((Logged 9/29/00))

Amelia appears from the market place, walking slowly towards the entrance.  Most 
of her body is covered in a tunic with a hood at the moment.  Her face is also 
slightly concealed, only the shine of her glasses can be seen.  As she 
approaches the gate where hardly anyone stands, she removes the hood and takes 
off her glasses.  Her head turns to look back at the city, sighing to herself.  
Normal people would walk around casually, however...recent events have taught 
her otherwise.

Casske staggers on through the desert, his pride hurt more than his body. 
Schultz had indeed proven stronger than Casske had expected, and he now paid the 
price for his arrogance. He resolved that the first thing to do was find a 
Gebler camp, to get another jacket for himself, as he had given his old one to 
Jeni. "Jeni," he thought, "She was the only thing that saved me... next time I 
plan an attack, maybe I'll be nice enough to repay the favor." He wasn't looked 
where he was going as he walked, and almost ran into a young woman.

Amelia blinks as she sees someone's shadow hovering near hers as she wipes her 
glasses of sand.  The most obvious thing to her at the moment is that it's a 
bandit or a sand pirate, perhaps even someone who's mind is a bit too dirty.  In 
any case she staggers back and away as she turns her head, ready to scream in 
whoever's face she was about to see.  However, what she sees instead is a Gebler 
officer who's been through quite a bit apparently.

Casske looked the girl in the eye, and then backed away, somewhat embarrased. 
"Excuse me miss. I don't mean to impose, but... can I please have some food or 
water, if you have any? I'm at the end of my rope... and flat broke... I've been 
in a battle, and... I'm not doing so well... I'm exhausted, at that. Do have any 
water or food I can borrow? I'm willing to pay you..."

Amelia stares at the Gebler officer quite...shocked.  This isn't what she 
expected of the same people who terrorized her friends and family.  She quickly 
places her glasses back on, for some odd reason she does that when in the 
presence of strangers.  "E...excuse me?"  She wonders if he's actually telling 
the truth.  Of course being the kind of person she is, she simply nods and her 
arm appears from under her tunic with a gesture to follow her.  At the same time 
she thinks about how much she'll probably regret this since she doesn't exactly 
trust him at all.

Casske is stunned, yet very grateful. He follows the woman, a small smile on his 
face. He brushes his hair off a bit, and starts fiddling with the remains of his 
destroyed gun as he walks. "Blast it... this is gonna take months to repair. The 
only prototype, too! Of all the luck..."

Amelia walks over to a more shady area near the mouth of the entrance to 
Bledavik.  She hears his complaint but pays no attention.  As they approach the 
shaded part, she undoes the clip holding her tunic together and lets it fall 
down revealing her dark navy blue school uniform.  It also seemed that she was 
hiding a backpack, it's small but still big enough to hold some essentials.  She 
kneels down and places the backpack in front of her and fishes out a canteen of 
water.  "...well...this is...this is all I really have..."  Her voice seemed a 
bit shaky as she glances back up at him.  Even through her glasses, you can tell 
in her eyes that she's nervous as they are slightly widened.

Casske looks up. "Is something wrong? You look nervous. Ooh, sorry! I didn't 
mean to scare ya." He throws his broken gun to the side.

Amelia lowers the canteen and glances down at her backpack.  She once again 
takes her glasses off but places them down in the sand in front of her next to 
her pack.  "You...you don't have to act so nice...if...if there's something you 
want, then get it over with..."  She glances up at him again, this time it's not 
nervousness but fear...her hands grip to either side of herself.  In the past, 
any run in with Geblers seem to have always resulted in someone she knows 
getting hurt including herself.

Casske stepped back, and his eyes widened. "Whoa, hey, I'm not trying to make 
you scared or anything. Calm down. Heh, it's this, isn't it?" Casske motions 
towards the Gebler insignia he had pinned to his tank top.

Amelia blinks a few times and looks at his Gebler insignia.  Her gaze moves 
upwards as she looks at his face, and he seems surprised himself.  Maybe he 
wasn't planning something malicious afterall she thinks.  With that, she wipes 
her glasses and picks them up again.  "S-sorry...I thought...I'm really 
sorry..."

