Alex took in a deep breath blew it out, shaking his head, his long hair falling across his face as the dust from the detonated building settled on him. "That's how to bring a building down, sir!" one of his nearby soldiers called. As the deafening roar of falling debris threatened to drown out even the gunfire peppered throughout the town. Daimler smiled to himself opting not to reply to his man's comment; there was a battle going on after all. He figured that if he began talking with his soldiers too much, although they were mostly combat veterans like himself, people would start to lose the sense of authority. His experience with command left him with the lasting belief that there should always remain a separation between soldiers and their officers. Even if the gap itself wasn't very wide. A private who was in his unit ran up to him, urgent to report. "Yes?" Daimler said. "Sir, Lieutenant Madsen reports that 2nd Company is in position on the opposite side of the town. They have cut the road which is the resistance's only escape route. Also, Sergeant Lennox claims the last holdouts have been cornered in that three story house down the road a few blocks." The man turned and pointed. "Lead the way," said Daimler who, followed by a guard of seven men, arrived at Lennox's position a few minutes later. It was an old boarding house which had been dishing out a good deal of fire since the attack on Kal’Ishbal had first begun. It was apparently their last stronghold. Good thing too, thought Alex. He was eager to capture this town at least before the rumored arrival of Major Commanche. The captain subscribed to the same philosophy as his commanding officer, Mosquito. Once inside, the sergeant relayed the situation information to him. Several Ishbal resistance men were still upstairs, after having been forced out of the bottom floor by two squads of Daimler's infantrymen during the latter phases of the assault. The bulky Ishbal soldiers who had died defending the bottom floor were laid in the corners of the room in sad heaps to clear the way for a command post which Sergeant Lennox had established. Daimler realized that a fast end to the situation had to be effected. "First squad, follow me upstairs, we'll finish the rest of these pigs off." With that, he slung his rifle over his shoulder and unholstered his 1911 and removing the safety, knowing that a close-quarters fight was in order. Proceeding up the stairs with five men following him, Daimler approached a door which led to a room that gunfire had been seen coming from. As he prepared with two others to open it, he heard movement in a door across the hall. The captain was immediately in command mode, pointing to the remaining three troops with him, and then to the door itself. They would enter both rooms at once, taking the occupants by force. One of the men with him stood back and booted the wooden door in, while Daimler and the other soldier, a blonde woman, swung in with their sidearms raised. Behind him he could hear the entry of the opposite room as well. Military precision, he thought. Three Ishbalian resistance fighters sat hunched near the far side of the room, attempting to assess the situation in the rest of the town by peering out of the window - they were totally unprepared for the heavy infantry's attack. Daimler and the female trooper would have been totally prepared to spare their lives, had one of the foolish soldiers not tried to reach for his rifle. At that moment, two .45 ACP slugs tore through the flesh of each of the men, fired from Daimler and his two comrades. He sniffed, almost displaying pity at the deaths of the enemy soldiers, hearing gunfire in other parts of the building. Alex then heard Lennox's cry of "the town is ours!" and a resounding cheer from the rest of his soldiers and other Amestrian infantry scattered throughout Kal’Ishbal. The captain allowed himself a smile, as he retrieved his tin of snuff from his pocket and put a pinch in his mouth - he had become addicted to its effects, and normally put one in at some point during or after combat. One his way out of the building, he saw the room across the hall that been entered at the same time he had entered the room with the three Ishbalian fighters. There was an innocent family inside on the floor, bloodied and lifeless. Daimler took time to briefly glare at the soldiers who had entered the room. Apparently the lust of combat had gotten the better of them. He wouldn't berate them, but his glare let them know he was disappointed. No matter how violent or unforgiving the war with Ishbal was, Daimler was always resolved that such would not plague his own unit, his children. He transmitted the signal to Mosquito that the town had been secured, and in record time, and awaited his superior's arrival.
"Aye, doll!!" Gene shouted as he pulled his hand from behind her and clutched it with the ohter. "Yi so mean to me." He shook his head as he smiled at her. She had thrown him the same comment only a couple days ago when they had met back up. He really did respect her because of her dedication, but sometimes she could be a real tight ass, not willing to let her hair down. He sighed, at the same time she did, and let his head fall back. "Yi has got to learn how to have some fun. Sometimes I wonder if you have been with a man before." He folded his arms in a pouting manner and looked around. They would soon be reaching Ishbal and he would have to deal with the gigantic moustache of Grand. The man stuck too much to the book and then took it to the extreme, such a troublesome man. Then there was Mustange. A good soldier overall, Gene couldn't complain about him. Mustange had his spots, but you could count on him in tough situations. Hopefully, Gene would spend less time reporting to the Colonels and more time with Zerah. She would come around, eventually. "Hey Zaara," He said coming back to the reality of the situation. "Do we know anything about where we might be stationed or what campaigns we might be on?" His tone was alittle more serious than it had been before. Ishbalans, even though not alchemist, was still a threat. It wasn't like bullets bouced off SA's skin, or something. He could easily be killed just like everyone else, and facing that fact was something he didn't like to do often, but it did help bring some people down back to earth, letting them know they were not invincible. "What would you say the death reports are about now, doll?"
Zaara really knew how to get people emotionally concerned about something, but to Gene, she was thinking too military like, like the Fuhrer and Grand. She was thinking of the State higher than individual life, and what she would have to do. Gene didn't know what she had done in the past to get to her rank, any campaigns she might have led, but for her to speak in such general terms, he doubted her experience in the field. He killed because of his own need to fight, his natural animal instinct, but he took no pleasure in fighting something that couldn't defend itself like babies and, sometimes, women. He wasn't as enthusiastic when it came to slaughter as the Crimson was, but he did take joy in it. Maybe that's why people thought of him the way they did. He turned his head back to Zaara and eyed her up and down, comtemplating how to start the conversation and admiring her physique, which was a nice one to look at. As much as he wanted to touch her, it might not be the best decision, since he had seen her grab her katana when she had gotten riled up about the war. Grinning, he tapped his fingers along the back of the board again, but not far enough along so he would keep his fingers. "Doll...you seem alittle too dedicated to a cause you don't even know that much about. I don't know what you have done in the past, but you seem to talk about taking life in statistics, rather than actually looking at the things you have to do once you're down facing the person you're about to kill. Little children, doll. Think about it."
Ishbal District: 12th Brigade (Command: Brigadier General Fessler)- Colonel Basque Grand, the Iron Blood Alchemist Major Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist Kanda District: 5th Regiment (Command: Colonel Jacobs)- Major Zolf Kimbley, the Crimson Alchemist Major Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist Gunja District: 1st Regiment (Command: Colonel Mosquito)- Lieutenant Colonel Zerah Solingen, the Blade Alchemist Major Joliot Comanche, the Silver Alchemist Parshan District: 32nd Brigade (Command: Colonel Tennison)- Lieutenant Colonel Gene Lawson, the Chillbane Alchemist Major Diana Brinkerhoff, the Water Alchemist Darjja District: 8th Brigade (Command: Colonel Hotchkiss)- Major Morris Drake, the Phase-Shifting Alchemist Major Joseph Valentine, the Earthen Forge Alchemist Major Michael Smucz, the Thunder Alchemist
