At Lockheed on Day 609 the smoke of war dissipated, almost entirely. When I woke up alive that day I could hear a Warden 120mm firing across the bridge. There I once again met the man who brokered the truce. Puffin was an officer cadet arguing with the men firing the artillery. There's going to be a 30-hour ceasefire, and the shooting is disrupting it. It was a wonder to hear. A truce? I crossed the river where Wardens and Colonials met on the broken bridge. The soldiers advanced towards each other without hostility or hate, but with friendship, and kindness. Some of the Wardens and Colonials were still wary, each side taking turns to fortify their side of the bridge. Soldiers from both sides pulled their dead out of the river.

  When I finally reached the other side of the river without having to fight and kill someone for it. I met a Colonial digging a trench in Lockheed. He and I both made the observation that despite the silence of small arms Lockheed was still under light artillery fire. He spoke first on the matter: “It doesn't feel like a ceasefire, but we are honouring our word.” We both had a good laugh talking about the war and other observations. Then the artillery guns went quiet, and I returned to the center. The border of the ceasefire, at the broken bridge.

While laughing with my new friends, one soldier suggested the idea of a boxing match. Eager to see such an event, both sides agreed and the matches began; Non-lethal fights where the winner takes a trophy from the other: A gun or a grenade and so forth. Medics on both sides acting as referees for the matches. Truly a rare moment of joy shared by both sides of a war seemingly without end.

    But peace does not last long in the war without end. It’s unclear to me who fired first but one moment I was bathing myself in the water, and the next I was scrambling through a hailstorm of fire. A 68mm emplacement gun opened up along with a push gun. Colonials responded with dusk fire and artillery fire. I am sad to say the truce only truly lasted about 20 hours. A full 10 hours shorter than hoped. Lockheed runs red with blood again, and cannon smoke does not dissipate anymore. I can at least be glad that despite the inevitable, both sides had the chance to look the other in the eye and see that there was a human in there.