A/N: I don't know very much about the military so I may get a few things wrong here

A/N: I don't know very much about the military so I may get a few things wrong here. Sorry.

The rest of the bus ride to camp was relatively silent. Aside from a whisper here and there, every squirrel recruit was silent and deadpan as far as expressions went. Axel had been staring at the back of the seat in front of him for twenty straight minutes while Riley basically kept his gaze forward, except for a quick glance around now and then. That report on the news had really gotten to all of them. Perhaps they were finally realizing what they were getting into, but there was no turning back now. But after that report, no one wanted to turn back. It was time to strike back.

The sudden stop of the bus brought everyone out of their trance. The bus door hissed as it opened and everyone stood up in unison with their belongings in hand. Axel felt the mud slush underneath his combat boots as he stepped off the bus. Looking around, he saw several other busses dropping off new recruits. These guys didn't seem phased like he and the others were; perhaps they hadn't heard the news yet. "All right! Attention all new recruits!" barked a large brown squirrel in rather formal looking military attire. "Form a orderly line over there to receive your bunk assignments. Assemble quickly, boys, we don't have all day." Axel and Riley exchanged a glance before heading over to the line formation. Once every new recruit had taken his place in line, the brown squirrel instructor walked down the line and handed a yellow slip of paper to each squirrel.

Axel always felt like he was the center of attention now and then, and that was usually at times when he'd prefer to remain anonymous. What triggered this particular moment was when the instructor stopped right in front of him and painfully paused before handing Axel his bunk assignment. He felt a slight warmth in his face as he took his paper and tried to make himself less noticeable. Riley took his bunk assignment and leaned over to his friend. "Your tail's dragging," he whispered which got an immediate response from Axel. Taking a quick glance around, he noticed that everyone had their tails proudly in the air, while his just rested on the ground. He had so much on his mind that he didn't even notice until now. Sighing a bit, he lifted his tail off the ground and wagged it slightly to get the dirt off.

By this time, the instructor was a ways down the line and hadn't notice Axel corrected his posture, not that it mattered to either of them at the moment however. "What'd you get?" Riley whispered. Axel carefully unfolded the slip of paper in his paws. "Bunk 24, what about you?"

"27, hey we won't be too far apart. That's good."

"I guess,"

"What's the matter? They're not going to punish you for your tail if that's what you're wondering. At least I don't think they would."

"It's not that. I don't know what's wrong with me. Guess I'm just nervous."

"I think we're all a little nervous here, bud."

"All right, listen up! Report to your bunks immediately and then report back here at 08:00 hours!* Move out!"

*I don't know military time either, so just pretend with me please.

The line seemed to break apart as each recruit separated to find his bunk. Axel and Riley evaded the over crowded directory sign and walked in the general direction to bunks 20-30. There was an uneasy silence between them as they walked. Riley would've killed for something to break the silence and Axel could sense that he was waiting for him to say something, anything that would launch them into a discussion, but neither one of them knew what to say at the moment. "Found my bunk," Riley mumbled as he feebly pointed in its general direction. "See you in a bit." Axel nodded as Riley walked away. He turned slightly and didn't have to look hard before his own bunk came into view.

Upon opening the door, Axel found just what he had expected. Wood floor with two windows on each side, four wooden beds total with green blankets and one cotton pillow on each, and each bed had a large wooden trunk resting at the foot. With each bed exactly the same, it didn't really matter to him which one he would be sleeping in. But it never hurt to have the first choice on location. With his suitcase in hand, he head to the far left corner of the bunk and opened the trunk. He had heard that in the military, your superiors would intentionally dump out your trunk just to get to you. It was all part of the training, but keeping everything in a neat and orderly fashion would usually reduce the risk of this happening. With that in mind, he began unpacking his things into the trunk carefully and making sure everything looked neat.

As he did this, his mind began to wonder to various things about the war and about Sarah. He didn't like living in the past, but now and then a trip down memory lane was nearly impossible to avoid, especially in times like these. Sarah, I'm sorry. Once again his mind was playing a guilt trick on him. No matter how he looked at it and no matter what logic he used, there was always a small voice in the back of his mind, blaming him, telling him it was all his fault. This would always counter act all logic and reason and make him feel unsure of what really was logical. He gripped one of his spare shirts tightly as he tried to bring his train of thought back to the present, when the sudden slam of his trunk brought him back to reality completely.

"Hey, tail dragger!" Axel looked upward to see another squirrel recruit with his boot on the trunk and his right elbow on his knee. He had what one could call and "friendly smirk" on his face as he leered at Axel with a patronizing glare. Axel could feel the rage building up in his brain. He leered back at the squirrel just as powerfully as his teeth gritted into a sneer. That last thing he was about to do was take shit from another recruit. He had taken it from his father, his schoolmates, and others who just didn't like him for one reason or another and he wasn't about to take it now. Axel must of looked more angry and scary than he intended to, because the other squirrel immediately stepped back and put his paws in the air. "Hey, man, I didn't mean anything by it. That's just my way of beginning an introduction. Perhaps I should try again?" Axel still had his eyes narrowed in an evil leer at the other as he slowly nodded his head. "All right then." The other squirrel stood up straight and extended his paw. "My name is San. San Fursparks." The angry expression from Axel's face slowly dissolved away as he stood and took San's paw in his own. "Axel Robers, nice to meet you." San smirked a bit at that. "A few seconds ago I wouldn't have guessed, but I won't hold that against you."

That said, San crossed his arms and began getting a good look around the bunk while Axel returned to unpacking. "So, where you from?" San said as he turned on heel to scan the room. "Pincas Jerslin," Axel replied as he brushed a bit of lint off of his shirt. "What about you?"

