"Your orders were to take the hotel, not evacuate civilians. Who decided this was a rescue op?" Smallear asked, he was furious to figure out what had happened that morning.
"It was me sir, I was worried about them getting caught in the crossfire if Shadowclan found out." Fireheart told Smallear that it was his idea.
"Well at least you're honest about that part Fireheart, but I am moreover worried about Bluestar having the ability for her and you to follow orders." Smallear told them. Bluestar shoved Fireheart out of her way and to the ground.
"See I was right." Bluestar told Fireheart. Smallear turned to her as he saw what she had done.
"And you Bluestar, I don't want to see this behavior coming from you especially since you're the platoon leader. You've been causing many problems as of recently such as the debacle with Tallstar and now this. I think the platoon needs to be returned to France if they can't prove themselves in Germany." Smallear decided to make his decision final.
"Sir, we can try to prove that the platoon can still get itself in shape" Fireheart tried to plead with Smallear that they could get their second chance into Germany to help push on through. Smallear turned his head to Fireheart as he liked him slightly more than Bluestar.
"If you want to prove yourself, how about you make Swiftpaw, Brightpaw, Cloudpaw and Thornpaw into warriors and get them promoted, we can free up some more of our troops to train more rookies." Smallear told Fireheart and Bluestar that they had several cats that needed to be promoted as they were thinking of training the rookies.
"Yes Smallear." Fireheart told Smallear. Bluestar was already walking away, without saying a word. She was off to think about it.
"Good. I'll be observing your progress as of tonight." Smallear told Fireheart. Fireheart gulped as he got up and left. Thunderclan had been pinned into a tight position, Fireheart knew he had four apprentices fit for promotion but Bluestar was really only going to promote one of them. Seeing the sorry state the platoon was in, Fireheart knew he had to wait.
Evening came around with Bluestar ready for promotions. Smallear was watching this as he hoped Bluestar had made up her mind. Bluestar and Fireheart walked up to the crates as Bluestar seemed to be once again disobeying everybody's requests.
"All cats of Thunderclan, gather by me for a meeting." Bluestar began. Bluestar seemed to be disorganized with how she was saying this and she was slouched over. Fireheart was standing firm as Bluestar continued speaking. I've gotten orders from Fireheart and the fact he has been nagging me that four of our apprentices were promoted however based on the condition as of today and the events that have played out, I am only going to promote one of them as I see he is the only one that is fit for the promotion. Cloudpaw would you mind stepping up?" Cloudpaw stepped up as he felt like he was in hot water, seeing how the events of today played out. He knew this promotion wasn't going to look pretty. "Cloudpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend this platoon, even at the cost of your life?" Bluestar asked Cloudpaw.
"I do." Cloudpaw responded. He gulped as he didn't expect what was going to happen next.
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Cloudpaw, from this moment you will be known as Cloudtail. StarClan honors your courage and independence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan's Platoon. You will also be promoted from a Private into a PFC rank and we're thinking of making you another support gunner but that hasn't come out of it. Give it up for Cloudtail." Bluestar promoted Cloudtail but she wasn't promoting anyone else. Only Fireheart, Sandstorm, Brindleface, Fernpaw and Ashpaw clapped. Swiftpaw, Brightpaw and Thornpaw were upset.
"So Bluestar is just going to promote the Sergeant's nephew?! I sense some kind of corruption in our ranks." Longtail sneered to Smallear. Smallear nodded, he was livid and pissed at the fact that Swiftpaw, Brightpaw and Thornpaw hadn't been promoted. Brightpaw looked like she wanted to clap for Cloudtail but she was stuck in a hard place as she didn't get promoted.
"I know, she's going to get court martialed one day and Fireheart will be the new Staff Sergeant. Bluestar doesn't even consider him a threat but she needs to be removed. I'm furious that she has broken her promise." Smallear whispered back to Longtail. Bluestar was tearing the platoon to pieces and the rift was only growing wider.
"Fireheart, he seems to have some spirit left and might be Thunderclan's only saving grace. We need to contact Patton to get her removed." Longtail whispered to Smallear.
