The 200 Marines of Alpha Company gathered under shattered chandeliers in a grand hall in the captured Al Azimiyah presidential palace in central Baghdad to listen to their company commander talk about their war - and their future here.

"We've fought hard, we've done our duty and lived up the Marine tradition and history; we'll be in the record books," Capt. Blair Sokol, 31, of San Clemente told his men as they gathered around on the floor.

But now, the captain told his men, the situation in Baghdad seems to have changed. Although Saddam Hussein hasn't been captured or confirmed dead, and pockets of Islamic fundamentalist die-hards may still be around, the tempo of fighting has fallen off.

"Things can still happen, and we may still have to put metal in people's chests," Sokol said. "We need to protect ourselves and our fellow Marines. But we also have to start winning hearts and minds. We need to wave and smile at every little kid we see on the streets. The sooner the Iraqi people realize we're not here to take their country, but to give it back to them, the sooner we get home."

The warning was underscored by an incident Thursday night in which three civilians were killed outside the palace grounds after they appeared to be running a roadblock. No one here blamed the Marines involved; Baghdad is still a dangerous place, and "asymmetrical" or terrorist-style attacks are still a serious possibility. But Alpha Company's commanders want the Marines to start cultivating a different mindset than they've been accustomed to during the past several weeks.

For the young Marines, it's not an easy transition.

"I think the war's pretty much over," Lance Cpl. Quentin Talley, 23, of Fresno said as he sat in a fighting hole overlooking the Tigris River, watching for any signs of attack. "Now we're just sitting in the middle of a regime change. But I think there's still some bad guys out there. I want to help the people of Iraq. But I also want to be careful."

As for their long-range future, the Marines on the ground simply don't know; the ever-present rumor mill has them moving either north or south or east or west, or maybe staying put for a while.

For at least the next few days they'll probably do some routine patrolling in the city - and hope that it stays routine. After that, there's really only one direction they want to go.

That's any direction that takes them home.