Pilot Candidate Festival (Open)

[Anonymous]

Alaina watched, glassy-eyed, as Roman proceeded to open a storage closet and rifle through it for something. That something, she soon discovered, was a sledgehammer. He was going to use it on Val.

It was pointless, really. Alaina didn't want to be too critical of the men in charge, but the lesson had proceeded swiftly from negative reinforcement to plain old sadism. She was even more shocked when Roman hefted the hammer above Val. Clearly, it wasn't just a prop. Alaina wanted to get up and tell Roman...

"Don't do it!"

She'd said it aloud. In the dead silence of the room, she'd told the instructor not to do something. Brilliant. Alaina mentally slapped herself for being such an idiot. Thinking fast about how to justify her outburst, she simply ended up explaining herself. Her face was warm as she spoke.

"It's not worth it; he'll be a Pavlovian dog to orders at this point. You've broken his mind. All that will do is break his body."

Again, the cold facade. Alaina actually felt some compassion for the kid, lying stretched-out on the table, held down by his fellow candidate as Roman prepared to take a swing at him. But that wouldn't convince them... hell, she didn't know if the practical argument would work. It was worth a shot, though, if only to avoid seeing more blood.

She didn't even notice Chica's psychic move, but it wouldn't have made much difference. If Alaina had known, she probably would have spoken anyway.

[Anonymous]

In any other situation, Phenyo would have cracked up. A sledgehammer. He was going to swing around a sledgehammer? Blinking owlishly for a moment, pursing her lips and shifting her weight a little so she could bring up a leg and sit on her foot. Slow steady breaths through her nose, her teeth firmly planted on her tongue to remind her not to speak, not to scream at anyone, not to make a fuss.

Damn did she want to though.

Phenyo frowned deeper when she felt like smiling, even if it was a bad thing to encourage, she could hardy contain herself when she heard Val swear at them again. Good boy. You're already fucked, couldn't possibly get any worse now. Even if it could, this would be a hard one to top. A sledgehammer. Classic. Shaking her head slightly, simple amazed at how... Simple it was.

Did they have a brochure for this place? They could put that on it. "If you don't listen, we'll smack ya with a sledgehammer!" Or carve into your neck, or break some ribs. Phenyo shot Dyerlich a bit of a glare before picturing it in her head, complete with pictures of Roman looking happy with sledgehammers. Phenyos green eyes glazed over slightly and her eyebrow twitch, but she jolted when not one, but two people called out. Chica and Alaina.

The snake and the quiet one.

Phenyo looked at them and blinked, Alaina was explaining herself. To the sadistic psychopath? She had a feeling that talking to him was like talking to a brick wall that had eyes. Just look at you like you're stupid while you try to talk to it. Clearing her throat and shifting again, lowering her head to her head to rest it again. Just hurry up already. The faster you hit him, the faster this is over with, the faster he can heal, the faster she can tell Dyerlich to go do something with himself he could probably physically do.

Ew.

[Tally]

"We could put her eyes out and give her artificial ones that can't turn us to stone," Roman suggested, continuing the telepathic conversation with Dyerlich while he enjoyed the sound of Val's begging.  He thought his idea was the most practical, although in the back of his mind he had to acknowledge the possibility that maybe he just plain liked the idea of eye gouging. "Now you've gone and got me all excited about this eye thing.  If I put some random candidate's eyes out, it'll be your fault, Dad.  And don't worry about Phenyo and me.  I know how to get her in line without even laying a hand on her." The solution he'd come up with for Phenyo's insubordination was simple, elegant.  It would guarantee she gave Roman the respect due a Pilot, all without hurting her a bit.

"The fishhooks, hm?  Perhaps.  I've never really been one for mind control, you know." It was so much more challenging and rewarding to find ways of making them take their punishments of their own volition.  Roman's gaze raked over Val's supine form, relishing the moment, drawing it out...

...much to Col's anger and disgust.  He was getting nauseated, and his legs were trembling.  When Val's eyes hit him, he flinched as from a physical blow and almost let go on impulse.  His hands shook, loosened their hold.

"You want to take his place?"

Col gasped at the cold, slippery thought worming it's way into the front of his mind.  It seemed to linger there, coiling in his head, echoing, and he turned his face up to see Roman looking at him with a frank expression.  Not threatening, not even sarcastic.  A genuine question.

Gods damn him.  A threat would have been easier.  A threat wouldn't have made his heart constrict like this.  Roman meant it.  He was actually asking if Col wanted to spare Val and take the hammer himself.  He stared back at Roman, despairing because he already knew what his answer would be.

Col wished he were strong enough to take it.  He wished he were a better person. He wasn't.  He set his mouth in a grim line and leaned his weight back down on Val's arms, staring back down into those eyes and shaking his head.  He'd broken out in a cold sweat.  "I'm sorry," he tried to say, but his voice wouldn't work and he could only mouth the words over and over.

What happened next wasn't surprising.  Expected, even, and no the candidates weren't to be punished because they didn't have the self control of a Pilot.  That would come much, much later.  Roman cut off Chica's clumsy strike with a thin, precise wave, severing it with surgical skill and the kind of speed that comes only from having done a thing a hundred times over.  Alaina received a withering stare. "Control yourselves," was all he said.  And not to be distracted, he turned his attention at last back to Val.

"Oh snap, I almost forgot," Roman said suddenly—and if that sounded ridiculous coming from a 36 year old man, Col was in no condition to notice.  Roman patted at his back pockets with his free hand as though looking for something and, finding nothing, began opening desk drawers and rooting through them.  From one he produced a thick blending stub, a cylinder of tightly wrapped paper used to blend graphite.  "Huh.  How'd that get in there?"  He shrugged, and tapped Val on the nose with it before slipping it in between the candidate's teeth.  "It'll do I think.  You need something to bite down on so you don't swallow your tongue and die.  I'm not going through that kind of paperwork."

Then he straightened again, and there was nothing left to do but put an end to the anticipation.  "I want you to understand," Roman said, "that this is not your punishment.  Not really.  It's just pain, and pain is nothing.  The real challenge for you will come after."  He turned to the side, releasing the pain block on Val's mind as he set his feet apart, adjusted his grip on the hammer and eyed his target.

