Thread: Rape Camp (skittish_butterfly & littlerooster)

Jen smiled and nodded her thanks and took a seat. It was nice that a little informality was ok in this setting, not so official yet, but she was wary of taking it too far. Yeah, the Army, don't we all know it if not actually love it. Somebody forgot to double check something for sure. Dad would be pissed, the 'fucking bureaucrats' as he used to put it back when he was still able to string that many syllables together. And now we're the ones stuck here riding it out. At least you've got approval for a hotel. I'd have been in big trouble otherwise I didn't bring a tent with me. She grinned and patted her backpack, suddenly conscious of how college-girl it looked, not military. Program regulations, just one little bag you know. She accepted the coffee, inhaling the strong aroma. It was cheap but good, and quite hot. Normally she would have thanked the waitress, but the girl only had eyes for Sergeant Kruger, as if Jen had disappeared from the planet the moment her cup hit the table. Oh well. She sipped the coffee and watched the light flirting. When the waitress finally ran out of excuses to stay at the table -- definitely no need to see the menu again or hear the daily specials -- Jen leaned across the table a little closer to the Sergeant. OK Sergeant, now that she's out of earshot I'll tell you why I joined the program. Since you seem to know about it already hopefully I'm not breaching any obscure protocol with you here. Don't want you to have to hang me for treason on my first day in WASP. Assuming this even counted as a first day now. How to tell it? My dad is getting older, you know? They tend to do that. But mine is kind of slowly deteriorating, his mind slowly sort of checking out. He's only in his 50's, he shouldn't be like this at his age, but you can only fight reality so hard, it is what it is. Something about shrapnel from Nicaragua. She reached into her pack and fished around for a moment, then came up with a tiny pouch, opened it and spilled the contents out onto the table top between them with a metallic clattering. This one is his Purple Heart. This one is a Medal of Bravery. She looked at them like she always did, her eyes glittering a little with silent emotion, only continuing when she was sure her voice would work again. If it was up to me, I'd trade them both away in a heartbeat to have him healthy again, not suffering like he did to earn them. But you know what? He wouldn't trade them for anything, not even now. That's how he raised me. So yeah, I went to college and I've got that in my back pocket in case this doesn't pan out, but I've known since I was 10 what I wanted to do with my life. Make him proud. She slowly and carefully wrapped the medals up again and put them away. There aren't many options for a girl like me in this army to get any kind of special forces run. I never really even expected it myself. Other than a lot of endurance and speed and stuff like that from running track so long, I never really thought I had the special forces... um... physique shall we say? But my CO told me this was the real deal, new and hard to get, a chance to get in on the ground floor. And I didn't exactly 'sign up' either, never heard of it before as a matter of fact. They found me. But I couldn't say no. It's not the kind of opportunity many 23 year olds get right out of Basic, much less girls who never realistically expected more than a comfortable office somewhere in Intelligence or Logistics. I'd be a fool to pass it up. It's everything I've dreamed of my whole life. Jen stared into her cup for a minute and then looked up. Is it ok to ask you a question or two Sergeant? Since you seem to know about the program already? First of all, do all the motor pool guys and everybody else on the base know about the program? Or is it a big secret most of the time? I got a real clear hush-hush vibe, and other than Luann briefly and my CO, you're the first person I've been free to talk to about it. And the other thing. Even when it was me and Beckett together it seemed a little weird to me that they were sending a Sergeant to pick us up. Couldn't they have just sent a bus or something? Or one of the real losers from the garage? I mean, you must be going out of your mind having to babysit a Private like me, especially now that it might be for... whatever number of days. You must have better things to do than this. She was full of questions, but didn't want to push her luck, not right away at least.