War for Change

(Chapter 19)/Flames of Past Experience

Third Person POV:
Flashback (Chloe):
March 3rd, 2080, 05:00:

Within the back of an Anthro Army truck was a band of recruits being driven through the jungles of South America. Inside was a total of 26 Anthro's, each of various races and sizes, but the feline in the front right corner stood out. She was a wild-cat Anthro with a unique fur pattern, brown, maple, and tan.

Her name was Chloe Katrine, and she wasn't supposed to be here. Yet, despite still being young, she wanted to do her part for her family lineage. So, instead of waiting for a few more years, she lied about her age and joined the army, using her family name to speed up the process.

She was looking down at the floor with her bright red eyes, nervous about what she was doing. She knew it was only a matter of time before her father and sister would find out about this, but she had hoped that she would have at least one engagement, to not only win it, but succeed in it. She took a steady, silent sigh to herself before looking at the rest of the recruits. They were all talking and bragging about feats they've never done before, but she smiled to herself, happy these recruits didn't treat her differently.

Then, the truck reaches a checkpoint used by the Anthro Army and slowed down. The driver rolled down the window and said in a masculine voice,

Anthro driver (male): "Have a new batch of recruits being shipped, where are they needed most?"

Male fox gates keeper (looks through his tablet): "Hm, let's see, Bongito and Reef just got a shipment a week ago, Cohen and Vito are still at full strength, perhaps-"

The sound of helicopter blades approaching closer cuts off the gate's keeper. Then, an Anthro Sikorsky came into view and landed on the other side of the gate. The side doors opened, where two heavily armored guards came out before the large figure of 4th Brigadier Darack Katrine followed, along with Lieutenant-Colonel Helena Katrine. Everyone at the checkpoint saluted as Darack pointed to the truck and shouted,

Darack Katrine: "I want everyone out of that truck!"

Confused, but respecting the chain of command, the driver banged the back of the cabin and shouted,

Anthro driver (male): "You heard him, everyone out."

While everyone else was confused on who this person could be, Chloe was endlessly scared by who she knew was behind it. As each recruit shuffled on out and walked to the front, she was slower than the rest, and far more nervous. Eventually, she got to the back and climbed down, nervously walking over and peeking the left side.

The rest of the recruits were standing in a line, Darack looking at each of them, curious if this was the transport that had his daughter. Helena, not seeing Chloe and was getting worried, pushed past the recruits and started walking to the truck. As soon as she parted from the crowd, she saw Chloe peeking over before she hid behind the truck upon seeing her sister.

Helena: "Chloe!"

Everyone then looked over as Helena sped-walked to the back of the truck. Darack, instead of also walking over, stood there, hearing whispers in his ear. Chloe prepared herself for the coming shouting as Helena walked over. As soon as Helena saw Chloe, she immediately said,

Helena: "Chloe, what in the hell were you thinking, you know-"

She stopped herself as she saw Chloe's face, seeing that she was prepared for this. Helena, instead of continuing to yell or shout, took a deep breath before walking in front of Chloe. She then crouched to her level before placing her right hand on Chloe's left shoulder and asked,

Helena: "Chloe, you know we deeply care about you, right?"

Chloe (looks at her): "I-I just want to prove myself, I'm not a kitten anymore."