"Someday you'll thank me."

The hammer fell four times, no hesitation.  Val's right knee, his left, then his left shin and his right shin.  Four deafening blows ringing off the walls, mingling with the crack and crunch of shattering bone.

Col had turned his face away and clenched his eyes shut, grimacing with each blow, and on the last fall of the hammer he leaped back, absolutely white-faced.  He stared at what was left of Val's legs but didn't feel as though he were really seeing anything at all.  He thought he might faint.

Roman stepped back to observe the bloody mess, letting the hammer head rest upon the ground.  "Still there, my goddess of the skies?"

Scheherazade answered: "Always."

"Send us a medic if you please."

[Anonymous]

Now you're not thinking like she could be a weapon, you're thinking of what would cause her the most hardship in her life. Dyerlich chided the young man, knowing Roman was no doubt feeling a little sadistic and...well for good reason. He was about to break a candidate's something or other. Legs. Arms. Chest? It was hard to say. So long as your careful don't go through the brain, Son. He might as well get in on this weird thing about being called father and what not. Though, Dyerlich could have called Roman son, considering he had mentored the boy from thirteen years of age to eighteen.

Not everyone was the golden glare like yourself Roman. Besides, I like to do such a thing to a person every now and then until their mind got used to it. Then the next time they do it without question they wonder...am I controlling them, or is this their own will? It was a deliciously evil little act really to do so. The candidate would have been well broken at that point. Then came the rebuilding.

Dyerlich watched on, wondering just what was happening. Col's mind was a flurry of thoughts and emotions. Ugh. He had anger toward himself. One of these pitiful things then. No doubt that Roman had such plans for Col, to try and cure him of this pity for himself.

Everyone was trying their best to do...something. Alright. Not everyone. Phenyo, Chica, and Alaina. They were trying to do something. Ugh. Chica was clumsy, she would have been no match for Roman's power, the wave, which Dyerlich would have dealt with had he been a bit faster on the mark, was simply cut off.  Not bad though, manifesting your powers into something like that was quite a feat even for a candidate.

Dyerlich looked over to the candidates, carefully looking at each one while Roman did his little thing. Phenyo, Chica, Alaina, and Arrow. Phenyo was...obeying his orders...though a quick probe of her surface thoughts told him that he would have to try really hard to get back in her graces. He had been there, for a while, acting rather nice to her, save for the first day of beatings she had gone through. He thought he might have gotten somewhere with her, but he probably shouldn't have used his elbow spikes to hold the boy down.

Well, there was three years to try and get back in favour with her.

Dyerlich watched as Roman began to smash the boy's legs. Ah. The pain was exquisite. Dyerlich just seemed to become more rigid, he seemed to become more...shiny in a way. His skin had a soft almost moonlight glow glow, his eyes had a shine, his hair, while already silver and flecked with gold had such a nice little sheen in it now. The damage was done and Dyerlich pulled his spikes from the boy's ankles, letting the blood stay on the spikes and run down them. Of course, now they were pointed upwards so it would like bloody icicles, travelling down until they reached his elbows and soaked into the sleeves of his clothes.

Are you going to allow him to have his bones healed and set then? They had the technology of course, but the healing degree was up to the pilot. Phenyo, still had cracked and bruised ribs, where he could have let her become completely healed. That would be silly of course, his efforts for cracking them would have been for naught. He turned his attention to Phenyo, his whole body slowly losing that glow as he sat back down near the desk. She wouldn't understand would she?

Hm. Time was getting on wasn't it? Ah yes, time, such a finicky thing. This little thing had been a nice use of it however, a good five or ten minutes even. Now they would see true disconnection with his apt pupil, as Roman would continue on with class as if nothing has happened. You've got to pick and choose your battles now my friend, so many candidates left unpunished, so little time too. Would Roman choose to start punishing the rest. Alaina, for being so...vocal. Chica for her clumsy attempt to stop him, and Phenyo for her actions. Surprisingly Arrow had done nothing but sit there like a scared puppy, whimpering. She was truly afraid wasn't she? She'd find out real horror soon.

At least now everyone in the classroom knew, they had given up their lives coming here, and it could very well be in the hands of some unruly and sadistic people.

[Rhi-Rhi]

I'm sorry. Even if Col didn't say it, mouthing it was enough...and no two words had ever pierced him as deeply as those ones did at that moment. That solidified it. There was no escape. This was it. There had never been a time in his life where he hadn't felt in control, and now he was utterly powerless. He could hardly even struggle anymore; pain, terror, and his own useless efforts at escape had already exhausted him, and the sudden despair at his own helplessness was the nail in the coffin.

Slowly Val's struggles began to cease as the inevitability of the situation started to sink in, but he still tugged at his arms weakly and kept his eyes fixed on Col's, needing that connection on a primal level. The other candidate looked almost as scared as he must, but he wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse and all he could do was continue to beg and cry. He didn't care if he sounded pathetic; he didn't care about pride right now. Pride wouldn't keep him in one piece and he was hoping for a miracle.

What the other candidates had done he hadn't a clue, and he was in no frame of mind to be appreciative of their efforts. Roman had the hammer, it was still raised, and--

...Oh snap...?

Val froze and his eyes flicked over to Roman. Forgot? What'd he forget? Val allowed himself a sliver of hope as he heard Roman rummaging through drawers and willed the man to not find whatever it was he'd forgotten about. Of course he did, and Val blinked as he was tapped on the nose with a blending stub--a normally harmless item that currently seemed ridiculously terrifying in that man's hands, even moreso with his casual behavior while carrying around a sledgehammer he intended to use on him. "Please, don't...please...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." he whimpered before the stub was placed between his teeth. He bit down on it reflexively and was effectively silenced save for his sobs.

But he could still plead with his eyes, and as Roman talked his crazy talk, he shook his head and clenched his eyes shut, eyelashes spiked together. His nails dug into his palms as he balled his hands into fists. No, please...no...

