Star Corps by Ian Douglas Page A

will respond with ‘Sir, aye aye, sir!’ Do you understand me?”
    â€œSir, aye aye, sir!”
    â€œWhat was that? I can’t hear you!”
    â€œSir, aye aye, sir!”
    â€œNow hit the deck and give me twenty push-ups!”
    â€œSir, aye aye, sir!”
    As the recruit began grunting through his push-ups, attended closely by the other sergeant who was shouting out the cadence, Sewicki continued his prowl in front down the ranks.
    â€œI am an easy man to get along with. All you need to do to get along with me is to obey my commands instantly, without hesitation, without argument, do you understand me?”
    â€œSir, aye aye, sir!” the ranks chorused.
    â€œYou!” Sewicki moved so fast he appeared to dematerialize, rematerializing in front of a recruit in the front rank four to John’s left, face glowering, finger pointing. “What’s your name?”
    â€œSir! Garvey! Sir!”
    â€œGravy, is that gum you have in your mouth?”
    â€œUh, sir, I mean, it’s—”
    â€œIs that or is that not gum you have in your maggot mouth?”
    â€œIt’s—It’s counterhum, sir.”
    â€œRemove it.”
    Garvey spat the offending wad into his hand.
    â€œPlace it on your nose.”
    â€œS-Sir…?”
    â€œOn your nose, recruit.”
    â€œSir! Aye aye, sir!”
    â€œAnd it had better stay there until I tell you to get rid of it!” He spun, addressing them all. “As for the rest of you, we are going to march—or perform the best simulation of a march that you yahoos are capable of performing—into that building behind you, and there you will deposit in a bin that we will provide any and all contraband you may have on your persons, including guns, knives, weapons of any kind, cigs, lighters, candy, food, soda, liquids of any type, gum, stims, all drugs including analgesics, mem boosters, and sleepers, nano dispensers of any kind including hummersand joggers, game players, personal communications and recording devices, personal entertainment systems, neural plug-ins, pornographic material of all types—including naked holopics of your girlfriends, boyfriends, and/or parents— do you understand me?”
    â€œSir! Aye aye, sir!”
    â€œI don’t care what you used, smoked, tapped, smacked, licked, drank, charged, plugged, or popped back in the World. You people with electronic enhancements will be losing them tomorrow. While you are in my Corps and on my island, you will be clean. ”
    John blinked. He couldn’t mean all electronics, could he?
    Sergeant Sewicki’s face suddenly filled his vision, glowering down at him, a mask of red fury. “ You! What’s your name?”
    â€œSir! Garroway! Sir!”
    Sewicki’s war face softened a bit with surprise…but only a bit. “That name has a special meaning around here, recruit,” he growled. “You big enough to carry it?”
    â€œSir, I hope so, sir.”
    â€œThere’s no hope for you here, recruit. And in the future, you will not refer to yourself as ‘I’ or ‘me’ or ‘my.’ You will refer to yourself as ‘this recruit.’ Now, do you know who Sands of Mars Garroway was?”
    â€œSir, he was one of my…uh, one of this recruit’s ancestors, sir.”
    Sewicki’s eyes glazed over for a moment, as though he was studying something within, an implant download, perhaps. “Says here on my roll that your name is Esteban.”
    So the bit with Sewicki demanding the names of individual recruits had been simple theater.
    â€œSir, I had—”
    â€œWhat did you say?”
    â€œUh, sir, I—”
    â€œYou are not an I ! None of you maggots rates an I! The only first person on this deck is me! The only time you maggots say the word ‘I’ is when you declare that you understand and will obey an order, and you will do so by saying ‘aye