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[sub][color=Silver][i]The Siege of Amone, September 28th - [b]Hath chosen Death once more?[/b][/i][/color][/sub]

[youtube]https://youtu.be/GwbKM0PwIcU[/youtube]

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[color=Silver]	When the distant cloud of ash and fire formed in the rearward sky, Jean could only think of his allies left behind in its dust. How many were killed and how many more were injured? Though it was unclear where exactly the shell had landed, judging by its relative angle Jean could at least predict it had hit near the rear lines, spewing chaos upon the soldiers who waited their turns to be sent into the firing pit. Jean looked at the devastation and speculated only its true extent, before returning his gaze back to the car they'd disabled. Seeing some of the soldiers flee backwards, heading towards the Cathedral to put up a grand defence made him shudder in his boots, before he watched the advancing Federation infantrymen increase their foothold on the colossal building. Jean fumbled with the strap of his helmet, tightening it once more. A secure layer now slathered his scalp, adding only a faded tissue of steel against the ongoing rage of the battle. Unlike the Garnian Salient, there wasn't room for mass charges or the standard attack-defend procedures both the Empire and Federation had been using for the last three to four years. Fighting had boiled down into personal skirmishes. Smothered cornershops were laced in fire, riddled with bullets and skewered by explosives. Bodies dotted most of the streets and old homes became strongholds for the crews of machine guns. This was a mobile engagement. Static loitering left squads in perilous situations. Every street was a potential ambush, or a dead-ended alleyway that would only get them encircled. To think that the sudden change from the usual stalemate had offered such a stressful counter-option...the world had become madness incarnate once more. Jean rose from his seated position and began to approach the nearest group of soldiers awaiting the next order.

	In their building, two of their own lay dead on the floor, blood soaked and drenched in a rainy residue from all the weeks before. No one met their cold eyes, refusing to even acknowledge the bodies they knew. It was wrong to turn off their reputable respect for the fallen comrades they lurked between, but no one had the guts to say anything dare they threaten their violent confidence in battle. Their savage momentum was all they had left to get through the remainder of the Amone Frontline. Once they broke these streets, a hopeful progression through the lost lands of Assen would prove triumphant in victory, granting the limited success that had been experienced many years before. On top of that, people like Lucia would be granted passage onto her own home soil. Whether or not she still had a home to call in her home country was something to tackle another day, but the peace of mind knowing her birthplace would be slowly handed back to her was comforting in its own right.

	Eager eyes suddenly laid upon Jean. Downstairs, a few more quick exchanges of gunfire could be heard resonating throughout the hallways. All of them were distinctively Federation cartridges being let off. The housing was now clear, as many would call up the stairs, before proceeding onward further down the street. The roadworks were beginning to fall apart and the final Armoured Car was now under the siege of Isaac's flank. Jean took a deep breath and thought over their options. Either way, there wasn't much time to give. The Imperials were going to use every second to their advantage in this battle, taking their time to load every single artillery piece, machine gun nest, sandbag wall and street corner with barbed wire. Assaulting relied purely on strategy and pacing, ones that weren't always favourable to their own odds. Jean looked out the window once more, Lucia following his gaze to see a second cloud of smoke appear in the distance, this time from the Imperial frontline. Again, Jean had no idea what had blown up, but a small part of him hoped that it was the tunnelling system they'd sparingly been assigned to destroy. Ever since they'd arrived in Amone it had been the little thorn in their side, and now they could finally get rid of its opportunistic tunnelways.[/color]

[color=Aqua][b]"Okay, okay..."[/b][/color] [color=Silver]Jean thought aloud, returning to the group of riflemen.[/color] [color=Aqua][b]"I can assure ourselves that going through the main door on its own would be devastating. We need to try and enter from as many sides as possible. Lucia, I need you to run back to the troops moving up and grab several sappers, see if any of them have any satchel charges on them. We'd be in luck if we can get a few."[/b][/color]

