[Disclaimer : The following is a story based very loosely on the 
characters of Disney's TaleSpin.  The characters are used without 
permission, and the author lives in constant fear of the nefarious 
Disney legal corp chasing him down.  Ergo, this story is not intended 
for profit, at least the kind paid up front.  Back alley exchanges off 
the books are not commented on by this author.  The continuity involved 
in this story is strictly the author's own, in other words, don't blame 
Disney.  By reading this story, you have agreed to not press any legal 
claims against the author, and to include a tidy sum for the author in 
your will and testament.  If you do not enjoy this story, the author 
blames the weak character designs provided by the Disney originals.  If 
you do like it, the author hopes that you are one of the people who 
votes on the Pulitzer.  Do not distribute this manuscript without the 
expressed written consent of the author, and even then I wouldn't 
recommend spreading it around.  Copyright the author, Geary Graham, 
1992.]  

Fade Away
A Short Story in Three Chapters based on Disney's TaleSpin



Chapter One : The Boars of War

	The guard in front of the Thembrian Air Defense building stood 
wearily at his post, absentmindedly allowing his eyes to play across the 
gray, dismal horizon.  Not that there was anything special about this 
particular horizon, far from it.  It seemed that every Thembrian horizon 
came in the exact same shade of ugly.  The approach of a Thembrian air 
force uniform brought the guard back to his duties.  Doing his best to 
manage what he imagined was a pose of stern authority, the guard 
prepared to launch into his memorised spiel about stating your business, 
in triplicate, acquiring proper credentials, in triplicate, and how to 
properly notify the illustrious personage you were seeking as to your 
presence in correct Thembrian protocol, in duplicate.  Only having 
duplicate protocols was part of the new reforms proposed by Thembria's 
Ministry of Reduced Bureaucracy, but unfortunately you had to fill out 
seven of their forms in order to take advantage of the reduction in 
protocol.  And they said progress came slowly in Thembria.
	The guard was just taking a deep breath to launch into his routine 
when he noticed who the uniform he was addressing belonged to.  
Lieutenant Vladimir Illych was regarded as the proverbial star player of 
Thembria's otherwise undistinguished Air Force.  He was a skilled and 
charismatic pilot, who was popular among both the officers and the 
regular enlisted men of the Air Force.  Anything popular in Thembria was 
usually promptly outlawed or imprisoned, but Vladimir had skillfully 
worked his way up into the ranks after starting at the very bottom.  
Rewards for competence were rare in the Thembrian system (a cynic from 
Cape Suzette might note that competence itself was rare in the Thembrian 
system), but somehow Vladimir managed to always be in the right place at 
the right time.  In the old days during the Great War, an officer like 
Vladimir could have risen even higher in the ranks with his skills and 
demeanor, but in times of peace the demand for higher ranking officers 
was considerably slower.  War by its very nature has a way of increasing 
the turnover rate among officers, however messy that approach might be.  
Now the only enemy seemed to be a growing lethargy that gripped the 
entire country, as you were more likely to be a casualty of a filing 
error than anything else.
	The guard recovered from his momentary surprise at being in the 
presence of someone as famous among the troops as the Lieutenant, and he 
managed some genuine enthusiasm as he snapped to attention.  There was 
no need to explain the ponderous burdens placed on anyone seeking 
admittance to the Ministry of Air Defense to Lieutenant Illych, his rank 
and reputation made him immune to such concerns.  For the most part.  
There were still some paper walls that he couldn't scale, but Vladimir 
was well aware of such things and had long ago decided to do something 
about those burdens as well.
	Vladimir returned the guard's salute crisply, giving him a brief 
"Carry on, comrade." as he went past him into the building.  For the 
first time in a long time, the guard actually felt a sense of pride at 
being part of the Thembrian military.  Vladimir had that affect on a lot 
of people, which helped account to his meteoric rise in the ranks.
	Vladimir's mind at the moment, however, was on far greater 
concerns than his past achievements.  He had risen as far possible on 
natural ability, and the knowledge that once he had reached this level 
there would be no higher plateau without surrendering to the sycophantic 
toadying that plagued the upper echelons of the Thembrian military.  
Vladimir loathed almost all of the members of the hierarchy - bloated 
relics from the bygone days of the Great War, old men content to rest on 
the fading laurels of battles already fought.  He could almost feel the 
depression that suffocated all levels of Thembrian society, and the 
frustration he felt at his country's plight was enough to drive him to 
carry out a dangerous scheme.  He had come to the conclusion that 
someone had to do something to pull Thembria out of its depression and 
restore them to the former glory of the days when Thembria had commanded 
respect, not snide comments, from the rest of the world.  If he had to 
be the one to do it, he was prepared to take the necessary steps and 
risk the consequences.
