“Fathers to Sons” by MikasiWolf (part 1 of 2)

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You’re listening to The Voice of Dog. I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,

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and Today’s story

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is the first of two parts of

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“Fathers to Sons by MikasiWolf,

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a Singaporean Wolf Mercenary writer.

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“Fathers to Sons” have formerly appeared in

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the Dogs of War and SPECIES: WILDCATS anthology, published by FurPlanet Publications and Thurston Howl Publications.

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His works have been published by FurPlanet,

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Rabbit Valley, Goal Publications among others.

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You can find links to more of his stories on his FA or WikiFur page.

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This story was inspired by MikasiWolf’s time in the Army.

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“Fathers to Sons”

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by MikasiWolf, Part 1

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of 2 What the bloody, unimaginable hell am I doing here?

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That was the very thought running through Raja’s mind,

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even as his muzzle rocked with the motion of his ride.

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Around him was silence,

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save for the odd whimper of fear.

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There were no sounds of overloud music or conversation and if Raja stopped for a moment to think about it,

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he could have been inside a prison bus.

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And in many ways, he was.

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The day of reckoning came more quickly than Raja had expected.

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Months of playing the MMORPG “Resurrection of the Pelts”

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and dancing with his friends at one of the island nation’s two nightclubs had been enjoyable,

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yet pointless and ephemeral

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as such activities had proven time and again.

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Now, aboard the chartered bus

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rumbling towards the famous landmark known

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formally as the Army Ferry Terminal, and colloquially

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as Death Pier, Raja wished he had spent more time doing something constructive,

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such as writing that book about post-apocalyptic survivalism,

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or complete painting the ceiling of his room with a fresco

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he had gleaned from the Internet.

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In time, the joy of dancing to a rapidly changing tune

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and that of blowing up undead freaks time and again on a LED backlit screen

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would fade, all but erased by the prospect of facing the bloodthirsty NCOs

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and officers. At least if he didn’t make it out of

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“Holiday Camp” in one piece,

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his family would have half his fresco to remember him by.

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Or perhaps they would paint it over with a nicer color.

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His younger brother had been eyeing his room for years.

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“Raja?” The lion turned at his mother’s purr.

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“You’ve been quiet for much of the journey.

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What are you worrying about?”

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she asked, her brow wrinkled.

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Despite her good intentions,

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Raja had to admit she had a habit of stating the obvious.

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“The journey’s just a fifteen minute ride, Ma,” huffed

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Raja. “Besides,

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no one’s ever in a joyous mood whenever they’re conscripted into the Army.

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It’s one of our national traditions.

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traditions.” Raja’s tail lashed hard against the seat

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as he turned back to the window.

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Mrs. Jaya shook her muzzle disapprovingly.

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“Raja, I don’t see what’s your cause for complaint.

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Your father managed fine during his stint in Basic Military Training,

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and was even commended by

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for trying to save his fellows from an out-of-control truck!

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I’m sure you’ll do us all proud.”

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Yeah, with bandages wrapped around my limbs,

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Raja thought darkly.

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He had heard that story for like the 57th time.

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Raja’s father, Mr Jaya,

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had attempted to save his platoon from being run over by an improperly braked truck,

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by rushing them in an effort to shove them off the road.

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Unfortunately, a scrawny lion attempting to move a multi-species platoon,

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which included several tigers,

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two elephants and a rhino

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was a tugboat pushing an island out to sea.

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The truck driver would still be laughing about it in his cell.

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Mr Jaya had since then boasted of his

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“war injury” to anyone who would listen,

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despite it happening during peacetime.

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An hour before, Mr Jaya had told Raja

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that he couldn’t see his son off,

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lest he got all emotional.

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The fact that he still shuffled at the pace of a tortoise contradicted that excuse, however,

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and something told Raja that was the more likely reason

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rather than his reputed claim to fame.

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They reached the ferry terminal

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which was jam-packed with thousands of other enlistees,

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either fearful or thoroughly brainwashed by their relatives and the media.

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Queues had been created,

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with stickers issued to those whose turn came to enter the frying pan.

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Sergeants smiled and laughed forcedly,

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their muzzles masks of the actual horrors that lay within the BMT camp.

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Basic Military Training Facility,

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BMTF for short, is a training camp located on Pulau Saikang, an island about ten kilometers northwest of the country

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for the stated reasons of having ample space and safety for training considerations.