[color=Silver]	Lucia quickly scurried off through the hallways, as obedient as the day she'd fallen into Middleton's decline. Jean sighed, standing up and beginning to move, the soldiers behind him following closely. The gunfire in the adjacent street was quietening down, but the safety of those inside and out wasn't any less than before. Wherever they stepped, soldiers watched for tripwires, mines, makeshift traps and hunting gear that would catch them off guard. Every step was one held in fear or the anxiety that they may return home without a leg...that is if they were returning home at all. Jean's forwarding lead had them scurry close, listening to him in a way that Jean hadn't been listened to in a long time, if ever. If the pressure wasn't enough, people depended on his words. Without a proper commander by their side, only the occasional Lieutenant seen laid dead in the watery streets, it was up to the meat and flesh of the 15th Atlantic Rifles to call the shots. The Cathedral was unlike a target they'd ever come across. In the past, most groups would shower the objective in artillery before walking in to mop up its contents. Other strongholds were loosely underground, allowing them to siege them out through bewildering supply cuts. The Cathedral of Light was another story, however. Doing too much damage to it could render tremendous anger in the Cruxian Sect, plastering the fighters of the war as inconsiderate and against the rights of preaching. To Jean, none of that mattered in the moment, but he at least accepted the condition of low-artillery support.

	Moving into the street in full, the shots ran quiet for a few more seconds before rising up in another street far off. The soldiers all began to move towards the Cathedral's main doorway, some beginning to circle around its perimeter. Several soldiers moved up to Jean once more, asking what he needed the charges for.[/color]

[color=Aqua][b]"Well, I was going to try and blow a hole in the wall. Like I said, the more entrances we have the better."[/b][/color] [color=Silver]Several eyes looked upon him in horrific fashion over the suggestion. Once again, damaging the Cathedral was considered a frowning experience. Though to Jean's defence, it wasn't exactly collateral damage, more so a light tickle to its enormous structure. However, his suggestion was soon shot down as Lucia came sprinting back, shaking her head silently upon her return.[/color]

[color=A9FF7D][b]"Sorry Jean. We don't...have any. They were taken to the Market Square instead apparently."[/b][/color] [color=Silver]Jean sighed as he moved between where he stood and Lucia, thinking desperately as the ideas for a safe entrance were beginning to fade slowly. Before he had a proper chance to analyse the situation at hand, he heard a succession of shouts for any sort of non-commissioned officer come towards him in a wave-style barrier. To his left, a group of shocktroopers were stood in a circle, looking down at the street floor from what it seemed. When the call came, Jean stood up and raised his hand, signalling his presence. After a quick jog, he was soon by the circle's edge.[/color]

[color=Aqua][b]"What is it?"[/b][/color] [color=Silver]Jean questioned the group, pulling two of them aside to create a gap for himself. His rush forward was ground to a halt as he saw the cold street's abyss below him. The group had come across one of the few manholes for the underlying tunnels and artificial bricked caverns beneath very feet. Jean stared at it for several seconds, seeing nothing but darkness as he failed to adjust to the blackened depth below.[/color] [color=Aqua][b]"What is that...a sewer?"[/b][/color]

[color=Orange][b]"Russel over 'ere don't think so. He thinks its some kinda passage, like a cat'combe or whatever. Cathedral apparently has an underside that leads upwards. Might be worth 'aving a gander down there."[/b][/color] [color=Silver]The taller Edinburgh Private spoke for the group, his loosened dialect showcasing a city-like understanding. Jean truly didn't know what it was, or what was below them. It could lead to nowhere in particular, or everywhere they needed to be. For now, they were restricted on their access to the Cathedral of Light. These soldiers weren't going to move unless someone forced them out of their hole. And with the current state of the frontal assault force, the Regiment were spread too thin to successfully encircle the entire complex as one. With so many objectives in their eyeline, it was only up to those who would make it that far to break its interior.[/color] [color=Orange][b]"While you got boys givin' the perimeter, should we have a quick look down there?"[/b][/color]

