A dark haired man walked down in front of a line of others. He wore glasses, and looked older. It was impossible to tell his actual age. He was relatively tall, and had an interesting southern drawl, going by the title of the Director. However, the aspects of this man were nothing compared to those he stood before. The men and women lined up each wore different colored armor. They ranged from light blue to white to grey with yellow highlights. These were the freelancers: an elite team of soldiers trained to fight the impending alien army and protect humanity. There were nine of them, and nine boxes behind the Director.
"It was decided that to further aid your fighting skills, each of you will be paired with an animal companion." He addressed the group.
Another man spoke up, this one dark skinned with a smooth, slow voice. "They are all young and will need caring. However, all of them have the best breeding and will surely be excellent fighters. Trainers will be here shortly. The animals are all equipped with a chip that allows them to communicate with you, as well as other abilities. Those that might naturally be nocturnal are no longer so."
The Director turned to the soldier with the light blue armor and gestured to the dark skinned man. "Councilor, if you please. Agent Carolina, you are matched with a grizzly bear cub." The Councilor reached into one of the larger boxes and pulled out a small, brown, fuzzy bear cub and set it on the ground in front of Carolina. The two stared at each other for a moment, before the bear stood on his hind legs and made a groaning sound. He walked around Carolina then, and sat down behind her.
Next, the Director turned his gaze on the tan soldier with silver trimmings. "Agent York, you and a wolf pup shall work together." The Councilor then proceeded to pull out the wolf pup from another large box and set the pup down in front of the agent.
"Sweet." York said and reached down to pet the wolf as it excitedly sniffed him.
The Councilor grabbed a long, thinner box. "Agent Wyoming," The Director began, stopping in front of the all-white soldier. "You have a Komodo Dragon." The Councilor opened the box and a small lizard scrambled out and waited, poised in front of Wyoming.
"Very good." Wyoming said, his British accent startling the lizard.
The Councilor and Director walked on, to the soldier in dark purple with green accents. "Agent North Dakota. We have selected a dog for you." The Councilor let free a Husky puppy. The small, rambunctious pup jumped up on to North.
"Why hello there." North said, petting the dog, the affection clear in his voice.
Yet another large box was dragged out and put in front of a soldier wearing grey armor with yellow highlighting. "Agent Washington. Your companion shall be a jaguar." The Director said as the Councilor put the jaguar cub down on the ground.
Attempting to hide, the cub moved back behind the box and let out a small, nervous cough.
"It's so…little." Washington said.
"Come on now, Wash." North spoke up. "It's just scared. Show it a little affection."
Washington shrugged and knelt down. "Come on out. No one here will hurt you."
The small cub crept forward until it was close enough to touch.
"There you go." Wash straightened up and the cub moved to hide behind his leg, feeling very small.
"She will grow in time." The Councilor said, before he and the Director moved on. "Agent Maine, you have a hyena." The odd looking cub was placed before the imposing soldier. He was also in all white armor, but had a different armor style than the rest of the soldiers. The two stared and each other, much like Carolina and her bear cub. The hyena made an odd, almost squeaking noise and turned around to sit almost on the agent's foot.
"Agent Connecticut." The Director's voice caught the attention of all once again. The Councilor reached into another box and after a moment, his hand came out again with a small hawk on it. He brought his hand to Connecticut's shoulder, and the bird moved off his hand to perch there.
"Agent South Dakota, for you we have an orangutan." The athletic animal pulled itself out of the box and was directed to South. It promptly climbed up her armor to cling to her arm.
"A monkey? How is that going to help me?" She scoffed. The orangutan quickly made loud, indignant cries in response to her words.
"That is for you to find out." The Councilor said after it became clear that the Director was not going to reply. She grumbled something, but no response was given to her.
"And last, Agent Florida." The Director said. A long box was opened, and out came a young crocodile. It was guided to Florida, where it wrapped itself around his body and let out the odd hiss that crocodiles tend to make.
"Thank you, sirs." Florida replied. His words were followed by a quick chorus of thank you's from the other soldiers.
The Director nodded. "I expect you to begin bonding with your partners now. Their relationship with you can prove very important."
The Councilor took over. "These animals do not know how to communicate with you yet, so you will just have to do your best to understand their needs." He explained. "However, they do understand us. Thank you."
"Dismissed." The Director nodded and walked away, followed by the Councilor and a few other soldiers. The team of freelancers looked at each other before parting to begin getting to know their new partners.
Hey all! So this story follows Wash and his partner. I have already posted this on Archive of our Own, so quite a bit of it is already written. I have finished the freelancer saga and will start Recovery One soon. The Reds and Blues will get animals, just not right away. If you guys have any ideas for me, let me know, whether it's something to make the story better, better title, an idea for what should happen, or what animals the Reds and Blues should be paired with. Thanks guys!