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For the ever-pessimistic, and perhaps,

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ever-intuitive Raja,

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this was to prevent recruits escaping by surrounding them with shark-infested waters

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should they manage to give their NCOs the slip.

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The trip on the ferry was as eventful as that on the bus,

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with Raja’s mother continuing to give him all the pointless encouragement he could ever need. Raja could only listen,

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given the little choice he had

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on the fully packed ferry.

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Besides, the doors to the deck were probably locked.

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Here, the scent of fear was almost unbearable,

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punctuated with the occasional whimper.

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At the opposite side of the ferry,

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Raja could see a horse seated by himself,

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muttering feverishly

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with his hoofs clasped in prayer.

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Nothing like enlistment to get one believing.

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Not 20 minutes later,

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the ferry drew alongside a jetty.

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Even if there was a god sympathetic to the plight of conscripts,

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salvation with the fishes was not to be.

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And here the conscripts

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set their paws into another world.

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Looking down the long stretch of sheltered concrete that made up the jetty,

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Raja felt that it was more bridge

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than watercraft stopover.

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A bridge to every young man’s vision of Hell. Raja had once read about Charon in a book on ancient mythology,

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a skeletal jackal

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who ferried departed souls to the underworld in exchange for a coin.

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Like the proverbial journey across the River Styx,

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it felt like Charon himself had steered the ferry he was on,

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which even now returned to the mainland to claim many other souls.

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But the only way was forward,

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and so Raja walked,

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the fear of those who came before strong even on the breeze-exposed concrete.

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An LED display reminded all who passed to

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“Start the day with a positive mindset”,

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further implying

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that there was little to be positive about.

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More forced smiles from the armed Regimental Police,

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who probably had enough ammo to handle the whole lot of them.

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What else were the ammo pouches on their vests for?

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The parents and their young

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were shown into an auditorium,

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where they were soon bombarded by assurances from the commanding officers on stage. “Your cub/kit’s well-being would be taken care of...”,

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“best medical care available...”, “only push-ups to be given as punishment”,

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“cubs with any issues could bring it up with their immediate superiors,” blah, blah, blah…Raja

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was forced to keep his fidgeting to a minimum

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as some Sergeants had been tasked to check on their attentiveness.

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The national anthem was played shortly,

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with all the enlistees sworn in by the oath of allegiance.

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It was a solemn affair,

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with the seriousness broken only by the shouting of many names,

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and National Identification Numbers

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interspersed over one other.

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A sumptuous lunch of chicken rice was provided at the cookhouse,

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courtesy of the army.

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This is what your son would be eating!

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screeched the plates silently.

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Don’t worry, assured the smiles of the NCOs and officers,

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your son’s well-being will be taken care off!

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Rest easy! Not wanting to speak to his ma,

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as nauseated as he was,

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Raja took his time to chew his meal,

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relishing in the taste of chicken and lemongrass.

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Her overenthusiastic advice on remembering to wash his underwear

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and remembering to call home lay his

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ears flat, but what could one do but listen?

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Then came the dreaded call

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of the Angel of Death.

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“All recruits, please say goodbye to your parents and assemble at the parade square,”

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announced an officer over the loudspeaker.

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Raja froze, a piece of chicken hanging from his lower jaw.

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All the recruits froze,

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knowing their time has come.

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Rising from their chairs, they plodded silently towards the parade square,

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tails and bags dragging limply behind them,

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just like those on death row.

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Some had brought travelling cases large enough to fit a bicycle in,

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knowing that they would not see home for a while, if ever.

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Others, believing that their lives would not be for much longer,

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brought little more than themselves,

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with barely a place to fit a toothbrush.

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Historically, these were the ones who would desert on the first night or second night.

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Stowaways were not altogether uncommon, given the nature of the training.

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The island camp’s security had been put to the test a year back,

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when a psychologically-disturbed recruit swam half the way back to the mainland.

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According to the official news reports,

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he had since been transferred to the prestigious,

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yet hazardous Navy Diving Unit.

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If the swim back didn’t kill him,

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the training would.

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Otters, always thinking they can swim out of anything.

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Standing in the parade square with the sun blazing down upon his and many others’ fur,

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Raja felt an odd sense of calm.