That was his last lucid thought before all the pain that had previously faded struck his body so hard and so suddenly that for a second he forgot where he was, what was happening, and like a punch to the gut his breath left him completely. He gave a strangled cry as his body convulsed in agony, back arching sharply, and he clamped his teeth down on the blending stub until his jaw started to ache. But through sheer power of will he managed to crack his eyes open, breathing hard and fast through his teeth...and he did it just in time to see the hammer come down.

It took only the first blow to send his body reeling into shock; his brain just couldn't process it all. Everything felt distant, even the sounds of crunching and cracking sounded like it was coming to him from miles away through a tunnel, the pain felt like it belonged to someone else, and it was more like he was an observer than the one it was happening to. It wasn't happening to him. It couldn't be. More deafening blows, more wet crunching, more excruciating pain that couldn't belong to him. His vision spun and blurred and darkened...

Val's skin went ashen and cold, his eyes large and vacantly staring. He didn't scream, he didn't make a sound except for a soft sigh right before his body went limp and his eyes rolled back in his head.

Arrow clamped a hand over her mouth and stumbled out of her seat, ghastly pale, and collapsed to her knees in front of the trash can just in time to heave into it. Even when her stomach was empty she continued to retch, and she couldn't help it that she was crying, too, and hard. She couldn't get that bloody image or that horrible sound out of her head. The begging, the sobbing, the crunching...she'd kept her head down, eyes closed, and hands over her ears for as long as she could, she'd told herself she wouldn't look, but she'd still heard everything.

And she'd still looked. Up until she'd looked, she'd been able to control herself. But once she'd looked, it all became real.

This wasn't what it was supposed to be like. When she'd been brought here, she'd been nervous; the people intimidated her, but she kind of expected it. That was how the military was: cold and intimidating. She'd known it would be hard, she'd known they would be strict. Maybe she'd do something stupid and get punished, be forced to run laps, scrub a floor with a toothbrush, or peel potatoes. And sure she'd heard the saying that the military owned you, but...to that extent? Where they could peel your body like a potato instead and just as casually?

She'd been nervous before, but now she was terrified and sick and, as childish as the thought was...

She wanted to go home. Now. She couldn't do this...

[Anonymous]

“O-ok,” Chica squeaked as her accidental attack was brushed away like a cobweb and she was given something she never expected, a warning. She shrunk downwards, dipping low, tail coiling beneath her until only her eyes were above the desk. Hiding was good right now.

She glanced about. Right, everyone else was shitting themselves too. Except maybe Phenyo, but that girl was just…weird.

She tried to calm down, making her breathing slow and deliberate, watching that goings on up front with as much detachment as possible.

Ok. Nothing to fear. You got away with it. Everything’s cool. You’re fine. Everything is – OH HOLY MOTHER OF CRAP!

The hammer fell again, and again, and again, each impact sending gooey leg slush spraying out. She was very glad she wasn’t in the first row. There was crunching, a lot of crunching. Squishing too. It sounded like the garbage compactors as they chewed through metal and chemical waste.

She felt dizzy. As the blood sprayed out of the crushed piece of meat that used to be Val’s legs, Chica began to sway. The drip, drip, drip of blood falling from the desk to the floor sounded loud in her ears, as loud as the hammer falling.

Crunch, splash thud. Crunch, splash thud. Crunch, splash thud.

It was funny, his feet still looked like feet, still whole and encased in his shoes. But they were just…alone. Hey weren’t meant to be like that. Poor feet.

She nearly shed when someone rushed past her. Worse, she almost reached for her goggles. That would certainly spell something awful, if she panicked and stoned someone. But it was only Archer, rushing for the bin in the corner next to Chica. The sound of the girl’s breakfast hitting the metal bin was different, more of a sloshing sound. Chica pondered for a moment this apparent fixation on sounds. Her minds way of coping, she supposed. Archer’s way was apparently to puke the horror out.

Chica awkwardly moved closer to the girl, more for an excuse to stop looking at the body lying limp on the front desk.

She put a hand on the girls back and, not really very good at this sort of thing, began to pet her gently. What the hell were you supposed to do with crying people anyway? Hug them?

She put on her best nice-person face and whispered, “It…it’s alright, it wasn’t you. Just do as you’re told and I’m sure they won’t do anything to you.”

That was a lie. She wasn’t sure of anything these madmen might do.

[Anonymous]

Alaina sat down abruptly and averted her gaze, avoiding the eyes of Roman and the other instructor. Self-control was a test too, and she had just failed. Now it was time to watch what failure entailed, to realize that she wouldn't be given another chance.

I'm sorry.

She wasn't sure whether she was apologizing to the instructors or to Val. Maybe both.

Roman brought the sledgehammer down on Val's supine figure four times, twice for each leg. There was no hesitation, no shred of mercy spared for the Candidate. It was a procedure they could do again in a week, assuming they felt inclined to do so. Accelerated healing had changed the face of the military, it seemed.

Alaina imagined that it could be her up there on the table. She felt sick. Presumably, everyone else in the room was thinking the same thing, and any doubts about the seriousness of the situation had long since been eliminated. The other students were crying, or shaking, or simply sitting in stony silence.

She felt even worse for the other Candidate, the one who had to hold Val down. Savage? Roman called him that at some point. In any case, for Savage it was a choice between someone else's suffering and his own. Alaina knew that at this point, if she were given that choice she would follow the order. It was the quintessential military training decision.

For the most part, Alaina ignored the blood. She could only hope they wouldn't punish her for looking away...

[Anonymous]

Passing herself off as a heartless uncaring bitch suited her. Hooded eyes, bored look, of course her eyes flicked closed slightly when the sledgehammer fell down, what would be wet crunchy thuds to everyone else had a sickening definition to her own ears. Hadn't moved once, her hand still resting on her head, splatters of blood hit her from the torn skin, Phenyo sighed softly when Val passed out, feeling a little better for him. Her green eyes flicked to Roman, remembering his words to the Candidate. This wasn't his punishment, this was simply a motivator. Blinking at the back of his head, she shook her own, a cross of pity drew over her eyebrows when she looked at Roman.

