When he had been posted to the Deep Space Cruiser Calliope, Arav had looked forward to thrilling adventures on the edge of known space. The Calliope was not really an exploration ship; instead, it patrolled the thin and fragile borders of humanity's civilization throughout the galaxy.

While humanity had not yet encountered any sentient alien species, the cruiser had been called upon repeatedly to protect humanity from the worst of itself. Pirates, warlords, smugglers, and even slavers preyed on the poorly-defended settlements and struggling colonies along the rim of civilization. Growing up on a farmstead on the outer rim, Arav had viewed the fleet and ships like Calliope as heroic defenders of the helpless, so he wanted nothing more than to serve on a ship like her and help with her vital mission when he enlisted into Space Fleet.

While Arav had envisioned serving as a pilot or maybe an officer, it was soon made clear to him that his slight physique, limited leadership experience, and poor eyesight would stand in the way of a commission. However, he had been happy to find that his prior experience repairing electronics and deploying agricultural drones was valued by the Space Battalion. And since the Battalion provided the security and rapid deployment force on cruisers like Calliope, Arav threw himself into his training at Battalion boot camp, hoping to earn his pick of postings. When he sailed through with flying colors, he then shocked his superiors by choosing to serve on the Calliope.

Given his romantic and heroic view, it was almost inevitable that Arav would be disappointed with the reality he found when he arrived onboard Calliope. While he had been suitably impressed with the ship's top brass, pilots, and the Battalion Commander, Arav had been disappointed to find that the Battalion security and combat teams were... lacking. As they ran drills and simulations in the ship's expansive Combat Training Center, Arav was shocked at how lackadaisical and unmotivated his team seemed. "Arav, can't you just send over some drones to take care of things?" the fire team's corporal would ask as his first, second, third, and last strategy for dealing with any unfamiliar situation. More disheartening, the troopers seemed to be either too inexperienced or too unmotivated to invest any time or effort to improve their performance.

The Battalion Commander had tried to motivate her troopers with threats, rewards, guilt, and even ill-deserved praise, but the entire Battalion's contingent seemed impervious to her efforts. In her lowest moments during training exercises, the Commander had confided in Arav that he was probably the only Battalion member who had volunteered for the posting... including her! The reluctant draftees that made up her contingent were just counting the days until their enlistment ended, and were trying their best to avoid any work--or danger--until that day finally arrived.

Arav's frustration with his fellow troopers soon began to flare into outright hostility. He had repeatedly tried to explain the vital importance of their mission to his team and the other enlistees, but his hectoring only earned him contempt and isolation. Arav could only take slight consolation from the fact that his fellow enlistees were already disconnected and hostile to each other, so their ostracization of Arav was basically indistinguishable from how they interacted with each other. After life in his tight-knit farming community and the adulation he had received from his peers and instructors during basic training, Arav grew increasingly depressed and despondent.

The Battalion Commander seemed to recognize his distress--and also his commitment--so she tried her best to raise his spirits and give him more opportunities to develop his skills. While not actually a promotion, she assigned to and increasingly relied on Arav in her combat information center. Soon he was running the combat communication and data interface in the CIC, making him the nexus of the Commanders' connection to her units. While he was gratified to be entrusted with such a vital role by the Commander, his new birds-eye view of the units as they practiced their deployments only served to highlight the Battalion troopers' sloppy and uncoordinated performance. And embarrassingly for Arav, it seemed like his fellow troopers' dislike was only magnified as he became the voice relaying their orders from the Commander and the "snitch" who would tell her when their performance or effort was lacking.

Instead of helping the Commander improve the unit's performance, Arav feared he was actually making things worse for everyone. As the training sessions spiraled from bad to worse, Arav began to think that maybe his corporal's dictum to "send in the drones" was going to be the only way his unit could ever be remotely combat-effective.

But just as Arav despaired that the Battalion enlistees were beyond hope, he was shocked to see the first glimmers of initiative from one of the teams. Gamma Squad--made up of regular security troopers--pulled off a surprising victory in a simulation where they were being assaulted by two other teams of combat troopers. Despite being outnumbered and assigned to a position that was only marginally defensible, Gamma Squad had shocked the assaulting teams by leaving a minimal decoy force to delay the attackers while the bulk of the squad silently and efficiently flanked and surprised the attackers. Watching the simulation with the Commander, Arav marveled not only at the boldness of their strategy, but also their precisely coordinated execution.