	Focusing upon the task before him, Vladimir arrived at the door to 
the audience chamber of the head of Thembria's Air Force, one Colonel 
Spigot by name.  He thought back over all the information he had 
acquired on the colonel, the man in theory his superior.  He smiled 
wryly at the irony of the situation - Spigot had originally been 
intended to have been the head cook at a distant and isolated outpost 
before a typographical error had made him the head of the Air Force.  
Pushing the door inward, Lieutenant Vladimir Illych prepared to accept a 
mission from his commander, a mission he himself had designed and his 
commander didn't even know existed yet.
	"Someone here to see you, Colonel."  Vladimir looked up at the 
speaker standing slightly below and to the right of the towering podium 
at the back of the room.  That must be the Colonel's executive aid, 
Dunder by name, who Vladimir had learned was originally slated to be the 
head of Thembria's Agricultural Ministry before a routing error in the 
necessary paper work had made him Spigot's assistant.
	"Lieutenant Vladimir Illych, of the Thembrian Air Force,"  
Vladimir announced while looking around the room to see who Dunder was 
addressing.  Disconcerted at finding no one, he looked back to the 
platform where Dunder was standing when suddenly he heard a voice come 
from somewhere near the top of the podium.
	"Colonel Spigot, leader of the glorious People's Air Force of 
Thembria, terror of the skies and bane to all enemies of Thembria.  
Perhaps you've heard of me?"
	Still scanning the podium intently, Vladimir began his carefully 
worded reply.  "The illustrious Colonel Spigot needs no introduction, 
his exploits are legendary among the officers of the glorious People's 
Air Force.  It is an honor to be allowed to finally meet you in person, 
great commander, in order to discuss with you a matter of great 
importance to the continued glory of the Thembrian motherland."
	"Really?  You mean you've heard of me?  And you still wanted to 
meet with me?  Dunder, write down the date!"  It finally became clear to 
Vladimir that the voice was coming from a hat that he had presumed was 
sitting atop the podium but now was apparently actually on top of the 
head of the very illustrious, and very short, head of Thembria's Air 
Force.  The hat came scurrying around the side of the podium, now 
revealing the officer to whom it was attached.  "Lieutenant Illych!  
It's an honor to finally meet someone whose name has meant so much to 
my, er, the People's Air Force.  I think that I had a chance to see you 
briefly at last year's awards ceremony at the High Marshal's summer 
home, but unfortunately I was busy with my very important duties at the 
time."
	Now Vladimir remembered where he had seen Spigot before - he had 
been serving drinks and appetizers at the awards ceremony.  This was 
going to be easier than he had thought.  "Colonel (may I call you 
Spigot?), I've come to accept the important diplomatic assignment to 
Cape Suzette that your office had requested."
	"Oh, yes, yes, please, call me Spigot, and what's this about a 
mission to Cape Suzette?  Dunder, have I approved any missions to those 
capitalist swine in Cape Suzette recently?"
	"No, your Colonelship, and can I call you Spigot, too?"
	"Are you saying that Lieutenant Illych is mistaken about his 
mission?  And if you ever call me Spigot I'll have you shot."
	"Yes, Colonel."
	"Yes Colonel you won't call me Spigot or yes Colonel the 
Lieutenant is wrong?"
	"Yes, Colonel."
	As amusing as this was to Vladimir, he intended to get about his 
business some time this century, so he interrupted the exchange.  
"Comrade, I'm sure all of this can be easily taken care of.  The 
diplomatic mission to Cape Suzette is one of such importance and secrecy 
that I'm not surprised your aide was not privy to the information.  In 
fact, the mission was so secret that you were ordered to forget it once 
you had approved it, a mission I'm proud to see you've carried out to 
perfection.  I have here all of the necessary paper work, I'm sure if 
your aide will see to the necessary preparations, I would be honored if 
you would join me in the officer's lounge."
	Beaming at the twin pleasures of having successfully completing a 
mission he now knew nothing about and being invited to the officer's 
lounge by the most successful member of his corps, Spigot scampered down 
the platform to take Vladimir up on his offer.  "Dunder, see to all the 
necessary preparations," Spigot ordered as he took the sheaf of papers 
from the Lieutenant and passed them on to his lackey, "Lieutenant 
Vladimir and I are going to discuss all of those important things 
officers discuss when they go to the officer's lounge.  Can I call you 
Vlady?"
	"Um, I don't think such casualness would be appropriate from one 
of your exalted station, Colonel Spigot, perhaps it would be best just 
to refer to me as Lieutenant Vladimir, so as to, ah, prevent the other 
officers from being jealous."
	"Quite right, Vlad... er, Lieutenant Vladimir.  So tell me, what 
glorious stories do all of the other officers tell about me, hmmm?"  
Spigot was still a little bit overwhelmed at someone finally having 
heard glorious tales about himself, and he was still trying to think 
about what sort of important things officers must discuss in the lounge, 
since he had previously never been allowed in.  Of course, Spigot had 
heard a few of the stories told about him, but he chose to ignore the 
graffiti on the bathroom wall.
	"Colonel, can I ask you a quick favor before you go?"
