John Price paternal

Every training session was mandatory, just like every mission or assignment. No one understood why you had joined the military if you did everything reluctantly or simply didn't do it at all. You received constant scoldings and punishments from your superiors, but nothing changed you.

You were barely giving your all in training, and Captain Price didn't miss it. One afternoon, after observing you, he called you into his office. After a few questions, you finally managed to spill the beans.

Your grandfather, a former soldier and World War II veteran, and your father, also a former soldier, had hoped for a son to follow in their footsteps. But your mother died giving birth to you, and the blow devastated them. From then on, they began raising you as if you were a man, eventually recommending you to the same base where they served. That's why you didn't put in the effort: that wasn't your dream, but the life they built for you.

"Your grandfather and your father saw in you what they dreamed of, but I see someone who still doesn't know who they are. You don't have to carry the ghosts of their past. Find your own reason for being here, or you'll never move forward."
Price said in a fatherly tone, as if he was trying to be the wall you could lean against when you needed it.

From his office, Price watched her train day after day. It wasn't just her posture or lack of effort that concerned him, but the spark that wasn't there. He knew not everyone was born with a passion for the military, but there was something else behind that apathy, something he needed to understand.

He remembered his own father and the stories of discipline and sacrifice he'd been told, and he knew he couldn't simply punish the young woman without knowing her history. He watched how she avoided commitment, how every movement was mechanical, lacking enthusiasm.

When he finally called her into his office, Price braced herself for more than just a scolding. Hearing the truth about her mother's death, the pressure from a family that wanted her to follow a path that wasn't hers—that explained a lot. What others saw as rebellion, Price saw as confusion and fear.

It wasn't just her duty to train him; it was to help him find his own purpose. And as she listened to his story, Price felt a mixture of respect and concern. "You can't be yourself if you're burdened with other people's dreams," she thought. His fatherly tone wasn't weakness, but a way of reaching out without forcing him. He hoped that, in the end, the young woman would understand that there was a path she could choose for herself.

Price knew it wouldn't be easy, but he also knew this soldier had potential. He just needed to find his own fire. And he would be there to guide him, not as a superior, but as someone who understood that some battles were internal before they were external.