“Good morning,” Brigider General Sloan said from the stage of the Brigade amptheater. “As you know, today is a very special day for the privates of seventh brigade. Some of you are tired of doing this year after year, and frankly so am I. But, if these young men and women can make it through the two years of training required to stand on this stage, then by god we can be here to recognize it.”

A laugh rippled through the crowd at the generals bad joke.

“Years ago, when I stood where you do now, I never would’ve imagined that I would be the stuffy officer giving the commencement speech. Well, that simply goes to show that you can never anticipate where you will be at the end of twenty or thirty years.”

“Every one of you could’ve opted out and stayed at home on Earth. You could’ve chosen the life of a doctor, a lawyer, a miner, or any number of other professions that would’ve kept you away from war. However, each of you chose to go through countless hours of drilling excersise and pain in order to stand up and protect our republic. You all chose to protect the innocent, so that the innocent may still dream.”

“Today, you join the ranks of a military at war. Unfortunately, I cannot say that it is a temporary state because the nature of the universe is so warlike. Since I can’t say that, I will simply say what we’ve all been dreaming of since the Founders first took Mars, we fight so that there may be an end.”

“So long as the republic breeds patriots like you, that hope will never die. You will stand at the ramparts, unapologetic and apolitical, to defend that which we have built. We hold the line, faithful to duty, and confronting our foes with implacable will. We will continue to hold that line, true to every person that calls the United Human Republic home.”

“You have been worn down by the fiercest climate we could possible put you in, and you became a blade. Then, fresh from the hell that is Algol, we brought you here to sharpened into a sword worthy of the title.”

“I am beyond proud to call you brother and sisters at arms. When destiny tapped you on the shoulder, you didn’t run, but rather you stepped up to join us. It will be tough, you will have days when you must fight in the cold and without sleep. But I for one can say that I will feel all the better knowing that we have you at our backs.”

“Privates of the Seventh brigade, please step forward.”

Doing so, First Sergeant Summers handed Jack a patch with a {Description}, the official patch for the brigade.

“You have earned the right to wear this patch.” The General said, “Do so knowing that you are not the first, nor the last, that will bring our brigade honor. If they hadn’t done so already, your battalion will soon welcome you into their family with a patch as well. Wear them both proudly. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the newest full members of the Seventh Mechanized Infantry.”

Applause burst out from the ranks of every battalion on the Washington. After spending a year with the Privates, many soldiers had already come to see the young soldiers as brothers and sisters. The simple truth was that the brigade patch didn’t matter to most of them, it was the battalion that had become their true family.

After the speech, Captain Griffin released the company from duty. They were free to spend the day as they saw fit, but it was highly recommended that the rest of the company spend the day showing the privates a good time; a recommendation that his fervently recognized and celebrated.

Before they had even made it out of the amptheater, a flask was being passed around. From the smell alone, this particular brew was not something that could be purchased. It was far more likely that the concoction was one made in the private bathroom of a Charlie company sergeant.

“Don’t you spill a drop of my ‘special sauce’” A wirey man said as the flask made it into Jack’s hand, “I made it from some shit we found on this disgusting planet once… Truth be told, I am not entirely sure what it is, but it makes some damn fine hooch.”

“It smells like paint thinner!” Another soldier shouted, “Tastes like it too!”

Jack took a swig from the container and found that he unfortunately had to agree with the man. The booze was by far the strongest thing he had ever encountered while also being the worst thing he’d ever tasted.

“Yeah, but you’ll see god in the asshole of a hooker and that’s what counts.” The wirey man shot back.

“Damnit man, you did not see god in that girls asshole!” The second man said as the flask was pulled from Jack’s hand.

Before he could get swept up in what would apparently become an extremely unproductive day, Jack slipped out of the crowd in search for Thea. If the company would be spending the day drunk, it was a pretty good assessment that two Privates wouldn’t be missed. At the very most, they would simply recognized that without them, there was more booze for them.

While he enjoyed being out with his friends every once in a while, Warren didn’t generally like being part of the fast and loud celebrations. Unfortunatly, the friendships that he’d made over the past two years demanded, to his displeasure, that he occasionally attend. There was something about watching people loose their faculties voluntarily that bothered him in a very real way. And while he would never leave a friend to sort themselves out, especially if they were too far gone to do so themselves, he wouldn’t reserve judgement for them people either.

Instead of dealing with that level of irritation, he chose to spend time with something that had never disappointed him in the ways that people often did. It wasn’t a condemnation of his friends, but rather a personal roadblock that he couldn’t get past no matter how hard he wished.

The doors of the server vault closed behind him, a series of thunks sounding as the locks re-engaged. Only soldiers that could access the security terminal were allowed to see the rows upon rows of equipment that allowed the Hub-ship to operate. Since those terminals had no physical interface, only members of the Possession Corps had the honor and burden of maintaining the equipment.

Sitting at the desk that he’d long ago claimed as his own, Warren prepared to do some digging. He had found something while on duty a few nights ago, but – being on duty – he was unable to really investigate the situation. He shouldn’t be surprised that secrets were hidden in plain sight. They required the user to be almost completely immersed in the machine, but they were there.

Dropping his mind into a computer could take multiple forms depending on the needs, but they always started the same. First, he pushed Light into the target machine and allowing himself to see a basic interface like any other computer. With a little more Light, he could drop his mind into the machine and forgo the interface all together and simply directing the machine with his will. This was by far the most commonly used form of machine possession used by his Corps.