	"Yes, Dunder what is it?"  Spigot was not thrilled at delaying his 
chance to hear stories about himself, but Vladimir was grateful for the 
chance to get his thoughts in order.  He knew his powers of persuasion 
and charm would be put to the limit as he tried to make Spigot look 
good.
	"While we're in Cape Suzette, seeing as how you'll be off doing 
important secret type stuff, would it be alright if I visited Mister 
Baloo?  I haven't seen him since he helped us with the Golden Sprocket 
of Friendship, and I thought that maybe..."
	"No, Dunder, you may certainly not go see Mister Baloo!  You're 
going to get in trouble if you insist on associating with that Cape 
Suzette rabble!  In fact, if I catch you even thinking about visiting 
your friends again I'll have you shot!"
	Something clicked in Vladimir's memory as he heard the name Baloo.  
Barely containing his enthusiasm, he managed to insinuate himself into 
the conversation.  "Begging your pardon, Colonel Spigot, but I think 
that having Dunder visit with his friend would provide a great cover for 
our important diplomatic mission - all in the interest of better 
relations, of course, since we patronizingly continue to associate with 
those capitalist swine."
	"Why, yes, of course, Lieutenant.  Dunder, I order you to 
associate with your friends in Cape Suzette or I'll have you shot!"
	"Yes, Colonel."
	"Now, Lieutenant, where were we?  Oh, yes, you were about to tell 
me how all the troops looked up to me and my brilliant leadership of the 
People's Air Force..."
	As the two officers trailed out of sight, Dunder couldn't help but 
look in confusion at the paperwork he had been handed.  It all seemed in 
order, and it even had the Colonel's signature, but something just 
didn't seem right.  He briefly wondered what if the Lieutenant was up to 
something no good, but unfortunately Dunder was not the type to reflect 
on such things for long.  His brief misgivings already fading away, 
Dunder went to prepare the necessary plane and load the specified crates 
from the old armory.

Chapter 2 : Cry Havoc!

	Vladimir and the Colonel were relaxing in the back of the 
Thembrian Juggernaut class fighter as it made its way towards Cape 
Suzette.  Vladimir was starting to run out of stories to tell the 
Colonel, so he had pretended to be in need of refreshment while allowing 
the Colonel to reflect and gloat over all the things he had been told.  
Vladimir himself was still a little dizzy over the incredibly fortunate 
circumstance that had made Dunder and one Baloo, lately of Cape Suzette, 
pilot for the delivery firm of Higher For Hire, be friends.  Everything 
was coming together better than he could have possibly hoped.  He was 
finally going to have the opportunity to resurrect the great nation of 
Thembria from the ashes into which it had fallen, and at the same time 
he would become the greatest hero the country had ever known.  Sure, he 
was popular and famous now, but you can only get so far by shooting down 
the occasional errant civilian plane that wandered into Thembrian air 
space.  Although he did have to admit he was a little bit proud of the 
fact that he had shot down more passenger planes than anyone else.  A 
veritable Thembrian ace, something hard to come by in times of peace, 
but he had managed.  Of course, he had occasionally had to play a little 
loose with the actual boundaries of Thembrian air space, but such little 
details were beneath his concern.
	The intercom above the door suddenly squawked to life, "We'll be 
entering Cape Suzette harbor shortly, Lieutenant.  And you too, 
Colonel."
	Vladimir smiled to himself.  The pilot and copilot on this flight 
had been specially chosen for this mission, as they were not only 
adequate flyers but they also had certain other useful skills and were 
of the same mindset as himself.  The preparations for this mission had 
been extensive and thorough, something rare in Thembrian operations, but 
when present usually entailed success.  Yes indeed, everything was 
coming together nicely.
	The Juggernaut fighter came in low over the water, preparing to 
skim along the top of the waves and then coast into the beach next to 
Higher For Hire.  Even though the plane had been equipped with gear to 
make it supposedly amphibious, the huge amount of weight in armor welded 
to the plane made all such efforts useless in keeping it afloat.  Still, 
it should be able to pull itself onto the beach, and with a little bit 
of luck it may even be able to take off again.
	Oblivious to the approach of the Thembrians, Baloo at the moment 
was trying to explain to Rebecca all of the reasons he couldn't possibly 
finish loading up the current batch of cargo in the immediate future.  
Having met with skeptical resistance on the medical injury front, he had 
moved on to explaining how the Sea Duck needed to be specially balanced 
with cargo from Louie's or else it would list hopelessly to one side.  
Rebecca's comment that he was already packing enough cargo from Louie's 
around his midsection to balance a whole fleet of Sea Ducks was about to 
launch him onto another point of attack when Kit interrupted him.
	"Look, Baloo, isn't that a Thembrian plane coming in?"
	Squinting into the sun, Baloo had to admit that it did look like a 
Thembrian bird, but no one would be so stupid as to try an amphibious 
landing in one of those crates.  Suddenly remembering who was in charge 
of the Thembrian Air Force, Baloo made the sensible suggestion that they 
all take cover.