"Good idea." Smallear whispered. Bluestar then finished the ceremony.
"May you stand vigil until dawn, meeting dismissed." Bluestar then got off the crates and left. Cloudtail went off to take up guard of the camp.
Swiftpaw was pissed that Cloudtail was the only one who got promoted. He kicked over a box of grenades and continued walking. Brightpaw looked at Swiftpaw as he was leaving the camp. He was going to desert the camp.
"Swiftpaw, where are you going?" Brightpaw asked. Swiftpaw ignored her as he kept walking. Brightpaw turned to him as she got in front of him again. "Swiftpaw."
"Away, Bluestar isn't faithful to us and I think it's best if we left the front lines to fight our own battles." Swiftpaw responded. He continued to walk away while Brightpaw followed. Fernpaw was busy guarding her section of the camp but she didn't notice Swiftpaw and Brightpaw leaving.
"Look, I know you're mad but so am I, if I might ask, is leaving the camp the best choice?" Brightpaw asked, she was trying her best to reason with Swiftpaw.
"Yes." Swiftpaw responded. Brightpaw decided to go for a walk with Swiftpaw to see what he was feeling but what she didn't know was that they were heading for a trap.
The night would tick on as several warriors were preparing to swap. Cloudtail was keeping watch over the camp but Fernpaw was on edge. Suddenly, several gunshots were heard as they echoed throughout Aachen. Fernpaw got up from her post and ran straight for Fireheart. Fireheart, Cinderpelt and Sandstorm were together when Fernpaw rushed into the scene.
"Fireheart, we need the jeep, we heard gunshots going off and we needed to get to the location." Fernpaw began. Fireheart looked at Fernpaw with a nod,
"Come on, get Cloudtail to stop his vigil as we are mounting a rescue mission." Fireheart told Fernpaw while Sandstorm and Cinderpelt ran off to get the jeep. Fernpaw ran back to find Cloudtail. Cloudtail was looking at the entrance when Fernpaw came up to him.
"Cloudtail, we need you right this moment. Fireheart is ordering your vigil be stopped." Fernpaw told Cloudtail that they needed him.
"What's going on?" Cloudtail asked as he seemed confused.
"We heard gunshots and we're going to investigate." Fernpaw frantically told Cloudtail that they needed to arrive to where they were going to be heading for. The jeep then pulled up with Fireheart at the wheel.
"Hop on Cloudtail." Fireheart called out. Fernpaw jumped on while Cloudtail called shotgun, The five cats drove off to find out where the gunshots were coming from. Fireheart drove as fast as the jeep could allow him while figuring out where the gunshots were coming from.
"Where are we going?" Sandstorm asked.
"I don't know for sure, Cinderpelt, get the medical supplies ready." Fireheart instructed her. Cinderpelt nodded while they drove around the corner, the gunshots along with yaps of dogs and the hissing of a cat was heard followed by an explosion. Fireheart continued to hear the sounds while driving around the neighborhood of Aachen. Fireheart then smelled a familiar scent coming to his nose, it was blood. Fireheart pulled into the area and got the flashlight on while Cinderpelt stayed in the jeep. Sandstorm also stayed behind to prepare stretchers. Only Fireheart, Fernpaw and Cloudtail wandered into the scene, unaware that they were too late.
Fireheart turned the corner and the three of them went into the alleyway. Creeping through the alleyway, they came to a crossroad to come across a bloodbath. Cinderpelt and Sandstorm appeared with the stretchers while a battered and bleeding dog wandered by.
"Down now!" Cloudtail shouted at the dog. The dog whipped around and tried shooting Cloudtail with a Mauser C96. Cloudtail hissed as he was nearly hit by the bullets. Cloudtail raised the M1 Garand and fired three bullets in retaliation, killing the wounded dog. The dog collapsed before Cloudtail and the others continued to wander into the crossroads. Several dogs lay dead and bleeding. It had been an ambush out there. Fireheart turned the corner and spotted a ragged body of black and white fur, his rifle torn to pieces with wood splinters all over the place. One of the M1 Garands had been violently torn apart. Fireheart and Sandstorm turned the body over to see who it was, the body laid limp without any signs of movement.