She wasn't sure if he needed a hug or a knife into his back, of course she was a little pleased. Finally, someone with more problems than she had.

Once the sledgehammer rested onto the ground, Phenyo stood up and rushed towards Val. "Oh, honey." She whispered, a finger going down to the pulse at his neck once she was close enough. Looking over her shoulder towards Roman she frowned lightly and shook her head. What a lovely first day of class. Leaning over Val's face Phenyo sighed and closed her eyes, of course she could hear everything else in the room. Poor Arrow was heaving her guts out, Chica patting her on the back. Why was she so worried about everyone?

Phenyo let out a shaky breath and wiped away the tears on Vals face, whispering in a soft gentle voice, tucking in the blending stub more securely into his mouth. She'd known the man for barely an hour, but she had a feeling that he was the type of person who could use whatever mental powers they had to make someone suffer. Knowing full well that passing out because of pain was all in your head, she figured that it could easily be switched off and Val could bite off his tongue and die.

Breathing through her mouth, the scent of blood and gore too much for her nose, Phenyo gently uncurled Vals hands, smoothing them out. Then she remembered the Col fellow, the one who got to watch the poor boys face. Offering him a gentle smile, Phenyo gave Val another look, petting his forehead gently and walked towards Col, reaching out carefully to touch him on the arm. Hardly caring if she got into trouble for trying to calm people down, Phenyo could already imagine what horrors Val would be replaying in his mind if he ever woke up, maybe gentle touches and soft voice wouldn't make them so bad. "You didn't do anything." Her green eyes on his own, her voice quiet but strong as she touched his hand.

"Just be a good boy." Phenyo smiled lightly and then shook her head, "Maybe you should try being a robot. This place seems to want to breed robots." Looking over her shoulder she flicked a glance at the pilots, but there was no hate, just pity and hint of sadness.  As much as she wanted to hate them, the only feeling she could muster for the Pain Givers was pity.

[Tally]

"We could give her artificial eyes that shoot lasers," Roman retorted, but he was just being facetious now. He sent Dyerlich an image of Chica laughing maniacally and shooting blue plasma beams out of her eyes.

Roman leaned the hammer against the wall and observed the various reactions.  Col stood staring at Val until Phenyo tried to touch him.  Then he jerked away and glared at her, part justified suspicion at any gesture of kindness in this place and part guilt manifesting as defensiveness.  None of them were judging him, but it felt they were.  It felt like they should.  He backed away, color returning to his face at last, and retreated to a desk near Alaina where he eased down into the seat so he wouldn't pass out.

Of great interest to Roman was Phenyo's reaction, the way she went straight to Val and attempted to comfort Col.  Compassion, empathy, kindness...the purpose of the Pilot program was not necessarily to destroy these things in a person.  They simply tended to become collateral damage.  Acceptable losses.  If Phenyo—if any candidate—could make it through with those things still intact then more power to them.  It took a special kind of strength to do that. Roman sincerely hoped Phenyo might accomplish it.

Then there was Alaina, who might have seemed one of the more fragile ones but who was handling better than most of the others, her outburst notwithstanding.

Dyerlich's next comment brought a secretive smile out in Roman.  "That," he said, "is the real punchline to this joke.  You'll see what I mean."

It didn't take long.  Scheherazade had followed the whole thing in Roman's mind and had the medics on their way before the hammer even fell.  Barely a full minute passed before the red light on the door flicked to green and the door swooshed open, admitting August Staresti and two other medics, crisp in white uniforms and wheeling a stretcher between them. Staresti, set apart from the others by the cut and colors of his uniform, was Chief Attending of the mid-level ward and known for his eternally calm demeanor and pitch black sense of humor.  Youthful, with pale blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and wire-framed glasses framing serene eyes, he looked down at the bloody mess of shattered bone and twisted flesh then looked back up at Roman and Dyerlich.  "So...what seems to be the trouble?"

The other two medics carefully shifted Val onto the stretcher, taking his pulse and blood pressure and placing a general anesthetic emitter—a small device that transmitted to the brain—upon his forehead to keep him unconscious.  Roman had a word with Staresti.  "Keep him under for a couple days, no pain, make sure he's comfortable.  And heal his legs...as they are.  Let the bones set in a hundred pieces."

"You want him unable to walk?"

"Of course."  Roman gestured at the bloody desk as Val was wheeled out of the room. "You think I'd make this kind of mess just so  you can reverse it in a couple days?"

And there was the punchline.  Val would be a cripple, unable to walk or even crawl, consigned to a wheelchair until he managed to convince Roman through some highly imaginative and probably demeaning gesture that he deserved to use his legs again.  Weeks, months...even years.  However long it took for Val to internalize the greater reality of his situation: that he was powerless, and that Roman alone held the keys to his empowerment.

"To deny him treatment to the utmost of my ability undermines the principles which form the very foundation of my life and work," Staresti said, hands clasped behind his back.

"Get over it."

"Yes, sir."  Instead of leaving right away, August Staresti strode to Arrow's crouching form and laid a hand briefly upon her head, sending a simple, chilly healing wave through her body to calm her down and eliminate any lingering nausea.  On his way out, he paused once at the door.  "Have an enriching class, everyone," he said.

With the medics gone, Roman let the candidates have a few moments to collect themselves.  He rubbed at a thin spray of blood on his white shirt, mouth twisting in annoyance, and reached under the table for his coffee.  It was cold now, but he downed the rest of it anyway then tossed the empty cup into the trash with Arrow's vomit.  "Okay!" he said briskly, back into the casual teacher role between one moment and the next.  "Everybody calm now?  Ready to move on?  Arrow, feel better?  We'll cut the rest of this short, I promise."

[Anonymous]

The mental image was no laughing matter really. Well. Besides that the girl was laughing while shooting lasers from her eyes. Well. Plasma beams it looked like. Lasers and Plasma were a little different really. However, the point was well received at this point. Whether or not giving a creature like Chica laser eyes or letting her keep the petrification eyes...It was like whether you wanted to incinerate someone acetylene or propane. It really didn't matter, both did the job.