	Although taking cover at any approach of a Thembrian air craft is 
always good advice, this time it turned out to be unnecessary.  The 
Juggernaut managed to come in across the waves, and for a Thembrian 
plane actually landed fairly smoothly on the beach.   The door to the 
plane swung open, and out walked two figures familiar to Baloo and Kit, 
and a third that neither of them had seen before.
	"Spiggy, Dunder, long time no see!  Didja bring anymore Golden 
Doohickeys of Friendship this time?"
	"That was a Golden Sprocket, not a Doohickey, you Cape Suzette 
cretin!"
	"Easy there, Spigot, or you'll blow a gasket.  Hey, get it?  
Spigot, gasket, kind of funny, huh, Spiggy?"
	Dunder managed to stifle his laugh, but Spigot had no such need.  
Before he could launch into a tirade on how he was not to be confused 
with various pipe fittings, Lieutenant Illych interrupted.
	"Ah, you must be Baloo, Sergeant Dunder has told me so much about 
you."  Dunder wondered for a moment when exactly he had done anything of 
the sort.  "We're here on a diplomatic mission, in order to further good 
relations between our two countries.  In such an effort, we would be 
honored if you would show Sergeant Dunder around your fair city, as kind 
of a cultural exchange program."
	"Now just a minute, Baloo, you have to finish loading those boxes 
of ammunition and fly them up to the cliff guns and the air field before 
you're going anywhere.  It took a lot of work to get that contract from 
the city and I'm not about to let you blow that deal for me."
	"My dear Ms. Cunningham, isn't it?  We wouldn't dream of 
jeopardizing your business operation.  While Baloo is showing Dunder 
around, I'll have my two pilots load the crates for him.  In the 
meantime, we could use a distinguished citizen of your stature to 
accompany the Colonel and myself  on our own tour of the city, we have 
so much to look into."
	"Well, I guess that would be alright, if you're sure they don't 
mind."  Becky was always a little flustered around dashing men, and the 
Lieutenant certainly qualified.  There wasn't much the Lieutenant wasn't 
willing to use in order to complete his mission, and if it required a 
little flirting, so be it.
	"Oh, I'm quite sure they wouldn't mind, my dear.  Quite sure."  He 
flashed her a smile that managed to be quite charming, despite the 
wicked gleam in his eyes.
	"Well then, what are we waiting for?  Baloo, you and Kit go run 
off with your friend while the Lieutenant and I see to more important 
matters."  Becky managed to give the Lieutenant a smile back that 
impressed even his jaundiced eye.
	"Hey, let's not forget who's the ranking official here!"  Spigot's 
protest fell on deaf ears as Lieutenant Illych offered Becky his arm and 
they began to stroll off in the general direction of downtown, Spigot 
having to hurry to catch up.  "Wait for me, I'm the leader!"
	Baloo, Dunder, and Kit wasted no time in hurrying off in another 
direction, Baloo calling out behind him to the two Thembrian pilots 
while waving in the direction of several crates marked for delivery to 
the cliff guns and air field that protected Cape Suzette.  The two 
Thembrians smiled to themselves as the trio disappeared around the 
corner, and they immediately began unloading their own crates from the 
Thembrian plane...

	"Gee, Baloo, I had no idea there were so many places to eat in 
Cape Suzette."  The weary threesome were just now straggling back to 
Higher For Hire having sampled every greasy diner and ice cream parlor 
in the city.
	"Anything for better relations, Dunder old pal.  I gotta admit, 
you put away the chow almost as good as I do."
	"Yeah, too bad you both carry all that chow around with you."
	"Now, Kit, I get enough of that from Becky, don't you start, too."
	"Gee, Mister Baloo, it's getting kind of late.  I hope the Colonel 
hasn't been waiting for me."
	"Relax, Dunder, it looked to me like Beckers and that Lieutenant 
guy would be entertaining each other for a good long time.  Say, what do 
you know about that guy, anyway?"
	"Oh, he's one of the great heroes of the Thembrian Air Force."
	"Yeah, that and some flying lessons may get you home safely!"
	"No, really, he's actually a really good pilot.  He made it all 
the way to Lieutenant and he doesn't even have any kind of connections 
or anything."
	"No kidding?  Imagine that, a Thembrian that can fly, what will 
they think of next.  So what's the big mission he and Spiggy are here 
on?"
	"That's just it, Mister Baloo, I don't know.  All of the paperwork 
the Colonel signs goes by me, but I never remember seeing anything about 
a mission to Cape Suzette.  All of the papers the Lieutenant handed me 
dealt with what supplies were needed, the amphibious (relatively 
speaking) plane and some crates of old ammo left over from the Great 
War."
	"The Great War?  Maybe it's some kind of historical relic 
exchange.  Can't be any practical reason for dragging those duds all the 
way from Thembria, and I don't mean the Colonel!"