"Cinderpelt. We need identification." Fireheart told Cinderpelt that they needed help. Sandstorm and Cinderpelt laid the stretcher down to see the uniform of the apprentice had been torn to pieces.
"It's Swiftpaw." Cinderpelt told Fireheart. She began taking a pulse of the ragged and mangled apprentice. The apprentice was limp and no pulse had been detected. "Fireheart, Swiftpaw's dead." Cinderpelt came to the conclusion. Fireheart bowed his head with pity, he wanted Swiftpaw to get promoted but the apprentice having been shot and killed made him even more upset. An M1 Carbine laid intact just a hundred yards away. Cloudtail was investigating the second body. Sandstorm and Fernpaw were loading the dead apprentice onto the stretcher as they were going to tell Bluestar the news. Cloudtail was inspecting the body, the right side of her face had been mauled away almost if she had lost an eye. Her right ear had been torn and nearly ripped off. She was twitching as her right eye had been shut tight. Fireheart noticed Cloudtail and went up to him.
"What is it Cloudtail?" Fireheart asked. Cinderpelt went over to investigate.
"It's Brightpaw, she's still alive." Cloudtail told Cinderpelt and Fireheart. Brightpaw tried to speak.
"I… I… I was… walking wi… with… Swiftpaw a… as he… seemed to… be upset… and we… we were ambushed… by dogs… I… was knocked… out… when a gren… grenade exploded… in the ri… right side… of… my face." Brightpaw stuttered trying to recreate what had happened, based on what happened, Brightpaw had been knocked unconscious early in the firefight and Swiftpaw kept fighting with everything he had until he gave no more. Fernpaw and Cinderpelt came forth with the second stretcher and loaded Brightpaw on it.
"Hang on Brightpaw, we're going to save you. Just hang on." Cinderpelt instructed Brightpaw to not slip. Fireheart and Cloudtail began to walk away from the scene. They needed to tell Bluestar about this.
Aachen fell to Thunderclan the next morning as the remaining survivors had surrendered. Brightpaw was in the field hospital as the medics had worked all night to save her. Brightpaw opened her one good eye to see that she had been resting in the hospital bed. Cloudtail entered as he was having a conversation with Bluestar.
"Swiftpaw, according to Fernpaw, had walked out with Brightpaw last night and she summoned us to figure out what the gunshots were. That is why I didn't finish my vigil and we found the dead body of Swiftpaw." Cloudtail tried to explain to Bluestar what exactly happened.
"Swiftpaw up and left and paid the price, it seemed that you didn't finish your duties because of what happened. I was awoken by the gunshots as well. Good thing you took immediate action because of it otherwise we were going to lose Brightpaw as well." Bluestar seemed to compliment Cloudtail. "Plus I thought you said that all dogs were friendly." Bluestar retorted.
"I was dead wrong!" Cloudtail pleaded. Oneeye entered the tent when she heard shouting again, it was coming from Bluestar.
"Another meaningless conversation?" Oneeye asked. The grizzled elderly she-cat wanted to get to the bottom of this.
"Yeah especially the last part when Bluestar asked if all dogs were friendly and I said I was wrong." Cloudtail told Oneeye what had happened. Oneeye began to think about it before she turned to Bluestar.
"I would like to see you in my office Bluestar." Oneeye hissed. Bluestar got up and began walking out of the tent. Oneeye turned to Cloudtail as she wanted to speak to him next.
"I think things are getting very tense but I know full well of what exactly was happening. Even though I can't see or hear very well, I can detect Bluestar's anger from a mile away. You aren't to blame for last night's events Cloudtail and we were thankful for getting things done. Now if you excuse me, I must yell at your leader with Smallear." Oneeye turned as she left the tent. Cloudtail walked over to Brightpaw who had her head against the pillow.
"How are you feeling?" Cloudtail asked Brightpaw.
"About as one could say a crippled I guess." Brightpaw responded. At least Cloudtail was here to give her some company.