The poor girl will have enough trouble with a snake body though. It isn't like those creatures were meant for jumping or for climbing. Dyerlich wasn't sure he much wanted a candidate about that could start shooting laser eyes. Even so, petrification was probably worse. Wasn't much cure for your entire being suddenly turning into stone.

Dyerlich watched his candidate try and do her best at consoling  Val and Col. That was Phenyo really, it had been a while since he had seen compassion, and she was new here of course. She would learn though, and it would be...well it wouldn't be the prettiest thing in the world. If she lost her compassion through all of it, Dyerlich wouldn't care really. Maybe he would. He had only one student who really didn't change through it all. Roman. Maybe Temple, though Temple wasn't the biggest success in the world. Wulf was an oddity, a strange anomaly who had survived and could fight on.

What would Phenyo be.

Dyerlich listened to his old Candidate talking with the medic. Ah. There it was then. Val would understand the gift of freedom that was being able to walk, to stand, to keep up with people. He would understand that there was mercy, and there was compassion, but he would also understand that there was harsh consequences, that there would be blood, and there would be pain. This was his lesson in life then, and he would learn it so very well.

His legs would be nothing more than a bloody soup. Veins pierced and ripped, bones setting through muscles and skin...it wasn't going to be pretty, it was going to be very painful.

That would be nothing though.

Earning the right to use his legs again would be the most painful thing, the most humiliating, and no doubt the ugliest thing ever. It was going to be degrading, and it would be interesting if he were around to see it, or to have Roman give him the memory. The boy was going to have some fun time ahead of him. Painful times of course.

"Mm, sounds good, think I have some marrow stuck to my spikes." Dyerlich seemed to twist his arms in such a strange way that he was able to have his spikes almost right in front of his face. This was despite the fact the spikes were attached to his elbows. The blood was drying but there were still flecks and pieces stuck inside the congealed blood.

Yummy.

A few new movements and he was able to put his arms the right way again. He didn't seem at all bothered by this whole act, or did his eyes show any sort of pain or emotion. He was just...expressionle ss. That was all. That was one thing he was very good at doing, was keeping his face from betraying him. Though, it really did help he wore a cowl. The mouth was always the most expressive part wasn't it?

Go sit down Phenyo. And shed no pity for us. We were born like this. He didn't care if she felt bad for Roman and Him. The races of this solar system created him after all, through all those negative emotions that he could feed on, they had created him. Roman was different, still human, but he had a different look of things. It hadn't been the pilot program, it just had been Roman. He had been born for this place.

He wouldn't be surprised if he made Imperial if Soren ever passed away. Not that he hoped that would ever happen of course, he desired that all the Pilots lived their lives till the end, when age finally got them, though...some of them couldn't die from age. Hm. That reminded him of something he had to deal with soon enough.

For now he wanted to watch Roman play teacher.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Arrows shoulders jerked when she felt someone touch her back and she peeked over her shoulder, and the moment her eyes landed on a pair of orange-lensed goggles and saw a number of snake faces staring back at her she squeaked and went rigid. For a second she felt like she might lose it again if she had anything left in her stomach--it was no secret that Chica had scared the crap out of her earlier, so it wasn't really helping--but then the other girl was petting her back and...trying to comfort her?

Even if the source was questionable and she didn't really trust her, that was exactly what she needed to hear right then. Though why was she doing that? She'd threatened to crush her only minutes before! Arrow didn't try and push Chica away, though, but she didn't relax, either. She still felt queasy and it was impossible to relax here, and who knew if anyone here was actually nice at all. Roman had seemed okay and then he went crazy. Dyerlich she hadn't trusted from the start, since she'd caught the tail end of him smacking Val. She could hear another girl in the class talking, obviously trying to calm the other candidates.

Suddenly the door opened and Arrow snapped her head up to look, hopeful, as the medics came in. She didn't look over to where Val was, though; she didn't think she could handle seeing that again. She drew a shaky breath, sniffled, and wiped her eyes and nose off on her sleeve in an effort to collect herself, but it wasn't working too well and she found herself desperately hoping they'd be allowed to leave with the medics. This had to be the end of class. Roman couldn't expect them to stay after that. How could they focus on anything he said now?

...Er, then again, after that she imagined he'd have a perfectly obedient, enraptured audience. She knew she'd hold onto every word he said.

While she stayed where she was and wiped at her tears, she could hear Roman speaking to one of the medics and she risked a glance their way.

She wished she hadn't overheard.

It wasn't enough to smash someone's legs, he was going to cripple them, too?! That was worse than the injury itself, and...what about them? If any of them got injured, would they be tortured through the healing process itself, too? At least the one medic sort of stood up to Roman for that. Kind of. In a way. She liked him for that; made him seem human and not all monstrous like the people in charge, and that gave her hope that not everyone was like the two Pilots at the front.

Even if he was acting so calm about this that everything was starting to feel completely surreal. Dyerlich was nonchalant, Roman could have been playing "whack the mole" instead of smashing another human, and the medic was acting like this was totally normal.

That was not a good sign.

Arrow swallowed hard and faced the trash can again as Val was wheeled out of the room, and she took a deep, shaky breath--and jumped when someone touched her head, though her jolt was more at the cool, calm energy she felt rush through her. She shivered and turned her head just in time to see the back of the medic as he was leaving, and she silently thanked him since her voice wouldn't work and it was too late anyway.

Part of her wanted to ask him not to go and leave them here alone with Roman and Dyerlich.

Enriching...yeah... that was what this was...

And then she nearly jumped out of her skin when the coffee cup went flying into the trash can in front of her, heart lodging itself into her throat, and when Roman abruptly spoke she scrambled to her feet on shaky legs. She did feel better...as in she no longer felt like she was going to puke, at least, and her heart wasn't racing quite so fast. "Y-yeah, much better," she agreed hastily in a near whisper, giving a quick nod and a nervous, forced smile that lasted only a second. It was more like a twitch than a smile. She threw another look at Chica, a grateful one, before she wobbled back to her seat and collapsed into it. She stared up at Roman, refusing to look at the bloody desk.

