The start for the training with the Rhino Guard was not exactly what Wanda had expected. Granted it was law enforcement and would thus have different priorities rules and procedures from the New York Fire Department, but she'd figured that since the NYFD was a professional fire department and often responded to many of the same sorts of calls that the NYPD would also respond to that that would count for something in her case. Instead she and Sherry were being lead large room at the Animalia Police Department that had been set aside for the Rhino Guard as part of their office space.
"This is probably basic procedure," Sherry spoke up as she sat down at one of the tables in the room.
The table and the benches that went with them looked huge to Wanda with how thick the table top was and how thick the legs were. It was as if they were purposely built to hold up against Animalians of greater size. Yet, at the same time there was a slight groan as Sherry the table, reminding Wanda that while the Wooly Rhinoceros was only slightly larger the modern White Rhinoceros, which most of the members of the Rhino Guard were, she was still small when compared to a Triceratops Dinotopian. Sherry was taller than her, Sherry's muscles were bigger, Sherry's breasts were bigger, and Sherry had a tail that was longer and thicker than Wanda's. To put it simply, Sherry was simply bigger.
"There are some places where Fire Departments are volunteer departments, as the communities aren't that large and the day to day need for firemen and firewomen isn't quite as regular," Sherry continued, "so... they hold regular jobs, but if a fire comes and they're called... they go and answer that call as needed. They also tend to hold special training days to practice putting out fires and going through the rules for rescuing people from them. Law enforcement, however, is different and requires greater professionalism and attention. Especially with the requirements put on patrol officers as they may also be tasked to present a presence to try and prevent crime."
"I can understand the concept," Wanda snorted, "but I DID come from a professional fire service."
"As your partner said, this is basic procedure," Sudan spoke as he came into the room, "Now, the State of Nevada has allowed for some special...exceptions with regard to qualifications with regard to the Rhino Guard, mostly because our part of the Animalia PD is rather new, but they will want to make sure that you're knowledgeable on law enforcement in the state. And while the New York Fire Department is a professional fire department, they do not enforce the law. In this the job you'll be doing with the Animalia Police Department as a member of the Rhino Guard is going to be very different from what you did before."
Wanda gave a low sigh as sat down as well, though at more than arms length from Sherry as Sudan moved to the other side of the table. He was right, in a way, and she knew it. Animalia's newness had bent a good many rules with regard to procedure and the requirements for many of the sorts of offices that one normally expected a lot from. None of the regular officers had had any formal education/training in law enforcement, but had been accepted because the wolves that formed the Animalia PD proved to be instinctively good at law and order type of thinking and caught on with the sorts of education courses that Horizon sponsored during the first outbreak. About all they were required by the state of Nevada to pass was the same exam that the students at the Police Academy took in order to present knowledge in law enforcement.
The Rhino Guard went through a similar sets of requirements as they would be the equivalent to SWAT in Animalia. Now, by that time, things were a bit more established and Animalia couldn't allow for many of the tactics that Rhino Guard members had used to protect the White Rhino from poachers in Africa as they would come off as "cruel and unusual" or as "abusing police powers," and that had required official officers from the state's official training programs to help Sudan and the others in the Rhino Guard learn not just the rules and procedures but the specific tactics SWAT employed. From the news reports, it'd been a lot of work for them to go through it and took up much of the summer to be ready. Of course Heather's attack and instinct driven rampage ultimately gave the Rhino Guard the positive press coverage needed to keep the atypical nature of how they were being put together from getting much in the way of negative attention.
But that gave the press and coverage of the Rhino Guard enough positivity within the state of Nevada that attempts by the US Justice Department to claim that the entire Animalia PD was incompetent and incapable and thus needed to be disbanded until "proper" officers had been trained had been rejected by the state of Nevada. The legal defense was that the Rhino Guard officers, as the wolves that made up the main officers in the Animalia PD, had passed the tests and that the claim that they were "incompetent and incapable" was not factual. However, it did represent a great deal of push and pull between the Federal and State levels of government, and Wanda wasn't stupid. She had hoped that a lot of this would be avoided in order to move directly into the physical training, but she'd seen enough on the news to know that the Rhino Guard was for the moment in a tight spot where the test scores was about the only thing that was allowing the APD to remain active as it was.
"Now, you will get some "benefits" that will essentially take your transferring from either other law enforcement agencies or other emergency services that this test is to function as a "pre-test" as the teachers call it," Sudan spoke, "If you pass it... you can take that as the official score if you wish and we can move straight into the rest of the training procedures... starting with the APD manual. If not... your training will move into sort of crash course in the state's laws and regulations. You won't have to go to the state's Police Academy with this program... BUT it will also give you a week to go through the material and retest..."
"And that second test would be the official one, I take it," Wanda said slowly.
"Yes," Sudan nodded, "if that test is failed... I'm afraid we'd have to let you go. We could make a recommendation to allow you to attend the Nevada Police Academy... and I think we have at least one Animalian there..."
"For the Rhino Guard?" Sherry wondered.
"No... he's a wolf as far as I know," Sudan answered, "anyway... we could make a recommendation to allow you into the Academy, but you would then be expected to go through their official curriculum for training officers. Which would take longer than what the present program will handle."
Wanda slowly nodded. From the explanation, it would seem that they were trying to make every accommodation that serve to help her essentially go from the New York Fire Department to the Animalia Police Department's Rhino Guard. There would be the potential that it would take time, but while parts of it may be frustrating, that only drove Wanda onward. She would serve and she would serve well.
"What if we pass but want to take the test again?" Sherry asked, "you know... in case we think we can do better?"
"That would mean going through the "crash course" and then taking the test again," Sudan spoke, "and the better of the two scores would be the one accepted... though it would be noted that if you do well on the first one and for some reason DON'T do well on the second."
"Well... I would want to do well," Sherry spoke confidently, "and I think I can do well..."
Sudan nodded and moved to a podium at the font of the room where the two tests were waiting a long with two jumbo sized pencils. Normally they would be at a size that would be considered a novelty, but to a Triceratops Animalian and a Wooly Rhinoceros Animalian, they'd be more functional for their larger hands. He knew they'd still have to careful as the answer portion of the test was at the same size that would be expected to be filled out by normal human trainees, but he knew that was manageable. He then went about presenting both Wanda and Sherry with the answer sheets and the question booklets.
"The test IS timed, and you'll have about one hour to complete the test," Sudan spoke as he handed out the material.
"How long before we'd get the results?" Wanda wondered.
"I have a copy of the answer sheet in my office," Sudan spoke, "when you're done, you'll go to the gym and one of the other Rhino Guard officers will take you through some basic exercises for self defense and the basics that you'd start with. When I get through answers, I'll come get you and we'll move on from there."
"Thank you, sir," Wanda answered.
Sudan nodded and then looked down to his watch, "You have one hour and you may start... now."
And from there both Sherry and Wanda got started with their tests. It wasn't the most glamorous start to their training for the Rhino Guard, but the start of any training wasn't glamorous. And for the Rhino Guard, that would mean starting with the academic requirements moving on from there.