"I'm sorry about the events of last night. I thought I was at fault for the events that have happened." Cloudtail told Brightpaw.
"You weren't Cloudtail. You did the best you could and I was actually happy that you rescued Anna." Cloudtail turned his head behind to see Erica in another hospital bed healing from her bullet wound she had sustained the day before.
"You were happy for me?" Cloudtail asked the She-cat.
"Yeah. I was listening to you and I'm happy you got the promotion." Erica responded. Anna rushed in as the kit was carrying her teddy bear.
"Caspian's hole is getting bigger and the stuffing's coming out." Anna complained to Erica that her toy was falling apart. Cloudtail turned to Anna and noticed this too.
"Want to play doctor with Caspian?" Cloudtail asked Anna if they could let Cinderpelt borrow a needle, some thread and cotton.
"Yes please!" Anna squealed with delight. Brightpaw giggled while Cloudtail was having such a wonderful time with the kit. Cinderpelt, Bluestar, Smallear and Oneeye came onto the scene with Fireheart entering shortly afterward.
"I'm telling you, if you wanted to redeem the platoon, you should've promoted those four apprentices and guess how many you promoted, just one. Now one of them is dead, and another one horribly maned. Brightpaw needs to be promoted." Smallear decided to make the case that Brightpaw should be promoted even with the injuries she had sustained. Bluestar was hesitant about this, she didn't want to name or promote Brightpaw but she was being pressured into doing so. Blurestar sighed and began speaking. She was finally pressured into it.
"Okay I don't know how long you will live but I've been pressured to promote you for this. For now you will be known as Lostface." Bluestar told Brightpaw she was going to rename her. Cloudtail gently puts down Anna's teddy bear and walks over to Bluestar.
"That's a cruel name." Cloudtail told Bluestar. "She still needs to be named Bright something." Cloudtail told Bluestar that he didn't like the name of Lostface.
"Well we got names like Oneeye and Halftail so you better shut your mouth or I will demote you." Bluestar threatened. She then walked away, she gave Fireheart the papers that Lostface had to be sent home by the new years or he will face demotion to his rank.
"I need to keep her in the platoon as long as I can, Bluestar is going insane." Fireheart muttered to himself. "Brightpaw, I promise I will name you something a little more fair." Fireheart promised her. Fireheart went out of the tent while Cloudtail went over to tend to Anna's teddy bear.
Smallear was right about this, we were taken out of Germany along with Riverclan and sent to France. Although much of the country had been liberated, one area was still held by Shadowclan, Alsace Lorraine had been disputed territory since 1870 and we didn't take it due to the supply problems. Now that supplies in the area had improved, it was time to begin moving on through. The cities of Metz, Colmar and Strasbourg were still held by Shadowclan and taking these cities would be vital.
"So we've taken Erica and Anna along as they have been much help to Cinderpelt in keeping Lostface some company and helping out with the wounded and sick. However, we're preparing a fresh assault on the remaining held Shadowclan territory in France. Supplies have improved and we're building our numbers there." Smallear told Fireheart that this fresh assault will be taking Metz. "Your objective will be taking Metz and just Metz. We got two more operations being planned so we're going to let this one go first. You will have armored and artillery support as well as air cover from fighter bombers."
"Will do, sir. And will Bluestar be helping out?" Fireheart asked Smallear if their leader was going to be helping them out. Smallear began speaking.
"No I'm afraid, we've had her transferred to another battalion ever since the Aachen incident and given her a punishment battalion to vent some steam off on. They will be taking Colmar. For now I want to see you take Metz as we got plenty of activity related to finding Sasha, who we thought she went to Aachen and now she's in Metz, we have to find her." Smallear told Fireheart that they needed to capture Sasha at all costs.
"I'll see what I can do." Fireheart told Smallear before he got up and walked away. Bluestar was off somewhere else and Fireheart knew that he needed to lead this platoon all by himself.
Fireheart was with the group as they had been reorganized and they were going to be leading the attack. Swiftpaw was dead, Lostface was injured and Bluestar was gone. Fireheart knew he had to keep the group together.