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It was the invigorating sense of freedom

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right after being released from one’s cell,

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with the firing squad prepped to release their volley of shots into you.

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Raja kept his face straight.

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He would not cry. Though

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the army may take away his life that once was,

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they will never take his pride.

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The state flag, a crimson lion's head

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set against a white background fluttered high on its flagpole,

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flanked by the unit and service flag. Already

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the scent of fear of the other recruits

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reached Raja's vomeronasal gland,

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but the lion shut his mouth.

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Have fortitude! he told himself. Have pride! Though I walk in the valley of the Shadow of Death,

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I shall fear no superior…

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As the NCOs led him and the other recruits towards the trucks that would take them to the other end of the island,

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Raja gave his mother a casual wave.

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After all, it may very well be the last time he saw her,

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still smiling and cheering him on his way.

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Besides, he had an image to uphold.

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Getting onto the truck known as a 5-tonner proved to be a skill in itself.

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A combination of having a good grip

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as well as basic acrobatics was required to pull oneself up by misplaced handles and undersized steps

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long bent out of shape.

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Raja smacked a weasel on the muzzle in the midst of his ascent,

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earning a glare and the likelihood of future vendetta.

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A dangerous thing

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in a place stocked

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with weapons of war.

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The driver and a 3rd-Sergeant closed the tailgate,

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making their way into the cab of the truck.

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Two other NCOs had stayed in the truck with them,

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ensuring no one tried giving them the slip.

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Raja took one last look at the mass of parents

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waving their sons off

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and closed his eyes painfully.

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No one in the truck spoke.

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Not a whisper could be heard,

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and there weren’t any mice to say otherwise.

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Despite the constant reminders of reporting to BMTF by means of official correspondence,

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including a Muzzbook page

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no one actually followed,

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nothing truly prepared one from being here.

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One could hear accounts of life on the inside,

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be it from relatives or older friends,

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but the fact that they usually came from a different generation,

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coupled with self-serving pride

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meant it was hard to separate truth from fiction.

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An older friend of Raja’s

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had once said the punishment for theft in the barracks

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was for everyone to carry their beds and cupboards down for inspection

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in the parade square.

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He conveniently neglected to mention

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if anyone ever got crushed in the process.

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A small-clawed otter in the middle of the truck

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tried to make conversation with a tiger,

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earning a snarl instead.

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Raja pursed his lips grimly.

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Looks like he and the tiger

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shared the same misgivings.

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They may be forced into conscription,

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but no one could make them like it.

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And the ironic thing was that to his family,

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being a part of the army was part of a long family tradition.

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Raja’s grandfather, the Esteemed Puja Renganathan,

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as his father always saw fit to remind him,

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served in the National Army back in the Old Country.

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Despite Tigers being preferred for active duty, given their natural camouflage,

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and “will to kill”, he and his brothers were soon accepted for service by the colonial government.

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Things being as they were in those tumultuous times,

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they were sent to the many reaches of the Empire.

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Puja had also seen action in the war in the West Savannahs,

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after which his unit was sent to Pura.

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He never found out what happened to his brothers,

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but that was one of the harsh realities in the War of Domination.

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He started a family in the port city,

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where he was welcome because of his people's contribution to the war.

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It would later gain independence,

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with the state flag

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designed to honor the lions that had fought on its behalf.

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Mandatory conscription for every male was enacted shortly to better defend its precarious borders.

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Out of zeal, or a misplaced enthusiasm to emulate his father’s deeds,

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Raja’s father Jaya

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made it his life’s goal to find work in the army.

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Even a pancake of a foot

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during that unfortunate incident in BMT

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didn’t quell his desire in applying for full-time service,

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and soon the Chief Clerk of G1 Army, aka Army HR,

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had no choice but to give him an administrative role as Paper Shredder.

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The Army loved their paperwork.

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Not a glamorous job one associated with a military line of lions, but as a Minister of Parliament once said;

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“Loyalty to the Service is worth more than service itself.”

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As far as anyone knew,

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Jaya had never appeared on the Army’s recruitment posters.

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And now Raja was part of the never-ending line of youngsters who entered its ranks,

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a leaf flowing down the river of fate.

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A fate made possible

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all because someone had drafted a charter on a whim.

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And yet Mr Jaya expected him

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to make it to Officer Cadet School,

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and sign on as a career soldier!

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The family tradition must be upheld. Mr Jaya had said.