[Anonymous]

The moment the girl looked at them, Chica’s snakes squirmed. They actually enjoyed attention, just….not the sort Phenyo had been giving them.

She felt so stupid, standing there, patting this kid on the back. She glanced at the front of the room. Phenyo seemed to have this comforting thing a little more down pat. Chica wasn’t really the comforting sort, but she felt a little bad that she’d given the girlie a hard time and now she was throwing up, though technically it wasn’t her fault. She certainly wasn’t going to just be a useless boob like little miss teachers pet over there. Alright, so she hadn’t really done much more than raise her hand to answer a question, but something about the girl…woman….whatever, it just bothered Chica. She seemed too old to be here. It was like seeing an adult in school…and not the teacher obviously.

The door opened, apparently no longer locked, to admit some medics. She hadn’t seen anyone call for them. Maybe they just followed Roman around, waiting for him to mangle someone.

They certainly didn’t seem surprised. The one that talked to Roman was….weird. For a doctor, he didn’t seem overly concerned with his patient.

Actually, now that the actual smashing was done, Chica was feeling alright again. Those legs actually looked like a good meal….

Damn it, now was not the time to thinking about food. But…she was hungry. It took a lot of food to sustain her body mass, and she had a really fast metabolism. On top of that, she’d skipped breakfast this morning to try to get to this thing early, and she’d still been late!

She snapped back to attention when the medic guy came over, making Archer jump, making Chica flinch. The Roman asked if an arrow felt better. What the hell? Then the girl responded.

No.

Way.

Her name couldn’t possibly…who would do that to their child? Arrow Archer?

The girl, Arrow, gave her another look, a little bit warmer this time. Damn right, after Chica had just helped her, out of the kindness of her own heart, get through this difficult time. The girl owed her.

Chica slithered back to her desk, wondering if she would be allowed to go eat soon.

[Anonymous]

Arrow Archer.

Alaina recalled the name from the candidates file she found on the server. She had initially thought it was some kind of special account, something worth looking into later. Maybe an administrator's alias. But no! Alaina almost laughed aloud. It was the shy girl. Introductions must be awkward for that one.

Her initial reaction was replaced by a wave of pity. Arrow seemed like one of the more fragile Candidates in the room. Alaina didn't blame her for reacting the way she did. When the medics arrived, the girl completely broke down.

We all lose, she thought, and nobody wins.

It was one of those moments where you feel better simply because everyone else is going through the same thing as you. Wallowing in your own problems was difficult when you had Arrow sitting next to you, sobbing. Even the snake-creature, which Alaina had dismissed as some sort of surreal oddity, was showing some compassion here.

"You want him unable to walk?"

One of the medics had turned to Roman, asking him a question. His voice was perfectly normal, as if this was a perfectly normal decision. Paper or plastic? Milk, sugar, black? Healed or crippled? Alaina shook the mental image away. Why did she have to make a joke of everything? The ATC was becoming more and more hellish every minute, and she hated herself for laughing about it.

"We'll cut the rest of this short, I promise."

Roman again. More mood swings. It was making Alaina nervous, the way he could switch so casually between his twin roles as sadist and teacher. She wondered whether all the Pilots were like that, or whether this one was simply a star example.

[Anonymous]

Teeth gnawed on lips when she got a bad reaction out of Col. Ouch. Phenyo didn't think she was that bad at comforting people. After that lovely incident she stood off to the side, her hands at her sides fingers clenching and unclenching. She had heard the medics foot steps a few moments before the door open, but her head still bolted her and watched them. Listened intently to Roman tell them to heal his bones as is. Swallowing slightly, just imagining what they'd look like, messy awkward limbs, useless, ugly. It'd kill the kid. Quickly she lowered her head slightly, her teeth firmly set on her tongue so she didn't scream about what a psycho he was.

If she had been a cat, all the hair would have been standing up on the back of her neck. She didn't like it here, she didn't like Dyerlich, and she, so far, didn't like Roman. Though the only way of getting away from here would be TRIM, and from the pictures that Dyerlich showed her, she didn't want to end up there. That left only a single option. Become a Pilot. She could do that. She knew she could, and Phenyo would act just like she was acting now, no way in hell would she let them break her. Frowning and jolting slightly and looked towards Dyerlich. Sit, right.

She didn't even notice Val get carted away. Phenyo looked around at all the sitting students and moved back to her previous spot, not exactly keen on getting little drops of blood on her butt. Blinking for a moment, Phenyo looked around. Why was everyone snorting, and keeping in snorts at the name Arrow Archer? Phenyo didn't even know how she knew that, but she did! Frowning slightly, Phenyo shook her head, eh, she didn't care anymore. These people needed something to snort at, why not make fun of another candidates name.

How very mature of them.

Snarling slightly and crossing her arms over her chest, looking grumpily in front of her, meaning her eyes were half-focused on Dyerlich. Wasn't even looking at him. Phenyos brain was somewhere else, though she could hear everything, her eyes were glazed over in thought. Hurry up and finish Mr.Roses, if you're going to cut it short. she mentally snarled, forgetting again that she was in a room full of psychics, Fuck, scratch that if you were listening.

She was going to go insane, if not from Dyerlich and Roman, than from the fact that she'd never be able to think of squeezy duckie porn again. Not that she thought of that in the first place, just something for the eavesdroppers.

[Tally]

Since Roman's seat, the top of the desk, was all bloody now, he leaned against dry erase board on the wall behind it, arms crossed as he watched them all take their seats and get themselves back in the moment.  Col sat staring into space, no doubt trying to get a grip on his own involvement in what Roman suspected would come to be known as The Sledgehammer Incident, or something along those lines.  He gave them a few moments to get control of themselves and their reactions.  Too bad Mynatt would miss the rest of the class.  Roman would have to pay him a visit later and catch him up on the information.

