Bright and early the next morning, my unit met in the common area to travel to the meeting spot together. All units will sit together around the table. All the equipment we will need will be set up and waiting for us.
We enter what appears to be a large war room. There are large screens and other types of projection equipment. I see large maps similar to what we have for our presentation. We walk up to this large table. It’s a big rectangle with a glass covering. I can tell that the middle of the table is a screen, so we will be able to see what is projected in the middle of the table and the wall of screens.
We find our area and sit down as all the other units come in and do the same. At the head of the table are the Alpha King, The Royal Beta, Gamma, and a couple more ranked wolves from the Royal pack. I think they are part of the king’s council. They will be the ones who will judge our presentations.
We elected to go to the middle of the groups. Just to get a feel for what others are doing. Not that we will change anything about our presentation, we just want to see how the project was interpreted by the others.
The first two units both started with peace talks. The first group decided they would send a peace convoy of about ten elite warriors with a negotiator to try to broker a peaceful resolution. They had a list of concessions they would be willing to make, including giving the rebel a parcel of land with buildings for him and his following to live and form their pack that would be recognized as a pack within the kingdom. This will give them legitimacy. This was a good idea, but they were not able to fully answer questions about what they would do if the rebel became hostile doing the peace talks and what security plan they had in place for safely getting them out of the rebel territory. One of the units made the point that you can’t expect the rebels to follow the rules of engagement. They are rebels because they do not want to submit themselves to governing rules.
Their plan for the defense was more of going straight to war. They proposed having the Royal pack recruit warriors from all packs in the kingdom to build a super army. They had a plan for the special wolves in the kingdom and the roles they would play. Some packs can use magic or manipulate the elements. Some packs can use telekinesis. We did not point them out in our plan. That is a good idea to use their special talents in specific ways. That will give us an advantage.
The second group’s presentation was similar to the first, except for them having a small army surrounding the rebel hideout while the peace representatives meet with the rebels. The representatives would keep an open link with a member of the army so that the leaders outside will know if things take a turn for the worst. They would be ready to go in and bring the team out. The second team also sent a team ahead to scout the area before the peace team entered the area. They wanted to get the lay of the land and know the rotation of the guards and the number of combatants in the rebel camp. Their defense plan was like ours in that they proposed building an alliance with the other packs in the kingdom to form a strong border defense. They also did not consider aligning with the other species.
My group went third. Alpha Burton was our spokesperson. We were the first group to skip peace talks. Alpha Burton explained our rationale for foregoing peace talks. We decided that this rebel wants world dominion, he or she will not settle for bits and pieces of power. They have gathered their followers by offering them power when they come into power. If the leader accepts a compromise, they will lose most of their followers.
Our plans break down our defense in three different areas: forming alliances within the kingdom and with other shifters and species; setting up surveillance and traps and training are warriors and pack members. After Alpha Burton gave the introduction, we each got up and presented our areas using the visual aid we created. We were able to point out the areas we would set traps in and describe how they would work in that area and also show how we divided the regions. We were also able to use the maps to show the peaceful packs and how they are centrally located to get relief to all areas in less than 24 hours.
Finally, Alpha Justin presented the plan for funding our plan and our long-term maintenance plan. So far, we were the only unit that considered how we would gather, store, distribute and maintain our resources without putting all the responsibility on the Royal pack. Our plan literally involves all packs, at least the ones that will remain aligned with the Royal pack. We acknowledged that there may be some alphas who align with the rebels, and we will treat them like an enemy. We also addressed the packs that may want to remain neutral. At some point, they will have to make a decision. Even if they choose not to actively fight, they can work with the other packs that will offer relief. If they remained neutral through it all and get attacked by the rebels, we are under no obligation to help them.
Since we explained everything and used visual aids, we did not get a lot of questions. There were a couple who felt that we probably should have still added peace talks even though we did not feel they would be successful. We ended the discussion by saying that we did not feel that using resources and possibly placing our warriors’ lives in danger was worth it when we could use those same resources and efforts to strengthen our packs and train our warriors. We pointed out that some packs needed more training than others since this would be the first time the shewolves in those packs would be officially trained.
The last two unit presentations were a combination of token peace talks and war strategy. The last two acknowledged the benefit of aligning with the other shifters and species but admitted that they did not think of it when putting their plan together. There were no new ideas added after our presentation, just variations of the prior presentations. You could tell that everyone put a lot of time into studying war tactics and planning.
After the last presentation, the Alpha King let us know that he and his committee would convene to discuss our presentations and give us feedback after we have a late lunch. We will meet back in this room around 6 pm and have a working dinner while they go over our presentations with us and let us know which team will take the leader's spot.
We have 4 hours to eat lunch and do our own thing until we meet back up again. The king said that we’re eating dinner there, so we don’t have to worry about dinner tonight. I’m so hyped right now. I tell the others that I’m too wired to head back to the unit for now. They all feel the same way, so we all shift and go for a unit run to get some of this energy out. Today was one of the rare days that we did not have physical training before the meeting. Some of the other units are out for runs as well.
