Kane arrived at the military bases with high spirits and even higher expectations but they were quickly dashed. Looking around at the recruits undergoing training it was very basic. The training he went through was both far more rigorous and intense. As first impressions go he wasn't impressed.
The soldiers were doing a crude obstacle course on one part of the base with others doing callisthenics in various groups spread out throughout the rest of the base. Kane snorted and shook his head in disdain. Even a child could do these exercises without breaking a sweet in his time much less an augmented person like himself.
When Kane had to undergo training they used the most elite soldiers to train them, but when it was for live fire exercises they used retired or disgraced soldiers to train them. This was because those soldiers were assigned there as punishment and it didn't matter if they died. In fact it was actively encouraged to kill them so the recruits would get a real taste of the battlefield and how killing felt so they wouldn't freeze up on the battlefield against a real opponent.
Thus the obstacle course Kane had run were filled with numerous mines, bombs, pitfalls and traps and live ammunition was always used so if you screwed up you would know about it, providing that you lived of course but either way your military career would be over. The Terran Space Empire only wanted, only needed the best and would not compromise on standards ever. With the technology they had to hand so long as it wasn't instantly fatal you could be saved and restored to perfect health so naturally standard went up.
This might had been Kane's skewed outlook on things however, as he was placed in an elite training camp from birth so it might not have been the case throughout the entire Terran Space Empire but it didn't matter to him so he never looked into it.
Some of the soldiers and officers whom Kane was around saw the brief flash of disdain on his face and while they didn't say anything out loud, their eyes grew cold with hostility and they made a mental note of it to make things as difficult as possible for him. They thought he was looking down on the United States Armed Forces and the men that wore the uniform. In their eyes he was a greenhorn civilian who knew nothing and had a chip on his shoulders.
True be told Kane was looking down on them as he had expected more but then again on further review of the matter given the time and technology this was probably the height of world so he let go of his disdain and just accepted things as they were. Well if nothing else he was in for an easy time here.
He wasn't looking down on soldiers themselves or the armed forces in general but the lack of training and equipment. How can he look down on soldiers as he was one himself, wouldn't that mean he was looking down on himself? A person who has the bravery to put himself in danger for their ideals and beliefs should always be respected no matter the circumstances, as it separates them from the masses especially as soldiers have always been paid poorly.
After being assigned a uniform and sent to the barracks they had to live up to have their hair cut or rather shaved off. This was to signify a sense of unity and belonging to something greater then yourself as you all looked alike and had the same treatment regardless of what you were before joining up or the background you had.
Kane had been told by Stark and Erskine that this was to be a secret project and it would give him a fighting chance in coming back alive should he be one of the two people selected. He wasn't told the specifics only that it had to do with Erskine's formula which he had helped him with whenever they met up to discuss things. From what Kane could gather it was to do with transforming a person to make them better. Kane already had undergone numerous genetic alterations and tweaking so he wasn't sure what the formula would do for him. After all the science here was backwards compared to his world so there is no guarantee the formula would be effective on him. Well even if it had adverse affects Kane was confident he could undo them. Even when he repeatedly asked the two of them what exactly the formula would do they gave a very bland answer of it will make you better.
Better how though? Would he be faster or stronger or maybe it would do nothing but make him smarter. In the eyes of the military though would that not be a failure if he was only smarter? They do not need smart soldiers as the smarter a person is the more problems mentally they have, like PTSD after all the fighting is done.
Stark and Erskine had come to see Kane to have a discrete chat away from the others as they didn't want to flaunt their relationship in front of the masses as it could spark jealousy and rumours of favouritism. Well he was getting favourable treatment but maybe only the top dogs would know about it. As they were walking though the base Kane saw something that made him freeze in his tracks with one foot still hovering mid air as he directed an intense gaze towards it. For that brief moment in time everything seems to lose colour other then what Kane was looking at, which stood out in bright contrast.
Looking at Kane's unusual behaviour both Stark and Erskine directed their gazes to where Kane was looking with rapt attention. What they saw was a beautiful young women about 5'5 with brown hair dressed in military uniform strolling around the base in conversation with someone. Turning back at Kane who was still fixated on her they looked at each other and turned knowing grins towards the other. It looks like their friend had finally found a women he was interested in but she wasn't a good choice. She was like a rose, pretty to look at but had deadly thorns dipped in poison and the unwary would get hurt.
"Gentlemen who was that?"
"That was Colonel Chester Philips and an attaché sent from Britain."
"I don't care who the scar faced guy is I am asking who the women was."
"That's what we were afraid of. That my friend is a women you don't want to get involved with. Her name is Agent Margaret Carter goes by the name Peggy or Peg if you are friends with her like we are."
"Peggy or Peg? Where doe that even come from? I could understand Marge or Maggie as an abbreviation as it is part of her name but where does Peggy come from? An agent huh so she is from the SOB?
"Don't know, I have asked but I never got an answer and yeah she is from the SOB. She was the one who rescued Abraham from a Hydra facility when she infiltrated it disguised as a maid after we noticed he was missing."
"Ah so she is Abraham's benefactor I would like to meet with her to express my gratitude of rescuing a close friend."
"Uh huh sure that is all you want to do buddy? I must confess that I have never seen you look at a women like that before so I can't help but think you have other motives."
"Well I won't deny that I have taken an interest in her. She is beautiful yes but that isn't what attracts me to her. Well it is but only partly. As a women in this era when women as expected to stay at home and look after the house and children while the men work, she must have had to suffer a lot to get to where she is. A women has to do twice or even thrice the effort to prove themselves and doors tend to close for them even then, so she is exceptional and has both tenacity and strength of spirit. That coupled with her bearing from being trained by the military provided a fatal attraction to me. Do you not remember what I said before? That I have very high standards but once I see a women I like everyone else had better move aside as I am determined to get her."
"Well, you will get your chance as she is your new instructor, so you can spend lots of quality time with her as she puts you through your paces. Try not to flirt with her until after your training as that might be considered fraternization and she is very strict. She has to be as a lot of people only see that she is a women and want look down on her."
"Well at least my time here won't be dull no matter what else happens. All of a sudden I am looking forward to training tomorrow. Don't worry I will be the perfect soldier, but once she is not my instructor well, all bets are off and I will be going in all guns blazing. Wish me luck gentlemen I think I am going to need it."
"That you will. She is a fine women and you are a good friend so I will wish you luck and give you my blessing. It is about time you had a women."
"As will I, good luck my friend. Also she is my saviour so I will not forgive you if you hurt her, but you might need a tank round to get through her armour though."