"I understand you're all shocked and a little scared right now, but I hope you're able to look beyond what just happened and see the reasons for it.  This is the Pilot program, and you all will be held to extremely high standards.  In addition to being Pilot Royal, I am also the Director of Candidate Affairs.  Let's be clear on this: my job is not to make  your lives easier.  My job is to make Pilots out of you, no matter what it takes and no matter what I have to do to you.  Better you learn that sooner rather than later because you'll be seeing a lot of me in the coming months.  I'm going to have you all stand up and follow me in just a moment.  We're going to take a little field trip.  Just...one more thing."

Phenyo.

He strode over to where she sat and leaned on her desk with both hands, staring her in the face, not a hint of humor in him.  As he'd told Dyerlich, he would not harm her.  He also would not allow her behavior to continue as it was.  "I've come to a decision," he said.  "I've decided you are going to be respectful and obedient to me from now on.  I realize you might need assistance in this endeavor, considering your nature.  So to help you accomplish this, from now on whenever you disobey a direct order from me, candidate Archer will be disciplined in your place."  He smirked; he had her and he knew it.

The next part was said telepathically, 'audible' to Phenyo and Dyerlich only.  Arrow didn't need to hear this.  He'd frightened her enough as it was.  "There will be no more of this 'Mr. Roses' nonsense either.  You will address me as sir or Pilot Rosales.  And every time you fail to do so is one night I will spend fucking her."  Switching back to physical voice, he said, "Are you getting me, candidate?  Let me assure you if the answer is anything besides, 'Yes sir, Pilot Rosales' she will pay for it."

It was an old technique, to punish a candidate's friend in their place.  Very simple, very effective, and Phenyo was perfectly suited for it.  It was so easy to manipulate a person.  You just had to know what they cared about.  Phenyo cared about the other candidate; she had betrayed it in her thoughts many times already.

Roman awaited her answer.  Sometimes candidates tried to call his bluff, and they inevitably discovered that he was never bluffing.  He made neither threats nor promises—he simply stated reality.  Whatever he said he would do, he would do.

[Anonymous]

For a moment Dyerlich wondered why they still had those dry erase boards in some of these classrooms. He would have thought that everything would have been made into digital boards for that matter. To think that he had just been holding a candidate down with his spikes and now he was considering finding out about technical spending for classrooms. For the other candidates they would be locked on this probably. He didn't much care though, he had just done what he was supposed to do, what Roman had asked him to do.

Heh.

Roman wasn't kidding. They would do anything to make their Candidates succeed. With Roman, that literally was anything. Threats, Pain, Reward system,anything like that. He had some idea what Roman might do to...persuade these candidates. It would be so much fun though to see what he came up with though.

Dyerlich watched the Pilot as he approached his candidate. Already he had joined the class, and he didn't really disagree with Roman's thoughts. Heh. He noticed that he only wanted her to be respectful and obedient to himself. Well. He didn't much want it to be easy for him. The telepathic part didn't surprise him either. It was a good reinforcement tactic too. Arrow was rather adorable, and innocent, putting Phenyo in this situation was an interesting idea. Dyerlich could always threaten something similar, perhaps not raping another candidate. That just wasn't in him. For Roman it was rather...well...lik e him.

Dyerlich would let Phenyo make her choice here and now. No help from him, only his eyes staring at her critically. If she was smart, she wouldn't fight back against Roman. No one ever really won against him. If she wasn't going to be intelligent, then she would probably end up costing Arrow something.

But here's a big question Roman. Don't you plan on ah...copulating with most of these candidates anyways? Dyerlich made VERY carefully to keep that thought between the two of them. If Roman ah...planned on still having his way with Arrow already, his threat might lose a little in Phenyo's eyes. After all, if he was just going to rape her for the next three years, why would it matter if Phenyo stopped her from being raped once or twice.

My word, that might actually mean you'll have to...hold your flesh yourself. It was just an amusing thought really. Well. They'd see how things went then.

[Rhi-Rhi]

Shocked and scared. Arrow nodded automatically, though she disagreed with the "a little" part. Scared out of her mind was more like it, though since she'd puked out her guts and been given that healing energy she now just felt...numb. And she couldn't stop looking over at the bloody desk. Someone should clean that soon...it's gonna stain, she thought randomly, and instantly berated herself for thinking something so trivial. Other random thoughts drifted in and out of her mind as she listened to Roman speak, eyes fixed on him unblinking, and one fugitive thought made her pale cheeks flush pink.

...Rubber duckie WHAT?!

That snapped her out of her stupor, and she blinked rapidly and glanced quickly around the room, paranoid. How the heck...why would she think something like that? Hopefully no other psychics picked that up, because that was just...weird and embarrassing and gross.

She blamed just seeing someone get their legs smashed with a sledgehammer, which was something she still couldn't see the point of beyond that these Pilots were monsters. Roman said it had a point. Look beyond the leg mutilating to the deeper meaning! High standards. So if they screwed up, they got crippled? That was it, end of story, kiss your limbs goodbye? Arrow took a deep breath and shifted in her seat, crossing one leg over the other to sort of subconsiously protect her legs. The blood smell was starting to get to her, and while she was sure it wouldn't be fun, the field trip thing sounded great right now. Anything to get out of this room, anything to get a breath of fresh air and to not feel quite so trapped.

She was actually looking forward to that little escape. Even if it was bad, it couldn't possibly be as bad as what had just happened. Any distraction was a good one right now.

When Roman strode over to Phenyo, though, she quickly regretted that last thought.

It had seemed like the other girl was getting away with an awful lot, but Arrow didn't wish these Pilots on anyone, and when Roman narrowed in on the older girl, she felt sorry for her...and afraid for her. She chewed on her bottom lip and watched nervously, silently praying for no more bloodshed. One had to be enough. She didn't want to see anyone else get hurt...

...candidate Archer will be disciplined in your place.

It took a few seconds to actually register what had just been said. At first, she thought she'd heard wrong, at least until Roman reiterated that "she" would pay for it.

"W-what?"