"Okay platoon, we're instructed to take Metz, we need to do this quickly if we're going to keep the pressure on Shadowclan, we should have Metz by the time this month is over." Fireheart began with the reorganized group. He had about twenty-three cats plus an assortment of other vehicles. "Okay I'm in charge but if you have any questions, refer to me about them. Now let's move." Fireheart told the group as they began to move out.
"We're coming for you Madison!" Whitestorm called out.
November 8th, 1944, Alsace-Lorraine, France: 11:25
Cloudtail trudged forward in the muddy ground, rain had been falling all day and it was still pouring. They were going to take Metz as part of Operation Madison that was going ahead.
"Smallear and the other elders are going to be observing our movements from a PBY Catalina recon plane to monitor our progress and we have plenty of cover and resources at our disposal." Fireheart told the others what their objectives will be.
"Any word on supplies?" Ashpaw asked.
"They're coming." Fireheart told Ashpaw.
"When?" Ashpaw asked. Fireheart huffed as he wanted to get this mission completed as quickly as he could.
"Just get up the hill Ashpaw." Fireheart told him as the squad began to move out. The elders were circling above in their recon plane as they were going to monitor their progress. "We got a heavily fortified machine gun in that bunker, spread out. Thornpaw, keep your flamethrower on you. Cloudtail, keep those satchel charges secured." Fireheart began to give out the orders. Cloudtail was holding Thornpaw's M1 Carbine to provide cover as Thornpaw was handling a flamethrower as of this mission.
"Seems so far so good." Thornpaw mewed as there was clearly nothing ahead. Then the machine gun in the bunker opened up.
"Return fire everyone!" Cloudtail shouted. He raised the M1 Carbine and began firing it. Fireheart decided to get the rest of the group reorganized.
"Machine gun in the bunker, Goldenflower, lay suppressive fire with Fernpaw and Brindleface. We need Thornpaw to do his job." Fireheart called out. The machine guns began opening up as Cloudtail began to make his way up the hill to the bunker.
"Thornpaw, come on." Cloudtail called out. Thornpaw slowly trudged up the hill with Fireheart and Willowpelt following him. Willowpelt was peppering the bunker with the grease gun she had while the three cats climbed up the hill. Fireheart was keeping tabs on the situation as Graystripe made his way up the hill
"Machine gun's distracted, we can move in to take out the bunker." Graystripe gave the news to Fireheart. Fireheart nodded.
"Come on Graystripe, up the hill." Fireheart mewed while Cloudtail provided suppressive fire. Fireheart and Graystripe had crawled to the top right where the machine gun was. It was just one cat spraying away with the gun. Fireheart peeked around the corner to find more cats appearing from the bunker. Fireheart turned away. "Come on Thornpaw." Fireheart called out.
"Go Thornpaw." Cloudtail called out. Cloudtail dashed on ahead while Thornpaw followed up slowly behind Cloudtail arrived at the back and pulled out a grenade and tossed it into the bunker. It exploded to the shrill of several Shadowclan cats. Thornpaw made it to the top.
"Now." Fireheart called out. Thornpaw moved to the side and sprayed the bunker with the flamethrower. Flames leaped from the bunker as the machine gun was silenced.
"That's our signal, move up the hill." Brindleface told the rest of the group. The other cats began to make their way up the hill to rejoin Fireheart and his squad.
"So far so good, we still have three more bunkers we need to clear, this one was easy." Fireheart told the group that they still had three more bunkers to breach. Fireheart decided to lead the way, the others followed behind with Goldenflower's jeep bringing up the rear, they were going to continue providing support fire wherever she could.
Fireheart and the others had crested over the hill to see another Thunderclan squad had been pinned down by two Shadowclan machine guns coming from one of the bunkers they needed to destroy. Fireheart, Cloudtail and Thornpaw slid down the hill as the others followed behind.
"That's one of them?" Cloudtail asked when he spotted the bunker.
"Yep and they're distracted. Brindleface, get some covering fire in another direction. Cloudtail, prepare the satchel charge." Fireheart ordered. Brindleface came running up to Fireheart as her boots were partially sinking into the mud.