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In his dreams, perhaps.

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The truck rumbled through vast stretches of jungle,

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with the occasional dilapidated building flashing past.

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The island used to be home to a hundred villagers,

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before it was converted to a collection of training camps.

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It was surprising how peaceful the military island seemed,

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despite the nature of its purpose.

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Somehow Raja had expected to hear the sounds of gunfire in the forests,

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accompanied by maniacal laughter and cries for mercy.

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Maybe the training won’t be as horrible as others made it out to be.

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After all, hadn’t his father once commented on how things were much better than it was thirty years back? Raja laughed silently to himself.

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He shouldn’t be so tense;

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all this worrying wasn’t going to do him any good if he wanted to make his first book-out.

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The truck roared past two gateposts

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emblazoned with a rather contradictory greeting:

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WELCOME TO BMT CAMP D.

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The sounds of yelling and snarled commands started to reach Raja’s ears,

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and he knew he had relaxed too soon.

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A platoon of recruits flashed past,

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the smell of sweat and mingled scents assailing the 5-tonner.

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Green PT vests

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clinging to their frames,

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the lion just had time to see that their ears were flat as they passed.

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The truck stopped abruptly outside a large open-air training shed,

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jerking recruits and baggage alike.

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Large enough to fit 60 soldiers,

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the shed was piled full of black duffle bags,

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alongside other equipment.

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So they are to be equipped first.

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Good. Maybe there would be something to eat within the bags.

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Raja licked his lips,

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even as the tailgate crashed open with the enlistees pouring out to their new outfit.

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Looking to his right,

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Raja observed that the shed’s

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next to one of the countless five-story buildings the military island was famous for.

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Several men in civilian T-shirts and shorts stood next to red plastic chairs,

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fiddling with their phones.

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“Everyone, assemble in three rows!”

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yelled a 2nd-Sergeant over the din.

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A greyish cat of about five feet,

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his chest epaulette showed three black chevrons roofed by another.

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“You will collect your equipment row by row, and ensure everything fits!

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No exchanges will be entertained after today!

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But before that—” Here, the cat jerked his heads to the now-smirking men in civvies

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—"—those of you who hadn’t done so will get your headfur and manes trimmed!”

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So that’s what these guys were.

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Barbers. In the outside world,

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one went to a groomer to have their fur trimmed or brushed.

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They also provided dye or paint jobs,

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though this were usually requests by the recalcitrant or overly flamboyant.

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But in the army, there was none of the frills.

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Barbers had only one job;

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to hack at fur until it reached a semblance of the dimensions matching military regulation.

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There were rumors that military barbers were once groomers who didn’t meet the finesse of that required in the civilian world.

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Whatever the case,

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they were hired en masse during enlistment days such as this.

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“After that’s done,

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you are to assemble in front of the company line with your bags—”

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Here, the Sergeant pointed to the five-story building.

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“For your information, I am 2SG Ming,

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and this here is 3rd Sergeant Reski!”

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The cat indicated the Alsatian who stood beside him.

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He stared impassively back at the recruits,

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dark muzzle set in a bored line.

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“What are you waiting for?”

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roared the cat in a high pitched caterwaul.

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“MOVE!” The recruits rushed forward in a flurry of activity, ears and tails down.

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Raja tried flattening his mane against his skull,

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in a bid to make it look shorter.

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But either a sharp eye or a sadistic streak

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caused a binturong to point at him,

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his fangs out in a grin.

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“Come on, mister, my mane’s not that

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long,” pleaded Raja. “Lemme on my way, alright?”

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The barber shrugged.

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“There’s no point.

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Even if I wanted to, your sarge will send you back here.

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You have two dollars?”

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“You’ll let me go for two dough?”

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asked Raja, drawing his wallet.

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Cheapest bribe ever.

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The binturong scowled. “No, dammit. The furtrim costs two dollars.

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You think it’s free? Sit your ass down and hold the fuck still.”

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With a huff, the barber whisked the plastic bill away from Raja,

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and shoved him into his chair.

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Raja could only grimace

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as the grime-stained electric shaver descended upon him.

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He hadn’t shaved his mane in like,

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ever. Male lions wore their manes with as much pride as their manhood,

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though there was no question which they would choose over the other.