	Baloo was still chuckling over that one as they rounded the corner 
to Higher For Hire.  Despite his prediction, Vladimir, Spigot, and Becky 
were all there waiting for them.  Becky and Spigot were visibly 
impatient, and although he managed to do a good job of hiding it, 
Vladimir was practically bursting with his own impatience.  A quick 
glance from the pilot was all he needed to know that phase one of his 
plan had been successfully carried out.  Now he needed to rendezvous 
with phase two of his plan, and soon Thembria would be on the path to 
glory.
	Becky and Spigot began at almost the same time :
	"Baloo where have you been?  These crates need delivering before 
the end of the day and you've been off gallivanting at all the places to 
eat no doubt!  If we lose this contract so help me it'll be your hide!"
	"Dunder where have you been?  We finished up here hours ago and 
still have the rest of the mission to complete, whatever that might be!  
Now get over here and get ready to leave or so help me I'll have you 
shot!"
	Baloo turned to Dunder and gave him a quick aside, "Boy, the 
resemblence is uncanny sometimes, ain't it?"
	"Quit your yakking, you two, and get over here!"  Becky was a 
little eager to get the Thembrians out of her hair, which contributed to 
her crankiness.  The Lieutenant had been charming enough, almost too 
charming, but Spigot was driving her crazy!  It would be a double relief 
to see them on their way and at the same time get her shipment 
delivered.
	For his part, Spigot was also impatient to leave.  Stupid Cape 
Suzette engineers built everything for people who must be abnormally 
tall.  Not having Dunder around to provide him with the occasional 
discreet boost hadn't helped matters any, and now he was good and ready 
to get on his way.  Plus he couldn't wait to find out the rest of the 
mission, which he had dutifully forgotten.
	"Yes, my dear Ms. Cunningham, we really must be going.  The people 
of Thembria thank you for your gracious hospitality, and I'm sure we'll 
find a way to repay you in the near future."  Vladimir finished his 
speech smoothly as he ushered Spigot and Dunder up the ramp and through 
the door.  With a final wave good-bye, he closed the door behind him, 
and the Juggernaut actually managed to lumber along the water until it 
got airborne.
	"Well, that's a relief.  Now that they're gone, Baloo, you can get 
back to your deliveries."
	"Say, Becky, what exactly were the Thembrians up to?  What kind of 
diplomatic mission was it?"
	"Oh, lots of important stuff, Baloo, far beyond your limited 
scope. Now get to work, they'll be expecting those crates before the end 
of the day."  Becky's brush-off answer left her a little bit troubled.  
Just what was the Thembrian's mission?  All they had done was walk 
around downtown Cape Suzette and admire the scenery.  Oh well, she 
thought, leave it to the Thembrians to launch a diplomatic mission with 
no purpose behind it...

Chapter Three : The Power and the Glory

	"Whew, I'm glad that's over," Baloo thought to himself as he 
steered the Sea Duck out of Cape Suzette harbor and towards the general 
direction of Louie's.  All of the crates had been delivered, and he must 
have had a few hours to spare.  Not like him to finish early, but Becky 
had been rather peevish today, and so now he figured he deserved a 
little R and R at his favorite island hangout.  His imagining of the 
good times and parties just waiting to begin upon his arrival was 
suddenly interrupted by a distant black shadow in the sky.  Curious, no 
storm clouds around.  Suddenly he realized what the shape was, and it no 
doubt meant trouble was brewing.
	During the time period of the Great War, the Thembrians and the 
people of Cape Suzette had joined together to fight against the 
expansionist forces of Lebenstein, a militaristic power situated to the 
far west.  Towards the end of the war, the engineers of Cape Suzette 
managed to design the greatest airborne fighting machines of all time, 
the air carrier.  Using the Cape Suzette designs and the Thembrian's 
massive labor force, three of these air carriers were built and prepared 
for combat.  Before they were ever called into active duty, the 
Lebensteins were forced into a de facto surrender as they withdrew from 
the area after their expansionist leader, Siegfried, was overthrown in a 
remarkably easy coup.  In the chaos that followed Siegfried's departure, 
there was no longer the will or the ability for foreign military 
ventures, and the whole thing came to a rather fizzling conclusion.  For 
the Lebensteins, at any rate.  The Thembrians and their allies from Cape 
Suzette hailed it as a remarkable victory that would usher in a new era 
of prosperity and cooperation between the two nations.  The great 
technological marvels, the air carriers, were hailed as the symbols of 
that spirit of cooperation.  Unfortunately, the carriers were mothballed 
as being too expensive to maintain, and the brief detente in Thembrian-
Suzette relations suffered much the same fate.  Soon the air carriers 
were all but forgotten, briefly making the news when they were stolen 
from the Thembrian shipyards in a daring raid by the Karnage family of 
pirates and thieves, based at the time in the Straights of Penzance 
located in Lake Eerily.  At the time the reaction was fairly subdued, 
after all, if the governments of Thembria and Cape Suzette couldn't 
afford to keep the carriers running, how could a scurvy band of lunatic 
pirates hope to manage?  The lesson to be learned is to never 
underestimate the resources of the criminal and the insane, let alone 
the criminally insane.  Two of the carriers Baloo had encountered before 
- one being flown by the local scavenger of the skies, Don Karnage,  and 
the other in the possession of his striking but even more sinister 
sister, Donna Karnage.   At the time Baloo had thought it odd that the 
third carrier was unaccounted for, being a fan of anything related to 
the flying of the bygone days, but he had assumed the carrier had 
probably been sunk during one of the Karnage family's more unsuccessful 
raids, or perhaps stolen in turn by a different band of pirates.  But 
now that he got closer to the ominous air ship heading towards Cape 
Suzette there could be no doubt that it was the emblem of the Thembrian 
military that was emblazoned upon her hull, and she didn't look like she 
was heading for a casual tour of the city.
