Joseph swaggered cheerfully down the street, flanked by a half-dozen soldiers, Seargent Kale, and Prince Bert. Everything was comming together, he might not have to die in five weeks, and the sun was plesantly warm. Cheerful thoughts of home, of Aveh, and of a shelled-out Yggdrasil turned into a museum danced through his mind. It was a wonderful day.

The soldiers, on the other hand, didn't care abou much of anything. Nothing important had changed in their lives, they probably wouldn't die in five weeks anyway, and the sun was insufferably hot. No cheerful thoughts danced through their minds, as years of drug-therapy had destroyed what little grey matter had ever remained in them. If today was a wonderful day, they certainly didn't know about it.

No cheerful thoughts were really dancing through Bart's mind either. He stands by his previous notice that this could've been discussed without beating the hell out of him and holding him hostage. They're from Gebler on top of that. Even Bart realizes that this isn't much of a smart move. A sigh comes from him as he walks with them, wishing for a way to get out of this mess. Even if he would get Aveh doing this...this isn't right. At all. It's not how he wanted to get Aveh! This is wrong.

Kale walked slightly behind Joseph, thinking. Life was, as always, complicated. He had often wondered, in the past months, wheather this was the best course to take. Joining with Joseph, with some half-formed idea of preventing the man from causing any MORE harm, uncertainly trying to bring peace to the desert, and slowly becoming more and more confused about everything.And now, peace might be near. If Joseph's plan worked, everything would be fine. Then again, if it failed, Solarias would be angry. Wincing, Kale mometarily dwelled on the fact that there were people who would almost certainly use the fiasco that would result if Joseph failed to get revenge on the little man,ranging from Kislevi field commanders, to desert nomads, to a group of four. Kale sighed...then grinned. Well, even if things were becoming steadily stranger, it WAS a nice day out. No sense in wasting it.

The vagabond group reached the APC near the southern entrance. "Everybody in!" Joseph cheerfully called out. As the soldiers began filing in, he turned back to Dazil and looked at it. With any luck, he'd be home by summer.

********

"Colonel? Serge? Anyone?" Duran called and called into the headquarters, but it seemed no one was
there. He shrugged and walked into there. Instantly, his eyes sprang upon a neatly wrapped box on Col. Joseph's desk, which had written on it: "For Joseph Richardson Only".

Duran looked around and grinned. "No witnesses, no crime." He began to tear open the box. "I wonder what's in here...? Brownies? Food? Pictures of his mother?" He tore off the last shred of paper, and looked bleakly at a ticking bomb. "Hrm. This is bad." He dove behind a table just as the bomb exploded.


********

Dazil awoke from afternoon lethargy as a huge explosion rocked the northern side. Thick, billowing clouds of smoke piled into the sky, pinpointing the event as accurately as any map could.

"Shit!" screamed Joseph. "That's the HQ!"

The Gebler took off for the base at a dead run, kicking up sand and dust behind them. What was looking like a good day might well turn out to be a death warrent.

Bart steped back. Everyone seemed well distracted enough. He wasn't in any chains or anything, either. Hm. He slowly started stepping farther and farther away, and as soon as he was far enough for his footsteps to be somewhat unnoticeable, he bolted. As fast as he can. Ha, way too easy. He's gonna have a heyday explaining this to Sig.

********

Duran woke up, his clothes in tatters. "Uhhh..." He looked at himself, then the former Gebler Anti-Gear Squadron's headquarters, then himself again. "Well, looks like the colonel doesn't get his special package today." Then he passed out.

********

Gasping for air, the pudgy Colonel came to a stop in front of the smoking ruins of his HQ. "What... the hell..." he gasped. He staggered towards the smoking ruins. "What the hell happened?" He droped to his knees, fear saping his strength. "I've got five weeks to turn the Anti-Gear Soldiers into an elite force, and what the hell happens?" A fist slammed into the ground. "Dammit!"

Sand kicked up from his taloned feet, his seargent caught up with him. "Five weeks to do what?" he asked incredulously.

Joseph bowed his head. "If I don't change the Gebler Anti-Gear Soldiers to elites, home's gonna be pretty pissed." He grinned weakly. "Guess I shouldn't have been so rude to the elements after all. Looks like my allies will kill me sooner than the rebels." The Colonel slumped to the ground. What had looked merely difficult was now borderline impossible. Who had done this to him?

Kale shakes his head sadly. He LIKED that buildind, then freezes as Joseph's words sink in. He looks aghast for a moment, then grins."Well, Sir, I DID tell you to be nicer to those Elements...but don't worry. We can do it. Really. Now, if we can do it with our sanity intact...that's a different question." Kale looks ruefully at the remains of the HQ for a moment, and considers the momentus task ahead of them."Well...lets go get a drink. We're gonna need it."

As Kale left, Joseph simply stared at the ruins. A few tears trickled down his cheek as he thought of the unfairness of it all. He had failed no assignments, lost no Solarian lives... Karma? Fate? No, he didn't beleive in either. The past was gone, the dead not worth thinking about. The future was looming ominously, but as mutable as water. The present was real, and unchangeable. You couldn't change how things were, only what they were going to be.

Hs slowly stood up, and knocked the dust from his pants. Crying never got anyone anything. This is not the time for drinking.
The past is worthless.
The present is static.
The future is mutable.
Time to shape it.

By ? on Sunday, April 29, 2001 - 05:21 am:

The man leaded against the white stone walls of Dazil and lit a cigar just as Duran opened the special gift he had left for Joseph. He simple ignored the explosion until the wave of expelled air put out his match, just as he was about to set it to the cigar. “Damn that Joseph, He gets me coming and going.” He turned just in time to hear the cavalry coming down the road. He saw the figure of Joseph and cursed, his assassination attempt had failed…but who had opened the box then?
He watched as Joseph and his pet lizard, Kale, talked for a moment about the explosion, and Joseph falling to the ground crying. “He calls him-self a man? Ha!” the man laughed at Joseph and his plight. Once they were gone he neared the ruins of the building and looked down at the crumpled body of Duran. He started to walk away, but a memory of a small child caused him to turn back and, with a sigh, he dug Duran out the rubble and placed him in the shade of the nearest building to await someone who would help him. The man turned and exited Dazil, He others to visited today and no time to waste