousands of calls came into the fire and police departments. Howls of protest erupted in households until residents of Jerusalem realized that it couldn’t be an electrical blackout because it was the middle of the day. Crowds soon filled the dark streets looking into the black sky where starry pinpoints of light shifted in unfamiliar patterns and a black patch obscured where the sun used to be. A blood-red moon hung over a city that moments earlier was preparing to worship the Man of Sin in the Temple. Now, they had difficulty moving through streets clogged with agitated crowds, crashed cars, burning debris, and crumbled buildings.

***

Damage to the Imperium’s infrastructure was so extensive that the government’s pursuit of Jews and Christians was temporarily suspended. Rome, Jerusalem, Babylon, Damascus, Cairo, Istanbul, Tehran—centers of the Antichrist’s power—were knocked on their heels after the earthquake. Countries that normally sweltered under a broiling sun rapidly cooled in the sunlight-deprived darkness. Countries accustomed to sweltering temperatures and monsoon rains were one week away from massive snowstorms brought on by the absence of the Sun’s warmth. If the darkness continued, the planet would enter another Ice Age.

Former Kingdom of Jordan, Wadi Rum—MoabOne Refuge Center

The Remnant Rescue refuge center in the Wadi Rum desert known as MoabOne was a honeycomb of underground caverns, some natural and some man-made. It had suffered little damage from the earthquake thanks to its rugged design and construction that anticipated this very judgment.

The Wadi Rum in the Eastern Desert was known in ancient times as the Roman Valley. It spanned seven hundred square kilometers of some of the most rugged mountains, canyons, and sand desert in the world. Known as the country of Moab in the Bible, people have hidden from pursuers in the desolate region for millennia. The view from outside the narrow Khazali Canyon entrance to MoabOne gives a panoramic view of sandstone and granite mountain peaks two thousand meters high.

Joel Wynn walked into the cavernous aircraft hangar and looked up at the black sky through two missing roof panels. He shook his head and looked around for Menachem Manny Larkin, his facility engineer. Joel was the site manager of MoabOne—officially named the Benaiah Ben-Jehoiada Refuge Complex—and the so-called mayor of this complex as big as a small city. Everything that happened in MoabOne fell on his shoulders.

Manny and his engineering team were charged with replacing the missing roof panels immediately. The same adaptive, camouflage coating made from nano-particles that gave the stealth aircraft its invisibility also coated the roof panels covering the aircraft hangar with the floor space of thirty tennis courts. From the outside, the roof blended with the surrounding cliffs across wavelengths detectable by the human eye and was opaque at thermal and infrared wavelengths. An Imperium drone flying over MoabOne would see what looked like red sand and rocks.

Turn those lights out! Manny Larkin shouted over his shoulder as he walked up to Joel Wynn standing in the middle of the massive hangar filled with rows of silent aircraft and smelling of jet fuel.

How soon can you replace those panels? Joel asked.

I don’t have any spare panels, but I do have some Kevlar sheets that I can bolt over the holes and spray with thermal-sensitive nanoparticles.

So it won’t take long, right?

"It will take most of the day, or night, or whatever we call it when the sun is blacked out like this. This is a dangerous assignment for my men. They’ll be working in harnesses forty meters above the flight line and in almost total darkness; no aircraft can come