	Baloo banked the Sea Duck around for a closer look at the air 
carrier as it slowly headed towards its destination.  No doubt about it, 
this meant trouble, the kind that Cape Suzette needed to be warned 
about.  Unfortunately, Baloo should have made that conclusion as soon as 
he saw the Silver Raptor, last of the great air carriers.  His last look 
at the sleek shape cruising through the skies cost him as one of the 
Raptor's portside guns had been able to draw a bead on him as he passed.  
The shell exploded almost directly in front of the cockpit.  Luckily it 
had missed the hull of the Sea Duck itself, but the concussion of the 
blast was forceful enough to shake the plane into a downward spiral and 
cause its engines to stall.  Trailing smoke, Baloo was faced with the 
unpleasant options of choosing to land in the ocean miles from nowhere 
or to land on the flight deck of the carrier below him.  Never one to 
hesitate in choosing the greater of two evils, Baloo managed to bring 
the wounded Duck down on the top of the carrier.  Promptly surrounded by 
a dozen Thembrians armed with heavy rifles, the ocean suddenly looked a 
lot better.
	
	"Ah, Baloo, I must say the people of Thembria owe you a great debt 
of thanks.  Without your help, this little trip of ours would be 
significantly more dangerous.  Right now, I can't help but anticipate 
nothing but smooth sailing as we take Cape Suzette for our own!"
	Baloo had been manacled and dragged below decks by the guards he 
had encountered above, and now stood face to face with the sneering 
countenance of Lieutenant Illych.  All pretense of civility gone, the 
Lieutenant was gloating over his prisoner as he anticipated the easy 
victory to come.  "Smooth sailing into the loony bin, maybe.  You'll 
never get past the cliff guns or the air force in this old relic!  
Believe me, it's been tried."  For a moment Baloo couldn't help but self 
consciously look around for a lightning gun perched near the beak, but 
finding none, his confidence returned.
	"Oh, but that's where you came in.  While you were out neglecting 
your duties, my men replaced your crates of live ammunition with old 
junk left over from the last time Thembria was a power to be feared!"
	"You mean you replaced my crates with ones from the Stone Age?"
	"Very funny, I kind of like having you around, Mister Comedienne.  
See for yourself, your crates are stacked over at the back of the 
hanger, where they will remain until we use them to supply the guns 
overlooking Cape Suzette, guns we will soon control!  I do hope we get a 
chance to make a little example out of some of your defenses, but with 
little or no real ammunition and faced with the might of a Thembrian air 
carrier and forty of our Juggernaut fighters, I'm certain the resistance 
won't last long."
	"Oh, yes, you're brain is definitely flying out of formation, bud.  
I've seen better schemes than this one go down in flames."  Baloo was 
trying to think of some of the better schemes, but all he could come up 
with at the moment was the time Karnage painted the Vulture to look like 
it was invisible.  Deciding that bringing that one up would hardly hurt 
Vladimir's confidence, Baloo was left to keep thinking up old attempts 
that had gone awry as the guards led him away to the brig.  Comediennes 
weren't appreciated long in front of a crowd of Thembrians.
	
	Sitting in his cell, Baloo was still wracking his brains trying to 
think of one of the better schemes for storming Cape Suzette when 
suddenly he heard a key turning in the lock.  The door swung open and 
none other than Colonel Spigot came shuffling through the door, Dunder 
following dutifully behind.  "You've got to help me!" Spigot blurted 
out, the desperation in his voice almost pathetic.  "That Lieutenant is 
insane, he's going to start a war!  Do you have any idea how much paper 
work is required before you can start a war?!?  And I don't think he's 
done any of it!  The country will fall apart without the proper forms 
being completed, we'd have uncontrollable creativity and imagination 
running rampant in the streets!  And then where would we be?"
	"Coming out of the Dark Ages, maybe?"
	"You're not being very helpful.  If you don't want to help Dunder 
and myself, then we'll have to just stop Lieutenant Illych ourselves.  