In the next training session, the Commander deployed Gamma Squad in a night-time sabotage and demolition mission targeting a fortified supply depot. Again, despite the inherent tension and jeopardy of such a mission, Gamma Squad's vitals seemed almost preternaturally calm and stress-free as they penetrated the other teams' defenses. The Commander (and Arav) were again struck by Gamma Squad's improvement as they successfully eliminated sentries and guard posts without allowing them to raise the alarm, then placed the simulated charges precisely and efficiently. Gamma Squad had completed the mission and "blown" the simulated charges before the leaders of the other squads had even realized their perimeter had been compromised. After the exercise ended, the Commander asked Arav to relay her congratulations to the squad and set up an informal meeting with them to better understand the secret of their success.

When he returned to the enlisted quarters later that night, Arav was surprised to see the Commander and Gamma Squad walking toward him. Had they really been meeting this entire time? The Commander looked surprisingly content and thoughtful as she and the team silently approached Arav, and then said, "Arav, I think we need to have the rest of the squads get a helping hand from Gamma Squad and learn from their methods. Could you create a schedule for the rest of the Battalion to meet with them as soon as possible?"

"Uhh," Arav answered. "Should I coordinate an all-hands meeting with the squad corporals during one of the scheduled training sess..." Arav stopped abruptly as the Commander held up her hand to interrupt.

"Actually, based on what Gamma Squad has told me about their techniques, I think they will work better if they're individually customized and interactive. Since the Simulator is so in-demand by pilots and command staff, I've asked the Captain if we can use one of the empty cargo bays as a temporary classroom, and he agreed. We can set up time blocs for each trooper to meet with Gamma Squad and get their feedback over the next week."

"Wait, which cargo bay?" Arav asked. "How long should the slots be for each..." and again stopped abruptly as the Commander held up her hand.

"Corporal Zhukov will flash you the details on your data pad momentarily. Check in with me if you run into any issues." She said firmly. Then she calmly walked back toward officer's country while Gamma Squad walked silently to their racks.

"What the Hell?" Arav muttered.

----------

Over the next few days, Arav's concerns about Gamma's mysterious training slowly evaporated as he began to see marked performance improvements among the troopers who had received the mysterious training. The Commander was clearly pleased with the results, increasingly setting up simulations where the newly-trained troopers faced off against their former squadmates... and completely routed them. The drubbing dealt to the defeated troopers animated them and made them more curious about and eager to receive the helping hand offered by Gamma Squad. To enhance the process, the Commander decided to prioritize training other squad leaders, who could then help facilitate the training of their other troopers.

By the end of the week, almost the entire Battalion had received their supplemental training. Arav continued to press the Commander and his fellow troopers for details of the training, but they all remained tight-lipped and unresponsive to the badgering. In fact, he was a little surprised that his constant pestering of the newly-trained squad members did not provoke more of a hostile response. He could only conclude that now that the squad had finally achieved some of the professionalism and cohesion he had been pushing, they had now come to appreciate the validity of his criticism. While still not exactly friendly, Arav was pleased that his comrades no longer mocked him or treated him with overt hostility, which was a definite improvement.

If there was any downside to the new training, it was probably in how it affected his relationship with the Commander. Arav concluded it was unsurprising that as the squads increased the quality of their effort and performance, they might begin to erode the special position he had established with the Commander. Indeed, it became clear that the Commander and her staff were increasingly communicating directly with the squad leaders, and after a few days the Commander told Arav she was going to place him back with his old squad later that week, again taking over responsibility for drone maintenance and deployment.

Arav thanked her for believing in him and for all her work improving the Battalion... but he was honestly a little hurt to be pushed aside so quickly. While he had always said he wanted our squads to be more competent and professional, now that it was finally happening he had to admit that part of him had always taken pride at his special status. Now he was just going to be one face in the crowd, blending in with all the other troopers.

