Feburary 3rd 2004

Well, my legs are gone, my arms were ripped off, Tripoli has been completly trashed and Bohu and Tohu are officially out of their cage. Even with help, being tag teamed by two Endbringers hurts like a bitch.

"We found your arm."

"Thank you, Eidolon."

He places it on me and I heal myself, I officially have one arm now, that makes the flatbed truck I'm stuck in slightly less oppressive.

"This did not go well."

Tripoli is more or less going to have to be deserted for the duration of the war, there are simply to many traps. The Libyan military has been ripped a new one and casualties are high. The wounded and dying are brought to me in hopes that I can heal them. I concentrate on doing that. My minions attempt to rescue whoever they can in the background.

"This brings it to ten."

I nodded my head.

"So what are they, you know..."

"Assholes."

I stared at Eidolon.

"If you have a better word, please inform me."

One of the british soldiers gets up and waves his hand.

"Ohh, ohh, I have a bunch, fuckers, motherfuckers, blighters, jerks, douchebags, wankers-"

I stared at the man as he provided a long list of increasingly creative insults, a french soldier saw this and joined in. Each trying to top the other in creative insults for the two Endbringers. I stared at the sky and concentrated on my task.

As the sky dimmed and darkened I was wheeled to the airport, or what remained of it. My limbs were growing back now as I flew in the sky, I thought about what I had learned. I managed to get a clean hit on Tohu, and in getting and analyzing her flesh I had discovered some interesting possibilities, a whole lot of them. Bohu had opened up less, but his traps had opened up some useful possibilities for future projects. Overall though, I mostly remember getting my ass kicked.

When I got back home I was in one piece again, it was also dark. June was there waiting for me like always and we drove back home.

"Bad one?"

"Worst so far."

She sighed and leaned against me, her eyes closed.

"I'm glad your home, I can't sleep without you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I keep having nightmares about... well."

What happened the last time I was gone.

"You won."

"I know and security's up and better then before, but I just feel a lot safer when you're home, well that and it's really hard for me to sleep without someone to cuddle with."

"Really?"

She smiles.

"Yeah, it's... it's really nice to be held."

I put my arm around her and listen to her snore, when we got home I carried her to bed. Life, despite it's issues wasn't so bad.

Febuary 7th 2004

"So these are the new data sets?"

"Yes, I was able to get some essence from Tohu and Bohu during the fight. Tohu has a built in index of shards. This... well it opens up a large amount of possiblities, Bohu not as much, but it means that we can terraform worlds that were impossible to terraform before the fight."

The Tinkers look over my data.

"Let's play it safe, and use what we already know for Mars."

The project lead stopped, there were a lot of them and I couldn't keep their names straight.

"Word from the top is that they want Mars terraformed soon, some people are complaining that it's a waste of resources."

I stopped.

"But doing it this way requires a lot less resources then terraforming Mars would be on your own. It increases the amount of resources you have access to and provides humanity with a bolthole in case things go bad."

The man looked up.

"I've been with NASA for years Woody, you can use all the logical arguments you want, but some people are never going to get it, especially the fucking politicians."

He looked tired, but happy.

"Honestly though? We've made more progress in the last 4 years then we've made in the last 60. We have to push through, have to get this done soon."

"Why?"

He cringed.

"Look, um you didn't do so well in Tripoli and... well we can't do this without you."

He shrugged.

"Right now, we're on schedule to get this done by the 12th, we can use the new data on future projects, ok?"

I nodded, Mars was essentially a prototype, and even without a biosphere it would be a lot easier and faster to terraform then before we started the project, a generation or so rather then centuries.

March 12th

"3."

All martian personal had been recalled to the World tree of offworld for their safety, satellites watched the red planet in real time. The Seedling is ready, everything is ready, June's in her parka and gives me a thumbs up, the kids aren't really paying attention.

"2."

This is the moment of truth, the data's been checked and double checked, Thinkers from around the world have poured over it.

"1"

The Seedling is kicked through the portal and lands on the martian soil. We watch as it digs into the world, into it's center and then the data feed planetside is demolished, we watch the satellite feed on various screens. We watch Mars grow, we watch as oceans form, as continents are created, as navigational rivers are carved into the flesh of the planet. We watch billions of years of plate tectonics play out in front of us. A world made to our specifications.

June leans against me, her eyes open in wonder. The CO2 levels are too high, it was done on purpose to help build the biosphere faster, it's safe to breath with a mask on, you don't need a space suit. The rest of the plan is going to take decades, but Mars is there for the taking. The process ends and the team cheers.

Whatever happens next, we feel the sensation that a new age is being crafted, that we were a part of something important and vital, a part of history.