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As Raja felt the bone-jarring vibrations of the shaver against his skull,

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accompanied by the tearing sensation of an overused blade,

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Raja saw that he didn’t suffer this nightmare alone.

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Right across him was a Samoyed with his fur fluffed up,

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eyes wide in what could only be shock,

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clump after clumps of snowy fur falling to the barber's blade.

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In the Army’s defense,

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Raja could only wonder what the hell possessed the Samoyed to keep his ridiculously fluffy coat,

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especially in such a hot tropical climate.

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He wouldn’t last an hour before being consumed by heatstroke.

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Right next to him was a porcupine with head quills grown in a mohawk,

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which the barber trimmed with tin snips

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and a coarse file.

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Raja could only look on in horror as swaths upon swaths of his yellowish mane fell.

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There was a common saying that one had no mane if you were female or enlisted.

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Raja had no idea how horrible his furtrim had turned out,

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because he was ushered away for a deer to take his place, without a mirror to check the extent of damage.

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He barely heard the barber yell for

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a pair of bolt cutters and saw. Raja got into a queue,

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at the end of which civilian contractors had them try on their helmets and training cap.

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Some idiot in the Central Manpower Base had put him down for headgear meant for

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“HORNED BOVINE”, giving his helmet and cap

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a glaring pair of holes.

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This was exacerbated by a too-narrow headspace,

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and misaligned earholes that would screw his ears up before the week was over.

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It was only after a yak found that he had been issued

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“LARGE FELINE-MANELESS” labeled headgear,

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that Raja was able to do a swap with him.

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Without his mane,

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it fitted perfectly.

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Not that he’d worn any form of headgear before.

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Male lions were one of the few species exempted from having to put on bicycle helmets when cycling on the roads.

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He didn’t envy the one who ended up with a porcupine’s helmet.

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The interior would be pockmarked

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to better seat their shortened head quills.

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He then went to collect the rest of his general equipment,

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a ragtag jumble of pre-packed paraphernalia

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stuffed into an almost-bursting duffel bag.

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There was nothing to eat inside.

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Dragging his crap to the parade square where Sergeant Reski was directing recruits,

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Raja plonked both his overladen personal hiking bag and standard-issue duffel bag onto the red brick of the parade square,

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muttering under his breath.

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His scalp was sore, and what remained of his mane was in tatters.

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The lion drew a finger across a particularly sore spot,

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and he would be damned if that red stickiness wasn’t blood.

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A growl rumbled in his chest,

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and it was all he could do not to snarl outright.

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“Hi there!” greeted a wolf who stood in line beside him.

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“Looks like everything’s going faster than we can blink, eh?”

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Unlike Raja, and most of the recruits,

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his headfur and ruffs

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were immaculately trimmed,

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and the lion was sure that it fitted the guidelines on the Ministry of Defense’s website.

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He had a modest messenger bag to hold his belongings,

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which was even in the regulation black the military seemed to like.

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“Humph.” Raja couldn’t quite bring himself to speak,

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for fear of venting his displeasure at being whisked far from home.

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Well, not that far actually, given that his hometown was but twenty kilometers as the crow flies.

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But on an island no different from Alcatraz itself,

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what with all the fences and cameras abound,

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they could be thousands of kilometers away for all it mattered.

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The Ancient Wolfborn Romans sent its auxiliaries far from home

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to prevent desertion;

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the modern armies

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fenced and surrounded their own with a body of water.

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The lion was starting to see why island prisons were such a big hit.

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The wolf didn’t look annoyed,

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merely tilting his ears and head

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curiously as how canids did.

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“My name’s Jian Lang.

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What’s yours?” “Raja Jayakumar,”

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managed Raja with a cough.

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“I would say I’m pleased to meet you, though that would be best suited for another time and place.”

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“You speak of enlistment like its Hell itself.”

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said Jian with a twitch of his nose.

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“Oh, you have no idea.”

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“Everyone got their stuff?”

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yelled Sergeant Ming

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who stepped before the gathered recruits.

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“For those of you who brought your own shit,

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I want everything turned out for inspection!”

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This was the first of two parts of

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“Fathers to Sons” by MikasiWolf,

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read for you by Khaki,

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your faithful fireside companion.

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Tune in next time to find out what happens to Raja?

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Will he be able to keep whatever’s left of his former life?

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As always, you can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,

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or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.

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Thank you for listening

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to The Voice of Dog.