It was one of the few words she'd spoken during the entire class, and it came out a surprised whisper as she stared wide-eyed at Roman and Phenyo with a classic "deer in headlights" expression. Suddenly she didn't feel quite so sorry for Phenyo, and as she waited for Phenyo to answer she found herself sliding down further in her seat in a sore attempt at making herself invisible. That wasn't fair. She hadn't done anything. Oh gods, she was going to die at this rate! Not that...she thought the girl would do anything on purpose...she'd heard her talking to Val and Col after the smashing was done, but...

This put her fate directly in someone else's hands, and she had to hope to gods that the girl didn't mess up.

Just answer him how he says, please... she thought desperately, breath held and hands shaking, heart racing. It was strange, though, because even though her body was practically radiating fear, she felt oddly calm. This whole class had just been one shock after the other, and this was just another shock on top of a big pile of nastiness. Her mind just didn't seem to really want to accept the very real danger she was in, so all she could do was stare blankly at Phenyo, utterly still. Besides, if she moved she might feel dizzy. The blood scent was still heavy in the air, and if she looked just a little past Phenyo and Roman she could see that desk...

Please just say it...

[Anonymous]

And everything was boring again. Chica wished this damn class would hurry up. Roman said it was almost over, but that almost made it worse, made time go even slower.

He threatened Phenyo with Arrow being punished. Clever that, playing on her sympathy. Chica had watched enough TV to tell her that was a good strategy. Still….why had he picked her as the target of the threat eh? It was because she was prettier than Chica, that must be it. Bastard.

She slumped until her chin rested on the desk, her lips forming a sour pout. Men were all the same, pigs. Women were no better. This whole damn species could kiss her scaly ass.

She decided to be annoying, and so, as loudly as she could, she began to sing in her head.

I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts, deedly deedly, here they are a standing in a row, big ones small ones, some as big as your head, give a twist, flick of the wrist that’s what the showman said!

The song repeated over and over again…

((Gah! Sorry bout the shortness…..she really had nothing to say, think or do besides pout and try to annoy everyone with mind singing))

[Anonymous]

"My job is to make Pilots out of you, no matter what it takes and no matter what I have to do to you..."

Roman paced back and forth at the front of the class, speaking to them. Hardly a word registered in Alaina's mind, though. She was too preoccupied thinking about Val. Poor kid. He hadn't been nearly enough of a prick to deserve that. The bones, the blood. There was still a distinct smell of blood, and now there was some kind of weird music. Alaina couldn't place it.

"...because you'll be seeing a lot of me in the coming months. I'm going to have you all stand up and follow me in just a moment. We're going to take a little field trip."

I’ve got a lovely bunch of Candidates, deedly deedly...

Alaina glanced around the room instinctively, but all of the other students were completely silent, transfixed on the twisted lesson proceeding at the front of the class. Roman was unwrapping a very strategic threat on Phenyo.

"From now on whenever you disobey a direct order from me..."

Here they are a-sitting in a row.

Chica's cheerful, singsong voice again. Alaina glanced at her angrily, but the snake-girl's mouth wasn't moving. Her head swam as she tried to maintain focus.

"...candidate Archer will be disciplined in your place."

Big ones, small ones, some would be better off dead...

"W-what?"

The shy, innocent-looking one. Arrow would become Phenyo's very own sledgehammer.

Give a twist, flick of the wrist, that’s what Roman said!

Alaina cradled her head in her hands and began to cry uncontrollably, sharpening an already splitting headache. The datapad slid off her lap and clattered on the floor. They were all just mice with interesting brains, trapped in a cage forever. Graduation from the program was a lie, it was just another cage from there. Alaina knew it. The song drilled holes in her mind as her vision blurred.

I've got a lovely bunch of Candidates...

[Anonymous]

The urge to lean back away from Roman when his face loomed so close was strong. Since Phenyo was keen on being a pain in the ass, she leaned up a little and looked him straight in the eyes, a tilt at the corner of her lips. Of course, by the time he was done his little speech and she was glaring at him. Ugh, a smirk. The bastard. No! Not a bastard! Well, no, not a bastard. That was actually a good tactic. Phenyo couldn't believe she was thinking it, but she had to give props to Roman for finding her weak spot.

He did have her. Phenyo would be a good little girl.

Though of course he went to far. Her nails cut into her palms. What was the point of that? Raping Arrow because Phenyo did something wrong? Never did her green eyes leave Romans, she blinked when her eyes got dry and she had to swallow before she could spit out the words. " Yes Sir, Pilot Rosales." Her voice was soft, not a defeated tone, but quiet because he was so close. Besides, if she said it loudly it might have gotten her into trouble. Closing her eyes for a moment, Phenyo looked up at him, leaning a little closer towards his ear. "Please though... Don't... Do that or anything like that, unless I disrespect you and am not obedient. Please. I'd probably really be respectful and obedient if you could do that for her. For me. Please. Don't use her for that, Sir." Phenyos voice was barely above a whisper, it would sound like murmurs to even the closet person.

It didn't wound her pride or beat her ego to beg for someone else's safety, she couldn't stop him from doing that if he wanted to. Leaning back, she resumed staring at him in the eyes, leaning forwards on her desk, her hands wrapped around it to clutch at the edges. Feet flat on the floor. It was then that she realized someone was crying, Phenyo took her chances and looked around. Alaina.

And then a disturbingly annoying song swam around in her head. Coconuts? Candidates? Blinking. 'Coconut flavoured candidates? What the hell?' Turning back around, Phenyo blinked at Roman.

"Sir? I think Candidate um... Alaina? I think? Is cracking up, Sir. Do they get sent to the infirmary for that? er.. Sir?" 'She'll need some tape at least.' Phenyo sat up quickly and looked around. Not being used to psychics at all, and mind reading, Phenyo quietly cleared her throat and looked around, trying to ignore Chicas singing about Coconuts, Coconut flavoured Candidates? Something like that, and the crying.

Phenyo could feel her eyebrow twitch. Argh, the crying.  Of  course, she'd completely forgotten what was to happen after this, after being grilled right after Roman said it, oddly enough, Phenyo wasn't worrying about what happens next and worried about screwing up and getting Arrow into trouble. Poor kid must hate her now.