"Sharmon. Real nice place,"

Axel dropped his clothes in alarm and stood up so fast he hit his head on the trunk top. "Did you say Sharmon!?" His voice was dripping with more alarm than he realized at the moment and his eyes were wide with shock. "What? What's wrong?" San demanded. Axel slowly lowered his paw that he was rubbing the lump on his head with and dropped his arms to his sides. "You…haven't heard yet?" San started getting very nervous at this point. This was wartime after all and for all he knew his hometown could have been completely blasted from the face of the earth. "What happened!" San nearly shouted at Axel as he clenched his fists. "This morning," Axel paused to wet his lips. His voice was small and unsure of whether to continue or not, but San stared at him with anticipation which urged him to continue. "Sharmon was attacked by a Tediz air raid."

"How much damage was there?" San asked, his voice shaky and nervous.

"It was pretty bad. Just about everyone within the city limits was injured."

"The death toll?"

"Over 25,000."

San's expression and attitude had made a complete 180 from just a few minutes ago. His arms hung to his sides as he stared at his feet. His eyes reflected a sense of sorrow and disbelief. He knew he had to believe what he was hearing, but he couldn't stand the thought of it anymore. "My family's there," he mumbled without even looking up. Axel sighed and returned to packing. The silence was murder and he needed to occupy himself even if it did seem uncaring. "My hometown was attacked too," he said, never taking his eyes off of his chore. San slowly turned towards him, breathing heavily but quietly. "Did anyone you know die?" he asked in a quiet and almost childlike voice. Axel finished unpacking and slowly closed the lid on the trunk, his eyes closed the whole time. "My girlfriend was killed. That's why I signed up."

"I signed up because," San paused and swallowed a bit of air. "I was scared of what I would lose. I didn't want to stand by and watch my friends and family get picked off by the Tediz, so I decided to do something about it. Now it looks like the only life I saved was my own."

What followed was five minutes of solid silence which seemed like and eternity for those who were present. Axel tried to pull himself out of that mood and was starting to regret ever telling San about the air raid. Of course, he would've found out sooner or later and it was better he heard it then where there was minimal chaos around. That bit of piece did not last as the door was suddenly thrown open and two other recruits made their entrance. One had a brown circle around his right eye and the other had the tip of his tail missing. "So this is home sweet home for God knows how long," the one with the brown eye said. "Not exactly what I'd prefer but can't spit at what you get." The other squirrel with the missing tail tip simple nodded in reply and looked around the bunk with an expressionless face.

San and Axel shared a quick glance then looked back at the other two, who in turned looked back as well. "Sorry if we barged in on anything, mates." The one with the brown eye said as he tossed his suitcase on top of his chosen bed. He then headed over to San and extended his paw in a friendly handshake. "My name's Hunter." He shook San's paw firmly and then motioned towards the squirrel with the missing tail tip. "That one over there is Razor. He doesn't talk much so don't even try." Razor had his arms crossed, but managed to free his paw and wave a bit to the other two occupants while keeping his arms crossed. "Name's San," San replied, then motioned behind him. "That's Axel." Axel smiled lightly and waved back at Hunter who sighed in response. "This one's not much of a talker to, eh?"

"It's not that," Axel replied, standing up. "I just get lost in my thoughts now and then."

"Right,"

Hunter turned back to his bunk and began unpacking. He had sensed there was an uneasy look between San and Axel and guessed that whatever they were talking about before he and Razor entered was pretty intense emotionally. For the next twenty minutes not a word was said between either of the recruits, until San happened to notice what time it was. "Shit," The other three immediately stopped whatever they were doing and looked up at him. "We have five minutes before we're supposed to report back. We better go." Axel shut the lid of his trunk with a bit more intensity than he intended, causing the other's to jump. The other's closed their trunks as well (though not as loudly as he had) and silently piled out the door.

"What took you? Didn't think you'd make it." Riley whispered to Axel when he and the others joined the line of new recruits. "I lost track of time." He whispered back as the Sergeant and two Instructors joined the recruits in the field. "Don't let your tail drag this time."

"Shut up."

A rather large grey squirrel stood in front of the line of recruits with the Instructors on either side of him. He was highly decorated, suggesting he was in a place of superiority. In this case, the Sergeant*.

* I don't know if that big squirrel guy from the game is really a Sergeant, but you guys get the picture and once again, I don't know very much about the military.

"Welcome to the army, boys." He began with his arms behind his back as he scanned the fresh shipment of squirrels for any error in their posture. With his hands still behind his back, he slowly began making his way up and down the line. "From here on in your lives are going to be run on a very strict schedule. It's not going to be easy and it's not going to be fun, but by the end of your training I will have made soldiers out of each and everyone of you. However, not everyone here is war material. If you are going to survive this, you are going to have to be strong and well disciplined, and if you can't survive what lies just ahead, there is no way you'll survive real combat. I strongly discourage anyone turning back at this point, but if you can't cut it, you're out. Is there anyone who doesn't understand that? Good. First things first. When speaking to your superiors the first and last word of your sentence will be 'sir'. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sir yes sir!" The new recruits responded in unison.

"Good. Second, there will be no back talk when speaking to superiors. I don't want anyone causing trouble in my camp. Is that understood?"

"Sir yes sir!"

"All right. Follow the Instructors out to the field, boys. Your training starts now."

To be continued……

I am such a slacker! Sorry that took so long. Like I said at least two times before, I don't know much about the military, so if I got something wrong and it's really bothering you, just let me know and I'll fix it.