War for Change

(Prologue 2)/43rd Office tournament

(A/N: Hello, just wanted to inform you that Zero is 21 in this part and has trained in combat, from bare fists to heavy-mounted weapons and knows his 5 alternate languages and 3 martial arts, now back to the story.)

Third person POV:
January 3rd, 2088, 8:05
Hawaiian Islands

The day begins with slightly cloudy skies over the vast of the Pacific Ocean, the Hawaiian Islands at the center of this vast body of water, very clearly changed from tropical island paradises to military bases surrounding the entire islands. Multiple ships of all classes surround the islands and patrolling the area around, or departing on the water rails. Scene changes to the Eastern side of the Island of Hawaii, over the town of Hilo where a multitude of Airports, Dock, Barracks, Armories, Training Camps, Garages for all manners of vehicles, the few farming plots and a renovated church make up the town from what it once was. A truck, the LMTV M1078, is seen coming into Hilo from the Western road. Inside the back of this truck were eight young men, most engaging in conversations, around the ages of 19-23. Inside the truck was Zero, sitting at the end of the truck towards the exit. He looks off into the distance, thinking about the last three years of training and fighting.

Zero POV:

Three years of training has led me to this moment, this truck is filled with the other soon to be officers of whatever armies they go to. Thinking back, I remember what happened that led me here.

Getting situated with the world, Rex had taught me a bit on the conflict of the war, specifically why I would become a officer. Most humans joined the combined nations of the U.N., which left the older generals skeptical of who to trust to lead. The requirements were at first hated, as many didn't think being an officer would require learning more than leading, but these requirements were loved soon after as those that actually did it felt like they earned it, having the knowledge of multiple languages and the ability of using different martial arts proved useful at the beginning of the war. When the day came for me to leave, Rex told me that to lead, one must first understand what it's like to be led. This warning proved useful during the first six months of training, as the days involved waking up to the sounds of gunfire and listening to our drill sergeant as bullets wizz past our heads, before we even left the barracks. Our instructor was a hard yet fair man, he tested each of our breaking points to find out who could be trusted as an officer of humanity. Some of these were light, involving runs around the entire island, while others were what some may find terrifying, involving torture and pain. While others may have washed out and would become soldiers, I endured whatever he threw at me.

After the six months, only around thirty people remained, and he gave a speech on how impressed he was before telling us the 'real' training began. He then allowed us to have options of what we wanted to learn. There was many languages and martial arts to choose from, but before I chose what I wanted, the drill instructor wanted a private session with me.

Before joining the officers program, Rex made up a story of my past, involving me being the only survivor from a group of humans from a bunker called Greenville. The story behind that bunker was that around ten years ago (Zero was 18 when told, so 13 now), the bunker was home to a bunch of humans who wanted nothing to do with the war and made a bunker kitted out with stealth technology, including large scale cloaking. The bunker was what many called the peace during war, as the bunker had many things from before the war, like schools, stores, parks, and most of all, peace. The bunker was made 15 years after Gaia's Rage, the day humans and Anthros went to war, by a man named Richard Cross. He despised war and created the bunker in hopes that the Anthro Army would simply forget about humans if the U.N. failed to destroy them. Thousands of people flocked to the bunker, believing in Richards words. This worked for a while, with the bunker even being self-sufficient, but it all ended when a group of curious teenagers opened the bunkers doors, wanting to see the outside world, this however, deactivated the cloaking field that protected the bunker from the Anthro's satellites. It wasn't long before the A.A. stormed the bunker, killing everyone. When the U.N. finally sent soldiers to investigate, all they found was an open bunker, piles upon piles of bodies, and a large river of blood. Until Rex gave the story, no one from Greenville survived the massacre, not even children. My story is that my parents managed to get me out of the bunker from an alternate exit and told me to run before collapsing said exit to mask my escape. I managed to survive on my own from avoiding large population centers and staying in South America's forests and jungles, surviving on leftover pre-war rations and hiding in cabins. I wouldn't believe myself if I said it, surviving on your own for a decade would change you, I haven't been alone for more than a week, but just about everyone believed the story somehow, offering their condolences.