The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi Page A

coming from Brian Michaelson, even though he’d never communicated with him before.
    ::I hope he’s not planning to make a habit out of that, :: another voice said. Steve Seaborg.
    ::Give him a break,:: said a third voice. ::He was born without being integrated. It’s a lot to handle all of a sudden. Come on, let’s get him up off the floor.::
    Sarah Pauling.
    Jared opened his eyes. Pauling was kneeling down next to him; Brahe and his other training mates formed a curious semicircle above him.
    ::I’m fine,:: Jared sent to all of them, keying his response to the squad-wide communication channel, which included Brahe. The choice to do this came naturally, part of the info dump of the integration. ::I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know how to handle it. But I’m fine now.::
    From his training mates radiated emotions like auras, each different: concern, confusion, irritation, indifference, amusement. Jared followed the amused emotion back to its source. Pauling’s amusement was visible not only as an emotional aura but from the quirky smile on her face.
    ::Well, you don’t seem all that much worse for wear,:: Pauling said. She stood up and then extended her hand. ::Up you go,:: she said. Jared reached up, took her hand, and pulled himself up.
    ::Sarah’s got a pet,:: Seaborg said, and there was a ripple of amusement among some of the squad, and a strange emotional ping that Jared suddenly recognized as a form of laughter.
    ::Shut up, Steve,:: Pauling said. ::You hardly know what a pet is.::
    ::Doesn’t make him less of one,:: Seaborg said.
    ::Doesn’t make you less of a jerk,:: Pauling said.
    ::I’m not a pet,:: Jared said, and suddenly all eyes turned to him. He found it less intimidating than the first time, now that he had all of them in his head. He focused his attention on Seaborg ::Sarah was simply being kind to me. It doesn’t make me a pet, it doesn’t make her my master. It just means she was nice enough to help me off the floor.::
    Seaborg audibly snorted and then removed himself from the semicircle, intently finding something else to be interested in. A few others broke off to join him. Sarah turned to Brahe. ::Does this happen with every training squad?:: she asked.
    Brahe smiled. ::Did you think being inside each other’s heads would make it easier for you to get along? There’s no place to hide. What’s really surprising is that one of you hasn’t taken a punch at someone else yet. Usually by this time I have to pry a couple of trainees apart with a crowbar.:: Brahe turned to Jared. ::You going to be all right?::
    ::I think so,:: Jared said. ::I need a little time to sort everything out. I have a lot in my head, and I’m trying to figure out where it all goes.::
    Brahe looked back over to Pauling. ::You think you can help him sort it out?::
    Pauling smiled. ::Sure,:: she said.
    ::You’ve got Dirac-watch, then,:: Brahe said. ::We start training tomorrow. See if you can get him up to speed with everything before then.:: Brahe walked off.
    ::I guess I really am your pet,:: Jared said.
    A wash of amusement flowed off Pauling toward Jared ::You’re a funny man,:: she said.
    ::You’re the second person to tell me that today,:: Jared said.
    ::Yeah?:: Pauling said. ::Know any good jokes?::
    Jared told Pauling the one about Sherlock Holmes. She laughed out loud.

FIVE
    Training for Special Forces soldiers takes two weeks. Gabriel Brahe began the training of Jared’s squad—formally the 8th Training Squad—by asking its members a question.
    ::What makes you different than other human beings?:: he asked. ::Raise your hand when you have the answer.::
    The squad, arrayed in a ragged semicircle in front of Brahe, was silent. Finally Jared raised his hand. ::We’re smarter, stronger and faster than other humans,:: he said, remembering the words of Judy Curie.
    ::Good guess,:: Brahe said. ::But wrong. We are