"Most of what you've heard about the Drift is complete kaiju shit," the Ranger on the stage is saying. The first Jaeger pilot Raleigh's ever seen outside a TV or holoscreen is a compact, heavyset woman with dark skin and a voice that rings clearly over the hubbub of a hundred cadet hopefuls without needing a microphone. Her name flashes up on the holoprojector high above her head: Adaline Nguyen. Her partner trails her like a pale shadow. His name isn't projected.

"It's a lot of romantic stories that get reported," Ranger Nguyen goes on, "and you lot come rushing in here to volunteer because you think you love each other enough to save the world! Look at your partners, you who came in with partners. You think you've got love?"

Raleigh glances over to find Yancy smirking at him, and rolls his eyes.

"Let me tell you something then, children!" Ranger Nguyen barks. "The Drift is not love."

A faint murmur of protest from the crowd. Nguyen smiles.

"That's right!" she shouts. "The Drift is not love. It's not destiny, it's not romance. Shit, you don't even have to like the sod you're Drifting with. I've known Rangers who have hated each others' guts, paired together for years because they could tear kaiju limb from limb. It's about compatibility, and compatibility is about how well you can fight!"

Her partner, a pale, wilting beanpole of a man whose Ranger uniform looks too big on him, nods in approval.

"I'll tell you what Drifting is!" Nguyen barks. "Empathy. Emotional entanglement. Being in your partner's memories, you'll understand them, see things their way, whether you want to or not. You've heard there's no secrets in the Drift, but it's worse than that, children, much worse. There's no lies in the Drift, either, no avoiding nasty topics or changing the subject. You think it, they hear it, and no taking it back. Drifting with someone means seeing their bare self, naked and entire. And they'll see yours. Think about that. Not always a pretty sight, is it?"

The auditorium is dead silent. Raleigh can't help but glance at Yancy again, but he's staring straight ahead, his expression unreadable.

"Now," Nguyen continues, once the silence has stretched into deep discomfort, "how you feel about your partner after you see his guts exposed, that's up to you. Maybe you'll come out of it and love him. Or maybe he'll make you sick to your stomach. The PPDC doesn't give a shit about that, one way or the other. What we're concerned about is, can the two of you work together, trust each other, enough to win the hardest fight any human has ever won?

We can tell a few things from brain scans and personality tests, but when it gets down to it there's no test for compatibility except trial by fire. You've all had your EKGs compared and you've passed a preliminary combat trial. You and your partner won't burn each others' brains out in a catastrophic feedback loop - probably. That's all we know. The rest is up to you."

Nguyen's partner steps to the front of the stage, pulling the microphone toward him with a quick, nervous gesture. He pulls out a crumpled sheet of paper, smoothes it carefully, and reads out, "When your names are called, you will proceed to the Drift Simulation chamber on my left. First cut lists will be posted at twenty-two hundred hours on the holoprojector in this room. There are no appeals." He looks up from the paper and adds, "Good luck."

"Make your last confessions," Nguyen advises, still grinning. "Got any disruptive secrets, spill 'em now. Don't want any surprises in there."

The taut silence dissolves into a roar of voices as the first pair of names flashes up on the holo. Raleigh turns to his brother. "I got something to tell you, Yance," he says gravely.

Yancy eyes him suspiciously. "Yeah?"

"I was the one who ratted you out to Ma for breaking the attic window with that slingshot on Jaz's birthday."

Where Raleigh is quick to smile, Yancy is slow. He fixes Raleigh with a blank look that seems to last an eternity before he breaks and grins a mile wide. "You little asshole."

Raleigh grins back. Everyone around looks nervous, huddling together with their partners, but somehow Nguyen's threats only make the whole thing seem more exciting. They only signed up for kicks, and there's no getting kicks without a little risk, a little danger. Already Raleigh's pulse is kicking up, and he can feel the familiar tingle of anticipation tightening his shoulders. He and Yancy have run all the risks, gambled whatever they had and gotten themselves in deep shit before, but this is something totally new. And if they come out intact -

"We could really do it," he says, suddenly burning with belief. "We could get out there on the front lines, save people."

"Don't get cocky," Yancy says mildly.

"What? You gettin' scared? You know, it's not too late to run."

Now Yancy's smile is conspiratorial and a little cruel, one hundred percent big brother. A new pair of names flashes up on the holo: Becket, Raleigh and Becket, Yancy. An automated voice reads it out, but it's drowned out by the noise.

Yancy stands and claps his little brother on the back. "I'm not scared of being in your head, that's for fuckin' sure. And I know we have what they're looking for and more. Now get off your ass and let's go prove it."