::Good of you to notice, Gullstrand,:: Brahe said. ::For your observational skills, you get to be the first one to run it today. Stay here. The rest of you spread out over the length of the course, please, as equally as possible.::
Presently members of the 8th were strung along the course. Brahe turned to Gullstrand. ::You see the course?:: he asked.
::Yes,:: Gullstrand said.
::Do you think you could run it with your eyes closed?::
::No,:: Gullstrand said. ::I don’t remember where everything is. I’d trip over something and kill myself.::
::Do you all agree?:: Brahe asked. There were pings of affirmation. ::And yet, all of you will run this course with your eyes closed before we leave here today. Because you have an ability that will allow you to do this: your integration with your squad members.::
From around the squad came varying levels of skepticism. ::We use our integration to talk and to share data,:: said Brian Michaelson. ::This is something entirely different.::
::No. Not different at all,:: Brahe said. ::The nighttime assignments of the last week were not just punishments and frivolity. You already knew that through your BrainPal and your pre-birth conditioning you could learn quickly by yourself. In the last week—without realizing it—you’ve learned to share and absorb immense amounts of information between yourselves. There is no difference between that information and this. Pay attention.::
Jared gasped audibly, as did other members of the 8th. In his head was not only the presence of Gabriel Brahe but an intimate sensation of his physical presence and personal situation, overlaid on Jared’s own consciousness.
::Look through my eyes,:: Brahe said. Jared focused on the command and then had a sickening sense of vertigo as his perspective wheeled from his own vantage point to Brahe’s. Brahe panned left and right and Jared saw himself, looking toward Brahe. Brahe snapped off the view.
::It gets easier the more you do it,:: Brahe said. ::And from now on, in every combat practice you will do it. Your integration gives you situational awareness that is unique in this universe. All intelligent species share information in combat however they can—even realborn soldiers keep a communication channel open through their BrainPals during battle. But only Special Forces have this level of sharing, this level of tactical awareness. It’s at the heart of how we work and how we fight.
::As I said, last week you covered the basics of fighting like the realborn—you learned how to go into combat as an individual. Now it’s time to learn to fight like Special Forces, to integrate your combat skills with your squad. You will learn to share and you will learn to trust what is shared with you. It will save your life and it will save the life of your squad mates. This will be the hardest and most important thing you learn. So pay attention.::
Brahe turned back to Gullstrand. ::Now, close your eyes.::
Gullstrand hesitated. ::I don’t know if I can keep my eyes closed, :: he said.
::You’re going to have to trust your squad,:: Brahe said.
::I trust the squad,:: Gullstrand said. ::I just don’t trust myself.:: This got a sympathetic round of pings.
::That’s part of the exercise as well,:: Brahe said. ::Off you go.::
Gullstrand closed his eyes and took a step. From his vantage point halfway down the course, Jared could see Jerry Yukawa, in the first position, lean in slightly, as if physically attempting to close the distance between his mind and Gullstrand’s. Gullstrand’s passage through the obstacle course was slow but became progressively steadier; just before reaching Jared, and just after balancing on a wood beam suspended over mud, Gullstrand began to a smile. He had become a believer.
Jared felt Gullstrand reach for his point of view. Jared give him full access to his senses and passed along a feeling of encouragement and assurance. He sensed Gullstrand receiving it and briefly passing along his thanks; then Gullstrand focused on scaling the rope wall Jared stood to the side of. At the top, he felt Gullstrand move on to the next squad member in the line, fully confident. By the end of the course, Gullstrand was moving nearly at full speed.
::Excellent,:: Brahe said. ::Gullstrand, take over that last position. Everybody else move down one position. Yukawa, you’re up.::