Of course, that would mean we'd have to radio Thembria for proper 
authorization, and they'd have to send us the forms needed to thwart 
insane schemes of junior officers, oh the whole thing could take several 
weeks."
	"But Spiggy, we don't have several weeks!"
	"Precisely why we need you - in order to have a non-Thembrian foil 
insane schemes of junior officers, we only need a 728-B form, and 
luckily I always carry one of those with me ever since that horrible 
incident with the toothpaste factory and the banana cream pies."
	"Spiggy, sometimes I wonder if I sell you short."
	"Don't call me Spiggy!  And was that a short crack?"
	"Nah, Spiggers, you must be having a little problem with your 
hearing.  Lucky for the three of us, I've got a plan, but it'll be a 
tall order."  Baloo looked over at Dunder to see if anyone was 
appreciating his height jokes, but he may as well have been looking at a 
dead fish.  The Thembrian sense of humor, go figure.  "Dunder, I'll need 
you to get to the Sea Duck and make sure it's ready to go.  Spigot, you 
come with me.  We've got to make sure this bird never reaches the 
harbor."

	At that very moment, however, the Raptor was already gliding 
through the cliffs guarding Cape Suzette.  Down below on the cliff guns, 
pandemonium wasn't just reigning, it was pouring.  "What do you mean the 
ammunition is no good, we just got that shipment last night!"
	"Sorry, sir, but this stuff doesn't have enough bang to make 
decent fireworks, let alone an artillery barrage."
	"Blast it, soldier, do something to get me some shots off!  Someone 
radio the air field, either the Thembrians have gone totally nuts or 
they're actually invading - and the two aren't mutually exclusive!"
	High above in the control room of the Raptor, Lieutenant Illych 
smiled with evil enjoyment as he watched the cliff guns manage a few 
pathetic shots with what little good ammunition they had left.  "Ready 
the main guns, I'll take them myself."  The two front guns on the 
carrier had already been opened up during the approach, and Vladimir 
himself targeted one of the clusters of guns.  Gently pushing the fire 
button, he watched with satisfaction as the distant artillery placement 
went up in a pillar of fire and smoke.  The main guns on the carriers 
were some of the most powerful cannons ever produced, and he was intent 
upon using them to good effect.  He was just deciding on whether or not 
a further pounding was in order when his helmsman sounded the alert.  
"Incoming bogies, looks like Khan Industries Tiger class fighters, maybe 
as many as three dozen or so."
	"Scramble the Juggernauts, those planes will be sitting ducks with 
their ammunition gone.  Try not to shoot *too* many of them down, they 
will, after all, become part of our air force when this is all over."  
Turning back to survey the chaotic scene on the cliffs below, Vladimir 
couldn't help but think that this would all be over way too soon.  Just 
at that moment, something clicked in his memory and he pivoted to survey 
the control room.  "Where's Spigot?"
	At the moment, Spigot was none too happy carrying around a load of 
sheet soaked in high octane fuel from one of the barrels in the storage 
area.  "Why am I doing all of the lugging around here?  After all, I am 
the ranking officer.  You should be the one doing all of the lugging."
	"Sorry, Spiggy, but regulations strictly state that for a 
Thembrian officer to issue orders to a non-Thembrian he must have filed 
a 3464-C form within the past six months."
	"Rats, you've got me there.  So what are you doing with all of 
this stuff?"
	"Getting ready for a cook out the likes of which hasn't been seen 
since the Great War."  Baloo had just finished wrapping the last of the 
sheets around the ammunition crates at the end of the hanger when the 
first Juggernauts began returning to the Raptor.  Khan's Tiger fighters 
could out-maneuver and out-fly any plane in the air, with the possible 
exception of the Sea Duck, but when you can't shoot back at the planes 
you're flying around, it doesn't do much good.  Several of them had gone 
down in flames before realizing how hopeless their situation was, and 
turning back to the airfield.  The Juggernauts had not bothered to exact 
a further toll, their pilots already eagerly awaiting the chance to fly 
the Tiger planes that they would soon control.  "Come on, Spigot, it's 
time for us to blow this joint."
	"And just what do you think you're doing?"  Lieutenant Vladimir 
Illych leveled the automatic rifle at his supposed superior and his 
accomplice.  "You wouldn't be planning on leaving our little welcome 
home party, would you?"
	"Lieutenant, as head of the glorious People's Thembrian Air Force, 
I order you to put down that gun and return us to Thembria immediately."
	"I don't think so, Colonel.  In fact, I think you've just been 
found guilty of treason.  And you know what the penalty for that is, 
don't you?"  Vladimir leveled the gun at Spigot and began to squeeze 
down on the trigger.
	"Before you do that, do you think you could spare a light?  Oh, 
never mind, I've already got a match here."  Baloo quickly lit the match 
and held it over the fuel soaked crates.  "Is it just me, or is it 
getting hot in here?"