As Arav spent his last training simulation next to the Commander in her command center, he was again struck by the contrast in how well the troopers were performing compared to when he first reported for duty. In contrast to the idle chatter and lax communication discipline of the early training missions, the comm channels were almost eerily silent during the exercise. In fact, at various points squads appeared to be taking actions or redeploying without any orders being passed to or from their leaders. Arav wondered if part of the training involved a novel way of communicating with other troopers? That would certainly give them a sneaky advantage in the simulations, but how were they doing it? The coordination was occurring across large distances and with no EM signals that could be measured; it was a mystery how they were accomplishing this feat.

Relatedly, as Arav observed the squads using ever more complex formations and more rapid repositioning he was struck by the near-total absence of stress markers in their vitals. In fact, as he studied their vital signs, the most shocking characteristic he could see was how abnormally normal they appeared to be. The troopers were in a battlefield simulation--which was obviously going to be less stressful than the real thing--but looking at their vital signs, he would have been hard-pressed to even tell the exercise had even started. Cortisol and epinephrine levels, skin conductance, heart rate, breathing variability: all perfectly normal, like they were reading books or watching vids, not engaging in a tense competition with determined foes. Arav speculated that it was natural for people to get more comfortable with something the more of it they'd done, but it was definitely weird how...

"Arav," the Commander said suddenly, interrupting his reverie. "Now that you're going back to your old squad, I'd like for you to meet with your and the Gamma Squad's corporals to get trained. We want to make sure your transition back to regular duty is as smooth as possible."

"Aye, Commander," he answered, taking his eyes off the consoles for the first time since the exercise began. "I'll contact them to set up a..."

"No need," the Commander interrupted. "They will meet you here immediately after the conclusion of this exercise and take you to the cargo bay for your training. It has all been arranged."

"Aye. Understood, Commander." Arav was a little indignant that no one had bothered to ask him when he wanted to do the training, but he supposed it was common knowledge that his social calendar wasn't exactly brimming with activities or commitments. Then he tucked away all of his doubts and questions and focused on the combat simulation. He would have his answers soon enough.

-----------

As they headed to the cargo bay, Arav peppered the corporals for more information about the training. "Seriously, guys. I'm going to be doing the training in just a few minutes. Where's the harm in just telling me the details? It's not like it's a big deal if I tell anyone else about it: You guys have all done the training now, so what difference would it make?"

The corporals did not seem bothered by Arav's incessant questioning, but they also remained silent as they approached the cargo bay. Arav was about to continue his questions when they rounded a corner and he was shocked to find two fully-suited up and armed troopers standing at attention outside the cargo bay hatch. "Wait, why are their sentries posted here? I know you've been super tight-lipped about the training, but is there seriously that much..."

Arav's question was cut off as the armed troopers suddenly grabbed his arms and picked him up off the ground like a rag doll. Gamma's corporal swung the hatch door open and said, "You misunderstand, Arav. They're not here to keep people out of the training. They're here to make sure people receive the full training."

Arav struggled vainly to free himself as he yelled and screamed over his shoulder at the corporals. "WHAT THE HELL, GUYS! WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU ASSHOLES DOING THIS?"

The corporals' faces remained completely impassive as they entered the cargo hold and spun the dogs to tightly seal the hatch behind them. The Gamma squad corporal gave a thin smile and calmly answered, "We're helping you join the team, Arav." Then both corporals looked past Arav, their faces calm and blissful.

As he was pulled further into the cargo hold, Arav tried to make sense of their behavior, but his train of thought was derailed as the sentries suddenly flipped him and forced him to his knees so he was fully facing the kneeling corporals. As they prostrated themselves, he began to see a strange blue glow reflect in their blank eyes and the fixtures on the bulkhead behind them. Arav was about to turn his head to try to see what was behind him, but suddenly the blue light seemed to be coming from inside his skull. Arav's mind raced to try to understand what was happening, but then his racing thoughts and worries began to be coated with the blue light that was increasingly stroking and filling his mind. As the light seemed to flow across the top of his head, Arav's eyes involuntarily rolled up, as if to see what was happening within his own skull.

As Arav struggled to understand what was happening, a calm and peaceful realization began to wash all of his anxiety and doubt away. He realized he did not need to understand what was happening. He was being trained, and the training did not require his understanding. As his eyes drifted shut, he began to understand the only thing that mattered: He had finally joined the team.

He would obey.