After about an hour or so of running, we all head back in, take showers and go to the cafeteria for a late lunch. Since they knew the academy would be in session until late, the kitchen staff put food out a little later for us. I was so glad to see all the hot protein dishes on the buffet for us. We had beef in almost every way imaginable. I kept it simple and got a steak with mashed potatoes. I need to replenish all the calories I just used up from my run.
After eating, we chill with some of the other units. A couple of the alphas in the other units are from packs close to my own. It is nice that way they put us in units with packs from other areas instead of putting us with the ones we live near and probably already interact with. We all had to get to know each other and build working and living relationships. Our unit was the start of learning how to build an alliance. We all are from different regions in the kingdom and have different perspectives. We make it work for us. We cater to our individual strengths.
We head back into the war room and reconvene. The Alpha King and his team are all standing now as we remain seated. The Alpha King addresses all of us about the presentations.
“Good even young alphas and young betas.”
We all return the king’s greeting.
“I was well pleased with all the presentations. I can tell that a lot of time and thought went into this. You all did excellently. With that being said, one team stood out as having the most comprehensive plan. Alpha Burton, can you and your team stand up, please?”
We all stood up and faced the front.
“You all had the most comprehensive plan I have heard in a long time. You all considered all angles and explained the choices you made and why you rule out other choices. That is exactly what needs to be done in a real-world situation. We were very impressed with your attention to detail. Including your plan for raising taxes to cover the cost of a major war. You were correct in your analysis of how taxes are used and the fact that we have not had to raise taxes in over 40 years since we have had long-lasting peace.”
We all said thank you and took our seats.
“Now, I have to let you all in on something. What I am about to say does not leave this academy. I am only sharing this with you now because you will in a sense be the leaders that this will impact.”
The king pauses for a moment to let us all gather our thoughts.
“The activity you just completed is based on reality. There is currently some unrest in the supernatural world. There is a lone wolf who is gathering an army of rogues from all species to overthrow the current leadership and royals. The supernatural council has been working with hunters and trackers from all the packs to keep an eye on things. The activities have escalated in the last month. Can any of you guess why that is?” The king asked,
“Because we all felt the power shift of the future protector. I believe they are trying to gain power before the protector comes of age and gains full power. Maybe they think they can find the baby and possibly get rid of it before they come of age.” One of the alphas on another unit says.
“That is correct, but what no one outside of us and the council knows is that the shift we felt was the protector coming into its power. The protector is already of age and is currently training to take their rightful place. The protector team has been working with the vampires and the bears to get a well-rounded training. We will not disclose the protector’s identity until they are ready to come forward.”
Everyone is shocked at this revelation. I notice that a couple of us did not show surprise. I guess the others are part of the packs that are training the protector now.
“Because of the latest intel we recently received, we will be changing a few things at the academy. You all will now become part of the war efforts. As many of you have noted, we are past the point of a peaceful resolution, so we have to now prepare for a major war. We will implement most of the plans submitted by Alpha Burton’s unit. The members of this unit will be team leaders in several areas. Alpha Justin will be the lead over finances and resources; Alpha Brennan and Beta Jona will be the lead for defense; Alpha Burton and Beta Casion will be the lead for the training. Alpha Trevor, we have a special project for you. We will discuss it with you later. The rest of you alphas and betas, see my beta and gamma for your team assignments. You all will go on specific missions and rotate from the active field to the classroom. You all will work as full-time alphas and beta under the council. You will still be under the academy and still get your breaks as scheduled. The only difference now is that the project you will work on will be real.”
The king finishes speaking and everyone gets up and goes to where the beta and gamma have set up a table. My unit stays sitting at our table since we already know what we will do somewhat. We wait until everyone has gotten assigned to a team, then the leader from my unit met briefly with their team members just to get to know them. I bounce from team to team just saying hi. Since I don’t know what my special mission will be,
After everyone finishes meeting in their groups, and we finish eating our dinner, the Alpha King dismisses us but asks me to stay behind.
“Young alpha Trevor, I guess you are wondering what your mission will be.” Alpha King says.
“Yes sir, I am,” I answer
“Since you are already aware of the identity of the protector, you will be the liaison to her team. You will travel to meet up with her after the holiday officially, but I know you will see her over the holidays at your pack. You and her can plan when you will meet up with her team and the intervals you will meet until things progress again. In the meantime, you will be floating between the times and assisting them as we move forward. You will work closely with my gamma. Do you think you can handle that?”
“Yes sir. I can. I am ready to do whatever I can for the kingdom.”
“Good, keep that attitude and you will go far in this kingdom and build stronger alliances for your pack. That’s all I have for you tonight. My gamma will get with you tomorrow and you all can go from there.”
“Thank you, sir. Good night.”
We exit the war room and head to our own spaces. My unit is waiting for me. They are curious about my special mission. I tell them I will assist the gamma and floating between the units. I also tell them that I will be assigned as a liaison to the protector team once the protector is revealed. I am not allowed to give any information about knowing her identity or that I will meet with her directly. My team is excited about us once again taking the lead.