	Vladimir's eyes widened as he saw what was happening.  Throwing 
his gun to distract Spigot and Baloo, he made a dive for Baloo's 
outstretched arm hoping to get a hold of the sputtering match.  Just too 
late he arrived.  Baloo dropped the match on the corner blanket, which 
immediately went up in flames.  Grabbing Spigot and tucking him under 
one arm, Baloo tore off for the hatch which led to where the Sea Duck 
still awaited above.  "This is completely beneath my dignity," was all 
Spigot could manage to splutter as he was toted along.
	"Gee, Spiggy, I didn't think there was much beneath someone of 
your stature.  Come on, we're almost there."
	Behind them, Vladimir desperately fought to put out the spreading 
inferno before it consumed the wooden crates and reached the more 
dangerous flammables lying within the crates.  One of the nearby 
soldiers saw what was happening, and rather than obey his commander's 
commands for help in controlling the blaze, he did what came naturally 
to a Thembrian soldier - he hit the intercom and screamed for everyone 
to abandon ship.  It didn't take long for the rest of the Thembrians on 
board to realize the danger they were in.  Catching the fighter pilots 
even as they were still getting out of their planes, they competed in a 
mad rush to get off of the doomed air carrier.  Even as the first plane 
managed to back up and lumber to a take off, the first explosion rocked 
the carrier.  Several of the slower Thembrians gave up reaching the 
planes and just dived over the sides with their parachutes, hoping that 
they'd be picked up somewhere below.  Even as his men fled around him, 
Vladimir continued struggling against the inferno that now raged in the 
Raptor's hold.  Cursing them as cowards and traitors, he never saw the 
last Juggernaut make it off the carrier.  It had barely had time to 
clear the flight deck when the fire finally reached one of the more 
potent crates, and a massive explosion ripped the hull of the Raptor 
apart.  Residual explosions continued to ring out as the burning hulk 
slowly dropped from the sky, the last gasps of it's propulsion system 
making the decent seem slow and majestic as it tumbled into the waters 
below.  From the cockpit of the Sea Duck, Baloo, Dunder and Spigot 
watched the final dying gasps of the Raptor went under.  Already the 
Juggernaut fighters were being forced to land at the Cape Suzette air 
fields where they were promptly taken into custody.  The Juggernauts 
were not designed to fly great distances, and the pilots realized they 
had a better chance surrendering than they did trying to make it back to 
Thembria low on fuel.  Besides, their reception in Thembria was probably 
not going to be much friendlier - in fact, it would no doubt be much, 
much worse.  The Sea Duck circled overhead and watched as fishing boats 
set out to pick up the straggling Thembrians that had jumped from the 
Raptor before it went down.
	"Gee, Colonel, there's going to be a whole lot of paper work 
needed to clean up this mess."
	"Right you are, Dunder, right you are," Spigot answered with an 
almost wistful quality.  At last something he could handle.



Epilogue : 

In the cold office tucked away in a remote corner of the Thembrian seat 
of government, General Drazinski shifted his gaze from the report he was 
reading to the officer who had delivered it.  "Is this the sum total of 
the report?"
	"Yes, General."
	"So there is no chance of this being linked back to the Secret 
Police, eh?  Lieutenant Illych covered his tracks well - just as he did 
everything else well for us.  A pity, I assume he went down with the 
Raptor?"  The lackey nodded mute confirmation.  Grunting appreciation 
for the late officer's dedication, the General made a vague motion to 
indicate his lackey was dismissed.  The click of the door closing came 
almost before he had finished waving.  The General smiled to himself at 
such promptness.  There was still efficiency to be found in Thembria, 
and he was the one that pulled its strings.  He hid his disappointment 
from his lackey, but now that he was alone he allowed himself a sigh of 
resignation.  Years and years ago he had made a deal with a band of 
pirates and villains to save the air carriers from a slow death rusting 
in a forgotten shipyard.  Of course, his secret police were supposed to 
have taken control of two of the three carriers, and all three if 
circumstances permitted the double cross, but things didn't always work 
out as they were planned.  He smiled as he remembered the ferocious 
eldest sibling of the pirate clan, and her cunning and ruthlessness as 
they had managed to escape with two of the carriers.  He could use 
someone like that he thought absent-mindedly.  Sighing at the thought, 
he turned back towards his window.  The loss of the Raptor was a serious 
blow to his plans for resurrecting the Thembrian nation, but the General 
was nothing if not patient.  Opportunities would come again, and the 
failure of this expedition would only serve to make him more cautious, 
more careful in his next endeavor.  Gazing out across the frozen 
landscape, the General paused to admire a burning red sunset that 
streaked the snow with its shades of crimson.  Such a sunset was 
phenomenally rare in the perpetually overcast Thembria, and the General 
watched as it slowly faded away beneath the horizon.  The General was 
reminded of a saying he had heard some time ago, something about old 
soldiers.  Yes, he thought to himself, we are never the ones to die, 
rather we watch the young ones fade away.