Last, and by far the most powerful, was full immersion. While controlling machine in this manner, Warren would loose all control over his own body. In return for the extremely compromised situation, he became the machine. Any drone that was under his control in this manner became more than an extension of his mind, but his body as well.

The world fell away as he dropped into the ships ‘mind.’ Before reaching the second layer, he had already submitted the proper passwords that would lower the firewalls. At some point in the past year, he had been chosen for the pilot program. Not being one to back down from a challenge, he took the position and was rewarded with access codes to every layer of ship security that pertained to operations.

Pushing into that second layer of information, the customary user interface dissolved into bits of data. At this level, he could feel the soldier currently flying the ship, directing their course with an almost lazy air. While it could be fun to play a round of ‘whose in control,’ doing so would not look good and probably get him in more trouble than the game was worth.

Diving still deeper, he pushed himself to the level of full immersion. Last time he was this deep in the ships controls, he learned more about how the ship worked than any class to date. If there was any way for him to truly learn the ins and outs of this machine, it would be right here.

Every turn in the digital space provided more information. As he searched, data flowed into his mind and reinforced his understanding of both his powers and his Corps. At one point, he located a series of files that showed him the full schematic of the Hub-ship and for the first time in a year, he understood what the Washington truly was, an aircraft carrier.

Each battalion was assigned a secotor, but the companies did not work as part of a larger force. In fact, joint operations were so rare that it was easy to forget that they were part of a larger unit and that working with others was an option. As it turned out, the reason for such an odd system wasn’t that they hated or mistrusted each other, but that they trusted one another enough to handle the problem with nothing more than a single company.

From the schematics, he could see that each company was housed in a smaller ship that was capable of detatching and gaining full autonomy. The design was mind numbing, but not all together unfamiliar. Back in the old days, aircraft carriers were built to sail across the ocean with the capability of launching many fighter jets into the sky on a moments notice. The only difference here was that the ship was in space rather than on earth.

It was days like these that he wished he had been gifted with an idetic memory.

Turning the preverbial corner, he encountered resistance. It was like he’d slammed face first into a wall. The soft, well designed mental playground, that dozens upon dozens of possessors had built over the decades, ended abruptly. Almost as if the digital world didn’t extend past this point. When he tested the barrier, lines of code appeared and pushed back with just as much force.

This wasn’t good, the only reason for data blocks in the ships main computer was that they were under a sort of cyber attack. Gathering his will into a single point, he pushed with everything he had. If he had any sense of the real world in that moment, he would’ve known that his nose and ears had started bleeding from the strain. The pain was immense, but he couldn’t let up. With a final burst of effort, he punched through the barrier and found himself on the other side. As quickly as the pain had come, it was gone.

The space beyond was not hiding a virus that could unravel the ships life support. Nor was it protecting a digitaly based alien trying to steal information. Instead, behind the barrier was an old fashioned library. As his mind came fully through, his body seemed to form from the lines of code that made up this place.

“Very good Private.”

He spun in search for the owner of that voice, only to find the library as empty as it was when he first entered.

“Oh, I don’t have time to come here myself today. But you should know just how busy I am. In fact, we only had the opportunity to meet twice during the past year.”

It struck him, the voice was none other than Tobias Ross, the Unranked Officer of the Possession Corps.

“Well, since you don’t seem to be in the mood to speak, let me tell you about this place.” Tobias said, “You are far enough into the digital world that physical manifesations of will are possible. I created this area as a sort of test for members of our corps to try their might against, and I am impressed with your capability. As your reward, you may access the information in this room, but it may not leave it. Anything you learn is for you to know, not for the masses… In fact, consider this entire room top secret.”

Warren was floored; this place, this room, was a construct of Tobias’s mind? What did he mean by the information? Was each of these books a volume of top secret material? There were simply too many questions to ask, and not nearly enough hours in a day to find the answers.

Touching the book with the most recent timestamp, information flooded his mind. It didn’t come in stories or blueprints like every other file he’d seen since being here, but instead presented itself as flashes of memory. Fragments of speech spaced out clarified areas where the view didn’t quite explain everything.

He saw Officer Hargrave standing beside an alien with silvery skin, hands extended in a symbol of friendship.

A flash later, he saw a document being signed by a similar alien that was connected to dozens of tubes.

He watched a dozen more scenes flit across his vision before simply stopping, returning him to the library and one finger on the book.

“Ah, now that is a more recent secret.” Officer Ross said softly, “Do not spill the beans on that one, Private Warren Alexander. In fact, I think you have had enough discovery for one night.”

Suddenly, pain sliced through his mind like a hot knife. Tendrils of burning power snaked around his ethereal body as he was dragged back through the barrier. Graciously, the barrier separated to allow him through. Once through, the power continued to pull him out of the lower two layers of machine possession before finally letting go.

His mind was on fire; and with his newly returned consciousness, he felt the wetness of the blood that had dripped out of his nose and ears. After the mental beating, he simply couldn’t even hold on to the first layer of control. As he slipped from the machine, he also slipped out of his chair and onto the floor.

The last thing he remembered before fading into unconsciousness was the haunting voice of Officer Tobias Ross warning him not to share anything he had learned.