"You got it." Brindleface mewed as she was joined by Graystripe. Brindleface began peppering the bunker with her BAR. Graystripe joined in the firefight with Fireheart. Several Shadowclan cats on the outside of the bunker had been taken out as more Thunderclan cats were coming in from another direction. Cloudtail got down as he began peppering the Shadowclan cats trying to reinforce the bunker with his carbine. Thornpaw crawled up to the bunker and began to torch it with the flamethrower. The Shadowclan cats inside of the bunker screamed out as they were cooked alive.
"Cloudtail, get the satchel charge ready." Thornpaw told Cloudtail. Cloudtail stopped firing as he pulled out one of the satchel charges he had on him. Cloudtail primed it before he threw the charge into the bunker. Thornpaw and Cloudtail dashed back to Fireheart and Graystripe as the Shadowclan counter attack seemed to be dying down. The bunker then exploded. Concrete slabs flew all over the place with Fireheart approving the explosion.
"One down, two more to go." Fireheart told them. They then began to move out, being reinforced by another group of Thunderclan cats. The cats moved on down as two bunkers from opposing sides began opening fire, three Thunderclan cats were taken down as Fireheart's group had arrived shortly afterward. "Two more bunkers ahead. We need to take the one on the right out. Goldenflower, engage the one on the left while Brindleface, you take the one on the right. Longtail, do what you can to help thin out their defenses." Fireheart gave the orders. The guns began opening fire while Fireheart crawled forward with Thornpaw and Cloudtail. Fernpaw came up to assist with the suppression of the left bunker which was the more dangerous of the two.
"Okay, we're getting close. Cloudtail, get the satchel charge ready." Thornpaw mewed. He went up to the bunker while Cloudtail was getting the satchel charge primed and Fireheart covered for him while firing the carbine. Thornpaw went up to the bunker and began pouring the fire into it. The shadowclan cats screamed in terror while Thornpaw looked at Cloudtail who had the second satchel charge ready. "Come on Cloudtail." Thornpaw mewed as he was growing impatient. Cloudtail ran up to the bunker while Thornpaw ran back. Cloudtail pulled the pin and tossed the satchel charge into the bunker. Cloudtail sprinted back as the second bunker exploded.
"We're doing good. Only one more to go." Fireheart told the group that there was still one last bunker they needed to blow up before they could move on. Graystripe ran up to Fireheart before they were going to be able to move.
"Last bunker's suppressed but Shadowclan is holding it like there's no tomorrow. Four cats have been shot up so far." Graystripe reported. Fireheart nodded.
"Okay let's finish the last bunker off. Graystripe, cover us." Fireheart told Graystripe that they should move in and take out the remaining bunker. Graystripe nodded as he began peppering the last bunker with the Grease gun he had. Fireheart, Thornpaw and Cloudtail made their way to the last bunker. "Thornpaw, go in first, Cloudtail, prepare the last satchel charge." Fireheart instructed them. Thornpaw went up while Fireheart covered for him. Cloudtail got out the last satchel charge while Thornpaw was going to do the dirty work. Thornpaw went up to the bunker and torched the cats inside with the flamethrower. Cloudtail had got the last satchel charge ready while Thornpaw withdrew. Cloudtail ran up to the bunker and tossed the satchel charge inside. He ran back to Fireheart as the last bunker exploded.
"We did it." Fernpaw mewed. Fireheart nodded as that was the last bunker gone.
"Okay that's all of them. Everyone on me." Fireheart mewed. He got up while the group was finishing off the remaining Shadowclan cats.
"So that's the last of the bunkers, what do we do now?" Ashpaw asked, he was puzzled as they just did their objectives.
"We keep moving Ashpaw." Fireheart responded. He kicked a wooden door down as he sprinted ahead. Cloudtail followed behind with the others. Goldenflower decided to take another route around to catch up with Fireheart and the others.
"How much more of this, do you think we would be at Metz by now?" Ashpaw asked.