[color=Silver]	For a few moments, Jean looked into the darkness and felt a strange worry come from within. Regardless of the venture, it would prove vital if such an opening into the Cathedral could be located. Ten minutes passed achingly and the absence of any real formulated plan had started to wear down the patience of the arriving soldiers. More infantrymen made it to the Cathedral's exterior, wondering what sort of plan was going to go down. With them, several Lieutenants and Sergeants joined the waiting, giving less pressure to Jean's personal situation. Another two minutes were spent with Lieutenants gathering an understanding on the situation. Everyone was left in the open, already vulnerable to any marksmen who may have had an eye for the Cathedral's perimeter. Nothing came through however, and so the free-reigned soldiers continued to organise themselves on the exterior for their eventual entrance into the engaged beast of the Imperial Defence. Jean moved ahead, finding himself the commanding Lieutenant at the time. Upon seeing one another, he pointed to Jean and ordered for him to stand by him, hoping to feed him necessary information to sort out their endeavour.[/color]

[color=ed145b][b]"You there, Corporal!"[/b][/color] [color=Silver]With a lavishly thick accent, one deriving from Northern Edinburgh, he pointed a cold and fractured hand at the Francian. He'd noticed him looking and inspecting the hole they'd come across, as well as haivng been given the pointer that Jean was amongst the first to reach the Cathedral of Light's walls. He didn't carry a rifle, only an old fashioned revolver, chambered with six hard-hitting rounds. Jean couldn't have asked for an anymore obvious caricature of the leadership if he could.[/color] [color=ed145b][b]"I want updates, and fast! Tell me whatcha found."[/b][/color]

[color=Silver]	Jean took a second to compose himself, unsure of how to react to the straightforwardness of the Lieutenant. Well, dilly-dallying over hesitation wasn't going to satisfy his work ethic, so Jean made it his top priority to quickly sell every piece of useful knowledge he could offer. So after a quick inhale, he opened his mind and mouth to the Lieutenant, giving him the information he needed to know.[/color]

[color=Aqua][b]"Sir, we've successfully taken ourselves the outside but we're short on ways to get inside. Heard some of the men talking about an alternative route around the sides, but they aren't enough to give us a fully stable entryway. However, about five or so minutes ago, one of the Privates found a tunnel supposedly, said it will be worth having a look inside to see if it reaches the Cathedral basement. I think it'll be a good chance!"[/b][/color] [color=Silver]Jean saluted to the Officer, giving a stern look of both exhaustion and discipline to at least warrant a good response. And a good response was what he got: the Officer smiled to himself before clearing his throat, patting Jean on the shoulder quickly. It forced a small smile out of Jean as well, making him feel at least the tiniest bit warm from the short engagement.[/color]

[color=ed145b][b]"Fantastic work, son. Get a few men and send them down, if they find something they'll shout for it. We've got a small stockpile of these [url=http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/attachments/equipment-field-gear/1052032d1488347731-history-british-army-torch-flashlight-through-wwi-wwii-001.jpg]little torches[/url]. Might be of use."[/b][/color] [color=Silver]As he was prepared to turn away, something clicked in Jean's mind. The sweetened sentence of a particularly feminine voice rang through his thoughts, whispering into his ear with youthful bliss: [color=0072bc][i]'We can prevent it from happening again.'[/i][/color]. And with Kalisa's soothing voice still fresh within his mind, he stood tall and thought about his need to act. He looked forward towards the retreating Lieutenant and announced within his bonudaries:[/color]

[color=Aqua][b]"I'll go with them, Sir. They'll need a Corporal to help direct them if things go wrong."[/b][/color] [color=Silver]The Lieutenant stood still, before turning around with a sly grin. As he did, he moved back over to Jean and held out a hand, clasping both of his own around Jean's to congratulate him on the sudden volunteer. As he did so, he turned around, calling for his inferiors to gather the handheld torches and bring them over to Jean's randomised batch of soldiers. A few female soldiers and a majority of male, around twelve, all to delve into the tunnels. As he did so, Jean saluted him once more when his hand was freed, turning and returning to the manhole with a slightly fresh coated confidence around him. Immediately, Jean began to gather his pacing and those quickly assigned to his side sluggishly wandered by. Only six of the torches were available for handouts, and Jean took the priority. He was going to lead them into that darkened depth whether they were up for it or not. Surely, Jean wasn't internally, but he held an aura of silent confidence to gather his spirits high enough. And so, when the time was right, Jean was the first to slowly lower himself into the pit.[/color]