There had been a few attempts at getting Animalians into the military. So far, these have not met with success. Henry, a gun-ho fervent patriot for the Air Force was proud to become a bald eagle to serve his country. Unfortunately, he hadn't considered the complications that would be involved in outfitting him now. Alex had been a captain in the army, but he held no particular loyalty to the government, particularly the one that may not be in power much longer. He had become a stallion mostly for his own interests and wasn't likely to sign up for another tour of duty.
The army had more confidence in Major Laurence Black. A man didn't rise up the ranks to be a major unless he knew where to toe the line and he strongly believed in his military. Laurence was certainly not as fractious as Alex, but he wasn't as dogmatic as Henry. There's a wide spectrum of military servicemen between those two extremes and Laurence was closer to the middle. He was well-aware that America's armed forces were necessary to ensure global peace considering there were more belligerent countries that could threaten it. However, based on the previous instances of converting soldiers and the gradual redundancy of foot soldiers when drones were more effective and didn't risk their own men being killed, Laurence saw this whole Animalian angle as rather pointless. But still he was duty-bound, and there was some benefit for going through with this.
==========
"So, you wish to become a bull," said Dr. Stein, "Any particular reason?"
"I'm a Taurus," said Laurence, "And besides, the bull Animalians are known for being large and strong. I wouldn't mind that either."
"Well, it should be simple enough," said Dr. Stein.
"There's just one last thing," said Laurence, "How many fingers do bull Animalians have?"
"Pardon?" asked Dr. Stein.
"I'm not really sure how consistent Animalians are with the number of fingers they have," said Laurence.
"In general, Animalians have five fingers on each hand, same as humans. Though Dinotopians may have fewer digits. But you wouldn't have to worry about losing any fingers," said Dr. Stein.
"It's more about regaining fingers," said Laurence, holding up his left hand, which missing his two outer fingers, "Lost them to a nasty booby trap. When you have them all figured out, someone comes up with something new and clever."
"I'm so sorry about that," said Dr. Stein.
"Honestly, at this point, I'm more sore about losing the ring this finger wore...and the relationship that went with it," said Laurence.
"Well, we have plenty of available cows who'll take an interest," said Dr. Stein, "If you don't attract some attention from someone who wishes to convert."
"I think I'd rather let myself heal first before seeking anyone out," said Laurence.
"Well, in that case, I think we can proceed," said Dr. Stein.
==========
The conversion was a considerable success. As expected, Laurence gained quite a bit of muscle from becoming a Belgian Blue, which stood out beneath his black fur. Of even greater relief to him, he regrew his lost fingers. He heard about Animalians regrowing lost limbs through conversion, though he wasn't sure how exact they were when it applied to relatively small amputations. Not to mention he saw a few depictions of anthro bulls on the internet with only three fingers.
"So, you will be going back into active service?" asked Dr. Stein.
"They'd have to make all-new kit for me," said Laurence, "I'm not going to fit into anything they have. Besides, you know how officers are never actually on the battlefield anymore. Unless we go to war and are in desperate need of infantry, I don't think my conversion is going to make much difference."
"So, what will you do instead?" asked Dr. Stein.
"I hear there's a Year of the Bull competition coming," said Laurence.
"Year of the Ox," said Dr. Stein, "But I don't think it's a big distinction. It'll be open to all forms of bovine, including bisons, water buffaloes, and yaks."
"You have yaks?" asked Laurence.
"Well, not here," said Dr. Stein, "But there's going to be plenty of competition I think."
"Then I better get to work," said Laurence.