# The Academy - A General's Proposal

Author: SrA havenofimage
Tags: Bear, Bird, Fox, Military, Snow Leopard, Story Series, marten

#11 of The Academy

 

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "Hey Harper, wake up."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Huh, what?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I blinked the fog out of my eyes to see Trestan standing over me.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The hell?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "We're supposed to go to the conference room.&nbsp; There's going to be a debriefing or something."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I got up awkwardly and stretched my stiff muscles.&nbsp; I followed Trestan down the hall in silence.&nbsp; We came to an open door and I could hear the voices of the other three squad members.&nbsp; I walked into the room.&nbsp; Tank greeted me.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Does anyone know what we're doing here?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "No.&nbsp; Some cute nurse woke us up and said that we had been requested to meet here."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "How can you have found here attractive?&nbsp; She was a bimbo."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I listened as Teague and Jessica argued about the merits of girls.&nbsp; Tank laughed quietly and turned to me.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Sleep well?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "No."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Me neither.&nbsp; Can you believe it, first squad in seven years?&nbsp; Only the second freshmen."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I was about to respond when the door opened.&nbsp; I looked around to see who the newcomer was.&nbsp; I saw red fir and then my eyes fell on a gold star.&nbsp; I immediately sprung from my seat.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Room, Ten Hut!"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "At ease cadets."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We sat back down and watched the General circle the room.&nbsp; He was in the shadow along the walls so I couldn't make out much of his features.&nbsp; He looked to be a fox, of some other canine relative.&nbsp; He took his seat at the head of the table and moved into the light.&nbsp; I had been right, he was a fox.&nbsp; I took in his appearance quickly and spotted a strange white scar, barely visible on his forehead.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Gentlemen, Lady, I would like to begin by saying congratulations.&nbsp; Your performance, despite its seaming simplicity, showed real brilliance.&nbsp; You, like the short list of squads to win in the past, demonstrated excellent team work, and expertly implemented your strengths, and took precautions for your limitations."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Thank you sir."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Now, I know you've been told that there's a reward for completing this challenge, and it's not just getting to meet me."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We laughed tentatively along with the General.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "To clarify, it's not a reward in the normal sense.&nbsp; You won't be receiving any special rank or ribbon or trophy.&nbsp; It's an opportunity, one which you will never get again.&nbsp; An opportunity for a life of excitement, risk, challenge, and success."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I listened intently.&nbsp; What was he talking about?

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "We are looking to put together a small task force of coordinated individuals who can work together flawlessly.&nbsp; We think you would be perfect."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "We being who sir?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "That doesn't matter.&nbsp; What I'm asking you to do is consider joining this.&nbsp; You will go through intensive training and will come out the best the military has to offer."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I sat pondering it for a while, and then leaned forward.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "What's the catch?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Ah... you must be Harper?&nbsp; The catch?&nbsp; You leave your old life behind.&nbsp; Friends, family, classmates, no one will know you are alive.&nbsp; Those of our enemy who find out, will have an extremely short amount of time to regret it."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Not to be rude sir, but five people don't just disappear without a trace."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "That's why you don't.&nbsp; You disappear publicly so no one will question it."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "How."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Trust me, if as many people died in training accidents as we report, I'd have and inquiry on my hands."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "So you stage out deaths?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Report them, hold a funeral, twenty one gun salute, the whole shebang"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "And we can never&nbsp; see our family or friends again?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I didn't say it would be easy.&nbsp; This assignment isn't for those who can't handle it.&nbsp; I'll give you guys some time to think about it."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He rose from his seat.&nbsp; We snapped to attention.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "At ease.&nbsp; Cadet Harper, walk with me, I'd like to have a word."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I turned back to the squad.&nbsp; They all had looks of bewilderment on their face.&nbsp; I got up and followed the General out the door.&nbsp; As courtesy demanded, I walked half a pace behind him, and to the side.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I can't talk to you when you're behind me."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I lengthened my stride until I was level with him.&nbsp; Why was he treating me as an equal?

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "That was excellent leadership you demonstrated out there."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Thank you sir."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I'd hate to lose such a good officer, but we need this team.&nbsp; If your squad decides to accept, would you feel able to lead them?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I don't know sir."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "You don't strike me as the indecisive type Harper."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "It's not that sir, it just, I was sort of leading them on the last mission and Jessica got shot.&nbsp; If we were in a real situation, she would have been killed."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The fox stopped and turned towards me.&nbsp; I turned and looked at him, suddenly stricken with how short I was.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Son, you will lose men.&nbsp; You will always lose men.&nbsp; You're going to have to grit your teeth and accept that.&nbsp; That's the curse of command.&nbsp; This is war, people under your command will die, have always died.&nbsp; It is your responsibility as their leader to make sure they do not die without reason.&nbsp; If you have learned from this challenge, truly learned, I trust that you will never waste a life again."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I stood in silence, pondering his words.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Your squad trusts you Harper.&nbsp; They need you to lead them, now more than ever.&nbsp; Can you take the challenge, or will you back down?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "No Sir!&nbsp; I will never back down on my squad."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "That's exactly what I wanted to here.&nbsp; You have a lot of potential cadet, I'll be watching to see where it takes you."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I walked back to the conference room to find the squad sitting in silence.&nbsp; I sat in one of the leather desk chairs that surrounded the table and leaned back.&nbsp; Trestan tapped a pen against the wood.&nbsp; Tank turned to me.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "What do you think Harper?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Whatever we decide, it needs to be unanimous.&nbsp; Either we all go, or none of us go."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I agree," this from Jessica, "we all bring something unique to the squad."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We sat in silence.&nbsp; Slowly, one by one, every one left the conference room alone.&nbsp; I was the last to leave.&nbsp; I wandered my way outside.&nbsp; It was a sunny day.&nbsp; The light hit my fur warming me but only to a point.&nbsp; I stared at the mountain range to the west.&nbsp; All past ties lost.&nbsp; My parents, my friends from high school, Traci.&nbsp; I know what I should do, what I had to do.&nbsp; It would be hard, but I wanted it.&nbsp; I wanted the challenge and chance to become the best.&nbsp; No one had said doing what was right was easy.&nbsp; I picked my way back to the structure, pondering my unspoken decision.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I took my seat around the large oval table and waited for the rest of the squad.&nbsp; They all came back soon after.&nbsp; Tank was the last to return.&nbsp; He still had a pained look on his face.&nbsp; I had never learned much about him, so had no idea what he was giving up.&nbsp; Somehow we knew that we had all come to the same decision.&nbsp; It had to be said though.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "So, do we face our deaths and begin a new life, or do we go back to school and continue our old one?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Teague cleared his throat, "let's go get killed."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Jessica, you in?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yes."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Trestan?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Yup."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Tank?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He paused "I'm in."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The general came back into the room.&nbsp; He waved us down before we could even react.&nbsp; Somehow he knew a decision had been made.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "So, what's it going to be?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "We'll do it."

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "You all understand the consequences?"

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I nodded and so did the rest of the squad around me.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Alright, we'd better get started."

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/rn93BXQe
Part of the series The Academy
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