Casske laughs. "It's okay. My military position has been interfering with my 
life today. Very regrettable. Thanks very much, miss." Casske took a quick 
drink, then walked off.

Amelia watches the soldier stand and begin walking away after taking a sip of 
her canteen.  She quickly stands and walks over to the soldier, tugging his arm 
and holding the canteen out to him again.  "...if...you're really hungry, I can 
get you something to eat right now..."  It seems she feels kind of bad now for 
assuming the worse of him earlier.

Casske smiles a little. "My, you certianly are prone to mood swings, ne? Heh, 
just joking. I am rather hungry, though... I'd be more than willing to pay for 
some of it, if need be."

Amelia places her glasses on, adjusting them slightly.  Again her face is 
'hidden'.  "That's alright...you don't need to..."  She says as she starts 
walking back towards Bledavik.

Casske follows, somewhat disturbed by her behavior. "If you don't mind me 
asking, what exactly were you expecting would happen...?"

Amelia stops rather suddenly and glances back at him, "..."  She lowers her 
head, "...I...I don't remember..."  Not a very good excuse, but she suddenly 
feels a bit uncomfortable.  Instead of carrying her backpack, she holds it in 
front of her a little protectively.  Perhaps she thought of a simple mugging?

Casske looks concerned. "It's obvious you're scared. Even now, you're 
frightened... have Gebler troops been hurting you...? Or maybe..." Casske shakes 
his head, angrily. "If any Gebler troops have been giving you trouble, please 
tell me what they look like. I'm a seargent, I'll have them reprimanded for any 
inappropriate behavior.

Amelia keeps staring at the ground, "...no amount of yelling could ever make up 
for what they've done..."  She just shakes her head, suddenly glaring back at 
him.  "...everyone just wants to be left alone...but your people don't 
understand such things.  Does it make you feel good to destroy things?  To kill 
innocent people who just wanted to go to.......school..."  She suddenly realizes 
what she's saying, to a man whom she never met before today.  "...I'm sorry...I 
didn't mean to..."

Casske sighs a little. "It's okay. I understand that something or other has 
seriously traumatized you... and I beg you, please try to tell me what happened. 
If you simply can't, I understand, but you must know, I'm not a hateful man. 
True, I do get angry now and then... but I mean no harm to peace loving 
civilians. The reason I fight is to try to win a better life for such people. 
I've always strived to eliminate corruption in Gebler's ranks, so please... has 
someone been killed? What did these soldiers look like...?"

Amelia shakes her head, "I...I don't know...I just don't know..."  She remembers 
the event though it's very hard to do so.  "...we all saw this blue light...and 
then...everything was blowing up...and my friend was behind me but he fell...he 
didn't move after that...than someone hit me...and...and..."  She can't remember 
much more than that, "...that's it..."  

Casske looks slightly confused. "And... Gebler did this?"

Amelia nods slowly, "It had to be..."  She has no real proof of the occurance, 
but she knows it was a Solarian attack.  "...only...Solaris would do such a 
thing..."

Casske raised one eyebrow, a quizzical look on his face. "So-lar-is...? What is 
that...?"

Amelia glances at him quite...confused.  "...?"  Is he just playing dumb or is 
her really just as confused as she is now?  She doesn't seem to have anything 
more to say to him other than, "...you've never heard of...?"

Casske gives her an odd look. "Nope, I have no idea... do you mean solar, like 
the sun?"

Amelia shakes her head, "...you are in Gebler but you don't know...?"

Casske is getting agitated, and he suddenly sounds very serious. "Know what...? 
I haven't been in Gebler that long, only a few years... I joined in the branch 
at Dazil... does that have anything to do with it? They never mentioned a 
Solaris... is it a country under Gebler control?"

Amelia blinks, "...Gebler...was created by them.  They...tell Gebler what to 
do."  That's as much as she knows, which is a lot considering the fact that she 
does seem to be just another person.