"We just began the offensive today, we should be finished with our objectives today and get more tomorrow." Whitestorm told Ashpaw to be patient. Fireheart heard the rumbling of tanks and trucks to see M4 Shermans and trucks making their way to the hilltop.
"Smallear, convoy's been spotted, do we follow it?" Fireheart asked Smallear for permission to follow the supply convoy.
"Did you clear the bunkers?" Smallear asked while high up in the air.
"Bunkers have been neutralized." Fireheart mewed. Smallear nodded as he liked that.
"Okay good, you're on your way to easy street." Smallear told Fireheart. "Follow the supply convoy."
"Okay everyone, follow the convoy." Fireheart told the others, he once again decided to take the lead while the others followed behind the vehicles. Then explosions began to tear up the hill.
"What was that?" Fernpaw asked as she had been caught off guard.
"It's mortars." Smallear told Fireheart as he was able to identify what was firing at them. Then two Mg42's opened fire on the Thunderclan cats while they scrambled to cover.
"Starclan! It's a fortress they have over there!" Ashpaw muttered. One of the M4 Shermans fired, taking out one of the machine guns.
"Well we have tank support so we should be able to take the hilltop." Fireheart mewed to Ashpaw. The Shermans fired again, taking out the second gun.
"That's the signal, move!" Cloudtail shouted, the Thunderclan cats began to charge up the hill while the mortars continued to be fired off. Cloudtail was firing the carbine away while the Shadowclan cats were desperately trying to get new angles to take Thunderclan out. However, it wasn't enough as Thornpaw reached the top and began torching the Shadowclan cats away with the flamethrower. Fernpaw also reached the top and sprayed her BAR at the cats that were still standing. Cloudtail and Fireheart came to the top next. "It's over." Cloudtail mewed with exhaustion. Fireheart nodded as Goldenflower pulled up with a jeep. Inside contained the general of Thunderclan's army.
"Hey what's up Patton?" Fireheart asked.
"We found a downed aircraft with twenty or so cats on board not too far away from here. We think you should take a look." Patton told Fireheart about it. Fireheart began to think about it.
"We'll go investigate, any enemies nearby?" Fireheart mewed as he was going to investigate the plane crash.
"Last time we checked, there were none. The path to the plane is all yours." Patton told Fireheart. He got back into the jeep and Goldenflower drove him away. Fireheart turned to the rest of the clan.
"Okay everyone, we're going to be investigating a plane crash not too far away from here. Let's move." Fireheart took off first as the others followed behind.
Fireheart and the others marched a mile inland to find a down Shadowclan transport plane, it had been shot down by flak from what they were able to gather. Fireheart lead Cloudtail and Sandstorm to the plane while the others waited to intercept any ambush that might come. Speckletail and Graystripe followed up behind to see what was happening.
"A gaping hole in the side of the plane, we should check that out." Fireheart mewed. Fortunately the plane wasn't burning so it was deemed to be safe. Fireheart entered first while Graystripe and Sandstorm held the flanks. Speckletail entered the plane next.
"What is it Fireheart?" Speckletail asked. Fireheart held his paw up to tell her to quiet down.
"I think I see something." Fireheart told Speckletail, he moved up and looked among the bodies. He spotted something as he turned over one of the burned bodies. The charred body seemed to have some dog tags around it. Fireheart removed them and handed them to Speckletail. "I didn't know he was good at hiding stuff. I guess he held onto these when he went to starclan." Fireheart mewed as Speckletail. The dogtags from the burnt out body belonged to Snowkit. Speckletail broke down into tears. She hugged Fireheart while she wept.
"I don't want to train anymore kits, I don't want to keep fighting like this. I can't go on." Speckletail cried. Fireheart patted her on the back.
"We'll arrange for you to get promoted. You'll be sitting out for the rest of the campaign though." Fireheart told Speckletail as he felt her tears dripping down.
Two more operation's Queen and Independence, were going to be launched but Madison will resume with these fresh assaults.
[A/N]: Part 1 of two of the Madison campaign. A lot happens before then but we also get confirmation about Snowkit's death and how he ended up that way.
The next part will focus around Metz itself. Have a happy new year.